I'm gonna marry....

On the way to church today little miss Chloe announced to everyone that she was going to marry (brother) Travis....He looked like a deer in the head lights, "uh, uh!!" is all he could mutter for a response (still in shock) "But I like you Travis!!" Jacob tried to tell Chloe that she couldn't marry her brother.....She then responded, "Then I'll marry Jacob" By this point we were smiling, "NO!" is all Jacob said......"Then I'll marry baby Heath"......Then it was Ethan, then it was Baby Blayne......we tried to explain that she had to marry some other cute boy.....Megan then reminded her that she had so much fun with (cousin) Easton in Utah....but he is far enough removed for her that we left it that....Chloe plans to marry Easton.....she is such a funny girly girl :)

When I grow up.....

I have shared many dreamy moments with my little ones as their eyes look upon the future as their own.....some of them have been super cute, others a bit ambitious. But my dear Mr Travis shared with me his very first hold on the future and it about knocked me out of my seat! It was a few weeks ago, and to be honest I am not sure what we were doing or even where we were.....but his comment is still very real to me....he said, " Mom, when I grow up, I want to fight in wars!"
If had been any of my other children, it would have been completely out of character....and even though I was shocked to hear it coming from my little six year old, if you knew Travis the way I know Travis, it fits him like a puzzle piece (much to my dismay- don't get me wrong, their is nothing more noble and brave than to lay down your life for others, but no mother wants to send her boy to war).
Travis is more brave than my other children combined- that's just a fact. His physical fitness and athletic ability is above average, he also has strong convictions which will move him to confront any giant.
I vividly remember going on a walk with my four (when I only had four) children, three were riding bikes, and Chloe was being pushed in the stroller. Meg and Jacob were 2 or 3 houses ahead when they came charging back to me. They werewhite as ghosts, huffing and puffing about a dog that had tried to get them. Without any more information, Travis jumped off his tricycle, grabbed a nearby stick on the ground and began to charge after the accused dog....He did this with such conviction and certainty, my older children were shocked with his bravery and humbly followed behind him....Situations happened like this over and over throughout the past few years....I have even seen him confront boys much older (and bigger) about some wrong they have commited with such ferocity, they backed off of what ever it was they had done, and were speechless to this "little" kid ! He reminds me of Capt Moroni or even Heleman... As much as I hope he finds a much safer career, I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't!

Family.....

I have actually been in a picture taking funk- I just haven't been in the mood to take pics like I usually have, espc given the many places/things that I have been doing these past couple months....but here are a few of the pics I did manage to take of my children with their Utah cousins.....it was so rewarding to watch how well they all played together and the fun they did have- that was very special.

oh, of course we did have to make a house visit to see Dr Condie....the spoon's a nice touch!

Family

At home, my children have been blessed to live close to most of the cousins on the Barton side pretty much their entire life.....when my mom passed away, they got the chance to get reaquainted with cousins on my side of the family, which they were thrilled that they had even more cousins!!

Cousin Erin eating with the next generation of Bandley decendents.....

I love to see the temple......

I am working on a photo book for our family about going different temples, so every time we pass a temple I drag my family and the camera to take some pics....this is one of my favorite temples to take pics.....(My Megan took this nice one of Jared and I )

This has become one of my NEW favorites of the kids, with the entire temple in the background and so much personality on each of their faces.....love it!!

this is Megan, she had the cutest idea, and it did turn out cute:)

Family

This is one of my favorite Mexican reseraunts.....I have fond memories of eating at this resteraunt with my mom and sister, my husband and children, even my grandparents and now I have fun memories of eating there with my cousins the Gregsons!

Clari and Megan holding on San Francisco style on the trolley in S.A.

this is Luke and Jacob, the only way to stand up to so many girls is sticking together....

This is Heath having fun, the way Heath likes to have fun :)

When my mother passed away, we we're blessed to have the support of our family.....to help lighten the mood, we took the children out on an adventure San Antonio style.....

Happy Birthday Jacob!!

Happy Birthday Jacob!! This boy may have well been named Jared Jr b/c he has so many of Jared's qualities it still amazes me....One of the strongest similarities he shares is his gift to feel deeply(which he guards ) he feels for others and can be saddened by others more deeply than any one else(except his match- Jared)....he will say and make comments which show his deep concern or love for those around him........much like his dad, he has a mechanical mind and used to entertain himself by unscrewing, taking off, then putting back on and rescrewing the hinges to my cabinet doors.....he likes to build and is currently undertaken an everexpanding fort on the other side of my fence.....he has a weakness for chocolate and more chocolate.....he loves to bike ride, skateboard and other cool things...He never tires of playing with babies and taking care of our little Heath.....I am surprised at how well rounded he is, taking an interested in so many different types of things (cooking, building stuff, skateboarding, reading to Heath and Chloe)....Happy Birthday dear Jacob and may fireworks fill the skies on your special day!

