Sunday, February 21, 2016

Happy Baptism Day, Cooper!

This day will forever be a day of pure love. 
Baptism Day February 14, 2016
                                                                        

                                 
The most beautiful church I know:  Emmanuel Lutheran Church, where:
I was baptized as a baby (1969),
Eric & I were married (1998),
Riley was baptized (2002)
Ellie was baptized (2004)
                   Cooper was baptized (2016) 
                      

Seats saved for he and his family 
He was so good and tried to play by all the rules.

             
Finally, it was Cooper's turn to shine.
Cooper's Family: Momma, Daddy, Riley, Ellie
Cooper's God Family: Cindy, Darren and Jed Charpie (babysitter and great friends)




"I baptize you in the name of The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit"
A "special" cloth to wipe the "magic" water


And a special candle that shines with God's Love


Daddy's sweet boy

Proud Grills Family

Proud God Family

Proud Pastor Mark Shurring and Cooper's Family

Saturday, December 12, 2015

Finding Just The Right One...


Finding the perfect Christmas Tree is hard work.  In years' past, we have always decorated our artificial, pre-lit, very tall tree.   But our very tall tree will not fit in the house we are living in.  SO....we took a stroll through the Cackler Christmas Tree Farm to find the perfect one.  It was quite an adventure...
     




And then, just like Chevy Chase in Christmas Vacation, a beaming light shone on the one tree we were searching...



Our Pop helped us cut it and bring it home.


FINALLY, we decorated our real, freshly cut, pine smelling Christmas Tree.  It was worth every step.

   

Sunday, November 1, 2015

Happy Halloween!

"I want to be SPIDERMAN!" 

Cooper picked out his own costume.  He was so proud of it!!  He even wanted to wear his mask, even though he couldn't see very well.  He often dropped his candy and tried to pick it up with oversized gloves and a view through his mask that was probably less than ideal.   But he loved it.  After realizing that each house gave him "num-nums" (M&M's and candy), there was no stopping him.  All of us enjoyed watching him enjoy the "magic-ness" of Halloween.... Even today, he wishes people "Happy Halloween" if the thought passes his mind.  Full moon, happy kids, fun night!







"Twic or Tweek"....."fank you"...

Sunday, July 12, 2015

She Sells Sea Shells By The Sea Shore


The island washes one ca-jill-ion shells ashore with every tide.  Sanibel Island is known for it's shelling beaches.  We stayed on the southwest side, walked the heavily blanketed beaches of shells, and collected all kinds. The water was warm, the pool was warm, the weather was hot. Lucky for us, the rain only reached us at night.   We were well deserving of what transpired several weeks before our scheduled vacation.  It was a perfect getaway the week after WE MOVED!!!!!

That's right.  We packed up our 16+ years of STUFF and moved as a family for the first time.   The move still comes as a shock, even though we have talked and planned it for nearly 5 years.  This is the house that Eric and I designed and moved into the day we returned from our honeymoon. This is Riley's first home.  This is Ellie's first home.  This is Cooper's first home.   It was truly a bittersweet move, as we are still trying to overcome the shock of it happening so quickly.  It sold in May.  Our last day of school was June 6, we moved on June 9 and June 15 and took our pre-scheduled family vacation on June 20-27.   It has been a whirlwind of a summer and it's already the middle of July.    Thankfully, we are all healthy. Thankfully, we are all together.  Thankfully, we have a place to stay until we find or build our future house.  I scour the real estate websites and county auditor GIS every single night.  The perfect place will surface. In the mean time, we are trying to enjoy our summer :)  

It took several days for Eric and I to unwind from the move, but we did so in the perfect place!  If you haven't visited Sanibel Island on the Gulf side of Florida, you really should! Bicycles for transportation, quaint Florida shops and excellent restaurants and cafes are at every corner.    




















Saturday, April 4, 2015

Adoption Is...

The amount of times I stare at his precious face and marvel at his words, actions and beautiful soul is too numerous to count.  But what takes my breath away is the unselfish devotion his birth mother has for him...much like Jesus has for us.  During this Easter Season, I have reflected more on life and what it means than ever before.  What seemed to be an unbearable thought to one, turned out to be the greatest gift to another.  I thank her every single day for her selfless devotion...for her courage to think more of the needs of someone other than her own.  She will always have my heart.  As will Jesus.  


Happy Easter 2015.