From Russia with Love

Playa Del Carmen, Mexico

2009-07-18T12:40:00.000-07:00

Yulia went to church camp the week of July 12 and we headed to Playa del Car for a quick get a way. Here's Paul Barry on a snorkel trip we took.

At the end of our boat trip, they wanted everybody to ride the spinnaker.

There wasn't enough wind to get Paul Barry or anybody else out of the water.

CHITTY CHITTY BANG-BANG

2009-07-08T17:55:00.001-07:00

Getting a motorcycle did nothing but wet Paul Barry's appetite for the wild side.

He went up with a friend in an experimental aircraft. Said it was a lovely view of western Missouri and I-70.

Lake Eufaula

2009-07-04T16:20:00.001-07:00

We went to Lake Eufaula in Oklahoma to visit some friends. Joe and Kris Powell are trying to rent a lake house every year so everyone can get together. We had a blast.

Karen wake boarding.

Paul Barry water skiing.

We rented this pontoon boat for quite the cheap price. We were told it was in "pristine condition ." Note the torn upholstery.

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-26T08:07:00.001-07:00

After saying "NO" a bazillion times, here's Paul Barry's new Honda Shadow.

BARRY'S AT SCHLITTERBAUN

2009-06-26T07:56:00.000-07:00

One place we've really missed since moving to Missouri is Schlitterbaun in New Braunfels. So, we decided to fly in for a couple of days and it turned out to be a Barry Reunion.

Aunt Teesie and Gracie.

Yulia's 12th Birthday

2009-06-14T11:31:00.001-07:00

Paul Barry working hard at the party.

ZOO

2009-06-14T11:15:00.001-07:00

Aunt Debbie flew in to celebrate Yulia's 12th birthday. We visited the zoo early in the weekend.

The weather was nice so a lot of the animals were out.

Lake with The McNees

2009-06-02T18:43:00.000-07:00

Clap Out

2009-06-02T18:31:00.000-07:00

Yulia's school does a "Clap Out" for 5th graders. On the last day of school, all the students up through 4th grade line the halls and clap for the graduating 5th graders. Yulia's at about 26 seconds, in a yellow shirt.

Last Week of School

2009-06-02T18:23:00.000-07:00

5th grade graduation

THE KIWIS

2009-05-17T10:48:00.001-07:00

Yulia's volleyball team finished out it's season. All of the girls got really good.

Paul signed up to be assistant coach, but was promoted to head coach when no one else stepped up. He had a good time and all of the girls plan on being together again in the fall with him as coach!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

2009-05-10T18:56:00.001-07:00

Beautiful flowers from Colyns. Yes, that's Colyns.
Saturday, we visited the Art's Festival. Beautiful weather. Eye see you!

From Jon and Yulia.

EASTER 2009

2009-04-12T18:28:00.001-07:00

Colyn and her boyfriend flew in for Easter. We ate our Easter dinner at Kitty's dining room table. This is the first time we've used the table since bringing it up Missouri after Christmas.

Paul got 4 great tickets to the Cardinals game Saturday. We were there when Pujols hit his grand slam. Very exciting!!

Of course, all visitors want to go to the brewery. Here's the BudLight headed to Paul Barry's house.

THE FIGHTING KIWIS!

2009-03-28T13:18:00.000-07:00

Paul Barry signed up to be an assistant coach on Yulia's volleyball team and somehow turned up being the head coach.

The fighting Kiwi's squeezed out 2/3 games over their opponents, the Grapefruit!

Happy Birthday flowers from my Sis. There are also six balloons attached at the top.

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS

2009-03-26T16:19:00.001-07:00

We took a quick spring break trip to Southern Illinois. We stayed at a cabin in Cobden, Illinois. About 3 hours from Wentzville. Yulia got to ride a horse for the first time and loved it!

On the front porch of our cabin.

We were pleased to learn that our cabin was in the middle of the Shawnee Wine Trail. Yee-haw! We visited about 6 different wineries.

These pictures were taken at Natural Bridge. Very cool, although Kozmo was a bit winded after the hike.

CRUISIN'

2009-03-03T18:10:00.000-08:00

We cruised the Caribbean with Paul's cousins, his sister and her husband. Had a great time!

The girls. Paul's cousins on both ends. Paul's sister, Lynne, beside me.

SPORT O' THE MONTH

2009-02-15T18:48:00.001-08:00

We spent Valentine's Day at Yulia's double header basketball games.

She's playing with the YMCA's 5th and 6th grade girls and seems to be enjoying basketball more than other sports she's tried. She and Paul have been working on dribbling and she finally put her practice into play Saturday. It was an exciting time. The ball rebounded to her and she had an open court and was forced to dribble. She did pretty well! Actually took a shot in the second game!

We lost both games with exciting scores of 10-30 and 12-14. Yes, we were on the edges of our seats.

Always at the ready!

If we could only teach her not to play defense when she's on offense and offense when she's on defense.

Thought I turned this picture sideways. Oh, well.

Houston Aunts

2009-02-10T19:37:00.000-08:00

Debbie and I flew to Houston for a quick visit with my mother's two sisters and families.

Cousin David, sporting his AARP card! I've a few more years to go before I'm eligible for this prestigious honor.

Aunt Fanny

Aunt Mary

SPEECH QUEENS UNITE IN MISSOURI!

2009-02-02T14:15:00.000-08:00

Fellow speech queen, Marlene Bedeiree, and her lovely daughter Sarah flew in to visit over the weekend. We had a great time!

Here we are going up in a pod at the St. Louis Arch.
No trip here would be complete without a visit to the wineries.
We were in the stonehouse at the winery and this sign said, "Do not touch fireplace." So, of course, Paul Barry set her up on the mantle of the fireplace, while holding the sign. Very important to follow the rules, you know.

SNOW EVERYWHERE!

2009-02-02T13:54:00.000-08:00

Uncle Chuck in Lake Tahoe
Uncle James
Never fails. When Paul Barry goes skiing, we get snow or ice(wherever we're living.) While he was in Lake Tahoe, we got 4-6 inches in Missouri. Yulia was out of school 2 days

Brrrrrrrrrrrr

2009-01-16T20:25:00.000-08:00

For those of you who follow our blog, you'll remember I was appalled when my car temperature gauge read 7 degrees last year.

Imagine our amazement(and cold, shivering shock) when we reached the lowest temperature in 6 years this morning. MINUS ONE. That's the official reading, but the thermometer on our deck read minus 4.

Yes, it is too cold for humans here. So cold in fact, that we opted to eat frozen pizza tonight as opposed to going out for Mexican food. You know it's cold when we stay in for frozen pizza.

So, we don't want to hear from anyone how cold it is in Texas. Once you hit zero and below, let us know. As for my friend, Cuestas, who's in NY, you win the prize my friend!

U-What????

2009-01-03T19:05:00.001-08:00

In our never-ending efforts to increase Yulia's vocabulary, we introduced her to the word "U-Haul" on the way from Texas back to Missouri.

If you had told me I would be riding in, much less driving a U-Haul 12 hours from Texas to Missouri, I would have laughed in your face. But since I've married Paul Barry I've done a lot of things I never thought I would do.

So, we need to get some of Kitty's furniture to our Missouri abode. What better way than a U Haul??? Karen, "But, my love, don't they pay people to do those kinds of things?" Paul Barry, "Oh, my love, it will be an adventure." And it certainly was. We hit a small animal of some type only five minutes into the trip. I asked PB what is was and he simply responded, "Oh, probably a cat." We just kept on rolling. Yulia was amazed that there was no CD player, no electric locks and most importantly, a 4 foot jump-seat on which to place her buttocks. I was amazed that there was no cruise control! Even more amazed that the 16 foot tank wouldn't stop on a dime when I took a hard U-turn while exiting the freeway for a Sonic. I quickly learned the U-Haul WAS equipped with anti-lock brakes and received a quick lecture on safe driving of said vehicle.

A positive side of the road trip adventure was seeing the Christies, our great friends from Oklahomo City. Yes, you read that right.

Yulia showing her envious friends our "ride."

Anna

Katie. Not sure why I didn't get a picture of precious Ben, the baby.

We had a wonderful Christmas seeing our families, but it's great to be home. Yes, we really feel like Missouri is home now! Yulia was ready to get home to her "big" bed, her dog and her Wii.

Welcome 2009

2009-01-03T18:58:00.001-08:00

Happy New Years at Joe Ts. Gotta love it.

And they said it wouldn't last.....

2009-01-03T18:39:00.000-08:00

Debbie and Larry celebrated two years of marital bliss Dec. 30 and my sister wanted to celebrate with a rousing game of bowling with family. (Apparently living in Celina has done this to her.) It was hilarious.

Big Sis showing Yulia the "bowling" ropes.

This picture was taken only minutes before Britney became the first person I've ever seen throw a 7 pound bowling ball 3 lanes over to the left. That hot pink ball was airborne. Luckily, no one was injured and no, Britney did not get a spare. This picture was also taken only minutes before Colyn realized the lens was dirty on our camera. Wow, what a difference.

Really, Mr. Bowling Lane Manager, my sister doesn't drink. She doesn't touch the stuff.

BARRY CHRISTMAS

2009-01-03T18:26:00.000-08:00

After the Burnette Christmas, it was on to the Barry's. This will probably be the last year we celebrate at Kitty's house.

New jammies from Uncle Chuck and Aunt Mary.(With matching slippers, I might add.)

(Please turn head sideways to view this photo) Colyn actually baked these pies from scratch. (Unheard of) Made jewelry and scarves as gifts. I can't understand why everyone laughs when I say that she inherited her domestic goddess skills from me! (And her computer skills as well.)

Mr. and Mrs. Jon Barry(still very weird to type that)

BURNETTE CHRISTMAS

2009-01-03T18:08:00.000-08:00

Paul Barry decided that we would spend our Christmas mornings at home, in Missouri. I must admit I really enjoyed lounging around our house Christmas morning and not getting out of our pj's all day. Yulia played with her new Wii and Paul with his new I-Pod Touch.

