Christmas

I started off my Christmas morning with a nice kiss from Duff.














CHEESE!













This kid colored for hours! Thanks for the art supplies Papa and Grandma.










Poor Miah. I wrapped her present in a Wii accessory box. She was disappointed to find no Wii accessories. Sorry Mi.













Stylist Miah going to work on Auntie Allison.



















I am the designated pony ride. Apparently Jairus had to rush in to have himself in the picture too.














Family in the living room.












Uncle Chris.


















Jaya is such a good big sister.

















All in all it was another great Christmas. We are all so blessed

Winter Wonderland

Finally we made it out into the snow. I remember spending hours out there with my friends, and loving every minute of it, no matter how cold it was. Today was so much fun, but after an hour or so, I was ready to go inside and drink something hot. Jairus had a blast and Tim and I had a snowball fight. It was so much fun.

Us throwing snow around














Our little home, it is so beautiful in the snow.

































Big Daddy. Real men make snow angels.



















Jairus was covering his face with snow.















I just thought this was beautiful.

Baking Christmas Cookies

Let me just set up the scene for you. The snow is falling, and we need something for dinner. Tim insists this should be a family trip to the store. I protest, and still he persists. So we all go to the store together, and Tim is sure I am to drive. Even though I have can't drive in the snow. The following events will prove that. We are leaving the store now, and guess what?.... Our defroster and radio won't work. In 20 minutes of being in the store, two things break. Then I pull out..... What the H-E double hockey sticks is that noise? Every time I push in the clutch, there is a terrible grinding noise. Now, after Tim and I curse the car we are driving home. Now coming down a hill. Tim gives me a crash course in what to do if I slide. Let me remind you, I didn't want to drive. With him next to me, I am nervous, so what happens? Yes folks, I slide, I slide, I slide right into the guardrail. Not once, my friends, THREE TIMES! We were only going about 2 miles an hour, but I can't drive on ice, I panic. So our car has traded paint with the guardrail. Beautiful.

We get home, inspect the damage, and I start to cry. Tim, he just laughs. So after that, we made dinner, and the rest of the evening was much better.



Ready to bake!














Mix it in!



















Making sure the batter
is just right.

And here is the tree!

I should have trimmed the tree a bit, but I don't care, we haven't had a tree in this house in 4 years. Yes, isn't that ridiculous? I think so.














I need more ornaments. This tree is so big!

Light at the end of the tunnel.... Maybe.

We are getting closer to our foster care liscensing!!! Last Friday, Tim and I got our fingerprints done. So those should be coming back in the next couple weeks, but I am guessing after the New Year. What is better is that our homestudy is scheduled for the 20th!!! Once that is done, and our prints come back, then we will be ready for our home inspection! The timeline at this point is, I am guessing around February or March. Who knows though. We feel like we have been working on this forever. Although, I know there are families who have been waiting for years. God Bless the Tacheny's! They should be getting their license soon, and they have been waiting far longer than us. So far in our church we have 7 or 8 families walking through the process. It is so amazing what is happening in our church! I can only hope is spreads like wildfire to anyone with a heart for a child.

Getting the Tree!

The whole family went up to the mountains to get Christmas trees today. Everyone except me. I covered a shift for someone at my work, who has been real sick. Never the less, they picked a beautiful day to go up and pick out a tree. I think this will be our new Christmas tradition. Sam, Jeremy, Tim, and Tim's mom and dad got tree permits for $10 and picked out our trees. Totally worth it. Once the tree came home, it was taller than the tallest point in our home. So at least 12 feet. We trimmed it down quite a bit.

Look at this boy, so cute.














What a beautiful place to get a tree.















Amazing view













All four of them.











Officer Naughty Pants bringing our tree up the hill.













Uncle Jeremy, Jaya and Little Cheese.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TIM!!!!

