-Being pregnant (check!)
-98* weather day after day after month after month (check!)
-Carrying around a 15 month old (check!)
-Attempting to pack for a huge trip (check!)

I guess you could say, I'm just feeling TIRED! 

I'm still holding out and I don't drink caffeine, how long can this last? :)

:)

With a month away at camp/STP in May,  a TON of travel in June and a big trip to Wisconsin in August (Noah's sister is getting married! YAY!)  We feel that all things summer have needed to be crammed into the month of July!  I'm grateful Noah is able to be on campus each day and then home (mostly) at nights. We're grateful for the extra family time, especially as Ellie is growing and changing SO much! We've tried to get outside a bit (although this heat is killing me!) It looks like July is going to break a record-- most days in the 90s of any July. Not a record I was looking to break!

Last night we took Ellie to the pool for the first time here (she went once in Platteville!) She loved it and especially loved Daddy playing with her in the kiddie pool, on the slide, and in the lazy river! I thought this picture captured summer perfectly!

As of tomorrow, Ellie is 15 months.  How did this happen!?  

She's a chatty, chatty girl, "talking" up a storm.  The last three days that we have gotten her up in the morning she seems to be telling us the same story.  I moved a flower on the wall to a different shelf, and every morning she wakes up pointing to the old spot and then to the flower and just talking, talking, talking.  She is talking in full sentences, we just don't know what she is saying :)

Her other new thing is she signs "please" while saying "more."  And we say, "More what?" "More books?"
 And she laughs and responds "Noooo" 
"More toys?"
"Nooo" (more giggles)
"More drink?" 
"Noooo" (laughing a TON by now!)
"More blankie?"
"Yes!" And then she gets all excited. 

It's adorable! 

We love you Ellie!

I'm grateful to many for great examples of parenting and great parenting advice.  Ellie is only 1, so we are amateurs at best, but one thing I am very passionate about, grateful for, and totally in awe of is IPT.  By no means do you have to agree with our opinions or habits in parenting, so often I don't share them, but this time I just had to share!

Basically Ellie plays in her pack n play on her own with some toys and books (that rotate frequently) while I set the timer and play "beat the clock" :)  (If you're wondering, yes it took a little while for her to get used to this idea- but now she truly does enjoy it!)

Reason #273 that I love IPT is how much I can get done while playing 25 minutes of beat the clock! (My own name for this game ;)) Seriously, all of you moms (and future moms) know how precious a minute to yourself is-- how about 25 of them in a row??

This morning while I hear Ellie laughing and playing while listening to her music during IPT, I was able to get dressed, put on makeup, clean up the bathroom, make the bed, fold and put away laundry, clean up breakfast, load the dishwasher, wipe down all the counters, clean off the table, clean up Ellie's highchair, put away a few dishes and even brush my teeth. WHEW :) Talk about a good start to my day :) 

Thanks to my IPT advocates! You made my day, literally :)

Dear Baby Girl,

I love you very very much. But I will just warn you, that even though I have spent my entire life as the second daughter being concerned with if things are fair or not, and have a great desire for fairness...

It's just not going to be fair! :) I can't keep up with pregnancy pictures, and I'm sure I won't keep up with your baby pictures either.

But, as you'll find out, I'll keep trying :)

Love,  Mom
:) haha 

She's been kicking a lot lately- other than being really tired, I'm feeling very good. 

22 weeks- a "cute" little bump

How I really look most of the time- carrying Ellie above the "HUGE baby bump"

With the continued hot weather, my desire to get outside or go places (without Noah) continues to fade.  It's just too hot being pregnant and with a 1 year old who is not yet walking!

So I'm really enjoying the "at home" routine. Ellie is doing a great job and learning lots of things, like "Where is your belly button?"  and "What does a duck say? Quack, Quack, Quack."  She's lots of fun! She's getting much pickier with foods, but thankfully still a really great sleeper!

We got to go to my parents last weekend (just Ellie and I). It made for 4 weekends in a row with lots of travel, but it was a great trip- getting to see my sister & brother-in-law's new house, my nieces, my parents, and my brother's church that he is interning at.
We even made it to the pool 2 times- that felt like SUMMER!

Claire- 2, Ellie- 1, Rachel- 3 months. And coming soon- baby Haas.  Yes, we will have 4 Rogers Girl Cousins before Claire turns 3!! 

Not sure what Ellie's face is all about- little goof :)  

Hey friends,

You may have noticed:  the Friday updates have been more sporadic this summer.  And they will continue to be...hopefully resuming with more frequency in the fall.

We are doing well...planning and preparing for the fall semester, and enjoying the challenge and joy of parenting Ellie in this season of her development.  We'd appreciate your continued prayers both personally and for our ministry.

Thank you for praying for Glen Eyrie and The Navigators' headquarters during the recent Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado Springs.  The fire is almost entirely contained!  Below is an update from Jack McQueeney with some more details on what God's been doing as a result of the fire.  Be sure to check out the Youtube video below, with some exclusive photos of the fire's impact.

By His grace,
-Noah

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Saturday we hosted the Federal Incident Command Team (65) for the Waldo Canyon Fire at Glen Eyrie for their final debrief and transition to the next phase of leadership. I had gotten to know a number of them over the last two weeks, and it was fun sharing what the Navigators are about and showing them around hearing the statement, 'Ooooh, so this is why you were so concerned!" We will probably see some of these guys drift back as I offered them a stay at the Castle for some much needed R&R with their wives. We are offering not only Camperships for the firefighter's kids who helped fight the fire at Eagle Lake, but we are also offering some First Responder Marriage Getaways as well. God is opening some new and exciting doors of continued ministry for us! 

The fire (over 18,000) acres is 98% contained (perimeter), but as they talked Saturday, they said it won't be considered 'out' until around December. As you may already know, we had to evacuate both Glen Eyrie and Eagle Lake. Glen Eyrie had moderate smoke damage and we had to cancel a couple of weeks of business on the property. Eagle Lake had pretty significant fire damage around the property. We are still in the discovery phase, but it looks like we lost one cabin, three sheds, four to six platform tents, our riflery range, and took on heavy smoke damage. We had to make the hard decision to cancel camp for the rest of the summer. As Bob Foster Jr. (Lost Valley Ranch/Haymen fire, 10 years ago) said to me when we called to learn how they worked through some of this, "The fire is one thing, but the thing that almost killed us was the flooding after the fact, and you have a lake to worry about!" There are many implications now with the burn areas in and around the lake and down the canyon and toward the Glen as well. We would covet your prayer support from the potential flooding that could do great damage in and around our properties as well as in Colorado Springs. 

Here is the link to a video that we have put together that shows how the fire has impacted Glen Eyrie and Eagle Lake Camp:

The way is forward now. God whispered Isaiah 43:19 to me, then Isaiah 41:10 quickly followed at around 5:00am the day that I was asked to share some stories with our entire local Navigator family.


"For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland." Isaiah 43:19

"Do not be afraid for I am with you. Do not be discouraged for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand." -Isaiah 41:10

I am not sure what to make of all of the implications that we have before us, but at least we have our marching orders for this next period of time. 

All in all, God has been very gracious to us and we are very thankful. A lot of hard work is ahead, but our staff, though a little weary, have great resolve in their souls! I am very proud of the way they've handled these past two weeks. I would appreciate your continued prayer support. Thank you!

By faith and with His help we press on! 

Jack McQueeney, Executive Director, Glen Eyrie Group