tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72566017073159476352012-01-29T12:18:52.568-08:00Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.comBlogger471100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-21820177606597683572012-01-29T12:13:00.000-08:002012-01-29T12:18:52.580-08:00

We are grateful and excited that our little girl is growing well! She turned 20 weeks a few weeks ago, which marks the halfway point until we get to meet her! We took a few baby bump pictures to document the halfway mark. She's been very active lately, much to my delight, and she's even been saying hello to her daddy at night before bed through some cute little kicks and jabs!

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-23047997995507926002012-01-12T11:44:00.000-08:002012-01-12T12:19:30.645-08:00

Elisabeth is going to have a baby sister around May 29th! I am so excited that she will have the opportunity to grow up with a sister. We had our big sonogram on Tuesday morning, and Elisabeth joined Jason and me as we watched and learned more about our sweet new baby. First and foremost, we are incredibly thankful that she is healthy and developing well. As the sonographer talked through what we

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-13489630380896015142011-12-06T14:38:00.000-08:002011-12-06T18:38:36.833-08:00

Elisabeth was first introduced to Minnie Mouse back in February when I was in a dear friend's wedding. The wedding was very close to Disneyland, and while Elisabeth did not actually go to Disneyland, my mom, who was also at the wedding, bought her a stuffed Minnie who was quickly named "Mimi". Since then, Elisabeth and Mimi have been the best of friends. This summer while we were in Florida for

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-85144548952398998292011-11-23T17:07:00.000-08:002011-11-24T17:03:08.372-08:00

This Thanksgiving we thought it appropriate to announce one of the biggest blessings our family is thankful for~the joyous news that we are expecting a new baby next year!Yep, Elisabeth is going to be a big sister!This picture was taken when we shared the news with our families just before our move to San Antonio in September. Elisabeth talks about and prays for her baby brother or sister, and

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-10657694630757306012011-10-24T14:00:00.001-07:002011-10-24T14:35:57.466-07:00

It has been nearly a month since we closed on our home, and we have only a few more small boxes to unpack and organize. We have considerably more space than our previous home, so we will be filling it up over time. Meanwhile, Elisabeth loves having so much space to run around!This is a picture of our new home from the outside. I couldn't wait to buy pumpkins, and Elisabeth loves patting them and

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-44492071865392948872011-10-02T08:07:00.000-07:002011-10-02T08:11:04.512-07:00

We are officially Texans again! We moved into our new home late last week after an eventful closing process, and are now getting settled. We are so thankful to be here and to have our home! We are in the process of getting internet hooked up at our home so this post will be short and without pictures, but we'll post pictures soon. Elisabeth loves her new home! My mom has been in town all week

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-65961906843062241332011-08-21T13:29:00.000-07:002011-08-26T20:22:36.619-07:00

(Downtown Jacksonville) The Jax Summer Training Program finished well and strong, and we are grateful for the opportunity to lead an amazing group of students and staff. Pictured below is the group of women team leaders and staff that I had the privilege of meeting with every week for Bible study. This traditionally has been a highlight of the summer to grow with such an amazing group of women.

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-15781174090583711562011-07-11T18:29:00.000-07:002011-09-01T19:39:20.265-07:00

I recently found two interesting links on CNN relating to the rise of the Hispanic influence in the United States. The first is of particular interest as it discusses the changing face of America's youth. These are our future college students, the young men and women who we will cross paths with on the campuses in San Antonio. The second is a video discussing the historic Hispanic influence in

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-7975609413818680832011-07-02T18:45:00.000-07:002011-07-02T20:46:16.849-07:00

As usual, the summer is flying by! We have completed four of the eight weeks, and each week has a specific theme with all elements intentionally designed around it. So far the themes have included:*Week One: Intimacy with Christ*Week Two: The Word of God*Week Three: Relationships*Week Four: Identity and Position in Christ*Week Five: Prayer, Faith, and the Promises of GodElisabeth has really

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-37286502392582238102011-06-01T17:22:00.000-07:002011-06-01T19:37:04.715-07:00

May was a big month for our family. We said goodbye to our Lawrence friends and the KU Navigators, moved out of our condo, moved our things into storage in Wichita, and then packed our car as full as possible to move to Jacksonville for 10 weeks to lead the Summer Training Program. It has been a whirlwind!We really loved living in Lawrence and will miss the ministry and our friends dearly. We are

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-14713068068385882832011-04-28T19:07:00.000-07:002011-04-28T20:34:05.095-07:00

