The Last Day

....of hunting season IS today (at least at our house because technically tomorrow is the last day). But Stephen Grande and I both agreed on a "no hunting on Sundays" policy. We did this for a few of reasons. 1) I want him around 2) he wants to be around (at least that's what he tells me), and 3) it is the Sabbath day in which God commands us to rest! Exodus 20: 8-11.

Now I don't believe that God will strike you down if you hunt or work on Sundays. However, as a family we have found so many rewards and benefits for protecting our Sundays as a day of rest and worship. Stephen Grande told me that growing up his dad would say in regards to honoring the Sabbath (not an exact quote)....You can choose not to partake, but you will be the one missing out on the feast. I have found that to be so true...I'm the one that misses out if I choose not to rest. Plus, if God recommends I stay home, take a long leisurely nap, and not go to the grocery store for a day, then I'm going to take Him up on it. (I'm sort of kidding about that last line) because I really believe honoring the Sabbath is for God's glory and in return He so kindly gives us the gift of rest.

By telling you this I hope to not imply that Stephen Grande and I obey this commandment perfectly. Because we don't. Even our best efforts are tainted with sinful motives. Also, Stephen Grande has been known to hunt on Sundays for special occasions...vacation, Christmas, etc. And I have been known to go grocery shopping or run other errands on Sundays. However, the older I get the less I enjoy taking part in these activities. I don't want to miss out on the feast!

Me Oh my, I got on a tangent. I really started out just wanting to share my excitement that our upcoming Saturdays will be filled with renovation plans instead of hunting! Our house has a very poorly built sun room and laundry room. And now that hunting season is over, we plan to do some demolition and renovating on our weekends. I'm super excited as this will expand our living space. I'm pretty sure my favorite thing will be what I'm calling "my office" (aka the laundry room). We plan to build shelves, a desk, a place for my sewing stuff and the computer (which I can't wait to move out of our bedroom).

Happy Weekend! Stay warm. Rest up. Be back soon.

My Week in a Nutshell

Monday night we hosted our couples Bible study that we've been involved in for 2 1/2 years. I served sweet tea out of a cracked pitcher (it has been cracked for 4 years without a leak...it was a very small crack). Well, I'm sure you can guess what happened. It broke. Sweet tea everywhere. Floors stickier than the movie theater's. (Sorry, Annie. Major party foul on my part). My point is...no matter how small the crack...don't use cracked pitchers!

Just a word for the wise...and now a word of thanks.

Thank you for all your complements on the birthday banner! I'm afraid this is only the beginning of my sewing and craftiness (watch out Stephen Grande). My next project will be a bed skirt for Stephen Small's crib. I highly recommend taking up sewing if you are at all interested. It's therapeutic. And if I can do it anyone can. The main challenge is finding the time. Sewing + small children + interruptions = frustration. I only get my sewing machine out at night when Stephen Small goes to bed.

Other thoughts...I have a serious case of spring fever...

I want to grill out, plant herbs, eat dinner on the back porch, wear shorts & flip flops, and ride in the back of a pick-up truck.

Okay...maybe not the last thing, but you know what I mean. It has been such a beautiful week and Stephen Small is getting over a cold which means I've had to keep him out of the YMCA nursery (where I've been exercising since the first of the year.)

Yesterday, I was feeling so unmotivated in general...to exercise, worsh, to do anything (some days are just like that). I didn't even feel like blogging. My remedy was to force myself to go on a walk. That is a little mental rule of mine. When you are in a funk, feeling frazzled, unproductive, etc....GO FOR A WALK. It is amazing what a little fresh air and exercise can do!

I then came home (with a new outlook on life)...I cleaned, prepared dinner (which only required reheating a pot of chicken soup), and invited Aunt Lu over to eat with us.

Funny story...Aunt Lu's husband, Nick, has been working out of town for the past several weeks, so I have been inviting her over for dinner quite regularly. Last Thursday I called and as usual said, "Do you want to eat with us tonight?" She said, "sure." The only problem was I did not have anything prepared for dinner...and I had not been to the store...and it was 5pm (so much traffic). I then called her back and told her I really didn't have anything to eat and said "What do you have at your house?," thinking we could compile our leftovers and have a decent meal. She had the same things as me...salsa, sour cream, and cheese....nothing to really make a meal out of. Anyway....subconsciously, I weaseled my way into sending her to the grocery store to pick up some frozen pizzas. We had a good laugh that I invited her over, but then sent her to the store to buy the food. You can only do that to your sister.

