Grandma Barry

Grandma Barry. My mother's mother. IS AMAZING!  The love I (as sooo many others) have for this woman is un-explainable. She has a heart of gold and would literally do ANYTHING for ANYONE but especially for her family. Although there are times, where I have heard the same story over and over about my Uncle Jim as a baby, or Uncle Rod or Uncle Terry....or my mom and her sisters, I cherish them. I will listen to her for hours, talk about memories of her childhood, of raising ALL THOSE KIDS and of her beloved Paul. And boy...when all of my aunts and uncles get together and share their stories and versions as well.....I eat it up. They have quite the stories. But all of those were possible because of this woman. My grandma. She raised 8 eight kids! WHAT!?!? I'm barely getting by with two. I can remember growing up spending so much time at her house and her taking us to church, doing our hair and cutting our fingernails entirely way too short. A few years ago, I wrote down some memories I had...I will share that list below....I just can't explain how much she means to me and how much she holds our family together. It is so hard to even get my mind to grasp the fact, that she will not be here forever and that one day I will have to spend a holiday without her. She has touched more lives than I can even fathom. She gives and gives and gives....to more than just her family. Sometimes when I am visiting, I will hear stories about a high school kid that grandma would make snacks for before practice, or another person she did something for. It's like the whole town knows and loves grandma. It's like how does one person make SO many feel that they are the most special to her??? And her FOOD.....goodness sake's...you can't leave her house with an empty stomach or a "to go" plate home. Her noodles, her pies, her cakes, her rolls....she's a master of it all and even if we have the recipe, it will not taste like Grandma Barry's. Her love for Jesus and the church is so admirable. Her love for her husband. Her love for her kids. Her love for her grandkids and her love for her great grand-babies. She always says that the babies are what keep her going. Her and grandpa sure raised a WONDERFUL family and had a huge part in the closeness they all share. I pray every day that God grants us another day, another month, another year with her in our lives and that when that unfortunate day does come that she knew how much she meant to me and how much I love her. And I pray that her kids, grand-kids and great-grand kids will keep the tradition alive by still getting together every Sunday.

She loves angels so much...probably because she is one!

 Back To School Party she hosts every year....

 Easter 2018

 Mother's Day 2018

 Thanksgiving 2018

 My grandma is cooler than your grandma....Back To School Party 2017....she was my bags partner...

 

And she was actually not too bad of a partner...go Grandma

Grandma Barry!

I know some of these memories will been nothing to some but they mean EVERYTHING to me and want to post them here to have them written down forever. 

Making homemade ice cream.

Clipping our fingernails really short

The Cardinal Bird in your yard by the pine trees

Swinging on the swing.

Sitting on the fence watching the sheep.

Swimming in the pond.

Cookouts at the pond.

Going on walks to the pond.

The old green stove & fridge.

Catching fireflies at your old house.

Hiding behind the propane tank.

The chicken house.

The sheep house.

Grandpa's dogs.

Watching you hang clothes on the line.

You and Grandpa working in the garden.

Eating watermelon and corn on the cob outside when it was too hot.

Standing on the doors to the cellar and you worrying we would fall in.

Scrubbing our hair.

Watching you scrub Grandpa's hair.

Watching you iron with your tongue out.

Bleaching our shoes so they were super white and hanging them on the line.

Wrapping toilet paper on your hair at night.

Listening to the country radio from your bedroom.

Watching Hee-Haw and the news.

Taking naps on a sheet.

You calling the couch, the davenport.

Coloring on bank paper.

The old desk.

Washing/drying dishes with all the girls in the kitchen.

Going to your house every Sunday.

Spending the night at your house.

Putting the couch cushions between the fold out bed.

Going to church with you on Sunday's.

The big tin bowl you made tea in.

Frozen ice in whipped cream containers.

Juice in the fridge in the garage.

Going to ice cream socials.

Riding in the white car with maroon velvet seats.

Doing aunts hair at your house on Sunday's and getting money for it.

Watching the parachuters during the summer.

You meeting Mallory & Morgan for the first time and saying, "Grandkids and great grandkids are what keep me going."

Standing on the old register and letting the air blow our dresses up.

Your vegetable soup! Yummy!

