I Love a Good Wedding...

Some friends of ours got married May 22 - Joseph and Chelsea Dion! Dion has been in our small group in some capacity for I think 4 years now, and Chelsea was in my dgroup back in our student ministry years. Dion asked me to help out on the engagement night, which was SO fun to be a part of, and Chels asked me and a couple of other friends to be honorary bridesmaids. I got to be there when it all started, and it was such a blessing to be front and center as we watched them take their vows, at what was a sweet, and at times funny, ceremony (we can talk later about the invisible communion).

Chelsea was the most gorgeous bride! She has fantastic taste, and everything was so beautiful! I had a haircut the day before the wedding, and she straightened my hair, so I wore my "21 year old hair" to the wedding. It was fun to be straight for a couple of days.

Kristin Jensen, another former dgroupie. Kristin was also the MOH. Don't you love the "persimmon" dresses? (I'm not allowed to say they are orange).

My sweet and fun friend Kelly Keever and me, honorary bridesmaids. I somehow never got a picture with Vicki, HB #3. Some of the photos were taken in Chelsea's family's backyard, which I thought was so precious. 

Ryan literally had to dust off his suit for the occasion, but it was worth it! Did you know Greer has a new city hall? It is so pretty! And I am obviously conscious of the flowers on my belt, as I have put myself to the left of anyone I am taking a photo with. But it's a darn cute belt, thanks to Kelley S!

Prom 2009 with the Keevers and Mozingos. Funny thing is, Ryan and I really did go to prom together, twice.

The ONLY photo we had of the couple that wasn't in a dimly lit room or of them dancing. And I don't know why this is underlined, I can't get it to stop.

There was lots of dancing. And did Joseph drop something on the floor, or is he looking at something else?

We tried to pretend we really were at prom by finishing the night at Waffle House. It was so much fun, but our covered and chunked hash browns left much to be desired. The company was top notch, though. And our husbands did join us, we just sat boy/girl, middle school style. The girls talked about where bathrooms and closets are positioned in various people's houses, and the guys talked about sports and circumcision.

Congratulations to the Dions!!

Another Visit with the Gainors

We made up for our rainy April date with a zoo trip with the Gainor in May. We met at the zoo, picnicked and then played on the playground. The kids napped at our house again, and Bran made me some chai tea, which was so yummy. After that, we even went to the mall for a bit, we really did spend all day together! 

Now the Gainors are spending 6 weeks in Hilton Head, and we miss them! Love you, friends.

Jackson and Nancy were making each other laugh. Sam's in the foreground.

Kate had her photos for her dance class, so the kids napped at our house (this was the next day, Bran came back to Greenville!) and so Sarala and Kate got to hang out again for a bit.

Nancy. She's just cute.

This is just how they sat, but they are in order from oldest to youngest. For every one child I have, Bran and Mary, and actually most of my friends, have one and a half children (if you want to be technical).

I Was Spontaneous!

May 15 was Kate's last official day of Kindergarten, and I decided at 11am to pack the girls up and go pick some strawberries. I was tired of waiting for Ryan to be able to join us, and I was desperate for a gallon of the sweet juicy things, so I gathered some water bottles, the girls and some wipes, threw everyone in the car while promising Ryan we would all return to pick as a family one day soon, and headed to Sandy Flat Berry Patch, about 20 minutes from our house. 

I should be spontaneous more often, because we were rewarded with a visit with our friends the McGowans! We can't plan a family dinner together because of everyones' crazy schedules, but drive 20 minutes out of town on a whim for some berries, and there you are! And yes, it rained as we drove away from the strawberry fields.

This picture was too funny not to post. Chris and Nancy both sampling the harvest.

Friends.

All Nancy did was sample, Kate was a very industrious picker. Can you tell that 3 other little girls have worn that shirt before Nancy? 

Popcicle in the Poo?

The last time we had a sunny weekend a few weeks ago, we had a fun day outside. It was Nancy's first experience in the baby pool in the backyard since she could stand and jump and not float to the top because of her awesome chunky leg rolls. They had a great time. And you'll understand the title of the post after you watch the video at the bottom.

Kate being girly. We are trying to remember when the girly-ness began. Nancy is showing no signs of being a fairy-loving ballerina.

Mom and Kate made some popcicles and the girls enjoyed them for days. I did too, since I knew they were made of yogurt and sherbert and fruit!

Nancy's request. 

Nancy enjoying the freedom of her request. (and on her arm is a "stwawbewwy worttake" tattoo.)

Springtime at the Burns House

Here's a peek at what we've been up to since spring arrived. I was so ready for it this year, and we have had a blast getting outside everyday, eating outside almost everyday, and watching everything green up and bloom. 

Kate at the peony bush. She calls them "panties" flowers, and it's too cute for me correct.

Nancy likes the soft petals and rubs them on her arms. This bush was one of the first plants we bought after we moved into the house 5 years ago. I had read all about how peonies are finicky and hard to grow, especially here in SC. But this one must really like the spot I put it in, because every year it has more blooms and I get so excited for them to open up. It's my best gardening success story. And I just bought a yellow one to put beside it, hopefully it does as well as this one.

