Wouldn't have it any other way

So I know it's not the most conventional thing to do in our culture/demographic for a married couple (especially one with a baby) to live with family.

Jazmine loves her cozy little fleece sack that keeps her toasty warm these days.

And while this season of Chris being in school and us living with Bub has had it's challenges...I wouldn't have it any other way.

The fact that we have a safe, comfortable, affordable place to live during this time has been such a gift.  But more than that...the time with Bub and my mom, and the time that they have with Jazmine - it's wonderful.

You probably can't tell, but Jazmine's onsie says "Somebody in Rutherford, NJ loves me".  Bub gave it to her when she was first born and it looked so big, I couldn't imagine that Jazmine would ever fit in it. And here we are...it fits.

All that to say...while I'm super excited about the fact that this is Chris last semester of PA school!!!  I'm a little bit (or a lot bit) in denial/freaking out about the fact that him graduating means him getting a job...and figuring out the next season of life.

So trying not to panic and just enjoy the next few months...and trusting that at some point between work and school, Chris and I will make time to figure out what May will bring :)  

Excited to see what the Lord has in store for us!

To our generous friends and family....

...does chocolate count?

To our  friends and family who were so generous with giving us gift cards as presents at our baby showers before Jazmine was born...

Our walk LAST Saturday.  This Saturday we were MUCH more bundled up. 

It's SUCH a huge help to have the gift cards as we need things for Jazmine, and just the random things of life.  I was at Target yesterday getting wipes and other miscellaneous things we needed.  And I found myself thinking, "Oh, Target has this one brand of chocolate that makes a dark chocolate espresso truffle bar...I wonder how our friends and family would feel about me using the gift cards they got us for me to buy chocolate?"

 Shadow loves when Jazmine has playtime on the floor.

I was pretty sure you'd all be okay with me using them to buy chocolate...I'm better with chocolate, so things are better for Chris and Jazmine :)

She's just so stinking cute.  Her peach fuzz hair is coming in more and more...makes her look like such a big girl.  She had banana today for the first time - our first real food (after the rice cereal) - I'm sure cute eating picture forthcoming.

So that was my conclusion...but then I forgot to look for the chocolate, so came home without it anyway.  Oh well :)

Chris is working 12 hour shifts (11am-11pm) Friday through Monday this month, we miss him being here on the weekends, but I'm enjoying the time with Jazmine.  The weeks are flying by...hope yours are going well.

PA...or Picker?

Have to admit that I'm really excited slash a little freaked about by the fact that Chris only has 1 semester of PA school left.  It's super exciting...but him finishing school means getting a job and figuring out where we're going to live.  Are we going to move?  Are we still going to be near family or not?  Big decisions...hence scary.

So to lighten the mood....have you ever heard of the TV show American Pickers?  It's a show on the History Channel about these guys who drive around the country going through people's old stuff (junk), finding valuable items, and reselling them.  It's actually really interesting...

And while I am 100% confident that Chris is going to make a fantastic PA...he could totally pull off being a picker

He spent a few hundred dollars (don't worry, his project money) on a wrecked race bike and a ton of other stuff....and he's going to re-sell it and make a bunch of money.  Good thing he knows how to support his motorcycle habit :) 

Mom extraordinaire....she babysits, helps with countless things in our life...and even has fun helping Chris unload his loot.

How much do you think he's going to make? :)

Jazmine's half birthday cake that my mom made for her - it's DELICIOUS.  Granted we enjoyed it after Jazmine went to sleep... :)

Can't believe that our baby girl is 6 months old already!  I have lots of really sentimental thoughts (seriously, I do) but...don't really have the energy to put them down at the moment.  So I'll just say that I'm loving watch Jazmine grow - she's amazing.  Will do my best to keep sharing pictures of her :)

2011 Year-in-Review

Many of you probably received this via email or snail mail...but in case you didn't:

New and beautiful - Jazmine Eliza:  Born on the 4th of July, Jazmine filled the second half of 2011 with wonder and delight.  We love getting to know her and have enjoyed watching her grow from a tiny newborn into a little girl full of life and personality.  We look with awe and anticipation to future years as we parent Jazmine and watch her grow.

Challenging - Chris's work as a graduate student:  Chris continues to work and study very hard as he prepares to be a Physician Assistant.  Currently in his third and final year of his masters degree, Chris has spent countless hours in a dozen hospitals around the state of New Jersey.  He loves what he is learning and looks forward to completing his degree in May 2012.  At this point Chris anticipates practicing in the area of primary care.  The location of where our family will settle is still up in the air...we’re thinking somewhere on the eastern seaboard....stay tuned for our 2012 year end letter to find out!  We look forward to seeing how the Lord leads us.

Growing and changing - Kate's role at World Orphans:  I am continually grateful to be involved in supporting churches around the world that are caring for orphans.  With help from my family, I hosted a few “Home for the Holidays” parties this December....thinking of how grateful we are for family and homes to gather in at this time of year and praying for all the children around the world who don’t have homes or families.  While the situation is daunting, the work God is doing through his people, His church around the world is awesome.  This year saw my role grow into being a senior director in our Projects department which allows me to help keep an eye on how different aspects of our ministry and organization fit together - I oversee all the teams we send overseas, as well as our holistic care emphasis which focuses on training and equipping our partners around the world.  The work is challenging and keeps me busy, but I am honored to serve alongside my hard-working, gifted, passionate co-workers and our church partners.

Chris and I would love to hear what 2011 held for you and what 2012 has in store.  We pray this finds you growing in the presence and knowledge of Christ.  Immanuel - God is with us!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

With love and best wishes for 2012,

Kate (on behalf of all of us)

How many family Christmases do you have?

We have 4....I think.

