Katelyn's ONE!

Oh, sweet, strong baby girl! You are officially a toddler, though you've been toddling around for TOO LONG ALREADY :) You are a mover and a shaker, little one. You started pulling yourself up on furniture and cruising around at about 7 or 8 months. You really took off at 11 months, and in a short amount of time, you've mastered the art of walking. You love the thrill of climbing stairs and more than once you've made it to the top without anyone noticing. You're quick!  It's pretty amazing and was pretty funny to see such a tiny little thing cruisin' around and walking like "psh, I've been doing this all my life, why are you actin' so surprised!?!?".  You crawled super early and were and still are pretty flexible. You used to just hang out in the splits position all the time.

You are everything and MORE than I could have asked for in a girl baby. I think you might have some intensity in you, but it's a pretty quiet determination (so far). You aren't talking much, just jabbering, but I never did well with figuring out what babies are saying... You walk, push things around, crawl super fast, and seem to be pretty fearless, oftentimes making me a little nervous because I thought your brother was busy... he's got nothin' on you!

I feel like today is a day to celebrate YOU, the fact that daddy and I have made it through our first year as parents to TWO sweet babies, and also to praise God for all He's done for us. This has been quite a year, so much happened that you may not fully understand, but here we are... Standing. Together. Happy. Full of Love.

2 Months

Your first moments on earth almost exacly one year ago were sort of scary ones. You were born with a knot in your cord and right away proved yourself to be quite the miracle baby. You had some heart issues, which all ended up checking out fine, but were such a sweet reminder to trust in Jesus. I pray you always do that. He's so trustworthy. Truly.

You were a pretty good sleeper and still are, for the most part (praise God!) and were so sweet and pretty quiet. You have always loved being sung to, "Jesus Loves Me" is one of your favorites, it makes you smile and giggle.

4 months

5 months old with daddy - at Larry and Jess' Wedding (9/10/11)

In your first six months of life, daddy changed jobs; we bought remodeled, and moved into our first house. What a crazy first six months for you!

6 Months

In the next six months, you took some pretty long plane rides, ended up in Finland, went for a reindeer sleigh ride, celebrated Christmas for your second time in the same year, and much more. It was a great trip! You didn't sleep that great, but you were pleasant. That's one of my favorite things about you - you have such a pleasant personality.

You had the cutest two tooth grin for a long time, I just loved it! Your smile is still beautiful, but those days of two toothin' it were among my favorites!

You are BUSY. Always on the move, quietly so, but seriously, you don't like to sit still - which serves you well in this family! Your brother makes you laugh and cry, sometimes in the same moment. I think you two will be great buddies your whole lives. He adores you and you adore him. It's pretty great to see. You're starting to show your feisty side, and that's good. You tend to get up when you fall, you don't cry a whole lot, even when you fall and skin your knees, you just quietly get up and get back to whatever you were doing, no tears, no fuss. You're a pretty awesome blend of girly and strong. I want you to be sweet, but I think it's also good if you can stand your ground! Speaking of standing, you're pretty tall and lean. You still fit into some 6 month stuff, but mostly you're in 9-12 month stuff. You have little tiny feet, still in size 2's.

You have a strange obsession right now with eating dirt and splashing in the toilet water if we aren't careful. Both are kind of funny to me and sometimes drive me crazy.  Your pointer and middle finger on your left hand are your very favorite sources of comfort. You like to walk around the house with something in your right hand, preferably laundry of some sort. When you're sleepy, you suck your fingers, play with your hair/ear, and sometimes lay your head down on the floor. You love to sleep on your belly and hate having to sit still/lay still for diaper changes, etc. You also are not a big fan of your bib at mealtimes. You seem to prefer things that are sweet over just about anything else.

You are good at giving kisses and daddy seems to be your favorite benefactor of your kisses at this point.

I just asked daddy what his favorite thing about you is and he said he loves how you squeal with excitement. You seem to genuinely enjoy life, little lady. We pray you always have God's joy in your heart!



Smiling because she LOVES getting sung to! Cake?
Who cares, these people are SINGING to me!

