NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION....NO MORE CLUTTER!

Okay....let me just say first THIS IS NOT MY KITCHEN.....its not as bad as this picture...I promise...not near as bad, but sometimes I feel like it is. Today I decided to start the declutter process starting with the kitchen. It has taken me nearly all day to clean out the cabinets, etc and boy do I feel better now its done!(okay finished...never end a sentence with done unless you are a turkey) Jeesh....I still have one cabinet left(my husband's junk pile of receipts, etc.) which when I asked him he told me was fine. Seriously!!! His idea of clean and my idea of clean are TOTALLY different! We never discussed this in our catholic marriage counseling that we participated in before we got married...one teeny tiny detail they seemed to skip and was overlooked. One of those things that I have to learn to deal with or at least do myself, I guess. ha! Sooooo here is to a new year of decluttering the Burnett household! I am ashamed to say that I found christmas candy from a year ago...and several other things that have been there since we were married over 12 years ago....NO not food....Im talking about a deep fat fryer that hasn't been used in a long time since the health nuts came out in us, I guess! 2010 will be the year I try to simplify my life. I have to now that I have THREE girls.....if you could only see what we brought home from Christmas with THREE girls. OH MY GOODNESS!!! Taylor was even thinking about getting one of those luggage thingy boppers to put on the Yukon...boy has our life changed and will continue. Anyway...here's wishing everyone a safe and Happy New Year!! Blessings to all! Signing off....Tara(if any of you fancy bloggers out there can leave me instructions on how to acquire a blog signature...please do so! I am not that tech savvy but if maybe find the time...can research it....until then...if you know please help the mother of three busy girls!)

We love this classy Lady!

This post is dedicated to a very special classy lady in our lives...NANNY! We love her so much and I admire her in so many ways. My first born daughter is named after her...Abbey Sue. Let me tell you all the reasons why she is so easy to love and admire. She is married to a wonderful man, Papa John..whom we admire too and has raised four amazing children(La La being one of those). She is inspiring, beautiful, devoted, loving, generous, talented and brilliant! In December, she celebrates her 80th birthday. The family celebrated it this thanksgiving. We are so blessed to have her in our lives. From the moment, I met her....at OSU, over fourteen years ago...I knew that she would be an important person in my life! She made me feel so welcome into her family and still makes me feel special and welcome. She gives back to her community and her alma mater, OSU! We love you Nanny and wish you many more years of happiness and good health! Happy Birthday from the Burnett clan!

A sad heart....

I never know what my day will be like as a school counselor. This morning was one of those days that as I walked in the middle school doors, I had no clue what waited for me. Our school secretary greeted me with the news of one of our students was getting ready to be told that their Dad had been killed last night on his job. The mom of the student had called and requested that I be there when they gave the news to the student. I was to call her immediately. Talk about praying very quickly! As I drove to the grandparent's house, many thoughts entered my mind...what to say or do? There are never any right words to say to 12 year olds that lose a parent. My goodness....life aint always beautiful or fair...that's for dang sure! Especially when you have so many other things going on in your life as a middle school aged child. It was a very difficult morning for me as they gave the student the news! All I could really do was hug the student and let them know that we would be there for them when they returned to school. The student wanted me to tell several friends of the news. After I pulled out of the driveway, I thanked the Lord for the blessing of my Daddy and that I still have him in my life to call on at any moment and he is always available for me. The road ahead will be extremly rough for my student; but I will be there to help and so will our wonderful teachers that we are blessed to have in this wonderful school district. So tonight...my heart is sad for my student and I am praying for that student to have strength, hope, feelings of love and support....and to know that there will be many looking out for them as they enter this struggle and realm of emotions ahead.

COUNTING MY BLESSINGS...

Being back to work has been another one of those reality checks for me and made me remember to count my blessings. My job is middle school counselor so I see and hear a lot of disheartening things in my line of work. Yesterday, I had one of my students tell me that their family was homeless and would possibly be staying in the car that night. Talk about worrisome, disheartening, frightening, helplessness and a whole other realm of feelings going through my body. We are in a time of recession and it is not fair what some of these kiddos go through........it made me get down on my knees last night and thank the Lord for my many blessings and a roof over my head. My daddy always told us to be thankful for the food on the table, a loving family and the roof over our head. I never really thought about it until I became an adult and started paying the bills and then again last night as I couldn't sleep worrying about my little student. I did give her resources hoping they would come through for the family. This morning I came to school and seeked her out first and was reassured that our loving community had a loving church that provided them a safe place and warm place last night. So.....I am counting my blessings at this very moment and hoping that you are counting yours too! Sleep tight!

Growing up too quickly!