But, the first thing Friday morning, we were on a plane to TEXAS!!!

Kevin and his girls! Courtney's 14 now. Julie graduated LSU and starts a new job after the first of the year.

Debbie and Larry's kids Troy(the one many of you have been voting for) and Britney(Josh is the beau.)

Note the Sonic cups, front and center!

TIS THE SEASON

2008-12-14T13:16:00.000-08:00

One of our friends in the manger.

Yulia and Paul as "Mary and Joseph" at our church's drive through living nativity. We lucked out with the weather this year. Temperatures were in the 40s and 50s.

Making Turtles! A Barry tradition.

Karen's Dedication

2008-12-11T18:27:00.000-08:00

I don't normally talk about my personal weight loss, but I must toot my own horn! I've now lost 20 pounds on Weight Watchers!!!!!!! I've been a WW member at least 10 times(I'm not exaggerating) and this is the first time I've actually received the key chain. Very big news for fellow WWers. PP, I owe you, babe. You're my inspiration.

DEDICATION

2008-12-11T17:54:00.001-08:00

When Debbie, Kevin and I were babies, we were all dedicated at church. Our parents were promising to raise their children in the church and as Christians until we were old enough to commit ourselves to baptism.

Dedication is what our Missouri church practices. Every year they hold a baby dedication. There has never been any dedication for parents who adopt older children. Well, we have a new children's minister and he and his wife are considering adoption, so we were allowed to participate in the ceremony this year. In fact, there were 3 adoption dedications this year! It was a special day for us. Since we have no family close by we asked our small group to be our "family." We all sat together. One couple was present for the dedication of their grandson. Another for their new born baby. And another agreed to come up on stage with us for the dedication. We're so blessed to have such close church friends.

Yulia has been talking about baptism a lot since Kitty died. She wants to make sure she's baptized so she can be with Kitty in Heaven one day. It's very sweet but we want to make sure she knows exactly what she's committing to. Our kids minister will be starting Baptism Class 101 after the first of the year.

On a less serious note, the day was quite the social event for Yulia. She got to wear her fancy Christmas dress, go up on stage and wave to the crowd when her name was announced and everyone was calling her a princess(because of her dress.) After the dedication she told me, "Mom, everyone knows me and everyone loves me." Gotta love the self-esteem.

GINGERBREAD HOUSE

2008-12-04T19:27:00.001-08:00

After a FABULOUS Thanksgiving, Colyn was able to stay until late Sunday. That gave her and Yulia a chance to make a gingerbread house.

Not sure how long the house is going to make it. Yulia's been ready to eat it since Colyn got on the airplane to go back to Texas.

FABULOUS TURKEY DAY

2008-12-03T13:54:00.001-08:00

As many of you know, my FABULOUS blog is a bit febrile at this time. I can post pictures and comments, but not in the correct order. Perhaps I need to consult the FABULOUS Summer Mittig to correct this faux pas.

But, for now, just figure out the pictures for yourself:
-FABULOUS pool table in the now FABULOUSLY finished Barry Basement.
-FABULOUS family time
-Barry deck in FABULOUS fall with the fellas drinking frosty brews
-FABULOUS nephew Mike looking at the FABULOUSLY smoked bird.

We did have a great time. 12 Barry-Burnettes gave us a chance to try the FABULOUS new basements. Also, Fun, FABULOUS, family tours of the wineries, brewery, arch, casinos(where much money was frivously forked over) and the darkened former abode of Scott Joplin.

One bummer to the weekend. OU SUX beating OSU. Yes, makes perfect sense that two of the teams TEXAS beat are now vying for the Big 12. Alas. Woe is me.

BYE, BYE TWO-DOLLAR DRINKS

2008-11-23T20:47:00.000-08:00

As you'll remember, when we moved to lovely Wentzville, Missouri, I was quite excited to know there was a Sonic Drive-In.

I quickly realized that the Wentzville Sonic was not up to par, in fact, had numerous discussions with the management and the corporate offices regarding their poor service. At one point, Paul Barry suggested I become a Sonic consultant since I was spending so much time complaining and offering my unsolicited suggestions for service which is supposed to be "at the speed of sound." I must say I considered that possibility, but finally decided I'd just rather bitch to anyone who would listen. When I realized I had no one's ear, I just threw in the towel and decided I would continue paying $2.00 for my diet coke with lime(extra ice) please and keep my mouth closed.(Or attempt to keep my mouth closed).

Imagine my surprise one day last week when I was stopped at the Sonic entrance by yellow "crime scene" tape. Seems the sucky Sonic has ceased to serve the city. I was very upset about the closing, as you can imagine. In fact, Yulia is getting very tired of my constant complaints about no "nearby" Sonic for our daily needs. It's really quite stressful. I told Paul Barry we might have to move back to Texas, where properly-run Sonics are a plenty. He reminded me that Yulia and I both can get a fountain drink(with Sonic ice) at the U-Gas right down the street....two U-Gas drinks for the price of one Sonic drink. There are just some things he'll never understand. For instance, the drinks aren't the same. And, you can't wear your pajamas to U-Gas because you have to go inside the store. And, you have to put on a bra. Never know who you're gonna run into at the Wentzville U-Gas. Bother.

So, for all the Burnette-Barrys heading this way for Thanksgiving, consider yourselves warned. It's either the U-Gas or driving 10 minutes either way for another properly mixed beverage. Yulia and I observe a moment of silence every time we drive by the defunct drive-in. We're planning a family drive by right after lunch Thanksgiving. Please wear your red Sonic-like attire.

Basement Update

2008-11-16T15:24:00.000-08:00

Well, the countdown's on for Thanksgiving. With only a week and a half, Paul and Justin put down tile yesterday and today, hung doors and trimming. The painter has already primed the walls. He'll be back Monday to paint for real. The carpet gets laid Friday and Saturday and the toilet and sink placed Monday. Our new bed for the basement comes Monday morning with the first of our guests arriving Tuesday afternoon. Very festive!

Here are some pictures of basement work today. I was banned to upstairs because I "asked too many questions" and couldn't "be an Indian." Poor Yulia. I'll have to teach her those tricks so she doesn't get stuck on anymore scrubbing tile chores.

A Magical Time

2008-11-03T18:05:00.000-08:00

Yulia and Friends

2008-11-03T16:53:00.001-08:00

High School Musical at Disney

2008-11-03T16:26:00.000-08:00

Dinner at Cinderella's Castle

2008-11-03T15:06:00.001-08:00

Mr. and Mrs. Jon Barry

2008-10-27T16:24:00.000-07:00

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3

2008-10-25T17:08:00.000-07:00

It's been a very busy week:

1. Yulia's fall party Friday. Must say, I was excellent Head Room Mother. It's because I'm so artsy-craftsy, you know. Didn't even have to call Cuestas for ideas this year.
2. Jon's wedding Sunday.
3. Disney World on Thursday.
4. But, nothing can compare to the opening of HSM 3. Of course, we had to buy the CD ahead of time so we'd "know all the songs." Of course, when I tried to sing along, I was shhhhhed.

Yulia was up at 6:15 this morning, dressed and ready to go. I asked her why she was up so early because the movie wasn't until 11:00. "Mom, I have to get dressed and do my hair. And, we need to take my picture(with and without sunshades). And, I'm taking my brush in my purse in case my hair gets messy during the movie."

Wow, she must have been disappointed when I walked out of the bathroom with my hair up in a pony tail, no makeup and my Longhorn Happy Halloween shirt.

BARRY BASEMENT UPDATE

2008-10-25T16:44:00.000-07:00

Something's wrong with my blog site and all this garbledy-goop comes up when I download pictures and I can't type anywhere but right here, underneath the pictures. Oh well. I'm in a hurry. It has something to do with the Edit Html I think.

With quite a large number of Barry/Burnette family members coming for Thanksgiving, we've had to put finishing of the basement on the fast track. Justin, our old neighbor, is in the middle in the picture. He's done most of the work, although Paul Barry has hit a few nails of his own(that's not just thumbnails, although there have been a few of those!) The extra rooms and bath will come in handy for Turkey Day.

The St. Louis Rams have only won 2 games this season and the second was against the Dallas Cowboys. And, yes, we were there. Lovely. We had been told about 25% of the crowd would be Cowboy fans. It was more like 65-70%. There were Tony Romo jerseys everywhere, but it didn't help us any. Oh well, at least we have the TEXAS LONGHORNS TO CHEER FOR. HOOK 'EM!!!!!!!!

FABULOUS FRIDAY STUDENT

2008-10-18T10:39:00.000-07:00

So, I'm leaving Wally World Friday and there is a message on my cell phone, "Hello, Mrs. Barry. This is the vice-principal at Peine Ridge Elementary and I have Yulia in the office." My heart drops. What has she done?

Well, we were excited to learn that Yulia was selected by her peers to be the Fabulous Friday Student for the whole school!!!

"Yulia was nominated for Fabulous Friday because of her outstanding good sportsmanship she shows in P.E. Her peers say she is friendly and always willing to help. We are so glad to have Yulia in our classroom."

FALL FOILAGE

2008-10-12T13:37:00.000-07:00

Realize we haven't posted in a long time. Haven't taken many pictures lately, so I stepped onto the back deck. We're hearing this is going to be a great month for fall foilage.

