Little Bits Of The Barbers

Disneyland Day 2

2011-10-26T15:05:00.000-07:00

Day two at Disneyland we were blessed with a very special breakfast. My parents, papa, sister Brittany, nephew, aunt, 2 cousins (and cousins fiance), James, the girls and I all got to go to a breakfast with Mickey and friends. It was so special!! The kids got to see lots of the characters and even dance with them. They brought everyone who had a birthday may-july a special treat and sang to us. Out of the 13 of us, 8 of us were in that category! haha! Talk about a celebration!

We also enjoyed some of California adventure on the second day as well. The kiddo land was adorable. My aunt was sweet enough to watch the girls for us that night so that James and I could go back alone and enjoy Disneyland just us!! It was a birthday date like none other! ( my birthday was the next day) It was such an amazing night together, one I will never forget!

More Cali

2011-10-12T16:31:00.000-07:00

The Monday and Wednesday we were in California were our "free days" (meaning we were not at Disneyland). On Monday Papa, James and I took the girls to look around downtown Disney and look at the lego store for a bit and we all just kinda hung out at the hotel. Wednesday was actually my birthday ( and my cousin Vance's). We spent part of the day taking the girls to the beach for the first time ( pictures to come in a different post) and then we all went to dinner at the BEST pizza place ever! It was a wonderful birthday!

Disneyland Day 1

2011-09-27T12:33:00.000-07:00

We were very very blessed with the chance to take our family to California with my family. We were even more blessed with being able to go to Disneyland with my family. It was our girls first time and James and I had not been in 10-15 years. I am pretty sure we MIGHT have been more excited than the girls. Ha!

My Papa, Mom, Dad, Sisters, Aunt, Nephew and Cousins were able to go. It was such a blessing and we made wonderful memories! We went to Disneyland for 3 1/2 days! We also got to take the girls to the beach for the first time. Needless to say I have tons of pictures. I will be doing multiple posts and only posting like 1/4 of what I took. :)

Here is day one of Disneyland...

May

2011-09-24T22:31:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures to sum up the rest of our May. We spent May with my parents since they were visiting. We were able to hit up the science museum with my parents and papa. Mollee had her 1 yr apt and it went very well.

On Memorial day we went and took the girls to their first movie at the theater. We saw Clifford. They loved it! We spent the rest of our time getting ready for Disneyland! It was a good month!

Mothers Day 2011

2011-09-23T16:12:00.000-07:00

It was a great Mothers day. We went to a new church ( that we are still attending and love), went to lunch as a family and then got to enjoy time with my parents and papa. It was perfect! Thank you Lord for allowing me to be a mother to these two very special girls!

Mollee's 1st Birthday & The Childrens Museum

2011-09-23T15:45:00.000-07:00

For Mollee Jo's 1st birthday we woke up and did presents as a family.

Then we took the light rail downtown to the children's museum. Both of the girls had so much fun. They loved ridding on the "train" and just had a blast at the museum. It made me so happy to see smiles on their faces almost all day long.

They have so much to do at the museum and its all hands on! The girls were so precious to watch, they were discovering new things left and right. Loved it! It was a perfect family day! So glad that is how we spent her first birthday!

Minnie Mouse 1st Birthday

2011-09-21T10:24:00.000-07:00

Mollee Jo had a minnie mouse theme this year for her party. She just loves all mickey characters and we were getting ready to head to Disneyland in June, so we felt it was only fitting. I did an all black and pink theme. It was so much fun making things for the party and prepping for it. But I will say when the day arrived and we were at a park full of huge gusts of wind and all my hard work was being blown all over the park.... it did not seem worth it in that moment. Thank God for wonderful friends who showed up early and helped me pin stuff down. But most of all, thank God for my Aunt! She went early with me and when I started to cry and freak out, she calmed me right down and reminded me what the day was really about... my precious Mollee Jo! Thank you Aunt Pooh!

The day ended up being beautiful. Once the party started the wind dyed down and everyone had a great time. We all enjoyed watching the kids play on the playground.

Mollee loved all her gifts.
Most of all she enjoyed her cake! :)
That girl can eat!

Thank you to everyone who shared that special day with us!

Mollee Jo's 1st Easter

2011-09-20T15:05:00.000-07:00

We had a great Easter this year. It was the first for Mollee Jo and Mylei seemed to be a pro by this Easter. She had it all down. She knew what to expect and what to do. :) How is she getting so old?!?

My Aunt, cousin, mom and dad were in town. That was a huge blessing.

We woke up and did baskets at home and then James read the girls the Easter story. After we headed to my Papas for some pictures in his grass. Then we all went to my Aunts in Scottsdale to gather with even more family.

The kids had an egg hunt and we all ate some great food. But most of all we were surrounded by tons of family. Thank you Jesus for making this day what it is, for loving such an unlovable world!

Mylei's 1st Dentist Apt

2011-09-19T06:40:00.000-07:00

I know I have not blogged in forever, but I decided if not for anyone but myself I was going to catch up some! I am only going to do the major things that have happened since April til now. My goal is to be caught up by October and then I can start posting regularly again. I want this to be kinda like a diary that my kids can read someday.

So on to the real reason for the post...

Mylei had her first dentist apt in April. My mom was in town and able to come with us, so that was really special. Mylei did so great. She hated the xrays because they made her gag. But she sat there so still like they asked even as tears rolled down her cheek. Man that broke my heart! The rest of the appotiment went great!

She loved the dentist and the cleaning. She got to pick a prize after as well. We go back next month, I hope it goes as smooth as last time!

