Christmas Day in Hawaii...

So you know that I can't leave Luke out from the video spotlight, right!?! :) He and his preschool friends put on a special performance for parents and grandparents that was FABULOUS! The first song they performed for us was "Christmas Day in Hawaii" and words really can't describe just how cute it is...you just have to see for yourselves...

He has LOVED this year of preschool and comes home with knowledge about composers and artists that I don't even know about -- he is teaching me! That is humbling! I am thankful that I get to see "my" Mrs. Dietert love on my child...just like she loved on me in the 3rd grade!

Everyone ready to sing!

Granny & PopPop are there to watch!

The kids decorated these cookies...can you tell? :)

One of Luke's favorite preschool centers. There were ornaments that the kids could use to decorate the tree. Perhaps that is why so many of my ornaments were re-located on my tree from time to time this year? :)

Mrs. Dietert asked the kids what they would like for Christmas. For MONTHS Luke said he wanted a DS...and now that Christmas is just around the corner, he tells her he wants a remote control monster toy!?! Oh well -- he seems to enjoy his DS...lol!

Proud Momma Strikes Again!

Alright - so if you hadn't seen enough of Kyla in the last video, you might by now. :) She volunteered to play a flute solo during her Wilder Intermediate Band Concert this year. Again, easily in front of 300 people. She does admit to getting nervous, but she doesn't seem to let that stop her! I apologize again for the video quality...and the fact that I started to record in the wrong direction - ha!...but hopefully it gets the point across!
I am sooo very impressed with how well these students have done in just 1 1/2 years. They have gone to not knowing which end of their instrument is up...to budding musicians!

Nerves of Steel??

I'm convinced Kyla MUST have nerves of steel because that girl can perform ANYwhere. Recently, she volunteered to play "The First Noel" at the Wilder Intermediate Choir Christmas Concert in front of at least 300...maybe even 400 people! I have it recorded...but I must admit the quality is pretty poor. That's what happens when you record video on a point and shoot digital camera...but, it is better than NOTHING! :)

She did a superb job and really seemed to enjoy herself in the process. I love watching her excel at music and her no-fear attitude. I wish I had more of that in me!!! That is definately her daddy coming out in her!

Hermann Sons Dance - Christmas Performance

The Cibolo troop of Hermann Son's Dancers that Summer is a part of performed for the lodge Christmas Party. I was VERY impressed with Summer and her classmates -- they put alot of time into learning the moves and it showed!! She has so much fun dancing! You can probably tell by the smile on her face! :)

They were a BUSY group of girls this year - with appearances at the Schertz Festival of Angels Parade, this performance, AND a performance at the tree lighting ceremony for the city of Cibolo. I'm glad they got to 'show off' their hard work. Plus, it will get them ready to perform in May at their BIG recital.

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

So many photos and videos to post...I'm not sure just where I should begin!!! So...I thought I'd post a few highlights from Christmas first. More to follow!!! :)

Pumpkin Patch

I didn't take the time to 'research' it by looking through my old photos...but I think we have been to the Bracken United Methodist Church Pumpkin Patch every year since we moved back to Texas....that would make this year 4. If I was more caught up with my scrapbooking, I could just look at those - but alas, I am about 5 years behind....eeek!

The church has pumpkins, pumpkins, and more pumpkins - of couse! 'Cause it's a pumpkin patch! But they also set up some really great places to take pictures of the kids. One of these years I want to take the kids on Halloween in their costumes....I think that would be fun...but I just never have the energy on Halloween to add one more 'festivity' to the day! :)

It just so happened that some friends of ours also went to the pumpkin patch Friday afternoon -- we didn't even realize we had planned the same outing until just a few hours before. So that added to the fun! :) We only picked out one pumpkin this year -- waiting so late left us with only a few options...and even the one we had was a little lopsided...but still very lovable!

I'm not sure how Luke taked Isaac into pulling HIM in the wagon!

Sweet little Preston in the patch - WHAT A CUTIE!!! :)

This beautiful monarch butterfly that was resting on this pumpkin in the sunlight. I was just about to zoom in a little closer when my loud little man came running up yelling, "MOM! Why are you taking a picture of that!?! Oooooh Mom - look that butterfly flying off!" All I could do was take a deep breath and move on - ha!

