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....

Happy Birthday Chloe !!

Today is Miss Chloe's 5th birthday.....she has brought much sunshine to our home since the day she was born.....we call her our little songbird b/c she is always singing a song (my favorite songs are the ones she just makes up).....she still has her "yellow" hair (my other children are facinated by her yellow hair), she is a friend magnet....where ever we go, it seems a group of other little girls will gather around us- more specifically Chloe, no matter what there ages.....like my other children, she too has a BIG spirit about her which fills our home and makes our family feel so complete.....We feel very fortunate to have Chloe in our family, she blesses our lives with smiley faces, tenderness and a twinkle of mischiveousness :)

Remembering......

Jacob asked me if I miss Grandma....."yup, I miss grandma"
He said, "I miss grandma too"......It's been really heartening to look through pictures and tell stories of why we love her and why we miss her......I was always aware this day would come, and yet it doesn't make it any easier.... it's a weird place to be, without someone you love......how grateful I am to know that families can be together forever....

Happy Birthday Heath

We just celebrated Heath's first birthday (sept 29th is his actual birthday-but Chloe's is Sept 30th) .... we are sad to see how fast he has grown, and keeps growing.....it's amazing that even such a little body can such a big spirit that it makes our family feel so complete, it is impossible to imagine our family circle with out him....Jared and I have such fun memories of our older children loving him and taking care of him, which make it all that much more special....Happy Birthday Little Man !

Our favorite things about Heath : his smiley face, he sucks his thumb, he does not use his knees when he crawls, his cheerfullness

1st birthday traditions

We have a tradition where we celebrate each first birthday at this Peter Piper Pizzza in San Antonio....I couldn't help but think about Megan's first birthday, it was onlythe grandparents, Mary Ellen & Kevin, John & Kelly with little Savannah- no other cousins...now at Heath's party, by the time we even got part of our group together- you don't even care how everyone looks in the picture you just take it before little ones start walking away.....

Jacob the chef

Jacob has always enjoyed cooking/baking.....I can always count on him to not only help out in the kitchen, but he wants to do it himself.....In fact him and Megan can both cook a handful of breakast dishes..... 8 and 9 are fun ages where they can do lots of things and enjoy lots of things....

Day at the museum....

Before we left on vacation, we went to the museum with grandma Houghton and the Pressgroves....it was fun to see the dinosaurs.....

lost summer fun

Nothing says fun, than swimming with friends......

A day in the life (of Heath)

This little guy has the busiest day for a not quite one year old......he is starting to climb .....started with the million hardwood stairs in our house, to the small chairs, to the tables with the help of chairs......

then he crawls over to a brother or a sister who are more than willing to play and wiggle with him.....

Chloe, is helping him with his music lessons.....

Travis is always walking around the house with him.....Heath goes along with what ever situation they put him in.....

Happy Birthday Jared (.......again)

Finally.....here's Jared's official pic......it doesn't seem official with out the cake and family gathered around.....doesn't he look old ;)