Advent and Christmas in Pictures

I have been hoping to find time to write more about our Advent and Christmas but find myself busy enough away from the computer.  I loaded these pictures just after Christmas and still haven't composed a post.  So, I'm just going to caption the pictures and call it good...moving on from here.

Decorating the tree.  The ornament has a picture of her first Christmas, December 2007.

Lots of low hanging ornaments!

Working together.

We put the trees up while my mom was here.  The girls thought it was so fun and I was so grateful for the help! 

Erik and the baby friendly Nativity

My brother John visited in Advent to seek out nomination for "favorite Uncle," sorry Tom!

 

Katie helping write some of our Christmas letters.

 

Some lucky folks received letters signed by her hand!

 

Cutting out Gingerbread Cookies!  We'll definitely make these next year- YUM!

 

Just before Christmas (the 20th and 21st) we got our snow!  Beautiful White Christmas!

 

When the cousins arrived we celebrated with ribs off the smoker!  Jacob ate his fair share!

Christmas morning!

 

 

She wound up with those socks in the Snyder $10 exchange...along with her coveted nail polish!

 

Two sledders!

 

Christmas pretzels thanks to Aunt Micki and Mary Frances.  Beautiful and delicious!

 

Playing Fibber with the cousins.  Just the glasses with noses for the game are funny!

 

And finally, a cute baby picture...all tuckered out from the holidays!

Christmas Letter 2012

"For unto us a child is born..."

December 2012

Dear Family and Friends,

These words of the angels certainly ring true in a new way to our family this year as we welcomed a new baby to our home this Holy Season!  What a visual into the lives of Mary and Joseph!  Though I’m not sure what the scene at the stable would look like with a four year old and two year old in tow.  I am attempting to type this with babe in arms and two begging sisters asking for third breakfasts.  Neither childbirth nor parenting is very glamorous and that reality hasn’t changed since Christ’s birth! Yet at Christmas we celebrate the birth of a King born in poverty and recall the love of a Father for all His children that is beautiful beyond our comprehension.

Here in the Snyder home there are glimpses of beautiful love as well…

Kurt continues to provide for our family.  By day he is a John Deere engineer by night a volunteer firefighter and farmer and of course fulltime Dad.  This year, after moving closer to a friend’s farm he helped raise and butcher 300 chickens.  He also worked on perfecting his apple press and cider making skills.  Our orchard had its first ‘record year’!  He kept our yard and garden looking good and has been making numerous home improvements to our house. 

Katie, 4, is our magnificent, independent, performer and artist.  Days with her are full of song, dance and projects!  She’d like to record her day on the smartphone and camera.  Katie has really come a long way in learning, too.  Her favorite pastime of late is writing notes, lists and letters.  Soon enough I’ll be able to pawn this job off on her!  She is an amazing big sister and natural mother.  And just this week Katie won her first game of UNO and teamed up in our Gym class to help me lose her first game of SPUD!

Julia, 2, is adjusting to life as middle child.  She has the best sense of humor!  JuJu has found her voice this past year.  Dad is greeted with a play by play of our day each afternoon.  And with voice has come opinion!  She’s potty training on her terms, dresses herself, can be rather helpful with the baby.  She’s the first to grab a diaper, help burp, and warn of crying.  She loves the game I SPY.  Both Julia and Katie are continually changing identities in their perpetual game of pretend.  They also demand that Kurt and I become players in their adventures- from nights out at Gooch’s, becoming our friends and neighbors families, or making an imaginary family of our own.  It gets to be rather confusing when the call for “Mom!” is not actually for me!

Erik Edward Snyder joined our family on the morning of November 14^th.  What’s the saying, “New house, new baby?”  Kurt was thrilled to have boy join our ranks as he was worried about his continual hair loss from the female drama that is our home. J  And beyond the drama of his birth, Erik is about as low key as they come. He is thus far an easy and happy baby.  Already so alert and gracing us with smiles and an occasional coo his days consist of eat, sleep and poop.  He is the pride of his sisters who beg to hold him and be near him. Weighing in at 9 lbs. 4 oz. he has continued to grow and grow!  Our transition to a family of five was made easier with the help of family and friends.  We feel incredibly blessed and loved!

