Fresh!

Today...the Barton family is fresh.

Fresh green beans.

Fresh scalloped & yellow squash.

Life has been so busy lately, I have found it hard to cook as fresh as I would like to. Honestly, many days, I've found it hard to cook at all! But, last night we were given a huge bag of homegrown deliciously colored fresh vegetables to cook and enjoy with our flounder tonight. I was thrilled! So, today Katie had her first lesson of snapping beans, and she had a great time. It quickly took me back to the many days I spent sitting on my grandma's front porch (or floor if it was too hot outside) snapping beans. I probably wasn't much older than Katie when I started. Katie was a huge helper through the entire process. And, when we were finished, she was ready to do more! She quickly found her way to the kitchen to help me wash them for cooking this evening. She then spotted something that intrigued her even more than the snap beans...the squash! I think the scalloped squash reminded her of pumpkins, because she wanted to carry it around just as she did when we went to the pumpkin patch this day last fall. I haven't seen her so excited about my planned dinner in a while! It looks like the Barton family is going to be fresh more often.

And, I cannot forget to mention the other fresh part of the Barton household today...

Fresh new project materials.

Yes! They arrived! My mystery project, mentioned briefly on my "Not Me, Monday" post earlier this week, is slowly taking form. These are the materials that I have chosen to use to make ...da-da-da-daaaa (suspense is building, I can feel it!) ...my very first ...(is it killing you yet?) ...Ragged Square Quilt!

I know what you're thinking..."quilting?? Marsha!?" hehe...I'm still thinking that sometimes, too. But I am dying to try and hoping for the best (that it will turn out and be at least a little bit salvageable). For those of you that know me, I'm not very "learned" in sewing, and I'm not the least bit knowledgeable (except for reading the directions of my new project) in quilting. So, we'll see how this goes. But don't you think the fabric is just adorable??? I thought so, too! I will keep you updated on my progress as I get through the steps. And, who knows...maybe I'll actually be good at it, and I can make one for you one day! hehe...don't get too excited...I haven't done anything but pick out fabric, yet!


So...what do YOU think of the family freshness?

9 months

At nine months you...

are into everything!

love your food...all kinds of food...but especially my food.

enjoy playing with Katie's "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" toys.

are a very fast crawler and a great cruiser, too!

love getting licked in the face by Meeko each day.

love chasing Meeko around the house, just like your sister!

like using Daddy as a jungle gym to crawl on.

say da-da (mostly), bye-bye (regularly), and ma-ma (sometimes).

squeal like a little girl when you want food, attention, a toy, or any other reason you find. You love your new sound...it's funny, but not pleasant on the ears!

love the great outdoors...especially when I let you sneak and try eating grass.

hate the sand right now, but pools are a new favorite!

enjoy your shared bathtime with your sister, even though I can't let you stay in there long because you won't quit drinking the water.

enjoy your sleep at night, but you are finding it hard to let go of that wee-morning nursing. Sorry, Sweetie...it does have to go soon...

love people...you're always smiling and talking to anyone and everyone you see!

only need your paci when you're really tired and going to sleep.

enjoy finding the smallest of things to put in your mouth, which keeps me on my toes all day long (trying to be one step ahead of you).

You are such a sweet boy, Austin! You are definitely into everything right now, leaving me with little time for anything but chasing you, but I wouldn't take this time for anything! Too soon from now you will be independent, just like your sister, and then I won't know what to do. I can't believe you are already 9 months old! I will be planning your first birthday party in the next couple of months, and probably crying as I do it (a good cry, though). I love watching you play with your sister right now. You two are going to be such great friends growing up...I love you, little man!!

Austin's 9 month check-up

Can you believe Austin is already 9 months old??? It seems like just yesterday I was in the hospital for his birth. I'm sure you would agree, too. It has flown by!!!

He had yet another good check-up. He's growing like a weed...a very fast weed! He's now 17lb 9oz and 29" long. He had to get one shot yesterday, but he took it like a little trooper! He wimpered a small bit, and then he was back to his normal happy, smiling self.

