Coe Family

"God 'less Daddy"

2010-03-15T22:10:00.005-05:00

Gracie missed church last night because she has an ear infection and is running a high fever. She loves people so this was pure torture for her.

Last night, daddy preached so Gabriel and I stayed home with her. As we played, read books, and listened to messages - she kept asking "where daddy is?" I told her, daddy was preaching and asked if she would like to pray for him.

She said "Yes, pway for daddy." So, we prayed that God would be with him as he preached. When I stopped, she said "Amen. God 'less Daddy."

About thirty minutes, she asked to pray for daddy again. We prayed again and at the end, she said "Amen. God 'less Daddy."

She has asked to pray for different people today and every time she says "Amen. God 'less ______."

So if your ears are twitching or your nose is itching, there might be a sick little girl praying for you.

Starting Again

2010-03-15T13:55:00.002-05:00

I have been asked by so many to start writing here again and so I have begun again. This is more of a journal for me. There are no set schedules, no set themes - just me, sharing my heart and my family with those that love and care about my family.

I also write for EmpoweringMommy.com and you are always welcome to read what I have to say over there. That site is more about deals, coupons, and products that I review. My family's journal will have none of those things.

Welcome back to our family's journal. Feel free to subscribe by email and then you'll get our updates right in your email account. This is delivered once a day on the days I post so you'll know when I have posted. You won't even have to come back here unless you want to leave a comment or look at it online. You'll get every picture and post in your email instead.

Spring Has Arrived

2009-04-17T00:37:00.001-05:00

I know I am way behind on updating but the Lord just replaced my camera so I can update with more pictures. Gracie is quite the little person now but I'll update more on that later.

She got new rainboots and below you will see her discovery of puddles and her great enjoyment of Spring!

First puddle ever!

Love our rainboots! On from the time she gets up till she goes to bed at night!

Announcing our new little man

2009-03-04T16:17:00.003-06:00

We were able to see the new little person that is in the process of being handmade by God right now. We were excited to see that we will be shopping for little boy clothes. He is not a modest little boy so it will be the first thing we will be teaching when he is born. :-) The tech told us today that it is a 100 percent chance that this wee one is a boy.

Gracie And Her First "Sledding" Trip

2009-01-31T11:38:00.003-06:00

We bundled Gracie up in her snowsuit today and took outside to play in the snow for the first time. It has been too cold previously for us to do this. If it does warm up, the wind blows much too strong still to take her out in it. Today for a short period, we had warm weather and very little wind. We knew it would pick up around noon so we dressed her quickly and took her outside for her fun in the snow. To be honest, neither one of us had "time" but we have learned there always things to do. We try to put God first, our family second, and everything else follows that. This is one of those days where we snatched thirty minutes and just enjoyed playing as a family. You can see what a great time Gracie had! She loves to be outside so this was great for her.

"Mom, I hope this good because I can't move!" :-)

"Outside finally! Loving it!"

"Daddy removing snow from my car so that I can drive it!"

Making snow angels

"My sledding hill!"

At the bottom of my "hill"!
Want to join my snow adventure? It's tons of fun!

Our Special Gift

2009-01-29T21:46:00.002-06:00

At 32 weeks of my pregnancy with Gracie, I went into early labor. During that time of uncertainity, not knowing if she would be born early or with problems, Dylan and I really had to trust God with everything we had. We spent many nights wondering what she would look like, what kind of personality she would have, and began to truly treasure this little gift that could become ours at anytime. At 35 weeks, she was born. We were told that she was the healthiest baby born that day. We had expected that she would have to stay in the hospital in the NICU for quite sometime. God had different plans! She went home with us two days after she was born. What a miracle God had given us.

Two days later, we were back in the hospital. She had jaundice - it was quite severe - and the doctor said we would be in the hospital for at least a week. But again, God had different plans. Two days later, we drove our precious wee one home - again because God had performed a miracle on our little Gracie's behalf.

She has become the joy of our lives and we wouldn't change a thing about her. She is our precious gift from God. These events truly made us value her more than I can say and every event in her life has been special to us.

Here is a video that we made for her. We hope to one day share with her how special she is to God. He proved it before she was ever born.

There are two very special songs on here - one I came across the day I found out she might be born early and the second the day she went back to the hospital. These songs are near and dear to my heart and truly describe my daughter.

Enjoy our special video:

Gracie and Her Grandma

2009-01-27T17:41:00.003-06:00

Gracie has a very special person in her life and that is her Grandma. She loves Grandma very much and gets very excited whenever she sees her. We put together this special video to show just how special Grandma is to Gracie.

99 Balloons

2008-12-30T23:12:00.006-06:00

This video has really spoken to my heart about much we need to value life. Each precious day I have with my children, Gracie and our new little one on the way, has been very special. I know that every day we have firsts when our children are first born but very quickly we also have lasts...the last time they fall asleep in your arms, the last time they need you to help them walk, the last time they have baby teeth...there are many firsts and many lasts and this video really made me think and reevaluate whether I am being careful to cherish my children. I never know when my last day with them will be.

Grab a tissue box and enjoy "99 Balloons". May we never forget the joy our children bring no matter how many days we have with them.

A Fun Family Event

2008-12-18T20:11:00.006-06:00

I requested that we do something fun this week and so today, we spent the whole afternoon making cookies for our neighbors. We live in an apartment and have one neighbor connected to us. We then have a neighbor behind us and seven neighbors across the street in my dad's 8plex. We have more neighbors but those are the ones we know the most and who we decided to make cookies for. Our neighbors tend to be without alot of family because they are military or some other job has brought them to our neighbor. It really is a blessing to have so many neighbors.

Here are the pictures from our fun day. We made about 12 dozen cookies and one giant mess! Dylan and I worked as a team, I gathered and measured all the ingredients and he mixed it all together. We then split the job of putting the cookies on the cookie sheets. We even got Gracie involved rolling out cookie dough! After all of the pictures, you will find the recipes for all the yummy cookies we made.

Working hard

Gracie loved making cookies!

The end result. Our neighbors enjoyed the quick visit and enjoyed getting the cookies. We had a lot of fun making them and sharing them with others. It was a great opportunity to show them that we care. There were even a few that we hadn't met yet so it was fun to meet new neighbors and see their surprise when they received cookies. We had a lot of smiles and of course, Gracie was well thanked for her hard work. :-)

Peanut Butter Blossoms

Ingredients:
• 1/2 cup Butter Shortening
• 1/2 cup Jif® Creamy Peanut Butter
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups All Purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Sugar
• 48 foil-wrapped milk chocolate pieces, unwrapped

Directions:
1. HEAT oven to 375°F.
2. CREAM together shortening, peanut butter, brown sugar and 1/2 cup sugar. Add egg, milk and vanilla. Beat well.
3. STIR together flour, baking soda and salt. Add to creamed mixture. Beat on low speed until stiff dough forms.
4. SHAPE into 1-inch balls. Roll in sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
5. BAKE 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.
6. TOP each cookie immediately with an unwrapped chocolate piece, pressing down firmly so that cookie cracks around edge. Remove from cookie sheets to cool.

Yield: 4 Dozen Cookies

Sour Cream Cutouts
From Taste of Home

INGREDIENTS
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cans (16 ounces each) vanilla frosting
Gel food coloring of your choice

DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, sour cream and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate overnight. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with floured cookie cutters. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. Tint some of the frosting with food coloring; decorate cookies as desired.

Yield: about 6-1/2 dozen.

