The Barkers

wow...August was a long time ago

2010-01-15T15:36:00.002-05:00

bed head-Jonas now 3.5 yrs old

pig tails for the first time-Ivy 1 yr old

my buddy

sweet Ivy on Christmas morning

I'd really like to get back to blogging...I really would. Maybe soon. Here are a few recent pictures of our babies we love so dearly.

Various pictures taken recently...

2009-08-27T10:33:00.003-04:00

Cousin Macon is loving the "big" cousin role to Ivy. He loves her. Jessica placed Ivy in his stroller the other day and they were so cute. He loves playing with her toes whenever he is around her.

We were at a local park for a friends birthday party. They have a really neat train at the park and it was a highlight for all the kids.

Joe captured this shot of Jonas. Love it!

Ivy LOVES to swing!

self portrait of me and Ivy-I don't do these often...you can see why

swimming with daddy

Our beautiful Jonas...we can still say beautiful at 3 right?

first bath together

2009-08-27T10:23:00.003-04:00

We were at my parents one night and due to a problem I have with my hands called Dyshidrosis, my dad was helping with giving the kids a bath in their big garden tub. Jonas and Ivy had never had a bath together and Ivy just recently became solo in the tub. So I was a little reluctant but they both did great. Here are some shots!

I'll post more about Dyshidrosis later.

catching up again....

2009-08-27T09:08:00.004-04:00

Joe started new hours at work in June. We've enjoyed having more family time together in the mornings. We've been able to swim together at Joe's parent's pool, go to the park, zoo etc...its just been a better variety than what we were used to. He leaves after lunch to go to work, around the time I put the kids down for a nap. Its given me more time with friends in the evening whether it be a girls night out or having a friend over for dinner, or making a meal for friends in need. I've enjoyed the new change. However, there have been plenty of evenings I wish Joe was here to veg with me on the couch watching Forensic Files or The First 48. :-)
We were able to go to a family reunion on Joe's mother's side of the family recently. It was a nice little get away. We drove to West Virginia for a weekend. This was the first road trip with both kids. It went pretty well. We are thankful for portable DVD players!

sleeping babies in the car

one of the houses Mom Barker grew up in
Jonas and daddy by the OHIO River, on the Huntington W.V. side.

On our way back from W.V we were able to stop in Johnson City, TN to visit a friend and co-worker of mine. We have met in person 3 times now. We both work from our homes. We have so many things in common, most of all our salvation. Its been a neat friendship. These are her beautiful daughters. Jonas had fun taking a few hours out of our trip to play with the girls. Can't wait to see you again Dana!

Anniversary!

Joe and I celebrated 9 years of marriage in August. We've been together for almost 14 years. Its crazy to think that's even possible! We are encouraged to see how the Lord has blessed us and worked in our lives over this period of time. I can truly say our marriage continues to grow as we focus on Christ and we desire to do what is right. One thing that has been fun this year is having a guaranteed date night once a month. We have made an effort, with the help of family babysitters, to go out to a nice dinner. Sometimes coffee follows, but more than once a grocery shopping trip followed. Which is nice for me, so I don't have kids on tow! This time together has helped us keep our communication open and steady. We often find it hard to have conversations with the kids around. Jonas is always interjecting or just being loud and we lose our thought process etc...like every parent I'm sure! So, the date nights have been great! I hope we can keep it up next year! Love you Joe Barker...thanks for 9 wonderful years!

Jonas-he is probably the average 3 year old now. At many times we have felt as if we hit the terrible 3's. There has been constant correction involved. Some days are very draining for both Joe and I. Lately Jonas has decided he doesn't need his afternoon nap, which just isn't work friendly for mama. He has always loved his sleep so its hard for me to believe that he going from 2 hr naps to nothing isn't more than just him testing me right now. We'll see. I'm not giving in yet...but falling asleep at 4 p.m. -6 p.m. isn't exactly a great idea to me either. The kids rooms are right next to each other. I don't mind if he plays in there but his play is usually loud and then wakes Ivy. So, we'll see how things go and how creative I might need to get. Its just been stressful. On the other hand, Jonas is very sweet, loves to sing and is memorizing every song he learns. Its been fun to challenge him with certain songs and here him bellow out those notes.

Ivy-our baby girl is now 9 months old. She started crawling at 8 mos and is now pulling up on everything. She isn't quite walking around the furniture yet, but close. Tooth #9 is making its way. Yes, I said 9. Ugh...She has constantly teethed and her night sleeping still stinks. I long for the day of her sleeping through the night again. She is talking some and her words are: Daisy(our dog), da-da, uh-oh, mama, and no-no. Her facial expressions are changing a lot and she is cracking us up every day. She still takes a morning nap and afternoon nap. Her afternoon nap is usually 2 hrs if the morning nap doesn't go very long.

I'll post more pictures of the kids in the next post. :-)

Dad sings the National Anthem

2009-07-25T13:58:00.004-04:00

Waiting his turn, talking to Jay-Do (or something like that :-))

Getting ready to sing.
Receiving kind words from the owner and vice president of the Drive team

Dad heard try outs were going to be held for the opportunity to sing the National Anthem at the Greenville Drive games. (The Greenville Dive is a Boston Red Sox farm team) He went this past April and they said you got the job! He sang at Thursday nights game. He was honored to sing. He is an Army Vetern from the Vietnam era. He is proud to have served his country and loves it very much. This was his first time to perform the anthem in public. Great job dad!!

Sorry I couldn't get the video to post directly to my blog. You can go here to view the video.

haha...he doesn't quite get it yet....

2009-07-21T22:39:00.002-04:00

So, last night me, Joe, and Jonas were on the couch. Jonas looked at me and said "mommy, do you have a headache?" I said, "no, thankfully I don't". He said, "ok, I'll pray you get it back." He then broke out in prayer and asked that God give me my headahce back. We laughed and explained that its better for me not to have a headache. Boy does he have us on our toes lately... :-)

love that little voice...

2009-07-19T22:18:00.004-04:00

We were in the car, on the way to church, listening to Patch the P*rate. Jonas often request this ipod choice by saying "Can I please listen to the big trumpets on I-Land?" (That would be the I-Land Overture from Kidna*ped on Island.) Jonas broke out into song after the prelude. It was the sweetest thing to here...."I give my life to Jesus, He shall have first place...." He loves to sing but this was the first time I have heard him sing almost the whole song word for word. Joe and I just sat there smiling and giggling at him. Being the mom...ya know, a tear came to my eye. We have been doing a lot of teaching and talking about God lately. Jonas is understanding the importance of praying, the importance of obeying and not just pleasing mommy and daddy but most importantly pleasing God. I am overjoyed at the moments where you can see it just click with him.

He had another moment on the way home from lunch...I had the onset of a migraine and I was asking him for silence in the car...no music and hopefully no talking. Except he has been a non stop chatterbox lately and he just wasn't getting the no talking part. He said "you have a headache mom?" I said, "yes." He said, "oh no, I will ask God to take it away. Dear Jesus, please don't give mommy a head ache." "Mommy, is your headache gone?" hee hee....Oh how I wish it worked that quickly. This was the first time Jonas prayed for something specific right at the moment of a need. Again, Joe and I chuckled at his sweetness and sincerity. Thank you Lord that some of this teaching is wearing off on our little man. We still need grace and patience. :-)

Happy 3rd Birthday

2009-07-17T21:28:00.002-04:00

I can't believe we have hit the milestone of 3! This last year in Jonas' life sure has flown. Having another child during that time has certainly made time pass more quickly. For a while I struggled with sadness of not having more dedicated time with Jonas, after Ivy arrived. I know most mom's go through that. Thankfully Jonas is Mr. Independent and really didn't have much difficulty adjusting when Ivy came. I probably had a harder time with it than he did!

This year has brought many changes for him. A new room, a big bed, first ER visit, a new baby sister, swimming by himself with a life jacket, learning to sing and memorize many songs, difficulty and some accomplishment with potty training, buckling himself into his car seat, being mommy's big helper on a daily basis and the list could go on and on. Lately we have been challenged as parents with all of the "but why?" questions and reasoning's of a 3 yrs old. Like..."not right now mommy" after I asked him to do something, or "but I want to play!"

We have been laughing and cringing this last week over Jonas' antics and attitude. I told Joe, its like Jonas got ADD as soon as he turned 3! He's had a rough few days but they have gotten better. :-)

We love our Jonas and he really is a sweet heart. He loves his sister so much and plays very well with her. He wants to include her in everything he does. I'm almost saddened at how fast he is changing. Where has time gone? Where is my chubby little guy? What a reminder that every day is so important to try to raise him in the way God intends for us to. We have such a great responsibility. We are challenged every day! And we are so thankful. We love you buddy.

birthday party with family-I made him a choo choo train cake

a second party with friends and a hair cut inbetween

I made a cookie cake for that party. It was fun and very yummy.

This is a very cool froggie tent from grandma and grandpa. See...Jonas had to have Ivy in there with him. Doesn't she looked thrilled? :-)

Father's Day

2009-07-03T16:24:00.003-04:00

I'm very behind lately....Father's Day wasn't exactly the perfect Father's Day. It was a crazy day with two sleep deprived parents, a baby who was cranky from teething, a mommy with a double ear infection...you get the point. :-) So, we didn't get any pictures on Father's Day. But we got these recently in honor of daddy.
He is the best daddy to our two children. I couldn't ask for a better father for them. He is a very hard working provider. He is patient, kind, loving, playful, helpful and the disciplinarian when he needs to be. He has always been very hands on. I'm a lucky mommy. :-) Here is the man I love with the best, two gifts we have ever been given.

Go Wings!

2009-06-12T21:56:00.001-04:00

ok, 2nd period is over, the score is 2-0...this is not looking good...but Ivy was in good spirits at the beginning of the game!

7 months

2009-06-11T21:48:00.007-04:00

Ivy is 7 months today. Man, time is flying. She has been sitting up for about 2 weeks now. I can see two new teeth coming and ready to break skin. They are her top midde. These are #3 & #4. Her sleeping has still been unpredictable. We went to CA to see my sister a few weeks ago and Ivy didn't sleep through the night once while we were there. Shortly after coming home I noticed her gums changing and saw the teeth coming. This past week she is sleeping better. I'm so thankful. She is handling teething completely opposite of how Jonas handled it. Girls are drama right? Whew...I just can't believe she is 7 months and still has issues sleeping through the night. (however, she was an early teether) Jonas' favorite hobby is sleeping...always has been and still is...hallelujah!
We went to the pool today and Ivy sat in her swing on the deck while Jonas and I went swimming. She did great. I think we and her cousins entertained her. I didn't get any pictures during that outing because juggling two kids, a swing, and being next to a pool doesn't permit my attention on anything but what I just mentioned!
During nap time today we had the storm of the century. I have never seen wind like we had today and large limbs were falling in our backyard which is right behind the kids rooms. Joe and I were also napping and both jumped as we heard the wind. Joe told me to grab the kids and get in our master closet. So, I did exactly that. They were both sleeing so soundly. Once we got in the closet they were both all smiles. It was pretty funny. Again, I didn't grab the camera for that either...we were in an emergency situation. :-)
But I did manage to get these pictures today of miss Ivy on her 7 month birthday.

Good Morning Sunshine!

Going to the pool

After nap time, after the storm

Bath time-she loves it!

Peace at the end of the day

Look who's sittin up...

2009-06-10T22:59:00.000-04:00

6 months

2009-05-13T15:33:00.003-04:00

swinging at Grandma's

snuggled in Papa's arms

sleeping on Grammy

after bath time

I CAN NOT believe our Ivy is 6 mos. old. It seems like we were just in the hospital walking the halls so I would dilate. As tiring as these 6 months has been, its gone pretty fast. I have to say the last 2 months or so life has gotten much easier, mainly because I've received more sleep. Ivy has not slept as well as Jonas did. But, this week she has caught on again. I say again because she has been so inconsistent compared to Jonas. However, getting her first tooth at 4 months old hasn't helped her sleeping patterns. Thankfully, she has been sleeping 9 hours every night this week. Yea!! The expression you see in the last picture is what we see throughout every day. She really is a good baby and so smiley. She rolls all over the floor and is starting to scoot backwards and even forwards a little. She isn't sitting unattended quite yet but I noticed her working on her balance tonight. She LOVES watching our dog, Daisy. She tries to follow her every move. And its been nice having a big brother around to help entertain her. Jonas does a great job helping me and Ivy out at times. He is very loving towards her and gets concerned about her. He has panicked twice now when Ivy wasn't in the car with us. He said "Where is Ivy? We have to get her!" He is very sweet. We are so thankful for such a healthy baby girl. We dealt with one minor cold around 6 weeks and nothing else, but teething. Summer is finally here and I can't wait to get her in the pool. She loves bath time and doesn't mind water in her face at all.

I finally feel a little caught up on blogging. We are headed to California, on Monday, to see my sister. I can't wait to get some great pictures of the Pacific Ocean at Laguna Beach!

A special day

2009-05-12T21:18:00.007-04:00

I don't remember if I blogged about this over 1.5 yrs ago...
When Jonas was 13 mos old he had a severe allergic reaction to eggs. The reaction occurred when he had his 5th egg over a period of 2 weeks. I was excited that he liked eggs and it became a breakfast staple. After that 5th egg his body rejected it because he had too much protein in his blood stream. He broke out in hives and started vomiting. Thankfully an anaphylactic attack did not occur.
He was tested a second time at age 2, after keeping eggs out of his diet completely from 13 mos of age. This means I read every label of every food item purchased to know whether or not he could eat it. The test still showed positive, however it was not as strong of a positive as the first time. His doctor suggested we continue to keep egg completely out of his diet for another year and have him re-tested at age 3. We all adapted to this way of life for him but I've noticed in the last 6 months or so Jonas has been more disappointed when he can't have something. For a long time we'd say "no baby, you can't have that". He'd say "does it have egg in it?" So, he understood but lately his face was really starting to show disappointment.
We are getting ready to leave for California to see my sister and I thought it would be really nice to get him re-tested now. (2 mos shy of his 3rd birthday) Our meals while traveling would be so much easier, not to mention grocery shopping for my sister.
The big day was yesterday. As we prayed with Jonas the night before and at breakfast I just felt a peace that this would all be over with. We thank the Lord that Jonas has overcome this allergy. The test was NEGATIVE!
We celebrated with his first brownie ever after lunch yesterday. Then for dinner we had breakfast. :-) I grew up on cheesy weesies (dad's name for them), scrambled eggs with cheese, and introduced those to Jonas last night. My next grocery trip will be interesting...I wonder how many labels I'll be reading for no reason. :-)
Here are some recent pictures of our little man who is growing up fast.
We love you so much Jonas.

Hangin with Grandpa Barker

Ha ha...he was totally faking so papa could get a funny picture

crazy kids, tired mommy

2009-05-05T22:12:00.004-04:00

A good crazy... :-) I love them to the moon and back. Life has just been busy and I don't find myself doing much on the computer other than working and glancing at Facebook. I'll try to post more often!

Ivy is quickly approaching 6 months old. It is unreal, at times, to think so much time has passed since we welcomed her into this world. Joe and I were getting the kids ready for bed last night, changing diapers and getting PJ's on. I looked at him and said "can you believe we have two?" I hardly remember when it was just Jonas, and looking at their sweet faces last night I couldn't believe they are both ours. God has given us the most wonderful gifts. Ivy is the sweetest most smiley baby during the day. Unfortunately, her nap time and bed time have been quite unpredictable. (hence the reason for my tiredness) We were very spoiled with Jonas. I know she has it in her to sleep long and well but I think teething has just messed her up. She got her first tooth at 4 mos and a week later her 2nd tooth came. I believe #3 is going to pop through soon. I know this has a lot to do with her sleeping habits. Jonas didn't have his first tooth till 7.5 mos.
We will be leaving for California in about 12 days, to see my sister and her family. We can't wait! I'm already stressing about packing and traveling on a plane with two kids etc...I'm nervous. We don't fly much. In fact, Joe has never been on a plane and its been 1.5 years since Jonas and I flew somewhere. So, I'm nervous for a lot of reasons! But anything is worth having my sister meet little Ivy. Its going to be a special time!

Well I'm going to bed. I never know if Ivy will wake up in the middle of the night!

Here are some recent pictures...

Here are pictures from Easter day.

me and Kim (sisinlaw)

2009-04-10T23:16:00.002-04:00

In March my Aunt Barb, and cousin Jenni came from MI to visit for a weekend. We love their visits each year and miss living so far away from each other. Here are a couple pictures of Jonas and Ivy with Auntie Barb and Cousin Ginnie, as Jonas would say. :-)
Ivy is growing so fast. She is 5 months old tomorrow. She has been a very unpredictable child, much different than Jonas. However, we now know part of the reason. She got her first tooth at 4 months and 1 week. Then her second came one week later. We had her sleeping through the night and then chaos occured with her sleeping pattern. I feel sorry that she is experiencing the pain so young and she seems like she is in such agony at times. I look forward to uninterrupted nights again.
Jonas is almost 3 and he knows it. He keeps talking about having a birthday party on July 3rd and he has requested fireworks. :-) We have been to a few birthday parties recently and he is remembering the fun. However, non had fireworks. He must think he should outdo everyone.
We'll see what daddy says....

Jonas and Auntie Barb
Cousin Ginnie

Ivy-almost 5 mos.

The cutest kids in the world :-)

She is her daddy...

2009-04-10T23:05:00.002-04:00

Here is another outfit my mom saved back for me. I was a little older in the pictures take of me than these of Ivy. You can tell the dress is a little bigger on Ivy. Its fun to compare our pictures. She doesn't look a whole lot like me. She is a whole lot of her daddy! :-)
I just realized we have about the same amount of hair in these pictures. You can't really tell with Ivy's headband on. And her hair is so blond right now!

2009

1977

More heirlooms

2009-03-09T21:26:00.003-04:00

My sister and I have been fortunate to be able to have our daughters wear many pieces of our clothing from when we were babies. We are so thankful our mom saved these over the years. Here are two special outifts. Ivy is wearing the outfits my sister and I were dedicated in at church. The first one was Andrea's (1974) and the second one was mine (1977).

Before and After...an heirloom

2009-03-01T17:45:00.007-05:00

Andrea

It didn't wear this much, this is after dad sanded it.

My mom saved the high chair that was given to her at my sister's baby shower over 35 years ago. It is a beautiful, wooden, sturdy chair. My neices used it at Grammy's house as they were babies and now my babies are using it. After all this time it has naturally worn in places, especially the tray. So, my mom and dad decided to re-do the chair last week. Dad painted while mom sewed a new cover for the chair, to match her dining room decor. Here are before pictures of my sister and I in the chair and what it is today. I think they did a great job!

My babies

2009-02-20T22:39:00.002-05:00

This was take after church last Sunday.

Eeeeaaaa! Are you there?

2009-02-17T21:45:00.002-05:00

Eeeaaa is Jonas' version of saying Aunt Andrea. The other day I was cooking in the kitchen and I heard him having a conversation with Eeeaaa. He often uses different objects as his "telephone." On this day it was the letter "o" from his L*apfrog alphabet magnet. He loves his Aunt Eeeaa and so do I. We miss her very much! See you in MAY!!!!!

2009-02-13T23:20:00.002-05:00

I came across some pictures through a persons Face*ook page that led me to Kim Sinclair. Kim and I didn't know each other personally but she grew up knowing my sister-in-law and Joe through school. Kim is a very talented artist and you can find her beautiful artwork here. I fell in love with her paintings and I asked her to do one of our Jonas. I started saving my money weeks ago and today she dropped off his beautiful portrait! I LOVE IT! I can't stop looking at it.
I had sent Kim several pictures of Jonas at different ages. She primarily used our family picture taken at Thanksgiving to capture Jonas' look. I haven't hung it yet but its going to hang on a red wall. I will take pictures once its up. If you want to capture a loved one in this way please visit her blog! Thank you Kim for helping us in cherishing our Jonas!

Ivy at 3 months

2009-02-13T23:05:00.003-05:00

Yes, 3 months. I can't believe it. Our sweet Ivy is growing so fast. We have officially moved her into her room. She had been in a bassinet in our room, but as of Monday, she is sleeping in her crib now. She has had several nights of sleeping through the night this week. :-) Yea! for more sleep for mama. But, just as she started sleeping through the night she has also figured out how to flip over from her tummy to her back. Last night and I found her flipped over and crying in frustration. Jonas didn't flip like that until he was 4 months old. I can't believe Ivy has already started. So, what I thought would be longer nights might be interrupted with her turning over. I remember having to turn Jonas back over a few times but it wasn't often.

Ivy is such a smiley baby. Once you start talking to her she flashes that adorable grin. Its so fun watching her reactions to things. I'm thankful she enjoys her swing now and I can concentrate on helping Jonas with potty training more. Its a dreadful thing. I hate every minute of it. I can't wait for all the hard work, repetitive reading and singing to pay off! We love you Jonas. :-)

11 Weeks

2009-01-27T11:12:00.003-05:00

Our baby girl is 11 weeks old. What? Is that possible?? Time sure flies with multiple children.

Miss Ivy and I had a little photo shoot this morning. She is not getting near as many picture as Mr. Jonas. Today she is wearing a light pink sweater and bonnet that was mine when I was a baby. It might have been Andrea's as well but I can't remember. My mom was so thoughtful to keep many hand made sweaters and a few outfits that were ours as babies and toddlers. (I don't believe this sweater was hand made) Ivy has an over abundance of clothes due to a cousin just 1 year older. We are benefiting from hand-me-downs as well as gifts from friends. I'm trying to make sure she is wearing everything at least once!
Ivy has been such a joy. She is one of the most smiley kids I have known. However these pictures don't quite reflect that. This is her more serious side. :-)
She isn't exactly sleeping through the night yet but she goes to bed around 8:30-9 and doesn't wake up till around 2:30 a.m. to eat. She then goes right back to sleep till at lest 7 if not later. I am pleased with this schedule right now.
She is cooing and "talking" more and more every day. Yesterday seemed to be a milestone with many more "words." We just laughed. It was so nice to hear.

Our Jonas continues to be a great big brother. He loves her dearly and always asks if he can hold her. We are starting to potty train Jonas and that has brought much frustration for us. Its not been too successful yet. Sigh. Its wearing us out!

just had too...

2009-01-09T15:12:00.002-05:00

...post this picture. Everyone who has seen it just laughs. I think its pretty cute myself. I think Ivy was about 6 weeks here. Jonas LOVES to hold her and asks all the time if he can hold her. The expression on Ivy's face is so typical of her. She gives this look all throughout the day. It makes me laugh.

8 weeks

2009-01-07T20:08:00.003-05:00

Here is our sweet Ivy at 8 weeks old. I can't believe she is already about 2 months old. Time sure goes more quickly with the addition of more children! We have jumped many hurdles and I feel comfortable with two now. We have ventured out to do errands several times and I "wear" Ivy in the snuggly. I had it on at Target the other day and it was the longest I had carried her around in it and it about broke my back. The store was very hot so that didn't help. I'm looking at other alternative wraps that hold the baby close like the snuggly, but they position the baby's weight more evenly.
Ivy is not sleeping through the night yet. But she only wakes up once, so its not too bad. Jonas was sleeping through at this point and was sleeping about 10 hrs at 10 weeks. But he was bottle fed and a preemie. Ivy is breast feeding and I think that will play a part in her sleeping through. I do look forward to it though! I love my sleep. :-) God has been so good to our family. We are truly blessed!

Be-lated Halloween pictures

2009-01-07T12:33:00.009-05:00

Halloween was my due date for Ivy. Since I had her 11 days over I wasn't exactly in the mood to blog, post pictures etc...after that event. Now that we have found our new normal I have a little time. I forgot all about the Halloween cutie pie munchkins in our family. So, thanks to Ma Barker's reminder here are the Barker grand babies as a skunk, duck and chicken. :-) Lexi and Macon's costumes were a whole $2.50 or less from Children's Pl*ce outlet. My mom got Jonas' chicken costume the day of Halloween at M*rshalls for like $8. (50%off) We didn't get to attend Boo in the Zoo with the rest of the family this year. Lexi dressed up for that and on Halloween night and she stopped by to see Jonas to get some pictures. Here are our cutie pies!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T10:30:00.010-05:00

Merry Christmas!

I can't believe it is Christmas Eve! I hope you all have a wonderful time with family and loved ones during this Christmas and New Year season. We are so thankful for Jesus' birth and His coming to save us.

This year has dragged and flown by at the same time for me. The 10 months of pregnancy were definitely long and now the last 6 weeks have wizzed by! Here is our most recent family picture taken on Thanksgiving day. The other pictures were taken Friday as we had Christmas with Papa and Grammy. My favorite picture is the last onr of Jonas and his papa. I never did get the chance to write about all of the events prior to Ivy's birth. The most dramatic and unexpected was a quadruple by-pass surgery for my dad two weeks before my due date. My sister wrote about it and you can read that here.

We are so thankful God has spared my father a serious heart attack and that he was able to get fixed and healthy before any major damage or death occured. It would be a very sad time if my father were absent from us this Christmas. Instead, we rejoice that his recovery has been wonderful and he is healthy once again. We look forward to all the fun times we will spend in the future. I especially look forward to seeing my children's eyes light up as they talk on the phone to their papa or see him in person. He loves children and in the eyes of the grand kids, papa has hung the moon.

