Christmas Day 2009

Christmas Day was spent with the Van Essen side of the family. Here is Grandpa and Fay with the grandkids (Samantha, Silas, Noah, Jaclyn, Shaylee, Shane, Sydney, Isaac, and Levi. (Hannah not pictured).


Opening gifts - such a fun time for the kids (and the adults too).

Silas and Shaylee got new sand toys - can't wait to use those next summer at the lake!

Each of the boys got a tool box with tools and nails and wood. Grandpa was showing Silas how to hammer in a nail...he gave it a go! Good work Silas!


The girls each got pj's and robes. Aren't they adorable!!!!

Christmas Day 2009 - Pageant

Christmas Day (December 25) 2009 - The much awaited snow storm had hit. Church was cancelled - so we had our own service at home. The kids had put together a pageant of the Christmas story and they did a great job acting out their parts. It was a special way to celebrate the birth of Jesus...and a way the kids will definately remember as well.

This first picture was actually taken at the cabin on Tuesday - this was costume fitting day and dress rehearsal.

Taken from Luke 2:1-20 - NIV Bible
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a cenus should be taken of the entire Roman world. And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Suddenly a great company of heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the sheperds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." So they hurried off and found Mary, Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for al the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Taken from Matthew 2: 1-12 - NIV Bible

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all of Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teacher of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written: But you Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel." Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him." After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the houe, hey saw the child and his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

The kids did a great job - and had fun too! Grandma Great and Grandpa enjoyed watching the pageant.

Gingerbread Houses

Thursday, December 24 -After all the fun outside the kids came in and made Gingerbread houses with Grandpa and Fay. They had a blast making them!

Doesn't that look delicious!!!!!

Since the gingerbread houses were purchased on discount the year before - we didn't actually eat them...we enjoyed Jaclyn's Birthday cake instead - she turned 7 on December 23!

Happy Birthday Jaclyn!!!!

Fun Times in the Snow!

Thursday, December 24 - a huge snow storm was predicted....but before the winds hit, we decided to take the kids out for some tubing on the hills. We took the two snowmobiles and the 4-wheeler through the pasture and up to the hills. We already had quite a bit of snow - so going through the pasture was quite the snowy experience (at least for the person (Shane) riding on the tube behind the snowmobile!)

Shaylee and Silas ready to go...

Jaclyn, Sam and Noah excited to head to the hills on the snowmobiles.

Let the fun begin!

The snow was so deep that tubing down the hill didn't work all that well. The goal was to tube down, then Jer would swing down on the snowmobile and pull the person and tube back up the hill. Unfortunately that didn't work the greatest as at one time the snowmobile got stuck! I guess we'll resort to the old fashioned way of trudging back up the hill!

Stuck in the snow....

Time to head back to the farm - Silas is ready to go. A beautiful picture of the farm down below blanketed in snow.

Once back on the farm place we continued to take kids for rides on the tubes behind the snowmobiles. This seemed to work better - as long as you didn't swing the kids into any of the buildings (I think Syd was riding behind me when she hit the barn...oops!)

Jer pulling Shane and Silas for a ride.

Jaclyn and Sydney each taking a turn on the tube!

Fun Times

Pictures from Tuesday, December 22. Jer's sisters and families came up to the cabin for the day. The cousins had a blast playing together. A ton of fun was had by all!


Heading outdoors - fun on the lake!

Digging a hole in the ice...with the crew! Playing in the snow.

A veiw of the cabin - and also out onto the lake - notice all the ice fishing shacks


Sydney with cousins Hannah. Silas with Uncle Tom.

Uncle Tom and Aunt Ruth spent the night. We had extra fun with them. Here seen with the kids piggy-back-dancing! The music was on SOOO loud...you'd think we wake the neighbors....but not Shane, who was in the same room zonked out!

Let the Updates Begin!

Yes it has been a few weeks since you've seen a post from us - sorry - but we were on VACATION. And what a wonderful vacation back to the US for Christmas and New Years it was! So wonderful that I'm not sure any of us are ready to get back to the reality of going back to work and school! I guess we will cross that bridge early (and I mean EARLY) tomorrow morning...ugh! Just thinking about getting out of bed before 9am wears me out....yes I know we've been VERY spoiled!!!

Anyhow - what you are really waiting for I'm sure are PICTURES. So here they come (some of them anyway, not sure how many I'll actually get posted tonight yet)...enjoy! And I do hope you all, wherever you were, had wonderful times over the holidays. Hard to believe they have come and gone so quickly! We are already 10 days into 2010! WOW, time does fly!

okay - so pictures aren't uploading...you'll just have to wait!