The Howerter Family Homepage

Saturday night John and I went to visit with some long-time friends that we had not seen in almost 20 years.  It was a reunion of our Sunday School class from our church in Decatur.   It was wonderful seeing Jerry and Deborah.  They left before we did, so it has been 20 years since we have seen them.  We had a great time visiting with everyone, and it was not long before we were all talking and laughing just like we used to when we all went to church together.  Thanks Bud and Amy for hosting!  It was a great party.

John and I spent last week in Las Vegas with Jeff and Judy to celebrate Jeff’s new job, and we had a great time.  The weather was warm and sunny, but cool in the evenings.  It was so nice to be able to walk around and enjoy the sun.  We saw Terry Fator, the ventriliquist that won America’s Got Talent last year.  It was a great show and a lot of fun.  We went to the Valley of Fire State Park which is beautiful.  These huge red rocks are just jutting out of the desert, and some have Indian etchings on them.  Very cool.   We drove by Lake Mead on the way out and headed back to Vegas to the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop which is featured on the show Pawn Stars.  Jeff and Judy watch the show, and they got to see one of the guys at the store.  Then we went to Cafe Heidelburg which is a little German deli and diner in the older part of town.  Jeff and Judy ate there 12 years ago, so we looked it up.  It was delicious.  We also went down to the old strip and saw the Gold Nugget and the old, old casinos.  It was pretty cool, but I don’t think Iwould stay down there.  (Sorry Judy.)  We went to the Minus 5 bar near Mandalay Bay which is a bar made out of ice.  It is 5 degrees below 0 Celsius, and the bar, walls, glasses, signs are all made of ice.  We put on big coats and gloves and went in.  It was very “cool”.  We also did the ultimate in “supreme hogery”.  The hotels have buffets that you pay a daily price, and you can eat as much as you want the entire day!  I was mortified that we were doing it, and then they made us wear a wrist band the entire day!  I called it the “the mark of the glutton”.  It was great food, but we obviously ate more than we needed to.  All in all, it was a great trip, but we were glad to be home.  I missed the kids so much.  It is always nice to get back to see them.

This week was spring break for Elijah and Josiah, so I got to hang out with them some.  On Wednesday, I took them to Decatur to the Children’s Museum.  It was great because it was not crowded at all.  We wandered around for a bit, and then they settled at the water table.  We built walls to funnel the water into rapids and watched our various boats and rubber ducks manage the rapids.  Somehow Josiah’s sleeves just could not stay rolled up, so the arms of his sweater were drenched.  Josiah always “immerses” himself completely in his playing.  Elijah came up with the idea to make the rapids, and he was very impressed with the whirlpool that was created at one of the turns. 

Then we headed to Dairy Queen (Grandma’s favorite) for lunch.  Again, it was not crowded, so the boys were able to play in the play area with the few kids that were there.  We had ice cream for dessert and headed out for a sight seeing trip.  Elijah wanted to see where his dad went to school, so we drove to TJ where Ryan went to junior high.  Our good friends Jeff and Judy live right across the street from TJ, and Jeff happened to be home raking leaves.  We stopped to say hello, and I believe he was quite surprised to see us.  Then we drove by our old house, and I pointed out Ryan’s bedroom window.  I don’t know if they enjoyed this trip, but I did.

Yesterday, Sara and I took all 3 kids to St. Louis for a trip to the zoo.  The day promised to be beautiful with a forecast of sun and upper 60′s.  We stopped by to pick up Grandma Nell, and headed over.  When we got there, the traffic was backed up across 44.  This line of traffic was bumper to bumper.  Grandma Nell knew how to get to the zoo a different way, so we bypassed that line of traffic.  Or did we?  We met up with it again on the other side of the zoo, and it loomed up the hill heading around the back of the zoo.  After 15 to 20 minutes of sitting in traffic just to get halfway to the parking lot, we decided to give up.  Even if we ever got to the parking lot, who knew if there would be any places left to park.  We headed for the Science Center instead.  I think the kids had a good time there, but we were all disappointed.  Lily wanted to see the bears, and we could not find any at the Science Center.  We did see the dinosaur exhibit which had big, moving robot-like dinosaur replicas.  We will try the zoo again another time.

