California

Although we were in California for "business", we enjoyed wonderful times of conversation with new friends.


Our hosts in California treated us sooooo well! On Sunday night we enjoyed delicious Swedish pancakes expertly created by Nathan, our chef for the night.

A wholehearted thank-you also goes to Janet who made us feel so welcome, and was a wonderful hostess.

BTW - We ended up bringing home fabulous strawberries, cherries, and apricots - they're soooo yummy! The best ever!

Nathan & Janet served asparagus along with the last meal we had at their house. It was absolutely the best asparagus I've ever had. Now, I usually eat asparagus just because it's something different to serve once in a while... but, this was amazing, it was actually delicious. I'm going to look into growing our own asparagus. (Anyone have any tips about growing asparagus?)

California sure has its perks!



We also enjoyed a delightful afternoon relaxing with friends.
Thank you, Eric & Heather!


Rog & I stayed an extra day so we could take in Yosemite... definitely worth the winding roads to get up there... :-/


How great Thou art! How majestic are Thy works, oh Lord.



Then it was time to head home. Our flight was delayed because, as the pilot stated, " Chicago has two seasons - winter and construction."

Because of our delay, we missed our train, and had to wait an hour for the next one...

We waited...




. . . and waited!

Did you know that quite a few rabbits live on and around the train tracks in Chicago??? "Wildlife Chicago style" at 10:30pm!

Food, fun and fellowship

So that we didn't get bored while Dad and Mom were gone, the Strand family invited us over for the evening on Saturday to celebrate Stuart's 12th birthday! Happy birthday, Stuart, and thanks for having us over!! The guys got out their BB guns and did some "target practice" shooting at vanilla wafers lined up on a log in the middle of a yet-unplanted corn field.



Then, lest we have too much time unsupervised, the VonHolten family invited us over to join them and some other families from church for a relaxed afternoon at their place on Sunday. Again, we found ourselves enjoying ourselves with some of the great people that God has placed into our lives. We didn't get any pictures of Sunday, but the VHS did! :)

Thanks to you all for hosting us this past weekend! We are so grateful to the Lord for your families!

San Francisco

In the early morning hours of this past Wednesday, Dad and Mom left our home for a church business/pleasure trip, and by the time the lunch hour rolled around, they were sitting along the Pacific coast in sight of the Golden Gate Bridge enjoying their lunch and the view! They've been meeting with other church leaders - and taking some time to do a little sight seeing as well! Today they'll be visiting Yosemite. We look forward to their return to the Midwest early next week... can't wait to hear all about it!

Mothers Day!

Mother's Day was an absolutely beautiful Sunday around us this year! So we had Grandpa and Grandma, Aunt Jill and Uncle Don, N&J, J&S and C2 & W2. Of course, the only pictures we took were of C2 and W2.

We had a very relaxing and enjoyable visit together. Aunt Jill brought a bunch of goodies for the younger ones, which were greatly enjoyed! The lilacs were in bloom and so very fragrant! The grass was green, the skies were blue... And we had a few of the world's greatest mothers at our table! What more could we ask for?

Friday Night Volleyball

Isn't she sweet?


Since the weather has been so beautiful around here during the last week, on Friday night the Hill family invited our family and the VonHoltens over for a cookout, volleyball, and some 'round the campfire visiting.


Yes, the fire was very hot! But that was good as the temperature dropped as the sun set.

Thanks, Hills, for having us over for such a fun evening!

Michigan

Last weekend was a conference weekend, one of many such weekends that we will experience this year. Thankfully, this one was 'close to home' - just across The Lake. Of course, it was still a several hour drive, but compared to other conference destinations it was right next door.

The INCH Convention was the event that called us over there. Josh and crew ran Resounding Voice, as pictured above, in the front near corner of the vendor hall, and as far away as possible - in the far back corner of the hall - was the book table that Dad and Jessica were 'manning' for Vision Forum. Quite honestly, I think we are getting rather used to these trips and are taking less pictures than we have the last couple of years! It's just another conference... and yet we are grateful for that conference and the opportunities and discussions that it brought into our lives and the resources and discussions that we were able to share with others. God in His goodness, has given to us work and ministry that we enjoy. But He sure has given us plenty of it to fill and over fill the next 6 weeks! We'll try to keep you up to date on who is where as we have some unique and exciting events coming up.

