Words of Angela Bartels » Family Stuff

Freezing Special Moments

Angela — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 03:10:19 +0000

Just like everybody else, I lead a very busy lifestyle. From work meetings, volleyball practices, weekend events to just doing house chores. It never ends and it never will. But the times that do come and go are special moments like watching my son ride his first ride at Kiddie Park. Every parent can relate to that special feeling you get to see your child’s eyes light up to something new they’re experiencing. It’s moments like these you want to freeze and experience over and over again – but you can’t. You can only relish and pray that there will be more special moments and hope that others will be fortunate to experience the same thing. I wanted to post this to remind myself that there is a reason to slow down and enjoy life.

Happy 1st Birthday @jacobbartels

Angela — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 03:58:02 +0000

Today was my son’s first birthday so Jason and I took the day off to celebrate. We’re fortunate to have jobs (at Rackspace) that give us the flexibility to spend time with our family. We did Chuck E Cheese, San Antonio Children’s Museum and La Gloria.

I can’t believe it has already been a year. We’re so blessed to have a healthy and happy little boy. Out of all the cool things I’ve done, nothing beats spending the day with my son on his first birthday. I love you Jacob! (Click here to check out all his 1st birthday photos)

Check out this post I wrote last year as I waited for his arrival: Waiting for @jabobbartels

My Little Dinosaur

Angela — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 17:13:11 +0000

Halloween has always been a fun holiday but now that I have a child, it’s a whole new world of fun. I am fortunate to have a very creative mother-in-law that didn’t hesitate to make Jacob’s first Halloween costume, a dinosaur.

Words cannot describe what a happy momma I was this Halloween. My little dinosaur rocked it.

(Click here to view the whole set. )

Our Home of Four Generations

Angela — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 05:00:18 +0000

One of the neat things about owning an older home is learning the history behind it. Our home was built in 1947 and it was built to last generations. We are the fourth generation to live in this home; prior to us was the family of the builder, the Garcia family and the Trevino family. Rev David Garcia is a family friend and when we found out he lived in our home in the 50′s, we invited him to bless our home. When he saw it, he wanted to bring his five sisters to see it. They live all over the country and traveled to San Antonio this past weekend for their mother’s birthday. We invited them to see the home and they brought a photo of all six of them standing on our staircase. They had a blast telling stories: like saying the rosary every night at the end of the staircase, or only having two AC window units in the entire house. It was a real treat to have them visit.

Labor Day 2011

Angela — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 04:53:38 +0000

My family has been going to North Padre Island every Labor Day weekend since I was a baby and before that, since my mom was a child. It’s a tradition and I wouldn’t miss it for a thing (I did only once when I was living in Austin and man was that a sad Labor Day weekend!). We were so excited to take Jacob on his first beach trip.

Before the trip started, things got a little hectic. I was trying to wash clothes before we left and well, the laundry room flooded. Then right before I went to bed, I went to the refrigerator for something only to find out that it was not working. This is especially devastating for a nursing mom that stores breast milk in the freezer! We saved what we needed and transported it to my parents home. After all that, we still managed to leave San Antonio on time. We got to Corpus around noon and left Jacob to visit with Jason’s parents. By dinner time, Jacob didn’t look too well. We took his temp and it was at 102.8! Turns out, he had fever all weekend. I managed to get him to the beach a couple of times for a few minutes.

So I guess our weekend didn’t go as planned but you know what they say, “when it rains, it pours.” I think the good thing that came out of this was:

1 – at least we discovered the fridge not working BEFORE we left on a long weekend
2 – at least Jacob got the attention from all four grandparents while he was sick
3 – at least we had beautiful weather in Corpus (no hurricanes or tropical storms)

Sometimes you just have to laugh at the stuff that happens when it doesn’t go your way. We did manage to get some photos of Jacob for his minimal time on the beach. That boy is such a happy child – smiling even though he was sick.

Click here to see all photos.