6 Amazing Years!!

Wow!! It is crazy to think back to 6 years ago this weekend...I was getting ready for a wedding!! It is so hard to remember that day...(which is the reason that I tend to tell people to ELOPE, VEGAS or DESTINATION WEDDING!!) We have had a whirlwind of a time though!! I am so happy to be where I am at and so excited to see what the future holds for our family! Our time line consinsts of:

A Wedding
Cooper's Birth
Moving To Lubbock
Buying Our First Home
Brylee's Birth
FINALLY I WILL FINISH SCHOOL THIS YEAR!!!!
and sooooo many things along the way!

I cannot believe how fast it goes! Cooper will be starting Kindergarten this year, Brylee will be all by herself at preschool, and I will start a new job. I know that it sounds crazy, but I miss the day we brought Brylee home. Everything was about us and our little bubble. We all sat in it and enjoyed...now we enjoy, just in a different way! We are constantly on the go and it seems like time is passing by before we know it! I love my family and I love my life. I just wanted to say that to everyone and thank you to all of you have made a difference in our lives and our kiddo's lives!! We love you all!! Bryan, Kelsey, Cooper & Brylee

Where to start...

I am sooooo very ready for what has become the fastest semester I have ever taken to be over! I have never taken summer classes before...they are different!! I like the way that you get credit for a semester in one month, but it is EVERY DAY!! BOOO!! I am thankful to Kendra...my Lubbock sister and best friend...she has helped me so much this summer by keeping the kiddos 2 days a week for the month of June!! She is BRAVE and I owe her big! I love her! Dana has been taking Friday duties, but has been luck enough to be relieved early and even off a few!!! The kids go to their PDO on Tues and Thurs and they LOVE IT!!! I know that they really do benefit from this as well!

Anywhoo, I am in my last week, have 2 finals, a presentation, a paper, and 4 assignments due!! I am going to be busy!! :O) I know that God will never give me more than I can handle, which is why I know I will survive!! I am so ready for graduation and to take life on with a new outlook!


****I am employed! I know, I know, not everyone at once...I have not had a real job in 6 years...WOW!! I will be working at Lubbock Cooper South Elementary! Cooper will be there with me and I will be able to watch his first year of school. Can you believe it...Kindergarten already!! I remember the day we brought him home from the hospital...how I miss those sweet baby kisses and the joy of knowing that we brought a precious baby into the world to raise and love! I hate them growing up...but I also love it! They are so much fun right now! Cooper is quite the little scholar. He is working on math and writing at school! We can write pretty much every letter in the alphabet, some need more assistance than others...and all of our numbers 0-9! It is exciting watching him learn! I need to thank Mrs. Jody for this, she has been a blessing to our family, and especially to our little Cooper!! All teachers need be like her! :O)

Back to life...I should graduate August 8 at 9 am!!! A much needed party will occur later in the day!! All are invited! I will begin my Master's Program on August 11, I know!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am excited though!

Last for tonight...I am thrilled that Bryan and I will be celebrating our 6th Wedding Anniversary on Sunday June 28!!! It is a GREAT accomplishment and the happiest I have ever been. For those who thought we would never make it...How do you like us now??? :)

We had a couple come look at our house tonight!!!!! They want to buy it!!! WOOOOOHOOOOO!!!! They have been approved at the bank but have to sell theirs first!! They have some lookers...so please pray that we will be blessed this summer to move back to Lubbock!! I know that the Lord is working and using our lives to show us and teach us great lessons!! I cannot wait to see what those lessons are!!

Wish you all a great week and until next time.....

We are grandparents!

I know, we look so young right?! Well, we are grandparents...of 8 little puppies!! Libby, yes...once again...had another litter! She is such a hussy!! I swear! But here is how it went down!

10 pm: Libby is pacing around acting like a wierdo! I am like "GET OUTSIDE IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE ACTING ALL CRAZY!"

2 am: I hear the whine of what I thought could possibly be a cat! OH NO!! Did a cat come through the doggie door?? EWWWW!!! I get up, only to find what could possibly be the last straw in me ever having any chance of liking Libby or getting along with her! REALLY!!! I walked into Brylee's room, the light is on and she is sitting at her princess table!! "MOMMY...Look, Libby had puppies!!!" She is so sweet with her innocent little voice, which does not stop the rage that is flying through my body as I look to discover that Libby has already given birth to 3 puppies and is currently delivering the 4th! Brylee has the 3 that are already born on her table, she is wiping them down with toilet paper! Yep, that's Brylee...she is our little animal lover and she is "cleaning" them. I look at Libby..."BAD DOG, BAD BAD BAD DOG!!" Then I yell to the other end of the house..."BRYAN...YOUR DOG NEEDS YOU!!" She did sure enough have those little rats on Brylee's bed! I am so incredibly grossed out by the nasty massacre that looks like it has taken place on the bed! I AM MAD!!

