The Pierce Family

Jenna's First Laughter

2009-10-21T08:34:00.000-07:00

2009-10-17T21:26:00.001-07:00

2009-09-26T11:16:00.001-07:00

2009-09-19T11:45:00.001-07:00

A Conversation with Jenna

2009-08-26T22:06:00.000-07:00

Counting to 10 with Juliana

2009-08-13T09:15:00.000-07:00

Our First Month with Jenna

2009-08-13T08:49:00.000-07:00

A brief recap since our last post:

We enjoyed a 3 1/2 week visit with Jill's parents, which meant lots of attention and cuddling for Jenna, and lots of fun at the pool and playground for Juliana, and lots of rest and recovery for Mommy and Daddy. Their visit was a wonderful blessing!

The end of July brought a 3 day heat wave, with temperatures in the upper 90's to low 100's. Since temps like that are not common around here, not many folks have A/C... including us! We are grateful that God provided a place for us to cool off and stay comfortable, when a family in our church invited us to spend the days in their air conditioned home. What a relief for us all, and especially for the girls!

We celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary on August 4th with a fun family dinner at a Japanese steakhouse. Jenna slept...well, like a baby, but Juliana wasn't sure what to think of the chef's tricks as he cooked our meal at our table. Icecream for dessert was the biggest hit of the evening!

2009-08-13T08:43:00.001-07:00

Jenna's Arrival!

2009-07-09T22:08:00.001-07:00

Hello Everyone!

We are thrilled to welcome the newest addition to our family, Jennafer Alivia Pierce! She was born on 7/8/09 at 8:03am. She weighed 8 lbs. 1.5 oz., and was 20.5" long. You can check out some pic's below.

Both Mom and Baby are healthy and recovering well. We came home from the hospital today and are adjusting to life as a family of four. Juliana is very affectionate and loves to "iss" and "ugg" her little sister.

Thank you for your prayers!

2009-07-09T22:05:00.001-07:00

2009-07-06T21:32:00.001-07:00

Birthday cake & candles with Grammie & Papa

2009-07-01T09:33:00.000-07:00

Juliana celebrated her 2nd birthday on June 26th! Juliana had just woken up from a nap, so she was a little groggy for the party!

Birthday card from Gramma & Grampa

2009-07-01T09:23:00.000-07:00

Juliana celebrated her 2nd birthday on June 26th! We talked with our families via webcam to open cards & gifts.

"Vacuuming"

2009-07-01T09:14:00.000-07:00

Juliana loves to "help" with the chores: unloading the dishwasher, dusting...and vacuuming! Her creativity cracks me up!

2009-06-05T15:29:00.001-07:00

Swinging with my Friends

2009-06-02T22:19:00.000-07:00

We had a fun afternoon at our friends' house today! We are very thankful for this special family!

2009-05-12T21:18:00.001-07:00

Otter in the Water

2009-05-12T20:06:00.000-07:00

Dunking on Uncle Brad

2009-05-12T19:55:00.000-07:00

Coloring with Titia Carmen

2009-05-12T19:39:00.000-07:00

2009-04-24T21:47:00.001-07:00

The Playground

2009-04-23T22:35:00.000-07:00

While Jeff/Daddy was working, Juliana & I went to the playground to enjoy the blue sky & sunshine. We have been so excited to have a break from the winter rain & clouds! Hurray for Spring!! As you'll see from the videos, Juliana loves the sliding board & swings; and Mommy loves to watch her enjoying this new found adventure & independence. Jeff & I often marvel at what a tremendous little blessing she is! Each little pleasure is a gracious gift from God for which we give Him thanks!

Swing

2009-04-23T22:27:00.000-07:00

Slide

2009-04-23T22:19:00.000-07:00

"Sauce!"

2009-04-23T22:13:00.000-07:00

Strawberry "Fishing" at Breakfast

2009-03-24T20:42:00.000-07:00

A Sneak Peak at New Baby Pierce

2009-02-19T19:26:00.000-08:00

Today we had our 20 week ultrasound. It was fun to see our new little addition with his/her heart pounding and arms & legs moving. We decided to wait this time until after delivery to be surprised as to whether we're having a boy or girl. So, "It's A Boy!" or "It's A Girl!" Your guess is as good as ours! And we're excited to find out...in about 4 1/2 months!