This week I was proud to actually have a meal to serve good ol' Aunt Lu.

I am also proud of Stephen Small....who SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT FOR THE FIRST TIME...since well before Christmas. Let's hope this is the beginning of a new pattern.

Enjoying Veggie Tales

Just a thinkin'

That's all for today folks. Have a great weekend!

7 Layer Salad, Sewing, & Table Food

Good Monday morning!

First things first. Here's my recipe for 7 layer salad. My mom took this to dinner parties in the 80's. She said back then it was all the rage. And I think it's about time we bring it back (with a few modifications I made, of course.) I love the presentation and all of it's delicious qualities. I recently made it for a family gathering....

First...you need a glass bowl (mine is rather large). You could use a smaller one and adjust proportions.

Ingredients:

1 head green leaf lettuce 
1 bag matchstick carrots
1 medium red onion
1 cart cherry or grape tomatoes
1 bag green peas (the frozen kind...thawed)
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
6 strips bacon cooked and diced into homemade bacon bits
green onions diced
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1/4 cup sugar

Combine mayo and sugar for dressing and set aside. I was wary of this combination at first, but it worked quite nicely.

Next...you simply layer up lettuce, carrots, red onion, cherry tomatoes, peas, grated sharp cheddar cheese, and mayo dressing.

Finally top with some extra cheese, diced green onions, and delicious bacon!

I promise you will win friends and influence people if you make this salad.

In other culinary news, I have a few things to note about my chocolate cake and sweet potato fries. Thank you friends for all your feedback!

*The cake does best when slightly (and I mean slightly) undercooked. You want to be able to stick a knife in it and come out clean, but you want it to be very very moist. It will cook a little on its own for a few minutes when removed from the oven. Also, mine was quite delicate when I removed it from the pans...I had to handle with the utter most care. This is what you want for optimum moisture.

*About sweet potatoes. Raw sweet potatoes can be hard as rocks...I had a friend text me in the midst of her dicing difficulties. I told her you need a strong man and a sharp knife. Really you just need a sharp knife. But it never hurts to have a strong man around. Also, I sharpen my knife just before dicing.

In non-culinary events....

I took up sewing again. I just completed a fun project and on a sunny day I'll take pictures and post them. I made it using all these fabrics. And no it is not a quilt. That would be my wildest dream come true. I love a quilt. But unfortunately, I'm not that advanced.

And lastly, for those of you interested in the riveting topic of infant feeding (and I know there are plenty of ya)...My little man has moved up to the wonderful world of table foods.

If you see us on the street you can guarantee I've got one of these on me...


Honey Nut Cheerios...

He's also eating oatmeal (aka porridge), bananas, baked sweet potatoes, peas, banana bread, turkey, ground beef, and goldfish. I do put a little sugar in his oatmeal. I know some people might think that's unhealthy....but I don't want no boy of mine eatin' bland porridge. Now read that last line line in your sassiest mammy voice...ha.

On that note, I'm outta here.

Gotta go feed my growin boy.

9 Months Ago....

after 20 hours of labor....and a C-section...

this hunk of burnin' love came into our lives...

Happy 9 months Stephen. We love you.

We also love anesthesiologists.

Happy Birthday Banner

So this is the project I was working on with all that gorgeous fabric! A child's birthday banner. More specifically, Stephen Small's birthday banner.


Honestly, I thought I had given up on sewing, but I decided that I (even I) could sew. I just needed to start with projects that are FUN and ones that the end goal was not to wear the item on my body. There is no need for me to sew my own clothes in a world with Target and Old Navy.

Besides, what I love about sewing is all the cool fabric. This project was perfect for me because I got to use 28 + different patterns! Just looking at all that fabric makes me high...like a shopper's kind of high. Do you know what I mean?

But wait...

The coolest thing about this banner is that it is reversible....

Happy Birthday to sister...

No, I'm not expecting, but I thought it would be fun to make a girl side in hopes of one day having a daughter. If not, then I'm just happy to loan it to Stephen Small's girl cousins and friends.

Closer look at the girl side...

While I was making this I kept jokingly saying to Stephen Grande "You didn't know you married a crafter did ya?"

