Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Here is our 2009 Christmas Card and letter. I hope you all are enjoying this Christmas season. It seems like this year has gone extremely fast. I can't believe we are only a few weeks away from Christmas. Merry Christmas and a Happy 2010 from the Engers!!!

Greetings Family and Friends –

It has been hard for me to sit down and write a Christmas letter this year because I feel like we don’t have much to talk about. There hasn’t been too many exciting things happening to us lately, so I guess we can consider that a good thing. So I hope I don’t bore you too much with our lives. They aren’t overly exciting, but they are ours. This year, I decided to do something a little different. Rather than brag about how wonderful we are and how happy we are J I thought I would update you on each of our 2009 likes, interests and dislikes.

Hayden –

* Likes – chocolate milk, C (Lucy), my B (blankie), playing outside on my new swing set, swimming at the lake or the pool, going for boat rides, playing with my friends - Rodney, Ryan and Jack, going to Ann’s for daycare, eating anything sweet, reading books, the Wiggles, Elmo, going to the lake, celebrating my 1^st birthday with all of my family, having sleepovers at Grandma and Grandpa Engers and Grandma and Grandpa Bishoffs, playing with my cousin John, that I will have a new cousin in Feb. 2010, (Emily and Scott are expecting #2) saying NO, going to the farm, being 19 months old and going to the park.

* Dislikes – giving up my bottle and pacifier, mac-n-cheese, having my diaper changed, being in time-out, having to get shots, teething, when my daddy leaves for work in the morning, and picking up my toys.

Jason –

* Likes – booking an April 2010 trip to Las Vegas with Betsy and our friends (no kids!!), the lake, golfing, going home for deer hunting, helping with harvest, fishing, and my job at Bremer Bank.

* Dislikes – having to leave Hayden when I go to work, having a cool summer and no spring, and the flooding in Lisbon this spring.

Betsy –

* Likes – being able to be at home with Hayden more, Twilight Series, going on 2 scrapbooking retreats, ladies day at the golf course, attending my 5 year class reunion at Concordia, going to the lake, my new part-time job for a local insurance agent, living so close to our family that we get to see them often, and that our parents are always so willing to help out.

* Dislikes – being laid off from my job at Hospice in February, having to put Hayden in time-out, Hayden growing up too fast, and my grandma Dorothy passing away this summer.

Lucy –

* Likes – sleeping, being outside, going to the farm, going for walks, getting treats, Jason, and being at the lake.

* Dislikes – getting hit by Hayden, going to the vet, getting my hair cut, and my new spray collar for when I bark.

We wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful 2010.

All of God’s Blessings from Jason, Betsy, Hayden and Lucy

Giving Thanks - Family and Friends

This weekend Hayden and I got together with 3 of my girlfriends from Wyndmere and their kids. I met these girls in high school but didn't really start hanging out with them until right around when we graduated (which will be 10 years this year!!!). I don't get to see them as often as I would like but it seems like when we get together we can pick up right where we left off the last time. In my mind, they are the definition of true friends. I know that even if I don't talk to them for weeks or months or see them even if it is a year I can count on them and know they would do anything for me. And I really hope that they know I would do the same for them. I am thankful for these 3 girls and the 10 years of memories we have together. I look forward to making memories with these girls and their families for the next 50. Love you girls! :)


Back (Betsy and Julie)
Front (Alissa and Mandy)

We tried to get a picture of the 4 kids together...it is very difficult to get 4 babies 2 and under to cooperate all at the same time.
(L-R Cooper, Chloe, Hayden and Jaylin)

Hayden has become a climber...well...not really become, he has been one for a long time...But not it is ALL the time. He is ALWAYS on top of something...his toy box, couch, crawling into his high chair and now he crawls onto the dining room table.

This picture was taken last Thanksgiving...it is of my Grandma Dyste and 10 of her 17 great-grandchildren. It was her last Thanksgiving. I have really been missing her lately and I know that this Thanksgiving and Christmas will be difficult without her. I know many of you reading this have loved ones that you will be missing this time of year as well. I hope you will find comfort in the memories you had with them.

