Rays of Sunshine ♥

4 Years!

2010-12-10T20:35:00.000-08:00

Today, Stefan and I celebrate our four year anniversary.
We eloped four years ago today in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the Little White Wedding Chapel. Most of our family was well.... sad.... shocked.... lol. We were in love, and are still in love today :)
Now, two wonderful kids and several moves later, here we are, back in California!
Cecelia is a happy three year old, starting pre school in the fall. She's very smart, loving to read books, color, paint, jump rope, and of course, giving kisses to her baby brother!
Johannes is very alert and active, and is trying to crawl (yes, i know) and he loves to talk and is such a great baby. He sleeps through the night, and is hardly ever fussy. We love our little boy :))
We love our kids, and we can't wait until the Lord blesses us with more. Here are a few of the new photos we had taken last week!! Hope you all enjoy them!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!!

- Jen

Welcome to the Planet, Johannes

2010-09-19T10:29:00.000-07:00

Johannes (yo-hawn-ess) Van Ray aka "Jack" was born Thursday, September 16th, 2010 at 6:16 p.m.
Weighing in at 6 pounds and 13.6 ounces, and 20 inches long, our sweet sweet little boy is healthy as can be. Even though the labor was 17 hours, he never had a faultering heart tone, and was super anxious to come out and meet his family. He was a natural birth at a birthing center in Laguna Hills, California.
As you guys know, we didn't find out the sex of the baby, we wanted it to be a surprise. So, when he was born they immediately placed him on my stomach and I asked Stefan (who is behind me, holding me, helping me push)"What is it?" and he goes "It's a baby!" and I said "NO what is it?!" and we lifted his leg and I was like "It's a boy!!!" And thats when the water works kicked in.
He was very alert, he scored a 10 on his APGAR test, and he was very responsive, and fed fairly quickly, having no problems latching.
We got to go home that night, and we made it home around one a.m.. After being up for 24 hours, we were more than ready to get some sleep. Johannes slept the whole night and only got up twice to feed, which was very very nice for mommy and daddy.
Cecelia is a proud big sister, she says she "loves him so much" and that "he makes her heart happy." She loves calling him "baby Jack."
Cecelia wasn't very weary about coming near him when we got home, she was trying to crawl into his carseat telling me she wanted to see baby Jack! She loves her new baby brother, and she doesn't even seem to care that she didn't get the baby sister she wanted lol!!!
Johannes is the swedish name for John, we named him after John the Baptist. We know our son is going to be a mighty man of God, and when we came to this name we just knew it was meant for our wonderful son.
Mommy is doing great, feeling amazing and loving every second of having her son here (FINALLY!) and daddy is just smitten, he is so engrossed in Johannes. He is one proud Daddy!!!
Thank you all for your prayers :) Much love and God Bless!!!

- Jen

Waiting Waiting Waiting!!

2010-09-09T19:42:00.000-07:00

9 months is closing in on us! We're super anxious to meet our new little baby here very soon.

Johannes "Jack" Van/Lucia Linnea needs to come out and meet his/her sweet family :)

We will keep everyone updated!! Any day now!!

- Jen

2010-07-11T12:25:00.000-07:00

Summertime has been awesome so far for the Ray Family!
Stefan's busy filming his television series (ABC Family Monday Nights!!!!!), and Cece and Mommy are busy doing just about.. everything (or anything, really)!! We all hope you are enjoying your wonderful Summer :)

Coming to Television Near You!

2010-06-20T09:07:00.000-07:00

Okay, It's time to let everyone know!
Stefan is going to be on TV!
AH!
Stefan plays "Trent" in the new ABC Family series "Huge" debuting Monday, June 28th on ABC Family!
Stefan's character, however, does not enter the series until the second episode, Monday, July 5th.

Stefan has been LOVING his cast, making friends and learning so much about the business.

So please tune into the series and watch our STAR! :D We are so very proud of him, and can't wait to see what else he can do!!

Our Recent Adventures!

2010-04-28T21:55:00.000-07:00

Cecelia loves to play around with her doggy Bonita. As in this picture, lol. She loves to decorate her and put a lot of random things on her, like clothes and towels and dirty rags....Call it what you will, but I call it super cute. Bonita doesn't seem to feel the same. Haha!

And here it is! My very first crocheted baby blanket; made for the new baby in the belly. It took a little under 3 months to make (I was slacking off....) but it was worth it, I love it!! I'm making another one for Cecelia :)

Cece loves the beach. She also loves her dada. And her Dada loves her.... :) I just love this picture, so I posted it. lol.