Katie enjoyed going to the doctor with us. She watched every move each nurse and doctor made with Austin. She wanted to know exactly what each thing was for. So inquisitive! And, what amazes me even more is that she remembers every little detail and uses it while she plays with her dolls later.

Austin will not return for another well-baby visit until he is one year old. Can you believe that we will be planning his first birthday in only a couple of short months??? WOW! We're so thankful for the healthy check-up! :) I'm working on Austin's "9 month" post to help us to remember what he was doing at this age. Be sure to watch for it...

Wordless Wednesday

Memorial Day

A short video I found and wanted to share for this Memorial Day...

A special THANK YOU to all who have served or are serving in our military! Your sacrafices are large, and they are not overlooked. Thank you for protecting our country...our freedom...our homes. You are in my prayers! May God bless you greatly for your service to our country.

Not Me! Monday

I love Mondays! Don't you? I get to confess all of those things I did not do this week. It's great therapy for me and great laughs for you!! Not sure what this is? Read mine and then hop on over to all of the other great entries at MckMama's. Come on...join in on the fun! Where else is good therapy free??? :)

I did not find Austin eating Katie's food on 3 separate occasions one day this week! He is not even 9 months old yet, and he's already stealing her PB&J sandwiches off of the table right in front of her nose!

While we were on vacation I did not find the perfect shirt for Austin and buy it for him. It says "Always Hungry" with a big shark on it. (Sorry for the description...I was going to post a picture, but I just haven't had time this week! Keep watching the blog...it will appear in a picture one day soon.) Definitely not perfect for my little one, huh? ;)

I do not think that Katie's new desire to compliment everything is absolutely hilarious! She has not complimented the strangest things, like my freckles and Mimi's neck. It's not so hard to hold back the laughs when she's complimenting these off the wall things, because she is absolutely sincere! Have you ever been told, "I like your neck"?

Between the two of them, my children did not have me up every hour all night one night this week. And I was definitely not so tired the next morning that, when it came time for Austin to nurse, I did not let him use me as a pacifier for 20 minutes, just so I could close my eyes for a few minutes longer. I would never do that!

I am not so happy with Katie's new pink room, that I'm finding it hard not to think of colors to paint the rest of our very plain beige walls. We may have more painting in our near future ;)

I did not turn around to find Katie holding Austin upside-down by his ankles more than once this week! And then look at my completely confused when I put her in timeout for it. Poor guy didn't know what to do on his head!

I am not about to begin a new homemade craft that will definitely not take me months to complete. I am not sure how it will turn out, but I'm super excited about trying my hand at it!! I'll be sharing more about this later. My "supplies" should be in this week...don't you just love the suspense??

Now it's YOUR turn! Go on over to MckMama's to read all of the other "Not Me" posts or to see how you can join in on the fun!

Random Picture Challenge

16th picture folder (my 16th is Jan. 07)

28th picture
Oh, my sweet Katie at 2 months old...My! How time does fly!!
Gotta love those funny expressions!!!



Join in the fun at...

Think PINK!

Mark has his fill of pink while we were away at the beach this past weekend.

"Pink what?", you ask? See for yourself...

Katie is so excited about her new pink room! We still have some "decorating" to do, but the painting was the big project we promised to do for her when she started pottying like a big girl. She has a deep love for pink and for the Little Mermaid. Who knew you could mix the two in a coordinating kind of way? ;)

Girls Getaway - Beach Style

This year for our annual girls' getaway (a trip for my mom, sisters, and our children), we chose to visit the beach. We had a great time together, even if the weather didn't cooperate very much. I really enjoy my time with my family, as we don't often get to spend so much time together. Here are a few snapshots of our trip...

I am not going to "re-post" the picture of Austin in the sand. If you missed the Wordless Wednesday picture, see this post. In response to the comments and questions concerning his opinion of the beach...I did not get any smiling pictures of him there. He was not a fan at all! But, I did capture a few of him not crying or screaming...that was a miracle in itself!

