barberic wife

My crafty husband

2012-02-28T15:44:00.001-06:00

I love having a crafty husband. I know that I tell you he's good at everything (and he really is)! I meant to write this post back before Valentine's day to give a little inspiration to those out there trying to think of the perfect gift. Eric got pretty "crafty" for my birthday and Christmas (and by this I mean that he was sneaky) and he took a little peek at my Pinterest page to see what things I have pinned that he might be able to recreate. He's really great about looking at something and then making it....which is a money saver!

So here are a few of the things that he made:

This was made out of some old barn wood that Eric found at an antique store. He then stenciled and painted it.

This is a canvas with chipboard letters hot-glued on- and then all painted white so that it has a 3-D effect to it.

This tree is similar to a canvas we saw in a home decor store...(not Pinterest)

This is hard to see (because of the reflection I had to lay it down)- but it's a frame with a tree cut out of paper with the lyrics to our first dance. And then there are hearts tied on a branch of the tree.
Our first dance song was "Amen" by Dave Barnes. The lyrics read:
We will have love,
We will have pain
There will be days and days and days that feel the same
We will have fear
We will have joy
And maybe little girls and little boys

We will have friends
We will have peace
There will be nights of lights and music 'til you sleep
We will be strong
We will still break
We'll live through so much more than we can take

Amen
Amen
With the dawn, we all begin again
Amen
Amen
What is done, and yet to come
Amen

We will have hope
We will have doubt
There will be memories we could never live without
We will have tears
But there will be grace
There will be prayers that we never thought we'd pray

Amen
Amen
With the dawn, we all begin again
Amen
Amen
What is done, and yet to come
Amen

In the sun or the storms
The flood or the flames
Let everything come, and I'm the one to blame
In heartache or hope
I swear I'll say, I'll say

Amen
Amen
With the dawn, we all begin again
Amen
Amen
What is done, and yet to come
Amen

So, kind of a random post. But just want to encourage you to get your craft on (even if it involves some Pinterest stalking)!

what?!? ...baby barb?!?

2012-02-14T14:50:00.001-06:00

Well it's a little crazy to think that I'm 12 weeks pregnant. We went to the doctor yesterday and saw a baby growing inside of me- full of life, moving around everywhere, and full of stretches that showed off fingers and toes. It has a heart that is beating 158 beats/minute. It's growing and so far, everything is normal. So...I guess all that to say, I think I'm pregnant. Until yesterday, I don't know that I was 100% confident of this fact. Sure, we had taken a pregnancy test back before Christmas that showed two pink lines. And yeah, I've added a couple of extra pounds that can't be contributed to Christmas, not to mention I have felt exhausted all the time and other changes that seemed to match straight up with what the books say. But I guess I'm enough of a ~~pessimist~~ realist to want to see the proof. Maybe I had this fear that it could be some crazy medical coincidence going on....I don't know!

There it is though! Baby Barb (in the singular form...unlike my husband thought, who has been joking and claiming for weeks that it is twins). The top two pictures are profile pictures and then the bottom one is looking straight on at the face...with the little arm up by the face (almost doing a little salute). We're due August 26th. So here are the frequently asked questions:

Due date: August 26, 2012
How far along: 12 weeks, 2 days
How/when did you find out: I found out on December 21, 2011 by taking a pregnancy test and then
that was confirmed at the doctor on December 27, 2011.
How have you been feeling: I've actually felt pretty good. I haven't been sick at all- just times that I feel weird/different (which Eric is quick to tell me that it's because I have something growing inside of me!) I'm pretty tired and take a lot of naps- but I think that is starting to get better too. While we aren't training for any marathons or plan to have the story of this lady, I am still walking/running at the gym often. I'd love to be able to do one/couple 5ks this spring/summer.
When did you tell your families: We told both of our immediate families at our Christmas celebrations just a few days later. We knew it might be a while before we would all be together and have a good opportunity to tell them in person. (Eric actually has some videos of our parents when we wrapped up some frames and gave them as Christmas presents. The frames said "Sweet Baby" on them and then instead of putting a picture in it, we just used a little poem that we found that said: "We have no picture for this space, reserve 8 months for Baby Barb's face")
Were you trying: We had decided that November would be my last month of birth control....but in all reality, I didn't expect to be pregnant a few weeks later. We knew it could take a while, as we've walked through that with friends and family, and so in my mind, I expected maybe 9 months later (to be finding out that we're pregnant, not to be having a baby). We had made the decision to just trust the Lord's timing instead of trying to plan it all out ourselves to later maybe find out we would have trouble or whatever...... but I guess in my mind, I still thought I knew what the Lord's plan was. Silly me!
Are you going to find out the gender: Probably. I think it could be fun to be surprised, but it would probably kill me knowing that I could know, and I didn't. I think I'm probably too much of a planner to be surprised like that!
Will it be the first grandbaby on either side: No. Eric's brother has a son that is 11 years old and that is the only grandchild on his side. My brother has a daughter that is almost 5 and then another baby girl on the way in just 10 or so days. So it will not be the first grandbaby on either side, but it will be either the first boy on my side or the first girl on his side.
Do you have names picked out: We have a couple of names that we like for each gender, but we all know that could change several times. We haven't really decided if we'll put whatever name we pick out to the public or not.
Do you want a boy or a girl: We're really okay with either one. I think I like the idea of a boy being the oldest- but we'll be grateful and excited for whatever this baby may be!

Well, I think that's all for now. I'm starting to show a little bit (maybe only Eric and I can tell though). But my clothes are getting tighter and tighter- especially my nice white button up and black pants all tucked in for CFA.
Let me know if you have any questions that I didn't answer! I'm new to all this and feel pretty much in the dark about everything- so I'm open for advice and whatever too! Thanks for celebrating with us! We are so excited and honored that God has entrusted us with a baby- that we're already trying to care for. It brings us to a new place of truly understanding Him more as Creator and Author of life. As Psalm 139:13 says, "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb." He's doing the forming and the knitting....and we are so grateful that we get to be a part of it!

After our church's Valentine's banquet and a scrabble date at Starbucks last Saturday

Love,
E & K

Our first anniversary

2012-01-03T13:06:00.000-06:00

Eric and I celebrated our first anniversary on November 27th. It has been a wonderful first year (over 13 months now...) It's just been a joy to be with my best friend all the time. God has just blessed us tremendously in our marriage. I'm so thankful for the man of God, husband, and leader that Eric is. For our anniversary, we decided to get away for a quick weekend. It still blows my mind how close we are to 'the South' down here in SE Missouri. We are closer to Memphis than my parents' house and closer to Nashville than Eric's parents' house. It's just crazy! We looked up Bed & Breakfasts near Memphis and decided to go to Olive Branch, Mississippi (only about 20 minutes outside of Memphis) and stay at the Andover Plantation. It was so beautiful!