We went puddle jumping after dinner one evening. 

Cort came over one day, and Nancy and he picked dandelion fluff. Cort was teaching Nan how to blow it off the stem, and she was being bashful.

We celebrated our 100th day of school with an M&M one hundred party. Yes, only our one hundredth day of school - I must say, I combine days, so we have done more than 100 lessons, but I was way more relaxed than I ever thought I'd be about how often we did it. And we'll still be done by May 15! (and no, she did not eat 100 m&ms)

Mom and Dad gave us their outdoor table and chairs since they are having some work done in the backyard. It fit well on our deck, and we enjoy eating out there on sunny evenings. And Belle enjoys us eating out there, too! Thanks, Mo & Poppa!

Our butterfly crysallides. Cousin Ben was asking about them, here they are! There were 5, and they all hatched within a few hours of each other. We kept them in the habitat for a few days and just released them yesterday. They are painted lady butterflies.

The release video.

Little wren eggs in my fern on the front porch. They have begun to hatch, so I think I'll just have to let the fern die so the baby birds don't drown!

A Visit With Friends

  At the end of April, we made our way to the Kulp Manor in Charlotte for a visit. I attempted one solo in September with the girls, but it was cut short by a fever. It's hard to believe it's taken us 7 months to reschedule, but it was worth the wait. We stayed all weekend, and Ryan was able to join us. Mary and I went for a run on Saturday morning, we let the girls run around and be giggly and silly, Ryan and Dave made some beer, and we ended up letting the kids run around in the sprinkler. It was a hot weekend! It's so fun to watch the girls love spending time together - there were days not too long ago that Kate and Celia didn't get along very well! And now they claim each other "best friends in the whole world". It was fun to meet Dave and Mary's friends at Uptown, too, and get to see Dave at work and them in context of their community. I love that they live close enough that we get to peek into what their lives are like now, almost 10 years after college and 7 years of marriage and 3 kids! Love you, Kulps!

Kate, Celia, Bennett and Nancy

Bennett and Nancy, partners in crime.

We all, including Bennett and Celia, have a hard time remembering that Nancy is not a baby anymore, she's a big girl. The big girls kept attempting to pick Nancy up....if you've ever picked her up, you know a 5 year old would have a really hard time!

Nancy ready for the road trip.

Part Sun

After Schneider Tree Care came and spent the morning at our house on April 16, I can now buy plants that say "Part Sun to Shade." I was limited to hosta, ivy, monkey grass and impatiens. My hydrangeas wouldn't even bloom because of the lack of sunlight. We decided to use our tax return in a very grown up, and admittedly still somewhat exciting, fashion, and called upon the tree gods of Schnieder to rescue our yard.

In 4 hours they cut down 3 dead trees, raised the canopy of the trees all by 3 or 4 limbs, and cut dead wood out of most of the trees (we have about 2 dozen trees in the yard). It looks really different - to us at least - and was a very exciting morning. Definitely the most grown up thing we've done to the house since buying it and moving in over 5 years ago! 

Why in the world wold I blog about this? For one, it was pretty exciting to the Burns Family. Two, I thought you might want to know that I'm excited because it is a big step in the direction of the vision we have for our yard, and as most of you know, I love to be outside and dig and plant and weed. And most importantly, it reminds me of this book I've been reading, about how beauty invites us to know Jesus more. For me, being in the yard planting things and daydreaming about what it may look like in 2 or 5 or 10 years makes me think of how I am a work in progress in Jesus. As I work out my salvation, am I willing to invest in my relationship with Him today in order to see the mature fullness and fruit of it later? Sometimes the waiting is hard and I want results in my heart instantly, but just like a tiny gardenia my mom gave me 5 years ago that was a rooting from the main shrub, there is much satisfaction now in enjoying the beauty of its fragrance and blooms, especially knowing I took care to nurture it and gave it the best chance possible to succeed. My heart, like our plants and shrubs, may look small today with just a few blooms, but I have hope of a vision of future glory that keeps me going back to Jesus for more of Him. 

Today I'm off to the Piedmont Flower Festival with Mom to buy loads of part-sun loving plants and maybe even a few full sun ones, if I dare!

Nancy watching the big truck pulling up. She was glued to the windows almost the entire time. She had fun watching Carlos jump from tree to tree in the backyard cutting dead wood off the branches.

Before, front of the house. This was taken May of 2008.

After. They took out those two trees on the left, closest to the house. When they did the trimming, the leaves were not all the way in yet. Now they are and it's not quite this sunny, but our house does get much warmer at the end of the day than it used to. I wonder what our air conditioning bill will look like?

Before, side yard. 

After. The pine tree closest to the fence is gone, it was dead. This area gets a ton more afternoon sun! I am excited to add some azaleas for color.

We saved a few hundred dollars by cleaning up the small stuff ourselves. Since Ryan had to work and we had to get the truck back to his parents, I loaded the entire bed with brush all by myself! It was a blast. Really. I'm totally serious.