The Exciting Life of a 16.5 month old

I've noticed lately that Evelyn has been changing a lot. Like really fast and a lot of things have been happening all at once. I feel like I can't keep up. So here I am. I used to do monthly updates on her changing little life, but haven't since she turned one. This might make me sound crazy, but I swear she is so smart and is learning brand new things every. single. day.

The last few months she has really settled in to playing with other kiddos and has been leaving the "cling-on" status behind more and more. We have to catch play time on a full belly and not at nap time for it to be 100% successful, but we have made big changes. It helps that we play with the same group of kids for the most part, so she is excited to see her friends and go play!

The Oklahoma weather is so nice for playing. Even though its not super warm by any means, we can go out for a little bit on the playground and get some energy out. She can climb up the steps to the playlet all by herself and find the slide and go right down it. The other day I looked over at her and she was on the opposite end going down one of the twisty slides. She must have been bored with her small, straight slide. But every time we go down the slide..."Weeeeeee" every time. Its the cutest.

Speaking of her words. Holy moly this girl doesn't stop talking.
I might know where she gets that from... **cough*me*cough**...
Most of what she "says" is baby/toddler babble. But its pretty funny.
It has become more sentence like and she really sounds like
she's got something to say.
Sometimes she puts her hands on her hips and bends over and gets serious and says all sorts of things. She usually does that in the mirror to her reflection, the dog or cats, or to other kiddos at playgroup. They all just kinda look at her when she does it. I swear she will start speaking in sentences soon.

Her words have come a long way just in the past few days too.
Just to list a few....
"Doh way" (Go away)...usually to Chloe when she's begging for food. I might say that a lot too.
"Sit down"...pretty clearly. I might say that a lot when she climbs and bounces on the couch.
"Dank-you"(thank-you)...we've been working on this one! New just yesterday!
"pease" (please)...so cute when she tries to sign it too!
"Shoe" ...yup girl loves her shoes!
"Sock"...guess she likes socks too!
"Appul" (apple) Loves pointing those out at the grocery store
"Nana" (Banana, or Nana) also loves to shout this across the grocery store
"Cooookie" (cookie) she's got a sweet tooth like her momma, what can I say?
"Arel" (Ariel)...Little mermaid? We named the princesses and she said Ariel back to us. And she keeps saying it. Random.
Owl - again, kind of a random word. But clears as day...owl

She says the usual words too:  ball, daddy, mom, mommy, kitty, hi, bye-bye, doggy, Chloe, Papa..

I know I'm missing words and I don't want to bore you any further with baby babble. But I'm pretty proud of how my girl has grown so much in the last few weeks. She is as smart as a whip with the attitude to go with it. She is still so, so sweet, but she is going to be a spitfire in no time. I just have a feeling she might take after her mom's sass. Which isn't always a good thing. I keep praying she gets more of her dad's demeanor. Only time will tell.

For now, these days of her growing and changing so fast will be over before I know it, so I will try and cherish them as much as I possibly can.

Proud of all your doing little one. 

Making an Announcement

Last week on Thanksgiving weekend we made our baby #2 news Facebook official! 

We hadn't really planned on when we would tell Facebook land and didn't put much thought into it. So when Thanksgiving rolled around we thought maybe it was time to let everybody know. 

We, well I, decided that I wanted to find a cute little saying or something to use Evelyn to announce our new baby. Its a little - well a lot- cliche, but it seemed boring to just write out a status update. 

My parents were in town and we took advantage that time to take a couple pictures at a local park here in Enid. Evelyn had a great nap, and it was going to be the perfect little mini-photoshoot! She is used to me snapping pictures, so she's a pro. Right? Wrong. So very wrong! 

HAHAHAHAHA!! I laugh every time I look at these pictures!! 

Maybe she is really that sad about being a big sister?! Only time will tell! 

Evelyn wanted NOTHING to do with pictures. Thank God we had a cookie and could distract her and my mom makes her very happy, so she got her smiling. Or at least looking at the camera and not screaming. But she still screamed a lot. 

We managed to get a few when she wasn't screaming and I still think she's cute when she's screaming. At least sometimes. 

We had a very eventful Thanksgiving, that is a whole different story, but we are happy to officially share our excitement with our friends & family! Its crazy to think about having a SECOND baby to be under our constant care. Who thought that was a good idea?! 

