Happy Wedding Day Jeanne!

 

Congratulations to my friend Jeanne and her husband Jon, who were married on Saturday, December 20th at Moody Church in Chicago. It was a beautiful wedding that glorified the Gospel and exalted Christ's name. We enjoyed this beautiful occassion!

O Christmas Tree!

We were able to upgrade our Christmas tree this year. Kim, my sister-in-law and Bev went out for early morning shopping the day after Thanksgiving, and were able to pick us up this pre-lit 6'5" tree for $25. It is not the fullest branched tree, but it looks pretty and is definately more STABLE than our old tree. I had a feeling this year that our son may get a little to curious, and our old tree may have come down. Let's just say I was glad when the old tree's stand was broken, and we "needed" to get a whole new tree!!!

Thanks for the old tree Mom (where did you get it anyway??), we have passed it along to another young couple - Debbie and Justin - for their first Christmas together next year. I did put up the Charlie Brown ornament you gave us to remind us of our humble beginnings!

Merry Christmas!

Looking for a GREAT Christmas Present?

I have been meaning to blog about one of my "favorites" found in Cade's library. We were given four volumes of Read Aloud Bible stories when Cade was born. He loves these stories from the Bible and I have found them to be very "on" Biblical. If you are looking for a great gift for your kids or to give away to some special children in your life, I recommend these books. We have probably been reading them for over a year now, so since Cade was one and a half. Cade is totally able to comprehend what is going on and can even tell the stories back to us. As a matter of fact, on Sunday when our Scripture reading was about Joseph being sold into slavery. Cade immediately repeated the speaker by saying "Joseph, brothers." He knew what was being read (though we did not appreciate him saying these things with his loud voice!!). Praise the Lord that our two year old has understand of God's Word. Now we must pray that Cade's heart will be penetrated by these words of Truth

Let it Snow!

We were greeted on the last day in November with a bunch of snow! I think that it caught us a bit off guard, but it was so fun to come home from church and be able to build a snowman. It was GREAT packing snow and building our snowman really took no time at all! The snow was coming down hard and as we took pictures our camera was getting very wet. We got a few pictures of our memorable moment.







Cade decided that we would name our snowman Jack. Yes, our pumpkin was named Jack too! I guess it is the name of each season's "mascot."









As Curtis and I were discussing our snowman we both had a hardtime remembering the last time we built a snowman. Curtis said that he remembered building a snowman in Oklahoma with his Grandma Mae when he was about 5 years old . . . just because he saw pictures. So Mom and Dad you will have to help me out with this one . . . any rememberances of snowman building? Yes, I do remember the sledding incident Mom!!

Thanksgiving!

This year Curtis and I decided that we would cook one of our Odell family turkies (we usually have 2 because our numbers are so big) for the Thanksgiving meal. We enjoy watching the Food Network and specifically Alton Brown on his show Good Eats. He shares the "science" of cooking and why you do what you do when mixing, baking, cooking, etc. food. I have found his insights and teachings to be very helpful for my own cooking, but also for tips for my Pampered Chef shows. So anyway . . . Alton had a special on fixing your Thanksgiving turkey. We followed many of his steps and the turkey turned out FABULOUS!!

















We first defrosted the turkey - of course! Then we made a brine that we soaked the turkey in for 12 hours. Now you may be asking what a brine is . . . well, it is basically a salt water solution with some other spieces in it. I would compare it to a marinade. After 12 hours in the cooler (orange cooler, above with Cade and Curtis) with the ice water and brine we took the turkey out and cooked him for approximately 3 hours. For the first half hour we cooked it at 475 in order to make the skin look pretty, but in the process it set off Curtis' Grandma's fire alarm. She was a bit nervous, but after turning down the temperature of the oven all was well! The turkey turned out so fabulous and delicious. I didn't get a final picture of the turkey before it was carved, but hopefully it looks good as Curtis is eating it!!



We also enjoyed a great time with family over the Thanksgiving weekend. Chuck, Kim and the kids came to Illinois from Kansas! What a great trek for just a few days - thanks for coming!!! Also at our meal was Aaron, Joy, and Allison (cousins), Uncle Ralph, Aunt Donna, cousin Lisa, and later in the day Andy, Danyelle, and Abree (cousins) came, as well! Grandma Mae was also able to come over from next door for a few hours!! We enjoyed many wonderful moments together!!

