'Tis The Season

Can you believe Christmas Eve is one week from tomorrow? Are you done shopping? Have you made Christmas cookies yet?

We had a big Christmas party Saturday night, which was a lot of fun, but a lot of work. We went shopping Monday to finish up with our gifts. I now have the green light to make a few cookies, wrap the gifts, watch a movie or two, and try to relax. I am not planning on baking a ton of cookies. I am not making any fancy meals over the holiday week. I am going to try to relax and enjoy the time instead of working constantly.

I love Christmas. I love sitting by the tree and watching the lights. And thanks to my MIL (thanks Margie!) my decorations really look nice and have been taken to the next level. I have not written a Christmas letter this year, yet. I am thinking it might be a New Year's letter. If you have a new address since last year, please email me and let me know what it is.

Merry Christmas everyone! Remember to enjoy the season. Take time to rest, rejuvenate and enjoy.

Let It Snow

We had a very nice, relaxing Thanksgiving Day. The weekend ended up being very nice and relaxing. We took the boys to a hockey game Saturday night. I went out early on Friday and shopped. I actually waited in line, outside in the COLD, for 1 hour 15 minutes to get my hubby his Xmas gift. Then Jake and I went back out and got a few more things. Yesterday we woke up to massive snow. This was kind of surprising, as major snow was not in the forecast at all. We had gotten a few snow showers throughout the weekend, but nothing major. It continued snowing all day. Matt used the snowblower at least 2 times, if not 3. It was gorgeous and definitely made it feel like the holidays are near!

I thought about all of you on Thanksgiving. One of the things I am thankful for is all of our friends. We might not see or talk to you all very often, but you mean the world to us and we think of you often. I hope you all had a great holiday as well. Now it is time to gear up for Christmas! YEA!! I love Christmas. Matt got the lights up outside this weekend. We got the tree up inside. As one of my favorite songs goes..."It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!"

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!! I know we are a few days off, but I also know most of you won't be reading blogs on Thanksgiving. I am starting to make some food today. I can't believe it is here already. This year has really flown by. I am believing that 2009 is not as hectic and crazy for our family.

What are you all doing for the big day? We are having some family over and just having a nice meal. Nothing over the top. Nothing fancy. But it will be nice to be together. We will put a puzzle together, watch some football and just relax. As the holidays are approaching I realize I have been thinking about dad a lot. It is sad, but I have been thinking about the good time with him, the funny stories, his loud obnoxious laugh and voice, and I smile. He would want us smiling and enjoying this time of year. I knew it would be hard about now, and it is harder than normal, but overall I am doing better than I thought I would be.

I have been reading the Black Friday shopping lists and am planning my attack on that morning. There is something about shopping at the crack of dawn. There is an excitement. There is adrenaline. I love it. I don't have too much to get, so I am not out all day, just for a few hours. I always go by myself. No one ever wants to join me.

I pray you all have a blessed day on Thursday. Enjoy those you are with, those you love. Think of everyone you are not with. We will be thinking of all of you. We love you! Happy Thanksgiving.

Christmas is around the corner!!

I am still struggling to realize that in a week or two I will need to decorate the house for Christmas. Time has flown by, this last year. Why does it seem like time moves faster the older you get? The weather has been really nice here, so yesterday many neighbors were getting their Christmas lights up outside. We are headed for that this upcoming weekend. It should still be nice. It sure beats putting up lights in 20 degree weather with snow and sleet.

I have started my shopping. I love online shopping. I get a lot of things online each year. I also save several things and Matt and I take a day and finish up. The hard thing about waiting to shop is that sometimes you can wait too long and then you are out of luck. It is a balancing act, between me (the organize/early shopper) and Matt (the love to wait until the last minute shopper).

The basement is almost done. Praise God! We still have a lot of small things, but we are getting closer.

Matt was selected to the school board. He is excited about that. Hoping to help and make a difference.

