A Day Off

The kids and I thoroughly enjoyed the day off from school on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We had a pj day, which always equals a successful day. :)  It is so nice to just be able to relax, not have to worry about going anywhere, doing anything, and just spending time playing together. While the babies were napping I pulled a little craft project for the girls. We made climbing spiders. You make the spider and hang it from a doorknob and then move the stings back and forth and watch the spider climb to the top. The girls thought that it was pretty fun.

 Addie got her spider to the top and then let go to watch it fall back down.

 Showing me her cute spider.

 Macie getting hers to the top.

 And posing with the spider.
After Camden woke up from his nap, the girls wanted to put the play house on the table. So, we got out the cloth play house, set it up and watched what Camden would do....would he play with them, or pull it off? He thankfully decided to play with them and they all loved every moment of it.

 Addie and Camden climbing in from opposite sides.

 Macie posing for the camera. She is super into posing these days. She likes to pretend she is a model.

Addie is doing something to make Camden laugh. He thinks that she is pretty funny.
While the kids were playing in the house, I was able to make some banana muffins because they were playing so nicely. The simple joys...

Quiet Reflection

The other day the kids were playing so well while I was feeding Brynlee. I looked up at one point to check on Camden and noticed him in the corner of the living room, quietly looking at books and playing with his phone. I quickly got up to take a picture. This is something that doesn't happen very often with him, where he is actually sitting still and quiet and playing by himself. As I sat and looked at him I was reminded of how blessed I am to be able to be this sweet boys mom. How I love him and the complete joy that he brings into my life. Every time I see his little face and he looks at me, I can just see and feel his love for me. It never gets old and it keeps me going when he has ran me rugged and tired.

 I looked around the room again and saw the girls playing so nicely with the Lego's and looked a the world they were playing with and had created. I once again thought how blessed I am to be their mom. They are such good girls. They love each other, they are so kind and patient with Camden, they are great big sisters and helpers. When I look at them I see the beautiful people they are becoming and I notice their desire to do good. They are such wonderful examples to me of how to be more like the Savior. They love so deeply and forgive me so easily of all of my shortcomings as a mother. They are sure to tell me that they love me every time we are apart and I often hear the words: "your the best mom ever!" When I hear that, I know that I must doing ok, even though I know I could be doing so much better.

Fluffy stuff

Over Christmas Break, I tried to do a few fun projects with the kids. One of the projects that we did is called "fluffy stuff". It is a mixture of cornstarch and shaving cream. It was so easy to make, so fun to play with, and provided the girls with something new to do that kept them busy for an hour. It had such a fun texture to it. You could make snowballs out of it, mold into a snowman, make a racetrack, and then the second you wanted to do something new, all you had to do was squish it and it instantly became soft and smooth and moldable again. So fun!! The girls decided to play a game called find the Hershey kiss. I gave them both a Hershey kiss to hide in the stuff and then they would have to find the other persons. Then they decided to get out the measuring cups and make cookies and cakes and whatever else they could think of.
 Here they are mixing it all together. In the beginning of the process, it looks really messy, but once you get all mixed well, it is very dry and easy to work with and comes right off of your hands.

 Addie with one of her snowballs.

Macie being a cheese ball. Every time I tried to get a picture of her, she would either move right as I was taking it, not look up because she was to busy, or made a silly face. Goofy girl.

2012

Dear Family and Friends,

As this year comes to a close, I have decided to do a family newsletter of sorts to let you know what has been going on in our lives. 

Geoff has been busy working as a Dentist here in Texas. We started off the year in Denton, TX and about half way through the year moved to Burleson, TX where Geoff bought a Dental Practice, Burleson Modern Dentistry. He is staying busy with the practice and running all of my errands for me during his lunch hour.

Becky stays busy with the kids at home. We had baby #3 last December and welcomed a little surprise baby girl in November. (Yes, that is 2 babies in one year!!!) Our lives are a little crazy right now to say the least.  She was excited to move out of Denton because of her church calling (2nd counselor in the YW) only to move to Burleson and be called as the 1st counselor in YW. Apparently I didn't learn what I needed to the first time around. 

Macie is now 6 1/2 years old. She is growing like a weed and is in the 1st grade. She loves to read and is very good at it. She is a great big sister and likes to entertain Camden for me. She lost 6 teeth in the past 4 months and all she wanted for Christmas was her 2 front teeth!

Addie is now 4 1/2 years old. She is in preschool and loves it! She is the best helper at home and loves to clean and do the dishes. She also loves to feed Brynlee her bottle. She is super goofy and keeps us laughing with all of her facial expressions!

Camden was born last December 16th. He is 1. He is a big boy whom we like to call "bruiser" because he is constantly falling and constantly has bruises on his head. He is very independent, but still needs his mom. He is a HUGE momma's boy and is getting used to having another baby around.

Brynlee was born November 24th. She was a HUGE surprise, but has been a complete joy. She is such a good baby and is so patient with Camden and his constant grabbing at her. The girls love her to pieces and I love that she was born with a head full of hair!!

We hope that this New Year brings joy and happiness to each of your lives. Keep in touch! We love to hear about you and your families and what you are up to!

Love,

The Barnums