While we were in Virginia, the whole Barber Family had a picture made. There were eleven kids raging in age from 1year to 9 years and 8 adults. Everyone cooperated wonderfully. The pictures turned out really great!

Christmas

Well we all have had a great Christmas. We had a white Christmas! My parents came to Georgia to visit for about 3 days. We had a great time together and opened lots of presents. They headed home Christmas Eve morning. We had an amazing Christmas Eve service at Northside. It was standing room only.
Christmas day we were home as a family. Lettie and Owen each got an Ipod touch. Ella got a doll house. We had a great lazy day at home playing with toys. Some friends stopped in during the day too. We also played in the snow! Hopefully I can download some pictures soon.
We are now in Richmond with Jason's family. We will have Christmas with all the family here tomorrow night. The snow is still on the ground here.
My brother gets married next Saturday. So, we will be headed to Mississippi soon. Wow! I cannot believe it is almost here! We are all so excited.
When we get home from the wedding, we are scheduled to close on our new house. YES! No more living out of boxes. I cannot wait!
I hope that you all had a Merry Christmas!

The Crimper is Back!

The crimper is definately back. Lettie has been asking for one. My mom and Dad gave her one for Christmas tonight. What do you think?

Santa!

Well, we finally did it. We waited in line to see Santa this afternoon. It is kinda sad that I only have 1 that is still interested in seeing Santa. Ella was so patient..well everyone was for that matter. We waited in line for almost two hours. She finally had her turn. She did great and told Santa what she hoped for this Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

A year has gone by now since we moved to Georgia. Hard to believe it! So much has happened in our lives in the last year. Northside is growing and God is doing some amazing things.We are so blessed to serve the Lord here alongside amazing people. We have all made some really great friends, although we do miss alot of our friends and family that we are farther away from now.

The children have grown so much.They have all adjusted pretty well to the move. Every Tuesday they attend Timothy Ministry at First Baptist Church Woodstock. Lettie and Owen each take 3 classes and Ella takes 1 class.

We officially sold our home in Danville the Friday before Thanksgiving. It was on the market almost exactly a year. When we finally got an offer on the house at the beginning of October, Jason was in CUBA! Gotta be interesting at our house! Thank you so much to so many of you for praying with us and for us during that trying time. We really appreciate it.

As of this past Friday, we have a contract on a house here in Georgia. We are all so excited. We can finally get settled here and unpack all of our boxes! We hope to close on the house between the 29th of December and the 15th of January. We will keep you posted!

We hope that you and your family have a Merry Christmas!

Christ Died for Me

There are times in life that I am drawn back to these specific Words of the Bible...."in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Wow, that really blows me away! Hard to believe (although I definitely do and for it I am so thankful) that in ALL my ugliness (yes, sin) He loved me enough to die for me. Through that death my forgiveness was made possible. He was willing to go to whatever lengths to bring about forgiveness for me (and the world),even when I was not interested in that forgiveness. Looking at the beginning of that verse (Romans 5:8), it is made clear that His death (my path to forgiveness and salvation) is and always will be a demonstration of His great love for me (us).
And yet for me, forgiveness is so hard. It is so hard for me to take hold of, and not let go (honestly, that is the hard part-the not letting go). I often times forgive and then decide to take it back. I am not willing to go to the lengths necessary to "hang on" to the decision to forgive. I let hurt and pride get in the way.
I am so glad that Christ was willing to forgive me! He was willing to do whatever it took.He is a good God and each time I try to take in just what He did for me I am awe-struck. And yet, I am the one who withholds forgiveness.
Forgiveness in my life should be a demonstration of His love (wow! That is a tall order!)

Christmas Time

This weekend we have been up to lots of "Christmassy" activities. Our church was involved in "Caroling on Canton" and then we also volunteered on Saturday night at the "Lighting of the Square." We had lots of fun. I wanted to share a picture with you that my friend Vanessa took. Lettie, Owen, and Ella, are in the picture with their friends Katelyn, Faith, and Maddox. Vanessa added the festive hats. Isn't it so cute! Thanks V!

Upward

Upward has begun. Ella had her cheerleading practice on Monday night. Tonight she showed us some of her cheers- SO CUTE! Owen and Lettie had their basketball practices tonight. I am not coaching Owen this year- he is going to have a great team. I am coaching Lettie's team this year- YES! that is right Lettie is playing basketball! She is doing great! I am so proud of her. Tonight they all put on their uniforms. Don't they look great!

