A Special Birthday Announcement

My parents submitted Brennan's birthday information to our local news station, KTTC, which presents a "Birthday Spotlight" every weekday morning. Brennan was a lucky one chosen to be highlighted this morning!

Merry Christmas!

From our house to yours, Merry Christmas!

 

Prechel Family Christmas: 2014 Edition

We celebrated Christmas slightly early this year with my parents and my brother and his family. Good food, lots of back-and-forth banter and laughs, and telling of some family stories that have become legend over the years.

Grandpa with Huey, Dewey, and Lewey. Or Grandpa with the Three Stooges. Or Grandpa with his three grandsons. Also, Owen and James are super close in age--with nearly identical cheesy grins. Maybe it's just a little boy thing? Or a second-born thing? Either way, the cuteness of these three together is over the top.

Cousins. Family. Christmas. Doesn't get much better than this.

Our Scout

Brennan is officially a Cub Scout! This was the first year he was eligible to participate, so we got him registered a few weeks ago. This past Wednesday was his first official Cub Scout event--a trip to the fire station. So much fun to see him dressed up in his uniform!

Fall Festival

On Thursday, my mom and I took Brennan, Owen, Grace (my brother's daughter), and James and Julia (his stepkids) to the Olmsted County Historical Society for their fall festival. It was a great way to spend some time on the day off school. Plus it gave the kid some great cousin time--a big part of the reason for relocating here. There were all kinds of fun things to do:  scarecrow decorating, pumpkin painting, decorating canvas backpacks, rope twisting, sauerkraut stomping. It was definitely a great way to spend the afternoon!

 Posing in front of our decorated scarecrow Grace named "Emily"

 Grinding corn kernels into powder

 Taking the corn off the cob. We were hard pressed to get him away from this fun activity!

Fall in Minnesota. Doesn't get much better than this!

Acorn Treats

A while back, we signed Brennan up for a subscription to "Clubhouse, Jr." magazine. This past month was the first time he's really taken an interest in looking through it. His attention was caught by an article about making acorn treats. With MEA (Minnesota Educators Association) break this week (it means Thursday and Friday off school for the kids), it seemed like a great time to try out this activity.

 Both boys worked hard and well on their acorns

The finished products. Cute, aren't they?

14 Years

In November 2000, I received an early Christmas gift:  a year-old black and white cat named Jenna. The name "Jenna" didn't quite suit her, so I renamed her Esther.

For three years, that cat was my baby. She was the friendliest cat imaginable, more dog-like than cat-like. She'd come running to greet me when I got home from work. When she slept at night, some part of her needed to be touching me. I even had one night when I woke up and she was wrapped around the top of my head like a hat! She had free reign in my apartment and gladly took it. When John entered the picture, she became our baby, but with a few limits on where she could go (no more counter tops or table top for her--TV trays being an exception!).

 

After Brennan arrived, things began to rightly change. She became less "baby" and more "cat". Once Owen arrived, it really changed. We had also moved into a smaller house with less space for her to have some sort of respite from two small boys. Once Brennan and Owen grew a bit and learned how to treat her, we started seeing her out and about with the family more. But she had also grown older and with age came some health problems. She developed a significant heart murmur and started throwing up a lot.

(Brennan at age 2. Of the two boys, he's the one who loved her the most.)

The day after we pulled in to Rochester, she ended up at the vet with blood in her eye likely related to her heart issues. Once we got settled into our new house and she started to get familiar with the place, we started to notice a small change in her behavior. She began following us around everywhere, wanting to be with us and near us and on us anytime a lap was available. Looking back, we believe it was her way of saying good-bye.

 

September 20, 2014. When we were getting breakfast around, we noticed Esther curled up in a rocking chair. After calling her name with no response, we discovered she had passed away peacefully in her sleep. We were able to bury her at my grandparents' farm which was a nice bookend to her life since that was her very first home after I adopted her.

Closing this 14 year chapter was pretty rough. Despite the difficulties of the last few years with her, she was deeply loved and is deeply missed.

(Yes, her nickname was "The Dude")

Fall Tradition

Our annual fall tradition from the time Brennan was tiny has been apple picking. In Virginia, our orchard of choice was always Carter Mountain. Without that as an option, we needed to find a new apple orchard to continue this favorite family tradition. Thankfully, Sekapp Orchard stepped in--with the added bonus of being only about 15 minutes from home. There were tons of apple varieties to choose from, including Sweet 16 which was the most amazing apple I think I've ever tasted. So grateful to continue this special tradition in our new home!

 On the wagon on our way out to go pick apples

 Picking Harelson apples, our new pie apple

 Owen didn't want to pick many apples. Instead, he wanted to eat apples. He was rewarded with a Honeycrisp that he devoured.

In addition to picking apples, there were plenty of other activities for kiddos, including a corn maze.

The View From My Kitchen

Our kitchen and dining room windows face west. That means we've been treated to some pretty amazing sunsets. I don't think I will ever get tired of watching the sun set from our kitchen window.

Catching Up

I admit...I haven't had the mental space to blog much (at all) lately. Not to mention the fact that our camera has basically been shelved now that iPhones have entered our lives. We've been taking plenty of pictures, but they've primarily been on our phones--and it took me until today to figure out how to get said photos off my phone and onto the computer.

With sidewalks all around, we've been focusing on helping Brennan get more comfortable with his bike skills. Pedaling has been a difficult skill for him to learn, but he finally was able to master it more this summer. Getting him started on the bike was an even bigger challenge. Thanks to having lots of sidewalks and lots of opportunities to practice, in late September he finally achieved the bike skills that he's been so eager to learn (and that we've been so eager for him to learn).

Whirlwind

After just over a month of feeling like we were in a whirlwind of prepping, purging, packing, moving, and unpacking, it finally feels like we are started to get settled. Most of the boxes are unpacked--there are still a few that need to be sorted through and hopefully stuff purged from them before getting stored. We are slowly figuring out a routine--John goes into work much earlier than he did in Richmond, Brennan's school starts an hour later than his old school did (which subsequently results in getting out of school an hour later as well), and Owen attends preschool in the afternoon instead of the mornings. Minor changes that have all felt significant in this time of so much "new".

We are also getting familiar with our new hometown as well. For me, it's been a strange homecoming. Not having lived here for 11 years, it almost feels like I should be returning to the Rochester of 11 years ago. Not so. A lot sure has changed and there's a certain amount of disorientation that occurs when things that seem like they should be familiar just aren't.

Having family nearby has been a fabulous blessing that we are extremely grateful for. We've already gotten to attend my brother's wedding, visit with lots of extended family, the boys have had sleepovers at Grandma and Grandpa's house, and Owen has already gotten to ride in Great-Grandpa's semi truck! Very grateful for the gift of family in this particular season of life.

We haven't been neglectful in taking photos either! Without further ado, here are some pictures from our recent adventures.

 

 A bigger house means more furniture. More furniture mean putting things together. Putting things together means we need big strong muscles :)

 We went to the annual Fall Festival at Quarry Hill. There was food, games, and a presentation by the National Eagle Center. It was pretty special to see an eagle so close!

Presenting his finished pumpkin

 

Presenting his finished pumpkin

"Greater"

This song and these lyrics have been resonating in me these last couple of weeks. Loved hearing it while sitting in the carpool line at school on this drizzly, cool Minnesota morning.

"Greater" by Mercy Me

Bring your tired
Bring your shame
Bring your guilt
Bring your pain
Don’t you know that’s not you’re name
You will always be much more to me

Every day I wrestle with the voices
That keep telling me I’m not right
But that’s alright


‘Cause I hear a voice and He calls me redeemed
When others say I’ll never be enough
And greater is the One living inside of me
Than he who is living in the world
In the world
In the world
And greater is the One living inside of me
Than he who is living in the world

Bring your doubts
Bring your fears
Bring your hurt
Bring your tears
There’ll be no condemnation here
You are holy, righteous and redeemed

Every time I fall
There’ll be those who will call me
A mistake
Well that’s ok

There’ll be days I lose the battle
Grace says that it doesn’t matter
‘Cause the cross already won the war
He’s Greater
He’s Greater

I am learning to run freely
Understanding just how He sees me
And it makes me love Him more and more
He’s Greater
He’s Greater 

Slowly

After a whirlwind few weeks, we are finally starting to feel a bit settled in our new life here in Minnesota. It was a blur of purging, prepping, and packing for three weeks until our possessions got loaded onto the truck and then we started our long cross-country journey with two cars, two kids, and a cat. Everyone handled the drive as well as can be expected and we were so grateful to see dear friends along the way and then to finally pull in to my parents house--that meant the time of transition was nearing an end.

Our stuff made it here only a couple of days after we did and we spent all of last week getting unpacked and generally settled, taking care of all the fun things that need to happen after you move to a new state.

John starts his new job today and both boys are in their first full week of school. Getting back into routine has been wonderful and helpful, especially after not having much of routine or regular anything for nearly a month. Slowly, but surely, we are making progress at starting to make not just our house, but our new area too, feel like home.

(*If you do not have our new contact information yet, but would like, please let me know!)

Success

John and I spent Friday through Monday in Minnesota doing some house-hunting. As we were preparing and searching for houses here, we realized just how difficult it is to be trying to find a place to live from so far away. We found a few that looked promising, set up times to see them, and trusted that one of them would be the right one. The last house we saw on Friday afternoon wound up being "the one". It  just felt right--the neighborhood is full of families, practically across the street from what will be Brennan's elementary school, just down the road from Owen's new preschool, and we could easily picture ourselves living there. We signed the lease Monday, got Brennan and Owen registered for school, and signed up for our new library cards. It's really happening, and certainly this weekend made it feel quite real.

Our packers come on Thursday to box up everything and the movers arrive on Monday. We'll pull out sometime Monday afternoon to get a few hours under our belt. We anticipated arrival in Minnesota next Wednesday where we'll settle in with my parents until our stuff arrives.

The sense of "lasts" is starting to come full force now. We have to remind ourselves and the boys that it will be the last time we go to this particular park or that particular restaurant. Wrapping up 6 1/2 years in a matter of just three weeks is pretty tough. But this weekend also made us pretty excited for all that lies ahead as well.

Minnesota Bound

It's official:  in less than two weeks, we are packing up and leaving our home of the last six and a half years. We are bound for Rochester, Minnesota, thanks to a job John got at the Mayo Clinic. He'll be an Events Manager in the development department, very similar to what he does now but with the opportunity for a bit of travel around the U.S. With the added bonus of being near most of my family, a significant pay increase, and excellent benefits, it made the decision pretty easy. Still, it won't be easy to say good-bye to our friends and life here.

As we prepare for this huge change, we have a few prayer requests to pass along:

1.  Housing--we are trying to find a rental home and have some good options. John and I are going to Rochester this coming weekend to do a house-hunting trip where we hope to get something signed on a place.
2.  Church--we have a few really good options to check out and need some discernment with finding a church that will be a good fit for our entire family.
3.  The transition in general--despite Rochester being my hometown, a lot has changed since I last lived there 11 years ago as a single person. Coming back home as a married mom of two will certainly create a very different experience this time around.
4.  School--Brennan will be in a new school and Owen will start a new preschool. Combined with a new place to live, it's a lot of transition for two kids to absorb.
5.  Finishing well--we want to finish Virginia well.
6.  Travel--we leave August 25 (yikes!), driving our two cars. We'll have both boys and a cat who throws up within five minutes of getting in a car. I'm actually more concerned about Esther managing the drive than I am about the rest of us! So, despite how strange this sounds, pray for the cat--that she wouldn't get too anxious about the move or the car and that she wouldn't howl the whole way in the car or in the hotels at night (with no alternate drivers, sleep is going to be critical!).

Thanks for praying, friends! We'll keep you posted as this big adventure continues!

Busy Days

Our busy summer continues! We just enjoyed a visit from my parents and niece. Since Grace had never been outside the Midwest before, we made it a point to fit in as much as we could from this part of the country. A trip to DC included Ford's Theater, plenty of monuments, and a quick stop at the Museum of American History. Another day trip took us to Virginia Beach (she had never seen the ocean before) and a stop at the Virginia Aquarium. We also fit in a visit to Chancellorsville (it's Virginia--a Civil War historical site was kind of a must) and the DC Dulles Air and Space Museum extension. Lots of driving, lots of memories.

 Posing in front of the White House

Owen loved the various water features in DC (this one is at the Korean War Veterans' memorial). He stretched out so far at the WWII memorial that I thought he was going to fall in!

 Cousins at the aquarium

 This was the coolest part of the Air and Space Extension--the Discovery Space Shuttle

 

Fishing

We went out to visit our friends, Harry and Tammy, last night. They have recently moved out into the country and we got to see their land for the first time. On their property, they also have a pond full of fish. After dinner, our group (including our good friend Dave, his brother, and a friend of his) headed to the pond for fishing. Owen showed more proclivity for fishing than Brennan did--he reeled in fish after fish (catch and release), but Brennan managed to catch a few of his own. They needed a little help casting, but did the rest of the work (mostly) on their own. In Owen's case, that included throwing the fish back in the pond. John caught his first fish ever and I caught my first fish in years. There was a lot of excitement happening! Our friend Dave managed to catch a few photos of the boys with their first (and second) catches.

Brennan's first catch of the night

Owen's first catch (which happened about five seconds after we cast his line in)

 His second catch--his biggest one of the night

Blueberries

Brennan is a great lover of blueberries. He could eat massive quantities at every meal. With blueberry season happening now, I seized the opportunity on Saturday to take him blueberry picking as a mommy/boy date. We got there quite early and I loved listening to a distant rooster crowing and watching the sun rise about the tree line. Beautiful morning, delicious blueberries, quality time with my oldest boy.

Long Weekend

With John's parents visiting, we got a nice long weekend to spend as a family. Some of the weekend activities included Maymont Park, Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens (see previous post), and trip to Carter Mountain Orchard for peaches. It was a full and fun time!

 The Blue Ridge Mountains were looking pretty blue the day we were at Carter Mountain!

Independence Day

Our one annual Independence Day tradition is heading to Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens--free admission! We love exploring the butterfly exhibit, checking out the amazing flowers, and letting the boys play in the splash pad area. This year, Grandma and Grandpa Downer were visiting so we got to introduce them to this annual tradition.

 

Vacation 2014

Our annual "family" vacation took place this year on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Seventeen people (10 adults, 7 kids ranging from age 4-10) gathered in one large house. Close-knit friendships spanning years--decades in some cases. It's been an annual tradition for a while now. Typically, we gather for a long weekend. This was the first time in five years that we've gotten together for a full week. Loved being surrounded by these wonderful friends for a full week--and the boys loved being around all their honorary aunts, uncles, and cousins!

 The guys who started it all

Water activities were the theme of the trip. A quick walk (or drive, depending on how much stuff you needed to carry!) got us to the beach. A pool in backyard satisfied water adventures with the benefit of no sand :)

 Owen in the huge hole the kids all dug on the beach

Doing his best impersonation of a beached whale??? Regardless, this kid LOVED the sand and was typically covered head to toe, thus necessitating a full body hose-down outside when we got back to the house.

Brennan has always been a reluctant swimmer. He loves the water, but we struggle to get him out of the 2-foot area. Until now. I think watching the other kids swimming helped build his confidence because he quickly took to the water like a water bug! He spent hours (no joke) in the pool paddling and floating his way around. So proud of this little dude!

We took some time to do some sightseeing while we were there. We visited Jockey's Ridge State Park one morning for some kite flying and dune hiking. This park boasts the tallest sand dunes on the East Coast. A popular activity is kite flying. Once we got to the top of one of the dunes (hiking up a sand dune is not as easy as you might think), we pulled out our kites and let them soar.

Our second stop was the Wright Brothers National Memorial.

Models of their early aircraft

Owen and Julia listening to "beautiful music" (as Julia described it) in the gift shop

The actual memorial located on the top of the hill where they did thousands of glider flights prior to the first powered flight

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was our final touristy stop. It's the tallest lighthouse in the U.S., and we climbed all 257 steps up to the top. Spectacular views and great exercise to boot!

Me and my honey at the top of the lighthouse. It was a bit breezy :)

Finally, a few random shots to cap off the week:

Ladderball with Aunt Kate

Corn hole with the guys

A fun feature of the house was an arcade game that the kids (and adults!) got plenty of use out of.

We were able to catch a couple of pretty spectacular sunsets on the Pamlico Sound side of the island.