Weekend Fun

Our weekend of fun began with a Saturday morning drive to OKC, Starbucks in hand, to do a little birthday shopping for mom. Baby Girl did awesome, winning over the hearts of the dressing room attendants with her smiles and amazing chubby cheeks. Then we headed to lunch at Saturn Grill before making the drive back to Norman. Good time had by all.

Saturday night was another celebration...this time we were celebrating Halle Beth turning one! The party was so fun, there was great food, and the guest of honor was looking beautiful as always. We are believing for a BIG year for little Halle...God is going to do amazing things in her life.

Anniston had fun at her friends party.

Sunday night we had an Oscar's party at our house...Mexican potluck...doesn't seem to really fit with the feel of the Oscar's, but it was good food and fun to spend time with friends. Anniston wanted to get all dressed up for the big night, so she put on her best...but quickly went back to her jammers...

This is the majority of the party watching the Oscar's in the living room....

and this is what I found little Sean Edward doing in the brick room...

I love this kid. He is so smiley, so friendly, so full of energy...and he LOVES our couch. :)

So the weekend is over and gone and the week brings more fun memories...today the memories revolve around my little one smiling in her swing and me soaking up every minute of my precious day off with Anniston Joy...

29 and 3 months!!

Anniston is three months old today.

I find myself constantly going back and forth between "I LOVE the stage she is in, I don't want her to get any bigger" and "I can't wait until she..." I probably spend more time loving the stage she is in because, well, I can't imagine any day in the future being better than today...she smiles like crazy, she makes the loudest, happiest noises, she still loves to be held, she seems to know her mom and dad, and well, she is the cutest thing I've ever laid eyes on. I think my favorite part of the day right now is the morning time, when she is her happiest and smiliest. Also in the morning, we take a couple of hours and cuddle up in my bed and fall back asleep, which is some pretty sweet time with my little one...I know this time won't last long so I soak it up every day that I'm at home. Daddy has caught on to the joy of this time and on his day with her, he has started doing it as well...Anniston's schedule is this- Monday's and Thursday's with mom, Tuesday's and Wednesday's with Sara, Friday's with dad, weekends the whole fam is together...not too shabby!

So this was a big week for our family...it was three months for our little Anni...it was 29 years for me...and it was our first week to leave Anniston with Sara. My birthday was Tuesday, the first day I had to go to work and leave her with Sara. To be honest, this wasn't a birthday I was particularly looking forward to- getting up at 5:45 to go to work all day....but it actually turned out to be pretty great. Yes I did go to work all day...but Anniston and Sara had a good day (so thankful for her!), and Jake unexpectedly got off work a little early, so he got to accompany us to the Hartsock's for a birthday dinner with our house church. So that was a fun surprise! We had a delicious dinner and then ice cream for dessert (YUM!) with some friends that dropped by to celebrate...the phone calls, cards, texts, and facebook messages (yes, this is the world we are in) were super thoughtful and encouraging to me. Jake and I celebrated last weekend with a date- dinner and my first movie since Anniston arrived, This Means War. It was fun to get some time with my man.

It is so much fun to think about the fact that a year ago on my birthday we had been waiting a year and a half to get pregnant...that a year ago the Lord told me that next month I would be pregnant and even showed me a rainbow in the sky to confirm His promise...then, just like He always does, he came through and the next month we were pregnant...and here I am a year later, celebrating my birthday with my 3 month old in my arms....the best birthday present I could ask for. Last year on my birthday Jake asked some of my friends to write me letters about the kind of mom I would be- he did that in faith because we believed that soon, a mom I would be. I read back through those letters today and it brought me much joy to remember my friends and family who prayed and believed with us that He would bring a little one. Oh Anniston, may you always know how deeply you were wanted and how extravagantly you are loved.

Another highlight of my birthday- we watched a short clip of testimonies of things God is doing in Nigeria...some highlights- 150,000 people saved, limbs growing back before their eyes, 8 year old girl raised from the dead. Yes Lord! It is always encouraging to hear what God is doing- it builds our faith to believe for the things in our life, to get more excited about- seeing Halle healed, a job for Jake in Norman, the city of Norman transformed. Those things are a-coming!

This is Sara on the first morning I left Anniston with her. She was probably thrilled enough that I was taking her picture at 6:50 in the morning- I won't tell her it's going on my blog. :)

Hey Mom...look at me!

Couldn't decide which of the next two were cuter, so I included them both! Love my happy baby!

First Week Back

Well I did it. I finished my first week back at work.

