noah&katie

This was Ellie's last FIRST holiday!! It feels like her birthday should be tomorrow as she was born the day after Easter last year :)

Not only was it her first Easter, but it was our first-ever holiday without extended relatives around.
My first attempt at making a holiday meal by myself!
My first time not participating in an Easter egg hunt (Yes, even last year, at 25 years old and due the next day, I got to look for Easter eggs in the morning :)
And Ellie's first weekend being sick!

The weather has been in the 70s and 80s for WEEKS. This week was the first time it got 'cool' in a LONG time! In fact, one night I would want the a/c on, and the next I'd want the heat.  Turns out, she just a has a bad cold.  On the scale of sicknesses this is totally minor, but it seems so major in the moment! :) I'm sure all of you moms totally understand what I'm saying! 

She hasn't been napping (which is SO unusual for her!!) She falls asleep, and then wakes up coughing a few minutes later. After doing this enough times, she just gets so frustrated that she starts to cry! It's been very sad to watch her be sick. Even though this is minor I'm sure on the scale of sicknesses, it's hard to watch for the first time!

We've done everything we can think of (humidifier, steam, drinking warm water, vicks, propping the mattress, etc.) and she's still struggling. So today we experienced another first- and took her for a drive for the sole reason of hoping she would fall asleep- it worked! 

Ellie didn't make it to church (Noah and I went in shifts this morning :)), didn't get family pictures in our Easter clothes, nor did she have an Easter egg hunt. But she heard the story of the real meaning of Easter, had some good food, and spent the day with her mom & dad. I guess it's not such a bad first Easter after all!

Happy 1st Easter Ellie Bean! Get better soon :)
 Praise the Lord! He is risen! Just as He said!

Seriously, my mind gets on one track sometimes.

It's not that I forgot that today is Good Friday...I just forgot to write about it in my post below.

If you're looking to meditate on Jesus' death today, I'd suggest spending some time in Psalm 22.

And give this song a listen:  Josh Garrels, "Good Friday"

And a quote:

"The kingdom of God is a kingdom of Paradox, where through the ugly defeat of a cross, a holy God is utterly glorified. Victory comes through defeat; healing through brokenness; finding self through losing self."  --Charles Colson
And calling a Friday like today "Good."

-Noah

 I found these pictures of us all and was amazed to see the similarities! When you look at the first picture of Ellie, it totally looks like me. Then you look at the second, and she looks like Noah. What do you think?

BONUS: A cute picture from our trip to the zoo a few weeks ago. Can't beat weather in the 70s and 80s for the month of March! <1 month until her birthday. WOW!

{Katie}

It's 75* today, and amazingly beautiful. A perfect spring day, no doubt! Of course Ellie is deciding to take REALLY long naps today. I'm not complaining, but I am eager to get back outside :) The changing season means new weather, new things to do (park, swing, walk) but it also means NEW CLOTHES! Oh Ellie, what a rough life:)

Yeah, this was last week when it was colder (and windy!)  HAHAHA!!!

Our sweet craigslist find! YEAH for having a jogging stroller. Now we're ready for Spring Hill!! 

Happy St. Patrick's Day Week!!! Ellie says, "Kiss me, I'm Irish!" 

Ellie didn't really want to smile this morning, but a new tennis dress, how adorable is that? 

I told my mom last week that I have been leaving the "First Spring" section in Ellie's baby book open. I'm not sure if last year was her first Spring (She was born at the end of April) or if this is her first Spring? I think I've decided I'll make it be this spring. We have lots more fun things going on than we did last spring!! :)

Happy Spring!
{Katie}

Ellie's personality is coming out more and more. We LOVE the way she sucks her finger and holds her blanket. Just had to show her off, as we (of course) think she is absolutely precious! Note her crazy hair. Once we take out her "spout" ponytail, it looks kinda wild :) She's getting smart and smiling for the camera, so it's hard to capture her with her finger in her mouth :) Oh, so cute!

{Katie}

Ah, so precious! We love you Ellie!!!!

Who knew that the hardest phase of parenting {thus far} would be Ellie's 9th month? She started spitting up excessively about a month ago and became a bit of a different baby, often very fussy and hard to read. Was I feeding her to much? Was she teething? Was she developing an allergy? It was very stressful on me!  Thankfully we saw our dr, was referred to a specialist and have (mostly) figured out her tummy issues. By 10 months old, we have our Ellie back :) Other than this, the biggest change of the month is her hair- she's got pigtails or a 'spout' pony tail most of the time :)

She's loving finger foods (kiwi, blueberry, cheese, ham, corn, black beans, etc). She has learned "so big", sign language for 'more' and 'all done' and how to wave at new and old friends. She warms up to people much more quickly and she always smiles when she sees our campus director-- Norm & Katie Hubbard. 

She's still happy on the floor. Mostly sitting, but sometimes, preferring to lay down :) She does reach for toys and roll, but we have yet to find her across the room. She refuses to be on her tummy, rolling onto her back before you've even let go of her.  I've decided that some babies are "I can do it myself" babies while Ellie is a "you can do it for me" baby.  :)

Ellie did an amazing job spending the weekend with 55 students at the Spring Retreat. She sat in her high chair in the middle of the dining area, surrounded by all those students. It was great :) We must have worn her out as she took long naps while at the retreat and then she slept an almost 15 hour night once we got home!  While she did awesome, I wasn't prepared for how exhausting it would be to be leading the retreat with Noah, sharing a room with Ellie, getting lots of time connecting with students, staying up late and getting up early, etc. It's Wednesday and I'm still recovering. :)

{Katie}

ps. It's not letting me add pictures right now, hopefully I'll get to do that soon :)

This post is in honor of my sister Carla. She is from Venezuela and lived with us for a year a decade ago (that is impossible to believe, and making me realize how old I am!!)  She became a true part of our family as she started walking with Christ while she was living with us! So while we may not be sisters by blood, she became a part of our literal and spiritual family 10 years ago! 

It's rare that I post in honor of someone else, but I couldn't resist today, as Carla is celebrating her 7th (or 28th!) birthday! Happy Birthday Carla!

There is much I could say about Carla, but I'm just going to share a few extra special (and funny!) memories...

- After living in WI for 2 weeks, one of her first reactions to the new culture was, "so much pizza!" (it's true!)
-She wore high heels to her first walk in the woods... she obviously grew up in the city :)  She had the best fashion, but we did like to tease her about that ;)
-Carla was/is SUCH a good student! In fact, she had the best grade in one of her classes, which is amazing for a foreign exchange student, but the funniest part was-this was an American History class... Kind of embarrassing for all of us Americans!!
-Carla taught me how to eat 'properly' with a fork and knife. A habit that has still stuck with me!
-Carla was always patient, always thoughtful, always looking out for others. She taught us crazy Rogers a lot!

You never know when God will bring someone into your life who will then go out and live for Him. She's married to Zabdiel and serving the Lord in Curacao (off the Venezuelan coast). How amazing is that?

Other than not liking chocolate, I'd say Carla is about the perfect addition to our family ;) I love you Carla! I hope you enjoy your birthday!!!!

{Katie }