The Diaries of Natasha Burris

Luke's Christening

2011-07-25T10:36:00.004-05:00

This weekend during the "Burris Vac" we had Luke's Christening at Centenary United Methodist Church. He was adorable as usual :) We were so happy to have so many family members with us as we christened Baby Luke!

Baby Shower Pictures

2011-04-17T20:02:00.001-05:00

Another photo album by Smilebox

Easter Lunch and Hunt at Church today

2011-04-17T17:31:00.002-05:00

Franklinton Sesquicentennial Events

2011-04-05T21:36:00.008-05:00

As a family we all enjoyed the events of the Franklinton 150th Sesquicentennial. The first thing we went to was the parade on Saturday, March 27th. The parade was great and both of the girls enjoyed it. To the left is a photo of the girls waiting for the parade to start. Grace looking thoughtful and Lauren ready for her hat to be removed :)

We took plenty of pictures and I hope to get them uploaded soon. I am

trying not to disable our internet right

now, because Johnny is working really hard on his paper this week.

During the parade, Grammie and PaPa walked with the Winbury

Club. As they walked down Washington Street and we saw them coming. PaPa asked Grace if she wanted to walk with him. Of course she said yes and finished walking in the parade with him. It was so cute :)

We then went up to the Court House to see the opening ceremonies and to see what was going on. As we walked around, Lauren fell asleep in her stroller since it was past her nap time. Aunt Lynn and Uncle Rusty also came to join in on the festivities. After the opening was over, we all went to The Anything and Everything Sandwich shop also known as Barry's and ate lunch with Grammie, PaPa, Aunt Lynn, Uncle Rusty, Billy, Lacy and Lila.

Afterwards we went home and all enjoyed a relaxing afternoon :)

Shopping Day with the Girls

2010-08-21T23:42:00.003-05:00

Today Grace, Lauren and I had a "Mommy/Daughters" shopping day in Baton Rouge.

Johnny was at a draft party with some of his friends from college in Baton Rouge so we took advantage of the day to ride there and then do some shopping while he talked football :)

We went to Sam's, Michael's and Target of course.

I was very proud that I only made one wrong turn during the whole trip since I am not use to driving in Baton Rouge, much less Saturday traffic.

We all had a great day and as you can tell from the photo, we literally shopped until we dropped.

Grace's First Day of School

2010-08-17T16:48:00.001-05:00

Today was Grace's first day of school! She went all day, from 7:20 to 2:45! She had no problems and had a great day. Her only complaint was that mommy picked her up and she wanted to ride the bus :)

Big cousin Seth happened to be coming into school at the same time as we were walking in so we were able to get a photo of the two of them.

Just a thought for the Day

2010-05-19T10:37:00.002-05:00

“Gardening is the art that uses flowers and plants as paint, and the soil and sky as canvas.”
― Elizabeth Murray

So true and inspiring. However, my flowerbed where I planted lots of seeds just turned into a mud pile.

On another note, Grace saw the commercial for the Fisher Price mud pie toy and said she wanted one. Maybe I can turn my flower beds into one. Wait...how will I ever get her clean enough to come back inside! :)

Mother's Day

2010-05-09T23:01:00.005-05:00

Today I was feeling.....kinda emotional and stuffy from my sinuses and the way they made me feel.

The hardest thing I had to do today was....realize I made my own decisions and that I need to think about what the outcome will be when I am making those decisions.

My favorite part of today was....playing with the girls in the yard this afternoon. Watching them play together, swinging, dancing and just having a good time :)

Something new I learned today....Well, not new, just not something I have learned yet unfortunately! We choose how to handle situations, we choose how to respond to situations, and how we let things affect our moo

This morning Breakfast was . . . Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich made by Grace :)

This afternoon Lunch was a delicious plate lunch from Sugar Shack.

This evening was Dinner was brinner with the Burris' biscuits, eggs and bacon..yummy.

Also a nice treat of Mac n' cheese made by my sweetheart. We both like a late night snack when we are up late. On that note, Good Night!

