Cheryl Barker's Blog, page 45

Blogging Break Plus Our New Grandbabies!

Just in time for Summer Photo Fun—our new set of twin grandbabies are here! That’s right, this is our second set of twin grandbabies in just over 19 months! First Kristin and Shawn made us grandparents to twins, and now it is Kelli and Jake’s turn. Amazing, fun, and miraculous all rolled into one!

So now allow me to introduce our newest little loves—Samuel and Silas! Samuel is on the right above and Silas is on the left. They weighed in at 5 lb 7 oz and 4 lb 3 oz respectively. They arrived almost a month early, but everyone is doing well and we are oh so grateful to God for this new beyond-belief blessing in our lives. Thank you to each one of you who have prayed for them and for Kelli and Jake. Please continue to keep them in your prayers. Samuel and Silas are still in the NICU as of today, learning to eat better on their own and gaining the strength to do so. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you this, but we are so in love with our new little guys!

Also, since my summer has already been very busy and since the next several weeks (months and years! Ha!) promise to be extremely busy as well, I’m taking a little blogging break. When I come back after Labor Day, Summer Photo Fun will be over for another year, and I’ll start back with more of the inspirational posts you usually see here. Enjoy the waning days of summer, friends. As for me, I’ll be in Grandma heaven!

“The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.” Psalm 126:3

*What joy has God blessed you with lately?

*The newest issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, came out earlier this month. It’s not too late to receive it. Sign-up is free and to the right!

*Photos by family members

Summer Photo Fun: Sweet Grandsons Isaiah and James

*Our new set of twin grandsons arrived last week! I will try to have a post featuring them later this week. They have been in NICU so it can be challenging to get good photos. They are doing well, though, and we are overjoyed!

You knew I couldn’t let Summer Photo Fun get by without featuring some photos of our sweet grandsons Isaiah and James, right? After all, they are one of the best parts of our lives, and I would be remiss if I didn’t share them with you!

So today’s the day—here’s a little photo fun featuring our first two dearly loved grandsons. They are growing up so fast. What one does, the other has to as well—whether cute or naughty :) And yes, that in itself makes them especially adorable :) Oh how we love them!

They loved seeing the chickens at Aunt Kelli and Uncle Jake’s country home in July.

They love playing with the kitchen set that used to be their mama’s. Their aprons were made for them by our long-time friend Pam. They love wearing them :)

Of course they’re learning a love for music and piano from their musical mama. Notice in the background, shelves have been cleared and other areas barricaded for their visit :)

Reading with Grandpa. These boys love books!

Our sweet boys. Brothers and friends for life!

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.”  Proverbs 17:17 NIV

*Do you have brothers and sisters? Do you enjoy a special bond?

*The newest issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, came out earlier this month. It’s not too late to receive it. Sign-up is free and to the right!

*All photos are mine except for the next to last one. It is Kristin’s.

Summer Photo Fun: Name That Flower!

Hey all, I’ve got another Summer Photo Fun challenge for you today! So far during this summer’s installment of Summer Photo Fun, I’ve invited you to caption a photo,, and identify a bird. Today I’ll add one more challenge to the list!

Can any of you identify the flower pictured above? I saw this unusual wildflower while in Colorado a few weeks ago on the trip I made with my sisters. However, I saw it in a garden, not growing in the wild, so don’t let the Colorado location mislead you.

So what do you say, flower lovers? Can any of you name this particular handiwork of our Creator?

“ ‘Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.’” Luke 12:27 NIV

*The new issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, came out earlier this month. It’s not too late to receive it. Sign-up is free and to the right!

*My photo

Summer Photo Fun: Butterfly Beauty

As we continue Summer Photo Fun, I’ve got some butterfly beauty headed your way today. Butterflies flitting through the air and lighting on one flower and then another seem almost magical, don’t they? They definitely deserve to be featured in one of my Summer Photo Fun posts.

So friends, enjoy the exquisite and delicate beauty of one of God’s amazing creations today. Enjoy some butterfly beauty!

“ How many are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.” Psalm 104:24

*Which is your favorite photo? Have you ever visited a butterfly garden?

*The new issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, came out last week. It’s not too late to receive it. Sign-up is free and to the right!

*My photos

Summer Photo Fun: Identify This Bird, Please

You didn’t think I’d let Summer Photo Fun go by without featuring birds in some way, did you? This time, though, I’m not just quizzing you like I did for my . I really need your help in identifying the subject of this photo!

I saw this bird on my recent trip to Breckenridge, Colorado with my sisters, and I’m not sure what kind it is. We were hiking and I was able to snap only a couple of photos before this little guy (or gal) flew off. I think it may be a flycatcher of some sort, but I’m not sure so I thought I’d see if one of you can identify it before I spend more time pouring over my bird book.

Any bird lovers out there who can help me out? What kind of bird is this? I’ll include my other shot below in case it might be helpful. Here’s hoping for an answer!

“Two are better than one because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-10a

*My photos

*The new issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, came out this week. It’s not too late to receive it. Sign-up is free and to the right!

Summer Photo Fun: Sisters Trip!

Summer Photo Fun this year absolutely has to include a few shots of my sisters and me on our first-ever Sisters Trip. As you may remember, my theme word for this year is adventure, and I love how my sisters helped me live an adventure this summer. (Left to right above: me, Carolyn, Debbie, and Janice)

We had a wonderful time together in the Breckenridge, Colorado area making memories and building our already strong sister bond. We are so glad we made time in our schedules for this special time together. We don’t know if we’ll ever manage to pull off such a trip by ourselves again, but at least we’ll always have this trip to remember and rejoice in.