Our Ivy turned 6 weeks old yesterday. She is a very sweet baby with many smiles and cooing lately. She isn't sleeping through the night yet but gives me a 4-5 hour stretch between feedings. I can handle that. We are so blessed to have her join our family. We can't get enough of her!

This is the first Christmas for Jonas to really understand what is going on with presents etc...It has been fun taking him to see Christmas lights, teach him Christmas songs and watch him open up presents. I can not wait to see his face light up as he opens his train set from us tomorrow morning.

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year!!

2008-12-04T14:52:00.003-05:00

Our Little Monkey

I love pictures of my babies sleeping. I have lots of Jonas sleeping the first couple years of his life.

I bought the dress that Ivy is wearing probably 5 + years ago. I got a steal at a 2nd hand store. Its from The G*P. I didn't even have kids but just thought it was so precious and knew someone could benefit from it. I let one friend borrow it a few years back and then let my niece borrow it last year and now I finally have a girl! Its just a cozy warm adorable dress. I tried getting a few shots of Ivy awake and propped up on the bobby but none of them turned out. Also, the beautiful green blanket was hand made by my dear friend Melody. She did an amazing job and I get at least one compliment on it every time I'm in public with Ivy. She made Jonas a beautiful blue one when he was born. I cherish these gifts.

Our attempt...

2008-12-03T12:47:00.005-05:00

Here are some shots at our attempt of a family picture featuring our new beautiful addition. Hee hee! Aren't 2.5 year old little boys so much fun!?!

The perfect shot will become our Christmas card. Most of you will be seeing that...stay tuned!

Ivy Louise Barker

2008-11-26T10:53:00.006-05:00

Our Miss Ivy arrived Novemeber 11, 2008 at 5:08 p.m. She weighed in at 8 lbs 12oz and was 21 inches long.

This blog needs desperate updating and I hope to do that soon. Ivy is two weeks old now and we are getting used to our new "normal." So, much transpired in the 4 weeks up to her arrival. I will try to update all of that soon. We are doing well and loving our baby girl. Joe is off of work for several weeks and has been a huge blessing and help. He is a great hands on dad! Jonas loves his "sweetie pie" sister. He has been very gentle and loving towards her. He is dealing with all the change in other ways. I guess we feel like we've hit terrible two's lately. Another reason to be thankful for Joe being home!

I will write more soon...

Better late than never...Jonas' dresser

2008-09-27T10:57:00.010-04:00

In case I didn't already mention...this dresser was purchased when my parents had my sister Andrea. I'll just tell you that was over 30 years ago. :-) I'm so glad it has stayed in the family. It is a piece by Bassett. It has been moved and lived in approx. 7 different houses. (including my sisters and mine) I painted it and distressed it to match Jonas' bed. The final look is dark navy with cream underneath, that shows through on the sanded edges. I replaced the hardware with new handles that have a brushed nickel finish. That doesn't show up well in the pictures below because Jonas' ceiling fan lights were reflecting in the handles when I took the picture. I still have a little polishing that can be done to take away the smudges you see. That is a result of the wax I use on the last stage. It can take a while to remove. :-)

Ivy's Shower

2008-09-17T10:39:00.008-04:00

My friends and family threw me and Ivy a baby shower this past Saturday. It was probably the most sentimental shower I've ever been too. Much thought and time went into it. At the end of our time together it was a great reminder of the blessings God has given me through friendships, especially those friends I don't get to see as often as I'd like. I've always enjoyed having many close girl friends. I love girl's nights out, weekend trips away together etc...those are always memory making, fun times. Many of these friends are in the same boat as me. We all have young children and have been pregnant together or right after one another! Its changed our lives and we don't have the free time we used to and more stress has come along in life. I am so thankful we can be transparent with each other in the struggles we face, encourage each other and keep each other accountable. Children are a blessing, we love them dearly, but we are human and fail when it comes to the responsibility and commandments God has given us. I will not pretend to be super mom, I'm not, I can't, I never will be.

I put a slide show together, and its rather lengthy. Sorry. As I opened gifts each person had to sit next to me as I opened their gift. We got a picture together and then they were to give me motherly advice. We had mom's there in all age brackets. It was fun to hear the different advice given. I cherish hearing the older mom's and the grandmother's talk. Afterall, they should be our mentors, they have walked this road long before me. At another point in the shower, everyone was given a card that said "Pray for Sarah and Ivy" and below that was a verse and my due date. Each person had a different verse. We went around the room and read the verses and then several people prayed for the protection of Ivy and me, for a full term birth especially. (at least 37 weeks!) Everyone was encouraged to keep their cards and take a magnet home with them and put it on the fridge. I am honored to think that people are praying for us on a daily basis. How special that is to me. Lydia and Kim did an awesome job with the magnets and the whole design of the theme of the shower. The invitations, place cards, verse cards, magnets, and my thank you notes all match! So cute! Lydia you are such an amazing talent.
(Put your cursor over the pictures to read captions.)

Sweet Daddy

2008-09-16T10:40:00.003-04:00

I meant to post this yesterday with my long post! This was snuggle time before bed. Sadly there wasn't enough room for Ivy and me to join them. :-)

Joe, you are a a wonderful daddy. We are so fortunate to have you in our lives.

A weekend of gifts and reminders...

2008-09-15T15:35:00.005-04:00

Here is a sweet hello from Jonas! :-)
Ok, I will attempt to play catch up today! I've been very busy lately and haven't had time to blog. :-)

I am 33 1/2 weeks along with Miss Ivy's pregnancy. I had to pinch myself today! I can't believe we are this far along. What is even scarier is I went into labor and had Jonas at 34 weeks. Its approaching so fast and I will be packing bags next week. There is no reason to believe I will go early again but you know...knock on wood! I'd like to be a little more prepared this time. :-)

It just hit me again today that I really am pregnant and going to have another baby! Silly I know, but sometimes its just a slap in the face! The reality of two is starting to set in as I see and talk with many friends who have multiple children. My biggest fear is scheduling. I still work part time from home and need to be on a schedule. I'm that type of person anyway, even if I didn't work. To make things crazier in our household, Joe's schedule changes every 35 days. It is both mine and Joe's desire that I continue to work 2-3 hours a day. Its still been easy and maintainable as Jonas takes around a 3 hr afternoon nap. I just wonder how much Ivy will like to sleep. I've had it easy with Jonas. He has ALWAYS loved his sleep and been a wonderful napper and night time sleeper. I suppose if Ivy sleeps 1/2 as good as Jonas I can still get those work hours in. I'm just nervous!

My dear friends and family gave me a baby shower on Saturday for Ivy. My mom hosted it at her house while my creative friends put all the details together. (I will post pictures later) It was beautiful and very sentimental. Here is a picture of one of my favorite gifts. Mrs. Jones, who is like a second mom to me since 7th grade, free-hand embroidered this onesie for me. I think its just beautiful. I love personalized/monogrammed items. I will be sad when Ivy outgrows this one. It might have to go in a shadow box later. :-)

I have to brag on Joe a little. First, he has been working like a mad dog to save money and time off of work for when Ivy arrives. Not to mention, the random things that come up where the city is making it mandatory for him to work and we don't always know very far in advance. So, his time at home is spent having quality time with Jonas and catching up on his own rest. This past weekend he helped me so much in watching Jonas during my shower and for me to have a girls night out Saturday night. It seemed like I was just popping my head in and out of the house a few times on Saturday, not staying for long. When I came home after the shower I immediately smelt a lemon like scent in the air. I walked into the kitchen and noticed the counters were spotless and some things had been moved around. I turned around, with excitement in my voice, and said, "did you clean?!" He said "yes." I said "what did you clean?!" He said "most of the house." I said, "you mopped the kitchen!" He said, "yes." Ok, so you get the point....I was so excited and relieved! I have done my best with this pregnancy to keep up with the house, mostly keeping things picked up, clothes washed, food on the table etc...Deep cleaning has been neglected more than I would like to admit. Joe and I have both come to the realization in life that even when the house is "dirty" quality time spent with each other is more important especially with his schedule lately. So, we are willing to let things slide because we need family time and we aren't going to live our life in a panic that the floor hasn't been mopped etc...I love that about him and he has helped me get to this place in life when I wasn't there before. He is so right. I do not want to be a "Martha." I thanked him for his help on Saturday and told him he was the best! It was such a burden lifted for me as I do worry too much sometimes about those things. Its hard when you stay at home, work from home, and have that to do list just staring at you all the time and you can't quite get it all done.

Joe also allowed me to sleep yesterday between church services for almost 3 hours. He got Jonas' lunch together and was willing to take care of Jonas when he woke up from his nap. I needed that rest so badly I can't even begin to explain. I've lost a lot of sleep lately. I battle with acid reflux all day and have to be very careful what and when I eat so I can have decent rest. It doesn't always work. I have also had episodes of insomnia with this pregnancy. I look forward to both of those things going away when Ivy comes. Yes, I know those first 6 weeks will be killer with the night time feedings etc...but at least I wont be in pain with the reflux and I'm pretty sure the insomnia will go away. The interruptions will just be different. :-)

Well, I hope to get Jonas' dresser moved into his room in about 2 days. Its still in the garage and I obviously can't help Joe bring it in. I am eager to share the before and after pictures! Its been a project that lasted longer than I had hoped. But for all of you out there who thought I was over doing it etc...you can now rest assured I paced myself, much much slower than I had planned! :-)

Before and After

2008-08-20T11:53:00.009-04:00

For the last 3 weeks I have been working on Jonas' new room, while Joe has been working nights. I had some help from a dear friend with painting the walls. I rolled and she cut in. I hate cutting in. Then I moved on to re-doing some hand-me-down pieces of furniture I inherited over the years. They didn't match and I decided I wanted to go with a navy blue look on the furniture. I love distressed pieces and since the furniture already had age to it and it is now in a child's room, you might as well distress it! Its going to get banged up some anyway. :-) The headboard is now finished, so I thought I'd debut my masterpiece! Haha-I am no professional by any means, but I do enjoy these projects.

One of the first things we did was filled in this design with wood putty to make it "smooth". However it still has some distress to it, but you can no longer see the design. Its a nice flat surface now.

I painted tan underneath the navy. So when I sanded the edges the tan would show through. (The flash from the camera makes things look brighter than they are.)

One of my other dear friends, who shares a lot of the same tastes as me, suggested painting Jonas' name or monogram on the headboard. I LOVED the idea and thought about it some more. I purchased wood letters from H*bby L*bby and painted them red and distressed them a little. They are temporarily stuck on the headboard so I can stare at it for a few days to decide if I should permanently put them there!

What do you think? I'm open to opinions! Monogram or no monogram? (the letters would stay the monogram, we won't paint directly on the headboard because it now has a finish on it that wouldn't allow the paint to work)

I am now working on the dresser. I hope to have it finished by the weekend. I will post pictures of it when I'm done. :-)

An evening at the park

2008-08-19T14:13:00.005-04:00

The other night Joe and his dad went to a baseball game together. Ma Barker came over and we took Jonas to the park, where we met Aunt Kim, Uncle Joel and Miss Lexi. The weather was great but the bees were out in swarms. I had never seen anything like it at this park. We played where we could and surprisingly never heard kids crying from getting stung, and we didn't get stung. It was hard acting like the bees weren't there!

Weird swing eh?

Jonas in the Choo choo!

Cheese Mom! Now can I please get down?

Lexi loves swinging!

Sucking on a Cherrio!

Fight?

2008-08-18T11:39:00.005-04:00

No, Joe didn't get a shiner from a criminal or me. :-) He was stung by a bee last week while working in the yard. He was near an old tree stump that bees now call home. He only got stung once but had an allergic reaction. This is the second time he has been stung by a bee in the last couple years and both times the swelling has been horrible. He worked at the hospital on his side job the night he got stung. A doctor confirmed the allergic reaction and Ben*dryl helped him the next few days. He is back to normal now. :-)

Happy 8th Anniversary!

2008-08-12T21:29:00.004-04:00

2001-Joe's graduation from the police academy

Joe and I have been married 8 years today! I can hardly believe it. We have been together for 12 years which is even more amazing! I'm so thankful for Joe. The Lord brought the right man into my life to complete me. I thank the Lord for the strong relationship and the open communication we have about everything. He is the most honest man I know and he will tell you like it is. There is no fluff. :-) Some would say I'm the same way. At times that can make for two very strong willed people having a disagreement! :-) But, we strive to do whats right and we have come to understand humbleness to keep our marriage strong. As I tear up writing this, I'm in awe of the blessings in our marriage. We have a beautiful little boy, that WE produced. He is part of our DNA! Wow! What a miracle that is. And now, we are eager to meet our Miss Ivy. She is going to amaze us as well when she enters this world. We are blessed beyond belief. Joe is a father that I never imagined. He impresses me daily as he deals with our little man. He is a rebuke to me many times. I'm so thankful he strives to do whats right and wants to lead by a godly example to our children.

