Happy Birthday, Anna!

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

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!

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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...

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

Niagra Falls

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

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

So, I thought I would share.

Hope's Birthday Party

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

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

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

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!

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

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.

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

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.

Need a Camera

Okay blog readers - I need some knowledge/advice. Our dearest point and shoot camera was left somewhere and was not returned. So, we are in the process of saving up and researching a new camera.

If you have a digital SLR camera, I need you to tell me why it is/isn't the way to go. Also, please tell me which one you have and why you like it.

If you have a point and shoot - what do you have? Do you like it?

We were able to use my Dad's Nikon D60 while home, and it DOES seem there is a difference in quality.

Thanks for the help!

We've Been Having Fun in California

And we're headed home tomorrow. Thanks for all the fun, so cal friends!

Happy Birthday, Mark!

Happy birthday, Mark! Here you are, on the brink of 30. We are truly growing old together! ;)

I'm so glad that you were born 29 years ago, that by God's grace you were saved as a teenager, that you went to Cal Baptist and that God brought us together. You are more than I could have ever asked for or imagined. I love you.

I hope you have a perfect day. Your girls are going to try to make it a special one for you with some special food we've planned and prepared for you, a trip to your favorite restaurant, and some quality time. Thanks for being our man!

Book Review: Teach Them Diligently

Over the past months, I've slowly made my way through "Teach Them Diligently: How to Use the Scriptures in Child Training" by Lou Priolo. It really helps me to read parenting books, since we are in the thick of learning how to discipline little Hopey. We want more than anything for her and Anna to grow up to be women who love the Lord with all their heart, soul, strength and mind, and their neighbor as themselves. So, we enjoy drawing from the wisdom of others who have walked down this path before us.

"Teach Them Diligently" challenged me in two ways: First, to know and memorize the Bible more. I will not be able to effectively get to the root heart-issues of Hope's (and Anna's eventually) sin, if I do not expose it with truth from the Word. But, I have to know the Word! I need to know scriptures that apply to every area of life, so that I will be able to point Hope in the right direction and expose wrong thinking. It would be helpful to point her to people in the Bible who have the same struggles as her, and to the promises of God that can be claimed in the situation. Such as, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. And this is the first commandment with a promise; that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land." Priolo says, "your child cannot repent (change his mind) without first being convicted of his sin." We do not want to raise little Pharisees who behave outwardly, but in whom there is no heart-change. This would not be good for the girls. So, we need to be able to convince them with scripture.

Second, I was challenged again to focus on the good of Hope when disciplining. Priolo says, "The goal you're trying to accomplish when dealing with a brother who has been overtaken by a fault should be restoration... your motive should be to restore your child, not to expose him, make things easier for yourself, or extract personal vengeance on him by humiliating him." It is good for Hope and Anna to obey God's commands. (It is good for ME to obey God!) They are little human beings that we have the responsibility for teaching how to live Christ-like. It is no easy task, but we should never be self-centered or impatient about it.

The book was helpful and probably one I will revisit in a few more years. A lot of it will work well when Hope is a little older and when reasoning with her is a little more realistic. I appreciated the book's biblical approach and the focus on the heart of the child, rather than their outward behavior. I'd recommend it.

On another note: Here's a picture of Hope and Mark at a Giants vs. Cubs game at Wrigley Field from a few weeks ago. They had a very special trip - train ride, hot dog and all. Hope is still pretending to go to the "baseball game" with her babies. Mark thinks there's nothing cuter than his daughter in a pink Giants shirt.

My Favorite Album

I'm pretty sure that my favorite album of all time is Caedmon's Call - 40 Acres.


It's one I could listen to over and over again (and drive my husband nuts!). I like the music, and have been able to identify with many of the lyrics over the years.

Their song about moving has been an encouragement on the drives to new homes: Faith My Eyes.

"So keep on comin', these lines on the road, keep me responsible, be it a light or heavy load, keep me guessing, these blessings in disguise, I'll walk with grace my feet and faith my eyes."

When I was single, I really appreciated the encouragement from: Table for Two.

"But ya know I know better, I'm not gonna worry 'bout nothin'. Cause if the birds and the flowers survive, Then I'll make it okay. I'm given a chance and a rock; see which one breaks a window. See which one keeps me up all night and into the day. Because I'm so scared of being alone That I forget what house i live in. But it's not my job to wait by the phone For her to call."