Barry news:

1. TEXAS LONGHORNS #1!!!!!!! Paul and I got a baby sitter yesterday(Saturday) and went to join the St. Louis Texas Exes in watching the LONGHORNS DEMOLISH ou SUX at a local sports bar!!! It was so awesome. It was also great to be in a sea of orange once again. It was very comforting. They even had the UT fight song that was played after each score. Very exciting!
2. We're enjoying watching the Dallas Cowboys as well. They'll play the lowly St. Louis Rams this coming Sunday and we have tickets. Look for Paul in his Tony Romo jersey.
3. Paul has been busy trying to get the basement finished. They're currently putting on sheetrock so it won't be long before we're finished. We're kinda on a rush here because we're hosting Thanksgiving here in St. Louey this year.
4. Yulia continues to do well, especially socially. She has made several new friends who live in the neighborhood. We are in the process of finding her a math tutor that can work with her a couple of days a week.
5. Karen is contemplating a job change. Probably still with RehabCare. Will keep you posted.
6. My big Sis has a birthday tomorrow, October 13. The Burnette's are celebrating in Celina today. Makes me sad that I'm not there;(, But, I'll get to see her when we're in Texas for Jon's wedding.
7. Yes, Jon is getting married October 25th. Very exciting.
8. Of course, that's also the weekend that High School Musical:3 opens. Very, very exciting.
9. And, we're traveling to Disney World in late October for Yulia's spring break. Very, very, very exciting. I think we're more excited that her. She's afraid we're going to make her ride roller coasters. She has no idea what fun she's in for.

AUNT DEBBIE VISITS!

2008-09-29T15:49:00.001-07:00

Debbie flew in to visit this past weekend. Since the weather was so beautiful, we went back to Grant's Farm.

NEW BIKE!!!!

2008-09-22T18:47:00.000-07:00

For those of you who've followed our blog for sometime, when Yulia arrived from Russia she couldn't ride a bike. We spent $25 for a "junker" on which she could learn. Well, that junker ended up costing us more than $100 by the time we added two sets of training wheels, new tires, etc.

Yulia recently learned how to ride without training wheels. We've been talking about getting a new bike.

Well, SHE WON A BIKE AT THE CHURCH PICNIC SUNDAY NIGHT. Very exciting!!!! And, it's the perfect Longhorn orange color.

Here she is in the driveway with one of her friends from school.

Lake Pictures from July

2008-09-22T16:38:00.001-07:00

When I went to a girl's weekend in Texas back in July, Paul and Yulia met friends at Beaver's Lake in Arkansas for some fun in the sun. We just recently got the pictures back.

Here's Yulia with Joe and Kris' daughter.

Yulia isn't sure she likes tubing. This was her first time ever in a lake, in a ski boat and in an intertube.

Yulia and Dad chillin'.

Pablo skiing.

Look how beautiful Arkansas is!!!

ONE YEAR!!!!

2008-09-06T19:58:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe, but it's been one year since the Lord blessed our family with Yulia Nicole Barry! Saturday, September 6th, was the one year anniversary of our courtdate. She officially became a U.S. Citizen September 20th when the plane touched down in Chicago, but we decided we'd pick one date and stick with it.

First visit to Russia, August 2006.

Second trip to Russia, September 2007.

September 2008, with our friend "Bud", the Clydesdale.

July 2008 with Jon and his fiancee, Ashley.

With Big Sis, Colyn, in June 2008.

Yulia will never realize how much prayer and heartache went into the two years of trying to get her here. It's amazing how quickly she's picking up on Americanisms. She told me today she wants Rock Star for Christmas, along with a Nintendo Game Boy. She's riding the bus everyday and is doing well in the 5th grade.

Her comprehension is about 80%. We are going to Disney World in October. We went to Disney on Ice today for the one year celebration. On the way to today's performance, she asked me if there were going to be roller coasters there.(At Disney on Ice) I told her no, there would be ice skating. She said, "But Mom, I can't ice skate." The fun never ends.

GRANT'S FARM - Part 1

2008-08-30T19:10:00.001-07:00

It was a gorgeous day here in St. Louey today, with highs in the 80s. So, we headed out to Grant's Farm, owned by Anheiser Busch(like everything else in the city. Word is all the free stuff will be closing down now that AB has been bought out, so we thought we best take advantage.

The day starts with a tram ride through the farm. It is beautiful land. This is where they film many of the Bud commercials with the Clydesdales. Grant received this land as a wedding gift before he was president and later sold it to the Busch family.

We had heard this place was better than the zoo. You can get really close to the animals.

Later in the day, we saw these turtles mating! That was a sight. We have pictures if anyone's interested.

They have 3 bald eagles. They are unable to fly anymore and are kept here for safety.

Dad(yes, we've gone from Pop to Dad) told Yulia not to get too close to the camels or they might spit on her.

GRANT'S FARM - The Clydesdales

2008-08-30T18:55:00.001-07:00

The second part of the day we crossed the parking lot to where they keep the Clydesdales. This is the facility where they're' actually bred and trained. Horses here range in age from 3-12 years.

We've seen the Clydesdales at the Budweiser Brewery in downtown St. Louis before, but never up so close.

These horses loved being petted. Even looked like they were posing for pictures!

Yulia's not afraid of horses, like her Mom!

Have a great Labor Day!

Arturo Visits!

2008-08-24T17:59:00.001-07:00

We had a wonderful surprise this weekend. Arturo C. came by for a visit.

The C. Family is relocating to the Rochester area and he was driving the family van up north before they all make the flight next weekend.

We only had about 12 hours with him, but were able to introduce him to some Missouri wines and fruit pies. Yum!

Yulia has been back to school since August 13 so we're officially into the swing of things. Hope everyone's having a great fall!

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

2008-08-13T15:49:00.001-07:00

Back to school Wednesday for Ms. Yulia. She'll be repeating the 5th grade at a new school. This is the school she should have attended last year, but didn't because of a clerical error.

We're not complaining, though. Last year's teacher was awesome!.

Yulia and our neighbor waiting for the first-ever bus ride!!

Yulia could not believe I was actually taking a picture of her boarding the bus. She refused to face the camera and smile.

Before Paul's Mom died, we went to the St. Louis Children's Science Center.

I thought I had posted these pictures, but never did.

This was so cool. A lasar harp! We both had a
good time playing it.

Hope everyone's doing well. The weather's great here. Lows in the upper 50s-lower 60s. Today's high was 82. Very nice.

Are we the only ones, or are the Olympics killing you guys? We're really enjoying the games and can't go to sleep for watching. Oh well, just a few more days. Go USA!!!

BLESSINGS

2008-08-05T18:58:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, Paul's mom, Kitty died July 26th. The services were held in Texas. For those of you who've been through the death of a parent, it's very hard. But, there are always blessings.

It was awesome to see how Kitty's six children came together. The family spent several days sitting around the house, visiting and reminiscing about the old days. What a blessing to have such great memories!

We got a chance to spend a lot of time with Paul's sister and brother in law from California. We had a wonderful time visiting with them. Yulia had never met either one of them. It was also a great chance to visit with all of Kitty's grandchildren(our nieces and nephews).

Although it was hard to say goodbye to Kitty, she had been suffering so since her hospital admission in early June. She had been struggling with her breathing and just seemed to feel miserable. Several days before she died she told one of her children, "I don't know why I'm fighting this so hard. I know where I'm going when I die. I'll get to see Hank(her husband) and all my other family when I get to Heaven." What a wonderful blessing and legacy to leave for one's children.

Lake

2008-08-05T18:55:00.001-07:00

On the way back from Texas, we stopped in Oklahoma to visit with my sister's family at the lake.

Here's Skipper Pablo!

Debbie's stepson Troy in the middle, with his girlfriend.

Yulia with Aunt Debbie's dogs.

INTERESTING

2008-07-21T20:32:00.001-07:00

I know many who read this blog are either planning an adoption, in the process of adoption or have adopted. I've been reading a really interesting book, "The Mistress's Daughter" by A.M. Homes. This quote hit me in the stomach,

"To be adopted is to be adapted, to be amputated and sewn back together again. Whether or not you regain full function, there will always be scar tissue." (page 54)

DEFINITIONS

2008-07-21T20:20:00.000-07:00

1. Bib - Any one of various liquids for drinking, USUALLY EXCLUDING WATER.
2. Bibacious - Food of drinking; addicted to drinking.
3. Bibacity - The practice or habit of drinking too much; tippling.
4. Bibber - A steady drinkiner.
5. Bibbery - Someone who regularly drinks alcoholic beverages.

Every year, a group of 6 Kangaroo Kuties(friends from high school) meets for a "girl's weekend". Suffice it to say that there was some bibacity going on in San Antonio this weekend. Also, lots of eating, laughing and talking. Not a whole lot of sleeping. Minimal amounts of car lifting, play watching and baton twirling. We had a great time. It's amazing how talk has changed in the almost 20 years since we've walked the graduation stage. Talk has changed from boys, colleges and future plans. We're now encumbered by perimenopause, kids, parents, long term care and gas prices. No wonder we can all be considered bibbers who engage in bibbery.

While Mom was away, Pop and Yulia headed to Arkansas for a ski weekend with friends. They had a fun time. Yulia's first time on a tube. Sorry to say pictures are not available at this time.

We're on the road again this weekend. Headed back to Arkansas for a family weekend.

Love to all,

The Bibacious Barrys

Jon and Ashley Visit St. Louis

2008-07-13T14:07:00.000-07:00

Jon and his girlfriend, Ashley, have never been to visit us in St. Louis so they made the drive this weekend. We had a great time!

We had a blast playing the game "Rock Band" or "Rock Star." I can't remember the name, but it has a karaoke mike, a guitar and drums. Needless to say, we were up late jamming.

We took a tour of the Budweiser brewery. This is Anheiser Busch world headquarters for now. Of course there's a lot of talk about the buyout. Paul had never been on the tour, so this visit was a great excuse for him. We're afraid the free tour will end with a buyout.

For those of you who know Paul well, he is quite the Bud fan. He told us he wants to be cremated and his ashes strewn over this facility when he dies.

Family of beers. Need I say more? This is the perfect picture!

Jon and Ashley walking to the arch. Ashley had never been up in the arch, so they took the tram up.

Jon remembers when we visited the arch on a family vacation when he was about 11 or 12. He actually remembered some of what he'd learned about the arch on that trip, so we were very impressed.

CHICAGO, CHICAGO

2008-07-06T18:26:00.001-07:00

For our vacation this year, we had planned to take a "Mid American Tour", Paul Barry style, but since Kitty's still in the hospital we spent the week in Texas. It was a wonderful time. We loved spending time with her and it was so good to see her. She's hanging in there but needs everyone's prayers. She's having a tough time of it.

