Gwen's First Birthday Party

We had a packed house today full of family and friends. For sure Gwen is one loved kid.

This is Clara, Gwen's friend that is just a few months older than she is. I thought this was a cute photo.


Grandma Pam recently went on a trip to South Dakota to see Mount Rushmore and while there she saw prairie dogs out in the wild and also at an exhibit. She has now changed her favorite animal from a groundhog to a prairie dog. :) She bought Gwen a stuffed animal of a prairie dog. Don't see those everyday! This is Gwen with her second cousin Gracie.


She also got a prairie dog bib. :) Don't see those everyday either.


Gwen did NOT like my brilliant idea of the party hat. That was for sure and for certain.


She was so tired she ate some frosting and then just blankly stared at the cupcake. It was nap time for sure.


My good friends Sorab, Sonia, and their little cutie Atharv.


Gwen playing with a doll that she got today. It laughs the cutest laugh ever.


Gwen is so busy and curious these days that it is difficult to get photos of her face. I almost have to act like a monkey to get her to look at me. This is her laughing at a music card that Grandma Pam got her where cats sing "happy birthday". I asked Pam if she means to torture me. :)


Laughing...


To top off the festivities of the day Grandma Pam found Gwen splashing in the toilet water. I normally keep the lid closed and the door closed for a reason.... and this is one of them. The toilet paper was a clear target after the splashing.

Meekness

I've been thinking of meekness today. I had a conversation with my Indian friend, Sonia, last night and she truly embodies the word meekness. She explained some things about the Indian culture that would be maddening to me as an American, but she just quietly carries on.

She is a new mom and for the past few months her mother-in-law and father-in-law have been visiting to see the new baby. I asked about her own parents and if they had thought of making the long trip over to the United States to see her new country. Her parents have never been to the US, and I was fishing around to see if maybe Ben and I could help make that possible. She explained to me that when you marry, you are really in a new family. When you find out you are pregnant, you call your mother-in-law first, not your mother. You serve and give preference almost to your mother-in-law. It is against their culture for her mom and dad to come and visit her house for an extended amount of time. She said that when they lived in India that her parents would come and visit for one day. Her parents had to travel the distance of from Kansas City to New York to see her for that one day. Some Indians take it to an extreme and won't even accept water or food while they are in the house of their daughter. It would be considered taking from her new family, and they only want to give. It makes no sense to make the long and expensive trip to the US for her parents unless they can stay longer than a week. I offered an alternative that maybe they could stay with Ben and I and visit with them. She said that also would not work because people in India would find out and talk and they would be ashamed of that. So, her plan is to make the long journey to India with her baby to see her parents.

Meekness... I need more of that.

Garden Update

These are some lilies in our back yard that I think are pretty.

Right after taking these garden shots I weeded, so disregard the bedraggled look to the garden. These are pea plants and tomato plants.



Tomato plants, cherry tomato plant, bell peppers, peas and monster lettuces. The lettuce has gotten out of control. I took those out of the garden tonight. I figured it was time.


Ben has a "thing" for bamboo. He has a little clumping bamboo but that wasn't enough to satisfy his craving for the stuff. He got my mother into it and so she went to some dude's house in Alabama and dug up some starts for herself and sent us one. This is the running bamboo. It's working. Ben is so thrilled.


Here are my two to give you perspective with how tall the bamboo is. In the background you see one of our cannon flowers coming up and also a climbing rose that we got from Aldi's.


This week we have been dog sitting for my Mother-in-law. Her dog's name is Rusty. Gwen loves him and wants to sit near him all the time and touch his paws and talk to him. He tolerates it pretty well, most of the time. By the way, today is Gwen's 1st birthday. It's been both a long year and a fast year at the same time. Oh, and in this picture she has a little thing of sprinkles that she found when I left out my rolling pantry. We are having a party of sorts for Gwen this Saturday.

Indiana Jones- aka Ray Barreth

Check out my Father-in-law on an archeological dig out in Israel. It's been a lifelong dream of his and he's doing it right in the heart of Jerusalem.

http://raybarreth.blogspot.com/

Deanna Rose Farmstead

Today we took a family outing to the Deanna Rose Farmstead. It is free to get in and we've never actually been before... but it's incredible! They had all kinds of animals: hawks, bobcats, geese, ducks, goats, horses, sheep, an eagle, turkeys, rabbits, and pigs just to name a few. Here are some pictures from our day.

Gwen pointing to the sheep.

Pigs taking a siesta.