My Succulent Lamb Chop is 27 today. He is off in the wilderness with his brother being manly and trying to get to the "moment of truth" as Tim calls it. The spit second after his arrow is launched from his bow until it rips through the flesh of an unsuspecting deer. It would be a fantastic present if he slays a deer today.... We'll see

Thanksgiving

It has been awhile since I have updated. However, the McCall's still have me beat. LOL. So Yesterday morning, I went to work, and the Boss Lady let me off early. Sweet! Day going good so far. We got ready and out of the house at a decent time. Awesome! Up at Jeremy and Sam's, the men started up the deep fryer.... I forgot the thermometer. So they had to run to the store for another one. The boys get into my car. It won't turn over. The steering column is stuck. They leave in Jeremy's car, and 20 minutes later the following happens....

Yes, folks. The boys left the fryer on, and Dad couldn't have known what temperature it was on. Apparently, it got a little too hot. After about 2 hours, the oil was cool enough to proceed. However in the torching of the oil, most of it was burned up. Tim was sent back to the store to get more oil. FABULOUS. After all was said and done, we ate at 7 or so. It was worth it. My pies turned out good, the mashed potatoes were moist.... And the fashionably late guest, Mr. Turkey was well worth the wait.

The kids were ready for bed by 10pm. So I watched them play while we were trying to get the boys off of the Wii. This morning they met up to hunt. I hope they get something.

On another note. Jairus has gotten his glasses. He does great with them, and I can see such a difference in his interaction with the world. Now he is more daring and "boy-like" in the stunts he will try. Now I am bracing myself for his first big injury.

Like any other Thanksgiving, we are supossed to reflect on the past year's blessings. I am thankful for my family. For growing, for forgiveness, and understanding. I am thankful for God, and His supernatural provision, blessing and love. I am thankful for my Husband's support and friendship. I am thankful for my friends, who make me laugh, ponder, and who are always there for me. I am thankful to my trainer too! She is worth every penny, and she is giving me the push I need. It has been a great year, looking forward to another one.

I get knocked down....

Today I came to terms with the fact i need one pair of good jeans to wear. So Jairus and I went to Fred Meyer to pick up some pants. We look around, and I find a pair rather quickly. So I put them on and take off the tags and go up front to pay for them. The security tag was still on the bottom of the pants, so I put my foot on the counter so she could use the tag-gun to remove it. Well they don't have those anymore, the tag remover is a small hole in the counter. I found myself twisting like a pretzel to get the ball of the tag to go it. Ahh, got it. For a generous girl, I still am pretty flexible. Reaching into my purse, satisified that I made the cashier and at least three other random people laugh; I realized..... I forgot my debit card on the desk at home. I call Tim to bring it up to me so I can purchase my pants. About 10 minutes later he calls back saying the Focus is overheating. What? How many more issues can we have this freaking week? I could be one of those who pouts and cries "woe is me....." But I am just going to do a slightly psycotic laugh (hahaha) and move on. But serisouly, we need prayer. I feel like the enemy is trying to do anything he can to make life unpleasant in the Barnard house.

Jairus

I noticed a few months back, that Jairus' right eye was moving inward on occasion. Finally we were able to see a specialist today. The results, although in the grand scheme of things is not terrible; still hurt my heart because no mother wants to see her child have any "condition". According to the doctor, Jairus' eyes see the world as a blur, almost as if he were wearing drunk goggles. Obviously he can get around, but he has to strain so hard to focus on objects and try to make sense of fine detail, that it is forcing his right eye to turn in. The solution at this point are glasses. We have to go shopping for some tomorrow. If the prescription does not coax his eye straight, we will try a stronger set.

But you know what? I believe in God's hand. I stand on Jesus' will to heal those with maladys. I am praying and believing in a miracle and restored vision. I believe Jairus' eyesight will be so perfect, when the doctor sees him again, he is moved to tears through the restorive power of God. And I am coming once again to stand for my beautiful niece. She will see! I believe it is in God's will to FULLY heal her. Not just partially or "she has improved". No, not for our Jaya. Jaya will be healed. Through Sam today, I learned that doctors don't know it all. They are gifted, yes. But are they the Healer? No. Only ONE can fully heal. That is our Jesus. So loved ones, please stand with me and affirm their healing. Let us not waiver in our belief. It is not God's will to believe "a little". For anyone who is in need of a miracle in your life. Pray and believe, rest and stand on the promises the Lord has written in our Bibles. Pray on behalf of the ones you hold close to your hearts. For if you don't ask, you can't recieve.