Gracie's 1st Birthday - Cake Time

2008-12-17T09:20:00.006-06:00

Here is the first video from Gracie's 1st Birthday. This video is all about the cake. :-) Please ignore commentaries in the background as I could not cut that part. Gracie sure did love her cake...we made it is sugar free as possible but I forgot all about the fact that a ladybug cake would have tons of food coloring! It kind of defeated the purpose of "light" cake but she loved it and since it's not something that she gets normally, I guess she'll live.

I will have more video and pictures soon but here is what I have for now.

"Daddy, this is good cake. You should try some. Here have a bite!"

Throwing the dirty baby away. This was the best way to clean her actually.

Christmas At Our House!

2008-12-15T21:20:00.004-06:00

I haven't forgotten that promised birthday stuff but as you were waiting I thought you might enjoy our adventure of setting up the tree this year. Last year, we set the tree on our cedar chest so that you could see it out the window and because we have a precarious little one wandering around this year, we did the same.

Gracie thought setting up the tree was great fun and that she should help. Here is the result:

Dylan put the lights on the highest points...in case you think we have a large tree, we don't :-)

This is why you never turn your back on Gracie! :-)

Dylan and I had just walked away after putting the tree up. We hadn't taken the step ladder away yet and I turned around and who had climbed it to take off the ornmanents?

"Baby Monster"

"Christmas trees are cool, Mom!"

She really does love the lights. The stepladder is away now but she loves the tree. She is also very good around it. She has been taught not to touch it and she doesn't. The first thing she does every morning though is point at it until you plug in the lights and then she loves for you to hold her close to the tree so she can point at everything on it.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Baby Girl

2008-12-13T21:56:00.004-06:00

Today is Gracie's birthday so I had to upload a picture of our sweet baby eating her birthday cake. I'll have more posted soon along with a "a year in review" video and her birthday video but that will come when I get some time. Sometime early next week :-)

Gracie In Action

2008-12-11T19:29:00.002-06:00

Here's a special video especially for our family. Since many of you live so far away, we thought we'd let you see her personality on a normal day. You'll have to forgive the toys you see, I just cleaned them and that it is the best environment in which to play and cause havoc!

I'll post another video on Sunday or Monday from her first birthday! We are looking forward to a fun time spent with our sweet baby.

Gracie's Tutu

2008-12-04T16:26:00.002-06:00

Gracie tested out my new venture - tutus. It's not quite done yet but it is intended for birthday. My camera is broken so I'm using my old one...it does not work nearly as well but here's some pics of our ham.

Little Impressions

2008-12-01T10:11:00.004-06:00

I have often wondered how much young children understand what is going on around them. Since Gracie was born, Dylan and I have watched what she does and picks up. I have often heard through my training on the brain that parents do not realize the full potential a child's brain truly has. We under estimate their abilities to learn because they can not talk.

I am sharing this video not only because it is so cute but it reminded us of how careful we need to be with this precious gift God has given us.

Dylan has been going to Physical Therapy for his ankle and has been sent home exercises to do. He has only been doing this for about a week and half but does it normally when Gracie is awake. Saturday, I caught Gracie putting the yellow plastic rope and around her ankle and doing the same "exercises". I captured this video this morning and no, we did not put this on her foot, she did!

I'm having problems with the sound and will try to fix that later but today is the Beautiful For Thee deadline and I must work on that first.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-26T09:25:00.003-06:00

As I prepared my pies for dinner tomorrow, my thoughts turned to Thanksgiving and why we truly celebrate this holiday. This holiday was created so that one day out of every year all the thanks that we as a nation had to our Wonderful Saviour could be expressed. God had made a great nation out of nothing and had taken a people with many faults and made them into something usable and blessed by God.

Now as I contemplate Thanksgiving, I wonder where our nation's thankfulness as gone. With that lack of thankfulness so has our great nation fallen. We are no longer the people we once were instead we complain and blame others for the troubles we have gotten into. We look to everyone but God to "bail" us out.

This Thanksgiving I pray that we as nation humble ourselves and truly become thankful to the God who has done so much for us.

2 Chronicles 7:14 "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Love,
Dylan, Rachael, and Gracie

Playing Mommy

2008-11-25T22:09:00.004-06:00

This summer we had kept a look for a baby doll stroller for a friend of ours and right before I was to bring it to church, Gracie noticed it. She didn't let up so for a few minutes I let her play with it (it was used anyway, I didn't think Gracie could do any damage to it for a few minutes and I knew our friends wouldn't care).

She love pushing her "dolly" around all over our living room! It was the cutest sight too.

This is baby abuse but we haven't reported her yet! :-)

2008-11-25T14:57:00.002-06:00

Introducing "Gracie's Bowtique"

2008-11-21T13:47:00.004-06:00

I have been excitedly awaiting the day when Gracie's Bowtique could finally open online. It has taken sometime as I have been working on other things. Also my camera died so that set me back a little bit, but we are officially open!

To find Gracie's Bowtique, just follow this link http://graciesbowtique.blogspot.com/.

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

2008-11-11T19:17:00.003-06:00

A favorite song of Gracie's is The Itsy Bitsy Spider. She is just now learning to do the hand motions...we thought you would enjoy this picture of her "singing" with daddy.

This is what happens when you help mommy!!

2008-11-01T18:24:00.005-05:00

This is what happens when Gracie helps me make hair bows! Daddy is gone this weekend so it is just Gracie and I - we cleaned the house and are busy preparing for a big craft show next weekend but I thought I would take the time to share how cute she is!!!

She loves "peek-a-boo".

The only reason she is without a shirt is because it is close to bath time and there was a catastrophe right before this - need I say more. :-)

Have a wonderful rest of your day!

PS. She has a cold, and I wasn't looking before I took the pictures so her face is a little messy but it sure is a cute face! :-)

Minutes Spent With Gracie

2008-10-03T18:55:00.006-05:00

I am about four months behind in updating you with pictures and news about Gracie. I am not about to begin to share all of that with you tonight but Dylan and I have been able to spend some special moments with her the last few days and I would love to share those pictures with you now.

On Tuesday, we took an hour of family time and spent some time at Turtle River, our local State Park. Here are some pictures of our time:

Aren't leaves fun?

Intense conversation with Daddy about how to catch fish

Beautiful For Thee

2008-09-07T08:37:00.004-05:00

Well, the surprise I have been working on is not really surprise just a secret I had to keep quiet for a while. I can now let you know that I have been working on our church ladies very own newspaper blog. I know it sounds different but it really is meant to be a blessing and I pray it shall be to all those that read it.

You can find the site at Beautiful For Thee. This is what has taken my time away from my own blog but it has been certainly worth it.

A Month and A Half Later

2008-09-04T09:10:00.005-05:00

It has been forever since I wrote on my favorite blog. You probably thinking the same thing but all I can say is that I have had a very busy summer. I am also currently working on something that I will very soon give you the link to but at this moment it is still a secret. :-) My secret has kept all of my blogging time.

I have tons and tons of pictures to share with you all and lots to update you on. I don't know whether I should give all the updates at one time or try to stagger them. I know all you want to know about is how much Gracie has grown and boy has she ever! As I am writing this, I hear a "da da" in the background and the sound of her sippy cup "running" across the floor.

On her six month birthday, she sat up on her own and has been having a blast ever since. At 7 and half months, crawling began and now she is a pro. :-) She crawls everywhere and is getting faster by the day. My clean house is gone forever! :-) She has also begun pulling herself up on everything and "cruising" around the house. "Cruising" at this time is no her strong point but I'm also trying not to encourage it. She is 8 and 1/2 months now and just the joy of our lives.

Dylan is currently layed off and has been for the last four weeks. It has been nice because Gracie and I have had tons of time to spend with him. He has spent a lot of time with my dad also roofing the apartments. We are excited to see what the Lord is going to do with his job. There is a little uncertainity but honestly we are actually enjoying the time and not worrying where our money will come from because at this time, God has provided all of our needs according to His riches and glory. Remember my Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills and if He can't take care of us with that, I don't know who can!

