A Most Sacred Calling

Well, we are now a family of three! Deklen Tyler Bake joined our family on his due date, March 15, 2017, at 2:00 am. He was 5lbs 15oz, and 19 inches long. I felt so blessed to have had a very short and relatively easy labor. We were in the hospital by 9 pm on the 14th, and he was here 5 hours later. He would have been here even sooner if the nurses hadn't forgotten to add in the antibiotic to my IV (I tested + for GroupB Strep) so I had to just chill for 2 hours so it could enter my system before Deklen was born... :)

Being a mother has been everything I thought it would be and nothing like I thought it would be all at the same time. The amount of overwhelming love I have for Deklen is even greater than what I pictured it would be. He's only been in our lives for 1 month (He's still alive! Victory!) and already I would do absolutely anything for his happiness and safety. Even if it's picking him up in the middle of the night instead of letting him "cry" for a bit... haha he's already got me wrapped around his little finger.

It has been such an amazing experience to become a mom and as I've sat at home with the little guy, I've had lots of time to reflect on what a sacred calling being a mother and a father is.

Staying at home has been nothing like I thought it would be. I'd be lying if I said I love being at home. I keep getting told that it gets better as your child develops and interacts more, but I am SO BORED! I went from being a busy manager and loving being in the business world to sitting on one spot on my couch all day watching Netflix. feeding my child, and changing diapers every hour (or so it feels). This has given me such an appreciation for mothers who sacrifice so much of themselves to care for their children - especially for my own mother. She did so much for her kids growing up, including sacrificing her career to be at home with us. She continues to do so much for each of us even as adults and it meant so much to me to have her help with Deklen for two weeks. One of my new favorite quotes I read in a book recently sums up what this means so perfectly for me, so I wanted to share it. Everything I am I owe to my parents

"The mother, more than any other, affects the moral and spiritual part of the children's character. She is their constant companion and teacher in formative years. The child is ever imitating and assimilating the mother's nature. It is only in after life that men (and women) gaze backward and behold how a mother's hand and heart of love molded their young lives and shaped their destiny" - E.W. Caswell

What a sacred title "Mother" is to me. I truly hope I can be everything this little guy needs to grow and become the man his Heavenly Father wants him to be. I am so thankful to my Father in Heaven for blessing our home with one of His sweet spirits - we fought long and hard to get Deklen here and we are beyond grateful to finally have the chance to live up to the nature of these sacred callings.

Special thanks to Tayten (Tayten Kenzie Photography) for taking Deklen's pictures and our first ever family pictures below. She is so talented! I absolutely love how they turned out.

"The problem with time, I've learned, is that eventually, time always runs out"

I swear the older I get, the faster time goes. Life seems to be just flying by for Tyler and I right now, so I decided to sit down, reflect, and blog an update on our life. :)

1 - time to change from our comfortable life of two to a new family of three (almost...)

This pregnancy that seemed so slow at first is coming to a close way too quickly. I have just under 7 weeks left until my due date and part of me can hardly wait to get this baby out of me so I can breathe and see how adorable he is, and the other part is screaming to keep him in there because it's much easier with him inside than out! :) I'm both terrified and thrilled to become a mother and Tyler and I can hardly wait to meet our little Deklen. 

2 - time for work and time for play

Both Tyler and I have kept busy with full time jobs, but we've been trying hard to make time for fun and hobbies and family before our little one comes and our lives change forever. Tyler has been enjoying playing basketball with our ward and youth (he's in young men's) and was asked by local parents to coach a youth rec soccer team again this spring (he coached for them last fall and they made it to the championship!) he has been busy traveling for Physical Therapy interviews the last few months and whether or not he enjoys it enough to call it play (it's probably the opposite) he has been to some new places! I've been enjoying being lazy, reading, volunteering, and nesting. Haha :) I also got to do some wedding flowers for my sister's in-laws and that was so fun! I miss my florist days... Flowers make me so happy! 

We are trying to get some family trips in this summer before we move far away... Which leads to point 3.