Washington rain is here!

I have been pleasantly surprised to see how dry it has been this fall. But today, I woke up thinking, "Oh it still must be early, it doesn't look very light out." Oh I was wrong. The familiar gloomy clouds of the Northwest have made their fall debut. I think this is the heaviest rain of the autumn season! So now, we are resorted to playing chicken with the rain, trying to get the dogs out to pee before another typhoon session comes. Those of you who have pets know what I am talking about. If it is raining, I often find myself arguing with Tim about who is going to dry them off. And constantly changing the rules to whatever will give me the best advantage.
Tim "Mommy, let the beasties in."

Nita "No, I let them out, you let them in."
and on and on it goes, then the next day.....

Nita "Oh succulent lamb chop, you let your dogs out, you need to let them in."
Tim "No, you let them it," and our story continues.

The Pumpkin Patch

A fun fall family event. Sam, Jeremy, the nieces pieces, Mom and Dad, and Jairus and I all went to the pumpkin patch. Perfect day to walk around and let the kids get out in the sun. It was awesome, they are still all so little, we don't have to spend a dime to give them a great experience! More and more, doing stuff like this with my family has been the joy of my heart. Watching our kids grow together, and our family bonding and enjoying each others company is fast becoming my favorite thing to do.


Jairus is a new outfit designer! He picked out his hat and shoes, which totally makes the look!


















If we could only get ALL THREE of our kids looking in one direction at the same time!














Drummin' on the pumpkings. These two hams either get along like "peas and carrots" or fight like "cats and dogs".














This was cute. I may be chubby, but at least I am pretty.













Grandpa searched for this wheelbarrow. Thinking we were all getting pumkins. Instead it became a ride for the kids.














Inside, the kids got to play with all sorts of fun stuff. It was great to allow them to burn some energy. What a great day.


















































After the pumpkin adventure, we went back to the old people's house and had a good fall time soup, courtsey of Sam. And we tried to make carmel apples. Unfortunally, the apples I (rather Tim) got were sub-par, and I didn't grease the wax paper, so the finished carmel apples stuck like molasses to the paper. Oh well, all for the experience!

The transformation of the yard.

start from the beginning.... Very brown, lots of moss, bumpy. Generally pretty sad. But I like the man with the roto-tiller.

















A closer picture of the ugliness.

Finally, four months later..... All the dead grass is raked up, and we added a couple of features. A landscaped "island", and garden beds against the fence line. Looking better.

Just our work from another angle. By the way, our yard is about 2,500 square feet... That is a lot of raking.

This is the mound of dirt that I raked and shoveled. My mound, not Tim's mound, not the gardening troll, mine. I shoveled every grain of this pile of dirt.

And this my friends, is the almost finished product! Jeremy and Sam blessed us with an extravagant gift certificate to a nursery, and we were able to purchase all of the new plants you see. 4 lining the walk way, 5 up against the fence line and the three on the island. What an amazing blessing that is!
Tim and I had no idea we would be blessed in
that way. We are greatful to have such an obedient brother and sister, who listen to God's voice, and without hesitation give from their hearts. Let me tell you, we like the way God speaks to them! LOL. Thank you Jeremy and Sam, the beautification of this yard was because of you! We love you.

Training him young

Jairus loves to help me clean the house. I am taking full advantage. Some day his wife will thank me for it!

One step closer...

Now that Pride training is over, we are looking at the next steps. Our house needs to be up to code. This means the tile needs to be done as well! Whoohoo! Sike, I am not looking forward to that adventure. But I was talking to our Licensing Support lady, Cheryl and she thinks if we get on it, we could be licensed by December!!! So, I am kicking it into high gear. I have to schedule my T.B. testing and find a first aid/cpr/bloodborne pathogens training.

On another note, the front yard is almost done being raked. Now we have to even it out. We have decided to foot the bill for hydroseeding. It is so late in the season, we don't think that regular seeding will take. But through our good friends The McCalls, we have a guy who does it for a fantastic price. Today I will be working on the yard. Yesterday would have been ideal, but Jairus and I have had a cold, so we took advantage of the day and baked cookies and cuddled on the couch. We love you all, and will keep you posted of any new developments!

