Monday, December 26, 2011

All Smiles And A "YES"!

Family

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Christmas At Bentley

Christmas day is always a special day at home. It is filled with laughter, many presents, great food, tradition, and love. Thankfully this year everyone was home for Christmas, Sarah and Adam from Kansas, and Nate and Hannah from NYC. We were also glad to have our "Uncle" Clarence join us for the day's activities. It was indeed a very Merry Christmas.

Christmas Card 2011

Merry Christmas Friends and Family,

As the youngest of the eight, I still very much enjoy the gifts that are given and received at Christmas. I also am excited because this Christmas means that all my siblings will be back on Bentley Farm at the same time! Yet, in the midst of all this excitement, the words of the band, Downhere, speak of an even more awesome joy:

Follow the star to a place unexpected, would you believe after all we've projected, a child in a manger, lowly and small, the weakest of all, unlikeliest hero, wrapped in his mother’s shawl. Just a child - is this who we’ve waited for?

Sarah is happily married to her best friend, Adam, and now is almost five months pregnant with a little baby girl. She continues as a high school chemistry teacher in Kansas. She, Rebecca, and Hannah reunited for some sister-time in May and went on a camping trip together in the Adirondacks. In the spring, Sarah and Adam bought a house in Wichita which they spent four months fixing (with much help) into a home. The two of them really enjoy spending time with their new neighbors and are having fun doing lots of hosting in their new home. Sarah blogs at www.cityhouseontheprairie.blogspot.com

When I was eight, Isaac left home full of hopes and dreams. Now six years later, Dr. Isaac Angell returned to Bentley Farm, married to his Allie, expecting a baby girl in January, and so grateful for this cascade of blessings. He and Allie live at the other end of Bentley Lane, about a five minute walk from our house. We visit back and forth a lot. He works with a man he really admires, Dr. Hart, and enjoys his veterinary practice. When he is not at the office or out on a farm call, Isaac loves to work with Allie around Bentley Farm getting it back into production. Their vegetable garden out- produced ours this summer! And thanks to their labors, our fields are once again populated with Ayrshire cows.

I really grew in respect for my brother Nate this year. Nate was so happy to be engaged to Anna, and his heart broke when the relationship ended this summer. Even through this difficult time, Nate has continued to look to God for strength. He still works as an engineering analyst for Black and Veatch focusing on renewable energy in New York City, and has an apartment on the Upper West Side. I am happy when he comes up on the weekends to visit the farm and work with me doing my farm chores. I recently had the opportunity to spend a weekend with Nate in the city and return the favor.

Luke took a break from his academic careet spending the summer and fall with us. He is so enthusiastic about life which means a lot to all of us. In January, he is leaving for the University of Rochester where he will be in a pediatric nurse practitioner program. Luke is so grateful to the medical personnel that helped him after he was born three months early; it is his hope to pass on the blessings of life to the next generation. Luke loves farming as well, and has worked since graduating as a herd manager at a nearby country estate farm. I don’t think anyone is happier in the driver’s seat of a John Deere, working on various projects around the farm, than my brother Luke.

Hannah just glows these days. Her boyfriend, Eric, my good friend as well, is a big part of her joy. Eric was Luke and Isaac’s roommate at Cornell. I find Hannah to be a real ball of energy. Upon graduation, she moved to Brooklyn with long-time friend, Katie Teubl. Hannah works for KPMG, an accounting firm, on her way to becoming a Certified Public Accountant. She never seems to tire as she travels the land with her company. She is home most every weekend with energy still to spare. Hannah loves spending quality time with her two wonderful sisters, Rebecca and Allie.

Jacob values his relationships with his friends, many of whom are older mentors. He made a new friend this year, George Allen. Our whole family was so grateful when George and his wife, Liz, bought Bentley Farm in February. George and Liz have a love for the farm just as we do. Jacob worked on the farm for the whole summer. Jacob applies the same determination and perseverance to his academic work as he does to his farm work. He is now attending Dutchess Community College laboring through his double dose of chemistry and biology. This summer, Jacob and Hannah flew out to Kansas to help Sarah and Adam work on the floors for their new house.

