How time flies!

     First, I would like to say sorry for being completely lame and neglecting the blog for so long. Life has a crazy tendency of getting stuck in fast forward right now. So, with that out of the way I will try to do my best to catch up.
     Hmmm... well the last post was when Aubrey was three weeks old, so the most obvious update is that she is now five weeks and two days old. :) Kelsey just took her to her 1 month appointment today with Dr. Kreganow and we were really happy with the results. Her stats are 10 lbs. 10oz. (79 percentile), and her length is 22.5 " (87 percentile). So as you can see our little girlie is doing very well on mommies supply of "sandwiches" :). We did ask the doc about Aubrey's tendency to fuss while eating in the evenings, and she believes it to either be gas or that Kelsey is releasing excessive milk. So she is starting some drops to try and eliminate any gas bubbles that are making her uncomfortable during feedings. All things being considered, the Lord continues to bless Aubrey with great health and a strong appetite. He has been so faithful to answer our, and so many other's, prayers.
     This last week was really great for us as far as socializing went. (THANK GOD!) We made it to home group on Wednesday, met with the Dutcher's for lunch and went to a family party on Saturday, made it to Sunday service, and had Kevin, Sarah, Wyatt, and Michele over for dinner on Sunday. It really was refreshing to get so much time with friends and family and allow us to ease back into the world. haha. Aubrey did fantastic through all of it and stole the show at the family party. Her feeding schedule still conflicts with Sunday service but Kelsey and I were able to worship together before Aubrey needed a feeding. So I took her out and fed her the bottle during communion and then Kelsey took her during the main service while I took notes for sharing later. It was still really enjoyable and I don't think it will prevent us from continuing to attend in the future.
     As for the job... it is still going really well, and I am continuing to learn tons of new information. I feel like I am making steady progress and will be able to build my confidence over the coming months before peak flying season in the northwest. I'm guessing it is going to be insanely busy, even though we are super busy already. That is good job security in an otherwise down economy. :)
     So I know that I am forgetting tons of great information that I would love to pass along but I can't think of it right now so it will have to wait until the next blog.
     Thanks for taking a few minutes to check up on our family and we hope you are encouraged by what the Lord is doing in our lives.

 The Fam :)

 Me figuring out how to feed Aubrey (Kelsey makes it look too easy)

 Kelsey, Aubrey, and Celia at her bridal shower (Sis is a shoe in for the Red Hat Society)

 Aubrey and I during a morning devotional

 Aubrey pondering deep theology :)

 Aubrey with her Uncle Kevin

 Aubrey with her Aunt Sarah

She is getting pro at traveling

Three weeks old!

     Wow! How fast time has gone by. Our baby girl is growing so fast. :) She is still very content and is becoming more alert each day. Kelsey has been an all-star mommy and continues to amaze me with her nuturing care of baby Aubrey. This week was our first week transitioning to full-time parents since Michele (Kelsey's mom) went back to work early this week. Her help through these early weeks have been such a huge blessing! So this week we have found that Aubrey consumes roughly 90% of mommy's time just in feeding. haha. That leaves me with the lions share of the house duties, which I am more than happy to do since i'm not equipped for the other job. :)

     On another note, I just finished my second week at Avian Aeronautics and so far I love it. I have been learning so much! I truly feel blessed to have a job that I enjoy and can put my God given talents to use. I already have my work shirts and it makes me feel more like I belong now. As far as I can tell, the management is happy with my work these past few weeks and have been a great encouragement for me to keep growing. I also found out there is another brother who loves Jesus Christ! He works in the engine shop and it was really cool to notice that he prayed before he ate his lunch. So the next day on break I asked him, "You love Jesus don't you?" He smiled and said that he loves Jesus very much. What a great encouragement it is to be able to find God's light in unlikely places. I say that because typically any type of shop has a very worldly standard that the flesh thrives on. So I have been pleasantly surprised by this shops mild manner and even a brother in Christ. Praise the Lord!

Aubrey's First Social Outing

     The pictures say most of it! :) It was a great day with family. We were supposed to have a photo shoot this morning but it was rescheduled. That was good because we were able to rest up for the rest of the day. First, we went to my mom and Mike's house to visit. It was the first time Mike was able to meet Aubrey for the first time, which was great to see. My mom of course melted and soaked up every second she had with her grand baby.
     After a few hours we decided it was time to pack up and head out to my dads house. During Aubrey's pre-trip diaper change she did her first "fountain" pee and almost got mommy, daddy and grandma. It was super funny and nobody got wet except Aubrey, which some wipes, a fresh diaper and fresh onesie took care of.
     Once we got to my dad's house it was another round of new acquaintances for Aubrey Anna. She got to meet her aunt Celia, uncle Dylan, and cousin Lily today. What a special afternoon it was! Lily was so excited to finally get to meet her new cousin and did very well minding the rules we had since Aubrey hasn't developed her immune system yet. Celia was especially fun to watch with Aubrey. She is going to make such a great Auntie. Celia has so much love to offer and I know for a fact Aubrey will get the lion's share of that love in the future. I must say that I was extremely impressed by Dylan's poise with a newborn. He knew exactly how to hold her and even seemed confident. (Not a quality you find in most men holding a new born other than their own.) My dad, a.k.a Fasha, had an early symptom of a cold so he didn't get to hold his grand baby, but I knew he loved having her there by his big smile whenever he looked at her.
     We finally got home around 8:45 and Aubrey Anna needed a feeding as soon as we got her unbuckled from her car seat. After a full belly and a fresh diaper she is back to normal form and doesn't seem to have been affected much by the day's activities. She truly is a content little gal. Hopefully she lets us get some sleep tonight because it did wear us out pretty good.
     I hope this message finds you well and that the Lord brings encouragement to your heart through this little blessing that He has given us. God Bless

Memories from the Hospital

These are pictures from the hospital. The stay was pretty good. They ran out of cots and pads so I slept on the floor the first night until they found one around one thirty in the morning, but I had a cot the second night. Kelsy was such a champ! Six hour labor with 30 minutes of pushing.ALL NATURAL!! My wife is a tough one...don't mess with her

Hello Everybody

     This is the first post of, hopefully, many to come. I want this to be our family update center for family and friends that we aren't able to stay in close contact with. I chose Blogger because I am not a fan of the Facebook or Myspace drama. So hopefully this will be a good way to keep people posted to important milestones in our lives while avoiding unnecessary drama.

With that being said...

     This time in our life has been crazy busy with changes. All in the last six months we have moved an hour from Puyallup, found a new church family, i've finished school, started my career, Kelsey had our baby girl Aubrey Anna!, and we celebrated our two year anniversary. All of these changes have been fatastic and the Lord has really been using them to shape us in His image.
     The biggest one for us as a family is the addition of little Aubrey Anna! She is so precious. She was born on January 28, 2012 at 10:06am. She weighed 7lbs. 7oz. and was 19.25 in. long. The long nights of little to no sleep have been draining since then, but what a little blessing! Kelsey has been such a great young mommy. I couldn't have asked Jesus for a better wife to help raise my baby girl. We're very happy and moving forward with this crazy thing called life. We hope that Jesus will continue to help us grow and guide us in His ways.

     Well, Aubrey needs to be rocked now so this blog is done. Hope this finds you well. God Bless