Christmas Letter 2021

Dear family and friends,

          I guess this letter can actually be titled “Chapter 2” or the “2^nd book in the series” since last year’s letter is included in this year’s mailing too. Honestly, that is what COVID has done, it has blurred time and jumbled it all together. If you have made it this far, you have made it through the 2020 letter (and made it through 2020…what a crazy year!) and are willing to read this 2^nd letter/book for some unknown reason, so I will try to make the rest short. A bit of a “recap” if you will. Maybe next year’s “Trilogy” letter will be an epic finish to this series and we can get back to normal. Who knows….these are unpredictable times! But, here you go, a quick recap…

          Jackson: He’s tall. He’s a senior. He’s likely headed to University of Northern Iowa although he hasn’t officially decided. He’s plays Varsity basketball and works at the school in the Athletic department doing all things photo/video editing and creating. He plans to major in that area in college. He will graduate in May….twice. Once with his 2-year college degree and once with his HS degree. So…that seems pretty good. Good guy. If you see him, say hi.

          Abby: She’s in high school now. She seems all grown up. She is uber creative. She is always making something or creating something. I can’t keep up. But that is not saying much as I’m overweight, old, and spent 20 years not stretching properly. She’s also super smart. I’m looking for her weakness, I think it is sleep. She doesn’t do that well. She likes to stay awake to play volleyball, softball, and track…almost all of them year round it seems. If you see her, smile, she likes that.

          Quinn: He’s in middle school. With me. And we have the same sense of humor. Neither of us has been kicked out yet which is impressive. He is also super smart. And plays basketball. And wants to be in drama club. He is always online with friends. He loves animals. Probably too much. But they love him back. He helps Abby with our foster kittens. If you talk to him, do not be manipulated into giving us a cat. We don’t need more.

          Sully: He is at the Hartford school, a school for 4^th and 5^th graders. Far away from us which is probably good for everyone. He has energy. His weakness is also sleep. But not like Abby’s weakness. Even as I write, he is playing basketball in his room. If it is a sport, he likes it. He plays tournament basketball because one team wasn’t enough I guess. He does well in school. And is super nice to all kids which is way more important than grades. If you see him, don’t fall for his fakes. He still only goes to his right when dribbling. The fake to the left is just a fake.

          Claire: She didn’t move to a new school building this year like most the others. Her teachers like her so much, they kept her(but is in 2^nd grade now). They also fight over her. I think the winning teacher in the year-end drawing gets Claire in class. She wakes up with a smile. Like I think the alarm activates her smile function and it starts and goes all day. A little creepy. Like a clown without the makeup. Yet. She plays a ton of softball and basketball. If not doing a sport, she is busy with something. Her weakness is swearing. We learned this when she called Daisy Duck a bad name. But to her credit, Daisy Duck wasn’t wearing pants, so she was sort of right. So, yes, Claire is smart too. And observant. If you see her, be nice, don’t make her swear.

          Reagan and I: We’re tired. If you read this far, you can see why. We are with these 5 in about 29 different locations every week. And we both work long hours helping others. But we both love our job and love working with not just people we can help, but working alongside others who also like to help (and are fun to work with). There is not a lot interesting about us other than what you have already read. Reagan is sad to start seeing some of our ducklings leave our nest. I’m soooo excited. Bottom line, we are proud of our kids and proud of the year they have had.

          Not a lot more to say other than….thank you to all of you for being in our life. And thank you for all each of you do to help others. And helping others does not have to be some grand gesture or donating hundreds of dollars. It could be texting/calling a friend or family member you haven’t checked in on in a while, it could be smiling at a stranger, or it could be buying a breakfast sandwich for the car behind you in line or the guy on the corner with a cardboard sign. Because in any of these cases, the person you connected with may have needed just that….human connection. Maybe that connection makes their day. Maybe it saves their life. Maybe it doesn’t make a difference. But it does. It does make a difference. So keep doing it. And again, thank you.

    Although I started and finished this entire letter in under 7 minutes, this letter got longer than I thought. Damn. And now I’m swearing. Damn, Claire is influencing me. Not a bad thing I suppose….

                   

Happy Holidays!

