A Fall Day at Hanging Rock

Today is the first day it's felt like fall. Beautiful Carolina blue skies and 55-60 degrees. We took off to Hanging Rock State Park to hike up to the waterfalls. 

The kids liked collecting leaves and acorns. I ended up with a pocketful of their treasures before we were done. They pretended we were on an adventure and collected/looked for clues all along the way. We ended our day with lunch and a quick walk down to the lake. 

Awana Grand Prix

This year is probably Daryl's last year coordinating the Awana Grand Prix at Triad Baptist.  The kids are getting a little older so they are beginning to show an interest in having a car and seeing it race.  We gave the kids many options for their cars; Eden wanted a minion, Silas a "cut, cut corn," and Gabe a super fast race car.

The boys sat together to watch the races.  Unfortunately Eden was at home, sick, but I promised her I would take pictures and record the races.

The design winners were 1st place: Eden (Gabe received her trophy for her since she wasn't there), 2nd place: Silas, and 3rd place: Eli Lewis

 

The speed winners were 1st place: Maddox Nifong, 2nd place: Gabe, and 3rd place: DJ Thompson

 

Not a bad night for the Burnette family; we racked up!  Gabe told us that he didn't win a "trophy" but that he won the "Piston Cup."  Silas agreed and said that he too won the "P-Cup."

 

Eden was happy she won a trophy.

Gabriel is 4

Four Years Old

Height: 3 feet 8 inches 98th %tile
Weight: 46 pounds 96%tile

An interview with Gabe:

 

Favorite cartoon?  Jake and the Neverland Pirates

Favorite color?  Brown

Favorite toy?  Octonaut playset

Favorite fruit?  Bananas

Favorite game?  Chutes and Ladders with superheroes

Favorite snack?  Chocolate pudding with Redi Whip on top (and a squirt in the mouth)

Favorite movie?  Walle

Favorite holiday?  Christmas

Favorite outside toy?  Pirate ship water table

Favorite breakfast?  Eggs

Favorite cereal?  Fruity Pebbles

Favorite song?  Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Favorite animal?  Tiger

What do you want to be when you grow up?  "A cowboy in town and live next to Eden"

Who's your best friend?  Isaac

What is your favorite outfit to wear?  a shirt with a pirate being chased by an octopus

What do you sleep with at night?  Currently in his bed: white blanket, shark, Donald Duck, scout the singing dog, superman, Lambie, 2 monkeys, Mickey Mouse, and a dog.  Daddy tells him that he sleeps with a zoo.

 

Gabe is growing so much that it's hard to believe he's only four years old.  He has the best imagination and he is the sweetest big brother to Silas.  He is beginning to take an interest into super heroes and it is growing his imagination by leaps and bounds.  Gabe isn't particularly interested in learning school type things but he is a smart boy and picks up on new stuff, quickly.  Gabe continues to be the quietest of the three and he doesn't really want to play alone anymore.  He is a joy to our lives and we love him very much.



 

Eden's Early Birthday Present

Ever since Eden was born, I have been adamant that I would not force her to have her ears pierced.  I wanted to wait until she asked for it and until she was willing to take care of them.  She began asking this past fall but after I had to pin her down to get a flu shot she changed her mind and dropped it.  I'm not sure if Olivia changed her mind or if she forgot about the flu shot but right around Christmas she began asking again to get her ears pierced.  I took her by Claire's to look at earrings and to see where she would get it done.  She immediately fell in love with the Hello Kitty pair and after she found out that Olivia had a similar pair, she was set on it.

Eden did great sitting in the chair and she didn't mind that the employee cleaned and marked her ears but as soon as it was time to do it she freaked out.  I calmed her down (she still wanted to do it), set her on my lap, covered her eyes, held her head still and it was done in no time (he even had to pierce one ear at a time).  I couldn't believe she didn't cry during or afterwards.  The girls picked out new, matching earrings (courtesy of Mimi) and then we went out for ice cream.

I like Eden's new earrings but they make her seem a little bit more grown up.  It's hard to believe she will be four years old in no time.