We rented a fishing pole and they give you real worms. It was fun until we caught a fish and Ben couldn't get the hook out for several minutes. We felt kind of sad to be scraping the inside of that fish. I think I'm no longer country. I've gone soft.


Here was my fine catch. I don't even think it would make a fish stick.

With a cow.


We saw the cutest little Indian popping her head out of the tee pee.


She is a rare light skinned Indian. :)

Vic

I like this guy... and I LOVE this song. I've never heard of Vic Demone before, but he's got skills.

Playing With Gwen

Her laugh is so contagious I just couldn't resist posting this.

Dinner Theater

I have such a wonderful husband. He makes me laugh so much. I truly think that laughter is so important, especially in this time in our lives when we are raising kids. I have been feeling very sick so far with this pregnancy and tonight was no exception. I'm not sure if it's psychological, but right around the time I'm supposed to make dinner it hits the worst. In the last few nights I've pushed through it and made dinner. Tonight I was just so queasy that I didn't know if I could do it... so Ben decided he'd make dinner. I chose something easy because he normally doesn't cook. I chose a box of macaroni and cheese (yes, I know, so nutritious) and some chicken fingers and green beans. I went and sat in the living room in the recliner and took some deep breaths. All the while I hear Ben in the kitchen reading the instructions for the macaroni. 6 cups of water... ok... Then Ben starts to entertain the restless baby in the high chair. This is what I was seeing from the living room:



Afterwards he asked me how many tablespoons of milk to put in and by the time I said 3 he had put 6 in. He said, "well, it's probably better that way anyway. We'll just serve it with a slotted spoon." :) So.. we sat down to our meal of macaroni and cheese with the slotted spoon and chicken fingers and green beans. Ben is one of those rare people that can work all day, ride his bike to the bus stop, ride his bike home, bound through the door and cook dinner and entertain a baby all while making his wife laugh-- all with a sunny attitude. What can I say, I love him.

Scripture Reading

I've been reading through Matthew and last night were the final chapters. I came across a verse that I've read before, but it astonished me anew last night. It's in Matthew chapter 27: 50-53 "and when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people."

So I asked myself why God would raise all those holy people back to life and don't you wonder if they knew why they had been raised to life? Maybe it's foreshadowing the second coming, maybe it's to show that death is not the final victor. Also, if Jesus died before the robbers, they would have seen the sky darken and the earth quake and all that. I wonder what they thought.

Next I'm reading Phillipians. I am the character Lydia coming up in our church's vacation Bible school. I'm going to dress up like her and say a speech to the kids. Now that I've read and studied the small bit about her I want to read Phillipians and see if I can imagine the Christians there meeting in her house. What have you been reading lately?

First Fruits

These are our first fruits from our garden. I'm so extremely proud!! The single one looks so perfect I couldn't help but single it out. I know, it's dorky.


Here is what Gwen's lunch is going to be tomorrow. I ate one pea tonight and they taste nice.

Possible Candidate for the Island of Misfit Toys?

This might be a little overkill for Gwen's first birthday coming up, especially since she's only recently got the hang of using opposable thumbs. Posted by Ben

Turbo Heather: Radio Controlled Southern Belles

Early Stories

I'm writing this down to remember. Here lately I have been taking slices of granny smith apples up to have beside my bed. They help with me feeling nauseated. I was joking with Ben the other night and told him when I get up in the night and I feel sick I might eat a bit of apple and told him it was like sleeping with a horse. He said to me, "well... I have one question for you then. How bout them apples?" I don't know why that is so funny to me, but it is.

Tonight we went out on a date night. I felt sick in the car and Ben was asking me where I wanted to go. I told him between huffing and puffing air that I didn't care. He decided on a pizza place. I walk in and told him nothing too adventurous and he comes back to the table with a pizza ordered with turkey sausage, pine nuts, and he proudly said "it was supposed to have Gorgonzola cheese on there, but I told them to put mozzarella instead". Well, my stomach did a turn at that, but I was able to eat a little of the crust at the end of the pizza and a small ceasar salad. We walked around Walmart after that and we took our blood pressures. That is a nice date if you ask me. :) I felt fine after dinner and then in Walmart it seemed that there were millions of different smells in there. Candles, plastic smell, fertilizer smells. It's nuts!

Powell Gardens

Here's my cutie today at Powell Gardens.

Everyday Life

Here lately Gwen has figured out that the fan in the living room is controlled by a remote. She enjoys turning the light on and off and turning on the fan.


Gwen loves pasta.


Here is after she had an itch. :)

This video is not the most amazing video of all times, but here is a sampling of Gwen dancing. She really enjoys music. She loves playing with the wind chimes outside and anything musical she thinks is funny.