Grandma Mac is 90!!

2011-05-16T18:22:00.000-07:00

We threw my grandma mac a surprised 90th birthday party. Her birthday is not really til may, but we had family here and so we made sure she was really shocked and we threw her a surprise party the day before Easter. She was so surprised and so happy. It was wonderful! She cried at least twice and she does not cry! :)

Ok, I have to admit...

2011-05-16T08:24:00.000-07:00

I have not posted in over a month, which is really not like me. The thing is I had gotten into this rut where I felt like .. "whats the point? Does anyone even read this? My pictures are on facebook anyway.." and so on, you get the idea. But today I decided its not for anyone but me. I need to keep this up, so I have record of all the wonderful things in my life. Of my girls growing up. Of life. So I am apologizing to myself and anyone else who happens to read this for slacking these last few months. I will now be spending the rest of this month trying to play catch up!! Ha!

Here are a few pics of our trip to the zoo in April. Papa joined us, it was a BEAUTIFUL day and it was Mollee's 1st trip to the zoo!

MIA

2011-04-08T08:56:00.000-07:00

I know I have been missing for months. I am just so crazy, super duper busy! Between being a mommy and wife, having three vbs conferences to teach in a months time (two out of town), Mollee Jo's 1st bday coming up, planning our Disneyland family trip, still no laundry room (so doing laundry at papas) and just life.... I have had no time to blog!

Please forgive me for being the worst blogger ever! I will add in a few pictures for now. But I prob wont be back to regular blogging until May. I have been reading blogs :) So I have not totally abandoned the blog world!

A few pictures from a night at the park beg of March.

Before her big girl hair cut

After :)

Fancy dinner with Papa

Super Bowl 2011

2011-03-01T11:19:00.000-08:00

Go Pack Go!!

This year for the super bowl we went to papas ( we normally do) to cheer on our favorite team, the Packers!! So of course we all dressed in green and gold! :)

The girls were wonderful and played on the floor and watched the whole game with us. We had some yummy stew papa made at half time. It was a WONDERFUL day! :)

Soo excited our team won!!

I Just Love Spending Time With These People

2011-02-16T22:06:00.000-08:00

My favorite moments in the day are when I get to spend them with my sweet family!! Thank you God for blessing me in such a big way!!!

New Hair

2011-02-16T15:49:00.000-08:00

My sweet hubby sent me to get my hair cut and highlighted. I have not gone and had my hair done since we got married , I think. Its been a long time. I love it!!!

This is not the best pic of me, but it shows how it looks curled and shows the color well. Mylei took this pic. haha!

Good one of my Love and I :)

My sweet family

2011-02-12T11:48:00.000-08:00

These are the moments I cherish the most!!!!

Dinner with the Boos

2011-02-12T11:29:00.000-08:00

One of our favorite things to do is go to dinner with the Boos. Its never anywhere fancy, but that works best for our young families. :) The girls always have so much fun being out together and then us mama and dada's get to chat some. We went to Carambas this time and sat outside. It was really nice when we got there, but as it got darker, it got colder. So James went to the car and got us blankets to bundle up in. He was there, I promise, he just somehow weaseled out of the pictures!

I cant believe Isabella is almost 3!!!

Party planning....

2011-02-09T15:45:00.000-08:00

Not the best pictures, but here is a sneak peak of my party planning for Mollee Jo's 1st birthday. I need to get it all done now, since march and April are jam packed with conferences, Texas and such :)

VBSI 2011

2011-02-09T15:07:00.000-08:00

For the last 3 years (this was my 4th yr) I have gone to VBSI to learn all about the lifeway vbs curriculum for the year. So that I can come back to AZ and teach others about it. Its so much fun. Its a great way to enjoy vbs as an adult, but like a kid! And boy do we act like kids at times on these trips. I have been blessed to be part of an awesome team for the last 4 years (this is my 5th year teaching, 4th year going to the training).

This year we got to stay at a beautiful hotel. :)

What I am dressed as might give you a clue to the theme for this year :)

This was our teams favorite pass time, Starbucks and good fellowship. ;)

Day at the park

2011-02-07T11:13:00.000-08:00

I just had to share these adorable pictures of my sweet family. It was just a fun day at the park together. It was full of yummy picnic food, soccer, running, blanket playing and swings! :)

This was a sign that it was a fun day and time to go home for a nap! :)

Grandma and Campa Visit

2011-02-07T10:10:00.000-08:00

James parents came to visit for Martian Luther King weekend. It was so nice to spend time together and let them see the girls. Mylei had so much fun and Mollee Jo is very kean on her grandpa. :)

We even got to enjoy a walk in the wagon before they left :)

Sweater Dress Photo Shoot

2011-02-07T09:30:00.000-08:00

I found this adorable sweater dress at goodwill for 1 dollar!! I went strait home and washed it ... then I played around and took tons of pics of the girls wearing it! :) It was lots of fun and I just love the dress on them!

She looks like a mini model here! lol

growing up

2011-02-04T19:30:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago we heard mj playing in her bed, when she was suppose to be asleep. James went in there and called me in. I went in and this is what we found......

She was sitting up in her crib! So the next day the crib was lowered. I got a little sad. It was the first time we had to lower her crib and it was just another sign that she was not gonna be a baby much longer. I love how in this first picture she has a look like "what???" haha :)

Tooo adorable!!