3 - time to leave our comfortable, safe life in Utah and make a move

We are thrilled that Tyler has been accepted to one PT school so far in Massachusetts. We are waiting to hear back from about 4 more schools he's interviewed at before we make a final decision as to where we will end up (CA, WV, CT, PA to name a few places) but it will most likely not be Utah. I am terrified to move away from family and work and everything we know to a new place, but we are also excited for a new adventure. :) so we are trying to make every moment count here before its time to uproot in August. I know I've mentioned this before, but I hate change. However, I've come to realize and know that change is part of life and is what you make it. The Lord has a plan for us and will guide and strengthen us along the way. :) thank heavens for modern technology that allows such easy communication. 

We feel so blessed by the Lord, and even though we still seem to have plenty of rainy days, the Lord is good to give us beautiful, sunny days to remind us what this life is all about - take TIME to smell the roses and make this world a better place. 

The Best Season and The Best News.... :)

Happy Fall Ya'll!

We kicked off the fall season right with a lovely drive up the canyon with my twin sister, Ashley, her husband, Jonathan, and my adorable nephew, Leo. It was so much fun and the leaves were stunning! Leo loved being outdoors, but I think he still loves Tyler more. :) He's obsessed with his Uncle Tyler and Uncle Christian. I guess I need to start slipping him some more treats... :)

Last month Tyler's family had some changes - his brother, Matthew, got married so we went up for their wedding and that same weekend, his other brother, Joshua, had his mission farewell. They came down after that and we got to take Joshua to the MTC. I'm so excited for him and know he will do great out in Ohio!

Elder Bake - just missing Brandon, Juli, Matthew, and Kaylee :(

And last but definitely not least, the best part of this blog post - Tyler and I are expecting a baby come March 2017! It seems like everyone and their dog is expecting right now, but we are happy to join the club! :)

Hopefully you can tell from the pumpkin color what gender it is - my dad couldn't figure it out as he said it came through as white on his phone. haha so if you're having that problem, it's a boy. I'm terrified but excited! And Tyler can hardly wait! We feel so blessed and are looking forward to the holiday seasons ahead.

Summer Memories

I can't believe it's been 4 months since I've last written here! Time just goes by so darn fast. Before you know it, Christmas will be here (I may or may not have already started listening to Christmas music...).

Tyler and I had such a great summer that was full of fun and memories. We bought a new (used) crossover and we could hardly wait to take it with us on all our adventures! These included:
1. Camping!
2. Hiking
3. Baseball game
4. Family Reunions

Tyler's twin brother, Brandon, and his wife, Juli came to visit us before they moved to Texas. We had such a fun time with them and enjoyed hiking to the hot springs up Spanish Fork Canyon.The wild flowers had just begun to bloom and it was perfect weather.

We also went on a sibling camping trip this year which was a blast! We had so much fun staying up late playing games and eating junk food :) Heather and Christian were there too but they always seem to avoid the camera...! I wish we would have remembered to take a group picture. Heather and Christian have now moved to Kansas and Trevor has moved to DC so we won't be able to hang out as siblings anymore. It makes me so sad to see our family spreading out! :(

Our new used car! First camping trip!

Cutest nephew EVER

This boy loves his mommy!

Tyler and I went to his first baseball game with Heather and Christian! We had a blast watching the Salt Lake Bees :)

Tyler and I also went up to my Aunt's property at Sour Dough Ranch. I have gone there ever since I was little and have so many fond memories of this place. I love spending time up there with my Aunt, Uncle, and Grandma. We went four wheeling, roasted smore's, and even got to see some moose! The wild flowers were in full bloom and it was GORGEOUS. Tyler did a "man" craft with my uncle and carved/made himself a leather wallet! It turned out so cool. We also went with my Aunt and Uncle to their town's Fourth of July parade.

The rest of the summer was filled with Tyler taking the GRE again and completing another round of PT applications. Tyler's already heard back from one school and received an interview so we're hopeful that his application is much stronger this year!

And now my favorite season is already here! Wahoo! On to cooler weather, colorful leaves, and the smell of pumpkin spice everywhere. :)