I love you honey. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you.

New Milestones

2008-08-05T18:41:00.007-04:00

My Boys

I've been told 3 times in the last week that Jonas is looking more and more like Joe. What do you think?

Jonas' new trick

We've been finding our 2 year old to be quite hilarious lately. He is talking so much and learning new things. He is climbing quite a bit and I'm waiting to find him climbing out of his crib. It hasn't happened yet. We are getting his new bedroom painted and put together. I hope to be able to move him to his big boy bed this weekend. We'll see!

One milestone I was hoping to graduate from is his egg allergy. We discovered it at 13 months when he broke out in hives and started vomiting after eating an egg for the 5th time. I had introduced eggs to him at 12 months and in a 2 week period I had given him 5 eggs. He had no sign of allergy until that 5th one. I was told that children outgrow the allergy 85% of the time by age two. Most the time the allergy is caused by a protein build up in their system. They don't have enough enzymes to break it down, therefore their body rejects it by hives and in severe cases an anaphylactic attack. So, for the last year we have avoided giving him any food that has egg as an ingredient. My grocery shopping trips became a little longer as I had to read labels on everything. A month ago I started testing the waters by giving him certain things with egg in it like breads, pastas etc...so far no reaction. I didn't want to test just an egg at home. His last reaction was far too scary to go through it again. Instead, we waited till yesterday to go for his re-testing at 2 years old. I felt sure he would be negative, but he showed a positive allergy to it again. The doctors recommendation is to still prevent all eggs including traces of it in any food item. This will hopefully give him a better chance to grow out of the allergy by not compromising his system with it at all. They will retest him at age 3. I feel for those families who deal with worse allergies or multiple food allergies. Its hard to live "normal" and not dwell on the inconvenience. I pray our little guy is "normal" at age 3. :-)

Birthdays!

2008-08-02T09:44:00.009-04:00

My sweet dad turned 60 this year on June 22nd! My mom held a party at her house. It was so nice to have Andrea and Kris here to help celebrate his milestone. The weather had been quite hot. Thankfully the night of his party it became a little overcast with a breeze and it cooled down a little.

My dad loves to hunt. My mom found someone to make a cake with a deer head on it! It looked great!

Family picture, minus Joe. He had left to go to work at this point.

Joe's birthday is the 17th and Jonas' is July 3rd. We decided to combine their birhdays since all the family was in town and available. Here are some pictures form their party at our house. Jonas turned 2!!

Daddy helping Jonas open presents

A card from grandma and grandpa that played the B*ckyardigans song. He was so excited!

Joe with his new iced tea maker and the Sp*rts Illustrated Sta*nly Cup edition.

So behind, where to begin??

2008-08-02T09:28:00.002-04:00

I can't believe my last post was in May! This has been a busy summer with lots of activities going on so I could post many things! For those of you who are family and like to catch up on pictures etc...I will try to make several posts.

First I'll start by saying I am 27 weeks pregnant now. It has gone by pretty fast lately. WAIT! I don't think I ever posted this....ITS A GIRL!! We had our ultrasound on June 16th. My sister was in town and was able to be there with us. That was special to both of us. I may have posted before that Joe and I both hoped for another boy. However, we feel truly blessed to even bring another child into this world and we are getting more excited about our little girl. Yes, I have been buying clothes! I started the week we found out. We had gone away for the weekend to the coast and hit some outlets. I bought several things but didn't spend more than $2.99 on one item of clothing! Everyone was having great sales!
We just recently decided on a name. She will be Ivy Louise Barker. Louise is a family name. She was my great Aunt, my grandmother's sister.

Its scary to think I had Jonas at 34 weeks and anything could happen this time around too. There is still a lot to be done! I thought Jonas would be moved to his new room by now, but we just bought paint yesterday to start decorating it. I didn't want to move him in and then move him out because of paint smell/construction. So, hopefully we can attack the project tomorrow. Joe is on the night shift and while he is gone at night I'm dying to be painting! I have two pieces of furniture to paint for Jonas' room. It will be a several step process for both pieces and I'd like to get started. I really enjoy painting furntiure and I haven't done any crafty projects in a while so I have an itch I suppose! :-)

Ok, so I'm off to explore some pictures and try to decide what to post next!

Some recent pictures....

2008-05-29T17:33:00.005-04:00

This is Jonas on his first boat ride. We were on a pontoon boat touring Lake Lure in NC. Is a beautiful lake with some gorgeous homes! Jonas loved the water.

My cousin Jenni was visiting for the weekend. Here is me, my mom, Jenni, and Jonas.

Jonas with Papa and Grammy

Our family right before mine and Joe's date night for my b-day.

I saved the best for last. :-) This is the face that Jonas makes when you tell him we are ready to pray for our meal. Its so precious because he is so serious and sincere. We try not to laugh out loud too hard.

2008-05-28T09:37:00.003-04:00

I'm sorry its taken me so long to post again. This pregnancy has been plagued with migraines just like Jonas' pregnancy, if not more. I just haven't been up to par.
My desire to have a midwife assist with this pregnancy was very great. I have had several friends use a certain midwife in a town nearby. Joe and I met with her one evening to go over my history and see her center. She specializes in water births. What an amazing experience some women have. If you have never watched a video, it is almost breathtaking. (in a good way) :-) We also learned that evening that our insurance is one of the only ones, in the state, that will not cover her services. Although we are probably have the largest company representing us. Needless to say that was discouraging to hear. But I didn't want to take "no" for an answer. So I did some calling myself over a 3 week period to the insurance company. Basically I got nowhere, to my dismay. Joe and I prayed about the situation and came to the conclusion that it would not be the best financial decision for our family to go this route. It would be cheaper for us to use our insurance at a hospital, since we pay into our insurance every month etc...I then went on the hunt for a new OB. I desired a smaller practice where the doctors would be more personable and support natural births. Within a short time a friend of mine told me about a new practice she was trying with #3 baby for her. She and I have been pregnant with almost the same due date with our last two children. I was impressed with what she was telling me and I made a call for my first appt. This practice is smaller than most around here, with just 4 doctors. They are the only OB practice that delivers at a local community hospital that is opening a brand new campus in August! AND its just two miles up the road from us. Who wouldn't want to deliver in a brand new facility?! I'm very excited about this. I really enjoyed my first two visits and was very frank with the doctor about my desires and birth plan. He was very patient to listen to all my thoughts and questions. I told him I am not looking for a doctor who has the mentality of get in and get it done. He was very kind and I look forward to my next visit on June 16th. That will be my ultrasound to find out the sex of the baby!! YEA!! Can't wait! I am currently 17 1/2 weeks. I just started feeling the baby about 4 days ago. What a joy that has been in the midst of my pain. I makes the pain a little more bearable. :-) Please continue to pray the migraines will subside. They have just been so grueling at times and I have had some dark hours.
Thank you to all my friends who do pray and check on me. And to my family who has had to step in a few times to take care of little man.
Here is a short update for now. I will try to post some recent pictures of Jonas late. Oh...is he every growing and changing. I love it. He is so sweet.

I've been tagged...by my mom!!

2008-03-30T20:05:00.002-04:00

I was tagged by my mom at ahintofhome! She just joined the blogging world recently.

Share 8 things that your readers don't know about you. At the end tag 8 other bloggers to keep the fun going.

1. I'm the yongest of two daughters.

2. My sister is my best friend and I hate she lives so so far away.

3. My mom looks VERY young for her age and my sister and are pray we have her genes. :-)

4. My husband has two sisters. He is in the middle. His oldest sister has become one of my dearest friends.

5. My sister's husband and I share the same birthday.

6. My dad loves to write and sing songs while he drives his 18-wheeler.

7. I have had some of the most wonderful vocal training since I was 15. I have sung in many competitions over the years and I have sung professionally in a small choral group. I also went to Korea in 1996 to participate in a World Choral Festival.

8. My sister and I hope to someday record a CD together before we age too much!

Another Miracle

2008-03-29T11:53:00.002-04:00

The Barker family is expanding!! Yes, you heard right. Actually many of you have already heard, its just taking me forever to blog about it. :-)

Joe and I found out many weeks ago that we are expecting baby Barker #2. We weren't sure how long we would wait to tell people. It was becoming difficult around week 7. I told one friend and figured I might as well tell others. So, the phone calls began to close friends and then I let the world know on Facebook.

This explains the lack of energy and exhaustion mentioned in the last post. First, this pregnancy is different from the start. We knew right away, whereas we didn't know till I was 10 weeks pregnant with Jonas. (if you are wondering how we didn't know, I can explain in a personal email) :-) I have been shocked at how tired I have been with this pregnancy, so early on. I'm sure a lot has to do with taking care of a 1.5 year old every day. And I'm hoping this pregnancy will just be different for me altogether.

As many of you know, our first miracle came 6 weeks early. It was scary and a shock and something I don't want to experience again. However, if it does happen again, we have been there, done that and will be more prepared and know how to better handle the situation with NICU doctors. We did not like the one we had the first time.

I have different desires and goals for this pregnancy. And the scary thing is I have NO idea if I will be able to accomplish them. God knows exactly when this child will be born and how it will all occur. My faith is being put to the test to make decisions now and totally trust in God whether the outcome is what I hope for or not. And this could potentially involve a lot of money or not so much. However the birth happens we have to be at complete peace we made the right decision. This has been hard and weighing on my heart and mind so much lately. I am 9 weeks preggers now and I need to make a decision soon.
This could be a very long post and I'm not sure how much to write...
I think I will go one with the prayer requests. Will you please pray for us?

1. Migraines. Ugh. I cringe just typing the word. I have a history of migraines. They are hormonal. I had a HUGE influx of them while pregnant with Jonas. I can't imagine having the same amount and taking care of a toddler. To date, I have had 3 with this pregnancy.

2. Peace. Please pray as we seek the right thing to do for our birth plan. I need to be at peace and I need to know Joe is at peace the same way. We'll share our birth plan when we make our decision.

3. Breastfeeding. Huh? :-) One of the hardest obstacles to get over after Jonas was 6 weeks old, was the fact he couldn't/I couldn't breastfeed. We tried and tried. I put a huge effort towards it and gave myself a goal to keep trying till his due date. It was not God's plan for us and it broke my heart. Praise the Lord, I have a deep trust in Him and know His way is best.

4. Heat. Go ahead laugh...:-) Last summer was one of the worst summers in the history of this city. The temps were hot ALL the time. The humidity was so so high. I want to do more with Jonas this summer, since he is older, and be able to enjoy it while I'm fat!

Ok, so I'm reminiscing today of the wonderful gift God gave us with Baby Jonas. It is very weird to go through the emotions that all parents go through with baby #2. I know I am going to have my hands full and life will change dramatically. I know God continues to instill in us, more and more love for the multiple children he gives us. I can't wait for Jonas to be a big brother. He has had a little bit of experience with his two baby cousins being born in the last 6 months. :-) Jonas has been a great first baby. He is a wonderful sleeper and that affects so much in all of our lives. I PRAY baby #2 will love his sleep just as much. Joe and I both desire another boy! :-)

So, here are some pictures of the end of my pregnancy with Jonas and his birth. He was so beautiful at just 5 lbs 2 oz. He had a mature face from the beginning. So handsome!

So much to post, so little time...

2008-03-29T11:45:00.002-04:00

I wish I had the time and energy to keep up with weekly posts. But as Jonas is getting older and sleeping less during the day, the only computer time I have is for work. And when the sun goes down and Jonas goes to bed, I'm usually tired and catching up on house work and don't want to go sit down at the computer again. So, to all my friends who wonder...that's my story. :-)
I will start with most recent activities and post backwards I guess.
Joe had to work Easter Sunday. He works every other weekend so if a holiday happens to land on that weekend, it stinks. As you know, crime doesn't take a holiday. :-)
Jonas and I went to church Sunday morning and then had lunch with my parents at their house. It was a pretty day, a bit chilly but much warmer than are northern family and friends who had snow on Easter.
My mom put dinner in the oven and Papa started and Easter egg hunt for Jonas. The eggs were filled with gold fish and puffs for Jonas to snack on. He got a kick out of hunting for the eggs and finding out what was inside. I love the pictures with excitement on his face!
After dinner we all retired for naps. That was a wonferful feeling. :-) After nap time Jonas and I headed to the Barker family Easter dinner. My two sister-in-laws and their families were there, along with Ma Barker and Dad Barker. This was the first time all the new cousins got a picture together. They have only been together in one place probably one other time. So, it was a lot of fun and a glimpse of the craziness those cousins will get to experience as they grow older. The grandparent's house is getting fuller and fuller!
We hope you had a wonderful Easter and reflected on the beautiful gift Christ gave us. How wonderful that He died and arose for you and me. He went even further to prepare us a home in heaven. Do you have one waiting for you?