I have been out at our local Farmers' Market every Saturday selling hairbows. I never thought I would do such a thing but Gracie inspired them and they became such a hit that a lady in our church approached me with the idea and it grew wings and became a business. What started out small though with little hairbows has become quite the operation! Sometimes just looking at ribbon can be overwhelming :-)
Well, here are some pictures for you to enjoy. Today you just get Gracie's six month studio shots. Have a great day!

Our Teen Trip Continued

2008-07-18T08:22:00.001-05:00

I'm sorry that it is taking me so long to keep the blog up to date but I must say that life has been quite busy for us and this has had to take a back corner to everything else that we do. The Lord has been so good to us over the last few months and I'm excited to share everything with you but I'll start with finishing our teen trip.

This trip was such a blessing to Dylan and I. It really is a privilege to spend time with our young people and now that I have Gracie, it sometimes is a little harder so it's nice to be a part of their lives for a week and to let them know that we love them and are really able to be there for them if they ever need us. We love our teens so much - they really are a bunch of fun and really a joy to be around. I think being a teenager is one of the hardest times in your life with all of its uncertainty and learning how to make right decisions on your own but I think its also some of the most fun and our teens sure know how to have fun. :)

I left Gracie for just a minute and came back to her with this ice cream in her hands! Gracie slept with all the girls - there were 20 of us in one giant room. It was a lot of fun and the girls treated Gracie just like one of them :-) Ice cream and all, I do believe that Kayla offered her Coke more times than I can count

A great game of backwards kickball

You can't have camp without some hanging out and lots of hugs. Some major decisions were made for the Lord this week and alot of love and tears were shared as this testimonies were revealed.

Our last group picture with Bro. Jason Demlow this time.

This kids were not excited for a group picture, can you tell? Even Pastor looks like he needs to hurry! :-)

We had a great time with Bro. Demlow and it was great to hear what the Lord had laid on his heart for our teens. To be honest, all messages spoke the adults also - they were very timely and you could tell that the Lord was with us that week at camp.

Our Teen Trip

2008-06-30T14:00:00.002-05:00

The month of June has disappeared once again on us. Every year this seems to be our busiest month and it sure was no different this year. :-)

Peek A Boo!

We began the month off with a teen trip with the young people of our church. It was a ton of fun and the Lord really worked in the hearts of our young people. Here's some pics from our trip:

yes, they are doing what you think they are doing! Roasting marshmallows in the fireplace! :-) In the picture is Kris and Scott Poling - they are actually the youth directors and we are their assistants. These are the crazy things we do as part of our jobs :-)

Bro. Dennis and his son Conner enjoying the smores we created! Bro. Dennis was one of the special speakers out there at camp.

Sarah enjoying our marshmallows!

Ben is now the Singles' Director and he was in charge of explaining one of our favorite games, "Mafia".

Tons of garbage is what we created when we made the smores!

Cherith and her baby Sebastian

Two of our teen girls, Heidi and Hannah

Destinee - she's crazy but we love her!

Alex enjoying his time at camp

Caroline is truly a blessing. She got saved last year and was a great example to one of our visitors on the trip.

Becky

Jackie and Diana - Ben's still giving directions on how to play "Mafia" - it's a complicated game :-)

Mrs. Shaffer, Cherith, and Sebastian

Nick was fascinated with this very unique hand that Bro. Dennis brought and did a great job in scaring some of our kids with!

Amber and Kristen, our seniors

Caleb and Dylan playing with the cameras

Shelbie and Katherine

Our group with Bro. Dennis

I think Pastor and Bro Poling need to work on their funny faces! :-)

(oh, I have to go. I just got orders that I need to clean the car before we leave for PA on Wednesday night. So I must go but I'll put more pics up soon. :-))

The Crazy Month of May

2008-06-21T17:08:00.002-05:00

Where did May and June go? I am way behind in my updating but May was crazy. We traveled every week of May with Dylan on his trips and just about every weekend we had something going on at church. We took tons of pictures though so I will catch you up on our lives.

Gracie, of course, grows bigger day by day. At her 4-month appointment, she weighed 12 pounds 13 ounces and was 24 inches long. She got sick about two weeks later and we took her in just to make sure everything was okay and she weighed 14 pounds 11 ounces! She has rounded every part of her body and even her little hands and feet have dimples. Needless to say, we think she is the cutest "chunky monkey" ever!

Traveling in style with daddy!

Daddy blowing up Gracie's first water toy for her first swim in a pool.

It sure is fun to see daddy waste all of his breath in this cool new toy!

This toy was quite yummy and boy did she love the water!

Enjoying her first swim! The pool in Rugby is always empty so it's nice to have it all to ourselves!

Gracie was busy planning our next trip as she waited for us to finish packing everything up so that we could go home.

I'm so ready to go fishing with Grandpa!

Born in the USA

Gracie had her first food on Memorial Day. She loved it and now she wants what everyone else has on their plates!

Dylan thought it was great fun to feed her and as you can see not only was it everywhere, she loved it!

Playing foosball with daddy and my pal Kami and her daddy Chad. They lost but they did a pretty good job with just one hand! Doesn't she look like a cabbage patch doll with that look her face! Look out world, here comes Gracie!

Gracie loves to spend time with Gramma. It is great that she lives nearby!

The month of May was tiring but it sure was fun!

I'll have the month of June up soon, we have tons of pictures from June too and tons of new updates on Gracie!

Family Picture Day with Dylan's motorcycle

2008-06-19T10:26:00.002-05:00

We had a beautiful day right before mother's day so we decided to take advantage of it and get some fun pictures.

Gracie got to sit on the back for the first time and as you can see, leather tastes pretty yummy! :-)

Daddy and Gracie enjoying being outside!

Grandpa's graduation

2008-06-18T10:44:00.001-05:00

Grandpa graduated from Park University the first week in May! I am very proud of him. When mommy finds the bulletin, I will tell you what his majors were (he had three of them).

Waiting for graduation to start.

Presentation of colors

Playing during the ceremony. It was kind of boring but mommy told me I was suppose to be good and I thought I did a pretty good job

The special speaker

Grandpa gets his diploma. Grandma was certainly happy, now he will be home more!

Have you ever tried to take family pictures with my family? It always takes a little bit but we sure do have fun!

The men in our family

Grandpa and me. I wasn't feeling well that day

Grandpa and Grandma - Grandma spent a lot of time alone while Grandpa was in school.

I finally get some time with Grandma

This is how I relax after a long graduation ceremony! :-)

Don't I look cool?

Washington D.C. - Days 3-5

2008-06-18T10:25:00.001-05:00

The last part of our trip was spent with daddy in the hospital. You see there was this little boy a little older than me who had leukemia and he needed my daddy to give him his bone marrow. That's really why we went to Washington DC. Daddy and mommy are very thankful that I am healthy but were thankful that daddy could help some other family. The little boy lives in Italy. We still don't know how he is doing but we pray for him a lot and pray that the transplant went well. When we find out one day, I'll let you all know.

I visited daddy a lot in the hospital. I even smuggled in a mocha latte for him. He thought I was the best daughter ever! Of course, I am!

Daddy and I spent a lot of time sleeping while he was in the hospital. It's hard work you know visiting your daddy in the hospital. There are a lot of nurses and doctors to charm at all times.

Look at this food! This was the hospital food that they gave daddy and mommy. Yes, there is lobster and filet mignon on those plates! They couldn't believe how good hospital food was. Oh yeah and there is shrimp there and even great chocolate cake and cheesecake. It was sad because mommy wouldn't let me try any and daddy couldn't swallow his very well so mommy was really the only one who appreciated it. I still think she ought to have shared with me!

