Dear family and friends,
Greetings to those who don’t know me or have never seen me. I am the Barry’s new home….out in the country. Today, I am protected by 4 foot snow drifts on all sides and my owners have not left me for 48 hours. Not by choice, but do to being trapped in by 3 miles of impassible roads. Welcome to the country, suckers! I welcomed the Barry family on June 30th of this year and what a group I welcomed. The family itself is nuts, but the help they had was pretty amazing. Either they had a ton of neighbors that were glad to push them into the country or just a lot of great friends and family. Ben says it is the latter and he is so thankful. So, let’s meet this family I now know and love….
The youngest is Abby and what a deal she is. At 2 ½ she still walks and runs on her tip toes at times, has quite the vocabulary but speaks it in a strange way, and loves to take care of her many babies all day. This girl loves babies! She has asked for a doggie for Christmas despite her fear of them. Her parents think next spring will bring a puppy to this country acreage, so maybe Abby will get her wish. She loves daycare with Tracy and thinks she is “all-that” since Jack goes to school most days and she loves to be Ms. Independent. She loves to run throughout the new larger house and cries to go outside when it is warm and she can run for miles. The move has been good for her.
Jack is Mr. Schoolboy this year. He goes to Carlisle preschool 4 days a week during the afternoon. Ben and Reagan are very thankful for such a great preschool and Jack thinks he is pretty cool with his Superhero backpack and new school clothes. His parents are pretty proud that Jack can count to 130, knows all of his letters, can write his first and last name, and his biggest strength….playing so well with others. I think he may be trying to become the teacher’s pet. Jack loves to dress in costumes (he was Iron-man 12 hours a day the first 2 weeks of November!) and play any sort of games. He wants to have “family game night” every night now. He is pretty bright and amazes us with things that he knows or remembers. He is still not very excited about nature, but he will have to learn to love nature around me and the outdoors since my yard includes lots of bugs, snakes, and up to 30 deer at times.
One of the owners of my house, Reagan, is obviously the handy one. Since they moved in, she has served as contractor to fix the quickly broken fancy tile shower in the master bath, has ripped out and changed the tile backsplash in the basement bar, and has put all sorts of neat decorative touches to make me become a true home. This is in addition to helping Ben rip out 1200 sq. feet of carpet, replace it, and repaint the whole basement. And that was on the 2nd day they lived here! You might wonder where Reagan gets the time since she works 4 days a week and some weekends, plus works hard to keep this larger house clean from the dirt and dust that sneaks through my cracks every day. I honestly don’t know. I do know she loves her scrapbooking room and actually uses the basement (something she did not in the last home). She still works as a PA at Mercy East (7 years now), just 15 minutes away. Next Spring, she will work to coordinate the landscaping redesign of my outside. Can’t wait to see what amazing ideas she has!
And then there is Ben. He fell in love with me a year before he moved in and was happy that I twice was almost sold but stayed available until their Easter Lake home finally beat the bad market and sold (much cheaper than he hoped but 354 days and one offer was enough!). Apparently, he fell in love with one part of me, the theater room. You can find Ben playing the Wii, watching sports or shows on HDTV, or watching the new movies on my 6 ft. by 8 ft. screen. Reagan even bought him 6 leather movie theater recliners and a popcorn machine. I think this guy is spoiled by his wife! In return for this gift I give him, he mows the 2 acre yard, attempts to snow blow (he is still learning), and is obsessed with sweeping my floors. Ben doesn’t just play with these toys all day, he does work, sometimes. He is now the full-time counselor at Carlisle Middle School. As if officiating MS girl fights isn’t enough stress, he also decided to help coach the 7th grade girl’s basketball team. He coaches the 2nd team and they are doing well and keep Ben young, but balding quicker. His classes are huge this year, biggest in the district, but that could be because he has the famous “Septuplets” in his 6th grade class. Ben loves his job and thinks he finally found his true passion.
It has been a stressful year with Ben finsihing school & Jack starting school, the family lowering their home price until it sold but getting a good deal on me, and dealing with unforeseen problems in fixing me up and repairing my broken parts, but I am so glad to be loved by such a loving family. Ben and Reagan grew up in the country and love being back in the country. Even though they are snowed in, it helps them see the true Christmas spirit. Sure Christmas means snow, stockings, and kids ready for Santa’s visit in their new home, but it also means seeing God’s wonderful gifts. The media likes to remind us of the bad that is happening this holiday season, but I know the Barry family sees Christmas and Christ’s birth bringing so much hope, joy, and love to our world. Ben and Reagan see problems in people’s lives each day at work, but have faith that the Lord will protect and provide for all who believe. And when you look out my window at a sunrise, deer wandering around, or the snow glittering in the morning light, it is impossible not to believe that Jesus was born for a reason. And at Christmas, we celebrate that reason.
Merry Christmas and God Bless this Holiday season!
The Barry’s new home (10980 Cleveland Trail, Norwalk, IA 50211, 515-480-3939 or 515-306-1415)
(Also Ben, Reagan, Jack, and Abby Barry plus cats and fish)