58 years!

From the Daily Herald Archives, printed on May 13, 1949:

The wedding vows of Miss Ethel K. and Roger Erber were repeated last Saturday [May 7] at the Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran church, Des Plaines. Rev. A.H. Fedder officiated...

The church was decorated with palms and flowers on the altar and candles and white ribbon lined the aisles. During the ceremony Miss Lois Carlson sang "Beautiful Savior" and "The Lord's Prayer. While the couple repeated their vows, Prof. T. Lams played "Because" on the organ.

Miss K. entered the church on the arm of her father who gave her in marriage. Her gown was of ivory satin and styled with a fitted bodice, having a sweetheart neckline and botton back to teh scalloped waistline, and a full skirt ending in a long train. She wore a full length veil, which fell from a peral headpiece, that had originally been worn by the bride's mother. The bride's flowers consisted of a cascade bouquet of white roses and lilies-of-the-valley.

A couple of paragraphs followed, listing the bridesmaids, and minutely describing their dresses, hats and flowers, which happened to be lilacs from the bride's yard. It also mentions the fact that Miss Amelia Goebbert had sewn the gowns for both the bride and her attendants. The paragraph on the groomsmen simply lists the names of the best man and ushers, and then the announcement closed with the following paragraph:

Three hundred and fifty guests attended the reception which was held at Elk Grove Inn immediately following the ceremony. After a short honeymoon Mr. & Mrs. Erber will be at home with the bride's parents until their new home in Des Plaines is completed.

That house in Des Plaines was soon completed, and they have lived there happily for 58 years now. They have been blessed with two children, 8 grandchildren, and 5 great-grandchildren - so far.

Happy Anniversary Grandpa & Grandma! We love you!!

'Twas blind, but now...

The newest news on the home front is that as of this past weekend, Jonathan and Joseph are wearing glasses! It's taken a few days for them to look natural with glasses, and Jonathan still doesn't quite, but they both are amazed at how much they can see now.

Of the two, Joseph definitely needs them most. Apparently his eyes haven't been able to keep up with the immense amount of growing he has done this past year. But Jonathan has found that improved vision has its ups and downs. He claims that dandelions growing along the road now give him headaches ("because you can see each one of them...") but on the other hand, he is greatly enjoying the help they give with playing the piano as he can now read the music without having to look at each note.

No, those aren't the glasses that either of our guys are wearing! They're just an old "dress-up" pair that somebody found...

Last week Josh and crew made it back safe and sound from their trip to New Mexico, and this week they are preparing for another business trip - though not quite such a distant one. Just across the lake, this time!

Over the weekend we've had some really nice weather up here - although today is a little too warm. But that has meant that we've finally pulled out the mowers and are cutting the lawn for the first time of the year! It's been less than three weeks since the last major snowfall, but I think Spring might finally be here to stay.

Josiah's wonderful cello teacher is switching to a studio that is both more prestigious, and closer to her home, which means that the music academy is looking for a new cello teacher. This past Saturday, Josiah was chosen as the student to have a 'sample lesson' with a teacher who is being considered for the job. So not only did the 'ones in charge' get to observe this teacher, but Mom and Josiah also got to see what this teacher is like and if they want to stay for lessons or go elsewhere. Having witnessed Josiah play at a recent "cello showcase," the director of the music academy described him as having "...quite a mature sound and approach to the instrument. He is a bright and eager student." Keep up the good work, Josiah!

Yesterday after church we had several families back to our house and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon visiting, playing croquet, enjoying the rope swing, jumping rope, playing football and volleyball - including a parents vs. kids volleyball game that many participated in. Now that was an enjoyable game (or rather series of games) to watch. Some pretty sharp looking volleys, as well as some pretty not-sharp-looking-but-still-rather-impressive volleys to witness! :-) We'll have to do it again...

