The Goerss Family

...And More

2009-01-29T09:13:00.000-06:00

Melody and Esther

Noah

Melody

Noah

Noah and Melody

More Pictures

2009-01-26T11:08:00.003-06:00

Esther, the big sister!

Noah and Melody with my friend Angela's new baby, Teague

Maren and the twins

Esther LOVES her new brother and sister

Noah and Melody

The Twins Arrive!

2008-12-08T13:56:00.009-06:00

A close up of Noah Sean Goerss...

A close up of Melody Hazel Goerss...

A few videos...

Lessons from Children

2008-11-07T09:08:00.001-06:00

Sometimes, you find a video that makes you laugh so hard, you just HAVE to mention it!

Twins!

2008-06-09T17:05:00.004-05:00

You may have noticed we haven't been good about adding to our blog lately. Here's why!

Are you as surprised as we were? There are NO twins on my side of the family at all! (I think the mother's side is the deciding factor on hereditary twins.) I think Sean and I are still in shock. A mini van is inevitable. Help will definitely be needed!

It is still very early in the pregnancy, I'm almost 11 weeks. So we are praying for the health and growth of both babies, and also for continued dependence and trust in God.

Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." I know he didn't mean the "best life"(or fill in name of book on best seller list) you could imagine. He meant a full life of great times and difficult times, and everything in between. I thank God for giving this life to us, especially through these two little blessings.

Easter in Grand Marais

2008-03-26T13:26:00.005-05:00

Barb and Doug (Sean's parents) generously invited my whole family up to their time-share in Grand Marais for the weekend. The house is a former Bed and Breakfast overlooking Lake Superior. When I stand by the lake, I can't help but be in awe of God's power and goodness... and that's just a lake! He made it for us. Jesus says that we are much more valuable than that. Now that, to me, is very humbling.

Esther didn't like the cold much.

Grandpa Doug going for a walk

Grandma Peggy jumping on icebergs!?!

Paul, Elsie, and Annie

"I'm Gonna Get You"

2008-03-26T13:20:00.004-05:00

This is one of Esther's new favorites! Here she is "running"/toddling after Mommy.
You can see she's dropped a few things on the way.

sohcahtoa

2008-03-19T16:17:00.003-05:00

Some good friends from college and I get together about once a month. We decided to call ourselves sohcahtoa, and I'm not really sure why. We do have a math education major in the group, but I honestly can't remember how we decided on sohcahtoa. If any of you sohcahtoa girls want to comment and add what you know, please do!

Here we are in Pequot Lakes, at our 2nd annual get-away. I love these girls!

Front Row: Jen (JB), Jenny (JennyO), Angela, Me
Back Row: Renee, Missy, Lisa

Esther Meets Her 2nd Cousin

2008-03-19T16:07:00.005-05:00

Sean's cousin and her husband, Laurie and Scott, were in town from Bismark, ND! They had a boy, Alex, two weeks after Esther was born. The two had never met each other until now. Sean's cousin and her husband, Amy and Steve, and their girls, Sigourney and Soledad visited too! The kids had a grand time, and it was great to catch up with the family.

Esther, Sigourney, Soledad, and Alex

Laurie, Alex, and Scott

Cutie

2008-03-19T16:03:00.002-05:00

I just had to add this one in... is Esther cute or what?

The Future of Phones

2008-03-07T15:08:00.003-06:00

Isn't this cool?

Mary McLeod Bethune

2008-02-20T14:20:00.006-06:00

Since February is Black History Month, I was planning on featuring one person a week this month. Now it is February 20th and I have fallen short of my blogging goals yet again! Better late than never...

I wanted to feature Bethune because she started a school for African American girls in Florida when most black kids weren't even going to school, let alone girls. She also served as an advisor to Franklin Roosevelt. She is inspiring to me because her parents were slaves. Can you imagine growing up being told you were nothing more than property and then going on to do such AMAZING things?