The Barrys (Ben, Reagan, Jackson, Abby, Quinn, Sullivan, Claire, Gizmo, Mia, Lizzie, Nala and 2 freakishly old fish that seriously won’t die. It is crazy actually. They literally can’t die)

Christmas Letter 2020

 

Dear family and friends,

          Well, as I heard many times this year: “this year was unprecedented”. I honestly do not know what that truly means, but because the year was unprecedented, I’m going to do something with this holiday card that is unprecedented as well. The author this year will be me. Ben Barry. Lizzie, our “new” dog wrote the letter last year but we never mailed it out. Maybe she didn’t know how to address envelopes or lick them closed (trust me, she can lick). Or maybe we were ahead of the game and realized by licking 120 envelopes, we could have unknowingly passed on a deadly virus to our loved ones. Either way, it did not go out. And this year, our new dog, Nala, could have written it, but she is so spoiled by Reagan and Abby, she would likely hire the work out to Lizzie and we all know how that turned out last year. So this year, I am going to do the letter myself and I’m going to keep it short and sweet (mainly because my brothers are older and can’t read as well and my wife wants the letter done before 2021 and by the clock, I have 14 hours left to finish it) So, the letter is going to look a little different this year….

Jackson: 6 foot tall, reserve on the Varsity basketball team this year, a goal he has had since he could walk and talk I think. His next goal is dunking a basketball. 11^th grade and taking ridiculously tough classes. Some I can’t spell or pronounce. Goals to go to a 4-year in-state college with Iowa being the current front-runner. Helps me a lot at our food pantry. Probably the best big brother a kid could ask for as he will play football, hide-and-seek, phone app games, or dolls depending on who is asking.

Abby: Over 5 feet tall and close to passing her mother in height. Loves softball and volleyball and hopes to finally get a track season in to test her speed, one of her many talents. Continuing her artistic talent now by designing and making her own clothing (well, she buys the clothes and adds the design…I don’t really get how it all works). Seems to make clothes for everyone but me. Weird. Loves her dog Nala and is the best at helping around the house and with the kids. Heading to high school next year.

Quinn: Will be heading to middle school next year, but has to finish 5^th grade first. Continues to read books non-stop and has quite the social group. He’s always thinking and always feeling. If you need to vent, he is your go-to guy. He’s like my own therapist, better than the 7 that live inside my head. Interested in acting, hanging with friends, playing basketball, reading, and loving every animal he finds and sees.

Sully: Almost as tall as Quinn now. Still shares a room with him and now shares clothes with him. Loves basketball and baseball and he is the one kid who has a passion of card collecting like I do. Famous for his energetic excited “Let’s Go” shout when anything good happens or will happen. Loves technology and games….a little too much. Will head to Hartford next year for his next 2 years of school.

Claire: Still maybe the cutest kid alive. Likely an adult in a kid’s body, we aren’t sure. No joke, she honestly wakes up with a smile each day and is known for her phrase (almost every day) “Today is the best day ever!”. Loves school and animals. Loves to do anything her siblings do: art, basketball, play with animals, calculus, etc. Even loves to clean. She’s weird like that.

Reagan and I: Weird year for our professional lives. Reagan only ended up working from home for about 2-3 weeks. We decided that was enough for both of us working from home and teaching our 5 kiddos at the same time. She is back to work now, in fact, will complete her 7^th surgery in the last 34 hours here in a little bit. After “counseling from home” in the spring, I have been back at school since August and glad to be back and working with kids. Reagan and I both chose professions in the “helper” field as that is what we love to do…help others. We plan to keep doing that in 2021.

     In closing, our heart, thoughts, and prayers go out to many of you who have lost loved ones this year, especially to COVID. It was a terrible year in many ways, COVID and the deaths and family grief it has caused. While reflecting on this past year and Christmas and what it all means, I thought Christmas lands a perfect time in today’s calendar and today’s world. With vaccines coming and 2021 so close, their was hope and joy as Christmas and 2021 approached. I thought back to life over 2000 years ago and how dark and tough life was for so many until they saw the star (we even had the Christmas “star” this year!) and heard of the birth of Christ. There were many who didn’t believe, but many who did. And this belief gave them hope. And as the years went on, their hope grew and grew as they knew good things were happening and good things were going to continue to come. Jesus’ birth Christmas day all those years ago gave a people who were living and dying tough lives….hope. And his birth and our celebration of his birth, along with vaccines and the turn of a calendar give us hope today. May your holiday be filled with hope and joy and may we all honor the loved ones we lost this past year by making 2021 a year to give hope and joy to others and make the time we are living these years the best we possibly can for ourselves, and others.