We would recommend Andover Plantation for anyone looking for a place to stay! The innkeeper, Lin, was so accommodating and sweet! She had our room all ready for us when we checked in. We stayed in the Plantation Suite.

This would have also been a great place to go with a group of people- like for a family reunion, where you want to reserve all the rooms upstairs or there is a cottage out behind the main house with it's own kitchen and a little more space. And they also have a pool, so it would be great for kids in the summer!

Closed for the winter!

Extra building behind the main house


If it hadn't been so rainy, cold, and windy, we would have loved to enjoy our private porch!

Lin brought us a wonderful breakfast to our room. She made apricot-stuffed french toast with a sweet orange syrup, bacon, and some fruit. It was so good!

We just spent time enjoying Memphis on Sunday. Neither of us have really spent any time in Memphis before so we didn't know exactly what to see or do. We just took it pretty easy though....enjoying lunch downtown at The Majestic Grille and doing some basic sightseeing and shopping. Of course, we took the opportunity to check out Pottery Barn Outlet, where we snagged this great find who now proudly hangs out on our mantle:

Have I told you before that I love my husband? I'm so thankful for our first year of marriage and just time to get away with him. Thanks for being a part of our lives!

Love,
The Barbs

Our new home

2011-12-18T16:57:00.000-06:00

I know that I haven't posted anything really about our new home- and we have been in it for 1 1/2 months. Well, I thought I'd try to do some short posts just to show our friends/family that live far away. We haven't done anything major to the house- just new carpet and paint. So today, I'll show you the living room.

Here is the front door/living room and then you can also see through the opening into the dining room. The walls were just all dirty-off white... (Don't mind me- I'm just trying out the key to the front door. We can only lock the doors with keys, both on the inside and outside, which I found out is a safety thing so if someone punches out your windows, they can't just turn a deadbolt. Genius!)

We started painting within 2 hours of closing on the house. We were on a time crunch and it was nice to already have the paint picked out, bought, and ready to go! Our color choice was Ashen, by Olympic One. We absolutely love the color. We picked it out thinking it was a light tan....and have found that at some points it looks more gray, which we had actually thought about painting it a gray shade, so it's great!


Winter Mood, also by Olympic One, used on all the trim, windows, and doors


Here is Ashen, taken from the Olympic website.

So....here are the pictures we took after we finished painting (with the old, full of cat hair, carpet)

This next picture is from the day our stuff got moved- as everything is just sort of laying around as we try to figure out how we want it to look. We also have new, clean, never been touched by cats, carpet!!

...and here it is now as it is decorated for Christmas.

I've started collecting the Willow Tree Nativity set.


Eric's grandma made stockings for us...and we actually have a mantle to use!

Eric painted an old shutter that was in this old house that his parents and their neighbors bought and it is now by the front door holding Christmas cards.

Our front door with our "wreath"...something I found on Pinterest and we recreated.

I hope you enjoyed the tour of our living room!

failed blogger again :/

2011-11-17T09:53:00.002-06:00

Oh wow. Here we are almost three months later. I confess that I'm not the best blogger...especially when it comes to being consistent. A lot has changed in the Barb household the last couple of months- including the Barb household. Eric and I bought a house! We had been looking since the middle of the summer- and went out probably 5-6 different times to see many homes in our area. We actually put a rushed offer out in early August (when we found out there was another offer, so it was our only chance), but realized that we were not into playing the games that this 'for sale by owner' had. So we kept looking....and then finally stumbled across the house that is now ours! I like to refer to us as 'home owers' instead of 'owners' because we are far from owning this. It's crazy when you look at the sheet with what you're actually paying out over all those years. We even bought something at the very bottom of our price range and are actually saving money compared to what we paid in rent. So I'll show you a picture of the little guy (on the outside) and then will hopefully get pictures up of the inside soon. It is an old home (from the 1950's) in a great area of town that has lots of old homes with character. It's actually on the same street as the first house we put the offer on. We painted and got new carpet before we moved in and it seriously made a huge difference. It has some fun features like a fireplace in the living room and built-in cabinets in the dining room. We have moved down to only one bathroom, but the bathroom has been completely remodeled in the last 3 years and even has heated floors! The major thing I would want to change is the kitchen. It has green counters and an old, old green stove. We plan to do a complete kitchen remodel somewhere down the road. It is 1 1/2 story, Cape-Cod style. The upstairs is really neat too- just needs a little love put into it, so that is probably in the future too! But here it is from the front....

isn't it cute? the yard could use a little lovin' though...

We also finished our marathon last month! It was such a great experience and we couldn't have picked better weather. It started out around 50 degrees and was just starting to get too warm in the last couple of miles. We also reached our goal of raising $1800 for 'His Voice Global' to go for building a 4th orphanage! Several of our students came and watched us, so that was fun to see them at different points along the route! I was definitely ready to be done by the end of it, and would have told you that I've completed my marathon and have no desire to do another full again. It's funny though how you can forget those feelings- and in the back of my mind, I think I might want to do it again sometime in life. I guess we'll see!

before the race in downtown STL

our cheering section after the race

The last thing I mentioned in my last blog was that I was going to work at the new Chick-Fil-A. Well, about three days before we opened, I became a manager. It has been a fun experience so far-- not that all days are easy or enjoyable, but I really like working there. I have definitely been learning a lot about leadership and business. It is hard work and we have been really busy. It has also given me the flexibility to continue to work with the Student Ministry Team! I work early in the day, so I finish early and still have the opportunity to get other things done. I feel like I could probably blog about CFA though-- just all I have learned and experienced. I come home and tell Eric stories everyday. Like yesterday, for example, the outside door leading into the restaurant fell off (onto the sidewalk) at about 11am right as the lunch rush was starting. Oh joy!

And I really do want to get better about blogging....so here's hoping that it's sooner than later :)

short & sweet: wreath & chikin

2011-08-24T16:29:00.000-05:00

Some days I feel really crafty...and yesterday was one of those days. I now have use #2 of the lima bean wreath. Remember when I made it back in the spring here? Well a couple of days ago, I saw this wreath pinned on Pinterest and my mind began going and I knew that I wanted that wreath on our deck for fall and to root on our favorite college football team MIZ-ZOU!

