Puerto Vallarta

Some November Pictures

Beautiful Mommy

Uncle Lukie

Uncle Lukie was in town for the weekend and his nephews were SO HAPPY to see him!

Cowboy Ben

BarrFun

Picture A: musical accompaniement to disco party; Picture B: musical accompaniement to WWF insanity.

Luke & Amy's Ceremony

The Gaze

Okay...so some of you already know this. But Sammy has this keen stare-down thing he can do. It's almost scary. He can dead-pan better than just about anyone I've met. Here's a great example:



What makes it so cool is that he knows what he's doing. Sometimes, he'll even give you a little grin ... after he's convinced you that he is deadly serious.

Brothers

Upcoming Gig

For those who can make it: Adam has an upcoming gig with "Men Not Rabbits" in Wayland, MI. We'd love to see you there. His brother Luke is driving up from Chicago to play drums. Marc Vandermaas will be bassing it. And the supremely talented Steve Oostdyk will be taking lead guitar.

Of Mice and Men

So ... Ben's been drawing so much lately. He loves pulling out his "MAGNADOODLE" to make cool pictures. Here's his mouse.

A Little Bit Crazy

Sometimes, life at the Barr Househould can get "a little bit crazy." In the last few days, we've painted two rooms and ripped up the carpet in our hallway (nice hardwood floors beneath). But nothing makes our life together more crazy-fun than Ben and Sam. Together, they are a Dynamic Duo of Big-Big Fun-Time Insanity (the DDBBFTI).

Jen was subjected to their insanity. For evidence, see below.

Pics from the Piper Conference

Lunch with the Smiths

Some good friends . . . the Smiths, we'll call them . . . took us all to a cool Chinese restaurant after I preached in Wayland this past Sunday. Then, they were kind enough to send us some pictures. For some reason, most of these are not flipped correctly . . . but they were too awesome to sit on my harddrive.

Sammy took a nice long nap . . . then woke up in time for a bite to eat.

Look at Ben use those chopsticks!

Just the Two of Us

Thanks for Coming Out

Well, I'm finally getting around to saying THANKS MUCH to all who made the trip out to Wayland for the acoustic gig on September 16. It was so good to see all of you there. Like I said, it felt like a family reunion. Randy Smith was kind enough to shoot some video of the show. Hopefully, we'll have some of that online by next week for your viewing pleasure.

For those interested, the set list was as follows:
ACT 1
Instrumental
"In Loving You"
"She Reminds Me of Rome"
"Girl of the North Country" (Dylan)
"I Wanna Be With You"
ACT 2
"Glory Ride"
"I Can Feel the Sunset"
"Nothing Good is Born"
"Now Meet Me"
ACT 3
"Sick for Home"
"Freedom"

Endless Summer (If Only!)

Ben's First Word

Ben's been writing letters for a while now. He's known how to write his name or copy a word that mommy or daddy wrote. But yesterday, for the first time, he thought about and wrote one on his own. He'd been speaking with Jen and I for a bit, then went out. When he came back, he said, "Mommy, daddy, I wrote 'Zoo'!"
Pretty Cool!

A Few More Hiking Pics

A Hiking Trip for the Ages

Last weekend, Adam went on a hike with two great friends - Ryan Pazdur and Travis Eerdman. It was an awesome time of sharing and seeing God's incredible creation. I especially want to thank Ryan and Trav for their advanced trip plotting. Our 20 mile hike was supposed to stretch over three days. However, we were able to cover four on the first and another sixteen on the second. Who needs that third day anyway! :) It was some intense hiking with full packs. But, seriously, I wouldn't have done it any other way. We all agreed: Sometimes, it's good to push yourself to the max. We did.

Our hike traced the Manistee River. Several times, it took effort to remember we were in Michigan and not the Smokies. Travis caught trout in the river. We went swimming after the 12th mile on day two. My water filter did a great job keeping us hydrated and the Manistee is clear, cold and very tasty.

Another Baby-Barr Picture

It's amazing how much our connection to the new baby has grown in the last 24 hours. We've been praying for him for months, talking to him and looking forward to his coming. But now that we can say "him" and not just "the baby," the whole thing feels real. We're talking about names, etc. For a while, Ben & Sam were really pulling for a baby sister. But now they're overjoyed at the thought of another guy to rough-house with.

Adam's Acoustic Gig

Barr Baby #3

Well, went to visit the Dr. this morning for our sonnogram. We found out the baby is a little boy! Wow . . . 3 boys. More on this later. For now, here's a pic.

Some Summer Pics

Back Again

Okay, it's been a while. But we're back. For those who are interested in the Barr Family Developments, this is a good place. hope you like the pics!