Proverbial Wisdom

I discovered a statement of wisdom today in my devotion time. It struck home on a bad habit of mine.

He who answers before listening--that is his folly and his shame. Proverbs 18:13

Yep, I often find myself forming my response as someone speaks to me rather than focusing on what is being spoken. This happens especially when I feel tension or "know" I'm going to disagree.

I needed a reminder that listening is vital for relationship. And having the best response is no where near as important as weighing and valuing the other person's input. I know I feel frustrated when I'm not listened to. So, I'm going to make a concerted effort to improve my listening skills!

A Smashing Chicken Salad

I threw this salad together this afternoon when I felt starvation setting in. It's based off of the types of salads my mom is great at fixing. I didn't have all the ingredients I would have liked, but it was still smashing!

Here's what's in it:

Lettuce

Chicken (I seasoned it with salt, garlic, and paprika)

Smashed almonds*

Raisins

Italian dressing

I didn't have any hardboiled eggs at the time but have since cooked some up. Next time I'll add the eggs in. Also dried cranberries instead of raisins are great! Any other suggestions?

*The almonds are significantly better when smashed. Hence the name. It's thrilling to smash them with a rubber mallet. It was necessary with mine since they were frozen. ;)

Relative Introductions

We finally ventured over to Canby, Oregon this last weekend to visit with my grandparents and introduce Eli to them. We set out Saturday morning, spent the night, and came back Sunday afternoon. Eli did amazingly well on the trip! We were so proud of him! He wore himself out and slept like a rock at their house. Now to figure out how to get him to do that here. ;)

While we were there, my aunt Elaine and cousin Drew stopped in to see us, too. They also had not met Eli. We all went out to eat at Panda Express which was a little bit of a stretch for my grandparents who have decided over their 90ish years of life what kinds of foods they like and what kinds they don't. But they did alright and we bought a watermelon afterward to eat back at their home. So that made Grandpa happy.

Grandpa and Grandma couldn't get enough of Eli. I haven't seen Grandpa that happy and silly in years. What fun!


Eli being his usual goofball self shortly before we took off from home on Saturday.

Cousin Drew with Eli.

Eli and Grandpa played many duets throughout the visit.

Special Grandma and Great Grandson moment!

Two of my favorite people!

Bipedding, Here We Come!

Even though Eli has been taking a few steps here and there the last 3 or 4 weeks, yesterday he took off for good! It must be so satisfying to start walking.



Today some steps; tomorrow a marathon, baby!

Misty Edwards- Soul Cry

This song has been on my heart for the last several months. Please take the time to listen and dwell in God's presence!

Remember Me?

Hello! I know I have been absent from the blog world for quite some time. I have been wanting to start back up for a while and am finally taking the initiative! I am saving up for a laptop which will let my computer time be a little more flexible and hopefully should result in more blogging. Right now our PC is stuck in the guest room where it is hard to keep Eli entertained if he is awake and hard for me to get to if he is asleep. Anyway, for now I plan on blogging once or twice a week.

Here is a tiny update on where the Barnett family is currently:

*Rob and I have been married for 2 1/2 years! I love that wonderful man and am so very thankful for him.

*Rob is still at his same workplace as a network engineer. He's been taking/studying for some tests which will increase his knowledge in areas he's moving in to. I'm so proud of him!

*We had our son, Eli, last August. He is such a joy to us both. There's no challenge quite like becoming parents. We have learned so much this past year. Eli will be turning one on August 18th!

*I have shifted gears significantly in the last 12-18 months. I had to let go of my online tutoring and my piano teaching. Both of those were jobs I really cherished. But now I have moved on to being a stay-at-home mommy. It has been an incredible venture and one I feel so blessed to be doing.

I touch on these and other topics more as I get back into blogging, but I just wanted to let you know the highlights for now. God is teaching me some amazing things right now and I am excited to share some of it with you all.

God's favor be on you and the places you go this week!

It's a Boy!

Howdy!

I know you have all been anxiously awaiting this announcement. My 15-week-old son is a boy! :D Yessirree!

I figured it's time I started blogging again. I don't have much to say today since Eli should be up soon....yup, there he is!

Hello, goodbye~