I feel a little connection to her in some way. I think we both have a heart for kids and community. She said, "Faith is the first factor in a life devoted to service. Without it, nothing is possible. With it, nothing is impossible."

But that's about where the connections end. If only I could be more like her, having faith in the face of such opposition to fulfill her purpose here on earth.

One way God shows his majesty...

2008-01-31T11:32:00.000-06:00

God shows his majesty in creation, in miracles, and in ANYONE He chooses...

The Birthday Party

2008-01-28T14:23:00.000-06:00

We finally got to celebrate Esther's birthday Saturday!
She has made a full recovery and enjoyed every MINUTE of the party,
especially playing with her cousins and eating a chocolate cupcake.

Practicing

2008-01-11T20:56:00.000-06:00

Does this commercial take anybody back? It's maybe a little too familiar for me...

Esther's 1st Birthday Videos

2008-01-05T13:59:00.000-06:00

Here is a YouTube Player with a collection of videos:

Happy Birthday, Esther!

2008-01-04T21:31:00.000-06:00

Esther was determined to spend yet another birthday (and New Year) in the hospital! She is fighting a virus, we think, and was so dehydrated her little hands and feet were turning purple and she was so lathargic. Poor little girl. The doctors and nurses at Children's Hospital took good care of her and sent us home two days later. She's still sick and we're trying to get as many liquids in her as possible. Unfortunately, since she got sick she has reverted back to nursing only! Besides Esther's, Sean's, and my illness, we've also been dealing with a fall out of the crib and two flat tires in the hospital parking lot! Ugh!!

I was reading 1 Peter in the hospital and I think God spoke to me through this passage as I was reeling on 2 hrs. of sleep and feeling defeated by our situation. Peter wrote that God has brought us "into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." The words "proved genuine" are the same words used to describe a clay pot that is baked to give it strength.

We are praying that God would grant us a strengthened faith in Him alone, perseverance, and healing, and that it will all result in "praise, glory and honor" to God.

Here are a few pictures of Esther after she started perking up after the IV started kicking in. What a trooper!

Christmas in St. Paul

2007-12-27T14:28:00.001-06:00

Esther went on her first sled ride. She's not sure yet if she likes sledding.

Christmas in Winthrop

2007-12-27T14:15:00.001-06:00

Mom was healing from orthoscopic knee surgery so the whole family went to Winthrop for Christmas (Mom and Dad's first Christmas not in Bemidji!).

Here is Esther eating her holiday spaghetti. Due to Mom's surgery, Dad made a feast for the rest of us... turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, corn, and pumpkin and apple pie!

My cousin Sara came up from Mankato State where she was working over the holidays (stop in at Mexican Village and say hi to her anytime). It was really great to have her.

Here is our niece Elsie breaking out one of her presents, water colors!

Christmas in Bemidji

2007-12-27T13:55:00.000-06:00

After four days of traveling to Bemidji, Winthrop, and back to St. Paul (on the more "eventful" days weatherwise) we are all resting up and thankful to God for His grace as He protected us through it all. I have to give credit to Amanda who basically entertained Esther in the back seat most of the time. She loved having her auntie home from Chicago.

We saw my cousin Wil in the play "High School Musical." He was a skater.

Here are Amanda, Wil, and a basketball player who wanted to be in our picture too.

I really wanted a picture with Wil, but by the time I got in place, Wil was on to his social network of friends, but the basketball guy was still there.

Esther spent lots of time at Great Grandma Jones's house playing with everyone. She especially liked her time with Great Aunt Sue and her new kitty puppet.

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-21T22:53:00.000-06:00

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.

Matthew 1:21

May you experience the wonder of this verse this Christmas!

Love,
Sean, Maren, and Esther

Esther's First Class Photo

2007-12-12T13:01:00.001-06:00

We go to ECFE every Wednesday. Esther loves singing, the jingle blanket,
the ball pit, and seeing other babies!! Here are Esther and her friends from school.
You can click on the picture to enlarge it.

