Oh what fun we had!

We had our annual Barry Family Christmas party on the 22, complete with Bingo and white elephant prizes, dinner, talent show, nativity play, Grandpa Santa Clause, and sharing gifts. We laughed until we cried and we cried over the 'Barry Christmas' movie that Anya made of some of our past year pictures. What a marvelous blessing families are!

Big events, cherished times.

John's mother, LaBelle Barry lives in AZ during the winter months. She arrived in November, just in time to get to know her newest great-grandchild Sam Barry, just 9 days old in this photo!
Our oldest grandson, John, celebrated his 6th birthday at our house on Sunday, November 23rd.
Rich and Treslee Barry with Nina and Elle, Treslee's precious daughters, and now ours too! (Nov. 29, 2008)
My most dear parents, Elmer and LaRue Gerber with our son Brian, his wife Scottee and their children, Charlee, Oaklee and Jaxson at our son Rich's and his bride, Treslee's wedding reception.
Thanksgiving Day Family Volleyball Game
Our family minus Devin's wife, Allison and their new son, Sam.
The newlyweds, Rich and Treslee off to a great start!!:)


In the last 11 days we have had thirteen people here to stay. My oldest and dearest friend Herbie and her husband Steve came from Utah for a whole 24 hours on their way to Mexico. After they left our son, Greg and his wife and Bastian, our grandson, came and are going to stay until after Christmas. (Greg is working for our company which includes knocking down a wall in our upstairs playroom to make a huge room that we will watch movies in.) My brother and sister-in-law and four of their children and my parents all came from Utah for Thanksgiving and for our son, Rich's wedding that was right after Thanksgiving. He, my brother left to go back home on Sunday and my wonderful parents left Wed. It has been such a pleasure to be with all of these loved ones. Plus one of my sisters and John's two brothers all came from Utah too! We feel loved and supported.

We hosted a wedding dinner for 70 guests on Friday night. We had Famous Dave's BBQ cater it and it was scrumptious! Rich and Treslee were sealed in the Mesa temple in a wonderful ceremony with 53 family members in the room. Feelings of joy and love were almost tangible!

Thanksgiving was such a great day! Scottee and Brian hosted it which saved my life because of everything else that was going on. There were around 50 of us there but we had enough food for 100! I feel so blessed! We played games and volleyball, rode quads and enjoyed the beautiful clouds as they rolled through the sky.

Last night my quiet dad started telling some of our kids, who were over visiting, some of the events of his youth. We were spellbound as he talked for an hour or so of growing up through the Great Depression and his escapades in the navy. He is truely my hero!

There is not a basket big enough to hold the gratitude I feel for all the events of the past weeks and the people I've shared them with.

Thankful Tag by Brooklynn

List 15 things you are thankful for.
1. John-his righteousness, sense of humor, his willingness to work hard for his family and to serve with all his might in and out of the Church
2. Motherhood-My 7 children and their spouses (the six that are married so far)The wonderful people they are and the times we get to spend together.
3. Being a grandma to 11 of the most amazing grandchildren ever! The way they yell "GoGo!" when they come over, their singing, funny things they say, to see their accomplishments-first smiles to going to kindergarten!
4. My parents and mother-in-law and my siblings
5. My Relief Society sisters
6. The Savior, Jesus Christ and all He did for me
7. Heavenly Father and His love that He allows me to feel each day
8. The guidance and comfort of the Holy Ghost
9. My Faith and testimony of the true CHurch
10. My friends
11. Good food, water
12. Healthy body and strength to serve
13. The comfort of reading the scriptures and knowing I'm heard when I pray
14. The peace that surrounds my life even though peace in the world is hard to find
15. Getting to bed early so I can read before sleep!

I am glad that Brooklynn tagged me. Counting a few of my blessings is so uplifting!

I tag Anya, Alli, Greg and everyone who wants to feel happy!

happy, happy, joy, joy, joy!

Rich and Treslee are getting married November 29th! This is a joy to us all since we have been waiting for another situation to be resolved before they could set a date. Now to get busy-er!!!

Introducing Sam William Barry

Precious little son
A sweet family!
The grandmas.

An Angel floated down from heaven today and joined our family as Allison and Devin's son. He arrived right on his due date (Thank you Sam) at 1:09 PM after a c-section. He wanted to come bottoms up (Breach) but the wise doctor said "no"! He weighs a whoppin' 8 lbs 13 oz. and is 20&1/2 in. long! He already has rolls on his legs and chin! He chose to have Allison's eyes, mouth, and forehead but he picked Devin's nose!!! :) He is our 11th grandchild, 4th one this year because we get to count Rich's 'two new daughters' and Trevee (Brian and Scottee's daughter). We feel blessed beyond words.

