Solitary Confinement

Ugh. Yesterday morning I was snuggling with Harrison, like we usually do first thing in the morning.  He is generally wide awake before I've had the chance to crack my eyelids, so he comes into my room and snuggles for a bit.  I love it. I love the intimacy of holding my baby boy and I also love waking up slowly. And peacefully, I might add.

Rewind to Friday morning- he had woke up with a few raised bumps around his mouth and I thought "Oh no, I've passed my fever blister to him!!"  Heidi Jo was also developing a diaper rash that was beginning to look a little like a yeast infection she had before, but I didn't tie the two together.

Back to Saturday morning.  Once I rolled out of bed and washed my face, finally gaining some alertness I was rudely awakened to the fact that not only bumps but blisters had formed all over Harrisons body.  Then came a text from a dear friend saying that she had recognized the bumps on Friday and cautioned me that Hand, Foot & Mouth disease was going around.  Oh dear!  I cannot tell you how fast we got dressed, skipped breakfast and headed straight to the walk-in clinic!

Yes, the doctor confirmed it was in fact HFM, but also noted that the kids were showing signs of secondary infection that if not stopped could lead to staph or encephalitis infections.  So she prescribed an antibiotic and an anti-fungal for Heidi's diaper rash.  $80 later (for the visit, and medicine) we were home and resting, recovering and healing.

Today is Sunday. We are stuck home alone, trying to make the best of it.  I'm so grateful God created me as a social creature. I love my family, I love my friends. I was born to be in community with others.  It's tough being alone, isolated. I will be happy and grateful when this is behind h

Thankfully Heidi's rash is already looking better and the blisters on Harrison's body are already drying up.  They are still hurting and itching and I feel terrible for him. They are on the soles and tops of his feet, knees, thighs, palm of his hands, his face and even his ears.  Today the challenge is to keep him from scratching and making them bleed.  Wish me luck!

Thank you Jesus for healing my children so quickly!  Here's to freedom and fellowship again soon!


 Praise the LORD, my soul,
   and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
   and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
   and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
   so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Psalm 103:2-5

Slowing Down

I'm so grateful that the weather has been really wonderful now that spring has officially arrived!  I've been able to spend some much needed time outside with Harrison and Heidi nearly every day, getting our vitamin D.  We are blessed too to have a special play date twice a week at our house and twice at a friends house, and it has done wonders to help the kids transition with Daddy being gone and giving Mommy a rest.  God is so good, He knows just what we need and when we need it!

I cannot believe that Harrison is going to turn 3 next month!  Wow!  He is such a great little man - he really is.  He has become very protective of his little sister, which I love, and he is just stretching himself in leaps and bounds.  He is trying so hard to learn his alphabet and can count to 20 most days.  He loves to sing songs and create.  He is still all boy though and loves to crash and destroy too!  I just love everything about the boy of God he is becoming!

Ms. Heidi Jo is still not walking.  She can walk several steps at a time by herself but just refuses to. I know it will happen all in her own time but she is 24 pounds now and getting a little hard to carry around!!  She is funny in her very own way, and definitely steals the show with her little scrunched up nose smiles.  She is so happy and content - I truly count myself blessed!

Mike is doing well in Colorado. He is working 12 hour shifts at night, so we generally get to see him online or talk once a day in the late afternoon before he goes to work.  It is hard, dirty work repairing the steam generators, but I think he is enjoying putting his hands to work.  I know the Lord will bless the fruit of his labor!

I'm doing great too!  My life has become a little more busy then I'd like it to be, so I'm trying to find that balance again.  I am loving ministering freedom and healing to whomever the Lord brings across my path, and I am really, really enjoying the study Made to Crave with some friends.  Not too much else happening in our family life, just really savoring our slow pace of life.  It really is wonderful when you can slow down enough to enjoy the little joys in life like family.

A big hello to Grammy, Grampa, Uncle Blair and Aunty Dan in Canada.  We miss you all and love you very much!  Harrison and Heidi both send big hugs and sloppy kisses!!

Love,

The Burnett Bunch

My handsome hubby & I

Heidi safely at work!

Car ride!

Joy

How are you doing these days? Are you happy? Is your happy based on circumstances? Mood swings?  Is it based on whether your children are obeying that day or not?  Would you say it's temporary or permanent?  Did you know that you can replace the momentary happiness with permanent joy and peace?  "Really? How?" you ask.

To keep it really simple, the root of it is a choice.  But trust me, I know you may be thinking "she's really over simplifying this."  When supper's about to burn on the stove, your little children are hungry and crying- even tugging at your leg, the phone is ringing and you can't think straight- it may be hard to believe that there can be joy instead of chaos.

