Christmas Gatherings

Christmas with Leah's Family 

For Christmas this year, Leah's family wanted to fit in some extra time together by having dinner the night of the 23rd, spending the night together, and then waking up and opening presents on Christmas Eve morning.  We had a great time together and we will have to do this again!

 

Silas and Meme



 All of the cousins

 

 Christmas Eve Morning

 

Christmas with Daryl's Family

 

Ashlynn, 11 months and Silas, 13 months 

 Gabe and Poppy

 







Eden's first crown and jewels.

 



We love you, Nana

 

Christmas Morning

We didn't know what kind of reaction to expect from our kids.  They are just getting a basic idea of who Santa is and what he does on Christmas.  They were excited to open their presents and couldn't believe that he would bring them castles, after all it is what they asked for.

 

Eden's Cinderella Castle 

Silas is still to young to understand what we're doing but he quickly found and ate the leftover cookies.

Gabe and his medieval castle 

 

 

 

 They look so much alike!

 

 

 

 

We had a fantastic Christmas this year.  We're thankful for another year together!

Decking the Halls

I love my early gift from the kids.  It's not difficult to figure out which reindeer belongs to which kid.

Setting up and decorating the tree.

Silas is constantly testing me to see if he can touch the tree.  We had to put some special ornaments on the bottom that he could play with. 

Sparkles the Elf made his grand appearance to see us this year.  The twins loved to find him every morning and they had a blast looking for him.



All 3 kids did great waiting for Santa Claus.  Eden went right up to him, sat down on his lap and told him she wanted a castle.  Gabe stood back, watched his sister then he too, joined her on his lap to make his request, also a castle.  Silas is too young to know any better so right before taking the picture, I popped him right into the middle of the twins.

Silas' Baby Dedication

On December 9th we dedicated our lives to raising Silas in a Christian home.  We committed ourselves to teach and parent Silas as outlined in the Bible and lastly but most importantly to present the gospel to Silas so that he will understand that he is a sinner saved by grace.

The Twins' Christmas Programs

The twins participated in two Christmas programs this year.  The first was at their preschool and this one was our favorite.  They did a great job staying on stage, singing, and making the motions.  They practiced at home for weeks by standing on the fire place hearth with bells singing their songs.

At one point during the song, Gabe decided that he didn't want to participate anymore so he crossed his arms over his chest and stared up into the sky.  He's such a hoot!

The second program they performed in was at our church.  I didn't know how they'd do in this program because they hadn't been on the stage yet and practiced with the group.  They surprised us and did a wonderful job!



We've been appointed!

 

We left early Sunday morning for WorldVenture in Littleton, Colorado.  We arrived Sunday afternoon and enjoyed the evening meeting other people that we going to be interviewed for appointment.  I wasn't nervous about the interview until Sunday night when I sat in the interview room wondering what questions they might ask us.

 

Thankfully, our interview was first thing Monday morning and although I was nervous I was confident that if God wanted us to go to the mission field, right now, then we would pass this interview.  We interviewed for two hours which seemed to fly by.  They asked us some really good questions and some of them were tough but we were honest if we didn't know the answer.  After the interview, they dismissed us to the hallway, discussed, then invited us back in to unanimously appoint us as full time missionaries with WorldVenture.  We were both excited and relieved!

 

I can't believe it's been two years since we began this process.  To think that in another couple years, we might be on the mission field is very exciting!

 

Next up, choose a mentor, decide to where we want to take a vision trip next summer, and attend two weeks of training in April at WorldVenture.

 

 

 

Side note:  When we got home and first saw the kids, Silas started clapping.  We told Gabe and Eden that they will get to fly with us and Eden exclaimed that she was going to get a really tall ladder to reach all the way up to the airplane so high in the sky.

 

We are off to Colorado!

When we started the process for full time missions, I had no idea it would take 2 years just to get to the interview stage with our missions board.  We have both learned so much about God, the Bible, missions, ourselves, and each other during this process; and we still have a long way to go.

So it is with great enthusiasm that I can say we will be leaving early Sunday morning for Colorado!  We will fly out of Greensboro, connect in Charlotte, and arrive in Denver around mid-day.  Our interview is Monday at 1:00 MST (3:00 EST).  If all goes well, we will be appointed for full time service by our missions board.  From there, we will return to Colorado in the spring for training and fund-raising will start shortly afterwards.

Please pray!  We really appreciate all the prayers we've received and the peace God has given us about this trip.

Here are some specific ways to pray.
1. Pray for safe travels
2. Pray for those taking care of our kids while we are away (I think there are at least 6 people that are helping look after them while we are gone.)
3. Pray for those that will be on the interview committee.  Pray that God will give them guidance and that they will make the right decision based on God's purpose for our future.
4. Pray for us to have a clear mind and peace about the interview and its' outcome.

Thank you all so much for your support.

Daryl and Leah Burnette

Silas is 1 year old!

Silas is a happy little boy.  He loves to dance to music and he likes to play with anything that rolls.  He has taken a couple steps on his own but for now he finds crawling to be faster.  He is learning to eat with a fork and he LOVES drinking milk.  Silas has a big appetite and we've learned that there is not such thing as feeding him until he's full . . . he will explode!

Silas doesn't say very many words . . . Mama, Dada and occasionally, Nana.  He lives to do the motions to Patty Cake and he likes to play Peek-A-Boo.  He is attached to his Mommy which she admits is her own fault and he is determined to keep up with the twins at any cost.

Silas is marvelous boy who is the most interesting mixture of Gabe's looks and Eden's personality but he is his own person.  We aren't sure what our lives would be like without him and we are so thankful for having him in our lives.

31" (85%) 27 lbs (100%)

Silas' First Birthday

Silas is one!

 

Silas preferred the grapes and goldfish over the cake.  He enjoyed smashing the cake but kept reaching for other things to eat.

Thanksgiving

To celebrate Thanksgiving with the twins, we attended their preschool's Thanksgiving Feast.  Unfortunately, Eden has been sick and wasn't able to go.  We still had a great time with Gabe and we enjoyed this special time with him.

Thanksgiving with Leah's family. 

Thanksgiving is Silas' last, first holiday.  We learned today that Silas doesn't really have a limit in eating.  We had to ask family and friends to stop feeding him although he's asking for it.  He literally ate until he popped!