Pumpkin Patch and Trunk or Treat

Brooklynn made it to the top without breaking a sweat!
Every year Brooklynn and I, along with some of our dearest friends go to Schnepf Farms Pumpkin Patch in Queen Creek. We hoot-it-up with miniature golf, rides, dog shows, pig races, a corn maze, a spooky movie in the pasture and a yummy out-door barbeque. The scary train ride after dark is the highlight of the day, besides just being together.

Brooklynn as Spongebob was a big hit at our annual ward Trunk or Treat! The little children were especially thrilled with it. Just as the crowd quieted down for the blessing on the food, one little 3 year-old called out from across the parking lot, "Hi Spongebob!"



Well, I had a total riot as Warren Jeff's 3rd wife. Here is how it came to be. About 2:00 PM Wednesday (the day of Trunk or Treat) I told Mindy that I didn't know what to wear. She suggested that we go to Savers. So we were scouring through all the women's wear when I came upon that exquisite blue dress! Mindy's reaction was, "Oh, that looks like a polygamist's dress!" So I figured it was all meant to be! Mindy styled my hair in a French braid with my bangs standing up. With my tennis shoes and crew socks, I think I could have almost been an undercover agent for the government! I put a sign on me with 'Warren Jeff's 3rd wife' on it just in case someone mistaked me for the real thing! If you need a costume for this weekend, give me a call!

Two A+ movies

There are two outstanding movies out there right now. One is called "Forever Strong" and is about a high school rugby team in Utah. It's a true account of a wayward young man from Arizona who gets sent to a correctional facility in Utah. He is forced to play rugby for one of his biggest rivals as part of his 'therapy'. THe coach for that team is more concerned with having strong boys in every way than in winning games. It is just so good. It is probably in theaters in Mesa only by now since it has been out for a month or so. I guess there is always Netflix!

The other movie is called "Fireproof". We saw it last night for FHE at Harkins. It is about how to fireproof your marriage. There is a 40-day "Love Dare" in the movie that the husband takes in order to salvage his marriage. The movie is produced by a Christian company and even though some of the acting is amateur, the message and feeling of the movie is exceptional. There is a website called fireproofmymarriage.com that I went to and found the love-dare book and other good things. It can be hard to find a good movie these days and what do you know...there are two out right now!

New England at Harvest Time

A few years ago John and I made a list of things we wanted to do together. We just checked one of those items off the list by going to New England last week. We flew into Providence, Rhode Island and checked out the Vanderbuilt mansions-unreal! Then we drove up the coast to Maine and meandered our way back down to Boston via New Hampshire. We stopped in a quaint little town called Freeport, Maine that had stores named, "When Pigs Fly", "Wicked Whoopies", and "Horny Toad" to name a few. We felt like we had stepped back to a relaxing, slower-paced time. We spent two days in Boston and wished we had had more time there. There is so much to do and so much life in that city, mainly due to the 70 colleges there. We walked the "Freedom Trail" that took us all over the city to historic and modern sites. We relived the times of the Revolutionary War from the Paul Revere home to the monument that commemorates the Battle of Bunker Hill. We climbed all 294 steps to the top of the monument. Why? I don't know but my legs cried for two days because of it! Our main reason for going there was to see the Fall leaves and we were not dissapointed. They were breath-taking!

How old are you?

Our family tries to get together for dinner to open a monthly fast or close it. It is always fun and crazy no matter what, when or where! I couldn't resist taking a picture when I saw the grandkids on the trampoline together, enjoying a popsicle. Charlee had the idea of holding up their fingers to tell how old they are. Jaxson thinks he's five, but he is really two! (Nina, Charlee, Ella, Jaxson, Johnny, and Oaklee.)

My tag picture-Brooklynn and Rich's GB house

The 4th picture in the 4th folder-Last Christmas we had a gingerbread house building contest and this is Rich and Brookynn's. They didn't win! Neither did Ryan and I win. Alli and her sister, Jessica did. (second picture.) I tag Ciara

It is time for a new post, but John got a new computer and gave me his old one which necessitates the transfer of all my files onto his old computer and all his old files onto the new computer and on and on. But this goes beyond our brain power so it will be a while until I can post a picture again.

