Thanksgving 2010

Thanksgiving: A holiday known for the lavish turkey feast that tends to be the signature of the American household was pretty much exactly that in our home again this year. I started baking last night, making pumpkin bread, corn pudding and cookies (all gluten free). Before bed, I stuck the frozen block of a turkey into the oven, left it to cook overnight on low heat and awoke to the glorious aroma of a fully cooked bird. Satisfying as it was, the cooking wasn't over. I had yet to create the gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing (Two kinds. One gluten free for me. One from a box for them.) I made gluten free rolls from scratch (which failed miserably) and thawed then baked the good yeasty ones for the rest of the family. (They looked almost too good to resist but I did it!).

When the time came to eat, it was almost seven, but the timing was perfect as our friend who had to move from his foreclosed home on Thanksgiving Day walked through the door with his girlfriend. He wasn't going to get to have a good dinner today because of his forced move, but John helped him throughout the day (What an awesome, giving man my husband is!), and the two had most things done in time. And thus, dinner commenced.

With all the work put into it, the meal was over within thirty minutes. Seems to me like people should have lingered longer and savored the yummy dishes, but after smelling it all day I can't say I am surprised. It was satisfying for this mother's heart to look around the table and see the faces of not only family, but friends and know that everyone was well cared for. For while I might have prepared the feast, God provided it through the hard work and earnings of my husband and the bounty of the earth through the animals and plants produced to meet our needs.

And that is what I am most grateful for this year. The fact that Grace is such a huge part of my life; That I get so much more than I deserve and could ever repay. I am thankful for the family I have now, and the wonderful family that I grew up surrounded by. My parents, my brothers, my aunts and uncles, and my grandparents now with the Lord; My adopted family of in-laws and all those who are brothers and sisters in Christ; My friends who already know Jesus and those who don't; And my three sons who are awesome despite the terrible teens they are navigating. I am grateful for them all because while house and food and comfortable bed and mind-numbing television are all nice, it's these people, these relationships that are built here in a chaotic and difficult world, that will last through my forever.

And that, my friends, is grace. And that is what I am thankful for today. Just a shout out to my family far, far away - Thanks Mom and Dad for doing right by me, loving me and showing me the meaning of commitment in marriage and to your family. Thanks Dan for taking such an interest in me growing up and taking me shopping and to movies, and always remembering to send cards. Thanks Mike for not throwing me down the steps when I was young and couldn't get my name right (Who was "Puddentain" anyway?) and for showing me the meaning of truly never giving up no matter what life throws at you. You have all influenced me to become who I am today and without you my life would not be complete.

But, yeah... the meal was pretty dang good, too! ;-) So here are a few pics of our casual (for the kids) day at home. John and I worked hard, but it was oh so satisfying! Happy Thanksgiving!!

Time flies...

So I know I said months ago I planned to begin trying to fill in the blanks of the Hergenrather clan since the last post, but as we can all see - that didn't work out so well. So my proposal to myself is this: I will make a year in photos to share with everyone for Christmas! Yes, lads and ladies, I will take the time to go through our iPhoto albums and bring about the best of the best of the year and share it with you all.

The kids have changed, of course, as kids do. We have changed, not usually something adults do a lot of but we have both lost some weight this year. (YAY!) We have enjoyed having all the boys in online school as it's taken more stress off me and given me more time to be mom rather than teacher. Overall, it's been a good year despite my relapse in April. God's had his hand on our lives and seen us through and in the end I think we're all better for it.

We visited family in Ohio last year for Christmas, and I think this would probably be a good time to put up the highlights of that trip, just to get us in the mood for the upcoming holiday season! Who knows, maybe I'll even post a few Thanksgiving pics of this year - Lord willing I can remember!

Anyway - without further ado, here is last year's Christmas. May it make you festive as it has me and look forward to another great time of family bonding a we recognize the true reason for the season - and not the toy stores.

(Just to recap - we spent Christmas day in Chicago airport. So NOT fun. The rest are fairly self explanatory - I hope!)

