FALL FUN

Family Fun days, Fall Festivals, Halloween, Camping, all combined with Work, School, Girlscouts, and everyday home life make for 4 busy BARRETT'S!

Here's a few highlights...

Megan made straight A's on her report card, and her request as a reward was to go bowling! They've actually not bowled for real, only on the Nintendo Wii, so it was a little bit of a change. Ryan had a lot of help from Dad, obviously since he couldn't possibly pick the bowling ball up...but that was good for him because he ended up getting a better score! Megan wasn't happy about it ( I mean, it was HER idea to go bowling for her straight A's....she should've won the game! lol). Daddy was more diplomatic with her, and actually taught her how to hold the ball correctly and how to most efficiently toss it down the ally. She improved her score on the second game...she was happy again .

We also took a few fall family photos at Turkey Creek. I had high hopes for these pics, because it was such a sunny, beautiful fall day. But as it turns out, it was too sunny, and all our photos have everyone squinting in the sun too much! haha


Here's the best shot:









Well, it takes so long to upload pics for some reason, and I've been sitting here for so much longer than I intended. I'll try to get back to this in a bit and post a few HALLOWEEN pics. The kids costumes were great! But it'll be in a later post...sorry fans.

What's UP???????

Snaggle Tooth In Second Grade:

Those top teeth have been loose for a while now, and Megan has just left them alone...until it got to the point that she looked like Nanny McPhee (a movie character that has a big tooth sticking down on her lip). Anyway, she finally pulled that tooth last weekend and of course, the tooth fairy delivered big...inflation sends prices up for her too! She only brought me a quarter, or two...But lucky Megan in the 21st century got a whole $5 bill!!!!!

Girl Scout's Keep us bussssssy!

Then after she lost a tooth, we went to Harvest Days at Camp Coleman with her Girl Scout Troop. It was actually a disappointment from a parent's perspective, but at least Megan had a good time. She rode ponies, a wagon ride, picked out a pumpkin, went to story time, petted a corn snake, roasted S'mores over a campfire and went on a nature hike. The last part of the hike took us to "Fairy Rock" at Camp Coleman, and the girls were very excited to try to find the fairies there, but of course, THEY WERE HIDING!!!!

I LOVE TO BE LOVED!

I feel like I am on a spiritual high! You know that feeling you got when you came home from your weekend retreat, or week long camp when you were a teen? I remember them well-I would come home on FIRE for God, and with a bonding with believers like no other! I LOVE THAT FEELING!
Since I returned from my weekend trip, it has felt like that alot. As stated in my previous post, I participated in a Beth Moore study while on this trip, and I was delivered from something that had plagued me for months. PRAISE JESUS! My poor sick husband had to sit and listen to me ramble on for hours last night as I told him every detail of my trip! (Isn't that just like women? Only interested in the DETAILS?! haha)

But perhaps one of the most special parts of my trip was the moment I returned home to my wonderful family! My family met me in the parking lot of Kmart to pick me up, and I honestly could not unpack the car fast enough....Ryan saw me first and he immediately began screaming "MOMMY MOMMY!" and the best part was, when I opened the van door, and gave him a hug, he grabbed me so hard and squeezed me so big that I really thought he was going to choke me! He had his head layed down on my shoulders, but I could hear him crying as he hugged me and kept calling my name. As I type this now, it actually puts a mental picture in my head of how I ran to God this weekend and cried with relief when I was glad to see Him moving in our lives. I can visually see myself wrapping myself around the throne and being so happy to have a God to love me! Ryan did my heart so much joy by reacting to me that way! And my Megan was right there with him, (with no tears, because she's all mature now, lol), and we were all hugging and loving on each other. It was a wonderful moment....5 days away from your babies will do that to ya. I am loved. And better yet, I am appreciated too! Ha! Jonathan was sick the entire time I was gone, and he was never so glad to see me and "TAG" me for parental duty so he could relax! aaah, a Mommy's work is never done....but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.
The split second I got home, it was back to basics as usual. I got in at 5pm and Megan had a Investiture ceremony in her Brownie troop at 6pm, so it was off to being a taxi again. I love my role as Megan and Ryan's mommy, and Jonathan's wife, and I love my role as teacher, friend, sister, daughter, and most importantly CHRIST FOLLOWER! Only a God like Him would get me through this weekend by revealing to me my wrongs, still love me the same despite of them, and absolutely bring me to a place where I could freely give it away in return for a healed heart! I'm free. I'm free! I'M FREE!
I'm excited! I'm thrilled!
I'm singing and dancing His praises to all!


I'm also a little sleep deprived...there wasn't a night we didn't go to bed before 2 or 3am!!!!! I love my sisters in Christ! We had the best time together!

Free...and Loving Well!