Can you believe it is already Thanksgiving this week? I can't!!! We have many things to be thankful for this year...our health, our friends and our family. We are truly blessed. Happy Thanksgiving to each and everyone of you. We hope that you have many things to be thankful for as well.

Lots to Update...Shoes, Scrappin and Mail Men OH MY!

I haven't taken the time to upload pictures from my camera lately...so there is lots to update on. We have been busy busy busy....Hayden is growing like a week and is learning new things every day. He now has learned where his belly button, nose, hair and feet are...he also can hold his finger up to his mouth and go "ssshhh" (he learned if from the Wiggles!!) and he and daddy survived 2 weekends in a row without mommy.

Hayden LOVES shoes...he goes in search of shoes and loves to put them on and tries to wear them around the house. He does have big feet (8 1/2 extra-wide) but not quite big enough for ours.

We went down to St. James a few weeks ago and got to see Emily, Scott and John. My sister called me the day after we left and she said that John woke up the next morning and asked "Where's Bumpa (Grandma), Where's Cheese (Jas), Where's Hayday (Hayden)" But not auntie or grandma! :( I love that he calls Jason, Cheese! At first we didn't know who he was talking about and then Jason walked in the door and he pointed at him and said "Cheese!!!" It's just too funny!

One of my weekends away was going to Detroit Lakes scrapbooking for the weekend. I had such a great time! We left on Friday morning and came back Sunday afternoon. I got a lot done and got to know some fun ladies even better. We laughed, shared stories, drank, ate and ate and scrapbooked all weekend long. I am going to another one in January and I am already looking forward to it.

We went outside the other night to take some pictures for our Christmas card....
The pictures that made the cut will have to be a surprise!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! Hayden's 2nd Halloween was a ton of fun!! He and Lucy dressed up as Mail carriers. Some of you may not know, but both of my parents are mail carriers and I saw a mail man costume for dogs and thought, oh I have to get that...well, Hayden is not very fond of big costumes with hats or anything like that at this stage of his life, so I was online looking for a costume and came across a little mail man costume and thought he would probably wear it since it is really only clothes that he shouldn't have a problem wearing. He was quite the trooper. We went to a few houses and for only going to a few he got a TON of candy. Our friends the Olson's stopped by and of course we had to get some pictures with them. Superman (Rodney), Big Buck (Ryan) and Monkey (Jack) are Hayden's best buds.

Concordia Homecoming

Concordia Homecoming was this past weekend and it just happened to be my 5 year reunion! WOW! Time has flown! I had a great time with friends and classmates. On Friday I met up with friends and we went out to eat and caught up on what was going on and laughed about memories. On Saturday we went to our class breakfast at Concordia and met up with other '04 Cobbers. It was great to see so many familiar faces. We also took a quick tour around the campus. They have made a lot of changes including a new student center that is so awesome. We were all wishing it was there when we were there. That night we met up with more classmates for a social and then went to Mick's Office. The Cobber tradition is still strong today. I even ran into my cousin Clare, who is also a Cobber graduate.


'04 Graduates - Anna, Betsy and Erin at the parade


Erin, Betsy, Anna and CJ

@ Mick's with Clare

10 on Thursday

Lisa did this at her blog - and I don't have much to blog lately so I thought...why not. I rarely do these types of things, but thought...lets give it a shot!! :)

1. If you won the lottery, what would be your one random, off-the-wall purchase?
barn read siding for my house with white trim...fun, huh?? :)

2. What is popular now that you just don’t get?
skinny jeans, twitter

3. What would your last meal, you know, if you were ever about to be executed and you got to choose that sort of thing?
Oh man...I think I would probably die because I was so full before the execution...I would have to say our traditional Thanksgiving meal (turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, the best dressing in the world, scalloped corn, green bean casserole, my grandma's pumpkin pie) I would also include my grandma's prune whip and her fudge (I'm missing my grandma!!)

4. When is it okay to start listening to Christmas music?
The day after Thanksgiving.

5. How do you feel about facial hair on men?
I don't really care for it. Some guys look ok with it, but I am more of a fan of cleanly shaven or maybe a day or two of stubble.

