Interview with Cabe

All in a Day's Pickin'

We LOVE summers here in Scotland, and one of the reasons is the amazing fruit! What you see in this pictures was all picked today by our very own hands :) We got the raspberries from a friend's garden this morning, the cherries at the trees in front of the Post Office at lunchtime, and the blueberries in the woods by our house after dinner. We haven't been here in July to get to enjoy cherries and blueberries before and they're fabulous! Once again we seem to be the crazy Americans who care to pick them, but we can't help it! We plan to keep picking!

Recently....

Well, I must say that I now know what ''hayfever'' really is; however, there are huge perks to living amongst the hay as well.

Last week, the hay in the fields around our house was cut and baled. The boys ran outside when the saw the baler coming and found a special perch to watch the show. I thought it was precious and beautiful!

Covington and Goodbyes

Our last week in the US was spent in Covington. It was a week packed with cuzzies and fun! We again went swimming almost every day, ate fabulous food, spent a day in New Orleans, and soaked up time with family. We are so thankful for our time in the States. It was hard to say goodbye, but we're excited about what the Lord is doing here in Kiltarlity. We would appreciate prayer for the church here....come visit! :) We promise a true Highland experience!

Texas - Round 2

After the family reunion in Tulsa, we went back through Texas but did things a bit differently this time. Joe went with his dad with the boys to Horseshoe Bay for some ''man time'' while I stayed in Tulsa with a dear friend, Holly, and her family. Before the boys left on their adventure, Dan and Caleb were so excited to play with Margot and Stella for the first time (in a long time). It was a sweet time to see them together, especially Dan and Margot who were born just days apart when we lived in Waco. After two days in Waco, I headed to Horseshoe Bay to meet up with the boys. They had a blast! The boys loved time with Grandpa Joe!

Tulsa - Skiatook Family Reunion 2011!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

From Dallas, we headed to Tulsa for a big Barthel Sisters (plus!) family reunion! This includes all my aunts, uncles, and several cousins on my mom's side. My parents just finished a fabulous house on Lake Skiatook, so it naturally became the base for the reunion. We had as many as 30 people at the house each night for dinner. Our family reunions happen every other year at one of the five sister's homes. Each night the sisters take turns cooking a meal to go along with a theme. This year we had a Scottish night, Oklahoma Land Run, Oktoberfest, Easter, and Birthday night. It was absolutely wonderful to see so much family and to get to introduce our boys to some of them for the first time! The boys loved the activity, loved the lake, the boat, the food, and sweet cousins. It was such a precious time. These pictures are fun memories of all we did.

Dallas!

After Covington, we went for a quick visit to Dallas. We stayed with Gigi (Great-Grandma) and had lots of fun in her pool. We also had fun at Grandpa's swingset the next day. It was a short stop, but we were soon to be back!

Louisiana - Take 1

Well, we just got back from a month-long trip to the States. It was fabulous! We covered alot of ground, so I have LOTS of pictures but will try to limit myself on what I post. I think I'll separate my posts according to where we were. Basically, here was the order of our travel: Covington-Dallas-Tulsa-Dallas/Horseshoe Bay-Covington. We saw tons of family and feel so blessed to have been able to make the trip.

Here are some pictures from our first week in Covington. We had so much fun with the kids at the pool, aquarium, and simply running around. Crawfish were tasted for the first time by our boys....it took some convincing but finally they enjoyed them :) Lucy, Jeromy, and Cecily were big hits with our boys. Whenever Caleb hears or sees a baby he is still saying, ''Ceci'' very matter of factly.

I'll be back with more pictures from our second week in Covington later.