Snow Day

The kids stayed home from school today because of all the snow, but since it wasn't too cold we got to play in it.



Bunny got to wear her new bunny hat that Anne made and the boys had a good time using the big pile of snow that I made as a slide.



When it was all said and done they were a little tired and Bunny fell asleep on the couch. We are so proud of her. She is only 2 1/2 and already snoring at a third grade level.

A Quiet Sunday Morning with Drew and Nathan

Sunday morning is a peaceful time of the week. Calm. Reflective. Even more so with two little boys. Enjoy the bliss and tranquility with this vignette.



Ringo Starr, where are you now???

Gene Ely's 94th Birthday

On January 8 we all will be thinking of Daddy/Dad/Grandpa/GreatGrandpa on his 94th birthday. I found these photos that will bring a smile for sure. Perhaps some of the more recent family members haven't seen them.

Dad with Otis
The colt is Otis, son of Jackie (I think) taken on a rather cold day. Daddy usually didn't wear a coat unless it was really cold. Of course, his OshKosh 'B Gosh bibbies hold a precursor to the Blackberry! This was probably taken in the early 1980s.

Dad with Seco

The horse he is riding is Seco. I believe this photo is from the 1970s but I'm not totally sure. As I dig deeper into the family photo archives, I'll be able to put more accurate dates on these.

The Happy Couple
This is from the tack room, taken in May 1993.

Over the holidays, we played a very cute group game called "Whoonuit?" in which you have cards with phrases and a the group members select things that the person who is "it" has to rank according to personal preference. The cards have sports, foods, activities etc.

For example, Makenna made a list with Blowing Bubbles #1, watching cartoons #2, etc
Quinn made a list with T-Shirts #1, jelly doughnuts #2, …. It is a lot of fun to find things that someone else would like!

So, to celebrate January 8, let's make a list of things Grandpa REALLY liked:

horses, pumpkin pie, Notre Dame, Rotary, Bonanza, …. (add some more!)

ed. note: This post written by Karen Eichstadt with technical assistance from Joe Ely, both honor students of Kenny Hutton :-)

How to Make a Thanksgiving Apple Pie

It was great to have Nathan here from Portland for Thansgiving. He came over late morning on Thanksgiving Day to make one of his famous apple pies. He had prepared the crust dough the day before, letting it refrigerate overnight to "make it easy to work with." He then went to work and we caught all the action, step by step.

Roll out the bottom crust.

Then put it in the pan.

Pour the pie filling into the pan.

Protect the pie from your parents grabbing the thinly sliced apples you worked to hard to peel and cut.

Prepare the top crust

Transfer top crust to the pie.

Trim the excess crust. Save dough for your Dad to nibble on later in the day.

Using both thumbs, form a decorative edge.

Cut in a subtle but creative pattern.

Brush on a light glaze of heavy cream

Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar

Put it all in the oven and go watch football for an hour.

Pull it from the oven.

And it's all done

Seventieth Anniversary -- Platinum!

Today, November 26, 2008, is the Platinum Wedding Anniversary for Mother and Daddy (Grandma and Grandpa) who were married at 8 AM in the church where Ed and Laura Ely had been married in 1909. On their Golden Wedding Anniversary, they renewed their wedding vows as seen in the photo. Here is what Anne wrote for that celebration. It is worth another read today.


Fifty years ago today, a young man and woman stood on a church altar and promised to be partners for the rest of their lives.


He was a tall, handsome athlete -- she was radiant in her long white velvet gown.


There was much to celebrate on that cold November day. They looked ahead knowing that life would bring its challenges, its setbacks, but also the joy that becomes greater when shared in love.


Today we celebrate fifty years of that love --- a love that has proved to be the most enduring, sustaining force in an impermanent world.


Together, Marge and Gene Ely have loved one another enough to enrich not only themselves but their family, friends, church and community. Their gift, in all things, is their love --a gift which touches all of us.

First Tooth

Andrew lost his first tooth this evening over dinner at Bob Evans. Nathan had "accidentally" kicked him in the face three weeks ago, leading to the tooth's premature departure. Once learning he could wiggle the tooth with his tongue, it was only a matter of time.

Now, he has to wait all the way till Tuesday to show off his tooth at school. (We expect Mrs. Stephen to be happy to have a quick way of telling the boys apart.) Tonight the infamous tooth fairy will visit the boys room to exchange the tooth for a shiny quarter. My mom told me the going rate in first grade is $5 per tooth. Once we did the quick math of 3 kids at $5 a tooth, we decided that we could save an entire month's house payment by leaving a quarter instead. Nathan was very interested to know when the tooth would be put back.......

Visiting Wheaton College

Gretchen and I had a good time at Wheaton College's Parent Weekend the past couple of days. We really enjoyed seeing Matt, meeting a lot of his friends and seeing the campus. Despite the wind, rain and 36F temps, we had some very warm conversation. Here are a few photos:




Matt showed us many of his classrooms. Here's where he does Shakespere each day. Nice classroom...nothing like this in the school of Engineering at Purdue!!



We visited his ROTC building as well. Here is the lad pointing out his photo on the chain of command chart for the cadet class. He is glad to not be on the bottom anymore...he's actually a team leader, responsible for two first-year cadets. He was also on an honor guard for some campus Veteran Day observances last week...even got to shoot a rifle in a 21-gun salute.





We went to church with him this morning and here's a mug shot of us afterwards.

It was a great weekend...enjoy the photos of Matt. He's doing well.