Planning the Thanksgiving meal. Trying not to make it too boring...:)

My birthday is Wednesday. I have been sad the last few days thinking about my dad. I realized that this will be my first birthday, ever, that I haven't talked to my dad. The last few I was able to spend with him. I was told I would have moments that would be harder. This is one of them.

That's about it.

Happy Birthday to my Honey!

November 11th, 1973, a baby was born.

November 11th, 2008, he is the love of my life!

Happy 35th to Matt...the man I love with, laugh with, share with, smile with, understand with.

I could not imagine my life without him. Today I thank him and celebrate him.

This is the 17th birthday I will be celebrating with him. I wouldn't have it any other way!

I love you honey. Have an amazing day! Happy birthday!

Prayers Needed - Again

2 months ago we were preparing to lose my dad. We knew it was just a matter of days, 2 to be exact. We got through it. I think we handled things very well, and seemed to be able to stay strong. Yesterday we were dealt another blow. Life just doesn't seem fair, and my family (my brother and sister-in-law included) is getting tired.

Mark and Teri are expecting their first child in March. We are all so excited, as we weren't sure they would ever want to have children. We went to Mexico with them in June, and when we got back they got pregnant! We were all so thrilled. Teri's pregnancy would make any woman jealous. No sickness, a little bit of tiredness, but that is about it. She has been the over-cautious new mom to be, no caffeine, no alcohol, watching what she eats...Wednesday they went in for an ultrasound to find out what they were having. We were all so excited to find out. Mark sent me a text 15 minutes after the ultrasound began - " It's a boy!". 30 minutes later I got another text - " Are you home? We are coming over. It's not good news."

To make a long story short, they lost their baby. I went with them Thursday morning to a specialist, who confirmed that the baby's skull did not form fully. A big portion of his brain is outside of his head. He does not have a chance to survive. If he did live he would be a vegetable. The portion of his brain that is out involves his sight, cognitive skills, and it could be more as the pregnancy progressed. Mark and Teri were faced with one of the hardest decisions anyone could have. I spent yesterday with them. I cried with them. I grieved with them. Teri is distraught, and rightly so. They can have another baby, with the chances of this happening again slim to none. 6 months is the length of time to wait before they try again. But that doesn't take away the hurt and pain right now for them.

Please pray for them. Outside of Matt and the boys, there is no one I love more. They are our best friends, on top of being our family. I wouldn't wish this on anyone, let alone my baby brother. They know the Lord, but their relationship with Him is not close and strong. I know, with 100% of my being, that this horrible situation is going to draw them closer to Him, if they are open. I am pretty sure they are. God is the great comforter. God will provide them with peace. God will heal their hearts. God is God.

Life is too busy!

I was shocked when I realized that it has been almost a full month since I last posted!! WOW!! Time has flown by. We have been swamped!

Here is a quick run down of the last month for the Barrett Family:

1) We went through dad's things and sorted them out. We took what we wanted. It felt okay.
2) Jake had his first school dance. He originally said he was just going to eat pizza and hang out with his friends. He ran in the house afterwards, said he LOVED it, and he even danced. His recommendation was to not eat pizza and drink soda right before they do the jump dance, where everyone is jumping. I have to say, this has pushed Matt and I to a new place in parenting.
3) Tyler went to Disney World with Matt's mom. He had a blast.
4) Jake went to Omaha to spend the weekend with Matt's dad. He had fun at the zoo and the water park.
5) Matt and I have been in the throws of finishing the basement. He has worked like a dog!! The good news is that it is drywalled, painted, carpet is in, doors and trim are up. The boys are excited to get into their rooms. There is a little left to finish, but not too much more. Matt's deadline he gave himself was Halloween. He should be right on schedule. Impressive. Matt has totally impressed me with this basement project. He has worked relentlessly. He has done a great job. He hasn't been too grumpy, even though he has been exhausted. The basement looks great! The electrical and plumbing are working great and seem to be set up nicely.
6) We just started making Christmas lists last night after dinner. Can you believe it is about 2 months away?
7) Matt is running for school board. We will find out in about 2 weeks.
8) I won a chili cook off contest at the school. The funny thing is, I forgot it was a contest. I just knew I was taking in a crock pot of chili for the teachers for their work day. Next thing I know, I was the winner!! That made my day. But kudos have to go to my mother in law, since it is her recipe!

