Recent Happenings

Well, Thankgiving was fabulous! We of course missed being with family, but we are thankful that we have good friends here in Chicago. We had lunch with some of the college kids from church that couldn't make it home and then had dinner with our dear friends, the Barkers. Katie had a lovely table set for us and made an amazing (looking and tasting) turkey! We had such fun reminiscing God's goodness with them.

This is a pic of the table after dinner. I totally forgot to take pictures unttil the whole meal was over! Katie posted some more pics she took with her camera at "Kate's Journeys" if you want to check them out.

Afterwards Katie and I checked out the Black Friday deals. I hadn't been planning on going out, but some of the deals were so good, I just couldn't pass them up!

We were being pretty silly by the end of the night ;) Katie also posted some great pics of our shopping escapade starting at 4:30 the next morning!

Last weekend Maddy and I traveled to Missouri for my brother Tim and his wife shannon's baby shower.

We left early Friday morning and left to come home Sunday morning. Each way we were on the road for about 11 hours. I was terribly afraid that she would freak out the entire way and I would be pulling my hair out by the end of it. But she really was so great!

We found a great public library half way in St. Louis for Maddy to get out and play.

She loved watching the big kids color!

Playing in the bucket

Then I let her sit in a high chair to eat her lunch at Noodles (on the way) and Fazzoi's (on the way back). We had a lot of fun together!

When we did stop, I tried to make the stops just a little longer than normal so she would go crazy. On the way there she was a dream! She just played, ate snacks, drank her bottle, or slept. - I was completely amazed! On the way back she was pretty fussy about an hour an a half before bedtime. But once it was completely dark and it was bedtime (about 2 hours from home) she was sound asleep! Overall, she was a trooper!

I had a wonderful time visiting with family there and

"representing the Jordan Family" with our combined famly gift -haha!

Saturday evening, my brother and I were playing with Maddy and she took her first steps! It was so exciting! I really didn't think I would be THAT excited, but it was just thrilling -ahha! Shannon got a video of it that you can see on facebook here.

Other than that, now I am in the rat race to finish everything before Christmas: Maddy's b-day party for friends, 3 more classes (Sat, Mon, and Tuesday) and the homework that goes along with them. As well as Christmas cards, packing, college luncheon on saturday and a few other holiday events.It's such a fun time a year, but so busy too! We leave for PA on the 16th! Whoohoo!

Hope the rest of your days before Christmas (only 15 now ;) are Merry!

I am Truly Thankful Today

On days like this when I reflect on the blessings in my life, I am so thankful for the Lord's grace that has brought me to this point in my life. I am thankful that my parent's brought me to church at a young age and that I heard the good news of Christ's birth, life, death and resurrection for my sins. It was at that point that my life had true purpose and that still today, I live for eternity. "This world is not my home, I am just passing through".

I am thankful for my parents who continued to bring me up in the ways of the Lord. We didn't have much as far as possessions go, but we sure were happy. I am thankful for my relationship with my parents and siblings that are so strong still today.

I am thankful that I met Tim at Centre County Christian Academy in 8th grade. We were "enemies" for that first year, but then became best friends for our 9th and 10th grade year. We then dated (on and off) from our 11th grade year until we got married right after 4 years of college. He is my best friend and a wonderful father for our baby girl.

I am thankful that in marrying Tim I gained a "second family" - the Baylor Family. The have all been gracious and loving and I couldn't ask for better in-laws.

I can't help to think back to last year on Thanksgiving day. I was VERY pregnant, thinking

Maddy could come any day (although she ended up being very stubborn and coming weeks later). I had only one more week of teaching left before I went on maternity leave- boy was I excited!

It's hard to believe that she just turned 11 months old! We are only 27 days away from her FIRST birthday. The time has just flown by, probably because we are having so much fun! Needless to say, we are thankful for the gift of our daughter. We are thankful that she is healthy, hyper, and happy ;) She is crawling so quickly now, cruising around everywhere-sometimes holding on with only one finger. But she hasn't quite tried to take that first step yet, but that's perfectly fine with me- I am so happy with the stage she is in now. She is a blast! She is sleeping great at night (sometimes til 8 or 9 in the morning after going to bed at 7 or 8 at night! What can I say, the kid loves her sleep! She is down to two naps most days - which makes errands a bit easier. All in all - this is a great stage and we are really enjoying it!

