Seriously?!?

Friday at lunch, I was heading back to my office and was thirty seconds away (21st and Ridge) when I was rear-ended.  UGH! 

Look how far you've come, baby!

 To give little Beckett some inspiration, I pulled out some photos of his big sister Ellie.  Ellie was 28 weeks gestation and weighed 2 pounds 7.6 ounces. 

Ellie, born September 3, 2008

Cowgirl Ellie - in the cute outfit Kevin and I got her!

Ellie's first birthday

Ellie now - so much fun!

See, Beckett, hang in there!  You are so loved, and we can't wait to see you grow!

Beckett Thomas Gramkow

Beckett Thomas Gramkow was born at 4:43 this morning to Ben and Mandy Gramkow. He has an older sister, Ellie. He weighed in at 2 pounds, 2.26 ounces and was 14 inches long.  He was born at 25 weeks gestation. 

Please continue to pray for Beckett and his family. God will continue to give Mandy and Ben strength.

Calling all prayer warriors

 My dear, dear friend Mandy (one of the grad girls), delivered Ellie at 28 weeks while we were in graduate school three years ago.  Mandy is currently 25 weeks pregnant with Baby Brother Gramkow, and she is having contractions.  After a night in the hospital and a steroid shot to help develop BBG's lungs (another one scheduled for tomorrow) and medicine to hopefully stop the contractions, she is on strict bed rest until next Monday. 

It kills me that she is so far away in Fort Worth, TX, so the only thing I can offer from afar is prayer, and lots of it.  Please keep Mandy, Baby Brother Gramkow, Ellie, and Ben in your prayers. 

Mandy (left), Alisha, Me

Grad girls: Mandy (left), me, Sarah, Dana, and Alisha

Reading to Ellie

Venturing into a new accessory

 For a few months I've been debating: can I pull off a scarf for a work-day accessory?  I've seen it done successfully many times, but am I the scarf-wearing type?  After taking the plunge, I can't believe I was hesitant. 

And, with details like these, who can resist?!

Weekend at the Lake

Kevin and I invited Britt and Ben to the Council Grove lake this past weekend.  They brought their sailboat, and we spent a good part of Saturday on the lake!

Practice run

View from my parents' house

When we left CG to head back to Wichita, there was a gorgeous rainbow!

Sunflowers

I love this time of year!  The weather is cooling off, and the fields near our house are filled with blooming sunflowers!

The fruits of labor

We tried Kevin's homemade Riesling last night.

It was delicious!

It's working already!

I love our sprinklers.  We haven't even verticut yet, and our yard is already looking so much better!