My Sister Nhu


I have sat down to write, and rewrite, this post over and over again. 

At first I sat down to write about what a fun day I had with my sister, Nhu, a couple days ago.  It was a blast!  What does a girl from Cambodia want to do when she hangs out with her sister?  You guessed it! Shop, go to sushi, and watch a movie! :)  It was one of the most fun days I have had in so long!

But as I sit here, each time I begin to write, I feel like there is so many different things I want to share.  I have so much more to say than the fact that I had an amazing time with this sweet, sweet girl.  In the end, I am just thinking about how much I admire Nhu and how much she has taught me.

It is a rare thing to be able to call somebody your "sister."  But I have to say it is such a special thing.  She tells me that when people ask who I am, she says, "She not my friend, she my sister."  (In her sweet accent.)  What a special thing.  It is an honor to call Nhu my sister, and to be called hers.

To most she is the name behind the organization "Remember Nhu."  I told Nhu that more and more people are hearing her story and want to meet her.  She is getting quite a name for herself. 

But to me....she is my example of bravery, faith, compassion, and grace.  To me, she is my sister.  I have a protective love for her.  I love it when we share secrets with each other...it reminds me of growing up with my sisters and sharing things behind closed doors.

And I wish I could express to all around me that her heart is so beautiful.  Don't get me wrong, I absolutely know that seriously anybody who meets her immediately knows she is humble, and loves deeply.  But, I mean this....her heart is so beautiful.  When most would be bitter, resentful, defensive, and unforgiving....Nhu is gracious, so forgiving, warm, and compassionate. 

All that being said, I have to go back to what I began by saying.  When we hang out, we really don't talk about all this deep stuff as much as people would think.   Sure we do sometimes, but more than anything else, we like to talk about fun girly stuff.  She is such a girly, loveable, fun young lady. 

After we were done with our days events, we went back to my house.  Nhu watched a movie as I cooked some dinner.  It makes me smile thinking about it...I would be cooking away and I would hear her laughing out loud in the other room, over and over again, to what she was watching.  She is just so, so precious.

I love my sister, Nhu. :)

Nhu had me do her hair like mine when we got back to our house....makes us look even more like sisters!





Texas Surprise 2011

About a month ago, Caleb's brother Cam went off to college.  So, his mom Sheila has been pretty heartbroken with the house being empty....so we came up with the brilliant idea to all take off work and surprise them for a weekend! 

Cam set it up by saying that he needed them home for the weekend because he was coming home to do something special for them.  Caleb and I flew into Dallas and stayed at Kate and Garrett's for a night.  And then we all drove to Perryton and got to the house before anybody got home.  When Sheila walked in, she thought the surprise was that Kate and Garrett where home visiting for the weekend.  Then Caleb and I came out from a back room.  I think it took a second for her to grasp the fact that we were in front of her!  It was such a fun surprise!

And after Bob (Caleb's dad) got home, and we surprised him as well, we got into the car to go see my first 6 man football game.  I had no clue there was even such a thing, until I met my husband. It was so fun!  And we got to see Caleb's childhood friend, Ray, there as well.  I felt like we were at a scene from "Friday Night Lights"...small town all coming out for the Follet vs. Miami game.  :)

The next day we just hung out doing "everyday" type things all day...it was super chill and relazing.  Totally laid back.  Most of our day consisted of playing games, eating, and watching a movie. 

Sheila is a great cook!  And she is wearing an apron I made her :)

We ate some amazing meals!

Brothers wrestling :)



The next day we all did what meant most to Sheila...go to church together! It was fun seeing her there with her whole family!  Afterwards, we all got some photos taken of us together...since this was the first time we were all together, other than at one of our a weddings!



And then we went to lunch at a great restaurant in Liberal, Kansas (yes, we went throught three states to get there and it only took 45 minutes!).  The restuarant was in an old train station building and even had a gluten free menu!