Champions!

This weekend Owen had his last soccer tournament for the season. He had two games on Saturday and then two games today. They won all 4 games by alot. They only had one goal scored on them the whole tournament! The first game today was at 8 o'clock in the morning. We had about a 25 minute drive. Needless to say it was a very early morning. Jason had to preach in the 9 am service so the kids and I went to the first game and then came back for church. Then everyone went to the championship game at 1:00. We had to hustle to make it! They had a great time and Owen was a great goalie!

Well, the news is good. God is good. The house is officially sold!

The latest...

OK, so here is the latest news about the house. We signed papers today and then overnited them to Danville. The actual closing is scheduled for Friday, November 19th. We are so very glad that this time is coming to an end. Thank you so much to all of you who have prayed with us for our house to sell. We REALLY appreciate it. This Thanksgiving will be extra special as we thank God for coming through for us in this matter. Owen was so cute today as we sat at lunch. He made the comment that "God does know exactly what He is doing!"...even when we are at the end of our rope wondering what in the world He could be thinking!
God has taught me and my children too, that His timing is perfect and that patience truly is a virtue. Not saying that we've "got it" but we sure got some practice in it!
God is good and He has been so very good to us!

Better Late than Never!

We went to Peachtree City for Halloween. We went trick-or-treating with our good friends the Wards. This was our children's first time to trick-or-treat because in the past we have always had a fall festival at our church. Everyone had a great time. Ella was Minnie Mouse. Owen was Davy Crockett. Lettie was a cowgirl. They all got TONS! of candy. To top off the evening when we got back to the Wards we roasted marshmallows over a campfire and then made smores. We really had a great time!

House News!

We are hoping that by this time next week we will have closed on our Virginia house. There is a possibility that we could close tomorrow. Chances are very slim though. With today being Veterans Day, the banks are closed. That could set us back. If it doesn't happen tomorrow, we are aiming for the beginning of next week. We are so glad to be nearing the end of this year long journey. Please continue to pray with us that everything continues to move along smoothly.

A Wonderful Fall Day

Today was a great day. We started off with a soccer game this morning. Owen scored 2 goals. Then we met some friends at Cagles Corn Maze. It was alot of fun. We were led through the maze by a 7 & 8 year old. Interesting to say the least. The first time we ended up coming out the entrance (hey! we made it out!) The second time we actually made it out the way we were supposed to. After this we came home a rested a few minutes. Then it was time to carve our pumpkins. Why in the world did we agree to carve 3?!?! Well we did it. I think the kids enjoyed it. It sure was alot of work for Mom and Dad. We did Minnie Mouse, Mickey Mouse, and the Georgia "G". I know, Gran and Pappa, I am so sorry. I am doing my best! Here are a few pictures....

Pumpkin Farm

We went to the pumpkin farm at the beginning of this month while we were visiting with Granny and PawPaw. All 11 of the cousins went together (and a few adults). They learned how the pumpkins grew and then went on a hayride and got to each pick out their own pumpkin. They had a great time.

Why....

Sometimes I have absolutely no idea why God chooses to do or allow somethings that happen in life, to my family and to those I care about.....I guess that is why He is God and not me! Times like these I cling to verses that promise that God has our best interests in mind and He is in control. It is also good to remind myself of the fact that God LOVES. He is love.
Jason spoke about Job last Wednesday evening and I have been reminded of it often over the past days. How easy it is to praise God when everything is going exactly as planned (as I planned it) but am I as quick to praise Him in times of chaos and uncertainty?....Job did and he sure faced more "hardships" than I ever have or hopefully ever will.
As has happened so many times in the past-and I am praying will be true in my most recent case, I look forward to the day when I can look back on this and truly be in awe of the way He brought about His plan (even tho uncomfortable) and be thankful that He did it this way- His way.

Pictures From Owen's Baptism...

I wanted to share some pictures of Owens Baptism... "Thank you, Vanessa for taking these pictures so that I could enjoy the moment!"

House News!

I cannot believe that it has taken me so long to put this on our blog. That should tell you how busy we have been over the last week. WE HAVE A CONTRACT ON OUR HOUSE! Thank you Lord!