I am thankful that we have tickets to go home to PA from December 16th - 26th. It will be so nice to spend some quality time with family and friends.

Here are a few pics from recent days:

Tim showing Maddy a train at the Christmas store

Mom and Dad Baylor visited last week and helped to watch Maddy while I was doing my field experience. Thank you guys! Here mom is showing Maddy a pretty princess hat.

Dad Baylor reading Maddy her favorite book (Old McDonald Had a Farm)

Tim and I before our date night last weekend. Doesn't Maddy looked thrilled?!

I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!

Our Pink Panther

For Halloween, Maddy got to be a Pink Panther.

Her expression just kills me in this pic!

We decided to just stop by a few friend's houses to say hello. Katie was the only one home (Tim Barker had to work). But we had fun stopping by! She was so kind and let Maddy try some of her candy and even helped me put a nose and whiskers on her face :)

The family

The Gals

Checking out her tail!

She was cracking us up because she put this Milky Way in her mouth

and was crawling around the room with it!

Then she got to go to bed in her pumpkin sleeper.

Fun memories!

Too Busy to Blog

Well, the title and this picture about sums it up! I have been too busy to keep up with my beloved blog.

Tim and I have been running around pretty wildly lately. This blog actually took three days of starting and stopping to finish. But I like to keep my out of town friends and family up to date on our lives. Not to mention, that at some point I think I would like to print and bind our blog as a type of scrapbook for our family. Even though things have been busy, we have really been enjoying life. I feel like I have finally gotten into a pretty good routine with my schedule, which helps me to not feel completely out of control.

Our weekly schedule looks something like this:

Sunday morning- lead college group (I prepare coffee and some type of pastry breakfast)

Sunday afternoon - we often meet with a few college kids for lunch/discipleship

Sunday night - we get to rest and hang out as a family

Monday morning- we also get to rest and hang out as a family

Monday afternoon - Tim takes the train into the city to go to his Barth class at University of Chicago- I take care of Maddy and work on homework during her naps. Some Mondays Maddy and I go into the city with Tim in the morning and then head back out before he goes to class.

This is us on University of Chicago's Campus

This is Madison looking at the baby chicks at the Museum of Science and Industry

Maddy and Daddy looking at the Model Submarine at the Science museum

(it was free in October!)

Monday night - I drop Madison off at a babysitter(we are rotating through our friends right now)- BIG THANK YOU'S to all of you! Then I head to Zoology class at Harper. I am actually really enjoying this one! We get to learn cool things about animals and even getting to do dissections (crawfish, worm, starfish, a shark). I am picking up some fun and interesting information that I think my students will enjoy some day as well!

Late Monday night- I pick up Maddy around 9pm (who is sleeping in her pack n play) - bring her home to put her back to bed (bless her sweet heart, the transition doesn't seem to bother her at all!) She falls right back asleep when I get home. Tim arrives home from the city just after we get home.

Tuesday Morning/Afternoon - Tim heads to work and I work on homework most of the day. Maddy has gotten really good at playing independently with her toys. But I try to make sure to get down there and play with her any chances I can too.

I was pulling her around in her little toy basket and she was just smiling and giggling. It was so much fun!

Tuesday night - Tim arrives home at 4:30 and we sit down to eat dinner. I then run out the door at 5 to get to my 6pm class at Trinity. I am currently taking a Math Methods class which has also been beneficial. Although this class does come with quite a bit of homework.

--Most Tuesdays, Tim leaves with Madison at 6pm to go to our pastor's house to help lead a Theology study on Calvin's Institutes. Our pastor's wife watches Maddy and then lays her down in her pack n play to go to sleep. He finishes there around 9pm, brings Madison home and lays her back down for bed. I usually get home around 10:30pm.

Wednesday morning/afternoon - Tim goes to the office and I am home with Maddy. I try to make this day one to run errands, go on play dates, and get lots of play time in with Madison. I usually take this one off of homework - that is unless I have a test that night in Zoology.

