our Christmas letter

Greetings friends and family!

We hope and pray this letter finds you well and dwelling in the Spirit of this Season. Our last year has been full of growth - in many areas.

Spring

In April, we had to remove a couple of trees in our back yard. So, of course we redesigned and landscaped everything. Slowly but surely we’re fixing up our house bit by bit. Other projects this year included new basement windows, a play room for Johan, a new sewer line, a new fence, and a front yard facelift.

Summer

This summer we spent every possible moment outdoors - including some great swimming and camping trips. Bernard and Angie were glad to discover Johan loved to be outside and in nature as much as they do. Thanks to Bernard, Johan is close to swimming on his own. June also marked a year for Bernard working as an IT Support Specialist at Knutson Construction. Bernard loves his job and is increasing his knowledge and delving into new areas.

Autumn

Our fall was spent at the farmer’s market, orchards, and in the garden. As a result of the abundance of cheap and free produce, we tried our hand at canning and preserving. Angie took the lead on this and had a lot of fun. She can hardly wait until next year to do more canning!

Winter

Snow is already upon us here in Minne-snow-ta. Johan has been great at helping his dad shovel the driveway and build huge snowmen. We just bought Johan some ice skates and are excited to experience outdoor winter fun as a family - skating, sledding, and skiing.

Johan

We should also mention that Johan is now a full-fledged toddler and is living it to the fullest! He’s 19 months old with boundless energy and endless curiosity. Johan has several hundred words (no exaggeration - he’s quite the talker). He loves music and claps, dances, sings, and drums along. We are constantly amazed at his intelligence and ability to learn new concepts. It goes without saying that he is keeping us on our mental and physical toes!

The year 2010 has been one of growth for us. Our son is growing, our house is becoming more and more a home, our marriage is being strengthened, and God is leading us to a deeper understanding of His will for our family. We pray the Lord will bless you in this Season of focus on His Son, Jesus. Merry Christmas!

Love,

Bernard, Angie & Johan Welmers

yes, we are alive!

Where has the time gone? Seems like the late summer and fall just flew by. Now the first snow is here and it's time to slow down and breathe a little (at least I hope!). Since there's no way I could share the numerous events and details of the last three months, let me give you some highlights and bring you up to speed:

• our camera broke. :( then we were given a new one! :) thus, the lack of pictures and blog posts lately.
• our garden did great this year, and we scored some amazing deals at the market and orchards. So, we started canning...an adventure and lots of fun! I'm excited to have "free" and fresher food all winter!
• we had family photos taken BUT you have to wait until Christmas to see them! they will be in our Christmas cards.
• Johan is talking up a storm! Some of his favorite words are more, almost, cracker, apple, oval, glasses, hat, and any and all animal noises he can remember.
• Johan's feet are even busier than his mouth! He has so much energy we've jokingly said we are going to get him a hamster wheel to power the house. Needless to say, when he goes to bed at night, Bernard and I collapse in exhaustion...but it's a happy exhaustion. We love our boy and are so proud of him!

I'll take pity on those of you asking for pictures! Here's a sneak peek at our family photo shoot:

july - we can't get enough of you

the month of july was full of all that summer should be - road trips, a parade, visiting with family, laying in the sun, swimming, long morning walks, camping, swinging in a hammock, and grilling out for nearly every meal.
bliss.
even better this year was introducing Johan to all the summer fun. he soaked it up.
every. last. drop.
july, we'll miss you. come again soon.

Eating at the Sandwich Shoppe in Nashville, Indiana - one of Angie's favorites

WEEEEE!

Johan loves the water, and thanks to Bernard, is close to swimming on his own.

Thanks to my sister, Amy, for snapping these next two shots.
Johan loving on his cousin Gabe. (come on, get up and follow me!) :)

Johan's "i know i'm cute" face.
yes you are, buddy. yes you are.

family visit

This month Bernard's dad came to visit...all the way from Holland. He was here for a week, and we had a great time together. We spent time talking, playing with Johan, eating, and playing games. It was really great to see Johan and his Opa interact. By the end of Op's visit, Johan was saying "Pa, Pa." :)As an early Father's Day present, I treated all of us to a ferry ride from St. Paul to Bloomington on the Mississippi River. It was a lot of fun and we learned some things, too!

summer camping

Memorial weekend we set off on a camping adventure with two other couples, a full car, and a one year old boy. It had been two years since we've camped and we've obviously never taken a baby with us.

We spent the three days sitting around a fire, roasting s'mores, talking, watching Johan eat dirt and sticks, taking walks, wading in a lake, and spending time relaxing with friends. The only down side was deciding to leave early to avoid a big storm. We made it out just in time.
Johan definitely enjoyed camping! He hardly slept he was so excited to be outside for days on end! Needless to say, Bernard and I needed some recovery time when we came back home.

All around, it was a great time! We're looking forward to more camping trips this summer.

Johan, don't you think that watermelon is a little big for you?

