Another Day, Another Dollar

Christmas is already behind us. And this year was a good year!

 The Barker's are really looking forward to 2012!

First things first...I got a new job! I will start January 4th and I'm really looking forward to it.

More details to come later.

Leven got East Texas Coach of the Year! This is his second time in 4 years to receive this honor.

And he deserves every bit of it. Congrats babe!

Taydem and Trever both had a really good Christmas this year. It's just a good feeling to know that you can provide your kids with nice things. Not only did they receive nice presents from us, but from all our family as well! Here are just a few pictures I took from Christmas morning. I got hooked up this year with not one, but two pair of cowboy boots! Leven told me I'm turning country on him!

Trever finally has his license! What a mess it is now to be able to drive...legally! Thanks to me!! I finally got all the paper work finished, the many hours logged, and he passed the driving test this morning! Yippee! Seems like yesterday I got my license.

This is my last week of work with ESA Consulting. And no one is here. So this makes for a very boring week. I will now be working for C&S Lease and will be doing the same type of environmental work. But this time I'm only working with 2 men for the most part. They both use to work for ESA and they asked me to come aboard with them. I will be doing more "field work" with this company. I want to learn learn learn as much as I can! The company made me an offer I just couldn't turn down. I will miss everyone at ESA, but now I will be able to provide more for my family. AND the hours are still flexible! Wish me luck!

Christmas is here, it's everywhere!

Everyone must love Christmas! It's a time of giving. A time with family. And the birth of our Jesus Christ Lord and Savior! One of my favorite things about this time of year is going to the mailbox and getting Christmas cards!! I also enjoy sending our cards to family and friends.

I couldn't get this to rotate!

I took Taydem to Santaland last Friday night to look at all the lights. She's so much fun this year with Christmas. Danin also tagged along with us! I think we only had to wait in line for like 10 minutes. We have heard of horror stories of waiting in line for hours. But it's the perfect thing to do with friends and families. It's $20 per car and you can have up to 15 people in a car. So the majority of the folks were riding in trucks with all the kiddos piled up in the back end with blankets and heavy coats! Cheap entertaiment.

Here are a few pictures I took.

Our Christmas tree is covered with all sorts of ornaments! I love it. I buy Tay and Trever an ornament every year. All the ornaments I grew up with on my parents Christmas tree are now on my tree. She gave them to me once I was married. Here is one that Taydem found and knew right away who it was!!

This picture was taken before Trever's Christmas choir performance!

My Deer Hunter

So Leven went and Leven killed!

I'm glad he's back home! So once again, I will have another deer hanging from my wall.

This makes number 3! I hope after this one, he will cool it for awhile.

I'm finally done with all my shopping! And it feels GOOOOOD!

A Change is a Comin'

Maybe....I will let you know soon!

Leven is away hunting, AGAIN! I hope he gets his 10 point this year. At least I have a busy weekend planned. Tonight Danin, Tay and I are headed to SantaLand! It's about a 45 minute drive to get there, but I know Tay will love it. It's tons and tons and tons of Christmas themed lights. You drive in your car the whole time down a little pathway of row inside all the lights. I have NEVER been. So I'm a little excited myself. Tomorrow I'm getting my hair colored. Its been awhile since the last time I did it, PLUS this past week I found TWO grey hairs. OMG! Then we have a 2 o'clock wedding to attend at our church. Taydem will be my date since Leven is gone. I doubt Trever will want to go.

My dad's Aunt (my papaw's sister) past away this morning on her 92nd birthday. Can you believe that? She past away on her special day. God has away of doing his own thing. So as I speak, my parents are headed to Tennessee to be with the family. 

My nephew Truitt will be baptised this Sunday. It is breaking my parents heart to drive to Tennessee and have to miss this special day for Truitt. I told my mom I would video it on my phone and send it to her.

Christmas is next week...FOLKS! I'm almost done. I'm so excited for 2012! A change is a comin'!

