The Adventures of Tristan

 SWEET JESUS... I have a teenager!!!  Get off of here and start praying for me.  Seriously, read this later, I need prayer! HA! Today was a busy school day, and everything is "dorky" so I did what I could get away with... He was ok with balloons... so I stole some from his balloon arch! He promised not to be grumpy... and he kept his word! but he sure was a sleepy teen! Cards flew in... and lottery cards... and more money even though my family all donated to the Man Cave (more on that soon!) Banner in the front... LOVE this BTW! Can see it better here! Time for a soccer game!  Go Trojans!! Then after the game as we were headed to dinner... T got a quick squeeze from Tippi!   Then these goofballs enjoyed Benihana with us! Thanks for coming Noah!! (Sadly, Grayson was sick so tradition was broken - but we will make it up to them!) Blew out some candles and called it a day. Party is in two weeks.  Poker, cake, and a lot of friends sleeping over.  Pray...

(didn't post on time, ignore "tomorrow because today is 1/17) ----------------------------------------------------------  Well , it's official.  Tomorrow I will have a teenager. Tomorrow.  How can this be?  You were 5 ... yesterday.  I know everyone says this goes by fast.. and they weren't kidding.  tomorrow...  today.. you are still my baby! I don't love this age.  It's a lot of eye rolls, annoyance, "go away-s, why are you ALWAYS around?" and did I mention eye rolls? But it's part of it and regardless of how it feels in the moment, I KNOW how blessed I am to be your mom! There is nothing, absolutely NOTHING I would rather give my time and resources to. As I sit here and reflect on the past stages, I' m so proud.   You are just a GREAT human Tristan Holt Barber. I could post a thousand pictures and funny moments, but the most important thing to say is that you are beautiful inside and out.  You are questioning faith, and...

 Aunt Connie does it again!  She went overboard.  We found the same trampoline that the Nunnally's had on sale.. and she went for her.  She told me that the only reason she was doing a big one was because she handn't bought T anything for his bday or Christmas in two years. I'm not sure that's true... but ... you can't argue this stuff with Connie!  Plus, I would have done the same thing! We were sneaky and she hired this guy to set it up while T was in playing... Merry Birthday!  The sign is ingenious! I ordered us dinner, so we all ate and chatted...  we decorated after and then we were ready to go! There was looots of singing and lots of hugging... and BIG smiles!! Trooper wasn't sure if this was fun or scary so he was losing it... Tried to jump up a few times, one he hit his face and bounced off. The net threw him for a loop Lauren got in and they laughed and finally perfected the high five!!! Goofball I took everyone for ice cream... my first expe...

   Thank you for being the ONLY ONE to acknowledge my 15 years at Balfour RVC!!

 He's 12 for 5 more days... It's all going by way too quickly.... I wish I could freeze time and snuggle him just a little while longer. So lucky to be your mom.  Sleep tight buddy! I miss every stage BUT I know, there is so much more to come!! I love you, can't wait to watch your life unfold, Mom

  My Aunt Trisha gave me the most thoughtful Christmas gift.  Growing up I used to crawl up this tree in her yard and I would get swarmed by lady bugs. I loved it they would crawl on my arms and legs and I would make wishes every time they flew away. I took great care making sure they were "ok" and not squished. And I'm pretty sure I climbed that tree every time I was there.  To this day. every time I see one - I think of Aunt Trisha and Uncle Jack... and it makes me smile. And the fact that this was handmade by my Uncle's sister in law, and from his home town... makes my heart sing!  The card

Erica is from Skaneateles and she's one of T's friends' moms... and I love her.  Every single time I'm with her, she's like home.  She has four boys... (two above) Todd, and Trent, then T and a friend Dylan. She took us to her suite at Cowboy stadium and spoiled the boys rotten.  We played terribly... so let's not even discuss the game! I love that she treats Tristan as if he were her own.  She has a VERY different life than me... but she accepts me for who I am.  Truly hope it's a friendship that God grows.  T feels like he has 4 siblings and I do too!  Thanks for spoiling us!!