Before our change in plans, we'd already bought tickets to tour Wrigley Field. So, we made a quick trip to Chicago before heading south to Texas.
The Cubs' locker room.

We also visited the Navy Pier area, near downtown. We took a quick tour by boat and learned some history of the town. We're going to revisit the Windy City when we have more time.

A visit to the Hershey store. Yum!!!

In true Barry form, we took lots of pictures, so see parts two and three of our trip below.

FAMILY

2008-07-06T18:14:00.000-07:00

Colyn was in Missouri for Father's Day, but it's been a while since we've seen Jon. Here they are lounging on Kitty's back porch.

Yulia had never climbed a tree before. She was amazed that both Colyn and Jon just jumped into the tree with no problem. This is a tree that the kids(C and J) say they used to plow down while playing football in Kitty's back yard when they were kids.

Yulia and Uncle Kevin. Note the chips and salsa she's eating!

Kevin's daughters Julie and Courtney. Julie just graduated from LSU. Courtney's going into the 8th grade.

FRIENDS

2008-07-06T18:03:00.001-07:00

The Cuestas boys, Jonah and Noah. Can you believe they're 6 now????

Yulia and Cuestas.

On our way from Chicago to Texas, we stopped to meet the newest Christie, Benjamin Charles. Katie's on the left. Anna's on the right.

Uncle Paul with the girls!

Christie and girls!

Now that vacation's over, it's back to work and school Yulia has been going to summer school ESL 4 days a week. Everyone that got to see her can't believe how her English is coming along!!

Yulia Turns 11!!!!

2008-06-16T19:10:00.000-07:00

We knew Yulia's 11th birthday was going to be a big day when she came downstairs in her party dress. Appears the rest of us were all under dressed in our shorts and t-shirts.

Colyn gave Yulia a proper party doo.

Early in the day, opening family presents. She wanted a suitcase so she can go to Texas and visit her "family."

Yulia and Gracie, Albert and Thresa's daughter.

She had been wanting a basketball goal for quite some time. She's hoping to get a role in the upcoming "High School Musical 3".

Her first ever American birthday can't be captured in one blog. Please see Parts 2-4 below!

Part 2

2008-06-16T19:00:00.000-07:00

The theme was High School Musical!

On the right are two of Yulia's friends from school. They were very good about telling her what she needed to do at the party. Like blowing out the candles and getting the first piece of cake.

Couldn't have done without my Sis. Here she is helping with cake service.

Part 3

2008-06-16T18:48:00.001-07:00

For all of you who know us well, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the party wasn't complete without this giant slip and slide.

The slide wasn't quite "fast" enough, so it was quickly deflated and moved to a bigger hill.

The kids seemed to enjoy going up the slide more than down at times.

Yulia on the slide.
No sliding event would be complete without a Kozmo slide. Once the party ended, we really had a good time on the slide with just the adults.

Part 4

2008-06-16T18:37:00.000-07:00

Birthday weekend ended with a visit to the St. Louis arch.

Yulia and Gracie are holding hands as they ride to the top of the arch. Yulia had been to the arch, but never up inside. Gracie and Albert(Uncle Bubba) enjoyed their first visit ever!

After we put Aunt Debbie, Gracie and Uncle Bubba on the plane, we celebrated Father's Day. Colyn's flight left shortly afterwards. We miss everyone so much :(.

Overall, it was a very fun but tiring weekend. Pop and Mom have decided they're too old to host 20 young hoodlums and their parents.

Wine Festival

2008-06-08T13:22:00.001-07:00

The weather was finally nice this weekend. Not rainy. And we found this little Wine and Dine Jazz Festival right across the border in Illinois.

Yulia on bass!

Kitty continues to progress well in Texas. May be released to skilled nursing or rehab this week.

We're hottly preparing for the "High School Musical" Birthday Party Saturday, where Yulia will turn 11!!!

SCHOOL'S OUT (AT LEAST FOR A WEEK)!!!!

2008-05-31T17:42:00.001-07:00

Is anyone else SO HAPPY school's out? I am exhausted. Remember, I am an older mom, and the last week's of school have WORN ME OUT!

Thursday, we had track and field day.

Friday started out with a KickBall Tournament(the height of excitement)

Yulia's 5th grade class tied for 1st place! Basically, the teachers and coaches got tired of the kid's continual tying up the game and called a truce.

After the big win(uh, tie), we celebrated with the end of school party. Yulia's WONDERFUL teacher is at the very back. Yulia is up front on the right with an attitude.

Although Yulia made the "A" honor roll and graduated from 5th grade, we've made the decision to repeat the 5th. While she's done very well, she still has a lot of trouble with basic reading, writing and math. She's going to summer school 4 days a week. In the fall, she'll go to the school where she should have been attending all along. It's closer and she'll be able to ride the bus. And the fact that it's a new school is exciting to her. Plus, she won't see the 4th graders from her old school going into the 5th at her old school. She'll be in a new environment. Another plus, many of the girls at church who'll be in 5th next year go to the new school. It was a hard decision for us holding her back, but everyone who's adopted said repeating the 5th was the best thing they've ever done.

Now to more important things, Yulia has selected "High School Musical" for the theme of her 11th birthday coming up June 14th. It was a tough decision between HS Musical and Hannah Montana, but HSM won out. More to come on the big party, I'm sure.

Hannibal, Missouri

2008-05-24T19:08:00.000-07:00

So, it's supposed to be almost 80 today, so we decide we'll head to Hannibal, MO, the home of Mark Twain. Paul and I put on our shorts and sandals. We laughed at Yulia when she put on long pants and a jacket. Well, she was right. The temperature didn't get above 58 on May 24, thank you very much, and we froze our Barry batoozkies off.

Still haven't figured out how to turn the pictures right side up.

In front of Huck Finn's house.

In front of Becky Thatcher's house.

Mark Twain's boyhood home is the white house on the right. Note the white picket fence that Tom and his friends painted.

I was driving on the way home. Got lost. Seems Paul Barry has gained such notoriety in these parts that they've named a town after him!

Pop's Birthday Week

2008-05-18T19:14:00.001-07:00

Pop celebrated his Barry "birthday week" this past week.

One of the things he wanted was for us to help him with yardwork. Here's Yulia shoveling dirt while Pop drank a beer. Her treat was a ride back up the hill everytime they dumped a load of dirt!

MOTHER'S DAY

2008-05-12T16:48:00.001-07:00

Had a great Mother's Day!

Colyn and Jon sent flowers. How sweet!

We miss them soooooo much. Colyn is coming for Father's Day. Jon is planning on coming sometime in June too. We can't wait to see them. Feels like it's been forever! Paul got to see Jon earlier this month. I haven't seen either of them since Christmas.

Sunday morning, Yulia and Pop made a wonderful breakfast before church. It was yummy. Since it was cold and rainy out, we spent most of the afternoon indoors.

Now that Mother's Day is over, all thoughts turn to Paul with his Birthday week well underway. He'll join Karen in the 48 year-old division Tuesday, May 13th.

SOCCER FINALS!!!

2008-05-10T19:28:00.000-07:00

Yulia's soccer team had its last game of the season today and firmly secured their position in last place!

This is one of Yulia's teammates, a 13 year old who was adopted from Romania when she was 5. Yulia was lucky to get on a team with some really, really sweet girls.

After the awards ceremony!

Missouri Botanical Gardens

2008-05-10T19:19:00.001-07:00

After the medal ceremony, we headed over to the botanical gardens.

We were about two weeks too late on the blooms, but it was still pretty!

Yes, Yulia is getting taller by the day!

We were only there a couple of hours when it started storming and we had to leave.

Hope everyone has a very Happy Mother's Day!

FIRST PARTY!

2008-05-05T18:56:00.001-07:00

Yulia was invited to her first party over the weekend. Of course, she almost didn't make it. Her friend had called my cell the night before (Saturday) and I didn't even retrieve the messages until the next day after church. The friend spoke only with Yulia and they hung up. I started questioning Yulia and she said there was a birthday party for this friend that day. Didn't know for whom, at what time, where or any important information. So, being the ever vigilant mom I am, I called the friend back and found out, in fact, it was a going-away party for a girl moving to China, and it was going to be at 3:00 that day at the park.

So, since this was such a big deal to Yulia we made a quick stop by Target for a gift. Yulia didn't really understand why she was getting a gift until she got to the party. There was one slight problem. Of course, PB continued on his 2 week vacation and I had 10 people coming to my house later that day for a church "small" group. PLUS, I'VE NEVER LEFT HER WITH STRANGERS! So, I told Yulia, "I may not leave you at this party. You may only get to stay a few minutes and then we'll have to leave." Of course, she didn't understand why. But, when I got there and met the parents and Yulia's wonderful 5th grade teacher was there, I felt safe leaving her. When I picked her up an hour later, she was ready to leave, but had a good time. All 5th grade girls. No boys invited. Quite funny!

Yulia continues to talk about Russia, her family there and the orphanage. It's amazing the deep discussions we can now have since her speech is getting better. And, we're able to have these deep conversations without her getting the least bit emotional, which leads us to believe she's just testing us to make sure we still want her. Oh, what a tangled web is weaved inside this 10 year old's head! Lord, please help us untangle it.

Soccer ends this week and on our quest to try every activity known to man(although we have set the goal at only one activity a week), she'll begin hip hop, literal dance and jazz in Jun. Watch out Dancing with the Stars!

Hope everyone has a good week,

BEEN A WHILE

2008-04-29T19:36:00.000-07:00

We haven't blogged in a while because the computer has been down....AGAIN. Paul Barry leaves town and everything goes to pot. The computer and the tv. Thought for a minute the fridge was going, too. Oh, did I mention I backed my new car into a very large delivery truck. Didn't hurt the delivery truck, but Frosty(my new car) will need a body shop visit.

PB spent one week at the Byron Nelson Golf Tournament and is now on the annual boy's golf trip. Boy, will I be glad when he gets home.