But seriously we can't wait to meet this little babe.

Our little kiddo at 10 weeks! 

Love you little baby! 

Another new life

This post was written the day we found out we are expecting baby #2! 

So today - September 19, 2014, we found out we are expecting our second little baby.

I'm a little - well, a lot - suprised! Thank God for Jordan being over the moon excited!

I've been feeling nauseous off and on since we've been in Oklahoma. I blamed it on the heat and the change in weather, allergies & just being in a new place. But this morning I was feeling good, went to take a bit of cheese that Evelyn was having, and I almost gagged on it. And I just thought....hmmm....lets just take that one test I have in the house. I don't usually just have pregnancy tests laying around. We weren't TRYING to get pregnant, so it wasn't like I was checking to see if we were pregnant every month. I'm not even sure why I had one in our cabinet actually.

Regardless, took the test and before the test was even done, there were two lines. I was SO SHOCKED! I mean, I didn't take that test expecting a positive result, I just figured I was being a silly girl. But nope. The positive line was almost darker than the control line, so I mean we.are.pregnant!

Then the panic set in. OMG we are in Oklahoma. OMG Jordan is in training. OMG we will have 2 kids under 2. OMG. OMG. OMG!

Jordan was of course at work and wasn't able to talk. I had to wait until he got home to tell him. When he got home he saw the positive test and was BEYOND excited! It took him about 30 seconds to think, OMG, and then he was pumped. He went back to work this afternoon and told everybody he saw that we were pregnant.

Its just so weird to think that this baby won't be born at a hospital I know like the back of my hand. I won't know all the doctors and nurses like I did at Bronson. We won't have all of our friends and family around. I have to let go of that, and know that this baby is meant to be. To get pregnant when we weren't trying is a blessing that we embrace and even though I am still shaking as I write this, we are so lucky to have this baby!

Dollar Ride!

Earlier this week Jordan flew his first flight in the Air Force! 

Yes it was at training, and yes his instructor pilot (IP) did most of the work, by design - BUT - he finally got strapped in to the T-6! 

Yup, there he is, doing his checklists with his helmet above his controls, 

he was ready to go! 

SO exciting!! 

I have to thank his classmates for taking these pictures because families aren't allowed to go out and see the first ride. 

The first ride. They call it the dollar ride. It still doesn't make a whole ton of sense to me, but there is a story & tradition behind it. Just like there is behind every facet of their training here. So because the first time flying is so unknown for many of the trainees, they give the IP a dollar to 'compensate' them for the extra work they have to put into the flight. I thought that came with the job description of being a flight instructor, I mean I think I would want a dollar after every flight! 

Getting prepared!

So Jordan did his flight and he said it went pretty well. This is MUCH different flying than he does in his civilian job, and he's had to adjust quite a bit to the military style of flying & radio calls. They also do more acrobatic stuff and pull G's with their turns and rolls & anything else they do. This adds an extra challenge to flying - battling airsickness. A bunch of guys barf on their first flight. And by a bunch, I mean most of them barf. Its normal and they expect it (maybe that's where the dollar part comes in?!). Jordan didn't get sick, but he said he was definitely queasy and didn't feel all that great after the flight. He compared it to going up and down the 'power tower' at Cedar Point over and over, and over and over again. That makes me want to barf just thinking about it. 

The T-6! 

We have hit the official flight line portion of pilot training which means long, 12 hour days for Jordan every day. He has flights, simulator flights, tests & lots of paperwork to do everyday at work. He comes home and studies for another 2-3 hours each night. On the weekends he does get some time off, but his whole world revolves around studying and preparing for his next flight or his next test. 

This is the fun part, right? 

Its a good thing we have good friends to keep Evelyn and I busy as we both will start to miss Jordan as the weeks go on. The end is not near, but time is passing quickly and we have so many fun events to look forward to while we're down here. Solos, track select, drop nights & celebrating with our friends as they get their assignments, are all things that we have to look forward to. And with Thanksgiving and Christmas just around the corner, that will help break up the daily grind of training. 

With all the hard work & studying Jordan is putting in, we are so proud of everything he is doing and we feel so lucky to be here as he lives out his dream of being an Air Force Pilot! 

More updates to come!!! 

