Happy New Year!!

                Every year around this time, I often find myself saying, “wow, the year went by so fast!!” Do you find yourself saying that too? I decided to not push myself to get our Christmas letter out before Christmas. I’m learning to slow down and prioritize more. God has given us many challenges this year but has also blessed us, very richly!!

Dave had an eventful year. He started off the year working full-time for FedEx and now, has spent the past 4 months home with the boys. He is truly enjoying his time at home with the boys. Dave had surgery in July to repair a broken jaw he sustained during a softball game. He was on a liquid diet for six weeks: not fun! He has also kept himself busy with his band, My Fall Lament. They had a few gigs this fall; unfortunately, I haven’t been able to attend any yet. They are typically during the week and late at night. He has also spent a lot of time playing for the worship team at church—a truly blessed time. Dave and I took time to read the Five Love Languages, and now know how to better serve and love each other. He has been busy filling my ‘love tank’ by doing a lot of small projects around the house. Our laundry/storage room is almost done (in an unfinished way) and the downstairs bedroom is nearly done.

Eli turned three on November 11. My baby is three!!!! He is so talkative, imaginative, busy, playful, loving, stubborn and tenderhearted. Eli has transitioned into big brotherhood very well. He does a great job of caring for and playing with his little brother. But he can be a bit of a stinker as well. He has been known to hit Noah, sit on Noah and yell at Noah…all the things big brothers tend to do. Eli had his third open-heart surgery this summer. We spent two weeks in the hospital waiting for the ‘all clear’ from the doctors. While in the hospital Eli ate A LOT of chips and salsa, fought taking his medication, played with his cars, took some naps, went for A LOT of walks and watched A LOT of movies. In looking at him now, you would never know he had open-heart surgery 5 months ago. His color is fantastic, his saturation levels are in the high 90’s and he has energy…A LOT of it.

Noah turned one on November 15^th. My baby is one!!! He is so much fun to watch grow up. He is so busy, so cuddly, so talkative (lots of babbling, mom, dada, up), learning to sign (more, all done, milk, eat) and so sweet. Noah has mastered the younger brother ‘annoying me’ tactics very well. He always wants to be by Eli, do whatever Eli is doing and more often than not, Eli doesn’t want him around. Noah is very curious and can be helpful…sometimes. He does a great job of taking stuff out of something, but will then try to put it back. Just this week Noah took off walking. He’s been taking a few steps here and there, walking along stuff but now he’s walking! He’s sweet and I enjoy loving on him as often as I can.

I’ve been doing alright. I had an interesting year at work; I’m still work for CESA #11. I was partially laid off but then reinstated back to full-time a few months later. I dropped several districts due to caseload changes and travel a lot less this year than in the past. It’s been crazy but I still truly enjoy my job. Dad, Brianna and I celebrated Mom’s one-year anniversary by having a picnic in the cemetery with her. It was a beautiful fall day and we had a wonderful time being together and remembering Mom. As we were packing up, Brianna said, “That was fun. We should do this every year.” Dad and I agreed. I’ve had a tough year emotionally but I keep reminding myself to lean on God’s grace and to have hope in Him. It’s been a challenge, but I know He’ll bring me through it.

As a family we took a vacation back in February. We went to Puerto Vallarta, MX with Dave’s parents. Just an FYI to all you travelers out there, NEVER fly internationally via standby. It seriously felt like the trip that wouldn’t end. It took us 2 days to get there and 2 days to get home. Despite travel horrors, we had a wonderful time relaxing in the sun, lots of pool time and lots of Grandma and Grandpa time.

Please follow us on our blog, www.theburlingames.com. I intend to do a better job of updating our blog on a more regular basis with news, information and pictures of my sweet boys.

We hope and pray you all have a truly wonderful New Year!!

Our family Christmas

Eli is opening his new puzzle.

Noah being his cute self! He wasn’t sure what to think about opening presents, but he had fun nonetheless.

My boys opening their presents.

Burlingame Christmas

Alexis and Eli helping Grandma make dinner rolls.

Nate and his sweet kiddos – Evan and Alexis.

Alexis opening her present (she got a doll bed to go with her doll that she got for her birthday).

Dave and Noah watching the present opening extravaganza.

Eli opening one of his many presents.

Everyone helped Owen open his really big present (it was a kitchen play set).

Dave put Beth’s kitchen mittens on Noah, he wasn’t sure what to think of them.

Grandpa and his boys watching Star Trek.

We had a wonderful holiday season. Unfortunately, I didn’t take any pictures of the Paulson Christmas gathering to add to this post. That was a ‘fail’ on my part. Next year!

It was a good Christmas season but I’ve been struggling with being sad. I miss my Mom, a lot. She had the best Christmas celebration ever, in Heaven with our Savior. Selfishly, I wish she was here to enjoy Christmas with me (us). I’ve also been missing Dad a lot, I just feel comfort in being around him. We don’t need to talk or interact, I just feel comforted by being with him.

Side note: I’ve decided to start blogging more and less Facebook. Feel free to check=in and follow. I’m going to post pictures, funnies, stories and things that have been on my heart. Enjoy!

We decided to try and catch the Cottage Grove fireworks show on our way home. Once home I ran inside to see where they hold their display and to grab a snack. We made it over to the park about 10 minutes after the supposed start time of 10pm. Unfortunately, though, all the cars in the area were driving the other way. They must have started quite a bit early because we missed the big show completely. Fortunately, there were plenty of people who lived around the park shooting off their own sweet stuff.

We were interested to see how Eli would react. He did very well and was very into it. He didn’t seem scared at any point, despite having a couple really loud ones go off right behind us. The best part came when there was a slight lull in the neighborhood display; Eli made a noise, causing us to look at him. He was signing “more.” He did this a couple more times when a break would happen.

About a half-hour after arriving the massive traffic jam cleared and we headed home. We now know better for next year’s show. The only wild-card might be the new baby’s reaction to all the noise.

We spent New Years with some very good friends of ours (Carlsons, Hintgens, Hintzs and Netolickys). Carlsons opened up their home for us to celebrate the end of the year. We ate homemade pizza, played games, shared Toilet Trivia and enjoyed each other’s company. We came up with our slogan for the year, ‘Accidents Happen’. The challenge is to see what types of ‘accidents’ will happen this year.

I started back to work last week. Most of my students were glad to see me back to work this week, several could care less if I was back or not. The hardest part about going back to work was not having my daily nap time. :) Otherwise it was such a smooth transition for me. Dave spent the week watching our niece, Gator, in the mornings, she slept most of the time. Eli then spent the afternoon at  Nate and Sarah’s place with Aunt Sarah and Gator. As Dave mentioned, we did find an in home daycare for Eli and he will be starting there tomorrow.

Eli is starting to eat more and sleep just a little bit longer. We are looking forward to the day when he sleeps more than 3-4 hours at a time. At the last doctor visit Eli weighed in at just over 10 pounds, he’s a growing boy. When he’s awake he loves to lay on his mat and kick and squirm. In the last week or so, he has started ‘talking’ more. He will make some cooing sounds, otherwise most of his ‘talking’ comes in the form of screams.

We hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season. Thank you for the cards, well wishes and most importantly – prayers!! We are so thankful for all our steadfast prayer warriors. We love all of you!!

There are new pictures in the photo album. Enjoy!!!

We also took the Burlingame/Paulson Kid picture on Saturday.

Dave, me and Brianna.