Finally!

For over a year I have been trying to access this blog, but with little success. Blogger had changed its system at about the same time we changed our initializing email, and the mess that ensued seemingly locked us out of any communication on here. Whether their fault or mine, I do not know. The good news is: We're back! The bad news is so much has been missed!

For example, in December, Steph (me!) and the kids went to Ohio for a visit. We spent New Years there and came home almost a week later. Many photos were snapped and good memories made, things that should have been documented here and (time permitting) will be. In fact, I'll work on a "2009 Highlights" post in the near future.

So anyway, this is just to say, "Yay! I figured out how to post again!" and let you all know to be watching for updates again. =D

The Holidays 2008

So the holiday season has been wonderful for us. From Christmas through New Years, it has been both relaxing and exciting. John has had long 4 day weekends because of where the holidays fell, so we have all gotten to spend more time together as a result. It has been a blessing. We should probably start on Christmas Eve with the telling of our tale. The kids wanted to open a gift like we always used to the night before Christmas. Since we didn't do large family gifts like we had the last couple of years, we agreed. We had given the boys some money to buy for one another. $20 a piece, with a breakdown of $10 per brother or they could combine their monies to get something more substantial for one brother. Alex and David combined money for Zach, but otherwise they did it independently. David ended up with two books, one from each brother, Zach got a digital camera and Alex got a Star Wars figure he wanted and a goo gun. As you can see, Alex loved the figure very much.

Christmas morning came early as Alex was super excited, having opted for more gifts to open rather than one large gift and a few extras. So, needless to say, his excitement was contagious whether we wanted to get up and be happy or not. We came downstairs to the tree having been stacked with presents beneath it the night before. Alex got to play Santa and hand out the gifts. Yes, everyone looks tired but him, but hey, we aren't so young anymore. =p
For the record, Alex and David picked out this tree, Alex being quite the negotiator in our absence. He got a $65 tree for $30. The man who sold the trees said Alex needs to either be a lawyer or salesman or something because he had the guy on his knees and eating out of his hand before he even knew he was there. More power to Alex!

Some of the bigger gifts included a Hebrew Bible for David, something completely in Hebrew which will help him in the class he is taking at the church. He loves the class more than any of us thought possible so he was thrilled with the book. Zach got a pair pf skis, some more professional than he had (that you'll see later). Alex's big gift was his race track and Steph got 4 scarves and lots of body lotions and bath stuffs. John got a new iPod Touch because his iPod was stolen in the parking lot of a church two weeks before when we attended the baptism of a friend's son. Even Scoobi made out this Christmas. She got a new bed and some doggie treats.


The day after Christmas, we had gotten dumped on with snow. Well, we had been getting dumped on all week! but this was fresh and Zach got to take up his new skis and try them out with John. John said Zach's skill level increased dramatically with the new skis, that he could see him on a race team and winning easily. Here's a few pics from their adventure.


The snow melted almost as quickly as it came, so while the guys got to go again on Sunday, no more ski trips have come yet. Hopefully more snow will visit us in the valley this winter. We have hope considering how early it has already come. Regardless, time moves on and a new year is upon us. New Year's Eve, last night, John took me to a masquerade party. I didn't know what to expect, but ended up having a blast. We danced (yes, literally danced) from the time we arrived at about 10:30 until about 2:45, at which point John said, "I think I can make it home if we leave now." At which point, I replied, "Time to go!" We dressed as a Pirate and his wench. John had the costume already from Burning Man this year, and we were able to put mine together in one afternoon from a local store. Contrary to popular belief, it wasn't all wild and sloppy drunks. Most people were sober and just there to mingle and dance. It was a lot of fun and I'm grateful to the boys for letting us have this time out.

So there we go. That was our holiday season for the year 2008. Hope you all had as much fun, peace and love as we shared among us. May 2009 be all the better, hold more promise and even more love than the last and we'll keep you all in our hearts and prayers despite the distance. Love you all!