So I took spring/summer bright wreath

and turned it into something new

and I actually made it pretty cheap! I returned some things to Hobby Lobby that I had bought for a different project (and have since changed my mind about what I'm doing) and so with that return, I was able to purchase:
2 wooden letters (.99 each)
1 piece of black felt (.25)
1 piece of ~~gold~~ yellow felt (.79) - didn't match my gold paint, but i had already cut it up
1/8 yard gold fabric (.76)
small bottle gold acrylic paint (.79)
ribbon (already owned)
paint brush (already owned)
black spray paint (already owned)
Total: $4.57

Woohoo! I have made so many things from Pinterest...and I really don't even waste that much time on there.

In other news, I have a NEW JOB! I'm going to continue with some contract work for the Student Ministry Team at the Missouri Baptist Convention and I'm also going to work at the brand new Chick-Fil-A coming to Cape Girardeau! I don't really know my role yet- except that I'm probably going to have some early mornings with opening and then the owner/operator has talked to me about doing Marketing/Events. I'm really excited about the job. I have had a little pride about it because it's fast food and have just been worried about what people would think of me, but I really like the owner/operator and I've been hearing about several people from church or friends of people I know that are going to be working there and everyone has been super positive. And I really am excited. I loved my time in college working at Heavenly Ham- just a mix of the people I got to work with, serving others, and I do like food preparation stuff. Plus I think I'll really enjoy having an active, fast-paced job. Not to mention just getting to know more people here- and the way that corporation is set up in regards to leadership development, being family-oriented, and helping the community. And I'm guaranteed to have Sundays off :) Training starts next week....so we'll see how it all goes!

Chicago

2011-08-16T12:55:00.000-05:00

We wanted to take a little vacation before classes started back, but we have been gone so much this summer (and spent a lot of time in the car) that the thought of driving somewhere to get away was exhausting to think about. Just a couple of weeks ago though, we thought about hopping on the Amtrak to Chicago and spending a few days relaxing there. So we did! We began planning a trip to Chicago about a week before we left. I'll save you from ALL the details and long stories- and give you just the highlights (in mostly picture form).

Welcome to Chicago! We grabbed lunch and walked to our hotel (only about .7 miles from Union Station) after our 5 1/2 hour trip on Amtrak from Carbondale to Chicago.

We went to Navy Pier...

and of course, we rode the ferris wheel...which gave us the opportunity to see the skyline.

We wanted to see the free fireworks at Navy Pier- so conveniently went on Wednesday night. They were seriously some of the best fireworks we have ever seen- even though it was only about 15 minutes (so good!)

We walked and took public transportation all over the city. Our hotel was in a great location though- right in the middle of the loop. We stayed at The Palmer House Hilton....and it was swank (thanks Hotwire!)

We did the touristy things too- like 'the bean'

...which happened to only be like 3 blocks from our hotel!

Of course we couldn't miss running days- so we had a 6 mile run and a 13 mile run while we were there. We passed Buckingham fountain on both of our runs...but made sure to come back for a picture.

We love cupcakes....which is probably pretty obvious. Remember when we had our own Cupcake Wars? We wanted to try Sprinkles Cupcakes- the first cupcakery in the US, started by Candace (one of the judges on the show Cupcake Wars). It was a small store, but the line was out the door!

And we know why too... seriously, it was the best cupcake I have ever had. We tried another cupcake shop in Chicago, and it didn't compare. I got red velvet (yum) and we bought a pumpkin cupcake mix to try at home!

We did lots of free stuff in Chicago...just touristy/walking around. But we did spend money to see Blue Man Group and it was pretty good.

The weather was so great too. I think the warmest day reached about 83 degrees and it only began to rain as we were getting to Union Station to leave on our last day. We spent a few hours at the Lincoln Park Zoo, which was fun and free. I did tell Eric that I'm probably not going to be the mom that can take the kids and spend the entire day at the zoo. I don't have a love affection towards animals like some do, so I just get bored watching them. You can only stare at a sleeping lion for so long. I do like zoos in small doses though :)

We also had our first experience of 'snow ice'. My friend Kenny owns a little treat place called Cloud 9. The snow ice was so fluffy and light. We had mango flavored with mango drizzle and fresh strawberries. Delicious!

Kenny and me

We couldn't be in Chicago and not have deep-dish pizza...so we "carb-loaded" at Giordano's the night before our 13 mile run. Hawaiian pizza is my absolute favorite!

We checked out several fun restaurants while we there...like Yolk. Eric saw it on our run and just happened to suggest we go there the next day. We got there and had a wait. Little did we know that we were at a trendy breakfast spot with really good food!

We also ate at Weber Grill restaurant which was good. I don't know that I could ever be a food critic though- cause I enjoy most places. I definitely recommend the teriyaki steak skewers.

It was the first time for both of us to ride the Amtrak. You can't beat the price- that's for sure. Our Amtrak tickets, transit passes, and parking in Carbondale didn't even add up to the price of parking at our hotel for the 3-4 days. We enjoyed the train going up much more than coming back. On the way back, we were behind the kid who watched 2 movies on loud without headphones and in front of the smelly guy. Plus, I think we were just ready to be home.

We loved our getaway to Chicago! My family has talked about doing a similar trip and riding the Amtrak up together. Eric and I made sure to make mental notes about things that would be fun to do together and considered this a "scouting trip". We are in full-swing towards students returning...so be praying as we begin a new semester of ministry!

Video update!

2011-08-04T13:11:00.000-05:00

Here is a little video update from my husband's blog http://exchangedlife.wordpress.com
Check it out!!

-KB

attempt #2

2011-07-18T22:20:00.000-05:00

Back in January, I decided that I wanted to run a marathon...but I was a little late in starting to train. I had to jump in on week 3 of training. And then by about weeks 6-7, my left knee let me know that it was not very happy about all the running. I actually claimed in late February that I was "retiring" from long races (although I had never competed in a full). Not to mention that a trip with my team came up to go to Orlando and that conveniently meant that I could not do a marathon in Nashville that same weekend.

My husband has previously run 2 marathons....one in 2009 and one in 2010. His last marathon was not the most fun ever...as he had pain in his toes from about mile 14 through the end. He actually told me at the finish line that if he "acts like he wants to do this again next year, to not let him".

Well here we are in the middle of July, and we're training for a marathon! Oops. Was I supposed to not let him? And what happened to my retirement? Who am I, Brett Favre? It's not even something on my bucket list. Really, it's just my competitiveness/pride. I watch the Biggest Loser and they have run marathons on several of the seasons. Oprah, for crying out loud, ran a marathon. "If they can do it, I can do it." And Eric? Well he actually volunteered because he knows that I'll probably never do it on my own and I don't have anyone in CG to do it with- [insert: because he loves me and is a wonderful husband]. We are now about 4 weeks into our training.

So what is going to keep us motivated during our running? Keeping up with Oprah will only work for so long! We have actually decided to run for orphans. Eric ran the Chicago Marathon with a World Vision team back in 2009, he ran the Bass Pro Marathon last year as a part of 'I Run for Orphans', and I ran the KC 1/2 marathon in 2009 for 'I Run for Orphans'. We desire to raise money for His Voice Global, an organization that is raising money to build their 4th orphanage in Sudan. We learned that it takes approximately $30,000 to build one orphanage, that houses around 15 children and 2 adults. We decided to take on the goal of raising $1800-$2000 which would either cover the cost of one room in the orphanage or for one student's education, clothes, food, housing, and needs at the orphanage. We've set up a giving page to make it easy for you to partner with us. Please check it out here and at least read about His Voice and the work they are doing.

Thanks friends and family. We love you and are so grateful for you!

Kelly

Before the Bass Pro Marathon

PS- Just a little update on our training...I'm having a little right knee pain this time- so I'd love your prayers that it would go away and I'd be diligent to stretch and care for my body.

pretty, pretty please...

2011-07-10T18:21:00.000-05:00

I love contests. I'm the person that calls in to the radio station even when I don't actually want the prize or know I won't be able to use it. My family always claimed that I was lucky, but I think I'm probably the only person that is ever trying :) Trying has paid off too: Miranda Lambert tickets & backstage passes, Brad Paisley tickets, Taylor Swift tickets (Abby actually won those...but I made her call), tshirts, cds, frozen custard gift cards, etc.

So I entered this contest and now Eric and I are in the running for $1000.

It's kind of a random/funny way that it all came about. We wrote our own vows for our wedding and I have been wanting to find a creative way to display those...maybe on a painting or something. So I was just googling different things trying to find ideas or places that might sell such a thing. I ran across this website Art Vows. I was just looking around at their products and found out that they were having a contest. Of course, I entered the contest. They were picking a weekly winner for 10 weeks to get an art vow of their choice and the criteria was based on originality, creativity, etc. AND WE WON! And like many other times that I've won, I wouldn't be surprised if we were the only ones that entered that week. But none the less....winners! I've not only found a way to display our vows, but it's free!

The ten weekly winners are now competing for $1000...based on originality, creativity, something with judges, and then getting votes. So would you please take a second and vote for us? It's an app thing on facebook and I think it only allows you to vote one time (in the 2 week deadline). So super easy and you don't have to do it daily or anything.

VOTE HERE!

two months late(r)

2011-07-07T15:39:00.000-05:00

...almost 2 months later...whoops!

I guess I should have a lot to share about since it has been two months! We've been some busy little Barbs too. I ended the last blog entry telling you that we were going a mini vacation. Well that vacation has come and gone and we enjoyed 5 days away visiting friends in East Tennessee. We got the chance to see several of my good friends from college.

We were excited to get on the road and our first stop was Knoxville. My friend Andy, from college, has lived out there for 5ish years and I have gotten the chance to visit him on several different occasions with friends. Andy was actually out of town, but Eric and I got to enjoy dinner, frozen yogurt, and hanging out at a fun/local coffee shop with his adorable wife Leslie. -insert my apologies and mistake that I didn't get any pictures from this part :(

We then ventured on towards Rogersville/Church Hill to see our friends Jeff and Emily. Emily is one of my dearest friends and we loved getting to spend time exploring her area of East Tennessee. This picture was taken when we went hiking at a conservation area. We also went to the Farmer's Market, explored Kingsport, ate at a local hot dog restaurant, and more!

Jeff wanted to make sure that we enjoyed Scratch, his new favorite pizza joint. This place was a lot of fun...and a very relaxing (hippie) atmosphere. Jeff even got the "trust" pizza- where you just trust the makers and let them put whatever they want on your pizza! I went a little out of the box and got spinach, granny smith apples, and mandarin oranges added to my pizza. If you're ever in Kingsport, TN, you should check out Scratch!

After a few days with the Robertsons, we started our trek back to the west. We planned to stop and visit LuAnn who lives about 45 minutes west of Knoxville. On our way from the Robertsons to LuAnn's, we took a little detour for a few hours in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. Though our exploring was limited, we did take the time to ride the gondola to the top of Gatlinburg. We definitely want to take some time to take a trip back to Gatlinburg and get to explore the Smoky Mountains and do some of the stuff in the area.

We met LuAnn for dinner in Knoxville and then spent the rest of our time with her family at their home. She had just finished her law school finals and had a two day break before having ankle surgery. We were so glad that she took the time to fit us in!

In May, we also got to go to Cardinals game with some of our students and the Brizendines.

We also went to Farmington for a couple of days with my family to see my cousin Andrew graduate from high school.

Andrew is heading off to Truman State

Grandpa, Chris, Kaylen & Kelly

....and then the crazy summer began! We have had weekly bible studies, Summer Missions Orientation, Super Summer camps, and activities back in Cape Girardeau. We have really only been home for maybe two weeks out of the last six! And I failed in capturing any pictures from those weeks :( Super Summer was so wonderful. We are so privileged to get to serve alongside great friends and to get the opportunity to be a part of the next generation understanding more completely who Christ is and what the Gospel means. This was my 11th year at Super Summer (5 years as a student and then 7 years as a small group leader or on staff). That's pretty crazy!

Our last little road trip was up to see Eric's family for the 4th of July. We also got to see my family at a wedding in Warrensburg (which I did take some pictures here).

(I don't know why KK looks so sad here...)


Kaylen is ready to be flower girl again...but she's out of aunts!

Only 7 weeks until classes start so we are busy preparing for ministry in the fall. I'm excited to be down here for the start of the school year and excited to be a part of what the Lord is doing at SEMO. I'll update soon....hopefully;)...with another update from our life!

Signing off from Cape Girardeau,
Kelly

love this picture of us from the wedding :)

[I'm going 'round and 'round with blogger...so don't mind the weird spacing and placement of things]

homemade mother's day gifts!

2011-05-10T14:34:00.001-05:00

I've been excited to share about another wreath that we made (we actually made 3 of them!) I think I'm becoming a little more crafty. My parents came in town this past weekend and my mom told me about some sewing that she is doing- and it made me wish I would have paid more attention in 7th-8th grade home-ec class. Maybe I will adventure into the sewing world someday.

