More about Luehmanns, Part 1

I've decided to drag out my Thanksgiving experience into several blogs! But this was a really milestone Thanksgiving, to be with the whole Rugh family - so I am going to indulge myself in blogging about them!

Here's some more about the Luehmanns. As I mentioned earlier, I arrived at their house on Wednesday night before Thanksgiving. My route took me on the east side of St. Paul and from there I followed the Mississippi River the rest of the way. Here's a photo of the river:

When I arrived I met all the kids and they sure are a lot of fun! Laurel is 7 and very pretty, kind of quiet, but not shy. She plays the piano, rolls out pie crusts, and took me along while she fed their pony. Peyton and Jackson are 5 and as you would expect, have two different personalities! I noticed that Peyton liked his shirt tucked in and didn't mind keeping his tie on after church. Jackson helped me make pies, he also likes to make funny faces and voices. They both have a lot of green farm machinery toys, and know a lot about how they work. They explained combines to me. Olivia is 3 and is always smiling! I expected her to be up to mischief with that smile, but she's just a happy person! Abigail is about a year and a half and is kind of like one of those old souls. Very calm. In no time she was reaching up for me to hold her and is very easygoing. I really enjoyed getting to carry her around, and got to sit next to her for the ride to Elgin and back (sorry, Laurel!)

Katie made sausage corn chowder (I think it was called) for Wednesday dinner and I got to see how they feed their family of five kids age 7 and under. The food and dishes are placed at the head of the table next to Paul and Katie. They dish up the food and pass it down to the kids (and me - yum!) The same goes for drinks. That night they had milk from their own dairy. After dinner each person clears their own dishes (well, maybe not Abby). Then it is somebody's chore to sweep the dining area. Each family member took their turn sitting next to me. It was fun to be the guest!

As I mentioned earlier, I stayed in the boys' room (without the boys! as Katie had said!) and so they slept in the girls' room. Here you can see two boys on the top bunk, there are two girls on the bottom bunk, and Abby, whose crib is in there also.

I slept in and awoke to a view of a lovely yard with lawn and big spruce trees, swingset and sand box.
For breakfast on Thanksgiving day, Katie and Paul had made a (oh, what do you call it?) dish of eggs, ham, cheese, and more, baked in a 9x13 pan. The ham was from their own pig.

Next time: more about the Luehmanns, including the farm!