Happy 9th Birthday, Evan!

Unless you have had the experience of giving birth to 2 children in less than 18 months, you may not understand the circumstances that the year 2001 brought to us! When Ryan was about six and a half months old, we were surprised to find that another little life was taking shape and would join us just shortly after his first birthday. Wanting Ryan to be as "old" as possible before sharing the news with family and friends, we waited until I was about 5 months along. I can't sympathize with those who become depressed over "unplanned" pregnancies simply because I never experienced negative emotions over the situation. Greg and I laughed the minute we found out, and laughed many times over throughout the pregnancy. Ryan was so young that he really didn't understand anything about it, so there was really no preparing him for what would take place.
On January 23rd, 2001, at approximately 9:02 a.m., a tiny 18" 6lb. 7oz., brown-eyed baby boy made his appearance. We were thrilled to give Ryan a little brother, knowing just how close they would be in years to come.
Now that several years have passed, we are more proud of Evan than we were the day he was born. Though the ups and downs of growing up are evident in his life, he has a tender heart that is sensitive to truth, and like the prophet Samuel, he heard the voice of God very early in life.
We are thankful to God for giving us the gift of Evan, and intend to spend the next 9years helping to prepare him for a life of Christian service.
Although sickness in the family sort of put a damper on the initial birthay plans, Evan claimed that this was the "best birthday ever"! He chose to start the day with breakfast at IHOP, then we had a little celebration at Mama and Papa's house.

Best buds getting ready to chow on pancakes (yes, they do everything together...notice the matching silver caps on the same teeth...)

Just getting over bronchitis and tonsillitis...

Recovering from a sinus infection, and finally getting that "sparkle" back in her eyes...

Lil' Miss Big Shot...

Birthday boy, Evan...

Getting a little impatient to open gifts...

This picture is just another example of the chaos that surrounds trying to get four wiggly bodies to pose nicely. Anybody say, "Where's Waldo?"

Finally, a REAL cowboy hat!

Checking out his cards and gifts...
Love you, buddy! Hope your day was great!

B4 Sickness

It is a real blessing that my girls enjoy going to school with me. Granted, they have been doing it forever, but they love it...the people, the building, the snack machines...lol...you name it. Seriously, Allison brought me two pennies last week and said, "I need two quarters." Papa has been waaayyy too generous!
One day last week, they arranged this little hangout by my desk...

Redneck Style...

Honestly, I just couldn't bear to take down the Christmas decor because we finally had some snow! So, if you drive by my house, don't judge me...I've been sick ever since the snow started melting, and yes the red lights are still on the bushes, and the greenery still graces the mailbox and lamppost...after all, I live in Cridersville!
Oh, and while I'm at it, I may as well admit that I still haven't mailed all my Christmas cards.
So, how's 2010 working for you? :)

Or So We Thought...

Allison decided she didn't want to be left out of the loop...Monday evening she came down with a very high temp (over 103). Her symptoms mimicked Kaitlynn's, so we pretty much knew what to expect. Greg called the dr. on Tuesday, and they scheduled her for Wednesday afternoon. Tuesday evening her fever flared again, and the evening and night were very difficult for her, and a little scary for us. I called the dr. first thing this morning, and they scheduled her in quickly. She has acute bronchitis and tonsillitis. We haven't had to deal with breathing treatments for 7 or 8 years, and it's not something I'm looking forward to. Ryan was only a few months old when he would sit and hold his own little mask and endure those treatments with a smile...Allison doesn't have the same easy going approach to anything medical. :)
Her dr. appt. was tolerable enough, I guess. She cried, and when the dr. came in Alli looked at her and said, "I want my paper." Dr. Sampson was a little puzzled (as well as amazed that she was only 26 months old) until I explained. Kaitlynn was upset about her own dr. visit earlier in the week, and I calmed her by telling her that we had to go because we needed the "paper" (prescription) to be able to get the meds that would make her better. She was fine with that, and evidently Alli picked up on that as her only valid reason to go to the dr! Through her tears, she insisted on having her paper, and said a forceful, "Thank you!" when the nurse brought all three of them in. Alli didn't realize that she would be getting a shot of antibiotic in each thigh, but she held tightly to her papers through the pain and the tears, and we hit the road as quickly as we could. She clutched her papers as she finally fell asleep in the van. I took them while she was sleeping, and with any luck she won't remember enough to ask for them again...otherwise she'll have to fight WalMart pharmacy for them.
So, now that half of our household is on antibiotics (somebody must have something against women), here's to a better rest-of-the-week!

On The Mend...

