Monday was a big day for Ethan. He turned 8 years old!  With his collar bone injury, we decided a birthday party was not the best idea this year.  A family celebration was a better idea this year.   As per our family tradition, he picked a lunch location on Sunday.  We enjoyed Pizza Ranch lunch buffet and went home for cake and presents. His favorite gifts were:  Another Lego set (you can never have to many!), a dinosaur puzzle from Nadia, a Bakugan from Ben.  


These are a few of the better photos from his birthday photo shot.  I am still playing with my new camera, so I tried a white background for fun.  

It's hard to believe, but Nadia started Preschool today.  She was a little apprehensive at home before we left for school, but she did not even look back when we arrived.  She was full of smiles when I picked her up.  She is attending Tree Top Preschool, which is the same preschool  that Ethan went to.  She also has the same teachers and Ethan assured her they were really nice teachers.  I agree with Ethan,  they are really loving teachers.   Today they learned how to get dressed for winter, she showed me how to zip her coat.  Now everyone should be ready to go without my help.   YEAH!  She mentioned that she played with some new friends, but she doesn't know their names.  She sang songs, and played at the sand table.  I think she had a great day, and will be excited to go back on Friday.  

We just arrived home from the Funeral. I was a little worried about how the kids would react, especially Nadia. She has gotten really close to him in the past few months. I am sure that it did not make a whole lot of sense in her 3 year old brain; she was just really happy to play with her cousins. I am anticipating questions or comments over the next few weeks. It was a whirlwind weekend, but it was such a blessing to remember Grandpa. Now back to "real" life... School, work and laundry.



Here's a copy of the Obituary:

In Memory Of
Gerrit J. Sneller
September 20, 1914 - December 30, 2009

DIED
December 30, 2009
Oskaloosa, Iowa

FUNERAL SERVICES
11:00 A.M., Monday, January 4, 2010
United Methodist Church
Pella, Iowa

VISITATION
Sunday, January 3, 2010
starting at 11:00 A.M. with
family present 2:00 - 4:00 P.M.
Garden Chapel Funeral Home
Pella, Iowa

INTERMENT
10:00 A.M. Monday, January 4, 2010
Oakwood Cemetery
Pella, Iowa

Gerrit J. Sneller was born near Otley, Iowa, on September 20, 1914, to Jacob and Gertrude Brouwer Sneller. He was raised in the Otley area where he attended country school and farmed with his father. Gerrit's mother passed away when he was five years old. His father later married Annie Hulleman.

On March 11, 1938, Gerrit was united in marriage with Annabell Van Heukelom in Pella, Iowa. They rented various farms over the years until they purchased their own in the Skunk River bottom north of Pella. Gerrit and Annabell were blessed with two children: Kenneth and Bonnie.

Gerrit and Annabell retired from farming in 1984. He then began working at the Star Oil Gas Station in Pella. Other places of employment included the Christian Opportunity Center, Vermeer Manufacturing, and Central College.

On May 4, 2002, Gerrit and Annabell suffered the loss of their son, Kenneth, in a car accident near Tracy, Iowa. Twenty-six days later on May 30, 2002, Annabell passed away after a lengthy illness.

At the age of seventy Gerrit took up bowling. He joined a group of men who bowled on a regular basis at the Excit-A-Bowl in Pella. They often traveled to nearby towns to participate in tournaments. Gerrit loved the Lord and was currently a member of the United Methodist Church in Pella where he participated in a Bible Study group.

Gerrit passed away at the Mahaska Hospital in Oskaloosa, Iowa, on the evening of Wednesday, December 30, 2009, at the age of ninety-five. Those left to cherish his memory are: his daughter and her husband, Bonnie and Don Vos of Oskaloosa, Iowa, and his daughter-in-law, Mary Jane Sneller of Tracy, Iowa; eight grandchildren: Kathy (James) Dickinson, Glenda (Kelly) Carlson, Dan (Missy) Sneller, Rose (Andrew) Tulp, Rachel (Jose') Carrollo Vos, Michael (Leah) Vos, Melissa (Joel) Van Kooten, and Jason (Sarah) Vos; twenty-four great-grandchildren; brother, Art (Marge) Sneller; sister, Labertha Vander Schel; sisters-in-law: Ruth Jean Van Heukelom and Bernice Sneller.

Preceding him in death was: his wife, Annabell; his son, Kenneth; his parents; brothers: Jacob Sneller, Hank (Doretha) Sneller, Rick (Cora) Sneller; brothers-in-law: Cyrus Vander Schel, Norman Van Heukelom, Ray (Johanna) Van Heukelom; sisters-in-law, Thresa (Lloyd) Van Rees and Betty (Hank) Goodyk.

Gerrit will always be remembered for his love for his family, his great sense of humor, and his optimistic outlook on life.

Today, I need to share some sad news with you. Yesterday afternoon, my grandfather passed away, he was 95. He spent the last couple weeks in the hospital with his health declining. Although I am very sadden by his passing, I know that it was time for him to go. These last few months have been a challenging, he has become frustrated with simple things like his Tv. We went to visit him on Monday, and he was incredibly weak. He responded to my voice, but he was to weak to open his eyes. We stayed with him for about 20 mins. I made this scrapbook page in August after a recent visit. I am sharing it again,


On another sad note, Ethan broke his collar bone yesterday. He went sledding with a friend, flew off the tube and landed right on his shoulder. He slept upright last night because he was quite a bit of pain. He seemed better today. I think the saddest part for him, is that he will be missing at least 6 weeks of hockey. He was looking forward to playing goalie next week. Hopefully he can play the last few weeks of February and a Tournament in March.

Our family tradition mandates that we open presents on Christmas even. I argued that is was bedtime and presents would wait until Christmas morning. I was out voted 4-1. So, we stayed up and opened every last present and headed to bed at 11pm, on 3 hours past bedtime. I was surprised that everyone maintained a joyous spirit up until the very end. Every family member was very happy with their gifts this year.
Nadia's favorites: a baby and cradle, a robe, littlest pet shop and a Zu-Zu pet.

Ethan's favorites: 2 castle lego sets, a marble game, and Bakugan (little alien creatures that ball up)

Ben's favorite is his Nerf dart tag game, the castle lego and his disc golf disc.


Andrew finally got a new case for his guitar. He also received a Garmin GPS to find the many hockey arenas and hotels.

I bought a new camera several weeks ago which was my major Christmas gift. I also got a stoneware pie plate, a DMACC sweatshirt and a new digital scrapbook class.

Overall we had a very blessed Christmas.

We had our Christmas celebrations on the 24th. My family came to Ames for lunch. We had 6 adults and 9 Children. We all agreed this child to adult ratio was probably the best, we discussed ways to maintain it in the future. :) We missed Rachel, Tito, Sienna, Mom and Dad. I guess Panama City is a little far to travel for lunch. Jason and Sarah could not make it either, they were a little worried that the weather would turn nasty. They needed to stay close to the farm to head off any power emergencies. We had a really nice lunch and very riveting conversations. I will not post the details here, I suggest you ask one of us sometime. I will say that Michael was very poorly behaved :) I am sure that most of my family will agree. By early evening, everyone had left and we went to church for the Christmas eve service.