I guess summer is a good time to get out running, but our family isn't exactly the lace up the sneakers and go for a jog type. Instead, we've been running to keep up with a crazy-full schedule of lots of great events and destinations, that make one marathon of a summer.
Last week we were in Rapid City for the Methodist Church's Annual Conference. This was a big year for us, as Brandon was fully ordained as an elder (Pastor)! You can see pictures at our Picasa site on the right. The ceremony was really nice, formal and elegant. Brandon likes to compare this milestone to a college prof receiving tenure - as he now is employed indefinitely. That's sure nice security in this day of so many lay-offs (trusting of course that the Methodist Church won't entirely collapse during our lifetime - pretty unlikely!) The rest of the week at conference was fun too. We caught up with a lot of old friends, lots of Pastors and church leaders. Miranda survived her first hotel stay pretty well; she even patiently endured the regular schedule getting thrown way out of whack. It's good to know she travels well, as we have a lot more of that coming up! She also had her first trip into a big swimming pool - she wasn't a big fan of the cold water though, so it was a short trip.
Yesterday we drove to Winner, SD for Robbie and Vicki's wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony for an amazing couple. It was fun to see so many graduated college students there! I have never driven through SW South Dakota, it's gorgeous! Brandon and I parted ways there, as he drove onto Rapid City for a week of High School camp and Miranda and I drove home.
This morning and afternoon Miranda and I enjoyed the huge benefit and celebration for Pastor Brad at the Lutheran Church where I work. There were hundreds of people there, we didn't have near enough seats or food! We planned for 500, and that wasn't enough - how amazing! I haven't heard how much money was raised yet but there were wonderful gift baskets in the raffle, homemade items in the silent auction and fantastic baked goods for sale, on top of lunch and free will donations - I think the total will be very helpful in paying down Brad and Joan's increasing medical bills! It was great to see so many people from all his different churches drive into town just to see and celebrate him; this year is also their 30th wedding anniversary, and his 30th year in ministry! It was a good day.
This week will surely fly by with lots of evening meetings and work commitments while I try to manage single parenting with Brandon out in the Hills. When Brandon gets back he has a wedding to perform here in town, and then we're all off to Boston for an extended-family vacation. All the Peterson crew are meeting up at Scott's to cuddle and kiss our new little Alice! Can't wait! Let's hope Miranda will fly as well as she rides in the car.