Austin & Katie

Austin's best beach picture

I took Austin to the ocean to see if he'd like it more...

That wasn't the case! Along with crying, this is what he did...

Katie, however, loves the beach and the ocean!

and I love those curls!

And, since our "beach" time was limited due to weather, I had some time for local "nature." I sat on our patio and watched our local alligator, Elvis, come up to the bank in front of me (about 20 feet away). He came up near our patio area every morning, and we got to see him (since our kids refused to sleep past 6am)!

And, we also frequently saw our heron friend...he stayed across from our patio area trying to catch fish for his honey and her nest in a nearby tree. Unfortunately, the few I saw him catch, he dropped. Hopefully he had more luck when I was not watching!

We couldn't get our desired picture at the beach of the three little ones due to the weather, so we tried on our gazebo. I don't have to tell you how extremely difficult it is to get a decent picture with a 3 month old, 8 month old, and 2 1/2 year old! The picture isn't perfect, but aren't their coordinating outfits (made by Mimi) just adorable??
And, although we were constantly busy with the kids, I did somehow manage a photo shoot of my adorable niece, Sydney...
and even a photo shoot of my youngest sister, Megan...
Here's our group...all of the girls (well, except Austin, who was lucky enough to still be nursing, thus attached to Mommy). I love our annual trip with the girls! It gets crazy sometimes, especially with the young kids, but it is always worth it! I can't wait to see where we'll go next year. FUN TIMES!

Wordless Wednesday

Random Photo Challenge

9th picture folder or September 2008

18th picture

My sweet baby boy...1 week old

Not Me! Monday

I did not find Austin with two pieces of dog food in his mouth a mere 30 seconds after sitting him in his room to play!

I was not so "out of it" that while attempting to fix the kids' juice cups for church, I proceeded to pour sweet tea instead of apple juice for Austin. And, if I did do something like this, it certainly would be realized before I had completely finished my task at hand!

I did not let Austin have his first experience with grass this week, and did not post about it here. And, while doing so, I did not find Katie attempting to eat grass just like Austin. It appears that he influenced her more than she influenced him...Oh, the fun we shall have these next years!

I did not expect to have internet access on our girls' getaway, at which time I expected to finish my "Not Me Monday"...only to discover that I was completely "internet-less"...leaving me to rap up my post on Tuesday night upon returning.

I'm not going to make you wait until later this week to hear about our vacation to the beach and all of the fun times we had. See ya here next Monday!

Thankful Thursday

It's so easy to be busy these days...if anyone can understand busyness, I can! It seems that as soon as my feet hit the floor in the morning, I am running crazy with the kids all day long, sometimes with very little to show for it at the end of the day. But, I was reminded in my Bible study this week that I must not be too busy to pray daily for those around me that I know and don't know, for my church, for my family, for my husband, and for my children, and thank God for all that He does for us each and every day. So, today, I write a few of the many blessings God has given me that I am truly thankful for. Some big. Some small. A few, I emphasize, because we are so blessed! It would take years to list everything...here's what comes to mind first today...

I am thankful to God for:

• My salvation! A free gift that I did not, do not, and could never deserve.
• My family and friends, who are there for me no matter what! You all touch my life in ways that you couldn't possibly know.
• My sweet husband that has far surpassed all of the dreams I ever had of the "perfect" mate. I cannot understand why God would choose to give me someone so wonderful that I am so undeserving of, but I am so incredibly glad He did! I love you more and more each passing day!
• My beautiful children that God has graciously given me the chance to mother. Even though there are hard days, I cherish each and every moment, good and bad, happy and sad, that I have with my little ones. They soon will not be little anymore!
• A place to call home. A roof over our heads. Protection from the storms. A table to eat at. Food to have available to cook for every meal. Beds to rest on. Air conditioning and heat to keep our house comfortable. Water whenever we need it. We are so blessed!
• For coffee. Though I drink it seldom, when those rough days/nights come, it helps me make it through the day when all of my energy is spent.
• For naptime...though they are often short...they do give me time to take a break, if only for 5 minutes!
• For being such an awesome God who knows our every need...our strengths...our weaknesses...all that we need, physically, emotionally, spiritually, mentally, and provides just what we need to do His work. And that, as imperfect as I am...as many mistakes as I make on a daily basis...He is still willing and ready to use me for His glory!

"Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee.
O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever."

Psalm 118:28-29

Sweet moments after a long day...

After a rough day, the kids and I took a quick trip to Starbucks to get me a cup of my favorite coffee, a grande (because I needed all of the extra energy I could get today) white chocolate mocha. The coffee, dinner, and a short nap for Austin helped the three of us to make it through the rest of the afternoon/evening without losing our minds. We spent much of the afternoon outside, where Austin had his first (yes, I know he is almost 9 months old now...) encounters with grass. It was relaxing for me, and the kids enjoyed their time together. Here are a few pictures I took of them...

He wasn't so sure about the grass at first...

But it didn't take him long to decide that he liked it...enough, even, to try to eat it. That's my boy!

Katie took about 30 minutes drawing a picture for Daddy. She said she's ready for him to come home soon. Me, too, Sweetheart...me, too!

Gotta love those sweet curls. She may look like her Daddy, but she got something from me!

It feels my heart with joy when I catch sweet brother/sister moments like this...

I love those dirty sweet feet of those precious gifts God has so graciously given me.

Smiles and giggles from Katie...

Quickly turn into laughs, leading directly to a terrible case of hiccups...

And, those hiccups led directly to more and more laughter, from both! Love it!

I'm so glad our great God knows exactly what we can handle, and gives us no more than that! When I was to my breaking point with the kids today, due to my complete and utter exhaustion, God allowed us to have a peaceful, quite relaxing, but fun afternoon with lots of laughter to make even the most exhausting and frustrating day feel all but that. We serve a great God, don't we?

By the way...I'm sure you've already had to pick yourself up from the floor because of my very frequent blogging the past week. Well, I'm learning that it is my form of therapy right now...especially while my sweet husband is away...it helps me take a few minutes of time to relax and enjoy something for me. So, ENJOY the extra posts and pictures...because I sure am! :)

Only Tuesday...

My days usually fly by...faster than I can keep up with! I usually run all day, get a few things checked off of my unending to-do list, add several more, and enjoy a semi-relaxing evening with my hubby and kids. Today is definitely not that day.

Just for laughs (or cries), I'll summarize my last two days for you. Yesterday, we spent much of the day outside or cleaning house until about lunch. Then, we had to get ready to take Katie to the eye doctor. When we finished there, we rushed home to try to squeeze in a little nap for the kids...little was definitely the key word! Austin fell alseep, during which time Katie had an accident in the bed. By the time she was clean and her bed was remade for her to sleep, Austin was awake. The afternoon was spent holding not one, but two clingy, fussy, and for whatever reason whiny children. Thankfully, we did have some Nana and Pawpaw time, to try to give us a break. By evening, I knew we were all exhausted, so I was confident that we would all have a great night's sleep. Unfortunately, as my luck would have it (if I believed in luck, which I don't), from when I put the kids in bed around 8pm, Katie was up every hour crying for who knows why until around 1am. At which time, she finally fell asleep, only to hear Austin crying at 2am and again at 4:30am. Katie woke again at 5:15am, followed by Austin at 6am. Both fell asleep again (thankfully) until 7:30am, when our day officially began. And, so far, it's been about like that today. Lots of persistent disobedience from Katie, consistent discipline from Mommy, persistent mess making and no-no eating from Austin, and consistent moving and removing from Mommy all. day. long. And, unfortunately, it's only 2pm...and...only Tuesday!

I am on day two of being "husbandless", and I am failing miserably! I miss my good morning and good night kisses...my unexpectedly clean sink that he worked on for me before he left for work...my several phone calls during the day to tell me that he loved me and was thinking about me...my evening breaks from the kiddos while they have some daddy time...my not so lonely nights...my help on those really rough nights...and so much more! I know how blessed I am to have my "knight in shining armor", and I'm more than ready to have him back home! Is it Friday, yet??