Cecelia also got to go to Santa Barbara and see her Aunt Anna, Uncle Eric, and cousins Margot and Reed!! She was sooo excited to see Great Grammy's new house, and play with her blocks (we couldn't get her to leave them alone, she was not happy with us when we made her leave). She also got to go to Butterfly Beach with them and have a little fun in the sun!

Cecelia loved coloring/hiding/finding/talking about Easter this year. We had two little mini easters this year, we had a small one with the Ray's (pictured above) and then we went on a trip to Utah, where we spent the holiday with Jen's family.

Cecelia's Sharpie Adventure

2010-03-06T12:42:00.000-08:00

As the joy of having a two year old continues...we find ourselves at yet another Cecelia first. Sure, she's colored with everything from color markers to pens, but this takes the cake and then some.
After waking up bright and early this lovely Saturday morning, Cece stumbled upon the coolest pen ever. A sharpie.
After she somehow got the lid off....she doodled on everything from bedding to furniture to.....herself! Thankfully she didn't get us....
So, enjoy, and laugh, at my morning wake up call :D

Gotta love kids!!!!

You Know You're In Trouble When...

2010-03-04T16:44:00.000-08:00

.... your own computer challenged father tells you to update your blog :/!
So here's an update! (Just for you daddy!)

As was said in the previous post, we are expecting our second child! We though he/she was going to be born in mid-October, but we came to find that we're actually due September 17th, 2010!
Today, I am currently 12 weeks along, and next week I will be in my second Trimester! So far it's been a fun ride!
Cecelia now is potty training! She poops and pees in the potty now all the time, and doesn't like to wear diapers anymore, she constantly asks in the car if she can take her diaper off so she can go potty in her toilet! She took to it quickly, though we had some pretty gnarly experiences... Every parent right now is chuckling :)
Cece also got to take her first trip to the Library yesterday! She got to check out her first book, which was a princess book that she picked out! But, we also rented a disc of blue's clues, so the reading is kind of obsolete right now.... haha!

Our next big trip to Utah will be in just a few short weeks! We're waiting for our tax return, which is going to give us a much deserved vacation! I'm pretty much counting down the days.....!!!

Here are a few new pictures of the little beauty Cecelia! Hope you enjoy them, we are hoping to post a family picture soon!

Well, we hope everyone is doing well, and please feel free to keep in touch via email/facebook/phone! We love you guys and God Bless!

Surprise!

2010-01-16T01:23:00.000-08:00

We just found out we're pregnant with our second child (due october 2010!) I'm super excited (and only a little sick!)
We found out on January 13th after many crazy days....
We've already picked out our names! If it's a girl, her name will be LUCIA "LUCY" LINNEA RAY and if it's a boy his name will be JACK VAN RAY. So excited! I'll post some new pictures up soon! Yay!

DAD, the Omelet King; a poem

2010-01-10T21:27:00.000-08:00

DAD THE OMELET KING

Once upon a warm winter night
There was a man named The Omelet King
And the kitchen was in sight
And all in the house began to sing

Because he, the omelet king
Makes the most amazing omeletes
You've ever tasted or seen
Leaving you with no regrets

So after toiling endlessly
for hours on end
He unleashed his majesty
Upon the land

From Ham to Avacados to Olives
He cooked and he slaved
And then he called us
And the day was saved

With thanks and mild mercy
WE THANK YOU OMELET KING
Because even though it was worth it
In a food coma, I am slipping......

ZZZZzzzzzZZZZZzzzzZZZZzzzz.......

Some fun Photos

2010-01-10T18:33:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to share some new photos with you :) Hope you like em
Just a quick update: Stefan's movie went well, today is the last day of filming. If you have a facebook, make sure to join the fan page for "Ship in a Bottle" so you can see photos and updates!
Cece has been really explorative lately. The family walks the property every day, and she loves to go and be the ring leader! If anyone even puts a toe off the path, she'll go "HEY! NO! GET BACK HERE!" Its really sweet of her. She loves to go with the whole family.
We got to make a homemade gingerbread house the other day, and even though the walls did NOT wanna stay...we eventually got them to. (And when I say we, I mean mom. Thank you mommy!)
We're looking forward to going to Utah/Colorado soon. We'll keep you posted on all ray family updates! Hope you're all enjoying the New Year!
God Bless!
XOXO

Jen

Hooray for 2010!

2010-01-02T09:37:00.000-08:00

Warm greetings from us to you this New Year! We hope you have had a great start so far, and many blessings to those trying to keep up with a resolution this year!

Lets start off with our biggest news: Stefan and I are getting married! Well....again. This time we're actually just renewing our vows, but we are also going to have a big ceremony in Utah (that way the Colorado folk can come out too.)