I am wanting to start blogging more. Don't know if that will actually happen. Once the basement is done I have a lot to unpack and organize. But my goal is to be much better than once a month.

Homesick

The last 3 weeks have been really interesting. Losing my dad was so hard, on one hand, and on the other hand, not as hard as I would have thought. Now that things have calmed down, I find myself thinking of him a lot. I think the song "Homesick" by Mercy Me sums it up. Thank you for your kind words and prayers.

HOMESICK by Mercy Me

You're in a better place, I've heard a thousand times
And at least a thousand times I've rejoiced for you
But the reason why I'm broken, the reason why I cry
Is how long must I wait to be with you

I close my eyes and I see your face
If home's where my heart is then I'm out of place
Lord, won't you give me strength to make it through somehow
I've never been more homesick than now

Help me Lord cause I don't understand your ways
The reason why I wonder if I'll ever know
But, even if you showed me, the hurt would be the same
Cause I'm still here so far away from home

I close my eyes and I see your face
If home's where my heart is then I'm out of place
Lord, won't you give me strength to make it through somehow
I've never been more homesick than now

In Christ, there are no goodbye
And in Christ, there is no end
So I'll hold onto Jesus with all that I have
To see you again
To see you again

And I close my eyes and I see your face
If home's where my heart is then I'm out of place
Lord, won't you give me strength to make it through somehow
Won't you give me strength to make it through somehow
Won't you give me strength to make it through somehow

I've never been more homesick than now

John Klever

Most of you know that my dad has been ill, for almost 2 years, with cancer. It started out being diagnosed as lymphoma, and was then diagnosed as pancreatic cancer as well. He basically had 2 kinds of cancer at the same time. He was expected to live 3-6 months. He really hasn't felt well for the duration of his illness, but he did have better moments than others. 

Tuesday, September 2 at 6:12am, my dad took his last breath. My stepmom, Barb, brother Mark, and I were all by his side. 

I will post more next week, when I have time to think. But I did want you all to know that he is now whole and healthy in heaven. Pain is no longer part of his life. Sadly, he is no longer part of ours, here on this earth.

I am doing okay right now. I am not sure that reality has hit yet, but I know it will. 

Thank you in advance for your prayers and support.

Vandalism + Dad= STRESS

It has been a while, and in that time things have been rather hectic and stressful.

The boys are in the swing of school and doing well. There were a few adjustments to be made, but I think we are headed in the right direction. They are also dipping their hand in sports, with Jake doing a cross country club and Tyler doing flag football. I have to admit that being so busy during the week is not my favorite thing, but it will all end at the beginning of October, so it's really only a month-6 weeks of chaos!

The new house is almost done. We close on it 1 week from tomorrow. We were out there this weekend and discovered the inside vandalized with motor oil all over the walls and carpet. Come to find out, there were 6 houses total and we got lucky that our issues are not worse. They are working really hard to finish it up. We were supposed to have our final walk on Friday, but due to carpet getting installed, we now have it Monday morning. We are so close I can almost taste it.

Monday morning my dad went into the hospital. He is very, very ill again. They went in and put in another stent in his bile duct, but that procedure allowed the dr. to look and make a more accurate diagnosis. That diagnosis is that the cancer is spreading and growing fast. It has more than doubled in the last 7 weeks. He said he has a few weeks to maybe a couple of months, but it is over. The cancer has won. Dad will not make it. The question is how long will he be here. And of course, we don't have that answer. I have been able to realize that feeling you hear about, where family simply releases their loved one and tells them it's okay to go.  I am at the place where I am at peace with this. He is so sick and if he doesn't improve enough to have a few good days, then I pray this is quick for him.

This week has been rather stressful, as you can see. I woke up this morning with the start of a cold. Normally this would be a simple annoyance, but right now this is major, as I cannot go be with dad if I am sick. So I am headed out to buy Zicam.

