ONCE AGAIN IT'S CHRISTMAS TIME!

WOW! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT'S DEC. 10TH? I AM TOTALLY NOT READY THIS YEAR...BUT I CAN TELL YOU I AM READY FOR THE FAMILY TO ALL BE TOGETHER AND TO JUST HAVE FUN WITH EACH OTHER...WHO CARES ABOUT GIFTS OR ELABORATE DECORATIONS...I JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN WITH MY KIDS! ANYWAY BY NOW YOU HAVE AL HEARD ABOUT MY TANGLE WITH THE BIG BUCK! IT REALLY WAS SCARY AND WHO KNOWS IF THE RAV WILL EVER BE THE SAME AGAIN BUT I AM BLESSED THAT I WASN'T SERIOUSLY HURT AND ...HEY I'M STILL HERE! WE ARE EXCITED ABOUT THE PARTY AT JEN'S AND THE FARM..,.IT'S GOING TO BE LOTS OF FUN AND OF COURSE WE CAN'T WAIT TO HAVE YOU ALL HERE ON THE MOUNTAIN. I'M THINKING THAT YOU COULD ALL ARRIVE THE NIGHT OF THE 26TH OR EVEN EARLY ON THE 27TH...WE WILL TRY AND HAVE AN EARLY BUFFET SO THE KIDS DON'T GET TOO TIRED....WHAT DO I MEAN KIDS....ACTUALLY I'M TALKING ABOUT THE OLD FOLKS. ANYWAY I JUST REALIZED THAT IT IS ALMOST DEC. 17...MARY AND LEON'S 20TH ANNIVERSARY...CONGRATULATIONS! HEY YOU MADE IT. WHAT A WILD AND CRAZY CHRISTMAS THAT WAS 20 YEARS AGO...

WELL, JUST TWO WEEKS UNTIL CHRISTMAS EVE. LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING SOME OF YOU THIS WEEK AND THE REST NEXT WEEK. UNTIL THEN....REMEMBER HE IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON! LOVE TO ALL

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZACH!

TODAY IS ZACH'S 13TH BIRTHDAY...WE NEED TO WELCOME HIM TO THE WORLD OF A TEEN-AGER. ANY SUGGESTIONS FROM JOSEPH, NATHAN KIRSI OR SHELBY? ANYWAY HE AND HIS FAMILY DROPPED BY THE MOUNTAIN ON THEIR WAY HOME FROM THEIR FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT IN LAS VEGAS. SOUNDS LIKE THEY HAD A GREAT TIME. ZACH'S TEAM WON ONE AND LOST ONE. BUT ON THE WON ONE, ZACH SCORED A TOUCHDOWN AND RECOVERED TWO FUMBLES! WAY TO GO ZACH...WE MISSED YOU AND JACKSON AND KIRSI AND YOUR DAD AT THE FAMILY FOOTBALL GAME...BUT HEY NEXT YEAR!
JUST WANTED TO TELL ZACH I LOVE HIM A WHOLE BUNCH AND WISH HIM A WONDERFUL YEAR AS A TEEN-AGER....HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZACH!

2008 THANKSGIVING

Just sitting here thinking of our wonderful Thanksgiving at the Erasmus House. Thanks to you guys for making it such a fun time for all. The food was all delicious...wish I could have a rerun tonight....and it was so fun to see the cousins all playing football with the enthusiastic, though sore, Uncle Leon, Uncle Jeff and good 'old PaPa Joe...I loved it! I arrived just in time to see poor Uncle Jeff limp around the field...guess Shelby got him down...hey wasn't this supposed to be FLAG football. Anyway it was fun to play games with everyone and around the table Thursday night. We have all these smart, smart kids who can beat us all....but we love it anyway. The movie on Friday was a kick....yes, I loved the movie but I loved watching all the cousins having such a good time together. Thanks Mary and Leon for having us at your beautiful home and thanks to everyone for the yummy food. Now begins the "DIET BEFORE CHRISTMAS". I'm looking forward to the wonderful family party on the 20th.....I love you all so much.

MiMi's 100th Birthday!

Today is MiMi's 100th Birthday. Happy Birthday MiMi. Louise Coggeshall was born November 25, 1908 in Marion, Indiana, the only child of McPherson and Ida Eudora Fetterman Coggeshall. She grew up in Mankato, Minnesota surrounded by her uncles and aunts and cousins. She often spoke of her grandparents and the great love she had for them. Louise was a lovely, gracious woman and a wonderful mother-in-law. She was always kind and non judgemental and was so proud of all of her grandchildren. She was so talented in creating beautiful crafts for her home as well as the incredible needlepoint pictures and Christmas stockings she made for each of her 10 grandchildren. I know each of you has a special memory of MiMi. Perhaps today would be a good time to share it with your children/family. Anyway I know she was a devoted, loving mother who taught her children well....example..... your father. It was 10 years ago that we all gathered together in California to celebrate MiMi's 90th birthday. What a great memory that is for me. I remember how fun the grandchildren had riding the horses and just being on the ranch. How grateful I am that you were ALL there....it was wonderful. We are so grateful for her wonderful memory and all that she taught us...(including MiMi's game) HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIMI! WE LOVE YOU.

COUNTING MY BLESSINGS

I LOVE THANKSGIVING! REALLY, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THANKSGIVING! HAVING THE FAMILY TOGETHER, THE WONDERFUL AROMA OF ROASTING TURKEY, PLAYING GAMES WITH THE KIDS, WATCHING THE GRANDKIDS PLAY FOOTBALL TOGETHER, ALL OF US EATING OURSELVES INTO OBLIVION AND OF COURSE THE REAL "INDIANS" AND "PILGRIMS" DECKED OUT IN AUTHENTIC COSTUMES! IT WILL BE HARD NOT TO HAVE EVERYONE TOGETHER THIS YEAR BUT I AM SO GRATEFUL THAT WE ARE HOME FROM ENGLAND AND HAVE BEEN ABLE TO BE WITH OUR BEAUTIFUL, WONDERFUL FAMILY SO MANY TIMES THIS PAST SIX MONTHS! THE FOOTBALL, SOCCER, LACROSSE GAMES HAVE ALL BEEN GREAT AND WATCHING THE GIRLS DANCE AND THE BOYS PERFORM HAS BEEN SO FUN! WE WERE SO BLESSED TO BE AT DAWSON'S BAPTISM AND JACOB'S BLESSING. WE HAVE LOVED BEING IN YOUR HOMES, PRAYING AND PLAYING WITH YOU AND FEELING THE LOVE AND SPIRIT THAT IS THERE. THOUGH IT IS HARD TO SEE YOUR PARENTS FAILING IT TRULY IS A BLESSING TO BE ABLE TO BE WITH THEM EACH WEEK AND OBSERVE THE LOVE AND DEVOTION THEY SHARE. I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. I LOVE MY FAMILY MORE THAN WORDS CAN TELL. I AM SO BLESSED.TRULY, MY CUP RUNNETH OVER. MOM, GRANDMOTHER, KATHY

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICK!

TODAY IS NICKOLAS ANDRE ERASMUS' 3RD BIRTHDAY AND I JUST WANT TO TELL HIM I LOVE HIM. SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE THAT IT WAS 3 YEARS AGO THAT TINY BUNDLE JOINED OUR FAMILY. WHAT A CUTIE HE IS AND I HOPE HE HAS A GREAT DAY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICK