This is all about Kobie

I can't believe it, Kobie has turned 8 and got baptized. It doesn't seem like it was 8 yrs ago that that sweet little, okay big, baby came into our family. For his birthday we had Corey's brother Jason here, the Steeds came over along with our neighbors, Jarel and Malik. We had cake and ice cream. Kobie's cake was of Sonic the Hedgehog, yes that is the blue videogame caracter. I had a great time making his cake, that is one thing that I truly enjoy doing, making the boys cakes. We didn't have any games or anything big planned just to hang out and let the kids play. I will say though I was a little sad that I forgot to charge the camera battery so I didn't get pictures of him blowing out the candles or opening his presents. Oh well you live and learn right. I did make sure it was charge for his baptism.
Yesterday, July 18, 2009, Kobie got baptized. It doesn't seem like I am old enough to have a child old enough to be baptized. He and Corey did a great job. My mom and dad came on Wednesday and brought two of our nieces with them, Marissa and Charie. We all had a wonderful time playing around the Atlanta area the last couple of days. Wednesday night after their plane came in we went out to Stone Mountain for the Lazer Show, it was really neat, loud but neat. Thursday morning we went blueberry picking and then to the Braves game that night. We had a great time at the game, Cole ate his cotton candy in about 3 mins. The kid would not slow down but he enjoyed it. Friday we drove up to Helen and intertubed down the river through the town. We hadn't done that before and it was fun. Cole got dumped off of his tube and it kind of freaked him out, so I hop out of my tube to put him back in and it was deeper than I had expected. We all had a great time and are looking forward to taking Corey up to do it too. The baptism was a great experience, we had a joint baptism with Olivia Sorenson she is one of the kids in Kob's church class. We had the service and then some refreshments afterward at the church. We missed the family that couldn't come and appreciate the family that was there, Mom and Dad, the girls and the Steeds. Thanks for all of your support on a wonderful day and an important one for Kobie. Here are some pics of our different activities from the last few weeks.

Mother's Day and kids

Well for Mother's Day I took the kids on a hike with me on Saturday. Corey had a business class all day on Saturday so I thought that we would go and have some outside fun. We went to the state park that is about 10 to 15 minutes from our house, Sweet Water Creek State Park. We have gone before but forgot the camera, we brought it this time. We were at the park hiking about 2 hours or so and had a great time. Well Kobie and I had a great time. It got it be a little rough on Cole, but I don't think he felt well (I thought it was allergies but it turned into a respiratory thing). Right before we stopped to have a little snack I wanted to take a picture. It was right next to the river where some falls were. Well Cole just wanted a snack as you will see in the picture. On the way back I ended carrying Cole about a 1/2 mile or so. He wasn't real happy at the end because his shirt and short where I had him on my back were all wet. Yep he was sweaty from me, hey it was humid and carrying an extra 40 pounds or so is hard work. But we all had fun. With all the rain that we have been getting the river was pretty full. Cole loves holidays and will say Merry Christmas or Happy Mother's Day, since it was just Mother's Day, for a few days before and after. He is a sweet kid. Kobie was up and in our room at 7am on Sunday and went right to Corey's side of the bed to ask if they could get me breakfast now. Corey said why don't we let mom sleep a few more minutes. Kobie is just like me, he can't wait to give gifts, especially ones that he has worked hard on. Well it was a great day and I love my husband and little men. I can't believe how fast they grow.
all cleaned up after the hike.

April...

Another month has come and basically gone. We in the Barker household are still doing well and in one piece minus the occasional bumps and bruises. Corey and I spoke in church on Easter and I also sang with 2 other women in the ward. Everything went well and Corey spoke magnificently. He always is amazing when he speaks. The kids were really excited that the "Easter Bunny" came. And I feel like a terrible mom cause I forgot to take pictures of the kids with their Eater baskets. Oh well.
This last week Kobie came home from school limping and in tears. He said that he hit his toes on a rock in the ground at recess. His foot was swollen and he couldn't walk on it. I called a friend and he wrote an order for his x-ray to make sure his foot wasn't broken. No it wasn't broken. I felt a little silly that I had rushed in but when he broke his arm last year I didn't think that it was broken and waited 2 days. And I felt terrible since I waited so long with his arm that I didn't want to do the same thing again. He couldn't walk on it so I gave him a piggy back ride into the hospital and back out. I'm sure it was a silly site since Kobie is about the same size as me. It is sad that my 7 yr old is a head shorter than me. I have been playing outside with the boys this week. I thought I want my kids to think that their mom is fun and cool cause she plays with them. So I got on one of the scooters and rode around with them. It was great. I even got out my rollerblades last week but the hills in Georgia are a little big and scary. So I didn't get very far with my blades. Really it is that I am just a chicken and don't want to break my arm but at the same time if I break my arm I wouldn't be able to work. Well it would take me a whole lot longer to do an ultrasound left handed than it would normally.

