Grandma Hall's life celebrated today...

Lulu Emma Hall, age 101, went to be with her Lord on November 30, 2008. She had been a resident at Beacon Hill at Eastgate (formerly the Michigan Christian Home) in Grand Rapids, MI since 1980 and was a member of Calvary Baptist Church. Prior to that, she lived in Battle Creek for 30 years and was a member of Calvary Baptist Church there. Lulu was born July 24, 1907 in Nye, Wisconsin the daughter of Percy Free and Jeanette Annie (Hand) Thomas. She was married to Odell Leroy Hall in Marinette, Wisconsin where she was a teacher. Lulu was preceded in death by her husband, Odell (1905-1977); an infant daughter, Mary Ellen; daughter, Nancy (Hall) Gratton; two brothers and their wives, Percy and Mabel Thomas, and Free and Elsie Thomas. She is survived by her two children, Thomas (Kathleen) Hall and Martha (James) Glupker; son-in-law, Thomas Gratton; eight grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren. The family will receive friends at the Richard A. Henry Funeral Home from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. this evening and from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. Wednesday. Funeral services will be held 2:00 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home. Interment will be at Memorial Park Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be directed to Beacon Hill at Eastgate, 1845 Boston Street, S.E., Grand Rapids, MI 49506 or Calvary Baptist Church, 1625 Capital Avenue, N.E., Battle Creek, MI 49017.

With Thanksgiving...

How true this comic is! We have SO much to be thankful for, it is hard to sum it all up in a few words. I DO want to express my thanks to God for the many blessings He has given to us anyway.

1) I am so thankful for our Savior who gave His own life, so that I could live with Him forever someday! That is a blessing that is probably taken for granted every day. He guides each of our steps and works in our hearts so that we can lead others to Him.

2) I am so thankful that God has brought me a wonderful, loving, supportive, caring, helpful husband! We truly have been blessed to have 11+ years of a wonderful marriage. There has never been a day that I thought I would be better off with anyone else. I am just truly grateful for Bart and the wonderful Father that he is to Ethan, and will be to our new son very soon!

3) I am so thankful that the Lord saw fit to bless our family with Ethan and our soon-to-be second son. After many years of questioning God's plan for our lives in regards to having a family, He out-of-the-blue brought these two amazing miracles into our lives! We are reminded that "With God ALL things ARE Possible!" Thank you, Lord Jesus, for creating these two miracles and for blessing our family with them. We can't wait to meet our second son, VERY soon!

4) I am so thankful to God for our wonderful families! We have been blessed with a godly heritage, and we are truly blessed to be encouraged daily by their prayers, thoughts, encouragement and support in our ministry and family life. I am blessed to have all four Grandparents around still, who encourage us with their prayers and support, and Bart's two Grandmas continue to be an encouragement to us as well. Our parents and siblings have all been a great support and blessing to us also. And we have 10 nieces and nephews (and 1 more nephew on the way) as well! What a joy it is to gather together with them all at different times throughout the year. Not to mention our Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, etc. also. We truly enjoy the times we share with our families, however sparse and brief they may be.

5) I am so thankful to God for leading us to Rollins Church. We have been so blessed here and encouraged by this wonderful body of believers. The fellowship truly is sweet here. For over 6 years now, we have served the Lord faithfully here, and thank God for leading us here to minister, along-side Pastor & Nancy Lanning. This body of believers has just come right along-side of us and welcomed us as their own. They are our family away from home. It is truly a blessing to be a part of Rollins Christian Fellowship Church, as their Youth/Associate Pastor and wife/family.

6) Along with that, we are very grateful for the beautiful home that Rollins has built and allowed us to live in now for almost 5 years! To have heat, safety, warmth, and a place to call home is also a blessing, and it is a blessing to be able to share it with others in our church as well.

7) I am so grateful that the Lord has provided for us financially. We have never been in need of anything. He has always provided what we needed, and given us more than we deserve. I am grateful to have a husband who is a great financial steward with what the Lord has blessed us with as well.
8) I am truly thankful for the good health that Bart and I (and the rest of our family) have had so far as well. This pregnancy, of course, has caused a bit of a strain on my body, but I'm looking forward to that little bundle, and hoping that most of that pain is relieved at that time as well.

9) we are truly grateful for the opportunities that the Lord gives us to minister to our teens. We are encouraged to see their growth and love for the Lord. Their help serving the Lord in so many areas, from Children's Church to Nursery and Awana is appreciated as well. They are a blessing to me, with helping with Ethan as well.

10) I am thankful for our troops who serve our Country so faithfully so we can have the Freedom to live and worship daily without threat of harm.

Finally, I am just truly grateful to the Lord for His ultimate control over our lives. From giving us exactly what we need in weather (even though we may complain about it), to bringing different people across our paths for ministry or as an encouragement to us... we are just truly thankful that HE is in control of this World! We do not have to worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will take care of itself. God is in control and we rest secure in knowing that!

Thank you, Heavenly Father, for your daily blessings and for bringing us even through the tough times. We know that you use them to make us more like you. Help us to honor you with our lives and bring you the glory that is due You in everything. Make us more like You, so others can see You in us. May we never take for granted the gift of Your Son and Your Word so that we can grow closer to You. Looking forward to Your return, please continue to watch over us and guide us every day! We love you, Lord Jesus! Amen!

