Updates

Jacob turned 12 a couple of weeks ago and received the Aaronic Priesthood. Our home is full of the power of the priesthood! What a blessing!


We are in the Christmas spirit! We decorated the tree on Sunday. We always get a fresh tree and the smell is divine!

Even Sammy had fun exploring. Dave and Kelsie were having a little too much fun posing for the camera!

Football Season

It is a bitter sweet moment when football season is over for my kids. We love going to the games and watching Jacob play. But at the smae time football consumes our life to the point that nothing else gets done. Jacob's Mead team had a great season! They were undefeated until the play-offs and then lost the game that would have put them in the running for 1st place. They ended up winning 3rd place in the 6th grade division. He has played with this team for 4 years. Next year will be their last season together. Great job Jacob!!

My baby girl is 16!

So I have really been in a reminscent mood with my little girl turning 16. It really does seem like yesterday that she was running around the house in her diapers following Zach. I am so grateful to have Kelsie around. She has grown into such a wonderful young woman. She is such a light to our lives! We had a party for her and I am amazed at how many good friends she has surrounding her! As part of her party, we had everyone wear the most things that represented Kelsie. (ie her favorite colors, favorite things) It was so fun to see what everyone came up with! Needless to say almost everyone wore basketball shorts!! For the prize the top winner got a poster size picture signed by Kelsie for her biggest fan!! Happy Birthday Kelsie!

Updates

I have realized that I have been horrible at keeping up to date on my life through my blog. Blame it on my obsession with facebook or just laziness. I don't know. Life here is crazy busy. Fall usually is in the Barnes family.




We have always been a football family with all the boys involved with a team. But this year only Jacob is left playing football and is loving it! He is a very talented player and he has a great team and coaches! He has played with his team now since we first moved here in 2005. They have come a long way!! They are undefeated so far this year with one more game this Saturday.(they did have one game which they tied 0-0. No overtime in the little leagues)

Caleb decided to try Cross Country this year. Running?? Who would have thought? But he is having a great time. It is great to hear him say "We ONLY had to run 8 miles today, that was an easy day!" Caleb's goal is to letter this year as a freshman. He is getting closer and closer to his goal! He has beat his PR each meet!

Through much thought and a really tough decision, Zach switched over to cross country from football mid-season. He is a good runner and has done great at the meets! He actually lettered at the invitational in Richland!



Kelsie is usually playing volleyball this time of year but decided to focus on school. She has some issues with high school volleyball. (And I am not forcing her to do anything she doesn't want to do) TEeNaGeRs!! She is taking two AP classes this year and has the OCD in her that if she gets a "B" it might be the end of the world! She is very competitive when it comes to most things but we are finding it is especailly true with school work. Maybe all those lectures on getting the most out of school actually stuck!




Dave has been so busy with work. He has been traveling quite a bit which is not always easy. The first few trips were a nice break but now both he and I are ready for him to stay home for a while!!! He has mostly been in the eastern part of the country. But there have been so many places I couldn't even start to name them.Needless to say we have all missed him being home!

I have just been trying to keep up with everyone's schedule. I am teaching piano again this year and have 14 students. I love to teach and the kids are doing great! I love being a mom and I am still well aware that I only have so much time left with my kids at home! They are so much fun and add light and much laughter to the house! So there is a quick update to what is happening around here.

Zach

It really is a strange feeling to know that my oldest is now 17. Especially when I know that I was just 17 when I got married. Time is flying by very fast!

Zach has grown from being a silly boy to a great young man. He is a great example to his siblings and to his friends. He has had to make some hard decisions and has had to stand up for what he believes. I am so proud of the person he has become! I am also very proud to be his mom! Happy Birthday Zach! I love you!

Faith Not Shaken

Sometimes we feel that our life is falling apart around us. I have felt this lately. I have tried to figure out my thoughts and what I am feeling inside through this storm that is passing through my life. My thoughts are constantly brought back to my Savior. I am realizing that because of the way I have been living my life, the covenants I have taken upon myself and the testimony I have of my Savior, I have been so blessed so that my faith cannot be shaken. I am thankful for this. I have more of a desire to do those things I know can continue to bless my life and the lives of my children. Reading from the scriptures, praying, and keeping the commandments are some of those important things. Our Heavenly Father loves us so much! I know this and I know that He knows me personally and that He is aware of my heartache and I know that His spirit is there to comfort, bless and guide.

Happy Birthday Caleb!

This picture pretty much sums up our life with Caleb. Full of fun times and lots of laughter! I can't believe that it was 14 years ago that I held him in my arms for the first time! I love him so much and I am so glad I get to be his mom! Happy Birthday Kay-Bob!

Riding the Hiawatha

During the 4th of July weekend James and Julie came to spend time with us. We all went and rode the Hiawatha Trail. It was so neat! We decided to start at the bottom of the trail and ride up (most people start at the top and ride down, then have a shuttle take them back up to the top) It was quite a ride....not too hard but hard enough! During the ride we went through 9 tunnels. Some of these tunnels were short and you could see the end but some of the tunnels were longer and you needed a light to see in front of you. The longest tunnel was over 1 1/2 miles long! We realized early on that we all wanted to ride by Jordan because his light was the strongest! We also went over tressels which is a type of bridge. The views were amazing! We had such a great time spending time together as family enjoying the freedoms of being American!

Girls Camp 2009

If you hadn't noticed, I have had my fill of camping these last 2 weeks. It really has been fun but I do enjoy being clean! Girls camp was great this year! The theme for camp was "In the strength of the Lord, I can do all things" We had heros from the Book of Mormon (Captain Moroni, Jacob and Abinidi) come and share some thoughts with us. This was really neat! The songs of girls camp, the food and the activities were great as always! Bishop's night was amazing and the testimony meeting was the best I have been to in a while. On Friday, after packing up camp, we went to Diamond lake and spent the day chillin on the beach. The girls went tubing and we had a relaxing day. The theme for our Ward this year was "Ohana" which means family. I really feel that our girls grew closer together through camp and we really are sisters. I know that if we look to Christ, He will lift us when we are down and through Him we really can find the strength to overcome anything.

YW 4th Year Hike

Kelsie and I went on the hike for the 4th year girls to a place called Scotchman PeakNear Sandpoint, Idaho. Kelsie and I would probably both agree that this was one of the hardest things we have done. This was a pretty steep mountain! We had a good time though enjoying nature and looking out at the view! We live in such a beautiful world. It was nice to spend time with Kelsie even though she didn't enjoy hiking so much! We both learned quite a bit about ourselves and each other! I think the most important lesson learned was that we can't do things on our own. We need the support of each other to get us through hard things. And with the help of our Heavenly Father we CAN do hard things!!

19 Years of Happiness

Nineteen years seems like such a long time yet as I think back on the years I am reminded how fast the time has gone!! We made it through having four kids in five years. Diapers, crying, sleepless nights. We now have to look forward to sleepless nights waiting up for teenagers, crying because we all laugh too hard and seeing our kids grow up and leave the house. I would not have chosen anyone else in the world to have to go through these things with. My husband is my hero. He is the one who has shown me what it means to be in love! Happy Anniversary!

Spring Piano Recital

I finally remembered to get a group photo with all my students! I love teaching piano! All of my kids are great and I was so proud of them! I have been teaching for about 12 years!! Kelsie did an amazing job playing her piece! She will always be a forever student of mine! She is always willing to play when I need her to and I appreciate her so much! She has such a talent and is an example for my other students! I also like to show her off as much as possible!

Memorial Day Weekend 2009

Memorial Day pictures

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