This is my first baby princess and she is growing up too quickly before our eyes. She is in the third grade and I am so proud of her. She is responsible, careful, sensitive, generous, caring, beautiful and I love her so much. I can't wait to see what she becomes. She is a lot like her mother in ways. We both were first born daughters! She is all girly girl, loves fashion, dance, Icarly, Hanna Montana, barbies, computer and on and on. Here she is at her school book fair where she dressed up as a princess and just looked all grown up. I about cried. This weekend for Halloween she was a bat girl with make up. Being the first born, she also has a stubborn streak like me. As a baby, she was up every two hours until she was one. And she still is usually the first one up in the house among us. I love you so much, Abbey Sue! You are a huge help to your Mother; especially since we brought Nelley home. Can't wait to see what you become!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM THE BURNETT'S!!!

A little online shopping...

How cute is this coat? This is what is on my christmas list for sure! I love, love it..only I have to purchase it from the United Kingdom....which is fine. But I do like to buy in the good ol' USA. I have been finding some really cute stuff from this website in the United Kingdom and have been learning about conversion for the ol dinero(sorry still on Cabo talk). Actually I mean conversion for pounds to American dollars. Anyway...sorry I haven't posted much, but this is my official last week home with Nelley Cakes and I am savoring every last minute with her and her sweet self. Its also a busy week. We have the book fair tonight at Abbey's school and I am helping. It is really neat because the students get to wear their halloween costumes and purchase books to help their school. This is also red ribbon week...I think it ties in well. My dear friend, Tara, is the counselor there and she does such an amazing job and is so creative. Love you Tara, if you are reading this. I have also been shopping around for a cobalt blue skinny belt to wear with a cobalt blue scarf I purchased and my yellow cardigan sweater. One of my sister's friends was sporting the look at my niece Naomi's bday party this past weekend and she was such a hot momma looking great...so I copied the look. This is the scarf and belt I am purchasing......Happy Tuesday and happy online shopping! Signing off.....Tara

Two is better than one Day....

Today Sofey is home with Nelley and I because of parent teacher conferences at her school. She is my middle daughter and everyday is an experience with her. She is definitely "cut from her own mold" and amazes us in so many ways. She just came to me to help put together a book that will be her journal to write and draw in because she is very artistic. She told me that making books is "her life." I find myself laughing at her sense of humor all the time. She is definitely my free spirited child. Tuesday I went to her parent teacher conference and her teacher also had Abbey. I sat down and the first thing she said to me was "Well, Abbey and Sofey are definitely different." I just laughed....so true, though. Abbey is all girl and Sofey would rather hang with the boys. She ended up in class with one of her best "boy" friends, and she thinks that is just heavenly. They have been together since Sofey's birth at Gay Gay's house and she thinks he "hangs the moon." Anyway, Sofey's teacher told me that she will end up probably the best of us all and I truly hope that for her. Taylor and I worry about her more than the others..of course, it is still early to know what Nelley's future will hold or what her little personality will be.....I do believe that Sofey will be very creative and artistic. She spends her free time drawing, coloring, painting and writing.......I love it! Here is a pic of her pumpkin creation. I love you my Sofey Elaine!!!! And I can't wait to see what you become! Signing off....for now.....Tara

Back to reality...piles of laundry!!!

The king of the Castle Sea Lion

In the never ending pool overlooking ocean

Well....our Cabo trip was amazing and we had the best time with some of our friends. We stayed at the Riu resort and mainly hung out there. We ate at Cabo Wabo one night and also went to the marina and took a boat to Lover's Cove......that was one of our favorite things to do. We walked the venders on the beach to get souvenirs for the girls. You are just amazed at how their life is so different than ours. One vender that we really liked was named Phidel and he had a blue box full of beautiful jewelry. Please visit him if you ever stay at the Riu and tell him Tara sent you. He used to own a jewelry store but had to close it because of his family. He had a three month old boy at home...close to Nelley's age. My friend and I took in a swedish massage the last day there that was very worth the money and relaxing...only to be reversed the next day on our trip home. It was a nightmare!!! We were suppose to leave out at 6:30 am...but found out our plane had mechanical problems...we kept waiting hoping we would get out before to reach our connecting flight at 1 in Houston...but the flight was delayed til 3:00 Cabo time and we knew there was no way.....we ran through the airport to change our flights along with the other passengers on the same flight wanting to get home. There were a couple of other Oklahomans there we met. We ended up getting four seats on AA departing to Dallas at 3:45 Cabo time...we took them and thought we could rent a car in Dallas if the flights to OKC were full(Which they were because all flights that day were full from anywhere close by to OKC)...probably due to fall break. When we landed in Dallas at 8:00 our time( 12 hours later) we rented a Hummer and drove the three hours back to OKC. We stayed at my parents and made it there at 1 in the morning. I was missing my girls in a bad way. It was a bittersweet ending to a fabulous trip where we made memories with great friends. Here are some pics....totally forgot to take the foot pic on the beach..the after...but we hung out at the pool mainly because the beach was not one that you swim in much....the waves were really rough. We found out they were expecting a tropical storm by Thursday of this week. Other highlights were seeing Chriss Angel(Spelling?) in the airport....he flew on AA with our friends Steve and Marlo...who had a different flight home and made it home on time. We were on Continental there and back. When we got home Taylor read that Britney Spears was also in Cabo the same time we were....too bad we didn't see her. Ha ha. Signing off.....Tara