His response..."No....no...I didn't."

I think the terms crafting and crafter are hysterical, but turns out I am one...HA HA.

I, Sarah Barry, am a crafter.

I enjoy crafting.

I own 2 glue guns.

Can we all laugh out loud about that?

If you are interested in making one here are the how to's....

*Note...I used a regular 8 x 11 sheet of paper as my scale for both letters and background fabric.

Step 1- Go buy a ton of cute boy and girl fabric. I bought 14 boy patterns and 14 girl. You could scale back if you don't feel so crazy. Make sure you get contrasting fabrics so the letters will show up.

Step 2- Cut out your letters on regular typing paper. I wanted mine to be uniform so I bought some sticker letters at Office Max and enlarged them on a copy machine on a plain piece of paper. I then cut out the letters.


Step 3- Place letters backwards on applique paper and trace. You will see the reason for this in a minute.

Step 4- After letter is cut out of applique paper (is that what you call it? i don't know the correct term for this sticky iron on paper, sorry.) Place letter backwards on the BACK SIDE of fabric. This B is a bad example, because I just flipped it UP to make it face the right way, but you want to cut the letter out backwards on the BACK of the fabric. Have I totally confused you yet?

Step 5- I hope this picture makes more sense of it all...see how letter faces right way...
Iron letter to background fabric. I only takes about 10 seconds.

Please ignore the dingy ironing board coverlet...it's my moms.

Step 6- Sew stitches along the boarders of the letters. This is to both reinforce that the letters will stick to the fabric and to give it a more handmade look.

Step 7-Once both girl and boy letters are complete. Cut out 14 8X11 rectangles of quilt backing (this will be used as the lining in between the girl and boy sides). Also, you want to pick a fabric to use for spacing b/t Happy and Birthday for both the girl and boy side.


Step 8-Putting it all together. I made a long ribbon out of scraps to sew all the rectangles to, sandwiching it (the ribbon) between the rectangle and the quilt lining...I then sewed all the letters on one by one. I also sewed loops on each end to hang the banner up with.

Step 9-HAVE FUN! Be creative. Use your crafty noggin.'

I think I confused myself writing this tutorial. Sorry if some steps are unclear. I'm so new to sewing I don't even have the vocabulary to describe some of this stuff, but hopefully the pictures helped. I think this would be a great gift for someone very special!

The Delta: Part 3

New Year's Day Celebration....

(This post has been in my head for weeks. Thought I better get it done before January ends.)

So, welcome.... to third and final part about our Christmas and New Years celebration in the Delta. A couple of weeks ago I wrote Part 1 and Part 2.

For those of you still wondering what the Delta is, I will give a brief little explanation. For the technical definition you can click here. To me...the (Mississippi) Delta is where I'm from and where my parents still live. It's a place rich in Mississippi history, culture, and personality. Delta people are in a word....fun!

And one of the things Deltans (?) are best at is throwing parties; my family is no exception. My favorite party (besides Christmas night) has to be my parent's annual New Years Day party, given and hosted amongst a small group of their friends. Graciously, over the past few years they have allowed adult children to attend.

I've grown very fond the New Years DAY party because 1)I strongly dislike New Years Eve. It's the most overrated holiday, second only to Valentines. N.Y. day is a much better time to celebrate in my opinion. AND 2) I like any party that starts in the day... because here lately I'm too tired to enjoy a party that starts past the hour of 6pm. (That happens when you have a 9 month old who doesn't sleep through the night.)

Okay...that's enough background...here's a run down of NYD party 2010...

Festivities began around 11 am.

First...we enjoyed appetizers...they were so fantastic they did not even make it in a picture. You will have to take my word for it....they were gooooood...marinated shrimp and asparagus...black eyed pea salsa...black eyed pea corn muffins...deer sausage (I passed on that one, but I'm sure it was wonderful.)

Appetizers were followed by the main course...Jambalaya, which we enjoyed for numerous meals after because the recipe made a generous 329 servings. The cook book said it would serve 10-15. And we even scaled it back!!! Oh well...it tasted great and there was plenty to go around.

We also had a beautiful salad, but sadly no pictures.

Did I mention before that the party lasts all day? So long that my dad is known for falling asleep at some point.

No napping for the women folk. We opted for a mid-day walk.