After daddy got out of the hospital the next day, I spent a lot of time talking to him in the hotel room. We had a good time together just lounging around and talking.

The next day we went home and daddy is finally starting to feel better.

Well, that was my trip - it was SO much fun!

I go to PA in a few weeks, I'll be sure to tell you all about it!

Have a wonderful day.

PS. My mommy has tons of pictures of me from the last month. I'm super cute, maybe she'll share some of them with you. :-)

Washington DC - Day 2

2008-05-29T21:40:00.001-05:00

If you are wondering why it took me so long to finish this story, I have to tell you that it is all my mom's fault. She says that she has been busy but I really don't understand what busy is because all life is about is eating and sleeping. (Right?) Oh yeah, you definitely need to play and drool too!

Well, back to my trip to Washington DC -

Our second day in Washington DC we walked to Holocaust Museum (sorry no picture, mommy didn't want the rain to ruin her camera). I slept through most of that museum but daddy and mommy spent four hours there having a great time absorbing history.

After that we walked up to the Washington Monument and looked around at all the sites we didn't have time to really see. We saw the Senate building and mommy says she wants to live in the White House.

Back in my Cadillac! :-)

One thing before you have pity on me for having to spend most of my time in here, don't! Right after I was placed in here, it started pouring down with rain and daddy and mommy got soaked while I stayed nice and dry. Daddy started running and left mommy behind who ended up having to jump over a puddle (let's just say I'm not going to tell you how that jump ended - she was pretty wet in the end :-))

Our last stop of the day was the Vietnam War Memorial.

This was sad walk for my daddy because his daddy died due to Agent Orange poisoning due to being exposed to it during his time in Vietnam. My daddy never met his daddy but has always dreamed of visiting this wall and it was definitely a walk of tears and sadness.

It was raining at the time when we walked through and daddy said it seemed appropriate because the sadness and tragedy of this war seemed heart wrenching.

Many people remembered their loved ones whose names could not be placed on the wall by printing a picture and laminating it and placing it against the wall. There were flags and flowers all down the wall placed by friends and loved ones who truly missed those who died.

There were many sons who placed things and we found out that many had never met their fathers just like my daddy.

Well, that's the end of day 2.

Come back for the rest of the story and I'll tell you why we were really in Washington DC.

Love,

Gracie

Washington D.C. from Gracie's Point of View

2008-05-08T22:52:00.001-05:00

Day One

My first day in Washington D.C. started with getting there! I took my first plane ride - it was a lot of fun - mommy and daddy gave me their undivided attention. They did a lot of walking but I just sat in my stroller and car seat and enjoyed the new scenery.

Daddy even read to me in the airplane - it was really cool!

We finally arrived in DC and I really enjoyed checking out hotel room!

Excuse me, but did someone say 85 degrees! Wow!

You don't see that everyday in North Dakota!

Man, this has been hard work, I didn't know flying was tiring!

This was my scene from the hotel room, pretty cool, huh?

Well here I am again - back in stroller - sightseeing DC. Kind of sightseeing, daddy and mommy wear me out! We walked 4 miles that day. Don't tell them I told you this but they got lost! I was pretty afraid with them getting lost that I would lose my sunglasses so I held on to them pretty tightly so no one could steal them!

Daddy and me at Arlington Cemetery - it's huge!

It sure is beautiful here!

If I'm going to sightsee I found that I prefer to do it upside down, you see life a little differently and it's a whole lot of fun.

You ought to try it sometime

We took a tour bus through Arlington because mommy was complaining of her legs being tired and after getting lost, we only had two hours to tour Arlington - did I say that place is huge!

So I had some fun playing with Daddy while we sat on the bus.

This the tomb of the Unknown Soldier and we even got to see the ceremony where the change guards. It was really cool to see.

Waiting for our tour bus to pick us back up!

Well, that's the end of day one of my trip.

We went back to the hotel, ordered pizza, went to sleep.

Enjoy my pictures and wait with bated breathe for the rest of my trip.

I have a lot more to share - trust me!

Love, Gracie

Our First Fire of the Year

2008-05-04T09:35:00.004-05:00

One of our favorite family activities is to have a fire in our little firepit. We decided to introduce Gracie to her first one right before we left for Washington D.C. (more on that later). She was tired from getting starter wood with Daddy that she didn't enjoy it as much as we did but we hope in the future she loves it as much as we do.

Ready for walks with Mommy!

2008-04-10T21:52:00.004-05:00

We had to buy Gracie sunglasses because she was squinting so bad whenever I took her for a walk outside. We didn't think it would be a successful endeavor but this is was the result! It was definitely worth the $3.99 we spent on these things!

Had to share this

2008-04-09T15:46:00.002-05:00

I know you've probably been maxed out with pics but I just had to share this one because I absolutely loved it! She is having such fun on her stomach...she thinks she has reached new heights, just wait till she starts crawling!

Spring Has Definitely Arrived

2008-04-09T08:50:00.005-05:00

Gracie does a great job now on her stomach. She will roll over on to it and pop her little head up to look around. We decided to play peek-a-boo while she did this. As you can see, we think she's quite cute!

New Outfit

2008-04-01T17:55:00.001-05:00

Gracie has a new outfit that Gramma made for her! She was crabby so I only got one picture of her in it but it's quite cute on her. It kind makes her look like she belongs back in colonial times.

We miss you, Daddy!

2008-03-31T12:15:00.005-05:00

Dylan is currently in New Mexico for a work trip so Gracie and I are on our own this week but I promised that I would make sure I took lots of pictures and posted them on here for him so you might see a lot but these are because Daddy is so far away and we miss him!
Daddy helping Gracie play with her new toy from Great-Grandma
taken today because we miss you!
I'm running off to join Daddy!

Laundry Day!

2008-03-31T12:08:00.004-05:00

Gracie was helping me do laundry the other day and I thought you all might enjoy the pictures from that venture! She has become such a happy baby, pretty much just hanging out with mommy most of the day.

Oh and by the way for those that didn't know, the post below this is actually a video. Just move your mouse over the top of it and you should get a play button! :-)

Day in the Life of Gracie

2008-03-28T14:51:00.002-05:00

Gracie loves her bouncy chair that her Great-Gramma sent her from England! She often sits there at the dinner table when we eat just playing and having a grand time. She is also getting better at holding her toys and making sure they find their way to her mouth! :-)

Spring Flowers

2008-03-18T22:12:00.005-05:00

My mom is an amazing lady!

She made Gracie the cutest hat and then decided that she would make one for every single little girl in our church nursery. This is the result of that endeavor!

5 hats later and some really cute little girls make for some great pictures!

This are all the baby girls that were born in our church during 2007. We also have the cutest little boy that was added to our nursery but unfortunately he didn't get a hat. :-) Mom is currently working on a boy hat for him and then we will take a 2007 baby picture. 2007 was definitely the year to be born in our church.

Gracie is 5 months younger than the other little girls which is why she looks so much younger in the pictures.

Happy 3 Month Birthday, Sweetheart

2008-03-13T12:20:00.002-05:00

Gracie is 3 months old today. I can't believe it's been three months! It seems forever but at the same time just yesterday. She celebrated the day by sleeping for 11 hours last night and is currently taking her morning nap. She is fully in a routine now. She is such a happy baby and unless she is tired is generally just a happy baby. She does have serious moments though and they normally show up at church when she is trying to take in all of the world. Dylan and I just love her to pieces!

We have finally received some warm weather so Gracie and I took our first walk yesterday and we will do it again today. It's lovely and she seems to love being outside and enjoying that fresh air.