                   

Happy Holidays!

The Barrys (Ben, Reagan, Jackson, Abigail, Quinn, Sullivan, Claire, 2 rescue dogs (1 that is new), countless foster kittens (none as I type this letter tho), 2 indoor cats (sadly we put Abby Cat down this year at age 17), and one outdoor cat (Blizzard who is around age 20 we think), and a lot of mice….not pets.

Christmas letter 2019

 

Dear family and friends,

          Happy Holidays! I am so excited to write this “holiday/2020” card this year because I joined this family on December 26^th of last year and have been waiting all year to write this year’s card. But I lose my focus easily, so I forgot many times about my excitement. Usually, it was when I was given a bone or a stuffed animal. Anyway, I started writing this card in late November and I hope to finish by January. Oh! By the way, my name is Lizzie and I am a dog. The Barry family dog. Although I keep hearing they want another dog, this time one that is small and can be trusted inside. Apparently, I have something called “Pitbull” and “Boxer” in my lab genes and that makes me like a “Bull in a China Shop” they say. Either way, I live outside now which is good because I love to run. Oh! I forgot. I’m supposed to talk about the kids and family. Here goes. I am going to keep each short since I can’t focus. Squirrel!

           Jackson: I’m back. That squirrel got away. Jackson is tall. He’s the tallest in the house. He wasn’t when I got here, but like me, he keeps growing. But the family hasn’t moved him outside yet, just to the basement. He uses his height to play basketball. A lot. I try to eat the basketballs. A lot. Jackson is 14 and in 10^th grade. He has his driver’s permit and hasn’t run me over yet. He took the ACT test for the first time last summer and continues to do very well in school. He is looking at a lot of colleges now. I think that is when they will move him outside. He loves sports and cats. But not dogs. But I still love him. I love everybody. His younger siblings love him a lot too because he is very nice to them & plays with them.

          Abby:  Okay, I’m back. I chased a leaf all over the yard and forgot I was writing. Two weeks have passed. Abby…she loses focus a lot just like me! And she is always doing something. She seems to run the house. She takes me for walks or at least lets me run in the fields. Abby is very talented in many things: softball, volleyball, she will soon do track, artwork, crafts, baking…she even makes me food! She teaches her younger siblings math and how to read/write. She teaches me tricks. I already know how to write, I’m writing this! Abby is 12 and in 7^th grade. She is a true social butterfly. Oh, and she’s 5 ft tall finally!

          Quinn: I’m trying to focus, but there were some pool inflatables that I found and they had to be destroyed and chewed. I got them. They won’t harm anyone now. So Quinn, this guy is unique. He LOVES animals, but seems to love cats more. He is always reading a book. Reading looks fun, but I only eat books, so I don’t know. Quinn’s reading skills have really helped him in school. All these kids seem smart, but I think Quinn might be the smartest. He is also very funny and a good actor. He likes to read, play basketball, do nice things for others, and play video games. He shares a room with Sully and they play a lot. They have a lot of fun. Maybe if we get another dog, I can play with a friend? Hmmm….

          Sullivan: Sorry, another week has gone by. I had to pee and then I had to smell other pee spots in the yard and then I got digging holes. I don’t know why, I just do it. Anyway, I love Sully and he loves me! He is the perfect height to tackle and run over. He cries sometimes but he still loves me and I think he is my best friend. Sully is very caring and is really doing well in 2^nd grade. He is 7. Did I mention Quinn is 9 and in 4^th grade? I forget. Oh well. Anyway, Sully loves his teacher and she loves him. Sully loves sports too. Baseball is his favorite and he has a hitting net now he uses. It catches the balls he hits. But so do I. But I eat them and run with them. He hates that. Sully loves basketball too and playing football with his brothers. Sully is super nice to Claire but they fight at times. But I think they love each other. That’s nice.

          Claire: She is so small, like a puppy. Okay, I’m back. It has been a week, but I get so excited about puppies, I ran off when I typed the word puppy. Okay, I’m back again. I won’t leave again. Claire, she is small but talks a lot. She is very funny. She is 5 and in Kindergarten. She already knows a lot of math and writes a lot of things on paper. I like to eat paper too. She is really learning to read now and will soon be like her siblings, always reading a book. Claire loves softball, loves to do crafts, and loves to run and scream. She also likes to play in her room and hang with her friend and my friend, Courtney.

