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Hey folks!

Please allow me to introduce you to my newest little niece!

Karis Evangelynn Mueller was born this past Saturday (01/19/2013) at 12:18 in the morning!  She weighed 9 lbs, 13 oz, and was 21.5 inches long!

The Lord was faithful to supply much-needed grace for Joe, Mary Jane, and Karis throughout the many long hours of labor, and to bring them safely through that process.  They are all doing well.

Interesting fact: Willie Barta (Jared & Becca's first - who happened to be a boy) shares his birthday with his great granddad (Bruce Carter).  Likewise, Karis Mueller (Joe & Mary Jane's first - who happened to be a girl) shares her birthday with her great grandma (Eleanor Carter).  :-)  I just found that very interesting and wanted to share it.

Here is one of the first pictures they sent us as we waited up into the wee hours at the Stoll house with her other aunts - a delightful time, I might add.  :-)

After getting all the stats, sharing them with many friends and family members, seeing a picture or two, we all headed to bed...I think it was before 2.

They told us they'd be ready to have us come around lunchtime, so we got some semi-decent rest and occupied ourselves with wondering this, that, and the other thing about who she'd look like, how long her hair would be, etc., etc., etc. all the rest of the morning.  :-)

Karis looks so sweet and serene.

We got to sign in and wear official visitor passes.  I wonder what was going through the mind of each of the nurses who walked by and saw all 13 of us waiting in the hall outside their room while they made a few final preparations for our first visit.

 

Everybody got their turn to hold her.  I don't have those pictures until Mom brings the camera back, but I'll try and select some of them to make another post soon here.

Sweet little Karis

Here she is in the dress her grandpas picked out of the clothes Joe & Mary Jane had for her when Mary Jane asked for an outfit to be brought from the house.

 Her eyes are open again!  :-)

"Hi, Sweetheart!"

Oh, by the way, the first thing pretty much everybody said was "Look at those cheeks!".  They are pretty big!  In fact, we found it kind of humorous that, if you look at her straight on, you can't see her ears past her cheeks!  (I can verify that she does have ears, in case you were concerned.)

  

Here's the picture Mom sent us this morning - her last day up there.  What a doll!  :-)

Now, I know this is totally unrelated (except that it required us to come home sooner), but I'm including it in the same post so it does not appear above and hide the post about Karis.

I, Heidi, got my two bottom wisdom teeth pulled on Monday.  All went well, but here are some pictures for those who like to see chubby chipmunk cheeks.  =)

Photo Progression of Heidi's Recovery from her Wisdom Teeth Extraction:

Monday morning on the way home

Comfy on the couch

After first food - some lime jello for "lunch".  No, I wasn't pouting - That's just the way my face was swollen.  Yes, I had swallowed.  No, I had no idea I was saving that jello for later until I looked at the picture I had taken.

 Tuesday evening

 

Wednesday afternoon

 Friday afternoon

Saturday afternoon - The swelling seems to be pretty much done with its performance.

Now it's time for the bruises to show off.

Happy New Year to all!

Greetings to everybody!  As we look forward to what the Lord has planned for this new year into which we have just flown, I am making one public "New Year's Resolution".



Ready?



My "New Year's Resolution" is...



...to make more blog posts in 2013 than I did in 2012!  ;-)  For those of you who want to know exactly what that amounts to, you can take a look at the "Posts of the Past" listing on the sidebar below all of the pictures.  What you'll find is that your memory serves you quite accurately.  You didn't see very many posts this last year.  Actually, there were a total of 6 for the entire year.

Obviously, this *shouldn't* be too difficult...but it's a goal that I would like to reach.  I would personally love to go way beyond...I'm just not going to make a grand promises since I can't tell what this year will hold.

For those wondering about the weddings posts that were (and are) to come, but haven't yet been seen, let me explain what became of them.  I was carrying many loads at once.  The posts kept getting set aside because other things had a higher priority and greater urgency.   They kept weighing heavily on me and I had other things I wanted to post about that wouldn't take as long...but I don't like to back-post as I find that to be rather confusing (In other words, I like to keep things chronological.)...but I wasn't about to skip over the weddings entirely! Well, I needed to relieve myself of part of my load and get a few things off my mind so it would be more effective at what was required of it.  Therefore, I determined that I would go ahead and post things that were current (like my new nephew, for instance), and save each of the wedding posts for their one-year anniversaries.  Now you know when to be looking for them!  :-)  (And now I know when my deadlines are... :-/ )

Merry Christmas!