They told us to expect that Yulia would start talking about Russia at about this time. She has and it's been difficult. I must admit it's hard to hear her talk about missing her "Russian mom" and grandmother. And, she's having a lot of guilt about leaving them in Russia. She wrote them a very sweet letter this week, saying she was sorry that she left them. I can't imagine the guilt she must be feeling.

Please pray for us as we deal with what we've been told is a very normal transition. It's expected, but that doesn't make it any easier to hear.

Other than that, things are going well. Yulia is loving soccer even though she still has to be reminded which way to kick the ball!

BUNKO

2008-04-21T20:41:00.000-07:00

The First Annual Bunko Bible Hat Society recently met on the Barry deck. The temperatures were great and we had a great time on the deck.

What the neighbors must have thought!!!

Bunko Queen Regine, with her winning bunko hat!

SOCCER

2008-04-05T14:29:00.000-07:00

After NO PRACTICES due to heavy rain, Yulia's 5th and 6th grade soccer team took to the field. (Paul Barry was in charge of pictures, that's why we only have this one to post.)

This was her first time to ever play soccer and she did very well once she got her hands out of her pockets and stopped playing in the mud. The team lost 2/2 games.

At halftime, the coach asked all girls to stand up and give their names and which soccer position they liked to play. Yulia gave her name. When the coach asked her what she liked to play, she said, "soccer."

Birthday Week

2008-03-30T19:31:00.001-07:00

I had a wonderful birthday week!!!! My sister flew in Friday and we celebrated with a birthday dinner at Outback.

Yulia loves her Aunt "Debbies". In fact, she cried for 20 minutes after we put Debbie back on the plane to Texas.

Paul and Yulia made the homemade birthday cake. First cake Paul Barry's ever made in his long-legged life. It was most tasty.

A weekend of birthday cake, shopping and movies. All was well until the Longhorns went down in defeat Sunday afternoon :(

SPRING BREAK THAT ALMOST WASN'T

2008-03-22T19:44:00.000-07:00

What flooding in Missouri???

So, I talk to my sister Wednesday morning and she tells me that Springfield, Missouri, the direction we're headed for spring break, is flooding. I call Paul Barry. No problem he says.

Three hours later we're sitting in traffic. About an hour from Springfield, I-44 is shut down heading Northeast. Heading the other direction, the left lane was open only to 18 wheelers because of high water. The right lane was open for those cars dumb enough to cross. We told Yulia to hold her nose and we drove across. About half way across we decided maybe this wasn't a good idea after all and couldn't believe the highway patrol was allowing any traffic through. Well, we made it and went to Silver Dollar City the next day.

Pop and Yulia boarding the log ride in the freezing cold! This was the first ride of the day and Yulia was ready to "go home" afterwards.

Yulia and me on "Fire in the Hole." Only Colyn and Jon would understand!

The day at Silver Dollar City, we celebrated Yulia being in the U.S. 6 months:

Yulia continues to be such as a blessing to our family and fits it so well. At Silver Dollar, she was a real trooper on all the rides, including the scariest roller coasters. We decided we wouldn't give her a choice. She would have to ride what we rode. She did. Poor thing, never knew what to expect. Would like white as a ghost while riding and at the end of the ride exclaim, "I win!" We tried to tell her she in fact didn't win anything, but it became funny by the end of the day. She was exhausted that "we spent all day outside." Guess our 6 hour visit was the longest she's ever been outside. The things you don't think about!!

The latest funny sayings:

1. She was worried that Pop might be lost. I told her, "Don't worry. Pop's a big boy." She said, "Mom, Pop's not a boy. He's Mr. Paul Barry."

2. We've been reading an Easter story everynight. When we put her to bed tonight we were talking about Jesus rising from the dead. She wanted to know if he was coming to our house tomorrow(Easter). Think she's got him mixed up with the Easter bunny.

The second part of our trip we went to Big Cedar Lodge, just south of Branson. It was beautiful and a blast.

Many firsts for Yulia:

1. First spring break.

2. First boat ride.

3. First canoe ride.

4. First paddleboat ride.(First pink hat lost in the lake)

5. First lazy river(in the freezing cold)

6. First fondue.

Have a great Easter! Love, the Barrys.

Luck 'O the Irish!

2008-03-17T21:00:00.001-07:00

Believe it or not, I've found a photographer to meet my needs, and the initials don't start with JC. One of my bosses recommended Photography Innovations, and I was quite pleased. They spent a lot of time with us and even did Yulia's hair, which of course, I'm not able to do. I think they felt sorry for us. As soon as I can get Paul Barry on the job, we'll be scanning copies of our photos and share them with everyone.

In the mean time, turn your head sideways to enjoy the Karen Barry photog job:

This is the Easter dress that I thought I would want in the pictures. But, thanks to our new friends at Photography Innovations, we went with the second dress choice....a multi-colored pastel polka dot.

Details to follow.

Easter Egg Hunt

2008-03-15T20:55:00.000-07:00

Even though it was butt cold, Wentzville had it's annual Easter egg hunt. There were hundreds of kids Yulia's age.

There was also a "bone" hunt for dogs that afternoon, but we decided to do our hunting on the warm couch and watch THE LONGHORNS DEFEAT OU SUX.

BASEMENT

2008-03-14T19:58:00.000-07:00

Seems all the folks in these northern parts have their basements finished.

Our neighbor is in construction and is finishing our basement. Once done, we'll have a big game room, media room, two bedrooms and a bath.

Plenty of room for all our Texas friends to come visit!

We'd love to have some company,

Paul, Karen and Yulia

CHEAP BIKE????

2008-03-10T19:16:00.000-07:00

Let's just get right to the point. Forget going the cheap route. Forget paying $10.00 for a used bike. Forget driving an hour round trip to get said, used bike. Forget spending more money on $10.00 bike to install training wheels. Forget spending hours trying to get rusted tire off of said, used bike. Forget hours of sweat and dirty fingernails.

Just go spend $50 and get a new bike!!!!!

So, we were trying to be smart. She just needs to learn how to ride a bike, right? Let's just go buy a cheap used one. Once she learns, we'll get her a brand spanking new bike!

I know Paul spent a lot of money making this "cheap" bike rideable today. In fact, he won't even tell me how much money he spent. In his words, "You don't want to know." "It'll just make you mad."

But, must say, Yulia was all smiles when she finally got to hop atop her "cheap" ride....

Did I mention one wheel is purple and the other black????? Did I mention the chain has to be replaced every 30 minutes or so????

Oh well, Yulia's happy with her "new" bike!! Or she was the last time we saw her.....riding into the sunset. We'll let you know when she returns!!!!

It's a Moving Picture, Martha!!!

2008-03-03T14:29:00.001-08:00

I've never known much about our new camera, or the computer for that matter. Somehow, Yulia(our budding computer genius and Hannah Montana Wanna-Be) and I figured out how to put a video on the blog.

You can't see it very well, but you can see how much better her English is getting.
Next time I'll go for better picture quality. My broadcasting ways seem to have left me.

BIKE(S)????

2008-03-02T19:35:00.000-08:00

When Yulia first came to the US, she told us that she could ride a bike. That was the first of many things she told us she could do when, in fact, she couldn't. It hasn't really been good weather for a bike, but this was a great weekend with temperatures in the 60s.

So, Paul Barry and I thought it would be a great idea to go buy a used bike on which she could learn how to ride. After that, we would buy her a good bike.

So, Pop and Yulia travel over 30 minutes one way to obtain this $10 Huffy. Yulia was thrilled with her pink and purple bike. Until she tried to ride it. She is not the most patient of children, so she became very upset. Well, Pop decides he'll spend $10 more on training wheels. That's when he found out that he couldn't get the screws off of one side of the back tires. They seemed to be rusted in place. But, he can get one training wheel on. Yulia takes off quite happily until the one training wheel crushes under her weight. She was not amused, nor was Pop who saw his $10 purchase quickly escalating. So, Pop and our kind neighbor spent most of the day Saturday trying to get the wheel off the bike. Now the chain is broken and the tire is permanently removed from the bike.

So, after church today, our kind neighbors went to her Mom's house and got her old bike. Problem is it is a large 10 speed. It would be perfect for Yulia heightwise and sizewise, but was just too much for her. (We can't attach the training wheels to this bike.) So, she became very upset and had to be sent to our room.

Think we're just going to go to Walmart and pay $40 for a fully functioning bike with training wheels. So much for saving money.

Below is Yulia flying a kite with our neighbors before she had to be sent inside.

Saturday night, we attended a concert at our church where proceeds go towards Haitian Island Ministries. Money raised will go towards a Christian school and at least one meal a day for the children who are sponsored. Yulia was very interested in the kids and asked, "Can we help her now.?" So, when we got in the car we talked about how lucky we are. How we can eat anytime we want. Go to school. Have clothes to wear. So, when we got home we were talking about how many stuffed animals she has. These are just a few of them. She sleeps with at least 5-6 a night. Poor neglected child! It's amazing how quickly she's forgotten from where she's come.

Glad we had some good weather because snow and ice is headed our way Monday night. Guess we won't have to buy that new bike for a couple of days!!!

WE'RE BACK!!!

2008-02-28T19:18:00.001-08:00

It is with much excitement that I announce the Barry Blog is back on the web!!!! It has been most difficult to be sans computer for over a week. I know Paul Barry is glad we're back up and running because he's tired of me complaining. It's kinda a love-hate relationship. You love having a computer, but at the same time, it's nice knowing there's no computer on which to check e mail when you get home. And no computer on which to blog.

There are some problems. Most importantly, Scrabble has been erased. But, I will try and survive. Also, all of our Christmas labels and other junk were erased.

Several thoughts:

1. I may be needing some of you as character witnesses. I seem to have zonked Yulia in the eye this evening:(. I was pulling something out of the hot oven and of course, tried to remove it without a hot pad. And, of course, she was standing within inches(totally in my space, as she always is) Well, I jumped back and my left hand went flying into her upper right eyebrow. She's quite the drama queen, but I think it must have hurt. Plus, she had injured her toe earlier in the evening when she ran into the ottoman while dancing. So, let me know if you'll be willing to speak in my behalf should we be carried to court.