Guardian Angel prayer

So....I was thinking about it and thought I would post the guardian angel prayer for anyone who was curious about it and also post the picture that hung about the bedroom of my grandmother's whom Nelley is named after...so sweet. I am getting the prayer card and prayer framed for each of my girls' rooms. As you say your prayers tonight...please remember my husband, friends and I and pray for a safe journey to Cabo and back. The rest is much needed, but we are leaving our precious cargo behind in hopes to return all refreshed and fully devoted to their lives once again. Enjoy your fall break! Here is the prayer:

Guardian Angel Prayer
Angel of God, My Guardian Dear to whom God's love commits me here.
Ever this day be at my side to light and guard and rule and guide.
Amen.

"A fool gives full vent to their anger, but a wise person keeps themselves under control." proverbs 29:11

This verse was a part of our sermon yesterday in church. Our pastor is awesome to listen to and leaves you thinking after church and how you can intertwine the word into your daily lives. His sermon yesterday was on How to Manage Your Anger and building great relationships. Here were the six keys to anger management.

1.) resolve to manage it.
2.) rethink the cost of uncontrolled anger ("A hot tempered person...gets into all kinds of trouble." proverbs 29:22
3.) reflect before reacting (take a cooling off period before responding)
4.) Release anger in appropriate ways: Don't repress, suppress or express it inappropriately.
5.) Renew your mind Ask yourself What is it that is making me angry? Why am I the way that I am?
6.) Relate to people who are patient : Do not make friends with a hot tempered man. Do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn his ways and get yourself ensnared." Proverbs 22: 24-25


Signing off......Tara

Child of Blessing, Child of Promise

Today we baptized Nelley at the church. It was such a special ceremony thanks to our pastor, Charlie, who is so wonderful! Nelley was so good. She didn't even cry. She wore the baptismal gown that both her older sisters wore and was baptized in the same church as both her older sisters. Such a sweet memorable day. Afterwards, family that came to join with us in the baptismal covenant celebrated at our favorite place, Playa Azul. We had many young ones and laughed and had a great time. Nelley is so blessed to have such a loving and amazing family. Here are some of the memories we captured. Signing off.....Tara

The ceremony at the church

Addi and Sofey checking Nelley out afterwards

Naomi checking out Nelley's shoes.

Dalton Sherman: Fifth Grader's Motivation Speech Video | The News is NowPublic.com

Dalton Sherman: Fifth Grader's Motivation Speech Video The News is NowPublic.com

Okay....so here is your motivation for today...especially if you are a teacher reading this blog. I used to teach fifth grade and I think back
to the potential of some of my former fifth graders that could have delivered in this same manner. This student is so motivating and talented.
Watch and enjoy. It will light your fire!

Coincidences? I don't think so.

Here is some food for thought for the day. I believe in numerology and after talking to several of my friends, they do too. Is this a coincidence? My birthday is on the 1st; Taylor's is on the 7th; Abbey's is on the 14th; Sofey's is on the 21st; and Nelley's is on the 28th. Coincidence? I don't think so. It is also in birth order. Yes, I am the oldest...for FOUR months. But you would think according to Taylor, during those four months, that I am older than he is....it is like 20 years in dog year's....jeezie peezie. He doesn't let me live it down. I think he likes to tell people that he is married to an older lady..ha ha. My younger sister, Tiff also has some coincidences in her family with numerology. Naomi, my niece was born on 10-23(getting ready to celebrate her 2nd birthday and can I just say that she is the most precious niece!....I actually have two precious nieces...Addi Zo too!) anyway..back to my sister....her birthday is on the 10th and her husband's is on the 23rd.....Coincidence? I don't think so!

Another coincidence I noticed the other day about my daughters and our family(actually my friend noticed it when we went to dinner).....is the colors of their birthstones.....red, white(pearl) and blue.........and if you know Taylor's family.......they are in the firework's business.....BIG BUSINESS on the fourth of July.....red, white and blue...hmmmmmmm??? Coincidence? I don't think so.

