Meet Willow

 I wasn't too sure about adopting another cat after Smokey died, but Seth did a good job in his appeals for a new cat. After a visit to the humane society, Seth immediately bonded with little Willow and she is now a well-loved fixture in the Herman home. She has such a sweet nature and loves to snuggle. Every morning she greets Russ with her front paws outstretched and gives him a hug before she is fed. 

Winter Activities

Seth traveled with eleven other students in his class on a school-sponsored trip to London, England the end of October/early November. He was able to experience the National Portrait Gallery, Westminster Abby, Churchill War Rooms, Benjamin Franklin House, Great Fire Memorial, St. Dunstan-in-the-East, Tower of London, St. Paul's Cathedral, Globe Theatre, Burrough's Market, The Mousetrap play, Hampton Court Palace, Maritime Museum, Piccadilly Circus, British Museum, Camden Market, Kings Cross Station, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, Natural History Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, and the London Eye. They packed quite a bit in five days!

I took my own trip about the same time to Aurora, CO to visit Caleb and Mikaela. Caleb had a few days without class, so he could show me around the medical school campus and their favorite places in the area, including church on Sunday. I also met their puppy, Augie, for the first time!

A beautiful mountain hike

An al fresco lunch

Denver Botanical Gardens

 

A view from one of the medical school buildings.

My niece, Emily, was running in the NAIA cross-country nationals for Northwestern College in Vancouver, WA, in mid-November.  Russ and I decided rather spontaneously to take a quick trip to cheer her on. The drive was beautiful and we had so much fun surprising them!

Russ and Coach Wolf talking "shop."

Other than Seth, none of the kids were home for Thanksgiving. Caleb and Mikaela spent Christmas in San Diego with her family and the "Iowa" kids spent Thanksgiving with the Bleeker and Herman families in Iowa. We decided to spend Thanksgiving with our church family and invited anyone interested to join us at church for a Thanksgiving meal. We had a wonderful time of food and fellowship.

Seth's culturally themed "Friendsgiving." Seth brought a French pastry for dessert.

The week after Thanksgiving I flew to Ontario, CA, and met my mom at Aunt Lila's house to visit her for a few days. We enjoyed worshiping at her church, seeing family we hadn't seen for a while, and just spending time catching up.

The girls had their first indoor track meet at SDSU!

Youth group Christmas party at the Rollerdrome.

Now we are gearing up for yet another trip--to Iowa for Christmas and Nicolas and Josie's wedding!

Fall Activities

Russ had a crazy busy September and October. Our church had a men's retreat in mid-September that he attended and gave all the devotional messages. After returning home from the retreat on a Saturday and then preaching on Sunday, he turned around and drove to Medford, OR for a classis meeting on Monday. He came home on Wednesday later that week just in time to organize and set up for the Reformation Boise Conference held that weekend. After "catching up" for a week, he flew to Chicago for a synod committee meeting. He was thankful to be home for a few weeks before flying to Dordt for the Board of Trustees meeting at the end of October!

Reformation Boise Conference

Around 400 people gathered at this year's Reformation Boise Conference as speakers, Dr. Miles Van Pelt and Dr. Jonathan Gibson spent the weekend examining the topic of covenant.  They each gave two talks and participated in a Q&A session.

Homecoming

Cole Valley Christian's homecoming was the same weekend as the conference.  We finished packing up unsold books at the conference venue then rushed home to make dinner for Seth and nine of his friends before they went to the homecoming dance. 

Four years of friendships!

Senior Trunk or Treat and Pumpkin Decorating

Mexico

The girls went to Mexico on a short-term mission trip with other members of our church the first week of October. They flew from Omaha to El Paso and met the rest of the team at the airport before driving over the border. Anna and Lydia shared a few pictures with us.

Before

After

The "Iowa" Kids

Lydia with her fans after the Dordt Orchestra Pops Concert in September.

Anna and Lydia supporting Josie at the "12 Angry Jurors" production.

Hiking at Palisade State Park near Sioux Falls.