The 30 Day Notice

For those of you who have never been to our home, our front yard is detestable. It is huge with not much landscaping, in combination with my lack of green-thumb, the existing plants are very sad. It is not because we like having the ugliest yard in the neighborhood, it is because the yard ranks very low on our list. The home-owner's association president has been just short of harassing us about fixing our yard. So finally, he brought us the 30 Day Notice- to have it up to "code" (totally variable based on the opinion of the judge) in 30 days or they will have a company come in and do our yard and bill us for it. Since we are not independently wealthy, Tim and I have cracked the whip on ourselves to get it done. On Monday and Tuesday, I worked in the yard all day until I had to go to work. Then, Tim got off of work, worked on the yard and picked up Jairus from the gym, took him home and made him dinner. Wednesday was raining, so a nice break for us. Then today I spent the better part of 6 hours raking and shoveling dirt, and shaping a landscaped "island" in the middle of the yard. I am hurting, and so is Tim. I admire those people who work so hard to have a nice landscaping. Now that I have worked for hours upon hours to make our yard look better, I am sure I will be more motivated to keep it nice. We just pray that when we seed the yard, it will take. We are not in any position to hydroseed. Praise God, we are physically able to do it on our own, I am certain we are saving a boatload of money. We have about 25 days left to fulfill the "code", hopefully we will make it with time to spare.

THE SHACK!

If you are not sure about God's love for you, and want to read about a captivating true story, read THE SHACK. It is about a journey of a man who loses his daughter to a serial child killer. He travels back to where her possessions were found, and presumably where the killer took her life. Through a supernatural encounter with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, Mack was able to come to terms with his own pain. He comes to understand how he has wrongly accused God for the tragedies in his life, and most of all truly forgive, not only Missy's killer but his own father for the pain he inflicted. THE SHACK is an absolute page turner. One minute I was crying for him, and for my own realization of God's love for me. A few lines later, I was laughing. I began to unearth my own misconceptions of our Lord and come to terms with the fact that our perceptions are NOT always right. And because of our wrong perceptions, we have wrong emotions attached to them. Please do not get me wrong, this is not "churchy" or stale. This is a book of love, of divine intervention for a man drowning in his own despair. Held captive by his pain, and ultimately the triumph he has had through the understanding of God's love for him. Read it, I promise you will not be disappointed!

First Day of PRIDE training.

My heart is in physical pain after today. I am sure there are going to be harder days yet to come. PRIDE training was amazing. I loved that we got to do it with a Christian agency, instead of the state. They have such a comforting perspective on the process. I just want to get through this as fast as possible, I want our Chosen One to be home, safe and sound. Oh, loved ones, please pray for us. We have very uncertain territory ahead of us. Praise God for the work He is doing in my heart. I love our Chosen One! Please pray for a speedy process through the system, and that God keeps him safe while we are on our way!

Oh my chosen one,
That is just who you are.
Not because of me,
But because God placed you in our heart.

He has a purpose,
His perfect plan,
To take you out of harm,
And place you in loving hands.

I make you this promise,
That though you may be sad..
Soon, chosen one,
You will have a mom and a dad.

Chosen one, there is so much,
Coming your way!
I promise, there will be an end,
To these dark and dreary days.

You will have a place,
Just to call your own.
You will be loved,
You will never be alone.

Just hang in there,
Just a little bit longer.
We are coming to you,
Through of the love of the Father.

Do the Puyallup!

It was free to get into the fair from 10-12pm. So Sam and I made plans to meet. Since we are ballin' on a budget, Jairus and I parked for free.... In Egypt. I put him into the stroller and in my wedge sandals walked down two hills and got in through the back of the fair. Never did I think on my way down, about walking back up... We had fun with the kids, and after a couple hours decided to go back to the car. Once we got to the bottom of the hill, I realized why people pay for parking, or for that matter wear tennis shoes. But I did it, in sandals, pushing 35+ pounds of toddler and stroller. The rewards of being frugal.

I love this picture.