Here I am watching the recorded Illini game with John, Jeff and Judy.  I checked the results and know that Illini goes into 2 overtimes but then loses.  I am enjoying watching their reactions while I know the outcome. 

We have had a nice time.  Jeff and Judy came over last night, and we had a nice dinner and then some Pinochle and Sequence.  The girls won at both!  This morning we went to Taylorville for breakfast at the Spring Garden (an old Burger King), and it was wonderful.  Then off to Big R for a walk around.  John and I did not buy anything which is a miracle.  We have just been relaxing since we got home.  Dinner and more cards are in our evening plans. 

An added bonus:  we booked a trip to Vegas for early April!  Yippee!

Friday night Ryan, Sara, Jay , Katherine, John and I went to the new Osaka Steak and Sushi restaurant in town to celebrate Ryan’s birthday.  I did not realize that it was such a nice place.  I thought it was just going to be another locally owned restaurant, but I was pleasantly surprised.  You can either eat in the sushi bar or at the hibachi grill.  Sara made us reservations in the hibachi grill.  Each grill has 8 seats around the grill.  The chef puts on a little show while cooking everyone’s meal right in front of you. Most of you have proabably been to a place like this.  The food was wonderful and plentiful.  We got soup and salad before our meal and any appetizers or sushi that you ordered.  John ordered sushi, and Jay ordered calamari.  Then came the meal.  We got rice and noodles with each meal, and the noodles were fantastic.  I could have just eaten a pile of those and called it a night.  You also get veggies cooked on the grill plus your entree.  It was way more than you need, but, of course, I ate it all.  We will definitely be going back there.  If you do decide to go, I strongly suggest having reservations. 

Today has been a very nice day.  The sun has been out all day, and I have been hanging out with John all day.  We went to Big R and did some shopping, and then we had lunch at Cheddar’s.  We came home, took a nap and watched the Olympics.  John, Jay and Mike are outside now shooting guns, so they are happy.  John made chili for dinner, and I am sure that we will watch the Olympics again this evening.  I am so thankful for having this time with John since I know he will be leaving for Europe next weekend.   Then I am on my own.  Yuck.

I think I am wrestling with God.  I am trying to worship Him with praise songs, but all I want to do is FEEL what these songs sing about.  I have been spending time with Him for over a year now, and I just don’t FEEL what I want to feel.  I know that He is changing me, but I am so impatient!

While singing this morning, I just broke down, knelt down and cried.  I don’t know why because it was a praise song, and I should have been happy.  I was going for praise here     I felt broken for all that He has done for me.   I asked Him, “What was that about?  I hope it just broke something apart in me!”  Then I got up to praise Him for all that, and I just got angry!  I was crying and yelling, “I just want to feel what this song sings about.  I can sing it, I know it, but I just don’t feel it!”  That sentiment has been with me for quite a while now.  Lord, I am praying that You just broke some wall down or at least took out a chunk.  Thanks for loving me.

I decided today that I would get back on Facebook.  I did this a few years ago when Brandt went to Centrifuge near Yosemite because that was how he was going to stay in touch.  I really did not like Facebook because I just cannot seem to figure out how to navigate the silly thing.  I would get a message that someone “wrote on your wall” or “poked you”, but I could never find the place to see what they wrote.  I finally deactivated my account.  I decided today that I better get back on if I wanted to know when Brandt and Angel’s twins are born.  I signed up again about 2 hours ago.  I have gotten 2 messages since then, and I was able to find one quickly.  The other one took me a while.  I have been on it since then hoping to get more familiar with it, but I am not sure I am any more familiar now than a few years ago!   I guess I will have to have Ryan or Jay show me a few tricks the next time they come over.

As many of you know, I love the snow.  I am always wishing that it would snow 20 inches here.  Well, today I am sort of pissed off at the snow because I had to stay home all day because of it.  When John left this morning, there were 2 drifts in our driveway that he did not think my car would get through.  (I knew we should have bought another SUV.)  He asked me to stay home, so I did.  I guess it really was the wind that caused the drifts, so I should be pissed off at the wind.  The next time it snows, I am going with John to work.  At least I won’t be stuck at home.  Enjoy the snow!

I have just been wondering if anyone but pharmaceutical websites read my posts.  Just wondering.