Birthday time, again!

We're a little bit behind on our posts, here, but better late than never! On April 15, Corrine celebrated her 2nd birthday, and then on Saturday, April 21, Winston had his very first birthday! Happy, happy birthday!!

Saturday we had a birthday dinner for them both, and our "entertainment" for them was having a tree service come and take down a tree that was leaning over our garage. Winston was just entirely thrilled to watch that!

After dinner, Grandma, Aunt Joanna, and Uncle Josiah babysat the young'ns, while the rest of us attended a concert of Jonathan's. Lots of beautiful German, French and Latin songs - along with a couple of pieces requiring very impressive piano accompaniments, provided by Jonathan. Wow, was it great!

Here and gone...

This past Monday afternoon, two vehicles traversed across the great state of Illinois. One was headed north, the other headed south. After spending two wonderful weeks along the gulf coast, I (Jessica) am back home again. But, Josh and Joseph were not here to welcome me home as they are now arrived down in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for the CAPE-NM convention. As you might guess, Josh will be recording the sessions given at the conference - but as you might not guess, he is also presenting one of those sessions!

For those of you who are curious and haven't heard, the event that called me away down south for the last couple weeks was the wedding of a long time friend of mine. The new Mrs. Lautenschlager and I have known each other for over twenty years (best we can figure we were around 3 at the time we met - neither of us remember it, though!). It has been with great joy that I have watched as God brought Amy her perfect match during this past year, and I eagerly accepted when she asked me to help her with her wedding. Of course, I wasn't surprised when her request was that I manage all the food for the reception! :-) However, it didn't take me two whole weeks to prepare for it...

The first event down south was the Vision Forum Father & Daughter Retreat in Georgia. Josh was in charge of all the AV stuff for the event this year, so I went as his assistant. By God's grace all went well.

Following that conference, I spent a week in Louisiana enjoying some warm southern hospitality. The Valenti family entertained me quite wonderfully. From visiting an old sugar plantation along the Mississippi, to walks in the park and around the neighborhood, to visiting a lovely little British Tea House, to a drive down into New Orleans, the days were diverse, relaxing, and fun. Oh, and I dare not forget to mention the many varied discussions that we enjoyed - including the one eschatological discussion that lasted until 3:00 am...

The time flew by quickly, and soon the Valenti's were kindly driving me to the half-way meeting point, where Amy and her fiance, Zach, were to pick me up and take me back to Alabama for the next week.

Staying with the family of the bride for the week before the wedding is quite a fun thing! There are a thousand important little details that need to be taken care of - and yet, there are also still the regular meals to be cooked, eaten and cleaned up! There were gifts, visits, shopping, luncheons, hair-do's to practice, programs to fold, decorations to prepare, and yet we also took time to relax (like visiting Dauphin Island and the very neat Fort Gaines on a rather stormy day)! Eventually, however, the wedding day arrived and all the details settled down into their places. The day was beautiful and full of rejoicing! And the only major food catastrophe was that I somehow managed to forget to add the shrimp to the Alfredo sauce. Oops!

I'm quite sure that I brought back with me the requisite number of cuts, bruises and burns for a trip like this one, and also that I logged considerably less than the requisite number of hours of sleep. But I also know that I have come home far richer in hugs, smiles, edification, laughter, new friends and memories than I in any way deserve to be! Thanks be to God!

Happy Easter

Each year our family bakes "Easter Bread".
It is an old Italian tradition that we enjoy a lot!

Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday to a truly remarkable man.

May the Lord bless you with many, many more years to serve Him and glorify Him and to be such a blessing to your family.

We love you Husband/Dad/Grandpa . . . Roger Erber!

Got Chicken?

Well, spring has sprung... sort of. The grass is getting green, the trees are showing that they might actually grow leaves again, the lilies and daffodils are starting to sprout... and there is snow in the forecast! Sounds like March! Not sounding like March are mosquito bites, and yet a several of those have been felt during this unseasonably warm past week. If they're out already, woe to us come summertime!