Small town

I graduated with a class of 87. Yes, I come from a small town. Tatum, Texas might have 1600 people in the town. When I was in school we were class 3A. In the past 10 years we have bounced back and forth from 3A to 2A. If you were raised in a small town, then you understand all the "small town" stuff. If you were raised in the suburbs, then you have no idea how exciting it really is to go to a Friday night football game!!! And a PLAYOFF Friday night football game is even better. The Tatum Eagles are playing tonight in the state semi finals against Hempstead. They are playing in Waco which works out perfectly for us since we were already coming to Mexia for the weekend. (Mexia and Waco are about 50 miles from each other ). Over the many years as a school, we have seen many playoff games from both the boys and girls side! AND, we have been successful and won state championships!

I can remember a few years ago Tatum was playing for a state title and so many fans were there supporting them. I was already out of college and actually teaching at Mexia at the time. I remember I actually cried when they won. I didn't know any of the kids playing, but it's just that feeling you get of PRIDE! I am so proud to be an Eagle and will always bleed green and gold (it's actually green and black now, but gold is what I will bleed!!) Let me share some pictures with you of our school:

Remember we are 2A!



S'More Bars

Quick-Easy-Fantastic

Warm Toasted Marshmallow S'more Bars


1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 cup butter or margarine, melted
3 cups milk chocolate chips (18 oz)
4 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

1. Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, stir together cookie mix and crumbs. Stir in melted butter until soft dough forms. Press into ungreased 13x9-inch pan.

2. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until set. Immediately sprinkle chocolate chips over crust. Let stand 3 to 5 minutes or until chocolate begins to melt. Spread chocolate evenly over crust.

3. Set oven control to broil. Sprinkle marshmallows over melted chocolate. Broil with top 4 to 5 inches from heat 20 to 30 seconds or until marshmallows are toasted. (Watch closely; marshmallows will brown quickly.) Cool 10 minutes. For bars, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows. Serve warm. Store any remaining bars tightly covered.

Last night was a surprise

In all the years I have been with Leven, I think I have seen him cry maybe twice. And that was watching a movie or something. He just has a hard time showing his emotional side. I know he has one though. It's one of the many reasons I feel in love with him. 

He has coached for 17 years and not once has he ever gotten emotional at a volleyball banquet. But last night was a first. I think he had everyone in the room in tears. He started off great talking about the season, their record, their accomplishments as a team and then he said the word "seniors." And that's all it took. When we moved to Pine Tree these 5 seniors were skinny, weak, scared freshmen! And to now see them and all they have become makes him a proud coach. He molded these girls into the athletes they are today.

You know when you are so upset you can't even get the words out? Well that's how he was last night. He was so choked up. He kept having to take deep breaths. He was probably saying to himself, "Leven, get it together man!" He loves this group of seniors and all their parents. What a great support system they have all been to us.  He is most proud to say that 4 out of the 5 are playing at the next level and will have their education paid for. And the 5th girl could easily play somewhere as well, but she is choosing not too.

This is what he says makes a successful volleyball season!  

Whitney is in the middle (tall girl) and she is playing at Texas Tech next year. Hannah (far left) hasn't decided yet on which college, but she will play somewhere!

J'Keisha is playing at Panola Junior College next year!

Lauren was the setter and is playing at North Central in Gainsville!

Club volleyball starts off with our first practice tomorrow! I'm ready to get to know my girls and COACH!

Happy December 1st

Yes, you have probably heard this at least once already today....But I can't believe it's already December. The older we get the faster time flies by. I hate it! Christmas shopping is already in order and I'm hoping to receive several packages in the mail in the next week. I have done a lot of online shopping so far this year. Makes it so much easier.

Leven leaves today for the annual hunting trip with my brothers and my brother in law. I'm not so sure how much hunting actually takes place, but they have a good time with each other. Leven needs a break from work so I know he's excited!

