The Howerter Family Homepage

Last week John killed his first turkey out at the farm.  He was so excited!  He called and told me the entire killing story.  He really enjoys telling people, so if you get a chance, ask him about it.  On Sunday, we fried the turkey at  our house.  I had decided that I was not even going to try it.  I don’t usually like things in the fryer, so I did not see any need to try a wild turkey for goodness sake.  Ryan, Sara, Elijah, Josiah, Lily, Jay, Katherine, Don, Wendy, Lauren and Chad were all there, and they all tried the turkey.  They kept ranting that it tasted just like “real” turkey, so I decided to try it.  It really did taste  good.  It had no gamey taste at all, which is what I was worried about.  I was truly surprised.  Another wildlife story from the Howerter’s.

We have put our house back on the market.  We are using FSBO (for sale by owner) this time.  We are also putting it on the Chicago Tribune website to get some exposure in the Chicago area.  We have heard from many people that people in Chicago buy property down here for weekend getaways.  We will see what happens.

On Friday, Sara and I and the kids drove down and picked up Grandma Nell and headed to the St. Louis Zoo.  The weather was beautiful,  70 and sunny!  We stayed until after 4:00!  We saw snakes, penguins, bears, apes, sea lions, flamingos, swans and more.  It was so much fun!   Sara and the boys rode a simulator ride, and the boys loved it.  We never dreamed that we would stay that long, but the kids were having such a good time.  I got to my house at about 6:30, and I was tired.  I sat in my chair all evening, but it was a wonderful day!

I hope everyone had a nice Easter holiday.   Ryan, Sara, Elijah, Josiah and Lily came to our house for dinner.  Jay and Katherine were supposed to come too, but they both had flu symptoms during the night.  They were feeling better later in the day, but they did not want to pass it on to any of us.   We had ham, mac and cheese and fresh green beans.  I made an apple pie, and Sara made a lemonade pie.  The kids found their eggs as soon as they got there, and they liked their Easter basket goodies.  After dinner, we all went for a walk around the pond.  We saw all kinds of spring flowers and lots of deer tracks.  Sara then took the kids and Annie for a walk out to the mailbox.  As John, Ryan and I watched them, we laughed because they were all spread out as they walked.  Josiah was out in front; Sara and Lily in the middle and Elijah in the back.  They were separated by about 100 yards.  So much for a walk together:-)   When we came in, the boys and Sara watched Space Buddies, I played with Lily and John and Ryan sat out on the patio.  It was a nice day.

Brian spoke at church yesterday about the night Jesus was betrayed.  He talked about how the disciples kept falling asleep while Jesus prayed.  Jesus kept coming back and telling them to wake up and keep watch.   That is what we are to continue to do today.  I need to continually “wake up” and stop my sin and keep on guard for temptation.  Every time I try to stop my sin, I will fail, and God knows that.  He just wants me to continue to recognize that I have sinned and keep turning to Him for help.  Wake up, stay on guard and continue to seek Him!