January & February

2009-02-19T17:39:00.000-08:00

Time flies...& we have not posted in a while! We've readjusted to "normal" life after our Christmas & New Year's vacation...and I don't have many pictures to show for it! A couple of tidbits from the last two months regarding Juliana that my be of interest...she successfully recovered from two colds (as you will see from the photos below); she discovered that drawing/coloring is her passion; & she threw Jeff's entire wallet in the garbage without our knowledge!! Thankfully we discovered that his wallet was missing & tracked it down before we took our trash to the dumpster! We had a little talk & some strong admonitions NOT to throw anything into the garbage ever again! :)

Snapshots from January

2009-02-19T17:34:00.001-08:00

Our Visit with Jill's Family

2009-01-13T16:30:00.001-08:00

Thanking God for His Protection

2009-01-10T11:44:00.000-08:00

Romans 8:28 "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

We want to give praise to God for keeping us safe during and after a car accident we were involved in, while traveling from Jeff's home in RI to Jill's sister's home in NY. Although the forecast called for snow, we hoped that by taking a southern route, we could bypass the worst of the storm and arrive as scheduled. As we drove through the snow, we saw brake lights in front of us. We were unable to stop and slid into the guard rail and then the corner of a tractor trailer's bumper. Though the rental car was damaged, none of us were hurt other than some minor bruises. Several other vehicles were involved in similar accidents along about a quarter mile section of the freeway in front of and behind us and some people were seriouly injured. God was gracious in protecting us through the accident and afterwards in seeking medical attention "just in case" and providing shelter for the night until the storm subsided and the roads were cleared in the morning. Since the accident occurred about an hour from Jeff's home, his family was able to pick us up the next day and drive us to the airport for a flight to NY. We were sad to miss spending New Year's Day with Jill's family, but very thankful for our safe arrival by plane & the rest of our visit with them.

Juliana loves books

2009-01-06T15:46:00.001-08:00

Big Sister's Baby Doll

2009-01-06T06:37:00.000-08:00

Juliana is going to be a big sister!! Jill is due on her sister Julie's birthday, July 7th. We surprised our families during our Christmas & New Year's visits by greeting them at the airport with Juliana wearing a t-shirt with the words "Big Sister" printed on the front. As you can see from the video, Juliana is already practicing for her little sibling's arrival with a new baby doll from her Grammie.

Titia Carmen's Piano Prodigy

2009-01-06T06:24:00.000-08:00

Sliding board at Grammie & Papa's house

2009-01-06T06:08:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas Day!

2008-12-27T07:00:00.001-08:00

Christmas Eve in the Sky

2008-12-26T21:21:00.000-08:00

We are grateful for God's graciousness to us during our travel on Christmas Eve day. We had a few delays on the ground en route, but the pilots made up for most of the time in the air, so we arrived in RI just under an hour later than our original itinerary predicted! We praise God that we arrived safely & without any major delays or problems. Also, Juliana did fantastic on the plane & even made a few friends...if you can imagine that! :) We enjoyed a lovely Christmas day with Jeff's family, as you can see from the pictures above. Having Juliana as part of the celebration sure makes things a lot more entertaining!

Merry Christmas from the Pierce's!

2008-12-23T13:22:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends & Family,

Merry Christmas to you! We hope you have a wonderful time celebrating the birth of our Savior this year. May all your holiday activities be filled with His joy and peace!

Love,

Jeff, Jill, and Juliana

Christmas Kimono

2008-12-23T13:14:00.000-08:00

Juliana's cousins Ben, Yumiko & Sakura, who live in Japan, sent her this Kimono as a Christmas present. Thank you!!

