Christmas Letter 2013

Dear family and friends,

We hope you enjoyed your Christmas celebrations, and are able to find rest during this busy season. We wanted to give you a brief update on our lives this past year.

Sam is in his final year of seminary and I couldn't be more proud. The past 3.5 years have definitely drawn us closer, but not before breaking us and stretching us first. Seminary is not for the weak! Sam has continued to amaze me with all he is learning and the man God is shaping him into. A quote comes to my mind when I think of Sam --

“A great man is always willing to be little.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
  
Seminary has been humbling in more ways then one, and Sam has continually put others before himself. He is a prayer warrior for our marriage, and continues to amaze me with the way he intentionally loves those around him. Sam also continues to work part-time at Apple Inc. and is keeping busy interning with our church, South City Church. He also continues to play drums every Sunday for worship and volunteers as a leader with the city youth ministry. In his "spare" time he enjoys listening to music, playing music, reading, and brewing coffee in fancy ways. 

I am still loving teaching at South City Community School (you can watch a short video about the school here: http://www.sccommunityschool.org/about-us/). I have an energetic group of 16 first graders this year! They keep me on my toes, and their curiosity keeps me desiring to learn more myself. I'm biased, but there can't be any greater job than the nurture and growth of a love for learning in the hearts of little people! I've also taken on a new responsibility at school this year as the After-School Coordinator, which has been great. I continue to teach Children's Worship at church once a month and serve on the Welcoming Committee. I too volunteer with the city youth ministry -- its been great for Sam and I to serve together with the kids every Monday night.

This past summer we moved to South City and have loved every minute of living in our new apartment--including our first dishwasher (!!!!) and a 10-minute walk to Tower Grove Park, one of our favorite places in the city. Unfortunately, or fortunately, we also live within walking distance of our favorite doughnut shop (World's Fair Doughnuts)! Another highlight of our year was a trip to California (Napa and San Fransisco) during the summer to celebrate our 3rd anniversary. We felt very fortunate to have the opportunity to get away and enjoy some much needed rest!

As for Ethel, she continues to be the most laid back dog - sometimes we just refer to her as a "house plant." We couldn't be more thankful for the entertainment, laughter, and overall cuteness she adds to our lives.

It has been a very busy, fast paced year but we are thankful for all of the good gifts God has given us. We are continually reminded to slow down and enjoy life where we are, as challenging as it can be some days. We are thankful this Christmas season for the greatest gift of all - Jesus coming to earth to live among us. We look forward to the joyous day when he returns!

We would love to hear from you, and wish you all a blessed 2014!

Love, 
Sam, Katelyn & Ethel

Rest.

This past weekend Sam and I got away to rural Missouri to a quaint bed and breakfast. With a town of 263 people, all we really enjoyed was each other. It was perfect. About two hours from STL, we debated whether or not it would be worth it  -- between the cost of the b&b, gas, a significant drive, finding Ethel care, etc. it wasn't easy! Let me tell you, it was every penny/hassle worth it. The break in routine was exactly what we needed. Its amazing what not emptying the dishwasher in the morning, packing lunches, or taking out the dog can do for you!

The Amber House, Rocheport MO

The in-room fireplace was perfect for the rainy weekend!

This was our first real bed and breakfast experience -- all four couples that stayed at The Amber House met for breakfast at 9am. The breakfast was amazing and it was so neat to share a meal with so many interesting people! The couple that runs the b&b was wonderful as well.

The bed and breakfast backed up to the Katy Trail. We took a nice stroll on Friday when we first got in, but we didn't make it very far before the sun set.

Thankful for the mini-retreat! So great for our marriage, and our sanity!

Being able to get away from the hustle and bustle of life was wonderful. We were so very thankful for this time away, for the money we could save to make it possible, for the approved time off for Sam, for good friends that took in E, and most of all for-- rest. Good rest, and good quality time enjoying each other. I am so blessed by this man, and so thankful that God delights in the good gifts He gives His children -- which includes a night away to retreat.