          Now to finish with my masters. The Dad, Ben, is who found me and rescued me from the shelter. He is my hero. He is like a really big teddy bear, soft and fluffy and fun to squeeze. But I don’t rip him apart like my other teddy bears. When he and all the kids found me, I knew I found a family who I would love and would give me a nice home. And they have. Wait, I’m talking about who again? Oh, Ben. He is a school counselor at the middle school which is just 2 miles away. He drives a lot. To practices, to school, to get donuts (I love donuts!), to the card shop (he has over 50,000 sports cards), and sometimes just to get away I think. He enjoys his job and it keeps him busy. He cares for a lot of kids and he cares for me. I think he is caring. He mostly likes to be with people and animals. At this new house, he likes to host parties. They even invited the community to walk through the house to raise money for the local library! Ben seems like a nice guy. He is married to Reagan who works at UnityPoint. She leaves super early some mornings when she does surgery in the OR. She wakes me up when she does this, but that’s okay because I have to pee anyway. She is amazing at what she does. I hear all sorts of people who come to swim in our pool talk about how awesome she is at her job. She is also very nice and caring. She didn’t like me inside, but she is still so nice to me. She cooks, cleans, decorated the whole house this Christmas, hosted Christmas, and doesn’t seem to ever sleep. She loves her kids and they love her. I think even more than me and Ben combined! My masters are good people.

          I think I might be done writing. I’m tired and I see a dog bowl with food in it, so I need to go. Since you will get this card after the New Year, maybe it is a good time to think about the ways we are all blessed. I mean, look at me. Last Christmas, I was shivering in a shelter and not sure if I would ever find a family. And now I’m with 7 humans who treat me like one of the family. It is amazing how love and joy and kindness spreads all around when you open your hearts and home to a new member. I think Christmas is like that….a time to open our hearts and home to a new member, a baby, Jesus. And then to follow it with the New Year where we can all think about ways to keep spreading joy, love, and kindness to many others and welcome them into our heart. I don’t know about you, but this all sounds pretty good. Just like that bowl of food I was thinking about. So I’m going to go eat and I hope you all had a great Christmas and are having a great start to your 2020!  

           

         

                   

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year,  and God Bless this Holiday season!

The Barrys (Ben, Reagan, Jackson, Abigail, Quinn, Sullivan, Claire), 1 dog, 2 fish, 4 cats

Christmas letter 2018

 

Dear family and friends,

          Happy Holidays! I may be the newest item to ever write this Christmas letter for the Barry family. I was just officially “born” on October 12^th but I have learned so much already. The Barry family has been planning to build me for years, well Reagan has anyway. And now their imagination has come alive and the Barry 7 has lived in me for over a month. If you want to write me and the Barry family, please see my address at the bottom. But don’t skip to the bottom, read the rest so you know about this family….

           Jackson: Whoa, he seems like a regular kid but I keep hearing from Ben and Reagan how much he has changed. They said he has grown about 5 inches since last year and is now in high school. He loves high school and is doing well in school. He just started basketball and has games starting this week. Like most teens (he finally turned 13 in the spring), he is attached to his phone and enjoys following the NBA and NFL (Celtics and Bears). I’ve noticed how responsible and helpful of a big brother he is. He helps gets the kids going in the morning and is like having a 3^rd adult/parent around. But he is really just a big kid and loves playing games with whoever will play with him. He gets to sleep in the basement, which he loves.

          Abby:  I got to know Abby early in the year as she and Reagan came out to see me on a daily basis to make sure I was being created in “their” vision. Abby is quite the mature young girl. She is now in Middle School which means she sees her father every day. But the cool thing is that the middle school and all the schools are only 3 minutes from my address now! Abby still loves sports and has added Club Volleyball to her list of activities. She also does art club and student council and has become a semi-professional shopper as what appears to be an apprenticeship under her mother’s shopping guidance. If all these things weren’t enough, she completed the Red Cross babysitting training and is doing some babysitting as well. Which means…..she now has her first cell phone even though she can’t call or text, but it does allow messaging and facetime, so she thinks that is pretty cool. Of the five, she has the most energy!

