Fall Vacation Day 8 (September 12)

I do have a little more to blog about the LCMS installation service, but I wanted to go on about our vacation. Ram was at home on September 12. He was back to work as a pastor leading 3 services on Sunday morning.
We went to Zion Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne to church. Many of our friends had gone to the installation service and were not back at church on Sunday morning. At least I saw them at the installation service. We saw a few friends that were not able to go to the installation service so I was glad to see them at church on Sunday morning. After church we visited for a little while but I was with the Lambs alone and they were very anxious to do something, not just stand around listening to Mama talk.
So I took the Lambs on a tour of the school where I taught. It was a good time because it was unlocked for Sunday School. A few years ago Zion combined with Unity and Bethlehem and they no longer have classes in the building next to the church. The building is up for sale or lease but so far nothing has happened. It was strange to go through the school-it looked like summer, not September. The classrooms were all pretty much the same as when I taught there. There were many student and one teacher desks in each classroom. There just weren't decorated bulletin boards or other personal items in the classrooms. Even the library looked pretty similar to when I taught there-it looked like they took some books to the new school but the majority were still on the shelves in the library. If they do sell or lease the building they are going to have a lot of work to clean out years worth of school items. Perhaps they will sell most of it with the building or have an auction. I don't know. The tour took a lot of explaining to the Lambs since they are homeschooled-I had to explain what a typical school day was like, where we ate lunch, where recess was, what the gym was for, etc. I can only imagine how difficult the last days of school in that building were for the teachers. It was bittersweet to tour the building-yes that time of my life is done teaching in that school building, but I have lots of good memories there. Even just walking up the several steps and going straight to my classroom like I did for 6 1/2 years for countless times brought memories. Stepping into my classroom made even more memories. I understand times change and the building was very old and expensive to heat and no A/C. I also think of the hundreds of students that were taught in that building-many of them for 8 or 9 years.
I have lots of photos of my students (especially group shots of the whole class), but I had very few photos of the church and school. I also taught before I owned a digital camera. I wish I would have taken more photos of my classroom and the school while I taught there. I did snap a few photos on September 12, but the Lambs wanted to explore the whole building and I couldn't stop and take too many photos or who knows what they would have gotten into unsupervised. Here's the photos that I took-

This stained glass window was at the main entrance of the school between the secretary and headmaster's offices, above the steps where the students waited for their rides each day at the end of school. I think I remember that it was installed while I taught there, but I don't remember that for sure. I liked that your attention was focused up there.

This was the gym. We sat in these old chairs with not enough leg room for someone tall like me to watch basketball games and watch plays. My favorite memories here were every year on the last day of school before Christmas break each class performed something for the rest of the school.  The other side of the gym had a big stage where we tried to have a play or musical each year. The gym was on the 3rd floor, my classroom was on the second floor, and other classrooms were on the first floor (basement). Sometimes it was quite loud to be teaching right under the gym.

This plaque was before they became Zion Lutheran Academy. It was in the entrance.

A view of the side of the church. A few years ago they added a beautiful addition with restrooms, offices, nice area for fellowship after church, kitchen and big meeting room, etc.

After the tour then we stopped over at Bethany Lutheran Church where Ram did his field work to see if we knew anyone. Most of the people we knew did not stay for Bible class that day. I was still glad we stopped by to see the pastor and show the Lambs where Ram was a field worker.

Then we ate a fast lunch and got ready to go over to see some of my high school friends. Mike and Katrina have one girl and one boy that are both a little older than Lamb 1. We also invited our friend Chellie from high school. The combined children at Mike and Katrina's house from the 3 families were 8 boys and 1 girl. Katrina was really brave to invite ALL of us to her house. We had planned to go to a splash pad but it was too cold. Mike grilled out brats, Chellie and I brought a few things to add to the menu, and we had a nice meal. Mike and Katrina have 3 big dogs. They were very understanding that Lamb 1 was afraid. They did a great job keeping the dogs in their kennels for most of the time we were there, warning Lamb 1 when they were going to let the dogs go outside for a little bit so the Lambs could come inside, and warning the Lambs when the dogs would come back inside. The dogs were very well trained. The adults spent most of the afternoon there just chatting and eating. The Lambs played outside most of the time we were there or came and sat by me. The other kids did a combination of playing video games in the basement and playing outside.

Lamb 3 was exhausted after the trip to Saint Louis. Mike was excited when Lamb 3 fell asleep and he could have a chance to hold a "baby". It had been a few years since he held his own children while they slept! Mike's allergies were bad that day so he was a little "drugged up" in this photo. Lamb 3 missed Ram already the first day apart and he wouldn't admit it, but I think he liked another dad holding him. If you would have told me 20 years ago that I would have a photo like this I would have thought you were crazy-both that Mike would be holding one of my children and that I would have 3 boys!

Chellie, Katrina, Ewe
Chellie and Katrina were a year ahead of me in school, but I'm still taller! Sorry for the bad photo-this is the only one where no children were coming in or out of the front door behind us. We did briefly discuss that they will have their 20th class reunion next spring, but I get to wait another year before it is my 20th! All 3 of us look very similar to what we looked like in high school-you wouldn't know that we are moms of 9 children all together nor that it has been almost 20 years!

The Lambs had a great time even though they were scared to go because of the dogs. They had an area in the front yard just for digging in the dirt with shovels and dump trucks. The Lambs loved this and didn't want to go home when it was time. When we went home the first thing was to give them baths! We wished that Ram could have been with us but we had a fun day.