Gracyn's Story

Gracyn DenBesten is a little girl who God is using in a big way. On Christmas Eve 2008 she was admitted to the hospital and later diagnosed with Cardiomyopathy. After spending 4 months hooked up to an artificial heart, she received a heart transplant on April 15th. We heard that when the doctor told her she was getting a new heart she asked "will my new heart love Jesus as much as my old heart does?"


This past Sunday we had the overwhelming privilege of hearing her sing during the worship time. I can assure you, there was not a dry eye in the house. As I sat there holding sweet little Adelyn a little tighter than normal I couldn't help but think that this is just a small glimpse of what heaven will be like. I'm not very good with technology...but here's the link to the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCZjWZKtBTY

Baby Dedication & Father's Day

This past Sunday we dedicated Adelyn at church. It was a very special moment for us not only because we feel so blessed that the Lord chose us to be Adelyn's parents but also because we were able to dedicate her in the same sanctuary where Matt & I got married. We also had a great day celebrating the Father's in our lives. Adelyn loves & adores her Daddy. Her favorite part of the day is when he comes home - no one can make her smile like he does.

Another special part of the day was that both Adelyn's Grandfathers & Great Grandfathers were all present. She is a very blessed little lady to be surrounded by so many people who love her. Unfortunately, her mommy failed to take a picture of them all together. : (

Happily Ever After

On Friday night Ryan & Lauren said "I Do" after dating for 3 1/2 years! We were so excited to help them celebrate & had a great time. Their wedding was outdoors & absolutely beautiful. Here are a few pictures from their special day...

Mr. & Mrs. Ryan Lilly

The Grounds Keeper?

What a face!

The Lilly's

Sister-in-Laws

Elaine & Her Boys

The Getaway Car

Little Stinker Part 2

You may be looking at this picture thinking "why would Abbie put the crib in the middle of the room?" It's because my Little Stinker has gotten herself into more trouble and we're taking safety precautions. Let me start from the beginning...

About 20 minutes into Adelyn's Saturday afternoon nap the monitors started going off like an alarm. This was not a noise we'd heard before so both Matt & I went to investigate. As we slowly opened the door to Adelyn's room and peeked our heads in we saw our sweet little girl wrapped in the cord of the monitor chewing away. She had pulled the wire through her crib, knocked the monitor onto the floor and was having an afternoon snack. Of course we took it all away, repositioned the monitor and because I have not baby proofed yet, covered the electrical outlet with painter's tape.

Sunday morning when I went in to get her up I noticed that on the other side of her crib she had pulled the fabric from the table through the slats of the crib. This girl is on a mission I tell you! Although I'm not sure that either of us know what the mission is. So I fixed the table cloth, laughed at what a silly girl she is and went on with the day.

Monday was actually incident free.

Tuesday is not...She slept a little longer than usual during her morning nap and I'm not one to wake a sleeping baby so I enjoyed a few extra minutes to myself. Once I heard her moving around I went in to get her and guess what was stuck across the front of her sleep sack...blue painter's tape! This girl is good!

So thanks to the careful planning that goes into new construction homes there are electrical outlets about every 4 inches on all 4 walls meaning that the only safe place for Adelyn at this time is in the middle of the room. Electrical outlet covers will be purchased and installed today but I'm not so sure that's going to stop this kid.