Another Move Down

Soon after we moved down to Enid and into our rental, we soon realized that living off base wasn't for us. All of our Air Force friends live on base, and Jordan and I both found ourselves driving to base multiple times a day for work, events & playdates. We contacted the housing office and we found out a house could be ours in the beginning of November. We didn't have to talk long to decide we had to take this chance to live on base. It wouldn't be easy leaving our great neighbors next door, but the base is just across the little town and we would still see each other. So our decision was made and almost as soon as we had everything un-packed, we had to pack it all back up to get ready for our next move. Three moves in four months makes for a lot of boxes and a lot of stress of not feeling like we have a real home!

So finally the time came a couple weeks back to sign on our new house! We signed our papers during the week, and had a few days to set up internet & slowly move a few things over. Over the weekend we go Jordan's classmates to help us move! Thank GOD for them! We had coffee & donuts in the morning & pizza in the evening, and they moved our stuff. We could not have done it without them. We had great help at the old house and even more help at the new house. 

We still have some settling to do in this new house. Going through our office stuff, organizing all our clothes, breaking down boxes in the garage, and hanging our decorations. Doesn't sound like to much, does it?

Our new house! 

It has been so wonderful being on base. We are close to our friends (minus or super neighbors we met at our first rental, but we still see them!), Jordan is super close to work and can sleep longer in the mornings, & we are right in the center of it all. When we found out we would be coming to UPT we really hoped to live on base. Some people would never live on base because of the 'restrictions' but we wanted to submerse ourselves in the Air Force life. We aren't in active duty, so we don't get the opportunities to move to new places and life Air Force all the time. This training is a short 14 months, and then we head back to our "real lives" as I like to call it. So knowing that this is not forever and we get to go back home to our family and the beautiful state of Michigan, we wanted to take full advantage of all the Air Force has to offer. Some in the active duty world may think we're crazy, but I think its a fun adventure.

For our active duty friends, I realize this is not necessarily an adventure for you, and its your real life. The ones who choose to sacrifice and serve through active duty, I tip my hat to you. It can be a difficult lifestyle and I applaud you for your choice. I like to say that we get the best of both worlds, as we straddle the civilian/military life. I feel so grateful for this life we get to live and all the opportunities that have came our way. We are enjoying being in Enid & we are taking advantage of all Vance AFB, Enid & Oklahoma have to offer.

Things in OK

I have the urge to give a little update today, so here it goes for all who are curious!

We have met some of the most amazing people since we've been here. It was easy for Jordan to meet people while he was at school, but for me I was a bit worried about meeting people in those first few days. Much to our surprise, we have FABULOUS neighbors! Evelyn and I were outside playing on the front patio and our neighbors walked by with their little girl who is the same age as Evelyn! It has been such a blessing to have them right next door. The nights when Evelyn is ansy, we can head on over and the girls can play for a bit. 

It has been so good for Evelyn to be around more kids her age down here. She is a little timid in social situations when there are a lot of kids (definitely more like her dad!) but she has slowly been getting better and more adventurous. We have been busy with hanging out with our friends and doing play-date activities. Enid surprisingly has a large number of stay-at-home moms and has quite a few {good} resources for us. Local churches have MOPS groups, our pilot group has a large mom group, & there are a ton of parks around! Our days are for now are filled with two naps for Evelyn (still!!!!), parks, homemade dinners & playing with our friends.

Somedays, well honestly most days, I miss working. But these days spending time with our ever-changing Evelyn have been priceless. I will head back into the workplace soon enough and I have to remind myself of that and to enjoy the time I have at home with our sweet girl.

We have been so blessed by everyone we have met so far, and can't wait to continue to meet new people and have new experiences in Oklahoma. I still can't always believe that we live in Oklahoma and are so far away from home. But what they say is true, "home is where the Air Force takes you!" 

Four Amazing Years

It has been four amazing years since Jordan and I said 'I Do' 

This year brings new changes to our family, as we have moved to Oklahoma for our newest journey with the United States Air Force. I look outside today and I don't see the beautiful fall landscape that is Michigan fall. Today's high will be around 90, and that fall crisp is missing from the air around us. Even though we are in an entirely different part of the country, and Jordan is very busy with pilot training, many things have remained the same. 