Gramma's Creation

2008-03-09T13:50:00.012-05:00

This might be my longest post of pictures ever but I just couldn't chose my favorite!

Gramma made Gracie a crocheted dress and it's so adorable on her, I took 45 shots in 5 minutes. Gracie was being a ham so I couldn't stop. Dylan thought I was crazy! There will be more of her in this because I didn't have time for many poses as we getting ready to leave for church but as you can see she was having a great time posing for mommy! These were taken on Sunday but blogger has been protesting me posting these so I'm working hard against it.

I'll get some pictures of her and Gramma soon too because she has to have some with the Gramma who took so long to make it for her.

Daddy, quick hide me from mommy and her camera!

Not only did she have the dress and hat but Gramma made her bloomers and booties to go with it!

Inspecting Gramma's handiwork...I think she did a good job, mommy!

Pebble's Twin

2008-03-05T12:43:00.004-06:00

I ran experiment today to see if hairbows would work in Gracie's hair and here are the results! She thought it was great fun and then promptly went to sleep after our picture taking session! You'll have to excuse the drool but after all, she is a baby! And no matter how I tried, I couldn't get a picture without it because as soon as I wiped it off, she drooled again. :-)

Cheering for Uncle Ben

2008-03-03T21:10:00.003-06:00

Gracie went to her second basketball game tonight. This time it was to cheer on Uncle Ben as he played against our teen boys. She stayed awake the whole game and we gave her a pom-pom to cheer with. Here's her enjoying the game!

Uncle Ben lost so this is kind of boring!

Belated Update

2008-03-01T21:45:00.004-06:00

I know it has been a while since I have updated but I have finally found time and energy to do so. Our family, like many all over the country, have battled the flu and are beginning to recover. Gracie was the last to get it but definitely had the quickest recovery. She is also sleeping through the night now for the most part and smiling up a storm all the time! We love the sweetness and joy she brings to our family.
(seriously, mommy, aren't you done taking my picture yet?)

Two weeks ago, she had her well-baby appointment and had grown quite a bit. She was 21 1/4 inches long and weighed 9 pounds and 8 ounces. I took her in again on Thursday to have her cold looked at and she now weighs 11 pounds! This girl eats like tomorrow she won't be able to. :-) She sure loves her food!

On Wednesday, she discovered toys! Well, one toy that is. Dylan placed it in hand and she promptly put it in her month and also hit herself in the head with hit but she seemed quite enthralled with the whole process. It's so much fun to watch her grow up! I think once she discovers her hands completely, we're in big trouble! :-)

Thursday afternoon, we left town for a much needed get-away. We headed two and half hours away to a lake cabin in Bemidji, MN. The people I used to nanny for own the cabin and allowed us to use while they were away. We reserved the time and they sent people out to prepare it for us, all we had to do was clean up before we left. It was lovely to get away and just spend time as a family. I know it sounds crazy that we would go to the lake when it's frozen solid but it's still beautiful and peaceful out there. I did land our car in a ditch full of snow but thankfully we had contacts that were able to pull us out! :-)

I love the lake, Daddy!
Kitchen and dining room at the lake. This place is way bigger than our apartment! Living room, you can see the great room in the background - it has floor to ceiling windows in there overlooking the lake.

The bedroom we stayed in.

The lake covered with snow, we couldn't get out there because there was too much snow but there was this HUGE squirrel...someone had been feeding him.

Special Pics

2008-02-19T14:57:00.004-06:00

Here is just an update of pics from around here! Have a wonderful Tuesday! Gramma and Gracie
Gracie getting ready to go home and Gramma kissing her goodbye

Just hanging out today with mommy!
Tired girl - all the partying from the weekend wore her out!
Playing "Where's the baby?" with mommy
Eskimo kisses

Valentine's Day

2008-02-16T22:14:00.005-06:00

Yesterday was our church's Friendship Banquet for the couples and young people over the age of 16. Normally children are not able to go but because Gracie was under 6 months, she was able to attend with Dylan and I. We had great fun dressing her up and taking her out for her first "formal" affair. She was spoiled by her wonderful grandparents, aunt Sarah, and her adopted grandparents, the Shaffers. Everytime, we turned around someone was off carrying her around - showing her off. We love our little girl very much and while it's hard to share because we think she's so adorable and cute - we are very thankful for all the church folks that love our little girl and want their chance to share in our little blessing. She has been giving us full blown smiles now so it's hard to pass her on because she will laugh and giggle at you and that makes more fun!

Our little family

Pretty little ladyCrazy Grandpa! Wonderful Gramma!

Gramma loves me very much!Aunt Sarah Adopted Grandparents and Aunt Cherith

2008-02-14T12:22:00.001-06:00

Make a free ecard - it's easy!

Gracie's First Smile

2008-02-09T20:06:00.001-06:00

Gracie has always been easy to catch with a smile on her face but now we have some that will put a smile on everyone else's face! She has become quite practiced at cooing, talking, laughing, and smiling at mommy and daddy. We love this - she's such a sweet thing to be around especially in these happy moments.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

2008-02-08T10:51:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow is Dylan's birthday and Gracie has a very special book that she made for him. We thought many of you would like to see her special book. We made it on the computer so it was easy to share with everyone. Of course, he has a hard bound, laminated copy so that he can take it on trips when he has to be away from her.

I'm only giving you the first three pages right now because two of my pages didn't save and I need to redo them in order to show them to you and it won't make sense without them, so enjoy the first three pages of our book!

A Special Post for Mrs. Shaffer

2008-01-30T22:46:00.000-06:00

Mrs. Shaffer, this is a new picture just for you since I know you look everyday and since I love looking at this face I thought you would enjoy the look I always get when she first wakes up in the morning!

When Jesus Looks

2008-01-27T16:29:00.000-06:00

When Jesus looks upon my life,

What picture does He see?

Does He see His own reflection,

Or does He just see me?

Does He see His likeness,

The product of His hand.

Or just another Christian,

Who never took a stand?

Does He see a child of God,

A child that He made free?

Living life to honor Him,

Or does He just see me?

What about the other folks,

I meet along the way.

Do I show them Jesus,

To brighten up their day?

When someone looks into my eyes,

Can they truly see.

That calm and gentle peace of God,

That dwells inside of me?

When I reach out and shake a hand,

Is He right there in my grip?

Can they feel that strength from God,

That steadies when I slip?

When folks are in my presence,

Do they know His Spirit's there?

Can they see that He's the one,

Who guides me everywhere?

When other people think of me,

What is on their mind?

Do they think of Jesus Christ,

So gentle and so kind?

I try to be like Jesus,

Every single day.

Spreading love and kindness,

All along my way.

I'm afraid that I have failed,

I could not pass the test.

Deep inside my heart I know,

I haven't done my best.

I have had to fight my flesh,

Since the day that I was born.

It's always causing trouble,

And being such a thorn.

That's why His Spirit dwells in me,

He's helping me to learn.

In every situation,

Where I need to turn.

He knew I'd never pass the test,

That's why He took my place.

He gave His life to save my soul,

He suffered my disgrace.

Now I try to be like Him,

I must present Him well.

So other folks will want His gift,

And turn their backs on hell.

Other folks should see the joy,

That Christ has given me.

They should want to have it too,

Especially since it's free.

They should begin to ask me,

What is it they must do.

Just how it is they go about,

Getting Jesus too.

Then I get to tell them,

This wondrous gift is free.

It only takes a humble heart,

A prayer on bended knee.

Someday when I'm face to face,

With the Lord who made me free.

Will He see His own reflection,

Or will He just see me?

This is the day the Lord has made...

2008-01-25T13:27:00.001-06:00

"This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will

rejoice and be glad in it."