Wednesday night - Tim comes home around 4:30 and we eat dinner together. Then I leave for class around 5:15 (my zoology class/lab). Tim stays home with Madison. I arrive home around 9pm.

This is a picture of my friends from teaching(Abbey and Helen) and their sweet little ones. We went to a mom and tots bowling activity at "Pinstripes". It was great. For just $5, you get to bowl from 10-12 with your kiddos. There is free yogurt and fruit for the kids and coffee for the moms (smart people!) It was so much fun!

Maddy loved to push the ball (kind of with my help) and then watch it roll down the alley. She would yell and babble as the ball rolled away. It was so cute!

Thursday morning/afternoon - Tim heads to the office and I am home with Maddy. I do try to get a start on my homework while Maddy is napping. But I make sure to get some good play time in here too.

Thursday night - Tim comes home and we actually get an evening to relax together (unless there is a church or college activity). We generally have dinner together, play with Maddy until her bedtime, and then Thursday night our friend from TIU/Church comes over and we watch Comedy shows on NBC (Community, Parks and Rec, The Office, and 30 Rock;) - so fun and relaxing!

Friday- Tim will sometimes have meetings in the morning, but then will try to get home to spend the rest of the day with us. We often have dinner with our good friends the Barkers.

Saturday Morning - We have breakfast as a family and relax.

Saturday Afternoon - Tim heads to the church to get ready for the evening service. I try to get meal planning, cleaning, and some homework done.

Saturday evening - Maddy and I head to church to meet tim at 5:30p. He leads the service and we get to enjoy it. I help in the nursery if needed. After church, we usually head home to put Maddy to bed. Although once a month we have a pizza fellowship after church, which I

make sure the drinks, dessert, and paper goods are ready. I have enjoyed that though because it is a really good chance to get to know the people in the Saturday night service. When we get home, Tim has to write the sermon-based discussion question for our life groups by 10pm.

And then we start again Sunday morning ;) Like I said- busy! But we really are enjoying this stage in our lives. Tim loves his job and his class at University of Chicago. And I really LOVE being a stay at home mama and a grad student.

God has been so good to us! Tim and I have learned to make the most of little opportunities to be together and make them quality time. And I have learned how to make the most of the sweet moments playing with Madison throughout each day (refusing to feel guilty that I don't always have larger chunks of time).

This picture is of us playing "peak a boo" with her toy basket ;)

On a side note: I am exercising about 5 times a week, counting calories and loosing this baby weight one week at a time - little by little. It's a battle. But I know it will be worth it in the long run to be healthy and fit again.

Maddy Facts:

Madison turned 10 months last week. I can hardly believe it?! She is growing up so fast. She will be 1 in just two short months! She has been an absolute blast lately. She has been babbling a lot more and saying dada and mama (most of the time at the right time to the right person- I think ;) We have been working on sign language, but she doesn't seem to quite get it yet. She has just been starting to learn to clap and do patty cake - which is so adorable.

She loves playing with her toys (and by that I mean, pulling them out of the basket one at a time, looking at them, and then throwing them behind her back). She is crawling faster and cruising faster. She lets go here and there and stands by herself, but doesn't really know that she can go anywhere yet. At church they have a push shopping cart and she can hold onto that and walk a few steps before crashing ;)

She is the light of my life. When I am tired and overwhelmed with school and life, I LOVE to just get down on the floor and crawl around with her. She has some pretty fun giggles and smiles these days. She has gotten two more teeth on the top.

But the funny thing is that she got the top right middle one and the one to the right of that (not the top two middle like most kids). So we affectionately call her "snaggle-tooth".

She is gaining weight, but is still our little peanut. We love her so much and are not sure what we would do without her.

Overall, God has been teaching me that "Godliness with contentment is great gain"

(I Timothy 6:6). We may not have much money or even much time, but I am finding JOY in thanking God for what we do have and basking in those sweet moments in life with friends and family. God is good all the time.

Is there anything better than an Apple Cider Donut?

One Saturday in September, we spent the morning at Royal Oaks Apple Orchard with some friends from church. I honestly can't remember the last time I have been to one. It really was a lot of fun. We chatted as we picked and ate apples along the way. The best part may have been the apple cider donuts afterwards. Oh my word-they were to die for!