March...

Where has this month gone? I can't believe it is almost April. First let me say Happy Birthday to my Dad and sister Becky (belated). We had the great opportunity to go home to Vegas the 1st weekend this month for a surprise birthday party for my dad. All of my siblings and their families met Saturday morning at the Sam's Club parking lot to all drive over to Dad and Mom's together. Mom was a co-conspirator and called my sister to let us know they were out in front of the house. We all parked around the corner and walked around it singing Happy Birthday. It was great! Dad was totally surprised and had no idea. When he first heard the singing he thought it was at someone else's house. Dad was pretty quiet for an hour or so I think that he was just trying to take it all in. We again took Shupe family pictures I will update the pics later. It is always a chore trying to keep little kids happy for the entire time and trying to keep them looking presentable. But the Shupe's and their spouses and children are all a good looking crew so it's not that hard. :)
Kobie and Cole are doing great. Cole is enjoying church and happily goes to class and can't wait for primary. He is very quick to grab Corey's hand to go down to Primary after Sacrament meeting. Kobie is looking forward to getting baptized this year. Holy Cow! I have a child old enough to get baptized, WOW! We are doing the baptism with another family in our ward. Their little girl turns 8 the week before Kobie. So the exciting day will be July 18th.

February

My goodness, where did February go? Well I have been busy with taking on extra days at the hospital and organizing the blood drive at church. I will have to say that my hat goes off the moms that work full time. I worked 4 days one week this month by the end of the week I was fried and needed a break. Corey watched the kids and I went out to the store. I was kind of looking for a dress for our Stake Sweetheart Dance but found some great red shoes at Ross. There are a lot of fun and Corey thought they looked Hot. It is fun to have sassy shoes don't worry I don't wear them often.
Yesterday was the blood drive for the 2 wards in our building. Since I am the activities chair I had the joy of running the show. The girl from the other ward helped and I am very grateful for her help. I was at the church from 7:30 am til 4:00 pm and was very tired when I got home. The folks from the American Red Cross did a great job. The guy that took my blood did a great job I didn't even feel the prick of the needle going in. I was very glad that we made our goal. Thanks goes out to all those that helped and gave blood. A special thanks to the Alexander High School National Honor Society for giving their time to help with registration and the canteen.
I have also been substituting from Cole's primary class. Wow, 4 little boys and at least 3 girls, however not all the girls have been there yet, it very exciting at times. Let's just say that I need a nap when I get home but I have enjoyed it. Oops, I probably shouldn't have said that I just might become the permanent teacher but that is okay.
One last side note. We are praying for my sister Becky and her little boy Scott. They found out yesterday that he has diabetes. His blood sugar was above 400 when he went to the ER, normal high is about 120. They are doing okay from what my mom says and will be able to go home in a few days after they learn how to take care of him. It will be an adjustment for them and we are praying that they will all be okay. We are looking forward to March and all of it's adventures.

Snow in Las Vegas

LET IT SNOW!

Well, ok it was about 2 months ago but I had to write about it. Being from Vegas it is always exciting to hear about it snowing there. My mom called and said that it had started snowing at noon and was still snowing, that was 3 hours of snowing. A couple days later when I talked to her she said it snowed till about midnight. WOW! 12 hours of snow in the dessert, how fun is that? I think mom said there was about 6 to 8 inches. My parents emailed pictures of the snow that I will attach. My parents (empty nester) even went out and built a snowman. I think it is great, even though you are grown up you can still have fun like a kid. I remember growing up when we went to Utah for Thanksgiving Dad would always help us build a snowman. When the kids heard that it snowed at Grandma's house they wanted to drive there. I guess at the end of the day we are all just big kids at heart.

Dad shoveling snow with a shovel. Who've thought you'd need a snow shovel in Vegas?
Dad fixin' Frosty.
Mom and Frosty.

Cole update...