Well, I was tested in my own joy this morning.  Mike left yesterday to work the next two months in Colorado.  The potential "stress" of functioning like a single mom could have been enough to put me in a foul mood, but I didn't let it.  I knew I could walk in peace knowing it would be great.  Being so richly blessed our book/bible study last night helped me to also keep my eyes focused on the right things.  Our conversation last night absolutely prepared me for what happened this morning. (There is never a coincidence with the Lord!)

Last night we were discussing a verse in 1 Peter 2:11 that says "Dear friends, I urge you to abstain from fleshly lusts (or sinful desires), which wage war against your soul."  Of course last night's discussion was in the context of eating and over-indulging etc. Today I was thinking about this verse applied little differently.

Our morning started off very well.  The children slept until 8 am, which for me was wonderful since I was up late making sure Mike arrived at his destination safely.  I decided to take the kids out for breakfast and to drop off the recycling while we were out too.  After all that was done, I was noticing how dirty our van was from the rain last week, so we headed to the car wash.  While in line for the car wash our van quit driving.  It was running and in drive but not going any where!  I chose not to panic (especially with 2 little ones in the van with me). I prayed and asked Jesus to make sure I could get them home safely.  It wouldn't go even after shifting it back into park and then drive again.  I turned it off, started it again and it drove... for a few blocks.  I lost power again as we were approaching a major intersection by the freeway.  I calmly turned it off again, while deciding to permanently leave my flashers going, and restarted it and made it another 4-5 blocks.  I had to restart it 3 times just to get home, but we safely made it home.

I could be overwhelmed right now seeing that we don't really have to money to even repair the van right now, but I have made the choice to stay calm, relaxed and even joyful about the situation.  You know why?  Because God is BIGGER.  The enemy of our soul has an assignment on this earth: to steal, kill, and destroy.  He sees the impact that our family is having in the Kingdom and wants to steal our joy and blessings but it is not going to work.

Within 30 minutes of literally rolling/coasting into the driveway I had a plan on how to check the van myself, several recommendations of a mechanic to take it to, and two people offering a temporary replacement vehicle for us to borrow while ours gets taken care of.  Isn't God amazing?  What would have happened had I just cried or got angry? One thing for sure: my kids would have followed my example.  Also, I would have been focused more on my problem instead of God's solution.  I know because I have been there before and made the wrong choice.  I let war rage in my soul before.  It stinks.  It really stinks!  This time I wasn't going to give into my fleshly desire to just have a melt down.

Today I chose peace.  Today I chose joy.  Today I chose God.  Because everything starts and end with Him.  Today I am grateful for my Father in Heaven who always has good things in store for me, who overflows my heart with joy, regardless of what is happening around me.

Crave God

Wow, so last post I shared a few thoughts about a new book I "devoured" called "Made to Crave" and it turns out many ladies I know and love have had similar feelings about food that I do.  So.... tomorrow (Friday, April 1) we are starting a small group study!! I ordered the DVD study set and study guide book and about 10 lovely ladies and I are going to walk out our victory over food together! So exciting!  I look forward to sharing our encouraging encounters with you.

The first week's title is: From Deprivation to Empowerment

In other news, Mike is headed to Colorado until the end of May.  Praise God!  He will be doing maintenance and repair of steam turbine units outside of Denver.  We know that this is not his "career" position that we are believing God for, but it is our provision for right now.  We are believing that in the meantime another position will open up for him to be home more permanently.  God is so good and faithful!

Harrison and Heidi are doing great! We are being blessed with lots of opportunities to have friends over while other Moms work, or so they can simply have some down time.  There is an airforce base here in Abilene and quite a few families from our church are part of the airforce, so I find I have much in common with them because we understand what it's like for our husbands to be away for long periods of time.  I try my very best to spot those needs and open our home.

Harrison & Adam

Joseph, Harrison, Adam, Heidi & Megan

having fun at the water table

Heidi at Stroller Moms

Harrison and his new Lightening McQueen pool

Made to Crave More

There have been some changes that I've been considering making for some time now regarding the way our family consumes food.  Mostly I feel we eat too many calories, from the wrong kind of foods, way too frequently.  My very best friend recently spent 3 weeks at the Hippocrates Health Institute in West Palm Beach, Florida learning about the live raw food lifestyle, learning how to prepare raw meals and detoxing her body from chemotherapy treatment.  She had a wonderful time and all the benefits of eating raw Jill was boasting about really got me thinking about the food I prepare and consume.

What really seems natural to me about the process is simply eating whole foods that God created without modifying them and adding our "special" touch to them.  Raw foods are, simply enough, foods that have not been cooked.  They're the fresh fruits, vegetables, berries, nuts, seeds, and herbs we've all come to know and love in their whole, natural state.

Somewhere after four years of marriage and birthing two children 19 months apart I find myself 85 lbs overweight.  If that number startles you it's okay. It does that and more to me.  It is overwhelming, depressing and frustrating.  It's not the fact that I am a wife or a mother that has made me gain so many pounds.  There are circumstances that can happen when you're married and have kids that if you are not careful to guard yourself against them, can cause a woman to gain weight, that's all I'm saying.

