The Barton Family Blog

Our month in pictures... December 8 my dear friend Cassie and I hosted a Christmas Holiday Bazaar fundraiser for Jason and Naomi's adoption.  It was A LOT of work and we could NOT have done it without a ton of help from friends and family.  Namely, my mom who literally facilitated the majority of the funds raised.  Between gorgeous handmade wreaths and hundreds of household items for sale... she really took our event to a whole new level.   One part of the original plan was for Cassie to do free hair cuts while Mackenzie Rice did free family photos.  The whole thing came together beautifully and was just so great! A big thanks to Naomi's best friend Jaime O'Halloran for driving all the way here to help cut hair with Cassie. In all we raised $1,500 and we were thrilled to see Jason and Naomi that much closer to their goal! Hollie snuck in on the free hair cuts & got a fab new do! This little guy is just a little love bug. He'll be 18 months ...

God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding. Ephesians 1:5-8 NLT

I love going to our traditional Christmas Tree farm. I love parking in the mud, getting our tag, and heading out in the midst of trees to find that perfect one. I love hiking, in and out, searching and rejecting tree after tree until we find that one we were looking for. I love my kids' excitement as they point out trees and tell me their favorites. I love the pictures we get and the memories we make. But this year... it just wasn't in the cards. So we settled... for a $5 tree from the lot on the corner (what's not to love about $5????). And yes. I did have to crop Bi-Mart out of the picture below.... (both photos the tree-guy took were blurry & Hollie's eyes were closed... ) I think the people who ran the lot did a double-take when 6 kids & a pregnant lady joined Johnny in searching for a tree. HA. and no. I couldn't crop the highway out... But the kids didn't mind too much... and heck... we've got a GIANT tree in ...