thebarksdalecrew: January 2016

So the weekend of December 11-13 Heinz had his first weekend away from Mama and Daddy. We went with our great friends Robyn and Jake to our other great friend Drew's wedding in Winston Salem, NC. We left on Friday afternoon drove almost 10 hours and then drove back on Sunday morning. It was a quick trip but totally worth it! It was so fun to be with some of my fabulous High School friends and to see Drew marry the beautiful love of his life, Allison. The wedding and the reception were just beautiful. I didn't take as many pictures as I wish I would have but this is what I have... :-)

The dapper groom!

Memphis crew! Loved spending time with them 10 hours from home!

My forever wedding date! Love this man of mine!

We had a wonderful time in NC but we were ready to see our baby boy on Sunday afternoon! I think we missed him more than he missed us! He spent Friday night with Mimi and JoeJoe and he spent Saturday night with Maggie and Johnny. We picked him up at Mimi's around 5 on Sunday! Oh I was so excited to get the baby boy in my arms! It was like an early Christmas present! The best one ever! These are some pictures that Mimi and Maggie sent me over the weekend!

Eating Swankys with Maggie and Johnny. He only choked on ONE chip! HA! This boy and chips!

This chair is so special! This was my mama's chair when she was a little girl! Heinz loves it. My parents just redid their kitchen and (since this picture) my dad has recovered the kitchen table chairs and covered this chair to match! So special!

Heinz loves Maggie and Johnny's dog, Elvis!

Heinz loves his big boy cousins!

Sweet boy ready for church on Sunday. Maggie said he fell asleep on her shoulder..... sweating the whole time! SHOCKER!

Heinz,

Your family loves you so much. Family meaning your mama and your daddy PLUS all of your grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and more! You are one loved baby boy!

A little more backtracking....

A few days before we left for Winston Salem, I attended my first SAA-SDS Faculty Christmas party! It was so much fun to sit at the SAA Lower School table. What sweet women who have totally embraced me and loved me since day one. I am so lucky to be part of such a wonderful team and such a close knit school family. I went from one FABULOUS school at Sudduth to another FABULOUS school at SAA. So blessed and thankful! Here are a few pics from the night...

Sweet Karen - God truly blessed me with her! What an amazing woman she is! Her sassy self is an inspiration to me!

Grade1, 3, and 2! So thankful for these two! They have helped me so much!

Girls that worry together stay together. So thankful for this worry sister of mine. She is such an example of kindness and faith. So happy to have her in my life!

Talk about a soul sister.... I will forever remember what she whispered in my ear while she hugged me during the sign of peace at mass one day! She said... "I am so thankful that God had our paths cross." What an encouraging and kind thing to say to a teacher who is nervous, worried, and ready to feel at home. This woman has been so good to me and is so right... our paths crossed for a reason! Thankful for your funny self!

Last but not least... this sister! She came all the way from the ECC table to get a picture with her old college friend. So thankful for her help during this life transition. The Barksdale crew wouldn't have been able to do THIS without your help. Thank you for welcoming me to SAA with open arms and an open heart. Love you James!

Dear Heinz,

I hope that you always surround yourself with friends and coworkers that support and encourage you daily. I have been so blessed to work at two AMAZING schools full of women and men who have loved me like their own. Always know that you are worth that and more sweet baby. I love you forever.

xoxo,

Mama

Heinz (okay mainly me and Brad) were excited to announce that Baby Barksdale #2 is on the way!

#babybark2 will be here in August. Official due date is August 13th.... Just in time for the beginning of the school year. Hey... Who said timing is EVERYTHING?

I have been extremely nauseous and just blah the past few weeks. The doctor gave me some medicine for that and I am beginning to feel better. Praise the Lord!

All is well and we are so excited (and nervous) to welcome #babybark2 into our crew!

"Mama, what is this?"

His shirt says "Mery Christmas to me because I'm a big brother to be!"

And then it turned into a chasing game...

Dear babies,

We love you so much and we are so excited to be a family of 4! Heinz, you're going to be the best big brother! Baby Bark -- you are already so loved!

August will be here before we know it! #babybark2 #summerpregnancy #swollen

Ha ha.

We had a fun New Year's Eve celebrating 2015 and Mimi's birthday. It was so fun spending the evening... and early morning hours at my parents house! We loved having Anna, Hunter, and Monica here to celebrate with us! I probably was not the BEST host but this morning sickness aka all day sickness had me like WOAH. Thank goodness for meds and that it is definitely on the sunny side now! Ben, Teresa, Connell, Clara, and Charlie were also in town for a few days which was so fun! 2016 has been great so far! We just got home from a quick weekend in Columbus. We attended Teresa/Nana's swearing in ceremony for her new job as Circuit Clerk of Columbus, MS. We are so excited and happy for her! What a great accomplishment -- now onto a great term! On the way back (okay, a little out of the way) we made a stop in Starkville to visit friends, to visit my old school Sudduth, to visit my people at my fave pilates studio Midtown Pilates, anddddd of course to get slightly emotional. Well, I did. No one else did. SHOCKER! I love living in Memphis but I loved living in Starkville too. I truly feel as though I have two cities that I can call home. The Barksdale crew is looking forward to another year with our family and our friends. We are so thankful for God's constant blessings and grace.

Here are the very FEW pictures I took over the New Year!