Rough Tough Real Stuff Texas A&M

Kyle was able to take the girls to their VERY FIRST Aggie football game this year...thanks to Uncle Dustin's ticket connections!! :) They even had parking passes -- and seats in The Zone. They'll probably NEVER want to stand in the student section as students now - ha!

No long walk or difficult parking for this group!

Proud to be at the Aggie game!

All smiles with Dad - in The Zone - :)

They were a little worried for a while - but the Aggies managed to win against Florida International - thank goodness!

Lisa, Caitlin, and Dustin - all smiles after a win!

The cutest future Aggies EVER!!! :)

Preschool Pics As Promised!

And a bit of alliteration too! :) Sorry - the girl's language arts is rubbing off on me. You can only talk so long about alliteration, idioms, and onomatopoeias before you subconsciously use them over and over again in your everyday speech!

Well, I felt bad for Luke that the turkeys made it to the blog before his first day of preschool photos...but like I said, they had him in sheer numbers! However, I have procrastinated loooong enough and here are the pics of my little man heading off to preschool (back in September).

There is a bit of a back story about preschool this year. When Luke began preschool at UCUMC (Universal City United Methodist Church -- now you see why I abbreviate it!) LAST year, it was in the hope of all hopes that he would have the preschool teacher that he has THIS year for THIS year. Fortunately, last year's experience was FABULOUS!! But, it wouldn't have mattered to me if it wasn't...because his teacher this year was my FAVORITE teacher of all time...only 30 years ago!!! Mrs. Dietert was my third grade teacher at Northview Baptist School in Austin, Texas. She was fresh out of t.u....newly married...and just looked like a fairy tale princess! Since it was a private Baptist school, she was allowed to...and probaby required to...talk to us about Jesus and the Bible. Her explaination of the gospels to me was pivotal in my decision to accept Christ at age 8.

I found out that Mrs. Dietert was at the school when one of my best friend's daughters was in her class. It was a name that you just don't hear that often and some of the details of her life were just too similar to 'my' Mrs. Dietert's life to be mere coincidence. Using my friend as a go-between, I soon discovered that 'my' Mrs. Dietert only lived a few miles away from me and had only recently returned to teaching...after the graduation of her youngest - 4th child - from high school!! It has been a pleasure to see her each day and see her love my little man...she is as WONDERFUL as I remember her...if not MORE!!

And now the story of the first day of preschool. Remember tropical storm Hermine?? Well, I do...VIVDLY! That was Luke's first day of preschool and the eye wall probably reached Schertz, TX sometime between 12pm and 1pm. Guess what time Luke's school starts?? Yup - 12:30 pm. If it hadn't been the FIRST day of school there is NO WAY that I would have taken him. The rain came down in wind blown sheets and there was no possible way to stay dry. Poor Mrs. Dietert had a dozen wet little preschoolers that first day. I made the mistake of 'testing' my Dollar Tree umbrella. It didn't make it. But I'm not really sure what umbrella would have?? I guess it is better that I wasted the dollar one rather than a more expensive one.

Luke had a blast that first day and he continues to enjoy preschool. It is the only thing that he doesn't try to talk me out of taking him to. He is vigilant about keeping up with who the snack taker is (they are also the leader for the day) and he can't wait to see what letter they will learn about...or number. I am glad that he is having sooo much fun!! I can't believe that the next step for him will be kindergarten. Where has the time gone????

She's baaaack!

Well, thanks to the arrival of the turkeys yesterday...I'm back to blogging...at least for today. Poor Luke, his first day of preschool hasn't even made it on to the blog yet, but those turkeys have. Perhaps I can rationalize it by the numbers - SEVENTY FIVE of them and only one of him? Yeah - doesn't sound that reasonable to me either...a real, human boy should win everytime...so I guess those pics need to be next.

I don't usually use my blog to voice my opinions -- or perhaps I do, but I just use my family's pitures to get away with it. :) But this past week I have felt a REAL burden on my heart to pray for this country and it's attitude about SIN. Real popular topic, right!?! I blame Nancy Leigh DeMoss and her book, Lies Women Believe, And the Truth That Sets Them Free and a sermon series that my pastor did several months ago - Truth or Snare.

