Thursday, May 31, 2007

Just for fun...

I started liking Michael Buble over a year ago. I love the music of Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Harry Conick Jr. etc...well Michael is the 21st century Sinatra. If you haven't heard of him, enjoy these clips of his songs!


Monday, May 28, 2007

Hammin it up


I took this about a week ago. As soon as I pulled out the camera he started smiling like he knew he was supposed to say "cheese."
Its so nice to have a Monday "off." I hope you had a nice relaxing Memorial Day. Jonas and I spent some time at the pool while Daddy slept to get his body conditioned for the night shift. Grandma Barker babysat Jonas tonight so I could attend a cookout. It was a nice break, and Daisy and I had some time together. There were 4 dogs in attendence at the cookout. They all did very well together, I was surprised. They were quite amusing to watch at times. Daisy was the smallest, but always tries to dominate and show she is big stuff.
I experienced a big blessing this past week. Those of you who have had formula babies will understand. I look at the adds in the paper every Sunday to find Jonas' formula on sale. I also use coupons every chance I get. Statistics show that it cost at least $1,500, for formula, the first year of your babies life. Having Jonas on formula was not my choice, it was the Lord's. :-) Jonas' formula runs $27.00 for a large can. I had bought a couple at CVS, on sale, a couple weeks ago for $20.49. (including coupons) Then we went to Walmart and Joe checked the formula there. We knew what is cost already, but he was just doing his brief scanning of prices. Jonas' formula was on clearance for $20.00 and I have coupons for $2 off each can. So, that brought the price down to $18.00 a can!! That is almost a $10.00 savings per can! The expiration date on the cans is 2/08. We stocked up on 4 large cans and that might actually get him through the end of his formula stage. However, I have no idea when I will take him off formula for sure. I was just in awe the whole way home from Wal-Mart. I couldn't believe it. What a blessing!

Thursday, May 24, 2007

I've been tagged!



My cyber-friend, Rachel, tagged me.




Rules - Post 8 random/interesting facts about yourself and then tag 8 or so people and let them know that they have been tagged.




Here we go...




1. As a baby, I was held and kissed by Arnold Schwarzenegger at a Bally's Total Fitness grand opening in the detroit area.




2. I've had a nose job-I broke it when I was 5, with my sisters help. :-) I needed reconstructive surgery to help with breathing problems.




3. I was born and raised in MI, suburbs of Detroit. I've lived in the south for the past 13 years and LOVE it!




4. I have one sister, Andrea




5. Music has always been a part of my life. I took piano lessons, flute lessons, and voice lessons. Singing was always my favorite. In the past, I sang in a community choir and sang professionally in a small chamber ensemble. We were paid throughout the year and performed at many events.




6. I have been to Korea-to participate in a world choral music festival in 1996




7. I went to a private school from K-5 all the way through college




8. Since Renee Zellweger starred in Jerry McGuire (around 1998-1999) I have been told countless time that I look like Renee. Every year at least one perfect stranger comes up to me and says something. What do you think? I couldn't see it for a long time. These two pictures are more convincing to me. I hope I only look like the skinny Renee and not the plump Bridget Jones. :-)


I have tagged Karmen, Andrea, Dayna, April, Karen, Tina, Jenny and Amy!

Tuesday, May 22, 2007




Many things have been going on the past week or so. I've been so busy and tired I haven't had time to post. Mother's Day was very special. I can't beleve I'm a mother first of all. Second, I can't believe I've been blessed with what most people would consider the "perfect baby". He is pretty cool let me tell you. Two days after Mother's Day I turned the big 30! I'm not sad about it nor was I fearing it. It was kind of strange thinking about leaving my 20's but I'm excited to see what God is going to do with my life in this next decade.
My cousin Jenni, from Michigan, flew in for a weekend visit this past Friday. She comes to see us at least once a year. It's her opportunity to have time away from her 3 children, and come visit for some girl time. She also loves our town and weather. Last year when she came she and I went to the Spa. She asked me if we could do that again. I thought what a great 30th b-day gift for me! Joe, his mother and sister bought me a nice gift certificate for a morning at the spa. We encouraged my mom to go with us too! She had never been to a spa and she LOVED it. We had beautiful weather while Jenni was here and took advantage of eating at restaurants with outdoor seating. We had a nice, short visit and hopefully we will see her in MI soon.

Mom, Jenni, Me

taken right before our spa experience started

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Videos from Vacation


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Jonas gets his feet wet for the first time. You can hear the wind. It was about 25-30 mph almost the whole week. It was weird. This was early on with cooler temps and too much wind to get into the water.


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Jonas learned to smack his lips and give kisses! This is Grandmaw Barker.


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Jonas was smiling and laughing about being a "jet ski" prior to me filming. I swear he was!

Pictures of vacation

I haven't been successful with slide.com for the past 24 hours. I'm frustrated and will no longer try. So here are some pictures from the beach.






We crashed after a long day in the sun! Jonas doesn't fall asleep on us often, so I'll cherish this picture. :-)

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Back to real life

We went on vacation May 4 to Litchfield, SC with the Barker Family. (South Myrtle Beach) Everyone was able to go except Joe's younger sister. We rented a beautiful 2400 sq. ft. condo. It was not beach front, but we had a pool right out our back door. And since the winds were 25-30 mph almost every day, we used the pool more than the beach. The condo was very spacious and no one felt cluttered. It was great! We found it on http://www.vrbo.com/- Vacation Rentals By Owner. Its a nationwide sight and we've used it a couple times now. Both experiences have been great!
Jonas absolutely loves the water. He's a little fish. It was so fun watching him and hearing his excitement. He first reaction to the sand was negative but he warmed up to it a little. He had fun sitting with Aunt Kim in the shallow ocean waters. The longer he was there the more he enjoyed it. He has sunglasses that wrap around his head and velcro. Once he understood that they helped with the sun, he had no problem keeping them on. Once the sun went down he knew to take them off. He was a great traveler and always went with the flow. We couldn't ask for a better baby! Our first night home, he slept 14 hours!! We had to wake him up to make sure he was ok. He normally sleeps 12 but has never pulled a 14 hour night. He must have really missed his crib!
Well we are back to real life again. Joe spent the last couple days sprucing up our yard and making it look beautiful. Everything is so green and the bushes are now trimmed. My day-lillies started opening today. They are some of my favorite flowers. I need to take pictures of the front yard!
Here are some pictures from our trip. I didn't take that many. I'll try to post video clips later.
AHHH! I can not get my slide show to post. Has anyone else been having problems with slide.com?