You thought I was gonna say Christmas!

Yes, as many in our nation gear up for Christmas, on campus we're gearing up for the summer!  At least for encouraging our students to spend next summer at Spring Hill, our region's summer training program.  Katie and I had the privilege to direct this program last year.

Below is a video we're using to recruit our students (featuring yours truly)!  It was put together by a talented young staffperson from Ball State University.  If he wasn't discipling students at Ball State, he'd probably be in Hollywood making movies!

Hope you enjoy the video.

-Noah

We're back home!  Thanks so much for praying.  It's been a crazy and wonderful first few days of Josie Kate's life!

More to come!

Well, we are officially past our due date- and I'd expect to be anxious, impatient and frustrated.  Don't get me wrong- I'm very eager.  But I'm surprised to find myself really enjoying this time.  These days of waiting have included lots of time with Ellie, crafts, decorating for Christmas, wrapping Christmas gifts (ha!), and doing silly things I enjoy but never make time for.  My parents are coming tonight- so that helps tremendously! It's funny how the Lord uses circumstances like this to slow me down and make me live one day at a time.

As we think about the major life change that could come at any moment, literally! I'm finding myself SO thankful for SO many things! Noah and I have a little "Thankful" display going on- where as we think of things we're thankful for, we write them down on little notes and put them up.  It's been fun to take the time to write down those things and think about them!

I could go on and on - we have SO much to be thankful for! But I just wanted to take a minute to encourage you all to be thankful- regardless of your circumstances, choose to be thankful!   If you don't know where to start- start here with one of my favorite Psalms.  

Thank you Lord for SO many things. We are grateful, and want to take the time to acknowledge your many good gifts to us!

-Katie

------- 
P.S. On an unrelated note--- below is one of my new favorite Christmas decorations! I've always wanted a wreath but they are just too expensive to justify!  I ended up getting this wreath for free at an awesome "thrift store" for people in ministry.  It came with the pinecones (and some really ugly gold ribbon I took off!).  I bought a few sprigs of berries and pulled them apart to disperse throughout the wreath and then added the H.  A neighbor down the street has a really simple wreath on their porch with a bright green letter on it, and I just love it.  So yesterday I had time to putz... and I'm really proud of what I came up with! It's just cardboard cut out into an H and wrapped with twine that we already had. 

Free wreath+ $6 of berries + free H = a wreath I really love!  

I'm just like all the stores- celebrating Christmas before Thanksgiving, oops! :)

Well, here we are --- less than a week away from our due date! In some ways it feels like I've been pregnant forever, but in some ways I'm in shock that this baby could come any day! She doesn't seem in any too much of a hurry- and I feel too good to think she'll be here any too soon, but we're eager and "ready"  :)

People must be praying for us because I feel far more patient than I'd expect myself to be.  Each day she waits is giving me time to prepare in some way (physically, emotionally, spiritually) and so I'm grateful for that! Not to mention, some special time with Ellie :)

The Navs here hosted a diaper shower for me and baby girl this weekend.  How sweet and thoughtful of them to take time to celebrate us!! It was filled with all sorts of "not-my-taste" sort of games (If you know me, I'm not into bodily function talk or games). BUT they warned me it was coming, and did a great job with them. So it was just really silly (and yes, I'll admit it, fun!)  It was SO thoughtful of them and we're SO grateful for all of the diapers! God continues to provide for us in amazing ways. We are So grateful!!! And now that we have diapers, we are REALLY ready for baby!

We also put up our Christmas tree (never done that so early- but it's so fun!) It took Ellie a bit to warm up to it, but now she excitedly points and says "tree" :)  She helped put up the first 20 or so decorations. I'd pass her one- she would walk to Noah and he'd help her put it on. It was precious!

Other highlights of the week:

1) My friends threw me a "Mommys time out" a few weeks ago and blessed me with a giftcard for a pedicure... My friend Angie went with on Saturday and I am SO grateful for all of my friends and for the sweet gift! Pedicures at the end of pregnancies are AWESOME!  Not to mention it was 70* this weekend, so we went to the park and had ice cream after the pedicure! Weird to do this one day and put up your tree the next!

2) Last night at a meeting at church, it was running late and so I got Ellie out of childcare and had her sit with us for the last little bit.  Noah ended up taking her out a few minutes before the end of the meeting because she was getting tired.  We were sitting near the very back of church but as he stood up to walk out with her, she very confidently (and loudly) said "bye" in her sweet little happy voice. The whole crowd started laughing and there was a full minute pause.  Everyone was looking at me and smiling SO big.  The man up front just laughed, paused, and said "Well, we're running late, she's right" or something like that.  It's a story we won't forget for a long time! Lots of people came up afterwards saying how it was the cutest thing.  It was adorable ;)

3) Ellie is all about routine- when it's time to go she gets my shoes, she goes to the closet to get our coats (sometimes Noah doesn't think he needs to wear a coat as it's not that cold... and Ellie insists he puts it on!) she even finds a purse (of hers) to bring along.  It's adorable!

