Reactions and Worship

Hope's First Christmas Choir Concert

2011-12-18T17:29:00.001-05:00

Here are two videos from Hope's concert on Friday night. She enjoyed the experience and was completely free from self-awareness. Great. She warmed our hearts for sure.

Gingerbread Houses

2011-12-18T15:59:00.005-05:00

We made gingerbread houses this past week. The real deal. It was fun and time consuming, but worth it. Here's the process in pictures. Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

2011-11-30T15:11:00.001-05:00

Here is this year's Christmas card. Thanks to Shutterfly for making such nice cards and putting a lot of discount codes online. Thanks also to Shutterfly for giving me $10 off my next order by doing this blog post!

Photo Card

View the entire collection of cards.

First Day of School, Home-style

2011-09-14T23:33:00.006-04:00

We started our first week of homeschool last week... and really liked it! It has added great structure to our days, and has worked well with Phoebe's morning nap. I really like the focused attention with the big girls. So far they like learning, and that is good. :) We are using the dining room table, which has worked out just fine. Our first day of our HS coop is tomorrow. We'll be there for 3 1/2 hours and Hope will get choir, art, gym and science.

In case anyone is interested, we're using:
Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons (reading)
Explode the Code (phonics)
A Reason for Handwriting
Horizons Math K
History for Little Pilgrims

I did not find any of these on my own. I seem to be in the middle of a pretty great homeschooling community here in the mid-west. It seems like there are a lot of us. And a lot of practical helps for me. We don't know how long we'll do this, but for this time, its started off well, and we're having fun.

They're Growing Up Too Fast

2011-07-17T22:55:00.005-04:00

Hope will be FIVE in about 2 weeks. FIVE! How did that happen? She's giving herself her own showers now and we're starting to give each other knowing looks and laughing at the same things. She does so much for herself she doesn't even need me. Well, not quite.

And Anna, well she talks more than the rest of us combined. The other night she was hollering something from her room, well past bedtime. I went in and she said "Where'd Hopey go?" Then I looked at Hope's bed and she was fast asleep. Anna, I guess, was not done talking to her.

And Phoebe - well I know babyhood goes by way too fast so I'm trying to stare at her as much as possible. I think I'm succeeding. She's already got some chunky legs going on, and she is SMILING at us more and more. We all love it. I love her fuzzy head and I've affectionately given her the nickname - Phoebe Fuzzy Head.

Here are some recent pictures.

We went to some friends' house who live on a parade route. It was awesome. The big girls loved it and collected an insane amount of candy.

Here they are with their little friends.

Miss America!

It was a nice and relaxing time.

Phoebe at an outdoor concert we went too. We thought it was going to be patriotic, but it turned out to be Big Band music. Which was fine. Several of the old people got up and danced during the songs which was sweet. Anna got up and danced, too.

Auntie Rah-rah came to visit! It was fun. She rocked Phoebe a lot, took the girls shopping and to Starbucks, we got to talk a lot -about wedding planning and such. I can't believe she's getting MARRIED!!! It was fun.

Pretty in pink.

Rah-rah and Phoebe on the day they met. We picked her up from the airport and went to an Andrew Peterson concert in Wisconsin.

These are all of the fallen trees/limbs on the side of the road across the street from us. We had a very bad thunderstorm on Monday morning that shut off our power for 5 whole days! It was an adventuresome week. We were so thankful to God that it wasn't very hot last week! By Thursday early morning we had a friends' generator up and running so that our refrigerator could be running and we could have a lamp on at night. The girls thought it was fun to shower in the dark.

Summer Time

2011-07-03T18:48:00.003-04:00

Its finally become summer here. Yesterday was a hot one, so we got out the pool. And as you can see, the girls have really outgrown it. Good thing they still enjoy it! They really don't know any different :)

We have 2 small cherry trees in our yard, and the girls helped me pit(sp?) them. The trees make barely enough for one pie. They look like they're a bloody mess, but they seemed to enjoy it.

Our sweet 5 week old baby. She's been going a 4 hours stretch the last few nights, so that's nice. And she's really sweet and cute. We love her so much!

Giants vs. Cubs

2011-06-30T22:59:00.005-04:00

Mark took the girls to Wrigley Field today to watch the Giants. He's taken Hope the last 2 years, but this year Anna got to go, too. They were really excited about it and almost equally excited about taking the train downtown. Here are the pictures!

Before the game.

Waiting for the train.

Anna was crying because she was afraid of the Cub Bear mascot.

Go Giants!

Mark said this was when he was starting to wear out.

They fell fast asleep once they got to the car. Hope told me she didn't sleep at all on the way home :)

More Recent Pictures...

2011-06-25T22:03:00.005-04:00

I'm on a blogging roll!

Sweet little Phoebe.

Hopey and Phoebe today.

Enjoying the first freshly picked strawberries.

Her first dress 2 weeks ago.

Hope's first t-ball game was today. Here she is in the field.

Warming up with Dad.

Anna watching the game.

4 weeks old yesterday!

Hope's First T-ball Practice

2011-06-24T15:12:00.004-04:00

Hope had her first T-ball practice last week. The name of her team is the "Hooks." She thinks its a really great name. They have their first game on Saturday. She picked out her pink and purple glove. T-ball is funny because the kids really don't know how to do anything. Mark is getting to help coach and is having fun.

In her new t-ball shirt and glove.

She requested that Nannie take a picture of her back with her number.

Practicing her swing. This girl LOVES to tuck in her shirt. We cannot convince her to do otherwise sometimes.

Coach Mark.

Stretching.

Hope and Coach Daddy.

And, a cute picture of Anna.

Phoebe Ann

2011-06-22T16:51:00.002-04:00

Little Phoebe Ann was born on May 27th, at 9:59am. She is now nearly 4 weeks old. We are in love with her! She's the perfect addition to our family, and is loved by 2 very in love big sisters. These last 4 weeks have been wonderful. She's been held a ton, hugged, kissed and cuddled with non-stop. I'm in no hurry to get back to a clean house and regular activity, yet. I know these weeks go by too fast. We are continually thankful throughout our days to our God for this new gift to our family. We are so glad that she is here and in our arms. Here are some pictures:

Me as big as a house the night before her arrival. Phew! Am I glad that is over with.

Me meeting her for the first time. C-sections aren't that romantic, but still a special moment, no doubt. Have I mentioned how insane having abdominal surgery is when you're awake? Its insane. Glad its behind me.

I love her!!!

Our first family of 5 picture.

Grammy meeting Phoebe for the first time. Grammy and Pappy came and took care of the big girls and helped out around the house. Thank you!!! It was so wonderful to have them here and to know that the girls were well taken care of and having fun! (They went to the zoo, beach, and Chuckecheese).

Pappy meeting Phoebe for the first time.

The three sisters. What fun we will (are having) have!

Leaving the hospital.

Daddy and his girls. They really love him.

Grammy and her grand-girls.

First sponge bath at home.

I think we have a picture like this of the the other two in this bassinet. She likes to turn her head to the side when she's sleeping.

Hopey really is a natural with babies. She is SO GOOD with Phoebe.

Nannie meeting Phoebe for the first time. Papa and Nannie got here when she was 10 days old. They took super good care of us - buying us groceries, cooking, cleaning. It felt so good to be taken care of, and to share this special time with them!

Papa meeting Phoebe for the first time.

2 Weeks Old! More pictures to come...

We Dyed Eggs Today

2011-04-20T23:25:00.000-04:00

No matter what kind of day we're having, these two can always bring a smile to our faces, and gratitude to our hearts!

For the Grandparents...

2011-04-14T23:42:00.008-04:00

Sorry I've been slacking in the blogging department. Here are some recent pictures for you, because we love you:

Anna's current smile for the camera face. I promise she is not in pain.

Us out to eat at Applebees on Paul's birthday.

Hope and Daddy. She can actually do some of the puzzles in the kids' menus now.

Our new wheels. We love it. When Mark first brought it home, Hope rolled around in the trunk giggling and saying "I love our new van!" And then that night as Mark was tucking her in, she said, "Thank you for buying us the best van ever!" And now whenever I say something like, "lets go get in the car," Anna says "it not a car, it a van!" Like I'm a crazy lady.

Helping me make some bread. They love to help in the kitchen, but I must admit that it is quite a practice in patience for me these days. One of them wanting to help was a bit more manageable, but 2 of them is double the time and mess :) And then there's the whole taking turns on dumping in the ingredients that we have to work through.

(Auntie Robin... Hope likes to clap her feet together sometimes... kind of like someone else we know :)

We got to see Uncle Kevin for about 2 hours this week. Kevin and Mark were at a conference in Chicago. It was good to see him. Unfortunately, this was the only picture we took.

6 weeks till baby girl time. I will try to get a decent baby "bump" (baby watermelon?) picture soon.

Happy 6th Birthday, Paul

2011-04-10T16:42:00.004-04:00

On this day, six years ago, our son, Paul Hudson, was stillborn at a hospital in Louisville. That day began the most difficult period of our lives.

Looking back on this, his 6th birthday, I am so grateful for the way God sustained us and cared for us during those difficult months. I had long believed in the goodness of God. But the way God worked in those dark days to sustain our faith, strengthen our marriage, and comfort our souls, only strengthened my faith in our good God. I've written before about how our son Paul made us better parents. I also think he helped us know God better.

This morning in church we sang "Jesus, What a Friend of Sinners." The third verse is true. We've experienced it.

Jesus! what a Help in sorrow!
While the billows over me roll,
Even when my heart is breaking,
He, my Comfort, helps my soul.

Recent Pictures

2011-03-03T22:21:00.005-05:00

Things have been pretty low-key around here. We're just waiting for Spring. The tree in the front of the house has some buds on it... so hopeful. I have also started hearing some birds - also hopeful. But the highs projected for the next 10 days are in the 30's... so we still have a way to go. We've been working on potty training Anna this week and I'm pretty sure that potty training might be the most sanctifying part of parenting thus far for me. Today was the best day yet, so hopefully tomorrow we'll be on the way up.

Hope and Daddy talk time. She really asks deep questions about life. She also appreciates frank and non-watered down answers. I love her heart.

Hope and Anna are having more and more fun together everyday it seems. Anna really is a funny, fun-loving kid. She's up for any adventure (except for potty training, mind you :).

Mark and I got to go to Chicago to see Les Miserables last week and stay the night. It was our little babymoon. A very nice family from church told us we must go before the baby comes, and that they'd watch our children, so we took them up on it. The girls had a blast. Our camera battery died right after this picture. Bummer.

Hope's been working on memorizing some Bible verses and when she got to 5 we took her out for an ice cream cone. It was fun and she was excited :)

I'm telling you... she is the cutest thing I've ever seen right now. Potty training has rarely been this peaceful, but this was a sweet moment :)

Gymnastics

2011-02-19T15:17:00.003-05:00

Here's a picture of Hope on her first day of gymnastics a few weeks ago. She loves it. It has been so great for us so far, she gets to run, jump, crawl, stretch, do somersaults, balance and even slide for 50 whole minutes, and Anna and I get to chat with the mamas and siblings.

