Some Summer Crafts

I was very excited to get going on some summer crafts! I really couldn't wait to get out my new sewing machine and put it to work! Here are some of the crafts I have completed!

This took me a long time, but it is my first table runner and matching napkins! I learned much through this process and look forward to many more in the future!

 This was a lovely afternoon watching reruns of I Love Lucy and making table runners for my grandparents anniversary party!

My 4th of July wreath!

 This is a frame that I turned into a dry erase marker board that I will use to remind me of special prayer requests! 

This is a cork board that I covered with fabric so it would look pretty in my kitchen! I needed somewhere to place bills, invitations, etc. where I would see them so that they wouldn't be forgotten about! It has worked great! If you notice in the upper right hand corner, I made a fabric flower out of the same material of my summer table runner so that it matches! I plan on switching it out per season. (We'll see of that really happens! ;) )

I love simply crafts that help to personalize and organize our home!

Our Nephews

We are so thankful for the time we are getting with Brandon's sister Ashley and her sweet family. Our 3 nephews are especially precious! I had some fun taking pictures of them swimming the other evening!

 This is Logan. He is 11 months. He is getting used to California and many new people!

 This is Carsten and he is 2 1/2. He copies everything his big brother says and is hilarious!

 This is Rylan and he is 4. He is constantly making us laugh and says the funniest things. Quiet a charmer this one!

We just eat up every minute with them!!

Being an Auntie and Uncle is pretty much the best thing ever!

Currently Reading

 I am really excited about the books I am currently reading! I don't do very well at reading more than one book at a time, but so far it has not been too bad!! These are all wonderful reads that I highly recommend, so I thought I would share!

This is for my Women's Accountability Group. We just started it, and it is quite dense and incredibly rich! Contentment is a topic that always seems to hit at the depths of my soul. The first chapter has completely convicted my heart, but I am so thankful for it and for the amazing women I get to flesh this out with!

This is for our new Sunday School class! Even though we aren't parents yet, we are gaining amazing wisdom that has already been very helpful in my teaching and in spending time with the wonderful children at church!

I am slowly reading through the Hunger Games series with my creative writing class (10 seventh grade boys!). We absolutely love it! I am reading it all outloud so that is why it is taking some time!

This is one of MANY classics I have yet to read! This is my choosen novel for the summer. I hope to read at least one new classic a year. Brandon and I would love to see the play as well!

Our Easter

We had such a lovely Easter this year! This was the first year that we hosted and we had Brandon's family over and Kristi came too! It was such a beautiful day!

Brandon and I wanted to start a new tradition and as we were thinking about it we realized that all our family members that would be over are Believers--what an amazing thing to celebrate. So we thought it would be nice to take communion together. Before our meal Brandon read that Resurrection story from Luke and we broke bread together. It was very special and something we would like to continue.
I was excited about our Easter decorations! Thanks to Kristi and Jen for helping me put them together!

This is my favorite decoration, a giant (fake) chocolate bunny that my mom bought for me one year!

The other best thing about this year is that I made Great-Grandma Bernard's (my mom's grandma) Ronis!! This is an amazing homemade pasta sauce that takes all day to make. It was my first time making it on Easter and for the Burns. It was really special and turned out pretty well!

Ta-da!!

I have decided that Easter is my favorite holiday. Besides the amazing tradition that my family has connected with it, the meaning behind it is so important.

"And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain." 1 Corinthians 15:14

Jesus is Alive and our sins have been taken!! The power of that statement is so heavy and because of it, our lives are changed forever.

I am so thankful for a Pastor who reminds us of this truth weekly. Christ's death and resurrection is not something we focus on once a year, we hear it weekly, and we must. What an amazing reason to celebrate. My heart is so full and thankful. Thank you Father . . .

My Resolve

January was a good month. I really enjoyed all the time that Brandon and I took to reflect on 2011 and make plans for 2012--my alone time was just as convicting and full.
I read this the on the great Passionate Homemaking blog and I keep rereading it. I have made it my prayer for 2012:

In her book, Keep A Quiet Heart, Elisabeth Elliot encourages us to focus on the most important of New Year’s hopes:

“Will the young woman find a mate? Will the couple have a child? Maybe this year will be the year of desire fulfilled. Perhaps, on the other hand, it will be the year of desire radically transformed, the year of finding, as we have perhaps not yet truly found, Christ to be the All-Sufficient One, Christ the ‘deep sweet well of Love’” (page 49).

This year, let us ask God to dissolve all our hopes (however good they may be!) into a single hope: to know Christ and to be found in Him. May this be a year of desire radically transformed, a deeper, truer, knowing of Christ as our All-Sufficient One.

“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:7-8a).

This encouragement continues to fill my Spirit, and it is my genuine desire. To attain this goal, I will need discipline and help from my husband, family, and my sisters in Christ. Please keep me (us) accountable to this.

Family Wall

Our Family Wall is a project I have been wanting to do since we moved in, and I just got it up this weekend! I love the fact that we have a long hallway, so it, of course, has to be filled with family pictures!

Above the pictures is says, Family is forever.

The middle picture is one of our engagement pictures that people signed at our wedding, and on both sides are recent pictures of our families!

We love our wall, and we love seeing the faces of our beautiful family everyday!

We are so blessed with such amazing families! We love you all!

Special Friend, Special Gifts

I am truly blessed with the most amazing girlfriends. I love how each of them have their own wonderful and unique qualities, and each of them bring something different and special to my life.

Jennae blesses me in more ways than one, two, three, or five! We met while serving the junior high group at our church in Clovis in 2004. Since then, even through me moving away, the Lord continues to draw us closer together as friends and sisters. One of the many gifts the Lord has blessed her with is gift giving. Every gift I receive from Jennae has meaning and purpose behind it. Her most recent gifts took the cake.

For my birthday (in September) she gave me 2 things. One was a journal where she wrote the sweetest message to Baby Burns, love Auntie Jennae. The second was a CD full of worship songs. They both were such an incredible blessing, and the Lord sure used them. While I was pregnant, I was so sick that I struggled reading in general, but I was really struggling with my bible reading, and I shared that with her. So she gave me the CD so I could relax and enjoy songs about the Lord while worshiping Him. The journal was so I could record all the events and emotions and thoughts throughout the pregnancy, and that I did.

(photo taken in Forest Falls)

What was really amazing was the way these gifts were used during and after the miscarriage.

I was SO thankful for both. When everything was happening and we could do nothing but cry, the CD brought great peace. One amazing song really hit me. It says, "He gives and takes away, for He knows what's good for us." The Lord knew how we need to grow through this experience, and I know He will will continue to show us His plans for this in the future.

The journal served as a great healing factor. It was really great to be able to write down all my thoughts from the beginning of the pregnancy to the end. I will cherish this journal forever. This baby will always be our first child, and I am thankful that I have these memories.

My dearest friend and sister, I can not thank you enough for all your love, care, prayers, and support. The Lord is using you mightily in my life and many others. I wish we lived closer, but even through distance you continue to be one of my closest friends. You are such a calming factor in my life. Thank you for always being a beautiful example of a woman of God. I love you!