I took a few bites out of the apple for her so she could gnaw on it and get the juice out with her two teeth. She really enjoyed it!

By this point Madison had apple juice all over her shirt -ahah! Plus she looks a tad nervous sitting on that pumpkin.

It was such a nice day for us to get out of the house and be together as a family.

Michael and Maddy were pretty tuckered out by the end of it all!

Autumn and Apple Crisp

If you live in the Chicago land area, you know how windy and cool it has been lately. I am actually enjoying the chilly weather, changing leaves, and wearing jeans and sweaters again. We have even pulled out the hats and scarves. This is Madison and I right before she, Tim and I headed out for breakfast last Saturday morning at our one of our favorite local places called "Eggsperience".

The weather has put Tim and I in the mood for some Fall treats like hot apple cider and hot apple crisp. Fortunately we went to an apple orchard with some friends a few weeks ago and a big bag of apples. I decided to make it last minute after class (I got home at 10pm) and I didn't have much time or many ingredients, so I googled "Easy Apple Crisp". This is the recipe I came up with. It was super easy and was warm and tasty!

Tim even helped me peal the apples( I hate doing that!). I have a Pampered Chef peeler, corer, slicer, but the slices come out so thin and I can't see a way to change the settings to make the slices thicker. So if you have one and know how to do that - PLEASE let me know ;)

I have included the recipe below. Happy Autumn and Happy Baking!

EASY APPLE CRISP Printed from COOKS.COM

4-5 lg. cooking apples (Cortland) 1 c. sugar 1 1/2 tbsp. cinnamon Dash of nutmeg

1 c. quick Quaker oats 1/4 c. flour 1/2 c. butter, melted

Slice apples into 8 or 9 inch round casserole dish. Combine sugar and cinnamon and nutmeg. Sprinkle 2/3 of the mixture over the apples. For the crumb topping - add the remaining 1/3 cup of sugar to the oats, flour and melted butter. Top apples with the mixture and bake about 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve hot with ice cream.

Family Outing to Long Grove Village

Last Monday Tim had off work, so we visited the nearby Long Grove village that we had been told by friends that we had to stop by while living here. It is in a historic district and has some buildings that have been preserved from the 1800's when the German immigrants were living there. It is really a quaint little place. It has an Apple Haus with amazing apple cider freezies, apple pies, cider, and breads.

They also have many little shops, cafes, and restaurants to visit. It was a cool Autumn day with the sun peaking through the clouds at us. What good memories.

Maddy loved the fountain. I think she would have climbed right into it if I would have let her!

Tim and Maddy inside of the Confectionary

From gummy candy to fine chocolates, there was no shortage of options. It was all so beautiful and smelled so sweet! In the end I got two small truffles: a dark chocolate raspberry and a dark chocolate coconut. Tim go three milk chocolate peanut butter meltaways. YUM!

We didn't actually buy this, but let her hold it for a minute to see what she would do. Her eyes were so big and she kept trying to bite it! We decided we better put it back before she ripped into it with her two tiny teeth!

Tim did give her a little piece of a of chocolate covered pretzel. I guess there was more chocolate than he realized on it, because before we knew it, this is what her face looked like! It was so funny. We had to get a pic of her in front of the sign :0)

It is definitely a place we will visit again and maybe bring family to when they come visit(wink wink Mom B ;) We might even just go there to sit at one of their outdoor tables, read and have a coffee some afternoon. So glad we went!

Our Baby Girl is Growing up!

I can hardly believe it, but Madison Hope Baylor is 9 months old today!

(As a friend so cutely pointed out to me, she has been "out as long as she was in")

She has a bit of a cold right now, so she is not quite as happy as the picture above :) But usually she is such a joyful little girl!

What she is saying: She is always jabbering (baba, mama, dada) sweetly to herself as she plays. She has just started to seem to actually say dada and mama when she wants Tim or I. She might not always distinguish correctly between the two names, but she is catching on and knows it is one of us. It just melts our hearts!

What she is doing: She is also "cruising" around the furniture. It's kind of funny, because she gets frustrated when she wants to get somewhere in the room where there is no furniture to hang onto. But then she finally gets down and crawls to it. Sometimes she will let go of the coffee table for a few seconds at a time to play with something in her hands and will stand there so balanced until finally she realizes she is not hanging on and promptly grabs the table.

