Friday, June 29, 2007

Happy, Happy Birthday Mimi!


Hi mom! I hope you have a wonderful birthday today and we look forward to taking you out tonight to the Japanese Steak House!

Brody and Seth have been hard at work making some masterpieces for you. I hope your refrigerator is clean and ready for some new, stellar artwork!

We love you, and are praying for many many more happy years to come!

Thursday, June 28, 2007

The Rangers

Brody only played a few games before we came to the sad conclusion that he is just not ready for organized sports yet. But, we did get a few fun games, and some cute pictures of him on his team. Here is his individual photo and his team photo. Maybe one day we will be able to join the soccer throng again! :o)


Wednesday, June 27, 2007

The Akers are On The Mend

Kurt had surgery on his collar bone on Monday. He is doing pretty good. He is bored, as is to be expected. If I had a few weeks to not be working, I would LOVE sitting around reading, watching tv, etc... Kurt, on the other hand, goes crazy.

I found out that I have a stress fracture on my right foot. It started really hurting me on our trip to Austria, but I just figured it was a pulled muscle and would go away once we got home. It didn't. In fact, it got so much worse that I couldn't stand without significant pain. I went to the doctor yesterday and got the xray taken. I have to get another bone test done, too.

So, I am in "stay off your feet" mode, which isn't easy with the two kids and a one-armed husband on pain killers! :)

Pray for us!
:o)

Friday, June 22, 2007

Gifts to the kids

We gave our gifts to the kids and I started teaching Brody German, which is pretty bad considering I know close to nothing in German! Here he is, though!



And here they both are opening gifts, including the yodeling chipmunk (at least we *think* it is a chipmunk!)






Our Austrian Trip

We're home! After 24 hours of traveling and being awake for over 44 hours, we got back home last night!

Our church choir went on a trip to Austria for 10 days and stayed in a quaint, friendly, beautiful town called Telfs. (below - click for a larger photo)

It is nestled in the Stubai Valley in the Tirolean area of Austria. There are small towns scattered all throughout this valley, and there is a glacier at the end of the valley. We wanted to go up to the glacier, but they were adding another lift and it wasn't going to be open until October of this year.

We visited Innsbruck, Salzburg, the neighboring town of Felpmus, and then into Bavarian Germany. It was a wonderful trip.

Austria is an incredible part of our world. The people who live there are so conscious of our environment. They live amidst beauty that cannot be captured by any camera, no matter how great the lense or photographer. You simply cannot take something as big as the alps and make them into an 8x10 inch photograph. Every picture you have ever seen or will ever see just does not do them justice. It was almost frustrating to me that I wouldn't be able to come home and describe exactly what it is like to be there.

We had a hard time breathing and walking up the hills. Living so close to the ocean, it is hard to imagine what it is like being up that high. The highest we hiked was 2235 meters, or 7,332.5 feet. Not Everest, but definitely high enough for us!

The scenery was breathtaking, the history of the country was amazing, but our favorite part about the trip was meeting the people that lived there. It makes this amazing world of ours seem that much smaller to know that there are people just like us living on the other side of it. I watched Austrian mothers with their strollers and baby carriers and knew that being a mother is the same everywhere... there is always a lot of stuff to carry around.

The most amazing part of the trip was to worship, through music, with Austrian Christians. We sang the same songs, just in different languages. We read the same bible verses. We prayed together and I could just feel God's people uniting and growing stronger for Him. It was incredible. How can it be that even though in a country that is 4302 miles (or 6924km) away, they are worshiping Him in the same way that we do and that people everywhere could have any doubt about His holiness?

We sang a joint concert with an incredible local choir. They are from two towns, Telfs (where we stayed) and Felpmus (neighboring town). Afterward, they invited us out for an evening of getting to know each other. Needless to say, we had a great time! I met some truly amazing people and it was a joy to see just how alike we all are. I had entirely too much Weißwein (white wine, pronounced "Vice Vine") and was among the last of our group to leave (Kurt and I plus 2 other friends). It was one of my favorite parts of the trip. Touring around is nice, but I would much rather make new friends and learn about how people live there.

I am posting a few of the 900+ pictures I took. These are just a few to show how beautiful the country is.














Thursday, June 07, 2007

Garage Gotcha!


We pulled it off! Kurt's Father's Day present (for the next 10 years) came off without a hitch today! For his present, during the past few months, I have been plotting and planning to have our garage remodeled by a local company called Garage Concepts. Now don't get me wrong, we weren't the world's worst garage, in fact, we were able to fit both cars in the garage. But, it really needed some organization, and we were lacking any kind of "system".

Today, my mom drove Kurt off to work at 8am (he can't drive yet with his broken collar bone), and friends and family came streaming up to the house to empty the garage, which was empty by 8:30ish. We worked, literally, until 5:30, with a quick trip in there to pick the kids up at daycare.

By the time our neighbor drove Kurt home from work and pulled in the driveway at 5:45, we were waiting with the garage doors down, ready to open the doors and yell, "Surprise!" And we did!


Needless to say, Kurt knows he is SO loved by Brody, Seth, and Mommy, and this is an early Father's Day that won't be forgotten.


Here are a few before/after photos!

BACK WALL



RIGHT WALL


LEFT WALL



OVERHEAD


OUR NEW GARAGE, LEFT AND RIGHT SIDES! Woo Hoo!



Happy, Happy Father's Day, Sweetie!

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Name that Bone!

Can anyone out there tell me where the Clavicle is?

Well, Kurt has become quite the expert in the past few days. During his MS150 bike ride this past weekend, he learned first hand where the Clavicle is, and unfortunately, what it feels like to break it.

Yes, Kurt is laid up with a broken left collar bone. His doctor is recommending surgery, but we are going to wait until after our trip to Austria next week, and then he will have the surgery. Poor thing.

Many prayers are needed! Please, bring them on!