Celebrating Resurrection Sunday with a toddler is just delightful! The three of us had colds, so when we went to church that morning we kept Elisabeth with us for the service rather than taking her to her nursery classroom. It was a special day at church as it was the first time Jason and I attended in the new sanctuary that was recently built. Our church, Grace EPC, has been such a blessing to

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-61692504602379686382011-03-29T18:40:00.000-07:002011-03-30T07:03:30.908-07:00

Jason and I have a history with Texas. We just can't seem to stay away. Both of us have flip-flopped between Kansas and Texas for many years, and after starting our married life in Lawrence, we are now returning to Texas, together, for the first time!We knew that our assignment with the Navigators at KU would be 3 or 4 years, and this will be the end of our 4th year. Last year we began to pray,

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-38360416430643071612011-02-26T10:56:00.001-08:002011-02-26T11:47:56.923-08:00

We knew this month would be a busy one, but it has truly flown by! We began with our KU Navigators annual Jerry Bridges Conference, with the theme,"Why Holiness Still Matters". Jerry is perhaps most famous for his book, The Pursuit of Holiness, in which he writes these challenging words: "Many Christians have what we might call a 'cultural holiness'. They adapt to the character and behavior

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-30744153282046871492011-01-25T18:32:00.000-08:002011-01-25T18:45:43.109-08:00

What do you do when it's 14 degrees outside? Go walk around Walmart, of course! Last Sunday afternoon we took Elisabeth to Walmart to let her walk around a nice big open space, and she sure had fun! Below is my attempt at uploading a short video clip from a new favorite website, Smilebox. This free slideshow made with SmileboxOn that same trip we bought Elisabeth her very first box of Crayola

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-74542384497940224192011-01-15T10:36:00.000-08:002011-01-15T10:52:57.199-08:00

We have great news to report! Elisabeth was born with two heart murmurs that required us to take her to Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City when she was a week old. She was diagnosed with an ASD and a VSD, but the doctor really counseled us to treat her normally and pretend they weren't even there and then just bring her back in a year for a follow up. Over the past year she has been as

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-81009783385692554152010-12-31T11:23:00.000-08:002010-12-31T12:48:25.839-08:00

What a great year 2010 was! As I scroll through blog posts from this past year, I am grateful for so much God has done in our family! Earlier this month, on December 9th, Elisabeth Anne turned one year old! We had so much fun recounting her birth from the year before (36 hours before finally meeting her via C-section!). We celebrated her first birthday with a small family party at our apartment,

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-29850883436350498532010-11-15T11:08:00.000-08:002010-11-15T12:08:26.972-08:00

Elisabeth turned 11 months last week and we are excited to plan her first birthday party! We're going to make it low-key and have it at our apartment here in Lawrence. During her 11 month photo shoot last week she had so much fun with all of her friends. (And by "photo shoot" I mean mom bustling around trying to contain a squirming baby for five seconds to get a posed shot!) She is too fun! We

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-85777124828702675962010-10-12T19:10:00.000-07:002010-10-12T20:54:24.678-07:00

Elisabeth turned 10 months old on Saturday, October 9, so she's now officially double digits! At her nine month check-up she was in the 30th percentile for weight and only 9th percentile for height! She's a little bug! Don't tell her that though, because she's got big plans and is going big places! She currently will stand up on her own in the middle of the floor, unassisted, and does her "surfer

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-9326909563653937892010-09-18T17:04:00.000-07:002010-09-19T21:26:16.230-07:00

Nine months, that is! Our little girl is getting so big! Just today she stood for about three seconds on her own without holding on to anyone or anything. She has us laughing nearly all day long with her adorable and inquisitive personality. When she hears us laugh then she'll start laughing, too, which only makes us laugh more! There's a lot of laughing going on these days. This reminds me of a

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-53364539448260067802010-08-20T09:20:00.000-07:002010-08-20T09:36:53.836-07:00

What's one way to tell that the students are back and we are in full swing? Cooking mass quantities of food! This week included baking eight dozen cookies and almost breaking our can opener opening a 117 ounce can of baked beans! We hosted a BBQ for our student leadership team on Monday evening as we welcomed them back to campus and discussed what this year could look like to labor together on

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-24799739150215541672010-08-10T19:29:00.000-07:002010-08-10T20:14:11.300-07:00

Elisabeth celebrated her eight month birthday on Sunday and has grown so much this past month! She is crawling (rapidly) all over the place and loves to chase her kitty all around. She would really love to pet her, but we have to explain that Annie is a "look don't touch" cat as she still has her claws and has been known to be a swiper in the past! Nevertheless, Annie provides lots of

