Fall Fun

Monday through Thursdays have been overwhelmingly busy this fall.  Bobby has classes in the morning and then Angie teaching in the afternoon meaning we switch childcare responsibilities and then meet again at dinner everyday.  Bobby typically leaves to study and then Angie works on her computer after the girls go to bed.  We seem to be living for weekends and the rest and connection time they provide.  In fact, there have been several fun adventures for us to share with you.

1.  Chicago with Angie's Family.  We took a short trip to Chicago to visit Angie's sister Jessie and her fiancé Chris along with the rest of Angie's sisters and mom.  While Angie her sisters helped look at wedding dresses and checked out venues, Bobby and his brother in laws entertained the kids in downtown.  It was a great weekend and we enjoyed celebrating with the newly engaged couple. 

2.  Yearly visit to Theis Farms.  For the third year in a row we went pumpkin picking and playing at a wonderful farm just north of St. Louis.  It was a wonderful sunny days and the girls had a great time in "Pumpkinland".

3.  Although TCU had a rough season this fall.  We enjoyed our Horned Frog Football games on Saturdays.  The girls have really started to get into the spirit.

4.  We had a three princess Halloween this year.
   Maddie-Belle, Cady-Ariel, Eley- Snow White

5.  A visit to the Farmland.  We also took a final weekend trip to visit Angie's sister Tessa at Purdue Vet School.  She brought us to an incredible dairy farm tour at Fair Oaks Farms in Indiana.  The girls had an awesome time learning about where milk comes from.  We  even saw a calf being born.

Eley is now 10 months and more than full of life.  She is saying a few words, cruising around the house and getting into mischief.

October Updates

Well we are finally settled into our fall schedule.  Bobby is really enjoying is classes and, although he misses his fellow classmates who are now out on vicarage (internship), we are really happy with the decision to defer our vicarage this year.  One of the best things about our fall has been enjoying our time with our Community group through Reliant Church.  It has been wonderful to connect with this group of other young families and share stories about our lives and how God has been working.  We are currently going through Donald Miller's Storyline books and really enjoying the process.

The big girls have been busy with Seminary Kids Soccer on Saturdays, a Little Gym class and school.  In the busyness our biggest challenge is time to connect as a whole family.  Dinner times and devotions before bed have become a wonderful ritual at the end of the day.

Bobby's parents came to visit us and we had a wonderful time with Nan and Poppy.  Nan even brought crafts for the girls and their friends.   Its always nice to have visits from family as we hate being so far away.

Early October started with a bit of a bang as Angie got into a car accident with all of the girls in the car.  We were very blessed that no one was injured and the car was covered by insurance (after we paid out our deductible).  We enjoyed driving a nice suburban while the car was in the shop and I think the girls kind of miss the built in DVD system but I'm really glad to be driving our minivan again.

Eley has now started crawling and pulling up on things.  She loves her big sisters and is trying so hard to be a "big" girl.  We would be fine with her taking her time a bit as she won't be a baby for much longer.

This month has been overwhelming in terms of the outpouring of very generous gifts.  Thank you all so much for your continued support for us and our ministry here.  We are so very blessed.

Back to School

 Summer is now done as Bobby finally returned to classes this morning.  We are feeling ready to get this final fall at Seminary started and to get back into a schedule but know that life is about to get very busy.  Compared to last semester, Bobby's schedule should be a bit more manageable.  He is taking:

• Pastoral Leadership, 
• Pastoral Theology, 
• History of American Christianity, and 
• Psalms and Writings.  

He continues his work coordinating small groups for our field work church, Reliant Church.   We have been so blessed by the ministry and people there as well as the partnership and mentoring from Pastor Jeff Cloeter.  Our growing commitment and affection to the congregation makes it hard to look ahead knowing that transition is coming in nine short months.


In addition, Bobby also keeps working with the Foundation for Called Workers as they begin spreading the word to more congregations.  He will be traveling to Houston the third week of September to represent TFCW at the WIKI conference.  The conference is an LCMS mission-focused gathering and Bobby will be able to network with many of his friends (past, present and future).

Finally,  Bobby will be watching the girls Monday -Thursday afternoons while Angie teaches and captaining an intramural team with hopes of a championship in his final year.

Angie is teaching three classes this semester at Maryville University in the Psychology department.  She loves this job and is really getting into a grove as Professor Angie.  In addition, she was hired by Concordia University in Seward, NE as the newest member of their online faculty for the Master's in Family Studies program.  This fall she will be writing two new courses and will be teaching them both after the new year.  She continues working with The Parenting Center in Fort Worth as well and, sometimes, gets to sleep.