Winter Wonderland

2008-12-23T13:12:00.001-08:00

Winter Wonderland

2008-12-23T12:45:00.000-08:00

According to our neighbor's measurement, approximately 15 inches of snow has accumulated over the past week here at our apartment complex!! Olympia is not accustomed to this kind of weather...& neither are we after living in FL & So. Cal. for about 10 years! As you can see from the pictures, it is beautiful! We are planning to fly to RI tomorrow to begin our Christmas & New Year's visit with our families, but the forecast is predicting snow overnight & during the day tomorrow, so we'll see whether or not our flight makes it off the ground as scheduled. We're praying that we will make it to RI for Christmas Eve, but also praying that even if we don't, we will have a heart of gratitude & joy in our Savior...Who after all, is the reason for the season! He certainly didn't get to spend the first Christmas in a warm house with a delicious meal & cozy bed, so we hope that we can be thankful even if we have to spend a few extra hours in a crowded airport...sure beats a smelly stable!

O, Christmas Tree

2008-12-16T21:29:00.001-08:00

This is our 8th Christmas as husband & wife & the first year that we have a Christmas tree!! We have gone home for Christmas every year (except last year), so we've procrastinated on purchasing a tree & decorated our apartment in other ways. Call us "Scrooges"...or simply "cheapskates," but we're thankful that God provided a tree for us this year. (Jeff spotted it on clearance at a store that's going out of business.) Juliana went crazy for the strands of beads as we were decorating the tree & wanted to play with all the ornaments...it was quite fun!

Bright, sunshiny days...in Olympia!

2008-12-12T19:49:00.001-08:00

Life's Simple Pleasures

2008-12-12T19:46:00.001-08:00

Family Outing

2008-12-12T19:45:00.001-08:00

Mommy's Little Helper

2008-11-08T20:01:00.000-08:00

Our Visit to Lattin's Cider Mill

2008-11-08T18:52:00.001-08:00

Trick-or-Treat

2008-11-08T18:48:00.001-08:00

Mimicking Mommy

2008-10-16T12:34:00.001-07:00

As Juliana finished her dinner last week, I got the sneezes & had to grab a tissue to blow my nose. Like they say, "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." At least, that's the way I'm choosing to think of it!

Establishing good hygiene habits!

2008-10-16T12:27:00.000-07:00

Juliana loves to "brush" her teeth. A couple days ago while she was "brushing", she brought me her polar bear...Luckily, I was able to get her to do it again, so I could catch it on video.

Baby Wrecking Ball!

2008-10-15T22:21:00.000-07:00

This post is for our good friend, Ryan Limbaugh. We hope that seeing our apartment in such disarray truly does "bless your soul!" :)
Love,
Jeff, Jill, & especially Juliana

Baby Wrecking Ball!

2008-10-15T22:18:00.001-07:00

Snapshots from September

2008-10-06T08:30:00.001-07:00

One small step for Juliana...

2008-10-05T16:25:00.000-07:00

We shot this video about a month ago...the night Juliana took her first official steps. Although we're late in posting it, we wanted to share her milestone with you. (Sorry it's sideways, but we can't figure out how to turn it around!)
Since that fateful evening she has completely taken off with walking, so much so that we can hardly keep up with her! We turned to each other at church this morning and realized neither one of us knew where she went since just a few seconds before! We quickly discovered her playing in the toddler room...where all the toys are. She's keeping us on our toes!

Fireproof

2008-09-28T20:45:00.000-07:00

While my parents were here, Jeff & I got away for a "date" alone together while they stayed home with Juliana. We went to see the movie "Fireproof", which some of you may have heard about. We really enjoyed the film & think it has a great message, so we've posted the trailer below. Let us know if you decide to go see it!

We Finally Made It to Mt. Rainier...And We Didn't Stop There!

2008-09-20T12:12:00.000-07:00

Having lived in Washington for over a year now and having admired Mt. Rainier from a distance the entire time, we've been longing to get there. Well, we finally made it to the mountain—or at least really close to it! Jill’s parents came into town last week, and we took a day trip to a place called "Paradise" in the Mt. Rainier National Park.