I'm not one to complain, so forgive me for this being a post that sounds like such...but just know, I am normal. I do love love LOVE my job as a Mommy and wouldn't trade my beautiful children or the time I have with them for anything. But I do have bad days. I do have days that I want to crawl in a hole and take a break. I do miss my sweetheart. I am counting down the days until reinforcements arrive later this week. And, right now, I am going to take a quick nap, while dreaming of tomorrow and the great hopes I have for it! :)

Not Me! Monday

It's that time again...time to 'fess up on all of the things we did not do this week.

Head on over to MckMama's to read more or to join in on the fun!

I was not talking on my cell in the car (not watching the kids), only to find Katie coloring on the window with crayons. And since I know my sweet, innocent girl would not do such a thing, I certainly do not have scratches on the window that will be a reminder to all for the rest of the car's life!

I did not forget to grab something to drink as we were leaving the house (after just nursing Austin), just to realize that I was parched only 10 minutes later...so parched, in fact, that I finally gave in and drank from Katie's sippy cup! I would never do that!

I certainly did not give up on agreeing with Katie on dinner and allow her to make her own menu...a nutrigrain cereal bar, raw baby carrots, string cheese, and grapes. Talk about a delicious combination!

I did not unintentionally leave Austin's pacifier at home, leaving him in the church nursery tired, cranky, and paci-less. Needless to say, there will be an extra pacifier placed in the car for "such a time is this" from now on!

I am not taking Katie to yet another opthamologist appointment for her red eyes. Apparently she has bad allergies to something right now. And I am so afraid they are going to prescribe special eye drops again, which will make me have even more tough days of holding her down and trying to get them in her eyes...I'm praying for a better option!

I am not almost dreading the next few days, since I will be husbandless. Mark has training all week long out of town. Thankfully, my mom and sisters will be here on Thursday, and we'll be headed to the beach for our annual girls' getaway trip!

I did not really enjoy my Mother's Day with my sweet family. I am so blessed to have them! I hope the rest of my "mother" readers had a great special day, as well! :)

Happy Mother's Day!

I am so blessed to have been given the opportunity to be called "Ma-ma, Mommy, Mother." God has blessed me so much with my two beautiful children.

First, in November 2006, when we first laid eyes on our sweet Katie Brooke...

And again, in August 2008, when our hearts grew with the addition of our precious Austin Tyler...

My hands and heart are full with the love of my two beautiful children and incredible husband, my best friend! Today, especially, I thank God for all that He has given me!

And, I can't end the post without telling my mom how much I love her and appreciate all that she has done for me these many years! She is such an inspiration to me. And, I would be honored to think that I could have gained at least a small portion of motherly wisdom from her, that I can use and pass on to my little ones. Thank you, Mom, for everything! You have been my mother...the one to guide and direct me...the one to comfort me when my heart was breaking...the one to take care of me when I was sick...and now, the one to be there, as my best friend (next to my husband) through all of life's journeys! I LOVE YOU!!

Happy Mother's Day!!

Random Photo Challenge

July 2004 or 7th folder closest year

22nd picture

I don't have digital images of our pictures prior to 2005, so this is my next closest year. This was a "second honeymoon" trip to Gatlingburg, TN. Oh, how I love the mountains! What memories...and beautiful scenery!

"World of Fantasy"

We went as a family to the Disney On Ice "World of Fantasy" show last night. I wasn't sure how things would go taking both kids with us to a 2 hour show, but we all had a blast! Honestly, it was worth it just to see Katie's facial expressions for probably the first 30-45 minutes...completely amazed! And Austin was taken with all of the lights and music. He was great the whole time! I wish I would have had my nice zoom for my camera there, because I could have taken some great pictures, but I knew I wanted to focus more on having fun with the kids. SO...you'll just have to squint or blow up your screen resolution, and enjoy the snapshots we took while we were there! Obviously, it was dark, so they aren't the best quality, but we wanted to have some for Katie to look back at. ENJOY!