A New Baby Sister

Kelsey Brynne Alexander was born on October 28th in Charlotte.  She is a full sibling to our children and was adopted by Derek and Debbie Alexander who go to our church.  God was completely in control of this situation coordinating the adoption by people we didn't know but who live so close.  We arranged a time to meet Kelsey and the kids were so excited.  

Silas, calls Eden "sissy" so we told him Kelsey is "little sissy."

To our surprise, Gabriel and Silas were more interested in Kelsey than Eden.  However, we took Eden's baby book with us so they could see how much the two girls looked alike so Eden was preoccupied with showing her book to the Alexanders.  

Sweet sisters

 Eden is on the left and Kelsey is on the right.

December Newsletter

Greetings from the Burnettes,
     These past 3 months have been full of meetings with friends and family.  We are thankful for the break in traveling in order to settle into a routine with our kids.  We are in awe of God's provisions during this time of finding people to partner with us on this journey.  We want to express our gratitude to the churches that have allowed us to visit with them over these past few months: Friendly Hills Church in Jamestown, NC, Christ Church Greensboro in Greensboro, NC, and Grace Presbyterian in Kernersville, NC.  We are looking forward to visiting other churches after the first of the year.  Our end of the year goal is to be 25% financially supported and we are only 4% away from this goal!
     In family news, we celebrated Silas' 2nd birthday at the end of November.  Our little boy loves farms and tractors so we had fun with a little farm party.  On December 9th, we celebrated his "Gotcha Day," the day we brought him home, adopted him, and became his forever family.  We are looking forward to the end of Daryl's job on December 31st.  This is a big step in our process as it will allow us to spend more time completing needed Bible classes, readings, and trainings.  We are thankful for the love and support Daryl's boss and coworkers have demonstrated while we pursue full time missions.  The end of his job also means the end of his salary and our full reliance on God as well as the financial supporters He has brought our way.
     We covet your prayers as the beginning of 2014 promises many changes and adjustments for our family.  We also ask that you praise God with us for His provisions and for bringing you along side us on this journey.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,
Daryl, Leah, Eden, Gabriel, and Silas BurnetteDLBurnette@worldventure.net www.worldventure.com/DLBurnette
 

 

 

 

Prayer Requests:
1. Pray for God to send us partners who will join us in the work He has called us to do.
2. Pray for the children and local churches in Mozambique.
3. Pray for us to reach our end of the year goal of 25%


Praises:
1. Daryl's job comes to an end on Decmeber 31st
2. We celebrated Silas' 2nd birthday
3. God has provided 21% of our monthly support!


But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
Luke 2:10-12

The Facebook Pregancy Facts Game

I normally don't share things from Facebook on my blog but I had a bigger reaction to this than I thought I would and honestly I'm posting it on my blog so I won't forget about it.  My original post is below:

 

So I "liked" a friends status about her pregnancy and now I'm suppose to write 11 things about my pregnancy . . . this should be interesting.

1. I've never been pregnant.
2. We have fertility issues and a small chance of getting pregnant.
3. We visited a fertility specialist and knew immediately that wasn't God's plan for our lives.
4. I thank God that I never got pregnant and miscarried. I cann...ot fathom going through that.
5. Deciding to adopt wasn't a "fall back plan" it was God's will for our family.
6. The twins were 2 days old when we found out about them and the next day we were chosen by their birthmom to adopt them. They came home 2 weeks later.
7. We knew about Silas almost 4 weeks before he was born and I secretly hoped the birthmom would let me be in the room when she delivered him but I never asked.
8. Foster parents are truly amazing. Silas was with a foster family for a little less than 2 weeks and his foster mom truly loved him.
9. I have absolutely no regrets for how my family was formed nor do I wish I had ever become pregnant.
Some advice:
10. Don't ask young married couples when they are going to have kids, you never know what they are going through.
11. Don't ask adoptive families if they have any "real children." I can assure you that my kids are real, live, human beings.

Lastly, if you "like" or comment on this, I promise I won't make you do one.

 

In hindsight, I wish I had included something about our kids' birth family.  They sacrificed and made some very hard decisions for their children.  We should not judge a birthmother for her actions rather we should pray for her, encourage her, and uplift her for the sacrifice she made to ensure a better life for her child.  We are so grateful for Rachel and we love her so much.