In Louisville, a friend explained the song: Somewhere North to us. It's already a beautiful song, but when I found out it was a love song, and the story behind it, I loved it even more.

"I give you my life and all I am But what I have to give So I hand you a candid photograph of this little boy 'Cause I have nothing to my name But I can give you that."

And the song: Shifting Sand, is a great reminder of how weak my faith in the Lord can be, and how powerful His grace is.

"Sometimes I believe all the lies So I can do the things I should despise And every day I am swayed By whatever is on my mind My faith is like shifting sand Changed by every wave My faith is like shifting sand So I stand on grace."

I'm thankful for and encouraged by the Truth of God's sovereignty that is proclaimed in the song: Thankful.

"Cause no, there is none righteous Not one who understands There is none who seek God No not one, I said no not one. So I am thankful that I'm incapable Of doing any good on my own."

But really, you should just buy the mp3's and listen to it for yourself. Because these little snippets won't do it justice.



What's your favorite?

6 Whole Months

Things Anna likes:

Long walks in the Snuggli or in the stroller.

Rice and Oatmeal cereal.

Eating.

Playing with Hopey.

Trying to eat her feet.

Smiling and capturing our hearts!

I for one, think this is going by too fast. It was hard to pack away the 3-6 month clothes last week. And, starting solids is a big girl thing, for sure.

She's petite - weighing in at 15 pounds, 1ounce. She's working on sitting up by herself. We're looking forward to her first trip to California in a few weeks, her first time to Grammy and Pappy's house, and her first summer. We love you sweet little Anna!

Nannie's Visit

Nannie came to visit for a few days over Mother's Day weekend! It was a special time. Mark finished up with school work just before she arrived and we just relaxed and played for a few days! Thanks for coming Nannie, and for loving the girls so well.

Sweet picture with Nannie.

For some reason I can't figure out how to order the pictures on blogger these days. Any tips? Any way, here is a picture of the fam on Mother's Day. I am one grateful Mama.

Nannie and Hope did a lot of reading. I guess that's one plus of having your Nannie here - she'll read you the same stories over and over again if you ask her to!

Hope decided to do Nannie's hair. Brushing and pretending to spray it with water, and all.

We were able to go to the Botanic Gardens for about an hour one evening. We would have stayed later, but it was freezing. Silly us, we thought it was Spring/Summer and we dressed accordingly.

We stopped by our new rental house while Nannie was here. We are looking forward to moving in the first week of July. We have a dear family from our church who are going to serve overseas in the Fall for several years, and we're going to rent their house from them. We are really looking forward to moving in and for the space it will provide us when we're locked inside during the winters.

We went to Cracker Barrel the night before Mother's Day to celebrate, and because Nannie loves it!

Nannie and Hope cooking :)

LOST

Wow. It was really good tonight. I'm enjoying all of the biblical imagery. What did you think?

Potty Training Update #3

Here it is, dear readers: The final installment of The Potty Training Series (Lord willing)! I know you've been waiting on the edge of your seats!

It has been quite a while since Potty Training Day #1, and Potty Training Update, but I am happy to say that it seems we are now fully potty trained: 8 months later.

I'll spare you many details, but here's how it went down: Hope learned how to go #1 in the potty chair in 3 days of intense potty training. After about a month she was accident free. #2 however, has not gone so smoothly! She's been afraid of it, and has instead had an accident most days until this last week when we decided to do some intense training again. I was skeptical and ready to give-up again, but Mark encouraged us to press on. So, we did. And after many tears, she got it. Yesterday, she gave me the best Mother's Day gift ever: she told us twice that she needed to go, sat on the chair, and went. What an exciting event!

There you have it. Thanks for following the Potty Training updates!

I Love Them!

We've had a great last couple days with the girls. Most days are great, but some days are exceptional. The sweetness of these two little blessings is almost more than we can take! Hope is so affectionate, and really makes me tear up with some of her sweet words. She is so full of energy, excitement and ideas. Anna continues to be the sweetest baby that there ever was. If it weren't for pregnancy and the 6 weeks of healing from a c-section, I think I could perpetually have a baby in the family :) I'm so thankful that the Lord put Hope and Anna in our family. I've included a short video at the end of Hope and Anna playing.

Big Girl Hopey making a silly face.

Hopey with her purse, sunglasses and phone :)

Sleepy little Anna. She's such a great cuddler!

I'm pretty sure this is the first picture I've taken with both of them smiling.

Little Anna has captured our hearts! She is so full of happiness and love for her family!

