Cookie bak'n time

I usually invite kids over to bake with me...
However. I needed a break. So my friend Amy from church came over.
I really enjoyed visiting with her. It was a busy, but refreshing evening.
We baked like 7 or 8 dozen cookies, for soldiers who had just come back from Iraq.
Of course, Allyn's crew also got a plate or two.

Welcoming home our neighbors

Here my neighbor Anne and I wait for her guy to come home
after being gone for 15 months to Iraq.
We had counted down with Anne from day 96.

The sweet reunion.

Our other neighbor. We met his parents when they came a couple days ahead of time to
move his stuff into the apartment, next door. Both Anne's husband and this couple's son were in the same group coming home.

A cowboy wedding

Allyn and Tim show off their black cowboy hats for Ben's wedding.
LOL. Allyn wasn't exactly ''thrilled'' to play cowboy for the weekend.

Being the best man, Allyn hosted a breakfast for the guys the day of the wedding.
They all enjoyed watching Ben's bullriding DVD and the breakfast.

Mrs. Mullet and myself in the kitchen

I helped coordinate the wedding.
LOL. We look so serious in this picture
It's most likely because there were A LOT of details to finalize.
Coordinating this wedding had it's set of challenges. Fun. But challenging!!
But, hey....I love challenging projects!


We're excited for Ben and Heather! They will make a great couple.

During March

Right before Easter, we received the sad news that Grandma Weddle had died.
The family gathered in Wichita to remember and celebrate her life.

Eric and Liz celebrated Easter with us this year.
Emily K's boyfriend, Jason was also able to join us.

The month also included a Nebraska reception for Ryan and Rachel.
It was a special time.

Hungry 08

Part of the construction team that came over to work on the
Ministry Center while we were there.

Recognize this from the Sound of Music?
Salzburg, Austria

Checking in on Gaza while he was in the hospital
Allyn, Gaza, Brad

Re-visting the same restaurant (& table) we ate at right before
he proposed to me in 2006

Our Sunday School Class!

Allyn and I co-taught the SEVEN year olds class. Working together we learned a ton more about our strengths and weaknesses.

Our class of SEVEN year olds. (-Neely and Shandra)

We just laugh when we see this picture. This little guy was very sweet. When we asked what happened, he told us exactly how the playground collision had occurred that week at school. He was excited to make cards for our friends the Lemons who live in Hungry.

The map Allyn drew on to show the kids where we were going.

Enjoying Fall

We're loving fall.
Announcing our NEW addition: the little brown couch!!!
Grandma's couch is so comfortable.

The tree outside our apartment is so pretty.
The picture doesn't do the tree justice.

Here is the lamp we bought in Lincoln!

- My kitchen -

Laughter a good medicine...

This past visit to Lincoln was full of laughter...!

It's been 2 1/2 weeks since we've seen Rachel

so we were amazed at her progress.

Praise God!

Rachel busted up laughing when she saw the veggie...pureed broccoli!

Rachel's two sister and Allyn hang out in the dinning room w/Ryan and Rachel

Rachel with Maddonna staff

Rachel's right hand doesn't move much...

but she can sure punch out words with her left hand.

My 1st Hyllningsfest

The Weddle families congregate in Lindsborg, KS to celebrate their Swedish Heritage.

It was a beautiful day to spend with a great family.

Hyllningsfest - Weddle cousin's lined up along the parade route in age order...!

Ok, so it took a little while to get used to the guys Swedish costumes

...you gotta love the pom poms!!!

The parade + CANDY made a great start to the day!

Anna W. and Emily

I have fantastic sister-in-laws.

Watching all the Swedish dances in the middle of main street Lindsborg.

All the siblings in front of G-Grm's house

(minus Liz who was visiting her sister in Witchita)

Half the fun of the weekend was seeing the three boys together again...

It's been a year!

1 year later! It's kinda hard to believe it's one year ago from when this picture was taken - we got married.