Brownie

Anybody else want one of these? I have a site that I have linked to my blog that features recipes and things. This is a picture of a smore brownie. I go there almost every day and just look at these brownies. I haven't done anything to get one or make one because, let's face it, I don't need it and I'm queasy most of the day so I can't be bothered to make them. I think I might put it as my desktop picture. :) How pathetic is that? Don't answer that.

Thoughts

If you are wondering where I've been these past few days I have been in bed. I am very tired in this early stage of pregnancy and queasy. I feel like having chips and salsa and chicken fingers and maybe a baked potato and that's it. That's not much on nutrition.

In this past week I have been anxious. I worry that I will not be up for the task of having two children under the age of 2. People have not said discouraging things to me, this is all in my own mind. I have been reading through Matthew and came across a scripture that helped me last night. Jesus was telling his disciples about how the greatest in heaven is whoever humbles themselves like a child. Here's the verse that spoke to me: 18:5 "and whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me." I am welcoming not just work (which it will be), I am not just welcoming joy (which it will be too), I am in a sense welcoming Christ. What a humbling revelation, and one that gave me strength.

Here are some more pictures from the weekend.

Aunt Beki and Gwen.


I was not waving as I was telling her to say hello. She just understands me. Amazing. She also can bark like a dog, but it is hard to get on camera.

Memorial Day Memories

Here is Gwen taking receipts from the drawer and putting it in the dishwasher. :)



Today we went to Ben's Grandparent's house. This strawberry is the biggest I've ever seen! They grow thing big down on the farm.



Here's Gwen looking at flowers outside. This flower is a mock orange bush.

Might As Well

Gwen is 11 months now and doesn't she look big in this photo? I think she is beautiful and her little personality is coming out more each day.

I might as well tell my friends here on the blog that Ben and I found out yesterday that Baby Barreth #2 is on the way. It's a little sooner than I had anticipated, but God definitely has a plan. Ben is thrilled and told me we only have three more to go after this one. (he says he wants 5- ha) News travels fast and Ben loves telling the news, so there is no waiting on telling with us. I can't keep secrets anyway. So... please pray for us and that God will give us the strength we need for two little ones.

Elderberry and Edelweiss

Sometimes things cross my path that I "must" look up. One of these things recently has been the Elderberry. Yes, I know, I'm a dork, but I find all this interesting and so naturally... I think you all would find it interesting too! It really is called Sambucus, and is in the honeysuckle family. People make liqueur with the flowers and make jam from the berries. Hollowed elderberry twigs have traditionally been used as spiles to tap maple syrup from trees. Elderberry extract is often used to treat flu symptoms for people with compromised immune systems. It can be given to children all the way to the elderly with no known side effects. The elderberry jam doesn't do the same trick of healing the flu symptoms... only the extract. Here's a pic of the elderberry fruit. By the way, if you've ever tried Elderberry anything please let me know what you think it tastes like. I've never had anything Elderberry.


Below is a picture of an Edelweiss flower. It is in the sunflower family and is largely a mountain flower. Edel means noble, and weiss means white. Ben sings the song Edelweiss to Gwen all the time, so I was curious as to what they look like. Gwen's name in Welsh means white. Anyway... it looks completely different to what I imagined. Look how hairy it looks! It's protected in many areas, so don't think you're going to get a bouquet of these anytime soon.

Calgone Take Me Away- specifically here please

Childsplay and Funnies

yet another children's book illustration that "cracked" me up. Look at the expression on Humpty's face!


I was watching Lambchop's Playalong show with Gwen today. I was riveted. I mean, I know that lady Sherry is/was a ventriloquist, but MAN is she good. I couldn't see her move her lips in the slightest. Here's a joke from that show that I thought was clever:

What's the difference between a hippopotamus and a matta baby?

(the inevitable question) What's a matta baby?

Nothin's the matta baby!

Also... tonight we all went to Ace Hardware store to get some tomato cages and some herbs and other plants. (we got a strawberry plant and also a sugar snap pea plant too) On the way, I saw one of my neighbor's gardens and I saw her peas climbing the trellis that she had put up and I said, "her peas look better than my peas." Ben replied, "herpes look bad no matter which way you look at it."

Tea Time

I love tea houses. Maybe you do too? Well, here's a sight that my mom sent to me that finds tea rooms near you. Enjoy!

http://www.teamap.com/

and for those with some adventure in you...here's the recipe for a cucumber sandwich. I am going to make one. If you do... let me know how yours turned out ok?