Last Saturday - Guidetti family Christmas with Jon and Jess...

We got Jon and Eli matching superman capes.

Jon was VERY excited about it :)

 Last Sunday - Scofield family Christmas

Cousin Eli holding Jazmine :) 

Monday...flew to Atlanta (airport shots)

Stay tuned for Borders and Brown family Christmases

(definitely borrowing pictures from Kari and Cile)

Jazmine and Alec meeting each other!

 May you know the peace of Christ....Immanuel, God is with  us!

8 mm's full of memories

We had a Home for the Holidays party here on Sunday...as we enjoy time with friends and family during this season we wanted to take the time the remember, pray for, and advocate for the children around the world who don't have the security of a home and family. 

It was really wonderful to have time with family and I'm very grateful for their suppor of World Orphans.

In addition to sharing about World Orphans, we enjoyed Bub's Christmas present...all 22 reels of her 8mm films transferred to DVD.

When we first moved here Chris and I were cleaning out the attic and found all the films.  Rather painfully, Chris got the projector working and we enjoyed watching some of them.  So as a surprise for Christmas we got them all transferred to DVD...and spent hours watching them on Sunday. 

It was really fun to have a bunch of family together who recognized people in the videos.

Beautiful Jazmine... 

So...Jazmine used to be a stellar napper.  Like usually 2 long (2-3+ hours) naps a day plus maybe another short one (1-2 hours) each day.  But over the last few weeks she just stopped.  I still lay her down when she's tired (usually 3 times a day) but sometimes she just lays there and talks to herself for 45+minutes...other times she'll fall asleep but only stay asleep for 30-45 minutes.

Last week she randomly fell asleep with Nona...and twice just siting in my lap at my computer!  Experienced moms tell me it's a phase (maybe a long one) and I'm very committed to her learning to take good naps.  So...trying not to stress about it.

She stays pretty happy even when she doesn't nap well, so we'll just keep enjoying her...and keep trying to get her to sleep :)

Big family Christmas plans this weekend here in Jersey and we leave Monday for Georgia....so (hopefully) lots of pictures coming!

Jazmine goes to the city...

Excited about taking the bus into the city and having a whole day with daddy... 

...but there was a lot of traffic, so someone decided to take a nap 

People watching at Bryant Park 

The Chrystler building...it was a beautiful day 

Rockefeller Center in the daylight.... 

...and at night

Why did we see Rockefeller Center in the daylight and at night, you ask?  Well...Jazmine (who was a trooper, she did great) really needed to eat when we were there.  So we went into the NBC studio building for a warm place to hang out while she I fed her.  It was CRAZY crowded...like the rest of the city.  

We found a quiet corner where I was standing feeding Jazmine (because despite a valiant effort, Chris couldn't find a chair).  A kind security guard brought me a chair...gotta love that New Yorkers are still nice even on a crazy day in December.  So...after Jazmine ate, we changed a REALLY dirty diaper and stood in crazy long lines to use the restroom..we were ready to head back outside.

We hadn't gotten a very good look at the tree, so we decided to stay around 30 Rock a litte longer.  Not like we could have left quickly if we wanted to.  The mobs of people packing the street made going anywhere very slow.  But...we enjoyed the lights, enjoyed being together, and even enjoyed the crazy crowds...a classic New York at Christmas day.

Baking therapy...and my matriarchs

 "Measuring and mixing ingredients in a series of steps can induce a state of flow - complete immersion and energized focus.  Your thoughts become centered on the task at hand, helping to shift stress to the back burner." (Psy.D. clinical therapist)

I read that in Better Homes and Garden and thought, "that's it!"  Sometimes if I'm stressed I think, "I just need to bake something!"  I've been like that for year.  So when I read this it made total sense! :)

Not that I've done much baking in the last five months...having an infant isn't very conducive to baking.    Actually, I'm pretty sure I've baked once since Jazmine was born.  She helped me...we made a batch of brownies and chocolate chip cookies for Chris.


Jazmine helping decorate the Christmas tree

And that brings me to my mom and Bub and the amazing help they are during this season of life.
Since Jazmine has been born...
The one time I needed to bring an appetizer to a going away, Bub made it.
The coffee cake I need to bring to the women's prayer breakfast at church tomorrow, mom and Bub made it yesterday.
The thank- you gifts I wanted to make for my World Orphans financial support team...my mom helped a ton with them.
Lots of the grocery shopping that gets done around here....Bub.
Watching Jazmine 2 days a week...my mom.

I could keep going.  So, so grateful.

Tomorrow Bub, Chris, Jazmine and I are going into the city to do Christmas stuff....I'm sure there will be cute pictures of Jazmine :)

Cousins

We spent a relaxing Thanksgiving in Connecticut with my dad and his wife Katy, Katy's niece from CA, and Jon, Jess and Eli.  It was fun to watch Eli and Jazmine interact with each other...

Jazmine's cousin Eli 

Jazmine and grandpa Mike 

Jazmine with Aunt Jess 

It's hard to imagine that Jazmine will ever be as big as Eli!

Thanksgiving dinner table 

Princess Jazmine in her chair for Thanksgiving (can you tell she doesn't like looking at the camera?!)

Eli waiting for a fist bump from Jazmine 

The weather was so mild...it was great!

Time to get the Christmas decorations out...and you will be happy about it!  Classic...

So great to have time together...

Climbing trees already... 

...with daddy of course :) 

Family shots...

Oh so much to be thankful for.  I was going to do a nice long list of all that we have to be thankful for, but to be honest I'm not feeling it.  A few of the things I'm thankful for are Jazmine, Chris (Chris being in his last year of school) and my job....but those things take a lot of time and don't leave too much time for creative blog posts :)