And finally, a short video of Hope and Anna playing together :)

Quitting Facebook

I quit Facebook tonight. I will admit, it was a little hard to do. Kind of like when we canceled our cable. I knew it would be hard at first - like a detox phase - but then I wouldn't miss it anymore.

If you are interested here is why: I was a little obsessive compulsive with it. I knew it wasn't good when I was telling Hope to "hold on a minute" while I finished reading people's status updates. I certainly don't want the girls staring at the back of my head while I read about what other people are doing :) They are only young once, right?

I heard a thing on Moody radio a few weeks ago about being desensitized to things because of information overload. I think that is me a bit. I want to be really excited about my friends having babies and getting married and such, but when I read about 2 (facebook)"friends" a week having babies, then it gets monotonous. Know what I mean? Maybe I shouldn't have just written that.

Anyway, it just wasn't good for me at this stage in my life. Maybe if its still around in a few more years, then I'll be back. And everybody will still probably be there for me to get back into touch with.

For now, I'm sticking with good, old-fashioned e-mail ;) Send me one when you get the chance!

Here Comes the Sun... Little Darlin

It was in the 80's today! There is nothing quite like Spring after a long, cold, dark winter. There still aren't leaves on the trees yet, but little buds. We saw all the little apartment complex kids out playing today and they all looked so much bigger (since we hadn't seen them all winter).

This past week Nate and Patrick were here for the Gospel Coalition conference. Mark and the guys stayed near the conference at O'Hare so I didn't get to see them much, but it is always fun to have friends come and visit. They really enjoyed the conference and were encouraged by it. The girls and I survived quite nicely :)

Here are some recent pictures:

Tummy time for Baby Anna!

I finally decided it was time to name the babies. It was just getting too confusing. So, here they are from left to right: Baby Faith, Baby Charity, Baby Grace, and Baby Joy. Surprisingly, it didn't take long for Hope to learn them all. Baby Grace is still the favorite. This is how Hope likes for me to play babies with her: we put them to bed, and then we tell them all of the "sleep rules." (Don't get up, don't talk, close your eyes, and go to sleep!) Fun times!

Cuddling with Dad and trying so hard to eat the cow.

Anna's new favorite past-time: watching the world go by in her Bumbo.

Hope likes to "help" wash Anna. I make sure she only washes the feet.

Anna LOVES Hope and it is so fun to watch them enjoy each other. No one can make Anna giggle like Hope can!

Auntie Sherry's Visit, Happy Easter, and Anna is 5 Months!

Here are some recent Rogers family pictures.

Hope painting eggs. I thought I had bought a dye kit, but she liked it anyway :)

Sweet little Anna... who is now 5 months old! She cut her first tooth this month and is working on the second one. Mark and I both think she looks a lot bigger this week. She's still as sweet as can be and we are so thankful for her!

Cuddly girls. (Hope likes to pick out her own jammies these days - can you tell?)

Hope with her Easter basket.

Sherry came to visit for Easter! It was so great to have her here. I'm grateful for her long-time friendship. I'm also grateful for the way she loves our girls! Here's a picture of Sherry and Hope putting together a puzzle.

We spent a few hours downtown on Monday. However, it became very cold and rainy while we were there, so we didn't stay too long and ran in the freezing cold, pelting rain to our car. Here's Hope and Sherry at the American Girl store.

We really enjoyed Good Friday and Easter Sunday with our church this year. Here is a picture of the girls on Easter Sunday.

Happy 4th Birthday, Paul

One of my favorite stories is found in Genesis 45. Jacob had lost his son, Joseph, years earlier. His other sons had told him that Joseph was killed by wild beasts. It broke his heart. Then one day, his sons came back from Egypt with news. Joseph was alive! At first he did not believe them. But when they showed him proof, “the spirit of their father Jacob revived,” and he said, “Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”

Four years ago, our first son, Paul Hudson, was stillborn the day before his due date. He weighed 8 lbs 15 oz, and was 21 ½ inches long. He had a large head, thick legs, big hands and feet, and was incredibly beautiful. Just hours before we held him in our arms, his heart had stopped. As we bathed him with tears, our hearts broke. Our family came from all over the country. We said goodbye. Then we laid his body in the ground.

In the past four years, God has sustained our faith and filled our home with a joy we once thought impossible. But our hearts still hurt. We still miss our son. We still wish he was here. Time and grace have healed many wounds, but not all. So this Good Friday, we look forward to the resurrection: “For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable.” Yes. My son is still alive. I will go and see him when I die.