For your birthday, we had a THANK YOU Party with our friends and family who could make it, a birthday party with your extended family along with your uncle and three cousins. You received gifts from Switzerland/France (Auntie Gretchie and Uncle Thomas), Arizona (Grandma Warner), and from here, of course. You are a well loved and well-like little lady. We were blessed with a gift of money to do something special, so we went to pizza for dinner and took you to get your first ice cream at Oregon Dairy where you touched the goats and played. You also had your first haircut and got your piggie toes painted for the first time.

You are so loved, sweet girl. I am beyond blessed by your life. Each night when I put you to bed, we talk and pray and sing together. I tell you that you're a treasure and reward of the greatest kind - really,

I can hardly believe God's kindness to us in you and your brother. We are so glad you're our girl!!!





Benson and Katelyn at around the same age -
they look quite a bit different but definitely like siblings!



We are tired, but we are blessed! :) HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET GIRL!

Tall Little Miss - Katelyn at 9 months

If Katelyn's 9 month visit is any indication of her future, she's going to be tall like daddy (lucky gal!). I'm just now updating, but our appointment was last week. She's 28.5" tall and weighs 18lbs. 8oz. She's the same height Benson was at this age, but two pounds lighter. She's basically TALL and lean (with a side of sweeeeeet thighs!). She loves to be with Benson, and most times he loves to be with her, though he is pretty rough on her at times! She takes it well, though. She gets into a LOT because she's incredibly mobile and everything goes into her mouth. There are so many differences in raising her than Benson - neither is better than the other, just big differences that I find amusing and fun! She's high energy but laid back if that makes any sense at all to anyone but me :) And sweet, sweet, sweet. She has this two tooth grin that makes me smile every time (she has six teeth, but you only see the bottom two when she smiles). It's something I'll miss when more teeth come in, but I'm enjoying it while we have it!  We just love her to pieces!!!! She's added such a wonderful joy to our home!

Chilli night. Oomph. She HATES and LOATHES her bib - rips it off and if you don't catch her in time...it's not pretty.

Today is Nate's 28th birthday! I must say, I'm WAY more excited for his birthday than he is :) I think he thinks I'm crazy. Ha. I had a hard time sleeping last night and each time Katelyn woke me up to eat, I wanted to tell him happy birthday and give him his gift (which was a new car stereo I installed myself last night). Thanks to our dear friend Carla, we get to go on a date tonight! We are going to walk around downtown for First Friday in Lancaster. That should be fun!

The following picture sums our little lady up pretty well. Moving and smiling. That's her.

Be blessed dear ones!!!!

Up someday soon (???) - our pics and update from Finland and annual review I've had done for weeks and weeks, but never posted. Oops.

2011 - What a year!

2011 was quite a year. Right now, it seems like it was an easy year, but it wasn't that easy. It was crazy. We weathered a lot of changes and were tested in some intense ways. It's amazing isn't it, what a little distance from the crazy will do for you?  God has been good, faithful, and the cry of my heart this year is that I would get to a place of health and wholeness in Christ that helps me free people, see them as redeemed, and to live fully in His grace. Can that happen on earth? I'm willing to give it a whirl :)

SO here's to 2011, thank you God, for seeing us through!

January:
On January 6th, I prayed that God would give Nate a new job. I guess without going into too much detail, grace ran out on his stint at MDS (for me, anyway). I was having a hard time being positive and looking forward to him traveling when our baby girl arrived in April. So I prayed. I remember it being a short, but heartfelt prayer, and then I kind of let it go. I had prayed before, but this prayer was definitely more, "God, here's my heart, do what you will, and I will still love you even if your answer is no".  Well, January, unknown to me, Nate got two emails for potential different jobs. January 8th after dropping my sister and her fiance off at the airport, I confessed my prayers to him, because really, it was his life I was asking God to change :) He didn't share with me at the time, but a few weeks later, he had breakfast with an old high school classmate that changed our life in a big way.
February:
Nate made one of his last trips with MDS. It was on that trip we found out there would be layoffs of employees. He returned to more meetings with his friend, and a pretty probable job at a bank in our area. No more travel. :) Layoffs happened, Nate was kept. It was interesting, because we had a backup plan, we didn't have to worry or fret. So we did what we could and tried our hardest to minister to our friends/coworkers at MDS. It was a really cool season of ministering together and seeing Nate walk in his giftings. I turned 31. Wowee. Nate turned 27.
March:

April:
The biggest blessing of April, and really of the whole year, was the birth of our sweet Katelyn Grace on the 19th. She was born with a true knot in her umbilical cord, which is incredible. She was alive, healthy, and truly a miracle. She's so much more than I could have asked God for in a daughter. She's a delight, so calm, so happy, and just SWEET. I can see so much of God's goodness in her. She was born with a possible heart issue, so that was a little difficult to walk through, but the peace of God was with us.
May:
We got the all-clear on Katelyn's heart condition. Praise God for His care for her and for us! We also celebrated three years of marriage. It seems like a lot more than three, because we've seen a lot in those years!
I celebrated SIX years of service at Global Disciples. I am so blessed!!!!
June:
We went on an extended family vacation with Nate's family to the Deerwood. We were blessed with gorgeous (read: not humid) weather and a wonderful time with his family.
Nate had his last day at MDS - a bittersweet day for sure.
July:
Nate started his new job at Fulton. We feel so very blessed at the way God worked that situation out for us! It's definitely a story to remember as we look back on His faithfulness!
We had prayed very minimally about buying a home. We thought something with a bigger yard a bit more out of the city, closer to our small group and connections at church would be fun. On my way home from Bible study one night, I saw a for sale sign in a yard. We called, checked it out a couple of times and started the process of buying a home!
August:
August 26th, we celebrated our 4th anniversary of dating and purchased our house!  We were blessed with an outdated, but structurally sound home we could work on and move into and expand into as well.
September:
This was a HARD month, I'm not going to lie. I am still working part-time at Global, Nate was still getting used to his new job, we had a very active two year old, a five month old, and were working feverishly on packing and remodeling our house. It was a lot of late nights, a lot of exhaustion, and it was a good reminder of how much we need to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.  We felt humbled and loved as so many friends and family lent us their skills and love to help us. It was mostly a surreal experience for me, the girl who has moved countless times in life!
October:
Friends and family came together once again to bless us by helping us move!
November:
This was a much calmer month. :) We enjoyed Thanksgiving, settled some more into our home, and enjoyed a little less stress.
December:
I guess the biggest news of the month was my sister's wedding in Finland! What a fun trip we had!  The kids had their passports ready, so did we, and on the 21st, we embarked on our first international trip together. For me, it had been almost three years since I'd left the country and boy was I ready! I love being in other cultures, hearing other languages, and experiencing life in a whole different way!
Throughout our trip of many sleepless nights, God gave us much grace and we were able to serve, bless, and ENJOY those we were with. My sister made the perfect and beautiful bride. I cried, they cried, Benson didn't throw the rings into the pond. On the trip, we had SNOW on Christmas day, went on a reindeer sled ride, helped build an igloo, and experienced a week of forced "unplugged" lifestyle. I liked the simple life, it was pretty great. We were busy, but a different busy than here at home.

I have been thinking lately, well really, it's been a big thought to me all year, how much easier it is to trust God in the hard things, in the things that seem like they will shake you.  How much harder it is for me, at least, it is to keep my eyes fixed on God in the annoying, mundane day-to-day things we walk through. I want to keep my eyes so fixed on Him, that I can't help but trust and praise Him in the easy and in the hard and in the just plain annoying.

Do you trust ME?

This past weekend, I felt my heart in a heavy state, wondering if life would slow down enough for me to ENJOY it again. Not that I haven't enjoyed my life, it just seems like there are a lot of days that are hard rather than joyful. It's been such a growing season, this having two young children, remodeling a home, moving/settling in, working, being involved at church/in ministry. All very good things, but I've still been feeling like I need more JESUS, you know? There are just so many areas where I feel like I'm not really doing my greatest...