We watched some youtube clips of olympic gymnasts yesterday and Hope was mesmerized. She asked "How did they do that?" I promptly said I had no idea, but that God had given them talent and they work hard. I think she could have watched them all day.

She's growing up. Slowly but surely.

A cherished mommy moment happened yesterday at gymnastics: Lately Hope has learned how to say "I love you" in sign language. So, as I was watching her through the windows, she looked over at me twice and flashed me the "I love you" sign with a big smile. These little girls melt my heart multiple times a day, but this one might stay with me a bit longer.

And a close-up.

Anna Really Likes to Sing

2011-01-29T15:15:00.002-05:00

Here's a little video of Anna singing. Her favorites right now are still "Frosty the Snowman" and "Go Tell It On the Mountain." Christmas lives on!

And I promise we are working on teaching Hope to sit like a lady.

SHE

2011-01-28T05:35:00.004-05:00

Last Thursday, January 20th, all four of us sat excitedly in the Dr.'s office waiting to find out what gender our new little baby is. It seems that the ultrasound tech usually checks a bizillion things (which I am thankful for, mind you) before they get to the gender area. And then, she said, "looks like you have another little girl!" Then the Dr. came in and confirmed the technician's thoughts that it was a girl. I guess our little girl wasn't being shy or lady-like.

We all had smiles on our faces for quite a while. 3 girls! What fun girlie times we will have. And what a softy Mark will become! The teenage years may be filled with a lot of ups and downs (and seasoned parents have told us we have no idea... very encouraging, I know :), but we're praying they'll be filled with much blessing as well as we get to watch our little girls grow up to be God-fearing, loving and serving women.

But for now, we will enjoy all of the dress-up clothes, baby doll dressing (and undressing), baking, thinking mommy and daddy are the greatest, crafting, finger nail painting, nursery playing, friend-loving, passionate and dramatic moments that make up our little girls.

We're looking forward to May 27th!!!

Here's some recent pictures of the big girls :)

EVERYDAY is dress-up day. I never know what combination she'll emerge from her room in. And then she likes to brush her teeth and put on chap-stick.

Here's our sweet little Anna. She's picking up from Hopey just how fun dress-up is, although she needs help putting it all on. This one she accomplished by herself. And somehow I got a picture of her without her silly camera smile. She's at a super-cute and fun 2 year old stage right now.

Top Ten of 2010

2011-01-02T16:25:00.003-05:00

Here's a list of things I'm thankful for this past year. God helped us meet some goals, grow, learn, serve, and love each other.

10. We learned how to garden. We successfully grew: strawberries, raspberries, rhubarb, spinach, romaine, carrots, onions, broccoli, pumpkins, watermelon, tomatoes, peppers, squash, zucchini, and cherries. It was a great summer in that way. We learned that you shouldn't plant all of the romaine at one time, or you'll end up with 9 heads of romaine ready all at once. We also saw what would happen to broccoli if you let it get to ripe - beautiful yellow flowers! I have a feeling this next year we will not be so ambitious with the baby coming - it is a lot of work.

9. Mark finished his comprehensive exams, and began writing his dissertation, the final phase in his schooling journey. He now holds the status of ABD (all but dissertation).

8. Hope and Anna's first trip to Disneyland in February. It was magical! I'll never forget my little girl in her blue Cinderella dress prancing around the park. It was also the first time Mark and I had been to Dland since moving away.

7. Going to California for 2 weeks in February. It was such a great trip and winter respite. It WAS hard to come back to the frigid cold, though.

6. Lots and lots of company. We had 7 sets of overnight guests. We stay-cationed all summer, saw lots of family, and explored Chicago.

5. I ran my first 5K! Not that much in the running world, but a goal that was met, nevertheless.

4. Anna beginning to talk a lot and play with her sister. Their little relationship has really blossomed the last few months and we love it! They like to hold hands when they walk, play babies, and giggle.

3. Mark getting to see the Giants win the World Series in Texas. It was a random chain of events that allowed for him to go. We still can't believe he was there.

2. A very special Christmas with 2 little girls who were very in to it, and loved having their Nannie and Papa here.

1. Finding out in September that we'll be having a new little one join us in May. The wonder of it all never gets old!

2010-12-20T00:06:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas!

We hope you have a wonderful week. We're looking forward to fun family festivities and to contemplating more why Jesus came to be born.

Love,
Us

Shutterfly Cards!

2010-11-26T16:21:00.002-05:00

I LOVE Christmas cards!

Living in different cities for the past 7 years, we've accumulated friends who live all over the country. A lot of these friends are very dear to us as they have been our family away from family, and have been through some major life experiences with us. So, when Christmas time rolls around, we really enjoy getting Christmas cards with pictures, letters and updates on people's lives. To me, the fact that someone would spend the time and effort to send us a card communicates love!

AND, Shutterfly.com has some really cute cards. Such as their Photo Christmas cards. I think its a great idea to have the card and photo be one. Then you can artistically arrange your pictures and choose a color and message that suit you. I think my favorite Christmas card right now is this one.

I have used Shutterfly for several things in the past. Every year, I use Shutterfly to make wall calendars for grandparents and great-grandparents. The photos are really easy to upload, and arrange on the calendar. I also have made a photo book of our family for 2008 (and plan to for 2009 and 2010 once I get my act together!).

I also find that Shutterfly often has great sales and free shipping. So, not only am I getting top of the line photos, but good deals on them. Their layouts and backgrounds make it very simple to use. They even have a feature that will fill in the calendar or book for you once you have uploaded your pictures. Amazing!

Did you know that Shutterfly is having an amazing promotion right now on their cards? Check it out here.

Anna's Birthday - #2

2010-11-23T15:08:00.000-05:00

Anna turned 2 on the 14th. This little girl has really blossomed over the past few months. She is silly and knows just how to make us all giggle if she wants to. She is talking lots. She is playing a lot with her sister - usually baby nursery - Anna's the baby and Hope gets to be in charge, of course. She is running well and fast! She loves to read Curious George books. And she's in the 90th percentile for height. We love her so much! She is also sleeping till about 8:30 or 9 everyday which is awesome. Here are some pictures from her special day (they are out of order, sorry):

A picture with Sissy while eating her cake.

Getting ready to blow out her candles on her "pink cake." Every time I would ask her what kind of cake she would like she said "pink." She was really excited about her pink cake.

A picture with her new baby doll. She has named her Baby A, or "new baby" for now.

Opening gifts.

Birthday morning. Checking out New Baby's tights.

Trying to open gifts.

Halloween - A Bit Late

2010-11-22T21:00:00.000-05:00

We had a fun family Halloween. We (the girls) got dressed up, when trick or treating around the neighborhood, got $2 burritos at Chipotle, ate caramel apples, carved our pumpkin and watched the World Series. Fun was had by all.

The girls with out "happy" pumpkin.

Anna came right in the door and started examining her candy.

A Horsey and a Fairy Princess standing.

A Horsey and a Fairy Princess sitting.

Grammy's Visit

2010-11-21T07:00:00.000-05:00

This post has been a long time in coming! We had a WONDERFUL visit with my mom. She was able to come for 10 whole days. She was the last of the summer visitors, and it was great. Mark was out of town for some of it, so we had lots of girl time. The girls had so much quality time with Grammy - it was wonderful! Grammy read books, played games, dressed dolls, went to the park, and went on walks with the girls... and they soaked it up! And mom and I had lots of time talking and just being together. Here are some pictures.

Mom and the girls outside collecting rain during a thunderstorm. They don't get those in Southern California!

Lots of sweet reading time!

We went to pick apples one day, but just ended up going on a hay ride and playing in the corn maze and play ground. It was fun.

We went to Old World Wisconsin which is a town set up like the time period of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Here's a picture of us in the blacksmith's shop where he made the girls a horseshoe. They had no idea what was going on that day, but were troopers :)

Color time with Grammy!

We're Having a Baby!

2010-11-20T15:23:00.003-05:00

I'm about 12 weeks along now! The official due date is June 4th, but we'll be scheduled a week earlier in late May. It seems so far away when I think about the snow still needed to come, melt and the ground to thaw. We're happy and amazed that a person is growing inside of me. It never gets old.

How am I feeling? Yucky half the week. The other half mostly fine. Today is a yucky day. But, my energy level is decent so I am very thankful for that.

Gender? Can't decide. Mark wants to find out, but will lovingly wait to find out if that's what I really want. I think it'd be fun to experience finding out the gender at birth, but with a C-section, I'm not so sure it will be what I'm imagining. So, we'll see. That ultrasound will be in January.

The Girls? So excited. Hope often asks, "How big is the baby now?" And she is very interested in how the baby is growing, if it can hear yet, and of course taking care the baby after birth. And every time the baby is mentioned Anna says with a big smile, "Baby? Mommy? Hold? Sing? Out?"

Me? I'm looking forward to another sweet baby. I'm looking forward to the Lord's grace being shown in greater ways by helping us through the adjustments. I'm looking forward to teaching this baby about our great God, His love, the bigness of the world, and loving others. And I'm looking forward to how God will stretch me and continue His work in my heart of showing me my sin and helping me to become more like Jesus.

And, I'll proudly say I'm already quite comfortable in my maternity pants. I think by your fourth, your tummy just knows what to do ;)

Thanks for being on the journey with us.

Happy Birthday, Anna

2010-11-14T00:56:00.010-05:00

Happy Birthday, Anna
I'd sing a thousand times
To make you smile or make you laugh
I'll even try some rhymes.

Happy Birthday, Anna
I’ll sing it to your face
And as I do I’ll think of you
God’s little gift of grace.

Happy Birthday, Anna,
I hope you sing along
Cause when you smile and when you sing
There is no better song.

Happy Birthday, Anna
You’re 2 today not 1
We’re gonna celebrate you all this day
We’re gonna have some fun.

Happy Birthday, Anna
How’d you get so old?
One day you’ll leave, one day you’ll go
But my heart you’ll always hold.

Happy Birthday, Anna
That day is far away
So just forget I mentioned it
Let’s dance and read and play!

Happy Birthday, Anna
Your Daddy is so proud
That’s why I brag that’s why I laugh
That’s why this blog’s allowed.

Happy Birthday, Anna
Your Daddy loves you so
That’s why my hugs and why my prayers
You never will outgrow.

You have to hear this....

2010-11-11T22:55:00.002-05:00

I met Heath Lambert when we lived in Louisville. He had been an associate pastor at our church before I served there. He was a tremendous encouragement to me. I knew he had been saved through the witness of that church. I knew that he was he was a strong Christian.