We miss you, Paul. See you soon.

What Is It to Have a god?

From Martin Luther's Large Catechism:

He is discussing the first commandment: "You shall have no other gods."

What is it to have a god? What is God?

Answer: A god is that to which we look for all good and in which we find refuge in every time of need. To have a god is nothing else than to trust and believe him with our whole heart. . . .

The purpose of this commandment, therefore, is to require true faith and confidence of the heart and these fly straight to the one true God and cling to him alone. "The meaning is; 'See to it that you let me alone be your God, and never seek another.' In other words: 'Whatever good thing you lack, look to me for it and seek it from me, and whenever you suffer misfortune and distress, come and cling to me. I am the one who will satisfy you and help you out of every need. Only let your heart cling to no one else.

. . . . Many a person thinks he has God and everything he needs when he has money and property; in them he trusts and of them he boasts so stubbornly and securley that he cares for no one. Surely such a man also has a go--mammon by name, that is, money and possessions--on which he fixes his whole heart. It is the most common idol on earth. He who has money and property feels secure, happy fearless, as if he were sitting in the midst of paradise. On the other hand, he who has nothing doubts and despairs as if he never heard of God. Very few there are who are cheerful, who do not fret and complain, if they do not have mammon. . . .

So, too, if anyone boasts of great learning, wisdom, power, prestige, family, and honor, and trusts in them, he also has a god, but not the one, true God. Notice, again, how presumptuous, secure, and proud people become because of such possessions, and how despondent when they lack them or are deprived of them. Therefore, I repeat, to have a God properly means to have something in which the heart trusts completely."

- In The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, translated and edited by Theodore G. Tappert (Philadelphia: Muhlenberg Press, 1959), 365-66.

So Thankful

I have been especially grateful for these two lately. What a joy it is to be their Mama. I'm so thankful that God lets us enjoy raising Hope and Anna! They light up our lives. (I'm pretty sure we'd be pretty boring without them :)

A Sermon for Every Man

Every man in America needs to hear this sermon. (Many already have. It was the most viewed religious video for a while this week) Mark Driscoll speaks a strong, straightforward word to all of us men who need to be the men God has called us to be. Some weak or domineering men need desperately to hear this message. But even strong, godly men need to listen closely for areas they are not measuring up to God's word. So, like I said, every man should listen to this.

It would be good for women to hear also, especially if you are single and looking for a godly man. But, be warned, Driscoll is speaking as a man to men, so his tone is strong and forceful.

Here it is: Driscoll on Men and Marriage

What has Mark been up to?

He's been busy! This has been and will be his busiest semester... and he's had a newborn! He is working really hard, all the time. He has 3, 20 page papers to write in the next 6 weeks on top of the other school work. I really don't know how he does it, and I'm glad its not me (writing takes me forever!) He is loving it at the same time though. He comes back from class discussions energized and excited. He recently won a scholarship called the Hansen Fellowship that will pick up when his current scholarship runs out this next Fall. We are ever so grateful since we weren't sure what we were going to do! We have seen the faithfulness of the Lord over the past years in providing for us in unexpected ways, so we really almost expect that we will be taken care of unexpectedly.

He also has 3 jobs. It is kind of a joke between us about all of the jobs he's had over the last 5 years, but he does what he does to make ends meet and take care of us. They are all super part-time jobs. He's a research assistant for Dr. Sweeney, he edits a series of bulletin inserts called "Glimpses" through Christianity Today, and he gets to work for D. A. Carson (he has really enjoyed getting to know this man and seeing how humble, kind, and what a servant he is).

He's also been able to get a few things published. If you'd like to read them, here are the links - I think they're great, of course!

Article: Passing the Plate (about church offerings)
Book Review: Tried As By Fire
Book Review: Twentieth-Century Shapers of Baptist Social Ethics
Article: Walk the Aisle (about the alter call)

I must say that although he is a busy guy, he will drop it all in a moment's notice if he senses I need or want anything at all. I try not to take advantage of that too much :) We love our little family, and I love the way he takes care of us, puts us first, and enjoys the simple things with us. We are really looking forward to the 2nd week of May, when the semester's over, and we can take a break and enjoy the WARM weather (oh how I am ready for it!). Only one more semester of coursework and then another 1 1/2-2 years of studying for his comprehensive exams and writing his dissertation. More on the dissertation to come at another time.

