Come Listen

This weekend we get to listen to living prophets speak. General Conference happens every six months, and it is my favorite time of the year. Our whole family looks forward to being able to be together and feast on the words spoken to encourage us, inspire us, direct us, and lead us to be better followers of Christ. Come listen too-- Sunday, April 1st, 10am MDT.

Branson Break

My mom is wonderful. She is hardworking, thoughtful, caring, practical, funny, and matter-of-fact. She also serves her children tirelessly-- including those of us who have left home to rear our own families. This year we wanted to repay her in a small way. My sister-in-law Holly had the idea for us to take her on a trip to the place she's always wanted to go. You guessed it-- Branson, Mo. I had never heard of it before either. It's an entertainment destination-- like Las Vegas, but without the gambling and other adult entertainment.

We started by presenting her with the surprise on Christmas Day. Hers was the last gift to be opened, and she had to follow a treasure hunt before she discovered the treasure-- a trip to Branson with all her daughters and daughters-in-law for her birthday in February.


Some highlights from the trip:


This little angel sat with me on four different flight almost without making a peep. (The car rides around Branson during which she cried incessantly-- not so much of a highlight.)

Getting to travel with my mom and my sister, Hannah, which turned out to be a huge blessing when our flight was delayed 4 1/2 hours and I couldn't get home until the next day. So grateful for families!!

These gift bags that my sister-in-law, Kristen, put together for all of us as we arrived-- complete with owl necklaces to honor "our wise lady." She is so thoughtful and unassuming. When I grow up I want to be like Kristen.

Eating out with all the ladies. I even got a baked sweet potato with cinnamon butter as a side dish. It was awesome! Thanks to Kandis for soothing Lucy to sleep so I could finish my dinner.

This water, fire, music, and lights show outside the restaurant. Really fun.

Seeing the Twelve Irish Tenors. Afterwards, as we paused to meet them and thank them for their performance, my unsuspecting mom was serenaded by a rousing, Irish-drinking version of Happy Birthday by these 12 Irish men. Happy Birthday Mom! I think those are tears in her eyes. Either she is emotionally moved, or mightily embarrassed.

The Girls with a few of the tenors. "Tag me!" one of them called out as the picture was taken!

Glow-in the dark miniature golf, Splash-mountain style! Thanks to Julie for pushing my stroller during nearly the whole course-- you can probably blame me for being on the loser's side! And to Holly for helping to carry my stroller down the stairs. It was a good type of trip to be on my own with a baby-- with lots of other moms who miss their babies!!


Planking in the Hughes Brothers' Theatre. This was the punishment for the losers in miniature golf. Did anyone notice I was golfing with a real, live, moving baby in a baby carrier?? The Hughes Brothers show was awesome as well-- amazing family!

And lots and lots of chatting and eating great food around this table! Other memories:
Kandis's hand signal that will go down in history.
Kimberly allowing us all a moment to pause to consider our personality colors.
Leaving Melanie off the reimbursement list (sorry again!)
Heidi keeping my lactating self company.
Holly, Julie and Mom's trip to Arkansas while Kandis, Kristen, Hannah, and Kimberly were up to no good.
Julie, Mom, and Hannah singing with me every primary song we can think of to try to soothe Lucy in the car.
Melanie's awesome photography skills in the church foyer.
Late night talks and tons of ideas on how to become better women.
Thanks girls for the first semi-annual Barlow girls trip! (You guys are ready to go again in August, right?)

Certificate of Appreciation

Everyone needs one of these every once in a while. Mine was resting on the dashboard when Jeff picked me up from the airport after our girls trip to Branson, Mo.

Dallin was the author/designer, but he got all the kids to sign it. I'm glad my absence made their hearts grow fonder. I missed them too! What a way to come home!

More Family Photos

I wanted to share the individual photos from the photo shoot we had in August. They were taken by Annie Ruden in our ward-- she is wonderful! Of course, Lucy's not in these pictures, but I'll share some more of her before long.

Brown Rice and Lentil Casserole

I am trying to follow some simple rules of thumb as I prepare meals for our family-- half the plate = fruits and vegetables, 1/4 of the plate = whole grains, and 1/4 of the plate = lean protein. Then encourage milk or other dairy products as well.

We had this for dinner tonight. I loved it! I had made it before, but made some changes this time. I used barley instead of brown rice (both are good, but I wanted to use barley this time.) I added two stalks of celery, about five chicken tenders, cooked and diced, about five fresh mushrooms, diced, and about 1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds. It was wonderful, filling, healthy, and simple to put together! If you try it, let me know what you think!

Brown Rice and Lentil Casserole

3 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)

¾ cup lentils

½ cup brown rice

¾ cup chopped onion

1 teaspoon italian seasoning

¼ teaspoon garlic powder (I use more)

1 cup grated cheese (cheddar or a blend is preferable)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

Mix all ingredients except the cheese in a baking dish (I use an 11 x 7).

Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour 10 minutes.

Then remove the foil, add the cheese, and bake for an additional 20 minutes.

Recording the Love

Recently, Maxwell has taken to recording his feelings in his journal. In fact, on Sunday I went to check on the boys, and he and Micah were sitting in their bedroom with their journals open. I expressed my pleasure at seeing them involved in such a worthwhile activity. Max responded, "What? I'm just writing about my family." His words: "I love my family. I love them so much."

It is so fun to see a little bit of Max's perspective-- especially because it's a happy perspective! I was particularly pleased to see him include his mom in his journal. He brought home a gratitude book from school with pages for all kinds of things he was grateful for. Somehow I didn't make that cut.

Here are a few of his endearing journal entries-- devoted to Dad, Mom, and Dallin:

Playing tennis together.

Playing Skipbo together.

Computing together.

We love you too, Max.

Less is More

Dallin brought this website to my attention. Check out this demotivator on perspective. I thought it was hilarious:

PERSPECTIVE

Less is more. Unless you're standing next to the one with more. Then less just looks pathetic.

(both photos from housebeautiful.com)

This rings true for me when I try to label my lack of decorating effort/ambition, "minimalist." Funny.