Family staycation in the city

 On Friday, we took the whole family up to Seattle to hang out together. We did a lot of walking, watched the tree and Macy's Star light up. Then Saturday, we went down to the waterfront and went to the Seattle Goodwill.

Waiting for the tree lighting

Coming off the carousel

Amelia Bedila

The "big" kids

Love this one!

Chill Thanksgiving

 We arrived at Jeremy and Sam's around 7. The boys got the turkey in the smoker, and we relaxed most of the day. A good childhood friend of ours came and enjoyed dinner with us. I didn't get any pictures of the big kids because they spent the whole day playing. It was one of the least stressful holidays I think we ever had. We kept the menu simple and  soaked in the family time.

Uncle Chris and Ian

Chris and Amelia

Jeremy and Micah

Our good friend, Ian

I am thankful for Candy canes

As the day melts into evening, I am prepping for tomorrow. Christmas music playing, and Jairus telling me jokes fills the room. We are have hot cocoa in our hands with candy canes slowly desolving into the rich liquid. I love this time of year. The creamy hot chocolate spiked with peppermint coats our bellies. The heat kicks on, a constant reminder of the barbaric cold just outside our door.
 "Can I help you, Mommy," Jairus' sweet voice requests over the jolly sounds of Bing Crosby.
"Not right now dude, I am using knives, and you aren't quite ready to start cutting things like this. But if you want to, you can have some sissors, paper and glue." Love how I slid that one in. He loves to help, but sometimes a mommy just needs to get things done. He is totally happy with his scissors and glue, not a consolation prize in his little mind. Jairus sits happily at the counter while I continue cutting up veggies for the stuffing. A sweet time, just him and I.

The last few days of Thankfulness

I am thankful for slow weeks. Those times when we blow off the world to be a family. The Barnards had lots of that this past week. I am thankful for Tim and Jeremy's hobby of brewing beer, I certainly get to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Thank you Lord for yummy smells like Cinnabear, Satin Sheets, and all the good smells Scentsy has to offer. I am so excited to get my warmer and scents from Sam's party. Even though I am not a fan of snow driving, the snow has given us an excuse to play around and enjoy the crisp outdoors.

Mostly, I am thankful for being blessed to stay home. Some days, I am aching for a break, but far and beyond those moments, there is nothing better for me than to be home with my kids. I never miss a thing. Amelia's first time rolling over, I was there. Jairus' excitment about his first weeks of school, I was there to pick him up and talk to him about it. We are blessed! There is no waking my sleeping babies up early to drop them off. God bless all the families who do those things, I am very thankful Tim's job supports us enough so I have the choice to stay home.

I am thankful for peaceful mornings. With Christmas music playing in the background, putting a rythym to our day. Jairus sits at the counter, and patiently waits for, "eggs with cheese, and jalapenos, hot sauce and ketchup.... But not mixed up," as he would say. "Mom, may I have some water please," he requests as he takes a bite of the gooey concoction. As I set his water in front of him, "thank you," he replies. At this moment I am grateful. This small morning routine is sacred to me. There is no rush, no drilling of rules, no reminders, no time outs; it is bliss. I love that every day, no matter how crazy the rest of the day is, every morning is like this. By nightfall, I may be at the end of my rope, but joy comes in the morning. This is my joy, cooking eggs for my polite little guy. The slate is clean and the zest for the day is new.

SNOW!!!

 The cold weather came rolling in last night. By morning we had a good three inches. Jairus was excited to get outside to play. He had a great time jumping in the snow, making angels and having a snowball fight with Tim.

Jairus and Tim made a great snowman.

But it fell, and Jairus was left with a snowball.

Amelia is changing!

Amelia is getting so big. She is not much smaller than my first niece Miah was at 9 months. That isjust funny to think about now. Miah started walking so early, it is crazy to think that she was this small and toddling around. How the time flies.... Our sweet girl is doing so many things now. She plays with her toys on her "gym". She is rolling over like a pro to her belly, but gets frusterated after a while since she hasn't begun rolling back over. She laughs about silly things, and is really engaging into "talking", and is observing the world around her. Every one says she looks like her Daddy, which is soooo true. I used to never think babies look much like either parent, but it is clear to me who she belongs to!