Unless you don't watch the news or popular television programming, you are aware of the recent rash of suicides of young homosexuals in this country. I am saddened by the loss of life, but I am more saddened by the increase in the use of the word TOLERANCE. As a Christian, I see homosexuality as a sin. You can try to argue with me about this if you want - but I will just point you back to the word of God. In 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, God spells out a standard and calls sin...a sin.

"Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderes nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God."

But then he goes on to offer hope in the next verse, 1 Corinthians 6:11,

"And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."

God doesn't view the sin of a homosexual with MORE disdane than he does my shortcomings in controlling my temper with my children. We are BOTH sinners in need of a Savior. But if I excerise 'tolerance' I am condemming the homosexual to an eternity separated from God! How will he or she know what God's opinion is if the church doesn't take a stand? If the church doesn't take a stand...isn't up to me as a Christ follower to do so?



I'm pretty sure that you won't find the verse in the Bible...but you will find the theme..."Hate the sin...LOVE the sinner. I was horrified when I saw a Nightline segment this week about a group of protestors from Westboro Baptist Church and I was saddened that they called themselves representatives of God and what he had to say. Their message of hatred was aparent in their "God Hates Fags" (forgive me please for the use of this word) t-shirts and website. And all I could think was, "How could they read God's word and think that is what God would say?" Jesus never "tolerated" sin...but he ate with tax collectors. Jesus didn't tell the woman at the well that her relationship status was "relative"....but he asked her for water and drank...and then he offered her His Living Water. Jesus never implied that anyone was BEYOND His forgiveness -- He showed love to emphasize that point.

Perhaps one of the biggest handicaps in the church today is the TOLERANCE that this country is expecting. However, can we be 'tolerant' of a sinner and NOT be 'tolerant' of their sin? I think we can - we can express love for a people group or person without supporting their corrupt lifestyle. We can offer Christ's hope to them!

When a drug addict commits suicide...or a murderer so guilty that he or she just can't live with the memory of the crime...do we have a national campaign to raise 'tolerance?' Of course NOT! In God's eyes - sin is sin. We need to make sure that we are willing to call a sin a sin...but LOVE the sinner inspite of it! It shouldn't be a message of tolerance. It SHOULD be a message of God's truth, God's forgiveness, and God's love.

We have TURKEYS!!!!

We have turkeys, yes we do!

We have turkeys, how 'bout you?

I figured I would show a little enthusiasm this morning about the SEVENTY-FIVE newest members of the Morgenroth 'family.' They came yesterday and the girls will be able to show them at the San Antonio, Houston, and Star of Texas livestock shows. It will be a time commitment, but one that Kyle is VERY aware of because he raised turkeys himself for many years. I, however, was a pig and sheep girl so this poultry world is new and a bit amazing to me. There isn't much to write about the turkeys...they were about a day old...they have learned to eat and drink...and they seem content in their new environment. I figure these pics will speak for me instead!

Kyla was thrilled to be carrying a box of TWENTY-FIVE turkey poults!!

Wish there was sound with this pic - they were LOUDLY cheeping!! Ready to get OUT of the box!!

They figured out their waterers FAST...and they were THIRSTY!

It doesn't really look like it could be seventy - five when they spread out in the pen, however, just look at how many can fit in THIS small space!

There are marbles in their feed so that they can play games and entertain themselves. NAH! Not really! ;) They peck at the marbles and inadvertently get food -- it trains them to 'eat.'

Meet Ruby

This past week was an emotional roller coaster for my Kyla Suzanne! On August 16th her pet hamster, Patches, passed away. To say that it was upsetting would be an UNDERSTATEMENT!! He was with our family for 2 years and 3 months....which seems to be 77 hamster years according to an online calculator that one of Kyla's friends found. He may have just been a little furball, but she cared for him so deeply and she cried on and off for a couple of days. :( It just broke our hearts, however, we know that is the 'cost' of owning pets and loving them. One of the first things that she said was "I want to go right now and get a new hamster!"...but we took some time...I felt like she really needed time to cope and to grieve.