4) I feel like we're enjoying Ellie extra much these last few days.  Knowing we'll have another baby very soon makes me SO grateful for each minute with Ellie.  I know our love will multiply and grow and make room for another baby, but I hope both girls know how much we love them!!!!!

5) This morning I got brave and did some crafts with Ellie. It's a very rare day at home! I have so few days without students coming over or me going to campus, that I have to take full advantage of them! We started out with a little thanksgiving painting project. Then we painted in the bathtub (which she LOVED!)  I'm not a big fan of mess, so it took me out of my comfort zone... but I was already planning to give her a bath this morning, so why not? If you have never tried painting in the bath tub- you really should, it is SO easy to make and SO easy to clean up! (I used baby soap instead of dish soap). I'm serious! Just grab a rag before you start ... as soon as you are done with the painting you can use the rag to wipe down the tub (and the child).  Then take your child's diaper off and fill the tub for a bath.  

Well, I plan to continue nesting today in my own little way. I've had fun catching up on Ellie's baby book and working on another one! (Can't wait to share her name with you!!!)  Making room for all of this baby stuff (not to mention a Christmas tree!) our house is feeling pretty cramped, but we can't complain. Our lives are feeling so full and rich in every way!

-Katie

Our Generous Students

Hey friends,

We hope you all are well.  For today's update, I wanted to share a bit about what some may see as a paradox.  You may or may not have heard the phrase "poor college student", but it gets thrown around quite a bit here on campus.  Compared to the rest of the world, I suppose our students aren't poor- this is a costly university to attend!  Yet, lacking a regular paycheck, our students still find ways to be very generous.  They want to give when they can and serve in ways that they're able.

Three examples:

1)  You may have heard of our legendary yard on our beautiful street:  wonderful old trees...but tons of leaves and sticks in our yard every fall!  (See here and here to see what we mean).  Especially in this busy season of conferences and preparations for the baby, the truth is that I cannot tackle our yard alone.  On two occasions students joined me in helping to rake.  It's a great time to share "everyday" life with them, and such a tremendous blessing to us!  And they don't mind the free dinner we offer them :)

2)  You may have read about our recent fall conference, Journey 2012.  During the conference, we had the chance to hear from a dear staff couple who is leaving their role on campus to serve overseas, beginning a campus ministry in a challenging context in eastern Europe.  Their call from the Lord was clear, and their need, great!  Our faith goal was that our students and staff would pledge and give $21,000 to help this couple move and get settled overseas.  On Sunday morning, when the numbers were tallied, we discovered that 220 pledged and gave a total of ~$27,000!  This is from a group of mostly college students and a few campus staff!  Incredible.  Many tears of gratitude were shed for our faithful God and students who chose to trust Him so greatly.

3)  As our family and ministry responsibilities continue to grow, we've been working to invite some new people to join many of you in investing in our work on campus.  In particular, we prayed and planned to invite one recent graduate and her husband to join our support team.  At the very moment we were preparing to send them something in the mail, Katie received a text message from this very person, sharing their desire and excitement to support this work.  God used this to encourage our hearts greatly!

We're reminded too, of many of you who have been faithfully giving and praying over the past years.  We're tremendously grateful!  The Lord's done so many great things and He continues to work.  We'll keep you posted on what He's doing here, and we pray He continues to display His glory mightily in your life as well.  Have a great weekend.

-Noah

PS:  No baby yet!  We'll keep you posted!

Thanks for praying.  Journey 2012, our recent regional fall conference was a great success!  The speaker was excellent, the fellowship life-giving, and our students changed!  The Lord used the conference to remind me of the signficance of the work He's doing in their hearts, something that I had lost a bit in the day-to-day grind.

One story:  During a campus sharing time, Ryan (a senior) shared, "Two years ago, you wouldn't have caught me dead at something like this!"  Ryan described his spiritual journey from the darkness of his past selfish pursuits to life in Christ.  The messages at the conference had continued to challenge him to trust God with more of his life.

During this sharing time, Ryan received a text message who he had interned with at GE this past summer.  This friend shared in his message that he was at a different conference that weekend, and that he had come to believe in Jesus for salvation that very night!  The coolest part:  this friend shared that it was due to Ryan (and fellow Nav Greg)'s conversations and urgings during their internship that this spiritual journey had begun.  This friend thanked Ryan and Greg for their part in leading this friend to Christ.

Ryan stepped outside, weeping in gratitude.  This was the first time he had participated directly in someone coming to faith in Christ.  Later Ryan told me, referring to ministering to people with the gospel:  "This is the good stuff!  This is what life is all about."

Wow.  In addition, Ryan has just begun meeting with non-Christian friends from his business fraternity on Wednesday nights to examine the teachings of Jesus in the gospel of Mark.  He's  happy to report that his friends are hungry for spiritual truth!