Despite the favorable forecast, we drove in thick clouded weather almost the whole way to the mountain. Feeling a little discouraged, we prayed that God would graciously provide somehow for us to be able to see the mountain. As we continued driving and ascending the mountain, we began passing through the cloud cover and eventually transcended it completely. From that point on, we had nearly perfect visibility of the mountain!

The hours we spent up there were truly inspiring for all of us. As we hiked around, we enjoyed the beautiful snow covered mountain from all different vantage points. And as we looked on in wonder, we were moved to heartfelt worship. We reckoned Mt. Rainier to be an awesome illustration of God’s own awe-inspiring attributes. Several Scriptures come to mind:

As we gazed upon the massive rock, we were reminded of the infinite strength of our God.

Psalm 65:5-6 "By awesome deeds You answer us in righteousness, O God of our salvation, You who are the trust of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest sea; Who establishes the mountains by His strength, Being girded with might;"

As we admired its height towering 14,400 ft. in the air, we were reminded of the infinitely transcendent faithfulness and righteousness of our God.

Psalm 36:5-6 "Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the great mountains;"

And as we walked around admiring the mass and stability of the mountain--feeling at times surrounded by the mountain because of its enormity--we were reminded of God’s ever-present help and our security in His care.

Psalm 121:1-2 "I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth."

Well, last week we took a trip to Mt. Rainier, but we didn’t stop there. We found that our journey actually took us beyond the mountain into the wonders of God Himself. The beauty of the creation pointed us so clearly to the Creator. For that we are exceedingly grateful! Thank you, Lord! We’ll look forward to more awe-inspiring trips to Mt. Rainier in the future. We'd love for you to come join us some time!

In Awe of Him,

Jeff, Jill, and Juliana

Greetings Family & Friends!

2008-09-04T20:57:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our family blog!

We've posted some pictures, videos & links that we hope you will enjoy. We also hope you'll remember to check in on us for updates from time to time & feel free to post your comments too. It is a blessing to keep in touch with you, as many of you are across the country or even around the world.

To visit our church blog, you can click on the link for Summit Lake Community Church & learn about the things God is doing there.

Love,
Jeff, Jill & Juliana

Persecution of Christians in India

2008-09-03T22:00:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, we have had a special burden for India for the last couple years, so it's no surprise that this blog post caught Jeff's eye today. Thousands of Indian Christians are suffering tremendous persecution in east India. If you would like to learn more, please visit http://www.teampyro.blogspot.com/ and read the post from August 31st entitled "Pray for India." As the title emplores, please join us in praying for these dear brothers & sisters in Christ on the other side of the globe whose lives have been turned upside down; and for the salvation of their persecutors; and for God to show Himself glorious in the midst of such chaos.

La Push, WA

2008-09-01T15:56:00.000-07:00

We went to La Push, WA last Friday & Saturday with a family from our church. As you can see, we were awestruck by the beautiful beach...& very thankful for the sunshine! We had a great time walking along the shore, gathering around a campfire & looking up at an amazing sky full of stars, spying starfish, sea anemones & barnacles at low tide, and just being together.

A few shots from August

2008-09-01T12:08:00.000-07:00

Dee dah dee dah do! "Take 2"

2008-08-22T22:38:00.000-07:00

Dee dah dee dah do!

2008-08-22T22:24:00.000-07:00

Chapman family interviewed on "Larry King Live"

2008-08-22T22:04:00.000-07:00

We were deeply moved & blessed by watching this family being interviewed after their daughter's death. If you are able to take a few minutes, there are six segments total; you can watch the first here on our blog, then go to youtube.com and search "chapman larry king" to view the remaining five parts. We trust God will use it to impact your hearts as he did ours.

2008-08-22T21:58:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our blog!

2008-08-22T13:33:00.000-07:00

Dear Family & Friends,

Well, we have finally jumped on the blogwagon! We are excited to be able to post recent pictures and updates about our life here in Olympia, WA...and wherever else the Lord may take us. We hope you will enjoy checking in on us from time to time!

Blessings,

Jeff, Jill, & Juliana