Where I have been

2011-01-27T14:44:00.000-08:00

I guess I am an official blogger if I have now used all the space I can for free with pictures. I have paid for more space, but I am waiting now. So once I can post pictures again, I will be back. I have been a crazy lady for the last few weeks. Preparing for my annual vbsi training trip and going on the trip. When I got home this last weekend I went right into making my lists for planning for the upcoming conferences I need to teach and also for Mollee Jo's bday party, since that will fall right after all the vbs craziness ends. I love this time of the year. I feel like I have something that's just mine, which is so important for a mama. I love digging into the vbs curriculum every year, praying for all those that will be effected by it and getting into the theme. This year its New York City, the big apple. Its gonna be fun!

So I did not just disappear. I will be back with pictures soon!

Little Miss MJ

2011-01-13T14:22:00.000-08:00

Mollee Jo is getting so big!! She "talks" and squeals all the time. Rolls everywhere! Gets into everything, eats like craaazzy and is just growing up so fast! She loves her jumperoo, her glow worm and all things that light up and make noise. She says Dada, Mama, Baba, Bye, Doggy and Papa. Although baba is her favorite! :) I can't believe she is 8 months already and that I am planning her 1st birthday already! Love you Mollee girl!

Sunsets & Wagon Rides

2011-01-08T08:57:00.000-08:00

Before it got super cold (for az) a couple weeks ago, we had a few really pretty nights! As you can see the sunsets were sooo pretty! When its a tad overcast and still a sunny day here, the sunsets are amazing!

So we decided it was a good time to use the wagon! The girls loved it, of course! They were so cute all bundled up in the wagon. Mylei had to bring her Jessie doll, so we let MJ bring her new "baby" :) I was so proud of Mollee for sitting up so good in the wagon. She loved it more than I expected her to. Mylei of course was in heaven! She love love loves the wagon! :) Once it warms up a bit more at night, we plan to do this a lot more!

Christmas Day

2011-01-06T13:37:00.000-08:00

After we opened gifts, took a short nap ( the kiddos) and cleaned up a bit, on Christmas day we headed to my Aunt Joan's house (as we always do). We all gather and exchange gifts, kids play, adults chat and we eat way too much! Ha! Mylei and Mollee Jo had tons of fun with their cousins, especially Kiley and Courtney who basically take care of them the whole time we are at any function. Really, its like a mini break for mom and dad! hehe!

My Great Grandma Bobbi had these little candle figurines and she put them out each year, one for each person. My aunt Joan keeps up the tradition. Pretty soon she is gonna need a whole dinning room table to hold all of us! I love it!!

The beautiful sunset over the whole city, best way to end Christmas day!

The hosts! Fritz and Aunt Joan!

We spent the whole day there and we all loved it!!!

Christmas Morning

2010-12-30T12:44:00.000-08:00

Mylei actually slept til 745 on Christmas morning. I was impressed. She was so super excited for Santa to leave her a present, to open all the gifts that had been under the tree for weeks and to put baby Jesus out in our manger and sing to him. I really thought she was gonna be up super early! When woke up we got grandparents Barber and auntie Beth on skype. We all did gifts and said our thanks. Then we called Papa and he came down. While we were waiting on Papa the girls discovered their Santa gifts. Mylei was just a TAD excited about hers......

....... wait for it........

PURE JOY!!! I love it!

Mollee Jo enjoyed eating her Santa gift that was a cabbage patch doll and she also enjoyed her stocking stuffers by eating them! haha!

When Mylei went to open every gift she would say " what I get mama?" haha :)

MJ spent most of the morning laying on the blanket surrounded by her gifts , chewing on them, rolling around with them, just being a joyful baby! :) It was so cute!

She was this excited about almost every gift she opened, but it was hard to capture it all. This choo choo was from Grandma Knaur so I captured it for her. :)

Mollee was really into her drum!

I had to add these two even though they are not from Christmas morning. Grandpa and Grandma Fetherston sent the girls gift cards and Mylei got this strawberry cafe/house and her soccer ball for the up coming season. She was so super excited about both of them. She cant wait to use the soccer ball outside and she uses her strawberry house every day!! :) Its adorable!

In all the excitement I did not get myself or papa in pictures on Christmas morning. But we were there and it was a WONDERFUL Christmas morning. I loved it! :)

Presents on Christmas Eve

2010-12-29T17:32:00.000-08:00

Mylei and Liam spent Christmas eve running around playing, snuggling on the floor, open and playing with gifts and getting a ride in the wagon papa got the girls. :)

Liam loved the drum set with musical instruments we got him! And the kids had fun making tons of noise while we opened gifts! hahaha!

Mylei loved her fashion fairytale barbie from papa and her reindeer and papa bear. She also got a thomas the train set that she was super excited about!

Mollee Jo enjoyed digging into the gifts :)

She also loved chewing on the gifts! lol

The girls in their new wagon from papa!

Papa pushed Liam and Mylei up and down the hall and they were CRACKING UP! I mean big gut laughs! It was sooo precious!

Christmas Eve

2010-12-29T16:52:00.000-08:00

We spent Christmas eve at Papas, as we always do. It was a very different Christmas eve. With no Nana and then my parents and sisters are normally there. So it was MUCH smaller than the last 5 or 6 years. But we enjoyed ourselves. We missed Nana lots, but we knew she would want us to enjoy the night. She LOVED Christmas. Papa made prime rib and some yummy sides, and we had WAY too many desserts for 5 adults. haha!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this picture of my girls and their great great Gram-ma, as Mylei calls her :)

It was so great to have Keri and Liam there. Liam and Mylei had so much fun, I will be doing another post later of just that! :)

Not the best picture of us, but its the only one I got of the night. :)

Mollee Jo enjoyed her first Christmas eve! :)

Are all these for me!?! hahaha!