Finally, Maddie and Cady started school as well at Christ Memorial Child Care Center (our field work church) thanks to a generous scholarship provided by the Board of Directors there.  They are in the same class (a mixed 3-5 year old pre-school) and enjoying being big girls.  Their favorite part is eating lunch there and they both wish they could stay through nap time (we are doing half days).   They will both start Seminary Kids soccer this weekend and Maddie started a ballet and tap class last weekend at a local church as well.  We are searching for an affordable tumbling class for Cady but haven't had any luck yet...perhaps next year.





Thanks to a good coordination of schedules, the girls will only need additional childcare four hours a week (Tues and Thurs) morning.  The "big girls" are headed back to Miss Lisa's like they did last year (another Seminary mom) while Eley is going to be watched by a new faculty wife on campus.  We are so glad to have great, trustworthy people to entrust with our kiddos.

Eley turns EIGHT MONTHS this week.  She is rolling, pulling up, army crawling and feeding herself.  We can't believe that our baby is so big already.

Thank you all for your prayers and support as we head back into our fall routine!  Know you are in our prayers as well!

Thanks to the Deighton Christian Fund

We were very excited to receive notice today that the Deighton Christian Fund has gifted Bobby with a  $2,000.00 scholarship for the upcoming school year.  This is the third year that he has been supported by their Foundation and we are so very grateful for their ongoing investment in Bobby and his studies.  When he applied to them in 2011 we thought that being funded was a long shot, but God is good and has created a wonderful and ongoing sponsor in the Deighton Fund and family.

To read more about the Deighton Christian Fund and their ministry please visit their website deightonfoundation.org

The Desert Life_July/August in Arizona

We finished our summer travels on a plane (we had put 2500 miles on our car at this point) as we headed to Arizona for the end of our summer.  It was wonderful to spend time with Angie's mom and help her settle into her new condo.  We may not have been too much help with the unpacking but I'm pretty sure we did a lot to create new memories there!

The trip started with a celebration at a family friend's wedding.  All of Angie's sisters and families came as well so it was a busy and wonderful weekend.  Our girls loved playing with their cousin "Joshy" and Angie enjoyed spending time with her sisters and mom including some wedding dress shopping for her sister Jessie.  Thanks to Angie's sister Tessa we even got a great new family photo (now on the top of our blog) to use!  We love having photos in the family.

The Whole Family on the dance floor at the reception

We did lots of swimming to stay cool and Maddie learned how to swim without "floaties".   We hung pictures, unpacked boxes and organized the garage.  Most of all we relaxed and enjoyed a break from everyday life in Saint Louis.  

While there Bobby was able to present on behalf of the Foundation for Called Workers (www.tfcw.org) at Christ Church-Lutheran (www.cclphoenix.org), Angie's home church.  It is funny to be in a place where he is "Angie's husband" as she is much more often the "outsider".   That church has grown and changed a lot since Angie moved away 14 years ago for college and it is sometimes strange to return.  The old school she attended has been torn down and a new building is rising in its place, many staff members have changed and congregation members have come and gone but it is still home.  We have both been blessed to come from such strong churches where our faith was developed and we were offered mentoring and growth opportunities.  We give thanks for CCL and the role played in Angie's life.

The trip came to an abrupt halt on July 31st, as Eley had a very scary medical crisis when she quit breathing.  Angie had to give rescue breaths as her sister Tessa drove them to the ER.  She stabilized within 30 minutes and was transferred to a children's unit at another hospital.  The medical staff took great care of baby Eley and after three days in the hospital with many tests, she was given the clean bill of health.  It is a bit nerve wracking to leave without "answers" but we are so grateful that there were not serious heart, lung or intestinal issues requiring surgery or specialized care.  For now, we are continuing regular visits to the pediatrician to rule out and ongoing problems and lifting up prayers of thanks for our little one's health.


After our "exciting" week in the hospital, we took the weekend to settle back into life before we decided to celebrate our 9th anniversary with a stay at a local hotel.  We brought Eley with us (since we weren't quite ready to leave her alone) but enjoyed time at the pool, an incredible dinner and a night without our two oldest.  We have had an exciting journey so far in this marriage and this year will be another big milestone as Bobby finishes Seminary and we are "sent" to our next mission field.  It is exciting, scary and overwhelming, but we have faith that God is walking ahead of us and has it all under control.  Our marriage and partnership in the gospel is our greatest thanksgiving, it is incredible to think that it has been nine years as most of the time it feels like we are still new to this.  We can't wait to see the what's next for this family.

Finally, after going through many boxes of things that Angie's mom wanted us to claim as our own we packed up a truck with help from some old friends Tim and Peter Walsworth (former youth from our church in Alaska who now live in Arizona).  It made us feel a bit old but was great to reconnect as their family was very dear to us and adopted us in during our time in Homer.  We again were reminded of the many lives that have touched us and the incredible "story" God has allowed us to be a part of.

