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December, 2006

Friends, Relatives, and other notable recipients of the 2006 Webel Yuletide Greeting-

 It’s that time of year again when we take time to reflect on the past year, and look forward with anticipation to what lies ahead!  Not much new to report here in the Webel Household, with the exception of:

 1.  A new baby,  

2. A complete home remodel/rebuild and 

3. moving. 

Other than that, it’s been ‘business as usual’ around our place!!

 We’ll start with the most recent news first: Josephine Elisabeth made her premiere November 27^th.  She was 7 lbs. 2 oz., 18 inches long.  Josie has been a wonderful addition to our family. She sleeps pretty well, is a good eater, and was born in time for us to get home before the 16” snow storm that hit on her actual due date. She doesn’t do many tricks yet, but Anna has enough for both of them!  With Anna born in 2005, and Josie in 2006, I think we need to keep the streak alive and shoot for another in 2007.  Emily is not so sure about the timing involved in that.

 Our other big news for the year involved completely remodeling the 1871 farmhouse where Emily’s grandparents used to live.  We gutted the entire house to the studs and floors and completely remodeled it.  The project included foundation work, new electricity, heating & cooling, insulation, and re-doing the beautiful hardwood floors in two of the rooms.  We could not have done it without the help of both of our families.  We had a lot of help in the “finishing” process- painters, cleaners, etc helped us reach our goal of finally getting moved in.  While it seemed at times like it took forever, we didn’t swing the first “Wrecking Bar” until January 2, and we moved in by the first weekend in June, so considering all we did, it probably went pretty well!!!  All of the pictures, before and afters, etc are available on this site.

 Anna has adapted well to becoming a “country girl”.  She loves to play outside and loves to ride in the tractor with her dad or grandpa(s).  She even knows that when she sees a red combine, it’s “Papa Rick” and a green combine or tractor it’s “Papa Ted”.  She is saying so many things right now, and she has been a wonderful “big sister” to Josie.  Anna’s favorite thing in the world is the “Monkey”- which is Curious George.  She loves books, her stuffed animals, and the Curious George cartoon and Sesame Street.  Daddy loves to take her on tractor rides, where she is surprisingly OK with sitting still for more than 30 seconds at one time.

 Emily has absolutely loved staying home with Anna, and with our move and being pregnant with Josie for what seemed like a year and a half, we both would not have it any other way.  “School” is in session every day around our place, and now with “two tots” as Anna would say, Emily will be as busy as ever taking care of everyone and giving the girls the attention and teaching that we want them to have.

 Moving to the farm has been a dream come true for me.  I have some cows that Dad is taking care of for me until I can find a place for them here, and I have the opportunity to work with my father in law and his brother Jeff on their grain farm.  Our hope is to find some acreage of our own to be able to become a partner in the farm operation in the near future.  My consulting business, “Red Wagon Enterprises”, has had a great year, and 2007 looks to be even better.  I enjoy the occasional travel and flexibility it provides to be able to do the other things I want to do, and being at home with my family most of the time is great. 

 Together, we have really enjoyed moving closer to family.  Having Emily’s family close by has been a lot of fun, and we are closer to my family as well, which we believe will make it easier to make more “day trips” in the coming year.  On the downside, we didn’t realize how many friends we would be missing in the Champaign area.  To those of you in this category, We Miss You!!!  Those relationships are not easily replaced quickly, so we occasionally miss the “community” we had there.  As time goes on, we know we will get to know more people where we live and create those same types of friendships in our new community. 

 We do look forward to 2007 with great optimism.  The joy of family, of loving what you do (most) everyday, and the hope and joy that comes from the birth of another baby, born in a manger many years ago, makes it hard not to look forward to what’s to come.

 God’s Blessings to each and everyone of you this Christmas Season!

 Joe, Emily, Anna, and Josie Webel

2075 Knox Rd 300 N, Farmington, IL 61531

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