But tonight I heard the story of his childhood and his salvation for the first time. It is one of the most remarkable stories I have ever heard. You should listen to his story. He begins by saying, “Paullette Jamison was my mother… She died a couple of months ago… I hated her. I hated her.” Listen to how God turned his hate into love and how he transformed both Heath and his Mom in the process.

Happy Birthday, Sherry

2010-11-08T15:48:00.003-05:00

Oh, Happy birthday
Is what I would say to Sherry
If I could see her

We met 10 years past
In a CBU dorm room
She was so quiet

Turns out we were wrong
Her laugh could wake the roosters
And its contagious

Our friendship has history
We could create a road map
And it would be long

I don't see her often
But she's a friend for always
Never far from mind

When I was hurting
She was there one week later
With tissues in hand

She loves my babies
And all children everywhere
Deeply cares for others

She loves to read books
And teach difficult children
She has an impact

Her hurts are my hurts
Her triumphs make me smile
Thankful for this friend

Thanks to CBU
For placing me with Sherry
And many late night talks

Here's to 10 more years
Whatever they may bring us
Hope your day is special

Go Giants!

2010-10-28T14:09:00.003-04:00

We've been watching a lot of baseball lately. Mark's been following the Giants since he was 5. Its a Rogers' family thing. I've been following the Giants (kind of, through Mark) since 2002 when Mark and I started dating. Thankfully they went to the World Series that year, so it was easy to jump on the band wagon. Here they are again at the World Series in 2010. I like that we have a family team, and that its baseball. I'm glad I played softball for so long so that I understand what's going on and can participate. We're teaching the girls, too.

Here they are last night before game 1, ready to go.

Hope and Mark went to a game at Wrigley a month ago when the Giants were in town. She absolutely loves it. This was the first time she learned how to crack open her own peanuts.

Daddy and Hope.

Grace Christian Academy

2010-10-25T23:12:00.000-04:00

To Homeschool, or not to Homeschool... that is the question.

We're still learning a lot and looking into this possible endeavor. One way we are doing so, is by having Hope go to Grace Christian Academy - a homeschool coop of sorts - put together by a group of people from our church. She goes every Thursday afternoon, for story time and then craft/snack time (and there's some play in there, too). She loves it. I'm responsible for the craft time, so its fun to see her interact with her little friends (14 of them), and we get a little Hopey/Mommy date out of it. A nice perk of having a husband who works from home 3 days a week is home during Anna's nap time so we can go.

Here we are on her first day of "school." :)

The Kevin Rogers Family Visit

2010-10-24T22:45:00.000-04:00

We had all three sets of the the Rogers' family visit this summer. All three were a blast. We're so thankful they all came! Kevin and Mark did some home repair stuff (which was so helpful), we went to the Lincoln Park Zoo, played around in Chicago, and spent some time on the beach of Lake Geneva. I married into a beautiful family, for sure. And I have great nephews, who did well in a house of baby dolls, strollers, and little people.

Anna and Auntie Jackie.

The cousins playing in the backyard.

Hehe - TRYING so hard to get a picture of the cousins after church. I think its still framable.

Making sand castles at Lake Geneva. Its a lake in Wisconsin that many people in the area vacation at.

Anna and Uncle Kevin going to the park.

Playing at the "Bean" in downtown Chicago.

A sweet picture of cousins.

There was a "Tall Ships" exhibit at Navy Pier, so we went. The boys really enjoyed it.

Jackie swooning over Elvis at our 50's McDonalds.

These boys and their dad love licorice.

Ice cream at McDonalds.

Another picture at the Tall Ships exhibit.

I Usually Like To Keep Things Updated On the Blog, But...

2010-10-23T22:41:00.003-04:00

We've just been having a busy Fall! Busy, but good. I usually don't like to use "busy" as an excuse for anything, but I guess its okay for blogging.

We've added some commitments in the last couple of months and Mark's been working on his dissertation proposal. Which by the way, he passed his dissertation proposal hearing this last Thursday. Hurray! Now, he can formally begin his dissertation. The last hurdle in this schooling journey (and the biggest). He's writing on Edward Dorr Griffin. Never heard of him? Then you'll have to buy the book.... :)

I love being at home with the girls, and have really been trying to make the most of their waking hours. Hope's learning lots about letters and Anna's been learning a lot of new words and putting two or three together. They are growing in beauty, inside and out. That little Anna is a hoot.

I hope to set up some picture posts for later this week. I know you've all been waiting on the edge of your seats. :)

Love,
Me

The Humid Mid-West

2010-09-17T23:21:00.000-04:00

This is what the bugs did to us this summer! I know it looks horrible. Thankfully the swelling went down pretty quickly. This happened at 10 in the morning, while I was filling the pool for some swimming. Needless to say, we quickly went inside and didn't go swimming. We are very thankful that the mosquitoes have decided to go away until next summer, and we can now go outside again without taking a bath in bug spray.

The Little One at 22 months

2010-09-16T23:36:00.003-04:00

Our sweet little Anna is cuter than ever! She'll say almost anything now, one word at a time. She LOVES her sister and wants to do everything she does. Thankfully, she also really loves her mama and daddy. One of her favorite words is "no," even when its not appropriate. She likes to sweep with the big broom, take her babies on walks, ride in the stroller, eat, play in the sandbox, read, watch 5 minutes of tv at a time, and do anything that Hope is doing. I lover her in pigtails. She is such a sweet baby girl!

Miss Amy and Miss Vicki's Visit

2010-09-16T21:58:00.006-04:00

In August, our sweet friends Amy and Vicki came up to visit from Kentucky. We are so blessed to have friends who will travel to visit! It was a short and sweet trip. We did a little shopping, lots of talking and catching up, went to church, and of course had some Giordano's pizza. We are thankful for Amy and Vicki and are always struck by the servants that each of them are in their respective families, in their church and to everyone around them. Thanks for coming to visit, ladies!

Vicki, Amy and the girls.

Hope and Amy.

The girls and Amy. Sweet Anna has a hard time with pictures sometimes.

Self-portrait.

Vicki and Hopey playing and cuddling.

Papa and Nannie's Visit!

2010-08-08T17:08:00.007-04:00

Last month Papa and Nannie came to visit! It was a GREAT 9 day visit! We saw and did lots, and just enjoyed a lot of fun times together. Papa helped us weed... a lot!! It turns out that Papa enjoys weeding, so he helped us to fully weed 2 plots and then we were also able to plant tomatoes, yellow squash, zucchini, watermelon, peppers, and pumpkin. It was so great to get it all done and we certainly wouldn't have been able to do it without their help! Papa, Nannie, Mark and Hope got to go out and see fireworks on the 4th and they had a great time. Mark and I also got to go downtown, just the 2 of us, for about 36 hours and we had so much fun! But, that's for another post. Thank you so much for coming, Nannie and Papa! We love you, and we made many great memories with you. Here are some of our favorite pictures with Nannie and Papa:

Nannie and the girls at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Nannie loves flowers.

In Target with Nannie after Hope's first ballet class. Daddy and Papa went to a Giants/Brewers game in Milwaukee.

Hopey playing outside with Papa and Nannie.

Apparently we really love Cracker Barrel! Actually, it is one of Nannie's favorite restaurants. We went there twice while they were here!

Mark and his dad are two peas in a pod. In the evenings, if there was a Giants game on, they had it on the computer. And I'm so glad they had each other to talk over the ins and outs of the Giants :)

Decorating the Rogers Family Apple Pie with Nannie.

Nannie brought several crafts to do with the girls. They made some 4th of July themed necklaces that were a hit.

This picture is funny because it is often how Anna looks. Thankfully she is figuring out how to push the hair out of her face, but most of the time she just won't keep a bow (or hair tie) in. So sad for her bow-making Mom. :) And, I'm not about to cut it, yet.

Reading with Nannie.

We took a trip downtown one day to Navy Pier.

The girls got to ride on the Thomas train on the pier.

Papa and Anna at Ghiradelli's for ice cream.

Nannie and Hope at the American Girl store. She had fun showing Nannie and Papa around.

We took a little boat ride off the pier along the Chicago skyline. It was a beautiful day!

Weeding!

Getting the plants ready.

Nannie and Hopey :)

Papa and Hopey.

Anna Eating Watermelon

2010-08-04T19:02:00.000-04:00

Here's a cute little video of Anna eating and dipping watermelon. She is super-cute these days!

Sufferings

2010-08-04T15:13:00.004-04:00

Shortly after we lost sweet baby Paul, we received a letter in the mail from Pastor Roger Spradlin in Bakersfield. One of the sentences he wrote has stayed with us over these past 5 years, and has encouraged us deeply. Making his letter even more meaningful is knowing that he had suffered greatly. He wrote,

"Now you must believe in the dark what you knew to be true of God in the light."

We've been able to (hopefully) encourage a couple of others this week using this thought. Because sometimes life is hard. It gets really hard. But we know that God is with us, and that when we are weak, He is strong. We know that life is short and eternity is long. We know that He is close to the broken-hearted. We know that we live in a very fallen, sin-filled world, and that we are not immune to its affects. We know that God works all things together for our good. We know that "this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison." 2 Corinthians 4:17

So, "let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9.

Happy 4th Birthday, Hopey!

2010-08-03T22:45:00.000-04:00

We had a great 4th birthday with Hopey today. She was excited about everything. I love watching her grow up! Here are some pictures of our day:

Daddy and Hope at Cracker Barrel - Hope's choice for dinner.

We had a little play-date party this morning. Hope's choice for lunch was grilled cheese and tomato soup. Strange for a summer party, but she was sure that's what she wanted.

Playing at the park 2 doors down with her friends.

The girls decorated flip-flops and had a fun time.

Hope's quite creative flip flops. Who says they have to match?

The flip flop cake. I had fun making them. They never quite turn out like instructions show, but that's okay. Hope didn't care. Someday I should take a cake decorating class.

Sisters on birthday morning.

Outside Cracker Barrel on the rocking chairs.

Daddy comforting Hopey after she started crying because the waitresses were singing happy birthday to her. So sweet and sad.

Me and my little Anna Banana. She loves to drink like a big girl. In fact these days she loves to do EVERYTHING her sister does. Good thing she has a great big sister to look up to.

