Christmas Eve 2013!

On Christmas Eve, we got up and made gluten free pancakes! Then Papa and Niecey left around 10 am and Daddy left for church right after that, so it was just the girls and I for most of the day! 

We had a birthday party for Jesus, and Avaree made everyone wear party hats! :) We had Christmas music playing on the tv all morning, and we danced a lot!

I think they are adorable. :)

Then, I put Felicity down for a nap, and Avaree and I made cupcakes for Jesus! As you can see, she was most excited about the decorating part! :)

And, then, we had surprise visitors!!!!!! It was such a great surprise to see Uncle Scott, Shea Shea, Karrington and Kennedee! They were sweet enough to even "try" our Jesus cupcakes! They were pretty, but didn't taste good! They were already gluten free and dairy free, but then about two hours later, I found the "buttery spread" that was supposed to replace the butter in the cake mix in the microwave. Oops! ;) Only Jesus would eat them and love them! :)

Avaree was all about Karrington!!!!

Felicity and Kennedee! :)

And then Avaree wanted to put a party hat on sweet Gimli! He's so good. 

Later that afternoon, the girls and I got dressed and headed to Christmas Eve service at LABC. Christmas Eve services are always so special. 

This Christmas Eve I got to hold Felicity while she slept. Last Christmas Eve she had just started feeling her move in my belly. On Christmas Eve, she fell asleep while Daddy was singing, and she didn't wake up until Pastor Eric said Amen after his sermon and prayer! :) 

Avaree enjoyed sitting between Gigi and Pops during the service, and I got this sweet picture of them during the candlelight portion of the service while they were singing "Silent Night!" :) She was so proud that she got to hold her own candle. It was only blown out once during the song-ha! 

After service, we got to visit with more family! This is B with his newly engaged cousin, Tawney! :)

…and B with sissy and Tanner!

…and we got a few family shots! :) 

Love this one! Of course, Ave had put a yellow color film on my camera phone, so all of my pictures are yellow! :)

Then, we came home, and my dreams came true as the girls put on their matching pajamas, we read the Christmas story, and we let them each open one gift! :)

Love these girls.

My girls and me. 

Daddy reading the Christmas story from Avaree's Jesus Storybook Bible!

Felicity and I took a couple of selfies, so that she didn't try to rip out any pages from the bible!

We let the girls each open one gift! it was so fun to watch them! Felicity was actually VERY interested in her present! Besides trying to eat the paper, she loved the sound of ripping the paper, and she loved the tulle! :)

Very serious business!

Avaree ripped hers open in about four seconds! :)

I know this is blurry, but you can see how excited she was! :)

Avaree listened to everyone's heartbeats and breathing several times! :)

…and then she helped sissy play with her toy! ;)

We tucked the girls into bed, and we sent out their presents for the morning! It was an early night for all of us, but so so good!

Our Christmas Eve's will always be a little different than most since Daddy will be at church most of the day, but I was so happy to get to start our own traditions with our little family! :) AND I absolutely will always buy the girls matching christmas jammies! :) We are still wearing them and love them! I can  picture them as teenagers in their matching jammies! :)

This Christmas was so special because Avaree "gets it."

Stay tuned! :)

It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to 2013...

Do you remember that Boys II Men song from years ago? I'm pretty sure I was in junior high when that was popular, so I know I'm dating myself, but I danced to it at more than one of the proms I attended in high school! :)
That is exactly how I feel about 2013.
In so many ways this past year was hard--really, really hard, but it was also miraculous--in many, many ways. I would be remiss if I did not take at least a moment to reflect on it. 
The hills and valleys of 2013 all worked together to reveal God's amazing handiwork in our lives. 
Here's my top ten (plus one) list!
1. Our family came to LABC! (Well, we actually started in mid-December, but it became HOME to us in 2013!)  2. Baby Barton (We didn't know if she was Felicity or Brandt until she was born!) showed signs of significant birth defects from thirteen weeks on. I had to have sonograms every four weeks through 33 weeks, and it was an extremely difficult time for me emotionally. 

3. We moved out of our "Princess Castle" in Grapevine and moved into our new home in Arlington! While I was so very very happy to have a garage and a home again, I loved how simple our lives became in that tiny apartment. I will never ever take my garage for granted again though. This was our tiny tree in our tiny apartment last year. We were close in every sense of the word! ;) God certainly revealed to us why he had us in that apartment though. I wouldn't trade it for anything now. 

4. The doctor's uncanny revelation that our baby was perfect with no health issues! The doctor's official notes stated that the echogenic focus must have been a heart muscle that didn't show up clearly at first, and the baby's kidney levels miraculously went back to below normal levels. We know that God healed our baby, and we are so thankful that he chose to do so. I will sing His Praises for the rest of my days. I remember going to breakfast with Brandon after our appointment completely numb with joy. I know that doesn't make sense, but I could barely move. I was so overcome with thankfulness.  You can find more on Felicity's pre-birth story here. 
5. Avaree became a BIG SISTER when Felicity was born on April 11th!

6. Felicity spent eight long days in the NICU. God chose to heal our baby again, and we will be forever grateful. We learned so much during those days, and God showed His mighty powers. On day 5 of her life, we went from discussions of intubation to amazing progress and never looked back. Thank you, Jesus!

7. …and just like that, I started living my dreams. I went from being a working Mom to a Stay-At-Home-Mom! I'm learning so much and feel so blessed to be with my girls!

8. Our first niece was born!!!!! Evyn Pearson Smith was born on July 15th (my Dad's birthday), and she is more precious than gold!!! :)

9. Avaree turned FOUR, and Felicity was dedicated at church all in the same weekend!

10. Brandon finished school!!!!!!!!!! This has been a long journey, and we are so thankful and SO PROUD that Daddy has completed his undergraduate degree in religion! YAY DADDY!!!! :)

11. …and most recently, we were able to celebrate Jesus's birthday as a family of FOUR! :)

Thank you, God, for 2013. I will forever treasure it in my heart, and thank you to our precious family and friends for praying us through it all.

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." --Romans 8:28

I can only imagine what 2014 will hold…

Christmas with Papa and Niecey!

Why do the red and green m&ms taste so much better than the regular ones? Every time I think we are almost finished with a bag, another one shows up. #brandonbarton

I love our tree and the sweet little ornaments that Avaree made at school! :)

Papa and Niecey came up the Monday before Christmas to have Christmas with us! They surprised Avaree with a date to see the new Disney movie, Frozen! 

Felicity spent her day walking back and forth on the couch! :)

Niecey loved her little calendar!

…and I found the socks Dad likes! :)

Ave loved her jewels!

:) love this picture!

Sissy is not a fan of the flash! :)

Papa and Felicity!

Papa and Avaree always spend time swinging when they are here! :)

The girls got luggage!!!! YAY!

…of course Ave had to pull hers all over he house!

Avaree was patiently waiting for Niecey's help to open her gift!

F was crawling on her luggage! :)

A jewelry box with a ballerina!!!

She was enamored...

"Mommy, LOOK!"

…and all the jewels to go in it!

She loves the little ballerina!

Someone emailing and someone working on a puzzle. You guess who is doing what? ;)

Avaree wanted Papa to wear a birthday hat for Jesus' birthday! :) We are going with the assumption that Jesus understands my girl's love for pink and sees her sweet heart! :)

Papa and Niecey left Christmas Eve morning, so they weren't here long, but we enjoyed our time with them so much!!! :) 

Much more Christmas coming up! :)