Superbaby!

She just needs a giant S on her clothes.

Oh the dimples!

I love dimples.
ESPECIALLY on babies. They are the cutest thing!
Seriously. I love them.
I want to kiss them, poke them, kiss them some more, pinch them (kindly) -just to make sure they're really there, kiss them some more . ..ahh! They are so cute!

I think maybe with a few pictures you will understand what I mean when I say that my daughter is the cutest dimple-rolled (catchy adjective, I think) baby that ever lived. =)

the dimple in her chin .. .see it? that's from her Daddy

Little Miss Laura

Well, hello there.
It's been a while since we've posted anything here.
Let me introduce our newest member!
Laura Jean Bahr was born at 1:36 pm on Monday, April 29th. She weighed 7 lbs, 10 oz, and was 20 in. long, and she's as cute as can be. Both baby and mommy made a quick recovery following the labor and delivery (I mean, Mommy's already almost back to pre-pregnancy weight . ..what?!), and our life behind Bahrs just got more interesting.

Here's what we've noticed about our little sweetheart just in the last two weeks:
-She loves making faces.
-She loves squirming.
-She loves eating.
-She loves mommy, daddy, grandma, and all her aunts, uncles, and cousins.

I'm concentrating.

I'm exploring.

I'm pooping. Mommy calls me a pooper when I make this face.

I'm tired.

I'm just adorable.

My Aunt Michelle and cousin Josie.

With cousins Dallin and Daniel.

My Aunt Emily and cousin Luke.

Mommy and Grandma . .and me.

 Here's what else we love about our little one:
-her monkey butt
-her belly button
-the cute sounds she makes
-her adorable little feet

But most of all . ..we love that she's our daughter forever!! 

Isn't she so precious? =)

Windows of Heaven

The Lord promises us that if we follow the commandment of tithing, he will pour out a blessing that we shall not have room enough to receive it.
I know this is true.

Jacob and I don't make a lot of money. We most likely never will. (We're gonna be teachers, 'member?) As students, we sometimes feel overwhelmed with the many expenses we have every month. In addition to the usual rent, car, phone bills, gas, and groceries, we always seem to have ever surmounting school expenses. Tuition, class fees, textbooks, instrument repairs and supplies, insurance, etc.

Try as hard as we do, it is nigh unto impossible for us to not spend more than we earn each month.

We know there are even more expenses in the near future; labor and delivery, insurance for the little one, diapers, clothing, baby needs, etc. commuting expenses, a new transmission in the car. And the ever continuing monster school expenses.

Despite all this, we love to pay our tithing. It's my favorite check to write out each month. We don't know how the Lord does it, but we know that the 10% we give back to him is multiplied back to us in so many ways.

Just in the last month:
-I earned over $150 doing a school assignment.
-Jacob received a bonus music scholarship that was refunded to our account.
-We earned 1% cash back rewards from our credit card expenses. ..rewards we didn't even realize existed until this month.
-We prepared our taxes, and for being students, we both received an incredible amount of refund money. About 10 times more refund than I'd ever received on my own. (Wow!)
-We signed a contract at a new apartment that will save us $100 in rent every month.
-We received many wonderful baby-related gifts from family. Besides medical expenses, we've hardly had to pay for anything for our daughter at all.

You know what else about tithing is so amazing? It's compounded! Like interest in a savings account, only much better. You earn money, you pay 10%. You pay 10%, so the Lord blesses you with even more money. More money means more opportunities to pay tithing and get even more blessings!

We also know that not all of the promised blessings are financial blessings, and we didn't necessarily ask for these blessings either. God just knew we needed them. Moral of the story: pay your tithing, and the Lord will give you blessings you probably could have lived without. Will there be room enough to receive them? Well .. .maybe not.

A Typical School Day

At least we know these are dirty . . .

So are these . . .

If you know me, you know I hate leaving drawers and doors open. When I went to take a picture of the unmade bed, I wasn't at all surprised to see my sock drawer open. 

This is usually one or both of us at some point during the day. (Don't you like his new slippers?! =) Oh, and if you look closely, you'll even see the pantry door open in the background . ..at least I didn't leave the fridge open!

Feel Good Day, with Appropriate Thank Yous

-Smoothies for breakfast. Thank you, new blender! Yum yum!

-Yummy chicken/salsa sandwiches for lunch. Thank you, George Foreman!

-We spent over 3 hours in the temple today to do baptisms for some of my family names. Thank you First Saturday of the Semester for not pounding us with 8 million other things that would have taken us away from our precious temple time. 

-We made our own laundry soap! Thank you, Crystal Bahr, for the recipe and ideas. We love it already!

-A quick walk to and from campus to run some errands. Thank you, warm coats and scarves, for allowing us to still get at least some exercise in today.

-Closet/clothes organization. Thank you, long-sleeved green shirt, for reappearing after last winter. It's nice to have another maternity-appropriate shirt, especially after I put away my non-maternity clothes and the closet looked pretty dismal.

-Planning and homework. Thank you, new planner, for making academic (ahem, life!) organization so much easier!

-A refund of $38. Thank you, BYU Bookstore, for your error in (not) giving me the textbook I (didn't) need. 

-Lesson Planning for Error Detection. Thank you Error Detection class last summer for teaching me that finding mistakes really isn't that intimidating.

-iTunes shuffle on Wind Band music. Thank you, BYU Bands, for the incredible literature that both Jacob and I have played over the last several years! 

-Laundry. Thank you, drier, for not taking 3 hours to dry one load. (You know who you are!)

Thoughts on Mary

This morning we had a ward choir practice in preparation for our Christmas program tomorrow during Sacrament Meeting. We're singing a pretty simple, yet beautiful arrangement of Once in Royal David's City. I've never not cared for this particular Christmas carol, but I think it is one that is often overlooked.
As the women sang the first verse with these lyrics, I couldn't help but focus entirely on the lyrics:

Once in royal David's city 
Stood a lowly cattle shed,
Where a mother laid her baby 
In a manger for his bed:
Mary was that mother mild, 
Jesus Christ her little child.

What would it have been like for Mary? I mean, really, being pregnant is hard enough! And while back then there certainly wasn't as many comforts of birthing and delivery as there are today, I'm sure there was something better than a stable and a manger. I teared up a little bit thinking of one of the most holiest and sacred mothers of all of history. No wonder other religions worship and praise Mary as such a divine being! While I love the self-describing phrase she uses "the handmaiden of the Lord," I like to think of her best as the Mother of God. Above all else, she was a mother!

We continued singing:

He came down to earth from heaven, 
Who is God and Lord of all,
And his shelter was a stable,
And his cradle was a stall;
With the poor, and mean, and lowly,
Lived on earth our Savior holy.

What a tender reminder to me of what Christ's live was like. He lived on earth just like the rest of us! As we continued singing, I was reminded even more of why this one man's humble existence was so unlike any one else's . . .

And our eyes at last shall see him, 
Through his own redeeming love;
For that child so dear and gentle
Is our Lord in heav'n above,
And he leads his children on
To the place where he is gone.

One day He will come to greet us 
Blazing trails of glory past.
We will bow in adoration,
For our Lord has come at last.

O the long awaited morning,
We will shout in joyous praise.
Promised Lord at last to meet us,
Christ, the King, Christ, the King of latter days.
Amen.

I was probably wiping tears from my face the whole time we sang. Perhaps it's the hormones of a pregnant woman, or perhaps it's just the Spirit reminding me of the reason why we even sing Christmas carols in the first place. Jesus was born, Jesus lived. He died and lives again. 

I love Him, and I love celebrating all that He has done for us. 

(If you're interested, here's a link to the arrangement we're singing.)