YUM! That was good, Mom!

Bernard & Johan in our favorite way to carry Johan around - the backpack.

Johan has found a great attachment to anything electronic, including my cell phone and the camera. Like Father like son.

funny moment

Ever have one of those moments when you wish you had a video camera so you could capture a moment and watch it again and again? I had one of those moments recently. Here's the story:
One sunny, busy Tuesday, Johan and I were in the car driving home from picking up some groceries. I had placed the groceries in the backseat as usual. Since Johan has been exploring everything he can get his little hands on, I intentionally put the bread and crinkly chip bags on the other side of the car. Instead, I put the bag with frozen meat in it near his seat, thinking he couldn't possibly rip the package or chew on it. Worst case scenario (or so I thought), I would wash his hands when we got home if he touched the frozen ground beef.
So, there we are driving along, singing to the music, rushing home to make dinner and welcome Bernard. Out of nowhere I hear Johan crying, screaming at the top of his lungs. Compassionately, I say something like, "It's ok, Johan, we'll be home soon, and you can have a snack while Mommy makes dinner."
Naturally, he quiets down...for a few seconds. Then the banshee wail starts again.
"Johan, what is gong on back there?"
He keeps this up for a couple miles, and I can't figure out what's happening. Finally, we get to a red light and I turn around to see what could possibly be making him this upset.
As I watch, Johan looks at the frozen meat, reaches out a little finger and gently places it on the package. His face contorts and he screams at the top of his lungs as if to say, "It's cold! It hurts!"
Chocking back a laugh, I tell him to stop touching it and his finger won't hurt: "No touch, Johan, don't touch."
He pulls his finger away, looks at me, then seems to be irresistibly drawn back to that frozen package.
For the 10 minutes it took us to arrive at home, he kept up the touching and screaming. Me? I couldn't help it: I laughed, hysterically.
Once we arrived home and washed Johan's cold little fingers, his world became a lot happier. I have to say, mine did too.

spring - moving and cruising

The weather has been unusually (and wonderfully!) warm the past month here in Minnesota. So, I've neglected blogging and have been been out enjoying the days with Johan.
Johan has changed so much in the past month! His personality shines through more and more each day. He's very happy and inquisitive - which keeps me on my toes! Johan also (finally!) started crawling a few weeks ago. We thought he would skip it completely and just walk, but he proved us wrong. He now follows me around the house and is into everything!
Spring in the Welmers house also means more remodeling and changing the house and yard to better suit our needs. So, this year we are completely changing around the whole yard. We are making the back yard more child friendly and adding some landscaping to the front, using materials we are moving from the back. It's a lot of work but my mind is spinning with the possibilities this will create for us. And, it gives me another chance to be creative! :) I'll post pictures of the progress and hopefully the finished product in the weeks to come.
For now, here are some pics and a video of the last month with Johan, the mover:


Johan, the Minnesotan, in his flannel shirt.


Johan's first time crawling


Easter & Johan's first suit

all I want for Christmas...

...is my two front teeth. Remember that song? Well, Johan almost made it. His first tooth pushed through on December 27th, his second one yesterday. It's nice to have my sweet happy giggling boy back after a couple weeks of the crankies. Not looking forward to the rest of these teeth coming in...

Johan loved his first Christmas! He really got a kick out of all the tissue paper, throwing it around, and squealing. He even unwrapped a few gifts with only a little help.

During this month, Bernard had a few days off work so we were able to have some time off together as a family. It was wonderful! Here are a few pics of the last couple weeks...

First Family Photoshoot

In October we had family pictures taken by Noemi Hedrick. She also took our wedding photos a few years ago. It was so fun to have her take our first official family photos. We had a blast and the pictures turned out great! Here are a few of my favorites:

Holland

We took a week-long trip to Holland last month to attend Bernard's dad's wedding. We had a great time seeing old family members and meeting new family. Here's a quick recap:

rest in peace

Sadly, a member of the Welmers family is no longer with us. Garfield, our beautiful goldfish, breathed his last on last Friday evening. He was a wedding present and never ceased to amaze us with his stunts. He leaves behind two owners, an empty tank, and one very cute little boy (maybe he was jealous of the attention shifting to Johan?). Rest in peace, little fishy. We'll miss you.

february in review

My, what a month it's been. We began the month with a 2000 mile road trip, which we sarcastically call our "baby moon." We were able to take 10 days and visit family and friends - easily accomplished since Bernard is not currently employed. We drove to Thunder Bay to see some of Bernard's university friends, then spent a couple days driving to Toronto (by the way, stopping at Timmy's is a MUST on Canadian road trips) to visit Bernard's dad. His dad's apartment has an amazing view of the city (see pic). We also visited Niagara Falls, since Bernard proposed to me there. It was FREEZING in the winter but really beautiful, too. Then, we traveled to Indiana to visit my family and to watch my not-so-little-anymore sister get married. No pics of this yet, but I will post them as soon as I can.

