Wonderful day for our family!

So today was a wonderful day for our family our new nephew was adopted and now has "the official" stamp. He was part of our family the very day he was born and we are so proud to call him nephew and cousin. We know that Jeff and Kim have been through a lot to get to this joyous day and know now that it was worth it all.
Jeff, Kim and Connor we love you and look forward to watching Connor grow!

Ahhh Sleep Baby Sleep

So now that I have come off of my political soap box it is time to head back into family mode. The Burwell house is starting to get back to normal after the last few wild weeks we have had in our home. We do ask that you keep us in your prayers that our family will heal from the waves that have hit our home. I am happy to announce that Kara now goes down for naps and bedtime with little to no crying and is always happy to spend time with bedtime bear (thanks Aunt Kim and Uncle Jeff). The transition was hard but I am happy that we went through the storm. As for Lanie she is feeling better and has now been able to go to sleep peacefully. She is really growing into being a great sister and truly enjoys "showing" Kara lots of new stuff. Doug is working hard and trying to get things back in order in our home. I am balancing childcare in my home and being a mom. I am looking forward to spring when the kids can play outside where the air is fresh (although I truly believe you should never rush the seasons). We are looking forward to what God's plan is for our family and wish many wonderful days for you in 2009.

America Welcomes a new president

As I sat today watching the swearing in of President Obama I couldn't help it but many thoughts went through my mind as I was watching history happen. Although I did not vote for Obama I do respect him as our new President and do wish him well in his endeavors.
First of all, I have to give this man many kudos! To be the first man of color to run and be elected President is a wonderful accomplishment as well as a man of his age and experience. It is a shame that it has taken America so long to come to this point but it goes to show that if you put your heart into something it can be accomplished.The way that President Obama pursued his dreams were well thought out and worked together brilliantly.
Secondly, I listen to his speech which was very good by the way. The speech talked about a variety of ideas and beautiful words to descibe things, but unfortunately I was left at a loss as for how things are going to change. I do love the fact that He wants all Americans to join together and work together to fix things as well as volunteer to help those around us. I agree with that 100 percent, but I still left wanting more. I want to follow this president but I need more from him. I need some examples, and I guess I will see this as time goes on," for crying out loud he was just sworn in today" you say. I am going to have a positive attitude to our new president I just hope that he is able to get our country out of this rut. The demands of this country are great with the war happening, the financial recession, and the state of America's businesses he has a lot on his plate. I hope that President Obama surrounds himself with good support and knowledgeable people so that America can once again hold it's head up again in our own country as well as around the world?
Thirdly, Doug and I discussed this last night and it may seem like a crazy question and really kind of weird, but here it goes. Since President Obama is not a "christian" is he bound to following the promises of the bible that He swore on today? I know that he swore on the Lincoln Bible but what if he was Jewish would he swear on the torah? or an athesist would he have to swear on anything at all? I just thought I would throw that out their to my blog followers. Please let me know what you think.
Finally, I will say that I am unsure where he will take our country I will be praying for him and hope that he quickly changes many minds like my own over the next 4 years. Welcome Mr. President Obama welcome!

Family is everything!

Today was a wild and crazy day for our family.I am sure that their are times in everyones life when things are not always as they should be. As we go through life there are ups and downs and tests along the way that really allow us to step back and ask ourselves what is really important in life? Each season in life holds it's own adventure. I feel that this blog is a bunch of metaphores.
What I am trying to say is when everything seems to be at it's end as long as you have a family to come home to you are lucky. I am also happy to have my faith to help get through any situation.The love of my husband and the smiles and hugs from my children could be all that I could ever ask for. As Doug has quoted to me this week "as long as I have you guys I have all I need" God seems to know how to put the right people in our lives just when we need them. You never realize all that you have until you think about your health, your warm home and a full belly.
I am truly happy to have love ones that are there with a listening ear, a helping hand, or a loving word.
I know this is a serious blog which I am trying to be more of a humorous blogger, but I was feeling a little sentimental.
If you are reading this and have given us loving words, helpful support, or just thought of us we love you are thankful for you.
Love, Jenny (future humorous blogger)

