two new buddies

"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord.

the fruit of the womb a reward." ~psalm 127:3

Alex is Azariah's new friend from church. Cathy and Don (his parents) just became partners with us at Celebration Community Church and have three lovely children (4, 2, & 3 months). They will be in our small group and are also on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ, working at the International Headquarters. Don works in the legal department as a lawyer for our ministry. 

On Thursday Azariah and I went over to their home to have lunch with Cathy and the kids. We had a wonderful time and I anticipate these two little ones becoming great friends and play buddies.

"Alright, buddy, just a little bit to far into my personal space...."

have you ever thought, "wow, if only someone saw that?" Two examples:

Yesterday I found myself rushed about, trying to juggle my daily plans with Azariah's sleeping schedule (which consisted of three 30 min. naps instead of his usual two-three 2-3 hour naps). After I started cooking supper his last 30 min nap ended, and he decided he was hungry. Really hungry! So as I was sitting on the couch feeding him, I heard the sound of the food on the stovetop burning to the pans. Picture this: there I was,  nursing Azariah, left arm under his head, with my right leg up on the counter to support the rest of his body, while he kicked over the condiments and I stirred the vegetables and sloppy joes on the stove. (I know mom...). 

Over the past weekend Grandma Donna & Grandpa Bill (Tamara's parents) came to visit us. We had a great time catching up, hearing grandpa's stories, talking (and learning) theology, playing card games, and worshiping in church on Sunday, listening to Grandpa's "Amen's" & "Praise God's." Also, as Grandma tells it, she woke up to Grandpa talking in his sleep sunday morning. Now just picture this, Grandpa laying in bed, and in his deep voice saying, 

"Where's my mommy (Azariah speaking)?" "I don't know where is she (Grandpa responding)?" "She's in the other room (A)." "Well why don't you call for her?" "Say, Mommy...mooommmmy...mooomy!" 

Hilarious. I love you Grandpa!!! 

Grandma and Grandpa brought Azariah a new friend and Dr. Seuss book called, I can read with my eyes shut!

Mommy is for comfort, Daddy is for play...

20 things Azariah's learned in the month of January

He's Learned:

1.) How to role over, from stomach to back

2.) That he would much rather sit up than lay down

3.) Mom is for comfort, Dad is for play

4.) It feels good to wash your face with a warm washcloth in the mornings

5.) Air popcorn poppers are a scary thing

6.) The Lion King musical at Animal Kingdom is an exhilarating experience

7.) Kiwi's don't taste good, and require a bitter face

8.) It's much more fun to talk when other people are talking

9.) Eating at 3 am seems like a good arrangement

10.) Sucking on a cold wet washcloth feels good when teething

11.) The car seat's not so bad when your sleeping

12.) Pouring rainy days are good days and should be experienced outside or in the car

13.) The thumb tastes good in all circumstances

14.) He learned how to grab onto all 10 toes at once

15.) If he pulls mom's hair when she's biting his tummy, she'll stop biting.

16.) how to reach his arms out when he wants to be picked up

17.) How to get his thumb into his mouth while strapped down in the car seat.

18.)How to laugh (only while Daddy's laughing)

19.)How to more efficiently grab onto things he's looking at... motor skills!!!

20.)Strangers cannot be trusted...

21.) How to bend backwards to see what's going on behind him, while laying on his back (pic 1).

22.)How to sit up on the couch like a big person (pic. 2)

23.) How to push himself up with his arms to peek up over the edge of his co-sleeper

*More pictures to come:)

Sanctity of Life

 "The First thing I'd do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act." Senator Barack Obama, speaking to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, July 17th, 2007

The Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) is set to be signed immediately. If made a law all limitations on abortion will be lifted which will result in the following:

1.) All hospitals, including Catholic hospitals will be required to perform abortions upon request. If this happens Bishops vow to close down all Catholic hospitals, more than 30 % of all hospitals in the United States.

2.) 

Partial birth abortions would be legal and have no limitations.

       3.) All U.S. tax payers would be funding abortions.

4.)Parental notification will no longer be required.

5.) The number of abortions will increase by a minimum of 100,000 annually.

Please Pray!

crossworksministries has put together a moving video we should pass on called  Holding a miracle. (view by clicking)

Being Rose's husband: a daily delight

Here are just a handful of reasons why:

1)  She cares for my needs before her own.

2) She adds flavor and something unexpected to each day.

3) She's a part of my foundation, that keeps me rooted in the things that truly matter.

4) Her love for her family has given me a fresh look in how i want to love my family.

5) There is always a fresh, homemade dessert or sweets of some sort in our home!

6) I understand more clearly how important decorating and keeping the home is to a woman.

7) Her love towards me is so consistent, pure and does not waiver.

8) She is willing to go anywhere God leads our family for the sake of the Gospel.

9) She knows more about me than anyone else.

10) She is the most creative and thoughtful person that I know.

11) She gave me an appreciation for: coffee, washing fresh produce with water & soap, Apple computers, whipping our own cream as opposed to cool whip, resting more rather than always doing & going, serving plates/dishes, decorative items in our home that there only use is for decoration, not worrying about little details so much.

Thank You Lord God, that in Your mercy, You chose Rose to walk alongside me all the days of our lives, until death parts us. 

