Monday, January 23, 2017

A Visit From Faith


From the St Louis Edition:

One happy day, we picked Faith up from the airport. 
Then off we went to shop for our delayed New Year's Party.

We made soft pretzels with cheese dip, sausage balls and cranberry salad. Oh yum! 




We toasted with sparkling grape juice.



Dear Faith!
The kids so enjoyed having Aunt Faif spoil them with attention and M&M's!






There was snow out, so of course we had to bundle up and go play.


He's tasting the snow.










We managed to have a pretty good snow fight with the crumbly snow.


She didn't last long so we tucked her into the stroller and went for a walk.






Thursday night, we went out for a girls night with Jessica... ice skating at the synthetic ice rink by
the Arch! We found a place to park not far from the rink and proceeded to pay at the parking meter. It would only let us pay in ~0.60 cent increments, so about 5 transactions later we were ready to skate.
We laced up and stepped out on the ice.  
We went nowhere...literally. The "ice" was SO bad, it was easier to walk than skate. It was pathetically funny. We tried really hard but we couldn't see ourselves enjoying it for 2 hours.


We decided to walk to a Starbucks for coffee and warmth.
It was a whopping 16 degrees.


We ended up in a fancy hotel and the Starbucks was closed.


We found a ourselves an open Starbucks.




It was late but not too late to head over to another outdoor skating rink.
This rink was much better and we had a lovely time!






We came down with a slight stomach bug and the kids had bad colds. 
Monday though we were back up and kicking.
We took Faith to Old St Charles for more coffee and a walk by the river.




Faith's visit was supposed to be a long one but it flew by in the blink of an eye.
Much too soon, we were taking her back to the airport.


As cold water to a weary soul,
So is good news from a far country. 
Proverbrs 25:25



Brought to you by: Rebekah Benner


Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Cancun!! Part 2

Wedding Preparation!! 



Practicing our surprise 
Photo credits - Carol Anne 
Having fun with it, too! :) 
Photo credits - Carol Anne
My dear sweet friend! The beautiful bride!
Three of us bridesmaids - Left to right: Anna, Me, and Savannah
Photo credits - Marcee Alten
Ironing the dresses
Photo credits - Marcee Alten
Kimberly was our hair dresser. She did an amazing job.
Photo credits - Marcee Alten
Auntie Heidi and I - I love her!!
Photo credits - Marcee Alten
Marcela!!!!! :)
Steaming the veil
Auntie Heidi and Kris Davis are ready. :)
Savannah and I
Photo credits - Marcee Alten
Marcela's mom, Bety and I. She is SO sweet!
Photo credits - Marcee Alten
The Bride and I
Photo credits - Marcee Alten

Portraits!

Left to right - Anna, Me, Marcela, Kris, Heidi, and Savannah Photo credits - Carol Anne
Photo credits - Carol Anne
Photo credits - Carol Anne
Photo credits - Carol Anne
Love you, Marcela!
Photo credits - Carol Anne

The Wedding!

Love this sign. :)
The Venue
Photo credits Carol Anne
The Bridegroom
Photo credits Carol Anne
The groomsmen
Photo credits Carol Anne
The bridesmaids
Photo credits Carol Anne
"Here comes the Bride!!" 
Photo credits Carol Anne
"And these two shall become one flesh’; so
then 
they are no longer two, but one flesh
." Mark 10:8

Photo credits - Carol Anne

Oh, the joy!! They are SO happy!
Photo credits - Carol Anne
Mr. & Mrs. Austin Kachele
Photo credits - Carol Anne

More Portraits!

Photo credits - Carol Anne
Photo credits - Carol Anne
Such a beautiful sunset for a beautiful wedding!
Photo credits - Carol Anne
"What therefore God has joined together,
let not man put asunder." Mark 10:9

Photo credits - Carol Anne

The Reception!



The speech!
Photo credits - Carol Anne 
Do you remember that surprise I mentioned earlier? Yes, finally
you can know. Kris had the idea for the five of us to put together a
song about the different things we remember when we think
about Marcela and sing it instead of a giving a speech. We sang
it to the tune of "Maria" from The Sound of Music. It was really fun!
Photo credits - Carol Anne
     Congratulations, Marcela and Austin! I'm so, so happy for y'all, and it was such a privileged to be part of y'alls special day! God bless you!

     So, that, Friends, was my trip to Cancun!! I thoroughly enjoyed every minute there, catching up with my friends, getting to see one of them walk the isle, and getting to stay at the beach. The photos where used by permission of the Bride and credits go to the Grooms sister, Carol Anne and Marcee Alten. I hope you have enjoyed this glimpse of my trip.

                                                        ~Esther Schatte
                                                          Signing off



                            "Great and marvelous are Your works,
                                   Lord God Almighty!
                            Just and true are Your ways,
                                    O King of the saints!" Revelation 15:3