As I was driving into the city limits of Danville last Friday, my phone rang. It was Jimmy, our realtor. He said that we had an offer. I told him that Jason was in Cuba! I thought to myself that this was going to be interesting-house negotiations while one party is in another country. Anyway, long story short....we all came to an agreement on the price and I signed the contract while I was in Danville.

Owen and I went by the house on Sunday afternoon to grab flower pots, etc. While we were there, the people buying the house came by and we all got to meet. That was fun. Owen was sad. We took one last trek down to the creek and then took a few pictures of ourselves for memories sake. That is pretty much the only house my kids know. They all loved it so. Owen wanted to know if we could move that house to Atlanta. That is cute isn't it. I know that we will find a house that they all love just as much!

God answered our prayers (in His timing!). I am so very thankful. Hopefully closing will go off without a hitch!

We are having fun with Granny and PawPaw and all of the cousins. Today we went to the Pumpkin Patch and everyone got to pick out their own pumpkins. (I am hoping that doesn't mean that we have to carve them all.) We went on a hay ride and fed some goats too!
Please continue to pray for Jason. He has arrived in Cuba safely. He will be doing alot of speaking. I pray that the people will recognize "his" Spanish! Actually, he is pretty good at it! As I get updates, I will try to pass them along either on our blog or on twitter.

Hillcrest Apple Orchard

On Friday we all went to an apple orchard in Ellijay, GA. The kids really had a great time, especially Owen! They all got to milk a pretend cow and then shuck some corn. There was a wagon ride and a petting zoo also. Lettie and Ella were not crazy about the petting zoo. As you can see in the pictures, Ella was on top of her dad's back the entire time they were in the petting pasture. Lettie stood up away from all the animals near the gate. Owen could have stayed there all day. There was a calf that he loved. He also got to hold a baby chick that was born that morning. After the petting zoo, we went to the pig races. They all loved that. Then there was a big slide that went down the side of a hill. By the end of our tour, we were all pretty hungry. We made our way back to the market and got lots of goodies: apples, apple cider donuts(my favorite), peanut brittle, apple butter, and some apple cider.

Owen's Soccer Game

Owen played his first soccer game for the Jr Academy Roswell Santos. He did great! I am not crazy about soccer in general but I love to watch Owen play. He scored 4 goals. I am so proud of him. Jason is his coach. Like father like son--they both love soccer so much.

Ella Turns 4 & Owen's Baptism

Today was Ella's 4th birthday. We have been celebrating all weekend. Granny and PawPaw came Friday and Gran, Pappa, and Goosa-Granny came on Saturday. We have had a wonderful time! On Friday night we took Granny & PawPaw to Menchies. Saturday we went to Monkey Joe's. That has been Ella's wish all year long. Saturday was a crazy day to be there. It was very busy but the kids had a great time. After that we took the kids to Gran and Pappa's hotel and let them swim in the pool. By the time Saturday was over, they were EXHAUSTED!

Sunday was just as busy. Ella opened a present from Granny and PawPaw when she woke up, her own CD player with earphones! She loved it. PawPaw made homemade french toast and we put a candle in it and sang. Next, we were off to church. Mrs. Jan, Ella's Sunday School teacher, had made a cookie cake to celebrate Ella's and her friend Faith's birthday!

At church this morning, Owen was baptized. Our church showed a video of him giving his testimony. You can view the video at this website- www.//vimeo.com/14472906 (You may have to copy and paste. I having trouble doing a direct link). It was precious. I was so proud of him. He did a great job. Grace and Shanna Hand came from Jonesboro. It was also the 1 year anniversary of the Newside of Northside service. Kelly's Kakes did a beautiful job on a huge cake and sugar cookies with our logo on them. It was a great morning!

After church we had PawPaw's chicken salad for lunch and then birthday cake and baptism cake. Granny did a great job on both of them (thanks Granny!) Ella opened her birthday presents(Barbie in the Mermaid Tale stuff, money, a DS and a game, crafts, boots, a watch, etc.) and we had a great celebration.

Gearing up for a Big Weekend!