2008-03-16T10:49:00.004-04:00

Cousins-Kim was watching Jonas was one day and the kids were watching Praise Baby or Baby Einstein. Alexia turned 6 mos. old yesterday. Hard to believe.
Here is Baby Macon. He is now about 7 weeks old! He is a healthy 12 + lb. baby. We haven't gotten a picture of all 3 cousins yet!

Jonas took a liking to Daisy's crate again. Except now he is a little too big and couldn't get out very well. Daddy popped the top off to get Jonas out! :-) Hopefully that was the last time for Jonas in the crate.

Couldn't resist taking a picture of Jonas and Daddy the other day. They were waiting on me to finish getting ready so we could leave to go somewhere. They were catching some Go D*ego Go! The picture is a little blury. We need a new camera bad! Its ancient now.

It only has 1.5 megapixels! haha!

Just thought I'd post some recent pictures. Have a good week!

My little cowboy

2008-03-10T21:59:00.002-04:00

Hopefully Jonas will not grow up and want to be the "Naked Cowboy" who plays his guitar in Time Square. If you don't know what I'm talking about I saw it on the news recently and seeing this picture reminded me of the headline.

Jonas loves this hat and likes to wear it often.

YeeHaw!

Free Spirit

2008-02-21T08:18:00.005-05:00

I love the free spirit that children have. They don't know what ordinary is and when they figure it out they probably won't care...for a long time. Jonas is definitely at that exploring age, in regards to everything! Here are a few pictures to capture his every day life.

Did you know it is hockey season? Yeah a lot of people don't. Its not the most watched sport unless you live in Canada. With the help of daddy, Jonas wore daddy's jersey and he thought he was something else. Go Wings!

I love the red hat Jonas is sporting in the last two pictures. It is a hand-me-down from a friend and its sooo cute. If Jonas finds one of his hats around the house, he usually asks to put it on.

Thankfully his boo boo healed up nicely.

First big boo boo...

2008-02-10T09:58:00.001-05:00

Day 1

Day 2

Jonas and I had a busy and memorable week. We got to visit with dear friends of mine that we don't see very often. And Jonas got to play with their children and make new friends. We were at our friends, the Griggers' house, and Jonas took a stumble down some brick steps that were outside. It was a beautiful day and the kids were playing in the backyard. Jonas hasn't mastered stairs yet and this is the result. I wasn't too far away when it happened so my adrenaline was rushing as I was running towards him. He was bleeding and crying. Thankfully there are no deep cuts or scrapes. His tears dried quickly as it was time to eat lunch. He is a tough little guy.
I don't look forward to all the injuries to come in life!

My sleeper

2008-01-25T21:51:00.000-05:00

I pray Jonas continues his sleeping habits through his toddler and adolescent life. He has ALWAYS loved his sleep. He sleeps 12 hours at night and take a 3 hour afternoon nap.

I decided to put him in his crib to play while I jumped in the shower at 11:30 a.m. It was not his nap time, so I thought he would just play. I went to check on him and this is the position he was in. I laughed out loud and took pictures and he didn't wake up. It seems he was in a sitting position and just fell over, holding on to what he loves most. I thought these were just too cute.

Welcome Baby Macon!

2008-01-25T21:46:00.001-05:00

Another baby has been born to the Barker side of the family. Yes, that is 3 in 18 months! Jonas is so excited to welcome his new cousins. The newest addition is Baby Macon Charles Smith. He was born Monday, January 21st at 6:08 p.m. He was 8 lbs, 14 oz and 20 inches long. Macon belongs to Joe's younger sister Jessica and her husband Matt. Mommy and baby are doing well. We are so happy for them. Her is the little butterball!

A good day...

2007-12-20T19:19:00.000-05:00

Its been a great day today. Jonas has been such a sweet blessing to me. He has laughed more than I have ever heard him laugh. He is a serious child and it can take an act of congress to get him to cackle. He has cackled and cackled today. I have loved every minute of it. I love the kisses that he now offers daily and I love how he walks around the house like he owns the place. He is growing so fast it is scary.

Also on a side note...I decided a while back we are going to attempt potty training earlier than the national average. I have a theory that the diaper industry encourages later potty training these days, to make money off the already sacrificial parents of today. So, at 17 months we got the potty. I am a stay at home mom and feel I don't have much of an excuse to not take breaks throughout the day to help train my child. Also, with the encouragement of my grandmother, we hope to accomplish this task at least by age two. (maybe earlier) My grandmother raised 5 children, 3 boys, 2 girls. She had every one of them potty trained at 18 months. That was probably the average back then. Who wanted to deal with wet and soiled cloth diapers every day? I would have rushed to have them trained as well! I am happy to say in the couple weeks we have been training, he has gone # 1 and #2 in the potty on more than one occasion. Today we reached a milestone of going #1 two times in one day! I'm not wore out yet, but this definitely takes discipline and cutting the diaper budget out a year earlier than most people will be SO REWARDING!

We love you little man!

2007-12-18T23:11:00.000-05:00

A couple Saturdays ago the weather was so warm. It almost hit 80 degrees! It was also Joe's day off and time to tackle our leaves. We have many large trees that rain down a ton of leaves. He has a bagger system on the John Deere. It mulches up the leaves in two large bags, they get full, he empties them etc...It took over 4 hours of this routine. I can't imagine how long it would take if he raked them. Jonas and I took advantage of the nice weather and played outside for a while. He loved watching daddy drive all over with the John Deere.
Jonas is almost 18 months now. Whew, he is busy. He doesn't sit still. He sure keeps us on our toes. He is still very "mechanical". He loves to figure out how things work. This surely comes from his daddy. He will prefer a remote control, a cell phone, ipod, and anything else electronic over his own toys. He knows how to turn the t.v. on and change channels!
His vocabulary isn't very big. In fact he used to say more words but lately resorts to uh uh or ah ah ah to get my attention. :-) And he has learned to say "Ho ho ho" :-)
I finally have my Christmas shopping done. I am going to start wrapping tonight. Hopefully I won't find that I have forgotten a gift! The budget is pretty well spent!
We are eagerly anticipating Andrea and her family's arrival on Christmas day! First, I am hosting Christmas Eve at my house for any and all family members, on both sides, who can come. Jonas and I look forward to having our house filled with loved ones while daddy has to work. :-( Unfortunately, crime never takes a holiday.

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-06T17:01:00.000-05:00

Since its been over a month since my last post, I figured I better say Merry Christmas now. Just in case I don't poast again until January!
We had a nice Thanksgiving, small but nice. Joe worked all day. Jonas and I went to my parents house. Mom made a full size traditional feast and it was some of the best Thanksgiving food I can remember. She tried some new receipes this year that were fantastic! Around 5 that day Jonas and I went to Aunt Jessica's where the Barker feast was prepared. Jonas ate his Thanksgiving dinner there and loved it!
Andrea and her family will be arriving here Christmas Day. We can't wait! We will be doing the Barker Christmas on Christmas morning as soon as Joe gets done working the Christmas Eve shift. Thankfully he has Christmas day off, but will need to catch up on sleep some part of that day. We will have Christmas dinner at my mom's house later in the day.
Here are some recent pictures of Jonas in his new Winter outfit. We hope you have a Merry Merry Christmas!

RRRROAR!!

2007-11-03T15:28:00.000-04:00

Here is my little lion dressed for Halloween. He LOVED his costume and left it on for almost 2 hours never once trying to take it off. He loved the attention he got from the homeowners when he went up to their doors. We let him walk up everyone's walk way, and then we carried him from house to house. He was a hoot and we had a lot of fun. It was nice having Daddy off of work so we could spend time with him.
This was my Childr*n's Pl*ce find for $5 last year !! Someone returned it around Christmas time.

Trying to walk in Lion slippers.

Trying to balance.

Digging in his bucket to see what goodies Grammy gave him.

Ooo Nerds! He loved shaking the box to hear the noise. He held them most of the night.

Pictures from our MI trip

2007-10-30T22:27:00.000-04:00

Papa's Pumpkin Festival/Farm

2007-10-30T22:15:00.000-04:00

When I arrived in MI it was quite warm. The day after it was 90 degrees. We were looking forward to doing Fall activities in the northern MI area. It sure didn't feel like Fall though. We went to this family farm that puts on a pumpkin festival. There were all kinds of activities for the kids. They had fresh cider and donuts. You can't ask for more than that in MI this time of year. :-)

Photo Contest

2007-10-24T16:13:00.000-04:00

I entered Jonas into the G*P Kids Baby Photo Contest. Do I think he will win? Probably not. However, my friends cousin was picked last year and he graced the posters in all the G*P Kids store windows across America. So...here is the picture I sent in. I'll let you know if/when you can do online voting. :-) (my sister took this a couple weeks ago when we went for a visit)

Back-tracking again...Announcement!

2007-10-21T10:40:00.001-04:00

We have a precious new addition to the Barker family. Grandchild # 2 has arrived. Alexia Joeli Barrs was born September 15th at 7 a.m. after a very long labor.

She weighed in at 7 lbs. 11 oz. and was 21 inches long.

Her parents are Kim (Barker) Barrs and Joel Barrs. Kim is Joe's older sister. We are so thankful Alexia is here and that she lives just 5 miles away! Jonas is excited to have a cousin living in the same state. :-) Here is this precious new gift from God:

Short Update from Jonas

2007-10-17T11:18:00.000-04:00

Happy Fall Everyone!

Mommy is really really busy since we returned home from MI. She wanted me to let you know that more post and pictures will come soon!
GUESS WHAT? I'm WALKING! I started taking off the 2nd day we were in MI. My cousin Cole made me hold his hand all day on Saturday walking EVERYWHERE! I still like to crawl sometimes but I can walk all over our house as long as Daisy doesn't knock me down.
Please pray for me. I have croup. I think I got the virus in MI. I'm not up to eating or drinking much today. But mommy and daddy are taking care of me and I should be better soon. I just wish they could lay off the Elderberry Syrup. :-)

15 months

2007-10-03T20:03:00.000-04:00

My baby is 15 months old today. He is giving us kisses everyday that just melt our hearts. For some reason when we are in public he will grab my face to give me a kiss. It usually occurs while I'm having a conversation with someone and everything stops. I'm as impressed as the person I'm talking to who says "that is the sweetest thing." I love when he does sweet things we haven't taught him to do. He has done this with Joe and Papa. We all melt. He never does this when we are at home!

Jonas is getting into everything lately. He loves anything that has buttons and he tries to figure everything out. He likes to study things to see how they work and are put together. He is like his daddy. I have a feeling he will be the type of child to to take apart all his toys. :-)

He has decided that walking is not for him. He prefers crawling. Five steps is the max he has ever taken and I've only wittnessed that 2 times. We are headed to MI on Friday to spend time with my sister and her family. Maybe Jonas will be encouraged by his two cousins, Emma and Olivia.

Peek-A-Boo

2007-09-26T19:17:00.000-04:00

This is Jonas' version of peek-a-boo. 9 out of 10 times he covers his ears. We have no idea why. But its pretty hilarious showing people his own style. It took forever to catch this picture just right!

Gettin in the swing of things...

2007-09-25T09:23:00.000-04:00

Is summer really over? Its been a very busy one for us and I haven't posted even half of the events. The temperatures here are still in the 90's, so Fall doesn't seem very near yet. I long for it though. It is my favorite season.

Here is a start to catching up and letting you know how our summer went. Joe's younger sister Jessica got married earlier this summer in an outdoor ceremony. She married Matt, who is also in law enforcement. It is nice having more members of the family in that line of work. We can all understand each other better. :-) He is a great guy and he is doing a great job of playing "uncle". Here are some wedding pics.

Jonas visiting with Aunt Jessie right before the ceremony. He was awe struck by her beauty. :-)

These were taken with someone else's camera and are a bit smaller. Sorry.
Ok, one last one of me and my little man. (that's Uncle Joel in the background)

2007-08-31T23:27:00.000-04:00

People usually say Jonas looks a lot like Joe. Sometimes he is called "little Joe." Even last night a friend said, "he is looking more and more like Joe." I do agree he looks like his daddy, mainly because he has his eyes. A person's eyes can just "make their face" sometimes. However, recently I'm seeing more of me in him. I have looked at some of my baby/toddler pictures lately and he is totally making some of the same facial expressions with his mouth as I did in these particular pictures. When he was born, the first thing I noticed was his chin. I said "he has my chin." And his nice round plump cheeks are mine too. :-) I've always said he is Joe from his nose up and me from his nose down. We still don't know whose nose he has. :-) Well the meter says it all! And for the record, I saw this meter on another blog reflecting her two children and it gave percentages of how the child looked like the parents. So, I know it doesn't register "equal" for all the kids! :-)

Where do you find Quinoa?