6. McDonald’s or Burger King?
Both - but for different reasons....breakfast Burger King and any other meal McDonald's.

7. What kind of soap do you use?
In the shower I use the Target brand knockoff of Dove and for hands and dish soap I use Method.

8. What movie can you watch over and over and never get tired of?
You've Got Mail, Cocktail, The Holiday, White Christmas, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

9. Favorite beverage?
NA: coke
Alcohol: Zorbaz margarita or pina colada

10. What do you want for Christmas?
I'm not sure yet - I haven't really thought about it. I guess it is right around the corner.

Ok - your turn. Answer any/all of them in your comment or answer them on your blog!

Get a haircut and get a real job!!!

Well - As you can see we pretty much skipped September on this blog. We have been busy busy busy here! We are hoping for a slow down soon!

Hayden enjoyed his first fair ride during the Ransom County Fair. This was his only ride since they didn't have much for little kids and he didn't really enjoy it much. He was fine for the first few times around but towards the end was sick of it.

Hayden and his best budy Jack at the Ransom County Fair Parade. They are just the funniest boys. They are only 2 months apart and get to hang out a lot!

We celebrated Emily's 30th birthday at the lake over Labor Day. It was a beautiful weekend together.


Hayden got his first haircut today! He needed it. You can't tell in his before picture very well but lets just say if he wanted a really nice mullet he wasn't very far from it! :)

Before

During - notice he is talking on his cell phone.
Kids and their cell phones, can't get 'em off of them! :)

After - he doesn't look like a baby anymore - he's a boy!!

It has been quite the month - I even went back to work a couple of days a week. A high school friend of mine is an insurance agent in Lisbon and I am now helping him about 15 hours a week with his marketing. I am really enjoying getting out of the house a little and Hayden is loving going back to the Olson's. Whenever I drop him off he doesn't look back and he cries when we have to leave. At first it made me feel a little sad, but I just know that he has so much fun there and they are so good to him.
We took part in the 1st Annual Friends of Huntington's Golf Classic on our Anniversary (3 years! yahoo!!) We even won the tournament. It was a perfect September day and we got to see lots of Jason's family. This tournament was very special to us as Jason's grandpa, 2 of his uncles and one of his cousins have passed away from this disease. He also has another cousin who has been living with it for many years. We hope and pray that they will be able to someday have a cure for this disease and hope that this fundraiser can help with supporting those that have it and their families.

Holy Hodgepodge!!!

We have been busy lately and I am now just getting pictures loaded from my camera that were taken a long time ago. So we have lots to update!!!

Hayden and I went to Forman on a VERY sunny and VERY hot day a few weeks ago to go swimming with our friends Rachael, Anna and Michael Hoistad. We had a great time. The pool was just redone and they added a little "splash pad" for the kids. Hayden LOVED it!

Hayden is such a good eater! There isn't much he doesn't like and as long as we add barbecue sauce to it he will eat it. He also loves bathtime.

The other day I was almost convinced I had given birth to a monkey!!! This kid is into everything and climbs on anything! I seriously can turn my back to him and in seconds he is on the couch and on top of the sofa table or trying to climb into the bay window. Notice he is in the same jammies...This was the other morning and happened within an hour of each other! UGH!!! I just get tired thinking about all of the running we do after this little boy.

It's been nice lately so we have been lucky enough to enjoy it before it turns cold. Hayden loves being outside pushing his lawnmower, playing golf and picking dandolions. More outside pictures below!!


My cousin Erin got married on the 22nd in Fargo. We stayed at the Holiday Inn and enjoyed the pool and got to see a lot of family. It was the first time all 15 of us cousins were together. We did get a picture - just not on my camera.

Don't you just love the picture of Hayden eating breakfast in the hotel room. Definitely a challenge with a 1 year old! The things you take for granted when you don't have kids.

More pictures of Hayden playing outside. the middle picture cracks me up. That is his new thing...when he giggles he puts his hands over his mouth. It's pretty cute!

Trip Down Memory Lane....

I was going through our wedding pics and I thought I would post some to our blog. We will celebrate our 3rd anniversary in just a month. Wow how time has flown by. Here are a couple engagement pictures and pictures from one of the best days of our lives - 9/16/06