But back to the wreath. I saw this on a blog over 6 months ago and absolutely loved it. It's simple and very cost efficient to make.....and it's an acorn wreath. I know, sounds dumb, but it looks so lovely!

Here is the tutorial that I found on http://www.dana-made-it.com/2008/07/tutorial-acorn-wreath.html

and some pictures of her wreath.

the original acorns

updated with some white spray paint


and you can re-paint it as many times as you'd like to match the season

Well April isn't really a popular month to find acorns and I'm not patient enough to wait until the fall- so I needed another alternative...and found that you can make the same wreath out of lima beans. While you now have the added cost of buying the beans, you take out the process of searching for acorns and baking them to get rid of all the critters that come with them. An acorn wreath is still on the fall to-do list though.

I followed http://www.allthingsthrifty.com/2010/01/tutorial-lima-bean-wreath.html for my acorn wreath tutorial. This was my picture guide for what an end product could look like:

We got to work on our lima bean wreaths. We planned to make one for our balcony door and then one for each mom for Mother's Day. Like I said in the caption above, I love that you can spray paint it again and change colors/ribbons and have something that is very seasonal. So for our moms, we made white ones with a light seagreen ribbon. And for ours, we made a light blue wreath with some black ribbon that we had leftover from wedding projects. Though I don't have a nice wood or dark door, it looks pretty good hanging out on our pinkish balcony door. Here is the finished project:

And a few more pictures for you:

New chairs for the balcony! No plants yet- but at least our grill isn't lonely anymore.

We got to see this cutie in Kansas City and celebrate her 4th birthday!


A lunch break on a day hike at Trail of Tears State Park...before the 20 inches of rain. (Don't mind the crazy hair!)

The school year is wrapping up here in Cape...and we are getting ready for a busy summer! I'll try and post soon about our upcoming roadtrip!

Love from Cape G,

barberic wife

This Day in History...

2011-04-05T14:54:00.001-05:00

Today is a day of reflection and gratitude. A lot has happened in the last 10 years. Let's see:
-got my driver's license
-traveled in an airplane for the first time
-graduated high school
-went to college
-moved 6 times
-got my first job
-graduated college
-traveled outside the United States 7 times
-met some of my closest & greatest friends
-got married to my best friend

...and that's just what I can think of off the top of my head. Not to mention all the things that have happened (nothing to do with me):
-September 11th
-Cardinals won the World Series
-two ongoing wars
-America elected it's first black president
-Hurricane Katrina
-invention of the ipod, iphone, ipad....crazy advances in technology
....and on and on....

But why do I choose to reflect on this day? Because it's the day I was diagnosed with leukemia. 10 years ago. Even though it isn't my remission date, I've been waiting for this day for a long time. It means I'm just a few months away from saying, "I've been in remission for 10 years!" I'm just a few months away from qualifying for normal health insurance. And I'm just a few months away from being in a "safety zone" that comes with being 10 years removed.

God is good. April 5, 2001 was a hard day for my family....and began a hard season in our lives. The Lord chose to heal me completely. He chose to use a miracle on me when treatments weren't going well. I'm grateful. I want to make much of Him today!

the lockout: wreaths and cookies

2011-04-04T16:02:00.001-05:00

Have I told you before that my husband is good at everything? It really is true. One of the things that I love about him is how creative he is...and that I can show him things and he can replicate them pretty easily. Well, I really enjoy "homey" things...you know, home furnishings and decor. I like that you can change a few things around and it helps your home really embrace the season. I've been wanting a spring/summer wreath for our front door for a while, but can never bring myself to buy one. While out picking up some tulips, we ran across this lovely wreath, which would have cost us around $30.

....well back to my creative husband. As we're looking at it, he begins to inspect how it's made and declares that it would be really easy to recreate. I always think that, but can never follow through. He actually can and does! So on Saturday morning, we took a trek to Hobby Lobby to pick up some supplies so that he can make a wreath. And $21 later, we have an adorable wreath hanging on our door. We could have gotten it cheaper if we had planned for this and got the flowers for 50% off..which would have brought our total down to $14. I think it looks perfect and love that it isn't quite as yellow/full as theirs and has more of the sticks showing!

So we're inspecting our wreath....hanging it perfectly so it won't get caught in the door at the top. We were a little tight for time because we only had 15 minutes until we were scheduled to play racquetball. And that's when it happened- we closed the door. It was locked. We were locked out. No keys. No cell phones. Eric didn't even have shoes on. We noticed one of our neighbors carrying groceries in from his vehicle. We made the walk of shame (a little different of a walk than the "walk of shame" in the collegiate environment) downstairs to two neighbors both at their doorways. They both graciously allowed us to use their phones, looked up phone numbers, and helped us for 20-30 minutes. Maybe this was God's nudging to help us meet a couple more neighbors. It also gave us an excuse to make and deliver some thank you cookies to them on Sunday!

And don't worry: we were able to reschedule our racquetball game. We enjoyed our relaxing weekend very much! I was able to go hiking with some of the girls, we grilled steaks, completed spring cleaning in our apartment, went to church, and saw Source Code too! Plus, the Cardinals finally won a game yesterday! I'll leave you with a picture to enjoy of us in some Cardinal gear for opening day last week.

Love from Cape G,
Kelly

PS- When we gave cookies to our neighbor right below us, she said that she was planning to actually come up and see this infamous wreath and bring cookies to us that she had bought at a bake sale. We left her apartment with 10 cookies...ha!

Painting, STOMP, and Rainbow Cupcakes

2011-03-30T16:41:00.002-05:00

Whew...March has gone by so fast! I can't believe that tomorrow is the last day. It has been a busy month for this Barb family.

We took some of our students on a spring break mission trip to Princeton, KY. It was only about 2 1/2 hours away and we spent the week serving at Bright Life Farms, a community for mentally or developmentally challenged adults. We spent a majority of the week painting the inside of one of their homes (maybe not the colors I would have chosen, but they wanted something bright....and it was indeed!) We also got to spend time interacting with the residents by playing BINGO, doing a craft, washing their vans, singing songs, and just hanging out with them. It was neat to get to hear the testimony of one of the residents who had been in a bad car accident as a teenager and was lucky to be alive. We heard the story about God's work in developing Bright Life over the past ten years...and that the director's daughter was a resident there too. She began having seizures as a 3-year-old and had brain activity loss because of the continuing seizures. It caused me to reflect on how life is so fragile and things can change so quickly! God is definitely at work at Bright Life and they really view everything as a gift from Him. I was a little timid going in as I just don't have much experience or knowledge about relating with special needs people, but it was so wonderful! It gives me an even greater respect for my sister-in-law who teaches high school special needs.