2007-08-22T14:43:00.000-04:00

Silly me. I should have elaborated a little more. I was worried the post was getting too long. :-)I have browsed our local grocer's and have not found it there. How sad they don't know this great secret! :-) So, you are better off going to your local "health food" store. We are graced with the presences of E*arth Fare and Wh*le Foods in these parts. Both places carry quinoa in bulk or by the box. A small box runs under $3.00 and measures 2 cups uncooked. This stuff puffs up QUITE a bit when its cooked. It swells like crazy. Its easier than cooking rice! I hope all of you who commented will enjoy this. Since this was the most common question I thought it would be easier to just post again! Happy Wednesday to you!

Quinoa

2007-08-22T11:14:00.000-04:00

We found a new food we love and its so healthy for you. I have eaten it on a few occasions with friends, but just started cooking it recently. This post is dedicated to my friends who like to shop and eat as healthy as possible, but still like the occasional splurge of ice cream. :-) So, to you Miss Rachel I dedicate this post! :-) (and others of course, but she has been asking for recipes) For now, I am posting a recipe that Tina Mackey sent me last night on Facebook. I had asked Tina a few weeks ago how she cooks her quinoa and she said she mainly ate it for breakfast in a cereal form. I told her I had only been making it for dinner. I love sharing ideas with friends! So, she passed along the recipe below. She said it was good and it sounds Yumm-O to me. I can't wait to try it. I will post my dinner version of quinoa a little later.

What is Quinoa?

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa),is a grain that comes from the Andes Mountains of South America. Quinoa's origins are truly ancient. It was one of the three staple foods, along with corn and potatoes, of the Inca civilization. Quinoa was known then, and still is known, with respect, as the mother grain. We call it the "Supergrain of the Future."

Quinoa contains more protein than any other grain; an average of 16.2 percent, compared with 7.5 percent for rice, 9.9 percent for millet, and 14 percent for wheat. Some varieties of quinoa are more than 20 percent protein.

Quinoa's protein is of an unusually high quality. It is a complete protein, with an essential amino acid balance close to the ideal ... similar to milk!

Quinoa's protein is high in lysine, methionine and cystine. This makes it an excellent food to combine with, and boost the protein value of, other grains (which are low in lysine), or soy (which is low in methionine and cystine).

Rich & Balanced Source of Nutrients
Besides its unique protein, quinoa also provides starch, sugars, oil (high in essential linoleic acid), fiber, minerals, and vitamins.

Easy on the Stomach
Quinoa is light, tasty, and easy to digest. It is not sticky or heavy like most other grains, and it has a delicious flavor all its own.

Quick and Simple to Prepare
A whole-grain dish of quinoa takes just 15 minutes.

Versatile
Quinoa can be substituted for almost any grain in almost any recipe. It looks and tastes great on its own, or in any dish from soup to salad.

Perfect for Summertime
Many people eat grains only during the colder months, but quinoa's lightness combined with its versatility in cold dishes like salads and desserts makes it an ideal source of good summertime nutrition.

Kids love it!
Quinoa is an excellent source of nutrition for infants and children --JONAS LOVES IT and the fiber is great for his little digestive track!

Zesty Quinoa with Broccoli & Cashews
Gluten-Free, Vegan

Serves 4
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 medium red onion, finely diced
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, julienned or chopped
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup quinoa
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
1 cup broccoli florets, cut into bite-sized pieces Fresh ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup roasted cashew pieces
2 scallions, thinly sliced
Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a saucepan and sauté the onion and garlic for 3 minutes. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, vegetable stock, wine and lemon juice and bring to a boil.
Stir in the quinoa and salt. Reduce heat, and simmer covered about 20 minutes. Add the broccoli on top and simmer an additional 5 to 6 minutes.
Remove from heat, toss gently until combined. Add ground pepper and additional salt, if desired, to taste.
Garnish with cashews and scallions before serving.
Nutrition Info
Per Serving (6.25 oz-wt.): 280 calories (120 from fat), 13g total fat, 2.5g saturated fat, 4g dietary fiber, 9g protein, 31g carbohydrate, 0mg cholesterol, 120mg sodium

Recent Pictures taken by Papa and Grammy

2007-08-15T12:28:00.000-04:00

Happy Anniversary Baby

2007-08-11T19:10:00.000-04:00

Fall 2002-Hendersonville-the year we got a digital camera
Fall 2003-Michigan hay-ride

September 2004-New Bern-our first sail boat ride
November 2005-Biltmore-one of the best dates ever

May 2006-6 months pregnant
December 31, 2006-the night of Jonas' dedication

July 2007-Lovin on our Jonas

Joe and I were married August 12, 2000. I can't believe 7 years have passed. What is even more mind boggling to me is that we've been together for 11 1/2 years. I married my best friend and I love him with my whole heart. I look forward to growing old together and accomplishing the goals we have set in our marriage. The best reward, so far, has been our son Jonas. He is the greatest gift!

I love you Joe Barker and thank you for loving me.

Another Snake--Yikes!

2007-08-10T09:09:00.000-04:00

I was just about to open the sliding glass door to let Daisy out last night. I noticed she was sitting there shaking while looking out the window. This always means there is a predator of some sort in HER space. :-) Usually its a lizard or squirrel. This time it was a 2 ft. COPPER HEAD SNAKE. Now picture me with gauze in my mouth, because I had my top wisdom teeth pulled yesterday, trying to get Joe's attention. He was in the living room watching t.v. and I'm saying "oe um here um ere!" I had a sense of urgency in my gauzy tone but I was trying to be quiet because Jonas was sleeping. "oe!! There's a STHAKE!" Joe says, "what? What are you saying?" I reply, "A STHAKE!" At this time he jumps up and says "keep an eye on it." It was slithering off the patio to the grass. I stepped out there so I could see where it was going as Joe was running to the shed to get a shovel and metal rake. My hero killed the snake. I didn't have the camera around but we googled copper head and the snake my hero killed looks EXACTLY like this picture.

The weather here in our parts has been unbearable. The temps all week have been over 100, like 102, 104, 107. Just awful. So, these predators are showing their faces more and trying to eat the lizards that Daisy is usually hunting. We are off to H*me D*pot again for snake repellent. Last time they were out and we have failed to keep checking. We have been putting moth balls out around the perimeter of the house and in the garage. Thankfully, none have gotten in the house or garage! I can't see my child ever playing outside!

Again and again

2007-07-30T14:55:00.000-04:00

Since my last post was pretty recent, I just had to write again and give a little update. Jonas and I ran 3 errands today. The shoe repair shop, Steve and Barry's and Babies R Us.
The sweet lady in the shoe repair shop had never seen Jonas. The first thing she said was " you know I'm partial to little girls." I looked at her with the best facial expression I could, so she wouldn't feel bad, and said "he's a boy." And I laughed. She felt bad and said "he is just too pretty to be a boy and all that hair." She then asked him for a date. :-)
We then headed to Steve and Barry's and had a quiet little vist with a few women who only flirted with Jonas, but never spoke.
Then we go to Babies R Us. I was talking to the employee, who was probably around my age. She kept referring to Jonas as a "she" and she was looking right at him. This happened several times. When it was my turn to talk I said "well, actually, he's a boy..." And I smiled, again hoping she wouldn't feel bad. She also said he was just too pretty.
So, I guess that is it! He is just too pretty, has too much hair for a boy, and captivating big blue eyes. I can't complain with all those features.
By the way, he was dressed in a blue and white shirt with blue pants.
Anyone got some appropriate/cordial comebacks I can give when this happens? I have a feeling it will keep happening until I cut his curls off and I don't plan on doing that for quite sometime. :-)

Things that baffle me...

2007-07-25T16:02:00.000-04:00

1. Now be honest...Has Jonas ever resembled a girl in your eyes? This is the outfit Jonas is wearing today. (I took this picture today) We went to Target after his morning nap and the check out lady asked me if he was a boy or a girl. I almost laughed out loud because he looks all-American boy to me, especially today. However, I have been asked this more times than I want to remember since he was born. Maybe it is people just being "careful" and not assuming. Or, are people cross-dressing their children so much these days that no one really knows? I don't think so. So, based on these picture, what do you think? (he also had on very boy brown sandals.)

That's not the real Daisy!

No, I don't usually let him play with the diaper champ, just had to get a shot of his cute curls.

2. Why did I get a Babies "R "Us sale book today with a child dressed as a pumpkin on the cover? As much as I love and I mean Love Fall, it is July folks. Some kids still feel like summer just started. I realize its ending soon for some, but Halloween already? Isn't life rushed enough with our busy schedules?

My kind of date

2007-07-24T12:15:00.000-04:00

The weather has been slightly cooler here the last week or so. It has been in the 80's with less humidity. Saturday was a perfect day. This was Joe's weekend off and we decided to hit the mountains for a bike ride. It had been way too long since I have been able to ride with Joe. In fact I figured it at being 1 1/2 years, due to pregnancy, having a newborn last summer, recovering from delivery etc...
We enjoyed a beautiful ride through the watershed area, two small towns in the mountains and then back home. We took a break in our trip and ate at our favorite Italian restaurant, about 25 minutes from our house. The mushroom pesto pizza we had was delicious! The weather was around 84 and slightly cooler in the mountains with all the shade from the trees. We were on two lane, curvy roads with no where to pull off. So, I didn't get any scenic pictures. We had Joe's dad take these when we returned.
Here we are with all our gear on! :-) Thanks to grandma and grandpa Barker for taking care of Jonas while Joe and I could have a great time together. They were sweet and patient even though they would like us to sell the bike! :-)

Last pictures of Andrea's visit...

2007-07-23T09:40:00.000-04:00

Most of these pictures were taken with Andrea's camera. They turned out better than mine. :-) We miss them so much!

First segment of Andrea's visit

2007-07-14T12:52:00.000-04:00

Here is the first slide show of pictures we took while Andrea was here. I'm waiting for her to email me some taken with her camera. We had a great time together but there is just never enough time to do everything we want. One of our favorite outings was the water park. Jonas did really well even though there wasn't much for him to do. He and I floated around the lazy river a couple times and he enjoyed watching all of the kids play. I took the girls down the big water slide and had fun screaming our lungs out! We went downtown, did a little shopping, ate ice scream, watched movies and ate a lot of mom's good cooking! We can't wait for our next visit with each other.

Jonas' Birthday

2007-07-14T12:02:00.000-04:00

Here are some pictures of Jonas' first birthday party. We just had a small family gathering at my mom's house. Jonas had more fun squishing his cake in his hands than eating it. I had to feed it to him to make him taste it. He said "yum yum" but didn't each much more after that. This is probably because this was his first sugar shock. We hadn't let him have any desserts or sugary food up to this point.
He got his first toy remote, to keep him away from ours! :-) And he got his first remote control car. Its a one push button toy that turns on its own when it runs into things. Very cute and he loves playing with it. He also got books, clothes, and more toys! It was awesome to have all of our dear family around us. My sister was in town with her two girls, Emma and Olivia. I'm so glad they could be here for this occasion. I will be posting more pictures of their visit soon!

Transition

2007-07-04T08:31:00.000-04:00

Changes and new milestones have been pretty constant lately in the Barker household. I haven't been blogging much for a while. For some reason I just haven't been "into it." I think I'm over the hump though!

As you know Joe and I had our first Father's Day and Mother's Day this year. We don't always get to celebrate holidays in a normal fashion and sometimes not much at all based on Joe's schedule. We did have Mother's day together and went out to eat with his mom that Sunday. (My mom was in Florida celebrating with my grandmother.) We got home and got out of our church clothes and realized we didn't take any pictures. Duh! Then Joe worked on Father's Day and so no pictures that day either. A few Sunday's ago I was determined to get a picture of all the of us in our Sunday Best! The result is the picture I posted two posts ago. We did have a great first Mothers and Fathers Day. And Jonas has the best Daddy ever!

Happy 4th of July! Are you proud to be an American? I sure am!

Joe switched to day shift today and that is a much wanted and needed transition, on my behalf! We get to see daddy more and I don't have to be as paranoid about keeping the house quiet during the day while daddy is sleeping. Jonas and I spent some time at the pool today and we will have a cookout tonight at Aunt Kim's and Uncle Joel's house. We probably won't worry about fireworks this year. Joe will be tired after a long 12 hour shift and most the fireworks don't start till 9:30 or 10. That's waaay past Jonas' bed time and he probably could care less. :-)

Yesterday and this morning were big milestones for Jonas and me. My baby turned one yesterday and this morning he drank out of his last bottle. I have slowly been weaning him and today is the end! No more snuggle time in the mornings. I'm sad he's grown so much and getting completely out of the baby stage. However, we are sure glad we don't have to spend any more money on formula!!!

