Burns Family

Beau's JPS Graduation

2011-05-19T19:05:00.000-07:00

Today my baby boy who I feel as if just yesterday I brought home from the hospital graduated from Journey Preschool. It was a very bittersweet day for me. I am very proud of the boy Beau is growing up to be yet so sad it's all going so fast and that he has completed a milestone in his life! Beau has been going to JPS since he was 18 mos. old and I will REALLY miss taking him there next year! His graduation today was wonderful and he did a GREAT job. Beau's first teacher at JPS, Yesenia happened to be his teacher this last year too so that was really neat for him! Next year Beau will be going to St. Albans to have Mrs. Marjorie as a teacher. I have had my eye on this teacher since my nephew Caden Burns had her several years ago and I am cannot wait for my son to experience school with her! The excitement of today got to all of us so the kids and I each enjoyed a 4 hour nap - woke up and went to a nice dinner at Lone Star where we celebrated with Shirley Temples and a Jennifer Hood cookie cake!!! Tonight Beau is watching the 2 hour special Dukes of Hazzard that his daddy recorded the other night and he is LOVING it:) I cannot express the grateful heart I have to God for entrusting Levi and I with such a sweet and loving boy. He is rocks our world and we are blessed!!
HAPPY GRADUATION BEAU:)

Milestone Week at the Burns House

2010-03-24T19:46:00.000-07:00

After two and a half weeks of sickness in our house spread between all four of us things seem to be looking up this week! Not only are we healthy BUT both of my kids have hit a milestone:) ( in my eyes at least) My son who has been attached to a binky since day 1 has FINALLY given it up! This past Friday Lolly took both Beau and Pike to the ranch. I decided to make choose, either stay home and keep his binky or no more binkies-be a big boy-and go to the ranch with primo! Well he chose to go to the ranch. Lolly said he did just fine without it and here we are on Day 6 and still no binky. Two things I have noticed since giving up the binky. 1. Beau is not throwing his little fits (for the binky) it has been so nice. He knows he isn't going to get comfort from the binky so why throw a fit?!? Second, his lisp is disappearing. Today we were talking about his birthday and I asked to tell me when his was and he said 25th CLEAR as day when typical the TH part would have had an S in it!!! I was so excited I made him repeat it a few times!
Now for Brooklynn she is on DAY 3 of NO DIAPERS! Yesterday was her first day at school with no diaper and she had a minor accident, and today being day #2 she had NO accident:) So excited and proud of her! The no diaper is not just during the day, she is in big girl panties (hello kitty of course) 24 hours a day!!! and NO accidents in bed during the night or naptime. Since switching her to underwear she her naps have stretched to 3+ hours and at night gone from 11-12 hrs. to at least 13 hours! It's been great! Not sure if it will stay like this forever but I'm enjoying it nonetheless!!!
I'm praying we continue to progress with these milestone and they stick so that way we can move to sisterbaby not having a binky!!!

Where Does Time Go?!?