As most of you already know, Stefan and I eloped December 10th, 2006. Well, reserve the day Friday, December 10th 2010 for our "wedding"!! We are super excited, and really hope that you will be able to come out.

Next: Cecelia!

Cecelia had an amazing Christmas. We got to go to San Diego the week before Christmas and celebrate with the Ray family. She got a new Dora bike (which she LOVES) and she got some clothes and a few little toys. She loves to talk and to sing! She loves the CD her cousins Sarah and Chris sent this year, she constantly is asking for "Grinch," as the grinch songs are the first and last on the album. :)

We also got to celebrate Christmas day in Utah this year with my family. I was super happy to be there, even with the snow! We had a full family photo done, which hasn't happened since I lost my two front teeth (yikes.)

Cecelia is a very happy, healthy 2 year old. She's very into exploring, both the world and her boundries (haha) and she loves to try new things. She loves berries, walks, and coloring. And taking care of her baby doll.

New Years Resolutions: I have decided to work out for 30 minutes each day and run as often as possible, and read the entire bible. So far, I've kept up very well with my resolutions! I'm very excited about it and can't wait to see what 2010 brings us.

Stefan also got a roll in an indie film, which, unfortunatly, I can't discuss....but please pray for him for continued blessings. We love him!!

God Bless!

Hope you enjoy the update and photos. Lots and lots of love,

XOXO

Jen

Our New Home

2009-09-14T20:46:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Family

Hope this e-mail finds you well!!! We hope you are all in good health :)
As some of you know, Cecelia turns 2 in just a few short weeks (October 4th!!). She is excited, I think, as far as I'm concerned (once I told her she'd have cake and presents, she was all smiles!) She is loving living with grandma and grandpa up in Ortega Oaks (Lake Elsinore, California).
As some of you may know, our business is no longer. Due to circumstances beyond our control, we ended up shutting our company down in the middle of August. Since the close of the business (and some time before) we were unable to live stably, and since, we have moved back to California.
We are very happy living here, and Cecelia is loving all the playing in the dirt!! (so much for clean clothes!) And we're very excited to see where God leads us next.
Cecelia is no longer a baby...shes already trying to be an adult!! With talking, running amok, the temper tantrums and eating at the table like a big kid, she's on her way to being a toddler :).
Her auntie Nea bought her a Dora plate, which she uses at every meal (clean or not, she won't eat with any substitute!)
We have a new cell, so please feel free to update, and our new mailing address:
Stefan and Jen
970-404-0804
32295-8 Mission Trail Road #429
Lake Elsinore, CA 92530

We are having a little party here in California, but no party has been set up for a Utah date, due to family issues with Jen's family.

Please continue to pray for us, as do for you!

God Bless!!

-Jen, Stefan and Cecelia Ray

Hi Ho...Hi Ho...it's of to California we go!

2009-08-27T18:03:00.000-07:00

Hey friends and family--

As some of you may have heard, we had to close the doors to our business, Pro Clean. It's all good, we're all doing okay, and we now live in San Juan Capistrano, California. We're living on a nice campsite called Ortega Oaks, just east of Lake Elsinore California.
Cecelia is loving all the exploring she gets to do, shes been having a blast. Shes not used to the colder nights, but she seems to be adjusting well!!
We will have picture updates soon. We don't have cell reception, but we have sparse internet. I try to go down the mountain often, so if you do call PLEASE leave a voicemail or I wont know you called.
:) Please, if you need our new number, call either my mom or dad for it!!

Please keep us in you prayers :))

Love and Peace,

Jen and Stefan and Cecelia Ray

Cecelia Rocking Out Remix!

2009-08-07T09:30:00.000-07:00

Check it out!

Coloring, Bridges, and lots of screaming!

2009-07-19T11:04:00.001-07:00

Even though the girls have now gone home (holding back sadness...) We wanted to give a final update!
We went to Canon City, Colorado, home of the worlds HIGHEST extension bridge!! Knowing well that Kenzie is terrified of heights, we drove across it. (Video up soon). The bridge deck hangs 1,053 feet above the Arkansas River, and the bridge is billed as the highest suspension bridge in the world. The Royal Gorge Railroad runs under the bridge along the base of Royal Gorge. The bridge is 1260 feet long and 18 feet wide, with a wooden walkway with 1292 planks. The bridge is suspended from towers that are 150 feet high. Scary!!!
Despite the crazy height, it was beautiful, absolutely beautiful!! The drive roundtrip was 11 hours....yikes...Kennadi did NOT take well to that. Ccce is used to road trips, but poor Kennadi didn't want to be in the car!!
In a few weeks, we're picking up Kenzie to take her white water rafting for her birthday!
Thanks for coming to visit girls!