5K

2010-07-20T21:35:00.003-04:00

On July 10th I ran in my first 5K. I was motivated by some mommy running friends in Louisville who were about to run in the half-marathon there when we visited in April. And was motivated to just get in shape. So, when I got home, I started the "Couch to 5K" program, which I had started before but only got half-way through, looked up some local 5K's, and set a goal. And, by the grace of God, who gives me the strength and will-power to accomplish anything, was able to run the whole time, which was my goal. :) The training was only torturous for the first few weeks, and then I started to enjoy it and to be able to pray, or think about other things while I ran instead of how I tired I was. :)

I learned a few things running in my first race:

1. It is definitely not cool to wear your race shirt, on race day. You're supposed to have a hip running outfit.
2. Also not cool to wear your race number pinned to your back. Nobody does that - you're supposed to wear it pinned to your front. I went into the porta potty to switch it once I got there and found out my error.
3. Its fun to run in a race. Everybody's really nice and encouraging. And you can beat some people.
4. I got passed by a lot of people, but by the end I was passing the kids.
5. I have the best family in the world. There's nothing like seeing them cheering me on at mile 2 with claps and cheers.
6. They should categorize the winners not by ages, but by leg length. That would be much more fair.
7. I hope running continues to be a life-long hobby, although I have a feeling that the ice and the snow coming in a few months might damage my ambitions.
8. All in all it was a great experience, and it felt really good to meet a goal.

Anna looks in shock that I finished and Hopey's looking for the snacks.

For memory sake: #643

Nap Time

2010-07-14T15:50:00.004-04:00

Her days of napping are numbered. Currently, she sleeps in our bed for her nap, so that Anna can have their room for her nap. If I try to put them both in there for a nap it turns into a party. Which is cute, but not the point of nap time. And, Anna is the wild instigator.

She'll still sleep for 2 hours, but it makes it hard for her to fall asleep at night at a normal hour. So we may try every other day napping soon. Everyday I get to cuddle with her at nap time. Over the last month we've been reading an abridged version of "The Secret Garden." One chapter everyday while we cuddle in bed. She loves it and so do I. Then she says "Will you stay and cuddle for a little bit?" And most of the time I stay and cuddle for a little bit, because I love it. And I know she won't always ask me to.

I love my little girl. She'll be 4 in just a few short weeks. I love her little tender heart and love for people. Thanks for being my best friend, Hopey.

A Helpful Parenting Article

2010-07-10T22:00:00.004-04:00

I found many areas in this article that Mark and I need to work on. It's a good one. I sure love my girls and would do anything for them. I've found #'s 2, 15, 31 and 38 to be very true. I hope it's helpful to you, too!

Staycation #1: Phil and Jill's Visit

2010-07-09T07:00:00.000-04:00

Mark's brother Phil, Aunt Jill, Luke and Andrew came for a visit last month. We're having all of Mark's family at different times this summer come to visit, so we are "staycationing" and we are having a lot of fun. Really, this area seems to have so much to offer the opportunities are endless! Of course, you would need and endless supply of money as well :) We had so much fun with them and made lots of good memories.

The cousins checking out the girls' room.

Uncle Phil and Anna.

Mark, Phil, Luke and Hopey went to a Cubs game. They had fun!

I wonder how many times she will got to Wrigley with her Daddy before we leave here?

Cousins holding hands taking a walk: priceless.

Yet another baseball game at Miller Park in Milwaukee. This time we all got to go.

This is a picture of the kids at the park across the street.

A day at the beach? No - just a great park about 5 minutes away with a huge sand pit. We always have to strip the girls before we get in the car after playing here.

Playing in the Millenium Park water fountain downtown. Anna threw up in her sleep the night before, so Anna and I stayed home. They took the train and had a great time exploring Chicago.

Some down time.

Having fun in the backseat on the way to the game.

Pictures out of order. Family picture at Miller Park.

The cousins at Miller Park.

They let the kids run the bases after the game. Mark helped Anna out.

Hopey running the bases - can you see her?

We went to the local children's museum which is a favorite during the winter time or on rainy days. Here is Hope shopping in the pretend grocery store. She is so intense. They also let kids paint their own faces there, which is why she has black all on her face.

Another downtown water park picture.

Auntie Jill, Luke and Hopey on a bus downtown.

A Helpful Explanation of the Gospel

2010-07-08T16:09:00.001-04:00

"The Christian gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me. This leads to deep humility and deep confidence at the same time. It undermines both swaggering and sniveling. I cannot feel superior to anyone, and yet I have nothing to prove to anyone. I do not think more of myself nor less of myself. Instead, I think of myself less.”

Tim Keller, The Reason For God

Mark's Birthday Party

2010-06-26T08:42:00.007-04:00

Here are some pictures that our friend Ben took when we had some friends over to celebrate Mark's birthday.

Look at the camera, Anna!

Fun times. I set up our tent that we got as a wedding gift, that had (sadly) never been used, to entertain the kids and it seemed to work well. They only knocked it over a couple of times. Notice also the "Off" in the picture. The mosquitos are eating us alive over here! They seem to like young child flesh especially.

Corn Hole: The great mid-western past-time. Its kind of like horseshoes.

More corn hole. Nice action shot of the birthday boy. :)

Sweet Hopey.

Sweet Little Anna.

Our family away from family. (Don't worry Grandmas, they could never replace you!) 2 of these families are moving away in the next month. Sad. Also notice Hope holding the newborn. She really loves babies.

I put this one up on the front page of the bow site. Too bad Anna was leaning the wrong way. Cute girls :)

Recent Pictures

2010-06-14T23:28:00.005-04:00

Anna's starting to love baby dolls. She likes carrying one around with her everywhere she goes. She doesn't seem to have attached to one certain one, yet. Also, in this picture you can see her newest hair-do :)

Just a picture outside from today!

Some of the cutest little summer baby legs you'll ever see, for sure. Notice the skinned knees and chipped toe nail polish.

Reading the Bible to a baby doll up her shirt. And she LOVES that skirt. She would wear it everyday if I let her.

We are getting about a bowl full of strawberries every other day.

"Watering" the garden from the pool water.

And my favorite: Anna LOVES picking strawberries and eating them. She's pretty good at picking only the red ones. She eats them green tops and all.

THE Rogers Family Apple Pie

2010-06-05T19:13:00.003-04:00

Its Mark's favorite dessert, passed down from Grandma Rogers. Mark's mom is a pro at making it. I have observed her in action several times, hoping to soak up her apple pie making abilities. I have been attempting it once a year, for his birthday for about 7 years now. It is quite the daunting task. BUT this year, I slayed the beast. I was able to fold up that pie dough and place it in the pan with no issues (except having to patch it together some here and there. ) This is the first time I have done it without help, and that I haven't gone crazy.

If there was something I could tell my newly married self it would be this: ask for more help with cooking and baking. No one is supposed to have it all magically figured out!

Happy 30th birthday, Mark!

2010-06-03T16:34:00.002-04:00

June 3, 2010, birthday morning.

Counting up last night, I realized that I met Mark 2 months shy of 10 years ago. I've had the privilege of having a front row seat to seeing God's working in him over the years. His 20's were full. I'm tired just thinking about them. Really, I've watched him grow from a boy to a man. I've seen him grow in humility, service, patience, wisdom, selflessness, perseverance and love. All the gracious work of the Spirit in his life, and all characteristics of our Savior.

We went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast this morning, and Mark opened some gifts. Tomorrow we will celebrate with some friends. The menu? Chili dogs, cheetos, mt. dew and apple pie. He may be 30, but he loves jr. high food.

New Brilliant Bows Website

2010-05-20T21:58:00.004-04:00

Brilliant Bows' new website is up and running. It was time for a new look and I really like it! I'm still playing around with how to organize everything and what exactly should be on the front page. If you are a person who would shop for bows, or if you just like to give opinions :), then please let me know what you think of the information that is on the welcome page. Too much? Too little? Not right? Let me know what you think!

The Girls

2010-05-16T15:40:00.006-04:00

This is our Mother's Day picture. Mark and the girls each gave me a list of the top 15 things they love about Mommy. Anna had a little help with hers. I will keep them forever. (Doesn't the little one look a little more mischievous than the big one?)

I love these two! We have lots of fun together. There are not so fun times too: like when Anna's having a crying day, or Hope is having a naughty few days. But in general, after they're in bed at night, I'm just overwhelmed at their cuteness and amazingness. I really don't deserve them. I thank the Lord he doesn't give me what I deserve.

In the Garden

2010-05-10T21:29:00.004-04:00

Everything is growing, growing, growing in our yard! Its been a lot of fun having a yard. It certainly is more work, but its something we can all do together, and it seems to give us a sense of satisfaction after working on it. We're learning a lot since we didn't know a thing a year ago!

Here's little Anna digging in the dirt.

Our yard came with 5 raised beds. We've cleaned out and planted seeds in 2 of them, and have strawberries growing from last year. We're still working on cleaning out 2 of the beds for tomato and pepper plants, and pumpkins (hopefully).

Here's the crew cleaning out weeds.

The huge flower bed in our front yard a few weeks ago.

Here are the girls chewing on some rhubarb from the garden. They look like such people of the earth. I think its pretty yucky by itself. We're going to try a strawberry rhubarb pie this week.

Here's some of the raspberries blooming.

Some strawberries starting to grow.

Our first little broccoli plants that we planted from seeds! (And a ton of weeds.) This whole plants growing from tiny seeds is quite amazing. I mean really, how does this happen?

Hopey - The Musical

2010-05-06T21:49:00.002-04:00

Life is a Musical! Here's a short video of Hope singing and dancing. She sings Amazing Grace at the end.

Disclaimer: She picked out her own outfit - she likes to do that these days.

The Rogers Family

2010-04-26T22:10:00.003-04:00

We went on a quick trip to Louisville last week. Here's a picture of the girls at Paul's grave. More pictures of our trip to come!

Happy 5th Birthday, Paul

2010-04-10T05:00:00.003-04:00

Certain birthdays seem especially significant. Some birthdays deserve a party. Forty. Eighteen. Thirteen.

Five.

Five years ago, we were looking forward to the most party-worthy birthday of all – our first-born son’s actual birth. Ladies had already thrown him parties in Louisville, Dunsmuir, Jeffersonville, and Riverside—he was able to enjoy the parties snuggled up inside his Mom. His room was ready. His young Dad was nervous but so excited.

Five years ago, I was working the third shift at UPS, and remember checking my pager fifty times a night to see if Stephanie had gone into labor yet. I remember sitting on the floor next to the crib in his empty, blue room before I headed to work. I would look at that crib and let the overwhelming feeling of responsibility flow over me. I would look forward to holding him. I would pray with tears in my eyes that God would make me a good Dad.

Five years ago, today, Paul Hudson Rogers was stillborn at Norton hospital in Louisville, Kentucky. I remember the ultrasound that failed to find his heartbeat. I prayed, “God help us,” a thousand times that night, and a million times that year. God answered and he helped.

Five years ago, today, we held our beautiful son’s body. Paul was strong. He was big. I wish we had held him longer. But no matter how long we would have held him, I’m sure I’d still feel the same way. Nothing is long enough when all you want is forever.

Five years ago, rather than having a party, we had a funeral. Over one-hundred people came out to celebrate Paul’s short life. I remember most of them. Pastor Cook reminded us that Jesus loves children and of the resurrection of the dead.

