Halloween

 

 

 

 

Halloween at Microsoft

 

 

 

 

Hi Everyone,

We started out the weekend with trick-or-treating at Mark's work on Friday. This year the girls picked their costumes from our dress-up bin. They wore different princess costumes the next night, for real trick-or-treating (see next post), so that was fun. We seem to have recovered from the swine flu, fairly unscathed. My blood pressure is acting up again for some reason (maybe because of the flu scare or because of a tooth-ache I have), so that's a little frustrating. I'm back on medicine, taking it easy, hoping to get better soon. The baby is doing well, we're hoping she starts sleeping better at night, but other than that she's an easy baby. Happy Halloween! We love you!

Love,
Aubrey

Great Wolf Lodge

 

 

 

 

BethAnne and Grace colored some shirts in the craft room at Great Wolf Lodge. The fireplace is very impressive (2 or 3 stories high). It's hard to visualize the size of the hotel until you see it, it's very big. And the water park is tons of fun, complete with a wave pool and kids areas. :)

Love,
Aubrey

Family Trip

 

 

 

 

Last week, we thought we'd take advantage of Mark's last week on paternity leave and take our first real family vacation. First we went to Ocean Shores, Washington to see the ocean. We stayed for one night at a hotel on the beach. It's a funny time of year to go to the beach, but it was still fun (and cheaper because nobody else goes to the beach this time of year). Then, the next night we went to the Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound, Washington. It's a really big hotel with a big indoor water park and lots of other activities. I took care of Joy while Mark and the big girls had lots of fun. We made some really fun memories. More pictures to follow.

Love,
Aubrey

Joy Pictures

 

 

 

We love our little Joy and she's so cute! She'll be 1 month old tomorrow. BethAnne got the H1N1 flu last week (it was a mild case), so we've been hoping Joy doesn't catch it. So far so good, I think we'll escape it. I hope you are all doing well. We love you all!

Love,
Aubrey

Pictures

 

 

 

 

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to post some cute pictures we've taken lately. Grace loves to have her picture taken and I think she is very photogenic. We love our little baby Joy, she is so sweet! So far, she's been a very happy baby. After having two colicky babies, this is a really fun experience for us. Everything else here is going pretty well. My recovery has been slow from the preeclampsia, but we're hoping I can go off the medicine and get back to normal soon. It has been great having Mark home the last few weeks, I've been able to rest a lot. It will be an interesting transition when he goes back to work in a week, but I think I'll be up to it. Have a great week everyone! We love you!

Love,
Aubrey

Psalms 30:5- "Joy cometh in the morning" (or early afternoon :)

(Drumroll) Introducing... Joy Carma Rogers

 

 

 

 

Hello Everyone!

Just when I thought my pregnancy might last a very long time, my blood pressure shot up and it was time to go. My blood pressure started to climb on Sunday, so I was admitted to the hospital Sunday evening and Joy was born by C-Section at 12:37pm on Monday, September 28th. She was 7 lbs 4 oz, and 19 inches long. Even though the doctor was able to successfully turn her head-down last Thursday, she turned herself back to breech position by Sunday, so I guess she really didn't want to go through the stress of labor. The C-section went well and I'm recovering really well. It takes awhile for the blood pressure and pre-eclampsia symptoms to get back to normal, but I'm making progress. Joy and I were both well enough to leave the hospital yesterday afternoon and we are glad to be back home. Mark started his Paternity leave on Tuesday and he has been a huge help. It will be so great to have him home this month.

For a long time, we thought this baby's name would be "Faith" when she was born. We have learned a lot about faith this last year and we are very grateful for all the blessings and miracles we've received. When she was born, the name Faith didn't fit and we couldn't figure it out. We tried to pick a different name but all our other choices didn't seem to fit either. I thought of the name "Joy" a few times, but it wasn't on our list and I didn't want to complicate things, so I didn't mention it. Finally, a few hours before it was time to leave the hospital we were talking about it and Mark said "the only name she looks like is 'Joy' ". I looked at him in amazement and I told him I had thought that too but hadn't said anything. We knew right then that Joy was her name and we are very happy. After faith and trials, comes joy, so it makes perfect sense. Joy's middle name, Carma, is after Mark's mom. I don't know if we would have our beautiful, full-term baby girl, without the help of Mark's parents, especially his Mom. She was here most of the summer so I could rest. We have been so blessed. Thank you to everyone for all your thoughts and prayers and help you have given us. We love you all! I will send more pictures soon, these don't do her justice. She is such a pretty little baby.