Bryan says..."Just let her keep having the rest, she already ruined the comforter set and mattress...we will deal with it tomorrow"...I say "We, ummmm YOU!!!" We put Brylee into our bed with us, where she continues to talk about the puppies and ask questions about them..."GO TO SLEEP, we will talk about it tomorrow!!"

4:30 am: I wake up to Bryan trying to get Brylee back in bed, she has decided to get up and play with the puppies a little...they are screaming! Our count is up to 6 at this point!

7 am: I get up before everyone else, and yes...count the puppies...8, we are the grandparents of 8!!! Bryan gets up and immediately moves them all out to the "House" in the backyard....along with the mattress to the dump....

In 6 short weeks, they will be the sweetest little pet for someone else out there...and Libby, well, we are taking away her motherhood abilities...YEP!! She is going in for a Fixin'!!

Will update again on these little buggers later!

Even though I dont particularly want them...they are cute!

Until the next adventure....Im off to bed!

When Curlers Go Wrong!

Last night was just like most Mondays around our house, we ate dinner, watched Dancing with the Stars, and while I cleaned the kitchen up, Bryan gave the kids a bath! He gives baths on Mondays and Wednesdays, which helps out alot...I still have to clean the mess up afterwards, but it still helps! When Brylee got out and we put her pajamas on, I decided to put the rollers that we had bought a few weeks ago in her hair! These were small sponge rollers. For those of you who do not know, Brylee has NO HAIR! She is 3 and it is finally past the tops of her ears! It is also blonde and extremely fine! She is still precious, just no braids yet!

So, I sat her down, got out the rollers and comb, and rolled away! It only took 14 rollers to do her whole head, if that doesn't tell you how little hair she has..... She was SOOO very proud of it though! She couldn't wait to show Bryan! Here is a picture of the rollers!!

She went to bed, and SURPRISINGLY, she slept all night with them in!! Whenever she woke up this morning, she was so sweet and was telling Bryan that she was ready to see her curls! I put her clothes on, and then I put her on the bathroom cabinet to do her hair! When I took out the curlers, I was trying not to laugh! The curls were frizzy and would not separate into ringlets, much less go into pigtails or anything else for that matter!!! She was looking at the mirror and started saying "Mommy, it looks silly!" And I lost it, I began to laugh and it hurt her feelings. I felt so bad, but it was so sad, yet funny at the same time! I combed it out and then decided we were going to have to wash it to get rid of the mess! She said "Fix it!" and so, what did I do? Well, what any mother would do...I got the camera!! She DID NOT want to have her picture taken!! So, here is the end results!! ENJOY A GOOD CHUCKLE!!

Now...if that is not the saddest face you have ever seen!! No people...I did not send her to school like this...I am not that mean!! I washed it out and redid her hair with pigtails! She was not traumatized and said I can try the rollers again some other time! I am thinking maybe when she is 10, her hair will be long enough!!

THE REAL FINAL RESULT!!

ENJOY THE REST OF YOUR WEEK...more stories are brewing!

An Introduction to Us!!

It begins with Bryan & I...we have been married 6 years in June!! Bryan is an electrician and he coaches Cooper's soccer team. He has recently started playing on a men's soccer league! WHEW!!! He is getting a workout! He is the best daddy I could have hoped my children would have! He's not to shabby as a husband either. He has blessed me with being able to stay home with our sweet babies since Cooper was born! Which leads to me...I am a SAHM, wife, and full time student! I have a few other titles, but you will probably hear about those sometime soon! I go to Texas Tech and will graduate (fingers crossed) in August!! It has been a long road, but good! I am hoping to start teaching in August too! I love crafting of any kind...my mind never stops turning! I have ideas all the time! I would love for this to be my full time job someday, but as for now, it is just a hobby!

We are members of a wonderful church and have an awesome family there!! I have made some really great friends and become a better person for knowing them! I still miss all of my friends back home, but that is what life is about...embracing the new and remembering the old!

Cooper was born in March 2004, he just celebrated his 5th birthday! He plays soccer and is going to be starting kindergarten in August! But, he is so very ready! He loves to play outside and is such a mastermind at playing trains and cars! He is such a sweetheart and is *usually* taking care of his little sister! He is too smart for his little britches sometimes, and does not like "because" as an answer to one of his questions! He is always saying funny little things that I am

sure I will be posting on here daily!! :)

Then there is Brylee!! What a girl!! She is such an independent little person already with big ideas, big blue eyes, and the sweetest big smile you've ever seen! She was born in November 2005 and is 3 years going on 17! She loves ballet and all of her friends there! She is a thinker and a doer! She hasn't quite learned the virtue of patience yet, but we are working on it! She cooks up these crazy ideas that usually get her in the most trouble!! She loves American Idol and Dancing with the Stars! She never stops talking and I have absolutely no idea where she gets it from! *WINK* She is strong and I know she will give us a run for our money! But, I wouldn't have it any other way!