Christmas Is In The Air!

Princeton had their Christmas Walk downtown this weekend. Many of the downtown stores were having sales and were all decorated for the Christmas season. We didn't go shopping, but we did participate by taking a trolley ride! Grandma Bev and her friend's Vicki and Marty (Praise and Shine, their singing group) sang on the trolley throughout the day on Sunday. After we got home from church, got our meatloaf in the oven, we left Daddy and Pop to watch the Bearsfootball game, while we rode through town on the trolley (Cade called it, Bertie the Bus - a character from Thomas). Cade loved it. He was not excited to get off, and is ready for the NEXT trolley ride when it is avaliable for rides again.

Local Train Show

We were able to visit a toy train and tractor show at our local fair grounds this weekend. There were a number of vendors, most with items to sell, but there were about 4 or 5 acutal displays with running trains. Cade loved watching the trains and did a really good job of not touching them! One vendor had an Emily train, as well as a Gordan engine. Cade loved watching all of the trains.

In honor of Frank Lewis

Today our neighbor Frank passed away. About two months, Frank told us that he would be starting chemotherapy treatments for a few spots of lung cancer. He received 2 treatments, a week apart from each other. After the second treatment his body was rejecting the treatments. Frank could not keep anything down and lost his strenghth in a matter of a week. And now one week later we find ourselves on this awful day. Though our family has only known Frank and Melvina for the time we have lived in Princeton, we have enjoyed our friendship. They have been great neighbors to us, and continually watched out for us and cared for us. During the summer days/evenings we would talk many times throughout the day about family or what was going on in the neighborhood. I believe that Cade thinks that Frank and Melvina's yard is actually our yard too. And he has no hesitation to just walk in their house. :)

Cade really loved Frank. And I think that Frank really loved Cade. He called him, "my boy" and would bring him presents every so often. Frank always loved to watch Cade and see what he got into. Cade would go "raid" Frank's garage, finding nails, a hammer, water hose attachments, and more! Recently Frank gave Cade a hammer, along with a block of wood with nails attached to hammer in. Cade has worked hard to make the nails go down, but the head of the hammer is still a bit small. When Cade made it into their house, Frank would want to play with him. Frank and Melvina have a bunch of John Deere tractors and Cade loves to play with them. One day, Frank took Cade into his room and showed him his two flashlights. Almost every time after that enter their house, now, Cade goes and gets the flashlights. The last gift Frank gave Cade was the day before Frank left his house to never return (just last Thursday). Frank gave Cade a John Deere combine with a bean head. A week before Frank had found a combine, just it did not have a head on it. Frank was determined to get a head for the combine for Cade to use. Though Frank felt completely miserable he called over to our house to have Cade come get his gift.

In these two months that we have known about Frank's cancer, it has been our desire to share the Gospel forthright with Frank. Throughout our many conversations these last year we talk about our faith, but we had never shared salvation with Frank. Though I tried to tilt the conversation with Frank towards the Gospel, I never got the opportunity to lay it out for him. But Curtis did. Frank did not respond with repentence, but seemed to be confident that his "good works" would be enough for his entrance into heaven. And this has been the hardest part of this death for me to swallow. It is a permanent death in hell. Frank may have made a confession and I do not know, but how my heart is saddened and burdened by this.

As I have tried to share with Cade about this situation, I am confused. I have asked myself, "how much does he really understand?" We went and saw Frank in the hospital and talked about how sick he was. Two nights ago after we prayed I was talking with Cade about Frank. I told him that he was going to die and would not return home. I told him that we would never see him again and that Melvina would be sad for a long time. Cade responded with, "Be with Jesus in heaven?" My jaw dropped. How did he know? I was not willing to lie to Cade, so I told him that only God knew Frank's heart and that I did not know if Frank would be in heaven. It was so hard to say, but what an amazing thing.

Please pray for us as we minister to Melvina in these days to come and love her with Christ's love. Help us to share the Gospel with her.

