Thank you all so much for calling, e-mailing, texting and always asking about Jack and his little ears. 

At this point there isn't much new to report. He can definitely hear us just not fully. He's quite responsive and especially loves when we sing to him and play music. Whistling, growling and high pitched "hellloooos!" are also favorite noises - especially when grandpa makes them. The doctors have no way to know exactly at this point, but they do know he can't hear everything and want to ensure that he develops at a normal pace. They recently did an MRI to see if it's something structural and also to have on file as we go forward. As he gets even just a little bit older, they'll be able to help him so much more. 

He's becoming a hearing aid pro these days. It was a challenge to get enough wearing time in at first. He's not supposed to wear them when he's sleeping or in his carseat, when he could get wet or when his head needs to lean against something - it all causes feedback. Which is no good. But since he's awake for longer periods of time now and sitting all by himself, and enjoying fun things like his excer-saucer it's been so much better. 

So, that's a little update. :)

He's doing great! He really is the happiest little guy. He smiles all the time and laughs and sleeps all night and learns new awesome things most days and thinks we're cool. I don't know what we would do without this guy. We're very grateful for our Jack. He brings such an abundance of joy to our life.

Kitten Day!

The other day Bill, Jack and I hopped in the car with Sarah and Caroline to drive up to the Kerwood farm. It was grey and muddy, but we had a serious mission. It's the day Sarah has been waiting for.  She's been trying to convince mom and dad Baxter to let her get a new pet for the last few years. They have have a cat, Kiki who's 10, but a new kitten or puppy has been Sarah's dream. A couple Sundays ago the Kerwoods told Sarah that their Cat had 6 kittens. Since that moment she knew one would be hers. :) This kitten is now her graduation gift and his name is Bruce and she couldn't be happier. We were actually thrilled to drive her up to the farm to pick him out. One, because we haven't had the chance to get up to there and we've been wanting to. And two, because being with Sarah for this wonderful occasion is something we were very happy about. Rain and tremendous amounts of traffic tried to kill the kitty spirit, but it didn't succeed.

The Kerwood's farm was even better then I expected. The big wooden barn, old stone house, chickens, rabbits and kittens. They gave us a mini "hayride" around some of the property. I was so mad at the mud! If it had been dry it would've gone on longer. It was a beautiful day and we were enjoying ourselves. Jack was quite fond of it as well.

It's so fun to watch the Kerwood family doing what they do best. All five of them, Bill, Kristen, Grant, Ana and Maxwell. Watching such a sweet family, do what makes them happy and do it well is something that so few people are able to do. It's very good. Many of you would know Bill from all three of our family weddings! He was the spectacular magician who left you all smiling and speechless. :) We love them! Thank you for the fun and ice cream! We'll be back. 

Here are some pictures of our fun and a video, too!

    

  

  

   

   

Last Saturday I drove to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania for an engagement shoot, just me. I realize that doesn't sound like anything crazy. In fact, we drive near and far for photo shoots all the time. But, this certain Saturday all my usual companions were occupied. Bill had to work at Uno, Caroline was preparing the house for Easter and Abbie was cherishing her day with Stephen (long distance is no fun!). So, grandma and grandpa Baxter said they'd watch Jack and I headed up for the evening, all by myself. I'm not trying to over dramatize it or anything (because there's nothing dramatic to say) but it just got me thinking about how I'm never alone. I don't hate being alone. In fact I don't even always crave being with people, but I never don't want to be with my people. The 3 hours of driving and little walk through Lehigh University in silence was enjoyable. I sang in the car, quite loud. Bill never asks me to sing quieter... but he does sometimes turn up the music a little louder. I'm pretty sure it's to soften the blow of my belting. ;) I don't think he minds though. It was the day before Easter and it was so good to drive and remember Christ's death and resurrection, His goodness, and to sing along to "Because He Lives!" on repeat. This child can face uncertain days - because He lives! - "Because He lives, all fear is gone!" I watched the sunset as I drove, I tried to listen to cds that weren't working and knew that Bill would have been able to figure it out, I pulled into chck-fil-a and got some chicken nuggets and a coke zero to-go and I realized I'm better with my people. I knew it was true, but it's been confirmed. Sunsets, food, car rides, thinking, singing, funny things. They're better together. Better when shared. God has created us each so uniquely. And I love that all our lives are so different. I love that some people can't relate to this, because you're not me and I'm not you (deep, I know). He has equipped me for my life, with the people He has given me and they are good. And they make my life what it is, certainly not perfect and I couldn't be more thankful for it.