Last night we reminisced about our rehearsal dinner and the nerves we felt before our big day. We had no idea that night how amazing our journey would be. Our wedding was a great day, but we had no idea that our amazing day would just be the start of all the beautiful things that have happened in our lives so far. Today I enjoyed time with Evelyn & new friends while Jordan was at work. Jordan has a big test tomorrow, so we weren't able to spend as much time as we would have liked together, but our moments together have counted. We exchanged our gifts & we will watch football together while he decompresses for a few moments before he gets back to studying. 

We have become used to spending time apart based on the nature of Jordan's two career choices, which has presented different challenges that many couples do not have to face. To us, its our reality. When you only get two days a week with your husband, you learn to cherish the moments you get. It sounds cheesy and I promise we aren't all happiness and sunshine every time we are together, but its how we live and it works for us. I've learned that he needs alone time, even when Evelyn and I want to take up all his time. I've learned that he is happy with simple things, like home-cooked meals, playing with Evelyn & simple gestures. I have stopped trying to make every moment perfect when we get time with him and just try and enjoy him being home and present. 

This new journey of living across the country from our family is a new challenge to us and we are trying to adapt everyday. Jordan's schedule will only get more busy, and we will have to adjust our expectations again. For now, we relish in the idea that the sacrifices we make during these years of training will allow us to enjoy many, many anniversaries in big ways. 

I couldn't imagine going through life without Jordan and our craziness - I wouldn't trade it for the world. These years of adventures and adjustments with new jobs & new states just adds to our story that we will someday share with our grandchildren. We will look back and smile at the craziness that we chose. We only live once, and whats life without a little adventure? We've had our fare share of adventures in our first four years of marriage, and I can't wait to see what new adventures come our way. 

I love you more today than yesterday, but far less than tomorrow

An Okie from Enid

We have been in Oklahoma for almost 3 weeks now. It sort of seems like we have been here for a long time already. We have met great people so far and are so excited to meet more!

Our girls "enjoying" our 14 hour car ride

Our ride was pretty uneventful. We started our journey on a Sunday, which made the traffic & ride super easy. We had perfect weather both days and it was a pretty easy ride! We were lucky to have our good friend Kevin ride down with us, so we could have an extra body to help with the baby & dog in the Explorer. The first day we made it all the way to Joplin, MO, about 5 miles from the Oklahoma border. We headed to Oklahoma City (OKC) the next day to drop Kevin off at the airport. We stayed in OKC that night, and headed to Enid the following morning. We got the keys to our house around 930 that morning, and we had the rest of the day to explore our new town!

Gateway to the West 

Oklahoma State Line!

We ended up getting a house off base because our house on base fell through. Basically, the people who live in the house we were getting had their orders extended and weren't leaving. The housing lady just offered her last house up to another family and there were literally no houses available for us. This happened about a week before we were leaving! Needless to say, we were panicked. But by God's grace, this house fell into our laps. Even with the unexpected expenses of renting off base (higher rent, security deposit, water, trash, etc), we are lucky to have found this house - with more space (by 300 sq.ft) to enhance our adventure out here in Enid.

Our home! 

One of the first things we did was change our license plates. So we really look like Okie's now. Except when we open our mouths and talk. It's pretty obvious we aren't from Oklahoma!

Happy girl!

Route 66 in Miami, OK 

...Wide open spaces...

Celebrating making it to our house! 

Just a few shots of our adventure down here, more updates & pictures to come of our stay down here in Oklahoma! 

Our First House

Today we closed on our first house. I know we moved out the other day, and honestly these last few days our stuff has been out of it has made me disconnect from it. But its still our first house. We put a lot of work & love into this house and we are sad to not finish all the projects we dreamt about. I love these pictures of the changing house now more than ever.

Moving In! May 2011

Fall 2012

Fall 2013

August 2014

 We went back today to drop off our garage door openers and to say goodbye one last time, and I was a little sad standing in Evelyn's room. I spent many late nights and early mornings in that room with our sweet girl. Jordan slaved away putting up the chair rail and we spent so much time in there. Our bedroom doesn't feel the same, and the house just seems like a shell for what it held -  which is really how it should be. But there are still so many memories in that house for us, and we will always cherish those.

Evleyn's Room After! 

Evelyn's Room Before

Kitchen Before

Kitchen After! 