Sunday, January 10, 2009

2010-01-10T21:32:00.003-06:00

Today I was feeling..... kinda mellow, looking forward to a better week!

The hardest thing I had to do today was.... learn to listen and not get offensive

My favorite part of today was.... watching Grace play like she was an iceskater. She even changed clothes so she had on a pretty dress and stockings just like the dancers :)

Something new I learned today.... life is a journey, but how you view it is your choice.

This morning the girls and I went to Sunday school and church. I got too hot so I had coughing fits and couldn't stay in church very long.

Breakfast was biscuits made by Johnny and an oatmeal cookie to help my stomach after taking my medicine.

This afternoon was productive. Johnny and I discussed several things that made me take a new look at things.

Lunch was Geralds with the parents. Good food and visiting.

This evening was relaxing but busy. Finished laundry, sorted Grace's art, unloaded, reloaded dishwasher, did Lauren's birthday scrapbook and put away laundry.

Dinner was brinner at Burris parents. Mrs. Ginny has to do a sleep study tonight. Prayers for everything to go well for her. Ease her mind and let her sleep well.

Looking forward to a good week. Lauren asleep, Grace almost asleep and finishing some yummy cookies Johnny and Grace made before bed.

Good night!

Some New Pictures of The Girls

2009-07-16T22:53:00.000-05:00

Our Little Surprise

2009-05-29T12:13:00.002-05:00

We have had a little surprise from God. We are expecting our 3rd child! Yes, Lauren is only 5 months old. However, she will be 13 months old by the time the baby is here. We are surprised but excited too. Our daughters certainly make our life more enjoyable and we love every moment of sharing that with them. They are truly a blessing to me and Johnny. This is just another blessing that will make things more exciting for us. :) Just though we would share the news.

Camping with the girls in our yard

2009-03-12T21:50:00.001-05:00

Grace has been wanting to go camping and we have not had a chance to really camp, so we decided it would be fun to camp in the yard. I set up the tent, then Johnny inspected it, made the adjustments and staked it. He also cooked supper and went out to the field to chop wood for us for a fire! What a great husband :) He is so sweet to do so much for us.

We had a great time hanging out, barbecuing and sitting around the fire. When it started to get a little cool. Grace got her sleeping bag out of the tent and laid around the fire. She was so cute when we had marshmallows. The big marshmallows we had were expired, but we had mini marshmallows so we just let her eat them. She would stretch her hand out to hold the marshmallow toward the fire (although she was at least 4 feet away) and then she would blow on it to make sure it was cool, then eat it, and proceed to say yum...yum. After a little while she decided that we also needed to join her in the "toasting of the marshmallows" and so of course we did.

About 20 mini-marshmallows later, we were tired and it was getting a little chilly and we check the weather and it was going to be to cold for Lauren so we convinced Grace to camp out on the floor of our room instead. :) We all had a great time and Grace LOVED camping. We left the tent up and I am sure we will be playing in it tomorrow. I see a fun nap time coming, I hope!

New Year, New Baby!

2009-01-02T12:18:00.003-06:00

As the new year starts, I have a new perspective on life. New Year, New Year's resolutions, New outlook and New Baby.

We had our adorable little girl Grace in March of 2006 and we just had our newest addition our adorable baby girl Lauren on December 19th.

We are so blessed, so excited and also kinda tired. But, we have so many blessings that it is easy to feel optismistic about the coming year and my role as a wife, and a mom of two precious daughters.

One of my New Year's Resolutions is to do a better job documenting our life and all the special moments we have as a family, as a couple and as a mom with or without our girls. I will try to use this blog to do just that. Add photos, comments, progress and how we are all doing.

Thus, this blog will be for me to basically journal about our life. I hope you find it entertaining, inspiring or just funny. I know our life is never boring so I will have plenty to write about. My goal is to update at least once a week. So check back for updates, and if there isn't any comment that it's out of date so I will update it. :)

Update

2008-09-09T14:14:00.004-05:00

We found out August 14th, 2008 that we are having another little girl. We are naming her Lauren Ashley and she should be making her appearance on or around December 28th. We are all really excited and anticipating her arrival.