I'm in Pensacola at the Teacher Clinic that my school goes to every year. We came down on Friday and began a Bible Study called "Loving Well" by Beth Moore. I have never done a study by Beth Moore, and I am quickly becoming a huge fan. The first session on Friday night left me in tears. There was so much hurt, that mainly dealt with the situation I described in the post before and though I thought that my blogging had helped me eradicate it from my system, I was so wrong. I was still holding on to it. I had missed out on one of the most important parts of this journey, and therefore I was still harboring my anger. But after the first session, God revealed my anger, and hurt to me in a different manner. He made me realize that it was MY PROBLEM not the offenders issue to work through! WOW! I hated it. I argued with God. I was angry again because I knew God was right, however, I still didn't want to deal with it. I shared my conviction and hurt with some of the ladies on the trip with me, and when they supported me and offered me prayer for restoration, I actually resisted it! I didn't want it! I WANTED to be mad! I wanted to wallow in my little pit of self absorbed hurt. But praise be to God that it worked. Praise be to God for the fact that I am blessed to have such lovely, Godly women in my life that will speak His truth and do it lovingly when I am in the midst of a pity party.
That night, I gained insight. I learned a little bit more about my "foe" and realized that what had happened to me, was more about a coping skill of my former friend...the "leave them before they hurt or leave you" thinking. I learned about past hurts, and losses of my friend. And for the first time in months, I began to see her as a human again. I began to feel compassion for her. My heart broke for her heartache.
And then, God spoke it to me....PRAY FOR HER.
That's what had been missing all along. I had not prayed for my friend...and that is exactly what I am called to do as a believer in Christ! Matthew 5:44 says "But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." So, with that conviction, it was time for ME to do some business with the Lord. I had to stop and admit all of my feelings about this person and ask my God to heal my heart and my hatred. I had to take it all to Christ and literally lay it down. I prayed and told God everything that I wanted to say to my friend....everything I felt, I said it to God as if I were speaking to her...and when I got it out, and layed it down only THEN was I free enough to pray for her. Only then, did my compassion and love for her win out over the hurt. Only then was I able to release it all. I had been repeatedly denying my forgiveness to be given to my foe, and at that point, I was allowing my heart to be raped over and over again by the hatred I was choosing to harbor. But not anymore. I am free. I am free of the anger. I layed it all down to God, I prayed for my foe, and I cannot tell you the weight that was lifted off of my heart! I'm not sure that I understood that there was a weight because of my denials.
As Beth Moore pointed out to me in this Bible study, "When we ask God to give us insight into people we could have a compassion and a love for them we didn't think was possible!"
Absolutely! Truth!
Restoration of people is always the will of God.
Sometimes reconciliation is not.
I may never be reconciled to my friend...but she is no longer my foe, and if I see her, it will all be alright again. Because I'm restored with the perfect love of God.

One who will NEVER let you down...

Have you ever been let down by someone you hold dear? Have you ever been deeply cut, or hurt by a person that you trusted not to do that? I'm willing to bet that at some point or another, we all have. It's bound to happen to us all. During the course of this year, I was deeply hurt by someone that I considered to be a dear friend, someone that was very special to me. When I first realized what had happened, I remember sitting down and crying in disbelief. It hurt. It stung. It was unreal. And I think the part that made it worse for me is, the person didn't seem to care that I was hurt by them. I did what the Word of God commands us to do when we have anger in our hearts toward another person. Matthew 5:21-26 (ESV) says, "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be liable to judgement.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgement;whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny."

I actually did go to my friend, and speak to them about my hurt. I explained to them how I was hurt and caught off guard, and even though I am typically very vocal about my feelings, it was actually quite hard to talk to them about it. And the worst part is, while I was telling this person about how they'd let me down, I felt patronized. I was patted on the back and told "Oh, don't be mad". No explanation on their part. No apology for me in any form. If I thought for one instant that something I had said, or done in any form had hurt someone, I would apologize to them for their hurt, EVEN if I felt justified in my words or actions. For me, to think that I have been the cause of tears, and heartache for anyone is painful to me, yet when it came to my "friend" it didn't seem to matter. In a way, I think that cut me even deeper. Our friendship became so scarred, that I fear it will never be the same. I know I've done the right thing by going to my friend and sharing my grievances, but I have also done wrong every since that day by holding a grudge and continuing to be angry. I know it is wrong, and as many times as I have told myself that "I'm only human" in an effort to justify my anger, it is still sin. And the one who hurt me is "only human" too...mistakes and bad choices happen, even if they are right or wrong. I have to let go, and LET GOD in this situation. I am still working on forgiveness, and though it's been a hard road, I'm getting there. I am taking steps toward it every day...and even though some days I take a few steps backward I know on some level I am still healing. I know my Savior forgives all sins, and I am trying to forgive the one who wronged me. I am not justified in my anger, and I do not have the right to withhold that forgiveness...even when the offender hasn't asked for it. I must freely give. Anger is a form of hate, and hate does nothing to build one up....it only destroys the hater's heart, and witness. While I am not willing to let that happen, I am still struggling with forgiving. To not be able to do so freely is really a very foreign thing to me, because I do not usually hold grudges...I generally get over anger fairly quickly. I do not like to be angry. I do not like to harbor anger in any form...but this....this has been an uphill battle. But I'm almost to the top of that hill...it's coming.