Auntie Amanda and Her Girls

2007-11-26T18:14:00.001-06:00

Taking Things Out

2007-11-26T14:17:00.000-06:00

When do they learn to put things away?

Anticipation!

2007-11-26T14:15:00.000-06:00

Esther hears the water running and pulls her body up to see the fun awaiting her... a bath!

Kids' Church Thanksgiving

2007-11-26T14:05:00.000-06:00

We celebrated the end of our Kids' Church session with a bang! We had a huge Thanksgiving feast, gave away Kids Church t-shirts to everyone, and kids got prizes for their memory verses. It was a blast! Here are some of our dear kids who we have gotten to know and love over the last few years.

Alaiyah, Michael, Malcom, and Terrell

Kids picking out their prizes... a tough decision for some.

Re Re

KaZoua and Maren

Lynn, Cady, and Tyree

Preparing for Thanksgiving

2007-11-13T13:17:00.000-06:00

Why do we celebrate Thanksgiving? To eat turkey? This year we are having spaghetti and meatballs, but we are celebrating none-the-less. I think in order to celebrate Thanksgiving, you need two things: 1. You need to be thankful for something. 2. You need to thank somebody. Most people I know are great at the first thing. But what I rarely hear is somebody thanking the giver of the things they are thankful for. When you open a gift, do you thank the person who gave it to you? Of course!

This year for Thanksgiving, I want to encourage everyone to give thanks to God, the giver of all things. You could do that lots of ways. You could give other people something to be thankful for. Invite someone over for dinner who has no place to go for Thanksgiving. Bring a meal to a family who can't afford it. Maybe find a way to express your thanks at your dinner. I read about putting up a poster board and throughout the day everyone can add words or pictures of what they are thankful for. Maybe read some Bible verses of thanks to God.

Here's a great one:

Oh come, let us sing to the LORD;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
For the LORD is a great God,
and a great King above all gods. . . .
Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!
For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.

(Psalm 95:1-3, 6-7)

Halloween at St. Paul Fellowship

2007-11-09T15:45:00.001-06:00

Esther was such a trooper staying out late and in the cold!

Here we are handing out candy and hot apple cider to our neighbors in in the frogtown area.

Lincoln Quote of the Day

2007-10-30T10:04:00.000-05:00

Our friends Kim and Graham Nelson (and their four boys) are on a year-long(?) RV trip around the U.S. What a great way to really learn about our country! From Washington, D.C. Graham quoted a great line from Abraham Lincoln:

“Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side;
my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right.”

Right on, Abe. Click here to check out where the Nelsons are now!

Our Little Pumpkin

2007-10-24T10:11:00.001-05:00

Helping Mom

2007-10-24T10:07:00.001-05:00

Esther makes a bee line for the dishwasher anytime it's open. Here she is "helping" mom pull out the drawer.

Persistence Pays Off

2007-10-18T21:58:00.000-05:00

Esther has been persistent at trying to stand for about a month now. I (Maren) have been spending much of my days as a leaning post. Today I was finally able to step aside and let Esther take over, for about 20 seconds. She used her whole body, from her toes to her fingers, to balance herself. It took all of her concentration. And then she fell. And then she did it again. And then she fell. And then she did it again. Fell. Did it again. We have a persistent little one. You go girl!

Does God accept us as we are?

2007-09-18T09:19:00.000-05:00

There seems to be some confusion these days (actually for thousands of years) about who God accepts into heaven. For many years I asked myself this question, "Why can't I just keep doing what I want to do? God will accept me 'just as I am'." I thought this article gives a good idea of what I learned after studying God's word.

Cloth Diapers: The Trial

2007-09-07T15:11:00.000-05:00

In an effort to be money, baby, and earth friendly, we decided to try cloth diapers. It's amazing the advancements they have made! Here is Esther on her first day of the trial run... so far so good! She hasn't really "put them to the test" yet, though. Stay tuned...

