The Barton Family Blog

It's official! As of 12pm yesterday May 23, 2011, we are a legal family of 5! Praise God! Shy and Hollie Barton are our little miracles! More pictures to come....

Had an extra ultrasound today. So fun! Made me cry as always. The miracle of life up on that screen never ceases to amaze me! He/she is just so perfect and beautiful! This one below reminds me a Natalee a bit. All the other ones look too chubby... maybe i"m just remembering Natalee wrong cause she WAS a chub! Love love this one. So stinking sweet! Less than 8 weeks till we meet this little one! Today I scheduled a C-section for July 13 in the event that I haven't gone into labor before then. I want to attempt a vbac if I do go into labor naturally - but if I haven't by the 13th then this baby will come one way or another! (: Right now baby is head up - feet down. She actually zoomed in on a chubby foot and we just stared - looking at the cute-ness - then she pointed to the black circle right next to that foot and said... "That's your bladder!" (Explains a LOT! ha!) It's funny how the "regular' ultrasound looks so weird at this age - too chubby t...

While we were wandering the outdoor mall one day in Redmond, Washington, I found a window w/ a mirror. I couldn't resist getting my girls to pose with me. It's a rarity to have all 3 in a photo with me - I think it's virtually impossible to get a photo of all 3 with me and they're all looking a the camera and maybe even smiling. Johnny doesn't have the patience to snap 49506070 photos in order to find that perfect one - so I don't end up with too many photos of my and my girls. So... here's a few... It took some practice to look in the mirror and not at the camera! I think they enjoyed the silly one the best:

Johnny and I have this little inside joke where we say "What a differences!". Tonight I tried to make my title "What a difference" but my fingers/brain just wouldn't let me... it had to be "differences". So while no ones gets the joke but us.... you can see by the following pictures that our work in the yard today was NOT a joke! A friend from church and I started weeding this morning around 9:30 and Johnny headed to a local rental company to rent a Rotatiller (sp?) and Weed Eater. We attacked everything with a vengance. There were lots of things I wanted to keep but as we began weeding we realized had to be pulled for one reason or another. There is still a lot of work to do... but WOW! What a differences! It's amazing what a few tools (we were previously lacking) can do to help you stay motivated! By this afternoon we were in full swing and my almost 9 mo. pregnant body was feeling it. I went and picked up 3 awesome Rice kids who helped Jo...

Hollie's 3rd birthday fell at a chaotic time - after 2 weeks out of state and right before another trip to Washington for Johnny's work. I tried to plan a party but with the exhaustion of travel and the lack of ability to attend on our family's parts... I decided to postpone her birthday and couple it w/ their adoption celebration later on this month. We didn't want to completely miss the day tho... so we plan a small get-together with Hollie's biological brother and sister and their adoptive parents. I ordered a small cake from Safeway, but Safeway decided to substitute a 1/2 sheet cake because of some special promo they were doing. This cake was massive... and there only like 12 of us there... ha ha o well... it's the darn cutest cake I've ever seen! (: and Hollie was THRILLED with it! She specifically requested a Strawberry Shortcake Cake - and I didn't know if they'd have one - but wah-lah! they did! (her smile says it all!) Untitled from Danie...

**the video works now - I don't know what the glitch was!** I am overwhelmed with love for my girls. Last Sunday, Mother's Day, it hit me hard. I stood watching Natalee & Shyanne during church. Whispering to each other, giggling, and looking like the sweetest two sisters you ever did see. While I was trying to sneak a picture during church service, Johnny kept leaning forward shushing them. They were just cracking me up. (yes I know these are the world's worst photos... my camera was being very weird. but I still wanted to include them because of how they made my feel... and how the love between these two is captured in a blurry pix) (and yes... that is sheetrock only half way up the wall... we are temporarily meeting in an unfinished room while our church building is being finished! phew what a project!) (Afterward Johnny couldn't believe I was taking pictures during church. I get it from my mom... just ask my dad!) I love them. I love them so much it hurts. They ...