Gingerbread Houses!

2010-12-28T19:12:00.000-08:00

Last week my cousin Keri and her son Liam (who is 9 days younger than Mylei) invited us to do gingerbread houses at my Great Grandmas house. We had so much fun with them, we decided to make this a tradition. The kids loved eating the candy of course! Mylei was really into telling me where to put what. haha! She did help some as well. She did most of the roof by herself.

Mollee Jo jumped the whole time! Next year she can help. Yay!

Grandma had so much fun watching the kids make their houses :)

Gifts with the Boos & Ornaments

2010-12-26T07:30:00.000-08:00

We exchanged gifts with our good friends the Boos last week and had pizza. The girls were so cute and everyone got great things!

Cheese!!

Then on Tuesday night we made ornaments as a family. Mylei did 90% of them on her own. It was so cute!

Hard at work!

She had so much fun with this Tradition! She actually cried when we were done. Haha!

Decorating the Tree

2010-12-26T07:13:00.000-08:00

Getting the lights on

Mollee seeing what everyone is doing

Putting Nana's cranberries on

The tree!

MJ was not sure what the big deal was! ha!

O Christmas Tree

2010-12-26T06:54:00.000-08:00

Mylei informed everyone this year that she WAS going with Papa to pick out his tree. It was so adorable to watch her when we went. She helped Papa pick out just the right one, and was running around the lot between trees, like it was a maze. She was sniffing like crazy and saying " it smells like Christmas!" haha!

On the search!

Treeee she is saying here

they are discussing if this is the one, and it was! :)

Too adorable!

This is what Mollee Jo did the whole time! lol

Had to get a few shots with the tree :)

She was smelling again in this picture!!

Now lets take it home!!!

I'm Sicky

2010-12-26T06:26:00.000-08:00

From Dec 12th-19th my girls were out for the count. They had the worst cold. Mylei got it worse than Mollee Jo. Hers turned into pneumonia. She had to do breathing treatments for 9 days and take steroid for 5. They still have a small cough, but I am so thankful they were better for Christmas. James on the other hand , he had a cold for Christmas. :( I am praying he gets better fast like he normally does and it does not linger for a week!

this is what the girls did most of that week! Mylei layed around watching tv and MJ played in her jumperoo, which is the only thing that makes her somewhat happy when she is cranky.

Christmas Lights

2010-12-22T20:54:00.000-08:00

Every year we like to map out routes of houses that put up tons of lights. We have favorite houses now. One that has a sweet old man that dresses up as Santa ( and looks real) and sits in a sleigh and lets you take pictures, one that does dancing lights and another one that is close to home and really pretty. We always throw in a few others as well. :) Mylei was realllly into it this year, and Mollee Jo loved all the lights to look at. We had fun!!

O Christmas Tree

2010-12-13T09:50:00.000-08:00

Mollee was really interested in our tree last week, so I decided to let her play under it for awhile. She really loved it! She even pulled a few ornaments off the tree to play with. I just wish the pictures turned out better.

This one is my favorite!! So wish I was not blurry!!

Special Mimi & Pops Time

2010-12-13T09:01:00.000-08:00

Before my parents left, my mom made Carmel apples with Mylei. She had so much fun! We actually put a second layer of dark chocolate on them too, but I forgot to get a picture of that.

I love this picture of Mylei and my mom! Its so sweet!

Pops snuggled and rocked Mollee Jo while we did the apples. :)

Family Night

2010-12-11T09:20:00.000-08:00

This is what a family night at home looks like for us. . . .

James is 28

2010-12-10T14:57:00.000-08:00

James turned 28 this past Tuesday. We got to go out on a date the week before when my parents were here. I am thankful we did it then, cause we I actually had to drive to California with my Papa on James actual birthday, for my uncles memorial service. We had a great time on our date! We went to Texas roadhouse (yum!), which we never do! We got to sit down and eat a wonderful meal without any interruptions and have an adult conversation! I love love loved it!

Happy Birthday Baby!!! I love you!

Glendale Glitters

2010-12-09T15:10:00.000-08:00

We have gone to Glendale Glitters twice already this year :) We plan to go at least one more time too! Every year its so much fun. Its so pretty and just give you the Christmas spirit. :) The first time we went with my papa and parents. I did not get many pictures that time, but I got a good amount when we went back with the Boos. :)

Black Friday

2010-12-06T10:10:00.000-08:00

My friend Karissa and I did black Friday last year, and it was ok. We were new and did not plan as well as we should... plus we did Walmart. Never will I do that again! This year we planned tons and we started with Target. So much better!!! We also hit toys r us, multiple stores in the mall and got lots of goodies for super cheap! Yay!!!

When I was leaving at 245 am , I don't know if it was sleep deprivation or just me being crazy.. but I saw James soccer whistles. My mind immediately went to Friends and Monica. Its the episode where Monica takes Rachel and Phoebe to a discount bridal dress store. They are in search of one specific dress. Monica brings whistles for everyone and says " when you locate the dress you blow three sharp blasts, and dont be a baby!" in like a drill Sargent voice. Anyway!! Karissa and I are both huge Friends fans, so I knew she would get a big kick out of it! I brought them and we wore them! I told Karissa if she got scared like Rachel to just blow her whistle and I would do the same! haha! The guy in line in front of us thought we were crazy, but who cares.. we are!! I mean, we were out at 3am standing in line in the cold for FUN! haha!

Watch this clip... its great! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwSB779gX4c

Karissa and I

Special Friends!!