Hope you enjoy a peek at a few of the memories we made!

Shopping in Breckenridge our first day. Nothing too strenuous so we could get used to the altitude. Love all their flowers downtown!

With my book release still fresh, I watched for appropriate shops and introduced the book to shop managers. Authors are ever on duty!

The next day was a hiking day. Off to Cucumber Gulch!

We saw lots of gorgeous wildflowers all week long on our hikes. Can you guess what these are?

We tried to take selfies throughout the week, but it’s kind of tricky when you’re trying to get four people in the picture :)

 

We had so much fun riding the ski lift and then hiking on up to the top of Peak 8 in Breckenridge.

Finished our day in Frisco with homemade ice cream from Foote’s Rest Sweet Shop and Eatery. Extremely yummy, especially after our hike to Rainbow Lake!

On our hike up to the top of the mountain at Hoosier Pass we stopped to catch our breath and get some photos. The altitude, steady climb, and steep portions of the trail along with hiking into the wind made it extremely difficult.

We made it to the top! Very proud and extremely wind-blown! :)

Hiking down was no joke either. Pretty nerve-wracking but we all made it okay.

Some of our last views of Breckenridge before we headed home the next morning. What a great adventure and an amazing time together!

“ Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth . . .” Isaiah 42:10a

*Do you ever take special trips with a specific part of your family?

The next issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter comes out this week. Sign-up is free and to the right!

*Photos by my me or my sisters

Summer Photo Fun: My Book Launch Party!

Summer Photo Fun wouldn’t be complete this year without featuring one of the most exciting events of my summer—my book launch party!

To be honest, this summer has been an intense one for me, filled with all the work necessary to help launch and market a book. So when Mother of the Bride finally made its way out into the world, believe me, it called for a party!

So today, friends, enjoy a few shots from that special celebration. I’m still in awe and still praising God for allowing me to share Mother of the Bride with the world. May it bless many!

Visiting with long-time friend Pam and my husband’s cousin Lyssa.

Heather, a friend from church, signing up for my Life Notes newsletter.

The cake turned out great! Thanks, Becky!

My dad, flanked by long-time friends Lynn and Diane and Larry and Paula, chose one of the door prize winners.

I read a chapter about the father of the bride to help keep the men in the crowd interested :)

Signing books was part of the fun. Thanks, Norma, Janet, and Becky for coming!

Teri, Cara, and Phyllis looking at the my book with interest. Yay! :)

Two of my sisters, Janice and Carolyn, live within driving distance so could come celebrate with me. I also talked them into serving the cake and punch!

A huge thanks to my daughter Kristin and son-in-law Shawn for being my tech-team extraordinaire throughout my publication journey and also for allowing me to share so freely about their lives in my book. My mother of the bride experience started with them!

Thanks for sharing in my joy today, friends!

“Rejoice with those who rejoice;” Romans 12:15a

*How can I celebrate with you? What blessing has come your way this summer?

*Photos by Shawn

Mother of the Bride Book Launch Party

Mother of the Bride, weddings aren’t the only thing that call for celebrations, are they? The birth of a baby is another one. And since I’ve birthed a book baby recently, I’d say that calls for a celebration. So celebrate we did!

I was so happy to have friends and family gather with me this past weekend for the launch party for my new book Mother of the Bride. I posted photos of the party on my home page since I’m doing some Summer Photo Fun there for a few weeks. I’m thinking you might like to take a peek into that very special event, too.

So pop on over, MOB! Today I’m inviting you to join the fun on my home page! Hope you enjoy!

*You can find out more about Mother of the Bride at MotheroftheBridebook.com. 

*Photo by my son-in-law Shawn

Summer Photo Fun: Name This Location!

Are you ready, friends, for some more Summer Photo Fun (link)? Each year during July and early August (when my husband is on break from teaching), I feature some fun photo posts rather than my usual inspirational/devotional style posts. I like to take a more casual approach to blogging for a few weeks and hopefully you’ll still leave here feeling refreshed, encouraged, or nourished in some way.

Today let’s have a little “Name This Location” challenge. Who can tell me where the photo above was taken? Let’s see who can turn in the first correct guess!

I hope you’re having a wonderful summer and getting to do a little traveling and photo-taking of your own. Enjoy your location today wherever you are!

“‘I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go . . .’” Genesis 28:15a

*So what’s the location above? Good luck with your guess!

*My photo

Winner Plus Summer Photo Fun Kick-Off: Caption This

Hey everyone, I’m back! And to start things off with some smiles, I’m announcing the winner of my Mother of the Bride Book Launch Giveaway plus kicking off my annual Summer Photo Fun here on the blog. Good times, huh?!

First things first—time to announce a winner! The winner of the gift assortment  including a signed copy of my book Mother of the Bride as well as some other special items is . . . Susan Best! Congrats, Susan! Hope you thoroughly enjoy each gift!

And now for Summer Photo Fun: For those of you who may be new here, each year during July and early August, I feature some fun photo posts rather than my usual inspirational/devotional style posts.

This part of summer is always topsy-turvy for me since my husband is on his break from teaching so I try to take a more casual approach to blogging for a few weeks. Since photos can really brighten our days and since I’ll also be including a verse from the Bible, my hope is that you’ll still leave here feeling refreshed or nourished in some way.

Let’s start with some Caption This fun. The photo above is of one of my twin grandsons (Isaiah) after enjoying one of Grandma’s love-filled chocolate chip cookies. The rest is up to you—how would you caption this photo?

Thanks as always for stopping by, friends. I hope my sweet Isaiah put a smile on your face today!

“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us,” Psalm 67:1

*The new issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, comes out in early August. Sign-up is free and to the right!

*My photo