Christmas Fun!!

Megan got the zune she wanted!

Gabe got a "princess" gift card :)

We had a great Christmas. Mark, Marsha, Katie and Austin came up on Tuesday the week before Christmas. They were able to stay with us until the following Monday. They wanted to get to spend Christmas with the kids in Mobile. We had so much fun spending time with them. Katie and Austin had grown so much!

Gabe came in the Saturday before Christmas and will leave this Sunday. He is another one that has grown, straight up!

We spent time with Heather and Kyle before they left going to Tennessee. We found out that Sydney may come at the end of January instead of February...we are all excited about her arrival!

Megan got her zune! I think that was her favorite gift...well maybe the new karate uniform ranked up there in her favorites too.

Karate Kick-a-thon

This Saturday was the Kick-a-thon that Megan participated in. She did great. She finished her 1000 kicks in about 2 hours. I am posting a few pictures so those of you that gave a donation know you got your money's worth. She has raised about $350! I will post the Karate Studio total amount as soon as we know. This was for a great cause and I know the people that benefit from the food baskets will really appreciate your generosity and the kids willingness as well. Thanks again to all of you that donated.

Katie's 2nd Birthday

We had a great time in Mobile celebrating Katie's 2nd Birthday. She had a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse party. Can you guess what Papaw Greg is doing??? Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Megan's Karate Graduation

Megan graduated to her orange/yellow belt in karate and to her yellow belt in Jujitsu. As you can see she had a great time. Karate is something she is really enjoying.

It's A Girl!!!

Just letting everyone know, Heather is having a girl! Syndney Marie Gillstrap is set to arrive the first part of February. I will keep you posted!

Depot Days

Megan entered 2 of her pictures in the Art contest at Depot Days. She won 1st place with each one. I am very proud of her! The bunny picture was completed in about 30 minutes while riding in the car....it amazes me when I look at the talent she has. The panda is a scratchboard picture, which means it starts out totally black and you have to scratch your picture into it. This is amazing to watch.

Megan - Featured Artist

We had a great time at the art studio. Megan's artwork looked great! There were several people that came out to encourage her and to see her newest pieces. I am going to put a few up for you to enjoy.

There is no place like home!

Well it has been 5 days since we left Mobile. I miss my grandbabies so much. I miss Marsha and Mark too...but there is no place like home. We have been so busy since we returned home, I haven't had time to update my blog at all. Megan is busy with school, karate, art, guitar, church and anything else she finds interesting. I have been trying to catch up on things that need doing around home and getting her to her many activities.
We are preparing for the "Featured Artist" show this weekend at Hartselle Art Studio. Megan is very excited.
I will say bye for now....I am going to try and get some pics up of Megan at karate soon! Until then...

On our way home....

Well my time with Marsha, Mark, Katie and Austin has quickly came to an end. We will be leaving tomorrow...and I know there will be tears... I have really enjoyed my stay with them. But I must get back home to my hubby...who I miss so much. Here are a few picture I finally got to take with my grandbabies...As you can see there is still room for more grandbabies in my lap!

Megan's newest artwork

Megan worked on this for about 30 minutes! Some people get all the talent...LOL. She did this picture for a friend. Hope you enjoy!

Things are great!

Just wanted to update you all, we are doing fine. Katie and Austin are both growing and changing each day. Austin went for his weight check on Thursday and is now up to 7lbs. He is doing great. Katie is adjusting to having a baby brother around...but she is doing good. She is going to see Elmo tonight with her daddy and Aunt Megan. I am sure she is going to enjoy that. We have tried to get some pics with Katie and Austin, but as of yet, Katie doesn't want to cooperate. We will keep trying. Here is another pic of Austin for you to enjoy. We miss everyone and will see you in less than a week.

Austin Tyler Barton 1 week old today

Here is one of the pictures that we took of Austin today. We couldn't go outside due to the storms, so we decided to get some pics of Austin. We plan on getting some of Katie and Austin soon and I will post them. Enjoy!

Photo by: Marsha Barton

We are all OK!

Thanks for all of your prayers, we are all fine. The weather is still a little stormy, but the hurricane went west of us and we are all doing fine. We learned how to prepare for a hurricane. Megan even helped board up the windows. We will gets lots of rain and wind today, but the worse should be over. Just wanted to update you all and let you know that we are fine.
See you all soon!