We are hoping to be moving back into Lubbock soon, if we can ever get our house ready to sell...until then, we will just keep busy and keep going on with our lives! We spend most of our summer weekends camping and at the lake! The boat is one of our favorite things and we love it! Naps after church on Sundays are the highlight of our week and we couldn't imagine our life without each other! We are looking forward to watching our kids grow up and ready to see what God has in store for our future!! But we don't want to know our future, because we don't want to miss out on the adventure of the ride!!

THE BARBOURS!

And so it begins...

Well, it has already been quite an eventful week at our house! Cooper was given a swingset for his birthday in March! It has been so windy and we have been so EXTREMELY BUSY, therefore...we have not put up the swingset! On Saturday, we were in the car, on our way to Cooper's soccer game. Cooper is not exactly the David Beckham of his team, but the kid does have heart! We are always trying to "encourage" him to play and participate in the games. Bryan used the oldest trick in the book when it comes to kiddos...BRIBERY!! He said,"Cooper, if you play and try to score a goal today in the soccer game, I will put your swingset together!" Well, if that didn't get Cooper fired up. He ran with his soccer team, and even kicked the ball a few times! I know...I know...it's sad!! So, we came home after soccer, Bryan mowed the front and backyard, and he told Cooper that Sunday he would put together the swingset! As most of you know, Cooper does not EVER sleep in...so at 7 am, he was in our room..."Today is the day we will have a swingset!" We managed to atleast get him to let us wake up a little. I made the kids some breakfast, Bryan went to get a Red Bull, and at 9:30, we were in the backyard...looking over about 100 pieces that would make a swingset! The instruction manual said that it would take 4.5 hours to assemble...we finished at 1:00!!!!! The kids were so excited and just could not believe they had their own PLAYGROUND!!! Sunday was a good day!!

Monday came as it always does, Bryan left before we were awake. The kiddos woke up, and wanted to play on the playground, so I let them. It was nice for them to be able to go outside and play, I could actually get some things done inside the house! At about 10 am, the kids came rushing through the backdoor with a special new surprise. "Look Mom, it is our new friend, SAM!" It was a frog, which all kids seem to just flock to in a disgusting way. I told them that the frog had to go outside, that he could not live in my house and that they really needed to just leave him alone. I said it was fine if they wanted to watch him jump, but leave him alone. I then went to the sink to do dishes, which overlooks the backyard right where the swing set is now! I noticed they were pushing the swing, but no one was on it, or so I thought....Sam was on it. Before I could get to them, they had him on the slide...and DOOOOWWWNNN he went!! Once again, I said...LEAVE THE FROG ALONE!! We go on with the rest of our day...a good hand scrubbing, lunch, an attempt at a nap, a snack and YAY!! Daddy is home!! By this time, it is around 6 or so...and Cooper says "Daddy, I need you to help me find Sam, our new frog!" Bryan says ok and starts to go outside, Cooper stops him and says, "NO, he's in your room, under your bed! We need to break your bed apart to get him." I am listening now, and I said "Cooper, how did Sam get into my room, I said he had to stay outside?" Cooper:"I am very, very sneaky!" So, sure enough, Bryan looks under the bed, and there is Sam, probably hoping that he is never going to have to see our children again! Bryan put him outside and told the kids to leave him alone. After dinner, they went out to play some more and Brylee brought Sam back in the house in a cup, like we would not know what she was doing! :) POOR SAM!! He didn't know when he woke up this morning, he would have such a rough case of the MONDAYS! But he did! Everyone went to bed and we said our prayer for Sam!

Tuesday mornings are always crazy...I am getting ready, Bryan is getting ready and the kids are usually running around wild...we left for school! When we got home from school that day, the kids didn't even mention anything about Sam. Which I had hoped theyhad forgot about! Well, Cooper went outside and came back in to get Bryan. Cooper had found Sam, and picked him up! He was dead! The kids asked what happened and I had to explain to them why we cannot pick up small creatures and what happens when we treat Sam like a playmate! I thought they might be sad, but nope! Not the Barbour kids...they are POSITIVE! Cooper said,"It's okay, we can always just find another Sam!"

Until next time...enjoy the rest of your week and look out for the little creatures!