Yesterday afternoon, at 4:03 we began watching our wedding DVD. That was alot of fun. Wow. There was alot of special people at our wedding! We had a great time remembering back to ....how God answered our prayers in even finding the Sabetha church, how He prepared us for that day, the rehearsal dinner & my dad crying the whole way through the testimony time, the guys quartet ~ "Go'n to the Chapel", Caleb and Jackie's smiles through out the day, our attendants, our family! , our friends, how calm we both felt as I walked down the isle, having both our pastor's, the fantastic Wissmann/Ulmer serving crew, our great photographer, our nervous & fast first kiss (LOL), the car that was decorated so nice. We also had a good laugh counting the people that came to our wedding that we hadn't invited....! To funny. It was great to see them though!

So, after all this reminiscing...we went out to a NEW resturant in town. It was a nice place. The waitress eventually came out and informed us they'd ran out of my meal selection. We had a great time visiting until our meals finally arrived. We were impressed when later the manager came out, apoligized for the long wait and informed us the meal was on him. That was a pleasent surprise to our day!

Ahhh....A dozen roses! Thanks Allyn!

Anyone for a piece of cake?!? It's only 1 year old...??

Remember this...

October 7, 2006!!!

What Dad and I faced right before I walked down the isle....
LOL! My brothers are great!

Ready to head down the isle....come on guys - open the doors!

Amazingly...

We weren't nervous.
We weren't tired of smiling.
We still remember what the Pastor Steve said to us.
We felt truly blessed.

Our prayer is still that "We might exalt His name together" Ps. 34

Oh, and yes there is still 1 bird seed in our house.

I clean around it....just because!

Let rehab begin...!

Fun at the Fair

So...what did I do this fall? Pictured above is a volunteer presenting the gospel to one of the children at the Kansas State Fair. http://www.cefofkansas.blogspot.com/

Allyn, I and Tim coordinated the Gospel Handpainting Tent for CEF of KS. There were around 1,660 + kids that came through the tent and heard the Word. We are so grateful to the over 140 volunteers that gave of their time and energy.

While it was so fun to coordinate...I was also happy to get the mound of handpainting supplies out of our bedroom. I'm ready to get into a Fall routine.

Did I ever mention to any of you that I love fall?!?! The weather. The colors. The holiday of Thanksgiving. Ah. So refreshing.

Pray for Rachel ...

http://www.healrachel.com/

So, Sept. 6th ended on alot different note than anticipated. I was down in Hutchinson, KS that evening preparing for the final CEF Handpainting Training. Tim and I had set up the State Fair booth. Last I had talked to mom, everything was laid out and ready to be packed for the rehearsal dinner the next day....

The training went great. It wasn't till afterwards that Allyn told me that my sister-in-law to be had been....life flighted. (gulp)

The next morning we learned specific details of what happened. Rachel suffered an injury at the chiropracter that lacerated the verteberal artery (it's a major artery located in the spinal column). She was life-flighted into the University of Iowa Hospital. After 2 strokes and a seizure, she underwent an emergency operation to remove the VERY LARGE clot in her brain stem.

The first few hours after the surgery were very intense. The news that day was sobering. We wept. We prayed. The last 4 hours of our trip to Iowa City were some of the longest in our life. Immediate family and close friends arrived to the hospital throughout that day (mainly those who would have arrived for rehearsal). Dad had visibly the hardest time. His eyes were always moist.

Rachel began to stablize over that weekend. She has overcome alot of hurdles. She is not out of ICU yet. There are some big mountains ahead. PLEASE continue to pray! Be specific and be bold. http://www.healrachel.com/ will give you current information and prayer requests for Rachel. Ryan has faithfully stayed by her. He's going to make a great husband.

Two Brother's Engaged!

This weekend, I had the pleasure of meeting Rachel Garrison. YEAH! I enjoyed her company so much. She's alot of fun. Ryan and Rachel G. have been dating for about two months!

Ryan and Rachel G. next to the plants we were putting in tubs. A classic moment.

Our cousin Heidi Baltensperger was married to Ben the first weekend of June. It was a beautiful outdoor wedding in the grooms parent's backyard.
Mom was a powerhouse. She came back from cooking a full week of CYIA to serve the food for Heidi's wedding. Together there were 7 of us that served food. We watched the ceremony from the patio with pepsi's in hand (!) Marrianne came back from Chicago for the wedding. It was a wonderful evening. We're excited for Ben and Heidi!