We met the people buying our house today and they seemed like wonderful people. They are just pregnant and will love the house like we did. They were the first people to see the house and are very excited about it and said no other house compared to our house. That made me feel really good that they will enjoy it as much as we did. I guess thats all you really want when you say goodbye to your house and the hard work you put into it.  You want somebody else to appreciate what you did there. And I think they do, and will make it even better.

Walking up those steps today was familiar and comfortable, but now its time to step outside our comfort zone and take an adventure. Goodbye Wheatlands house.

Moving on

The first part of our three legged journey from Kalamazoo to Enid and back again is upon us.

Yesterday the movers came and packed up our house, and today they loaded up the truck and take the majority of our things. We have three weeks to spend with our family as we wait for our house to be ready in Enid.

But the biggest change is that last night was our last REAL night in our house. The last night in our first house. The house we updated and put so much work into. The house we learned more about how to be married and co-exist with each other. The house we brought Evelyn home to. So much has happened here in our three short years we've spent loving this house.

Its weird, I'm kind of not very sad right now. Maybe that part comes later? I thought maybe when I saw the moving truck and they are pulling away and we are left with a mostly empty house I'll be sad? My stomach did drop when I came down the road and could see the huge semi in front of our house with all of our things. Its not that I don't love this house, because I do. I'm just getting excited about whats next in the next chapter of our lives. Maybe I'm just suppressing how I really feel, but for now I'm okay with that. I've cried a lot this past week over leaving my job, so its okay if I don't cry any more at this point.

I'm sure I will miss this place once we are gone. I will miss our amazing neighbors. Seriously, we could not have asked for better neighbors. And some really sweet neighbors just moved in. Hopefully the people who bought our house will fit in nicely with the neighborhood crew. We will be blessed in our next house if our neighbors are half as good as they are here.

So many changes are happening so fast that maybe all these goodbye's are blending together and they won't sink in until we are just the three of us in Enid. The excitement of all three of us being together for at least the next year is trumping any of my sad feelings at this point, and I'm okay with that.

I'm okay with this fun, new adventure. Even through all these sad changes and leaving behind our first house, my job, our friends & family, I am ready for this new chapter in our lives.

I am a NICU Nurse

I love my job

I loved  my job 

Notice the difference? Past tense. I loved my job. Today turned out to be one of the hardest days of my life, I left my job. I left my second home for the last 4.5 years. I left my friends, co-workers and babies that I love(d) to take care of. I left a wonderful unit and hospital for bigger & better things. {or so they say} 

I honestly didn't expect to be so taken by sadness today. At least I think it was sadness, I sure did cry a lot in these last few days. I guess I loved my job a whole lot more than I imagined. I've been so excited about our move and all the new changes coming to our family, that I didn't really think about how I would feel to leave my job and my career behind (for now). I realize now how much my job played a role in my life. Waking up at 530 in the morning, driving 15  minutes & going through my 12.5 hour shift in the NICU has been apart of my life at least 3 days a week for the last 4.5 years. Thats a lot of time in one place. 

Honestly, I've been excited about this move because I've felt like I've hit a "wall" at work and have started to feel a little stuck and ready to go back to school, take on new responsibilities or something along those lines. And sometimes I had felt in a rut. But during my last 2 weeks of work I've been feeling refreshed and have fallen back in love with my unit and my little babies. 

The difference is with being a NICU nurse is that I become apart of people's families for weeks (and months sometimes). I know nurses on other units make bonds with families, and I've worked other places so I don't want to take away anything away from other nurses, because we all do special work. But there is something a little different about being a NICU nurse. New parents are suppose to be having the best day of their lives, and they find themselves in our unit, with a sick baby. Its terrifying for them. We bond with our babies and our families while they are with us and we try to make the best out of a stinky situation with a new baby. We partner with parents to educate them and help them learn how to take care of a premie or otherwise sick baby. We spend a lot of time with our families. And as much as I may have impacted their lives, they impact me just as much. It sounds so cheesy, but its true. 

I have learned so much about myself personally and professionally over the lat 4.5 years in the NICU. I have grown in ways I could have never imagined and gained in every way possible. I participated in committees, I earned my certification in neonatology, I met amazing families with beautiful babies and I made great friends along the way. 

I will never forget all the crazy names I've seen parents give their kids, the parent drama (baby's dad blocking mom on facebook....how rude!) & everything inbetween. 

The joys of sending babies home after 150+ days in the unit, 

and the tears that came with the challenges of illness and death. 