 Bobby began a three day trek in a U-haul from AZ back to St. Louis carrying some furniture, Angie's high school and childhood goods (including the entire Babysitters Club book series), and after a stop in Texas, our dog Kali.  With this drive Bobby's summer milage was about 4500, he covered 12 states, and three time zones.  Angie and the girls flew back with her sister Tessa three days later with sad good-byes to Grandma Sue after our 21 day stay.   We can only pray that our girls will share such love and affection for their mom and sisters as Angie does for hers.

Although summer is done, we carry the memories with us into this final school year in St. Louis.  We saw all of our parents, grandparents, cousins, second cousins, most of our closest friends and our home towns and churches.  We were encouraged, prayed over and for, and we enter this fall with full cups.
Thank you all for being a part of our lives, for walking with us, praying with us, and loving us.  We love you all and can't wait till we meet again.

OHIO_July Trip #2

Bob and Eley Walston visit Bob and Eley Walston

Our summer travels continued as Bobby's parents met us in St. Louis and we caravan"ed" to see Bobby's extended family in Ohio.  We left just three days after we returned from Minnesota but the girls were great travelers and were loved to stay in a hotel.   The girls were also excited to go to a 4-H fair, try some Skyline Chili and visit the Miami Whitewater Park. 

Not many of you know the origins of Eley's name but she was named after Bobby's grandma and we were so excited to finally introduce Eley Walston to Eley Walston.  Bobby is also named after his Grandpa Bob so we had two Bob and Eley Walstons on the trip.  

We continued our theme of legacy on this trip as the girls got to hear all about where Poppy (Bobby's dad) grew up and see the sites of the Tri-state area.  Bobby was also able to preach at the church near the Walston family homestead in rural Indiana.  Joining us at that beautiful country church were many of the Walston family members including Bobby's grandparents (who don't typically get out much), great uncles, and aunts.  He even started the sermon "I'm not sure how many of you I'm related to but it seems like a significant portion of the congregation today".   We were enveloped like family in this place and offered many words of encouragement.

Bobby's side of the family are the only LCMS Lutherans and the excitement they showed for his becoming an LCMS pastor is overwhelming.  He is glad to be carrying the Walston name and grateful for the faith of his German ancestors.  Some days just make us proud to be Lutheran and this was one of them. 

  

The Great White North_4th of July Trip

PART 1:

We were very blessed to have Angie's dad fund a trip up to MN/ND over the fourth of July.  This is a childhood tradition for Angie as her extended family gathers at her grandparents lake house for a mini-reunion over the holiday weekend.  We were so excited to introduce Eley to the family, for our girls to have fun cousin play time and to enjoy a week relaxing and unplugged (no wifi is a good thing).   Below are some pictures of the week.

 Cady Learning to Fish

 Grandpa Brad with Angie's sister Shaina and all four grandchildren

 Eley's First Boat Ride

 Grandpa Brad and his grandkids

 Great Grandpa Noren and Great Grandma Audrey with 15 of the 19 great grandchildren

Maddie's prize fish

We love the Meland side of the family so much and were blessed to remember the legacy of faith led by the family patriarch Noren Meland.  We look forward to joining everyone again next summer and building lake side memories with our own children.  

PART 2:

One exciting part of this trip was that we got to reunite with Pastor Denny Neels and his wife Sue, the pastor Bobby served with in Alaska.   Our good friends retired and moved to Niagara, ND a town just 15 minutes from Angie's family's hometown of Northwood, ND.   It is incredible to see how God continues to use connections made from years back as Pastor Denny's church in Niagara (St. Andrews) has been supporting us during our time at Seminary.  We were able to spend the night at the Neels farm house, catch up, introduce them to our girls and eat a wonderful halibut meal just like years ago in Alaska.  Bobby was also able to preach at St Andrews and share about our time at seminary.  It was an uplifting visit and a true blessing.  

As we drove home from this trip we couldn't help but reflect on the incredible story of our lives, where we have come from and where we are going.  Sometimes Seminary can feel bit lonely as people are coming and going quickly but this trip was a reminder that people often come back into our lives and that though far away, our families carry an incredible legacy of faith and love.  Our hearts were richly blessed.

Deep in the Heart of Texas-May Travels

Our summer travels began in May as we made the day long drive down to Texas to visit "home".  With baby on board we split the day in two and spent the night in Tulsa along the way. We even drove through Moore, OK less than two days before the big Tornado hit. Upon reaching Fort Worth, the girls exclaimed "we made it to Texas"-thanks to their favorite bedtime book "Goodnight Cowtown" they recognized the skyline.  There is something very special about Fort Worth as it is Bobby's hometown and also the place where we met, got married, and although we left for two years, we returned and started our family there.  A return to the familiarity of home was met with the reality that things have changed in the two years we've been gone and that, perhaps, St. Louis has become more home than we realized.