Until next time.
Sam & Katelyn

Fall 2013

Hello family and friends,

I'm sorry for the blogging break. I promised my wonderful mother-in-law that I would blog during her recovery from ear surgery to give her something to read :) , so here it goes!

In unison with the rest of our time in seminary, life is very busy. Sam is working his tail off to finish this last year! A full class load, an internship, volunteering with a city youth ministry, a newly installed deacon at our church, and not to mention a very valued Apple employee. All the while loving his wife (and little dog) well. He's got quite a full plate! 

Youth night in September!

 I am enjoying my second year teaching 1st grade at South City Community School. I have a class of 16 (11 boys, 5 girls) this year and we're off to a great start! We're finally starting to get in the groove of school, just in time for Thanksgiving break next month :) I had parent/teacher conferences last week and really enjoyed the support and encouragement from all my kiddos parents. This school has been such a blessing! I'm still volunteering with our city youth ministry, as well as leading Children's Worship at church.

Our enrichment trip to Tower Grove Park this month!

This month we were very thankful to see so much family! We enjoyed having Jim and Gaye here to see Sam preach 2 weeks ago at our church. Sam rocked it! We enjoyed a delicious lunch at Pho Grand (Vietnamese) and a little visiting before they had to head back to Wheaton.

They also came to visit the morning Sam was installed as a deacon at our church! I didn't get any pictures from Sam's sermon morning, so this one will do :)

We also made a trip to Wheaton last weekend! We got to see Jesse Dean light up the football field and had some great time visiting with the Dean family Thursday-Saturday. So proud of my little brother (can he still be considered little when he's bigger then me? And 17?), for these past 12 years of devoted football playing! We spent the night at Jim and Gaye's on Saturday and enjoyed spending Sunday morning going to church and lunch before heading back to STL.

 

 

Taken at the chilly football game last Friday night!

 As for our other 1/3rd (?), Ethel gets cuter everyday.

Thankful for this beautiful fall weather!

Until next time,
Sam and Katelyn

July 2013.

Here comes July! 

First stop, Indiana. The weekend after July 4th we headed to the annual Haist Family Reunion! Not before seeing three of Sam's favorite bands in concert that Friday! We saw Bob Dylan, My Morning Jacket, and Wilco - Sam was basking in all things "Americanarama".

Sam and I enjoying a morning on the farm. 

So thankful for Grandma and Grandpa Haist. Their marriage is a such a beautiful testimony to us.

It was a wonderful weekend spent with family! 

Next stop. CALIFORNIA. I feel like it is almost doing the trip an injustice to try to explain how wonderful it was, because it was just that wonderful. But I will try. It was refreshing, relaxing, and just what we needed. We didn't know just how much we needed it until we were driving through the mountains, standing in the Pacific Ocean, experiencing fine wine, and just purely enjoying each other. At the risk of sounding too mushy, I will say that taking this trip was so great for our marriage - this time without the constant interruptions of life. This time of soaking in God's magnificent creation. This time of talking, laughing, and experiencing. It made me sad to realize how much the business of our lives interferes with the joy of being married. To sit and have real conversations for a whole week that didn't revolve around our dinner menu for the week, or updating our calendars, or the gossip of our jobs, or complaining about feeling exhausted, etc. etc. etc. This trip was meaningful for so many reasons - but one of the greatest being we spent a week in one of the most beautiful places we've ever been, truly enjoying this sweet time together. And being so thankful for the blessing of our marriage. Here we go with an overload of pictures! 

First stop, Napa Valley. Vineyards. Wineries. Mountains.

At one of our favorite wineries, Sterling Vineyards. Breathtaking views! 

Taken at our last winery, Artesa. My personal favorite. Built into the side of a mountain! One of the neatest things we learned at Artesa was what a huge roll the food chains plays in the protection of the grapes. Our tour guide explained that the deer love grapes, but the coyotes that linger in the mountains keep them clear of the vineyards (not by eating them, just their presence). The hawks that perch in the vineyards and have no interest in the grapes, keep away the rodents and the snakes in the vineyards take care of the larger bugs that linger. It was pretty crazy to hear how nature protects the grapes so that no tampering or pesticides are needed. 

