Cirque du Soleil

I've been wanting to go to Cirque du Soleil for a LONG time. I love the whole idea of a circus type atmosphere with more of a formal type performance. I know that some of their shows are pretty racy but I had heard that their Kooza show was less so and in the Twin Cities for a month over the summer. I was dying to go... then one of my BFF's called out of the blue and said that she could get ahold of tickets for a steal! Man, it was a great show! Ben wasn't so sure that he would like it and was going only because I asked him to. But even he was impressed. Thanks Helen for inviting us to go with you!! It was so much fun!

Goodbye, Uncle Jeff

We received some sad, but not unexpected, news today. Ben's Uncle Jeff passed away about 3pm this afternoon at the very young age of 49. He had been very sick with cancer for at least a year. He was a very kind man and always doted on our kids when we visited Arkansas for Thanksgiving. Over the past year, Madelyn has talked about Uncle Jeff quite a bit ever since we got a call saying that he was in the hospital VERY, VERY sick. She has prayed for him often, asking God to make him better. This picture is where she was able to sit with Uncle Jeff this last Thanksgiving. He had been released from the hospital and was able to join us in celebrating. Madelyn loved sitting with him, talking, singing, hugging, and playing. We also thanked God for making Uncle Jeff better that day and many other days too.


I also pulled these pictures out of the depths of our picture archives. They were taken at Ben's sister's wedding. I think this was the second time that Uncle Jeff was able to meet Madelyn. She is about 6 months and loving every minute she spent with him! It is one of the snapshots in time that I will never forget because I remember her belly laughing and just being entraced by Uncle Jeff. We will miss you, Uncle Jeff....

Wordless Wed: First Snow and Hot Chocolate

Aunt Mel

A month ago, I was given a new name - Aunt Mel!! I'm so excited to be a new aunt! Ben's sister, Stephanie, gave birth to a little boy on August 25th, 2008. His name is Samuel Keith and he was born measuring at 21.75 inches long and a whopping 10 lbs 5 oz! Congratulations Stephanie and Mike!!

Since we don't live near them, we won't be able to meet Sam for the first time until Thanksgiving. But I can't wait!

MN State Fair 2008

The Great Minnesota Get-Together is one of our favorite things of living in Minnesota! We have so much fun going every year! Ben and I have gone almost every year we have lived here. If you know Ben, you'll know that it must be special if he is willing to take a day of vacation to go. We choose to do that though because the weekends at the fair are CrAzY!!! The streets are jammed packed and it is a feat to move from one venue to another.... not us. So, we usually go on Tuesday and love how the crowd is a little more subdued. Ben's and my favorite stops are the arts & crafts building, the agriculture building, the diary barn, the baa barn, the moo barn, the oink barn, and the crazy-looking chickens, This year's visit we were "forced" to cut back on our annual favorites to give the kids some fun too! So, we added the Little Farmer Hands farm and Kidway to the mix. It was all fun!! Ben even got to do his favorite thing this year - the sky glider!!

Btw, if you want to read a great commentary about the fair and see some truly awesome pictures, go to Tracy's blog.

My little farm hands

Feeding Greyson's love of trucks and tractors


A stop by Kidway - Madelyn LOVED it!

What do you do when your legs get tired?

Petting the sheep

Checking out a month-old cow

The highlight of Ben's day - the Sky Glider!

PS - I know that this post is about 3 months late, but better late than never is what I say!

I love you, Dad!

Dear Dad,

I feel so privileged to be the daughter of Michael Alan Cobb. You were (and are) such a terrific dad and grandpa. You always took an interested in what I was doing but was always careful to give enough freedom to allow me to find myself. However, you were also stern when stern was needed! (I'm specificly remembering the late night outing that I wanted to take!) During our last trip to Grant, I loved watching you with your grandchildren. I can tell that you are little out of practice, but that you loved having them around too. I wish we lived closer to you and Mom... it would be such a blessing to see you and kids interact more often! I would also just love to sit and talk and be with you.... I love you, Dad.

Well, Dad, I had this great idea about putting together a picture collage and having it printed and framed and sent to you - something you could put by your computer and I could update every so often with recent pictures. It really was (and maybe is) a great idea.... in theory. So, I got the collage done, no problem. However, the project got stuck there until it was too late. :( I am still planning to follow through, I promise. Let's plan on me having it for you at Christmas, okay?

Ahhhh.... such a beautiful day!

Today is such a beautiful day! The sun is out and it was in low 50's! The snow is melting and running down the streets in great rivers of water to the nearest street drain. The birds are starting to come back. The buds are starting to appear on the trees and bushes. Ahhh......

The kids and I just got back from a nice walk. Well, Madelyn rode her bike. I'm sorry I didn't get any pictures, I forgot my camera. :( Thank you, God, for the break in cold weather.

