Gabriel's In Heaven

Gabriel Montgomery Stephens went to be with his Lord and Savior on Saturday, February 4th. Below are just a few pictures that I took during the visitation and at the gravesite a couple days after the funeral. "May he rest in peace" sounds so empty when you see it on television because the world doesn't understand the reality of it. To live in perfect, uninterrupted peace is beyond comprehension but that is what Gabriel is experiencing right now, along with many, many other capabilities that he did not possess in this broken world. We all, along with his parent's Glen and Emily, look forward to seeing him run and jump someday soon!

First Shots with My iPhone

Mostly of the puppies of course! I got the iPhone the day after my birthday in January. Our first stop after purchasing it was to eat supper at Panera Bread, as you can see from the first two pics. Definitely enjoying the phone and all of its versatility!

A Joyful Christmas 2011

This was a wonderful Christmas just because of the fact that it was the first time my dad and mom were at our house for Christmas. It was definitely a joyful season!




Dad had the honor of grilling the steaks and lobster. Probably a little warmer down in the South rather than up grilling them in Minnesota!


Everything turned out delicious! We had steak, lobster, asparagus, twice baked potatoes and Mom's homemade rolls (that I successfully made:-)). The dogs were wishing they had a seat at the table!



Then came the opening of the gifts. Major and Molly were both excited about their new toys. They go crazy when they get new toys actually which always makes us laugh.




After opening gifts we watched "White Christmas," with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye. Not a lot to do on a Christmas evening when you don't have any little children running around so you have to find other ways to entertain yourself. Of course, TV is always the fallback!


Then came Christmas morning and the opening of stockings. Once again, the puppies were anxiously awaiting their gifts. This time it was some yummy treats!




Dad and Mom had special stockings waiting for them that were filled with goodies - but of the human variety since we didn't think they would appreciate any dog treats!




Merry Christmas 2011! Hope yours was special too!

Billy Graham Library

My mom came to visit me the early part of December. We took a trip out shopping and to the Billy Graham Library but I forgot my camera! Thankfully Mom had an iPhone so we could still get some good quality shots of our trip to the Library (except those that are somewhat blurry from my lack of hand stability). It was a pretty neat place.

The bookstore was great and we found quite a few items to purchase but had to leave most of them on the shelves! :-) (The desk and chair were in the gift shop and I can't remember if it was Billy or Ruth's.) The bathroom was probably my favorite part. I loved the barn doors for the stalls and wish I could have one of those big sinks in my house somewhere! :-) Reminds me of Wisconsin.

There was also a tour that went through the legacy of Billy Graham. The pictures of the animated cow were at the beginning of the tour. Lastly there was a restaurant called the Dairy Bar where we ate a late lunch. It was a great day!

Oh - the front porch that you see on the picture below is at the entrance to the homeplace and is exactly the same as the floor that is on my porch - the broken orange tiles. I haven't seen it before other than at my house so I thought it was pretty cool!