Zeke's First Birthday

Gwen spent a lot of time running.

Zeke and daddy.

Zeke and Uncle Jake.

My gorgeous birthday boy.

My awesome friend Janna and her boy, Luke.  Yes, I'm going through a braid phase.

Singing to Zekey.

He liked the cupcake.

Owl cupcakes.

Let's Get Together

Playing cars together.

Sitting and chatting about babies together.  Here lately Gwen has been asking me what I am thinking about. It makes me laugh when she asks me something introspective like that.  It's like... um... say what??

Lead Me To The Cross

I've been praying/worshiping a lot to this song lately.  I can not watch this video without crying.

2010 in Review

Well... it seemed fun so Leah... I'm copying you and answering these questions for myself.


1. What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before? gave birth to a boy

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?  
probably not.  There is a reason I usually make vague resolutions  

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Just me

4. Did anyone close to you die?
 No.

5. What countries did you visit? none, but I did go to Korea in Aug 2009

6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010? More massages... definitely more massages, and good veggies this summer, and more knowledge about random things like aloe plants

7. What dates from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?January 9th of course when I met my Zeke and December 25th this year was pretty memorable.. snow on Christmas day in Alabama

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
 learning to discipline better and making friends

9. What was your biggest failure? My neighbor who had stage 4 cancer... I told him we were praying for him but failed to share Christ

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? no

11. What was the best thing you bought? paint for my bedroom walls... I was tired of that green

12. Where did most of your money go? Well... we bought a furnace/AC this year and redid the siding on the chimney.  Our everyday expenses were high and we gave some.

13. What did you get really excited about? my vanilla extract

14. What song will always remind you of 2010? The House That Built Me

15. Compared to this time last year, are you:

– happier or sadder? I'm happier
– thinner or fatter? er... which month are we talking about. Thinner slightly
– richer or poorer? richer in many ways

16. What do you wish you’d done more of?
 gotten massages, worked out more, laughed

17. What do you wish you’d done less of?
worry!

18. How did you spend Christmas? We were in Alabama with my family

19. What was your favorite TV program? America's Funniest Home Videos, cause it comes on at 6am and I need a laugh if I'm up then.

20. What were your favorite books of the year? the pioneer book series that I read... can't remember the author.. Jane something

21. What was your favorite music from this year?
 I like Lady Antebellum and Miranda Lambert... country

22. What were your favorite films of the year? The Guardians of G'Houle 

23. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? um, I don't remember I was 33 last Jan 6th  *  now I remember... I was hugely pregnant with Zeke at home waiting for him to come!!

24. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? well... more sleep ect.

25. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010? sweat pants here I come!

26. What kept you sane? friends, my projects, laughter, blogging, Jesus and Ben

27. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010. Worry doesn't do anything for anyone.  Things can look very bleak, and then the very next day you have a breakthrough.  Never discount the power of a good night's sleep on any mood.

New Years Eve and Finished Gwenmere

Gwen wouldn't stop fake coughing to get a photo.  That's why Beki's laughing.

Zeke is quite fond of the portcullis.  We were going to have a drawbridge and a moat, but I got tired after drawing all of those stones on there.

We pretended that the castle was besieged by a enormous spider.  It sure scared Snow White, but not so much Cinderella.

Here it is... Castle Gwenmere with Belle lying on her face. :)

Ben brought me flowers.  Isn't he great?  We made a star brownie.  Thanks Stephanie for the pan.

Thoughts On Friendship and The New Year

I've been thinking about friendship lately especially since reading the book "Same Kind Of Different As Me."  It's a true story about a black homeless man becoming friends with a rich white guy and his wife that is an awesome believer that dies of cancer and how they all deal with it.  When the white guy (Ron) is getting to know the black guy (Denver), Denver asks Ron what he wants from him.  He said he just wanted to be his friend.  He went on to ask if Ron did what other white guys do when they fish.. catch and release.  He said in his family when they catch a fish they are proud of it, they show it to everyone they know and then they eat it.  Basically, the bottom line is that he didn't want to be a catch and release friend.  He wanted to have a friend for life.

Over the years I have made and remade friendships over and over.  It seems that once you leave an area it's hard to keep in touch.  There are friends that even when we don't talk we still are friends and we pick up right where we left off...but those are rare.  I am now at the place and time when I want a friend for life.  I want deeper friendships now.... I want a friend that knows me, really knows me.  I want friends that I pray with, memorize Scripture with, and kiss their kids.  Not that I didn't want that before... but now I feel even more so I guess.

So, that is one of my resolutions this year.  To be the kind of friend that I would like to have.  I also want to learn to french braid and lose the last 20 lbs that I need to.  (I've lost 25 since July)  I also want to enjoy my kids and celebrate each moment.  Here is a moment from yesterday that was precious to me.

Gwen got up from her nap and went to the top of the stairs and called down to me to go up there and get her and hold her.  I was doing something so I said to her... I'm not coming up there to get you, but I'd love to hold you when you get down the stairs.  Well, she threw a fit at the top of the stairs and it was a battle of the wills for sure.  I won out and she came down stairs and of course I snatched her up and told her how glad I was that she came down and oh, aren't you wonderful and all that.  Then I sat down holding her and brushed away the snot and brushed away the tears and looked at her and said my usual two questions.  I always ask her "who's my girl?" and she replies, "Gwen"... and then I ask her "who's my special girl?" and she replies "Gwen."  But this time was different.  I asked her "who's my girl?" and she said "Gwen" with a little smile on her face and then I started into my second question "who's my spec..." and she put her hand up on my chest and interrupted me by saying "I know mommy... you love Gwen."  Well, my heart did a little melt and I looked her in the face and said "yes, I do.  Very much."  WHAT a sweetie.