No pics this time around. We've been keeping body and soul together, but beyond that there's not much to share! Kaitlynn is the latest to succumb to the attack of the killer head cold. She has had such a rotten weekend, but was feeling somewhat better today. She has a sever sinus infection, and with the help of God and amoxocillin, should be better shortly. Her heart was broken when she realized that Sunday School and Jr. Church would not be in her schedule for the weekend. Those are two very special weekly events for her, and the tears were flowing!
So, here's to a better week. Another big birthday rolls around on Saturday, and we need to feel good enough to party!

New Year's Weekend

For the last several years (probably 8 or so), we have been spending New Year's weekend with Greg's family in Michigan. It is the time that we celebrate Christmas and share gifts. There is usually lots of snow, and things are still quite festive, so it works nicely. This year was an exceptional one as far as the amount of family we were able to see. In the short amount of time we are all there, it is difficult to gather aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. for a time of fellowship, especially with everyone being so geographically scattered.
We arrived at Grandma & Grandpa Burley's house on New Year's Eve, and had our family Christmas. The kids all had such a wonderful time being together. Here is a photo of them developing a family cheer. For some reason, I couldn't get the video to post, but it was really cute.

Love Kelsey's beautiful red hair!

Grandma & Grandpa hoping everyone will get quiet long enough to have prayer (they figured we had all recited Luke 2 enough times already this month!)
Allison having a great time with her new puzzle...

No, Evan didn't get a new game system for Christmas...he's still enjoying his very outdated but fun Gameboy Advance SP!

Cousins having a blast...

On New Year's Day, we were able to gather with Alberta's brother and sister-in-law, Melvin & Joyce Black, and their three married kids and 6 grandkids. Gene & Tina secured their church facilities so that we could all be comfy and the kids would have plenty of room to run. It was an awesome time together, and we are so thankful they all came from Muskegon to spend time with us!

All smiles...

Kickball...





The kids had so much fun with a new game called "Stare"...

Not too long after playing this game, we discovered that Allison had taken a dry erase marker to the classroom wall. Her explanation..."I maked an 'A'"...oh my goodness, why do their brains get ahead of their...brains? Anyway, with the help of a Magic Eraser, Tina and I were able to get it off. Hopefully next time it will be someone else's kid that does the dirty deed...I need a break! Ha!

Ryan playing volleyball...his dad thinks he was playing "Stare" while playing volleyball...lol
Greg and Dan catching up...
Some of the kids up in the loft of the gym...
Burley/Black family gatherings are always filled with game times...


Karson still not quite awake after taking a nice, long nap in one of the classrooms...
Trying to get a good photo in the worship center...there were trees on the left, but they didn't really make it into the shot...I guess there were a couple of trees on the back row anyway...lol...
LeAnn takes some time to tickle the ivories...she's such a sweetie!
Tim says he doesn't know how to play the drums, but he did an awesome job, and I had fun playing along on the Yamaha baby grand...Here I Am to Worship, Shout to the Lord, Great Is the Lord...on and on...fun stuff! We were also able to gather around the piano and sing a couple of songs together, one of them being Grandma Black's favorite. We had a good time remembering Grandma & Grandpa Black and their tremendous influence on our lives.
Allison finally crashed...it was cute that she found Dan and curled up on his shoulder...

On Saturday, many of Dad B.'s family met at "Uncle Mark's Restaurant" in Muskegon. I was so surprised to see how many of them came. It was a special time, and although I didn't get many pictures, we won't soon forget the memories. We were able to spend some priceless moments with many of Greg's cousins, aunts, and uncles. The restaurant set up a breakfast buffet for us in the banquet room, so there was no disturbance to other patrons, and we were able to relax and enjoy ourselves. Toward the end of our time, Aunt Cindy led us in singing some favorite hymns together. I wish I had recorded it. There are some excellent voices in that family, and the rich harmonies were beautiful. As we were singing "Great Is Thy Faithfulness", the waitress came in to pour some drinks. At first, I wondered what she thought of the whole thing...probably 60 people singing...and then it hit me...this may have met a need in her life as well. How can you go wrong hearing the words "Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth..."? What a gift that we have to share with those around us!

We are so glad that everyone took time out of their day to gather with us. We have truly been shown the love of family, and have been reminded over and over this season what a blessing ours is!

Impossible to get everyone looking the same direction, especially when there were probably 20 cameras flashing from various locations!

Aunt Cindy, Aunt Joy, Aunt Marlene, Uncle Steve, Dad B., Aunt Sarah (Uncle Stan went to Heaven a couple of weeks ago, and another uncle was not able to attend)...
Karson and Allison found a great place to hang out!

That pretty much wraps up anything that was blog worthy from New Year's weekend! On our way home, we took a break in Ft. Wayne and did more...you guessed it...shopping! I am officially "shopped out", and am ready to stay home wrapped in a fleece blanket in front of a roaring fire while sipping peppermint hot chocolate!
Happy New Year!