2010-02-20T12:05:00.001-08:00

It has been so long since I have spent time checking in on everyone's blogs and writing my own! I began blogging because it's therapy to me to just sit down and type, then I thought it would be great to have one because I could keep up with what my family is doing thru the months!!! Well I have totally lost that battle but am hoping to get back in the groove of things.
Updates.......
It is now mid-February and I can't believe it! I know that before I can blink again I will have a 3 & 4 year old:( Speaking of.....
Beau is absolutely amazing!!! He is such a kind hearted and loving little man! He is currently having a blast by recognizing letters that he sees on signs that we pass when driving or picking up something around the house and telling us what they are! He loves to sing and dance but I would have to say above all and this goes for his sister as well they LOVE to play with each other! The two are inseparable and because of that it makes it a lot more easy for mommy:) It is a true blessing to get to sit back and watch the two of them love on each other! Beau's favorite thing of course is still tractors and making "roses on the floor or tracts in the dirt" He spends as much time in the barn with his daddy as possible! He loves to bake in the kitchen with mommy too!
Brooklynn is our Princess:) She has her daddy wrapped around her fingers to tight it can be pretty comical! She totally rules the roost and knows it! She LOVES to sing to Jesus and read her "Bible Stories" Dora the Explorer is hands down her favorite tv show and Hello Kitty is her favorite for everything else! She is a very bright little girl and keeps me on my toes as far as keeping her entertained! I don't have to physically be in her presence for her to enjoy things BUT I have to make sure I have activities ready for after naps etc!!!!
As for Levi and I all I can say is God is so Good and His blessings are amazing! Levi and I both committed to each other in this New Year that we would grow our relationship with our Lord and make sure He was put FIRST each day! It gives me goosebumps to see the Lord really working in Levi and seeing Him so evident in our daily lives! We serve an awesome God who loves us more than we deserve and I am in awe of Him!!! If we could get a few weeks of no rain things would be perfect for Levi and his farm! He has so much planting to get done and we just keep looking out for that bright shining SUN:) Just this week Levi purchased a new gun and the man could not be anymore excited as all the pieces come in! As you know just a plain gun isn't enough, have to have the scope, laser, silencer etc.... I am happy for Levi because other than BIG GREEN AND YELLOW OBJECTS I haven't ever seen him so excited about a toy so I hope this brings him some good fellowship with his cousin Andy and friends! Of course I'm not sure how often he'll get to sneak away without Beau attached but it's all good:)
As for me, several months ago I declared to my sister-in-law that 2010 was going to be my selfish year! Since getting married and having children I have become extremely involved in many things that was leaving no time for me and not much "enjoyed time" for my children! Time was flying by way too fast and I was beginning to get depressed on feeling stretched to thin. So my wonderful aunt Lisa sat down with me one day, asked me some HARD but TRUTHFUL questions that help me prioritize and get my life back into order. Since then I have been able to say NO to things without feeling guilty and realize when enough is enough! I have slowed down so much and I am so grateful the Lord has been so patient with me! I am now in my 6 month of working out and am beginning to dip my feet into the "eating right" phase so that my weight can hopefully begin to drop off! I have since working out lost over 14 inches and I'm only two sizes away from my goal! I work out with a trainer 3 days a week and take 3 zumba classes a week as well:) I have begun a Bible Study at the church on Sunday afternoons and doing these 3 things have been a blessing to my soul! This semester marks my last semester as coordinator for MOPS and although I love MOPS so much I am happy at the same time knowing that I will have an extra 10-15 hours back of my life on the weeks MOPS meets!!!!
Levi and I began a family tradition this Valentine's Day that we plan to continue as the children get older! We both "on our own" went out and bought the kids a Valentine Card along with a gift and then I took Beau out for dinner while Levi took Sisterbaby! I got to take Beau to Great China while Levi took Sister to Luby's. Those were the children's choices:) We then met up at the mall after dinner where Levi's surprised me and took the kids home and let me shop alone! I found two dresses and a few things for the kids so I felt super special and excited:)
Well here is my updated Blog:) Afraid to see how long it looks on the page! I hope to update each week so I can keep count of everything:)

My Children

2009-06-26T14:07:00.000-07:00

I have been blessed recently by either being encouraged to read a specific Bible study or sent a story with Bible Verse attached that encourages being a stay at home mom. Twice this week I was completely blessed by it and reassured of what I'm doing as a stay at home mommy is right for me! I have several friends who are also stay at home moms that I thought would also be encouraged by this!
OUR LEGACY - PSALM 127 - Children are a heritage from the Lord
Quote for the study
"If we died tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family left behind would feel the loss for the rest of their lives. Why then do we invest so much in our work and so little in our children's lives?"
We can take time for our children and trust that the Lord will provide for all of our physical needs. Children, whether our own or those we disciple, are our lasting legacy - an investment we'll never regreat.
Although I never really had much time in my life "on my own" I have always carried a steady job since the age of 14 and made/managed my own money. When I became married and quickly got pregnant Levi and I decided I would drop the working part of my life and invest time into our children's lives! Easier said before hand! Sometimes I find myself wanting extra things to do because I don't feel like just being at home is satisfactory enough or fight the constant feeling of not accomplishing much or the just the grand thought of being a little independent! Thoughts of bringing in my own money again or just having extra cash in the pocket seem nice and FUN!
God has given me a clear vision that HOME is where I belong for now and day by day I am learning and seeing the blessings that come from it and will continue to come! Nothing is more important than the time Levi and I invest in Beau and Brooklynn's lives right now and I am grateful God has shown me this. I am also grateful that this story and verse were put in front of Levi and I to reflect on!
Blessings Everyone!