Also Grace has started playschool this week and she loves it! She goes everyday and she just runs into the class ready to play. Kinda sad for me, but I know it's good for her to not be sad for me to leave. :)

Posting to be resumed

2008-06-04T19:34:00.003-05:00

Hopefully I will be posting more regularly than I have been. We are expecting again and we are really excited, but I have been really really tired, so anything that hasn't been necessary has not been done. Hence the no posting. Now that that is cleared up, here is whats new besides the baby coming. :)

We went on a vacation to Tennessee in May and we had a great time and took lots of pictures. The pictures are on my picasa site to the right. We have a busy summer with the children and the youth at the church so hopeful some pictures will be coming soon.

I will try to document the days of toddler years (yes she is a toddler already! A little over two) and the pregnancy. Due date is January 5th, but will be here around December 29th! More updates to come soon.

My Morning with Grace

2008-03-24T14:38:00.000-05:00

This morning, as I was getting Grace ready I had just finished getting her dressed and I gave her a flintson's gummy vitamin to eat. She loves them and of course ask for another one. Well the recommended dosage is just one, so I said she could have another one tomorrow. Well, that made her lay on the floor and pout. When she realized that it wasn't working. She gave me the biggest pouty face and said, "Where's daddy?"

I then told her daddy was at work and let her call him. She said hey and then decided she wanted in our bed or as she refers to it "Mommy's bed". So I let her climb in. She then said, "Milk". I went and picked up her milk she had thrown on the floor back in her room. I brought it to her and she continues and says, "Cereal". I also went and got her cereal. Of course, now that she is laying on the bed (that was already made mind you) on the "good" pillows, covers pulled up, eating her cereal and drinking her milk, she now wants, "Mouse" or more commonly known as "Mickey Mouse Club House" that she knows I have recorded on the DVR. I turned it on and sat there watching her eat, drink and watch tv waiting for her to finish so I could eat some cereal myself.

Funny how this happens. One minute they do whatever you say. The next they already have YOU trained.

Life is wonderful and there is nothing sweeter than making your two-year old happy and to hear the sweet words afterwards of "Thank you Mommy."

P.S. Yes that is cereal that she spilled in the bed. I cleaned it up to! :)

Happy Easter!

2008-03-11T23:37:00.000-05:00

Make a postcard - it's easy!

My Pretty Tulips from my sweet husband!

2008-01-23T09:46:00.000-06:00

Johnny came yesterday with these pretty flowers! They are so pretty and he is so sweet to bring them to me. I was so excited when I saw them so I thought I would take a picture of them to share them with everyone.

We are going to Houston this weekend so I will not get to look at them as much as I would like to so the picture will also serve as a reminder to me of how pretty they were and how sweet Johnny was to bring them to me.

Hope everyone has a great weekend and we will try to post some birthday party pictures on Picasa when we get back!

Our Daisy

2007-12-14T13:49:00.000-06:00

This is our little puppy named Daisy. She is a Miniature White Schnauzer. Right now she is only about 13 weeks old and she is just a cutie. We are still working on house training but other than just being a puppy she is really sweet.

Just wanted to share a picture of our sweetie. She is technically our family dog, but also technically my Christmas/birthday present :)

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-19T15:54:00.000-06:00

Make a slide show, scrapbook or ecard

Awesome Weekend and Gift

2007-11-08T11:41:00.000-06:00

I know that Johnny and I Anniversary isn't until next Saturday, but we celebrated early. We went with some friends to Pensacola Beach, Flordia for a 3 day weekend and really had a great time getting a chance to relax and having some just us time. Since we celebrated early, Johnny decided to give me my gift early too. It is awesome. It's a personal stamp with our last name and our address. It really adds a little something extra to an envelope! I was so surprised that I gasped when Johnny showed it to me. Something I absolutely love!