I was thinking about Christmas and what it's all about.  Yes, "Jesus is the Reason for the Season"...but it's more than that.  Yes, we're celebrating the birth of Jesus...but it's more than that too.  Today we celebrate and thank God for giving us His Son, not just to be a baby in a manger, but to "save His people from their sins"!

As I thought on this, I started thinking about where in the Bible it specifically states that this is why Jesus came.  I have listed below the two verses that came to my mind.  Perhaps you can think of a few others to add to the list.

Praise the Lord with me for the greatest gift of all - His great gift of salvation!

• "...Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief"!              (I Timothy 1:15)
• "...the Son of Man came...to give His life a ransom for many"!  (Mark 10:45)

Merry CHRISTmas, one and all!  Enjoy the time with your loved ones...and remember to thank the Lord for the gift that really matters!

60th Anniversary

On this day, November 29th, in 1952,  

Eleanor Wilson

and

Bruce Carter

were joined in Holy Matrimony.

Bruce was a military man, so the family has lived in many, many different places including (but certainly not limited to) Germany, Arizona, Tennessee, several different places in Illinois, and more.

A brief history of their family life is as follows.

Bruce & Eleanor's first child, Philip Neil, was stillborn during their time in Germany.  They then decided to adopt a German infant, whom they named Eileen Yvonne.  In 1955, Alan Bruce was born.  Paul Richard was next.  Sandra Michele was born in 1959.  Then came Linda Sue.  Steven Bradford was next.  Their last child, David Earl, was stillborn.

I shall not take the time to expound in like manner upon each of their children's lives as that would take quite some time, but I shall note that Bruce & Eleanor Carter now have in addition to their

6 children,

30 grandchildren,

and

14 great-grandchildren, with some more on the way.

(No spouses were included in any of these numbers.)

Interrupting the Silence to Introduce...

Cody Marshall Barta!

Born at 10:48 a.m. on Tuesday, November 20th, Cody weighs 9 lbs. 4 oz., and is 21.5 in. long.

A picture speaks a thousand words (especially when it's a new baby) , so I'm pretty much going to let them speak for themselves, I think.  (I've come down with a head-cold, so my current brain-fog doesn't help me to wax verbose.)

Day 1

 Cody meets Aunt Lisa!

 Cody meets Uncle Zachary!

(Sorry it's upside-down.  I don't seem to have enough clarity of thought to right it.)

 Nana & Papa Barta and big sister, Savannah delight in little Cody.

  Sometimes, when you visit your brother-in-law, you get interesting pictures!  :-)

Nana & Papa Barta with all of their Jared&Becca grandkids

Cody meets Aunt Kimberly!

 Cody meets Aunt Heidi!

 So good to be together again!

Uncle Zach entertained Conner with a ride.

 

 Day 2

Aunt HollyBeth helps Savannah hold her baby brother.

(Cute story - When Savannah was holding him the first day and somebody asked her if Conner could hold him now, she grabbed him around the waist and made it clear she was not interested in ending her turn just yet!  :-)  )

Open your mouth so I can give you your pacifier

He doesn't seem to want it Aunt HollyBeth.  What do I do with it now?

I'll try again.

Hey cool!  I can put my finger in there!

Look Mom!  I'm being so silly!

Oh, Daddy!  You're so funny!

 It's time for Kimberly's famous, post-birth foot massage!  Ahhhhhhhhhh!  :-)

 Daddy got us special treats while we visited Baby Cody!

 

Sweet husband right there while enjoying a fabulous foot massage - Can it get any better than this?!  :-)

More time with Uncle Zach...

 ...and Uncle David.

Uncle David made him cry.  :-0

 More time with Aunt Kimberly

Cody meets Papa Mueller!

 Seems contented enough!

Becca and Cody are both doing well.  They arrived home today, Thanksgiving, and we have much to be thankful for in their safety, health, and return home!

(Again, sorry it's side-ways.)

Mommy Barta is happy to be home!

Sleepy little man, yawning away.  :-)