that sounds like spring to us! After a long winter in a relatively small house, the Burleys are thankful for a change in seasons! The last few weeks have kept us too busy to update, and this blog has become rather neglected.
The day before spring break is usually spent on a field trip. This year we toured Jersey Dairy in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Our family had been to the on-site restaurant a couple of years ago. It was one of those places that you always intend to revisit but never really get around to doing it! Touring with a school group was much different, and a lot of fun. The weather was absolutely perfect. The kids were taken around the farm on a wagon pulled by an old tractor. The barn was full of adorable little calves, goats, etc., which the kids loved, and we finished the afternoon by playing a round of putt putt. I had 6 little ones in my group...teaching them to play putt putt was an interesting experience, and we had a blast watching them "compete"!
We enjoyed being able to attend IHC last week, and took a couple of extra days following the convention to relax and do some sightseeing. Believe it or not, we hadn't yet toured the Creation Museum in Kentucky, so after spending a cozy Thursday night at the beautiful Comfort Suites out by King's Island (for half the price of the smoke-infested, not-so-user-friendly Crowne Plaza/Convention Center), we left Allison with her Aunt Valerie at GBS, and took the rest of the family to the museum. We had seen a couple of the exhibits at Christmas during their outdoor event, but the rest was a first for us, and we were not disappointed! Each of us, from the youngest on up, left with a renewed sense of awe and worship for the God who created us and the universe in which we exist. We were also challenged to not be weary in the place of ministry to which God has called us...training children and teens using a Biblical foundation of truth. We cannot imagine asking our young children to sift through mounds of humanism and culturally twisted opinions (from textbooks, if not textbooks and teachers/professors) on a daily basis and then expect them to, all of the sudden, emerge as young adults who know, beyond the shadow of doubt, the answers to life's basic questions. It is incredibly scary to see where the church may be within the next 40 years if her remnant does not call for an end to the apathy in which she finds herself. If you have become detached from the stark reality of the age in which we live, take a trip to the Creation Museum...you will be confronted with facts, strengthened in your beliefs and empowered to confidently share TRUTH with others!
Friday evening and Saturday we were able to spend time with Grandma Yount. Every moment that we can be together is a gift. The rain made us all a little lethargic, but it was probably what we needed at the end of a busy week! Adam, Valerie, and Aubrey met us at Skyline for dinner before our return home, and it was good to be with them again, as well.
We had heard so much about IKEA that we finally decided to see what it was about. We weren't too impressed (lots of cheaply built furniture and decor), but it seemed that there were some treasures hidden here and there throughout. :) We left there having spent $21 (probably the smallest transaction at that store that day), and brought home a nice abacus and a wooden toy set (one can build his choice of 4 different "vehicles" with the tools and parts) for our preschool/kindergarten classroom. Pretty cool...may have to visit the toy dept again.
Now we are on the final stretch of the school year. Less than 5 weeks to go...hard to believe. Although it is an exciting time for the kids, it is always a little difficult for this momma/teacher. Watching as our seniors leave the "nest", headed out into a world where right seems wrong and evil is applauded as right, knowing that they have been giving a solid foundation of wisdom and truth, and hoping that they stay close enough to God to always be able to sense His guidance in their lives...cheering as our little girl winds up her kindergarten year, and looks forward to being a full time student in the fall of 2010... reminiscing as our oldest boy heads into the middle school years, knowing that the remainder of his time in our home is quickly passing...the ending of a school year is another completed chapter in the book of life. It's amazing how unbelievably fast that story is written.
Here are a few pictures from the weekend. Enjoy!
Is this not the cutest?
Down on the farm...can't wait to move them to the country!
Kaitlynn and Aubrey really hit it off at IHC this year. They had each other laughing uncontrollably.
Some of the kids hanging out in the train car at, where else, Spagetti Warehouse. Is there anywhere else to get a decent meal within walking distance of the convention center?
He is such a little man already!