The good thing that came from all of this is that I have connected with others who have been there. I have made new relationships, and deepened other friendships through the experience of this hardship. The Glory of God is being revealed when He is made strong in our weakness. God has unified me with other believers and made our purpose in each others lives stronger and deeper. We have become accountable to each other in our healing, and in our spiritual walk. I praise the Lord for my relationship with these believers, because they love me, they challenge me, and they encourage me in ways that I am not sure would have happened if this hardship had not come upon us.

Thank you Jesus for my new friendships, my deepened relationships, and even for the friend who hurt me. Thank you for teaching me throughout all of this, and Thank you for being slow to anger and abounding in your steadfast love! (Numbers 14:18). Thank you for forgiveness. Amen

WHO IS THIS MAN?????

All this time and you think you know somebody....
I don't know what got into him. There I was, minding my own business, and my husband of nearly 11 years (we've known each other for 14 years) just completely pulled one on me! Out of nowhere he announces "I'm going to shave my beard and mustache."


Stunned. Why was I stunned? Mainly because he's had the "stache" since long before we were married. I think out of those 14 years of knowing him, I have spend 13 of those years with him having a mustache. And off and on for the last 10 years he has had a goatee. More On than Off during those times. I like the goatee. sniff sniff.

"Why?" I asked.

"Just because. Is it OK?"


Well, to be quite honest it really IS OK...but I like his goatee and he's had it for so long that I was afraid of having to get used to his new look. But he doesn't tell me how to wear my hair...long, short, WHATEVER, he is supportive of whatever I have done to my hair over the years and I am thankful for that because that is a sore subject with some husbands! So I can't really TELL him "NO" even though part of me wanted to.

I consented and told him to do whatever he wanted. I explained that I really like him with the mustache and goatee, but if he wants to shave it, then go ahead. (all the while, secretly hoping he wouldn't)

So, it's gone. He's got a baby face again. It's a bit tough to get used to...even for him. We kinda laughed about it later, because he looks so DIFFERENT! But we'll get used to it soon, I'm sure.

So, here is a before and after pic....

BEFORE:
My cutie hubby, with the goatee. My favorite part was that some of it was turning gray. I like it...it's distinguished looking. But maybe that had something to do with it, even though he says "No"










AFTER:
The "new" Jonathan. I can't decide if he looks younger, or just a completely different person.







Update as of: 10:58pm....this most definitely IS a different person...he just offered to help me fold the laundry that is piled on our bed. I know his ulterior motive is to remove the pile of clean laundry so he can actually get in the bed, but he's NEVER offered to do it before. He usually either shoves it in a corner somewhere, or just shoves it to my side of the bed and he gets in and goes to sleep! Now he wants to do laundry....WHO IS THIS MAN????

Deep Thoughts on Parenting...

Disclaimer: Parenting is such a wide and sensitive topic, and this is only one small section of the subject...

