Happy Birthday Jesus

On Wednesday night our family attended our last preschool Christmas performance. It was bittersweet. Whitney was quite animated throughout the entire show. I ate up every moment. Earlier in the day she kept commenting on how excited she was about her talent show. That girl loves the stage. More importantly, she loves Jesus. I feel blessed to know that both of our girls already have a personal relationship with our savior. We wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas! God bless.

Merry Christmas 2010

Dear Friends and Family,

Merry CHRISTmas! We’re excited to once again celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Our hope for this upcoming year is that your hearts will be filled with hope, peace and joy
as you bask in the love of our savior.

Here are some of our 2010 highlights - Fill in the blank with our
family members’ names: (Some blanks require more than one name.) Scott, Debbie, Danyka and Whitney

1. On a weekend getaway to Tahoe, for Grandma Burrills 65^th birthday, __________________ was a superstar on the sledding slopes. She giggled the entire afternoon.
   


2. ______________________ got to spend Valentine’s Day weekend with Grandma and Grandpa in San Jose.



3. Later in February, _________________ had to come up with a creative delay plan to keep the future bride, our friend Carrie, from finding out about the surprise engagement party we were throwing. It was a success!



4. Grandma and Granddad joined us for a trip to Disneyland in March. _______________ was obsessed with the ride Soaring Over California.



5. With a bit of persuasion, ______________ was sold on the idea of having solar panels placed on the roof to heat our pool. The entire family enjoyed a wonderful season of heated swimming.



6. The girls both enjoyed dancing in their Broadway themed recital in June. _____________ did a jazz routine to “You Can’t Stop the Beat” and _______________ tapped to “Just a
   Spoonful of Sugar”.



7. ___________________ celebrated turning 30 this year.



8. Bike rides have become a new family affair. _______________ learned how to ride a bike without
   training wheels and __________________ has been enjoying the new bicycle that was received as a birthday gift.



9. A swim test, to have access to the deep end, was completed by ___________________ at the indoor pool we visited in Colorado. The complex was amazing. There was an indoor
   sprayground, several waterslides and two diving boards.



10. Grandma and Granddad hosted a family reunion this past summer. ____________ and Dan stayed up late every night playing Monopoly Deal and Mario Kart on the Wii.



11. ________________ was thrilled with the random pool relays that were made up during the Burrill
    family reunion in July.



12. ______________________ enjoyed being in Paul and Carrie’s wedding in August. It was beautiful.



13. In August the girls headed back to school. ______________ is in her second year of preschool and
    _______________ started 1^st grade. It’s been a fun year so far.



14. __________________lead a college Bible study on Job during fall semester. (A fascinating story!)



15. __________________ spent the day after Thanksgiving celebrating with family in San Jose.



16. The day after __________ sister’s family and _________ brother’s family (a total of 10 + our family of 4) spent the night at our house, _____________ asked why people never come over. Extravert?



17. We are looking forward to our trip to Colorado for Christmas. Both girls have dinner dates planned with Granddad. ______________ came up with the idea.

This past year has been filled with good times and great memories. We are thankful for our friends and family who continually love and invest in us. We are looking forward to how God
will continue to grow and stretch us in 2011. “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” 1 Chronicles 16:34

Love,

Scott, Debbie, Danyka and Whitney

Answers: 1. Danyka 2. Danyka and Whitney 3. Scott 4. Danyka 5. Scott 6. Danyka/Whitney

7. Scott and Debbie 8. Danyka/Debbie 9. Danyka and Whitney 10. Scott 11. Debbie 12. Scott, Debbie, Danyka and Whitney 13. Whitney/Danyka 14. Scott 15. Scott, Debbie, Danyka and Whitney 16. Scott's/Debbie's/Whitney 17. Danyka

Assembly

Danyka was ecstatic when she found out she was Student of the Month. This morning I enjoyed watching her receive her award during a mini assembly. We are so proud of her. She is a hard worker and a great student. Way to go kiddo!

1st and 2nd Grade Awards

Danyka with her teacher, Mrs. Pierce, and her buddy Roman.

Something Old becomes Something New

New all over again!

Our beautiful Miss Danyka keeps growing. What are we going to do with her? We have had a hard time finding pants that fit around the waist and are the right length, even with the adjustable waistbands. After shopping, shopping and more shopping, it was time to get creative. Here are her jeans from last year with a ruffle addition. They came out pretty cute and now they'll fit her all over again.

Minnie Mouse

This morning after finishing Danyka's hair, I told her she looked like Minnie Mouse. She thought that was pretty funny. We are still in the process of growing bangs out, which challenges my creativity on a daily basis. Fortunately she liked the look. I'm wondering what "new" look she will have by the time I pick her up from school.

Space Creature

Whitney had fun at preschool today. The kids all made space masks and sang an outer space song together. Here is the mask she made...full of glitter. Oh boy. =)

Soft Pretzels

The Pretzel Creators

Last Friday I was feeling creative. I thought about doing a craft with the girls but I've been tired of the endless paper projects that seem to exist in our home. Rather than a craft, we made soft pretzels. The girls had a blast making the dough and thoroughly enjoyed playing with it. They each created several of their own original shapes. We baked them and then test tasted. Although they didn't end up super soft, they were still yummy. The experience was a success!

Back 2 School

First Day of 1st Grade

I can't believe the school year has already begun! Both Danyka and Whitney love their new classes. The girls are both fortunate to have friends from last year in their classes again.