This picture was taken on September 18, 2008.

Time with the Cousins!

Recently almost all of the Barker cousins were in Princeton for a little visit. We decided to grab some pizza and spend the evening at the church. The church was easily accessible for Grandma Mae to join us. And it also gave the kids plenty of room to play. Cade loves playing at the "Eagle gym," so he was delighted to spend the evening at church.

Anjee and her family unfortunately got sick when they came to Princeton, so they decided to head back to Chicago so that everyone else would stay well. Also, Kim and Danny, the youngest cousin, were unable to make the little visit, which is totally understandable because of the great distances they live.

Those in attendance were:
Ryan and Clarrisa, Brennen
Lisa
Andy and Danyelle, Abree, and baby!
Aaron and Joy, Allison
Curtis and Jessica, Cade
Uncle Ralph and Aunt Donna
Grandma Mae Barker

Enjoy some of our pictures from the evening together!

Over the Counter Medicine Warning

I received this through an email and I thought instead of emailing everyone, I would just post the message I received here on my blog. It is worth the few seconds to check it out and the website listed below.

I received this information from a friend whose mother recently passed away. Apparently, this was caused by a medication that is deadly. Here are the details, and I suggest you pass it on to your loved ones and others.

Subject: Phenylpropanolamine (PPA)

'I would like to thank those of you who expressed condolences on the recent passing of my mother. She suffered a hemorrhagic stroke while she was driving home from my house on July 30th and passed away on August 3rd. My mother's stroke and passing was an enormous shock to my family, because she did not have any symptoms or risk factors for a stroke. Just the week before she had gone to her doctor for a check up and received a clean bill of health.

She did, however, develop a cold while she was visiting me and had taken Alka Seltzer Cold Plus for 3 days. Since her passing, we have learned that Alka Seltzer is one of the many cold medicines that contains Phenylpropanolamine (PPA), which can cause hemorrhagic stokes or cerebral bleeding, even with the first use. I am forwarding a list of other medications that currently use PPA.. These medicines are supposedly being recalled but my mother just purchased this medication less than two weeks ago. Pharmaceutical companies have known about this danger for years, we unfortunately, did not.

I urge you to review the list of medicines with PPA and avoid these medications. All drugs containing PHENYLPROPANOLAMINE are dangerous. You may want to try calling the 800 number listed on most drug boxes and inquire about a REFUND. Please read this CAREFULLY. Also, please pass this on to everyone you know. STOP TAKING anything containing this ingredient.

It has been linked to increased hemorrhagic stroke (bleeding in brain) among women ages 18-49 in the three days after starting use of the medication. Problems were not found in men, but the FDA recommended that everyone (even children) seek alternative medicine.'

The following medications contain Phenylpropanolamine :-
1. Acutrim Diet Gum Appetite Suppressant
2. Acutrim Plus Dietary Supplements
3 Acutrim Maximum Strength Appetite Control
4. Alka-Seltzer Plus Children's Cold Medicine Effervescent
5. Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold medicine (Cherry or Orange )
6. Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold Medicine Original
7. Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold & Cough Medicine Effervescent
8. Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold & Flu Medicine
9. Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold & Sinus Effervescent
10. Alka Seltzer Plus Night-Time Cold Medicine
11. BC Allergy Sinus Cold Powder
12. BC Sinus Cold Powder
13. Comtrex Flu Therapy & Fever Relief
14. Day & Night Contac 12-Hour Cold Capsules
15. Contac 12 Hour Caplets
16. Coricidin D Cold, Flu & Sinus
17. Dexatrim Caffeine Free
18. Dexatrim Extended Duration
19. Dexatrim Gelcaps
20. Dexatrim Vitamin C/Caffeine Free
21. Dimetapp Cold & Allergy Chewable Tablets
22. Dimetapp Cold & Cough Liqui-Gels
23. Dimetapp DM Cold & Cough Elixir
24. Dimetapp Elixir
25. Dimetapp 4-Hour Liquid Gels
26. Dimetapp 4-Hour Tablets
27. Dimetapp 12-Hour Extentabs Tablets
28. Naldecon DX Pediatric Drops
29. Permathene Mega-16
30. Robitussin CF
31. Tavist-D 12-Hour Relief of Sinus & Nasal Congestion
32. Triaminic DM Cough Relief
33. Triaminic Expectorant Chest & Head
34. Triaminic Sy rup Co ld & ; Amp; Amp Allergy
35. Triaminic Triaminicol Cold & Cough