Today, is Paul’s fifth birthday. He is still my son, and I am still that same young Dad with tears in my eyes wanting to be the best Dad for him I can be. I can’t throw him a party with cake and baseball and a bunch of his friends. But today we will celebrate Paul’s fifth birthday. We will go out to eat with his little sisters. We will remember him. We will remember Jesus’ love. And we will look forward to the resurrection.

Happy birthday, Paul. Your Mommy and Daddy love you. See you soon.

Easter Pictures and Preschoolers First Haircut

2010-04-09T22:18:00.007-04:00

Here are some recent pictures!

Playing outside. 2 in the car doesn't last for very long.

This is the before haircut picture. Since she was born, we have not touched one hair on her pretty little head. It was time. Don't worry, we only cut about 2 inches off.

She was so brave going into the haircut, but well, our little Hopey struggles with the unknown so when we got to the salon she started to freak out a bit. The sucker helped her pull it together enough to sit in the chair and realize everything was okay.

The after picture with stick on earrings and a balloon.

We had a 2nd annual Good Friday luncheon with our friends. It's a sweet time for us all to get together.

Trying to get a picture of the kids.

Me and my girls.

Our family egg hunt. Anna got really into it!

Hopey with her full basket.

Easter morning picture. Unfortunately we didn't get a better one than this.

A couple of days ago, Anna learned how to smile for the camera on demand. Yay!

Bunny and Duckie towels from Grammy and Pappy for Easter (and two sweet girls!).

I've found this to be true...

2010-04-07T16:21:00.000-04:00

"Spiritual nature, like bodily nature, will be served; deny it food and it will gobble poison." - C.S.Lewis

The Easter Song

2010-04-03T22:41:00.003-04:00

We like good music. It's old school, but a great Easter morning song. The song starts at about minute #2. And, Keith Green has a pretty cool story. Thanks for introducing me to him and Rich Mullins, Mark.

Enjoy, and happy Easter!

" For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Corinthians 5:21

Happy Easter - The Resurrection

2010-04-01T22:59:00.004-04:00

Christianity is so weird. It really is. Our culture really doesn't talk about death, or blood or violence. Nor does our culture seem to think or talk much of the supernatural realm.

Over the past few weeks we've been reading to Hope (and kind of Anna) about the death and resurrection of Jesus from her Bible story books. Of course she has many questions. Why are the people being so unkind to Jesus? Why is his mommy crying when she sees Him on the cross? Why does Jesus look so sad? Is the Angel scary? Why are the people in the upper-room sad? Why does it get so dark?

I love her questions. Its really allows me to think about the events surrounding Jesus' death in new ways. But I must admit that sometimes it just sounds so odd coming out. At no other time would I talk to my girls about the gruesome details of someone's death. And about no other person will I say that they became alive again after being dead.

But after reading some on the resurrection and thinking on it again tonight, I am reminded of just how beautiful and necessary it is. Death defeated, once and for all.

And my favorite part? Knowing that I was once dead - without hope - in my sins. Lost. I don't have to think very long about my day before I know that I am a sinner. Before I know that I have been impatient with my family, unkind, unloving, selfish and self-centered. But God brought me back to life. He gave me a new heart, a new life in Christ, and forgiveness. Forgiveness and a fresh start everyday and for forever. I've been resurrected.

"7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead."

Philippians 3:7-11

LOST

2010-03-23T22:44:00.002-04:00

I feel like I'm reading a good book and I'm just not ready for it to end in a few weeks.

To Anna

2010-03-20T22:10:00.003-04:00

Sweet Little Anna,

You are no officially walking! You have been working on it for about 5 months now :) Today was Saturday. It snowed and we were all home together as a family. We went to a neighborhood Egg Hunt inside a warehouse. You squeaked and pointed and waved excitedly at the Easter Bunny. Daddy and I think you did not crawl at all today - your first day of no crawling! And you were a lot more brave in walking without holding on to anything. You had an excited smile and glow every time we told you you did a good job.

You had a 5 piece chicken nuggets from Wendys and a clementine for lunch. You took a 2 1/2 hour nap. I saw you rock your baby doll today by swaying side to side. Too sweet. You've been calling me "Mama" more and more lately and each time I am caught off guard. It is my very favorite sound right now. Especially when I hear it from the other room and I know you are looking for me.

We also played a lot of scaring each other form around corners. I can get a guaranteed deep giggle from you when I pop out at you. Thanks for loving this game with me. It is not Daddy and Hopey's favorite. After your bath, before bed time, all 4 of us sat on the couch together. You and Hopey shared some cheerios out of a bowl. I read some library books, but you were more interested in your board books next to you. We had March Madness on in the background. You smelled like baby shampoo and lavendar lotion. Your thin hair was soft and clean and straight. You wore your snuggly white and pink bunny footie jammies.

I love you at this age. I love you walking and how it opens up a whole new level of play for you, and how it makes you happy. You make me happy.

Love,
Mommy

Trip to So Cal

2010-03-18T23:46:00.001-04:00

We had a wonderful trip to So Cal back in February. It was a great getaway from the long winter. It was quite the treat to go for 2 weeks without coats, play outside, and walk on the beach. We think it did just the trick to help our psyche :) Not to mention, we made great memories with our families and enjoyed the familiarity of the area. Below are about a bizillion pictures. We got to see lots of friends too, but unfortunately I didn't get any pictures.

The following are our Disneyland pictures. It was Nannie's (Mark's Mom) 60th birthday, so we went to celebrate. We had a great time. We went for 2 days and stayed in Anaheim at Mark's brother's time share. The girls were pooped by then end, but there was so much going on they didn't get cranky. It was magical, and full of memories.

Hope and Luke. She wore the dress the entire two days.

Uncle Phil and Anna. For some reason she often makes this face when squinting. We find it very endearing. :)

Andrew and Hope taking a snack break.

Standing in line for Dumbo!

Mommy and Hopey on Dumbo.

Anna LOVED Tiger. In fact we discovered on this trip that she loves any non-humans. She squeaks and squeals and talks up a storm.

The boys on Splash Mountain. They took this picture off of the screen, cheaters.

About 4 o'clock the first day they fell fast asleep. It was very sweet.

Oh, the excitement!

Meeting Mickey.

Meeting Minnie.

Minnie greeting Anna.

Probably my favorite picture from the trip.

Hopey and the birthday girl! It rained the 2nd day unfortunately, but we made the best of it.

Family picture in front of Small World.

On Small World for the 3rd time :)

This is how she walked from the back of the park to the bus to take us home. I think she felt like a big girl getting to hold the umbrella. And she's intense like that.

Mark and I went to Oceanside for a night while my dear family watched the girls. Its the first time we've gone away for a night since Hope was born.

My family at the Wild Animal Park. It was a great day! We love zoos.

On the tram to see the roaming animals. I think the girls whined and cried the entire tram ride. This must have been one quick calm moment.

Out.

Auntie Rah-rah and Hopey in a cave.

Robin and I have a picture like this from when we were in high school, so we had to recreate it. Its framed upstairs at my parent's house.

Hopey and her Grammy.

We were happy to be there for Valentine's Day as well. It was great.

The girls loved making music with Pappy's many instruments.

Playing the piano with dear Auntie Rah-rah!

Spring Is Coming

2010-03-14T16:57:00.005-04:00

Its been in the 50's lately, which means I can walk to and from the mailbox with no coat and not freeze! AND more importantly we can go outside and play comfortably, the snow has melted (completely!), and we are starting to see some GREEN! I am really growing in my appreciation of the seasons. The anticipation of Spring and its fulfillment is quite a joy. And in the seasons there are so many resemblances to the seasons in our lives, no? We hope for Spring, the winter is dark and cold, but Spring is coming... all will be made right when we see God face to face and we are no longer have to struggle against the things of this world. And, on a much smaller scale, out of the hard times in life comes new growth. Persevere. He who is faithful does not give up on you. Have you heard Steven Curtis Chapman's "Spring is Coming?" If not, you should check it out.

Sidewalk chalk!

How exciting it was to see these things popping up. Anyone know what they'll be?

Still not walking consistently. She's lacking the confidence. She thought it was pretty cool to pull up on Sissy's bike, though.

When we get home from the library, Hope likes to sit and "read" her books herself. It is fun becuase 1. it keeps her busy for quite a while 2. I get to hear her imagination at work since she really has no idea what the books are about 3. Anna will sit with her and do the same with her books and its just so very sweet.

"Misguided Christian Outrage"

2010-03-02T15:07:00.003-05:00

Here's a little excerpt from an article I read today by Russel Moore titled "Misguided Christian Outrage." It has to do with some Christians being bothered by a missing line from the new "We Are the World." The line goes: "As God has shown us by turning stone to bread..." (I know, it makes no sense). I have wondered for a while what really the issue is with people who are bothered by not saying "Merry Christmas," and with the 10 Commandments not being allowed to be posted everywhere. To me it makes sense: Many (most?) people in America are not Christians.

"These Christians mean well. They don't want to see the gospel disrespected. But there's something parabolic here, I think. It's the same sort of thing we see when Stephen Colbert interviews a U.S. Congressman who wants to legislate the Ten Commandments in federal courthouses but can't name them. We'd almost rather have the affirmation than the revelation.

 Why are we so desperate to see "God" affirmed by the outside culture, even when the "God" they're talking about more closely resembles Zeus (or, as in this case, Lucifer) than Yahweh? When we reach this point of perpetual outrage, are we closer to identity politics than gospel proclamation? I'm afraid so.  

Could it be that the problem is we really want the reassurance that we're "normal"? We'd like a shout-out in our pop culture and our political speeches to signify that we're acceptable, that Christianity isn't really all that freakish. But, if that happens, apart from submission to the Cross, is it really Christianity anymore (Jas. 4:4)? "

Today

2010-02-25T15:32:00.002-05:00

The dancers and singers:

The snow shovelers:

"The Dogma is the Drama"

2010-01-31T22:50:00.004-05:00

Dorothy Sayers:

It is . . . startling to discover how many people . . . heartily dislike and despise Christianity without having the faintest notion what it is. If you tell them, they cannot believe you. I do not mean that they cannot believe the doctrine: that would be understandable enough, since it takes some believing. I mean that they simply cannot believe that anything so interesting, so exciting and so dramatic can be the orthodox Creed of the Church.

Somehow or other, and with the best intentions, we have shown the world the typical Christian in the likeness of a crashing and rather ill-natured bore—and this in the Name of One Who assuredly never bored a soul in those thirty-three years during which He passed through the world like a flame.

It is the dogma that is the drama--not beautiful phrases, nor comforting sentiments, nor vague aspirations to loving-kindness and uplift, nor the promise of something nice after death--but the terrifying assertion that the same God Who made the world lived in the world and passed through the grave and gate of death. Show that to the heathen, and they may not believe it; but at least they may realize that here is something that a man might be glad to believe.