Pensacola, FL Trip

2007-11-05T21:51:00.000-06:00

Make a slide show, scrapbook or ecard

Virus', Festivals and Fun

2007-10-07T21:50:00.000-05:00

Last week we had a crazy crazy week. Grace and Johnny both got a virus that ended up with them both in the hospital last Tuesday. Grace had dehydrated and so had Johnny. She was admitted on Tuesday and we stayed through Wednesday evening. Johnny was there with us and he started feeling much worse so he walked down to the ER where they gave him some fluids too.

Needless to say, our week was kinda hectic and not normal. On Thursday, Johnny and I were talking and we decided we needed a little break. Something to look forward to and something that would be fun. So first thing on Friday morning, (Grace and Johnny still kinda sick) we loaded up and headed to Baton Rouge to the Fall Fest and pep rally for LSU against Florida. We had a great time getting to watch the band, see the cheerleaders get everyone pepped up and just enjoying the overall enthusiasm that everyone had.

After the festival we headed to Alexandria to spend the night in a hotel room. We really had a great time just being a family and just getting out after a week of sickness. We played with Grace in the room and we went to eat at Chili's. We found out that Grace loves cheese pizza just like her daddy and that she doesn't like Sprite.

On Saturday we got up and had breakfast before checking out of our hotel. Afterwards we went to the mall and we just walked around for a while to let Grace get some energy out before we got back on the road again.

We left there and went to Lecompte, LA to the pie festival and to meet Jordan and Katie. We were picking up Johnny's new car from Jordan and just visiting for a little while. We were kinda disappointed in the scarcity of pies at the pie festival, but the Lee's pie that we did have was great!

We left Jordan and Katie anod we started driving back towards home. Johnny stopped off in Baton Rouge for a guys night LSU game and Grace and I went to Hammond for a visit with Aunt Tonya, dinner with Grammie and PaPa and the Southeastern game vs. Stephen F. Austin. Southeastern and LSU both won so it was a good evening. Grace loved the game and just getting out of the car for awhile. She did have a little too much sugar though and got a little sick and we got home around 10pm which is about 2 hours past her bedtime so she went right to sleep.

Today she has been kinda cranky and still a little sick so she and I stayed home while daddy went to church this morning and we cooked lunch for daddy and grammie and papa. We also joined them and Billy and Lacy for supper at LaCareta's in Amite to celebrate Billy official being an attorney. He found out on Friday that he had passed the bar exam so we all decided to help him celebrate.

Congratulations Billy! We are very proud of you!

Well I hope everyone has a great week. So far it looks like ours is going to be kinda busy. It starts with my orthodontists appointment at 9:30 on Monday and Johnny has a mid-term on Tuesday. Wish us luck!

Beautiful Wedding

2007-10-07T21:30:00.001-05:00

We went to Katie's wedding in Nashville at the end of September. It was beautiful. Katie was so beautiful and elegant in her dress with a sash wrapped around it. The bridesmaids were very pretty too. The flowers were gorgeous and the ceremony was so sweet and simple. It really was just Katie. Very pretty and very simple.

Nashville was pretty neat too. We were pretty busy with family stuff and the drive so we will have to go back and visit when we have more time to relax and just enjoy it. Nashville is a very beautiful city. I can kinda see why Katie loves it so much:) Even the crosswalks have birds chirping when it's time to cross the street! How cool is that.

Anyways, I didn't get many pictures but the ones that I have are found here. They are mostly from the rehearsal dinner.

Other summer events

2007-08-31T09:23:00.000-05:00

Back in July we went to eat at Emeril's in New Orleans with our friends Jamie and Brandon and we went to the arena football game.

Grace also learned to use coasters as symbols to make some sweet (ok loud) music!

Grace's new friend

2007-08-31T09:19:00.000-05:00

This is a scrapbook of Grace and Ella (the little girl I keep). Grace is such a big helper! It has made me realize what a big girl she has become. Oh, it's so sad and so precious at the same time.