While dad has fought for 19 months now, and his death is not a "surprise" necessarily, this has been a hard week for me and my brother Mark.  With death so close, it is sometimes overwhelming. I am just thankful that when he goes, I know where he is going- into the arms of Jesus. He will be whole. He will be happy. The sad thing is that he won't be here to be those things with us. 

I will keep you all posted. Thank you for your prayers. 

Everyone is Happy Today!!

Today was the BIG DAY!! School started for both boys. They were so excited! I was so excited! Everyone was happy. The only bummer is that it is raining, so that means no outside recess, but they will get over that! Everyone was ready. Summer was fun, but both boys said yesterday they couldn't wait to get back to school.

For 10 1/2 years I have been a stay-at-home mom. I would not trade that for the world. There are days I would trade, days I'd like to forget, but I would never change the past 10 1/2 years. Staying home was a choice Matt and I made even before we were married. I didn't even think I would do anything else but raise the kids. That doesn't mean it was always my first choice for me, personally, but having kids means you don't get to be selfish all of the time. It takes sacrifice, work, dedication...but let me just say, I am more than ready to have my days back! Tyler is in school full days this year, so for the first time in a long time, I have from 7:45-3:30 to myself. I am sure that time will get filled with lots of things, but right now sitting in this quiet house and knowing I need to clean it, but also knowing the boys won't be here until 3:30 sure feels good!!

Camping Pictures

Here are the pictures of our camping trip that were promised.  Matt decided to go overboard and put them in video format.

Quick disclaimer from Matt.

***These pictures are not in any special order and are simply a montage of our family vacation.  At 4-1/2 minutes long, it may be a bit more than you care to see unless you're close friends or family.  Additionally, iMovie needs to have more transition effects available and I got bored with the simple cross-dissolve, sorry.  I did get carried away a bit taking pictures of scenery, but am now considering opening up an account in iStock to post my pictures - just kidding... sort of.  Finally, no comments on John Denver.  The song was just too appropriate not to use and I kind of like it.***

Camping

We are back from our last summer trip.  We took the boys and went camping in Rocky Mountain National Park. We met up with my dad and step-mom. It was hot, but still a good time. Camping is not my #1 vacation, but it is good family time. We hiked, went to a few Ranger programs, played ladder golf, Blitz, Sorry....all in all, it was a good time.

It was also nice to spend some time with my dad. I realized this weekend that he is very good at acting like he is feeling okay over the phone, but in person it is a different story. It was hard, at times, to see him. He is sick and it doesn't seem like he is getting any better. We had some good chats with my step-mom, but dad wasn't much for talking. He had no energy. He was just a shell of the person I knew as my dad. That is very hard to take in. I have no idea how long he will be here with us. I am surprised he is still here now. But I feel like it will be sooner than later. So I was more than grateful for this past weekend. I might not have that again, like we did.

I will post some camping pictures in a little bit. Right now I have no idea where the camera is.

Pictures

It is dry-walled and being textured as I type. The photos are just of misc. rooms in the house.

The one to left is in the dining room, with the arches. The bottom picture is also of the dining room.

The pics at the very bottom are of the family room, fireplace/entertainment area, kitchen, and master bed and bath.

We Have a Closing Date!

The house is coming along, and so is our summer! We found out this weekend we have a close date of 08/28/08. It would have been nice to have gotten in sooner, but I am not complaining. I am glad we can get in before Sept 1 so we don't have to rent the rental house for an additional month. It will make it a tight time-frame, since Matt is headed to Chicago on Sept 2, but it will all work out.  I am heading out this afternoon to take pictures. This week they should be painting the outside, texturing the inside and putting trim and door jams up.

We are leaving Thursday morning for our annual camping trip up to Rocky Mountain National Park. I am not a camper, but I do enjoy this annual trip. There is something about being away from phones, tv, computers and just enjoying nature and spending time together as a family. The boys (all 3!) are so excited. We will be there 4 nights. We get back on Monday and school starts Friday, August 8th.