2010-12-06T09:37:00.000-08:00

We had to say goodbye to some very special friends a couple weeks ago. Pastor Matt ( and dear friend) and his family moved. I am so excited to see where God is going to use them, and I know they are following God will for their lives. That said, we are sad for us! haha! Mylei just adored this whole family and Mollee Jo was growing to love them just as much! Amber is a very dear friend, who I plan on keeping dear to me for years and years to come! James and Matt got along so well, they are a lot alike. So needless to say, we were so sad to see them go. Bittersweet! I don't have a recent picture of Matt, so I added one of my favs of he and Amber. Its from Mylei's birthday party. Amber fronted the July heat when she was very pregnant just for our little girl!

Look how precious these pictures of Michael and Mollee are! I just love them!

Sweet baby Luke!!!

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-05T23:46:00.000-08:00

We had Thanksgiving at Papas, as we always do. It was a hard one, it being the first without Nana. But we enjoyed the family and the kids had lots of fun. :) I dressed the girls in matching "fall" outfits. :) They looked super cute! I can't believe how big Mollee Jo is now!

Discovering grass

First Thanksgiving

Mollee enjoyed jumping outside :)

and one of the best parts?? We had babysitters!! My cousins Kiley (above with Mylei) and Courtney (below with Mollee) always fight over the girls! They keep them so happy and are wonderful with them!!!

Baby Berry-kin

2010-12-05T23:26:00.000-08:00

I just had to post these pictures of Mollee Jo in her strawberry outfit! I loved this outfit on Mylei and I love it just as much on Mollee :) So adorable! When I put it on Mollee, Mylei said "sissy is a baby berry-kin" not sure if anyone has seen the new strawberry shortcake, but there are baby berry-kins on it. She was right, MJ did look like one!

Zoo Lights

2010-12-05T23:08:00.000-08:00

We got to go to Zoo lights with my parents and Papa. Mollee Jo slept through most of the night but she woke up to to play with the butterfly papa got the girls and enjoyed looking at all the dancing lights. Mylei had a BLAST. She loved all the lights and even got to snuggle with Santa. I did not get a very good pic of her with Santa, but it was precious!

Mylei and papa are looking at the talking giraffe. They even had the giraffe say Mylei's name!

Mylei spent most of the night "ridding pop's head" hahaha

Notice how Mollee Jo is staring at the butterfly :)

Mimi & Pops

2010-12-04T23:24:00.000-08:00

My parents came to visit and Mylei was sooo excited. She loves them so very much! This first picture of my mom and Mylei I just LOVE. It was the first time they saw each other when my parents got into town. You can see all the joy :)

Snuggle time with Pops :)

Mylei got to make carmel apples with Mimi. They had so much fun!

Farmers Market

2010-12-04T23:18:00.000-08:00

Karissa and I took the girls to a mama's farmers market a couple weekends ago. It was lots of fun. Good stuff to sample, lots of crafty items, petting zoo and they even had their fun Christmas decor out! The girls loved it!

Here is Isabella and Mylei on the way home. They love ridding in the same car together :)

Lindsey's Baby Shower

2010-11-27T22:52:00.000-08:00

Us City Church ladies and some of Lindsey's other family and friends gathered to celebrate that baby Madison will be here soon! Lindsey got lots of wonderful stuff for the baby and the food was yummmy! The cake was so pretty and HUGE lol ... we had a great time!

Just some of the ladies from the day and the kids that joined the party!

Mylei was "playing a game" here :)

Lindsey and I

My loves her some "bryna"

hahaha they were both saying "cheeeeesse!"

Love this one of Mylei and two of the Im girls!

Cant wait to meet baby Madison!

Eyes

2010-11-09T13:57:00.000-08:00

Simplicity has a photo challenge for "eyes" this week. As soon as I saw that it was on eyes, I knew right away what picture I wanted to use! I love this picture of my Mylei Moo sooo much! It was her first 4th of July, when she was almost 1. My girls make capturing eyes so easy, they have their daddy's baby blues and when the light hits them just right and they have their eyes open real big.. oh man!! Not to mention they got my long eyelashes! Watch out boys! :) So now I am having a hard time choosing. The first one is the picture from the 4th I mentioned. The other two are of the girls this September. What do you think??

Flowers, Jewels & Ribbon

2010-11-08T15:14:00.000-08:00

Well for a long time now my friends and family have told me to sale my flowers and bows I make for the girls. I was not sure of myself and I know how many people out there make them. But I finally decided to try it out. So today I sat down and made 13 clips. I did a few different designs to try to show people what I can do. If people start buying or placing orders then I will make more, we shall see!

Here are the clips of the day...

Light the Night Walk 2010

2010-11-07T22:14:00.000-08:00

*picture by Michelle Praskins*

We felt called to raise money and walk for the Light the Night walk (Leukemia awareness) this year. We joined Dylans Dream Team. We had met this couple once at a bible study we attend for a short time with some other friends. Soon after we met them, their little boy got Leukemia. We have been following Dylans story and praying along side of them the whole way. Dylan has been cancer free for over a year now!!!! He is an adorable little blessing and God had big plans for him! That is obvious!

Although my Nana did not pass away from Leukemia, she had small cell cancer. Which is basically every kind of cancer wrapped up in one. So this was another reason why this walk had a special place in my heart.

we got there early to enjoy some of the fun activities they had before the walk

Getting ready to walk!!

All those gray shirts are Dylans team, and that's just half of us!

