2011 so far...

Mia's First Fort

Hanging out in the Sun!

This year so far has been refreshing and a new start for everyone in my family. My mom is officially cancer free. We are so thankful and are excited. This year has been busy with a lot of special moments. One of them was our daughter’s Mia dedication. We did not take this day lightly and realize the responsibility of being good parents. Reed and I are trying to be very purposeful in teaching Mia about Christ and his leading in our lives every day. Many of our family members took the time to come and visit us to be a part of Mia’s big day. We also have been enjoying our NC spring weather, and are in love with Spring!

What 2010 had for the Barton Bunch..

What a year....

The year 2010 was a very special year for us. Last January we hit the road and moved to North Carolina. We had no idea what this state had for us, except that our baby girl was on the way. We moved here eight months pregnant and knew no one! YIKES… I found a doctor quickly and had our baby girl in March of last year. After a very tough delivery and recovery our little Mia was her and has changed our lives completely. She has added so much to our lives. She has taught me so much about sacrifice and love. Being a  parent has forced me to really rely on God daily. I need him so much. I desire to teach her compassion and kindness and am determined to be a good MOM. Through my love for her I can understand Gods love in a new way.

This year also has brought many other challenges. One of them was my health and state of mind after having Mia. I hit a very low point and wondered and really asked God, Will I ever have my health back. No need to get into the details of it all, I am just happy to say that on January 1 2011, I got the report from the doctor that I am totally healed, and my lab tests were great. I am so happy to have my health back. My family has learned that sickness can really challenge us as people and make us rely on God even more. We also found out this year that my Mom had Breast Cancer. Thankfully she caught it early. She has had a very tough time. She finished all of her Chemo treatments and we are so close to having this Cancer behind us. She is going to have a full recovery and be able to move past all of this. She is so excited to get better so that she being an Awesome Gammy to her two grand babies. 2010 gave our families two babies. I am happy to say that I became an Aunt in 2011, and our little Clay is here. He looks just like his Daddy, and has the personality of my sister. We have had so much fun getting to know this little boy these last three months.

2010 also was the year that I celebrated my five year Anniversary with Reed. We are so thankful for each other. Now do not get me wrong, there have many hard days, but we know that we are meant for each other and cannot wait to see what 2011 holds for our families. One thing that we do now is that NC has been good to us and Reed has a great job here. Due, to this blessing we are building a house here and are really excited. It will be done this summer.

After a year that like this, I just sit back and say, WOW, I have much to be thankful for….. I have been able to spend some time reflecting and the verse that comes to me for this next year is Luke 12:48. It says, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”

I know that God has given me much, and much is demanded for me. My prayer is that God would show me what I am to do this year to reach out to others in their time of need. This year I want to be aware of what it means to be a true encourager! This last year I needed Joy and encouragement like never before. God brought so many awesome people in my life exactly when I needed them and it meant so much to me. I want to do the same this year… I do not know exactly what 2011 has for this Barton Bunch, but I am confident that God will always be there, and his love is everlasting. I leave you all with his verse for this next year….

Jeremiah 29:11-19

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. ¹² In those days when you pray, I will listen. ¹³ If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. ¹⁴ I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.”

Have Hope and Joy as you enter this new year!

Happy New year, love the Barton Bunch…

Mia's Cookie PJ Party dedicated to my MOM!

A dedication to my Momma…..

I have so many great memories with my parents at Christmas time. However, one of my favorite memories is making homemade sugar cookies. This is just not a quick event; it is all day process that involves a lot of family. The best part about it is decorating the cookies. By the end there is flour everywhere and sprinkles all over the place. However, it does not really matter to my Mom. She is amazing about letting us have fun and embracing the idea of a big cookie mess. We have a table called the Old Wood Table that we use ever year. I am sure there is permanent flour stuck in the wood details. We will continue this tradition next week when I am home for Christmas. However, I decided to do a trial run with Mia this year with her Play Group. Man did we have a ball, there was a lot of mess to clean but it was worth every moment. I actually tried my Moms recipe this year and it turned out good, Imagine that!!! Please enjoy the cookie fun!

I also wanted to tell my Mom that I want to be like her in so many ways. I hope that Mia has a mom that allows her to be a kid, to get her hands dirty and to value what means the most, and that is the precious time that you have with your kids. The house can be cleaned later, but the years will go by quickly, and I plan on making a ton of cookies with Mia. Gammy we can’t wait to do the real deal next week, love MIA!

These first pictures are of previous years... And then the cookie fun from this year!

Here comes Winter

Getting Ready for Mia’s First Christmas….

Reed and I decided to decorate really early! The reason for this is because we have not decorated since our first year of marriage. The reason for this is because of our college style life style, which was very mobile and on the fly. Not to say that we are not spontaneous now but we are determined to decorate our house and to actually get a tree. There is something great about mixing old traditions with new ones!!  Reed and I both have old traditions which are listening to Alabama and Amy Grant Christmas CD’s which we played for Mia many times this weekend as we decorated the tree. Another great tradition is the Chocolate Advent Calendar! Yum, Yum, Yum! However, we realized that we needed to make some new family traditions. One of the things that Reed and I enjoy is breakfast for dinner, so we decided that when we decorate we will have breakfast for dinner. Another thing that Reed and I plan to do is to focus on the Christmas Meaning and the great blessings that have come upon us. Last year, my mom purchased an advent calendars that explains the Christmas story each day. After you read the story you hang it on the tree! We can’t wait to start on December 1! However, there is something special that happens first and that is Thanksgiving. I have a big idea for thankfulness, but that will have to wait until next time!

My little nephew!

The last couple of days has been a rush of emotions and feelings. Late last week I rushed out of town because my sister was in labor and I was convinced that I was not going to make it for the birth. However, Little Clay had other plans and I made it there for every thing. It was amazing, and I was able to witness my sisters strength and courage. My love has grown for her and I am so proud. We are so excited to have little Clay here and Mia is especially excited to finally meet her cousin Clay. God has blessed our family and we are loving every moment!!

Hello Daddy....

Dear Daddy,
I miss you so much, here are a few pics of my adventure to VA!!

Afternoon Tea, on a Thursday??

I woke up this morning very early and started right to work, Make Bed, Feed Mia, Play with Mia, Make Reeds Lunch, Watch a little bit of news, eat breakfast very quickly, Put Mia down for a nap, Start the Laundry, and Then Clean the house…. Now it is 2:31 and it has been a very productive day. Mia is back down for her afternoon nap and only a few loads of laundry left. House is clean, car is clean, even the dog is happy. After all of this I thought to myself, I would love to sit down and have a hot glass of hot tea, light a candle and put on some low music, read a magazine and have a time out….. Then I thought oh wait I can’t, it is Thursday, I can’t relax, it is not allowed. Then it dawned on me, why not, when did I start thinking like this. I am one worn out Mommy who gives herself all day to her baby and home, why can’t I take a breather. This is my very long intro into my new life study. As many of you know I am a Christian and love God very much. I have had very sweet moments with God, allowing him to lead my life, even up to this very day. However, I am in a very new season in my life and I am asking God to teach me how to live in this season... Many women know the famous verse found in Proverbs about how to be a great Mom and wife, and how to lead your home as a woman. What I have decided to do is to study these verses very closely partnered with other topics like, being a great friend, wife and mother. I will be blogging my journey on what I discover. I am excited to jump and see what I find. However, to start this off, I just spend a few minutes thanking God for my day followed by a great peace and love to light my new wood wick, Anjou Pear Spice Candle, and make myself my hot tea, followed by a good magazine. I encourage anyone to join me on this journey, comment and give feedback….