Productive Day

2009-06-04T12:07:00.000-07:00

Today I decided to take my kids to JPS as "drop-ins" so that Veronica could do a good cleaning before Katie's Lingerie Shower Friday night. I ended up in Brownsville at Sams before 10am and that was my first time there without a child.. It was great to go up each aisle without having to say NO twenty times and I'm pretty sure I finished in record timing! Then it was back home where I planned to take a short nap before picking up the children.. BUT NO I decided to clean out the fridge, pantry, and all of the cabinets! I feel so Productive and then kids are still asleep! So not I'm treating myself to a Lifetime movie on the couch! I love how the smallest things gives me the greatest pleasure!

Dr. Appointments

2009-04-28T19:23:00.000-07:00

Well not much has changed for my children as far as dr. check-ups go! Both children checked out fine, Brooklynn further along motor-skills wise then her age and she handled her shot like a piece of cake!
Brooklynn weighed 25 something pounds and don't remember the height
As for Beau will our little stumpy was 38.5 pounds and a hair over 3 feet!
Translation...... 95% in weight btwn 25-50% in height!!! God love his little body:) I wouldn't have it any other way...
We got the whole take his height and double it and use that as a marker for his height give or take an inch... so there is hope because that would mean he'd be 6 feet like his daddy!! Beau lucked out because the office was out of the shot he was supposed to get so that'll happen sometime in June...
I just thank the Lord for very Healthy children and that other than routine check-ups and shot we don't have to visit that place!!

TIME

2009-04-28T19:02:00.000-07:00

This afternoon both children took a nap at the same time and I was able to have about an hour to myself! I chose to go outside and layout on a towel and read my Bible Study book! I of course got distracted by all that surrounds our backyard and what is in it! One of my most favorite creatures is a lady bug! No matter what day it was or where I was as a child I could always find a lady bug and I would run it to my mama as if it were a prize! She always would ask me what it was about lady bugs that made me so drawn to them... Who knows the answers I would give her... Well guess what was crawling all around me the ENTIRE time I was outside!!! Yep a fellow lady bug:) I just started laughing... If I'm honest I will say I watched the lady bug constantly for 20-30+ minutes. It was amazing to see it go from the bottom of one piece of grass crawl to the top, go down it crawl over to the next piece of grass and repeat the process for an exhausting half hour! I was tired just watching HER:)
So I decided to sit up and began to do a little reflection... TIME was on my mind! I started to think that lady bug is ME... Rarely do ever I have a moment of NOTHING to do... The only quiet time I give myself is when I'm spending time with God, which of course is the best time EVER, but I couldn't remember the last time I just "layed down" and concentrated on nothing, or enjoyed something as simple as a lady bug. I do give myself enough credit to know that things I do that keep me busy are positive things that benefit my family or someone else. Being a mommy of two babies I have let guilt override the right to have real ME. I tell myself that time for me will come when they get older and that they are focus for now... For example, Levi and I went to Vegas in January and I was completely miserable because I felt guilty for leaving my kids and didn't enjoy much. I spent more time looking at saved photos on levi's cell then I probably did talking to Levi and thats not a joke...
Anyway, after writing this long thought I decided today that without the guilt feeling I was going to give myself an hour a week of "NOTHING TIME" I imagine most of it will just be spent thanking God for being such a blessed girl, but none the less won't worry about the kids, think of school, worry about ministries etc... just me with me!! and I am so excited about it I decided to write a novel on my blog:) ha ha

The Garden Picker Winner

2009-04-27T08:46:00.000-07:00

I have to say that I had no idea what all we were getting into when planting this rather LARGE garden in our backyard! It is quite a bit of work, but sooo worth it! Thanks to the garden our family gets to spend quality time with Andy and Jennifer and their two kiddos and we have the BEST time together! Levi and Andy are more brothers than cousins and Jennifer and I are soul sisters:) I have yet to see 4 kids play so well together when ours are out in the garden being kids!! Levi and I love getting to sit on our porch and just watch the kids be in amazement of the vegetables growing! Yesterday, I was inside fighting a major headache brought on by my son knocking me out with his BIG head... Beau was DYING to go out as we had not picked the garden yet (yes it is DAILY now) anyway, I told beau to go outside and pick the biggest squash/zucchini he could fine... I had no idea he would take me literally... Here is a picture of what my son brought to me ten minutes later... Daddy was so proud and I was on the floor laughing!