(Psalms 118:24)

I'm getting so big!

2008-01-25T13:11:00.000-06:00

The picture on the left was taken when Gracie was 2 weeks old and the one of the right was taken today at 6 weeks old.

Our little peanut is definitely growing.

Much Loved

2008-01-24T21:19:00.000-06:00

My parents just came back from England for a week and when I was thinking about my mom and her trip it made me think of a picture that I have yet to post that is very special to Dylan and I. For some reason, it didn't get posted with the rest of our Christmas pictures but maybe that was because it needed to be by itself. :-)

This is Gracie and her two Grandmas at Christmas time. You can definitely tell that she is already getting spoiled!

Dylan and I think that it is wonderful that Gracie has two wonderful Grandmas to love her and watch her grow up.

My mom already has been a wonderful blessing to us and she really does spoil Gracie terribly but it sure is fun to watch

Our Favorite Time of the Day

2008-01-18T11:45:00.000-06:00

Naptime!

Daddy Time

2008-01-18T11:23:00.000-06:00

Daddy and Gracie

Gracie has the unique experience of having Daddy work at home so he gets to spend more time with her than he would be able to if he had a normal office job. One of her favorite things to do is lay on her daddy's chest and take a nap. She will put her arms up around his neck and just stay that way as long as we allow her to.

Another thing that she loves to do is hold Daddy's hand (actually finger). We pray she does this for a long time. Her daddy loves it when she holds on tight, he will often do this with her at night when work is all done and he has time to just sit with her.We pray she always knows that she is safe in Daddy's hands.

Then there are some weird things that her and Daddy do together. This picture with the nose thing I will never understand! :-)

Fun times with Daddy

Oh my!

2008-01-18T05:00:00.001-06:00

My newest post went underneath Gracie's Update Post for some reason so if you are looking for a new posting just scroll underneath my last one and you'll find and some really great new pictures!

Gracie's One Month Update

2008-01-15T16:15:00.000-06:00

Gracie had her one-month well baby appointment today and it went extremely well. Her doctor loves her - he always says that she makes him want more babies!

She now weighs 7 pounds 8 ounces and is 19.5 inches long!

She is definitely a lot rounder than her appointments when she had her bout with jaundice. God has blessed us with a truly healthy baby.

Gracie's Blessing of a Baby Shower

2008-01-14T23:56:00.001-06:00

On Thursday, January 10th, our church blessed us with a beautiful baby shower. We received so many things that we needed for Gracie, it was overwhelming. Our living room was literally filled to overflowing.

Right now, her nursery is not done because Dylan works at home and that room is his office but my dad is working on a room for him in the basement of our apartment - my dad is such a blessing to us! We would have had to move if it wasn't for him. Unfortunately I had to pack most of her stuff away for now but we can't wait to set it up in a couple of weeks. We praying by the end of February.

My Pastor's wife took this...how often do you catch such a beautiful smile on such a little person!

Our lovely Pastor's wife, Sheryl Shaffer. She is such a blessing to Dylan, Gracie, and I. She has a lot of wisdom that she passed on to us, which we hope to continue to pass on to the second generation. She has known me since I was seven years old so it is very special to me that that she is a part of my little girl's life now.

All the mant things we received... a babt bathtub, clothes, burb cloths, my mom made a ton of nighties, bibs, burb rags, three blankets for her. She received many handmade blankets, photo albums, hooded towels...oh so many lovely things we can use for a long time for her and any brothers and sisters she might have in the future (can I input here, that she might be waiting a while for those brothers and sisters!) What a blessing these ladies were to us, we know it was a huge sacrifice and we are very thankful.

Gracie's Aunt Aubrie spent many hours making that beautiful blue blanket you see Gracie resting on. She really is wonderful addition to our family. We love you, Aubrie!

Aunt Sarah and her favorite niece!

Happy Birthday!

2008-01-14T23:44:00.000-06:00

I can hardly believe it but Gracie was one month old yesterday! How could one month already go by? We haven't given many updates or pictures, I'm sorry, getting used to this little one has been a challenge but she has been worth every second. I have decided to use my late night adventure times as my updating times. We certainly have a lot of periods of wakefulness when everyone else is sleeping! :-)

On Saturday, Gracie's Great Granddad and Super Granny sent her a one month birthday present and here are some pictures of her "enjoying" her new animal friends. It looked like a zoo around our house ... oh yes, well, I guess that fits our house very well!

"Look, mommy, my new friends are little like me!"

"They sure do taste yummy!"

PS. To my mom who is currently in England, Gracie told me to tell you that she misses you and hopes you are having great fun without her! :-) She says to give everyone a hug and kiss out there for her.

Happy New Year!

2007-12-31T21:23:00.000-06:00

We pray that God grants you all a Happy New Year and great things in 2008!

Gracie's First Christmas from her point of view!

2007-12-26T12:37:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas!

Christmas wears me out! This is the best way to spend it!

My Nana (daddy's mom) came all the way from Pennsylvania to visit me for my 1st Christmas!

My First Tractor! I can't wait to ride on Granddad's Deere this summer!

Granddad is going to spoil me rotten!
My First Dolly! Grandma wanted to make sure that I had my first dolly and I love it already. It sits right next to my crib.

My Aunt Sarah and I had a great time on Christmas. This crocodile is bigger than me! It might make a great body pillow when I get bigger.

My crazy family at Christmas! Aunt Macy held me the most and she's the craziest! You should hear what she's going to let me do when I get bigger and she babysits me.

Grace Lillian Coe

2007-12-21T12:02:00.000-06:00

We would love to introduce to you the newest member of our family!

Grace Lillian Coe

born Thursday, December 13, 2007 at 6:46pm

5 pounds 14.5 ounces and 19 inches

Praise the Lord for her safe delivery and she was the healthiest baby they had seen all day even though she was born 5 weeks early.

Can we sleep now?

A very tired first-time Grandma. She was there for the entire delivery and was able to help deliver her grandbaby. It was a wonderful experience for me to have her there and I think she enjoyed the experience as well. She was a wonderful encouragement during the entire process. I love you, Mom!Granddad's first trainee - she needs a lot of tools to keep up with him! :-)

Her wonderful doctor! He was great blessing throughout the entire pregnancy!

Proud Uncle Ben - this is his second niece this year and he is great with both of them!

More pictures to come soon!

Quick Update

2007-12-06T10:14:00.000-06:00

Thank you all for praying for us during this time. We wanted to make sure you all had a quick update of how things are going.

Thankfully, our doctor was able to stop the preterm labor at the moment and we have lasted another 2 1/2 weeks. This has been a complete blessing because it allowed our sweet little one's lungs to develop and for him to gain a little more weight. On Saturday, Rachael will come off the medication that is fighting against her contractions and we are all expecting the baby to come sometime next week. The reason the doctor suspects this is because the meds and Rachael lying around all day has probably been the only thing keeping the baby from coming but now that he will let Rachael do little more and there will be no meds in her body, he suspects that labor will continue. There has been a little progression in her labor but thankfully it has stayed out of the active stage at this point.

Peanut will be 35 weeks old on Saturday so she'll still be little but please pray with us that everything will be fully developed and that he'll be able to come home from the hospital with us rather than staying in the NICU.

We praise the Lord for His love and grace during this time. We are getting excited to see if Peanut is a boy or a girl and meeting this little person who was fashioned so lovingly by our wonderful Creator.

Love you all and thank you for praying for us.

Please pray with us

2007-11-20T20:01:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone,

As some of you may know, I went into early labor on Monday and the baby was pretty determined to enter the world. At this point, the baby is only 32 weeks and 3 days so the baby would have a great chance of survival but there would be some complications with the lungs and intestines. At this time, the doctors have stopped the labor and have sent me home on complete bedrest to at least have this baby wait until 34 weeks. Our ultimate goal is 36 weeks but only God knows what He has for the future.