The Music Maker, Part 2

2007-09-07T14:56:00.000-05:00

Esther loves music! She really has no choice since her parents sing to her, play piano and guitar for her, and listen to music almost all the time! Here we are doing our daily music "lesson" on piano and guitar.

The music maker!

2007-08-15T15:44:00.001-05:00

A birthday party!

2007-08-15T15:38:00.001-05:00

Esther went to her friend Abigail's 1st birthday party! Six babies celebrated the occasion. They sat for about 2 seconds for a quick snap of the camera and then found something interesting to play with.

35W Bridge

2007-08-07T21:54:00.000-05:00

We are saddened to hear of the loss of life last week when the 35W bridge collapsed. But even within the greatest disaster lies the greatest hope of all. This article by John Piper explains why.

Grand Marais

2007-08-07T14:59:00.002-05:00

We had a great time in Grand Marais this past weekend with Sean's Family!

Esther got to spend lots of time with Grandma Barb.
Her 2nd cousin (and our goddaughter) Julie loved playing with Esther too!

Julie liked making funny faces with Esther!

While Grandma babysat, we went golfing at Superior National Golf Course.
Here are Dave (Sean's cousin), Sean, Paul (Sean's cousin), and Doug.

Here we are playing the "canyons," the back 9 overlooking Lake Superior. Beautiful!

Friends!

2007-08-07T14:54:00.001-05:00

Esther and her friend Luca (who is only one week younger than Esther)
were going to play together, but they ended up just staring and laughing at each other.
Esther tried to grab and lick Luca, too.

Oops!

2007-08-07T14:52:00.001-05:00

We went to get Esther from her nap last week and found her pinned under her mobile! She seemed a little stunned, but not hurt. Time to lower the mattress!

Esther Update

2007-08-07T14:36:00.001-05:00

Some of Esther's new favorite things to do are...

splash in the bathtub (or any large plastic container),

play peek-a-boo (here she is playing with her 2nd cousin Marit),

and swimming in the lake.

Okay, this really wasn't her favorite thing to do,
but we had to add this picture!

4th of July

2007-07-06T14:52:00.000-05:00

Esther wearing Dad's cap

Maren and Elsie with front row seats for the tent building

Grandma Peggy, Grandpa Roger, and their grandkids, Esther and Elsie

Cousins!

Amanda and Mom relaxing and watching the sunset

Sean and Elsie

Esther loved the swing!

The family celebrating the 4th and Roger and Peggy's 60th birthdays

Esther is eating!

2007-07-06T14:49:00.001-05:00

The rice cereal was not doing it for Esther, so we decided to give her sweet peas. Loved them!

Rolling

2007-06-22T16:19:00.001-05:00

One of Esther's favorite things to do is roll... across the room.

Birthday Celebrations!

2007-06-22T16:08:00.000-05:00

Here are Elsie and Esther at Elsie's 2nd birthday party! Last weekend we also celebrated Mom's and Amanda's birthdays along with our anniversary.

Bemidji

2007-06-15T16:48:00.001-05:00

It was very cold at the cabin last weekend!

Great Grandma Hegstad (Cobber grad '38), Maren ('98), and Esther ('29?)

Great Grandma Jones babysat Esther while Mom and Dad went out for lunch.

At Bemidji State Park

Auntie Amanda

2007-01-31T21:57:00.000-06:00

Auntie Amanda came to visit from Chicago a few weeks ago! Esther stayed awake and happy the longest she ever had while in Amanda's arms. It must be Amanda's experience as a nanny. This was the first day Esther wore her regular newborn clothes instead of preemie outfits (borrowed from her cousin Elsie). It was a big day for her!

Happy Birthday

2007-01-31T21:26:00.000-06:00

Welcome to the world, Esther Andrea Goerss. While I was pregnant with Esther, I read this Psalm often and was reminded of the miracle every step of her development was and continues to be. Also, what a blessing that we can rely on God everyday, since every one of her days ordained for her was written in his book before one of them came to be. As new parents, we are especially thankful for that.

Psalm 139: 13-16

13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.