Castle Gwenmere

Here is castle Gwenmere all taped together.

I decided we needed a family coat of arms.  This was the pattern I used to create ours.  Pretty much Gwen was enthusiastic about the castle making and now the new has worn off and it's pretty much my project.  Hopefully as she sees it come together she will get more interested.  I, on the other hand, have been learning lots about parts of the castle.  We've decided ours should have a moat and a portcullis made from the scraps of the memory game again.  

Here's Gwen painting Gwenmere.

This is our coat of arms.  Notice the cross at the top... of course Jesus is first, and then a symbol that represents all of us living here.  And the "B" meaning Barreth of course.  My symbol is the owl, because I like them and I'd like to be wise one day.  An envelope for Beki cause she writes loads of letters.  Gwen wanted a rose and I thought it was quite fitting.  I chose a bike wheel for Ben because he likes biking and cause without him we'd really be in the ditch fo sho!  and then Zeke.  I had a hard time thinking of a symbol for him that was just right.  I finally decided on a seahorse.  I chose it because it is small and beautiful and it likes the water and it likes to hang onto grass (me) and it is monogamous (I think) and does its own little thing in its little area.  Sounds like Zeke to me!  Plus they are super cool.  I'll have to learn more about them.

Trash Pile Treasures and my Darling Boy

Thanks to my mom I got a new vacuum for Christmas.  I took it out of the box today and the cardboard inside... does anyone else see a castle in the makings here?  I'll update you on our fortress we will be making this afternoon.

We put the kitchen in the basement for a while and up came a train/car table to play with for a while we got from my sister.  Zeke loves looking at it and playing cars.  Even though he can't pull up to this position yet he can hold on and balance when we put him up there.

This is an art project we did using the leftover stuff from popping out the cards of a memory game.  I thought it came out really neat.  So... take another look at your trash.  You just might find something worthwhile.

On the Long Road Home

On the way home we saw a sign that talked about this restaurant that throws rolls... Lambert's.  Well... I got jazzed up about the novelty of throwed rolls (it gets boring in the car for 13 hours) and so we stopped there for lunch.  BIG MISTAKE.  First off the kids were tired and it cost more than fast food and it was like being on a conveyor belt of food.  So you order your stuff and people come around and ask you if you want black eyed peas and then they come around and ask if you want fried okra, then the come around and ask if you want fried taters (said in exactly that way).  It was nuts!  But the throwed rolls was the highlight I must say.

Ben ordered a pork steak and I about came out of my chair when he got his food.  He said, "are we going to take this to go?"  I think I was so tired of being in the car I could have laughed about anything.

We also saw animals on the way.  These are buffalo.

and these are zebra.  Talk about being out of their element.. it was snowing.

Snow cream.

The Postholiday Truth

I read this today in Reader's Digest and it made me smile.

(to the tune of "I'll Be Home For Christmas")

I'll be slim for Christmas,
You can count on me.
I pass up chips and chunky dips
and ham and Spam and Brie.

Christmas night will find me
Where the fridge light gleams.
I'll be slim for Christmas,
But then come Krispy Kremes,
Yes, then come Krispy Kremes.

Christmas Snowman

Much to our surprise, we woke up to snow on Christmas morning.  Gwen couldn't wait to get snow on her tongue.

Amusements Along The Way

Where were you on this Christmas Eve?  Well... we were in Mooresville, Alabama and Chick-Fil-A. :)  I have read articles about Mooresville and I wanted to drive through it.  It's a super small town where everyone literally knows everyone that has a lot of Civil war history in it.  Mom knows the postmaster of the Mooresville post office... the oldest post office in Alabama... and I thought we needed to pay it a visit.  Just the thought of a town where everyone has to walk to the post office to get their mail interests me.  

Here's mom and Gwen walking in the post office.

This, my friends, is the Mooresville post office.

The postmaster had a cat in there with her.  She was very chatty.. in fact, I thought I might have to stage an emergency just to get out of there.  She informed us that everyone thought the cat was pregnant and then she got the ultrasound and nope... it's just fat. :)

The Mooresville church.

This was one of the older houses in Mooresville.  The reason it wasn't burned in the war was because they made it into a hospital for wounded Union soldiers.  Beautiful and quite striking thinking of the history here.

We also went into Chick-Fil-A today (again)... and I noticed a manger scene just in the entryway.  You know you've had a lot of babies in the last few years when every time you see a manger scene you have to guess the birth weight of the baby Jesus.  I figure this one was a 13 pounder.  Yes, I know, I'm getting weirder by the minute.

Gwen got her cow hat and went to see if her name was on the "nice" list.  Actually, I'm not a huge fan of the Santa thing, so I told her to go stand near the "man" and get a picture made with her hat. :)

Today I asked Gwen if she were an animal what would she be and she said without hesitation "a bunny rabbit."  Then I asked her about Grandma and she said "a goose."  Then Grandpa was "a cow."  Daddy was "a frog."  I was "a turkey".  I forgot what she said Zeke was, but we found it funny.

Dinner Extravaganza

You think Zeke liked his first taste of spaghetti???

ZEKE CRAWLING

*If you are reading this on facebook, you will have to go to my blog at:  www.benmere.blogspot.com to see the video. :)