Your sweet cards you always send in the mail with a nice note.

You making us keep eating although we are full.

Always having yummy snacks at your house.

Putting our hair in the pink pokey rollers.

Playing basketball.

Getting a life size doll/firetruck for Christmas.

Embroidered pillowcases.

You packing Grandpa's lunch in the green lunch pail with matching thermos.

Wearing your Liberty Bank coat

Playing Little Drummer Boy over & over at Christmas time.

Listening to your favorite cassette in the car, 'Paper Roses' by Lynn Anderson

Going with you to get your hair done on Friday's.

Taking us to town, going to Aldi, mall & eating at Dairy Queen or Burger King.

Going to the bank with you, sitting in the chair and watching you clean.

Getting to go to the old gas station in Liberty.

Getting us ready for church and lining us up on the couch when done.

All the desserts you make.

Cutting HUGE pieces of pie or cake.

Your homemade noodles & angel food cake.

You telling me the story of the lemon meringue pies getting dumped all over the car.

Your basement flooding the day of my wedding shower.

Coming to our house in Mendon and staying the night.

Helping mom paint and clean when we moved.

Had to stay up all night for testing for when I fainted...you, mom & I stayed up all night baking cookies.

Your snoring.

Playing with your earrings, necklaces & bracelets.

Sending us home with all of our clothes & shoes washed, dryed, ironed & folded...even our underwear!

Spending the night during Liberty Fall Festival...Girls Weekend!

The tea pot whistling.

Picture of Jesus hanging on the wall.

Loved looking at all the wedding pictures/high school picture on the wall in the front room.

Getting in trouble for going upstairs or in the front room.

Plastic fruit!

Silk flowers

Never smiling fully for pictures.

Grandpa saying, "Come here, I'm gonna get you." And Grandma saying, "Paul, don't scare them."

Having a garage and house so clean but still saying, "don't look at my house, it's a mess."

The love you have for Grandpa-watching the way you two loved each other and continue to love him. Not sure I ever heard you two argue. Very inspiring.

Telling us over and over not to play in the road.

Hearing stories about your children and your brothers & sisters.

Leaving your garage door open, so people know you are home so they will stop to visit.

Feeding Mary Kay lunch every day.

Going to family reunions.

Feeding all the Liberty sports teams before & after practices/games.

Grandpa shaving your legs.

Taking care of Marty Miller when he was little and now he is a convicted felon. Washing his sisters' clothes everyday when they stayed because they only had one set of clothes.

Worrying that your kids are having nervous break downs.

Getting cowboy hats to wear to Greg and Roses wedding reception and wearing it!

Praying the rosary on the plane to Texas.

Taking a shower while Mary Kay was in labor.

Letting your daughters drink margaritas out of baby bottles on the way to the Ozarks.

Climbing over the car seat while car in motion to help Mary Kay deliver Michaela.

Giving a HUGE plate of food to Mrs. Hoffmiester on the holidays before any of us went through the line.

Dancing with Sara at her wedding reception...to a rap song and having the biggest smile on your face!

Your story about Jim drinking his goats milk as a baby

Rodney's convulsions.

Being in the hospital and the crazy woman next to you that was hiding under the hospital bed.

The normal travel path to Quincy. She can only make right turns, except for the one left turn out of the mall that gets her turned around to go home.

Only buying beer on Christmas.

Juicy Fruit gum.

Halloween and trick or treaters.

Steve's favorite memory was them making him go out to the bars and parties so he could watch over Becky and Diane

When the boys caught the field on fire. You telling Diane to get a bucket of water even though it was much bigger.

When the boys left their buckets by the pond, but wouldn't come out when she called for them because they were upstairs eating her freshly baked cinnamon rolls. You thought they had drowned until you saw the empty pan.

New coloring book and crayons when we went to town.

Making ice from old whipped cream containers.

Palm Sunday palms behind pictures.

Smell of grandpa's pipe

Playing ghost in the graveyard.

Dressing Becky and Diane alike when we went to school. Diane got in trouble by Becky's teacher because she didn't have her shoe tied. The teacher thought Diane was Becky.

Grandma's closet....downstairs and UPSTAIRS!

Trying to be like Margie and Mary and "laying out" on the picnic table and grandma hollering at us to get out of the sun before we got sunburned.