In our shirts after the 2 mile walk

The girls very much enjoyed all the lights and the light "toys" hehe

This was such a blessing to us!!! Everyone should get out and help with some type of awareness or charity, its so rewarding and special!!!

Toy Story 3

2010-11-07T21:56:00.000-08:00

Toy Story 3 came out last Tuesday, so this last Friday night we rented it and had a family night! We had burgers and fries (mylei had chicken nuggets) and ate on TV trays while we started our movie. Mylei thought that was really special, she loved it! It was such a cute movie and made for a special family night :)

Mmmm!

MJ even watched some of the movie too!

I love nights like these!!!!

50 Free Photo Cards

2010-11-04T11:06:00.000-07:00

Shutterfly is offering a great deal!!! You mention them in your blog, and spread the word about their deal and you can get 50 free photo cards!! I am super excited because I have used Shutterfly in the past and they have great product!! I have used them for Christmas cards, birthday cards and even just prints for my girls baby calenders :) I am always happy with their product. Once I can choose the card I love the most ( there are so many) I plan to make a photo collage for our Christmas cards. Photo cards are the best, especially for family that lives far away. Yay for Christmas time!!!

I just cant wait to go through all their Christmas cards this year and choose one that best fits our family. I have already been looking and its gonna be hard to choose! I have not even looked at half of them and I have so many I love already! I love getting photo cards too. It makes my day when I open the mail box and there is a photo Christmas card inside! Every year we hand our cards in the arch way between our living room and dinning room. I love that I can look at them all season long!

Like look at this cute one

AND look how sweet this is

They have so many wonderful ones! I seriously want like 7 different cards!!! But I will just share two more, I won't make you look at all 8! haha

So go on over and get your 50 free photo cards :) And have tons of fun making your photo cards this year! I know I will!!!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-04T10:44:00.000-07:00

This Halloween fell on a Sunday. Mylei wanted to dress up for church, she insisted "its Halloween mama". I could not argue with that. So I told her she could go as Tinkerbell ( we have a dress up costume) or a cowgirl. She choose a cowgirl! :) Later that night she also insisted Mommy and Daddy had to dress up. So I threw together a ladybug costume to match them, and daddy wore my VBS stuff from last year to be a cowboy!

Cowgirl Mylei and Cowboy Daddy!! Pretty cute if you ask me!!

Little Ladybug Mylei

I love how she looks like she is taking off to fly here!

My baby Ladybug!! So cute!

I just love these two of her!

I sure do love these girls!

The whole family! I am seriously tempted to make this our Christmas card picture!!

Fall Festival #2

2010-11-04T10:18:00.000-07:00

The night before Halloween we went to a fall festival at a church around the corner. Papa was able to join us for awhile. Mylei loved that he was able to take her into the petting zoo. There were games to play, a petting zoo, trunk or treat, face painting and pony rides. Oh and jumpers. :)

I forgot my camera this night, but thankfully Karissa sent me her pictures! Thanks girl!

Fall Festival #1

2010-11-04T10:08:00.000-07:00

We were all about the fall festivals this year :) The first one we went to was the Friday before Halloween. Our friends (the Boos) invited us to join them at their church. We had so much fun! The girls really loved Trunk or Treating and bouncing together. Isabella was the cutest Jessie (from toy story) you have ever seen!

Mollee enjoyed looking at everything and then hung out in the stroller, she got sleepy fast :)

Great Finds

2010-11-04T09:51:00.000-07:00

I just had to share my finds at GW last week! I got all of this for 5 dollars!! The Tinkerbell bag is perfect for a diaper bag, I love it!! We only need our big one when we are gonna be out all day long. So this one is just perfect for most trips! Then I found Tarzan on VHS. Mylei saw this movie on TV awhile back and loved it :) I found an Abby Cadaby pop up book, and I am actually hiding it til Christmas! ;) Then the cute little place mat! It has a side for Halloween and a side for Thanksgiving! Yay!!!

Decorating Our Pumpkins

2010-11-04T09:16:00.000-07:00

This year we let Mylei make a Mylei and Mollee potato head pumpkin. She had lots of fun doing it! They turned out pretty cute too! We also did our name pumpkins and decorated them. Later that night Daddy and I carved a pumpkin together as well :)

Picking our Pumpkins

2010-11-01T16:23:00.000-07:00

I had to share these pictures of Mollee Jo when she stole Mylei's snack cup! After that I shared some pictures of the girls when we went to get their pumpkins :)

Zoo Day (Boo at the Zoo)

2010-11-01T16:12:00.000-07:00

Here are the rest of the pictures from our zoo day with papa!!!

Twins

2010-11-01T15:54:00.000-07:00

Ashley and I dressed our girls the same a couple weeks ago for church. The funny part? We DID NOT plan it! I just had to get some picture's of our cute little girls :)

Boo Fest

2010-11-01T15:19:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we got to go to Boo Fest for the second year in the row. Its a fun festival in the park :) The first picture I just had to share, cause its adorable! Its not from the Boo Fest :)

Mylei was very excited to dress up as Tinkerbell (or Tinkybell)

The girls on the hayride :)

Arizona State Fair

2010-11-01T09:57:00.000-07:00

We were able to go to the State Fair!! Wednesdays you get in free with first aid donations :) And all rides are one dollar! We had SOOO much fun! Mylei loved it! And we got to go with our good friends,the Boos! I have tons of pics, so please forgive this long post!

Mylei's first ride ever!

She was very proud of herself that she got to ride "alone" with bella!