Then, Bernard and I both celebrated birthdays this month. This was a very exciting time for me - because next year we'll be celebrating 3 birthdays and not just two. Thankfully, our little one will not be born in February. The month's pretty full of significant events already. :0)

Lastly, here's a not so great picture of our little monkey, as we've taken to calling him. Yes, that's right...IT'S A BOY! :0) We're so excited. He's growing perfectly and amazing us all the time. We're so excited to meet him! ...only 3 months to go!
If you made it all the way through that, congratualtions! Sorry about all the info at once. Hopefully I'll do better this month than last!

busy september

What a couple of weeks it's been! Is it just me or does it seem like life keeps getting faster? Hmm... We've been up to a lot - here's a look: -
We attended our very first Minnesota State Fair this year! It was fun, tiring, filling, and there were a CRAZY amount of people there. We tried some fun new foods including alligator (which actually wasn't bad!) - see Bernard below. It was a fun day, but our feet were killing us the next day or so! :0)

The open house went well. Thanks to all of you who came! It was fun to show off our home to many of you. If you still want a tour, let us know and we'll invite you over for dinner sometime!
And, the sad news...Bernard had a little car accident last week - well, kind of. He was driving home from work, just got off the highway and suddenly his car broke. Literally. The ball joint that holds the front wheel to the car, the axle and which lets you steer - yeah, that came OFF! Needless to say, the car with the broken axle did not drive, but Bernard and everyone else was fine. We just had a little dramatic moment. Thankfully, we were able to get his car fixed in only a day. Sadly, it cost us a pretty penny. But, at least the car works and Bernard didn't get hurt.
Hopefully our next two weeks will be a little calmer! :0)

new things

To all of you who have asked - our new home is closer to becoming a reality. We're closing this week and will start a BIG remodel next week. Needless to say, we both have a new appreciation for people who can spend hours at a time in home improvement stores (cough - dad). It's so fun to dream and plan about a home that will truly be ours. The process can be overwhelming at times, but we're trying to remember this is a lifetime investment. It won't ever really be "done." But, for now we're tackling the bathroom, great room, kitchen, and a garage roof all in a week (with some much needed help from Angie's dad)! It's extreme makeover: welmers edition! :0) Without further ado, here's a picture of the house as it is now... (isn't it cute!?!)

finally...

WE GOT A HOUSE!!! :0)
Yes, it's true. We've searched and planned, prayed and stressed and it's finally happened! All the paperwork is making its way through the process this week. We'll be updating more shortly, but we wanted to blog quickly and share our wonderful news. Pics to come soon...

i love community!

Last weekend I (Angie) spent some time at a retreat center with other women at Bethany Church. In the past I haven't been very gung-ho for women's ministry - or retreats in general - if truth be known. Recently, though, I have been gripped with the reality that communities are necessary. I don't mean just your neighbor across the street, either. I mean people with the same heart and passion and direction you have. How wonderful to be able to share life together! I have longed for this for quite a while now.
This weekend I got a taste of that. All the women at the retreat were from many different seasons of life with nothing in common other than our love of Jesus and that we have ties to Bethany Church. We just talked and shared, ate together, shared our creativity, and spent time together. I feel so refreshed that I am connected to a Body. I know the Church in America isn't traditionally good at keeping together as a community...but this weekend gave me hope. I had a lot of fun and feel like a part of something bigger than worrying if I made someone's latte correctly or used the right tone in communicating at home.
So, I love community! Anyone interested in keeping this moving?

april fools?

Yes, that's right. It's snowing! Schools got out early, businesses closed, the roads are an icy slushy mess, and it's the last day of march for crying out loud!
...but isn't it completely beautiful?
i love the purity of snow - how it washes everything clean and new...yes, even if it is april tomorrow. happy spring to you, minnesota. :0)

spring is here!?

Easter weekend and Minnesota is winter white. As sad as it is to not be wearing sandals and lighter clothing, Bernard and I made the most of it. It snowed about 8 inches this weekend - so beautiful sticking to the trees and covering the muddy grass. So, we took some time and went skiing again. I think I may be getting the hang of this!

the search is on

Yes, that's right. We're searching for our first home. After saving every penny and having numerous talks and watching the market, we're ready. Our lives for the next months will consist of mortgage meetings, touring prospective homes, checking off lists, and countless hours of discussion. We're so excited! We took a quick look at homes on the market, and found a couple possibilities...just kidding. :0) We're looking for something a little more practical. It should be fun!

endless winter

ok, i love the festive feeling of Christmas and New Year...but now that we've just turned the corner into February, I've had enough! It been cold, cold, cold. ah, Minnesota - winter 6 months of the year. Will I ever get used to it? Bernard sure doesn't seem to mind. At least it's snowing today. (sigh)
In all honesty, life must be pretty good if all I have to complain about is the weather. So, no more complaining. Only a request - hello to all of you in warmer climates. I am now accepting donations for a plane ticket to come visit you. Any takers? :0)