We are about to have a very busy weekend-an exciting one too! Jason's Mom and Dad are coming in tomorrow from Virginia and my parents and grandmother are coming in on Saturday. We have some special events taking place on Sunday: Owen is being baptized and Ella is turning 4! and the New Side of Northside service is celebrating 1 year. Big Day Huh!! Shanna and Grace Hand are coming up from Jonesborro and the Wards are coming up from Peachtree City. I am so glad that so many special friends are able to celebrate with us.
Sometime over the weekend we are planning to squeeze in soccer, Monkey Joe's (Ella's Birthday wish) and swimming (at the indoor pool in Gran & Pappa's hotel). Don't know if it will ALL happen but we are going to do our best!

Sorry it has been so long since my last post.....I am not sure why life has gotten so crazy all of a sudden. We have ALOT going on right now--we are loving every moment of it! God is blessing Northside and we are hanging on for dear life. Isn't He good! Be careful what you pray for! (many of you thought I would have learned that lesson when I prayed for an exciting birth story with my pregnancy with Ella!)
Speaking of Ella... In just 10 days my baby turns 4! Where does the time go? She wakes up every morning and asks me "Mom, is it my birthday yet?" The other popular question is "Is it getting close to Christmas?" There is never a dull moment with her. She is enjoying her dance class and has made a few friends. After her dance class we leave for about 2 hours while Lettie and Owen go to their other 2 classes. I thought that she would love having some alone time with her mom but she asks constantly "Can we go back and get Bubby and Sissy now?" Not sure how I feel about that. I realize that she really doesn't know life without them.

Everything is now in full swing. Fulton County schools started back today. Last night groups from our church met at several of the local elementary schools (other churches from the community were assigned the jr. and high schools) and did prayer walking. Ella was my partner so praying was quite challenging-she had a million questions to ask. They ranged from "Are you praying mom?" to "Can we go back now?" to "Is this penguin real?". We did have a great time together.
We are back to school too. The kids are back in Timothy Ministry on Tuesdays and Owen starts soccer practice tomorrow night. He is playing Jr. Academy here in Roswell. He will have practice on Tuesday and Thursday nights and then have games on Saturdays. We have officially moved from soccer "just for fun" to "serious business." Just one more evidence of the fact that he is growing up. He is so excited... He loves soccer so much.

This week has been very busy. Lettie said that she was ready to get started back to school. Yes, you heard me correctly. She was ready but Owen and I definately were not. So we compromised. We are easing back into it. We have started a few subjects but not all of them. On Tuesday the kids started back to Timothy Ministry at FBC Woodstock. Owen and Lettie were so excited to be taking more than one class. That meant that they went from one class to the next on their own. No help from Mom or anyone else. Guess it made them feel grown up. It made me kind of sad because I realized that they were growing up. Anyway, they loved it. Ella is also taking a ballet class there so she feels big because she is going to "school" too this year.
Our friend Mark Gore came down on Wednesday afternoon. He was meeting family in Atlanta and so he stopped through to say hello and drop some things off that we had forgotten in Danville. We showed him around our church and just had a good time catching up. Today I had some friends over for lunch. The kids were glad to have some friends to jump with them on their new trampoline.
Excited to go to the outlet mall this weekend with some friends from church then off to Jackson Ward's birthday party in Peachtree City. One other fun fact is that the Turners are moving to Georgia this weekend. We are so excited to have them here.
Things at Northside are going great! God is blessing tremendously. We are having so much fun! We are in awe of what God is choosing to do here. Owen is going to be baptized next month, actually it will be on September 12, Ella's 4th Birthday! He made a testimony video last night that will be shown the day he is baptized. Jason said he did a great job. I cannot wait to see it. Hopefully, I will post it here on our blog too.

New Trampoline

We finally got the kids the trampoline that they had been asking for. We kept telling them we would get one when we moved into our new house here in Georgia-well that has not exactly happened as we had planned it. So we figured why put life on hold while we wait on our Danville house to sell. Therefore, we went ahead and bought the trampoline. The kids were so excited. I wish I had taken a picture of them riding on top of the box on the flatbed at Sam's. They were grinning from ear to ear. You know when an adult gets a new car: he drives down the street knowing everyone is envious of this new "toy." Well, that is exactly how it was. They were so proud.

We got home and out of the box it came. Jason had ALOT of help putting it together. I did get pictures of this process. There are also a few pictures of them enjoying the spoils of victory. Even Jason had a turn. The kids have been so sweet about it. I know that they have thanked us 100 times. That makes all the money and time SO worth it.