After returning from Kentucky, Eric and I went on a whirlwind trip for a few days. We went to Farmington on Saturday to watch my cousins Andrew and Melanie in their high school musical, "Guys and Dolls". They both did wonderful! We continued on from Farmington to Rolla for my cousin Stephanie's baby shower. She is excited and anticipating the arrival of Josalynn at the end of May. She got quite the load to be able to spoil and love on that baby girl. We then traveled up to Jeff City to meet with Stonebridge, a church that we love and miss so much! The next couple of days were spent at the CORE Conference, where we served and were challenged about becoming disciples, missional living, and leadership development. Eric and I love the time we get to spend with our Jeff City friends...too bad we live almost 4 hours away!

So after getting home on Wednesday, we finished the rest of the week with the Acts 1:8 Missions Conference hosted by the association and one of the local churches down here. It was exciting to get to meet and hear from missionaries around the world, to get to share the story of the BSU, and to help people in Cape Girardeau area answer the call to be missionaries. And in the middle of that, we took a little jaunt to St. Louis to cash in on Eric's Christmas present....tickets to STOMP! It was such a fun show and left us wanting to bang on pots, pans, and any other thing that can make noise. We snapped one picture before being informed that we were not allowed to take photos. So it's not the best, but it's the only one we have!

And what post would be complete without showing something that I have recently baked? I tried to come up with some creative desserts while we were on our spring break trip. Well, maybe not really creative...but I wanted pie for PI day (3.14) and then something festive for St. Patrick's Day. Instead of sticking with the original green for St. Patrick's Day, I decided to make rainbow cupcakes....you know, the leprechaun in search of the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. This was really simple as I just made a white cake mix from the box....but then divided the batter into 6 separate bowls, colored them, and then layered them in the cupcake liners.

Date Night: Cupcake Wars edition

2011-03-04T16:54:00.000-06:00

Each week, Eric and I make sure that we set aside one night for a "date night". It might not necessarily be something "special"- maybe just cooking together, going out to eat, getting a redbox movie, or bowling...but we want to consciously set aside time for just us. We've heard the argument that every night before having children is a date night (which is true)- so this is a priority that we want set in place from the start of our marriage. We know that it might look different later in life, but we are trying to be very deliberate in establishing things now and starting our marriage off well in every aspect.

One of the shows that we love to watch is Cupcake Wars....where four bakers come in and are competing to present a 1000 cupcake display for a special event and $10,000. Eric challenged me to a cupcake war for a date night a few weeks ago. We both got to pick what we wanted to attempt to make (and unlike the show, I used a box mix). Eric decided to make a classic chocolate cupcake with cream filling and a buttercream frosting. I decided to make a chocolate chip cookie dough cupcake with chocolate buttercream frosting. I had to make cookie dough and freeze it for at least 2 hours and then add that into my batter.

For those of you who do not watch Cupcake Wars (and are missing out)- the competition is comprised of 3 rounds.
Round 1 is based on taste. There are four bakers and they usually have to work with secret ingredients- and one is eliminated.
Round 2 is based on taste and presentation. The three remaining bakers have to create three different cupcakes that best represent the theme for that episode- and would represent the event they are trying to showcase. One more is eliminated after this round.
Round 3 is when the two remaining contestants work with a team and compose a 1000-cupcake display, in which they also work with a carpenter to create something perfect for the event.
And someone is declared winner.

So at the end of the night, we both split a cupcake and Eric declared me winner. He felt like the chocolate cupcake was a little dry. I would call it more of a tie as I may have won the taste portion, but he is better at decorating. I struggled to use our Pampered Chef frosting decorator- so he actually decorated over half of my cupcakes!


Look at that cookie dough inside! YUM!!

He inserted frosting instead of the original cream filling!

I made my cupcakes a bit healthier, using applesauce in place of the oil, and egg beaters in place of the eggs- which also makes them more moist. Eric made the chocolate cupcakes again a few days later to take to a youth event at church and they turned out SO great. He just decreased the baking time and made some chocolate shavings to dress them up.

A few final comments:
1. No, I didn't intend this to become a baking blog. I'll try and think about non-food related things to write about soon.
2. No, Eric and I do not eat everything that we make. We generally try to give most things away and don't just have treats like this lying around the kitchen all the time.
3. We've heard that you can get "relaxed" and "let yourself go" after getting married. We don't have any plan to do that- and yes, we still work out and eat fairly healthy.

I gotta feeling...

2011-02-07T17:09:00.000-06:00

These are my confessions:
-I think I'm more creative than I actually am
-I'm a bit of a perfectionist

You may remember about a year and half ago when my friend Abby and I took cake decorating class.

It was a lot of fun...but as the classes progressed (I took 1&2), it became a constant struggle with my inner perfectionist. I couldn't get the icing to the exact consistency I wanted or the tip of my rose to be absolutely perfect. But I see things and think, I can do that....(insert "not as creative/crafty as I think", won't settle unless it looks perfect- and I want it perfect on the first try, and maybe a slight competitive spirit)

So this weekend was the Super Bowl....and of course, a Super Bowl party. My husband and I both love a good party- and began to think about what we would take to the Super Bowl party. I suggested that one of our contributions should be cake pops. Now I know that cake pops are so 3008 and I'm so 2000 and late- but better to try late than never, right? I've seen so many cute ones and it seems like everyone knows how to make them, so they can't be that hard....(ha)...

After a little searching online, I thought we should make football cake pops and then just some that are team/logo color coordinated. We decided on devils food/chocolate football pops and then the team ones as funfetti/white icing. Sorry to disappoint that we don't have step by step instructions or pictures, but if you want to see the queen of cake pops, you can check out Bakerella's website. (Which I just checked...and she made the exact same cake pops...and they look "similar" to ours)

So here we are in the mixing process....and then our balls are chilling...

Sunday afternoon, we began melting our chocolate...then dipped our sticks, inserted them into the cake balls, and then dipped the cake balls. Here is where something went wrong. I struggled to get perfectly covered balls and then struggled to keep them on the sticks. I just don't know how to make them look sleek and clean. Eric made the footballs- and was having some success. I just ended up ditching the sticks and made cake balls for the team ones....
They weren't a complete failure- they tasted great and looked decent (for the first attempt), plus I had the time of my life making it. My wonderful husband told me before we started this adventure that I would have to be okay with the fact that they might not look perfect on our first try.

the colors might be hard to see....but the white ones have the Steelers logo and then there are green ones with yellow drizzle for the Packers.