The blood tests I had came back...mono. No wonder I had NO strength, fever, aches and sore throat in August and the first week of Sept. I am very thankful to be feeling better. I had a set-back this week where all I could do was sleep, it seemed. John and I went to the temple where I could hardly stay awake. I slept on the way home and slipped right into bed when we got there and slept more! John and B have been patient and kind through it all and my counselors in Relief Society have been amazing! They have taken so much off of my shoulders where possible and have become my "peeps"! (People) They say that I don't know how to say 'no' so whenever I am asked to do something out of the ordinary, I am to refer the askee to my peeps and they will say if I can or not. (NOT is their usual answer)

Quelf

We (Greg, Alli, Devin, Allison, Brooklynn, John and I) played a game called Quelf tonight and I am still laughing! We added five years to our lives by laughing uproariously for at least five minutes straight. As some of you may know, John isn't a real game player but since it was family night he didn't really have a choice!! So in this game you are doing some wacky things. On John's turn he got a card that said for him to write a five line poem about his looks and say it in a rap. He wrote: "Here is the man, here is the man, you know what I mean, here is the man, here is the man." We had to coax him into rapping and when he did, we fell totally apart. Devin collapsed on the floor, Greg and Brooklynn were hehawing so loud and Allison, Alli and I had tears running down our faces. But John went over to the couch and sat down and commensed guffawing like I haven't heard him do in years. Tears were leeking out of his eyes too and the more we saw and heard of each other's reactions, the more we laughed. Oh the fun!!! Can't wait to do it again.

Great News!

RICH IS ENGAGED! He popped the question last night to Treslee (Lines) Scow by getting on one knee in a parking lot at the movies, pretending to tie his shoe! Their wedding will be around Thanksgiving. They met at a young single adult barbeque in April where neither one wanted to be! When they met they hit it off and`were totally comfortable with none of the worry of trying to impress each other. Treslee has two daughters, Nina (5) and Elle (3) who are darling, and blond. Rich and Treslee seem to be each other's perfect match! We are thrilled to be adding these three girls to our family.

Trevee's memorial

Saturday was Trevee's memorial at the Mesa City Cemetery. Brian dedicated the grave-site and gave a heart-felt prayer of gratitude and testimony for the Savior's Atonement and for being able to take part in Trevee's mission to gain a body. It was perfect. Scottee's family and extended family was there as was most of Brian's family. I am grateful beyond words for the family members that the Lord has given me. They inspire me, teach me, bring me joy and bless my life daily.

Live in the moment

With the events of this week I have had a reoccuring thought---to appreciate each moment that we get to share with our precious family and friends. If I were to be sent back to the times when my children were small, that is what I would want to do better. I seemed/seem to let other matters crowd out my time to just enjoy and strengthen relationships. There was/is always more laundry to do, more calls to make... It reminds me of what Greg said on his blog a while back. He was voicing his frustration for not getting anything done that day because Bastian wanted attention. What he said was, maybe I need to focus more on how relationships were strengthened than on what I accomplished. He said it better but you get the idea. I want to take everyone that I love into a giant bear hug and just shout out how much I love you and thank you for the richness you've brought to my life. I want to sit and 'shoot the breeze' with you and just GIVE time to 'live in the moment'. To all of you, I am filled to overflowing with love for you and I pledge to prioritize my time- stewardship to give more to strengthening our relationships. After all, they are the only things we get to take with us into the eternities!

Trevee Sue Barry

Scottee's gave birth to a beautiful 14.8 ounce, 11 inch daughter, named Trevee Sue today. Although she didn't get to stay with us, we feel to thank Heavenly Father for His tender mercies in preserving Scottee's life and for Trevee's spirit which was felt and for His great and wonderful plan of happiness. Brian, Scottee's brother, Scottee's mom and I got to take part in Trevee's bath (while Scottee was having a D&C) and in seeing her tiny little footprints and fingerprints permenantly placed on paper to treasure forever. We spent hours holding her and marveling at her perfect body with ten fingers and toes. Some angelic volunteers made itty-bitty booties, hats, dresses and little diapers to donate to families who need something to dress their baby in. What a Christ-like service to perform and so very much appreciated!

Scottee is going to need to spend a couple more days in the hospital to continue antibiotics intravenously. Please continue to pray for her and Brian. Even though we all have the assurance that we get to be with Trevee forever, the here and now is very hard.