I am slowly but surely working to get my yard under control. It seems to be impossible... but there are little things, like these... that make me happy.... My dad built these planter boxes for Naomi & I. How sweet is that?! Aren't they cute? I told Johnny I MUCH prefer creating my own gardening beauties than trying to clean up other peoples' messes. Ug. Have I mentioned on here that I'm not a gardener? And that I DON'T know what I'm doing when I attack these overgrown flower beds?!? I'm tempted to just go to town with pruning sheers and reap the consequences if I hurt the wrong thing! (I know there are those of you who are reading this and cringing!) It's all just so overwhelming to me. And I have a neighbor, shall we just call her Nosy Nancy? Who keeps coming over giving me pointers and making me feel very JUDGED by my yard. I finally told her yesterday that every time I go out to pull weeds I end up having crazy insane contractions and can barely bre...

This was the first day I decided I must capture some of the sweet things I love about my girls at this age. I sat down on Natalee's bed and asked them to dance for me in their beautiful princess outfits. At first it was just Natalee and Kyah but quickly Shy and Hollie were stripping out of their regular clothes to join in the princess procession. For some reason my camera kept malfunctioning and ruining each photo I tried to take. They were all so patient and kept holding this pose waiting for me to get my camera functioning! Such sweet girls!

Thanks Aunt Naomi for capturing my sweet girl in pictures today! You are a wonderful Aunt. Just last night they girls were all talking about how much they love you! Doesn't get any sweeter than that! Natalee at the playground at her school. Look! She's not wearing a dress! Just a skirt (: *darling outfit compliments of Aunt Auttie!

I stopped at this bank here in town to try to capture a cute birthday pic of Hollie. Um. Can you say impossible?! This girl is a goober! I had to trash probably 30 pictures because she is such a nerd "posing"! Ha. I should've kept them to prove my point but she'd kill me in 10 years when she knows better! Here's a few that weren't too bad (: I love how standing on the hill allows for so much of the trees. So beautiful! O and here's Natalee... in a dress (of course!)

Johnny has 3 weeks of training for his new job in Redmond, WA. The first week my mom offered to keep Hollie so I just took Natals and Shy! We had fun exploring the town and the girls had fun just being crazy girls. The thrill of each day was riding the escalator up and down at the outdoor mall near our hotel. O to be thrilled by such things! (: We stopped by Borders quite often, for their story time, or just to read and read and read... Spoiled rotten with all this one-on-one time with mom! (: Only took my camera out one day of the entire two weeks.... therefore there are no pix of Hollie since she only came the second week. MUST. GET. OUT. OF. THIS. SLUMP!

Tuesday the sun shone. So we took advantage of it with 2 long walks and a trip to the park. I didn't get any good shots of the girls because they were always on the move - but I did want to document... Natalee in a dress. Not because Natalee never wears a dress, but because, quite the contrary... it's all she wears. Every day that she's not in a dress is a fight. Guarantee it. Every morning she cries if she can't wear a dress to school. We have finally reached a compromise... if she keeps it clean and doesn't play in the sand box or ride on dirty bikes, or pretty much do anything dirty outside, then she can wear a dress. And she does. every. day. Today she wore this dress to school. When I told her she had to change to go on a bike ride to the park, she tried to negotiate into a different dress. When I told her no dress on a bike ride, she said she didn't want to go on a bike ride or to the park then. STINKER! But I made her change, and we did go on a bike rid...

Doesn't she just look like she's announcing "I'm 3!!!"? Happy Birthday sweet baby girl. You came into my life just 2 short years ago and made our world a more beautiful, laughter-filled place! So very happy that this month I get to call you MINE forever!! love, Momma

Patti Rice is at it again! Advocating for precious children from all over the world! The following post is in her words.... Please take the time to read. You can PRAY, DONATE, or Spread the word to be entered in the giveaway - NO donation required! There are some super fun prizes and some great causes to participate in! ( and in case Maga or Nonnie are reading here... I WANT one of those hats from the HappyHooks shop (obviously after I find out if we're having a boy or girl!!! HINT HINT!) ) READ THE POST BELOW and then head on over to Patti's blog to leave a comment and enter her giveaway. What a great cause!! I have to admit Albina has touched my heart like no other child I've seen on RR. So without further ado.... PATTI RICE: **************************************************** Please let me introduce you to three little angels who need our help! First is Albina .... Oh my word, look at those eyes! She melts my heart! If someone makes a donation to Albina's fund...