Year in review-2014 pictures, lots of pictures!

January-cold and SNOW! 

 January-my birthday month! 37 years young.

January-Abram started his first year of basketball at the Y.

He LOVED it!

  

February- Broncos made it to the Superbowl!

Happy boys, until they lost...

February-massive snow hill that didn't melt until May.

February-Ethan swam with the FF Flyers.

March-we bought our dream home. 

It's everything we wanted in our new home and we couldn't be happier.

April-Spring break! I took the boys on a day trip to Fargo!

May-Mother's Day!

May-Ethan graduated from 6th grade, onto middle school.

June-Ahhh, summer has arrived!

June-Baseball for Abram. He loved it and his team won the Big Friday championship.

June-Ethan swam for the FF Flyers and made it to state again.

June-movies in the park, one of my favorite things to do in the summer,

June-Discovering my flower gardens in our new home. They are AMAZING!

July 4th-Redhawks game

 A family favorite.

July-Redhawks Game

July-camping at Maplewood State Park

August-My sweet boys.

August-Ethan's 12th birthday!

August-Steven started coaching the boys JV soccer team, he LOVED it!

August-Ethan started 7th grade football for the Otters.

Sept-Back to school.
Both boys started new schools this year.

October-family pictures

October-Abram turns 9!

October-Annual fall trip to Maplewood State Park

November-Ethan shot his first buck. 5 points

November-picking out our Christmas tree at Santa's tree farm.

November-Thanksgiving at my sister's house.

December-Ethan started swimming for the FF JV Otters. 

December-Ethan had his first choir concert. He is so handsome!

December-Christmas Eve family selfie.

December-Christmas Eve pajamas

December-our family selfie on our Christmas vacation.

I hope you all had a fabulous 2014. I'm looking forward to 2015 and all that it will hold.

Here is our 2014 Christmas news letter.

Positively my most favorite time of the year is upon us. It's no lie, I (Salena) LOVE the Christmas season. I love to reflect on the year and focus on Christ and his birth. I can't imagine how Mary must have felt riding a donkey while about to give birth, then actually giving birth in a stable. And Joseph, how helpless he must have felt. The parents of the Christ child and what He's done for us.

Rookie coach! Steven enjoyed his first year as the Otter boys JV soccer coach. He absolutely loved it and the boys had a great season. Abram also loved spending time with the boys and his dad on the field at practices and games. This was in addition to his full time job still in the cellular industry.

Ethan, our middle school, old soul, swimming fool and football playing son is 12 years old. He's doing very well this year in school, maintaining straight A's while playing sports and adjusting to a new way of life in the public school after 7 years at Morning Son Christian School. He amazes us daily with his insight on 7^th grade middle school life, positive outlook and love for others.

Purchased our third home in March after selling our other home last December and staying in my parents home for 3 months while they were snowbirds in Arizona. We absolutely LOVE our new home. It's exactly what we were looking for and are very thankful for The Lord's provision and timing.

Abram (9) has really grown this year, in height and character. He played basketball, baseball (where his team won the entire Big Friday championship), spent a week at Bible camp, mastered ice skating and bought himself a new, big boy snowboard. He's very athletic and loves to be active, ALL THE TIME! He too is adjusting to a new school in the 3^rd grade and has had a harder time with it but has come a long way since September. Very proud of that boy!

Roof. Our new home needed a new roof, we knew that buying it, but what we didn't know was what a hassle it would be getting one. Disastrous! But we are so thankful to have a new roof over our heads and protection while waiting and waiting and waiting for it to get put on.

Evangelical Free, Cornerstone Church. Steven is one of the youth leaders at church and loves living out his passion of teaching the Bible and others about Christ and His love for us. Ethan and I volunteer in the church nursery where I get my baby fixes. I love those little’s and how they bless me and Ethan is such a huge help with all the kids.

Hunting was very successful for our family this year. Ethan shot his first deer, a 5 point buck. We have enjoyed several meals prepared from his deer and are thankful our freezer is full. Steven and Abram enjoyed duck hunting this year as well and were also successful. We enjoyed a nice meal with their ducks. We are incredibly thankful for the friends that have guided us along in the hunting world and that have shared their time, home and knowledge with us.

Injured while playing church softball. In August, Steven severely sprained his right ankle and pulled his left hamstring. He was out on medical leave from the Fergus Falls Fire Dept for 13 weeks. We've all agreed, NO more church softball. Steven will celebrate his 4th year on the fire dept in January 2015.

Married for 16 years in June. We celebrated by camping with our boys and friends in Itasca State Park.

Reaching 11 years with my job. I am still a part time bank teller and still mostly love my job. I also LOVE coffee, taking pictures, fires in our fireplace, sunshine and sunsets, and being a mom to our boys and wife to my hubby!

On the go! The NessNest stays busy. We enjoy camping and boating, the lakes and pool, parks and the Farmer's Market, ice rinks and sledding hills, and fishing and sporting events.

Of course I can't leave out our beloved puppy, Lucy. She is still the best dog we've ever had, and loves to sleep on Ethan's bed at night and spend her days barking at every single dog and person that walks by our home on our busy street.

May your family be blessed this Christmas and may you chose love over anger, gratitude over entitlement and forgiveness and compassion over bitterness. 

 Love, The NessNest