Trever is on the Varsity basketball team this year. They aren't very good and it kills Trever. He loves this sport and just wants to do well all the time.  He is starting to become a chick magnet I'm afraid. He gets cuter and cuter as the days pass on and is just a great guy. Girls at this age don't see how good of a person he is just yet. Give them all about 5 years and they will slap themselves for not giving him any attention.  He will make a really good daddy and hubby for one lucky girl one day.

Taydem is doing great. She is learning so much every day and seriously keeps me laughing. We have a good time together. She is a ball of personality. Tuesday night at Trever's basketball game she danced the entire halftime. We were out of town and everyone that didn't know her thought she was the cutest thing EVER! The announcer kept getting on the mic and saying how cute she was and he hopes someone is videoing her. She is so serious when she dances! Funny stuff. We went to the dentist yesterday. Every doctor has always told me how good of a patient she is. She never cries, never whines! She just sits there and does whatever the doctor tells her too. She may ask a few questions, but that's it.

We took a few pictures the other day (when the wind was blowing like crazy and it was 40 degrees outside!) and I was happy with how they turned out. Of course I had to fight with Leven before even taking the pictures. I swear he complains and gripes about everything!!! Drives me crazy. Can't you just smile and not say a word?? But we managed after I did my gripping! I guess you would never know with all the smiles on our faces! CHEESE

So after eating all that good Thanksgiving food, this is what has happened to us!

I'm literally crying in my office right now. Taydem has found the "Fat Booth" app on my phone and will not stop taking pictures of herself and everyone else and making their face look fat! I opened my photo album on my phone just awhile ago and found like 10 pictures of herself. I was cracking up. And she doesn't just smile, she makes funny faces! I wonder where she gets this from....hint...check out my last picture! hahahahah

Happy Thanksgiving is on it's Way

We are headed to Mexia tomorrow to have Thanksgiving with Leven's family. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone and eating GOOD! We have so much to be thankful for. We will then drive back to my side of the family Thursday afternoon.

Last night I made some spicey trash mix. It's very easy to make, but requires a lot of time. You cook this stuff for 4 hours but have to stir it every 30 minutes! Leven had a poker game over at our house last night so I stayed busy the entire time watching the clock and stirring. Sure does taste yummy! It started getting me in the holiday spirit just a little more. I'm sooooo not ready for Christmas. My gosh it got here fast.

Leven got Coach of the Year for their district!

Gotta Find the Time

It's 4:10 pm and I have been working like a slave ALL day. We have around 35 reports due at the end of the week and it's been crunch time around my office these past few weeks. But right now: I'm.Slap.Tired of looking at all these reports so I'm taking a break to catch up on the blog. Let's see:

Leven is still upset over the loss. It will take time. But now he is done with school at a normal decent hour until track season starts back up in February. Trever made the VARSITY basketball team this year and his first game is tonight. I'm super exctied! Taydem is so girly. But we all already knew this. She's attached at my hip these days. My shadow. And every day when I pick her up from school she wants to know where we are going and what we are doing for that night. She's loves to go and go. Club volleyball is underway...yea!! I am coaching 8th grade again this year and I'm really looking forward to getting to work with this group of girls. We have our first meeting tonight. Practices will start first of December! We got RAIN today. Let me type it one more time...RAIN!

We went to our families deer camp this past Friday and spent the night. Leven wanted to hunt a little Friday afternoon and then Saturday morning. So his bright idea was to bring Taydem and I with him in the deer stand. Taydem actually did pretty good (being quiet and all) for about 40 minutes then he and I both had enough. We had a good night visiting with the family around the fire. Although sleeping wasn't the best. Leven and I were sharing a twin bed...bahah. Insert laugh....



Below is Taydem's new pose. She gets on my facebook ALL the time and I think she found some pictures of all the junior high and high school girls. This is their most famous pose these days. Peace sign, kissy lips! Again, she's a mess and so grown up already!