Rebecca really enjoys the sport team experience. She has played volleyball in the spring, soccer in the fall, and now basketball. Her beloved “sheepies” are still very much alive and baaing. Under Rebecca’s supervision her oldest ewe gave birth to two beautiful lambs, Ramekin and Raquel. Rebecca is anticipating studying nursing in college. Rebecca blesses me and the family with her constant kindness, patience and service.

As for me, I played baseball on a team in the spring and worked in the cool hours of the summer mornings weed-whacking on the farm. When Jacob became busy with college studies, I took over his role as landscaper. My greatest adventure of the summer came when I flew out to Kansas by myself and had a blast going to a summer camp with Adam and visiting Sarah and Adam’s home afterward. My hobby remains building with Lego, and I have entered two more competitions as I continue to enjoy this medium of art. I like learning more about the way things work.

Mom and Dad are excited to be welcoming their first grandchildren into the family. We all look to Dad for his wisdom, and revere Mom for her service and love as she continues to teach Rebecca and me at home and visit and encourage her kids spread across the country. Dad has remained serving on several local town committees, and Mom still devotedly cares for our beloved cousin, Maryella, who just turned 94. We very much continue to enjoy having our dear Grandma next door and she amazes us with all sorts of homemade treats from her kitchen.

Reflecting upon Christ entering the world as one of us, I am filled with joy and hope. This Jesus, the servant king, the unlikely hero, the peaceful deliverer, is indeed the One we have waited for!

Merry Christmas for the Angell family,

Caleb Angell

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

A Visit To My Man (And The Hoosier State!)

Turkey Run State Park

Danville, IN


Story Inn

SpringHill Camp IN

Monday, December 12, 2011

A Country Mouse Among City Mice

This weekend I left for the city and spent the weekend with brother Nate.

Several highlights were:
-Going to the super-crowded Lego store near Rockefeller Center.
-Visiting Nate's friends, the Cates, and Nathan came with us on some of our adventures.
-Traveling through the city by foot.
-Going to the Holiday Train Show at the NY Botanical Gardens, were replicas of buildings were built with nuts, twigs, gourds, etc.
-Grinding cinnamon at the Gingerbread Adventure with a mortar and pestle.
-Taking a tour around the gardens on a tram.
-Going to a concert where a orchestra and choir played Bach's Magnificat and Handel's Messiah, it was easily one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard.
-Attending Central Presbyterian Church on Sunday morning.
-Hanging out with my big brother Nate.

Though I had a great time, I have to say, I am glad I live in the countryside of the Hudson Valley.


Thursday, December 08, 2011

Thanksgiving Time At Bentley

This Thanksgiving time passed pleasantly, with a visit from Uncle Sam's family, and our "Uncle" Clarence joining us as well. My mother really out did herself this year with the amount of food that was made. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, because it makes us step back and look at all the many blesses God has so bountifully given us.

A special thanks to Aunt Jeanne for the last five photos in this post.

Thursday, December 01, 2011

94 Years and Counting!

Maryella, our elderly cousin, who is a real joy and gift to our family, is known to light up a room with her smile, joined the small group of 94 year olds in the world.
This year amidst a specially ordered ham and potato dinner, a cozy Swedish sweater, a pink birthday cake, and a back blanket, and good cheer, Maryella beamed happily throughout the events of the night. Although Maryella suffers from short term memory loss, you could ask her all through the day and she knew that this day was her special day.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Ten Steps To Get A Christmas Tree

Drive to a local tree farm.
Board the hay-bale wagon for a ride to the site of your choice.
Bring along a great crew.
Walk around and look for the perfect Christmas tree.
Make sure it smells right.
Find it!
Cut it down with a sharp saw.
Have a strong girl lug it back for you.
Load it onto the wagon.
Get a free cup of hot chocolate after buying it, tie the tree to the car and go home!

Turkey Trot 5K

Early Thanksgiving morning, Nate, Rebecca, and I all left for a 5K race in a nearby town. Nate had his best time yet, pulling in at 23:30, only 5 minutes after the first place winner. Afterwards we came home for a pre-Thanksgiving breakfast.