Christmas came early!!!

Alexander Joseph Turner, Jr. arrived on 12/15/07 at 12:07 pm. After a swift 10 hour labor, A.J. decided to make his debut. He weighed in at a whopping 6 pounds 15 ounces and was 20.5 inches long. He is so handsome and a really good baby already. Alex and I love being parents and are amazed at the most precious Christmas gift God could give us. We also received another ginormous present over the weekend which was our house! Our families and friends spent the weekend moving all of our stuff into our new home, painting some rooms, completing the nursery, and organizing the sea of cardboard boxes. We arrived home on Monday to a comfy and beautiful brand new home with our brand new baby. Talk about overwhelming! Here are some pictures of our stocking stuffer for you to enjoy. Thank you for your prayeres!

Pot of Gold

Alex and I were driving north on I-5 and we saw a gorgeous double rainbow. It looked like the start of the brighter rainbow was so close to us but then Alex had to ruin the 'magic' and go into this thorough explaination of how rainbows work and why you can never find where it begins or ends. He may be right (he usually is!) but I will never stop believing in the Pot of Gold.

LAX love

When I went to Cal Poly in 1998 I had never seen a lacrosse stick nor did I have any interest in learning the sport. At the end of the first quarter of my freshman year, I watched my dorm Bible study leader, Natalie, play a lacrosse game and that was all it took for me to be hooked. I talked to the coach afterwards and asked if I could practice with them. She agreed and thus the journey began. I left Cal Poly in 2002 with 2 lacrosse National Championship trophies and photo albums full of memories. It was a wonderful addition to my college experience and has changed my life forever.

Every November I visit Cal Poly for the alumni weekend where all of us old farts dust off our sticks and challenge the current college team. We had never won an alumni game until this year. Unfortunately, A.J. kept me from playing but it was still fun to see my old teammates and cheer them on to the victory.



When I worked for Campus Crusade for Christ after graduation, I helped coach the Cal Poly team. It was a great experience and something I wanted to continue doing once Alex and I got married. When we moved to Carlsbad in 2004 I started coaching the Carlsbad High School team and have been with them ever since. I enjoy passing on my passion for the sport to these young women and watching them grow a love for lacrosse. They will always hold a special place in my heart.

Last night after practice the girls and some of the parents threw me a surprise baby shower. I was TOTALLY surprised which doesn’t happen often. I can’t believe all of the 14-17-year-olds were able to keep it under the radar for so long. Way to go girls! A.J. received lots of cute clothes, blankets, books, and encouraging notes. I guess he is going to be the new mascot. What a stud.

And the Christmas parties begin...

Our Growth Group celebrated our last meeting of the year with a fun Christmas fiesta. We ate enchiladas, chips & dip, rice, beans, and some yummy BTS cake. The kiddos kept us entertained as well as the the gift exchanges we had. My favorite time of the evening though was taking communion and reflecting on God's goodness to us over the past year. We have so much to be thankful for and it is all because of Him. Thank you Lord for your grace on our lives. It's definitely been a year that we will never forget.

36 Weeks and Growing!

As you can see, AJ will be making his debut very soon!

Thanksgiving in the desert

The Coulson family decided to spend Thanksgiving this year in Palm Desert. We had a relaxing and fun long weekend of playing lots of games (Mexican Train, Canasta, Ups & Downs, Yahtzee, and croquet) and eating yummy food. Oh, and we also spent a good couple hours of taking Christmas card pictures. My mom wanted to take them in front of every fountain and tree in the entire Marriott resort. Love you mom.

GAG shower

My wonderful college friends threw a baby shower for me in the central coast. It was fun to visit SLO and to hang out with my girls. Like always, they spoiled me with baby love and gifts. I love you!

2 boys and a girl

God welcomed 3 of his beautiful children to the world this week. Brady Pray came first (11/2), then Matthew Williams (11/3) and finally Hannah Vanoli (11/8). Kelly, Chrissie, and Michelle are wonderful friends and I know they will be fantastic moms. Congratulations ladies...can't wait introduce your little ones to AJ. :)

AJ's first shower

Four of my mom's great friends threw me an over-the-top baby shower. It was fun to spend the afternoon with family and friends and a bit overwhelming to open so many generous gifts. It makes AJ's arrival seem even more real (and soon!) with all of the baby stuff taking over our living quarters. Thank you to all who showered AJ and I with baby love!


The adorable and yummy petifores

Auntie Myra (who flew all the way from Austin, Tx just for the shower!), Me, Mom (or Mimi to AJ), and my mother-in-law (or Nana to AJ)

I love this shirt!

My dear friend Jenny and I

Halloween Fun

Here are a few pictures from Matt and Di's Halloween/Housewarming party. I went with a low budget costume and resorted to a Pumpkin trash bag and a toilet paper roll stem. It was comfy and my round belly filled out the bag quite well. It was fun to hang out with family and friends and to celebrate the beautiful new home my bro purchased in Portola Springs. We look forward to next year when little AJ will be with us. :)

Pumpkin and Jack Sparrow

Mom, Dad, and Matt

Jack and Marci

San Diego Fires

Only 4 years after the devastating Cedar Fire, San Diego is once again being engulfed in flames. There are many fires burning throughout the county and the Santa Ana winds are making efforts to extinguish them almost impossible. Please pray for the firefighters, the people who have lost their homes, and those whose homes are in danger. Most schools and businesses have shut down for the day and many people are fleeing San Diego. We have not been told to evacuate yet but one of the fires is in east San Marcos and could spread to our area in no time. Here are a few pictures I took this morning from my office in Carlsbad (before we were told to go home!).