The final coincidence is with Miss Nelley Kate. We named Nelley after my grandmother, Eleanor Mueggenborg...my dad's Mom who passed away last summer. She was a very special person in our lives. I have many found memories growing up and going to my grandmother's house. I was actually very blessed to have two beautiful grandmothers...both passing away in the same year....very hard. Anyway, Nelley is short for Eleanor. And when my sister and I spent the night at my grandmother's house, she would always say the Guardian angel prayer with us....I have it memorized and embedded in my brain and heart. Above the bed in the bedroom we always slept in was a picture of the Guardian angel with the two children crossing the bridge. Always a special prayer to me. I was raised catholic and went to Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic school...right there in Kingfisher on main street...you have probably seen it if you drive by. One of my childhood friends is now the principal there..which I think is so neat! Anyway..back to the story....on the day Nelley was born at Mercy hospital in OKC, the volunteer women came around with the prayer cards to pray with us and guess which prayer was given to us first? Yes, the guardian angel prayer....with the picture on the prayer card.....of course, I started boo hooing like a big baby...because I believe in signs and really felt like it was a sign from my Grandmother and a blessing that she was there to pray that prayer with us. Coincidence? I don't think so.......Okay..that is my food for thought for the day....post some of your coincidence stories if you would like to share.......now, I am signing off......I am going to try and scan in a picture later on of my grandmother to show you. Tara

Okay...here is the before picture. I know...kinda silly. You will understand soon...because I am excited to say that in exactly 6 days from now...I will be parking my pretty little piggies in front of the white sand beaches of CABO, Mexico. CAN YOU TELL HOW EXCITED I AM TO DO THIS? THis is my pre-pedi piggies that need some desperate attention in my boring living room on this dreary rainy day. Which I am not complaining about...because I love rainy days and me and my precious Nelley Kate slept pretty much all morning in my bed....me holding Nelley on my chest after she woke up at 8:30.....we slept together another two HOURS!!!!! Yikes...Taylor called us lazy....but I don't care...because soon she will not lay on my chest or barely sit still long enough to sit on my lap...and I am going to miss my girlies during my CABO trip.....it will be kinda bittersweet, though...no late night feedings..uninterrupted sleep, all inclusive layin by the pool, and ocean..night life, mudslides, and good friends(two of our couple friends whom I adore and love dearly are going with us)and of course, time with my sweet lovin man whom this trip would not be possible without. Now I just dread the packing for four girls.....We are going on this trip for a couple of reasons. One....Taylor won this trip last christmas at the Express christmas party...so thanks to Bob Funk and his never ending generosity...we are going. We had a year to use it and of course, I was pregnant up until the end of July. We decided fall break would be good because I am officially on maternity leave and some "haters" might be complaining that "she is on maternity leave but goin to Cabo" so really we are going on fall break days and of course, the girls won't have to miss school. If we didnt use it by this December...we would lose this wonderful trip....in December, it was really colder there in Cabo land. So...we will leave Oklahoma and it will be in the 90's. Please pray for a safe flight to and fro..because flying does still freak me out a little...especially since I am leaving my precious cargo behind. Signing off..........Tara (I am trying to get a fancy signature for my posts...so if anyone out there in blog land can give me some hints...please post...also I desperately need some followers.....so please follow me too!)

Yesterday I went to pick up my oldest daughter, Abbey, at dance. This is a new year for us because we switched teachers. Abbey loves and adores her new dance teacher and studio, who happens to be pregnant at the time and is having a baby girl in December. Last week was her first week to go and she went on and on all evening about Miss Shay this and Miss Shay that. "Mom, she is pregnant and she was even hip hopping with us." I think that this was quite a change and shock to her since her pregnant mother pretty much parked it on the couch all summer in the miserable heat. Not to mention that she doesnt understand Miss Shay is still in her 20's and her mother was 36 pregnant with her third and last girl. If I could just bottle up the excitement in her voice and channel it in my direction during the 3 oclock feedings with Miss Nelley Kate. Speaking of Nelley Kate...right now she is laying here right by me just smiling away! I love and want to hold onto moments like these because before long, I will be back at middle school ville and not get to see her during the day.

This is my first official post and I am at a loss for words. I have been wanting to blog for about a year now and decided that if I was going to do it, I might as well jump in with both feet. I started thinking the other day how it would be neat to have a blog that my middle school students could log onto and read for "words of wisdom" from their middle school counselor or to get simple tips since I don't get to talk to each and everyone of them everyday. My blog would allow me to "reach" more of the students through a different avenue. I also wanted to blog because I am now a mother of three daughters(hince the name 3 pink blessings) and would like to journal my journey as a mother of three beautiful blessings in hope that one day they could look back and read over our journey together as a family! So....there you have it!