Thirteen

I can't believe it's happening - today my baby brother turns thirteen.

I remember the morning her was born like it was yesterday. Kris and I spent the night before with our aunt and uncle. I don't remember exactly what time we were supposed to get up (maybe five?) but I do remember that the alarm they had set for us in the room we were staying in went off an hour earlier than it was supposed to because they didn't change it back at daylight savings! :) We got to the hospital and got to say hi to mom and dad as they were on their way to the operating room. Mom had gone down to be prepped and stuff and the doctor was hanging around and said to me, "Hey, what's that on your face? You need to get that checked out. It looks like ring worm to me, and if it is you need to get it treated before you can go near the baby." Being the over tired, pre-pubescent girl that I was, I started bawling. Nothing sounded worse to me than being kept away from my new baby brother! I don't remember exactly how I got it checked out, but it turns out I just had dry skin from the cold weather. Grr! To this day I still harbor bad feelings towards this doctor. Funny how all that sticks with you... Anyway, dad and the doctor left and we sat in the family waiting room and played card and board games with my grandma and my mom's brother and sister and their spouses. As time wore on, Kris and I got anxious and would rush out into the hallway every time we heard a baby cry, hoping it was our baby brother. Finally, around 8:00am, a nurse and my dad came out of the elevator. The nurse was pushing the bassinet, but my dad was carrying the baby. I remember him kneeling down and introducing Kristin and I to Jacob Mitchell. I got to hold him first, then Kris, and then they took him into the nursery to do all the things they do with new babies. One of the most fun things to look back on are the pictures Kris and I took. Mom and dad gave us each a disposable camera to take whatever pictures we wanted through out the day. We took some really stupid pictures as we were waiting for Jake to be born! That afternoon mom needed to nap, so Kris, dad and I went to a one hour photo store and developed pictures of Jake. Before my mom woke up, my dad snuck back into her room and put up pictures of her three kids for her to have. He is such a sweet man! 

Those of you who know my dad know that he NEVER takes a day off work. Ever. Jake's birth was no exception. After we spent more time at the hospital with just the five of us, dad took Kristin and I to work with him so he could get some things done. I don't think we were there as late as I remember being, but I do remember that there was a snow storm that night and mom was worried about us being out and driving. Poor mom - I think we kept her up late worrying!

I know I am not Jake's mom (and thank God for that considering I was only 11 when he was born... :) ) but I do feel a really special connection to this guy. I think I had the best of every world with him. I was much older and got to help take care of him and feed him, but I also didn't have to be his parent and worry about disciplining him. When it was his nap time, I would take him into my parents room and lay him on my chest and sing to him. He was such a great baby. He was always smiling, which I'm sure is in part because of the mass amount of attention he received at all times! He was a quiet baby, too, and I remember my parents worrying that he wasn't talking as much as he should be (I'm sure over bearing big sisters had nothing to do with that!) He talks so much as now that I'm sure he's more than made up for it! Jake was/is just my buddy. When I first got my licence, I would pick him up from pre-school and sing along to the tapes (yes, tapes) I had in my car. I picked him up from school on September 11, 2001 and had to answer his tough questions about what happened. I would cart him around at band concerts and let him play on the instruments in the band room when no one was looking. When Dan and I had a fight once before we were married, Jake called him without anyone knowing and told him he better be nice to his sister or else. Every time I think about him, I think of another memory between us that makes me smile, inside and out. It has been hard being away from him now that Dan and I are married. Thankfully, I still talk to him all the time (especially now that he has a cell phone) and even get to surprise him by picking him up from school every now and then. He still gives me the best smile when he sees me and didn't know I was coming. I learned a lot about everything through my relationship with Jake, and I still adore him as much today as I did thirteen years ago. 

Jake - I hope you know what a blessing you are, especially to me. From the day you were born, and even now through your awkward teen years, you have been the most unconditionally loving creature I've ever met. Your heart is unprecedented in size. I hope you always hold on to that. Thanks for letting me be silly and stupid with you, as well as asking me tough questions about life. If you ever feel for one second that you're not good enough, or smart enough, or anything like that, you need to call me. I already have a lifetimes worth of wonderful things to remind you about yourself! You were created for great things, and I am so excited to see what God has is store for you. Keep being you, kiddo. I want no one else to be my baby brother. I love you Jakers!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

So, we're a little slow here at the Ritter's, but we hope you all had a safe and wonderful Christmas and New Year. We have been busy running from family event to family event, but had a great time seeing everyone and celebrating Jesus's Birthday! Last night we had five of our dearest friends over to celebrate the new year and had a great time. It's hard to believe 2008 had come and gone. About six months after Dan and I started dating, one of my best friends got married. At her wedding (over memorial day weekend of 2005, oddly enough) we talked about what our wedding would be like and thought that May of 2008 would be a great time to get married because we would have both just graduated and could start our lives together. Well, I may not have graduated yet, but it is crazy that we actually got married and started this journey together just about exactly as we had imagened we would. Because May '08 was such a goal for us and our relationship, it's hard to believe it came and went so fast. 2008 has truely been one of the most blessed years of my life. I look at all we have been though between graduation, marriage, job hunting, living together for the first time... What a journey! I will remember 2008 fondly, but I am glad I don't have to do it all again. :)

So, on to a new year! We are starting our new year of looking for a house! Tomorrow we are out looking at eight differnt houses and hoping to find the one for us. It's a little scary, but we are so excited and feel God is leading us this way. We'll let you know how it goes! 