I'm finding it difficult to describe how it feels to be back...I think because Jesus is involved...and sometimes His actions are hard to explain...what I mean is this- I absolutely love my daughter. I love every single moment with her. I think she is the most beautiful, fun, funny, amazingly perfect baby on this earth. Before this week, I couldn't imagine being away from her. There wasn't an ounce of me that thought it would be a nice break to get out of the house, that thought it would be good to do something more meaningful than changing diapers all day, that thought it would be more fulfilling to have adult conversations for a change, that thought it would be good to go back to doing something that was familiar, that I felt good at....nope, not an ounce of that (now none of this is to say any of those feelings would be less valid than how I feel...I know plenty of moms who feel the way I described above when they go back who also love their kids extravagantly with all that they are, but also find joy and purpose in their careers, which is fantastic- many of those moms provided me much wisdom and encouragement as I made the decision to go back to work)...all that to say, I didn't feel like this new season was necessarily a welcome change to my new pace of life. I was perfectly content continuing my life as a stay at home mom...but that's not the season the Lord has for me right now. He has something for me at my job...and He has something for Sara King and Anniston Joy at home. So wouldn't it be just like the Lord to have me get up on my first day back to work and feel covered in peace? To feel completely fine going back to work? To feel hopeful for a great day when I kissed my daughter goodbye? Wouldn't that be unexpected, yet totally just like Him to give me that kind of day? Yep. So I went back and it was great. I saw some friends, I got some work done, I felt welcomed and needed and like I was able to use some of the gifts I have been given from the Father. I am able to love my daughter to the point of tears (all too often) and also get up three times a week and joyfully head to work for 10 hours...HE IS GOOD...

Now, what also helped with my transition was the fact that Anniston got to stay home with her dad this week...with him being a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner now, she is probably safer at home with him than with me...and I knew they would be having a blast. Apparently she finds much joy when he beat boxes (is that how you spell that?) and smiles like crazy when he does it. They had so much fun- they went to the mall and found a new shirt that "Anniston really wanted", they played on the play mat, they had bath time...they had an all around good time...their MOST fun was when they surprised mom on her first day back at work, which also happened to be Valentine's Day, with a visit at work. Anniston and Dad came up to the office to bring my Valentine's Day gift and to have a drive around the parking lot for 5 minutes together as a family...so fun! How great is my husband?

So first week back is over and gone...and I must say it was a good week. Thanks to the One who loves to bring joy and peace when you least expect it...because He's just that good.

Of course, some pics of my growing little one!

My sweet Valentine!

Love these jammers and am sad they won't fit for much longer!

All dressed up for a night with friends!

Party Time!

Our celebration continued for Jake passing boards...Monday night was Hideaway with Katelin. Wednesday night was Mickey Mantle, just the two of us. Date night! Then the conclusion was Saturday night- party with friends. I asked Jake what he wanted to do to celebrate and he said "I want to have a big party with all of our friends and their kids...and then I want to go to a late night move with just the dudes". That man loves his dudes movies. So Saturday night came....

Ok, I really have to get better at taking pictures. I don't have any pictures from Jake's Graduation/Passing Boards Party. Oops. I have no pictures to prove it, but it was a good time. So I'm not typically the hostess. I have friends who are amazing hostesses and have perfect kid friendly houses, so we don't have too many parties at our house...ok, let me rephrase, we never have parties at our house...so I have to admit, I was a little nervous about having 30 adults and 12 kids at my house that is definitely not child proofed yet...I wanted everyone to have a good time, and I didn't want the moms to feel stressed about their kids in our potentially dangerous house...but one thing I was not nervous about- oreo cheesecake cookies. They were gonna be awesome. I just knew it. I got the recipe and planned to make 3 batches...I mean, I had to have enough because I knew they were going to be a hit and go fast...well the first batch came out and were a little bit crispy...so I thought, no big deal, I've got two more batches coming...burned again. Final batch I reduced the time just to make sure they didn't burn. Yep, you guessed it...burned again. Bummer. Back up plan- brownies. You can't mess up brownies. Other than the burned cookies and the broken lamp, the night was a success! Jake had a great time and truly felt celebrated. We had a little "Who knows Jake best?" game filled with fun questions about Jake...some highlights-

How many countries has Jake been to since he has been married? 12. Yes 12. Costa Rica, Barbados, Mexico, Haiti, England, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, South Africa, and our beloved Mozambique (3 times!). He loves adventure and loves to travel. Now that we have a little one, our traveling will become a little more domestic for the most part...although we would love to find a way to make it to see our dear friends in Africa. We shall see what the Lord has for us.