Updates (a little long)

2010-01-28T14:44:00.010-05:00

It seems like we just got back, but we're going to So Cal on Monday for two weeks. Since Mark is done with classes, he can do almost all of his work from anywhere. So, he'll be working and me and the girls will be having fun in the sun, I hope. No more rain, Riverside! Even if its in the 60's we'll be in our flip flops and shorts. Just kidding, of course.

We're going to go to Disneyland. We haven't been since our old dating days when going to Disneyland was no big deal because we had passes and could go anytime we wanted to. Those days are long gone. We tried to go after Christmas in '05, but when we pulled up in the parking garage, the sign said "Disneyland Full." That was the worst Christmas of my life. For that, and many other reasons. We found a Cinderella dress on clearance at the Disney store so we're planning on having a lot of fun watching Hope prance around the park.

We'll also get to watch the LOST season premier with my family and have a party, go to the Wild Animal Park, be there for Super Bowl Sunday, be there for Valentine's Day, and go to a couple of CBU homecoming activities. I'm looking forward to the girls getting some good Grammy, Pappy and Auntie Rah-rah time. And our flights over Christmas went MUCH better than this summer, so we're not dreading the travel as much :)

Due to my sister's inspiration, I started the 30 Day Shred. Don't expect me to be shredded in 30 days, though. Yay, for New Year's resolutions!

Our little precious girls are SOOOOO sweet we can barely handle it. Anna's personality keeps coming out more and more - she is really funny. She's keeping her deep throaty laugh. She's continuing to be a very messy eater. She stands on her head for laughs and just seems to intuitively know what is funny and silly. She's almost walking. So close. She just needs some confidence.

Hope is slowly transforming from a toddler to a little girl. Sniff sniff. She likes to accessorize, and she has deep thoughts. She loves to be read to, and will interupt after nearly every sentence to ask a "why" question. I know this is good, but sometimes I just want to read the story :) Her favorite things to play right now are: grocery store, church, doctor, and babies. You should see her preach - it is really something. She is kind of obsessed with babies. And she's hanging on to Christmas by stuffing dolls up her shirt, pulling them out and naming them "Baby Jesus." We've explained to her that people get married and then they have babies (right?). In preparation for Disneyland, she's been watching some of the princess movies. But she's always a bit disappointed at the end when they don't have babies.

We're looking forward to In and Out, BJ's Pizza, Bakers, some new sandwich shop my sister told me about, and any other good food that comes our way. I better get to shredding.

Well, Mark has lots going on with work, writing and schooling, too. He's got to learn French for reading in the next few months, pass a test and then learn everything there is to know about Church History to take his comprehansive exams in June. He's also writing other things and teaching and preaching in the meantime. Oh, and he's a spectacular husband and daddy.

It's currently about 20 degress outside.

I get to get my hair cut on Saturday and I'm pretty excited about that. I might throw in a Starbucks drink while I'm out, too ;)

Okay, here are some recent pictures:

Papa consoling little Anna at Turtle Bay in Redding.

This little trick has made outings so much better! Hope loves pushing Anna around.

Decorating cookies at Nannie and Papa's!

Uncle Kevin patiently tried to teach Hope how to play a Wii game.

Andrew and Hope were best buds. I think their TV faces look funny in this picture.

You'd think we'd go to California to get away from the snow, but it found us! We took a morning trip out to go sledding on Mt. Shasta. Hope was pretty timid at first, but then she got into it.

Us.

Warming up by the fire in the morning.

Nannie and Anna cudding. AND behind Nannie is the beautiful new Christmas quilt she made us for Christmas.

The chaos that was opening presents. Anna was really into it.

Here's a picture of us on our 6 year anniversary date to Applebees.

They are so sweet!

Sweet Little Silly Anna.

Reason # 1,234,567,891 Why I Love Him So...

2010-01-13T17:57:00.002-05:00

Because he'll carry a pink and yellow car seat, strapped to his back, through airports.

Happy 6th anniversary, Mark! I love you.

(It was actually on the 10th).

10 Ways to Encourage a Missionary

2010-01-07T23:35:00.003-05:00

Mark recently wrote a short article on "10 Ways to Encourage a Missionary." He contacted real live missionaries to ask them what would be encouraging to them on the field. Many of the suggestions they gave were very helpful, and things that I would have not thought of myself.

Our dear friends, who own the house we're living in, are getting ready to head to North Africa next week, so their departure is close in our minds and hearts. Watching them go through the process of getting ready to go, giving away most all of their belongings, saying good-bye to their family after visiting them for Christmas, and doing it all with grace, joy and great faith is humbling and sobering. It will be hard to say goodbye, but we are excited for them and for all that they will get to be a part of.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T22:52:00.004-05:00

I just wanted to post a few pictures before we take off tomorrow. We had a nice family day here. Last night we went to a Christmas Eve service, had dinner and acted out the story of Jesus' birth with Hopey. She had a blast! As we were tucking her into bed she said to Mark, "good night, donkey" and to me "good night, Joseph" and to herself, "good night Mary." We think she enjoyed it.

We got Hope (and Anna) a play kitchen for Christmas. They played with it ALL DAY. It is so fun to watch Hope be so engrossed in cooking and organizing the food. I love her imagination.

Merry Christmas to everyone! May the birth be close in your hearts.

Hope and Mark built a snowman a few days ago. He'll probably be around for the next few months since it doesn't seem like its going to get above freezing anytime soon!

Happy Birthday, Jesus cake!

Scarf made and sent by Ma-maw.

101 Dalmations from Auntie Rah-rah.

Watching the "Nativity Story."

We started putting together the kitchen at 9pm and didn't get done until 12. But it was worth it! Check out all of the screws it came with!

Its fun to have 4 stockings. Ma-maw made them all! AND I love Christmas cards. I really do. I feel loved when you spend 50 cents on me to send one :)

And here's a video of Hope seeing the kitchen for the first time. Its long, so unless you're family you probably won't want to watch all of it :)

The Month of December in Pictures

2009-12-19T20:00:00.000-05:00

Its been a fun and full month so far. We are looking forward to relaxing and enjoying Christmas this next week, and then a trip to Nannie and Papas. Below are some of our recent happenings.

This is a celebration dinner. This past Thursday Mark had his last class EVER. This is quite the milestone for us because Mark has been in classes for the last 5 1/2 years. Of course he still has quite a bit to do before he has finished the program and graduated, but life without classes will be nice.

Hope and her little friend Brayden decorating cookies.

Hopey in her reindeer headband.

Their most favorite Christmas gifts so far: these light up snowmen. Anna loves them. Whenever we turn them on Anna says "oooooo".

Christmas jammies!

Christmas dresses!

Just a picture of Hope before church. She is getting too big!

The first snow. I was very pleased that it did not occur until December.

Anna really does love her Bananas.

Baby Grace, just in case you forgot what she looked like. A lady from church made Baby Grace a new outfit.

We did a little tree in the girls' room this year with their ornaments. Its pretty fun how much they love it.

Hope's first taste of hot chocolate.

Cuddling :)

Decorating the tree. It was a lot less stressful once Anna went to bed :)

Thanksgiving with Grammy and Pappy

2009-12-19T07:00:00.001-05:00

My parents came out to visit the week of Thanksgiving. It was a GREAT time. I'm so glad they came. The girls had a great time getting their grandparent love, and I had fun hosting my parents for once. The weather held up pretty well. We did some shopping, went to the Field Museum downtown, had Chicago style pizza, they got to be at church when Mark preached, they babysat THREE times so we could see a movie, do some shopping and go to a Thanksgiving service at church. It was wonderful! Thanks so much for coming, guys!

Pappy and the girls having an afternoon snack.

Anna loved playing with my Dad's hat.

Thanksgiving picture with Grammy and Pappy.

Sweet girls in their Fall dresses made by Nannie.

Hope doing what she does a lot of the day: talking. And having her first taste of the famous Ward family pumpkin chiffon pie :)

Grammy got to feed Anna lots - it was a treat for me!

Thanksgiving dinner - it was so great to be together. I haven't spent a Thanksgiving with my parents since we got married (6 years ago!).

My Dad's birthday was on Thanksgiving so we celebrated the night before with presents and cake. It was fun.

Playing with Pappy.

Playing with her birthday balloon.

Grammy and Hopey reading together. Sweet times.

Anna's Birthday

2009-12-18T15:43:00.004-05:00

Here are some pictures from Anna's birthday bash :) We had a fun day celebrating her. Yes, I am a month late in posting on this!

Our family at the end of the party.

Some party guests :)

For some reason she enjoyed rubbing the cake in her hair. Such a one year old thing to do!

She really enjoyed the cake.

My first attempt at cake from scratch. It was amazing. I can almost taste it now. It was the recipe on the back of the Hershey's cocoa box - we highly recommend it!

The girls opening presents.

She's happy :) We had a good day enjoyed celebrating our little Banana.

It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas

2009-12-08T11:07:00.002-05:00

At our pastor's recommendation, we began reading through Come Thou Long Expected Jesus: Experiencing the Peace and Promise of Christmas. It's been a great way to orient our hearts and mind towards Jesus and the significances of Him coming to earth.

We also downloaded Andrew Peterson's "Behold the Lamb of God" album. It creatively goes through the Bible in song, showing how the Old Testament stories point to the coming of a Savior and ending in Jesus' birth. His song "Labor of Love" is very beautiful. I'll post it below.

Having a three year old, makes us realize in more of a real way how many distractions there are from focusing on Jesus at Christmastime. I hope to not let this season slip away without feeling the weight of God coming to earth; such humility, such love, such compassion, and such a relief for the world.

Bows, Bows, Bows...

2009-12-06T15:29:00.002-05:00

I have lots I'd like to blog about, but with Christmas festivities and bow orders, I'll have to put it on hold for a bit. My family is all asleep, the tree lights are on, and its quiet. I'm about to make some serious amounts of bows and listen to Harry Potter.

Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday, Anna!

2009-11-14T08:00:00.003-05:00

Sweet Little Anna turns one today. Simply put, we just really enjoy her :) She has added more sweetness, laughter and amazement at God's gifts than we could have imagined. Her love for her family is gentle and innocent. She has an intense love for her sister that we're guessing will grow stronger and stronger.

Things we love about her on her 1st birthday: her throaty laugh, the way her voice sounds (like Blue on Blues Clues), her pretty hair, the way she comes quickly crawling when she hears the dishwasher open, the way she's the messiest eater we've ever known, the way she always sits sideways in her highchair, the way she sways when she hears music, her cuddles in bed in the middle of the night, the way she smiles when we say "no," her gappy teeth, her love for my water bottle, her love of car rides and being out, the way her birthday will seem to usher in the holidays every year, how she tries to put bows in her hair, how she always pulls her socks off, and the way she points at things and makes sounds.

Here's a picture for each month of her life this far. We love you Anna!

Newborn Baby Anna.

Sweet little Christmas Baby Anna.

2 month old Baby Anna.

3 month old Baby Anna.