I just found out and called the 800# on the container for Triaminic and they informed me that they are voluntarily recalling the following medicines because of a certain ingredient that is causing strokes and seizures in children:
1 Orange 3D Cold & Allergy Cherry (Pink)
2. 3D Cold & Cough Berry
3. 3D Cough Relief Yellow 3D Expectorant
They are asking you to call them at 800-548-3708 with the lot number on the box so they can send you postage for you to send it back to them, and they will also issue you a refund. If you know of anyone else with small children, PLEASE PASS THIS ON. THIS IS SERIOUS STUFF!

DO PASS ALONG TO ALL ON YOUR MAILING LIST so people are informed. They can then pass it along to their families.

To confirm these findings, please take time to check the following:

http://www.fda. gov/cder/ drug/infopage/ ppa/

My Hunter and Gatherer is AWESOME!

Check out what Curtis did on Monday! I will fill you in with the story later!


So here is the story . . . . and let me tell you that Curtis telling this story is so much better than the justice I will give it!

Curtis decided to go hunting on Monday afternoon. When he arrived on our friend's property where he was going to park his truck, he saw a turkey approach him as he got out of his vechile. He decided to not move for a few minutes and just stay still hoping the turkey would turn around and not cause a loud noise. Well the turkey did not leave, so Curtis got his bow out and started walking towards his tree stand. When he had almost made it to the stand he turned around and the turkey was following him, but at this point it was not a slow walk; rather, the turkey was running/flying at him. As he kicked at the turkey and was spinning in circles trying to get the turkey away, he was also trying to load his bow. He finally got some sort of shot at the turkey and feathers went flying. The turkey was not killed and actually ran off, never to be seen the rest of the day.

So Curtis continued on his route to the tree stand and got himself up in the tree approximately 5 minutes later. And in no time (30 seconds) a deer comes right into his line of vision. Curtis got his arrow ready, pulled back the bow string with his release, and let it fly right into the neck of the deer. And the hunt was over! Yippee!!






















Isn't he amazing? I don't think I could cut open an animal. Meat coming our way!

Greenville Football!

Our good friends from Greenville were in Eureka for the last scheduled Greenville Football game. It was FREEZING, so we didn't get much play time for the kids. We were more worried about staying warm.

Our friends Mark, Lily, and Eli (1 month older than Cade) met us at the game. Cade and Eli enjoyed playing together. They enjoyed climbing the bleachers during the first quarter and practiced field goal kicking on the practice tee during the second quarter. At half-time we headed to the van to watch Findind Nemo. We ended watch the last 7 minutes of the game and then playing a bit on the field. Our toes were very cold! Enjoy a couple of pics.















Emily and Ella, family of coach Joel!!


















Cade playing after the game!!




















We got to go inside the Eureka sports complex after the game so we could shed a few layers and run! And yes, Cade did RUN!

We have wonderful friends and enjoyed our few moments together! Though we didn't get to talk much, we did get to see each other!! Precious Moments!

Riding Through Fall Leaves!

We had unusually warm weather last week (80 degrees) and I thought I would try to get some pictures of Cade playing in the leaves. I thought that he would just sit in the leaves and play, but he wanted to ride his trike through the leaves . . . so I took what I got!

BubbleShare: Share photos - Play some Online Games.



NOTE: Cade does not like the camera these days, so you will NOT see many smiles or even looking at the camera!

Trick or Treating!

We didn't think that the Trick or Treating thing would happen this year, but we finally got Cade into his costume and we were off. We did suffer a few tears and screams because of the trauma of being transformed into a snake/lizard (we couldn't decide what he was at the beginning of the night, but by the end he was a lizard), but after the second house we got the hang of saying "Trick or Treat," "Thank You," and "I am a Lizard," or "I am a snake." And, of course, he definately got the routine of grabbing the candy from the person's basket. He enjoyed carrying with him his flashlight, which I think that we have gone through 2 sets of AA batteries since last night. He also carried with him his new John Deere combine from our neighbor Frank, a treasure he received Halloween afternoon. The pumpking with the candy in it was too heavy and slowed him down when we were trying to walk, so Mom or Dad carried that!




