So Sunday, as I felt my heart so heavy, weary, and well, a little dry, I knew I needed something different than a church experience in a building.  I love our Body of believers, but I just needed something different. I needed a fresh touch from God. Because really, going in and out of service to take our son to nursery, nursing Katelyn, etc., coupled with the whirl of getting ready to go to church, Sundays just don't feel very "restful" to me. So after praying and asking God for a fresh touch, I asked Nate if we could go on a hike for church. I was 99.999999% sure the answer would be no. Nate doesn't like to miss church (ever) and I'm grateful for his commitment to it. I really am, but this past week, I was really hoping my odds were somewhere in the .0000001% to be a yes. He said yes right away and I was shocked. God is so good. (Thanks honey!!!)

So we finished getting ready, and as soon as Katelyn was up and fed from her nap, we headed to a beautiful trail, a nice, solitary trail called Trout Run. I knew I needed something different, but I wasn't expecting to have a tantrum throwing toddler's instruction be what MY heart needed to meditate on.  As we walked, we stopped to throw stones into the creek. If you know my son, throwing stones into a creek is somewhere in the same sphere as heaven (he's all boy and 2). I am pretty sure in his mind, he'll be throwing stones with Jesus for all of eternity.

For me, I just closed my eyes, and the sound of the water carried so much stress away. The fresh air the crisp leaves, the water, in all of it, God was massaging away my tension. I opened my eyes and saw my husband and son enjoying throwing stones together and I felt so FULL.

The time came to move on, to keep hiking. Benson was NOT having it.

He was so mad and throwing a huge fit. Before I thought the words, I said, "Benson, do you trust us?". Nate was carrying him at this point and asked him the same question, then we said, "Can you trust that Daddy has something better for you?". Then it hit me. Do I trust that Daddy God has something better for me?  Do I believe the small creek and the small stones are as great as it gets or am I living trusting Him for all that He has for me?

As we walked we came to an even better place, with an island where the creek split and we got to the island where there were bigger stones and the water was so clear you could see the leaves/stones at the bottom of the pool we were throwing rocks into.

Katelyn's first hike... Sorry sweetie you're already 6 months old. We'll try to do this more often!



As we shared with Benson how much God loves us, how much we love him as our son and how he can trust us to lead him to better things, and that he can TRUST GOD EVEN MORE. God was ministering to me in so many ways. Nate knew there was an even better place ahead, and so we left this great spot for something even better. Benson, however, still didn't believe us and was pretty hysterical. So we asked him some more if he would trust us and then we let God minister some more to our family about trusting Him. I am sure I throw fits that to God look similar to Benson's that day, but I'm a bit better at hiding them from the public.

Then, we came to the BEST spot yet!  It had a rock about 15 feet above the water you could step out on and throw really big rocks into a pool below. Benson thinks he's superman sometimes and was trying to lift huge boulders (do you know grunting helps???).  Anyway, as he and Nate threw big rocks from the rock above the water, I was filled with praise to God for loving me so much. For loving us so much and for being so trustworthy. He wants us to experience Him fully, not only in the little things, but in the big things. He wants us to believe Him for delight, not just happiness.

Thank you God, for ministering to our family, for the beauty of Your creation, and for loving us so much to lead us perfectly... We trust You. We trust You.

Psalm 13:5 - But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.

Post where I nauseate you with kid stats :) Katelyn is 6 months old!

Katelyn Grace is six months old today!!! What a joy she is to our lives and our hearts. She is seriously SUCH A CONTENT AND HAPPY baby. We are in love. 

For about a month now (maybe a bit longer) she's been mobile. She has mastered the crawl, likes to stand on her legs with her hands on the floor, is starting to pull up on things, and can get just about anywhere. I think she knows to keep up with brother, she has to STEP IT UP A NOTCH OR 20.  I'm thinking at this age, Benson was active, but was sitting up with the help of a boppy, and definitely not crawling or anything close to it.

