Spring Training

Every Spring we offer a five-week program for our new students called "Spring Training". Each week is hosted by a different family in the community, usually friends from our local church. As a family, they prepare a meal for our students and share a short testimony of their faith. As staff we then share on various topics over the course of the five weeks like: Who are the Navigators, what are our core values, etc. We also teach basic tools, such as "How to Have a Quiet Time" and time management. We've found this is a great way to build community and rapport, and at the same time help students understand more about what we're about.

This past Tuesday was our first night, and Elisabeth and I were able to attend for awhile before bedtime, which was fun for all of us. The family that hosted has a neat testimony of how God has given them a heart for Ethiopia. They've started an organization with an emphasis on adoption called Fields of Promise (www.fieldsofpromise.org). I felt so grateful that our young students have the opportunity to be influenced by such neat families!

Two months and counting...

It seems like I just posted Elisabeth's one month old blog update and here we are, February 9th, posting her two month update! This past month has been an absolute delight, and Jason and I are loving being parents to our sweet daughter. It seems like everyday she is doing something new.

Month two highlights:

*First time to church (we made it to the early service and Sunday school! No nursery for her yet--it may be awhile until we let her go!)
*First time to social smile. A true heart melter! (-:
*First time to make cooing noises, and they are precious!
*First time to hold head up while on her tummy.
*First time to go to Nav Night.
*First time to attend our student leaders' meeting.
*First time to attend a Bible Study (the girls insisted that we come "interrupt" study every week!)
*First time to wear cloth diapers. I was a little nervous as to how the whole system would work, but we are enjoying it so much! So far we have tried just one brand, Fuzzi Bunz, and they are awesome!

She is growing so fast and we are loving every minute with her!

Officially a Navigator!

Elisabeth attended her first Nav Night on campus last night and is now an official Navigator! Jason spoke to our students on the topic of "The Gospel", and I really wanted to be there to support him. It was Elisabeth's and my first outing completely on our own, and yesterday was an unusually challenging day. Yet, we drove to campus at around 8 pm, and arrived just after Jason started. She was perfect the whole time, and afterwards met SO many new friends who have been waiting months to meet her! I guess her Nav Night experienced tuckered her out as she went 7.5 hours between feedings-her longest stretch yet!

One month old!

Elisabeth turned one month old last Saturday! Monday we took her for her second pediatrician check up, and Jason and I were very eager to learn how much she weighs now. Jason guessed between eight and nine pounds, and I guessed seven-and-a-half. Well, the little lady with the hearty appetite weighed in at eight pounds eleven ounces! We're so proud of our little growing girl and so thankful she's thriving and healthy.

Today is the first day of classes for our KU students, and marks the beginning of the first semester Jason and I will work together officially as parents. We have much to learn!

Finally, my heart is burdened today for the nation of Haiti. As a new parent, my heart especially hurts for the young children affected by this tragedy. I am currently reading through a book called "Trusting God" by Navigator author and speaker Jerry Bridges, and he includes a chapter about God's power over nature. When these great tragedies occur, our first question is often "why?" A quote that jumped out at me from this book says that "it is not wrong to wrestle with these issues, as long as we do it in a reverent and submissive attitude toward God. Indeed, to fail to wrestle with the issue of large-scale tragedy may indicate a lack of compassion toward others on our part." He goes on to quote Isaiah 45:7, "I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I the Lord, do all these things." Please join with me in praying for the children affected by the earthquake in Haiti, that they would come to put their trust in a great big God.

Here are a few recent pictures of our sweet little one-month old girl!

Happy New Year from the Rosses!

Elisabeth is now three weeks old and has enriched our lives more than we could ever have imagined. As I was growing up, my parents would say things to me like, "you'll understand once you have kids", and now I am finally starting to get it! Parenting has taught us about the beauty of unconditional love and the amazing miracle of life. Every day I stand more amazed at our daughter and how God created her to be just perfect for us. I look at her newborn pictures and marvel at how she has already changed so much. I know it is an inevitable truth that she will grow up so fast, so I want to cherish these sacred beginnings with her.

Jason and I spent some time today reflecting on the past year and are so grateful for the way God has worked in our lives during 2009. We look forward joyfully to a new year of many "firsts" for 2010!

Below are some holiday and recent pictures of our sweet Elisabeth Anne, two of which she is being held by her Grandma Donna and Grandpa Pat.






Blessings and love to you as you enter the new year!

Love,
Jason, Kelley, Elisabeth, and Annabelle

Introducing Elisabeth Anne Ross!

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful,I know that full well." Psalm 139:13-14


She's here! On December 9, 2009 at 11:57 am, Elisabeth Anne Ross was born and our lives instantly and beautifully transformed forever!
Our last post was from her due date, and that night my water broke at 1:00 am, which prompted our trip to the hospital around 3:00 am and the induction process starting around 9:00 am on December 8. Labor was very slow in progressing, which meant increasing medical interventions to monitor Elisabeth's and my progress. Finally around mid-morning on Wednesday, December 9, after her heart rate was dropping consistently with each contraction, our doctor decided to do a C-section. After that the process was incredibly fast and she was here before we could even really process what was going on! It was a good decision as her umbilical cord was wrapped around her body several times which was preventing the normal progression of labor.
She weighed in at 5 pounds 14 ounces (the same as Mom when she was born!) and 19 inches in length. We stayed in the hosptial until Saturday and were cared for very well by the staff. The last few days have been adventurous, challenging, and so joyful that words just can't do it justice.
Elisabeth was born with a heart murmur that her pediatrician noticed and wanted checked out by a professional. We took her to the cardiology department at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City yesterday, and while she does have two small murmurs, the doctor is not concerned about them and told us to come back in a year to have them checked again. He told us to just pretend like they are not even there and to not treat her any differently because of it. This was very reassuring and we are thankful it is nothing more serious.
I plan to create some online photo albums with more pictures of Elisabeth, but in the meantime enjoy a few photos below!






Thank you all for your love, prayers, and support during this season of new life. We are so thankful to be celebrating our daughter's birth and the birth of Jesus so close together. Merry Christmas to you all!
Love, Jason, Kelley, Elisabeth, and Annabelle Ross

Today's the official due date!

Well, we made it to December 7th, our official due date! It seems that little Bambina is nice and cozy and not wanting to budge! We had our final prenatal appointment today, complete with a sonogram, and she is doing well and very active. She was even sticking her tongue out and sucking on her fingers. She had us all laughing! We can't wait to kiss those little fingers soon!
In the meantime, here are two recent pictures. One is of Bambina's new "friends" hanging out in her crib just waiting for her arrival. (I've already told them that they don't get to stay in the crib once she gets here, but they are cute for now!) The other is of of Annie having her own baby shower with some pink tissue paper from one of Bambina's gifts. Who knew it could keep a cat occupied for so long?



We'll keep you updated!
Love from the Rosses