So here is our finished project and I'm not just going to give up- I will try again...and hope to maybe master the cake ball/cake pop.

P.S.- Yes, there are random lines from the stars of the halftime show in this post. I enjoyed the BEP.

One of our new favorite treats!

2011-02-02T17:25:00.000-06:00

Remember the time I said I would tell you my goals for 2011. Oops. I still have 11 months to share them (and succeed in them), right?

Well today, I want to share with you a new recipe that my hubby and I absolutely love! Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins! Who doesn't love a great combo of peanut butter, banana, and chocolate? We thought it would be fun to take pictures and post (for all 2 of you that read this) to try out too!

We've gathered all of our ingredients together!

Measure out 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

And sift, sift, sift the flour into a large mixing bowl

Then add 1/2 cup sugar to the flour

And if that isn't enough sugar, now add 1/2 cup packed brown sugar

Next, add 1 Tablespoon baking powder to the mixture

Add 3/4 teaspoon salt

Add 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Now mix together all the dry ingredients and grab 2 more bowls- a small one and a large one

Mash 2-3 ripe bananas with a fork in the small bowl and then put them into your larger new bowl (I guess you could just mash them in the large bowl- and save some dishwashing)

(yummy mashed banana goodness being poured into the new bowl)

Now add 1 cup of milk to the bananas

Add 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter (We are Skippy Natural fans...but any creamy PB will do the job)

Next add 3 Tablespoons of canola or vegetable oil

You only need to crack in one egg!

Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and mix, mix, mix

Now you're ready to pour your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients

More mixing....

Stir in 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I always need to give them a test!)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray your muffin pan with non-stick baking spray

And we're ready to fill with batter! Fill them 2/3-3/4 full (I'm just getting started in the picture...I came through with round two to fill the cups)

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. This batch came out a little darker than I like, but they still tasted great! I even made some mini ones because I had some leftover batter. I could have filled my tins even more full.

These muffins are SO tasty! Here is the full recipe for you to try. Let me know if you make them and what you think!

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip MuffinsAdapted from Cooking Light Bulletin Boards
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed, golden brown sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2-3 large, ripe bananas, mashed-enough for 1-1/4 cups banana
1 cup milk
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
3 Tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl, sift together (make sure to sift), flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and the cinnamon; combine.

In another mixing vessel combine mashed bananas, milk, peanut butter, egg, oil, and vanilla; mix well. Add this to the dry mixture previously prepared; mix just enough to combine. Stir in chocolate chips.

Spray muffin tins with cooking spray, if you are using liners, spray those too, and fill tins 3/4 full. This will make 18 nicely sized muffins. You can double the recipe if you need more. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Pretty simple, eh?

And I know you're loving the picture of my apron that you can see a glimpse of in the picture of banana mashing. It is the Vera Bradley Barcelona apron that my husband got me for Christmas!
I was not looking like Rachael Ray or Paula Deen in these pictures- so sorry- no full shots!

New Post! New Year!

2011-01-02T17:03:00.000-06:00

Welcome to 2011!

So, a lot has happened since my last blog entry. It's a little overwhelming to think about blogging since I have SO much to say, and I'm not quite sure how to share everything. I could write post after post just talking about the last few months.

Here is a quick list of activities from November & December:

Eric's birthday & marathon

Moving my stuff from Jefferson City to Cape Girardeau
Thanksgiving
Our precious wedding day

Honeymoon in Hawaii

Adjusting to life in Cape
My birthday
Christmas with both of our families

It has been a little busy around here! We got home last night from our week long Christmas and New Year's celebrations, and have 4 days until we leave for Vancouver (more to come on that!)

So I know this is short and sweet- and doesn't really give you much information. Even though this isn't a 2011 goal (on paper), I want to try and be better about blogging. I love reading other people's blogs and I know it will help most of you who don't live anywhere near Cape Girardeau stay updated on what's going on down here.

Speaking of 2011 goals....mine are made. Are yours? I'll reveal some 2011 goals soon! (I'm not much of an out-of-the-box thinker, so you can probably guess some of them).

Love from CG,
barberic wife

running with purpose

2010-10-20T14:43:00.000-05:00

Today, I'm writing this post about my hubby-to-be. He's really wonderful ... and one of the things that we have had in common since we met, is that we both enjoy running. When we met last May, we were both training (me for my first half-marathon, and him for his first marathon). He ran with a World Vision team last year in the Chicago Marathon and in just 2 1/2 weeks, he will run another 26.2 miles in the Bass Pro Shops Marathon in Springfield. This time around, Eric is running with 'I Run for Orphans' to raise money for 'His Voice Global', an organization that desires to empower orphans, widows, and church leaders to make disciples of all nations. I actually ran my half-marathon through 'I Run for Orphans' to raise money for 'His Voice' last year. Eric has a goal of raising $350. He is 58.5% there (so over halfway), but still has $145 (OR MORE) that he'd love to raise for His Voice. It gives a whole new outlook to running when you're doing it with a purpose. So how can you support him? ...It's easy. Just check out http://firstgiving.com/ericbarb1 .
And did I mention that Eric is running this marathon on his birthday? Your giving can be like a birthday present :)

Also check out 'I Run for Orphans' http://www.irunfororphans.com/
and 'His Voice Global' http://www.hisvoiceforsudan.com/
and again, to donate for Eric http://firstgiving.com/ericbarb1

(Eric running the Chicago Marathon last year)

get out and vote today! (without fighting the lines at the polls)

2010-10-11T14:52:00.000-05:00

I should start with an apology....I guess I feel like I don't have enough to say to write that often (plus just finding the time to write a post). So sorry that these posts have been few and far between. And despite my title, this is not a political post, but you will have the opportunity to exercise your freedom to vote today!

The past week and a half was so busy! We had our collegiate fall retreat at Tan-Tar-A during the first weekend of October. It was exciting to have students gather from all over the state and we were excited about having a large number of international students join in too. This was our first effort at a state-wide international student conference. We had students from China, Indonesia, France, Myanmar, the Congo, and beyond.... It was so encouraging! Please be praying for these students- that they would build relationships with Christians, that they would hear the Gospel during their time in the states and ultimately, that they would become disciples and take the Gospel back home with them.