And this picture below is my handsome (skinny) husband! He lost over 20 pounds during volleyball season. But he's been like this since I've known him.

Overloaded

I have been swamped at work! I haven't been doing a very good job with my blogging. The Lady Pirates had a good run, but their season ended on Saturday. We out hit them, we out blocked them and out dug them...but our girls couldn't serve receive to save our lives. It's so frustrating when just a simple skill is not performed. We were leading game 1, 17-14 and ONE server served OUT. After she finished serving the game was over 17-25!! Now that's frustrating to be a fan and watching. Leven kept subbing girls off the bench to see who could pass the dang ball. We came back and won game 2, 25-23. You would think Game 3 would be all ours since we were so pumped after game 2, but NOPE...couldn't pass the ball again! So game 3 was ugly. I think the final score was 12-25. Game 4 was a nail biter. We were tied 22-22 (after coming back) and one of our girls goes back to serve and MISSES the serve so now it's 22-23! One mistake can change the game so quickly. We fell apart after that. Final score was 22-25. We were so close and it broke my heart. Leven and these girls worked so hard to get to this point. I'm so proud of this season.

http://www.news-journal.com/sports/high_schools/eighth-ranked-pine-tree-knocked-out-of-volleyball-playoffs-by/article_5e0f15fb-7714-5ee1-84af-e86b390f5497.html

Now it's basketball time with Trever (his baseball is finally over) and club volleyball starts up first of December! Now it's my turn to coach! And Santa is around the corner!! OMG! Have a nice week

Short and sweet

Leven and the Lady Pirates won their first round of playoffs last night. UGLY win! But it's a win. He was pretty upset with how the girls played. Hopefully they took last night's game as a learning experience and will play the next game at a whole different level. Leven is driving to Waco today to watch Waxahatchie and Hutto play. We will play the winner of that game. Not sure when or where, but hopefully by tomorrow we will know all the details. Here is the newspaper article if you want to read it.

http://www.news-journal.com/sports/high_schools/pine-tree-outlasts-mount-pleasant-volleyball-in-four/article_fd3d2ed7-0535-55ef-8e5a-d76d91ca5124.html

Plumtuckered OUT!

Happy Halloween!

It's been kind of a tradition now to dress up at work for Halloween. This year I kept it as simple as possible...REFEREE! We usually dress up for pictures and then everyone changes their clothes. But today I will be a referee as long as I can. I have to leave work early bc Leven's first playoff game is at 5:30 and the drive is over an hour. We should come home with an easy win tonight. Then round 2 will be a tough one.

Taydem's classmates pumpkins

My Bumble BEE

Rollerderby "PoisonApple" and I

This past weekend was a long one. Saturday Trever, Taydem and I drove up to Rowlett to watch Leven's girls play a warm-up game. We lost in 4 games. First lost in a long time. But I think it was a good thing. We saw a much faster game and hopefully this will prepare them for Round 2. After the game Leven joined us and we drove to never never land! Well, Eastland Texas. I have never been that west before. I was seeing cactus everywhere. We were headed to Cisco Junior College for Trever's baseball game on Sunday and we decided to spend the night in Eastland (only 10 miles from Cisco). On the way we stopped by Ranger, Texas. This is where Leven played Junior College baseball. We have heard the stories and so it was nice to finally see the place. Not much there. But I managed to take one good picture of Leven in front of the sign!

We finally made it to the hotel ("big house" as Taydem called it). She was wired!! She would not stop jumping on the beds, running across the room, stomping, laughing, driving us CA-RAZY! Whew...she finally hit the pillow.

The game was forever long on Sunday. It got started late anyways and it was a 10 inning game. We thought about it on the way home. Trever got 3 at bats and like 2 balls hit at him. All that way (4 hours) for just that much ball playing! Not cool. But we had some good family bonding time and got to see Leven's old stomping grounds. That part of Texas is pretty. I will agree with Leven.