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-68757193554512079642010-07-15T08:05:00.000-07:002010-07-15T08:35:02.752-07:00

Since we've been married, we've spent every summer at our Summer Training Program in Jacksonville, FL with students and staff from around the country. We really see the value of training programs as they are life-changing for all involved. This summer we were only there for two weeks in the beginning and have been back in Kansas traveling and working on funding and other projects. Jason took a

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-31105481839005652302010-06-12T11:44:00.000-07:002010-06-13T11:34:19.368-07:00

Elisabeth turned six months old the day after we returned from Florida, and we celebrated by offering her some tasty organic rice cereal for the first time! We are now on Day Five of solid food training and so far she hasn't really taken to it, but does enjoy spitting out her tongue (cereal included). Day Three of solid food training she was holding on to a spoon and actually stuck it in her

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-77847509285492500362010-05-31T12:47:00.000-07:002010-05-31T19:07:41.845-07:00

We arrived in Jacksonville, FL last Tuesday after two flights that went great with Elisabeth. She seemed to enjoy herself and even made friends with a flight attendant who nicknamed her "Smiley". It was cute to see her stop the beverage service to make faces at Elisabeth!This past week Jason has been busy helping launch the Summer Training Program and preparing for all the students to arrive. On

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-75104382128194298462010-05-16T10:47:00.000-07:002010-05-16T12:47:39.669-07:00

Last Sunday, we celebrated Mother's Day for the first time with Elisabeth Anne and on the same day we celebrated her five month birthday! The three of us traveled to Wichita to spend the weekend with family, and it was an extra special trip as Elisabeth met her Great-Grandma Kester for the very first time (see picture below). What a blessing to have four generations from one family together at

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-89352003837695055212010-04-22T17:42:00.000-07:002010-04-22T18:49:35.802-07:00

Elisabeth Anne turned four months on April 9 and had her check up yesterday afternoon. She did great! She weighs 13.8 pounds and is 24 inches long. She also had three shots, which makes mom a nervous wreck. She was a trooper and didn't have any bad reactions. Our doctor said she looks great, and for that, we are so thankful! We love her more and more everyday, and it's so amazing to have the

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-28859913104184315872010-04-08T18:14:00.000-07:002010-04-08T18:55:14.552-07:00

Elisabeth had a big first Easter last Sunday! She went to church all dressed up in her new Easter dress from her Kester grandparents, and she made it through the entire service! She really enjoys the singing in the beginning, which then calms her down and she will generally snooze off and on throughout the message. No offense, Pastor Bill...I promise Jason and I are paying attention!After church

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-57539258019263554372010-03-24T12:22:00.000-07:002010-03-24T12:53:09.026-07:00

Elisabeth has been a busy girl since our last posting! She's managed to turn three months old, travel to Missouri for two Navigator conferences, and travel to San Antonio for spring break with the "big kids". (That's what she calls the college students!) She has stayed in two hotels and seen her fair share of I-35 between Kansas and Texas. Our trip to Maryville, MO at the end of February included

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-40146342931840794532010-02-23T11:54:00.000-08:002010-02-23T16:37:14.018-08:00

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

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-22827154131896169242010-02-09T18:27:00.000-08:002010-02-09T18:55:55.925-08:00

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

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-58050771478588391102010-01-22T19:19:00.000-08:002010-01-22T19:23:48.705-08:00

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

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-35038490724649653902010-01-14T12:37:00.000-08:002010-01-14T14:19:04.687-08:00

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

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-53956400421636743182009-12-31T10:11:00.000-08:002009-12-31T14:33:30.623-08:00

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

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-43457774477338021092009-12-17T11:20:00.000-08:002009-12-17T13:29:41.196-08:00

"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 139:13-14She'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

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-5258587391425243092009-12-07T18:55:00.000-08:002009-12-07T19:14:45.879-08:00

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

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-67076461337793892152009-12-02T06:16:00.000-08:002009-12-02T09:03:55.888-08:00

Even though it's December, November was such a fun month that we wanted to highlight some of its events before this month becomes eventful as well!November was indeed full of showers. For starters, Lawrence had its first "snow shower" a few weeks ago on a blustery Monday morning. We walked out of our weekly staff meeting to a winter wonderland outside! We'll have to wait until perhaps January or

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-87575850633571882402009-10-22T13:56:00.000-07:002009-10-22T14:39:35.240-07:00

Lots of updates over the past three weeks! We've been staying busy between campus and planning for Bambina, so here are a few updates from our life in Lawrence these days! We are sending out a newsletter soon, so more details about Main Event, our regional fall conference, will be included there, but it was a great weekend! On Oct 9-11, over 600 students from around the region descended on Kansas