Please pray for Brian's family

This morning Scottee went to see her dr. Last week he had put her on strict bedrest because her cervix was opening. Her condition is now critical. She was sent to the Good Samaratan Hospital where an amniocentesis is scheduled and where Scottee will stay until delivery. Good Sam is the premire hospital for high-risk pregancies. If there is infection inside the sac, then there is no choice but to deliver the baby and at this stage there is no chance of survival. But if there is no infection then they will sew Scottee's cervix shut and see how long they can keep her baby in. If she can make it to 28 weeks the chances of survival are much better. We seek your faith and prayers in their behalf. We petition our Father in Heaven for comfort for Brian and Scottee and for His will to be done. Their little children will need extra comfort too with their mommy being away for such a long time. Thank you and may the Lord continue to bless you.

Brooklynn's milestones

Brooklynn's 13th birthday is this weekend. It is not possible to say what a delight she is to us. Happy Birthday "B"! Your life is just as it should be. We love you.

After three years playing on various volleyball teams and going to VB camps to improve her skills, Brooklynn's dream of making the 7th grade VB team became a reality. All her hard work paid off!

Continuing the countdown

Only a little over two months more for Allison (Nov. 10th) and who knows how long for Scottee. Scottee is on strict bedrest and her due date isn't until the end of December! We just hope to keep her out of the hospital for as long as possible. We love you girls. Thank you for choosing to be mothers!

Marriage: "Choose thy Love, Love thy Choice"

It's 2:40 AM and sleep isn't my friend so I'm going to get some things off of my chest! You know how hard it is to witness a child being hurt physically? Whether it is gettting immunizations, a fall resulting in a painful injury, an illness that has to 'run it's course', it is excruciating for a parent to stand by. We would do all in our power to make the hurt go away. I'm telling you, it only gets more difficult to watch as our children grow and their bumps and bruises physically turn into deep gashes emotionally as they learn to navigate marriage. I remember that one of my worst fears as a child was that my parents would get divorced. Thankfully, they kept their committments to each other. I also remember thinking in my early marriage that "I could do just as well on my own" and "who needs this frustration". Lies that if I would have kept feeding, would have most surely turned into action resulting in sorrow, loneliness, regret and pain. I learned to shut those thoughts out and concentrate instead on the good things. If you give no place for the "d" word in your thoughts then your natural choice is to hang in there and see things through. I don't entertain thoughts of my own divorce anymore. I feel like I got the best of the deal by far. What I do get concerned about is seeing gashes in the marriages of the people I love most. In my service in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I am sad to witness irreparable damage to once-blossoming relationships. Every marriage has it's challenges which can make a marriage stronger but I want to make something very clear, in almost every case, divorce isn't an option! "Cease to be angry," (President Hinckley) 'Choose thy love, love thy choice'. 'The only reason for raising your voice to your spouse is if the house is on fire.'(President Benson?)The scriptures are replete with revelation on the sanctity of marriage. There is a myth about marriage and it is that couples love each other all the time in the same intensity. Not true. It's not meant to be the hormon-crazed, thrill-a-second relationship we experienced when we were dating. We get to settle in and take care of deeper needs. Marriage relationships gets richer and more fulfilling as we adjust and work through difficulties. "I just don't love you anymore" has no place whatsoever in words and thoughts. You loved once, banish the thought and get down to loving again! Now you may be speculating 'who' and 'what', but this isn't meant for anyone specifically, but for all, including myself, as a loving reminder. We all get to experience ups and downs in our most critical and eternally important relationships. So I plead, choose love, have the spirit of peace and happpiness in your homes where all things grow and flourish.

The Peacegiver

I just finished a book, my second time with it, called "The Peacegiver" by James Ferrell. If you need help with your marriage or any other situation in your life, this is the book for you! Rick, whose marriage is falling apart, is taken, by his deceased grandfather, on a journey of three different scenes. Rick is eventually able to see how he has become hard-hearted and how he misunderstood the sacrifice the Savior made for him. The feeling of this book stays with me. Gratitude, love, peace, joy... are some of the emotions I feel. I wish for all my children and their spouses to read it. It is a life changer! You don't have to be a member of any certain church to read "The Peacegiver", it applies to all people of all faiths!

Mr President

Who's it gonna' be-McCain or Obama?

Bastian's new friend

Greg's brother-in-law and his bride recieved a calf as a wedding present!!! You don't hear that one everyday! Well, Bastian has won the shy little things heart. He is the only one that she has let touch her yet. Who could resist him!

Devin is a hero!