We wish you a happy, healthy and blessed new year!!

Check it out!

I'm sure you have heard by now, but I have started a bakery! It's called Brittersweet Bakery and I am really excited about it! I started a website for it at www.brittersweetbakery.blogspot.com. I am making a cookie a day this week, so the website will be full of great recipes and pictures. Please check it out, and if you need a cake, let me know! :)

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

Christmas finally feels like it is coming around the Ritter house. This weekend, we bought and decorated our first tree as husband and wife. It was really fun, but also felt weird to be so "grown up" and on our own. It's funny how little things like a Christmas tree makes the married thing seem more real. Anyway, we decorated our house and our tree together and of course I documented the process with pictures!

Dan putting on the lights

Our beautiful and finished tree!

I had seen these ornaments that depict families and thought it would be a really fun tradition for Dan and I to have, and it also helps us fill our tree with ornaments! We decided to go with snowmen, so every year we will get an ornament that shows what our family looked like that year. I look forward to the tradition growing!

Our stockings are hung!

The advent calendar I made

A BIG thank you to my dad! Dan and I really had not thought about how we would get this tree up to our third floor apartment, but thankfully my dad not only had thought about it, but also bought us a tarp to get the tree up here, and a stand to put the tree in. Thank you, Thank you Thank you Dad! I shutter to think of what this tree would look like without your help :)

Meet Lola!

We bought a car this weekend! When we got married, it was a goal of ours to have a car by Thanksgiving and we bought our new car on Saturday - not bad! Here are some pictures of our new baby:

She's a 2009 Toyota Corolla in the most beautiful red color I've ever seen. Dan says it looks like the color of a Coke can, so maybe that has something to do with it :)

My mom, sister and I even came up with a song for her as we were thinking of names. It's to the tune of "Coco Cabana"

Her name is Lola

She's a Corolla

She's the color of a can of Coca-Cola

I think it's pretty cute. We are so excited and feel really blessed to have been able to get this car. We plan on enjoying it for a long, LONG time!

I've got the bug...

No, I am not sick. I just can't stop sewing! :)

I am lucky enough to be borrowing my Great Aunt Ag's sewing machine from my mom for a while. Dan and I brought it back to our place on Sunday night, and I am having a blast with it! I could not wait to play with it, so last night I made a pillow cover for our living room. Here's the end product (a Brittany Ritter original!)

I have sort of a love/hate relationship with it, as I do with all things I make. I like how they turn out, but I also see every flaw. For my first time using a sewing maching in a long time, and for the fact that I made up the pattern (with the help of my math whiz husband) I am really happy with it!

JoAnn fabrics is having a sale and all Christmas items are 50% off. What great timing! Here are all the fabrics I picked up. I haven't decided what else to do with them, but I'm sure I'll come up with something.

Dan's so great to let me take up all this space with crafting stuff. I guess this means I'll have to give him his "man room" some day. :) Anyway, here is my little slice of heaven - I cannot wait for winter break so I can sit and enjoy it more!

Late Night/Early Morning Musings

I'm up and full of thoughts, so bear with me :)

I have always been facinated by these early morning hours. Maybe that's why I'm such a night owl - so I can stay up and enjoy these times. I was sitting in our room looking out the window trying to figure out what keeps me up until the dawn breaks. I think it's because I get the feeling that the world is as uncomfortable as I am. It doesn't know whether it is morning or the middle of the night. As I watch the sky change colors, I feel like it is okay to be uncomfortable with myself because the world is uncomfortable, too. Does that make sense to anyone but me? Who knows. Maybe it's just that I need some sort of justification for being 23 and not having more figured out. There are certain truths I know: God made me and everything around me, and someday He'll take me home to be with Him, and Dan is the one He created for me and I am never meant to be with another. But there is so much I am unsure of, like what am I supposed to do with my life? I don't want all the answers. Honestly, I don't. But I want to figure out enough about myself to be comfortable with me. That sounds odd even as I write it. I'm sure some would be suprised to know I am so uncomfortable, and I wonder, how can that be? Can I be someone who is unsure of themself and someone who people think has it together? Do I have parts of both in me and just don't realize it? Maybe I just think too much. Ha. Now I'm thinking about thinking too much. Ah, the life on an introvert.
For now I think I'll go back to staring out the window with nothing to listen to except the soundtrack in my head and the snoring of a handsome man. I can't think of anything that sounds better.