I can't believe how fast time flies! The reason I haven't written a blog in several months is not due to lack of time or energy, but instead due to lack of words. My emotions are soaring in weird directions leaving me confused most of the time. I'm trying to be content. Really. I know we're here because God has placed us here and that's better than anyplace else we'd rather be. I don't regret leaving Temple, but I sure do miss it. It's lonely here. I feel out of place, like a visitor, in our apartment complex. How do I make this my home? How do I reach out to people I rarely see? I know God will open up doors. There's a reason why we're here... in these apartments... in this building... next to the people we're next to! I pray we don't miss opportunities because of fear. I guess this is the perfect time of year to "get to know" our neighbors. Everyone is a little more friendly during the holidays :) I pray for extra doses of boldness for the Waden family. Please pray with us!

Austin & a little more

We're in Austin! YAY!!

We're staying with the in-laws for this month. Our house sold rather quickly! We close on Thursday, so we've been busy packing up! We move into the apartment on October 5.

We haven't found a church home yet, so please pray for guidance. Our hearts are eager for corporate worship, fellowship, accountability, service, etc.

Mikaela is walking ALL over the place! Her steps are getting faster and faster! She'll be running before we know it :) We've been working on baby sign language and she has finally mastered "more", "all done", and "hungry". I'm not the best teacher, so that's probably why it has taken so long to learn! We also found out that she has egg allergies. If egg just touches her skin, she breaks out in a cluster of hives. Fortunately, she has refused to eat any egg! I pray she grows out of it! But for now, we have to keep a close eye on what she eats :)

I've been feeling MUCH better morning-sickness-wise. I still get bouts of nausea if I've gone too long without eating, but it sure beats feeling sick all day/all night long!

Kevin is now a waitor at a restaurant named Houston's. It's a VERY classy place with incredible food! He tried getting into the bartending scene, but couldn't get a good job without prior experience... and he didn't want to work at a club... so for now, he'll be working at Houston's. He really enjoys it :) His next step is police academy in February. Please pray for that as well :)

All in all, we're doing pretty good. God's been teaching me about His provision and care through Psalm 23. He's our Great Shepherd who will ALWAYS guide us, feed us, pick us up, protect us, give us rest and comfort! I love it!

Growth

We're heading to Austin! We've decided to move to a bigger city that's closer to family and has more to offer. We're not exactly sure why we've been asked to move other than God has something better for us in mind.

We like Temple. It's simple. Comfortable. Conservative. We know lots of people and lots of people know us. Yet, we fear that if we stay much longer we'll become too comfortable. Too sheltered. Maybe even too prideful. We need to be stretched and challenged and grown. So we find ourselves heading toward CHANGE. I don't like change. It's scary. It makes me uncomfortable. I fear the unknowns. I don't like leaving people. I don't like leaving the familiar. All of this makes me want to eat a lot of ice cream!

Despite all the fear and uneasiness, I KNOW change is good. I know we are going to grow like crazy spiritually. I know we are going to love it more than we thought possible. I know God has something great for us. He does. I know it. I can feel it deep within.

Another big change coming up is baby #2. We'll be having another baby at the of March...WOOHOO!! Mikaela is gonna be a big sister! We are beyond excited!

Roadmap...

Check out Mikaela's new "do"! Hehe, she's just so CUTE!!

God is SOOOOO good to us! He has been teaching us A TON about His never-ending, all-consuming, unconditional love for us. I LOVE His closeness! No matter where we are or what we're doing or how "involved in ministry" we are, His love for us NEVER changes. He can't love us any more or less because His love for us is simply perfect. It makes me sigh in relief! Seriously! We've been wresting with where God wants us and what exactly we were created to do for His Kingdom. It's tricky having a husband who is talented in LOTS of areas because so many options (career-wise/ministry-wise) look good or make sense. YET many times God asks us to do something that doesn't make ANY sense whatsoever. We believe our lives are heading through one of those times :) Please join us in prayer as we embark a new fun, exciting, and scary chapter in our lives. I'll explain more later :) Until then, much love to you!

Teeth & Food

So, Mikaela now has 3 top teeth coming in... all at once! Talk about painful! Someone told me that if adults went through the teething process as adults, we would literally go insane. Insane as in CRAZY. It's insane that Mikaela is not going insane. I'm not sure how babies do it! God's hand must be on them!

She hasn't been wanting to eat her baby food, so we're now eating table food... YAY! Several months ago I thought she wasn't going to be picky. Boy was I fooled :) Her face gets twisted and her nose curls up when food tastes different or the texture is a bit weird. This little one is SO much like her daddy! It's absolutely WONDERFUL!

Remember being 10?

I've started nannying our next door neighbor, Kristen. She's 10 years old, full of energy, and a sweet disposition! I REALLY enjoy my time with her! Mikaela adores her... and Kristen loves to play with Mikaela! It's great! I love the imagination of a young one. You don't need much to enter into a whole other world :) When you're 10, life is full. There's excitement, curiousity, abounding love. Kristen's helping me rekindle the child-like passion/imagination/joy that I once had. I'm tired of letting "life" get me down. I'm tired of the pressure to be serious and always "grown-up". I want to run free. I want to love my Lord, my family, my friends recklessly. I want to forget the expectations that I've placed on myself because I thought others would want them there. I want my 10 year old heart back... but with a twist... the twist being my Savior. I want a child-like passion that makes my heart race with excitement and fear all mixed together. I don't want to be ashamed or weak or silent. My heart longs for more than this world can offer. Jesus, come fill me up!

What a cutie!!