March: 4 month old Baby Anna.

April: 5 month old Baby Anna.

6 month old Baby Anna: first solids.

7 month old Baby Anna: sitting up like a big girl.

8 month old Baby Anna.

9 month old Baby Anna: silly scrunchy face.

10 month old Baby Anna: she likes to lift things over her head with her feet.

11 month old Baby Anna: playing in the leaves.

Family Trip to Wisconsin

2009-11-07T11:36:00.010-05:00

A few weeks ago, we went on a trip to the Northwoods of Wisconsin for Mark's fall break from school. It was a good family time. Some friends of ours from Louisville have a cabin there and very generously let us stay there for a few days. I didn't know this area existed before going there, but I am now a fan. The trees were at their peak in color change for the Fall, there are a bizillion lakes in the area, its not very populated, and its just beautiful! Here are a bunch of pictures :)

The cabin is right on a lake and here is the sunset one evening.

Mark and the girls on the porch.

The girls outside of the cabin. This looks like a really artistic picture - don't be too fooled by it, Anna was crying :)

The cabin.

We went and visited some nearby waterfalls.

Me and my girls!

Did you know that white deer exist? I think they are kind of creepy looking. They exist in large numbers in northern Wisconsin (and probably elsewhere). We also saw a bald eagle! But we didn't get a good picture. It was eating a dead deer and then flew up to a tree.

At the breakfast table.

We went to a nearby zoo. It was fun. We were there on a dress-up for Halloween day with extra activities. It was perfect and they let you get REALLY close to the animals.

They also let you get this close to black bears and feed them out of a glass bottle. We thought this was kind of crazy. Notice the person in the background feeding the bear.

The girls playing in the cabin.

The girls playing - Hope is reading to Anna :)

Playing at a nearby park.

We spent a LOT of time in the car. The girls did relatively well. Hope had a cold and is somewhat dramatic when she has "boogies in her nose." She has yet to figure out how to blow her nose. We'll be glad when she copes with colds better :)

We saw lots of this!

The sissies cuddling.

The lake in front of the cabin.

Mark did a LOT of this. So, I thought I would take a picture to remember :)

Introducing Anna Banana and her Monkey!

2009-11-03T21:21:00.007-05:00

Here's Hopey giving her best monkey face.

Sweet little BanAnna.

Sisters.

We went trick or treating with our friends the Nasellis, got free Chipotle, and then had carmel apples and apple cider. It was a fun night.

I just threw this in because its cute :)

Picking out our pumpkin - Hope actually picked a good one!

Our goofy pumpkin.

Redeeming Orphans

2009-11-03T11:58:00.000-05:00

Some friends of ours from Louisville adopted a sweet little boy from Ethiopia this year. It was a special joy to meet him in August. They decided to start the process of adopting while we were still in Louisville, and after many months and prayers later, he is with his parents. I don't know if there's anything much sweeter and powerful than that.

Rocky and Suzanne have recently began a new blog called Redeeming Orphans. I've only looked at it briefly, but it looks like an amazing resource. If you or anyone you know is considering adoption, or if you've never thought about it, it would be well worth your time to check it out. They include a list of helpful books to read, sites to visit for financial assistance, and advice for how to get started in the adoption process.

Thank you, Clark family, for creating this wonderful resource!

Anna is 11 months

2009-10-28T20:00:00.000-04:00

Well, Sweet Little Anna will be one in a couple of weeks so I thought I'd better post a little bit about her before the big ONE. I am sad that she'll be one soon, but she still seems like my baby so that is good. She's a lot of fun right now and her personality is coming out more and more. She babbles a lot and makes the cutest little squeaky sounds. She kind of says Dada and we think she's said Hi several times. She likes to point at things and have us tell her what they are. She's walking holding on to our hands, and finally learned to crawl on all fours a couple of weeks ago. Before that she was an army crawler. She and Hope's relationship continues to develop more and more and it is fun to watch. Last night while Mark and I cleaned up dinner the girls crawled off down the hall to their room and were playing. It was really sweet. Here are a few pictures of our baby girl.

In this one she's proud that she just pulled the bow out of her hair, and she's having a cheerio snack.

In this one she just got done crying because I told her she couldn't have the camera. Sad red eyes!

She LOVES the dishwasher. We go through a ritual of telling the dishwasher bye bye and waving at it when I close it. If we don't she will sob like its the end of the world.

Her half grin.

Her first taste of milk.

On Being Short.

2009-10-27T23:00:00.002-04:00

I don't mind being short most days. I don't think about it a lot and most of the time it doesn't bother me. But there are quite a few quirks that a short person, such as I, must deal with. So, I thought I would share so that you can sympathize with your short friends.

My pants are too long. I always buy short or petite length, but they are still 1-2 inches too long. Once in a while I will hem them haphazardly as I don't sew, but most of the time I just deal with it.

This leads me to the second observation. Living in a wet climate such as Illinois, the bottom of my pants are often wet. I decided a while back to give up on fashion and start rolling up my pants when its wet outside. I look really cool like this!

I often don't use the top shelves of my kitchen cupboards. Its just too much work.

I usually have my beloved step-stool close by. Its a plastic white step-stool that I bought to use in my dorm room in college. Its pretty beat up and not really white anymore, but I can't bear to part with it since its been with me through so much. Hope uses it now for various things and Anna currently likes to pull up on it.

My girls will be taller than me by the time they are 13. Or 10. They have consistently been taller than other kids their age on the charts.

A few weeks ago when I was carrying Anna in the snugglie, a lady said, "She's almost bigger than you!" Ha ha, very funny :)

Sometimes I stand on the bottom shelf at the grocery store to reach things on a higher shelf. Every time I do it, I think "One of these days the shelf is going to come crashing down." It just might, but I keep doing it.

Being short makes me look even more younger than I already look. This past summer our neighborhood had a block party thing. A lady had a booth set up to sell her jewelry. As I walked by looking at her stuff her husband said,"She's got great stuff you could use for the prom." I chuckled and said "Oh, I'm beyond the prom." He then said it again for some reason. I smiled at his wife who looked embarrassed and then I walked on pushing my double stroller.

When Mark and I were first married we were out visiting people who had visited the church for the first time. We knocked on the door of a house and a woman came to the door. Mark explained to her why we were there, asked her a couple of questions, and then introduced me as his wife. She laughed incredulously and told us she thought he was my dad.

In sixth grade the boy that all the little girls had crushes on used to call me Tall Grass. I don't think I knew he was making fun of me at the time :) In high school my best friend's boyfriend called me Willow. It was a joke and he wasn't trying to me mean, but you probably shouldn't call a 16 year old girl a name that invokes images of a hairy dwarf man.

I've always liked that song by Alan Jackson, "Its alright to be little-bity." It has a good message anyway, but I mainly just liked it because I was short.

People always told me I would like looking younger when I'm older. I think I'm in that transition phase now. I haven't been offered the kids menu at a restaurant in several years now, so that's nice. I'll really appreciate it in about 10 years probably.

I married a tall boy. That wasn't the only reason I married him of course. I also married him for his riches. ;)

Sometimes I try (not very hard) to think of the reasons why God made me short. As if there's some event that someday will take place and I'll think "Aha! This is it! My purpose!" But, really, people come in all different shapes and sizes and I'm happy to be made on the shorter end of things. It makes me somewhat unique, and helps to keep me humble.

Mamaw and Papaw's Visit

2009-10-23T08:00:00.000-04:00

We were very blessed by a visit from Mamaw and Papaw in September! I love that my grandparents still travel to visit me. Thank you guys so much for coming! I also love that my grandparents read out blog :) We had a great time introducing them to Anna, and Hope had a blast playing with them. Mamaw and Hope spent a few hours doing puzzles together, and Hope and Papaw were good at teasing and being silly with each other. We wish we could see them more, but Arkansas is far away. I'm grateful for the few days we had. As usual, I wish we had taken more pictures!

All of us girls. Dad said he wanted a picture of all of the blue eyes. Unfortunately you can't see them all in this picture though. Anna wanted to show you our Candy Land book.

Mamaw and Hope picked some veggies from the garden and had fun.

On a swing together.

Mamaw helping Hope eat a popsicle.

Trip to Louisville

2009-10-21T23:08:00.007-04:00

We briefly got to visit Louisville in August. It was a great trip. It was really refreshing to see our old friends and church family. Mark got to preach at Farmdale Baptist, we were able to stay with our friends from church the Deatricks, we got to meet 4 new babies that had been born to friends, we were able to introduce Anna to everyone, and we were able to visit little Paul's grave. It was a good time for us to reflect on our time there, and encouraging to see how God had been working on us while there, and to see some signs of growth in us.

Sherry D. took some good pictures of a night when we had a cookout with church friends. Its hard to describe, but these people are special to us on many levels, and one of them being that Hope was born at this church. It was a tender time for us. There weren't very many babies at Farmdale, and we appreciated the way she was loved and cared for there. Like I always say, if you love my kid, then you're loving me.

Miss Sherry and Anna hanging out.

Hope with her friend Miss Vicki (who sent Hope an adorable Kentucky shirt with horses on it for her birthday!)

Mark playing Wii, and Hope is pretending to play :)

Dessert on the front porch of a perfect Louisville summer night.

My girls.

Hope and Pastor Doug.

Our sweet kids.

Fall

2009-10-09T14:56:00.003-04:00

Its without a doubt Fall here. The highs are in the 50's, its rainy, and the trees are really turning colors. We've switched out our clothes, put away the sandals, packed up the pool, and turned on the heater. We've also had our first colds of the season, and half of us got a stomach bug this week. Also signs of cold weather :) On a side note, a 3 year old with the stomach flu is way better than baby Hope with the stomach flu. Hope kept her eyes glued to Dora on the TV screen as she was throwing up in the bowl in her lap. I can also tell her to throw up in a bowl, not on me, and I can tell her to stay on the couch and rest (rather than going about the house infecting the rest of us). Bet you wanted to know all of that.

The girls have started wearing the fuzzy footie jammies.

We've needed blankets on walks. They really are happy, the sun was just in their eyes.

And we get to spend a lot more time indoors, doing indoor stuff. Like glittering pumpkins.

Hope's Cute Sayings

2009-10-05T15:38:00.004-04:00

Hope's little 3 year old self has been saying some pretty sweet and cute things lately. I've been trying to remember to write them down when I hear them so I don't forget. I thought I'd share a few with you. You have to imagine them being said by the sweetest little voice you've ever heard (I know I'm biased), and with out the r's and the l's being pronounced correctly.

"We saw a ladybug up on the tomato tree and he was so happy to see me."

"That's good prayin' Dad." (After Mark prayed at lunch one day).

Me: "Hopey, what song would you like to sing tonight?"
H: "We are God's special friend" (We've never heard of that song before, but Mark and I did our best to sing a made-up song in unison using those words).