Easter!

2009-04-15T08:05:00.000-07:00

Our family had a really wonderful Easter this year! It's getting better and better as the kids get older and understand the meanings and festivities!! The Burns family all went up to the ranch Thursday - Saturday to celebrate Easter together! I think this trip is going down in the books for everyone! It was so much fun and enjoyable!! The kids had a blast coloring easter eggs and then having a night hunt using their flash lights and the traditional hunt the next morning!!!

On Sunday we went to church of course where we got to witness my best friend's husband and youngest son get baptized!! What a special day for Jason and Sammy!

Then my family all met up for a DELICIOUS brunch at Magnolia Grille after church and we all went to the Villine's house to color more easter eggs and do another easter egg hunt!!! Here are some pictures over the weekend!

Oh the Smell of Rain!!!

2009-02-21T14:05:00.000-08:00

Well today ends a 5 month run of NO RAIN!!! My husband is tickled pink and the kids and are excited to have him home:) He is currently in bed sleeping with Beau at 4 in the afternoon!!! Levi has been working SO hard lately that I am beyond grateful he's getting a little break! We got to pick up Pike this morning take the two boys to eat lunch, play a game of bowling and then eat ice cream at marble slab! What a fun and joyous day we have had!!

My Best Friend

2009-01-21T06:51:00.000-08:00

Well my Best Friend Leighann Villines turned a whopping 35 this past Sunday and I did a great job of lying to her for a two week period and was able to successfully throw a surprise party for her!!! I invited a close group of friends of hers and I think everyone really enjoyed it!! I just LOVE throwing surprise parties:)

Here a few pictures

Las Vegas Trip!!!

2009-01-21T06:42:00.000-08:00

So Levi and I were able to get away and go to Vegas for 5 days!!! We rreally enjoyed the time together despite how Levi looks because he was tired of taking pictures!!! We will probably not ever go back to Vegas unless something is planned with couples and it is a short trip!! but we did really enjoy our two excursions to the Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon... It was really neat because it had just snowed and so we got play in snow, but at the same time didn't really back for 30 degree weather that we would be walking in hours at a time!!! Of course we had a little snow ball fight where the entire bus got out to watch us because they thought it was SO FUNNY to see us so excited about snow!!! My wonderful sister Tanya oversaw the two kids while we were gone with help of both mother in laws and family members!! We are very blessed to have the opportunity to go and not worry about our children!!! We have already decided where and kind of when our next trip will be and we are excited!!! It will however be the WHOLE family:)

Dr. Check up!!!

2008-12-15T19:01:00.000-08:00

I am happy to report that after 3 weeks of fighting fever, vomiting, ear infections etc. my two kids are HEALTHY:) Oh the joy of no whining!!! Brooklynn had her 1 year check up today and got all 4 shots:( Our little girl is in the 25th percentile for height and over 75th percentile for weight.... Levi and I laughed!!! I don't see Brooklynn as being that big but oh well!!! At least she is on the chart unlike her brother... However, I must say Beau has lost 2 pounds in the last month and is only weighing 36lbs!!! I forgot how tall they measured him but he is ON the charts at 100% for weight:) he he first time in his life!! I am excited to be going into the Christmas week with no sick children, and I pray that it stays that way..
Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!!!