We went on the Ferris wheel all together, and I will never do that again!Mama was sooo scared and tried to hide it! There was no strap over us, gaps where we could fall, I was thinking of worse case scenarios the whole ride! Mylei on the other hand , LOVED IT!! Mollee? Didn't even phase her!

I love this one of Chris and Bella!!

Sooo cute!

The Boos!

MJ just LOVED all the lights!!!!

Daddy even won Mylei a little stuffed animal!!!

It was a great night!

Fun With Papa

2010-10-29T17:31:00.000-07:00

We have got to spend a lot of time with papa on the weekends lately. We got to show him around West Gate, and go to the Zoo! Mylei sure does love her Papa, and you can see in one of the pics below that so does Mollee!!

I have a picture of me as a baby with papa and a billy goat , in a petting zoo. So special that he has got to do this with his daughters, granddaughters and GREAT granddaughters!

Portrait

2010-10-26T13:28:00.000-07:00

Well over at Simplicity this week, the theme is "portrait" ..... I have a few to choose from, I will share what I was picking from. And you will have to click on simplicity's link to find out which one I went with ;) Also you are getting a sneak peak at a few photos from our trip to the zoo and their pumpkin patch!

Family Weekend Part 2

2010-10-22T15:52:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, it was warm enough to go in the lazy river and kiddy pool while we were there!! Last swim til next year!

Great Grandma Carol with Mylei and Mollee Jo Caroline (Mollee is named after her)

Mama was so tired after the long fun weekend :)

Family Weekend

2010-10-22T08:46:00.000-07:00

James parents, sister and grandma came to visit us a couple weeks ago. We were blessed to get to stay at the Hilton again! We had so much fun with his family, and it was so great to see his grandma! She had not met Mollee Jo yet, and had not seen Mylei in over a year. Here are some pictures from Sunday morning. I will post pictures from the rest of the stay later :) Enjoy!

Date Night

2010-10-21T22:55:00.000-07:00

James sister came into town a night before the rest of his family, so she let us go out on a date night!!! Its always so nice to get out alone with my best friend! It was really nice. The weather was wonderful, so we went and walked around west gate, had some yummy food and great conversation. Reminded me of when we first started hanging out and when we were engaged. It was fall/winter at that time, so we were always outside. :) I love you baby!!!

Pillow Pet

2010-10-21T22:45:00.000-07:00

Mylei has wanted a pillow pet for months, ever since she saw a commercial with my mom. She has been saying she is gonna ask Mimi for one for Christmas for about a month now. :) Well my mom and dad were so proud of her for doing so great on the potty, that they sent her money to go get one!!

Very excited about her letter and money for a pillow pet!

In the parking lot! Very very excited!

She choose a lady bug! She named her Rosie!

She sleeps with her every night and is in love with her! Thanks Mimi and Pops!

Fall Weather

2010-10-21T22:29:00.000-07:00

Our little family has been finding EVERY reason to get outside lately. Oh how I love fall in Arizona! And its FINALLY here!!! I know it will be gone too soon, but we are gonna soak up the cool weather as much as we can! Here are some pics of some of our many adventures so far :)

I just had to add this cute picture of Mylei and her Friend Bella using their big girl pottys together! So cute!

HELP

2010-10-19T14:55:00.000-07:00

Simplicity's photo challenge this week is to submit an unedited photo. I need help on which to use!!! Leave me a comment on your fav and I will use the one with the most votes by Thursday. Thanks blogger buddies!!!

#1 (nana)

#2 ( tigger love)

#3 (laughter)

#4 ( street)

#5 ( monsoon)

#6 (horse)

#7 ( girly girls)

#8 ( kisses)

Light

2010-10-12T21:59:00.000-07:00

This weeks photo challenge is light. I have a few shots that I just "happen" to get some good light in, so I figured I would share them with Simplicity.... even though I know they are nothing compared to some of the BEAUTIFUL pictures from other bloggers. I love seeing all the pictures that are posted every week, its so much fun!!

So here are the few I was choosing from. You will have to click on her link to see which one I decided to use :)

Super Special fun Sunday

2010-10-08T15:14:00.000-07:00

Almost 2 weeks ago we got to have a fun Sunday out :) We almost never stay out ALL DAY, but this was a special reason. :) Our friends (Jessi's long time friend) Diane and Michael were here for months and moving back to Colorado. We got to go to Diane's parents to hang out with them, and some others, to say goodbye. Between church and Diane's party we had some pizza. Here are just some random pictures from our long, but fun day! I wish I had got one of Mollee Jo sleeping in Diane and Michael's bed :)

With Diane! Can't believe we have been friends for 9 years!

I got to see Christie too!! yay!

Just being silly!

It was also MJ's first time in the big girl carseat (facing backwards still of course)! She LOVES it and is much happier in the car now!

Princess Night Take 2

2010-10-08T14:56:00.000-07:00

Since we showed up for princess night at chick-fil-a a week early last time, we got to do it twice! This time there was a bounce house and a princess and balloons...AND sooo many pretty princess (and princes)! Mylei was very thrilled that she was the only "tinky bell" there! Although Tinkerbell is not a "princess" that's who she wanted to dress up as :) And even though we didn't have wings , she was the cutest Tinkerbell I had seen! We had so much fun! Here are tons of pics!

These were the first flowers she has ever gotten! She was VERY proud! She couldnt wait to go home and put them in her room!

Us with our princess Mollee Jo and our princess "Tinkybell"

I just love how adorable my girls are! I know every mom says that, but I dont care! lol

A bit of our days...

2010-10-05T21:56:00.000-07:00

My girls can ride together in the shopping cart now! Both of them LOVE it! So does mama, because they are happy AND adorable!