AMELIA AND DOODLES

I love her little face.

Jairus has the best smile

Her crackin' up.

Today I am thankful for my Mom

My mom surprised us with an inpromptu visit. She came with  a quilt she had made for Amelia. It is so cute. I am thankful she will have a special blanket to carry with her forever. I enjoyed visiting with her, and Jairus enjoyed their "nature walk."

Thankful for

17th- Thank you God for used clothing stores! As many of you know, I am back on the trek of losing weight. I crazy, ridiculously overindulged while I was pregnant, and now I am paying for it. I hate not having anything to wear as I go down in size. What I hate more, is spending money on clothes I won't be able to wear in a month or two. This is why God gave us the Goodwill. I found a way cute pair of DKNY jeans, a sweater, and a cute shirt for $20! With the few things I have already, it will totally hold me over for a bit. I still have a way to go on my less of me journey, but a girl needs to feel pretty at any size.

16th- Today I thank God for Jairus' pre-school. It is amazing what they can pour into a group of kids in 2 hours. He comes home and tells me about his little day, and I just love it. It is so crazy to hear him repeat things other people teach him. He has his own little life now! It is great too, because it gives me a little one on one time with Amelia.


15th- I am thankful my husband has a career that suits him. As a kid, I remember my step-dad being mad all the time; and I am convinced it was because he hated his job. Since they spend so much time there, if they don't like it, chances are they will come home pissed off at the world. We are blessed. God has taken care of us every step of the way. Thank you Lord for your provision and blessing.

Today, I am thankful for family

We attended my nephew's dedication at church today. As I have matured and gotten a little wiser, I have come to the conclusion that my family is the best. I have great in-laws, and I don't think I recognize that enough. We have walked through times of contention, disagreement, and flat out stupidity. I have said and done things, that if I could, I would go back in time and punch myself in the face for.
       At the end of the day, I have been adopted by a Mom and Dad who love me as if I were their own. They took me in when I needed a home as a kid. They attended my graduation, thought of me on my birthday for the past ELEVEN years. My in-laws are reliable; I know if I call Dad to help me put up chicken wire, or fix a busted pipe, he is there. I have a Mom who will arrange her days off to help me, or take the kids on the fly if I need a break. I am grateful for the relationship they have with my kids. It warms my heart to see Jairus so excited to be with them. Amelia is still pretty new, but I think she'll feel the same way.  I have two brothers who suffer in the summer heat to help with our roof. One of which has replaced windows in and has fixed my car NUMEROUS times. The other has spent hours weed whacking my enormous back yard before I got a lawn mower. We walked together on our graduation day. He spent an entire day in the hospital with me when I was very sick, even after I told him he could go, he stayed with me. I have been given two sisters.  One of which is on my short list of best good friends. She is sincere, and generous. Sometimes, she is the only one in the family who gets me. I have learned much about forgiveness by watching her, and walking together figuring this whole family thing out. My other sister is much quieter, and I am just excited about getting to know her more. Another thing I am not lacking in is nieces and a nephew. As a little girl, I LOVED LOVED LOVED my Auntie Anne. And looking back on our special relationship, I so want to be that kind of Auntie, except without the Billy Idol haircut and rubber bracelets (love you Anne!)
    Being in a family is sticky, but oh is it worth it??? WITHOUT A DOUBT!
There is so much more detail I could give about why I am in love with my family. I would be here until Christmas if I tried.

Thankful

For Friday, I was thankful for Jairus. He brings such joy to our life. It was great to snuggle up with junk food and watch a movie together. We have a special relationship, and I treasure being his mom.

Today, I am thankful for my husband. He made breakfast, lunch and dinner, helped me clean up the kitchen, and even let me take a nap. We are entering a new season in our marriage, and I am thankful for that too. Not because the place we were was bad, far from it. More because we are moving into an even greater season of understanding each other, anticipating each other's needs, and letting silly things go. What a good man I have to walk this life with.

