My Lutheran Stud

This is my husband that I call my Lutheran Stud because he's just that. He's a Lutheran pastor (LCMS) and he knows theology well.

He was asked to speak at Our Lutheran Faith Lay Theological Conference this past Saturday in Fort Collins. It's a conference where laymen can come and learn about different theological topics. Not only did people come from the northern Colorado area, there were also people that drove from the eastern plains, Colorado Springs, and Wyoming. It was great!

The topic was Heaven and Hell as Revealed in the Scriptures. The conference began with Matins and ended with Vespers. I loved that.

In between Matins and Vespers was all of this Lutheran goodness about heaven and hell. My husband does a fabulous job making charts and helping people understand what he says.

It's like he can just snap his fingers and everything makes sense. See? He's doing it right now.

There was such a nice turn out for this conference. Either he's a popular guy or the topic of heaven and hell is quite interesting. I'll let you decide for yourself which one it was. Whenever you get a bunch of Lutherans together you always find out what a small world it really is, at least the Lutheran world. We were blessed to meet Lutherans we had never met before. I also met my husband's grandmother Rosemarie's cousin. How crazy is that? We didn't even know his grandma had a cousin in the area.

Just because I'm married to a pastor doesn't mean that I know everything that he knows. It was incredibly fascinating to learn about what heaven will be like. What I found most comforting is knowing that we will see Jonathan again someday and we'll even get to see him grow up. For now because of the fall into sin we wait. We wait patiently. "But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth which righteousness dwells." 2 Peter 3:13.


"The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen." 2 Timothy 4:18

Anna My Model

50mm ISO 400 f/1.8 1/200

Rumor has it that the next Melius Cousins' Reunion is going to be in Colorado. This was a conversation which took place a few summers ago at the Melius Family Reunion. Apparently I volunteered to put it together here in Colorado for the summer of 2013. I don't remember this conversation, but was reminded of this conversation when we were in South Dakota just a few weeks. Does anyone besides Angela and Laura remember this conversation? No worries, cousins. I'm on it. Jared and I have a few ideas and we'll get this thing together, so you all better come. Another conversation we had was about photography. It seems that many Melius cousins have now upgraded to a DSLR, so it looks like a few of you will need a few lessons on how to use your new fancy cameras. Never fear, Camera Jan is here to help! Anna has kindly offered to be my model. Here are some camera settings to get you started.

50mm ISO 400 f/2.0 1/400

All of these photos have been taken from the same angle, but with different camera settings. The preference is yours when it comes to what look you like best. Don't forget to shut your flash off. I always aim to focus on a person's eyes. Normally that is what one would most like to see in focus. My shutter speed (1/400) in this photo is a bit faster than the photo above. This allows the shutter to click faster letting in less light, but also creating less movement blur. Does that make sense? If your subject isn't really moving much then your shutter can be a bit slower, however if you are shooting a soccer game then you would want your shutter speed quite a bit faster. Also, if there isn't a lot of light you will want a slower shutter in order to let more light into your camera.

50mm ISO 400 f/2.0 1/400

Since I have a toddler that doens't necessarily sit still all of the time I am going to need a faster shutter, so that her slight movements aren't blurry. When I'm indoors I try not to let my shutter speed fall below 1/100. At night that is a little more difficult. If I'm outdoors and it's bright and sunny my shutter speed can often be as high as 1/3500. 

50mm ISO 400 f/1.6 1/400

17mm ISO 400 f/4.0 1/125

All of these photos were taken in our kitchen. I was sitting with my back to the door, so when Anna was facing me her eyes were capturing the light from those big windows creating catchlights in her eyes. You don't need a ton of light, but it does help to be near a window to use some of that natural light in your home. That's all for now. You guys work on your shutter speed and we'll chat about aperture or ISO next time and Melius cousins mark your calendars!

Chicken Tortellini Soup

Being out of town for almost a week we returned home to an almost empty fridge. I also have a fear of grocery shopping on the weekend, so I just don't do it. If I'm desperate I beg my Lutheran Stud to stop somewhere on his way home. Thankfully, I remembered this recipe that Deann shared with me when we hosted a big soup party! It was a big hit and I had all the ingredients on hand, so I didn't have to go to the store.

It's so easy. You just throw all of the ingredients into the pot and let it simmer for a while.

It's ready in about 1/2 an hour. Hot and ready to serve.

It goes well with some garlic bread too. Thanks for sharing, Deann. We all love it.

Tortellini Chicken Soup

1 cup sliced carrots

½ cup chopped onions

½ cup thinly sliced celery

2 cups cooked and chopped chicken

46 OZ of Chicken Broth

1 ½ cups of cheese-filled tortellini (I used frozen)

¼ teaspoon dried thyme

¼ teaspoon pepper

1 can Cream of Chicken Soup

1 bay leaf

2 Tablespoons Dried Parsley

1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup

Combine all of the above ingredients except for the Cream of Mushroom Soup. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cover and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer over medium or low heat for 20 minutes. Add 1 can of Cream of Mushroom Soup. Heat 5 minutes more. Remove bay leaf and serve.

Snow Days

We returned home from South Dakota to a ton of snow. It took quite awhile to get it all shoveled.

The children used to call this table a cupcake, but it has now been upgraded to cake. I just love the look of freshly fallen, untouched snow. It's so pretty and looks like a big fluffy marshmallow.