Devin saved a man's life this week at work. He was cleaning up from a fire in an apartment complex when a man on a ladder who was taking out broken glass from a window, made a noise and a lot of glass fell down on Devin. When Devin looked he saw that the man had a terrible gash in his arm that was bleeding profusely. Devin sprinted to get help, yelling to anyone he saw to call 911. Someone else hurried over and tied off the man's arm with a belt as a tourniquet. The injured man was taken to the hospital where his injury that had cut clear to the bone, was taken care of. Later someone from the glass company called the apartment complex manager to pass along thanks to "whoever was responsible for saving the worker's life." (Devin chews on pens. That is the case in this picture, lest you think he has taken up smoking!)

I finished reading "Breaking Dawn" and have to say, it was rivoting! It is the only book that I have had to read the last page while I was in the middle of it because it was too tense to wait to see what happens! I can't let Brooklynn read it though, which is disappointing because she has been looking forward to it for a long time. There is way too much "stuff" for a 12-13 year old. I appreciate Stephan Myer for being the reason why so many people, including Brooklynn, have become readers just for the pleasure of it. Anyone know of other great books that I can suggest to Brooklynn?

Some of John's summer moments

Scottee and Allison with five and four months to go!

Cabin fun-Adam and Johnny on the "ziplock".

Eighteen members of the Barry family went to Heber AZ for a five day reunion. It was so fun! Each night we lay on blankets out on the volleyball court and watched for shooting stars and sattelites. We haven't seen that many stars in the night sky in forever! It sure causes one to feel puny, but on the other hand, I felt thrilled to think that the ONE who created all those stars cares about little-ole me!

The Barry 'talent' show

One of the highlights of the fun at the cabin was the talent show. Brooklynn had a sign-up sheet where we signed up each other for the talents we knew they had. Some talents were completely unknown to us. For instance, who knew that Rich could lick his own elbow!!!

John and his mom and siblings

Our Utah trip was fun and busy! We went to the Barry family reunion and enjoyed being with John's siblings and their families. They are such great people. We stayed at John's mom's for two nights and loved every minute of being with her.

Family reunion

John, "B" and I went to the Richmond family reunion. That is my mom's side. Since it was themed as a Mexican Fiesta, part of the program was of my mom and her sisters doing the Macharana (Spelling?) Talk about funny! (My mom is in the middle)

Utah Vacation

John and I went to the Donny and Marie show in Vegas and we were thoroughly entertained (especially by Donny!:)) Marie was good and gorgeous but Donny had all the niddle-aged teeny boppers in the palm of his hand! (I guess one of those boppers was me!) We took Brooklynn and her friend Hayley up to BYU to Volleyball camp where they both worked so hard and got their overhand serves down. `They also got homesick!

I can't believe this is my third blog this week!!! So much for the once a month committment.:)

Random thoughts

I sure love reading people's blogs. I see a differnet side to people-even my own kids that I thought I knew!!!

Why is it easier to write things than say them? I have always written letters when I want to express myself. I guess that way emotions and my lack of language skills don't get in the way.

Does anyone ever feel spiritually shallow? I fight that feeling off and on even when I read the scriptures, pray and do my church calling. Am I just going through the motions? I don't like feeling that way. I want to feel "anxiously engaged" and close to Heavenly Father. I genuinely love to serve Him and yet, I struggle with this lack of gusto!

Last night B and I played Balderdash with our friends. We laughed. I love to laugh!

My friend Lisa and I 'work out' every week day. We do cardio three days and weights two days. We talk about the economy, our great families, the elections, and a miriad of other subjects, but it seems like we always talk about being fat and what we can do about it. At my age, I have lost the motivation and the faith in being able to lose weight. (Been there, done that type of thing over and over and over again!) Yesterday we were amazed when we realized that being fat is the biggest trial of her life at this time.(not mine:)) Oh how blessed we are!

senior in high school

Brooklynn challenged us to post pretty pictures. The last time I remember feeling pretty was in high school. Sad but true!

Four years old

18 years old

Ugly wedding picture-entry #4

By the looks of it, we're in for a l-o-n-g eternity together!

#3 entry in ugly photo

THere are plenty more where these come from!

#2 ugly photo entry

#1 entry for ugly picture contest

That was fun! Where are your ugly picts???

Okay! Are you ready?!? This is it! The second and only post for another month!

Favorite grandchildren photos

This is Ashlyn, Mindy and Ryan's 6 month old daughter, trying to decide if she likes solids or not.

Three year old Ella is Adam and Anya's daughter.

Adam and Anya's son 5 year-old Johnny. Our oldest grandchild.