Summer Vacation Is Here!

All of the Burley cousins
(except for the oldest two - one being on her honeymoon)
in a wildly unique tree on Harmony and Chris's property!

School is out, warm weather abounds, the sun is shining, and we are loving it!  We attended the wedding of our niece/cousin at the beginning of Memorial Day weekend, and enjoyed a fun visit with many of our extended Burley/Black family members, as well as "old friends", Greg's pastor and wife, and even "old" teachers! Our children decided to stay on and spend a few days with Grandpa and Grandma Burley, and they are having a blast.  Kaitlynn caught a 13.5" bass, and has become quite a pro at baiting the hooks with minnows!  They have been swimming and fishing quite a bit, and spent last weekend at a cabin in northern MI.  Grandpa and Grandma are going to be worn out, so we hope that they can spend a few days catching up on their rest.  :)  They are making great memories, and we are so happy that Grandpa and Grandma are allowing them these opportunities! 
Hopefully we will be able to catch up with photos from the end-of-year school activities.  The computer that holds our photos decided to be difficult, and we are still trying to recover everything.  The kids had a really good school year, and at least two of them will probably be ready to go back by mid-July, but we are trying to have enough planned activities/chores/challenges to keep them from getting "bored" (which is a word that is completely banned from our home!).
Happy Tuesday!

April Showers Bring...

Mother's Day...Mommy's Birthday...National Teacher's Week!  Wow...what a cool month!  :)  The first weekend of May began with the kids spending Friday evening with one of their favorite sitters while mom and dad enjoyed a date.  We have told ourselves that "alone" time has to be more of a priortity, but reality controls us at this point, and those times are fairly few and far between. 

Since time was limited, we spent the evening in Findlay, and enjoyed some shopping and a late dinner at Outback.  It is our favorite steakhouse within a 45 minute drive, and Findlay has some different shopping options, so it was a fun night.  In all honesty, we could probably sit in the van in our own garage, and as long as it was quiet and we could have a conversation, it would be a great date!  :)

On Saturday, we celebrated my 35th birthday with my family.  Greg grilled a mean pile of chicken, the kids had a grand time playing together (when they weren't fighting...lol), and we had a really nice evening together.

Sunday, of course, was Mother's Day, and my family spoiled me!  Ryan had spent some time on a special woodworking project, and when he brought it out, a few tears were shed.  It is definitely a precious treasure that I will never let go of!


Beautiful cherry shelf from my oldest boy

 My kids knew I had been wanting a ball glove, so they found me one trimmed in pink.

From Evan, Kait, and Alli

Mother's Day 2011 was wonderful!

Catching Up!

Our family enjoyed a few days together during this year's spring break. We attended IHC, and then stayed an extra night for another visit to the Creation Museum. It was a rare and beautiful spring day (at least for this spring!) and we had a lot of fun.
Just before leaving Cincinnati, our transmission seemed to lose a gear. It actually happened as we were turning onto Young St. after climbing Dorchester. We had that sickening $1200 feeling in the pit of the stomach, after wondering for some time about how long our transmission would last.
We drove back home at 45 mph. Talk about getting weird looks on I-75!
It ended up that the transmission was ok, and we only needed to have a part replaced. :)
Here are a few pics from the week. We weren't too camera happy..

Alli and Aubrey entertaining each other at IHC

Daddy's Girl

The Gang

Ryan had fun manning the camera...lots of dinosaur pics!

Kait loves animals

Mommy has been given lots of fresh bouquets this spring! 

A Mother's Love

There's no power like it on this earth

No treasure equal to its worth

The gift of a mother's love.

~Brickman~

To our wonderful moms, Ruth and Alberta.  Thank you for everything.  We rise and call you blessed!

Happy Easter!

For our family, Easter is a much anticipated day on the Christian calendar.  After contemplating the death of Christ and the weight of our sin that He bore on His own shoulders, Easter is a morning of triumph and joy!
This year, we decided we would forgo a couple of Easter traditions in favor of a more relaxed, Christ-focused celebration.  The kids did not get new clothes (with the exception of hats for the girls and a pair of white shoes for Allison since she didn't have any), and they did not receive Easter baskets from us.  Instead, they chose favorite clothing from their closets, and we gave them each a token gift that we knew they would appreciate.  The boys each received a pack of baseballs (I think they are the sole providers of them at school), and the girls each received a flower to plant and care for.  We had a full and productive day on Saturday, and felt relaxed and stress-free as we went to bed.  We attribute that to bypassing the commercialization of the day, and may do it again next year.  :)
The boys like to escape when the camera comes out, so I didn't get any pics of them.  The girls were happy to pose for a couple...mostly happy, anyway.  You'll notice that Allison's mood changes slightly as the photo session continues:

Best friends

Lovely locks

Pretty little pumpkin

Little Miss Green Thumb

No more pictures!

Just a lil' smile

"Glorious Morning!  Jesus is risen!"