Ballet Begins

This Tuesday was Lettie and Ella's first day of Ballet. They were excited to say the least. Lettie has missed it so much and Ella has been waiting for the day that she could take ballet like her big sister. They were so precious. Ella asked her daddy that morning if he wanted to watch her dance on the stage because she was growing up. He said that made him sad. She told him not to be sad becasue she "would always be his little girl."

They both had lots of fun and did a great job. There is a viewing room where I can watch them on a tv screen. God bless Ella's teacher-Can you imagine trying to teach a room full of 3 year olds how to do anything?! It was really cute and she was so patient with them.

Lettie is also taking a Tap and Jazz class. She says that she really likes Jazz. They are growing up so fast! Hope you enjoy the pictures.

6 Flags

Thursday we made a trip to Six Flags with our good friends the Wards. I am sure that we picked the hottest day of the whole summer. The heat index was 110 degrees. Needles to say we were HOT! We had a great time. The kids are starting to ride more and more. Owen even got on a roller coater this time. Lettie is definitely our thrill seeker. Ella wanted to ride everything but her height kept her from doing so. The water rides were definitely favorites-Thunder River and the Log Jam. It was so fun watching their faces. We stayed there from the time the gates opened until they closed.

Owen's Big News!

This morning Owen told me that he had asked Jesus into his heart last night when he said his prayers. Wow! Jason and I had been praying for Owen about this. We both sensed that he was really close. We talked for a while and I asked him questions concerning the decision he had made. He was so sweet as he answered my questions, tears began to fall from his eyes. How precious to hear him talk about how Jesus saved him from the consequences of his sin. Such a wonderful time, yet heavy responsibility of making sure they understand. We had a good conversation and then he told his Daddy and they talked some more. We are so glad that He has made this important decision. Thank you Lord for so many blessings! You are so good!

MSU Soccer Camp

Today was Owen's first day of soccer camp at Mississippi State. Wow! It was hot but he had a great time. I dropped him off and then had some alone time browsing in Stark-Vegas (Starkville) and then returned early to watch a little while. I was sweating just sitting in the shade watching him for an hour. He was out in the direct sun for 3 hours. I know he had to be hot! They were really good about keeping the kids hydrated. There were three pop up tents where they had the gatorade and water, so they were provided shade also. He got a MSU soccer ball and a MSU soccer shirt. He had a great time and said he made some new friends too!

Roswell Spray Park

Lettie had a play date with one of her friends this afternoon. Owen and Ella and I set out to do something fun too. First we went to Chick-fil-A and had some lunch. Of course we did not leave with out ice cream and parfaits. Then we headed out to the Roswell Spray Park. We had heard about it and had been meaning to go but just had not made it yet. Today was a perfect day for it. You can't beat the cost. Only $1 per person. WOW! It is an area with water shooting out of the ground in lots of different places. There are also large mushrooms with water pouring out of the tops. There are pipes that shoot water up into the air. Lots of stuff of that nature.

Ella loved it! It was just perfect for her age. She could have stayed there all day and been perfectly happy. Owen was not real impressed. However, as you can see in the pictures he enjoyed just layingin the shade. He was so sweet to be so patient with her and let her stay and play without complaining. It was a great way to cool off on a hot day.

Dance

I took the girls to get fitted for all of their dance needs today. Lettie is so glad that she will soon be dancing again. She has missed it soo much. Ella is also thrilled that she is finallly old enough to take ballet and a little bit of tap. She thought she was so big today getting tap shoes like her sissy. Lettie is excited too because she gets to take Jazz this year! Wow, my baby is growing up. How does that happen so fast?