2. FYI, if anyone cares, there is an O'Fallon, Missouri and an O'Fallon, Illinois. No my friend, I didn't realize it either. Imagine my surprise when I realized the Hannah Montana movie tickets we had purchased for an unbelievable amount of money were for O'Fallon, Illinois and not O'Fallon Missouri. Yes, I figured this out the morning of the movie. Needless to say, I wasn't driving to Illinois to see some stupid HM flick, so I was able to twist the arm of the Missouri theatre to honor our tickets. Of course, it's hard to not have one's arm twisted when the 10 year old who's with you is wearing a HM wig. (See earlier posts)

3. Swimming lessons are over. The young lad at the "Y" had the audacity to ask us if we had signed up for swimming lessons next semester. Uh......NOOOOOOO!!!!! Apparently this young man doesn't realize one must teach a child proper breathing techniques before beginning swimming lessons. Our next venture is soccer. Should be interesting. Of course, Paul and I know nothing about soccer, which could be to the coach's advantage.

I told Yulia we would be starting soccer soon. She said, "Mom, you no soccer. You too big." Truth hurts, doesn't it.

4. I may not be putting JCP out of business after all. I had a good chat with my friend the manager this week, regarding an item I was returning after the 90 day grace period. We're becoming fast friends.

5. We are on the lookout for a new photography place. Colyn will be visiting Father's Day weekend and we want to get some pictures made. Plus, Easter's coming up and Yulia has 3 outfits in which she needs to be photographed. My friend, MB suggested the studio at Baby's R Us, but the closest one is in O'Fallon, Illinois(that is.)

6. Yulia's very thrilled her hair can fit into a semi ponytail when using two small vertical tails! I'll have to post a picture.

7. If you want a Christmas card next year, please send us your address to my e mail: speechqueenlonghorn@yahoo.com.

8. Can you tell I've been doing some wine tasting tonight???

Love to all,

The Barrys

News from Up North

2008-02-21T18:12:00.001-08:00

Our home computer is still on the blitz, so that's why I haven't been blogging. Paul Barry has allowed me some time with his laptop. Of course, it's taken me an hour to figure out how to get the pictures downloaded. So, you're going to get several topics together. We're going a little stir crazy here. There is snow here almost on a weekly basis. Normally, it is nothing more than snow flurries. Sometimes a couple of inches of snow. But schools are closed today and tomorrow because of ice and snow. Ughhhh! Guess I'll try and make it to work and take Yulia with me. She's gone before and did a really good job of sitting still and watching DVDs. We've all been sick here. I finally went to the doctor today and I have bronchitis. I've put myself on vocal rest which is a joy for Paul and very confusing for Yulia.

It is so cold here. You know, in Texas we don't really need gloves and scarves. You do here. Almost everyday.
This picture was taken during our last big snow. Paul was out of town and Yulia decided she would shovel the driveway. (Don't know where she thought we were going) She did a really good job, except for the fact that she shoveled all the snow to the end of the drive, so we were unable to get out of the drive. Really very humorous!

These pictures were taken after the Hannah Montana Movie. Yulia insisted on wearing her HM gear and telling everyone at the movie, "I'm Hannah Montana." This child DOES NOT get embarrassed. Kinda scary. I will say it was one of the worst sound productions I've ever heard in a movie. You couldn't hear Hannah and the Jonas Brothers when they sang. They were outplayed by the band. Maybe this was on purpose, because the vocals aren't that great anyway. Sitting in this 83 minute production, I reminded myself that a year ago I did't even know or care who Hannah Montana was. Now, I'm sitting beside my child who's decked out in HM underwear, socks and hair. Scary!

I must update you all on the swimming lesson fiasco. Really, dont' get me started, but just suffice it to say that neither semi-private nor private swimming lessons are meeting my needs. Nor have they taught my athletic daughter how to swim. Is it just me, or do people just not care anymore? I told PB, when I taught swimming lessons, I had a step by step plan with goals to meet in order to graduate from the class. In my 20 year absence from the swimming field, apparently there have been some changes. Our 19ish year old instructor seems to be more interested in flirting with the other lifeguards than teaching my child. Ask him for goals and he looks at you like you're speaking Chinese! I'm sure this is just the beginning of my rude awakening, but I can't stand the incompetence. Alright, I'm done for now.

For those who care, the V-Day craft was a success. I'll soon be opening Karen's Krafts and Swimming Instruction. I'm going to be very busy with all my new ventures.

On another note, per the social worker's request, we've been trying to encourage Yulia to speak more Russian. She doesn't care to. We left her with a Russian speaking babysitter last week and she wouldn't speak Russian with her. The doctor I saw today grew up about 300 miles from where Yulia was born and tried to talk with her in Russian today. She answered him in English. When I ask her why she says, "Mom, you speak English. Pop speaks English. I speak English."

Will close for now. I think these anti biotics are hindering my ability to write in a humorous manner.

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES

2008-02-10T14:48:00.000-08:00

We're experiencing some technical difficulties on the Barry household computer , and thus the Barry Blogsite. Paul says he can fix it, but says that may mean losing:
1. My blogsite.
2. My online scrabble game.
Since I cannot live without either of those items, I'm begging him to find another way.

It is really a drag having slllllllloooooowwwwww internet service. But, it allows me the opportunity to work on patience as a virtue. Ha.

Anyhoo, not much news. We had our 6 month home visit with a social worker this weekend. We will officially have Yulia 6 months come March 20. ( We'll be celebrating with a trip to Branson at Silver Dollar City for Spring Break. ) I thought Yulia would be very excited to visit with our social worker since she speaks Russian. She was not. In fact, didn't have much to say which is highly unusual for her. But things went well and we won't have to see the SW again for 6 more months. Whatever. What's another couple of hundred dollars? Then a 24 month visit. Then 36 month. Then we're done with that SW stuff.

Valentine's Day is a new and exciting holiday for Yulia. She's not really sure what it is, but is enjoying decorating, mailing cards and getting ready for the party at school. No one laugh, please, but I'm in charge of the "crafts" portion of the V-Day party. Paul Barry has asked that I get that "crafts" day on camera. As many of you know, I have about as much use for arts and crafts as I do for a city without a Sonic. But, we do what we must do. Plus, my friend Denise Cuestas has been most helpful with artsy ideas. Who knows, I may me getting a new job at Michaels??? Or Garden Ridge???

BYE, BYE BUGSIE!!!

2008-02-10T14:22:00.000-08:00

It was a sad, sad day, but we had to say "Bye, Bye Bugsie" last week. Apparently, once one has rammed their beloved auto into curb after curb, it becomes impossible(or very expensive, I should say) to balance said auto's tires. We had replaced Bugsie's tires right before moving to Missouri because unbalanced tires tend to rub raw on the insides. Well, after Yulia and I were stranded on Northbound 40/61 lastweek with another bad tire, Paul put his foot down. Again. But, this time I listened because it is very expensive to replace high performace tires.

Also, as many of you know, Paul's been after me to put aside my foreign car ways and experience the GM experience. Since GM is now responsible for most of our income since I'm working part-time, I thought perhaps I should listen. We chose the Pontiac Vibe which is made on the same assembly line as the Toyota something or another. It's main selling point is it was fairly cheap, reliable and gets EXTREMELY GOOD GAS MILEAGE. So, we took the plunge and we're now enjoying our white Pontiac Vibe. I must say I'm really liking it. Especially the satellite radio. Very nice to have all the cool stations. I am getting kinda tired of Disney Radio, though.

I do have many memories of Bugsie:

1. Probably the biggest one is Bugsie reminded me of Jon and Colyn. We had just purchased the Bug when Jon decided he wanted to move in with us while he went to high school in Bedford. I remember thinking perhaps the Bug hadn't been such a good choice when I went to pick up Jon and 2 of his 6 foot 6 friends and realized there was no leg room in the back seat!

Both of the kids learned to drive a stick with Bugsie. I remember Paul took them to a parking lot near our Bedford house and they had to practice starting and stopping on hills. (Also makes me have to get the tissues out)

2. Remember Paul and I seeing how fast we could get her up to, driving to Fredericksburg, for Valentines the first year. I remember a friend at work telling me, "You know, if you crash that car at that speed, you're a goner."

3. One weekend we paid to drive a few laps at the Texas Motor Speedway. Oh, that was fun! We paid twice(to some charity) so we could both drive. Well, when I saw how fast we could go around the speedway, I didn't want to do any driving. I was just holding on for dear life. I think we got up to 110 mph. That is very fast. Especially when all the other idiots at the speedway were following the rules to not speed past the pace car. Of course, Paul Barry wasn't following that rule.

4. Oh, for the number of tennis skirts that have set on and stuck to those leather seats. Yuk!

5. The number of Sonic drinks and Instant Breakfasts' that have spilled all over the leather seats, much to Paul Barry's dismay. Most of those spills while talking to my sister on the cell phone. (The Vibe doesn't have leather seats. You can get leather, but they're NOT HEATED! I don't think so!) For more information, see blog entitled, "It Really Is Cold Here"!

Please feel free to leave your Bugsie comments.

Salute, Bugsie!!!

THIS IS A TEST OF THE WENTZVILLE SCHOOL DISTRICT!

2008-01-29T14:34:00.000-08:00

I've said before that we were having Yulia tested in the schools. She underwent the testing in the past few months and Paul and I met with the diagnostic team Monday to discuss their findings. Going into the testing, their biggest concern was that there might be some "mental retardation." There is not. In fact, she doesn't even qualify for special education.

Her scores ARE low. Her IQ is 72 which is just above the 70 (mentally deficient). 80 is considered borderline. Her language and cognitive scores are low as well. But since both her IQ and other scores are so close together, that shows there is no sign of "mr" or need for special services at this time. They feel, and we agree, that the low scores are a result of her poor "home" environment and lack of mental/scholastic stimulation growing up in Russia.

