Just January

Although there have been no great and grand happenings in our household, and very few "grab the camera" moments, I thought I'd rest from my "laziness" and add to our blog. Our family is slowly making the adjustment to the cold weather after enjoying Florida. Actually the kids don't seem to have a problem, but the adults just can't seem to love the cold. And actuallly, Jonathan thinks its just great, as long as he can get some skating in out on the pond. Kevin loves the snow, and is looking forward to waking up tomorrow to lots of it again. So I guess that leaves me as being the least crazy about the icy temperatures. But I do happen to love seasons, and they are definitely a reminder of God's faithfulness over the passing of time.

"While the earth remains,

seedtime and harvest,

cold and heat,

Winter and Summer,

and day and night

shall not cease."

Genesis8:22.

The kids enjoying the hill out behind the school just down the road from us.

Some goofy moments in our home. This used to be a sort of ball which eventually got a little too much abuse. We discovered it made for a pretty good wig!

My dear mother celebrated her 50th birthday much to my surprise. I honestly had no idea that it was already her 50th until the day of her birthday. It must have something to do with how good she looks! We celebrated her birthday at her house on the 2nd and later at Ken and Beth's with just their descendents. We love our mother and Oma very much and are very thankful for all she does for us!

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January also brought a time of sadness. Oma Steenhof went home to be with the Lord. Although this is a time of mourning because of the hole she leaves in our lives, it is also a time of rejoicing because,

"Precious in the sight of the Lord, is the death of His saints." Psalm 116:15

The funeral and the time surrounding it was not only a time of rejoicing because of the hope we have in God's promises, it was also a time of reunion, as relatives from what seemed like all over the world got acquainted or reaquainted.

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Here are two boys who just love their dad and can't get enough of him!

Jonathan celebrated his 28th birthday on Tuesday. Kevin spent quite a bit of time making this book for him. It is very cute. The kids enjoyed opening the presents! A birthday is a great time to celebrate a person, and take time out of our busy lives to try to make a day extra special. In doing so, I learn to put aside selfishness and focus on others - in this case my husband. It is a great habit, and its too bad it often takes a birthday to really celebrate a person and realize how great a part of our lives they really are. We hope your day was special!

And last but not least - Kylie! We couldn't do a blog entry without including her!!

Florida, December -- 2007

Our family was recently able to enjoy a 12 day trip (including driving) to Leesberg located in the heart of Florida. We were able to stay at my Grandparents winter home which is located on a resort with all the amenities and more. It is a perfect spot to kick back and relax. We took a few small trips, but spent the majority of our time in the resort. We are thankful to God for giving us safety as we travelled many miles, for letting our van get us there and back (I was worried), for beautiful weather, for the many kind people we met, and for the wonderful opportunity to spend time together as a family in such a relaxed setting. We all had a great time and have wished ourselves back many times since arriving home. At least we have the memories!


We arrived in Florida on Friday afternoon (the 21st). We drove through most of the night, stopping for about an hour and a half. The kids did really well on the drive, and squabbling was kept to a minimum. We borrowed a portable DVD player which probably helped. Adventures in Odyssey was also a favorite.

We all enjoyed a few rounds of minigolf. Kade got a hole in one on his very first shot. (obviously not on the shot pictured:) His abilities rapidly declined after that.

The kids loved the water, and swam every day. We spent almost every afternoon at the pool. It didn't take Kevin long to graduate from his lifejacket. He wished I would have taken a picture of him without his lifejacket, but I only brought the camera to the pool the first day. Kade wore waterwings and was probably the one who spent the most time in the water. Kylie also enjoyed the water for short times. (the pool was heated which helped).

Below is some of the wildlife we got to see. The pictures of the large alligator are not the clearest due to the fact that they are on extreme zoom. (somewhat comforting)!

We spent Christmas morning at Rogers Park/ Venetian Gardens in Leesburg. Rogers Park has a wonderful playground which we all had some fun on. It made for a great game of tag. We then walked through the gardens which are very scenic. We came back later in the week for another trip at night. It was decorated with thousands of Christmas lights, and was very NICE!

Some of Grandpa and Grandma's friends from church invited us for Christmas dinner with about 20 people, so we still got to enjoy the turkey, potatoes, stuffing, veggies, desserts, and much more. The people there are very gracious and very friendly. We really enjoyed chatting with them.

We took one day to visit the ocean. We had decided that we would like to see the Gulf side this time as we had already been to Daytona Beach the last time we went. It took us a lot of driving to find a beach. We found a lot of harbours, but this was the first beach with sand on it. The place was called Dunedin and led to Honeymoon Island. We did not swim because it was a pretty cool day, but we stopped for about an hour and a half and picked shells, and enjoyed the sunshine.

Grandpa and Grandma's neighbours in Florida took us out on the lake in their boat. The kids were very excited about that. He even let them each take a turn driving. Kevin did quite well aiming for where he was supposed to go. Kade preferred to go in a half circle one way, and then back in a half circle the other way. (he just liked turning the wheel)

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That brings me to the end of my first blog entry. Jonathan thought it would be a good idea for me to set one up. He's not so keen on all the time i've spent doing it. It's been a learning experience, but its been fun. I'm sure I'll get smarter and quicker:)