Aunt Keira and Uncle Rodrigo

Zane's sister and brother-in-law came to visit us last weekend. Sadly, after weeks of gorgeous weather here in St. Charles, it rained all weekend! But that didn't spoil our fun. We played many, many games of Settlers of Catan, and as a special treat, Keira gave us an early birthday present, The Office Clue. Thus we also spent several hours trying to figure out who killed Toby Flenderson, with what weapon and where.

Saturday, the rain cleared long enough for us to visit a winery about 30 minutes from our house. We packed a picnic lunch and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. I posted some of the pictures below. The weather picked up right as we headed home, and Keira and Rodrigo experienced their very first mid-west tornado siren warning. Thankfully, the sirens only went off for about 10 minutes, but there was some tornado damage about 15 minutes from our house. Saturday night we went to our favorite pizza place, Dewey's and then a barn dance at our church. Sorry but we forgot the camera so no pictures.

Pastor Zane

On Tuesday, Zane officially completed all the requirements to become an ordained pastor in our denomination. This is quite an accomplishment! Zane first had to complete four years of seminary study. Then, he started studying for his ordination tests. Since early February, he has take grueling tests on Bible content, theology, church history, sacraments and the book of church order. These tests took him anywhere from 6-11 hours each. Zane also wrote a 10 page theology paper, gave a sermon and polished a 16 page Hebrew language paper he wrote in seminary. Then, he went before a committee of five local pastors. They examined Zane for over 2 hours on any subject they wanted. Finally, last Tuesday, he went before all the local pastors in our denomination, and they could also ask him any question they wanted. After all of these efforts, the pastors voted for Zane to become the newest pastor in the Presbyterian Church in America! We are so thankful that God has sustained Zane throughout this long process. Although it has been a stressful few months for our family, Zane's ordination has given us the encouragement that God truly has called us to work with youth in the church.

Now all that is left to do is celebrate! Zane will have an official ordination service on May 8th here in St. Charles, MO. Everyone is welcome to come.

Watch Out World

For the past month or so, Miranda has been taking steps here and there. But for the most part, she has preferred to crawl or hold someone's hand instead of walk on her own. Tonight, she boldly decided to step out on her own, and she liked the feeling of freedom. Watch out world, Miranda Joy Hart is unleashed.

Zoomania

We took Miranda to the zoo yesterday for the first time. Here is a little recap of our time.

PLEASE!

Miranda is learning how to say "please" in sign language. She is having a few technical difficulties, but we're confident that she will catch on soon.