My first ER trip with a child:(

2008-11-09T19:07:00.000-08:00

SO Brooklynn had the privilege of introducing me to the worse feeling of my life Friday afternoon. It all began in my room with Brooklynn and I playing on the floor. She had just got done crawling over me when I saw her headed over to my jewelry chest!! mind you this is the jewelry chest that has fallen over on top of Beau 3 TIMES.... it's no wonder why it hasn't been burned... Anyway, I got brooklynn's attention and told her NO NO Brooklynn you are going to hit your head... she looked at me and then turned her sweet head back and decided to go ahead and pull up on the chest anyway:( well of course she bumped her head and i had no sympathy that is until i heard this gurgling from her mouth.. so i turned around and if there wasn't an insane amount of blood gushing out of her mouth... my heart dropped and of course I went into panic mode.... the first thing I could grab was a bath towel so I tried to start wiping the blood out but she kept wiping her mouth and then eyes and so blood was just smearing everywhere. After a couple of minutes I then realized I was not helping so I ran around the house looking for a dumb phone... Called my cousin in law first because she is an RN - no answer, called levi - no answer, I then remember lolly would be dropping her sister off at her house sometime that afternoon so I thought I would give it a shot... Sure enough she had just passed stuart place road on HWY 107... So she rushed over got brooklynn and i in the car and we headed to family practice to see how bad the damage was.....

ok enough detail... and to make an 8 1/2 hour ordeal short here it is...

VBMC is HORRIBLE with communication and no one knows ANYTHING:(

Brooklynn ended up slicing open her upper left lip from the inside out and had to get 8 stitches. Of course they had to sedate my baby girl. I have never felt so helpless and like a failure in my life:( I could not believe that I was right there when all this happen and was having to wait in a waiting room while my 11 month baby girl was having surgery:(....

Three days later, we were able to get by with only have 2 stitches fall out and she has regained her appetite.

I would not be a good mom if I did not report that Brooklynn could not have been more of an angel throughout the waiting process at the doctors and hospital. she was the best baby ever and didn't whine or cry once during that period. it was unbelievable.. I of course cried the whole time and was a nervous wreck. but everything is fine now and we are praying that there will not be a big scar left on my precious baby's lip!!! Thank you to lala for being there the WHOLE time... I wouldn't of made it thru and thank you to everyone who prayed for us and our baby..

I am now praying that IF i have to go thru something like this again it doesn't happen for a VERY LONG TIME.... i've done my dues.....

here is a picture of brooklynn the day after she got stitches... smiling of course!!!

Beau's Boo boo

2008-11-04T17:07:00.000-08:00

So the night we came home from our pumpkin patch party I suprised Beau with a new basketball hoop for the bathtub!!! I beat Levi into the bathroom so I got to take my shower first.. Well it wasn't long until Beau was in there with me trying out his new bath toy... I was in the middle of rinsing my hair when I heard something fall off the top of the rack and heard a big thud... then came beau's scream... With soap all in my eyes I screamed immediately for Levi because all I could see was blood and Beau's excruciating painful face:( Long story short, my shampoo bottle fell on his eye and this was the end result.. for some reason the picture doesn't show the swelling portion of the eye but my poor baby got his first black/cut eye:( three days later the cut is still visible but has taken on more colors!!!

Pumpkin Patch Party

2008-11-04T16:52:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of our scarecrowe at our annual Pumpkin Patch party at the Villine's home on Saturday!!! For some reason the WHOLE pic isn't showing.. Anyway, this is the same outfit beau had on last year!! yep, that right i'm a cheap mama:) ha ha actually i was sick (still am) and didn't have time or energy to find a new one so instead of it being long sleeved and pants this year it was elbow length and capris pants!!! he was still absolutely adoreable!!! We had a great time and Levi being the wonderful man he is once again took charge of the hay ride and the kids had a blast!!!

