Updates

Autumn seems to be a busy time of year for us, a trite but unfairly truthful sentiment with which I'm sure many of you are familiar. John's school year gets rolling with a boom it always seems, and such was the case this year. He coached soccer again for 5th and 6th grade -- this year with a wonderful assistant coach. His team won their tournament! I wish you could have experienced their exuberance when they finally won the last game after 2 rounds of sudden death. What fun to share in their excitement. In October, John's 6th through 8th grade band played at half-time during a high school football game of Concordia Academy in Bloomington. Again- what fun. Those kids performed with so much effort despite their nerves, and the crowd adored them and sang along and cheered. I just brimmed over with pride that night.

Well, and then there was my shoulder surgery in September amidst all of this. I had fallen down the stairs at our new home (twice) earlier in the summer and torn my rotator cuff and labrum (cartilage in the shoulder, kind of like the meniscus in the knee). I ended up having arthroscopic surgery and had to wear a huge, awful, black sling with a pillow to keep my arm away from my body. Quite the monstrous device; it now lives in the back corner of my closet. My shoulder is still recovering, and I am going to regular physical therapy to get more motion and strength. I can now help out a little in surgeries at work and can even wash dishes at home (yay?). Really, though, I'm doing well. And John has given me stair lessons, which so far seem to be helping.

We had a nice "Werner weekend" when Jessica came home to visit on her fall break last month. A beautiful and warm Saturday was spent together with a football (I watched and cheered), board game, and homemade pizza.

We also gained two nice additions to our household this fall. When Mom and David visited us this summer, they really liked the area. Mom had a chance interview and ended up getting the job! She moved here the end of September and has been working as Assistant Manager at the Hancock Fabrics in Minneapolis. She's doing really well there and getting the hang of things. The difficult part is that David is still in Colorado Springs. They are eagerly looking forward to selling their home in Colorado so they can be back together and get a new home in the lovely state of Minnesota.

It has actually been a huge blessing having my mom here. She helps with cooking and cleaning, and it is nice just to come home when she is there. We have also been able to go on quite a few walks together, especially around Lake Nokomis whenever we can. And the new resident cat, Solomon, has made himself quite at home and munches up any insects he finds. What a beautiful arrangement.

John and I look forward to a restful and lengthy Thanksgiving weekend in Lindsborg, Kansas with my Dad's side of the family. Until then, we're all trying to take each day as it comes and enjoying those around us. Blessings on each of you as the days get shorter and cooler!

John's soccer team after the tournament

I think almost everyone got their hand on that trophy
Getting ready to perform during the half time show

Performing. Yup, that's John with the bass drum!

A shot taken at Lake Nokomis a few weeks ago, on a nice long walk with my momma.