Who wouldn't want this girl for a mom?

I know that I would!

My adorable sister Erin (pictured above) is looking to add to her family through adoption. Erin and her husband Danny adopted their first son, Carson, in December of 2007. They're an awesome family! They laugh a lot, they play a lot, and their kid has the best aunt on the planet! - Me.

Check out their adoption profile at

http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.itsaboutlove.org

You can find them using their profile ID which is:  23347180

Feel free to share this information with anyone who may be thinking about adoption or anyone who knows someone who might be thinking about adoption.

I sure would love to see this happy family grow.

Summer Fun at Whitecliff Water Park

Darren & Grandma Barbie

Dallin is always ready to smile for the camera - he's a natural.

Another Burneson hottie!

Daniel in action!

Daniel, proud of his triumph on the slide.

Summer Fun at the St. Louis Art Museum

James, Daniel, and Dallin, showing us their fire power.

More fire power.

I'm so happy to have a man that will pretend to enjoy
trips to the art museum with me.

Darren's Surgery - July 1, 2009

We dressed Darren in our lucky scrubs. Danny wore the same scrubs for his surgery 7 years ago.

Darren was happy to see so many shiny things in the hospital.

It's hard to be strong for your little one.


James & Darren kept me smiling and were ready to get this over with.


This is the hardest thing.
"Certainly, Stranger. You make take my baby down the hall and cut on him."
This photograph does not show the puddle in which I stood.

Luckily, our prayers were answered and our little bug did great!
Recovery was a little slow at first but his scar is already disappearing,
and his eye is no longer puffy and red.

I am so glad that I had the nerve to reject the doctors in Kansas City.
The surgeons at Children's Hospital in St. Louis were amazing!

Trust your gut, moms!

First Day of School 2009

I haven't had the chance to blog about some key events this year.

Here's Daniel on the first day of 2nd grade.

Getting ready to go.

"Ladies, my name is Daniel. How you doin'?"

Mrs. White is a wonderful teacher!

Stoller Stories

Story #1 - A Tragedy

My sister, Holly, has one of those fabulous strollers that allow one kid to sit strapped in and another to sit or stand on the backside. This most wonderful invention has apparently been stolen from her happy mini-van of power. To that - I say, "Curse you evil villains!"

Story #2 - A Drama

On the same day as the above-mentioned incident, my little sister, Erin, returned from the playground to find her stroller missing. Wha-wha-what! I know, un-cool right? Luckily the Boo, as we call her, was able to retrieve her Graco stroller with the help of their maintenance staff. It turns out that some kids made it their play toy for a few hours.

I think it's really time for Erin to move out of a place like that and find a new home in the mid-west. We all love the humidity here right?

Story #3 - A Fairytale

We had been struggling with stroller complications ourselves. You see, Darren has a remarkably large noggin. It's a beautiful melon. But it is 3 times the size and weight of the rest of his body. This creates a bit of top heaviness on the part of my 1-year-old. To add insult to injury, he likes to throw his large head forward towards his feet. This is not a good thing to do when sitting in a lightweight umbrella stroller. Our little Kolcraft has been so good to us. It folds up so tiny. It was durable, well-made, and managed to stay clean no matter what we spilled on it. How could we abandon it now?

Well, for the protection of our little one and his big beautiful melon, we went in search of a new stroller with a 5-point harness. I researched and hunted until the perfect stroller could be found. Now, thanks to birthday contributions from many, we have a new member of the family.

Mia Moda Facille Stroller - In Aqua

Introducing Mia, the world's most perfect stroller. She's lightweight. She's durable. The fabric is spill-proof. The handles are the most ergonomically correct thing on the planet. The awning is massive, totally adjustable, removable, and comes with a sun-roof. This stroller folds up like an umbrella stroller, takes up just slightly more room than our Kolcraft did, and even comes with a basket underneath. Can you believe it?

When we first got her, James and I fought over who got to push the stroller. Mia has a 4-position recline, full-pivot wheels in front and back, and (most importantly) a 5-POINT HARNESS! Also the drop-down panel in the front can be elevated to provide full calf support and foot rest. She's practically a Lazy-Boy on wheels. She is simply a dream. You would not believe how reasonably priced she is either.