Mini Golf 'n' Fun!

2009-07-13T16:26:00.000-07:00

We actually got a chance to go Mini Golfin!
Even though it rained a little bit, we still had a BLAST at mini golf. The girls had to be put in a stroller the whole time (she didn't like it so much.) But Stefan won, then Kenzie, then Jen, then Nick (haha). It was a great day!!

Hot Springs

2009-07-13T11:10:00.000-07:00

We took the girls to the hot springs, and they loved it!! The girls got to experience one of Colorados golden treasures. They seemed to have a blast!
The little girls were having a lot of fights at first, but now seem to be getting along, and learning each others boundries. They now are inseperatable! They like to play together, its so fun to watch!
At the hot springs, Kennadi got to swim around to her hearts content! She loved kicking her feet in the water, and splashing Stefan!!! She giggled and laughed as she saw Cece playing around. Overall, I say the night went really well!!

Cousins come to play!

2009-07-09T18:41:00.000-07:00

Today was a big day at the Ray House.... Kennadi and Kenzie Topham have ARRIVED!!
For the next 10-11 days, we will be playing and having fun non-stop!!!
So far, Kennadi has ate chocolate covered strawberries, pooped her pants, and got to go all the way to Grand Junction with her fun cousin (who is only two months older than her) Cecelia!!

The girls wore identical dresses with their hair done up in bows...they were unbelievable. They both slept the whole way there, and slept the same!! They go good together, those two. After they woke up, I turned around and asked them "How are you girls?" and Cecelia says "We Happy!!"
:) It was so cute!!

Look for more updates daily from the Ray Family with their visiting family :)

Day at the Park

2009-07-09T18:35:00.000-07:00

Cece and Mommy decided to have a fun day at the park yesterday!!! Daddy and Nick were working in a nice subdivision called River Valley Ranch in Carbondale yesterday, so Mommy and Cece tagged along!
Stroller and picnic in tow, they went to a nearby park called Orchard Park.
Cecelia loves playing outside! She eventually was able to climb up the playground with no help, and kept going down the slide exclaiming "WEEEEE!!" With big smiles on her face. She definitely wore herself out... We played for two whole hours! Afterwords, Cecelia really slept!!
We went to dinner with Anna and Eric Kulberg, and Cece had to be woken up for dinner-- which she was simotaneously happy and unhappy about...once she ate Anna's wonderful sphagetti, she seemed happy to have been awoken!!

Fourth of July and Salt Lake!

2009-07-08T08:27:00.000-07:00

Friends and Family-
We're happy to say we had a great and safe Fourth of July this year. We celebrated with our two great friends Chance, Pam and their son Calvin. It was a great day!
We started by going to Aspen to catch the parade (which we missed, lol) and then we drove up to Ashcroft, a ghost town up by Aspen. It rained on and off, but overall was great!!!
We barbequed, and had a blast! Cecelia loved the fireworks! She kept saying "WOW!!" she was super excited, it made the whole experience better.

The following day, we decided we wanted to road trip somewhere--- so we chose Salt Lake City, Utah. Since Nick and Stefan had never been (Jen lived there with her mom). So we drove to the Great Salt Lake-- which was awesome as well. The water was so clear (but it made the cut on my foot hurt...)
Overall, its been a great weekend!!

Fun Times Outside

2009-06-24T08:16:00.000-07:00

While Stefan and Nick have been working super hard with Pro Clean, Me and Cecelia have been busy too!
Cece spends most of the day playing with her toys and watching Spongebob, Dora or Wall-E (Which she loves and laughs at!) and recently, I found a box of coloring stuff, and I printed out some Dora the Explorer coloring pages off of the internet so she could have fun coloring something she liked. Well...she loved it! She got to sit in her chair, and choose the colors she wanted, she was more than happy. It's been so nice and beautiful outside that we usually color outside where it's nice and warm!
Cecelia is talking more and more everyday, constantly saying everything we say. She can say every characters name in Dora, and know their picture. She's learning shapes with mommy right now, and we're working on the alphabet (shes so smart!)
We're really bummed we had to miss out on the California trip this week, we had no choice. We really are sorry to those who were expecting to see us, and we will be able to come out in September for Jen's aunt's wedding.
Thats all for this week, more updates later!

God Bless!

Peace and Love,
The Ray Family

Updating..