This is not an easy thing to pack it up and leave this job I love so much. Maybe someday I will return to the NICU, or maybe this chapter in my life is over and I'll move on to something else, carrying all those lessons I learned in the rooms and halls in the NICU. 

Either way, I will never be the same person I was when I started in the unit. 

I feel like I piece of me is missing, but for now I will relish in my memories. I am thankful for what I had. I am changed forever, and will never forget the impact the NICU had in my life. 

I am a NICU Nurse. Always. 

First Birthday Girl

 The day came. My girl turned one.

We had a great month spending time as a family and enjoying the last bit of baby-hood left in our now-toddler.

We hit some major milestones and are in continued awe of how wonderful this little person is.
Its incredible to think that she is ours and we get to help shape her little (big!) personality.

Evelyn started walking on July 11th. It was just a regular day and she just decided to start walking for some toys. We figured she would have to be distracted to actually start walking, and thats exactly what happened. She was trying really hard to get that toy and she took her first steps toward that toy. She was determined and since then, each day she gets faster and faster. She is trying to run these past few days, but she ends up falling down and looses her coordination. 

I'm not complaining. 

We celebrated Evelyn's birthday with our friends and family a few weeks early due to Jordan's schedule. We had so much help from Jordan's high school friends to set up that morning, and they were lifesavers. The day was perfect. We rented a pavilion at a local park on a lake and it was gorgeous! I decorated with pinwheels and they were spinning in the wind, and the older kids loved it. 

Evelyn loved her cupcake! 

Evelyn continues to make us laugh. 

She is giggling so much, and usually about random things. 

She thinks she's real big and has the sass to go along with that. 

We took her to the zoo for the first time this month, she loved the animals! 

 Her personality continues to surprise us everyday with her laughs and silliness. She loves playing peek-a-boo and is starting to explore her world more.

She seems to have a way with people and make everybody around her smile.

She is still snuggly and gives nice, big hugs.

She loves her bath time and anytime she can be in the water. She got a water table for her birthday, which I'm sure may be her favorite toy on hot summer days!

We can't be more proud of our little girl and all the amazing things she is capable of already. 

She can say: daddy, kitty, doggy, hi, uh-oh, yeah & mama (finally!) 

She is the light of our life and we are so honored to be her parents! 

We made it through the first year of baby together! 

Can't wait to see what the next months & years have in store for us! 

The last night of baby

Today was the last day my baby with be a baby. 

Well at least technically.

As I was putting her down to bed, I couldn't help but be a little sad. 

My little baby is a little toddler now. 

Our life has been a little crazy lately with a lot of things happening. 

My family suffered a terrible loss when my cousin recently died leaving behind her 3 week old son. 

Needless to say, everything that has been happening has made this time with my baby even more important to me. I don't want to take for granted any thing or any time with my girl. 

Snuggling her to sleep tonight I don't ever want to forget these moments. 

The way her even, easy breaths rise and fall while she snuggles into my chest. 

She always lays her head right over my heart. 

I twirl her hair in my fingers. 

I rub her back. 

She wraps her legs around my waist and snuggles in even more. 

I just can't believe a year has already passed. 

A year ago tonight, I was trying to convince myself I wasn't in labor, 

and that she would never come on her own. 

A short 8 hours later, our girl made her appearance. 

I just can't believe a year has already passed. 

My girl will be one year old tomorrow.

And I can't quite decide if I should be happy or sad. 

For now I guess its bittersweet.

Eleven.

Eleven is one less than twelve.

We are ONE month away from twelve months. My mind is having a hard time processing that.

We've had an eventful 11th month.

We went to church camp at Wesley Woods (more info on that in some other posts!)

We found out that we are moving to Oklahoma in about 3 short months.
Evelyn is SO close to walking. She practically jumps around when she is walking with us. She might just start running.
Speaking of running, she turbo crawls everywhere. Usually straight to the stairs that she recently discovered. She had never climbed them before and one day, she sprinted toward them and crawled right up the flight of stairs. I couldn't stop her because I couldn't quite believe my eyes.

We have embraced the "duck face" as one of Evelyn's favorite faces to make at people. 

She's pretty cute, even with a duck face! 