So how does it feel to be 1

So today as I was playing with Kara I began to think how wonderful it is to have a one year old in our house again.She seems to be happy most of the time with her cute scrunched up smile and bright hazel eyes she can charm her way into just about anything. I thought how it must feel each day to start off with someone getting you dressed, feeding you, and then taking care of your every whim whether it be your favorite episode of Mickey Mou or a book of your choosing usually Moo Baa Lalala. I love that fact that no matter what happens in my life she is always there with a tight hug or a cute open mouth kiss. Although it is great I am sure there are downsides too. For instance, how about diapers yuck I don't know that the continuous airing of my favorite show would be worth wearing one of those all day. How about being forced to nap (as I listen to her crying upstairs right now) although I would like the midday sleep I don't know that I would like to be forced into a bed when I really want to be up and running around. The sad part is she needs to nap and if I were her I would love someone to make me take a nap.
So back to the good things... I enjoy the fact that she is really beginning to talk now. She can say Mom or as she says MAAAaaaamom and Dad which is her usual response when I ask her to say Mama she can say baba which is pacifier. She can say Lanie, cheese, please, thank you and make a moo sound and a tiger growl.
It amazes me how parents have their kids perform. I used to think this was weird until I became one of those parents."Watch Kara do this, Lanie show them how you do that" after the moment I realize I just asked my child to perform- should I give them a treat? or do I get they get a performance fee for their role?
We love the moments that we have with our baby and look forward to seeing the person she will become. I am sure there will be a day we will look back and say remember when she used to say "moo" Kara we love you!

Grieving as a Family

As many of my readers may know we lost a dear and loving family member right before Christmas and her name is Aunt Sue. The loss of Aunt Sue has been one that was not only sorrowful but extremely shocking to all of us. Aunt Sue was what appeared to be a healthy woman with a normal life and going through life as all of do so the loss of her was shocking not only for the adults but for my own children.
Lanie was very sad when we told her about Aunt Sue she was sad, and tearful but seemed to continue on with things as they would for any 8 year old. The only problem is she really wasn't going on as a normal 8 year old as I soon found out. While in Cincinnati she got the stomach virus that was going around she often cried and was extremely upset. Doug and I couldn't figure out why it was lasting so long and why she wasn't healing. We took her to the emergency room where they did many tests they decided it was indigestion. Lanie continued to have stomach problems and often crying in pain when it was time to go to bed. We really could not figure it out and often became frustrated with her, which I now regret!
I was laying in bed last night I feel that the Lord spoke to me and maybe a little help from Aunt Sue it occurred to me what was happening with Lanie. She was having anxiety attacks, just like I have experienced in my life. I know you say an 8 year old having an anxiety attack? Well when you lose someone so close to you and so real to you it can be scary. When Lanie woke up this morning I went in and spoke with her about how she was feeling and what was on her mind and in fact what I thought was true. She not only expressed to me that she was afraid she would die but that people around her including me would not live forever. The thought of the idea that no one lives forever was terribly painful for her. I remember as a young child feeling that same way realizing that not everyone can be here forever. So we talked for a while about how there isn't enough room for everyone to stay here on earth and how heaven is such a wonderful place to be someday with God. It is very hard to comprehend at 8 or at 37 how we can't just keep everyone we love here on earth with us so there is no sorrow or loss. After talking for a while we decided to implement family fun night and we are going to continue to talk more about her feelings and anxieties.
Today was a life lesson for me. The lesson here is that although "things" may look fine they are not always "fine." I realized that 8 year olds can act brave when deep down inside they are just as sad as her grieving parents and family.
The loss of Aunt Sue has grieved our WHOLE family, but there are positive things that have come out of it, a wake up call for check ups, a need to talk more about daily life with the ones that we love, to cherish each day and most importantly.... to hug each other everyday.
We love you and miss you Aunt Sue.

Why Blog?

So blogging seems to be the latest craze amoung computer mom's so I decided to jump on the band wagon and give it a go. I don't consider myself a very good writer or even a creative writer but I thought having this blog would be a good way to get my thoughts out the world, update family and friends on the happenings in my families life and hey it's cheaper than therapy. Blogging seems to be a unique technique in itself it is almost like taking someones journal and posting it for all the world to see. I am amazed the different ways that you can blog you can have a serious blog where you fight for justice or a loving blog where you can express your love for that special someone, you can have a news blog where you can report on things you like and don't like in the news. After thinking about it I decided to come up with the slant of talking about my family and maybe occasionally putting in a few lines about my views on the world around me. I have goals for my blog, I hope that it will be entertaining as well as informative so that people will read it of course. My only hesitation is that it will not be as funny and creative as some of my family and friends blogs'

So if you would like an update on my family or just have some free time feel free to check out my blog you never know there maybe a little Mark Twain in me after all.