Apples & Winter again...

Sunday, we had our Thanksgiving Dinner at church. A whole turkey dinner, complete with all of the fixings (stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, corn, rolls, cranberry sauce, etc.) is provided for anyone in the church and their families to attend. Everyone is just asked to bring a dessert. I don't know exactly how many people were actually there, but I would say between 200 - 250 people. It was very nice, and the food was delicious! This year a couple had an idea to do a food shower to collect food items for families in the area in need. So we gave away 20 turkeys, bags of potatoes, and other Thanksgiving food pantry items to several families. I'm sure many were blessed by the outpouring of love shown by our church family!

Bart and Ethan are helping me make my dessert Saturday evening. I made an Apple Dumpling Dessert. It was a layered pie crust, apple pie filling dessert, doused with a brown sugar sauce. It was a new recipe, and very delicious! They're both such great helpers! I'm thankful for both Bart & Ethan.

It's not really "news" anymore, but it continues to snow here in Northern Michigan. I wonder how many inches of snow we've received so far this November?? Manton (and other area schools) had another 2 hour delay again today (they had one last Friday also, I believe.). The snow is beautiful on the trees, but not so nice to drive on.

Beginning to look like Christmas...

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas." Not only in the stores, and not only here in snowy Northern Michigan, but also in our home. And we have not even decorated yet. However, I have almost all of my Christmas shopping completed, and most of them wrapped. So, next week will definitely feel more like Christmas to us than Thanksgiving, I'm sure. It feels great to be ahead of the game though! :-)

Ethan's room phase 5...

We added letters to spell out Ethan's name in his room. (Wooden letters, that we painted blue) Then we put some of the ball decals that match his border in between the letters. They hang over Ethan's bed. Now when we go in to his room, he points to the letters and says, "E". He knows his name starts with the letter E. He's such a smart boy! :-)

Sleeping sweetly. Notice, he always sleeps with his arms tucked underneath his mid-section, and his blankie under his head. He's so cute!

"It's time to wake up, Ethan." "Do I have to, Mom?" (I know he looks so comfy, doesn't he? But if I don't wake him from his naps, then he won't sleep as well at night, because he slept too long during the day.)

Sleeping sweetly again...notice his arms, and blankie. :-)

Playtime in the Snow!

We got out Ethan's snow pants this afternoon for the first time this year. I bought them last year on clearance hoping they would fit him this year. They fit him perfectly right now. Hopefully they will last him through the winter. Bart took Ethan outside to play in the snow for a little bit after lunch today. Ethan (and Spencer) were thrilled to go outside and play.

Trying on my new snow pants.

All bundled up, standing inside the garage, watching Daddy shovel.

Going for a ride in my little sled (which he's already too big for.)
Daddy put the sled away and told Ethan to go play in the snow. He just wanted to ride in his sled. (Spencer enjoyed running around in the snow also, playing with his toy.)

Pulling my little sled. I couldn't feel the rope with my fingers though, because of my mittens. I kept them on the whole time though!

Daddy, Ethan & Spencer playing outside in the snow!

Ethan with his red cheeks coming back inside. (He stayed toasty warm though.)

"Are we done already, Daddy?"

Some more beautiful snowy landscape pictures around our home.

Our picnic table buried by the over 6 inches of snow we've received.

Noah's ark surrounded by snow, not water. :-)

It looks more like Christmas, than Thanksgiving! That's okay I guess. It's putting me in the mood. Next week will kind-of be Christmas for us, because we will get to see our family. We are not traveling in December to our family Christmas gatherings, because it will be too close to my due date. I don't want to be too far from home. :-) It would be nice if he came early, so we could go down for Christmas, but I'm not holding my breath. Ethan came a week late.

Hunting, snow and Ethan (of course)...

(First of all... I'm not sure why all of a sudden all of my pictures are being downloaded backward?! But I'm not going to rearrange all of them, so sorry if they're not in the right order.)

Here is a picture of the buck my Dad shot on Opening "Deer" day. He did not come up by us to hunt this year, but rather went hunting with his cousin in Harrison. Looks like it's a good thing he did! He shot a 4 point buck. Way to go, Dad!

"Daddy, may I please go out in the snow and play in my new boots?"

Trying on his new boots (again this morning).
"Here, Dad, let's put these on."

A beautiful snowy sunrise in Northern Michigan this morning.

One of Ethan's new favorite "tricks" spreading out between the recliner and ottoman (not always without falling or getting "stuck" either.)

"YOU want ME to get off this truck?"
"Yes, Ethan, or you are going to fall and hurt yourself!"

(Meanwhile I couldn't help taking a few pictures though and trying not to laugh as he tried to figure out how to get down.)

Sitting in my own little corner, that I just discovered.

Laying on the floor, feet propped up on the love seat with my feet being tickled.

Lounging around in my high chair.

Those are some updates of our big 19 month old for now! We're looking forward to seeing most of our family next week for Thanksgiving! I hope the rest of you have a great holiday with your families as well!