Unlike Benson, she doesn't like the nuk, so EVERYTHING goes in her mouth for exploration. I am baby-proofing much more with her much sooner!  She's really, really flexible and sometimes freaks people out with her splits in all directions. She smiles like crazy and LOVES it when you sing Jesus Loves Me to her. She's also "talking" a bunch now, making sure to make slobbering noises mixed in, too.

SHE SLEEPS!!!! She takes two pretty decent naps a day, and sleeps between 5 and 9 hours in a stretch at night (not consistent, but she sleeps for longer than two hours at a stretch, so I DON'T CARE! :)).

She and Benson are good buddies, only getting into fights when his blankie and Woody and his ball popper toy are involved. She thinks he's incredibly entertaining and he loves to give her kisses, share with her, and smile at her.

At her six month appointment last week, she weighed 15lbs., 13 oz. (54th percentile) and was 25 7/8 feet  tall (63rd percentile).  At this age, Benson was over 18 lbs ;) and quite a bit taller.

Katelyn at the doctor's office. This stance lasted all of .2 seconds before she was up and sitting/crawling. I'm sure the doctor wished she'd sit still!

 Benson is 26 months old today, talking up a storm, counting (1,2,3,8,9,10 - we're working on it ;)), pointing to letters on a page, busy, busy, busy - the boy can really kick a ball, shoot a ball, and is still athletic as can be. I'm trying to figure out the SAFEST sport for him to play. I think track is a good contender ;) ha.  Really, I can see I'm going to have to "let him go" when it comes to sports... If he keeps going at this rate, he'll definitely be a contender.

Here's our Benson at six months!

For please, he says "there you go" after signing please. Cracks us up. He's quite compassionate, when sissy gets hurt, he asks her if she's okay.  It seems like at this stage, each day I'm in awe of another thing he's talking about. I love it. He's a sponge!  I feel like if I could see through to his brain, I'd see things cranking, turning, spinning.  He is friendly as can be, saying hi to everyone at the store, and sometimes bye, too!  Katelyn and Benson make for one friendly cart anywhere we go.

Benson loves his daddy. As soon as I say, "Daddy's home", Benson's running to the door, throwing it open and waiting for him to appear. I love it!

Benson is also incredibly helpful. I can see a servant heart in him, wanting to help with so many things, so I'm trying to let him, even if it slows me down. I don't want to squash that gift!

We are all starting to feel a little more situated in our home now, Benson is especially happy with his new room. By 6:45 at night, he's headed to his room to read and hang out to settle down before bed. Nate is adjusting well to his new job, celebrating three months a couple of weeks ago. He had a really positive review, we're so proud of him! I'm still enjoying being plugged in at Global Disciples 10 hours a week. I think it keeps me sane :)  I'm so grateful to be able to be involved still, keeping my eyes on the eternal stuff beyond my little corner of the world.

I love seeing their similarities and differences. Many say they see Benson in Katelyn but I don't really all that much. They definitely look very different to me, but you can tell they are related in some ways. They are both so unique and so wonderful to parent. I would never ask for any different babies to raise and I thank God every day for the privilege it is to raise them! 

This is her usual expression. Eyes wide, taking it all in. Two fingers in her mouth. Doesn't matter which two as long as they're in there!

Home!

Well, it's official. After many, many long hours of work by us and by SO MANY others, we are moved in to our new home! This is our first home that we own :)  We feel especially blessed because of what this home represents. It's definitely more than a bunch of walls to us.

I'll let the pictures speak now.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150306938191262.337875.734601261&l=ddcf27ea76&type=1

Sorry, I'm too lazy (busy???) to upload to two places and FB is faster!

We are so grateful for all the help we had on this project. For just over a month, we did a lot and we COULD NOT HAVE DONE it without so many extra hands. We are so blessed!!!!!!

Two!

Happy TWO YEARS our gift from God. We are BLESSED!

Benson, I am going to write this letter to you, others can read along, but it's really to you.

When mommy and daddy found out we were pregnant with you we were excited, joyful, and really, if we're honest, a bit scared, too. You see, we knew your life would bring lots of joy but also lots of big changes.  And we were right! 