Upon leaving Napa, we decided to take the long route to get south to San Francisco. We drove west to Highway 1, and down the coast. As we reflected on our trip, we would both have to say this was one of our favorite parts. As we came around the bend of a cliff, we laid eyes on the Pacific Ocean, and it literally brought me to tears! It was so breathtakingly beautiful. 

Walking down into a valley to get to the ocean. 

My first time seeing the Pacific Ocean! 

It was pretty chilly.

And then we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge! San Francisco here we come!!!

It would be an understatement to say that our trip was very "coffee-centric"! Here's my very happy hubby the morning after arriving in San Francisco with his first (of many) expressos at Blue Bottle. Our coffee adventures included Ritual Coffee, (3) Blue Bottle locations, and Four Barrel. We also went to a coffee tasting, or in coffee geek terms, "cupping". 

Can you see Sam super tiny right there? One of our other favorite days was hiking around Muir Woods and admiring the magnificent Redwoods. It was seriously unbelievable. 

While in San Francisco, we did one day of being 100% tourists. We took one of those big open roofed tour buses for a three-hour tour of the whole city. We saw that sea lions at Fisherman's Warf, drove down Lombard Street (after waiting for 45min in the line), we walked the park across from the Painted Ladies (where Full House was filmed!), and we indulged in an amazing Ghirardelli sundae. After that day, we were wiped! We decided that being tourists is exhausting work. The city was beautiful, and the weather was absolutely perfect. That being said, the next few days in San Francisco we decided to hang low. Walking around Golden Gate Park and the Japanese Tea Garden. We also visited an adorable part of the city with used book stores, great coffee, and nice parks. We also ended one of our days by driving to Half Moon Bay, eating the best BBQ pork from a food train, and walking along the beach in 50 degree weather! The other crazy thing about northern California is the super dense, intense FOG!

One thing that was definitely not lacking on this trip was -- food. Oh my, did we eat amazing food! We found some amazing restaurants (thank you YELP!), and had some low key meals in our cute studio apartment a few of the days. Our last night in San Francisco we went to Fog Harbor on Pier 39, and I ate crab for the first time! It was to die for! Can you go wrong with a cup of melted butter? We ate our hearts out.

And then... it was time to head home. One of my favorite coastal driving pictures (above). We boarded our plane back to Chicago where we were greeted by Jim at the airport, fed an amazing meal by Gaye, hugged by a drugged up Ben (from getting his tonsils removed!), and finally reunited with the Dean clan and our sweet pup. We were so thankful for Mom and Dad Dean, Krista, Jesse, and Aunt Chrissy's care for Ethel while we were gone. She definitely went through some serious withdrawls (I wish I was kidding). Including, but not limited to, coming in from a walk and sitting in front of the door of the pantry where we keep her treats, staring at her dinner and wondering why it wasn't sprinkled with cheese, and whining at 5am wondering why we were ignoring her and not letting her run around and play with us. Nonetheless, she enjoyed all the attention and was definitely spoiled! 

And now we are back to STL in the thick of life again. So thankful for our beautiful vacation. Also thankful to have been married 3 years this month! What better way to celebrate an anniversary then with intentional time together, and in California for pete's sake! I am so thankful for Sam. For the wonderful husband he is, and for the selfless example of Christ he shows me each and everyday. He's a keeper!

Until next time. 

With love, 

Katelyn & Sam

Home sweet home.

Greetings from South City!

We have moved! Yippie! This is now officially the second place we have lived in 3 years, and our second home together. We love it. Not only do we have an outstanding landlord, but our neighbors are wonderful. We know all of the couples, and as it turns out all are in some way Covenant Seminary- related.

Perhaps the best part about our new apartment is that we can walk everywhere. We have a beautiful, tree-lined street, a friendly neighborhood, and best of all -- Tower Grove Park is a 5 minute walk! We are enjoying all that is South City. Botanical Gardens (free on Saturday mornings), World's Fair Donuts (just blocks away), AND biking over to my school to get some work done this past week!

Now, Ethel did not think that move was the greatest idea we've ever had. We actually resorted to buying "calming treats", which in fact could compare to doggy marijuana. They did the trick until she finally felt settled and at ease with her new surroundings. It was pretty touch and go there for awhile!

Since school let out in May, Sam and I have continued to live pretty busy lives. Sam has picked up 30-35 hours a week at Apple, and my schedule is just nuts for the summer! I nanny a 55+ hr week and then I have a week off. It sounds really nice, but by the time I catch up on "life" during my off weeks its time to go back again! Isn't that the way it always works? We did enjoy helping with VBS this year; always fun to be apart of helping precious children learn more about God!

Looking forward this month to the annual Haist Family Reunion in Indiana (this weekend!!!) and then (drum roll please...) SAN FRANSISCO!!!!!!!! If the font size doesn't say it -- we are pretty excited! For our honeymoon we dreamed of going to wine country but due to finances and trying to make wise decisions early in our marriage (wink, wink), it just wasn't feasible. Three years later, we are beyond excited to celebrate our 3rd anniversary on our dream trip! We will spend two days in Napa and then head to San Fransisco. Mom and Dad Dean will be watching E for us :) 

Other then that, we are enjoying the weather in St. Louis this summer! Did you ever think I would say that? The hottest its gotten is 105 with the heat index. The rest of the days have been 80's, and this week .... 70's! Unbelievable! We have been living it up with lots of walking, biking, grilling, and other fun outdoor activities. 

We would love to hear from you! If you didn't receive the email with our new address and would like it, send me an email!

Love, 
Sam & Katelyn 

Living Room - we love stained glass windows!

Guest Bedroom 

 

Dining Room / Sam's office

Kitchen - equipped with a dishwasher!!!!! 

One of the days we spent relaxing in Tower Grove Park.

 

 

May 2013

Hello!

We are in full swing of business this month! We celebrated our birthdays this month (Ethel included), Sam finished up his 3rd year of seminary (YAHOO!), I finished my first full year of teaching, and now we are in moving mode! We will move our first load this Friday with Gaye and Jim! Yippie! Although all exciting changes, we are feeling quite overwhelmed. Once we get through the month of June, we will hopefully have some time to relax. Moving just really takes it out of you!

This summer Sam will continue to work at Apple, picking up some more hours, and he is taking a class in August. I will begin nannying full time tomorrow, with a nice break for the Haist Family Reunion and our anniversary trip to San Fransisco in July (YAY!!!!!!!!!!). I will say, summer time is not as exciting when you're an adult :). What we are not looking forward to this summer is the awful STL heat. This is the time of year that I always swear we will be packing up and moving North as far as we can go!

Other then that, please pray for a smooth move! We get our new keys on June 5th. We will send out our new address via email soon!

Love,
Katelyn & Sam

So proud of my sister, Krista, for graduating from IWU in April! She is an amazing teacher!!!

Happy Birthday to Sam!

Happy Birthday to me!

Our new apartment building! We will be on the right, bottom. Yippie!

"He is not here, but has risen."

"And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, 'Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.'"

 

He is risen! He is risen indeed! 
We had a wonderful Easter celebrating the empty tomb, and Christ's victory over death. We had a beautiful service at South City Church and a delicious brunch before the service. The sweet girl I mentor, Jasmine, spent the morning with us. Then we went to lunch at The Cheesecake Factory, went for a long walk in Forest Park and came back for an hour long nap! It was a beautiful, and relaxing day.

That being said, this was our first holiday spent without family and I anticipated it feeling kind of lonely. However, as we spent the afternoon walking through Forest Park, my cup overflowed. We didn't feel the least bit lonely, and for the first time in almost three years, I looked at my husband and knew with every inch of me, this is my family. Sam is my family. My heart is full.

Until next time.

Love,
Sam, Katelyn & Ethel

Can you believe that exactly a week ago there was 12 inches of snow on the ground? And yesterday we hit 70 degrees and sunny! Crazy St. Louis weather!

 The sweet girl I mentor, Jasmine.

 Easter 2013

 After church we went to lunch with our St. Louis besties, Amber and Sean. We went back and forth about hosting a few people for lunch, but in the end decided what says "He is Risen" like the amazing cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory! 

 Then we spent our afternoon at Forest Park, strolling around in the beautiful weather!!! 

Rest.

Hello,

This past week Sam and I were both on spring break. We decided a few months ago to also take this week off our second jobs. Therefore, for the first time in what seems like forever, we had a week with nothing to do! We were encouraged to take this week and not schedule anything -- which is extremely hard for both of us. Before we knew it, we had scheduled dinner dates, coffee dates, and time trying to "catch up"with people. It took everything in us to cancel those plans and finally take a much needed sabbatical. But.. we did it! And it was awesome.

Resting is really hard for us, and we struggled at the beginning of the week with what resting (with each other) "looks like". By the end of the week, we were a little teary eyed as we reflected on the week of intentional time with each other. Engaging with each other in real conversation, not the daily (in passing) conversation. We found ourselves delighting in listening to a record without multitasking, going on walk that was just for enjoyment, and spending time loving each other well. We haven't felt this way since our honeymoon, and it so refreshing. We feel rested. That being said, tomorrow we jump back into the daily struggle to communicate in between our four jobs, and finding the tiny cracks of time to spend intentionally with each other. We see the need to take time "away" from our busyness, and be present with each other so we hope that we become better at scheduling that time.

All to say, this has been a week of resting, delighting in each other, celebrating God's magnificent creation in wonderful food, breathtaking art, snugly naps with Ethel, and walks in beautiful places. We are thankful for a week of rest that has helped us realize our hastiness in life and the struggle to be intentional ... but the beauty that comes from slowing down.

Lots of love,
Sam, Katelyn & Ethel

 

We started the long process of cleaning the basement and organizing our "stuff" for our move. We were on a roll, so we decided to spend 10 hours on Monday cleaning... the final product felt great! We gave 50 bags to Goodwill, and have a good amount of stuff that we will be selling at a yard sale in April. Yay for productivity! That may not sound particularly restful, but it felt so good when it was over.

 We spent a morning at the St. Louis Art Museum. It was fun enjoying beautiful art and enjoying intentional time together. Lunch at Chipotle followed, and dinner with a good friend/pastor (the one that married us), James. James was in town for the LIFE conference meeting, and we enjoyed dinner and wonderful conversation at one of our favorite restaurants -- The Tap Room. 

 We also enjoyed a 48 degree day of park hopping and apartment hunting! 

Spring break would not have been complete without some snuggle time with the cutest twins in town. I spent an afternoon drinking Starbucks and enjoying Mariah and the babies this week, while Sam got some school reading done. Of course, he couldn't pick me up without a little Caleb time.

Thursday night of spring break, we spent a night at the beautiful Chase Park Plaza Hotel in St. Louis. The hotel was built in 1922 and has hosted every US president from the 1920's to 1990's. It has also been a venue for many famous musicians, and the Miss America pageant in 1956. Needless to say, its pretty swanky. We enjoyed dinner at Eau Bistro in the hotel (most amazing fettuccine and sea bass ever) and a movie to follow at the Chase Park Cinema (inside the hotel).

 To end our spring break on a great note -- Mom and Dad Haist came to visit! We enjoyed a meal at home on Friday night when they arrived, and of course good eatin' the rest of the weekend. We went to one of our new favorite breakfast places, Half and Half, on Saturday morning and then spent the rest of the morning at the breathtaking Cathedral Basilica. There is NO paint in the Basilica -- its all mosaics, making it the most mosaic filled cathedral in the world. Then we enjoyed seeing a matinee movie at a creepy theater in the afternoon, followed by dinner at Sugarfire Smokehouse. Unfortunately, our weekend was cut short by the impending snow storm. Its already coming down pretty hard!

 And of course -- an Ethel picture. Not just any Ethel picture, but the perfect picture to sum up our week of rest. We're pretty sure Ethel does not struggle with with the ability to rest.