7 months

My belly keeps growing and growing. I would like for it to stop now but I know AJ has a few more pounds to put on before making his grand entrance. Sleeping is becoming more uncomfortable and my wardrobe is extremely boring. Walking has also become more challenging because of the Braxton Hicks that come and go and the shortness of breath that quickly arrises. Oh, and the wonderful horse names charlie makes his debut at least once a week while I am sleeping. Calf cramps are horrible! But...feeling and seeing him move around in my belly makes everything worth it. Only 2 months left and I can sleep normal again...ha!

My lovely shadow profile

My mom and I in front of the San Diego Natural History Museum. We went to see the Dead Sea Scrolls that are on display. It was very fascinating.

Home sweet home

It's almost done!

Babies everywhere!

Last week my friend Heather gave birth to twin boys. Jacob was born at 11:59 pm on October 1st and Andrew was born at 12:01 am on October 2nd. That means these lucky boys will have different birthdays! They both weighed just under 5 pounds and got to go home only 3 days after being born. Heather and Jeremy will have their hands full for a while but they are all doing great and soaking in the incredible miracles from God. Here are a couple pictures of the cuties:


On Saturday I got to see some of my college friends at Kelly's baby shower. It was fun to love on her and give her some fun gifts for baby Brady. We made onesies for him, ate some yummy food, and talked the day away. It was also such a pleasure to meet baby Cameron Pray! Here are a few pics from the shower:



Macy Pray and her babies.

Cameron Pray.

30 Weeks

I had a great appointment last week. After sitting through a torturous 3 hour glucose test, my results came back normal which means I don't have gestational diabetes. I can eat Halloween candy and pumpkin pie!!! Hooray #1. I also had an ultrasound to check out my placenta location and it has moved up to where it is supposed to be. My placenta was low during my last ultrasound and if it didn't move up, I would most likely have to have a c-section. Hooray #2. AJ is growing like he should be and he is looking more like his dad each day. (I think his face looks like Alex's...cute and round.) Hooray #3. Thank you Jesus!

Price Street Grandmas

Michelle, Kacy, Debra, Jackie, and I all had the opportunity to live in this rundown, old, San Luis Obispo house located on Price Street when we were in college and after we graduated. We were known as Grandmas because we liked to lounge around the house, go to bed early (like 11pm!), crochet, etc. Good times. The memories we created in that house and as roommates were some of my favorites and I will always hold a special place in my heart for each one of these beautiful sisters.

Over the weekend we made the trek to Ventura to shower Michelle and her precious baby with love. It was so fun to all be together again and reminisce about the 'Grandma' days. Geez, I guess that means we are great-grandmas now. Love it. Love you girls! -Beatrice

25 Weeks

Sorry for the infrequent blog posts. I cannot remember a time in my life that was so jam packed with activities like it is right now. Alex is at school until late at night coaching football, we are trying to pack up our apartment (I'm not lifting heavy things...don't worry), I am coaching a lacrosse clinic for the next couple of months, and we are getting ready for our little AJ to arrive! Although time for relaxing on the couch is sparse, we couldn't be more excited for all that God has blessed us with. And maybe God is just preparing us for the lifestyle we will soon be facing when we enter parenthood! AJ is moving around more and more and starting to wake me up in the middle of night. My 25 week appointment went great and now we have to start thinking about birthing classes and pediatricians. Yikes!

What a feeling! (pic at 20 weeks)

I am 23 weeks along and just can't say enough about how much I love being pregnant. The little taps, kicks, turns, and pokes of my little guy brings so much joy to my heart. Every feeling is new and exciting. My tummy is definitely growing although I sometimes look in the mirror and think it's shrinking. But my pants are tighter and my maternity shirts are starting to fill out so that must mean it's growing. My runner's tummy has been put on hold but I would trade it any day for a baby in my womb. It's truly a miracle from God above. Thank you Jesus!

Pacific Coast Road Trip

We recently got home from an 8-day, 3,000 mile road trip up the coast of California, Oregon, and Washington with our good friends Josh and Chrissie. We had a wonderful time and were blown away by the beauty of the Pacific Coast. God is one heck of an artist! We stopped at various cities along the coast including: San Luis Obispo, Big Sur, Monterey, San Francisco, Bodega Bay, Eureka, Gold Beach, Florence, Lincoln City, Tillamook (mmm, ice cream), Cannon Beach, and finally Shelton, Wa. We stayed with Alex's grandparents in Shelton for 3 days and enjoyed their lake front home. We visited Seattle for a day and then headed home on the oh-so-boring I-5. We stopped for lunch at Crater Lake and stayed the night in Woodland with our wonderful friends Brian and Erica. It was a LOT of driving but definitely worth it.