We ended up with just under 18 inches of snow. This actually isn't the most snow that we've received since we've been living in Denver. One winter I think we got about 27 inches of snow and it was just before Christmas. I remember because we received packages on days that delivery companies don't normally deliver. They worked a lot of overtime that year.

One day the children attempted to dig an igloo.

Then David decided to go for a swim in the snow.

Rachel wanted someone to participate in a snowball fight with her.

The boys decided to destroy the igloo they were building.

Thomas decided to make a really big snowman instead.

David was ready to destroy anything in his way.

My Lutheran Stud took the older children sledding. They also decided to build a giant snowman. Happy Valentine's Day! We're still covered in snow around here. The sun should begin melting things quickly, I hope.

On the Road Again

As much as we wanted to stay in South Dakota it just wasn't an option, so we eventually hit the road again and headed home.

People are always curious as to how we pack all of our children and our belongings in our vehicle. I don't how we did it, but it seems like we had more room on the way home. You can actually see out the back window, which wasn't the case on the way out.

With word of blizzard conditions on our usual route home we stayed north as long as we could and even crossed the Missouri river. How pretty is that?

It doesn't take much to keep our children entertained. Books on CD (The Chronicles of Narnia this time) and some cowboy boots do just the trick.

We finally hit some snow on our very last stop in Chugwater, Wy. This was actually the worst of it. From here on out the roads were pretty clear. There was just a small amount of snow coming down and the roads were just wet until we were a few miles from home.

We came home to this. My husband won't pull into the driveway until it's been shoveled. We don't want ice patches later.

There was quite a bit of snow in our neighborhood. No blizzard though. 

With half the driveway shoveled we were happy campers to be back at home again after 10 1/2 hours in the car.

It's been 2 weeks since Luke's funeral. Please continue to keep Rick and Katie in your prayers.

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13

Checking Cattle Again

Since I packed my cowboy boots and calves could be born at any time we headed back to David and Laura's to check on the cattle again. I was even prepared, since I had my boots, to help deliver a calf if needed. I know, I know. This is all so funny isn't it? Really. I was ready.
When we arrived Landen, age 8 was herding the cattle into the barn. I was going to hop the fence and help him, but I thought you'd want to see these photos instead.
Can you see Landen there? He's that tiny little thing in the back.  He did a perfect job getting the cattle in. They were only scared off when we arrived and Callie, the dog started barking.
David's got this high tech video camera where he can keep his eye on the happenings in the barn while he's still in the house. During dinner he told me that it might be my lucky night. I was so excited. Turns out we missed the birth of this little calf by just minutes. Bummer

All of the cattle watched intently. Their eyes were all on the tiny little calf.

Okay, maybe they were watching David who jumped in there. He was hoping the calf was a bull, but it wasn't. Well, at least you've got about 197 more chances. :)

Watching that little calf try to walk and find its way was so amazing.

Here's David and Laura. Can you believe Laura just had a baby 6 weeks ago? 

This is Eric and his wife Laci. Eric is Joel and Dawn's son and my Lutheran Stud's cousin. Got that?

Here we have the two Rachels in the family. There are also two Davids, but we forgot to snap that photo. Out of all of the Melius families I have to say that our two families have the best taste in names. ;)

Then, of course, we had to attempt the all children photo when the children are exhausted and crabby and ready to go home. That's the perfect photo opportunity. 

The Catteless Farm

Back in the day my Lutheran Stud used to spend his high school summers in South Dakota on the farm. His Uncle Joel and Aunt Dawn's house is like a second home to him. We spent the majority of our time at Joel and Dawn's house during this trip. Elizabeth was a little under the weather for this trip, but was still an easy going traveler.

Dawn taught the kids how to play solitaire. They all ended up playing for hours each day.

Thomas needed a little help, but started picking it up quickly.

You can't play cards all day long because there's always work to do on the farm. These grain bins have stuff in them and something must be done with the stuff in there. :)

While we were there it was time to haul corn. That's my Lutheran Stud showing off for the camera. 

The corn gets loaded up on this belt auger.

From the auger it goes into the semi.While that's happening you just stand around and wait. Stay away from the corn because that stuff will get into hair and clothes. Then you'll be itchy all day, so I hear.

Once the semi starts to fill up you'll have to move it ahead a bit, so the corn doesn't overflow out of the semi. That could get messy.

My Lutheran Stud was kind enough to climb up to the top of the highest grain bin and capture some aerial shots for me. (I'm deathly afraid of heights.) There's Joel and Dawn's huge house and our tiny little car.

Joel and I are in the semi here. 

My dear husband was even kind enough to take my camera when they brought the corn to the elevator.

Now, the corn gets dumped onto these grates and there is some secret area underground where all the corn goes. Pretty intriguing if you ask me.

These bins are just huge. I don't think you can really imagine it unless you are there in person.

Somehow all of that corn ends up here. This is where it's stored until. . . until, I have no idea. I just know that this is where it sits until someone else comes to get it. There.

After a few runs to the elevator it was time for Dawn's world famous sloppy joes. She won't share the recipe with me, but don't worry I tasted them and now I think I'm going try and figure out how she made them. :) They were fantastic, best I've ever had!

Strangely enough the weather in South Dakota was pretty incredible for January/February. The sun was out and the wind wasn't even that bad. The kids played outside and took loads of corn to the elevator. Me? I just sat inside and watched. :)