Doesn't everyone look cute in their winter coats?!

It was a beautiful winter day...not a cloud in the sky.

We returned home to a warm fire...coffee...and this phenomenal dessert brought by one of the guests.

Meet...

Brandy Alexander (made of brandy, ice cream, and creme de cacao. Basically a grown up milk shake.)

After dessert there was more lounging...talking...story telling...football watching...fire sitting...and eventually we re-heated the Jambalaya for supper, all guest still in attendance of course. Perfect way to start the new year...

The next morning we packed our bags...

and made the 6 hour drive home...

And we have been working, reading, hunting, blogging, crawling, cooking, eating, exercising, and worshin' ever since.

Little Ones

Several months ago I was introduced to this verse...

The full verse (and the NASB version which I actually prefer, but found after I had already written out the NIV) is...

Arise, cry aloud in the night
At the beginning of the night watches;
Pour out your heart like water
Before the presence of the Lord;
Lift up your hands to Him
For the life of your little ones
Who are faint because of hunger
At the head of every street.

One of the ladies at my church said she used to have this verse by her kitchen sink when she had small children. She said she read it every time she was bathing her little ones. At the time I thought "I want to do that" (hang that verse up by my kitchen sink).

So today, as I was watching the news and listening to Sheppard Smith talk about all the children in Haiti that have been orphaned and the babies that don't have access to formula ..the verse came to mind. I finally wrote it out and taped it over the sink.Honestly it has taken a few days for me to comprehend what great devastation people are experiencing. My heart especially goes out to the "little ones."


It makes me even more thankful for my little one who is well fed, happy....and currently very clean. Please disregard the knife sitting dangerously close to his side. I moved it and there was no incident...whew.

Lift up your hands to Him for the life of your little ones....

I like that.

Do this for the little ones in Haiti...

Ode to Chocolate Cake and Chuck

All week long I've been wanting CHOCOLATE CAKE. So yesterday I said to myself "I'm an adult. It's a free country. I'm gonna make a chocolate cake today!"

Inspired by all things Farmer, I used the recipe on the back of the Hershey's cocoa powder box.
Because who really knows chocolate better than these people?
Also taking James's advice (or is it James'), I substituted a cup of strong hot coffee instead of boiling water. Ina Garten says coffee really brings out the chocolate-ti-ness of chocolate. You know what? She's right. But even if she was wrong I'd probably still do it because she said so!

Oh it is good...chocolate perfection.
Seriously THE best chocolate cake...a classic.

I also want to say a quick word about my grandmother, Chuck. Today would have been her 86th birthday. She died last April, just 19 days before Stephen Small, her first great grandchild was born. Chuck was a dear dear woman to me, my family, and so many others. She was a woman who LOVED the Lord and talked about Him incessantly. A fond memory I have of her death (if it is possible to have a fond memory of death) was at her funeral as the family processed out of the sanctuary; I saw a woman sobbing on the back row. Afterwards, my brother, sister, and I asked who she was. My parents told us that she was a single woman who had lost both of her parents years ago....upon her loss, Chuck told the woman that she would commit to pray for her daily because she no longer had parents to do so. Even after Chuck had moved to a nursing home she corresponded through letters and prayed for her younger friend faithfully. What a ministry my grandmother had! This little story is one of many. Chuck was a tiny woman, but a prayer warrior. I'm thrilled that Chuck gets to spend her 86th birthday with Jesus in heaven. She has been dying to go there for as long as I can remember. (No pun intended.)

Family photo taken on the day of Chuck's funeral. I was 38 weeks preggers with Stephen Small.
This is one prayed-up bunch of folks.

Hope this inspires you to love others in the form of prayer!

Real prayer is life creating and life changing.
-Richard Foster from the Celebration of Discipline.

A big AMEN to that!

About Stephen Small

As most of you already know,Stephen Small looks like me. He does have his daddy's long legs and so far...his crooked smile!
Other qualities...he has handsome blue eyes.
and reddish brown hair.
At times, he prefers not to have his picture taken...
and he has never cared much for celebrity gossip...
(note magazine under his feet before being ripped into a hundred pieces.)
He enjoys spending time with his mom...
and his dad...
and as of this week he LOVES...CHEERIOS!

Hope you all are having a good afternoon. I have to go ice my chocolate cake now. It's a tough job but somebody's go to do it.