Even though this is not the best picture of me, I had to share it. Mylei took it of me. She was being so cute, she said, mama you too high, I need a chair. So she climbed up into a chair and focused real hard (and made me "be smaller" , squat some) and took this. Not bad for 2!

Papa teaching Mylei about her "piggies"

This is what a lot of our day is lately, MJ in the jumperoo and Mylei "coaching" her on how to "jump baby jump"

I had to share this too, Mylei told me "this is how you watch George mama" hahah , oh how she makes me laugh!!!

Homemade Applesauce

2010-10-05T21:44:00.000-07:00

Mylei really loved making applesauce with mama, with the apples we picked ourselves :) I had told her that's what we were gonna do with the apples and she was so excited! In fact, so excited that first thing Monday morning we HAD TO make applesauce! Before we even got dressed!

Can I sample some mama? lol

The first batch was peach applesauce,and I think my favorite! :)

This did not last us long!! I can't wait to do this next year with both my girls!!!

Apple Picking Part 2

2010-09-21T22:06:00.000-07:00

Here are the rest of the pictures from our apple picking trip. Mylei was so excited to gather the apples. As soon as she saw the ones on the ground, she ran over and started gathering them like Easter eggs! We had to explain to her that we only wanted good ones. From that point every time we gave her one to put in her basket, she said " its a good one mama?" She is so precious! Mollee Jo loved being outside and enjoyed all the new things to look at. :) Fun was had by all!

Little tid bits from our Apple Picking

2010-09-21T11:04:00.000-07:00

I will share later some more pictures from our apple picking trip this last weekend. But I wanted to share just some snap shots I grabbed while there. If it was not so stinkin hot, I could have stayed and taken pictures all day! It was beautiful!

I am gonna use the first one for Simplicity's photo challenge this week. It is for emotion. I think it just shouts "warmth" :) Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside :)

More apple pickin' pictures to come!

Kids Expo 2010

2010-09-21T09:11:00.000-07:00

My friend Karissa and I took our girls ( minus Mollee Jo, she stayed home with daddy) to the Kids Expo this year. It was not exactly what we expected, but it was lots of fun. The girls enjoyed themselves, and had tons of fun! Mylei got to see Cliford the Big Red Dog, Spongebob, a clown on stilts, Cinderella, Ariel and her favorite ... Strawberry Shortcake!

We got to watch a little circus show, and she loved the girl on the tight rope. We panned for Gold ( I only have pictures of Isabella panning for Gold, Karissa has the ones of Mylei). She got to brush some goats and a lamb, and see chickens and a lama. She had her first pony ride on a cute little black horse named Lilly. And she got tons of little goodies. :) Oh and she got a tattoo! lol She tells everyone about her tattoo. Ha!

It was lots of fun, but oh man , we were all very tired after our long day of FUN! :)

Princess Princess Princess

2010-09-18T17:53:00.000-07:00

Chick Fil A had a princess/prince night, where you dress up and get a free kids meal last night. (they actually had a typo and its next week, but they honored us anyway!)

Our good friends Chris, Karissa and Isabella met us there. Isabella and Mylei had matching tutu's and tiaras :) We even dressed up Mollee Jo!! It was lots of fun!

I had brought some under shorts to put on Mylei, so I could take off her tutu when she wanted to play. I could not help taking a pic, she looked like a little gym girl!!!

My Family

2010-09-18T17:23:00.000-07:00

We are so blessed to have the beautiful family we have! These are all random pictures, but they show a glimpse at our lives :) We spend most of our time doing something for or with the girls. And we would not have it any other way! We never thought we would have kids of our own, and God has blessed us with two beautiful daughters, inside and out! I hope you enjoy this little bit of the Barbers :)

Thank you God for my beautiful, wonderful family!!!!

Mollee Jo's Room is DONE!!!

2010-09-15T22:23:00.000-07:00

Its been 4 months since Mollee Jo was born, and her room is just now finished. I do have reasons! One.. we thought we were going to move a month after she was born, so there was no point in getting her room ready. Two... once we decided that we were not moving, she got put back in the hospital. Three... once she was out of the hospital, my nana was in the hospital and then hospice and then passed. I just now got a chance to finally finish it! Its okay though :) All those other things were more important! So here are a ton of pictures of her room....

I love that her room has "pretty things" and "special things" :) The "Mollee" above her changer was made by my dear friend, Karissa! The quilt on the wall on the left was made for her by a dear friends sister, she is the sweetest! Makes the room even more special!

(This "love" is on the pink wall to the right)

(above the closet) "In a world where you can be anything, be yourself"

This "Mollee" frame my life long friend, Sarah, made for her, its so adorable! And the doll below was my great grandmas!

I am so happy with it!!!

Mollee Jo's Pictures by Ms. Ashley

2010-09-15T22:00:00.000-07:00

My little Mollee Jo was 4 months when these were taken. She is getting so big, and smiles so easy! I am just so in love with her! Thanks for capturing her personality Ash!

Photos By: Ashley Ellis

Mylei's Pictures from Ms. Ashley

2010-09-15T21:34:00.000-07:00

Here are the beautiful pictures Ashley took of Mylei :) I was so pleased she got her to smile! Mylei normally cries when other people try to take her picture! She is just over 2 years old here. She has become such a little sweetheart, she has the biggest heart of gold!! I love my little girl so much!

can I just say how much I love that she got this face!?! Its her classic " leave me alone" face! hahaha

I LOVE THEM ALL!!!!

Photos By: Ashley Ellis