Playgroup

Moving is hard. After 3 new cities in the last 5 years, I've learned a little more about what it means to "bloom where you're planted." When we moved here a little over a year ago, we pretty quickly had a good group of friends. We all ended up going to the same church up in Wisconsin, all the guys are in PhD programs, and we all were having babies. We started out having lunch at each other's houses after church on Sundays, but we no longer carry out that tradition due to the booming numbers of children we've had in the last year. So, every week, the four of us ladies get together for "playgroup" (as you can see, Hope is the eldest, so its really more of a playgroup for the Mamas). I'm thankful for the friendship of these girls and shared life experiences we're going through together right now. I am spurred on by each of them to be a more Godly wife, mom, and friend. A couple of weeks ago, we had our first Mom's night out after the kiddies were in bed. It was fun and I think we were all a little giddy to be out after dark (I'm only mildly kidding). We forgot to get a picture. Being away from family, and in a new place, it is comforting to know that there are friends to call when you need a hand, or just to chat, or to take a walk, run to the store, ect. Thanks for your friendship, Bethany, Charisse and Jenni!

Last week we managed to get them all to hold still and be happy for this picture.

The Fantastic Four Month Mark!

Happy 4 month birthday, Baby Anna! I will probably say this the rest of my life, but I can't believe you're 4 months! Next is 5! Wow. She had her 4 month check-up and is weighing in at 13 pounds and 12 ounces. She is average height and weight. She seems to be getting a little more hair, which is nice, and is starting to grab things and bring them to her mouth. She's even gotten a little frustrated a couple of times if she can't get them into her mouth. She's quite the "talker" and a smiley little bundle of joy. Here are some recent pictures!

Tummy time.

Happy girl :)

Naky happy baby!

Rainy day tea party!

Bumbo baby! Thanks Shecklers for letting us borrow yours :)

Below: Cuddle time before bed. I love her!

Sweet Girls and a Trip Downtown

The last few days it has been unseasonably warm, so we have tried to take advantage of it. We've gone on many walks and took a trip downtown today to celebrate some normal temps. We also want to start exploring as much of the city as possible with two little ones. We probably won't be here forever, so we need to take advantage of it! Today we visited the Museum of Science and Industry. It was very kid-friendly and a lot of fun. Our favorite exhibit was a WWII German submarine that they had on display. It was huge and a cool story about how the US took it down and captured it.

Yay! Its 50+ degrees outside!

Hope's first bad bump. Doesn't it look horrible? Thankfully it went down quick.

Isn't this a sweet sweater? My friend Jenni's friend's mom made it :) And Jenni's daughter Kara gave it to Anna for Christmas.

She has a few nicknames already, but the most suitable one is "Sweet Little Anna."

This girl LOVES smoothies. I think she would keep drinking them until she explodes.

Us girls in front of an old train at the museum.

Daddy and Hope after they took a tour inside the submarine.

Us girls in front of the submarine with our new double stroller for which we are very thankful. Its kind of a beast, but it does the job well.

Here I am! send me.

Mark is assigned a lot of reading. He loves it. Often he'll come across some great quotes and share them with me. Here is one from the book "The Art of Prophesying" for his Pastoral Ministry and the Reformation class. We thought it was convicting and challenging. The author is talking about men who are fearful to go into full-time ministry because of the risks involved, but I think it is applicable to everyone:

"Let such a man place himself in God's presence, enter into himself, search his conscience, find out his sins, confess and lament them to God, seek pardon in Christ's blood, and leave them, and not rest until he hears the voice of God's Spirit sounding in his conscience telling him: 'Your sins are forgiven.' Then when God asks 'Whom shall I send?' you will answer readily and with joy,'Here am
I! Send me.'"

I've found there's much that can happen in my heart when I take the time to focus on the Gospel - the good news. When I see how sinful I truly am, and how gracious God is to forgive me through Christ, then my ideas of how life should go seem a lot smaller, and God's seem a lot bigger.

Spring Fever

I ordered these dresses for the girls last week and they came in the mail today. If I could I would put Hope in a dress every day, but its just not realistic around these parts. Now I have 2 girls to put in matching dresses, and the stores are full of Spring weather clothing right now. Reality is, its not going to even start to maybe be Spring-like here for another 2 months, but I'll be ready!

Anna's Baby Dedication

Last Sunday was Anna's baby dedication at church. It was a special time for us to publicly commit to do what we had already committed to in our hearts in regard to raising Anna. It was also a special time for our church to pray for her, and to commit to serving along-side us in raising Anna to know God and to love Him with all of her heart.