Four girls in one bedroom...with no closet!

Going upstairs to Mary Kay's room and looking at her pictures of her at prom.

The bright blue paint in Terry's bedroom upstairs with red carpet.

Going up to Margie's room and looking at all her clothes and trophy from the Adams County Fair pageant.

Retrieving basketball from over the fence and trying not to step in sheep poop.

All the boys going coon hunting.

Rodney's misfortune on Father's Day.

Sucking up thousands of lady bugs with the vacuum.

Radio on the counter with 8 year old dead cricket on it.

Giving Gertrude Flick a ride to church. She would try to get out of the car before dad stopped the car.

The boy grandkids chasing the sheep. Grandma yelling, "Get back over here before the buck sheep gets ya!"

When Sue came home from the hospital with Blake and was completely overwhelmed. She came and worked her butt off helping. You helped like this every time another baby was born.

Lee would help Grandpa plant potatoes and he sit in a chair by the garden while Lee did it and Grandma would come out and say, "Paul, give that boy a rest!" and ask if he was thirsty or hungry every 10 minutes.

Diane & Steve cutting down all the turnips. May have gotten whipped for that one!

Lee going to Grandpa & Grandma's just so he wouldn't have to go the babysitter and she got the 4-wheeler he put a pillow would feed him.

When grandpa got a 4-wheelerr and he put a pillow on the back for grandma to sit on and they'd putt on over to Jim & Julia's at turtle speed!!!

Becky and Diane talking Steve into jumping out of a tree . We told him we would catch him with a blanket. When he jumped, we pulled the blanket out and said 'oh lea'. I think Steve might have broke his arm.

The boys tying pig tails to the electric fence.

Cutting the heads off the chickens and watch them running around.

To get through the lunch line took forever because Grandma knew so many kids going through because we were all related! We'd ask for an extra scoop and she'd look both ways and slap it on the tray and giggle.

Blake and Lee hanging Beau on the door knob and Grandma hearing Beau screaming and she slams Beau into the cabinet!

All the angels fell off the shelf and being thankful Mom wasn't sleeping at the time.

Becky's first Christmas and she and Dad couldn't find the staple from the rattle package.

Mom made 4 lemon and coconut cream pies for GAA Soup Supper. Becky drives and Diane watches the pies. Becky slams on the brakes to avoid hitting a squirrel. Pie everywhere! We are crying. The bros loved cleaning up the car. Dear sweet Mom made 4 more pies for the supper.

Mom being in the hospital a couple of days before Margie and Victor's wedding.

Diane getting in car accident and Dad going out to look for her. Mom stood at the window upstairs worrying & watching for him to come home with her.

Taking us to the county fair.

Hearing about your trips with Grandpa to Branson.

Grandma & Grandpa Making a U-turn on the interstate on the way to visit Vincent and getting pulled over.

Dad backing down the ramp near St. Louis Children's Hospital.

All of your angels, sheep and geese.

Lee running away to your house...in his bright orange hunters jacket.

Reading the paper in the squeaky rocking chair in the living room, and it would stop squeaking because Grandma had nodded off and then it would start up again and we'd tell her she fell asleep and of course she said she didn't.

Long phone conversations with your sisters.

Steve sleep walking and thinking snakes were under the claw tub and high heels were frogs.

Becky & Marv leaving the girls with Grandma and said they were going to Chicago...next time they called they were in Canada.

Grandma Barry is sweet to me. She gives me bubbles, candy and china cups with cardinals on it. (from Grant)

Grandma stuffed paper cupcake holders with cotton balls and then frosted them with real icing. She put them in Grandpa's lunch box.

Mom & JoAnne were taking food to Evelyn Schmidt's house after Harold had died. Joan drove and mom said she knew the way...they both got lost and ended up in Hull.

Mom telling dad not to take the old beater truck to pick up Mary Kay from cheerleading and he would do it anyway to embarrass her.

Sacrificing everything for you family and expecting nothing in return.

Praying for everyone but especially your Marine grandchildren.

Rod “claims” when he was younger Diane & Becky tied him to a tree and poked him with needles. He was screaming and mom told him to be quiet because she was on the phone with Joanne.