On Wednesday, a team of 31 from all over the state of Missouri left for Catalyst Conference in Atlanta. This was my fourth time attending Catalyst, and I have been challenged so much each time that I have been. It's hard to sit and listen to Andy Stanley, Francis Chan, Beth Moore, etc and not be challenged. I was reminded that I have no idea what God wants to do with me. I will do what I want out of passion. The question is not, "Do we have what it takes to start?, but "do we have what it takes to stay?" I want my life to fit with the Bible. We can't avoid tension and love people. Honor publicly leads to influence privately and if you're not dead, you're not done. (those are just a few snid-bits and quotes that I'm still processing through).

While at Catalyst, Ed Moncada, who serves as our International Student Ministry coordinator and led the International Student portion of Getaway, got the chance to share his vision for ministry. Ed desires a Heartland Awakening and prays MANY, MANY hours towards that. Ed prays many, many hours for a lot of things. I'm always encouraged when I get texts or emails from Ed about how he is praying for me. He told me just last week that he is praying specifically for nice weather on our wedding day. He has been praying for Eric and I for a long time...and we are encouraged so much by Ed. Please take a minute to go and vote for Ed and help bless him in his ministry.

http://www.agfinancial.org/catalyst-conference-videos/

P.S. Next month! Eric and I are pretty excited that we can officially say, "we're getting married...next month!" How great is that?! We feel like all the details are coming together well (and if they're aren't, oh well, we're getting married anyways!) And in other news, both Eric and I hit 100,000 miles on our cars in the last 24 hours. Funny, little coincidence! And my stats tell me that 450+ have read this blog...hmm...seems to be lacking in the comment department.

Letters

2010-09-28T20:28:00.000-05:00

I saw this on a friend's blog today...so I thought I would write a few letters of my own!

Dear Fall, Thanks for showing up! As a child, I loved Winter the best (probably because of the snow days), but you have definitely taken first. I love hot chocolate in the morning (sugar-free, of course), hoodies and jeans, college football, running in cooler weather, and hayrides.

Dear MoDOT, Is there a way to make a direct route from Jefferson City to Cape Girardeau? Or maybe some way to move it closer together so that there is no longer a 3 1/2 hour drive? Please work on that. And it would help if you would currently stop working on all the road construction projects on the weekends.

Dear 7 Pounds, Please go away. I know you are sad to leave me....but just know that there are 93 other pounds out there somewhere that want you to come play with them.

Dear Mizzou, I apologize that I have not been to a football game. You must be disappointed in me, but know that I'm proud that you are 4-0. My days as a season ticket holder may have ended....but my allegiance remains.

Dear God, Thanks for being faithful and constant. You remain the same and are diligent to pursue me and allow me to know You more. Thanks for grace and strength.

Dear Wedding Dress, I'm so glad that you are a perfect fit. Please don't get mad at me if I lose a few pounds between now and the wedding. I'll try and convince those pounds to come off of specific places, as to not ruin your perfectness.

Dear President Obama, I know there are many mixed reactions about you and I understand that you have a very important job in leading our country. While I try not to get too political, I do have one thing to thank you for today: health insurance. I might be the only person in the country that benefits from your new healthcare reform. You have given me insurance for another whole year and will allow me to get to 10 years cancer-free (and be able to be picked up by normal insurance companies at a normal rate!)

Dear Car, Please continue to do what you do best...work. Thanks for getting me from place to place even as I continue to rack up the miles. You are just 140 miles from 100,000. I promise to get you checked routinely if you promise to keep going.

Dear Biggest Loser, Thanks for being on TV every Tuesday night. You motivate me to continue with diet and exercise...and sometimes make me a cry a little too much.

Dear Eric, You're my favorite. I'm excited to be your wife and not have this whole long-distance thing going on. What do you say we get married in two months? (oh wait...you already asked me that question...)

busy, busy weekend!

2010-09-20T12:25:00.000-05:00

Wow. 185 views of my first post. I guess this means that I should keep up with this, and not just let it fall by the wayside.

It has been a busy last few days! On Friday, Eric and I met with our reception venue to discuss centerpieces, cake, and food. The popular question these days is, "How are the wedding plans coming along?" And my answer is typically, "Oh, pretty good, I think!" I'm not the girl that has had my wedding planned out since I was ten and knows exactly what she wants. This is all new to me- and we are just picking things as we go. It has been fun though, and I think I feel like we're doing well on timing, accomplishing things, etc. Some good friends Leslie and Andy told me that they had 3 priorities for their wedding day, and if something didn't fall within those priorities, then they didn't worry about it. Eric and I have taken that advice and are actually using the same 3 priorities that they used (because they are so good...and fit us too)
1. Honor Jesus
2. Get married
3. Have fun

We also had our first shower this weekend in Eric's hometown. I admit, I was a little nervous just because I know these women have watched Eric grow up and love him so much- so I just hoped that they would think I was "good enough" for him. These women were very, very sweet and just showered us with love and gifts. It was really wonderful...and Eric's mom and sister-in-law threw quite the party!

And then yesterday was a FULL day with a Family Fun Day and the Light Meets the Dark tour in Jeff City. We were praying that the rain would stay away and the ground dry up so that we could set up a bunch of inflatable games and food for families in Jeff City to be able to come and enjoy a free day of fun. The day ended up being perfect! God answered our prayers and 4,700+ people came out for Family Fun Day, to eat free Lee's chicken, hot dogs, chips, cotton candy, popcorn, and sno cones, and to see Matt Maher, Addison Road, and Tenth Avenue North in concert. So today, we are recovering from that! The Lord was so gracious to us....and we give Him all the praise!

So I'll leave you with a question today. We're starting to come up with a reception dance list of songs. What song(s) would you want to dance to at a reception?

abiding

2010-09-16T11:28:00.001-05:00

I know I'm only about FOREVER behind in the blog-world. I read tons and tons of blogs each day (all the great ones that I'm subscribed to in my google reader!), but I actually have just recently gotten the desire to blog myself (except for that short stint in college where I had a xanga). I don't know if anyone will have the desire to read this- but maybe it's more just for me than anyone else; a place to process and think about the things that have been going on in my life and what the Lord is doing.

Abiding. That is my desire. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines abide as "to wait for, to bear patiently, or to accept without objection". I want to abide in Christ, where it's more about "being" than it is about "doing"; to experience His presence. And then the "doing" will be my response to Him. I hope that is clear in this blog and evident in my life.

So here it goes! And unlike the title of my blog, I am not a barberic wife, YET. Give me 72 days! Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get to hear all about that process too. I want to be able to share life on here.....and please leave comments, questions, suggestions, etc.