catching up

WE HAD A BABY!!!!!!!


Well, 6 months ago we did...



Emma James Parten was born on January 6th at about 4:30 in the morning...AT HOME!!! She has been a surprise to us from the moment we found out I was pregnant and her birth was no different! We were blessed that her arrival was very easy and uncomplicated! Marcus actually "caught" her! She has been a wonderful baby and we have been blessed beyond measure to have her in our lives!



Caleb has completed the 1st grade and will be entering 2nd grade with Mrs Farmer in August! He moved up to the 7-8 year old baseball league this year and played pitcher. His batting is awesome! This summer Marcus and Caleb are working on his fielding and he is doing great! He LOVES to play dress up, mostly he dresses up as Peter from The Chronicles of Narnia! He always asks why we didn't name him Peter!


Sarah Elizabeth is 3 years old and beautiful! She participated in a dance class for the first time this year and was precious in her little outfit! She is SO smart! She is learning to read, she could probably read novels by now if I would take more time to teach her!

Christmas memories

Well, Christmas has come and gone and we are in the process of trying to put the house back together and prepare for the birth of our new addition! A few memories of out 2009 Christmas for now:

We went to Aunt Gabrielle's house and made homemade cookies for Santa Chrismas Eve day and opened presents. The kids had a wonderful time!

Papa & Mama Jo came and we opened their presents and read the night before Chrismas and then tried to settle down for our own long winters nap...The children would not go to sleep until almost 11:00 Christmas Eve and this pregnant little mama was super tired! We heard Santa's bells 2 different times...The kids were so excited they couldn't hardly stand it!

Caleb slept in the room with Marcus and I and just to be "safe" we locked the door so we would be sure he couldn't sneak out and see the loot before we woke up! Good thing too! He tried to sneak out but luckily I heard him and we were able to enjoy his excitement! He tried to wake up SE but to no avail! She was pooped! She slept in Christmas morning! When she did wake up she wanted nothing to do with checking out what Santa had left! Too funny...that will all change in time! She wasn't even interested in opening presents on Christmas Eve from Marcus' parents! We opened them for her mostly while she looked on!

After enjoying presents from Santa we had pancakes, eggs and sausage. (Caleb's request)

Uncle Paul, Aunt Dawn, Brandon and Bethany came in and we had supper and a wonderful visit and waited on Pappy & Nanny to come in the next day. When all the Barnes family was together we had Christmas again!

Needless to say we have all eaten enough to last us for a while, opened enough presents that we shouldn't need anything for at least another year! But never enough family time!

We have been so blessed with amazing families and tremendous amounts of love! We all love Christmas and LOVE the reason we celebrate every year! Jesus Christ was born and has offered us all his love and redemption! Thank you God for sending us your precious Son and loving us all beyond measure! I pray that your family knows the amazing love of Christ!

Merry Christmas!

This year I have been debating on doing Christmas cards. I still haven't decided for sure so just in case the final answer is no...I decided to update the blog with a makeshift Christmas card!

From the Parten household to yours: We wish you a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS! We pray that the upcoming year will be filled with love, laughter and the comfort of Christ!

pictures

I tried to add this picture on the last post but it wouldn't take it for some reason but it HAD to be on the blog!! I love it!

Update

Caleb & Sarah Elizabeth after the childrens parade they both got 2nd place in their divisions


Showing how much fun they had after playing in a mudhole at the park


Easter picture


Reading a book at the beach


The girls enjoying the beach together


Caleb's 1st lost tooth


Caleb's 6th birthday party


Sarah Elizabeth and Daddy at the rodeo


Caleb, Daddy & Sarah Elizabeth at the rodeo


Sarah Elizabeth on the train at VBS


Caleb going down the slide at VBS after party


Caleb's graduation


Caleb's Kindergarten Graduation


Yes it has been a LONG time since I posted anything! Sorry about that, I actually dread trying to upload pictures so I just put it off! I guess this will just be an update on what has been happening in the Parten household...

Caleb:
Caleb turned 6! WOW! My baby boy is growing up so fast! We had a water party for him and I think it turned out well. The dads had a great time as well, they enjoyed throwing water balloons at the kiddos! He has graduated from Kindergarten,lost his 1st tooth and started the 1st grade at West Alabama Christian this August and is doing great! His lowest grade so far has been a B+. We are so proud of him! He was given 4 weeks to memorize John 3:14-19 and mastered it within a week and a half!

Sarah Elizabeth:
This girl is a mess! It is so much fun to have a little girl in the house! She is learning to read! (Your Baby Can Read really does work!) She is also in the process of memorizing her brothers bible passage for school! She has heard it so many times that she started repeating it too! Makes me realize that kids are capable of so much more than we give them credit for! She has also mastered the potty!! YEAH!!

Marcus:
Marcus is still working for Dixie Pipeline, always trying to balance all his responsibilities! I think he is turning into my dad, on every non-paying board there is! haha

Brandi:
I am still working hard at being a stay at home mom. I really enjoy it and have recently started watching a neighbors child for a few hours a week.

Family News:
We found out that our family will have a new addition in January! We were all taken back by the news but are thrilled now! We are going to have another little girl running around the house! Wow!

So much for spring break!

Caleb was out of school this past week for spring break, unfortunately it wasn't the greatest! Caleb was sick on Monday, got better and then daddy and SE got sick Tuesday evening! Daddy even had to stay home from work on Wednesday! We finally got better Thursday and me and the kids went to Enterprise to see Nanny and Pappy. Caleb got to go to school with Nanny on Friday and help "teach" the 4 year olds at Small Steps. They came home at lunch time and Caleb started complaining about a sour stomach! We attempted the park later in the afternoon and played a little while then decided it was time for supper! We went to eat at the chinese buffet, and Caleb had 2 bowls of sherbert ice cream. It stayed with him until we got to the parking lot! All that said to tell you that on the way home Caleb told us that he didn't want to be sick anymore, especially with an ear confusion! We all laughed so hard we were about to cry! He of course meant an ear infection! Thankfully, that was the last time for sickness with the exception of SE and her allergies! We went to Dothan on Saturday to watch Brandon (my nephew) play baseball. It was nice to see Paul, Dawn, Brandon and Bethany! I hope that their spring break this week is better than poor Caleb's! I wish I could post pictures of the good parts of the break, but my camera has met it's end. Maybe soon I will get a new camera!!

Sarah Elizabeth's Birthday Party Pictures