Sunday Evening

Sunday afternoon nap on the couch

Wow, it's already Sunday evening, the shrimp is in bed, and thankfully we've already sat down together to plan out the week ahead. This past week was full, but had many blessings as well. Adam and Rachel Petit (good friends of ours from college in Mankato, MN) spent the night on Thursday and stayed for Joshua's specialty french toast breakfast (with whipped cream and strawberries) on Friday morning. On Saturday we had a young couple from church (Robby & Lauren) over for lunch. They moved here last June to be part of our church family (Celebration Community Church) and we look forward to connecting with them more.

It's been an amazing first month here in Orlando, FL. As we continue to get settled in God has been so faithful to provide for our family in every way. Tomorrow morning Joshua will start his third week of working in the office at our international headquarters. He plans to bike to work each day, which is only 5 or so miles from our home.

For the past couple of weeks, since Azariah has discovered the use of his arms to push himself up, we get to look at this face each night before we head to bed. You can imagine the laughter that takes place, despite us trying to be serious with him about bedtime. Over and over, he'll continue to peer over the side of his co-sleeper to look at us. And when his arms slide or get weak, he'll scoop down, reposition, and pop back up again. This new bedtime ritual has been accompanied with high pitched noises, sounding somewhat like a bad opera singer.  

Oh the joys that he brings to our family!  ~ Rose

Our visitor's over the weekend

(Joshua) My mother, Linda, and sister, Molli, visited us this past weekend in sunny Orlando. We spent 2 days together with gorgeous weather and hopefully they had a delightful time. Grandparents "HAVE" to see their grandchildren, it's nearly an addiction. I have recently concluded this after many phone calls from other grandparents of Azariah's, the increase of overall communication to Rose and my cell phones & email inboxes, and my mom's visit this weekend. And this, I say, is a wonderful paradigm(one that serves as a pattern or model). We have much to learn from those who have gone before us! (Hebrews 11- great example from Scripture)

What more can I say

Within the past few days Azariah has been learning how to position his arms underneath himself in order to hold his head up to look around. Also, as he continues to grow more mobile, he's continuing to grow more curious and aware of his surroundings. It has been super fun to watch his eyes wander around the room. This, however, has also made napping more difficult. We nearly have to wait until his eyes are so heavy they shut themselves, other wise his curiosity leads to frustration that he's stuck in his little bed and unable to look around. Can't you tell???

salsa-beef corn bread casserole

I thought I'd pass on the recipe to one of our family's favorite meals:) by Betty Crocker

Ingredients needed:

1  1/2 lbs ground beef (drain grease if not lean beef)

1 cup Old El Paso Thick'n Chunky salsa

2 T. flour

1 T. chili powder

2 t. ground cumin

1/2 teaspoons salt

1/8 teaspoons pepper

2 cans cream style sweet corn

2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained

2 boxes jiffy cornbread mix

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cook beef on stovetop until no longer pink. Stir in salsa & flour. Cook 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly until slightly thickened.

2   Stir in remaining ingredients except corn bread topping. Heat to boiling & spread mixture into baking dish. (Either one 9 by 13 or two smaller baking dishes).

3.   Make corn bread topping (both boxes). Pour on top of beef mixture & spread evenly around. Bake 12-15 minutes, or until topping is fully done & golden brown. Serves about 8.

Key: eat with sour cream!!!

Tip: If you're serving smaller group, split into two baking dishes @ freeze one of them (without corn bread on top, which you can add later). 

A look at our new home

This is our new home. We live in the town home that is third in from the left, with a front porch that faces out to this beautiful small pond. So far, we love our new neighbors. Jim and Rose, on the end, who've already borrowed us their plunger and installed new ceiling fans in our living room and bedroom for free.  They are 

Christians and attend a church that meet in the YMCA, just a block from our home. We look forward to meeting the rest. ~Rose

The Barta Family- our first blog post

Joshua here...we welcome you to the blogging world, as we fairly recently welcomed ourselves also. Rose has done a phenomenal work in getting our blog up and running. It took her many 'woman' hours to complete. We are much more settled in than 3 weeks ago when we arrived. We are really enjoying the new townhome we're renting in Orlando...much nicer than we deserve! It is a quiet and safe neighborhood, not too close to any major roads. Our bedroom window overlooks a small, yet beautiful pond...personally, i love to look out at night and see reflections on the water's surface of house lights from across the way. The weather has been spectacular, right in the mid-70's each day with mostly sun so far! I know many of you northerners are having to brave frigid temperatures, lots of snow and wind...but take heart, we have a guest bedroom...soon to have a bed, so come and visit!!!
Please take a look around our blog and enjoy! Our plan is to make a post, similar to this one, 5 out of 7 days each week. We hope to keep you on your toes, not knowing what to expect when you arrive. Otherwise the blogging world can become monotonous, "lacking in variety; tediously unvarying"...we wouldn't want that. Some posts may be super short, some lengthy...but variety and flavor we do hope for!
If you do not have an igoogle home page or something similar, that makes blog checking/reading very easy...please ask me how to create one. It's very simple and saves much precious time.

We miss you and we love you dearly,

Joshua for the family