Will it last?

Especially for Uncle Mike

Well, it is ironic that this happened today after my post yesterday.... but Greyson found our random guitar that nobody plays downstairs while we were waiting for Madelyn to wake up from her nap. Not only did he find it, but he demanded help in figuring out how to play it! It was uncanny how he seemed to know that the strap goes over his shoulder and that his left hand went on the fretboard (I looked up that word) and his right hand was used for plunking/strumming the strings. Maybe he picked up from others he's seen playing the guitar around him, but come on! That's awesome! It is almost like he was given special understanding or something. I had visions of how I'm going to be showing this video at graduation or something similar to show when he got his start at playing the guitar. I might be completely wrong and that will be okay. But here is my question - how do you encourage a 16-month-old to hone his guitar skills? LOL

The unthinkable....

Before Ben and I were married, back in his college days and before, he would spend time with his Uncle Steve. He would tell me about this man that he would hike with, rebuild cars with, borrow pinball machines from, share music with, talk about theology and family, and even the days when Uncle Steve and his father would install car stereos together... he *loves* his Uncle Steve. After we were married, I quickly understood. Uncle Steve - a phenomenal husband, father, musician, man... a man who loves God and his people, a sweet and gentle soul with a talent for music that only God himself could have bestowed. (The music on the MP3 player above is Uncle Steve playing on Sept 10, 2006. NOTE: I know it is a huge file and takes awhile to load. It may have to restart it a time or two to hear it without it getting stuck buffering.)

After we were married, Ben and I moved away to find jobs and would only see Uncle Steve at the long weekend family reunion held every year on Petit Jean Mt, Arkansas and every other year at Thanksgiving. Man, do we look forward to that time with family! It really is an awesome way to get to know family and when you live as far away as we do, it is a treat!

this picture is from Petit Jean 2003 (more pics) - Ben, Uncle Steve, and Ben's Dad

God took Uncle Steve on Tuesday. Although Ben and I had expected that when he died, it would be sudden and unexpected, it is still a shock. Uncle Steve has had heart issues for about 20 years and because Ben and I know a bit about how the heart works, we knew that one day it would probably take him without much warning. (Which leaves me wondering... why didn't he have an ICD?) Like this isn't sad enough, his daughter's wedding is this Saturday - unthinkable... I know that God has to have something awesome planned but it just doesn't seem right. Here is this awesome man who probably wanted nothing more than to walk his daughter down the aisle this week (and play the classical songs that she asked him to play on the piano at the wedding) and the Lord decides that there is something more important. I want so much to celebrate his life and what he accomplished here, but I'm left not asking "why?" but "why NOW?". My heart aches for him in his last moments and his family as they try to figure out how to make the next week happen. The funeral is tomorrow and the wedding is still Saturday. I wish so much that I could be there to help make it happen. Ben left last night and I opted to stay home with the kids - Ben should be there to say goodbye to his favorite uncle. He should be there to support his sisters and parents (especially his father) as they grieve too. Hopefully grieving can turn into joyfulness for this bride and groom somehow. Please pray for them as they work the logistics to make it all come together and as they experience the emotions that come. Please pray for this new couple to have a special serving of grace from God to get through this tumuluous time. Please pray for the extended family as they celebrate and grieve this week and may they be sensitive to the needs of the people around them. Lord, please help me see your hand in this and where my joy in *this* should come from. Thank you, God, for the time Uncle Steve was able to spend with us though. He was truly a man of You.

I love this picture!

I don't really know why but I love this picture! Just thought I'd share...

PS - Thanks Aunt Liz for the great shirt!

REAL cajun food... in Minnesota??

We have had a family at our church that was driven out of Louisiana by Hurricane Katrina. They are true Louisianians. It has been nice to have people around that know a bit about where we come from (even though we *are not* true Louisianians, only kinda by our college choice). They have been here for about a year and a half and have now made the decision to move back to the Baton Rouge area. They will be gone by this time next month. I'm happy for them but sad for us, my family and my church. At church, they have jumped right in and have given of themselves since almost the moment they walked in the church. It has been so refreshing to see. Well, a few weeks ago this family invited us over for authentic cajun food! It didn't take but about 2 seconds for Ben and I to take them up on it. We haven't had true cajun food in SOOOOO long! And last Sunday when we got there, it really was cajun food - jambalya, gumbo, crawfish etoufee, crawfish stuffed pastries, bread pudding, bananas foster, and sweet tea..... it was AMAZING! Ben and I had to be rolled back out to our car and then we grumbled all the way home about how we ate WAY too much - but it was sooo worth it.... We will miss you, Louis, Annette, and Lana. Not just for your amazing culinary skills but for your dedication to and love for God and his people too.