Family Gathering

2008-10-11T19:56:00.000-07:00

Before I begin I want to give a little history... Levi and I moved into a home 2 days before Baby Brooklynn was born. So as you can imagine I am still "fixing up" the house... This summer Merrijo decided to bless us with home-made curtains and desk cover for our kitchen!!! In two days she came over measured, made and hung them!!! Absolutely amazing right?!?!? well not for her the next day she was over with absolutely PRECIOUS curtains for Brooklynn's room... SO I guess over the past couple of months Beau has heard his mama tell people "gran-dobie" made these curtains for Brooklynn etc......................
Well..............
Last night we had a wonderful time having Levi's side of the family over!!! It all started with me calling Lala (who had pike for the day/night) and wanting to set up a playdate for the "primos." Well that turned into a full blown out playdate with dinner!!! Lala cooked a delicious dinner and we had Gran, Nanny, Esther, Fausto, Grandobie, Kicky, Lala & Pikey over!!! Well of course the boys played in the dirt the entire time with their boy toys!!! After eating dinner we were all sitting underneath "the tree" watching the 3 precious kiddos when Lala began to ask Beau what everbody's "real" name was... In case you don't know the Burns family is notorious for nicknames... After he said someone's name he got a big applaud and he thought he was all that!!! Well time came around to Merrijo (Lolly's sister) who we call Gran-Dobie... and when asked who she was... Beau's reply was "Gran-Dobie Curtain." We all just about melted... it was sooo cute... so now Gran-Dobie Curtain is undoubtedly going to have to make Beau curtains as well... He has asked her to make purple and green...
So this all happened last night... and I got to hear about 4 or 5 different times today how gran-dobie curtain make me green and purple curtains mama....
Dobie you are the BEST!!!!
Unfortunately something is wrong with my computer right now and I am unable to post the pictures I took of the famous curtains so once I get my brainy friend over here to fix this I will post them!!!

Dig in Baby

2008-09-22T19:25:00.001-07:00

Brooklynn figuring out what this wet and squishy stuff is:) Literally two seconds after having both hands wrist deep in the mud she had the fingers in her mouth trying out the stuff!! Unlike Beau she only did it once and had enough!! That's MY girl:)

Brooklynn's first MUDDY experience

2008-09-22T19:20:00.001-07:00

Levi decided it was time for Brooklynn to experience the best feeling in the world:) MUD!!! and boy was she in heaven:) She is without a doubt my husband's daughter. Our family had the best time sitting under the tree playing in mud!! We would have stayed all night had the mosquitos not eaten us out!!! I have to just post a few more pictures to do this special time justice:) I'm so grateful for my wonderful family and love the fact that some of our best times spent are like tonight.. Under a tree in playing in mud!!!!

2008-09-17T13:19:00.000-07:00

If you look close enough you will see on the center bottom section of beau's t-shirt a section of gooo... well that my friends is beau's SNOT... Over the course of time I guess my son has watched my husband's horrible habit of blowing his nose on the "inside" of his lower shirt when not around kleenex and decided to follow in his footsteps... This picture is proof of how proud the two BOYS were of this moment!!! This is where I have learned to throw my hands up in the air and say BOYS WILL BE BOYS... along with GROSS!!!

My First Day as a Blogger

2008-09-13T20:05:00.000-07:00

Today was a day of much decision making and planning for the near future!!! I have had a few health issues that are quite frustrating to be honest and we are trying to come up with a plan to help me get on the "healthier" track of life. I have had to slow things down in my life very abruptly and for good:( This was done with the idea that it would help my fainting/seizure episodes to slow down and we have yet to see progress!! I am getting a really good dose of "patience" and realizing that things take time and don't happen over night!!! It's been a very humbling experience to say the least!!! Thankfully my children are amazing and have been angels thru this all and for that I am truly grateful!!! Levi couldn't be more hands on even if he wanted to and is totally supportive of any changes that have/need to take place!!!
I had a great day yesterday!!! Did the typical lunch with mom and judy, came home for naptime, went shopping and had dinner with one of my best friends and then came home to put kids to bed. I got Brooklynn in bed and when I came out found Beau in the kitchen with a pen he had bust open and was spilling ink all over the floor. I remember going to get a paper towel to clean it and the rest of the night is history???
Levi came home to find me on the kitchen floor passed out and Beau huddled over me saying, "mama - fall down and go BOOM":(
SO as you can imagine it's very frustrating to have this going on and not be able to control it?!? I know God will see us thru this and eventually we will be ok, but boy oh boy I'm ready for the crazy stuff to end!!!
So there is the life of Brooke as of yesterday and today:) isn't it lovely!!!
My future blogs will be more of family and kiddos but like my friend Eleisha told me.. this is great therapy:)

Newby

2008-09-13T08:53:00.000-07:00

Ok I am totally new to this blogging thing, but apparently it's the thing to do!! I had some friends tell me to do this so they could keep up with me but never just got around to it!!! So here I go I guess!!! I am very excited to keep up with everyone although most people have facebook and I do that there!! This just seems like it'll be fun to post our daily/weekly/monthly activities!!!
So tonight I will do my first official BLOG of the day:) he he