Peel a cucumber and slice it into transparencies on the slicing side of a grater, or by adroit (whatever that is!) use of a potato peeler. Sprinkle these see-through discs with a little vinegar and salt. After half an hour, (good grief!) drain away the excess cucumber juice by shuffling the slices in a sieve. Cover a slice of lightly buttered paper-thin brown bread with two layers of cucumber, and top with another slice of bread. Apply firm but delicate pressure with the palm of the hand. Slice off the crusts, and cut into three rectangles. Pile these neatly (naw.. I think I'll pile mine all over the place after all this work!) on a porcelain serving plate, (or a paper plate- ha) and cover with a lightly dampened cloth until tea is served.

"The cucumber sandwich is the aristocrat of the teatable; cool, gracious and impeccable. Should you peel the cucumber or not? It depends on whether you like the thin green line (also upon whether or not you live in America, where cucumbers are waxed and therefore must be peeled). One thing is for certain- the bread must be as slim as a leaf. (good luck on that one sista!) By virtue of its utter simplicity and symbolic status, the cucumber sandwich is also one of the few foods to rise from the merely culinary world to dizzy literary heights."

from the book The London Ritz Book Of Afternoon Tea

wow... these people are serious about some cucumber sandwiches! HA!

Gwen

Practicing with a spoon.


Yesterday we went to Ben's Grandma and Grandpa's house. We found a rocking chair just her size. Grandpa says it was his when he was a little thing. I teased him about how in his day babies had to rock themselves to sleep.

Meal Plan

makeover nacho turkey bake
pasta with fresh vegetables
homemade fish sticks, sweet potatoes, salad
grilled chicken salad
pressure cooker pork chops, hominy, roasted parmesan green beans
chicken soup with cream of wheat gnocchi

This week my new thing I'm trying is hominy. I bought it a while ago and just never have tried it yet. We'll see...

Review from last week:
roasted chile and tomatillo stew- I loved the tomatillos. Ben said he thought it was a bit too tart for his taste.
shrimp curry and rice- it was excellent. It tasted like take out from an Indian joint. You must make this with basmati rice. It is incredible and has a different taste than just plain Uncle Ben's.
Spanish beef stew- nice and spicy... I took some short cuts, but I think it would be nice to do the recipe like it says and cook the meat until it is falling apart. It just took too long for me.
White bean soup- didn't make. It is one of my back up meals for this week.
tomato tart- that's tomorrow night. Ben and I had a night away... so some of these meals I didn't get around to.

Mama and Thoughts

I know a lot of people must feel this way, but I really have the best mama in the world. I love the feel of her hands and how she laughs a lot. I love that she is giving and loyal and a good example of how to stay true to the marriage vow.

I want Gwen to call me "mama". Not mommy, not mom, not mother, but mama. That's what I called my mama. I have been saying it, oh, a thousand times a day to her trying to get her to say it and last night it sounded like she said it. Maybe it was an dream, but Ben heard it too.

Speaking of motherhood... I got a book from the library yesterday called "Miserly Moms" by Jonni McCoy. I've read her recipe book called "Miserly Meals", but I'm always looking for advice to live more simply and smarter. I included a picture here of the front of the book. It has to be the silliest picture I've ever seen. A lady carrying around a paper mache pig. I laughed out loud. BUT it does have neat statistics in there. Listen to this:


A restaurant meal costs six to ten times more than one made from scratch.

A frozen meal costs four times more than one made from scratch.

A prepackaged mix costs three times more than one made from scratch.

Precut foods (ready salads, sliced carrots, shredded cheese) cost two times more than if you cut them yourself.

How's that for incentive to cut out convenience foods from your life and cook at home!!!

What I do to save money in this area is I shop at Aldi's market. They are great. I look for deals and use a few coupons. I just don't have the energy to collect and remember coupons even though I know they are a great tool. I plan my meal plans around what I know I can get at Aldi's. I do go to another store if I have an ingredient that I can't find though. This week I made something with tomatillos so I sent Ben out to get some from another market. Lo and behold I go to Aldi's and they have them. Go figure! By the way, tomatillos are delicious!! I just broiled them with salt on there and put them in a stew.

Ok, another thought. Last night I was reading another book I got from the library about the art of having tea. I mean a sit down tea in the afternoon. I like the idea of doing that. Who doesn't right? I found this nursery rhyme in there that I've never heard before. Ben said he hadn't heard it either.

The lion and the unicorn
were fighting for the crown;
the lion beat the unicorn
all round the town.
Some gave them white bread,
and some gave them brown;
and some gave them plum cake,
and sent them out of town.

poor unicorn...