Here are the questions we answered in the affirmative when asked by our pastor:


1. Do you this morning recognize this child as a gift from God and give heartfelt thanks to Him?

2. Do you promise to make it your regular prayer that, by God’s grace, your child will come to trust in Jesus Christ alone for the forgiveness of his/her sins and for the fulfillment of all His promises to him/her, especially His promise of eternal life?

3. Do you promise as parents that you will bring up your child “in the discipline and instruction of the Lord,” making every reasonable effort, with patience and love, to build the Word of God, the character of Christ and the joy of the Lord into his/her life?

4. Do you this morning acknowledge your need for help in this responsibility and will you humbly and wisely look to the strength of your own heavenly Father and the support of God’s people especially in the local church?

5. Do you recognize that this child belongs to God and therefore is to be freely given to His service and do you, with that in mind, present him/her to the Lord this morning?

I must admit that number 5 is the one that I have to struggle with the most - to truly give my children over to God, to His service, whatever He may ask of them. But I know that they are not mine to begin with, they belong to God, and are on a type of loan to us. It is sobering to think of the responsibility we have as Hope and Anna's parents. We really do want to please the Lord and to hear "well done" when they are grown. And we love them, and know that whatever God has planned for them is best.

The other babies and families.

Our pastor saying a dedication over Anna: "Anna Charlotte Rogers, together with your parents, who love you dearly, and this people who care about the outcome of your faith, I dedicate you to God, surrendering together with them all worldly claims upon your life, in the hope that you will belong wholly to God forever."

Us.

Humility

"Humility is crucial for Christians. We can only receive Christ through meekness and humility (Matt. 5:3, 18:3-4). Jesus humbled himself and was exalted by God (Phil. 2:8-9); therefore joy and power through humility is the very dynamic of the Christian life (Luke 14:11; 18:14; 1 Pet. 5:5).

The teaching seems simple and obvious. The problem is that it takes great humility to understand humility, and even more to resist the pride that comes so naturally with even a discussion of the subject.

We are on slippery ground because humility cannot be attained directly. Once we become aware of the poison of pride, we begin to notice it all around us. We hear it in the sarcastic, snarky voices in newspaper columns and weblogs. We see it in civic, cultural, and business leaders who never admit weakness or failure. We see it in our neighbors and some friends with their jealousy, self-pity, and boasting.

And so we vow not to talk or act like that. If we then notice 'a humble turn of mind' in ourselves, we immediately become smug - but that is pride in our humility. If we catch ourselves doing that we will be particularly impressed with how nuanced and subtle we have become. Humility is so shy. If you begin talking about it, it leaves. To even ask the question, 'Am I humble?' is to not be so. Examining your own heart, even for pride, often leads to being proud about your diligence and circumspection.

Christian humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less, as C.S. Lewis so memorably said. It is to be no longer always noticing yourself and how you are doing and how you are being treated. It is 'blessed self-forgetfulness.'

Humility is a byproduct of belief in the gospel of Christ. In the gospel, we have a confidence not based in our performance but in the love of God in Christ (Rom. 3:22-24). This frees us from having to always be looking at ourselves. Our sin was so great, nothing less than the death of Jesus could save us. He had to die for us. But his love for us was so great, Jesus was glad to die for us."

More from this article by Tim Keller.

3 Months Old - Happy Valentine's Day!

Anna is 3 months old today. She seems to officially not be a newborn anymore, and is now a baby :) She had a check-up this week (they thought her head was shaped funny at her last appointment, so they wanted to check it out again - its fine), and she is 12 pounds and 14 ounces. She's a little above average. She continues to be the sweetest little baby. She smiles easily and is generally content. She does a lot of cooing. She even slept through the night a few times for us this week. She brings us much joy and we are continually thankful for her.

Smiling at Daddy.

Smiling at Hopey.

Serious.

Hope at lunch time (just thought I'd throw a Hopey pic in there :).

Happy girl!

Cuddling in Hope's bed.

The Family Business

Lately, Hope has really wanted to help me out with bow stuff. So, I've been letting her "help."

Here she is packing up orders - she's actually pretty good at putting the bows for each order and a business card in each box.

And then here she is putting labels on her cheeks. Anna's our moral support!

Cutie-patootie

Anna at 11 weeks. She is the sweetest little thing!