Overall it was just a relaxing week.  What meant most was that we all just got to spend time with each other.  :)  What a great family...what great memories! :)

Date Night at a Country Diner

Considering Caleb is gluten free, and he seems to like my cooking over going out, we don't seem to expand our horizons when it comes to restaurants we seem to eat at.  So tonight we decided to have a date night, take the most relaxing drive through the countryside, and try a hole-in-the-wall restaurant called "Cruise In Country Diner."  It was a perfect night.

Since we were going to a country diner, we had to take his old beat-up (but somehow he loves it) pickup truck.  It just seemed fitting. Haha!  So with the windows down, we drove through the country.

Once we got there, we ordered buffalo burgers...and got Caleb's on a gluten free bun.  That was the main reason we tried this place.  I had been told it was an amazing diner and there don't seem to be any other restaurants where they have gluten free hamburger buns.  It tasted great!

The way home was so relaxing.  Our tummies were full.  It was starting to cool down.  The sun was setting.  I saw first signs of fall...the first trees with leaves changing color!  And we smelt the hay being harvested.  It made us want to take more drives in the country. 

Over all, it was a simple, but great date night!  I think next time we will try a different hole-in-the-wall restaurant...a Mexican restaurant called "Nacho Mama's."  :)

Coach Barnes

One of Caleb's goals have been to coach football.  And on a very regular basis he is told that he really needs to work with young boys, because he is such a good role model for them.  So this year he is finally putting his 10 years of football experience and studies to work!  He is an assistant coach with the Tigard Youth Football Team (a middle school team)!  And he LOVES it! 

This has been a lifestyle change for us, in that he is gone everyday for 13 hours straight (between his normal job and coaching).  But it is so great to see him come home with a smile on his face and excited about what he is doing!

I am so so so excited to go to the games, and cheer on his first team!  But inside, I will really be cheering for Coach Barnes! :)

Moments Make Memories

I have a huge weekend ahead, where Caleb and I are planning on being pulled in every which direction.  But today I am not so much thinking of my to-do list.  Rather, I am thinking these are the best days of my life. 

I think this means I have grown a lot over the last year.  I remember getting stressed out over everything that was on my plate one night last year, and Caleb's response was to gently say, "Don't stress out Sweetie.  These could be the best years of our life."  So true.

So today, as I prepare to race around for the next, well month, but in particular the next three days, I have a smile on my face and actually am making time to sit and write and reflect on life. :)

Some friends of mine invited me to be part of their book club recently.  They are currently reading "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp.  I highly recommend it.  In fact, I know of multiple book clubs who have read through this book recently.  The whole idea of this book (so far, since I am not finished with it) is a story of a woman who had suffered a lot of heartbreak in her life.  I could relate completely.  She had lost multiple people close to her.  And through life she walked with God, but realized she was lacking something.  She describes the series of events in her life that lead her to realize that the thing she was missing was "joy."  And after reading in the Bible, she realizes thankfulness goes hand-in-hand with joy.  Nothing profound, I know...many of us have heard many sermons and even preached it.  But I am reminded in a new way, as I read this book, that all the little moments in life (like making Caleb his lunch for him every morning as he reads his Bible) together all add up and really make up our life.  The author began to realize that those little moments are actually little gifts from God that we all seem to pass by and not not even notice when we are busy.  So now, as the author did, I am beginning my new "list"...but this time is isn't a to-do list.  It is a list of 1,000 gifts that God gives me.  And as I write them down, I am in essence thanking God for his nearness in my moments that make up life.

To further my thinking, this morning I had a Rascal Flatts playlist going in the background as I got ready for the day.  It ended up landing on "Ellsworth, Kansas" which is such a sweet song.  It is about an elderly woman and what she actually remembers as she has Alzheimer's.  What she remembers...her husband of many years.  It has me smiling and contemplating my life.

There are so many memories I love....that I didn't realized were going to mean so much when they happened.