My last bottle

I think I've caught up enough...this post is getting long. We do anticipate my sister and her girls coming in tomorrow from MI. They will be driving all day tomorrow. We sure can't wait to get hugs and kisses from them. We haven't seen each other since Christmas. Its been toooo long!

Happy Birthday Baby Jonas!!

2007-07-03T11:46:00.000-04:00

I don't even know where to start. Do you remember how you felt when it was your first child's first birthday? I'm still overwhelmed that God even chose us to be parents! What an amazing opportunity and responsibility to mold this little man into what we hope to be a man after God's own heart. It is no doubt that our lives have changed dramatically this past year. But we have loved every minute of it.

Yes, the real challenges are just beginning and we are feeling it! :-) But, overall Jonas is a sweet spirited, laid back 1 year old. I have noticed the last few weeks he is showing a lot more compassion. He has never been a cuddle bug, so the little hugs he is offering are so so sweet. He is starting to give kisses too! He is not walking yet but seems to get more brave as the days go by with his balance. His one year check up went great! He is a very healthy little boy.

So, my sweet Jonas, I will probably be calling you "baby" less and less. You are amazing and bring so much joy and laughter to daddy and me. We can't imagine our world without you.

-Mommy

No, I haven't left...

2007-06-27T09:45:00.000-04:00

Dear Kelly,

Thank you for post and concern. But, be assured I have not left the blogging world. I have spent more time on facebook, but I don't plan on abandoning our blog. I've just been plain lazy lately. Well sort of. There has been more frustration with the blog I guess. When I use slide.com sometimes it lets me post and sometimes it doesn't. I don't know what the glitch is all about. So, I've been annoyed. Here are some recent pictures. I will write more later!

Sarah :-)

2007-06-13T12:00:00.000-04:00

I can't believe we are half way through another week. Last week was crazy and unpredictable. As you know, it started with Joe's kidney stone episode. Then, Tuesday afternoon Jonas woke up from his nap, crying and covered in throw up. This has NEVER happened. The little guy has never been sick, not even a cold. A couple hours before he awoke, I received a church email saying there is a nasty virus going around the children at church. That previous Sunday Jonas and I only attended the evening service. He was in the nursery for a little over an hour. It didn't take much with this virus! By Friday the count was up to 60 + kids and some adults who were sick.

Back to Jonas...I changed his clothes and got him cleaned up. He was acting fine. We were walking down the hallway and he was making a funny face, then came the eruption! My poor little one could not stop spewing. I never knew an 11 month old could throw up so much. I stopped dead in my tracks so we wouldn't drip all over the house. Thankfully Joe was home and saw this happen. I yelled, "grab a towel!" Once Jonas stopped, I leaped for the bathroom. I put him in the tub and started taking both our clothes off. Jonas and I were both covered from shoulder to toe. Moments later he was acting all excited that he got to take a bath. He never did act like he didn't feel well. Thankfully that was the end. Until...I got the virus Thursday evening around 5 p.m. Let's just say I had it much worse. It lasted till around 8:15 that night. Joe stayed home until he got Jonas to bed and then went into work, a couple hours late. I'm so glad I didn't have to take care of Jonas while I was sick.

I had to post this picture of Jonas in his We Are Marshall t-shirt. (and his blue eyes are just irresistible! :-)) Those of you who are around my age probably didn't know about about the Marshall tragedy until the "We Are Marshall" movie came out this past December. 75 Marshall University football players, coaches and fans perished in a plane crash Nov. 14, 1970, on their way back from a game against East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C.

When there was talk about the movie being made, the Barker family started sharing their connections. Dad Barker was a West Virginia State Police Officer at the time and was on scene of the crash. Ma Barker's mother worked for a travel agency and she booked that flight. Ma Barker's stepfather worked for the airport and was in the air traffic control tower when the plane crashed. Although the Barker family wasn't related to any of the ones who were lost in that tragic accident, that day in history is forever in their memory and has been reminisced about for years. The movie is good but focuses more on rebuilding the Marshall football team. There is very little live footage of the crash. (And who doesn't like Matthew McConaughey) :-)

A friend of the family's sent us this t-shirt for Jonas when he was born. Its just about too small now, buts it has been fun having him wear it.

We Are Marshall!

Monday

2007-06-04T21:24:00.000-04:00

Today was an eventful day, starting at 8 a.m. I don't think I have ever posted about Joe's kidney stone history before. It all started back in 1999 I believe. His first stone attack occurred while he was on his motorcycle. It took two weeks to pass after the first sign of pain. We were dating at the time and I took him to the ER, after he was puking, practically passing out and on his knees. I felt so bad for him. He was in bad shape and I had never seen him sick before. Well, 8 years and about 10 stones later, he is still having them. He came home this morning around 7, after working all night, and he went to bed. At 8 a.m. he got up and came to the kitchen for a drink of water. He never gets up once he goes to bed. I had a feeling something was wrong. He said "I'm feeling a little bit of pain, I think I have a stone." Within 5 minutes he was falling to his knees in excruciating pain. I was trying to finish feeding Jonas breakfast so we could get out the door. We know from his past experiences, you just never know how big the stone is or what it could entail to pass it. He has had two Lithotripsy procedures in the past as well as one emergency Sunday surgery to extract a stone that was stuck and causing a severe infection. His urologist has an x-ray machine in the office and usually they can fit him in on a whim like this, to let us know how big the stone is. This prevents us from going to the ER and paying a larger co-pay. So, I called my mom and said we have to drop Jonas off and get Joe to the Dr. I threw a days worth of Jonas necessities together in case we had to go to surgery or have a day full of doctor's visits. We dropped Jonas off and arrived at the doctor's office a little before 9. They were very accommodating and told Joe to do a urine specimen. He did and passed the stone!! For those of you who are familiar with kidney stones, you know that it never takes less than an hour to pass a stone after the first onset of pain! We are grateful he passed it so quickly and we didn't get charged for the quick doctor office visit. I am grateful he was home when this happened. He tends to have attacks when we are on vacation or ready to go somewhere. He has had a stone in Hilton Head, Charleston, Pigeon Forge, right before leaving for Atlanta...and I believe all the rest here at "home." Yes, there was a time when I was afraid to leave overnight with him! :-)

He goes back this Monday for a check up to see if he has any more stones. Hopefully not!

I love you baby, in sickness and in health!

Just for fun...

2007-05-31T19:54:00.000-04:00

I started liking Michael Buble over a year ago. I love the music of Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Harry Conick Jr. etc...well Michael is the 21st century Sinatra. If you haven't heard of him, enjoy these clips of his songs!

Hammin it up

2007-05-28T23:14:00.000-04:00

I took this about a week ago. As soon as I pulled out the camera he started smiling like he knew he was supposed to say "cheese."

Its so nice to have a Monday "off." I hope you had a nice relaxing Memorial Day. Jonas and I spent some time at the pool while Daddy slept to get his body conditioned for the night shift. Grandma Barker babysat Jonas tonight so I could attend a cookout. It was a nice break, and Daisy and I had some time together. There were 4 dogs in attendence at the cookout. They all did very well together, I was surprised. They were quite amusing to watch at times. Daisy was the smallest, but always tries to dominate and show she is big stuff.
I experienced a big blessing this past week. Those of you who have had formula babies will understand. I look at the adds in the paper every Sunday to find Jonas' formula on sale. I also use coupons every chance I get. Statistics show that it cost at least $1,500, for formula, the first year of your babies life. Having Jonas on formula was not my choice, it was the Lord's. :-) Jonas' formula runs $27.00 for a large can. I had bought a couple at CVS, on sale, a couple weeks ago for $20.49. (including coupons) Then we went to Walmart and Joe checked the formula there. We knew what is cost already, but he was just doing his brief scanning of prices. Jonas' formula was on clearance for $20.00 and I have coupons for $2 off each can. So, that brought the price down to $18.00 a can!! That is almost a $10.00 savings per can! The expiration date on the cans is 2/08. We stocked up on 4 large cans and that might actually get him through the end of his formula stage. However, I have no idea when I will take him off formula for sure. I was just in awe the whole way home from Wal-Mart. I couldn't believe it. What a blessing!

I've been tagged!

2007-05-24T09:02:00.000-04:00

My cyber-friend, Rachel, tagged me.

Rules - Post 8 random/interesting facts about yourself and then tag 8 or so people and let them know that they have been tagged.

Here we go...

1. As a baby, I was held and kissed by Arnold Schwarzenegger at a Bally's Total Fitness grand opening in the detroit area.

2. I've had a nose job-I broke it when I was 5, with my sisters help. :-) I needed reconstructive surgery to help with breathing problems.

3. I was born and raised in MI, suburbs of Detroit. I've lived in the south for the past 13 years and LOVE it!

4. I have one sister, Andrea

5. Music has always been a part of my life. I took piano lessons, flute lessons, and voice lessons. Singing was always my favorite. In the past, I sang in a community choir and sang professionally in a small chamber ensemble. We were paid throughout the year and performed at many events.

6. I have been to Korea-to participate in a world choral music festival in 1996

7. I went to a private school from K-5 all the way through college

8. Since Renee Zellweger starred in Jerry McGuire (around 1998-1999) I have been told countless time that I look like Renee. Every year at least one perfect stranger comes up to me and says something. What do you think? I couldn't see it for a long time. These two pictures are more convincing to me. I hope I only look like the skinny Renee and not the plump Bridget Jones. :-)

I have tagged Karmen, Andrea, Dayna, April, Karen, Tina, Jenny and Amy!

2007-05-22T22:33:00.000-04:00

Many things have been going on the past week or so. I've been so busy and tired I haven't had time to post. Mother's Day was very special. I can't beleve I'm a mother first of all. Second, I can't believe I've been blessed with what most people would consider the "perfect baby". He is pretty cool let me tell you. Two days after Mother's Day I turned the big 30! I'm not sad about it nor was I fearing it. It was kind of strange thinking about leaving my 20's but I'm excited to see what God is going to do with my life in this next decade.
My cousin Jenni, from Michigan, flew in for a weekend visit this past Friday. She comes to see us at least once a year. It's her opportunity to have time away from her 3 children, and come visit for some girl time. She also loves our town and weather. Last year when she came she and I went to the Spa. She asked me if we could do that again. I thought what a great 30th b-day gift for me! Joe, his mother and sister bought me a nice gift certificate for a morning at the spa. We encouraged my mom to go with us too! She had never been to a spa and she LOVED it. We had beautiful weather while Jenni was here and took advantage of eating at restaurants with outdoor seating. We had a nice, short visit and hopefully we will see her in MI soon.

Mom, Jenni, Me

taken right before our spa experience started

Videos from Vacation

2007-05-15T22:38:00.000-04:00

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Jonas gets his feet wet for the first time. You can hear the wind. It was about 25-30 mph almost the whole week. It was weird. This was early on with cooler temps and too much wind to get into the water.

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Jonas learned to smack his lips and give kisses! This is Grandmaw Barker.

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Jonas was smiling and laughing about being a "jet ski" prior to me filming. I swear he was!

Pictures of vacation

2007-05-15T22:25:00.000-04:00

I haven't been successful with slide.com for the past 24 hours. I'm frustrated and will no longer try. So here are some pictures from the beach.

We crashed after a long day in the sun! Jonas doesn't fall asleep on us often, so I'll cherish this picture. :-)

Back to real life

2007-05-13T22:13:00.000-04:00

We went on vacation May 4 to Litchfield, SC with the Barker Family. (South Myrtle Beach) Everyone was able to go except Joe's younger sister. We rented a beautiful 2400 sq. ft. condo. It was not beach front, but we had a pool right out our back door. And since the winds were 25-30 mph almost every day, we used the pool more than the beach. The condo was very spacious and no one felt cluttered. It was great! We found it on http://www.vrbo.com/- Vacation Rentals By Owner. Its a nationwide sight and we've used it a couple times now. Both experiences have been great!
Jonas absolutely loves the water. He's a little fish. It was so fun watching him and hearing his excitement. He first reaction to the sand was negative but he warmed up to it a little. He had fun sitting with Aunt Kim in the shallow ocean waters. The longer he was there the more he enjoyed it. He has sunglasses that wrap around his head and velcro. Once he understood that they helped with the sun, he had no problem keeping them on. Once the sun went down he knew to take them off. He was a great traveler and always went with the flow. We couldn't ask for a better baby! Our first night home, he slept 14 hours!! We had to wake him up to make sure he was ok. He normally sleeps 12 but has never pulled a 14 hour night. He must have really missed his crib!
Well we are back to real life again. Joe spent the last couple days sprucing up our yard and making it look beautiful. Everything is so green and the bushes are now trimmed. My day-lillies started opening today. They are some of my favorite flowers. I need to take pictures of the front yard!
Here are some pictures from our trip. I didn't take that many. I'll try to post video clips later.
AHHH! I can not get my slide show to post. Has anyone else been having problems with slide.com?