As for me, I love our new home and the time spent with family in it.  Waking up to this view has yet to get old. There is something to being with the ones you love in the midst of God’s creation each day!  I’m still keeping busy at church, the library, the blog, kids’ gym and art classes, coffee klatch and moms’ group.  I put down countless jars of apples, applesauce, pickles, marinara, and salsa this fall in our canning kitchen.  I am learning to count the things I am grateful for and have noticed so many things I have taken for granted. 

We are sending you Christmas wishes and blessings on your 2013! 

Love,

Kurt, Angie, Katie, Julia and Erik

 

Christmas, New Year 2012 and Moving Letter

“Everybody today seems to be in such a terrible rush; anxious for greater developments and greater wishes and so on; so that children have very little time for their parents; parents have very little time for each other; and the home begins the disruption of the peace in the world.” Mother Teresa of Calcutta

January 2012

Dear Family and Friends,

For the whole month of December I was working at practicing the virtue of peace.  As you may suspect with two small children, an upcoming move and the hustle and bustle of our culture around Christmas—this was at times just a worthy goal.   There have been a few moments when it seemed nearly impossible!  However it has been helpful for me to recall who the source of all peace is and how important this virtue is to cultivate! Our hope is that you have peace in your home this holy season and always even in the midst of your busyness.

And boy have our lives been busy this past year!  We were blessed to have a year full of visits and reunions of one form or another.  From the many house guests that have graced us with their presence- family from near (WI) and far (CA) and friends from far (Italy, NE, MN) and near. To the numerous road trips to the Shrines of Our Lady of Good Help and Our Lady of Guadalupe (to meet with classmates and teachers from my masters program), Brewers vs Twins @ Miller Park (instigated by a college friend),  and Winona, MN, too.  I was also blessed to attend my dear friend Bente’s wedding in Oslo, Norway this fall. My parents and Julia and I made the trip over the pond for the event and what an event it was!  And we spent time in AZ just before Christmas getting some R&R.

Beyond travel our home lives have been full of activity.  This summer we gutted our kitchen/dining room to do some updating. The result was beautiful and made cleaning up spills pure pleasure after having carpet under the table for so long. However, that joy was supplanted by another when God placed in our path an opportunity to buy a home a little bit larger for our young family.  And so, this fall, we began plans to move three miles closer to the river (Mississippi). 

Our new home has been FULL of God’s handy work from the beginning.  The three bedrooms and full basement have offered plenty of room to grow, the yard with extra space to run has the girls excited for spring, the location just down the road from friends and particularly a farm has Kurt ready to putz on projects in his spare time and the view I just can’t get enough of it!  We are so grateful for the help of many people who assisted in our transition here!

The girls continue to grow up in front of our eyes. Katie, 3, has started preschool at home traveling the Alphabet Path.  We are learning so much.  She enjoys reading, practicing her letters, pretending,the Brewers and getting out of the house to socialize as much as possible (which she comes by naturally).  Julia, 1, is no longer a baby.  She is our daring daughter unafraid to scale great heights and seek out the realms of the forbidden cupboards, table tops and drawers.  Her vocabulary continues to grow.  She will parrot most anything.  JuJu is also quite proficient at shape puzzles and tormenting her sister who she would like to be just like most days.  I continue to enjoy life at home.  Kurt’s been perfecting his smoking (meat) and baking. We have happily been taste testers!  Please consider this an open invitation to stop in for a beer, coffee or drink of choice and visit of course!
Love and Peace,
Kurt, Angie, Katie and Julia

(Let me know if you need our new contact info!)

Party @ the stable?

Went into the living room and saw this.  Just had to share!