This past Saturday we DID go get her a new furry friend. We think it is a little girl...she's a little young to tell for sure...and Kyla has named her Ruby for her reddish tinted eyes. We were a little concerned at all of the squeeking she did at us on the drive home from the pet store. She let us know that she was NONE to happy to be awakened and transported from her 'home' and siblings. However, I think she has calmed down much quicker than Patches ever did -- Kyla can already hold her in her hand and pick her up out of the cage. Like Patches, she is a teddy bear hamster and eventually her fur will be longer and thicker than it is right now. It seems that she will be another sweet little fur ball for Kyla to love!

BACK TO SCHOOL!!!

I was genuinely excited for school to be out at the beginning of summer. I had GRAND plans to be at the YMCA and/or the pool here in Schertz 3 to 4 times a week. I was going to keep those kids so busy that they wouldn't have time to fight. ha! However, the heat began to take it's toll on all of us and spending time outside...even at the pool became old hat. By the time August rolled around, I was ready to see these kids get back to school. And I think deep down they were ready too...even though Kyla repeatedly referred to school as the 's' word. I had let us get waaay off of schedule and we were watching waaay too much t.v., playing waaaay too much Wii, and bickering waaay too much.

When you see this picture of Summer you can tell exactly what she was thinking about getting back to school today. She bounded out of bed this morning and everyone was ready and downstairs for breakfast LOOOONG before 7 a.m. A special tradition has been Dad's Egg Bread (a.k.a. french toast) on the first day of school and he did NOT disappoint this year. He was even able to ride along with us as we dropped the girls off at school.

They are becoming so independant. Kyla is going into 6th grade and Summer into 4th. Both of them are the 'oldest' classes in their schools and seem to be feeling their 'seniority.' :) I am excited for them to get home this afternoon and tell me all about their day...their teachers...their friends...I'll have to let y'all know what they say...

Swimming Fun???

After the first couple of days of swim lessons for Luke...I was about ready to throw in the towel...parden the pun! ha! He fussed...cried...even cowered behind the pool furniture to try and hide from Mrs. Amy, his swimming instructor. It wasn't pleasant for ANY involved! However, Mrs. Amy wasn't daunted by Luke's behavior and she persevered...and made him persevere...and what do you know!?! Luke is trying to SWIM now.The first 3 days of lessons were torture! By the first Friday, I was at my wits end. Luke had lost the priviledge of the Wii for the weekend and his sisters weren't going to be allowed to come back and watch him until he could pull himself together. Every time it was his turn to work with Mrs. Amy he would panic. He kept telling Mrs. Amy that he didn't want her to 'dunk him.' Telling may be too gentle of a term...perhaps yelling would be a more accurate discriptive word!

Things slowly began to turn around last Monday. Luke had a rough start. He hid behind one of Mrs. Amy's outdoor chairs...I guess hoping that we would all just forget why we were sitting out in the hot sun at 11:40 a.m.?? Anyways, Amy just walked over to him...grabbed his hand...and led him over to the pool. I forgot to mention that on day 2 of lessons she had to pry him off of me and carry him into the pool...ugh. I was pleased that he followed her over this day with very little fuss and he proceeded to earn back his Wii and his sister's company for the next lesson. Things were looking up!

Slowly Luke began to make progress. The above pictures were taken on Wednesday...when he finally began to put his head in the water VOLUNTARILY! He had such a good swim lesson, I decided we should go to the pool and practice some more. Before we left the pool that day, he was attempting to swim in the shallow end of the pool every time I turned around. It was as if the idea of swimming just clicked and he was no longer afraid to put his head under water. As a matter of fact, he was going under water all the time...for no real reason...it was AWESOME!

At his lesson on Thursday, Luke swam from one side of the pool to the other with no assistance. Now when I say swim, it is important to realize that I am not talking about a perfect technique - ha! I'm just saying the boy had his head in the water...he was kicking his legs...he was moving those arms...and moving forward across the pool! The pictures below were taken on Friday. I think that Mrs. Amy had a real sense of accomplishment with this student - and she should! If it weren't for her patience and persistence, Luke would NOT have begun to learn to swim this summer!Luke is NO longer afraid of Mrs. Amy...and he is PROUD of that certificate and pencil!