So life continues on here in O-town. Wesley has been steady walking for about a month now. Lord knows how many miles that boy treks everyday. He also has taken up the sport of weight lifting. He found his GB's (Grandma Betty) 5 pound weight and loves to pick it up and walk around. I told GB that maybe it's time to move up in the weight department if your 10 month old grandson can pick it up. We've had lots of visitors as of late. Our good friends Zach and Allison Zehnder, along with their son Nathan, came down from St. Louis for a few days. Grandma (my mom) came a few weeks ago and Aunt Lindsey was here last week. It's nice to have adult conversation during the day. HOWEVER, the most exciting news of the week is that we have a new member of the Hoyer family. Ben's sister Sara and her husband John welcomed their new son, Owen Mueller Russell, last Wednesday. GB is up in Chicago this week helping the new parents settle in. We can't wait to meet the little guy!

Just some fun pics

Not much to say. It's Florida in the summer...humid, hot, and buggy. Enjoy the pics.

I know, I know...it's been awhile. No excuses for not blogging...I'm just lazy.

So, it's official. Ben is now a pastor. We had the installation/ordination at the beginning of June. It was a wonderful service . Our friend Justin from seminary came down from Michigan and gave the sermon and our pastor from college and good college friends were also able to participate. Needless to say, it was a great day that ended with a fabulous after party at the in-laws. It was great to catch up with old friends and if you missed, well let's just say a good time was had by all.

After ordination, we took a big Hoyer vacation to Daytona Beach. It was a great relaxing week. Wes had a big time in the water. He wasn't even afraid of the waves. He also had LOTS of aunts and uncles and gbs and poppys to play with him(much to the delight of mom and dad).

After the beach, Ben took me to Disney for a few days and Wes stayed with gb and poppy. It was hot to say the least but the hotel was very nice and it was great to get away for a few days. After we got back from my grandmother's 80th b-day party in p-cola we were finally able to begin to settle in to our new house and Ben started at church.

So that's about it, our life this past month or so. I've got a kid attempting to climb up my leg so enjoy the pics! I'll post pics of the oridination when again, I don't have a kid climbing up my leg.

Home again

On May 16, 2008 Ben completed his Master of Divinity degree at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. Now the Hoyers are officially Floridians again. We've moved into our new house and have even begun some new projects (a sanding and restaining job that was only suppose to take two days....we're on day 4). Wes is enjoying exploring his new house, crawling, and climbing on anything and everything. He's also getting a lot more baths these days...ah humidity. Next up, Ben's ordination and installation, a week at the beach, and then two days at Disney!

Howdy

So it’s been awhile since the last blog (I really can’t wait until we get internet). There is much activity in the hobbit hole these days. We’re in the process of packing and Ben is trying to finish up school. We move to Lake Mary, Florida in about a week and a half and to be honest (even though I’m very excited and ready to get out of the hole) I’m having major motivation problems in the packing area. Perhaps it’s due to the fact that I’m packing and moving for the 4th time in 4 years?

In case you haven’t heard, we received the official word a few weeks ago that we’re going to be at Holy Cross. It will be really nice to be back in Florida and close to family again. We flew down to Orlando last weekend and found a house to rent in the town next to Lake Mary. It’s a 3 bedroom 2-bath house with a fenced in backyard and a screened in porch. It also has a HUGE Jacuzzi bathtub in the master bath (I’m mean it’s like you could put two people in it and be like they each have their own tub). It’s kind of comical going from no bathtub to Wesley’s own swimming pool. Anyhow, Ben graduates this coming Friday and then Wes and I will go to P-cola with my family on Sunday and Ben and his brother Jacob will move to Florida that Wednesday. We’re a little ready to say “bye-bye” to the hobbit hole, can you tell?

Wes is developing quite the personality. He’s all about talking, screaming, singing. Really whatever will get a laugh out of you, he’s all about. He is really close to crawling and we’re hoping he doesn’t figure it out until we move (that would make packing a little harder). He pushes up on all fours and rocks back and forth but he can’t quite take more than one “step” with his arms and legs. He just falls on his stomach and then does an army crawl to get whatever he wants. He’s had a bad cold this past week that somehow made it’s way to his eyes. So the doc gave us two different types of eye drops to give him twice a day. Let me tell how fun it is having to have Ben hold him down while I pry his each eye open four times a day. This is about the only time it would be nice if he were a little more docile.

So Ben’s installation/ordination is June 8th, 4 pm at Holy Cross. All are welcome. I’m sure we'll have something afterward as well so be sure to bring your party shoes!

Merry Easter to All!

Make it two years in a row now that it has snowed Easter weekend. Last year we were living in Denver and this year we went to visit Ben’s sister Sara (“the parakeet” to some of you) and her husband John in Chicago. Don’t get me wrong, even though I grew up in Florida, nothing beats an afternoon watching the snowfall or the look of a tree lined street with fresh snow perfectly perched on its branches. However, when I place this image in my brain I imagine it to be around the months of December through February and NOT the middle of March let alone Easter weekend! To quote my ever-witty sister-in-law, “Oh snow, I could just punch you!” Well said Sara, well said.

Don’t fret! We did not let the weather hamper our Easter fun. It was too cold and windy to spend too much time outside (let me tell you, they don’t call it the “windy city” for nothing-actually it’s called the “windy city” for another reason that has nothing to do with the weather but that is another blog-it was windy nevertheless). We went to the Field Museum, ate some deep dish, and even got to see one of our favorite people, Mr. Stephan Monteserin. A fun time was had by all.

Now we’re home and counting the days until Ben’s graduation. The cold weather seems to have passed but the rainy season is here. Sigh. I know one day soon Wes will get to see the outside of the “hobbit hole” on a daily basis.

Here are some pics from the trip and some other fun ones. Of course Wesley is in all of them. He’s growing up so fast. He even got his first tooth a couple of weeks ago.

The Amazing Wesley!

He smiles, he giggles, he can use his hands. He is the great Wesley Paul Hoyer!