A few months ago I made the decision to do something about the excess weight and eating situation I have gotten myself into and it is working well.  Eating raw is just the next natural step for me.  Over the next 40 days I will be learning all I can about living raw so that as I complete my next phase of Hcg vlcd I can smoothly transition into a raw lifestyle.

So not coincidentally on Saturday while I was at Books-A-Million, while I was looking for a book to educate me about the raw lifestyle I ended up purchasing another book called Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst.  I started the 216 page book that afternoon and finished it a few short hours later.  The subtitle of the book is "Satisfying your deepest desire with God, not food".  As I literally devoured chapter after chapter, tears filled my eyes as Lysa confessed many struggles and thoughts I've had about food, about being overweight, about my disappointment in myself.  

More importantly the book finally gave me the missing piece to my puzzle.  Finding my new "want to".  Let's be really, really honest with each other.  Most of us know the "how to", or have the resources to learn the "how to".  It's the "want to" that makes the difference between paying for a monthly gym membership and actually using it. My new go-to verse for strength has become 1 Corinthians 6:12 "Everything is permissible for me" - but not everything is beneficial... I will not be mastered by anything.

What I learned was really how much God's word has to say about food, taking care of yourself, and the bare basics of it all - disciple and self control.  I've had a huge change in my heart about how I think and act around food.  I've come to realize that my over dependence and over indulgence in food has really all along been the sin of gluttony.  Eating in excess is a sin.  "Do not join with those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags (Proverbs 23:20-21).  Lysa explains why we were meant to crave more than food: "If we fail to understand how to fill our souls with spiritual nourishment, we will be triggered to numb our longings with temporary physical pleasures.  When those pleasures are food, the resulting behaviour is what we often hear referred to as emotional eating.  But this issue is bigger than emotions; it's really about spiritual deprivation."

Please take 5 minutes to read Lysa's devotional Call To Action and see if it tugs at your heart strings.  If there are any of you out there who can identify with the cries of my heart and what Lysa has to say I would really, really LOVE to host a home group to study her book Made to Crave.

I want to learn to replace my dependence on food with total dependance on God the Father.  I'm just a girl in love with Jesus, learning to walk with Him to the very best of my ability. Thank you for reading and sharing in my journey! I am excited to continue this new adventure and to walk it out and hopefully help encourage someone else along the way.

Trucks, sprinklers and mud cakes!

Wow! I feel like every blog post I make starts out with an apology for how long I've been away!  I love writing and really, REALLY intend to find more time in my day for it...  I can't even cut out TV shows, since we don't watch TV.  Maybe I just need to fine tune my time management skills a little bit more!

Last Saturday (March 5) Mike drove to DFW and picked up Paula, Josh and Cole from the airport.  It was a last minute decision for them to escape to Abilene and I'm so happy that they did!  The weather here has been co-operating fabulously for the boys to get some much needed fun in the sun.  Our backyard is finally getting some use!

It's been so great catching up with Paula, and to see the boys really getting to know each other.  Harrison and Cole are both 2 (only a couple months apart) and they've been butting heads quite a bit with their 2-year-old personalities.  Fun times!

Our guests are here until Wednesday when I'll drive them back to Dallas so they can visit another friend from Alberta, before flying home.  I'm excited too because I'm going to take the opportunity to stop in at Sam Moon and Sam Mi to browse the hand bags, jewellery, and house wares.  Goody, goody!

Check out the kiddos basking in the sun!

Romance On the Town

Ahhhhhh... last night romance was in the air! Mike and I got all dressed up and headed out for a night, which honestly almost never happens.  Not the night out part, but certainly the all dressed up-night out part.  I found a fabulous dress for $14.99 at ROSS last minute. It wasn't there last time I looked, so they must have just came in. Can you believe that a dress can be $14.99, regular price? I love that store!

The Valentine's banquet was delightful.  It was awesome to see everyone dressed so nicely, and to enjoy a night out together, specifically dedicated to celebrating marriage.  The dinner was delish, although I did not eat most of it.  I "unstuffed" my chicken breast, and that was about all I could have.  It was still divine.  We dined and then danced the night away.  I will say that Mike is pretty much terrified of dancing, so we didn't do much other than a couple slow dances which is just fine by me.  It was so refreshing to spend a night out with dear friends and my love. I can't wait to do it again!

Rod & Beth, friends at our table

Nathan & Jesiree, friends at our table

Mike & I

Thomas & Amity

Amity & I

Michael & Kim, friends from Connect Group

Jesiree & I

new friends, Sarita and Elvis

great friends of our, Charlie & Amy

Mike & I

We even came away with $20 to one of Mike's

favorite restaurants!