Boy Language

I make no pretense in even beginning to coming close to understand boys(we'll go as far as husbands too)...I don't understand how theire mind works, how they connect their thoughts or even their motivation or desires and what drives them to do or NOT do for that matter....Seriously, I could write a book on all the things I see my boys {husbands too} do or DON'T do.....to be specific: Travis was grabbing some clothes to wear for school this morning, and I noticed that it was the SAME pair of pants he wore for the past 3 consecutive days....Now, on the third day I chose to look past this and not make a big deal, but the 4th day was just too much (esp if you saw how hard this kid plays, crawling in the dirt, climbing every fence, burrying himself in the gravel rocks at the play yard)...The kid has about 6 or 7 pairs of pants and several pairs of shorts that look practically brand new and will probably be to small hear soon and never have been to school....In fact when I tried to "persuade" him to wear another pair of pants, the only other pair of trousers that were even negotiable were a pair of plaid shorts that he has the same tendencies with (to wear them until his mother hides them in the laundry chute)....he made a big stink told me I was the worst mother in all the world and even made the meanest face I have ever seen him made, he did in fact put on another very nice pair of shorts and looked rather nice {I was feeling good about how nice and well dressed he looked} I went to helped Megan finish getting ready for school, I noticed that he hadn't left yet and found him hiding in Jared's office behind the couch in the dark, switching out the nice and clean shorts for the dirty grimmy 4 days worn pants....and as I am asking him why, he says "they just don't feel right!" and he left for school....his teacher must wonder why Megan and Jacob look so nice and he looks like he slept in the dirty clothes hamper!

Celebrating Megan's 10th Birthday

We no longer occupy a table, but we must reserve a corner at resteraunts.....

We invited the pressgroves, and our friend Greg to join us for Megan's big birthday dinner and had alot of fun!!

One of Megan's (all of ours actually) favorite resteraunts is the Texas Roadhouse....w/unlimited fresh rolls to eat while we wait for our meal.....LOVE IT!!

cont

Megan takes home first

Just before my mom passed away, we were notified from the school that Megan's artwork had been submitted to the county fair and would be judged against all the other elementary children in the entire county.....when we returned from all the funeral business, her teacher informed her that 3 first place ribbons in her division we handed out, Megan received 2 of the 3...we are so proud of Miss Megan, what a cool talent to have (she gets it from her dad)......

Misc Pics-sept 2010

Here is a picture of our litte man Heath.....

I love it when we buy appliances....b/c my children turn the boxes into the most amazing artwork :)

I feel like our house is a zoo sometimes, and yet this cute baby manages to fall deep asleep despite all the noise and craziness around him....

Happy Birthday Megan!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! her birthday is actually October 17th, but this girl almost always beats me out of bed, so here I am staying up late on the 16th to tell her just how special she is to us {me}....Megan has always had a big spirit bursting with life from the moment she was born (fall rainy day)....There are so many wonderful things about our dear Megan.....from the time she was a little girl she has always had a sense of conquering the world and living life to it's absolute fullest....like her dad, she has always had an entrprenurial spirit about her which has left her dreaming up all sorts of ways to earn an income (even at 4 and 5)She has been blessed to have many talents which include dancing, art and even singing.....she is always cheerful and willing to help others (esp her mother who is always a few hands short), a friend to everyone, and an imagination big enough to satisfy to most indulgent....even in a little body, her bold and daring sense of adventure makes her old mother timid....Happy Birthday Dear Megan and may fireworks light up the sky on your very special day !!

Jake's Place

Jacob (all my children really) has inherited much of Jared's entrprenurial spirit....much of his dreams and aspirations include owning his own business (as do my other children I've noticed)...his most recent aspirations include a resteraunt called Jake's Place where he serves things like pancakes hamburgers and other delicious food, but the dreams don't end there, he plans to divide his time with the restaraunt and a custom bike shop where he plans on designing motorbikes (he has additional dreams of a furniture store and clothing shop, but now I think he is getting a little in over his head) he has even been working on the design of the shops and various promotional techniques he is interested in.....how special to have the whole world ahead of you to fill with dreams and happy endings....

the good the bad and the ugly

I always try to show my children{daughters especially} the beauty of being a mother......but there are lots of moments when my oldest Megan can see through those not so wonderful moments.....it was a few days before Grandpa Barton's funeral, and we were spending almost all day and a good part of the evening driving back and forth from San Antonio to our house....we were tired, out of our schedule and just plain exhausted....somehow somewhere a stomach virus moved in on ALL of us....slowly taking us out one by one.....it was with it's first victim which caught us of guard....it was late at night and I was driving home alone with all the children on the last stretch of our drive (maybe 20 miles left) Chloe starts throwing up in the back, several times over , my car was plum full of stuff from my mom's house and the two boys who had been sitting next to her were fighting for the nearest window ....Chloe was screaming at the top of her lungs {for obvious reasons} the two boys were fighting/screaming over the smell and they thought they were going to now throw up....Megan, who had been sitting in the safest part of the car (as throw-up is concerned) smiling over all the drama says, " Man, it's tough to be a mom" ......AMEN I thought, at moments like this, it is tough to be a mom!!

my new favorite pic

this picture was one of a million we took at Jacob's birthday last year( Oct 2009), and yet my mind plays this pic in my head over and over with the passing of Jared's dad....we will miss Jared's dad.....we have heavy hearts over the loss of so much this past month....we are begining to see that our earthly journey really is a blink of the eye....