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!!!