Merry Christmas! ...From Our Family to Yours

Merry Christmas from sunny Jacksonville, Florida! It’s hard to believe, but this is our 7^th Christmas in Florida. As we reflect on this past year, we are able to say that we have been blessed abundantly and cared for gently by our Heavenly Father.

The children have all grown so much this past year. It is fun to watch them each develop their personalities. Arianna (8 ½ yrs old) still bemoans the fact that she is the oldest, but she has stepped up to that role wonderfully. She is an avid reader and loves playing the piano. Asher (6 ½ yrs old) is now reading and this past year he has exchanged his love of hockey for football. Julianna (2 ½ yrs old) is now potty trained, talking a lot and still making us laugh. She is no longer a baby.

We were unable to travel outside of the country for much of the year because of our permanent residency applications. We are hoping that our “green cards” will arrive soon allowing us to travel freely.

We wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Love from,

Cor and Marlene, Arianna, Asher and Julianna

Guess what Santa Brought....Early

The lost has been found, and mailed to our address. I used it as a gift and stuck it in her stocking. Julianna, as you can tell, is very happy with her gift...her much loved bunny!

thrilled

careful examination of it's face, making sure it's the same one!

Decorating the Tree

Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree
thy leaves are so unchanging,
Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree
thy leaves are so unchanging,

Not only green when summer's here
but also when 'tis cold and drear
Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree
thy leaves are so unchanging,

How often has the Christmas tree
afforded me the greatest glee
Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree
much pleasure thou canst give me

Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree
thy leaves are so unchanging.

Thanksgiving in North Carolina '07

What a great week we had! It was so refreshing, fun, exciting and relaxing! I had forgotten how much I missed the fall season. The colors were still so beautiful. When we arrived in NC the weather was comfortable and towards the end of the week...it was not! Now for the pictures, a mix-match of happenings.

Arianna & Julianna

Julianna's first time in the leaves...she seems to be enjoying them

Arie & Wilma's back yard

cookie turkey made by Jenna & Charity
isn't it cute

Thanksgiving Dinner, kids table and adult table
dinner was so delicious; ham, turkey, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole
rolls and of course pumpkin and pecan and mint pie.

Julianna absolutely lovin' the fast moving vehicle...
she has no fear of anything but women!

you will notice that Cor has Julianna's bunny (aka sleep prop) on his head,
that's the last time we've seen it...it's lost!

Cor getting a generous portion of pie & whipping cream

Charity & Arianna wearing their new dresses
I'm sure this pose is one of many!

Asher learned how to play Dutch Blitz, and loved it!
guess what he's getting from Santa?

we are all having fun playing and laughing together

WHILE
these people prefer quiet, mind activities

Andrea & Corrie (Greg's fiance) playing Mastermind

and Cor hiding out reading...a ridiculous book.
(thanks Big Ash for leaving it here)

chatting with Greg

animals have taken over the garage
an elk being used as a bow hanger

Greg & Corrie with the buck that Greg caught, oh, I mean shot on Thanksgiving morn!

after an anatomy lesson from Greg, here he hung to rest

UNTIL

he got butchered!
Cor, Arie and Andrea drove up to Virginia to visit a friend who cut the meat off

Andrea with the deer hip

that's all friends. Sorry no pictures of us girls shopping.

Quite a Husband that Cor is...

Arrived at my home for no special occasion...










....being one of the last ones to leave church has its advantages. Left over flowers from a wedding.

We love Wilbur!!

Arianna did a book study on Charlotte's Web and it was a delight to hear her read it to me! For all the moms who are teaching your child to read...it gets better! Rarely do I do any of the crafts that are suggested in the curriculum, but when making a paper mache Wilbur was suggested I had to make it with my kids. The kids had so much fun making Wilbur and kept saying, "Mom, thanks for making this with us, this glue feels like buttermilk, this is so much fun!"

started with balloons and paper towel rolls

for the first layer of newspaper we kept the mess outside, I took the pigs inside to dry and than the next day we took them outside to put on the second layer. The temperature and pressure change was to drastic and the balloons started to slowly expand and then pop! I was a little frustrated because of all the time it took to make it so far, but thought I'd finish the project and in the evening I made new pigs and put a new layer on.

after three layers of newspaper, we were ready to paint! After 5 layers of paint, googly eyes, black feet and a pink tail... Wilbur was "some pig"!

isn't he cute?

We thoroughly enjoyed Charlotte's Web, and watching the new movie was also a highlight! Arianna's piano teacher took her to watch the movie when it came out but it was the first time watching it for Asher and me. Arianna is going to use her pig as a piggy bank but Asher wants to use his as a pinata (a shame for all the work that was involved).

Corn Maze Visit

We have been enjoying our week off of school and spending our days with Cor. Today, Cor took Arianna & Asher to the Corn Maze in Hilliard. (I went shopping with Julianna) It was a gorgeous day to be outside, the kids had so much fun doing the maze and all the other activities at the Acres. The maze was in the shape of Noah's Ark.

Thanksgiving with friends

In case you didn't believe me when I said that Julianna's toys are scattered everywhere when I teach...here is some of the evidence!

(is that snow outside?)

Now for the Thanksgiving pictures: there aren't very many good ones of the food but it was delicious. We had fried turkey, cornbread stuffing, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, rolls and for dessert, pumpkin and cherry pie. We enjoyed our time with our friends and the kids had a blast playing with the many, many toys.

the turkey was fried in peanut oil, it was the BEST turkey I have ever tasted!
juicy and tasty!