While at camp, my fellow co-nurse Judy, was the Labor & delivery nurse who helped deliver Evelyn. She was the one who initially took care of her, assessed her, and helped Jordan give Evelyn's first bath. She also scrubbed my sweet baby's head because of all the gunk that was stuck in her mounds of hair! It was great to see her and have time with somebody who is so fantastic and is such apart of our family story! 

 Evelyn is becoming a toddler, and a funny little girl. Her personality is continuing to make us laugh and love every minute with her. She is cuddly when she wants to be, and sassy when she wants something. She likes to study things around her, put things together and try to take things apart. She loves being around people and knows how to charm those around her. 

She truly lights up the room. 

Our days our getting busier with playing & swinging outside while chasing a turbo-crawling 11 month old around, but I wouldn't have it any other way. 

Here's to 11 months in the books, and hoping and praying this last month of my baby being a baby goes slowly so I can cherish every moment. 

Looking back on a great week

So another week is ending here at Wesley Woods and what an amazing, love filled week it has been. New friendships have been made and the love of Jesus has been spread to 150 campers and to 40+ staff members. I am in constant awe of how amazing this place becomes for so many of us. There is a draw that keeps us coming back. I’ve been trying to figure out what exactly it is this week, but I haven’t found the answer yet. I have been to this camp as a middle school camper,  a middle school camp nurse, and now a high school camp nurse. I feel like I have grown so much as an adult from when I first started as the camp nurse, that is seems like I was two different people. Seeing the younger staff members here this week makes me realize how much my life has truly changed. Maybe it’s the baby who has really changed me (which is probably the case) but either way, I have grown so much over the last 8 years.

This week was different for me in that I had the baby with me, and no back-up baby sitter. Many times when there is a baby here, there is somebody who is here just for the baby and doesn’t have any responsibilities for camp or campers. I didn’t have the luxury this year because nobody could come spend a week here in the woods! I knew we would be fine because Evelyn is pretty easy-going and really happy and we don’t have THAT MUCH responsibility as the nurse when it comes to being places and participating in activities. That being said, I don’t feel as though I could be apart of camp as much as I normally am. I participated when I could and Evelyn and I joined in as often as possible. By the end of the week, we had a pretty good routine down.

It was especially cool here this week because I got to see some of my old middle school campers here as high schoolers.  Many of them I didn’t always see in the nurses cabin as middle schoolers, but I would see them at activities and get to know them at meal times. I saw some familiar names on the camp list this year and I was excited to see these campers grown up! It is really special to see these kids growing up and enjoying camp the way that I enjoyed it. Probably the coolest thing this year was getting to experience this place with high schoolers that are almost adults (& some already are) and are facing real troubles in their daily lives, and seeing the emotions and the relief & hope this week gives them. If this one week can impact them for the better, we did our job this week. We impact their lives by building relationships, giving unconditional love and having a whole lot of fun.

We did a color run game one night which was so much fun! It down-poured that night and helped make the activity even more crazy than it already was. Imagine 150+ people in mostly white t-shirts, throwing colored cornstarch on each other in the pouring rain in the middle of a big open field. It was all sorts of crazy, but it was amazing. Chapel was great, as  always the music was rockin’ and we had a great time. I’m sad I didn’t get to experience firebowl  here at high school camp, but I know this isn’t my last year here and I will get to have that experience another year.

We had not one – but TWO dress up nights. Thursday night at our cookout we dressed as our favorite characters from movies. I didn’t have much time to put together an outfit, so Evelyn and I were super-nurses. Kinda lame, but at least we had outfits! Friday night is the senior send-out night and we dress up in nice clothes and have previous campers come back and serve everyone our meal at dinner. Everyone looked so great in their dress clothes. Some of the boy campers had some seriously nice suits on, and the girls had great (camp appropriate) dresses!

One of my final memories from this week is that of the affirmation circle. All the love and affirmation give here in this place by people who were strangers at the beginning of the week is incredible. I didn’t think I would be able to be apart of the circle time tonight because of Evelyn’s sleep schedule, but by a camper with a headache, I was able to come down and have my moments of affirmation. Four minutes of people coming up and telling you what an amazing person you are fills you with such unending joy its hard to put into words. We do not acknowledge all the wonderful things people do for us in our lives enough, and it was so great to have that time tonight. The bonds formed here are like no other. Its been an amazing week.

It was great to be experience this with Evelyn, in this place that means so much to me, for the first year of many years to come.