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-66447522472867310642009-10-01T07:37:00.000-07:002009-10-01T08:05:58.109-07:00

Our little girl, "Bambina", had her 30-week pre-natal appointment yesterday, on the 30th, and our doctor said she's doing great! This week, mom, dad, and baby are all 30! She's growing more active by the day, and it is such a joy to feel every little wiggle, squirm, and kick. We also had our final birthing class last night at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, where we will deliver, and we both really

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-3810284661021538932009-09-18T10:54:00.000-07:002009-09-18T11:24:21.170-07:00

This week was a special week for us as we celebrated our second wedding anniversary on September 15th as well as the culmination of two healthy trimesters in our pregnancy! Monday marked the beginning of our last trimester, and we can't believe we only have three months to go! At times it seems like it's been such a long process and at others it seems to have flown by. We are thankful and amazed

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-39111758986467587282009-09-02T09:10:00.000-07:002009-09-02T10:09:13.297-07:00

Many of you have already heard our BIG news, but we are expecting a baby girl in early December, and we couldn't be more thankful or thrilled! Her official due date is December 7, which is just three days before Kelley's birthday. The above picture was taken last Saturday, and we are now 26 weeks along. I've attached a fun link that let's you see how big the baby is compared to typical foods.

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-60341647471205251812009-04-27T14:21:00.000-07:002009-04-27T15:23:11.487-07:00

We can hardly believe there are only eight more days until KU's "stop day" before finals! Where has this semester gone?!? As we head into this week, we are excited to begin preparing for the next school year. We are forming our new student leadership team, our Joshua Team, and these young men and women have a heart to serve God during their time in college. Joshua Team provides a way for them to

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-25277013294236308252009-03-02T13:43:00.000-08:002009-03-02T14:49:15.447-08:00

The beginning of March notes the end of regular season basketball and the beginning of March Madness. Last year was our first year at KU and happened to be the first year the Jayhawks won it all, so it was quite the introduction to Lawrence and KU basketball! Below are a few pictures from downtown Lawrence last year after they won the big game. It was quite the party!This semester we hit the

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-28040674124525434702009-01-01T20:25:00.000-08:002009-01-13T19:33:16.379-08:00

Happy New Year! Perhaps one of our New Year's resolutions should be to manage our blog with more frequency. We promise we'll try!Spring semester here at KU begins on January 15th, and we will reunite with our student leaders on the 14th for an all-day prayer retreat. Jason will be encouraging them in the Navigator vision: "To advance the gospel of Jesus and his kingdom into the nations through

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-2291128464481196072008-11-07T11:40:00.000-08:002008-11-09T13:24:07.385-08:00

This was the theme of the 2008 Homecoming week for KU this fall. We were able to enjoy some of the festivities before the big game, which included the Homecoming parade. Some of our students worked hard pomping the floats (aka, lots of tissue paper.) We met up with some of our students, and Kelley is pictured below with Emily, one of our seniors. KU has two mascots, Big Jay and Baby Jay, and they

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-51000796143422231492008-10-20T11:58:00.000-07:002008-10-21T14:16:21.493-07:00

This is what one of Jason's birthday cards said and we've had a few good laughs over it! Today Jason celebrates his 30th birthday, and on Saturday Laura and I threw Jason and Kevin a surprise birthday party with friends and family. (For those who may not know, Jason has a twin brother, Kevin, and the below picture is of Laura, his wife, Kevin, Jason, and myself.) Jason and Kevin both enjoy

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-87679466293493258002008-10-08T09:32:00.000-07:002008-10-08T11:37:26.590-07:00

On September 19th, 2008, Jason's grandfather went on to be with the Lord. Less than 2 weeks later, on October 1st, 2008, Jason's grandmother went on to be with the Lord also. Times like these draw family closer together and cause us all to lean more heavily upon God (photo of Jason's brothers and mother, from left to right: Kelley James & wife Amanda, Donna, Jason & wife Kelley Ann, wife Laura

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7256601707315947635.post-26861845348365434232008-08-01T11:02:00.000-07:002008-08-01T11:23:34.684-07:00

Our first posting! We hope to use this blog site to keep all of our family and friends posted on life events, fun experiences, and also our work at the University of Kansas with college students. Thanks for checking out our site, please tune in soon for prayer updates, happenings, and more fun! With love,Jason & Kelley

Jason and Kelley Rossnoreply@blogger.com0