Holly, I realize that a Mia might not meet your needs, but she sure is a FANTASTIC stroller.

I wished that I had bought this stroller 3 kids ago. Welcome to the family Mia!

Fabric is our Friend

Today I tackled the impossible. I went in to Joann's Fabrics with 3 kids. I armed myself with a package of Twizzlers and forged my way through the enormous sale. All decorating fabrics were 60% off thru Sunday -- it had to be done.

I tried shopping online for fabrics, but most of the samples that I printed off frightened my hubby. I want something bold, something artsy, something contemporary with a bit of a retro flare. James is very worried that I'll put up kitchen curtains that will disgust future generations; much like our response to the curtains hung in kitchens in the 60's and 70's.

Well I toned it down a bit and found a fun print that I love and that James probably won't hate. The color palette is a little more mild than I had originally envisioned - but I think it's a happy medium.

What do you think?


The print is for curtains, the solid is for the tablecloth, and the stripe is for placemats.

Easy Friends

It's been a long while since I have written. Thanks to my loyal followers who continue to check for updates. I'm sorry to leave you hanging.

My last blog entry left many puzzled. I'll offer a bit more info. and then it's on to grander things.

I found my neighbor in her apartment after she had been dead for a couple of days. The visual of such a thing was extremely frightening and I've struggled to erase it from memory. She was 47 and a sweet lady that we knew had some serious mental health issues. We were investigating ways to get her help. We were trying to share the gospel with her, and we tried to be Christlike neighbors. She was a diagnosed schizophrenic who was extremely paranoid about her neighbors. This often became my problem as I was the property manager to whom she'd report to. I was frustrated that some of my last communication with her annoyed me and I was tired of being bothered by her crazy imaginations. I was not as patient as I should have been and I wish that I could have gotten her help in time.

So, our days as property managers, always filled with excitement and visits from KCPD, were amazing to the very end. We have closed all business with one owner, we will transfer records and keys this week for another owner, and as soon as we can get this last unit ready for show - we are done!

We have moved into our new home, and we love it! We are not even close to being unpacked, and it will be quite awhile before pictures are hung. We filled the closets and basement with boxes and then ignored it all to vacation a bit.

My best friend in the world came to Kansas City from Idaho with her 5 kids and sister-in-law to visit and play. We went to the pool, to the fountains, to a concert, to Nauvoo, to the plays and the pageant. We camped, we swam, we shopped, we danced, we ate fudge, and we played hard. It was awesome!!!

The most amazing thing about it all...was how perfect it went. She was here for a week, and we did all these fun things with 8 kids and no men around to help. But it was still wonderful. Why? Because Jennifer is just that great! We are super compatible. We knew just what the kids needed and when. We knew what to feed them and how - where we could drag them and where we couldn't. We were able to keep them all bathed enough to be healthy, and clean enough not to be embarrassed. It was almost choreographed - how well we worked together.

I miss her terribly already! It is so completely wonderful to have a friend that is easy to be friends with. A friend that never drives you crazy is hard to find. It is a joy to simply sit and fold laundry with her, and it was a greater joy to run around madly having fun after more fun. She understands me, even when I'm wrong. She encourages me without making me feel small to begin with. Together we laugh, we smile, we cry, and we can talk about ANYTHING! Nothing is off limits. We learn from each other (I hope). I look up to her and she, for some reason, makes me believe that she looks up to me. We've grown together as moms and we've enjoyed watching our kids grow up to become wonderful young gentleman. It's hard to be so close to someone who lives so far away. I want to transport their little town of Firth and their thriving optometry office to the Mid-West and keep them for my very own.

Isn't it good to be loved? Especially by someone so fantastic.

Jennifer and I met 8 years ago in St. Louis, where I was her visiting teacher, and she was mine. We were fast friends and she's been a wonderful example to me for all of my years as a mom.
She taught me how to serve and has helped me to become the opinionated mom that I am. She's a passionate girl, as am I, and we speak the same language. Do you have a friend that knows what you're saying when you haven't really said anything? A friend that knows just what to say too? That's Jenn.

We had such a blast and I really needed some fun.

What a contrast it has been to spend a week playing and laughing and enjoying my kids, instead of taking phone calls, and sending emails, and processing rent checks. I feel alive again.

So, the only thing that I need now is a map to Idaho.