Today I am thankful for

Rest. A day off from work for Tim, school for Jairus. We skipped TEAMCAMP tonight, just to rest. I am thankful for this day off to pay tribute to our veterans. Thank you brave men and women who fight for our freedom. I know what it is like to sacrifice family and marriage in the midst of serving in the military. Thank you military families for supporting your troops while they are away, that love makes it a little easier to lay their lives down. I am thankful for freedom. I can say whatever I want, and not worry about being killed for it. Thank you military for giving us all those basic freedoms, which are precious, and sometimes not appreciated.

Thankful for today

So I seen this idea on my best good friend, Tina's blog. Every day in November to list something to be thankful for. So I will do one for yesterday and today.

Yesterday I was thankful for my husband. It was our 11 year anniversary of being together. He is a loving husband and father. He leads this family, submitted to the Lord, and walks humbly. Tim is my stability when all around me is chaotic. I love you Succulent!

Today, I am thankful God has a calling on my life. I know I was created with purpose, and He had a destiny in mind for me when He spoke me into existence. God has placed me in a circle of friends who sing my song, encourage me in the midst of their hardship. I have friends who see things in me I don't, and speak life into me. Thank you Leah for being that friend to me. You started off my Lifegroup Leader, became my Apostle and now you are not just my friend, but my sister.

Okay, it's been TOOOOOOOOOOO long, so much to update

Let's cut to the chase, so much has happened over the last year, I am just going to hit on the bigs, and add some photos from the previous year...

November brought our 10 year anniversary, of being a couple. We celebrated the occasion by a trip up to Leavenworth, just Tim and I. We didn't know it, but we came back with a qwasi-planned surprise. A few weeks later, we found out I was pregnant! December brought mood swings and Christmas. January was pretty uneventful, as was February, except for the fact we found out our little bun in the oven was a girl!!! In March, Tim was sent for more training, and Jairus and I had some time just being me and him. I soaked it in. April marked Tim's first full year working for FPS, and we celebrated our 8th year of marriage.
        As May rolled around, I was anxious to get this little princess out!! June come in with mild temperatures, which was so fine with me. I am a warm blooded girl anyway (wearing tank tops with no coat in January) and with being prego, it was nice for me. Then July came, with anticipation of Amelia's birth. She was due on the 29th. Unfortunally that day came and went, as well as the 30th, 31st, all the way to the 4th. I was scheduled for induction on the 6th, and I was not diggin' the idea of that. But on the 5th, contractions came hard and fast. Amelia Regan Barnard was born August 5th at 9:50pm. 21 inches long, 9lbs, 6oz!

So I have been terrible about having my camera, and taking pictures. But I am determined to get back on the wagon. Here are some pics from the past few months....

 Jairus and his one legged Buzz

Working on Amelia's bed

Welcome Baby!

 Silly Big Brother!

Jairus' birthday.
Ohhh, it was a HOT one. We celebrated with family and friends at the park.

 Miah and Amelia

The oldest kids!

Lunch.

 Amelia and Daddy

 So hot the cake melted

 Lightning McQueen, or a generic cousin.

Amelia in the heat

This time around, we didn't do a baby shower, but had a
 "Welcome Amelia" party

Laura and Amelia

The Cake

Grammy and baby

Kim and Elijah

Daddy and Amelia

Sweet bath time.

Jairus has little friends now. Keauna and Mac.

JAIRUS FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!!

Playing around

tummy time

Harvest Fest

Our little pumpkin was NOT having it

WOODY!

These two crack me up!!!

Those are all the pictures for now. We have so much going on in our lives now. With Tim's work, and getting involved in ministry via teaming up with two other families to plant a church! Our life is blessed and lovely. Jairus is learning so much at school, and becoming quite the little guy. He has Awana's on Wednesdays, and his ability to remember Bible verses amazes Tim and I. Amelia is now three months old. She is rolling over on occasion, but not diggin' the tummy time too much. She sleeps great though. I am trying to get back into a faithful routine of eating right and working out. Some weeks are great, and there are some stretches when I let my sweet tooth get the best of me. God is working out so many great things in our lives. I am just excited to begin to walk in a pastoral role, and work towards the calling we have on our lives as a family. In this next season, I am going to be more intentional about updating this thing, thanks for keeping up with us!