What Halloween costume does Jake own and plans to wear every year? Batman. Yep. He loves super heros. At one point, he talked about exchanging a piece of his costume with a really nice version each year until his entire costume is legit. Luckily he decided he could live with the plastic gold belt and didn't need the real thing. I absolutely love my husband's childlike heart.

What were Jake's first two jobs when we got married? He was a Nurse Assistant and a waiter at On The Border. Yep. A year into our marriage he had a degree from OU in Communications and was a waiter and a Nurse Assistant with a dream to become a Nurse Practitioner...and so in the next 5 years he went back to school, got his Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and then back again for his Masters in Nursing. My husband is a dreamer and through his hard work, perseverance, and the Lord's grace and provision, his dream came true.

Jake and Kristin look a lot alike now, but they really looked a lot alike in college...because they had the same what? Haircut. Yep, parted down the middle, long and straight. For all of you wishing he would bring it back, sorry...the long hair will not be making another appearance.

Well, after a week of celebrating, we go back to normal life. I'm sitting in our living room all wrapped up in my jammers and robe, looking at the snow on the ground and my daughter asleep in her swing...doesn't get much better than this. I will soak in today with everything I have...for tomorrow brings a new season....back to work!

Some more pics of the little one:

My sweet little bear.

Getting so strong on her tummy...

Loves her swing...thanks to the Benton's for letting us borrow this while we decide if we need one of our own! We call it the secret weapon because to date, no matter how upset she might be, I put her in that swing and she immediately calms down and goes right to sleep...

Never too young to take care of your skin...she loves lotion time. :)

Mom's Prayer

One of our church's primary values is prayer, specifically praying for the city of Norman. We have structured what we call the "Prayer Furnace", which consists of several hours throughout the week set aside for dedicated time to come together and pray for the city of Norman. One of those times we affectionately call "Mom's Prayer" because it meets in my dear friend Sarah's house and childcare is provided so that mom's can come together and pray. This may sound silly, but for years I have been longing for the day I can go to mom's prayer. To pray with my friends, to pray with these fiery women that love Jesus and long to see Norman changed. Instead I typically go to the 6:15 slot which consists of all men coming to pray before they head off to work. Me and the guys. That's been me. Well, when Anniston came and my maternity leave started, I got the privilege of attending mom's prayer. This Friday was my last time to go before work starts this week and I go back to being one of the guys. Was it everything I had hoped it would be? Was it everything I built up in my mind? Yep. I loved it. A room full of women who I love so much coming before the Father on behalf of our city, asking that our city would know Jesus, that the church of Norman would know her identity as the bride of Christ, that joy would fill our land...I got to stand with amazing women and worship the living God while holding a sleeping babe in my arms...does it get better than that? So I guess I write this just to say Thanks Moms. Thanks for letting me join you for a short window of time. It was such a treat....

All bundled up and ready for mom's prayer!

HE PASSED!

HE PASSED!!!!!!!!!! I can't tell you how proud I am of my husband. Today is a great day....the end of a long chapter in our marriage- for the past six and a half years, Jake has been working towards his goal of becoming a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner...and today, February 6, 2012, he met that goal. What an amazing accomplishment. It fills me with so much joy to know that I have a husband who will LOVE his job...not only will he love his job, he will be FANTASTIC at it. Yes, Fantastic! For all of you prospective employers out there, you don't know what a blessing my husband would be in your clinic. He's amazing. Get ready to fall in love with Jake Bauer.

For those of you who know my husband, you know he Loves kids...you know he's amazing with kids...you know his life has revolved around kids- from camp counselor to tutoring to Big Brothers to Pediatric Nurse to Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, he has given his life to loving kids....if you know him, you also know that kids love him...I mean, REALLY love him. I really don't know how he does it, but it doesn't take long at all for a kid to meet him and fall in love with him...just the other day, 2 and a half year old Gracie Grigor told him that he was her best friend...Time after time I will walk into someone's house to be greeted by a disappointed kid who says "Hi Kristin! Where's Jake?"....I love this about my husband, I really do. It makes me proud and it makes me excited to see him with our kids, because he will be amazing. But yes, there's a part of me that thinks- shoot, he's so awesome, is there anything I can give to them that he can't? Well people, I have to take a minute to say I have found something that I am a little better at....getting babies dressed. Really...getting those arms through the arm holes? Yep, it's a challenge for him...so you better believe I gladly prance into the nursery to save the day and get that onesie on my girl...yep, I love it. So go ahead kids, enjoy him because he's so much fun and so funny, but when you need some clothes on your body, come find your mom. :)

Jake, husband of mine and love of my life- I couldn't be more proud of you today. You did it. You made your girls proud. You are our hero!