"I Love You"

Since the arrival of little Katie Grace, Daddy and Abbie have been able to spend a good bit more time together. It is fun for both of us, because she is now a "big sister" and gets to go places and help Daddy more.

The other day, we were coming in from being out, and I told her "I love you." Abigail has a funny way of opening her mouth wide and saying "Ahhhhhhh" which is translated "I love you." I had to snap a couple of photos. I love kids!

ST

Answered Prayer

We often pray for things and yet don't truly believe the Lord like we ought. Not long before Katie was to be born, Jocelyn and I realized what a chore it would be to travel with two kids in our Altima. My family lives a good distance from Buffalo, and we want to go see them every now and then. We began praying that the Lord would provide a vehicle. For us to purchase anything was out of the question.

A few weeks after we began praying, someone approached us and told us that they wanted us to have their minivan. Honestly, I was floored! Long story short, God used a sweet couple to encourage us by giving us their minivan since they were purchasing a newer vehicle. We just got it back a few days ago after having a little work done on it. It is a blessing!

Since we moved to Buffalo, God has proved Himself in our lives. Over and over, He has encouraged us just when we needed it. He is teaching us more of what it means to trust Him. God's Word reminds us in Hebrew 11:6 that, "...without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." I want my family to be one which diligently seeks the Lord and sees His hand strong in our lives. He is so good to us--how little we trust Him.

Thanks for tuning in today--hope your week is a good one!

ST

Beautiful Weather, Beautiful Baby (OK, I am biased!)

The weather is finally starting to break! We have had a couple of days that the weather is much more enjoyable. Spring is officially here in Western New York, but sometimes the weather does not cooperate. Most of the snow is melted away and the sun is shining more each day. Hopefully, the weather will stay nice for awhile.

This week has been an interesting one with Abigail sick and a new baby. Jocelyn's mother has been so kind to help out with everything enabling me to continue working. Abigail is feeling considerably better. She still has a bit of a fever, but that is subsiding too. It looks like she is coming out of the woods and feeling better.

Until next time,
ST

More Sleeping (for baby, not parents)

As most of you know...babies do only a few things of which sleeping is one of the biggest. Overall, the nights have been going fairly well, but last night Katie was up for awhile last night with Jocelyn and Abbie was up a couple of times caughing and hacking. This morning, Abbie is sick and miserable, but Katie is doing well. As I type, she is quietly sleeping next to me. Ahhh...this is the life!

ST

More to Come...

I am going to try to get some more baby photos of Katie and post them this week. For now, here is a shot I took of Abbie last week as she sat in her chair at Grandma Britt's house. Thank you for all the emails, phone calls, and cards! Things have been going very well for Jocelyn and Katie as we all adjust to a new little one hanging around our house.

ST

Going Home!

We finally got the OK to go home! We are so grateful to the Lord for His mercy in giving us a healthy baby and a healthy delivery. Thank you for all the kind comments, emails, and phone calls. We are grateful for the wonderful friends and family the Lord has given us.

ST

Her sweet little feet.

Day 2

Grandma Britt and Abbie look at the new arrival.

Hmmmmm.....what is this?

Hahahaha....look at that funny face!

Beep, beep! Hmmmm...it does not work quite like Daddy's!

That is hilarious!

Poke, poke, poke---this is fun!

Y A W N ! ! !

Two beautiful ladies...

Better than the hospital portrait


Here is more video of the little addition.

Click here for more video.

Thanks for tuning in today. We will keep more coming!

ST

More Katie Photos

Here are some more photos of the little one. Click here for the video. More to come. Thank you for all the prayers and kind comments.

ST

Katie Grace Troell

At 6:11 p.m., Katie came into this world! God was good to us and there were no complications or problems. More to come. Click on the photo above to view video of little Katie.

ST

To the Hospital...

Finally, we are headed to the hospital! The time has come... Please pray that all goes well and that Jocelyn and the baby will be healthy and strong. So many times, we take health for granted, so we covet your prayers today for God to intervene on our behalf.

We will post photos of the new little one as soon as we have opportunity. Until then, here is a photo of Abbie for your enjoyment.

ST

No Baby Yet!

We have made it through another week and still no child! We are so excited about our new arrival, it is hard to contain ourselves. We have been so busy this past week that I have been slack in posting while being extremely busy with work. Things seem to all hit at once.

I really will try to do better this week about posting and keeping this blog fresh. I just have a ton of things up my sleeve that I am trying to get done as well as keep food on the table for the family.

Now for the description of today's photo. This is a "posing" Abigail as she "cheeses" for Daddy's camera. The outfit is courtesy of Grandma Troell in Overland Park, KS –– thank you! She sent the cute little skirt and the shirt for Valentine's Day. It has been a bit colder here in New York, so Jocelyn put the long-sleeve under the t-shirt to keep the kid's arms warm. I am not sure that this will be the next fad in the fashion world, but it gets the job done.

Until next time,
ST

Finally, Another Post...

I know... I have been a bit lax in posting this past week. Thank you for your patience. First, I logged onto my site only to find that there has been some trouble. After a few days, we got the issue resolved and I just plain old got lazy!

Things have been very busy up our way. Last week, we had our Mission Conference with Br. Rawls from Mount Pisgah Baptist Church Printing Ministry. The Lord really blessed the meeting. We had a sweet time! More on that later this week.

Our family has been making time to do something together every week, and it has helped our family immensely. Nearly every week in 2007, we have tried to have a family time and get out of the house together and have fun. Of course we don't do something extravagant each time. If it is just drive to the mall and walk around together and then eat at the food court, we still do something. I encourage you to take time with your family on a regular basis –– no matter how busy you think you are. You don't have to have alot of money to enjoy a McD's hamburger or ice cream. The key is not primarily what you do, but doing something as a family. We must learn to remove the distractions and enjoy one another.

This practice has helped our family draw closer in the past weeks and months. It is easy to get busy and stay busy. We like to leave the house and go out since I work at my home office and Jocelyn is typically home all day as well. We are looking forward to the spring months when we can get out to parks and the lakes around the beautiful Great Lakes and Niagara Falls area.


Recently, for one of our family outings, Jocelyn, Abbie and I went to Ted's. They use only Sahlen's hot dogs and they are unbelievably good! If you would like to sample a package, just let me know and I will get you a pack of them –– I promise, you will love them. Unfortunately, I will not recommend the chili from Ted's.


After Ted's, Jocelyn and I went to a Buffalo Sabres hockey game. As I recall, it is the first time I have been to a professional game in a long time. I had almost forgotten why I don't go--the people! It is mass chaos. Nonetheless, Jocelyn and I had a wonderful time together even though they lost in a nail-biting shootout.



We hope your week is going well. Please pray that this will be the week for the arrival of the newest addition to the Troell Family. Until next time...

ST