BARNES FAMILY BLOG

We can be together forever someday.....

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Sometimes.....



Sometimes being a mother is hard, unrewarding, and you wonder if your kids will ever turn out and you pray that you didn't ruin their lives with all your bad parenting (OK maybe I am the only one who worries about that). Then sometimes they do things so amazing that all seems right with the world (and your parenting skills).



Brittany passed a homeless man on the street and had no money to give him and wondered "What can I do, there has to be something I can do for them?"

And this is what she did.





and then...


http://brittanypeaceloveandphotography.blogspot.com/ (scroll down to Photos4Food entry).

WOW, I am in awe of her. She raised $775 for the Valley House Homeless Shelter that helps homeless families with food, housing, and to start a new life.

~Proud Mom~

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

I don't even have words.....

First of all, I didn't even know Kaden sat on Santa's lap at the ward Christmas party. So imagine my surprise when looking at the photos of all my cute nursery kids and finding this......

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Happy Jordananuary!!!


Happy Birthday!
Today was Jordan's 19th Birthday! Wow. Hard to believe. I scanned some photos of past birthdays and from when she was little. They are not great because we didn't have nice digital camera's back then. She was such a cute little thing. We love you Jordan and enjoyed spending your birthday with you.











Christmas

I love Christmas! I love decorating for Christmas! I love the spirit of giving and love that is in the air at Christmas. I love that Brittany is doing a fundraiser for a local homeless shelter, I love that she, and all of my children, have a special tenderness for those who are less fortunate. So much to be grateful for.






Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Got Photos???

If you don't and want some, Brittany is now doing her own photography. Here is her blog:

http://brittanypeaceloveandphotography.blogspot.com/

Saturday, October 17, 2009

So Cute!!

I got the idea a while ago that skeletons would look really cute in my chairs on my front porch. Well my sweet husband ordered them for me!! They are so cute!

Here they are making themselves at home!

Trying on Jordan's hats.
This is where they will be sitting for Halloween. It is a work in progress. They are trying to catch some sun.
We ordered some anatomically correct eye balls and I am glad we did. Here they are before the eye balls.

After.
Brad doing eye surgery!


I will post pictures of them when we get them all decorated in their chairs for Halloween!

Thursday, October 1, 2009

The new cast and mud volleyball

Kaden's New Cast - Go BSU!

McCoy and Kaden

Kaden's Erkle Impression.

Jake played mud volleyball for mutual and Kaden tagged along, in his cast. Good thing for duct tape.













Thursday, September 24, 2009

Thank you Burbank Photography!

I decided I wanted to have some outdoorsy family pictures taken, so a few weeks ago I got all the family up early (no it was not a pleasant experience and I have to admit that I was wondering why I even bothered for a while) on a Saturday morning and we headed off to the South Hills with Randy Burbank of Burbank Photography -he is seriously the nicest person you will ever meet! After we got there we just started taking pictures and everyone enjoyed the beautiful surroundings and fresh mountain air. After the first wardrobe change I realized I packed jeans for everyone except myself. Brittany said she brought an extra pair and I said "Ya right" but all the stars in the heavens aligned and I got into them somehow. I couldn't breath, but hey, it worked.
The kids.


Us looking serious.

Serious aka cranky in color! The water was extremely cold, that is why we look cranky.


Brad and Britt

Mom and Britt.



Our "happy feet"

Family pic!

Brad and I

More kids pics.

The family in color.



Handsome Jake!
The family sitting on a huge rock.

In color!




Sunday, September 20, 2009

Time Out and my cute boys!

On Sept. 18 and 19 I got the opportunity to go to Time Out for Women with Jan Peterson (it is our third time going together in the last few years) in Logan, Utah. We had an excellent time. Even though our first hotel room's air conditioner started to catch on fire. We ended up getting a new room so all was good.
The main thing that I took away from the weekend was that we should never judge ourselves harshly or compare ourselves to others. That we should not fear and that we should let virture garnish our thoughts (there is nothing virtuous about thinking how you are not good enough, don't do enough, etc.). Heavenly Father knows you are doing the best that you can. And heck, I know my best is not as good as someone elses best, but it is my best!
Another thing I learned was that children are like fruit and fruit takes a long time to ripen. And that instead of judging my self worth by how my children turn out, focus on what I have learned as a mother and how raising children has made me a better person. Being a mother is truly the hardest thing I have ever done. But I know that Heavenly Father makes up for my mistakes and short comings as long as I keep him close and ask for his help. He loves my children even more than I do and only wants the best for them. That doesn't mean that they will be perfect, act perfect, or never make mistakes. It is when we sin, make mistakes or are in need that we truly come to know who our Heavenly Father is. My prayer for them is that when the rain comes (and it will) that they will know who to turn to for guidance and solace. It has taken me a few years to learn that myself.

This is a picture of the venue, during a break.

This is a picture of our program and our free tote bag. (You get bored during some of the breaks!)

Out hotel and our Time out For Women cute bags.

Jan and I trying to take pictures of ourselves with both our cameras at the same time.

Us eating our chocolate! You absolutely cannot have a time out without Cafe Rio and chocolate!

Michael McLean! He is awesome!



While I was gone, I really missed my family. They really are wonderful people. I had the camera out and just thought I would take a few pics of my boys getting ready for church.
Jake was NOT cooperating!

My handsome Kaden getting a little help from Dad!

Only one more week of the cast.

And this picture is just delightful. Tator Pop was wanting to type on the keyboard and Tank was in her way, so she just used him for a chair. So Cute!