Being a teacher of preschool aged children, and having much interaction with the different ages throughout the last 7 years, I have come to realize that every parent does their job very differently. Some parents are considered overbearing, overprotective, or worry too much, and still other parents are unstructured, undisciplined, or too lenient with their kids. Where is the line, and where is is drawn in our assumptions of how others "love" their kids? Have you ever found yourself saying "If that was my kid, they wouldn't behave like that!", or "Wow, they're a bit too hard on their kids, lighten up!". I do not believe there is only one way to parent every child because every child is different and every child, yes-even those in the same family, require different discipline and parenting techniques because what works with one, may or may not work with another. With all that in mind, I have found myself wondering what drives some parents to choose the methods they do, or what makes some parents more inclined to handle situations drastically different from what I would consider to be a normal reaction. I can't help but think that in so many cases, a child's action or reaction to something may directly be related to how the parent's actions or reactions to those instances affect them. Now, I can't go into details on the situations that prompt me to write this post, obviously, but I will generalize it as best I can. I will place myself into the parenting roles here and critique it that way.
I consider myself to be a very protective parent. I am very cautious about what "worldly" influences come in contact with my children...music, TV, movies, Internet, the language we/they use, the clothes they wear, the holidays we choose to acknowledge, etc. Examples: I am very cautious about what friends (and their families) my children are allowed to spend time with away from my supervision (like spend the night parties, play dates, etc) I am very cautious about what clothing my kids wear...call me crazy if you must, but I simply do not believe my 7 year old girl needs to wear "attitude" shirts with sayings like "It's all about ME". For holidays, yes, we love them and celebrate them, including Halloween...but I do not choose to celebrate the "scary" part of Halloween with skeletons, grave stones, or anything bloody or Gothic looking. For Christmas, we do celebrate Santa bringing gifts, but we have taught our children that without the birth of Jesus, we would have no reason to celebrate...there would be no Christmas at all! Same for Easter...yes it's fun to see the Easter Bunny, and believe that he hides eggs for kids to find but even at this young age of my children, they are aware that Jesus died on the cross, but we celebrate his RESURRECTION on Easter. But I also consider myself to be a "laid back" parent in the way that I don't panic at every little thing my kids do, say, or react to. For instance, if they hear something that I consider inappropriate on TV, I don't necessarily shut the TV off and forbid them from ever watching that program, or television in general again, instead I have taken those as teaching moments for my child and explain to them why it's not acceptable in our home. There are certain words I don't like for my kids to use that are widely accepted in today's social culture, and in other families. Example: The word "hate" for me is too strong a word to hear from such a small child, even if they are only saying "I hate broccoli". In my adult life, I realize how strong HATE is when I look at the world and how religions, politics, prejudice are born from hate, so I do not want to teach my child that hate is OK in any form. But that also puts accountability on myself, and I have to change my vocabulary so that I am not the bad influence on my child. And boy does that sting sometimes!
For me, I feel like at this stage of their life, Megan at age 7 and in second grade, and Ryan at age 4 in K4, this is where mother bird starts learning to let go. I have to teach my children how to fly. I have to teach them how to function in a world that will not love and protect them as I do. I have to teach them that there are outside influences that will present themselves and they have to know the right choice to make. Basically, I have to teach my children that they are in the world, but not OF the world. (1John 4:4-6 ESV says, "Little Children, you are from God and have overcome them [the world], for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world;therefore they speak from the world and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.")
Conclusion:
I can not control what type of kids my children come in contact with at school-even a christian school, or church for that matter, but I can keep an open mind and try to see what it is that the Lord has planned for my child to learn from them, or to learn about themselves through interaction with them, or better yet, what my child can teach the others around them-which means that one of my jobs as a Mom is to teach them a loving diversity of their peers so that the influence my child has on those around him/her is a positive one. But it does not mean I should second guess my values or accept someone else's way of doing things just because the world says it's what is right. It doesn't give me a right to place judgement on others for their way of parenting, but I do have the right to protect my child should he/she be placed in a situation where their well being is put in any question.
I'm sure this sounds very random, and perhaps the purpose of this blog is just for me, so that I can jot down my thoughts on what is going on behind this post....(which, don't worry, it doesn't directly deal with me or my children, but is affecting others around me). I guess the most important job of any and all parents when raising their kids is to seek wise counsel from first and foremost our Creator, and secondly from other believers who are parents. And lastly, take what you've learned and share it....God brought you to it for a reason, and that is not to harm you, but to teach you and to teach and minister to others.

Wading through water, or is it just the 80's again?

OK...so when I really remember the 80's culture hitting me, it was the late 80's and I did it all. Side ponytails. Scrunchies in side ponytails. Acid wash jeans. Holes in the knee of your acid washed jeans. "Valley Girl" talk..."like, oh my gah!" High top tennis shoes, NINTENDO NES and the birth of Super Mario Bros obsessions! Lots of my clothes were covered in polka dots and the shirts were big and long...Yep, I did it all.


Now, my most favorite thing is that a lot of the late 80's trends are back, and my kids are totally into it! Ryan has a huge obsession with Mario these days, thanks in part to an old Nintendo 64 game system that we still had. Megan is cracking me up trying to talk "Valley" and even though she doesn't even know what she's saying, there's like a lot of funny stuff she says, and she's like totally into the fashion these days!(her words, not mine) Shopping for school clothes is like, the most fun EVER! lol I swear, the day she pulls out "Grody" or "Gag me", I will wet my pants laughing. So, here's a shot of my big boy, my ever growing Ryan...after he got ready for school yesterday, I snapped these few shots:



He's wearing his red high top converse (knock off) shoes, and a Super Mario shirt.







Cute as he is, I just can't allow the space between jeans and shoes (especially HIGH TOPS) to continue...just chalk it up to all the ridicule I received as a kid when it was in style, but I couldn't HELP it that all my jeans were too short for my long legs....emotional damage? Not much...lol




In my best valley girl talk:
"Like Mom, totally take my picture, and I'll like, strike a pose and VOGUE!"








Then after really looking at the length of his jeans next to his TOTALLY 80'S RED HIGH TOP CONVERSE SHOES, I realized that it was time to go up to the scary, and ultra cluttered attic (ugh), and dig out the totally awesome hand-me-downs from older cousin Lane! (THANK YOU AUNT MARY). So after a difficult climb to an attic that is half my height-HEY, TALL PEOPLE HAVE DIFFICULTIES IN SMALL ATTICS-, I found the bags and Ryan is set to get started the season wearing clothes that actually fit him~NARLY!

side note: hey! I'm getting better...3 posts in three days...wow!

Timing ISN'T everything...

So the Lord has been teaching me about patience. Yep, not only did He provide me a job teaching preschoolers (sometimes, that is the ULTIMATE test of patience! lol), but the Lord has led us to put our house up for sale about 5 & 1/2 mnths ago and not one little bite has happened. I know this is "bad timing" when it comes to how the world views the market, but when a believer feels led by God to do something, do you honestly look at him and say "NO GOD, THE REAL ESTATE MARKET IS TERRIBLE RIGHT NOW, I DON'T THINK THAT IS A GOOD IDEA!"...I mean, come on! Who would truly do that?????
So despite the fact that we've had no "lookers" to our property (not surprised, really), despite the fact that we've done a facelift to the curb appeal of the house and painted shutters, trim and gutters, replaced doors, and fixed flower beds, and despite the fact that we have decluttered our home, only to clutter up a storage unit about 3 months ago that is costing us money every month...despite all that, we still have not had any interest in our property.
But through it all, God is teaching me about my dependance on Him. While I already am aware that I do depend on Jesus all the time, I think I have tried to micro manage even the Savior of the World. (Are you laughing yet?) So, yeah...I micromanaged to the point of getting the house on the market, to the point of getting new doors, new paint, and general repairs done around here, I micromanaged enough to get a storage unit close to our home so we could store the junk we don't use but don't want to part with for the mere reason that we quite possibly could use it in another home....yea right! I've even micromanaged God to the point that I have spelld out a time line for HIM! (insert raucous laughter here). Can you believe it? ME! I told God that the house didn't HAVE to sell right away because Megan was ok in school right now, but if He "could just please oh please get us moved by the spring of next year that would give us enough time to 1. sell, 2. buy, 3. move, 4. get settled, and 5. get Megan started in 3rd grade at a school of my top 2 choices.
So, when I truly stop and think about my prayers, God has been telling me to shut up. God has been telling me that even when I wasn't thinking about our situation (which are rare moments), He was thinking of it and he's already working on our solution. Everytime I get to worrying about that "time line" a bit too much, it seems it's a matter of a day before I get a message from God telling me to chill out, and telling me to let it go.
So, I'm letting it go....again.
Despite the fact that I am worried about all of the above, I am going to remind myself that I am dependant upon God to supply all my needs (Phillipians 4:19), and even when I am worried or frustrated about the time line...he is telling me to cast all my cares upon HIM (1peter 5:7). When the world is telling me that it is next to impossible to sell my house with the housing market being as bad as it is right now, God is tellng me that it's all in His plan and all things are possible! (Luke 18:27)
So, wether or not God is honoring my wish of this ridiculous time line I have set, or whether my timeline is something that God has predestined to work out for us, He is in control....and I'll take His plan over mine anyday!
Keep us in your prayers!

Quick Catch Up...

I'm finding it harder and harder to keep this blog current...but I won't stop trying. Here is a quick catch up in the world of "Barrett"

FIRST: We're all in the swing of things when it comes to school. Ryan is loving his teacher in 4K, and I think God has blessed me with a wonderful group of 3K students. I am really excited about teaching and also excited for what Ryan will be learning this year! I can't believe it, but he will be learning to blend consonants and vowels together and by the end of the year, he should be able to read! CAN THIS BE POSSIBLE? It seems just yesterday I was bringing him home from the hospital.....
Here are a few shots from the first week of school:

Beyond school, Megan started back to girl scouts this past week and there are lots of fun things planned...overnighter at the McWane center, flag ceremony at a local PTA meeting, Harvest Celebrations at Camp Coleman and many more!
My mom just got back from an over seas trip to PORTUGAL! Her boss invited her to go to a board of directors meeting for the company and she traveled by herself to Lisbon,Portugal as well as Paris! I am so proud of her because this was not easy for her as she has a fear of flying! She faced so many fears head on and is all the better for it! I picked her up from the airport last Monday afternoon and she was soooo glad to get home, as were we!
In a couple of weeks, I have my trip to Pensacola with the teachers from the school, and Jon is mulling over the idea of going camping the weekend I'm gone. I think that will be a great idea for them to have some fun while mom is away! I am very much looking forward to this trip...much more than I was last year. I have had a great time getting to know all the teachers, and the new ones at the school and there is a renewed sense of unity among us. I think this will be one of the best years at the school!
AND, we are still trying to sell our house! We really are anxious to do so but are aware that it's in God's hands. It seems every time I begin worrying about "progress", God sends me a sign that it's all in the works! Although no one is viewing our home in person, I have had two little signs in the last week that it's coming. We are going to keep following this path that the Lord has laid out for us, and be confident that he is working for our good! I'm excited about where our family will move, and what our home will look like, and where the kids will go to school, and who our neighbors will be and how we can be involved in our neighborhood and community. All of that is what we are looking forward to, but for now, we are going to remain planted where God has us and pray that we are blooming for his glory!
As you can imagine things are busy, busy, busy, and aren't' going to slow down! I will try to do a better job of blogging. I hope to do so, anyway.

We're still alive, and kickin'!!!!

A quick, small little post...then I'll try to get back on track of regular postings....


Ok...Here's what's been going on that has prolonged my postings....(sorry to the one fan I have on this site...I know you've been disappointed, and my apologies Regina!)




We took in a Baron's baseball game at the first of August...Ryan was uniterested in the actual game, but thought the mascot was cool...Megan was all too concerned with getting hit in the head with a fly ball...needless to say, I don't think we'll go back anytime soon. The best part of the night was that it was 25 CENT hot dog night, and of course, the icecream in a Barons ball cap which was our take home souvineer!






In the much anticipated event of selling our home (praying everyday!), we have tried to "declutter" and we've put a good bit of stuff in storage. Sooooo, pray that we can sell our house soon and be relieved of that bill each month, because its actually sickening to have to PAY to store stuff you don't use!!!!






And then there was the start of school for Megan. This is going to be her final year at her school since it only goes to the 2nd grade. I can not believe that she has gone all the way through school from the age of 2 years to now. I always knew I'd keep her there for school, but WOW how 2nd grade has snuck up on us so fast! She has so grown, and I am so proud of her.





STAY TUNED! Tuesday starts the first day of K4 for Ryan, and for me teaching K3 at the school...so there will be more first day picks to come...

A little something....for your funny bone....

I know it's been a long time since I have posted anything and the excuse is the same as always....BUSY! Between me working round the clock to get my classroom ready (which wouldn't be so hard if we didn't have to take EVERYTHING down at the end of the year which makes us start from scratch again), and getting Megan started in school, and being addicted to the Olympic coverage from Beijing...there's not been much time for blogging. So here is a peace offering (mainly for my mother in law who faithfully comes to my blog several times a day only to find that I have added nothing new...sorry Regina!)
Megan and Ryan have enjoyed watching some of the Olympics this year....could this be a sign of things to come? (I SERIOUSLY HOPE NOT!)

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Summer pics...

Sharing a few photos of our crazy hectic and fabulous month of JULY!!


Swimming parties! We went to a birthday party for good friends of ours and the kids had a great time at the pool! Ryan liked sitting under this little waterfall area.








Birthday parties (yummy cake!) We've actually had lots of b'day parties to go to this month, and I think we may still be suffering from a sugar high because of it! lol






And, our favorite way to spend our time: Camping! Here is Jon and Ryan relaxing at Tannehill after we went to another friends' birthday party there.







Visiting with old friends! I finally got to meet Camden and he is soooo sweet! His eyes are just as beautiful as his Mother's!








After taking Megan to KidzCamp at church, Ryan and I had a special lunch together. His request was to eat "at Chips N Salsa", aka, any Mexican restaurant. I am always happy to oblige!

Summer is dwindling down....

In just a few short weeks, the new school year will start, and with that a whole new bevy of possibilities and questions are running through my mind. How will Megan do in 2ND grade this year? Is Ryan really ready for K4 and learning to read? Am I going to have my classroom and yearly schedule worked out in time for the first day of school? I'm hoping for good and new friendships at work this year. Will our house ever sale and will we move in time for Megan to start 3rd grade in a decent school system?

With the school year rapidly approaching, we have been pulled into the full swing of the ending of our summer vacation. I am spending more and more time up at the school getting my new classroom cleaned out and decorated. My boss has finally officially hired my new cohort, so I am looking forward to getting to know her better. I am enjoying getting to know some of the other teachers that I didn't get to spend much time with last school year, and this time around, I am actually looking forward to the conference in Pensacola that the teachers always go to.

Another thing keeping us busy is some of the home improvements we've taken on. We're hoping to finalize everything this week (with some help from a good handyman...namely not my hubby!LOL) and I will take new pics of it all to share later:new doors, downsize with furniture, etc. Everything in the house has been in disarray, which is not all that out of the ordinary, but just more-so. Big bonus though is that we're actually getting things cleaned out and either sent to storage, or ready for a garage sale, or donation. I'm still working on it, and am far from done, but I've really cleaned out a lot of stuff! Even though there were lots of times that I thought the dust bunnies were going to take up residence in my nose and I'd never stop sneezing, I actually got all of it cleaned up behind the computer desk we were moving to storage....I am so excited and proud of myself! Now, if only I can keep the whole house clean...and don't let the mess pile up so big again! Who knew I could actually have a uncluttered home after cleaning out 10 years worth of junk!

Even though this has been a bit of a "work" weekend, last weekend we spent some good time with friends during 2 b'day parties in 2 opposite ends of the city. It may have been a long haul driving between them, but we all had a great time. One was a pool party, which is always a hit with my little fish/children, and the other was a "camping" party at one of the local campgrounds, which just reminded us that we really need to start planning that last camping trip of the summer before school starts....maybe that's what we can do next weekend...or the next.

So there is an update of all things "Barrett". Tomorrow I will try to share some photos, as I can't seem to download them tonight....could it be that I "cleaned" out so much that my computer doesn't know how to run on the lack of dust bunnies in this room?!?! Hmmmm.....

The Best American Holiday!

One of the most fun holidays my famiy participates in is The 4th of July. Every since the kids were small babies, my mom has had a cook out at her house, and the kids swim in the pool, play games, and hang out all day together. In years past we have gone downtown to view the fireworks over Vulcan, but it has lost its lustre with us a bit. One the last year we went, we found ourselves surrounded by complete idots who had no regards or concerns for those around them, and they were shooting off bottle rockets within 10 feet of us. Call me crazy, but running from stray fireworks as they are blasting off while have 2 kids in tow is not my idea of a terrific experience. So, last year we didn't go at all, which made the kids sad and they were not about to let that happen this go. We brought all the kids inside and watched the local Fox 6 station's coverage of Thunder On The Mountain. I wasn't all that excited about the prospect, but it actually turned out great. The coverage was decent, and we didn't have to leave the comfort of Nana and Papa's house. The kids sat in front of Papa's big screen TV and "Oooh" and "Aaah" was abounding with each pop of fire in the sky. Sadly, we enjoyed the day so much that the thought of taking pictures of it didn't enter our minds until Papa pulled out his camera to capture us watching the fireworks tv show! I'll leave you with one shot as I bid you all a HAPPY INDEPENDANCE DAY WEEKEND!

The World according to Megan

A couple of months ago, I gave Megan my old camera to play around with. She is always wanting mine and I do not want to turn her loose with it since it costs a pretty penny, so I gave her the old and nearly broken camera. She has had more fun with that camera than I ever did. Recently I found it and looked through the pics she had taken. While most of them are typical "kid pics" where someone's head is cut off, or she's taking a close up that is FAR too close up. But I thought I'd share of few of her shots....through the eyes of a child.




The stove...with 3 empty soda cans. Hey-this is a day it was actually clean!









Her bed. Or rather the ladder to her bed.








Granny came to our house and was hit with the flash!








Yep, her foot. She laughed so hard at this one.









Her booty. She's obsessed with taking pics of people's booty's. It's a kid thing I guess....







Our backyard? HA! It's a path at the Botannical Gardens







from her seat in the van...a pic of Mom as we've ridden about 2 houses down from ours.







Dad relaxing on the couch in his PJ's








The fridge. Because, who wouldn't want a pic of their fridge?
Later, she opened it up and took pics of the inside...but I'm not including those! Ha!







Posters on her wall.






So there's my post for the day...different. But fun. Now that she knows I made this post of all her pictures, she is currently running around the house taking more photographs. She'll want me to post more later on...yay.

Watch for GATORS!

One of the fun things about the Gulf Park camping grounds was the fact that it was a great place to ride bikes. It's a flat park, and even has a paved bike trail that takes you throughout the state park...it's quite a long ride. The kids had a great time riding around the campgrounds and Jonathan and Megan took the bike path one morning to see where it went. They enjoyed the ride so much they insisted I go with them the next day, so I did. We found a black lagoon, which was cool to see, we saw HUGE butterflies all over the place. And perhaps one of the more intimidating parts was the swampy area that had warnings signs posted about an aligator habitat. This totally freaked Megan out and she made sure to pedal really fast through that area. But it wasn't dangerous, we never even saw anything. But who could when your cycling the speed of light! haha



She loved riding the path.








Can you tell she was a bit worried? Look at her expression! haha

It's not WHAT you know, it's WHO!

One of the best appeals for us to go to Orange Beach on vacation is that Jonathan's dad and stepmom live in Foley...which is just minutes away. Since we rarely get to visit with them, it's always a priority to catch up with them while we are there. This past visit was no different. On one of the evenings down there, we went to The Warf because Mimi (Sonya-Jon's stepmom) was working at the Ferris Wheel. Since she works there, she gave us "The Mimi Special", which means we ride for free!!! Here's a couple of photo's:

The ferris wheel is so pretty all lit up at night.















Waiting to get on and full of smiles!









Ryan didn't like waiting in line-he wanted to get on NOW!








Last friday was Jonathan's birthday and he shares that day with his Dad as well. We made plans to celebrate the two guys' birthdays on Saturday, and what better opportunity for Lou (Jon's dad) to put his connections in place! Since living down there for the past 3 years, Lou has met many interesting people. One couple he knows owns a condo at the Caribe resort which is a fabulous place! We were able to visit the resort to swim in the pools which was a welcome retreat considering that's what the kids were missing most-swimming! The Caribe resort has HUGE pools, with large areas for kids to play. There is also a lazy river (sooo cool!), and waterslides! I was really surprised at Ryan and how eagerly he took to the waterslides. He tends to be a bit timid when trying new things and my first impression was that he would be too scared to go down...or that if he did, he might panic when he hit the water so quickly. Well, as you can probably guess, I WAS WRONG. He was down that slide before I could completely walk over to the pool and the first thing I heard him say after he was in the water was "THAT WAS AAWWWSOME! I GOTTA DO THAT AGAIN!!!" And he did it again. And again. And again! He had the best time and I was sooo proud to see him doing it. Megan had a great time too. She loved swimming and juming and sliding all over the place. It was a great place to go, and even though I am sure I could never afford to stay there, it's great that we were given that chance on Saturday.



The pool with waterslides









The kids with Papaw. (Ryan's being goofy...as always)













Megan on the lazy river









Ryan and Mimi on the lazy river.




So like the saying goes, "It's not WHAT you know, It's WHO you know". Free rides on the Ferris Wheel...thanks to Mimi! (And she let us use her exclusive restroom in her ticket booth, so we didn't have to go hunt it up in one of the shops). And a fabulous day at the Caribe Resort...thanks to Papaw!

It was a great trip and we would love to do it all again...SOON!

An interesting June, to say the least...

Yeah, I know it's about time I updated this blog...however, between a weeks worth of VBS, a camping trip to the beach, swim dates at Nana's house, several trips to the library, and the occasional bum day at home, we have had quite an eventful month for the first of the summer. Here are a few highlights...some with pics:

Vacation Bible School: A week of exhaustive fun!

The second week of this month was dedicated to VBS at our church. The kids loved it! I signed up to help out with registration...which basically means I am a wimp and couldn't handle being stuck in a small classroom full of rowdy church kids for a week of my life. Yeah, I know, it's ONLY a week and it is pathetic of me. But I wanted my kids to go and experience it. It's so much fun for them. Here are a few pics of the fun:




BFF's! They were so happy to see each other every day.











Ryan won a Tshirt at Family Night on Wednesday














Megan and Chloe with their VBS teacher

























Ryan loved the "jumpy things" that were available on Family Night.

Camping in Orange Beach-not so bad.

When Mom and Dad invited us to go with them, I had to eat my words. I can't tell you how many times I would pass those camp grounds down there and say "Why on earth would you want to come to the beach and camp...especially when you aren't even on the beach!" Well, since we had already taken a couple of trips to the beach, we treated it more like a camping trip than a beach trip. We had a blast! First off, the camp grounds were immaculate! The bath house was very clean! It even smelled clean when we went in! And every day, I watched a van load of park employee's pull up and 4 would get out and go inside to clean. I never saw scum on the tile walls in the showers, the toilets were clean, the sinks were clean...everything was clean. I was very impressed, because there is nothing worse than going camping and having a nasty bathhouse to use.
Anyhoo-there were lots to do...the public beach was only 2 minutes from camp but we only spent one day there. The jellyfish were in the ocean during this trip, and even though we only saw a couple, Megan had a panic attack when she thought one had stung her. It turned out that all she felt was a rather large school of small fish swimming around her legs. But it was enough to send her into a panic screaming rage! It was quite comical, really...but don't tell her I said that.
The other fun thing we did was ride bikes. We took the kids bikes with us, but Jon and I don't have them (yet). Nana and Papa let us use theirs and there is a nice paved bike trail that takes you all into the State Park. It was really nice,and Megan had a great time. So now, I have to have a bike for the next camping trip. Jon and I have already begun to think about where we'll go next and what bikes we want. Here's a slide of a few pics of our camping trip: