A Shower for Baby

"For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb." Psalm 139:13

While the LORD is still knitting our new baby in Lula's womb, our wonderful neighbors already prepared a great baby shower. Now it becomes more "real" that we will have another precious child.

What a blessing this community is!

Stepping out tonight

Celebrating eleven years of marriage Lula and Chris got a chance to go out to dinner without children!

Thanks to the generous neighbors the Driskells we really enjoyed our meal at a very nice Thai restaurant in Clayton. It's hard to believe that it's already that long ago that we got married in Hamburg, Germany 

The Tiews' last piece of Texas soil was sold today. We have so many wonderful memories of friends visiting, horseback riding, piglet chasing and goat feeding. We wonder whether the radio in the barn is still turned on to Christian radio....that might be good news for our buyer.

Field Church Worker

Today was Chris' first day of 'active duty' in our field church Immanuel St. Charles. He did a wonderful job with the scripture readings and the communion service. We still have to get used to seeing him in a clerical robe ;)

It's hard to believe, but it has been a year now that we went to the Seminary to visit and find out what it would be like to live here. This year we hosted a wonderful young man from Nebraska, who is considering to enter the seminary. Carlotta and Lula sat also at the Homeschool table during the Information Fair for visiting prospective students and their families to help answer some questions they might have.


The Tiews in front of their fieldwork church St. Immanuel in St. Charles

"We are ALL going to college"

The Lone Moose Institute of Higher Education (Homeschool) is in full progress - at home, the zoo, the Science Center, in the library and the parks. We are all learning so many new things and it is so wonderful to have this time together! J.J. has mastered to write his bike without training wheels and already completed his first big tour to Forest Park and the zoo.

"He has made everything beautiful in its time"

Pretty Me-Me

Shalom!

What a suprise! Even future pastors don't just work one hour on Sundays. :)

Chris is working hard - even though he tested out of Hebrew, he's not out of the fire yet. Dr. Bartelt's Hebrew Reading class keeps him very busy. Especially since he has a couple of other assignments and classes to take care of. And the Lord has also blessed him with a job at the Concordia Historical Institute, where he translates old German LCMS documents.

Two more birthdays to celebrate! It's hard to believe that Carlotta is already nine years old and Mariam ("MeMe") turned 2.
"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." 3 John 1:4

Mens sana in corpore sano

On Saturday mornings the children are playing soccer now. What a wonderful community this is! Especially since professors, students, staff members of the seminary most likely are not given to fist fighting on the side lines....

Evacuation of Houston on Carlotta's birthday. We are so grateful that our friends and family are doing great and the hurricane left Houston, the Tomball area and the Rockport coast unharmed. It was really scary to see them prepare for a category 5 hurricane. Thank you, LORD!
Here a link to more great pictures of hurricane Rita: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjphotos/sets/1000057/show/

J.J.'s birthday in the Lone Moose Cottage! He's five now and a brave warrior - fighting fever and a cold on this special day. But family, friends, brownies from the neighbors and gifts helped him tremendously to cope.
Praise be to God for this special little man!

Concordia Seminary, St. Louis ... The WOODS (where the families live)

The Lone Moose Cottage

We arrived, unpacked and settled in. With the help of our wonderful new neighbors. The seminary campus is beautiful! We are so blessed.

St. Louis - Gateway to the West, here we are. We feel a little like Lewis and Clark - going on an expedition that has many unkowns. But we know the good LORD is with us and will be our strenght and our fortress.

On the journey to a new home...

Eureka!

Eureka Springs, Arkansas that is. Our next stop. What a beautiful city on the hills! Great German food, the "Christ of the Ozarks" statue and wonderful people (e.g. First Baptist Church, who invited us to their potluck lunch) on the way.

This is a great place for a get-a-way. And we are still homeless....

On the road again...

Well, we are homeless.

Left our home of over nine years in the care of new owners, but haven't moved into our new place. What an interesting feeling! We are so exhausted from packing and cleaning that we can hardly cry.

We are on our way to St. Louis, Missouri. Next stop 'George Bush Presidential Library'.

"Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay"

Oh, how the Lord is preparing the way for us!

Today the moving trailer arrived, the house contract was signed and our dear friends helped us to load and 'stuff' our belongings into the truck. What an eventful, but also very sad day. On Saturday we had a great 'Good-bye' party at Salem, thank you to all who organized, helped and prayed for us.

This is HOME!!!

Moving day at the Tiews

The Tuesday Morning Faithful

Our neighbor Stan Daigle and Chris started a Tuesday morning men's bible study group over 5 years ago. In the meanwhile more have joined them and have been faithfully meeting at 5 o'clock in the morning! Lula had never met some of the gentlemen until the Daigles invited us for a Farewell BBQ at their house.

God bless all of them for their support!