2009-06-13T15:26:00.000-07:00

The past month has been nothing but adventure! With Godfather Nick coming to live here with us in Glenwood, to all our fun trips exploring the state!
We recently went to Marble, colorado, population: non existant. It is home to one of the largest marble quarys in the world!
Also- our second trip, but nick's first trip to South Park Colorado (yes, it exists...sort of.)
South Park City is an old ghost town located in what is now called Fairplay, colorado, just south of Breckinridge. I recommend going, even if you don't like matt stone and trey parker. The place is full of history, and its amazing to see (the tour is cheap too!)

Cecelia is turning 2 in October (YIKES!), and is starting to get potty trained. She's full of laughter and love, and likes to play with her awesome Auntie Emily! She also enjoys the outdoors, and playing with her aunts and uncles and various cousins.
She likes to play out on the balcony with mommy on a nice day (not often, since it's rained almost every day for a month and a half here in glenwood!!). Cecelia is full of life and loves to learn new things. She learns new words all the time and is a chatterbox. She's been saying 'ice cream' and 'popcicle' and when she doesn't anymore she says 'no moy-ee'. she even occasionally spins in a circle and goes "weee!!". She is so amazing!
Cecelia is looking forward to her first summer in Colorado. Overall, I think this is a summer we're going to remember forever!

New Update

2009-04-14T12:40:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Family,

Greetings from Colorado! :) We thought it would be a good time to send out an update on our wonderful family! Here is how our family is doing:
Cecelia is now 18 months old! She loves Dora and Spongebob (whom she just calls "Bob"). Her vocabulary has grown immensely!! She can say "map", "Nick" (which is her Godfather's name), she calls kitties "ma-oh" (referencing meow), and she can also say "why" which means water or drink, and na-na is still food. She can say chair, book, and ball, and lots of other fun and exciting words (including a few we're not too fond of...haha). She also says "Horsey" and "Nay Nay". She really loves horses.
She is still an adamant Dora fan, and now is getting into Spongebob (Thanks to Godfather Nick and his wonderful fiance, Sarah!)
Last week, Nick and Sarah came out and stayed with us for a week! And, to say the least, Cecelia was MORE than excited to entertain her fun guests! We got to go to the hot springs twice, we got to go to the park and on walks, and we got to go on fun, scenic drives. (And of course, Cece made us read every book in her library!).
Cecelia was really sad to see Sarah and Nick go back home to Virginia, she kept asking "where Nick?" It was truely heartbreaking.
Cecelia has also been hanging out with cousin Emily Olson a lot. She comes by often and Cece is thrilled whenever she does. On Easter Sunday, Emily helped Cece with the easter egg hunt (but Cece seemed far more interested in ripping the eggs she had open instead of finding more...) But, nonetheless, we must say Emily is one of Cece's favorites.
Pro Clean is launching on Monday, officially! We got our EIN number from the IRS (everyones favorite people!) and we send out our mass mailer on the 20th. We've got all the equipment locked in, and now it's time to get to work! We're both very excited and grateful for this wonderful opportunity.
The snow is slowly melting (FINALLY!) and spring is slowly blooming. We've had a few freak snow storms, as well as 5 power outages (just in the last 3 weeks....) but I'm pretty sure that spring is here to stay!
Easter turned out to be a bittersweet day. With Nick and Sarah flying back home that day, Cece also got really sick at the Easter party. She ended up vomiting all over mommy at the party, so we decided it may be best to take her home and let her sleep. Well, the night was long, and after vomiting 15 times, around 7 we were able to go to the store and buy her some pedialyte, and since she has been keeping everything down. She has had a lack of appetite though, shes been really picky about what she wants to eat.
She ate some complex cheese at the party that didnt agree with her stomach. The poor thing was sick all night.
But, on a happier note, Cece is now feeling better (still just as whiney, of course.) and is up and playing again.

We hope everyone had a great Holiday, and we hope to hear from you all soon!

God Bless,
Stefan, Jen and Cecelia Ray

We are terrible bloggers....aren't we?!?!

2009-03-19T19:49:00.000-07:00

Okay ... so we're a little rusty. I mean, I used to have over 10 blogs that I updated daily, and now I can't even keep up with ONE....imagine that. Oh well.

So...we go on a trip to Utah tomorrow for the weekend to see my family! My brother's son Kaydon turned one today! It's crazy!

I'll actually put up pictures and all that fun stuff from the trip :)

Love,

- The Stefan as well as The Jen followed by the Baby Cecelia

Eeee!

2009-02-25T14:10:00.000-08:00

It seems everyone and their mom (literally) has a blogspot. So, I've decided that Stefan and I should have one! Just for fun (actually, we're party poopers and just want to fit in)

Yay!!