          Quinn: All of the kids seem very caring and generous, but Quinn seems the strongest in this area. He gives massages for 25 cents (he wants to be a massage therapist and actor when he is older), seeks people out to talk to if they have had a bad day, and says the strangest yet most insightful things at the most perfect moments all the time. He also LOVES all the animals that moved in as well, both indoor and outdoor cats. I’ve heard rumors of adding a dog to me this winter and I’m worried Quinn could hug it to death! Quinn does very well at school it sounds like as he is advanced in reading and math. He stays busy with basketball and baseball and minecraft and laughing….a lot. He will be fun to watch grow up I think!  

          Sullivan: I confuse this guy with his brother Quinn. Sully hit a growth spurt, Quinn did not. They are nearly the same height, they share a room and bathroom, and they often wear each other’s clothes despite their father putting out their clothes in the morning and telling them which pile to wear. They don’t seem to mind as they are very close friends, not just brothers. Sully now reads chapter books and is very good at math too. He also does baseball and basketball and apparently he runs very fast. He loves having friends over and having play-dates. He misses our former neighbors terribly. This has been the hardest for the family to move into me, they miss their neighborhood so much and Sully had his absolute best friend next door at their last house. Fortunately, we are only 7 minutes away, so Sully still sees him often.

          Claire: The youngest of the bunch and maybe the most energy (behind Abby and one of the indoor cats who just sprinted by me for the 20^th time this morning). Claire now goes to school almost every day as she is in preschool. (Did I mention Quinn is in 3^rd and Sully is in 1^st?) She loves school and loves riding the bus. She still goes to Courtney’s for daycare and Courtney may be her best friend of all time, they have quite a bond! Claire loves to do crafts, work with numbers and letters, and go shopping with her mother. She also loves dolls/babies and likes to line them all up some nights for sleep. Her father thinks this is a little creepy and wonders if this is really just Claire playing the long game on how to keep him out of her room!

          Now to finish with the owners of this house. One I know well and the other I’m getting to know all too well (he is very unique!). Reagan worked with our builder, Michael, from Day 1 planning this house. He was very impressed with Reagan’s work ethic, eye for design, and was surprised at her skills with tools. Reagan built some of the things that make me up and spent many long hours here this summer making sure I was just as perfect as she imagined. As for Ben, he came and walked through me on July 4^th and then saw me when I was finished. He says he doesn’t like “unfinished projects”, so he didn’t want to see me until I was ready to move in. That seems weird and others said the same thing, but like I said, I’ve learned he is unique. Reagan changed jobs as I was being built and left family practice behind. This was very tough for her but she followed a passion of hers in helping people making healthy lifestyle changes. She now works for Unity Point Weightloss Clinic. She is first assist in surgery 2-3 days a week and works clinic on the other days. She has enjoyed the challenge and her husband enjoys the less work she brings home and the fact that she is home by 3 some days. She continues to care for me and has been spending her “free” time decorating and getting me just right for the holidays. As for Ben, well, I’m almost out of room, so I will just say he is in his 18^th year of education, 10^th as a School Counselor. He and Reagan (and possibly Jackson/Abby) will travel to Washington D.C. early next year as Ben was selected as ASCA’s Iowa School Counselor of the Year. While he isn’t one the six national finalists, he will represent Iowa counselors in DC on that trip. He works a stressful job but does enjoy it. He has a passion for helping others and this is one of the ways he gets to follow this passion. While Reagan works on the house, Ben makes sure kids get to and from school, practice, and religious education all on time or slightly late.

          Well, that’s the Barry family. I didn’t really tell you much about me, but that is by design. I’m not being modest, I’m being real. I’m just a “house”. I was created just like any other house. It wasn’t until the Barrys moved in that I truly became a “home” and became everything I was meant to be. Over 2000 years ago, a child was created rather miraculously. And sure, He wasn’t just like every other “child”, He was special. But, like me, He wasn’t that different until people moved into His heart and He moved into theirs. You can’t just build a house and you are done, you have to continue to work on it with love, joy, hope, care, family, etc. Jesus isn’t just Christmas and you are done, you have to continue to work year round by spreading love, joy, care, hope, etc. So while we wish all of you Happy Holidays this Christmas Season, we also wish you a 2019 filled with all the things mentioned above and we hope you work to spread these to as many as possible. And if you find yourself near 14225 Scotch Ridge Road, please stop by and see me and the Barrys and get some of the joy and love we try to spread every day.

         

Merry Christmas and God Bless this Holiday season!

The Barrys (Ben, Reagan, Jackson, Abigail, Quinn, Sullivan, Claire) and a few indoor and outdoor cats. A dog or two will be added soon.