Megan-Featured Artist

Hey everyone! Just wanted to let you know that Megan was chosen as featured artist for Hartselle Art Studio. She is so excited! Her art work will be on display for Depot Days and the actually event is the next day. I will post the actual invitation as soon as it is completed. Go ahead and mark your calendars. Hartselle Art Studio is located on Main street in Hartselle just east of Slate Framing.
She will have most of her artwork on display and the other students will have work on display as well. It is a free event and I know Megan will be so excited to see all of you there.

Gustav

We are preparing for Gustav. From what we can tell now, we will get rain, wind, etc. Mandatory evacuations for those south of I10, we are about 5 miles north of I10. Marsha and Austin really are not up to leaving unless things looked like a direct hit to Mobile, then we would try to go somewhere. This will definitely be an experience for us. We covet your prayers and I will keep you all posted.
We are having a wonderful time, yesterday I kidnapped Megan and spent the day with her. We went to Fort Conde, Museum of Mobile, the Exploriam and the mall. We had a great time and it was a much needed break for both of us.
We miss you all so much and we will be home before you know it!
I love you all!

Isn't He Handsome???

Just an update, Marsha and Austin are home and doing great! Austin is eating and sleeping so good. Katie is adjusting so good. She loves her little brother, she wants to hug and kiss him all the time. I will be posting more pics soon, we will have time to take more now that we are home.

See you all soon!

They are home!!

Well Marsha and Austin arrived home today. Just in time to start preparing for Hurricane Gustav! Oh well...I guess we need some excitement in our lives while we are here right? I guess a new little one isn't enough for us.
Katie is adjusting well, she wants to hold and kiss Austin frequently. I can see why God gives us children while we are young and grandchildren as we age. Katie has wore me out these past few days, she never sits still! It has been so much fun to spend time with her while Marsha was in the hospital.
Keep us all in your prayers. We miss you all lots!

He is here!!

Austin arrived at 7:30am today. He weighed 6 lbs and 11 ounches. He was 20 inches long. Both mom and baby are doing great. Big sister Katie is enjoying him too. I hope you enjoy a few pics. I will post more as time permits. Thanks for your prayers! We miss you all!

Anita & Megan

Just Waiting...

Seems like today is a waiting day...Waiting on "Fay" to go through...waiting on Monday to get here. Just wanted to update everyone. So far we have just got wind...not much in the line of rain. However, the next 24 hours will be the most severe. Keep us all in your prayers as we ride out the storm and prepare for Austin's birth on Monday.
I miss all of you and will see you all soon!

Busy, busy, busy...

I am enjoying my time in Mobile so much. Katie is growing and is so much fun now. She has already counted to 13 by herself for me. She can name animals and all the sounds they make. She is talking in sentences, actually she can carry on a conversation with me! I am having so much fun just being around her. She will tell me, " I love you the most" which makes my face light up with joy. Of course, there is no way she can love me more than I love her...but I let her win that argument.
Marsha is preparing for Austin's arrival. She is packing her suitcase and doing those last minute things she has to do. She went and got a pedicure and manicure this week while I watched Katie. Last night she got to soak in the tub and relax, something we all know she won't get to do much anymore!
Megan is enjoying being that "Aunt Meg" to Katie. She was playing with the playdough with her today. We took Katie to the watermelon patch today as well. That place is great! We should have one of those in North AL.
I will close for now...look for pics to be posted Monday afternoon.
Until then...

Hurricane Fay

Hey everyone! We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Austin. From what the weather channel is saying, Mobile will get 8-15 inches of rain from Fay. According to the weather channel it is going to start moving in sometime Saturday afternoon, so if that is the case Austin may arrive during Fay. I have tried to change Marsha's mind about her delivery date, but for some reason she won't change :). We will keep you posted as things progress.

Pics of Katie

We got a few shots of Katie while we were at the Botanical Gardens..hope you enjoy.

In Mobile

We are in Mobile awaiting the arrival of Austin Barton! We are enjoying our time with Katie, Marsha and Mark. Katie has grown so much and is so much fun right now.

We found time to go and take some pics of Megan at the Botanical Gardens yesterday.

The day we left North Alabama Megan found out she will be the featured artist at Hartselle Art Studio in September. Her work will be displayed for everyone to come and see. It is going to be Sunday Sept 21st. Mark your calendars now and I will send more information later. Megan was so excited about getting chosen as featured artist.

I am going to say bye for now and play with Katie. I will keep you all updated and get pics on as soon as our little Austin arrives!!

Photos By: Marsha Barton