New Things

2007-04-27T14:33:00.000-04:00

Jonas got new PJ's recently from Aunt Kim. They are size 12 months. He seems to be growing out of things more quickly lately. These Pj's have bugs on them and they glow in the dark! They are awesome! He got these Converse chamo high tops from Aunt Jess a couple months ago. We tried them on the other night to see if they fit yet. Almost, but not quite...we can't wait though! Another week as passed. I'm ready for the weekend. Joe is off and he switched to the day shift this week. Woohoo! Our church is having a ground breaking ceremony this Sunday. They will be starting the prep work for our new building to be built. It is much needed and we have all been patiently waiting for this day.

Play time with Daisy this morning.

Mom, can I eat it?

Here Daisy Daisy!

Facebook Song

2007-04-20T21:39:00.000-04:00

I saw this through another friend's blog. I laughed pretty hard. I never had a Myspace account. Not long ago, I heard about Facebook and I like it much better than Myspace for many reasons. So, I created a Facebook account. Those of you who have a Facebook account, you will love this. Haha!

Mom's Immune System

2007-04-18T15:07:00.000-04:00

How many of you moms experienced a noticeable change in your immune system after your first baby? I sure have and its frustrating! I am a health conscious person and I take vitamins every day. I do not run to the doctor for a sniffle and taking drugs is a LAST resort. I believe my system is lacking one or maybe more key things that is keeping me from fighting off everything. Hopefully we can pin point it soon. Just curious how many of you mom's experienced the same thing. Baby Jonas hasn't been sick one day of his life! I tripled up on good nutrician while I was pregnant. He took all that and still robbed me of something! :-) I'm forever thankful he is so healthy, especially for being a preemie! Pregnancy can change so many things about mama's body!
Those of you who read this blog and never comment, feel free this time!

2007-04-16T23:15:00.000-04:00

Ah! I just love this little guy! I've covered him in a million kisses today. He was much happier today than the past few. His four middle, top teeth are all coming in at the same time. He's had some rough days lately. He is starting to enjoy cherrios. I love the creative ways he manages to get one in his mouth. Here's a video of him playing with his activity table.
He started moving his hand/wrist today to wave. We've been working on that for a while. So much is changing lately!

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Easter with Christmas weather?

2007-04-09T14:12:00.000-04:00

I hope you had a wonderful Easter Sunday. Did you reflect on God's Amazing Grace in your life?
This past week Joe and I went to a production called The Living Gallery. Framed sacred art is brought to life on stage, with live models, while music is being performed. In-between the art, a play is being performed. The play was brought to us in modern day about a Father's love. As children on this earth, we are not here just to live up to our parents standards and strive to please them. God has put them here to help guide us, but we should be striving to please our heavenly Father in all we do. A few of the art pieces were: The Shadow of Death, The Last Supper, Jesus washing Peter's feet, The Fall of Christ under the Cross, The Body of Christ Prepared for Burial and at the end, The Ascension Window (stained glass). It was a wonderful time to focus on the amazing LOVE we have been shown. I needed this time, as well as Easter Sunday to be a reminder of my Wonder Saviour. It was so refreshing to sit at this production and Easter Sunday's service, after the week I had before with Jonas being so unpredictable. (As of this morning, all 4 of Jonas' top middle teeth are poking through. He's going to look so different in the next month!)

We woke up Easter morning to a chilling 26 degrees. I think children across the U.S. had their Easter outfits "ruined" with sweaters and winter coats! I went to church with my parents and family that was visiting. Aunt Barb and Doc were leaving that afternoon to fly home. They had spent the weekend in Charleston with my folks, so we didn't get to see them much. It was a whirlwind of a day. At 4 p.m. the Barker family came to our home for Easter dinner. Everyone pitched in and it was Delicious!

I can't believe its Thursday already. I wanted to post this earlier but work has been very demanding this week and Charter outages have not helped circumstances. I look forward to the weekend with having my husband off of work. We will be helping family settle into a new house, I get a girls night tonight, (woohoo), and we get to enjoy a concert of Brian Free and Assurance Sunday evening at a local church. They sing one of Joe's favorite songs-"For God So Loved the World". This happened to be in the CD player, in the car, when we had to leave Jonas in the NICU. I will always remember listening to this song on the way home, feeling so empty without my baby. It helped me get my focus where it needed to be.

Well here are come pictures of Jonas from this past weekend. Have a great wekeend

9 months already

2007-04-03T20:17:00.000-04:00

Jonas is 9 months old today. I'm watching my baby boy change so much lately. I'm excited and sad at the same time. Joe found him standing in his crib for the first time yesterday! We were shocked he has made it to this milestone. While taking a bath, he is all over the place! He has no fear in the tub and tries all kinds of crazy things. He is crawling all over the place and doesn't like when I leave the room and he can't see me. I believe we are in the attachment phase a little bit. I do love when he comes crawling to me and wants me to pick him up. The picture above was taken yesterday. We laughed so hard. I don't think Jonas knew how to get himself out of this perdicament. Jonas and I made a quick trip to Babys R Us tonight. I took my time looking around. We were walking down the swing and high chair aisle and he was looking so intently and just started laughing at the things he saw. He would make that gasp, breathing in sound and laugh. It was so cute and had me laughing pretty hard.
Last week was a very stressful week for me. Jonas' schedule was off pretty much every day. He has the sniffles and is teething. It made it difficult for me to work and get my hours in as well as keep him entertained a lot more! (and don't forget I have a Jack Russel too) Also, Joe is on nights and is trying to sleep during the day. It felt like a circus a couple days. I did start Spring cleaning though. I can't say I've done this every year, but I need to. I started washing all my curtains and cleaning windows. There is still more deep cleaning to be done. Thankfully Joe helps out a lot with that type of work. We just need a couple days together to knock it out.
This week is going much better so far. Jonas seems to be more on track.
We look forward to Aunt Barb and Doc coming into town tomorrow. Aunt Barb is everyone's favorite Aunt. We hate living so far away from them. She is recovering from Breast cancer treatments this past year and has an incredible outlook on life. We will get to spend tomorrow evening with them before they, along with my parents, go to the coast for the weekend. Thursday night, Joe and I get to go on a double date with one of Joe's co-workers and his wife. I'm really looking forward to it.

I hope you are having a great week!

Jonas Maximus

Bath Time!

"Heavyweight"

2007-03-29T19:19:00.000-04:00

July 3rd, 2006

Our Little Pea in a Pod

We weighed Jonas today and he is a whopping 20 lbs! He will be 9 months old on the 3rd. Its hard to believe he was just 5 lbs 2 oz when he was born. The above pictures were taken on our first visit at the NICU.

"The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad." Psalm. 126:3

Update

2007-03-28T19:40:00.000-04:00

The snakes are really making their appearance everywhere I guess. We went to Home Depot and Lows this afternoon and both were out of snake repellent! We did get some moth balls to put in the garage. That is supposed to help keep them "out" and we definitely don't want them in-doors, including the garage! We did find two snake skins that had been shed in our garage last year. EWE EWE EWE !!!!!

Ha-Chew!

2007-03-28T13:55:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I thought allergies were getting better for a few days, then something else decided to bloom. I'm allergic to everything green or flowering that blooms in the Spring! I've been staying in-doors so far this week and feeling much better. I'm constantly washing my hands and avoiding Daisy's daily massages. She is a pollen magnet! :-) Now, I'm feeling shut-in and might have to venture out this evening, even if its to go through Starbuck's drive-thru!

Joe cut the grass for the first time yesterday. It looks so nice. He takes pride in our lawn and surroundings to make sure our home looks nice. I appreciate that so much because I do the same...except this time of year I can not work in the yard or my eyes will be swollen shut by dinner time!

Two days ago Joe was in the garage and saw a snake! We see them every year and he usually kills at least one. Last year was the only year, out of 5 so far, where he hasn't killed or seen one. We know there are Copperheads around these parts. Joe killed what he believes to be a 3 ft. Copperhead two summers ago. (he shot it with his .22) Our neighbors have seen them as well. We also have black snakes, but they are supposed to be the "friendly" ones. Ok, so Joe sees one where the garage door opens and closes. He grabs his hockey stick and tries to decapitate it. (This is a baby snake mind you.) He killed it, but the head is still attached. So, I thought I'd share a picture with you and if anyone of you are snake experts feel free to chime in on what kind you think it is.

*This picture is taken up close, zoomed in. Its probably 10-11 inches or so. Also, the tip of the tail is not yellow/green, which I believe is a trait of young Copperheads.

Girlfriends

2007-03-20T20:50:00.000-04:00

Me and Lydia
Lydia and Katie

Sarah and Sarah

I am blessed to have wonderful, godly friends. I've always tried to have "girl time" since I was in college. I still love girls night out, although it may not be as often. I appreciate my husband's understanding of this as well. It is nice, his always changing schedule usually allows me to have this time while he is at work. Now that we have baby Jonas, the grandparents help out when I need girl time. Last week I got to have two girls nights and more! I went to Rigoletto, an opera production, with my friend Melinda. I hadn't been to an artist series in a while. I've tried to attend since I graduated from school. Some of you are saying, "are you serious?" Yes, I actually like most of the productions. Music has been my life and I appreciated the quality productions they put on. The hired artist for Rigoletto were great! They were very enjoyable to listen to.
The real highlight was going to Atlanta for an IKEA shopping trip and hearing the soothing sound of Josh Groban live, in concert at Philips Arena. This was my 3rd time seeing him in concert and he has never been a disappointment. I have seen him 3 years in a row, in Atlanta. My best friend Lydia, her sister Katie, me and my friend Sarah all had a blast. I was drunk with laughter most of the time. It was a much needed get away. Joe kept Jonas while we stayed overnight in Atlanta. Warning, this is getting long...
We headed downtown Atlanta hoping to park near the arena and grab a bite to eat before the concert. Traffic was horrible but we knew Josh wouldn't start singing right at 8. He always has an opener first. We found a parking spot about 3 blocks away from the arena, not bad. I was driving Lydia's car. We parked and I turned around to hand Lydia her keys. Katie grabbed them and you can only guess...somehow they got locked in the car. We started walking towards the arena and I said "did Katie give you your keys?" Lydia said "WHAT?!" Then came "KATIE!" I said, "let's not worry about it, we'll figure it out after the concert, you have the tickets right?" Lydia's eyes got really big! The tickets were in the car. I don't usually panic in situations like this. My wheels just start turning on how we can fix the situation. I started walking really fast to the man who takes the money for parking. I told him what happened and he said a police officer, that monitors the lot, should be making his rounds in a minute. Here he came and I rushed over to him. He put a call out for another officer to come with a slim jim. That officer arrives and immediately we could tell he hates his job. Yea! Lucky for us. He went on to say it took him 3 hours to get into a car last week. He tried Lydia's vehicle and no luck. He said he would go back to the office and get some other device he has. In the mean time, Katie called AAA as a back up and a locksmith was on his way. The locksmith was Indian and spoke with a thick accent. Katie told him our situation and he said he would be there in 20-25 minutes. He said, with a thick accent, "you go enjoy the concert and we will get it fixed when you are done." Katie, "but you don't understand, the tickets are in the car." Locksmith with thick accent "oh my, this is an emergency!" Lydia and Katie started heading to the arena to see if Ticket Master could look up our tickets and print them out. Sarah and I stayed behind waiting for the officer to arrive, or the Indian man. The officer came back and the Indian man called, all at the same time. The locksmith said he was caught in terrible traffic on the highway, there has been "a terrible accident" He told me I better call someone else, he will not make it. Meanwhile, the officer is trying to get this device out of a box. He was taking forever. Once he had his tools, it took 5 minutes to open the car! By this time, it was 9 o'clock. Sarah and I called Lydia and told her we were on our way, we had the tickets! Amazingly, Josh didn't go on stage till after we got settled in our seats! We barely made it! The concert was relaxing and enjoyable. I highly recommend seeing him live! We never got dinner, so we drove to the Cheesecake Factory hoping it would be open. We got there about midnight and had a 15 minute wait. I don't think we left till 1:45 a.m. or after. We got in bed about 3. Wow! I hadn't had a weekend like this in forever! It was crazy and so much fun at the same time. Thank you Sarah for opening your home to us. I'm sure you had no idea how crazy we were!

Thanks for the memories girls!!

6 month picture

2007-03-20T11:54:00.000-04:00

Our photographer, The Bozwells, (see link on right side) graciously emailed me this picture they took Jonas a couple months ago. I found this hat, with matching mittens, for $ .50 at Kohls last May in Michigan! It was like 80% off. I love finding good deals and Kohls usually has great clearance! We couldn't resist having him wear this on picture day and it turned out to be the best picture!

If you live in our area, we highly recommend their work. We have hired them for many family occasions.