When Cookies Aren't Enough

I'm not the world's greatest visiting teacher.

But sometimes I wish I had the world's greatest visiting teachers. Especially when I'm one week away from school starting and still have eight hours worth of time that I need to find a babysitter for and I haven't yet formed super close relationships with ladies in the ward who might be able to help and I'm going crazy about starting school with a baby.

So, yeah. Maybe I would have benefited more from an actual visit instead of cookies on the doorstep.

And maybe I should try to be a better visiting teacher myself.

A Little One

Just thought I'd add some pictures of the little one.

We sure love her!

Oh. Hello there.

Two of Daddy's loves. In one complete package!

Well, you see .. .her head is a little big. It sometimes makes it hard to roll over.

Ugh . . . .(yummy pancakes and eggs for breakfast!)

I just love this dress. And this baby.

We've got a thumb-sucker.

Baby jailbird.

Reading

That about sums up my favorite summer pastime. It's easy and fun to do while my baby is still pretty stationary. Shoot, it's even pretty easy to do while I'm feeding her, too! I always seem to have mile-long lists in my head of what I want to read, but summer is the only time I have to read them. In fact, my siblings and I have a book blog where we post books we've read and liked and stuff. I tried GoodReads once, but it seemed too much like a book-based social network, so I was mostly like . ..eh . . .Perhaps one of my big motivaters this summer were the prizes through the city library summer reading program. Oh yeah. =) Regardless, I would enjoy a good book anytime, even if it's not summer (although, I never have time during school).

Anyway, here are some things that I've read:

Recommended from my family book blog:

Delivering Hope by Jennifer Ann Holt. I cried hardcore during this book about the miracle, hope and love of the adoption process. Recommended by my sister-in-law, Whitney, who experienced many of these emotions first-hand.

A Single Thread by Marie Bostwick. This one takes place in New England where women of various backgrounds form a quilting circle. Their friendship helps them get through life's challenges. I liked this one, so I read the sequels, A Thread of Truth and A Thread So Thin. (Recognize a theme in the titles, maybe?) I like how the characters are so believable. These are chick books; lots of girly emotion.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jaime Ford (who is coming to Provo City Library this fall!). Henry, a Chinese boy, befriends Keiko, a girl of Japanese descent, during WWII when the Japanese Americans are sent to internment camps. This was a sweet book about a topic that I hardly knew anything about.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver. A dystopian society where love is considered a disease, to which youth are given an injection cure. I really enjoyed this one and didn't even realize there was a sequel until my sister-in-law mentioned the series. I've since read the second book, Pandemonium. Not as great as the first, in my opinion, but still very enjoyable. I read another book by this author, Before I Fall, which was okay, but not as great as the Delirium series.

I actually liked Delirium so much, that I decided to read other Young Adult dystopian society books. I read:

Matched and Crossed by Ally Condie. Society has strict rules for everything, including your Match. I'm on hold for the third book in this series.

Divergent by Veronica Roth. In a society of factions, choices determine so much about your future. This one was a bit darker than the others, but I still stayed up late to finish it. I'm currently reading the sequel Insurgent.

I was apparently in the mood for young adult dystopian society things because I found the book, The Selection by Kiera Cass on a library book list. Very much enjoyed that one, and I'm on hold at the library for the second.

While all of these are fun reads, I would recommend NOT being in the middle of all of these series all at once like I currently am. Yeah .. confusing sometimes.

Speaking of library booklists, I lifted a couple of titles from the library webpage. Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson and The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. The first one is about a lady who loses her memory every time she goes to sleep, so it's hard for her to realize that she's in a very dangerous situation. The second one, I loved! It's written from the viewpoint of death about a young girl in Germany during WWII. It's very different from any other book of read, and it just grabs you in. I definitely recommend it! I also read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. Almost auto-biographical (yet still fiction) about a girl growing up in the poor side of Brooklyn. Not a super quick read, but I enjoyed it.

Every summer when I get on a reading kick, I like to read several Newbery Award books. (And yes, Newbery is with 1 r). I figure if they're good enough to earn this prestigious award, they must be pretty good. And they are usually quick reads, too. So this summer I read Sounder by William H. Anderson (a story about a boy, his father, and their coon dog), Roller Skates by Ruth Sawyer (10yr old girl living in New York while her parents are abroad), The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman (also recommended on the family book blog), The Witch of Blackbird Pond (also July's book club book), Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins, Jacob Have I Loved and Bridge to Terabithia, both by Katherine Paterson.

And I try to read books that I hear are really good, so I read Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (not my favorite book), The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis,  The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom (very much enjoyed it!), Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn (clever, but not my favorite), Princess Academy by Shannon Hale (again, okay for a short read but not my favorite. My brother-in-law says I don't read fantasy fiction enough).

Then, I'll read books that my sisters have read like Closing In by Kerry Blair (typical LDS romance), Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella (cute idea, but quite a bit of unnecessary language. I also read Remember Me? by the same author. Again, too much language, so I decided to quit reading her books.)

Miscellaneous: Bleachers by John Grisham (book on CD we listened to for our trip to Washington), Odd Hours by Dean Koontz (a book mom gave Jacob for Christmas last year that we haven't read until now), The Canary List by Sigmund Brouwer (a book I just randomly grabbed off of a shelf. Weird book, so I don't recommend it). And it's not summer unless I read The Help by Kathryn Stockett, which is one of the few books I actually own and read at least once every other year. (Still doesn't get old!)

That's 34 books so far. I got cool prizes through the library program: a book bag, M&Ms, Almond Joy pieces, a magnetic notepad, a book light, a flashlight, a Scrabble card game and erasable highlighters. But you really don't have to bribe me into reading . . ..

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.