Hopping up and down while holding onto mom's legs.


Marie fighting off the paparazzi.


Oh yeah, this is a cute face. Can you say "jowls"?


Marie now rolls to get things (like Mom and Dad's shoes)


Mrs. Moozie - also Maggie's favorite toy as a kiddo.


What are you lookin' at COW?

Dad dressed her up in Mom's shirt.

Joel's Famous Rejection (courtesty of the rim). Enjoy...

Grandpa Ben and Marie


Left to Right: Mom, Dad, Great-Grandpa &

Great-Grandma Jobe, Grandma Barb, and little Marizzle
(Yes, these are the great-grandparents that had 16 kids!)
Marie was their first great-granddaughter,
preceded by 7 or 8 great-grandsons (can't remember).

Of course, Naomi came one week after Marie,

so now they have two!

Mom and Dad's Colorado Getaway

Timber Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park.
It was a 10.6 mile hike there and back.

We're thankful that the grizzlies and

mountain lions spared our lives.

Garden of the Gods - Colorado Springs


At the top of Pike's Peak. Whew! We made it!
(actually, we took the train)
Maggie got a little loopy because of the lack of oxygen.


Joel and Maggie at the top, trying to avoid the lightening (no joke).
Is it just me or do we look like friends,
rather than husband/wife, in this picture?
Ewww...boys have cooties.


Joel's near-death experience at the top of Pike's Peak.
I just had to snap a quick photo before rescuing him.

A good one of Marizzle (what her daddy calls her).

It was cold out, so she was a good sport.

At this point she appears to be 100% Joel.

That's the general consensus, anyway.

Grammy Cindy took these for us in Lincoln last weekend.

She did a great job, and it beats paying a "professional"!

Joel proposed to Maggie at

this exact same spot on 2-14-04.

THOSE CRAZY MEEHANS

Joel and Tim all tuckered out after 8 softball games and a golf tournament.

Carissa and Maggie teaching the guys a thing or two.

Heidi and Chad (awwww...how cute).

Joel's book meme

1. One book that changed your life: "Don't Waste Your Life" by John Piper (it almost made me want to throw away my tv...almost).

2. One book that you’ve read more than once: "Where the Red Fern Grows" (why does he always have to go hunting that night??? if i read it again maybe they won't pick up the trail of the devil cat)

3. One book you’d want on a desert island: "Robinson Crusoe" (maybe it would give me some ideas), also the Bible

4. One book that made you laugh: "Praise of Folly" (laughed at the author)

5. One book that made you cry: "Where the Red Fern Grows"

6. One book that you wish had been written: "John Wilkes Booth: An Autobiography". 2) "Never Start a Land War in Asia" by Napoleon Bonaparte, Alexander the Great, and Adolf Hitler. 3) "Why Are Our Ships in the Harbor Flying the French Flag?" by Lord Cornwallis

7. One book that you wish had never been written: The Scrabble Dictionary (it perplexes me when people accidentally find "new" words on the triple word score while foraging for words that start with a different letter), also "Lord of the Flies"

8. The book you are currently reading: "God's Passion for His Glory: Living the Vision of Jonathan Edwards" (just started it)

9. One book you’ve been meaning to read: "Blue Like Jazz"

Maggie's book meme

1. One book that changed your life: "Mere Christianity" (it was the first "Christian" book that i ever read...and it made everything much clearer for me)

2. One book that you’ve read more than once: "Is Your Mama a Llama", "Brown Bear Brown Bear", "Hop on Pop", and most of the baby name books at Barnes & Noble

3. One book you’d want on a desert island: "The Worst Case Scenario Handbook" and, of course, the Bible

4. One book that made you laugh: "Emma" by Jane Austen and "The Owl and the Pussycat"

5. One book that made you cry: "Captivating" by John Eldrege (if this question were about music, my list would be a mile long - music affects me much more)

6. One book that you wish had been written: I know that God inspired the Bible, but how awesome would it be if one of the books had actually been written by Jesus and from his perspective?

7. One book that you wish had never been written: Self-Help books

8. The book you are currently reading: Haven't finished "Captivating"...took a hiatus to read "Blue Like Jazz" and "Where the Red Fern Grows"

9. One book you’ve been meaning to read: more of the Bible

Almost six months old already...in some ways it seems longer. I can barely remember not having her around. Those first couple of months were pretty rough, until the smiles and giggles began, and her quirky little personality made its appearance. I'm not going to lie, she can be a royal pain, and a huge handful at times. But I love her, and having her here has taught me so much about how God loves me. Marie is completely dependent on us in every way, although she doesn't realize that quite yet. And so it is with God. What can we do for him, or give him, that he loves us like he does? Nada. But when Marie is content and delights in having me around, and spending time wrapped up in my arms, it reminds me that that's what God wants from us, too. To delight in our relationship with him, and to desire to spend time getting to know him. I think most of us are aware of this, but having a child has really made it more of a reality for me.

I'm (not really) looking forward to another aspect of parenting that will teach me more about God - discipline and obedience. Any helpful advice is welcome at this point. She's beginning to be defiant at the whopping age of 6 months :-)

We changed the format of this site so that people without a blog of their own can leave comments (anonymously or with their name). A couple of people have mentioned that they have tried in the past, but were unsuccessful because they weren't registered on this site. Anyway, have at it.

Aww...I love you, too, little stinker.

Marie the butterball. She's roughly the same size as a Thanksgiving turkey.