Separation Anxiety or Loves to be the center of attention? From what I read, they say babies around 9 months old might go through separation anxiety, where they are very sad when you lave them-especially with anyone else. That's the weird thing. Madison has absolutely no problem when we drop her off at nursery at church or when we have to leave her with a babysitter. She seems as happy as ever and we always get great reports. But when she is at home and I have to leave the room, she bursts into tears! It makes me sad, but kind of chuckle at the same time. If she doesn't see me leave the room, she will suddenly realize and then start crying! Before I know it, she has started her "trail of tears" - where she crawls to find me crying the whole way. Again - so sad - but silly at the same time! When she gets to me, she pulls up on my legs and grabs the bottom of my shorts as if to say, "pick me up mama". I love that crazy nutter!

Things that make her smile: 1. When daddy comes home from work 2. when I open up the blinds in her bedroom first thing in the morning and she gets to look outside!

3. When the music comes on for her Baby Einstein Video 4. When we get to the nursery at church and she sees all of the toys (do you think she is bored with ours or what?) 5. When Tim or I crawl around on the floor with her 6. When I take a piece of fruit off of her highchair tray and eat it 7. When we kiss her toes

The Bottom Line:

We are loving on our little girl. This stage is so much fun with her. She is discovering so many new things and makes the best faces as she interacts with new things. We are so thankful to have her in our lives. We just couldn't imagine life without her.

Here is our most recent family picture outside of the little house that we meet with our college group on Sundays.

This Time Last Year

This time last year, I was just about 28 weeks along in my pregnancy with Madison. I was almost a month into a very difficult school year with a very difficult class (the hardest of my 6 years!). I was looking back to the post I wrote mid- September last year.

In that post I was reflecting on how I had just gotten home from a long day of teacher conferences. I remember being caught up in the swirl of teaching and life just flying by. Tim and I were getting so excited for Madison to arrive. My belly was getting bigger and we were starting to make all of our preparations.

I thought I would make a little comparison of what my life was like then and what it is like now.

Then: I would stay up late grading papers, writing less

on plans, or writing parent e-mails.

Now: I still stay up late, but mainly because I get home late from class and I just want some quiet time with Tim.

Then: I would wake up at 5am, check the weather and traffic report while I was getting ready - just to make sure I wouldn't get stuck on my 1 hour+ commute into work every day.

Now: Madison wakes me up around 7am to eat and then we get our day started with breakfast, coffee (for me of course), and the Today show. I see the traffic report come on and I just thank the Lord that I don't have to make that drive!

Then: I would spend my day bustling about at school teaching other parent's children, which really was a cool opportunity, but it was awfully draining.

Now: I bustle about my day: feeding, playing with, and all around caring for my daughter, finishing school work, making/planning meals, cleaning the house and running errands. Again - such a wonderful time in my life, but it can be tiring as well.

Then: I was feeling Madison kick inside of me, dreaming about the day I would meet her face to face.

Now: I get to see her cheery smiles when she first sees me in the morning and hear her sweet chirps and babbling as she discovers new things. I have gotten the privilege of getting to know her and have grown to love her more than (at this time last year) I ever thought I could.

I suppose this is more of a reflection than anything. I rejoice when I think of where I was last year(looking forward to my life today). I LOVE my job now as a full-time student and a stay at home mom! I am so thankful that Tim is able to work full-time at our church so that I have to opportunity live that life.

And yet, even in writing this, I have realized that often I hope for my contentment to be in something else besides Jesus Christ. I know last year I thought things were so busy and hard, and how perfect it would be to stay home with Madison.

These are truly wonderful days with her, but I will still face struggles, doubts, business and discontentment at times. I don't want to waste these days looking for something else to make this time even better (being home with Madison and NOT being in school). But I want to make an effort to capture and treasure each moment of this phase in my life. It will never be just like this again. And God has given it to more for a reason. It seems to be my tendency to look to the next thing, instead of just enjoying what is in front of me and thanking the Lord for it. It is in these times that I must remind myself that Christ is my hope and my firm foundation. He truly is the giver of all good things.

"Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice" ~Philippians 4:4