She was tested with the help of a Russian translator. The translator says Yulia is able to speak in complete sentences, but her delivery is "littered"(DC) with poor grammar and poor word choices. Now, Paul and me ain't gonna have no kid of ours with bad gramma, so we're gonna keep workin on it. Honestly, we are seeing vast improvements everyday in her overall language, scholastic and social development. She's just beginning to put some sentences together in English and her comprehension is great.(We're having to be more and more careful about what we say because she's catching so much language these days.)

So, for now she'll continue in her English as a second language classes and Title One Reading. She'll also be going to school 6 weeks this summer to address reading and writing. The teacher is bringing in an aide to help with her math. And, there are plans for her to repeat the 5th grade. Overall, we think she's doing pretty dang well for a 10 year old newly transplanted to America!

It Really is Cold Here!

2008-01-24T14:22:00.000-08:00

People had told us it was going to be cold in Missouri. They weren't lying! When I drove Yulia to school this morning, it was 6 degrees on the car temperature gauge. Yes, 6 degrees! I didn't even know the gauge would go so low. (Everyone here just laughs at us.) Now, we know why there is a need for gloves, hats and scarves. You know, we never needed them in Texas really. (PP and SM, I could really use one of those giant furry hats from Russia.) But not to worry....it warmed up to a sweltering 20 degrees this afternoon.

Brrrr! At least there haven't been any hot flashes lately.

THOUGHTS

2008-01-19T19:56:00.000-08:00

It just continues to amaze me how the Lord picked the perfect child for us when He picked Yulia.

1. Friday I picked her up from school. On Friday, she gets her progress report and our expectation is that she will have "excellent" in behavior. As Paul says,"If she can't get anything else, she can get sitting still and listening."

On my way to pick her up Friday after school, I was dying for a blizzard from DQ. Of course, if she didn't get "excellent" we couldn't go. She gets in the car and I ask her "Excellent?????" She says, "No Mom, Very Bad." I almost pulled the car over. Of course, I was very upset that I wasn't going to get my blizzard. She let this go on for 2-3 minutes before dying laughing and showing me she did, indeed, get "excellent." We enjoyed our blizzard!

2. She loves musicals. I can't get over this. It was butt-cold here today so we got some DVDs. I got Jungle Book for her and Hairspray for all of us, thinking she'd fall asleep. She loved Hairspray and afterwards was dancing and singing. I asked her if she wanted to be in a musical like Hairspray or HS Musical one day and she said, "Yes."

3. I'm trying to get her to work puzzles. She's getting better but doesn't have a lot of patience(that's nothing like me). While working the puzzles, she was singing at the top of her lungs and I told her "shhhhhhh". She said, "But Mom, I'm singing." I remember when my parents used to tell me "no singing at the table." Oh my gosh, it's frightening.

4. Like me, she's CRAZY about Pop. When she hears his truck, you would think the entire cast of HS Musical or Hannah Montana had just pulled up in the driveway. Of course, then she has to hide and scare him. Yes, everynight in the same place. You think he'd learn by now!

5. She is very hard headed and will argue with the fence post.(No laughing now)

6. I must say she's beginning to like hot foods. We're slowing weaning her in and she's doing very well.

7. She really is taking a liking to football. She likes to cheer against the Cowboys and Longhorns, but we're working on that.

8. She's VERY ATHLETIC(like her father). I finally put her into private swimming lessons and she's already swimming half-way across the pool, without any assistive devices. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. Also wanting to play basketball, softball, dance and gymnastics. We're a one-thing at a time family here. A little too old for running from activity to activity.

Just some thoughts I thought you guys would enjoy!

A MILLION SCREAMING GIRLS!

2008-01-17T08:39:00.001-08:00

WHERE CAN YOU FIND A MILLION GIRLS, DANCING AND SINGING AT THE TOP OF THEIR LUNGS, WEARING "I LOVE TROY" T-SHIRTS?????????

At Disney's High School Musical(On Tour)!!! Yulia and I were just two of the thousands of females that were lucky enough to snag tickets for this weekend's performance. I must admit,
it was very good. Kinda a "Grease" for us old folks.

I think this is probably the most excited I've ever seen Yulia. She was full of unadulterated EXCITEMENT!!!! She couldn't stay in her seat for most of the numbers. (Of course, no one else could either, so it really didn't matter.) She sang at the top of her lungs, unaware that the words she was singing didn't match the song's phonetics. (Who cares???) Everytime I stopped clapping, I was immediately chastised to join back in. We had a blast. Yulia cried through most of the performance. I asked her why and she couldn't tell me. Really think she thought the movie characters were on stage in St. Louey. That's a hard concept to try and explain so I didn't attempt an explanation. None was needed. I think it was just such an unusual experience for her, which made it worth the money spent. (Of course, the next day, she heard Hannah Montana was going to be back in St. Louis. "Mom, You, me...Hannah Montana?" Um, let me think about this. NOOOOOOO!!!!!!)

When one attends the concert of the year, it's most important to look your best in case you should see Troy or Gabriella. Note the pink boa, pink bracelet and sparkly purse!!!

When not attending broadway productions, Yulia likes to play with the makeup kit she received for Christmas. I'm afraid she's getting better at putting on makeup than Mom!

Hope everyone has a great weekend! Our high Saturday is 9 degrees. That is not a typo. They said it was cold here. I'm beginning to believe it!

BRAGGIN'!!!

2008-01-09T18:41:00.002-08:00

For those of you who can't stand bragging parents, please exit this blog site now. For all others, here's what Yulia's teacher had to say on her second quarter progress report:

"Yulia's positive attitude is infectious. She is a well-liked member of the class. Yulia has demonstrated wanting to learn and do tasks the other students are doing. I admire her willingness and perseverance."

We were quite excited to hear more good things from the classroom. She is a pass-fail student and is passing all coursework. She's made improvements or held steady in all areas of study. They've tested her I.Q., academics and social. We have a meeting set for January 28th to discuss the results.

Tony Romo Spotted in Wentzville, MO!!!

2007-12-30T18:01:00.001-08:00

If you're wondering why Tony Romo didn't show up for the Cowboy's game against Washington, it's because he was dining at the Applebee's in lovely Wentzville, MO!

Seems Missourians don't find the Dallas Cowboys as important as many of us former Texans! Since the losing St. Louis Rams were playing at the same time as the Cowboys, we didn't get the game at home. (Yes, we're paying $99 for NFL ticket next year!) So, we get this great idea that we'll go watch the game at Applebees and Paul Barry would wear his new Romo jersey he received from my sister for Christmas. So, the 3 of us load up and proudly head to Applebees with plans of taking pictures for our blog site. How funny would it be to post pictures of Paul in his Romo jersey and say he was spotted at Applebee's with a woman who's not Jessica Simpson???? (Just older, fatter, less endowed, etc, etc, etc. Plus, this woman would have had a 10 year old with her, drinking milkshakes!)

We thought it would be funny at the time, but after the Cowboys began losing and Tony Romo continued to prove why Jessica's not good for him, Paul Barry was too embarassed to even go to the bathroom and wouldn't let us take any pictures. In fact, we had to quickly run from the restaurant with bags over our heads when we were ready to leave!

Paul Barry now says if the Cowboys lose their first playoff game he's going to burn the jersey in the front yard. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

Texas, Our Texas, All Hail The Mighty State!

2007-12-30T17:29:00.000-08:00

The alarm was set for 4:15 Saturday morning, pre Christmas. Paul Barry told the troops we need to be on the road by 5:30 since we have a long drive ahead. We made it out of the driveway by about 6:00. Not too bad.

Two hours later, we've managed to blow up the portable DVD player. Lucky for us we let Yulia open some of her gifts early, one of them a Leapster Learning System. 12 hours later we arrived in Texas, just as the batteries were running out on the Leapster!

We had quite a visit in Texas. We're using several blogs to tell you about our visit:

First stop was to our friend's annual Christmas get-together. All 5 of us(we're missing one regular) were proud Kangaroo graduates in 1978. We're planning a big 50th birthday celebration in a couple of years!
My friend Jennifer(speech queen) always graces us with her presence on holidays. She's become a holiday staple in the Barry/Burnette house.

Some of our best friends, this is Albert(Bubba) and our goddaughter, Gracie.

Had time for a last-minute speech queen meeting. Paige Preston and Summer Mittig, with speech princess Maggie Mittig. Cuestas, Bedeiree and queen bee Susan Schaetti were unable to attend.

Our two goddaughters Katie and Anna were our last stop before heading back to Missouri.

Kitty's Birthday/Christmas

2007-12-30T17:19:00.000-08:00

Kitty(Bobby) celebrated her 88th birthday on Christmas Eve! She's in pretty good health. Has been living in an assisted living, but plans to return home with a caregiver in February. Yulia had called her Babushka(grandmother) for the longest time, but has now resorted to a more comfortable Bobby. That's fine with Kitty since she grew up as Kitty Bob!

Yulia and mom helped Bobby with her world famous cheese soup Christmas Day. She's not too willing to give out the recipe. Just a little bit of this and a little bit of that until it tastes right! For those of us who aren't quite Martha Stewarts, those kind of recipes can be very frustrating! Other family members were asking me if I "got the recipe?" That would be a no.

Yulia jammin' in her jammies from Aunt Teesie.

We got to spend two full days with Colyn. It was great since we didn't get to see much of her Thanksgiving. Jon was in New York(poor thing).

Burnette Christmas

2007-12-30T17:09:00.000-08:00

Continuing our trek across the state of Texas, we landed in Celina Christmas night.

Julie and Yulia!

Courtney up front, with Debbie's step-son Troy in the background with his girlfriend.

(Thank you for turning your head to the right! I still don't know how to turn pictures right-side up) Troy's football team won state the Saturday before Christmas and Uncle Larry hand-decorated a Celina sweatshirt for Yulia. There are little sequins glued around the "Celina Bobcats" lettering.