Hey there! Mikaela is now 9 months old! She is a speeeeed crawler :) She is also VERY good at pulling up and cruises a little bit! She may be walking in the near future :) Mikaela has blossomed into such a social butterfly... it's absolutely wonderful! She LOVES people! It usually takes her about 20 minutes to warm up to a new enviroment, but once she does, it's all giggles and talking :)

This was Mikaela's first boat ride. She really did enjoy it even though she looks sad in the picture :) The water was still a little chilly for her to go swimming... maybe next time!

7 month happenings...

Hey there! Lots is happening in Mikaela's world! She is now a 7 month old with 2 bottom teeth, a growing appetite & love for solids, who babbles story after story to us, who sits like a pro, and has begun crawling! Well, the crawling part might be a little stretch. She did crawl forward (about 3 steps) towards Daddy the other day, but most of the time she gets on her all-fours, rocks back and forth for momentum and then nose dives forward :) She loves to go, go, go!

Her most common phrases are mama and baba. We're working on dada. The other day she was so close with daga... Kevin's heart sank! She still loves to blow her spit bubbles, especially in church :) She is also experimenting with her voice range, which sounds like singing to me :) She is full of smiles, squeals and laughter! What a joy!

It's so weird how she's a little person. I'm amazed by her growth! Not only is she learning how to maneuver around, but when things are out of sight they are definitely not out of mind anymore. Her little brain remembers where the T.V. remotes or cell phones are hidden... and she finds them! It's time to do a more thorough baby-proofing of our home :)

I am VERY thankful for these past 7 months with Mikaela. She has definitely brightened up our home! Her dimpled smile just makes our hearts melt :)

Doctor says...

Mikaela had her 6 month check-up earlier this week. She is a little bit over 15 lbs. and is 2 foot 2 (26 inches). Her first tooth is poking its way through. You can actually see the tip. She was having a hard time a couple days ago, but seems more at ease today :) Hopefully the little boogie-tooth will come soon... and her pain will be gone...at least until tooth #2 decides to pop up! Until then, she chomps on anything and everything!! I think she likes Daddy's fingers the best :) As far as food goes, she REALLY loves her yellow veggies, but isn't a fan of the green ones... go figure! I think she's a mini-Kevin :) Oh, how I love my family :)

Carrots... YUM-O

Today we had our first adventure with veggies! We tried carrots and Mikaela LOVED them! I sure hope this means she's a "good" eater ;) Mikaela has really improved with her table manners. She learned to keep her cute little hands on her lap during meal time. She is a LOT more focused on her food instead of the windows... the table... the plants... the microwave, especially when you can see a little reflection in it... the trash can... the ceiling lights... the mini-blinds... the doggies... well, not really the doggies, she still gets distracted every time they venture into the kitchen and up to her booster seat. Gunner desperately tries to lick the mush off her face :) And Grunt, well, he just wants to feel loved and noticed :) She adores them! Anyways, I'm so excited about introducing all sorts of new and yummy food to Mikaela! We're gonna have TONS of fun! Yippee!

HAPPY HALF BIRTHDAY!!!!

Yesterday was Mikaela's half birthday! She is 6 months old! Wow, how time flies!!! Yesterday was also my 26th birthday. I feel old :) Mikaela loves to blow raspberries, squeal in delight, and play with the doggies. We haven't been to the doctor yet this month, but I'm guessing she weighs 15 lbs. We'll find out in a couple of days :)

Happy Half Birthday little one!

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

Lil' sitting star...

Mikaela has been working really hard on her sitting skills and her practice has finally paid off! She can now sit all by herself for several minutes at a time... her little bumper must be growing :) She does really well as long as she stays focused and doesn't try to look up... once she looks up she tends to topple over :) We're so proud!

Cloudy Days + Sunshine = ME

This winter we've had many cloudy and rainy days. It's actually been really out of the ordinary... thunderstorms and tornadoes with sunshiny days all mixed together! This winter weather can get a person feeling a bit out of sorts.
Life for me has also been a little out of sorts. I've suffered from a WIDE variety of emotions all kinda tangled up and thrown around the room! I became a stay-at-home mom. My strongest emotion is gratitude. I am so, very, extremely grateful to be able to stay home and raise my daughter without career distractions lurking in my mind. I just don't think I could juggle career and mom-hood without slacking in one area! So, because of that, I'm grateful for being 100% with Mikaela.
Another emotion is love. I'm in love. I have two amazing people to love on! How fun is that! Yet, mixed with gratitude and love is sadness. My new role of being Mikaela's mommy has brought back MANY memories and "what if" thoughts of my own mom. What would life be like if my mom were alive, healthy and among us? How would she treat Mikaela? How would Mikaela respond to her? Would she always be around or would she be distant? Would she enjoy teaching me all the little tricks she learned along the road? How would our relationship change? And then I begin to think of ALL the things "she'll miss out on" and sadness really creeps in. If I let myself dwell on this I end up eating a LOT of chocolate... so, I desperately try to move on to emotion #3... hope.
Because of my relationship with Jesus I can cling onto hope without hesitation. My hope rests in Jesus to love us, take care of us, teach us, change us, mold us into His image. We are never alone. He is our Savior, our King! He offers limitless hope!
Then I move onto emotion #4... being overwhelmed. There's a lot to think about and prepare for in beginning to raise kiddos. I have learned sooo much already, yet I still have sooo much to learn! I'm trying really hard to master the role of wife and mother, yet I seem to fall short in either time, energy, or knowledge. So much to learn! So little time! I guess I should wrap up this post... and start on something a little more important... like laundry :)