You were a world traveler before you were even born. You've been to N-pal, India, Eth-opia, Kenya, and Switzerland.  This year, you will travel to Finland for Christmas and your Auntie Gretchen's wedding. You have also flown to Mississippi and California, and have been to Arizona, as well. We pray you will have a heart for the nations and a heart to see people around the world know Jesus. While we were in Kenya, at about 10 weeks in my womb, a missionary named Benson said I should name you after him. To make a long story short, upon our return to the states, we decided it would be so. Even though we wouldn't know for certain you were a boy until a couple of months later, we had in our hearts that you were indeed a boy. 

And we are so glad you are!  You are ALL BOY, too.  A strong, capable, intelligent BOY.  Your favorite things to do at this point in life are to play with balls. You prefer shooting baskets, dunking the basketball and hanging from the rim ;), kicking a soccer ball or any ball, playing catch, jumping - and you do these things well. Really well.  When I was pregant with you, I had a feeling you would be a gentle giant who was an athlete that drew people to you for your skills but won their hearts for Christ. I hope that is true, because I really see you have a lot of natural athletic ability. It's a little bit amazing, even. Even now, when I see you excelling in these areas, I ask God to help keep you on the level ground and use those abilities for His glory, not your own.

Eating his first sugary treat on his 1st birthday - banana cake!  Look at that moppy hair!

Even more amazing to me is your heart for others. You LOVE to share. All I have to say (usually) is "Please share with so and so" and you gladly forfeit your toy.  You love to be a helper and a servant. If I ask you to help me do something, you light up and usually do it right away. It's almost like it brings you great joy to help and bless people. I like that about you!  You LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to give kisses and be kind. You are so sweet, you share your toys with Katelyn, you lavish her with love, and you are so gentle with her! You adore your baby sister and I just know she will always feel blessed and cherished to have you for a brother, just as we do in having you for a son.

Photo Credit Kimberly Sanderson

Wearing mommy's flip flops and jumping (wasn't working out so well... but it was fun!)

You aren't talking a whole lot, but you say quite a few words and comprehend even more. When we ask you to point to objects in a book, you have most of them right away. You just prefer not to SAY the words!  You seem to be more interested in honing your athletic skills and I'm okay with that as long as you speak someday soon :) You do say many words, just not a lot. Your favorites are sun, sit, sorry (sa-Eee), please, thank you (gank you), eye, shoe, bubble, balloon (mamoon), moon, one, foof (some sort of counting), uh-oh (usually when you are doing something you're not supposed to, this is our signal to find you!), cheese, whoa, mmm, wow - these are my favorites :).  You still love your NUK, but are becoming less and less dependent on it. You love to eat cheese, bananas, mac-cheese/tuna/peas, milk, anything Italian, water, watermelon, peaches, and so much more. You love wearing our shoes to clomp around the house in. Water is one of your favorite play-things, especially splashing in puddles.

You live intensely, whether it be playing, loving, even when you are upset, it's INTENSE. You don't like to sleep a whole lot, in fact you never really have loved it. I think you'd rather live life and you definitely don't like missing out on being with PEOPLE if you can help it!  We're working on helping you earn perseverance and patience. You get frustrated if things don't work the way you want them to, but almost every time, if you keep trying, it works out for you!  If you can harness the intensity God has blessed you with, little buddy, it's going to be incredibly useful in your life. If you let it control you, it won't be useful. I think you will be a leader because of some of your abilities, and I hope we can help you in your intensity. I really do think you will be an incredible leader. And hopefully from what I've seen so far, you will be a servant leader (the best kind, because that's how Jesus is!).

My little buddy, you have made my life so sweet, so fun. I'm DAILY so blessed by the PRIVILEGE it is to love you, know you, and raise you for God's glory. Even on the hard days, I thank God for you. I will always love you, you will always be wanted and accepted.  You are a joy and delight to our hearts, Benson.  Even when you are sick, or teething you are for the most part a joyful son. I'm excited to see where the days in your next year of life lead you. It's going to be awesome!

God has made you glad in the joy of His presence!