If my kids ask me why I am wearing a black and orange HUGE jacket in my pictures of Caleb and I getting engaged, I will laugh.  He wanted me to wear his letterman's jacket so bad that day.  I almost think giving me his jacket was more important to him than the ring! :)

When we both had health issues and were tight on money, I prayed for enough money for a Christmas tree.  Little did I know we would be given a gift card and go buy a super small, not so pretty, fake Christmas tree.  But it was our first Christmas tree together.  And I love that!

Speaking of Christmas trees....I introduced Caleb to the old singer Evie this year!  He had never heard the Evie Christmas album "Come on Ring Those Bells"!!!  So as he laid down and slept after a football game one Sunday afternoon, as his knee was all messed up, I decorated the tree.  Sometimes I would realize he was awake and watching me though.  Special time.

I could go on and on....but I actually do have things to do today! ha!  But I am going about my day peaceful, with joy.  Because I know I have many memories that are being made as I go about.  First thing on my list...bring Caleb his lunch he forgot to bring to his work, before I head to the salon. I have a feeling it is a moment in the making... :)

Life with Caleb Barnes

Sometimes Caleb just cracks me up.  And other times he just melts my heart. :)

Since I began blogging to be a family journal, to archive our family happenings, I figured I would jot down some things so that I won't forget.  I am realizing it is the small things, all the little moments, that make up life.  Considering how many special moments I have in my life, I know I am one blessed lady.  Without a doubt.

Anybody that knows Caleb know that he wakes up smiling and singing, and goes to bed smiling and singing, and is smiling and singing everywhere inbetween.  :)  But the best is when he is truly unedited at home, and nobody else is around.  For instance, last night.  I finally have him flossing and rinsing with mouthwash.  So to make it more "fun" he started swishing the mouthwash to a beat in his mouth.  But that wasn't enough.  He walked into the other room and started dancing to that beat and got some major groove on....until he cracked himself up and almost spit the mouthwash all over the carpet!! :)  Oh, a day at at Barnes'... :)  Caleb keeps life light and keeps us laughing.

But the next minute he can just say something so endearing.  He really is a such a sensitive guy, as manly as he is on the exterior.  Just yesterday morning he told me the sweetest thing ever.  He said, "I just love you so much more every day.   Married life only gets better and better, even when you think it can't!  I thought I loved you so incredibly much the day I married you, but compared to now I don't even know if there is a comparison!"  I told that to my friend, Pam, and she (who has been married probably around 30 years) told me it only gets more and more like that throughout the years. :)  Its hard to believe.  But, wow, it makes me excited. And makes me so glad I waited for the best man for me. :)

And the best compliment he has given me recently..."You are such a good wife. I was thinking this morning that you are just like Peyton Manning." HAHAHAHA! I was like, "Thanks???"  He continued by saying, "You looked like a #1 draft pick when we were dating, but ended up being better than I even thought!" If you know my husband, this is the best compliment he could ever give me!

Thank you Jesus, for my husband.  And I pray we will be like Pam and her husband, and years from now look back at many, many years and are deeper and deeper in love. :)  I love Caleb Barnes.

A Perfect Morning

There aren't many things that can beat a quiet morning, when I can sit and read my Bible over a cup of hot, strong (but creamy) cup of coffee and fresh baked lemon poppyseed scones.  :)  Especially when I sent my husband to the store this morning to buy the stuff for the scones for me! haha!

This morning I am studying the book of James, for a small women's Bible study that I am leading next Saturday.  I am really excited about it....I love how no matter how many years go by, you can always learn (and re-learn) things as you open up God's Word.  The book of James is so practical, and has so many lessons to be learned. 

However, as I study this morning, I keep going to a verse Caleb read to me this morning in his reading.  So opposite of the "American Dream"...but, oh,so important....

Proverbs 30:7-9

"Two things I ask of you, O LORD;

do not refuse me before I die:

Keep falsehood and lies far from me;

give me neither poverty nor riches,

but give me only my daily bread.

Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you

and say, 'Who is the LORD?'

Or I may become poor and steal,

and so dishonor the name of my God."