We would ask that you please pray for our wee one. For his or her health, strength and continued growth. At this point every day counts toward our little one's growth and development so we are praying just one day at a time and not looking toward what tomorrow will bring.

Please also pray for Dylan and I that we will continue to draw on His strength and will grow closer together because this situation. Any mother would know that the thought of your unborn baby being born early and having to be left under the care of some one else has go home at night is a scary and heartbreaking thought but we know that God cares more than anything and we are relying on Him to bring forth the good out of this situation. Please pray that we will be a good testimony to others because of this situation - that we will have witnessing opportunities and that the Lord will provide all our tomorrows.

Love in Christ,
Dylan and Rachael Coe

Ben and Aubrie's Wedding Pictures

2007-10-30T15:45:00.000-05:00

Her Bridegroom Cometh

2007-10-11T16:32:00.000-05:00

Ben and Aubrie were married on October 8th, 2007. Just like the 14 virgins in the Bible waiting for their bridegroom, she also did not know when her bridegroom, Ben, was to come until the morning of the wedding. She had willingly prepared for herself for his coming and then waited.
Can we as Christians say that we are ready for Christ's coming?

Many may ask what on earth I mean that Aubrie did not know the wedding date. Well, Ben and Aubrie decided they wanted their wedding to be a picture of the Marriage Feast of the Lamb in the Bible.

It was not a traditional wedding but a Marriage Feast. The Jews normally do a wedding this way because it is a picture of Christ returning for His Bride, the Church, and bringing her to His Father for a Marriage Feast.

Ben and Aubrie's wedding did an excellent job in trying to create a heavenly picture in an earthly environment.

If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me and I will explain further but I didn't think that everyone wanted to read a long post! :-)

More pictures to come soon!

Introducing Our Sweet Little One

2007-08-14T19:22:00.000-05:00

"For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb."

Psalm 139:13

9 weeks old

19 weeks old

"I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well."

Psalm 139:14

"My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth."

Psalm 139:15

"I already have a great big yawn, Mommy!"

"Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them."

Psalms 139:16

Even my little toes and fingers were already made by God! My foot measured to be one whole inch!

A Day at the Park

2007-07-21T18:28:00.001-05:00

My sister-in-law is here for the next week or so with us so we spent a little time shooting some pictures of Dylan and her together and some senior pictures today. I thought I would share our lovely time together with you all.

Dylan and Sara (yes, now I have two sisters named Sarah!)

Family

2007-07-07T11:07:00.000-05:00

It has been a long time since I posted anything but I finally have my camera back and just in time for family pictures. My Uncle Kevin and Aunt Lori from California were up to visit. It was such a nice time - they are sweet family. It had been several years since we had seen them so it was their first time to meet Dylan and Aubrie.

Tad, their son, is at the top of the tractor and Zoe, their daughter, is directly in the middle. It was great fun to spend time with our cousins. I think it was harder on them because we are all quite a bit older than they are.

Dad's new lawn mower! It goes at least 9 miles an hour and he decided to let Zoe and Tad have a try at it. Zoe was calm and collected. And then there was Tad who zoomed around that yard like he was on a roller coaster ride!

Pics of Ben and Aubrie. I couldn't helps it because they looked so cute on the tractor!

Surprises! Surprises!

2007-05-15T11:00:00.000-05:00

We just wanted to announce that we are pregnant and that we will have a new little one in our family in January.

Dylan and I are thrilled! We found last Monday and told our families for Mother's Day. Our mothers received #1 Grandma mugs to make our announcement. There were tears shed by a few but mostly excitement.

Pictures and more information will be coming shortly. (My camera is broken that is why there have not been any pictures on the site lately. Sorry about that)

Love you to all!

Beautiful Day

2007-04-17T18:40:00.000-05:00

It is hard to believe but Spring has finally come around here! The Lord has been so good to us these past few weeks and it is wonderful to see His blessings.

Ben and Aubrie are doing quite well, learning and choosing to love each other and it is fun to watch. As a sister, it was kind of hard to believe my brother had fallen in love (he had said that such things were disgusting and he would never act "twitterpated" but it sure has happened!) but it has been fun to watch them plan for their future and for their wedding. It is such a huge blessing to have the Turners as part of our family - I will add pictures of our soon to be extended family soon. Aubrie is perfect for Ben and while this is not necessity she fits in quite well with all of us girls.

Dylan and I have both been quite busy. The Lord has truly blessed me with my wonderful husband. I have to often marvel at how undeserving I am to have someone who is so caring and thoughtful as He is. The Lord has also been blessing the fruit of his hands at work. While I can not tell all of the details due to the secrecy of what his company is planning, a large company came to my husband's company, Verety, and my husband's name was brought up as a person that should help deal with this large company. This company is so large in the United States that if Verety takes on this company, it will help it to grow and expand. Everything my husband has done with Verety has been hugely blessed by the Lord and he often asked now to do special projects which is such a blessing. It often makes me think of Joseph and the Lord blessed him. Not to make light of the story of the Joseph, but this situation just makes me think of it.

I will be "nannying" this summer for a couple that I had worked for 2 years ago. I had been their nanny for four years and thought it might be fun to see the children this summer. You will probably get a lot a pictures from our "outings" this summer.

Well, that's us in a nutshell for now. My parents are all doing well. Macy moved from Crookston, MN to Grand Forks, ND and now has a job with our Altru Hospital. Sarah will be the only one home once Ben gets married so I think she is trying to prepare for that. It is weird for her to be the only one home but maybe she'll get spoiled more that way. :-) And Hannah is a nanny in Minneapolis. Being a nanny kind of runs in the family, my mom did until my parents got married, I did until I got married, and now Hannah is doing it. It is such a unique experience.

2007-03-26T19:22:00.000-05:00

Hello Everyone,

I decided to add a guestbook since as I look at all the areas that post here, I do not know who you all are and it is always to make new friends and to find out who might be viewing all the things going on in your family.

So, sign My Guestbook and let me know who you are.

2007-03-21T17:34:00.000-05:00

On the 4th of March, my parents, Ben and another set of parents sat down in our Pastor's office and he is now betrothed to Aubrie Turner.

Many will not understand betrothal but I must say that it is one of the most unique and special ways of getting married.

Both Ben and Aubrie submitted to their parents in the area of marriage and are thrilled to be preparing for their wedding day.

They are getting to know each other and it is very special to see! As an oldest sister, it is fun to watch your "little" brother fall in love.

Or as Sarah says Ben didn't "fall" in love, he "jumped" in love!

More Pictures from 25th Anniversary

2007-03-10T13:51:00.000-06:00

The whole Family except Hannah

Mom, Sarah, and I

Dad and Macy

Ben serving!
(He needs to get plenty of practice by the end of the year - oh yeah, some of you don't know why he needs practice, well stay tuned and in a day or so, you'll find out right here!)

Dylan serving...oh, I don't know - he is suppose to be serving but I think he is actually gabbing!

Oh, what a mess!

Please tell me someone else will clean it for us!

We are glad you are back, Macy!

25th Anniversary

2007-03-09T13:47:00.001-06:00

I know that it seems that I have disappeared but I was unable to post with fear that somehow my parents would find out about their surprise anniversary party. It was a wonderful party and it greatly honored my parents. We were thrilled to be able to put this one for my parents.

We took many pictures and they are here for your viewing pleasure. Hannah was unable to attend but Macy made it back from the Army ATI (a kind of tech school for the Army) just in time. (Yes, Macy enlisted in the Army and is part of the Army Reserves). It was nice to have everyone there but we certainly missed Hannah.

