I just finished a very long detailed update about Ellie. And it just got deleted.

BOO!

I'll make this quick. Ellie is doing great, very healthy, happy and sweet as can be! She loves her sleep, she loves her thumb, she loves to giggle for daddy when he throws her around, and she is adorable when Mama tickles her face with her hair. Precious!!

She is now 18lbs 5 oz and 27 inches long! She has grown 2.5 lbs and 2 inches in the last 2 months! She continues to be in the 90th percentile all around :) {I had a feeling she had thinned out a bit in the last bit... getting longer and gaining weight less rapidly than before}

She doesn't seem too motivated to roll over- when she gets tired of tummy time she just puts her head down and sucks her thumb. That is very fitting with her very calm nature :) We love her so, so much!!

I knew this was going to happen... I've given my mom a hard time my whole life for naming me Katie. I've always been surrounded by tons of Katies! (5 in my kindergarten class of 20 kids). Not to mention all the Katy/Caitlyn/Katherine/Katelyns etc all around me. I was never just Katie, I always needed my last name :)

I wanted to give my daughter a more unique name... but apparently the rest of the world thought that cute little e names for girls were unique too. Ella, Ellie, Elise, Elliana, Evelyn, you name it- they're totally the rage. Here's to a life full of needing your last name Ellie! But that's okay, my mom is right in saying that she thinks I have liked being surrounded by Katies. I think she is right. Fits with my life motto- the more the merrier :)

If you know me, you may know how much I LOVE to sleep! I never wake up and just want to get out of bed, I would always be content to sleep a little more. My dad often would come into my room when I was in high school and try to get me out of bed before he left for work. I'm notorious for asking "What time is it?" and then trying to tell my dad "I don't have to get up yet, let me sleep for 45 more seconds." :)

As working with students often requires late nights for us, Noah and I find great joy when we get the opportunity to have a "Sleep in Saturday." Years ago this would easily mean sleeping in until 10 or 11 or noon. I'll just say, Sleep in Saturdays don't really exist once you have a baby. But on the other hand, I've never woken up more happy than I do now... knowing a precious little baby is waiting for me with lots of smiles!

Today was our version of a sleep in Saturday... a cozy morning:)

Oh, and here's a picture from yesterday. She's starting to roll onto her side :)

Today marks the halfway point of the semester! The beginning of the fall is always a crazy time in campus ministry which makes it hard to explain what is going on here as there is just so much to tell! Large group Nav Nights, small group Bible studies, and one-on-one discipleship comprise much of what we do on campus, but we find those things don't make the most exciting videos :) A student made a video with some pictures from the social events from this fall and we thought we'd pass it along to you to put some faces to the students you have been praying for. If you have a minute, please take a look. We hope you enjoy the video.

We couldn't resist, we got Ellie a little early Christmas gift. With all of this ORANGE around us, we have to represent.  We also got some block letters at a garage sale... we weren't able to find any G's so... this is the best we could do. :)  In celebration of the FIRST Packers game we have been able to watch all year.....

Before this semester Noah and I talked through every area of our life. Trying to think through everything and how we can best spend our time, continue investing whole-heartedly on campus, and still get great time with our precious bundle of joy (and each other!)

With the ebb and flow of campus ministry and the insanity of our life that we call "Our schedule"... I'm always searching for a newer, better, more thought through, more efficient and effective way to spend our time. I got so tired of texting Noah, "well... i had an idea, but it's just an idea, you don't have to do it..." that we've coined a new term.  JAI: Just an idea.

I never realized how much of an idea person I am until we coined this term a few weeks ago. Anyone have any good ideas lately they want to share?