Tubing in Helen

The kids and I met my cousin Karen and her family in Helen Georgia on Saturday. Jason could not join us because he has been a little under the weather. We missed him being with us! He is feeling much better now. We drove up on Saturday morning. I was so shocked to go north on 400 and see that this huge interstate-ish highway just turns into a small road with red lights & and the speed limit stays at 65mph. I thought that was crazy!
Anyway it was a beautiful drive up the mountain and the kids had lots of fun showing me all the different places that they had worked at Family On Mission Camp! This is the city where their camp was. They went with their Daddy a few weeks ago and had a BLAST! Helen is really a great little village. Reminded me alot of a small version of Gatlinburg,TN. We didn't do any window shopping. We went straight to the cabin that my cousin had rented. They were in Helen all weekend. We all put on our bathing suites and headed to the tubing company to tube down the Chattahoochee!
I was a little nervous about Ella at first because I just didn't know how deep or rough the water would be. Karen assured me that she would be fine. Her family had gone the day before and were now going again with me and my kids. All the kids were fitted with life jackets so that made me feel much better.
The water was COLD to say the least but strangely enough I got used to it. We were able to strap all of our tubes together and that made me feel alot safer. Owen was a huge help! He jumped out of his tube whenever needed and steered us around rocks or other obstacles. He loves stuff like that. Ella was not to sure about it at first but grew to really love it. She especially loved the more rapid dips around rocks etc. She is a real adventure seeker! Lettie is definitely my girly girl. She had a great time but was very diligent to make sure everyone was accounted for and staying together-she is going to be a great mother one day! She lost one of her favorite green crocs. That really upset her but hopefully we can find another pair to replace it.
Over all it was a really fun day. It rained for maybe 5 minutes while we were on the river and I thought it was going to be bad because the kids got really cold during the rain. However the sun came back out and warmed us right up. Hopefully we will go back soon with our Daddy. We are really looking forward to that!
Sorry that I do not have any pictures to post. I could not take my camera or it would have been drenched. I was so sad, because there were some really great "Kodak Moments"!

Things are good at the Barber House these days. We are enjoying some days at home this week and next. My good friend Jessica and her boys came up on Saturday and spent the night and went to church with us on Sunday. It was fun having them here. So glad to be closer to them.
I think we are finally done with everyone's dr. visits. Lettie had her spacer put in yesterday at the dentist. The day we left for Mississippi, the big kids had check-ups at a new Dr. office. We all loved him. He was so great with the kids. So refreshing that we did not wait an hour just to get to the exam room. That was quite the routine in Danville. So, we are very excited about the Pediatrician here in Roswell.
We are still praying daily that God will sell our house in Danville. We cannot feel totally at home her in Roswell until we are done with the house in Danville. Thank you for your prayers concerning the house.
Hard to believe it is already the middle of July. The kids start back to school @ FBC Woodstock next month. Ella is very excited about her dance class. Lettie will also be taking Ballet and Tap/Jazz. She is also taking a class called "Just For Girls." Sounds fun! They will be learning things just for little girls like manners, etc. Owen is taking a science class, P.E., and "Just For Boys." I am really thankful for the Timothy Ministry at FBC Woodstock. We love it!
Hope that you all enjoy what's left of summertime.

His Ways...

Funny how God has a way of putting things in perspective. Those things you think are important just seem not to matter anymore. God has some really uncomfortable ways of showing me this truth. There are so many things that in the scope of eternity are really unimportant, and seem down right silly when you look at them incomparison to the REAL important stuff. Thank you Lord for reminding me of this even though your ways of doing so are quite unattractive to me. Your ways are not my ways, I know this truth very well, and yet I will choose to give You praise.

Trip to Mississippi

The kids and I just returned from Mississippi. We had a great trip! My brother flew in from overseas and proposed to his girlfriend. Lots of excitement!

We had a party at my Uncle Chris and Aunt Mary's house. We all got to meet Laurie's family. It was decorated beautifully and the food was great. My kids are so excited that they are going to have an Aunt Laurie. They love her!

The next day was the 4th of July. Granny cooked her ever famous and delicious chicken and dumplings. Oh! so good! Then we all went to the Mississippi Braves baseball game. It was lots of fun and at the end of the game there were fireworks. The kids really loved it! It was close to midnight by the time we got back to Granny's house.

On Monday, we had lunch with some of my aunts and cousins and family friends. It was fun to see some of them that I haven't seen in about 4years. Some of them had never met Ella! The last time I saw them was at Nana's funeral. It was 4 years ago to the day, actually. July 3rd she has been gone 4 years and then her funeral was the 5th. Man, I sure do miss her! Wish she could have been here to be a part of all of the celebrations.

We headback to Mississippi one more time this summer for Owen to attend soccer camp at Mississippi State at th end of July.