Christmas 2009

Lucille, Mercy & Joshua
Christmas 2009

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, "The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace"
-Isaiah 9:6

Portraits Again

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the pictures I had done in December.

More Picures from Oak Glen

The children posed in front of Willowbrook again this year.

And another cute picture.

After Willowbrook Apple Farm, we went over to Sno-Line to see if they had any Winesap apples to buy (they didn't). We did get some apple donuts to nibble on and they did have a few animals to pet. This llama really liked Jason, but didn't like pictures. Everytime I tried to get a picture of Lucy with the llama, it w0uld hide behind Jason and peek over his shoulder!

Oak Glen 2009

On Saturday we made our yearly trek out to Oak Glen. Before we went out I checked out the web sites and was disappointed to read that a late spring frost had wiped out most of this year's apple crop. We decided to go out and make the most of the day.

We started out at Law's Cafe for breakfast. They have a wonderful buffet that is served on the weekends through apple season. Their french toast is the best! They also offer eggs, bacon (Joshua says it is the best he ever tasted), potatoes, sausage, ham, freshly made cinammon rolls, pastries, apple butter, apple topping, fruit, home made salsa, waffles, and more I am probably forgetting. I wish I had a bigger stomach!

Next, we went to Willowbrook Farm to make cider. We always start out at the tasting table. They offer most of their products to sample. This year they offered their first batch of apple blossom honey. It was tasty!

Mercy and I found a pretty picture spot while waiting to make cider.

This was Lucy's first trip to Oak Glen. She really enjoyed being outdoors. It helped that it was a beautiful cool day.

Jason and Joshua were hanging out waiting to press cider. The owners and workers at Willowbrook are so friendly and helpful. They remembered us from past years & were happy to see our new addition.

Mercy posing for another picture.

Joshua and Jason worked hard turning the wheel for our gallon of cider. Mercy helped by throwing the apples in the grinder.

This is the cider being poured through the filter. There were a couple of bees that got into the cider while we were pressing it.

Our beautiful children!

We found this lovely pumpkin in the pumpkin patch.

Cider Pressing!

This year, was the first time that we tried pressing our own cider. We think the cider tasted better, because we had to work so hard before we enjoyed it.

Joshua and Jason had the hard work of turning the wheel to smash the apples through the grinder.

Mercy and I had the easy job of putting the apple in the grinder.

After the apples were grinded, we had to turn the press to squeeze all the juice out of the apples. And then the cider is poured into a gallon bottle after going through a filter to take out any large pieces and bees that fell into the vat.

We had a wonderful morning in Oak Glen. Breakfast, apple picking, and cider pressing! We can't wait until next year!

Oak Glen

Last month we took our annual trip to Oak Glen. We woke up early to get there in time for breakfast. We ate at Law's Cafe, where they serve a buffet breakfast. It was delicious! I highly recommend it, but if you go get there early. We got there a couple of minutes before the buffet started, and the dining room was almost full of people waiting to eat. By the time we got up to get in line at the buffet, there was a line of people waiting outside to get in. But it is worth it! Yummy!

After breakfast, we headed over to Willowbrook Apple Farm for apple picking and cider pressing. It is a small family run farm. The children were able to feed and pet Duke, the horse, again. This year they had a new pot bellied pig, she was so cute and excited to meet us.

Cute little apple pickers!

It was a beautiful, crisp, clear morning.

I tried to get Jason to take a picture with the children. It is almost impossible to get that man to smile!

But after some work, I was able to coax a smile out of him!

I had to help Mercy pick apples. It was only the second weekend that Willowbrook was open, so there were plenty of apples that were low for the children to pick.

Reformation Night

As we do not observe Halloween, each year we look for ways to avoid the celebration of it. I find it increasingly hard as the children grow older to keep them from the holiday. Everywhere we go there are reminders of it. We couldn't go to any store without seeing decorations and people would ask the children what they were going to dress up as. I am so happy that that is over with for the year!

This past Friday, we went to our church's Refomation Night. October 31st is Reformation Day, a holiday in rememberance of the reformation. It is celebrated on the anniversary of the day in 1517 that Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany.

RBCR had games and activities for the children to learn about the reformation and have fun.

This is Joshua getting ready to throw relics in the river.

Mercy and Joshua listen to Robyn tell how to spin the wheel to learn about the life of reformer John Calvin.

This is the St. Giles bowling game.

The children were able to make graham cracker churches, and decorate them with candy.

Joshua and I had trouble getting his church to stay standing.

At the Diet of Worms booth, the children had to knock down the books that were not written by Luther.

At this booth the children throw papal bulls into the fire.

Here is Mercy painting a picture of a famous reformer.

The children received tickets at the booths and then were able to trade them in for prizes!
I have to say that Melissa (pictured above behind the prize table) did an awesome job putting that night all together. Thank you Melissa for all the time, imagination, and hard work that you put in to give our family a memorable night!

Our Valentine's Dinner

Sorry, I have been remiss in my blog posting of late. We have been happily busy with activities.

This weekend is the Little League Opening Day and if the rain doesn't prevent it, Joshua will have his first ball game of the season. Go Tigers! Jason also is set to have a game that day. We are also looking forward to the Winter Music Festival of the Western Society of Chamber Music on Saturday night. It is a great way to introduce the family to classical music.

We had a very enjoyable Valentine's dinner. The children helped in the kitchen, and had a blast decorating the table. They did an awesome job.

They wanted lots of candles! So I lit up the candelabra and tea lights.

We had champagne and sparkling apple cider. The children were so excited that they got to use the glass champagne flutes.

Sugar Cookies!

The children each arranged a vase of flowers. Mercy decorated place cards. Joshua made construction paper hearts and wrote a Bible verse about love on each one, he then placed one under each plate as a surprise.

It was a special family dinner. We all agreed that we should make it an annual tradition. I am already thinking of ideas for next year!