Thank you for your prayers.  There is great momentum in the lives of many of our students as a result of their time at the conference.  If you'd like to listen to the conference messages, you can do so here!


-Noah

Don't ask how I'm finding time to blog (but not finding time to do everything else I need to do!)  Maybe it's because when I blog I get to sit with a pillow and a heating pad and a glass of water.  And you all can imagine how much I need that!

{If you follow our blog because you want to catch up with how ministry is going, you may just want to skip this post.  Noah is eager to post- but hasn't gotten to it yet.  It's coming, I promise!}

I would like to say I'm a crafty-minded person, but I don't do much crafting and I am not a DIY person... I don't have a lot of patience and I hate to spend money on crafty stuff (as I never know if it will turn out). Likely I'll spend more money (and time!) trying to do it myself when I could've just bought it and gotten a great deal 

All that to say, I've had ONE craft in my head since we found out we were having another girl, and I finally am proud to say it's completed. Therefore I can officially say- we're ready for you baby girl.

Matching shirts and hairbows for my girls :)  I had leftover fabric from the one craft I made before Ellie was born-  all I had to buy was Ellie's t-shirt as I had a onesie for baby girl already.  Total cost = $1.50.  Now that's a deal! And, I really like how they turned out too. Nothing fancy, but super cute :)

I'm SO excited to see my beautiful daughters together. I can't believe we're just weeks away!

I'm 38 weeks tomorrow, we're ready for you anytime baby girl! We love you SO much!

I need to start taking pictures in the morning, not when I'm about to get ready for bed.  Oh well- here I am at 38 weeks (on the left).  And just for fun, on the right is me at 38 weeks with Ellie.  :)  What do you think?  

I think I'm just REALLY glad my ankles haven't swollen this time. See below for a flash back picture of my ankles at this point with Ellie.   YIKES!!!  Oh my, they were awful.  No wonder my mom spoiled me with a pedicure before I went in to deliver.  Oh my...

And here's a bonus picture from 2 weeks ago when we were at my parents.  I really wanted Ellie to get a chance to bake with grandma now that she is finally able to stand up and "help" .... She's her mama's daughter, more interested in eating the dough than anything else! :)  Couldn't ask for a sweeter girl Ellie bean! 

I'm realizing more and more that my "tank" of energy just keeps getting smaller and smaller.  I feel like I am cutting out, and saying no, and doing less and less all of the time, but no matter how much I try to rest, I find myself getting tired SO easily!  Noah said it well today when he said, "Your tank is just getting really small"  So even a very great night of sleep doesn't give me enough energy to go all day like it used to! 

I guess it's a good lesson of spiritual truth too- a great time in the word isn't something I live off for weeks or days or even hours.  I need to keep coming back to Jesus and His word and His truth over and over and over.  

His grace is sufficient.  For that I'm very grateful! 

Life is so full and so wonderfully blessed, so much so that this week I feel like I seriously can't keep up!! Each day has seemed to have new and significant things! 

There is so much going on on campus and Noah and I have both been busy with students, so I hate to now talk about that, but this post is all about our family stuff :)

After a great week with my parents in Wisconsin, we got back last Friday just in time for a doctor appointment for me.  I'm realizing now, it's only because of God's protection that I wasn't freaking out- I was at 36.5 weeks and had yet to really do anything to prepare for baby!  

In the last week we've put up the crib, gotten a ton of clothes from my sister for baby and washed them, rearranged furniture in our room, Ellie's room and the living room, packed my hospital bag, completed some house projects, and that's just the beginning :)

On Monday Ellie had her 18 month appt- she's doing great and developing just as we'd hope :) She had to get shots & a blood draw for anemia (poor thing!) I'm not sure who it was harder on- her or her dad :)

On Wednesday Ellie dressed up as a ladybug for Halloween.  She looked adorable, but wasn't too interested in trick or treating. She was very nervous at each new place and wanted us to carry her to the door (rather than walk).  She did a great job taking one piece of candy (once we talked her into it :)) and putting it in her bag, but then was happy to sign "thank you" and be "dall done" :)  

On Thursday Ellie had her first photo shoot in a studio- We tried at 3 months but it didn't go well, and we never ordered pictures.  This is one thing I REALLY wanted to do before baby comes.  We got some great pictures and I'm really pleased!

Today we had an extra ultrasound for baby #2 (after having a c-section, they wanted to check baby's size and position in hopes that I could attempt a VBAC).  It was totally amazing to SEE her knowing we will meet her in a few short weeks.  She's in great position, and now all of my kicks and pains make sense (now that I know how she is positioned :)) We're still on track for a VBAC if all continues to go well. YAY!

Oh, and not to mention- my brother got engaged last night!!!  He and his sweet fiance Julia plan to get married next summer! :)  

It's been a big week! If you've read this far, please take a minute to enjoy a few pictures of the highlights of this week! And thank the Lord with us for the many blessings He has bestowed on us, even this week!