Danyka thoroughly enjoys the academic side of school. She has already informed me that much of her work is too easy, but she has fun anyway. Fortunately she has a seasoned teacher who will adapt assignments for every child. At home we are enjoying the "American Girl" books together and she is also intrigued by the "Ramona" series. Like almost every kid I've ever met, one of her favorite parts of the school day is recess. She spends most of her time playing on the bars trying to build up her calluses. It's been so much fun watching her grow and become confident. She is such a sweet little girl.

First Day of 4 Year Old Preschool

Whitney is a Bear at preschool this year. She is already reading and writing and loves having her very own homework. We often make up packets at home so she can have assignments that challenge her. Although Whitney enjoys playing with most kids, she usually only tells me about the boys she plays with at school. I hope we're not in for it. hehe. Whit has a natural sense of humor; she says and does the funniest things. I can't believe we've only got a year until both girls are in elementary school. Crazy!

With the start of school it's time again to adjust to a new schedule. Hopefully by the end of month one I will have adapted. The girls keep us busy with school, dance and gymnastics. I can surely say we've officially left toddler zone. Four and six are such fun ages.

Popcorn

The girls and I love popcorn. It's a delicious treat that we particularly enjoy while snuggled up watching a movie. Although Daddy isn't a fan of the air-filled, buttery goodness, he enjoys seeing his girls happy.

Maybe I'm just hungry as I'm writing this blog, but the analogy seemed to fit. June has struck our home like a bag of popcorn. The days started out fairly slowly but as of recent they have been picking up their pace rather quickly. Besides the frequency of events, our days have been filled with ups and downs, both mouth watering kernels and the unedible.

Even though we come to expect burnt or unpopped kernels, they are still a disappointment. Sadly, Scott and I both faced disappointments in our families this month. Scott's 94 year old Grandma who has been battling cancer for quite sometime, passed away. She was an amazing woman. Scott has always had a deep respect and appreciation for both of his grandparents. Ever since Scott attended his Grandpa's funeral last year, he has enjoyed reflecting on the memories he built with his grandparents. They will be missed.

Ironically, the same night Scott's grandma passed away, my dad's brother also passed. His diabetes had previously caused him to lose a foot and his conditions were only getting worse. I always enjoyed spending time with my Uncle Blair. The last time I saw him, he visited Scott and me in college with my parents. We had a great time together. He was so easy going and fun to be around. Out of the 5 kids in my dad's family, only 2 remain.

The best part about a bag of popcorn is that most of the kernels turn out great. This month truly has been filled with an abundance of joyful events. For the second year now, the girls fully enjoyed swim lessons with Miss Tamara. Both of them can swim and are quite proud of themselves. I love watching them dive for toys and jump off the side of the pool yelling, "Cannon Ball".

Both girls also participated in the dance recital at their studio. Scott's parents were able to come watch, which obviously made it way more fun. Danyka did a jazz routine to "You Can't Stop the Beat," from Hairspray. Whitney sang and tapped to "A Spoonful of Sugar," from Mary Poppins. The girls had great stage presence and truly seemed to enjoy themselves. Danyka has already asked if she can do it again next year. It's been wonderful watching her come out of her shell. Whitney was the leader of the pack in her group. She sang her heart out and loved being on stage.

Among many other events, Danyka and Whitney both finished their school years out strong. Whitney will continue on to the 4 year olds preschool class next year as a Bear. She is looking forward to reconnecting with some of her friends, especially Michael. Danyka graduated from Kindergarten. CRAZY! She is so excited to be in 1st Grade. We are proud of both girls.

If I spent the time writing about every perfectly popped kernel, this blog would go on for way too long. It's nearing that point anyway. June is not quite over and we are hoping that our bag will continue to fill. This weekend we will be heading to the beach to celebrate Danyka's 6th birthday and to spend some quality family time together. We can't wait. Maybe someday I'll blog pictures from that trip. No guarentees.

July is right around the corner and I'm wondering what will be in store. Summer is here! Hip Hip Hooray!

Easter Bliss

Last night we attended one of the seven Easter services at our church. It felt a little odd going to church on Saturday night, but it was wonderful. The girls played and watched the Veggie Tales Easter movie in their class while Scott and I enjoyed festive worship and a message about Heaven. The sermon was great and the best part was watching people from the congregation make a life decision to follow Jesus. If you died today, are you confident you would go to heaven?

We had a simple and relaxing morning around here. Daddy and the girls let me sleep in while they had breakfast together and built a blanket tent. After I awoke, our first family activity was retelling the Easter story with the Resurrection Eggs. The girls did a great job helping and impressed both Scott and me with how much they knew.

The rest of our morning was spent in a sugar high state of existence. After we all got dressed, we gave the girls their Easter baskets and then had an indoor egg hunt. The weather didn't permit an outdoor hunt. The girls' baskets were filled with candy and other fun toys. Some of the eggs were filled with candy and others had money in them. I can only imagine what God feels like when he sees his children excited because watching our children filled with joy was one of the morning's greatest treasures. I loved hearing them say "thank you" each time they opened one of their eggs.

Jesus gave us the best gift of all by dying on the cross for us and giving us eternal life. I am blessed to know that both of my children have a relationship with him and want to follow him. As a mom, I couldn't ask for any better earthly gift. Happy Easter! I hope your celebration has been special as well.