There's not much to do in Celina and Yulia and Uncle Larry spent much of the morning after Christmas waiting for the trash truck! No, really Larry had told Yulia they had to wait outside to help the trashmen. We're happy Uncle Larry could teach our child about the finer things in life.

Before leaving Texas, we were able to have dinner with Aunt Fern. She's Daddy's last living sibling. Debbie, Kevin and I had a great visit.

Back to Missourri

2007-12-30T16:59:00.001-08:00

After traveling 12 hours to and from Texas, we were readyTO BE BACK HOME for Santa's visit on Sunday morning, December 30th. A friend asked Yulia what she wanted Santa to bring her and she said, "Colyn." Colyn couldn't make it, since she's off snow skiing.

For those of you who look closely, you can see Santa brought Yulia some of the presents she received at the shower a year and a half ago! There were just so many toys when she first arrived from Russia, we didn't want to overwhelm her. But, after overwhelming her with our many present-opening events in Texas and Oklahoma, we decided to throw everything at her on "our" Christmas morning.

Pop in his Tigger hat!

A Hannah Montana cordless microphone which doesn't work!

Dancing in her new robe!

Like all of us, Kozmo is ready to doff the Christmas attire and get back to our normal routine!

Yulia has come up with several sayings as of late:

1. Drive, drive, drive.(Wonder why)

2. No school, no church. Football, yes.(Wonder why)

Happy 2008! Love, The Barrys!

TURTLE-MAKIN'

2007-12-21T08:48:00.001-08:00

An annual tradition in the Barry Household is the making of the world famous "turtles." Pop had a new daughter to train this year. Colyn's ears must have been burning all the way back in Texas because she called us during the turtle-making process! We had to promise her we'd bring her some turtles when we're back in Texas for Christmas!

Here are Pop and Yulia heating up the caramel. There was still snow left on our porch, so we didn't even have to use the freezer to chill the candy!

The next night Mom and Yulia made chocolate covered pretzels. Mom forgot some of the pretzels were in the outdoor "snow freezer" and left them out all night. They were certainly frozen, and a bit wet. We'll just have to eat those ourselves.

We're headed to Texas Saturday to celebrate Christmas. Wishing everyone a safe and Merry Christmas!

Love, The Barrys

First Christmas

2007-12-20T19:10:00.002-08:00

We're having such a blast with Yulia as she celebrates her first Christmas:

- She loves to sing Christmas carols. Gets about 20% of the words, but gets the points across.

- Just like her Mom, she's quite the tamborine player. Our small group at church went Christmas caroling Sunday night and she was jammin'.

- She loves to get Christmas cards in the mail. My aunts and several friends have sent Christmas cards addressed to her or with her name on them and she was so excited. Tore them right out of the envelope(and in half) and placed them firmly on the refrigerator for display.

- She's beginning to get the Merry Christmas/Happy Birthday Jesus thing! She says "Merry Christmas" all the time. Every baby that she says sees, it's "Happy Birthday Baby Jesus."

- Part of her homework tonight was to list things she likes about Christmas:
1. Christmas trees.
2. Ornaments on the trees
3. Snow
4. Candy(She and Pop have been making the world famous "Paul Barry Turtles." Pictures to follow!)
5. Church
6. Coca-cola(in the Santa bottle from Wally World)
7. Pepsi(Very big in Russia)
8. Santa
9. Fruits
***Wonder how this list will change by next year as she becomes more worldly???

- Things she doesn't like:
1. Cheese
2. Spankings

For those of you wondering, she was able to spell about 20% of the words on her likes/dislikes list. She's really coming along in school, although they're currently in the process of testing her for academics, intelligence and social preparation.

For all you speechies out there, she's beginning to put together 2-3 word utterances. She's having trouble with the "me, you and I" concept. Uses gestures and other non verbal speech to communicate when she can't "get" the word.

We received an e mail from her teacher tonight saying she was very proud when Yulia told a friend in class today, "That's not funny!" That's the longest phrase the teacher has heard her use.

Will close for now, Love Karen

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

2007-12-16T19:46:00.001-08:00

They said it was going to snow, and it did! We got about 6 inches from midnight Friday through midnight Sunday. These 2 Texas and a Russian were very excited to get out and play.

Yulia was right at home in the snow. She's seen it before, or course. Kozmo hadn't, and was trying to eat the snow.

Hoping it would snow, we bought a sled the day before and Yulia and the neighbor's 2 year old had a great time sliding down the hill.

Kozmo likes catching the frisbee in the snow!

We went out sledding several times over the weekend. Pop has found the freezing snow makes for a very good ice chest. He just puts his beers into the snow out on the deck and they're ice cold in minutes!

Pop also found the weather quite frosty when using his new snow shovel to clear the sidewalks and driveway!

Why I'm Not a Member of the Portrait Club!

2007-12-15T06:35:00.001-08:00

This is a very special Christmas to us, being Yulia's first holiday. So, I'm holding you, all of my friends and family, responsible for not telling me to avoid JCP's Portrait Studio.

From previous posts, you know I wasn't very happy with the picture color and quality. Well, imagine my unhappiness when I went to pick up the picture Christmas cards Friday and our personal information was NOT ON THE CARDS!

Long story: After our first exciting visit to JCP, I got home and realized temp worker #1 hadn't asked what I wanted on the Christmas cards. I phoned her and asked her to add "Love, The Barrys, 2007." That was December 3rd.

Yesterday, December 14, we went to pick up the cards and temp worker #2 couldn't figure out why we had ordered 755 Christmas cards! After I told her we didn't have that many friends and family, we realized the personalized information wasn't on ANY of the cards. No problem, temp worker #2 says, "You can just get one of those gel pens and write whatever you want on the cards." Well, what a great idea. WHY DON'T I KNIT MATCHING SWEATERS FOR MY ENTIRE FAMILY WHILE I'M AT IT! I have so much time on my hands. The reason one purchases these personalized cards is so that one will not have to write on them....one by one. Long story short, temp worker #2 attempts to tell Karen Barry that she can't do anything about this because she can't "find her manager." After some boisterious demands, which sent Yulia hiding under the counter, temp worker #2 did manage to find the store manager, Lance.

I must say, Lance did meet my needs. I received all 755 cards for free, so now we're in search of "one of those gel pens" that will show up on our cards. So, when you receive our Trailer Trash cards, you'll know why. In fact, you'll probably be getting them next year since we have so many of them and we can just write what we want every year. If anyone would like some extra cards, let us know. You can use these. They're not personalized and the picture of Yulia's not that great, so no one will know it's not your child. Let us know if we can be of assistance.

*P.S. It's snowing today. Very pretty. We're supposed to get 4-6 inches. We'll have to take some pictures. Wonder where we'll have them developed?

NOTES TO SELF

2007-12-13T04:30:00.000-08:00

#1 - Don't pay lots o' money to sit "front row Joe" at "The Nutcracker!" Yulia was bored after the first 30 minutes. Silly me to think this was a great idea to experience the Christmas season. After all, ballet has no dialogue, so I thought it would be a great idea. Ha!

Below is Yulia's favorite part of "The Nutcracker." Meeting Santa! Oh, another favorite part...she got to wear her Christmas dress!

#2 - Don't volunteer to be an angel during the church's live nativity scene when it's really cold. Did I mention the performance was outside? Did I mention the temperature was in the lower 30s with sleet falling? Did I mention I was harking the herald while standing on an uncovered platform without my head covered?

Paul and Yulia were shepherds. Instead of abiding in the fields, they were keeping a watch over their flocks while standing under the manger scene. At least their heads were kept dry.

Before we headed outside, this shepherd used his cell phone to participate in a conference call.

#3 - Good job getting the "Happy Birthday Jesus" message across to Yulia. We've been singing Happy Birthday Jesus to teach her the meaning of all this madness. I think she gets it for the most part now. Problem is with all our gifts under the tree, she thinks it's everyone's birthday. Happy Birthday Colyn, Jon, Debbie, etc. She looks really confused when I say, "No, it's Merry Christmas" to everyone. Just "Happy Birthday" to Jesus. Can't figure out why she's confused!!! Did I mention Kitty(Babushka's) birthday is Christmas Eve??? That adds to the confusion.

#4 - Be better prepared for snow days. We had ice this past Monday and school was cancelled. After watching two movies, addressing Christmas cards(I'll be mailing them soon), wrapping some gifts and working a puzzle, I wondered what we were going to do with the other 8-10 hours of the day until Pop got home.

#5 - Why did I agree to work 4 days a week? I'm tired.

#6 - Don't expect the 16 year-olds working at the YMCA to teach your 10 year old Russian born daughter to swim in 7 quick lessons! "What? You're telling me my athletic, water-loving child has to take the class again? Can't believe it. Did I mention I taught swimming lessons in the 1970s at the germ-infested Weatherford Municipal Pool? Back in the day, I could have taught her to swim in 5 quick(and cheaper) lessons! We just did things so much better back then. Yes, she'd probably be on the swim team if I had been teaching her!" Her teacher just looked at me and I could tell he was thinking, "Whatever lady. See you after the first of the year."

#7 - Silly me! Thinkings JCP would meet my photography needs. They did not. Problem is, we don't have a lot of options here in lovely Wentzville.

#8 - Maybe Paul and I will open a photography studio/swimming class business!

#9 - This adoption is one of the best things we've ever done. Also, one of the hardest. I told Colyn the other day I don't remember things being so hard when SHE was 10, but we're having a wild, hilarious time.

#10 - Looking forward to Christmas! We're probably going to drive to Texas Saturday and be at Kitty's house through Christmas night. Then we'll head to Debbie's house for the rest of the week. We'll get to see Colyn, but not Jon. He and Ashley are headed to New York for the holidays. Not sure how long we'll be able to stay. Paul may have to come back for work. If so, Yulia, Kozmo and I may drive back by ourselves.

#11 - It's hard to keep this blog updated on a weekly basis. If we don't meet again until 2008, have a Merry Christmas or a Happy Birthday! (Whatever the case may be.)