In December Cole turned 4. And his sure acts his age. His favorite thing to do is ask Why? It can get a little trying at times when he asks the same question 20 times in a row. Kobie went through the same phase about this age. We were all driving in the car together, shortly after we moved to Georgia. Kobie kept asking questions and Corey turned to me and asked if he did this all day. I said yes and he said there will be a place for you in heaven, I could not do this all day. But back to Cole.
He turned 4 on December 13th. We started the day out at 4 am when Cole rolled off the bed, the top bunk. I heard the thump in our room, which is two rooms away, then the scream. I went in and he was on the floor. I knew that was a bad sign. I picked him up and took him in the bathroom, poor little man was gushing blood from his nose. Corey helped me to get toilet paper in Cole's nose to stop the bleeding then went to lay back down. Corey and blood don't get along to well. Cole's nose started to swell imediately and looked pretty bad. I was worried that it might be broken. Cole was upset that he couldn't breathe through his nose after it had stopped bleeding. So I took him to the Children's Hospital 45 mins away. We didn't have the best experience with the ER at the hospital close to home, that's another story for another day. Two hours later we were on our way home and we didn't have a broken nose. I slept for a few hours then went to church to set up for our ward Christmas Party. We celebrated Cole's birthday on Sunday, the next day, since I was gone all day.
Other than the eventful nose smashing birthday Cole has been enjoying having his daddy home at night again and playing with mom during the day. He is our little ham and loves to make you laugh. We really is a sweet little boy and a joy to have in our family. We love our little Cole.

Cole with his swollen nose. Doesn't he look like a football player?

Kobie update...

Kobie the day he got his award.

It has been a while since I updated everyone on Kobie. Every month Kobie's school has a characteristic that they work on. Every month each grade chooses a student that portrays that trait or characteristic, its what our Good Citizens Awards were like. They have a special ceremony with there family(all the students and families together) and then get to put their hand print on the wall of the school. In October the trait was Cooperation and Kobie was nominated out of all of the 2nd grade.
It was at a time when Corey was traveling so I went alone. Now I know that we are not supposed to have pride but I tell you what that was one of my proudest moments as a mother. They made an announcement over the loud speaker and say the children's names, then the kids leave class and come to the cafeteria for cookies and juice. When Kobie walked in I had to really try hard to keep it together so I wouldn't start bawling in front of everyone.
I took our camera to take pictures but didn't check to make sure the battery was charged. It of course was not charged and didn't work. We live in a blessed day of cell phones with cameras, so we have pictures of that, yeah.
Kobie before Christmas break was tested for the Program Challenge or PC, what our "gate" or "gifted" programs were. We got the letter the day he went back to school that he was accepted. He was very excited and we think that he will do just fine.

This year he is looking forward to turning 8 and getting baptized. WOW! I always knew I would be a mother but it is hard to believe I have an almost 8 yr old. He truly is a great kid and a joy to have in our family.

Kobie getting his award.Yep! Kobie is taller than the 3rd and 4th graders.
Getting his hand on the wall.
Kob and his hand.
Mommy and Son.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We had a wonderful holiday season. We stayed home in Douglasville this year instead of going home to Las Vegas. We missed having more family around but it was nice to be home and not worry about if "Santa" would be able to bring Christmas to Las Vegas and have us fit it on the plane. The boys have had a wonderful time with Corey and me being home. I think that they might be ready to get back to their regular schedule because Cole keeps asking when he gets to go back to the babysitters. We love our babysitter Brooke and her son Preston.
Back to the holidays, we have really just been relaxing and playing. Kobie got a scooter from Santa and Cole got a skateboard. In hind sight we, oops, Santa should have brought a scooter for Cole too. Cole has been riding Corey's scooter, I gave to him our 1st Christmas together. It has been a lot of fun to see them out playing with their neighborhood friends, Corey even hopped on his skateboard and rode down our hill. He said at one point he knew he would get really hurt if he fell but he was just fine. It was really cute our little neighbor boy Jerel told Kobie, "Your dad is awesome." Let's say it all together, Awww how cute. We haven't downloaded our pictures from Christmas but we will post them when we do.
I am adding a couple pictures of the boys with Santa from the Ward Christmas party.

Our Christmas party was on Cole's birthday, he was showing Santa that he was 4.
Cole and Santa.
Kobie and Santa.

Corey said, "Wow Kobie is as big as Santa." That's our cute 7 yr old. He comes up to my chin. I will be the short little mom of some cute tall boys. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!