My basic conclusion is that I'm glad that God has brought us to where we are. Our future isn't clearly defined, but one of our main priorities is to spend life with each other, doing and pursuing what we love and care about while enjoying grace and the many gifts that we've been given, together.
Those are just some little thoughts. :)

To see the wonderful couple that I was shooting (I wasn't alone the whole time! :)) head over here to my photo blog.

It was a very busy weekend in the Baxter home. Easter was full of festivities. We enjoyed a morning full of fellowship, singing, laughter and teaching with our church family. They really do feel like family. Everyone joined us for dinner after church. My mom had prepared most of the a meal for everyone, while some of the ladies brought fillers and desserts. We all sat around for hours eating, talking, going back for seconds, enjoying more laughing and eating some more.  They all continued on and Bill Jack and I headed off to enjoy another dinner with Bill's family and grandparents. Great Grandma and Grandpa loved holding and bonding with Jack. It was a nice time. 

I was eating too much yesterday to take pictures of the events. I don't think that really counts as an excuse, but I'm gonna go with it.

I did get the photo though and it makes me very happy.

We are particularly enjoying our Monday today. A day off feels good. We went out for coffee earlier and sat and accomplished things. It's fun to work with Jack. He just sits most of the time and dozes off on our laps or plays with one of us while the other gets things done. It's nice. Then we enjoyed dinner with the family. 

It's the day after Easter and our minds a freshly reminded of Christ's resurrection. Running through my head are the words to two songs. 

"Long my imprisoned spirit lay,

Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;Thine eye diffused a quickening ray—I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;My chains fell off, my heart was free,I rose, went forth, and followed Thee."

And this one line, 

"This child can face uncertain days, Because He Lives."

Back Home

We had a very good week in Mississippi! It was such a cool opportunity for my dad. He did an amazing job and there are already opportunities coming out of it. It will be fun to see how they play out. I love to watch the ways that God weaves relationships, desires and opportunities in life to bring about His purposes. I'm sure you'll all hear more along the way.

It was good to be in a different place for the week. Tupelo, Mississippi was not at all what we expected. It was a happening town and everyone who's grown up there doesn't want to leave. That says something about a place. We would never have said, "Hey! We have a week to go anywhere... let's go to Mississippi!" But it's interesting to go to a place you wouldn't think to go. It was a distinct culture and an experience that will always effect my view of unknown places and the south.



 

We journeyed home on Sunday and Monday. Ever since I was a kid car rides have been something that I loved. We all looked forward to it. My parents deserve credit for that, they made it a happy thing to be together which made it easy to be content. It worked out well because we did a lot of being together and a lot of driving. We're hoping the same is true for Jack. Roadtrip #1 was a success, so that was good. :) Being in the car is such a unique way to hang out. Driving activities are some of my all time favorite things; talking, reading, singing, sleeping, eating... It's all good. We particularly enjoyed talking this trip home. It was vision building, faith bolstering, hopeful and fun. It's great to share dreams and goals with people that we love and trust. It's good to talk, discuss and laugh together. It brings joy to my heart.

It's good to be home with the rest of the family. There's a hole in our lives when they're not around. Our men are able to rest a little bit, although still jumping back into the swing of life. They made us proud this week.

Now off to Virginia to Abbie's first wedding shower! Hope you're all having a fabulous day.

Mississippi Pt.5

 We went to the Elvis museum today. We didn't actually go into the museum. But we did take the free walking tour, perused the gift shop and actually found it quite interesting! It was neat to see the truly humble beginnings of such an icon. I mean it's elvis. It's kind of cool.

We enjoyed lunching, talking, planning out the details of Abbie's wedding shower (we miss her) and just being in a different place and exploring. This was a good addition to the whole Tupelo experience. 

don't do them.

While we were off being tourists along with all the other Elvis fans in their beatup RVs, our men were off working hard. My dad is putting in 16+ hour days. Lots of studying and preparation and then close to 8 hours in the studio. Unfortunately, this new recording studio is having air conditioning problems. That means, my dad is teaching for many hours, under hot lights, with the air being around 90 degrees. He's holding up just fine, but that will drain you pretty quick. Bill keeps saying how great he's doing, even under the challenging circumstances. I'm so glad they're doing this together. I'm looking forward to joining them in the morning to take some pictures and be with them for a bit. 

Things are very good and we look forward to sharing more details along the way. :)