Me: "Hopey, you were very good at the store today. You didn't whine and you were helpful. Thank you."
H: "I LOVE being good, Mom."

She is so very affectionate. Several times a day she will tell us she loves us. Today at the grocery store she shouted, "Mom! - I love you soooo much!"

Love that girl.

Here's a video of her singing "Jesus Loves Me."

Auntie Rah-rah's Visit!

2009-09-24T14:33:00.000-04:00

I'm so thankful for a sister who will travel across the country to see me! Robin came out for Hope's 3rd birthday. She's been with Hope for every birthday yet! What a great auntie. She loves my girls (which is just like loving me:), and plays so well with them. Hopey and Auntie Rah-rah got to go on a Starbucks date and to the mall shopping. Robin really spoiled the girls (and us) while she was here. Hope is still playing with all of her toys from the disney store, and she can tell you exactly who she got them from. We had a good time catching up, playing, shopping and just being together. Sweet little Anna was in quite the teething mood, so that was a bummer, but I know she felt her auntie's love, anyway! Thanks for coming, Robin!

We took a day trip to Lake Geneva. It's super beautiful there.

Apparently the sun was shining too brightly for the girls :) Anna has quite the grip on Robin's necklace.

The Rogers Family Vacation - New York

2009-09-21T21:16:00.008-04:00

Mark's Dad turned 60 this summer, so we all met up in New York at Kevin's house to celebrate. The boys had been planning this baseball trip for about 2 years, and it was fun to have it actually happen. We were all there for about a week, and the boys left for a couple of days to go to a Mets game and a Red Sox game. They had a blast. Us girls stayed behind to take care of the little kids and we got to go to the Yankee Candle Factory - which is actually quite the place. Hope and Anna had a great time with their cousins, and we had fun just hanging out with family and celebrating Mark's dad. Here are some picture highlights.

The cousins watching a movie to calm down before bed time.

Hope and her bud Andrew. They got along great.

I thought this was a funny picture. Mark's dad brought this remote control flying helicopter and I think it almost hit me in this picture.

Aunt Jackie made cakes to celebrate Hope's 3rd birthday while we were there. It was fun to be able to celebrate with the Rogers family.

Hope opening birthday presents.

Mark and Papa at Fenway.

The boys at Citi Field.

A little birthday party for Papa.

We also took a day trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame, which was pretty cool. My history loving husband loved it.

The grandkids in their Rogers Family Vacation shirts.

Us.

Hope and Nannie with her new pink shades and fuzzy pink backpack.

The boys before they headed out to the games.

The cousins playing.

Uncle Kevin teaching Hope some baseball skills.

Nannie and Anna.

Dancing, Giggling, Sweet Girls

2009-09-20T23:39:00.003-04:00

Here is a little video from last weekend when Mark was out of town. Anna's in this super-cute stage of bouncing up and down when she hears music, and Hope is learning how to move to the beat. The two of them "dancing" together is too much to handle!!!

This is Why I Tell Hope She Can't Just Go Traipsing Through the Garden...

2009-09-17T17:59:00.004-04:00

We saw this thing in our garden today. Yikes! I looked it up and its a Black and Yellow Argiope. I was happy to read that it is harmless to humans. The webs grow to be up to 2 feet wide and they eat their webs every night and build new ones every day. They also lay eggs sacks with up to 1,000 eggs. Wow. Why is it that spiders are so creepy?

I think I would have a heart attack if I was pulling up carrots and this thing crawled onto my hand. Lets hope it doesn't. By the way, we are not gardeners, but are learning since the family who lived here before us were professional gardeners (seriously). We are currently enjoying their bounty.

Best Friends

2009-09-06T23:34:00.003-04:00

Niagra Falls

2009-09-06T16:14:00.002-04:00

I'm pretty behind in my blogging. Here are some pictures from our trip to Niagra Falls in July. We stopped there for a night on the way to mark's brothers' in New York. I guess I wasn't sure what to expect with the falls. They are pretty intense! We stayed on the Canadian side because we'd heard it was better.

Mark and Anna.

The view from our room.

Us in front of the American Falls.

I thought it was kind of creepy that they let you get this close to the dropoff. That water is so powerful.

Goofy Hope and I in front of the American Falls.

Family Photos

2009-08-27T15:29:00.003-04:00

Thanks a million to the talented Marshman duo for capturing our family in pictures while we were in Louisville last weekend! It was the most stress-free picture experience I've ever had. We basically just played with the girls and they took pictures. Fun. We did have to coax Hope to smile and play some, but all in all it was a wonderful experience and we are so grateful to have these priceless pictures! If you'd like to see more, you can visit their site www.magnoliaroadblog.com. And, for all of you Louisville friends out there, you should totally take advantage of Rachel's offer going on right now. Really. Thanks Marshmans! We can't wait to see the rest.

Powerful Video on Missions

2009-08-17T22:00:00.001-04:00

So, I thought I would share.

Hope's Birthday Party

2009-08-15T11:26:00.004-04:00

We decided to have a little party for Hope for her birthday. We enjoyed having space to have people over, the perfect weather, and friends. And of course, we love our little Hopey and enjoy celebrating her. Its kind of crazy that we have a 3 year old. Here are some picture highlights.

Singing Happy Birthday to Hopey.

Proof that Anna was there. She didn't make it into any other pictures.

Sofia and Hope enjoying their cupcakes.

The pool party. Hope loved having her friends there to swim with her.

Hope got "twin" baby dolls as a gift and wanted to open them right away. We are now up to 6 babies in the house (7 with Anna). We haven't named these ones yet.

She's a peeker!

More fun in the pool. She loves the rush of landing in the water.

Mr. Jared entertaining the kid table.

I tried to get a normal picture of her before the party with no success :) But its cute nevertheless.

Hopey helping create the cupcakes. I think they look like they're getting ready to take flight in this picture.

Anna is 9 Months

2009-08-15T11:18:00.002-04:00

Anna turned 9 months yesterday. She likes to swing, can you tell? She is "crawling" by pulling herself on her belly, waving and generally just more aware of life. She's fun. Tooth #7 just popped through yesterday and sweet little Anna doesn't cope the best with teething. We celebrated yesterday by giving her yogurt for the first time.

Merea's Visit

2009-08-13T14:53:00.002-04:00

After our trip to So Cal, Merea came out to visit for a few days. It was a really great time. Mostly what we did is talk, talk, and talk. We went downtown for a bit to walk Michigan Ave. and have some Giordano's pizza. We also had a double melt-down of both girls on the way home (video below). We were beginning the process of packing up our apartment, so she helped us get going with that. Hope thought Merea was pretty funny and they had fun together. Hope likes pretending to be a baby sometimes, so Merea swaddled her up in a blanket and carried her around. Hope LOVED it. A few days after that Hope started laughing and said "Why Muh-way-uh carry me like a baby?" Thanks so much for coming, Merea! We loved your visit, and I am so thankful for your friendship.

Here's a picture of Merea and Hope having fun. We didn't really get any more decent pictures. Sad.

Have you ever wondered what it's like to be trapped inside a moving vehicle with two crying children? Well, here's a little video for you in case you felt you were missing out. I'm glad Merea was in the car with us or I might have started crying, too :)

Trip to Southern California

2009-08-05T22:45:00.009-04:00

Last month we took a big trip out to visit my family. It was Anna's first plane ride and first time to California. Hope hadn't been on a plane that she could remember and I hadn't been home in over a year (that's a first!). It was a good time spent with family and seeing a few friends. It wasn't long enough, but we're thankful we were able to go at all. Up until this trip, I was holding out Hope that I could maybe do another trip or two by myself with the girls in the next year or two, but this trip confirmed that its not possible. Flying with two little ones is very hard work! Mark and I were very worn out after the flight. We were more prepared for the flight home :) Thanks Mom and Dad for having us, feeding us, and loving on the girls. They really feel the love! Here are some picture highlights of the trip in no particular order (since blogger puts them in backwards). Warning: there are a lot of pictures!

Hope and her cousins Luke and Andrew playing in the empty pool. My sweet parents had a bbq for us while we were home so we could see more people.

Jodi and I with our girls just 3 months apart.

Hope and Pappy cuddling.

Hope and Uncle Phil cuddling.

Hope and Daddy.

Anna getting some love from her aunties Jill and Robin.

Hope playing around the pool. :) She didn't start liking swimming until after this trip.

Me and my Daddy.

I got to see Marcella, Merea and Renee while home. It is always sweet to spend time with old friends and to feel like no time has passed. Anna and Andrew are a day apart and finally got to meet!

Pappy and his little girls.

Grammy and sweet little Anna.

Pappy and Hopey making some music.

Hopey picking flowers in my parents' yard.

Hope learned how to ride a tricycle while there.

Anna at the beach for the first time. She hated it and cried the whole time. I think this picture captured the only moment she was not crying. Bummer! We love you tons Anna!

Hope enjoyed the sand for the first time in her life. Yay!

Not included: I also got to see Jen and Brayden and Tracy, but didn't get a picture. We also got to have dinner with the Prices.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Hopey!

2009-08-03T10:25:00.002-04:00

I am so very proud to be your Mommy. I hope you know more than anything today that you are very loved, adored and that you bring us tons of joy. And more than that, we hope and pray that you know you're loved by your Creator more than anyone else ever could love you. Happy birthday, Hopey!

Sweet Little Anna is Eight Months

2009-07-14T22:31:00.004-04:00

Today, Anna turned 8 months old. She is currently working on her 5th tooth, sitting pretty well, and eating every baby food imaginable. Tonight she tried broccoli for the first time and ate it like it was cake. She's even pulled herself forward on her belly a few times. She's an easy smile, and seems to fall more in love with her sister every day. She's a mama's girl which I'm more than okay with 95% of the time (although I would like to be able to leave her in the nursery for an entire service without being called to get her :). Most people say she looks a lot like her Daddy. She's pretty predictable and patient - unless a pesky tooth is bothering her. We're having a great first summer with Anna, and are thoroughly enjoying her babyhood. It is, of course, going by waaaayyyy tooooooo fast.

I took some pictures of her yesterday, and here they are.

Looking at her hand.

In the good 'ol exersaucer.

In the backyard.

We love you sweet little Anna! We love all of the fun that you've added to the Rogers family.

2009-07-09T23:57:00.000-04:00

We moved into our new rental house last week and we are still working on getting things unpacked and organized. We love it, and are very thankful. Here's a couple of recent pictures of our sweeties.

Holding hands in the car (Anna's asleep :)

I love them.

I Want To Be Like This When I'm Dying

2009-07-09T23:56:00.000-04:00

I'd seen this amazing talk recommended in several places on the web, but hadn't listened to it until tonight. Grab a tissue (or two) and listen to a 37 year old mother of two, who is dying of terminal cancer (she actually died last week) talk about why "Death is Not Dying." It really is more than worth your time.