Bambi (or more likely, Mrs. Bambi - what was her name?) was spotted wandering around on OUR property. Very bold, if you ask me. But she seemed to be checking out the neighborhood - and with as many people as make noise around our place and our neighbors, I'm quite sure she will not make it her home.

Another sign of spring is the future freezer filler that arrived this morning. Yes, the post office called us bright and early this morning asking us to come pick up a noisy box that had arrived...

They're kind of cute now, but give them a few weeks - about 10 to be precise...

In other news, the last few days have been major outdoor spring cleaning, yard work, garage and shed organizing days. It's looking great - and Joseph, Joanna and Josiah have been showing great character as they've tackled and stuck with the various projects, even after finding... well, never mind.

Today is a busy day as the Erberanteys have been asked to make an afternoon appearance at a local homeschool support group get together. Nothing like being in demand! They'll be singing (of course) and talking about jurisdictions, charters, and the Boston Tea Party.

This weekend also kicks of the conference season for Josh and Resounding Voice. He and Jessica will be headed down to Georgia for the weekend, then, like last year - but for a different reason - he'll be leaving her in the south for a couple of weeks before heading home.

Cello

So, what do you think of that cello & cellist??

Josiah has been practicing very hard lately, and recently received a 'reward' for his hard work! Someone donated a 3/4 size cello to the Rockford Music Academy (where Josiah takes lessons) and the Academy has given it to Josiah to use - free of charge - for as long as he takes lessons at the Academy, and uses that size cello! It has an amazingly better tone than his previous rented cello and he's having lots of fun playing it! For those who know the Suzuki method, he's working through book 5 at present, and sounding great! There's a lot of live music in our house these days and we're loving it all!

Jonathan

On March 25, 1991, Jonathan turned 3 years old. The above picture was taken on that occasion.

It logically follows that on March 25, 2007, Jonathan would have turned 19 years old. And he did. The above picture was taken on that occasion.

So here's a big Happy Birthday to Jonathan! May this next year be as fun and profitable as the last!


The day was absolutely lovely (an unseasonably warm 70 some degrees!). We enjoyed the late afternoon and evening hours together as a family - and mostly out on the back deck.

William

Well, we've been wanting to update this blog with something for the last week, but nothing of major importance or excitement or interest has happened. It has been a week of, well, of normal life - with its ups and downs, busyness and slowness, duties, correspondence, meals, laundry, laughs, family evenings, cleaning, music lessons... regular life, calling for regular daily faithfulness. The laughs included an evening of watching home movies. Oh, my!

Part of regular life for us, however, is having the grandkids over. Jeremy and Joseph were working on some remodeling at Jeremy's house yesterday, so nap time for the kiddos was spent at Grandma's house - and we convinced them all to stay for dinner, too. So here are a few pics of William taken last night. We think he's cute!

Birthday Ladies

On the morning of March 14, 1993, a young girl received a birthday present she had long been hoping for - a baby sister!


They're both 14 years older now , and grow more beautiful and more beloved with every passing year. We love you ladies!

Happy Birthday, Jeanine & Joanna!

Erberanteys

The Erberantey Quartet, made up of brothers Jeremy, Joshua and Jonathan Erber, and brother-in-law Nathan DeLadurantey, has been a popular humorous highlight of the last several Liberty Day Celebrations and is always demanded back. A glance at these pictures might give you an idea just why that is so. It's not just anywhere you can find such amusement - and not just anyone who will give it to you!

The song they are singing in the picture above is a folk song titled "The Young Volunteer" and is of a more serious nature. However, in the form of the next song came an old "parlor favorite" titled "Revolutionary Tea." Perhaps the first verse will give you an idea of the content:

"There was an old lady lived over the sea, and she was an Island Queen..."

"Her daughter lived off in a new country, with an ocean of water between..."

"The old lady's pockets were full of gold, but never contented was she..."

"So she called on her daughter to pay her a tax, of three pence a pound for her tea!"