I think the boys have had a good summer. Being in the rental house hasn't been the best, but we have all survived. It will make getting into the new house even better! 

I will post some pictures later today from the house. 

Home At Last!

We are home from our great vacation. We had a great time.  Boating, lots of tubing, shopping, a water park, movies...a very nice trip. We also got to spend time with some favorite friends from Mount Pleasant. 

The boys also had fun at church camp (Jake) and a trip alone to Nana and Papa's (Tyler).  We are home until the 30th, when we head up to Rocky Mountain National Park for a short camping trip. School starts August 8th. I think it is fair to say that we have survived summer, and can cruise through these last 2 1/2 weeks. 

The house is coming along. I have to admit I was hoping more would be done while we were away, but it wasn't. And there was probably more done that it looks like. Matt keeps reminding me that it had to go through inspection before more could be done on the inside. They have it roofed, the front and back patios are poured, and all of the insulation is blown and rolled. All of the sheet rock was dropped in all of the rooms, and my guess is that they will start on that today. Progress is being made, and I am learning to be patient. I have to remind myself that they have made amazing progress in a short amount of time.

That is it for now. Have a great week!!

Big News

Okay- last time we blogged it was about the house. We did our frame walk today and it looks good. While we are on vacation, starting tomorrow-the 21st, it should get drywalled, roofed and the rest of the cement outside done.

Jake is at church camp this week and Tyler is at Matt's parents' house for the week. I get Jake from camp tomorrow and then Matt, Jake and I fly to Kansas City to go to the lake for 10 days! We are so ready to take a break. I realize we just went to Mexico, but after living in a rental house with no space and 1% of our things readily available, it is time for all of us to get away.

But the big news in our life as of Saturday, July 5th, is that I am going to be an aunt!! My brother and sister-in-law are expecting and I am so thrilled for them!! It seems like maybe a March due date, but we don't know for sure. It is so exciting, as this will be the first niece or nephew for me or Matt. The other great thing is that we are right here, a few miles from them, and will get to walk through this whole process with them. We can be there to support them, laugh with them, and be a part of the baby's life. So congrats to them!!! We love you guys and are so happy for you!

It's Coming Along

Well, it has been 2 weeks since we last updated you on the house. A lot has taken place and it is so exciting. I never knew I could get so excited about wood, screws and plumbing! 

In the last 2 weeks our house has gone from one or two exterior walls to having almost everything on the outside done, including siding, windows and doors. The inside is framed out, the HVAC is almost complete and the plumbing is done. This week they will run electrical and then we go in for our pre-drywall inspection before we head to vacation.  What will be so fun is to come back from vacation and see what has been done.

This whole process has been so great and fun to go through. Matt always said he wanted to build a house because he thought it would be fun. I didn't place much value in those words since he thinks a lot of things are "fun" that I don't think are. This has been! We have been very blessed to work with a great company and a great guy named Micah, who is always looking out for us. 

So enjoy the latest on the house. We will see you in a few weeks. I will probably be blogging this week, but it won't be house related...you have to tune in and check it out. 

House Update

This is Matt (not Deann) - I've hijacked her blog so show you this video.  Actually, our agreement was that I would shoot and edit pictures / video to show the progress of our new house being built and she would blog about it, but she's not holding up her end of the bargain and I got tired of waiting for her to blog about this video.

Don't give her too hard of a time about slacking, she's busy making me taco salad for dinner and I'm hungry and don't want her to take away my food as punishment for giving her a hard time.

So here is our first installment of the progress in the form of a Vlog (video log).

Enjoy!

My Colorado Rockie!

Tyler had his very first t-ball game last night. What a great time! He is on the Colorado Rockies team, which he thinks is way cool!

Being the great dad that Matt is, he took a few of the video pieces he taped and made a mini-movie with them, just a couple of minutes. 

We had a very happy boy last night. And of course a very happy mom, dad and grandma. He really is a slugger, and LOVES playing, even if in the middle of an inning he yells over to me to let me know Baxter, the dog, is eating grass! You gotta love 6 year olds!