Cade has never been one to wear masks, hats, or costumes. I am not sure if he is scared or just uncertain what he looks like so he doesn't want to put anything on.















I am glad that we could overcome the fear of costumes for at least 1 hour last night. But of course this morning he would not be a lizard again!














We even went over to Grandma Bev and Pop's house, along with Nana's! Oh what fun! They were so proud of him for wearing the costume!!

Look at This . . . Can you believe it?

So . . . you heard about out squirrel problem. But can you believe that Cade and I left Jack outside for 1 1/2 hours and when we returned home this is what we found?




Yes, Jack's eyes and mouth GONE! We couldn't believe it! How could those silly squirrels do such a thing to Jack.




They (He or She, maybe) started to work on Cade's C, but didn't get as far.













And so to scare off the squirrels we put Cade's mask on Jack. And I would like to say that my ingenious idea worked . . . we left him out from Tuesday evening to Friday and the squirrels did NOT touch him. Cade enjoyed telling everyone what happened and why Jack was wearing a mask now! And on Halloween night we put a candle in him and he helped light our porch!

We hope that your pumpkins and Jack-O-Lanterns did not go through this same trama. Happy Halloween!

Our Pumpkins . . . Being Eaten!

This is what we woke up to on Sunday morning as we stepped out to go to church. Cade's little pumpkin was eaten! Yes . . . almost completely gone! We have some crazy squirrels in our neighborhood and one of them (or maybe more) ate Cade's pumpkin. A few days before I had noticed some teeth marks out of both of our pumpkins, but to wake up to one of the pumpkins eaten . . . CRAZY! When we got home from church, I showed Cade and laughed about it hoping that he would go with it. He looked at me very seriously and wimpered a bit, but today we could laugh about it. I think he has recovered.

To help the "recovery" process, I decided that we would make a Jack-O-Lantern with the large pumpkin we were given. So we started carving and making our creation after lunch. Cade really enjoyed it and I did too! It was a great activity to do together. Now we will hope that when Jack is outside that he doesn't get eaten too badly. Any ideas of what we should spray on the pumpkin to keep those squirrels away?








We scooped out all of the "guts" of the pumpkin. Cade did not like touching the guts, so mommy got that job!








We then used The Pampered Chef Corer to make the eyes, mouth, ears, and C on the back of his "head". We had to use the hammer to pound the Corer through the tough pumpkin. What fun!!







Cade enjoys taking Jack's "hat" on and off!

Daddy's First Trip on the Train!

Daddy left for Kansas yesterday evening to go to a funeral for a friend from our old church. Our friend, Steve, had a heart attack last Thursday and dropped dead while running. What a shock for everyone. Though everyone knew that heart attacks were common in his family, it was still a shock. Praise the Lord that Steve is dancing in heaven with his Savior Jesus. Join our family in prayer for his wife, Janet, and children Hannah and Scott.



Cade and I waited with Daddy at the train station before he set out on his 12 hour journey on the train!


It was very windy and cold out, but that did not stop Cade from running around and having fun at the depot.



We love you Daddy and we are glad that you had a safe trip to Kansas! Looking forward to seeing to very soon! We love you.

Family Wedding!

To end our time with Grandpa and Grandma, and Grandma Sparks we went to Iowa to my cousin Ryan's wedding. He and Molly were married on Saturday in a small wedding. Only the immediate family was at the wedding, but the rest of us were invited to the small reception at my cousin Joan's house (Ryan's sister). Cade enjoyed being out in the country and playing with his cousins! He didn't even take time to eat the delicous food at the reception.



Checking out the farm country with Daddy! We saw a few cows down the road.



Grandpa Bill pushing Cade on the swing with cousin James nearby!



Uncle Jeremy, Grandpa Bill, and Curtis! Manly love standing so close together!



Thanks for coming Grandma. We love you!