We did a full sit-down dinner for my parents because they had never really had one for their wedding. We wanted this to be bigger than anything they had ever had before. We had about 90 people attend.

Preparing for the party

Are they here yet?

Surprise!

25 years together

Joke of the Week

2007-02-20T21:53:00.000-06:00

Never let it be said that ground crews and engineers lack a sense of humor. Here are some actual maintenance complaints/problems, generally known as 'squawks', recently submitted by pilots to maintenance engineers. After attending to the squawks, maintenance crews are required to log the details of the action taken to solve them.

P - Something loose in cockpit. S - Something tightened in cockpit.
P - Dead bugs on windshield. S - Live bugs on backorder.
P - Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200-fpm descent. S - Cannot reproduce problem on ground.
P - Evidence of leak on right main landing gear. S - Evidence removed.
P - DME volume unbelievably loud. S - Volume set to more believable level.
P - Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick. S - That's what they are there for!
P - IFF inoperative. S - IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.
P - Suspected crack in windscreen. S - Suspect you're right.
P - Number 3 engine missing. S - Engine found on right wing after brief search.
P - Aircraft handles funny. S - Aircraft warned to "Straighten up, Fly Right, and Be Serious."
P - Target radar hums. S - Reprogrammed target radar with words.
P - Mouse in cockpit. S - Cat installed.

Thought of the Week

2007-02-19T06:56:00.000-06:00

"The only way we can be of use to God is to let Him take us through the crooks and crannies of our own character."

~Oswald Chambers~

Romans 12:2

"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewingof your mind,that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."

Joke of the Week

2007-02-15T11:11:00.000-06:00

FIRST SPANKING

Once there was a little boy who never got into trouble. But one day, he broke a window, so his dad said, "Go upstairs and think about what you've done and I'll be up to give a spanking.
So this little boy is sitting upstairs, scared because he's never gotten a spanking and doesn't know what it's like. About 20 minutes later, his dad comes up,spanks him, then goes back downstairs.

The little boy is just sitting there, crying. Suddenly he stops, pulls his pants down, and backs up to the mirror. He gasps in shock, then pulls his pants back up.
He runs downstairs to his dad and says, "Are you satisfied now, daddy? You cracked it!"

Shimmering Crystals

2007-02-15T11:01:00.000-06:00

If any of you would like to take a look at my new business, Shimmering Crystals, feel free to check it out at http://shimmeringcrystals.blogspot.com.

Thought of the Week

2007-02-12T16:26:00.000-06:00

"If we will not serve God in poverty, we will not serve serve Him in riches."

Hebrews 11:26

"Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward."

Severe Competition

2007-02-10T20:38:00.000-06:00

There is nothing like a good basketball game between the single and teen guys of your church! You see fans of all kinds come out for the fellowship and to see whose team will win!

Ben setting up for his play - the single guys played hard.

Fans of every kind came to cheer for the game!

And the teens beat the single guys by more than 25 points. It was a sad loss but I am sure that there will rematch in the near future if our singles have anything to say about!

Thought of the Week

2007-02-08T11:21:00.000-06:00

"It is in the valley that we have to live for the glory of God."
Oswald Chambers

I Peter 4:19
"Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the
keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator."

The Great Example

2007-02-08T09:55:00.000-06:00

I was studying Proverbs 15:18 - "The wrathful man stirreth up strife: but
he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife." When I read this, it occurred
to me that the Lord is speaking here about have meekness when we respond
to situations rather than responding with pride. This reiterated for me
that meekenss is a constant need. Circumstances in life are normally
responded with either pride or meekness. And when it comes to anger, it
is easy to see that the prideful or "old" man would stir up strife but
where the meek or "new" man would seek to appease it.

The word "appease" is quite a powerful word meaning "to make quiet; to
calm; to reduce to a state of peace; to still; to pacify; as, to appease
the tumult of the ocean or of the passions; to appease hunger or thirst."
When I read the definition, it struck me how this definition describe
everything Christ did while on the earth.

Christ made His ministry here on the earth to appease. He took our hunger
for peace and calm and gave his life for it. He made quiet our fears and
calmed the tumults of our circumstances.

What a wonderful example of what we as Christians are to be.

New Member of Our Family

2007-01-30T19:12:00.000-06:00

This Saturday, we added a member to our family! Musket, a chinchilla, is a sweet, even-tempered, soft, and gentle little rascal. He is four months old and we are loving every minute getting to know him.

Mr. Curiosity!

He loves to explore and loves to visit our Zebra Finches. Once he can explore out of his cage, he will jump around and sniff everything. You would think that he had found a new world instead of just a living room.

Dylan and Musket

Ben and Musket

Our Christmas

2007-01-08T18:36:00.000-06:00

Christmas 2006

This was definitely a different Christmas for us. We spend the Christmas at home and I spent the whole time with my mouth wired shut. I go to eat ham and mashed potatoes through the blender - it couldn't have been more exciting! We spent a wonderful time with my family, unfortunately this year, we were not able to drive to PA to see Dylan's family.

I was also able to direct the 2-5 year old Christmas program. It was so much fun! I love working with these kids and Dylan was able to dress up as a shepherd to part of this program. He did a great job and I so needed his help in this area as by the time the program was put on for the church, I could not talk very much. My sister, Sarah, and two other lovely ladies from our church also helped us. It was a true blessing!

Our Little Homefront

2006-10-26T18:02:00.000-05:00

Everything is going well here. We are getting ready to type our Christmas letter and Rachael can barely wait to spread "Christmas" everywhere. This will be our first year to set up a tree as we were in PA last year for Christmas. So our first Christmas tree and all that fun stuff.

We are busy doing little things - Dylan teaching Sunday School this month, Rachael with preparing the 2-5 year old Christmas Program, and then everything else that we love to do.

We also had our revival services this last week and the Lord truly blessed our church. It was exciting to see the way the Lord works in hearts and we pray that He will continue to revive our little family.

Did You Waste the Day?

2006-10-26T17:45:00.000-05:00

Is anybody happier
Because you passed his way?
Does anyone remember
That you spoke to him today?
This day is almost over,
And its toiling time is through;
Is there anyone to utter now
A friendly word for you?
Can you say tonight in passing
With the day that slipped so fast,
That you helped a single person
Of the many that you passed?
Is a single heart rejoicing
Over what you did or said?
Does one whose hopes were fading
Now with courage look ahead?
Did you waste the day or lose it?
Was it well or poorly spent?
Did you leave a trial of kindness
Or a scar of discontent?

A Wonderful Wednesday

2006-10-05T14:13:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was such blessing! It was a great day overall but the best
thing was to hear my husband preach. It is not so much that he preached,
it is the fact that God used his message. Often when the speaker says
that they will preach on "Salvation" as a Christian, your mind has the
tendency to wander. You know all about salvation - you're saved, why do
you need to hear this?

But as I sat there and the Lord convicted me that I need to listen - the
Lord laid on my heart that so often we say we are saved so we do not need
to listen but we also say that we can't witness to others because we do
not what to say. Why do we not what to say? Almost every Sunday morning,
we hear preaching on Salvation - we should have a plethora of verses in
which we can pull out at anytime in order to be effective witnesses.

I was really convicted of taking my notes and making sure I have a list of
verses so that I can be what God wants me to be.

It also was such a blessing because the Holy Spirit was there as Dylan
preached and while no one got saved, we are praying that God will work in
hearts and that the Lord will work on the hearts of our unsaved young
people. The young people of our church have a special place in our hearts
because we work with them as a young group. We are only the Assistants
but they have really imbedded themselves in our hearts and we love them
dearly and would love to see them all saved and serving God with all of
their hearts.