Trips to Texas always seem hectic as there are so many different people to visit and connect with.  Along the way, our home base was Bobby's parents.  The girls loved being with Nan and Poppy and having our dog Kali with us for those two weeks.  We appreciate the good meals and the comfortable bed that Bobby's brother Mark lent us (I'm sure he really enjoyed the air mattress for two weeks).  We also got to spend some time visiting Bobby's extended family  and introducing them to our new addition Eley, especially his grandparents Bill and Bernice Scott.  We are incredibly blessed to have three sets of our grandparents still alive and cherish the time we and the girls get to spend with them.

While in town Bobby was able to preach at our home church St. Paul Lutheran Fort Worth (www.stpaulfw.org and we worshiped with our family there twice.  We miss the people there and are so grateful for the support and prayers being offered by the congregation.  They are wonderful people who have walked with us through our ministry journey.  Bobby was also able to share about The Foundation for Called Workers (www.tfcw.org) during Sunday school hour.  The message of providing support for our clergy was well received, it is wonderful to be an ambassador for a cause he cares so deeply about.  Later in the trip we had dinner at Martin and Theresa Danner's home (Martin is one of the pastors at St. Paul and they are Maddie's godparents) and enjoyed the brief time to catch up.  Working in ministry is so wonderful because of the connections made, but so hard because of the people you leave behind.  We pray for St. Paul and its leadership regularly, you are our family.

One of the many highlights of the trip was our opportunity to meet one of our Adopt A Student sponsors Gorlyn and Jane Bronstad. They treated us to an incredible steak dinner in the Stockyards and we enjoyed wonderful conversation and a great evening.  It was very humbling to meet in person people who have been praying for us and providing considerable financial support during these two years.  Although they are "strangers", their open hearts, kind words, and sense of humor made us feel like family within minutes.  I believe we have made life long friends.

Angie was also able to spend two days working at The Parenting Center (www.theparentingcenter.org) and enjoyed seeing her colleagues face to face as she typically connects only through phone calls and emails.  The agency is growing and changing and Angie is so glad the gift of her continued employment with them even from a distance.

We joined Angie's college roommate and some of our best friends Missy, Ben and Henry Angeley for Memorial Day weekend and were able to celebrate Henry's forth birthday, a shower for their baby girl Georgia, who arrived in July and swimming and grilling at their home.  It is so nice to have friends who accept you and your travel weary children just as they are and who you can just be yourself with.  We miss you Angeleys!

Finally, we made a family trip to Austin to see Bobby's college friends (Lee and Julie Knouse and Nick and Patty Lawrence) and connect with the ministry team of ACTS Church (www.actschurchlakeway.com).  It was great to show the girls Austin and enjoy a short "family vacation" amidst the chaos of the trip.    We even got to share breakfast with a family friend Britni McCotter on her birthday.  The girls bought special princess tiaras for the occasion.  Austin is a wonderful city and filled with lots of memories for Bobby.  It was good to revisit and hear about the cool things happening there.  God is moving in Austin.

The biggest blessing of the trip was the fact that we got to spend time with our old neighbors who happen to be family.  Bobby's sister Nichol, husband Mark and kids Parker (6) and Cooper (3) were very hard to leave when we packed up from the "compound" as we called it to head to St. Louis.  We had spent three years as next door neighbors, sharing meals, having babies, watching kids, and many late night drinks on the front porch.  When we look back at our time in Fort Worth, those will be some of the most significant memories etched.   The cousins got to play together, adults enjoyed conversation just like the good ole days.  We left Texas feeling refreshed and ready for a crazy June.

To our Texas Family, WE LOVE AND MISS YOU!  Thank you for being a part of our lives and for being a great place to call "home base".  We will be back again soon.

A Return to The Blogosphere

It has been far too long since we updated this blog. 

 It seems that year TWO of seminary came and went with the blink of an eye.  Bobby had a very demanding course load and we, of course, welcomed baby Eleanor Vaughn in January with Angie barely missing a beat in her work schedule.  We endured long hours, sleepless nights, exams, papers, and class trips and somehow, we have now arrived at the start of our third and final fall as Seminary Students.  We hope to be able to recommit to this blog as we now enter a very exciting year and look forward to watching God's plan for the next let of the journey unfold.  We would like to you all to be able to pray and walk with us through this year.

We continue to be truly blessed in our time in St. Louis and the MANY people who have supported us, prayed with us, and befriended us during our two years here.  It is incredible to watch God working around us, behind us and before us.  Before we start in on the fall updates, we would like to share a few posts about our summer travels.  We were able to spend time and visit with all of our grandparents, parents, and many of our friends.  It was in some ways, our farewell tour, as in nine short months, we will return to full time ministry and long vacations will be less likely, holidays will be work filled and there will be no more "summer break".  We cherish the time we had at each stop and the chance to reflect upon the legacies of our families, the history of our relationship, and how God has been laying a path before us.

Sending love and prayers to you all!

The Walstons