Click to play | Make your own Smilebox

School Year Begins

2007-08-31T08:50:00.000-05:00

This week Johnny started back at LSU and it's the fourth week I have been keeping Miss Ella Katherine Olyer (Amy & Clyde's little girl) she is 9 months old. We are back in routine, in schedule and well I guess back to the real world. We had a great summer and I wouldn't trade it for anything. But at last . . . the time has come to get back to it . . . whatever that is.

Anyways, I hope everyone has a great week and a Happy Labor day weekend!

P.S. I did try to catch-up the blog with some pictures and stuff from our summer events.

Our Trip to Kemah, TX

2007-08-31T08:45:00.000-05:00

Just a little back tracking. I forgot to post this photobook of our pictures from our trip to Kemah, TX back in July. It was great! Hope you enjoy.

Click to play | Make your own Smilebox

Zepher's Game

2007-08-12T16:03:00.000-05:00

Click to play | Make your own Smilebox

Vacation Bible School & Tennis Camp

2007-07-18T20:54:00.000-05:00

We just finished Vacation Bible School and I think it turned out great thanks to all the great help we had. We had about 35 kids and a great deal of fun Ranch style.

I will be posting some pictures soon of VBS and some new ones of Grace.

Johnny has also had tennis camp this week and he has a great group. He has 6 younger ones and five older ones. They finish up on Friday.

Anyways, that's what's been going on with us the last few weeks. Hope everyone is having a great summer.

Smile Box Summer 2007

2007-06-30T20:39:00.000-05:00

Click to play | Make your own Smilebox

Summer Days Are Here

2007-06-08T21:53:00.000-05:00

We have had a rough January - May with Johnny having two full time jobs on top of everything else that he has to do with his LSU classes, being a dad, and a husband. As a little perk of that thought we are blessed with a summer!

Summertime is finally here for Johnny and I. Yes, we get to have a summer and I am so excited! Johnny doesn't have school or a job to be at this summer and I only have Grace to keep up with and my work with the children's ministry to do. In the summertime though, my job with the children is more laided back fun stuff. The big thing I will have to do is VBS and I am already working on it and I have great parents to help me.

In any light though, we get to relax, sleep in if Grace lets us and just take it easy. We even have a little kiddy pool for Grace that we might all take part in at some point during the summer.
Yes, it is finally here and I am so thankful for it!

Easter and Spring Break

2007-04-12T22:19:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a great Easter! We had a fun one with Grace this year. She is getting old enough to enjoy playing and she loves the plastic Easter eggs. In fact, she has been playing with them for about a month and continues to play with them! She didn't actually hunt the eggs but she dumped them out all over the place instead. She isn't quite walking yet, but she is certainly cruising and starting to take a few steps.

She looked adorable (not that I am bias or anything :) ) in her Easter dress that her Grammie bought her for her birthday. Here are some pictures from Easter.

This week has been spring break for Franklinton school systems so I have been off from watching Andrew this week and Johnny hasn't had to teach. Even though we have been off this has been a really busy week for us! Poor Johnny hasn't even gotten a break. He didn't have to teach, but his work at LSU has taken up all of his extra time!

Hopefully he will get some time to relax this weekend. I did buy him some margarita mix while at the store today, so maybe he can use it this weekend. We are going to the Zephyr's game on Sunday after church, so at least we know that we have something to look forward to before next week starts up again.

Have a great week!

Grace is Offically One

2007-03-29T11:38:00.000-05:00

We had Grace's first birthday party on March 24th (four days after her birthday) and we all had a great time. She really enjoyed visiting with everyone and being the center of attention. I have posted the pictures from her party here. She didn't really eat much cake, but she sure did love to play with it! It was hilariously.

We are still just having a busy but fun spring. The weather has been wonderful and we have enjoyed being outside quite a bit. Grace got a wagon for one of her presents and we have used it just about everyday.

Johnny is still teaching at FJHS and FHS and doing his TA assistantship at LSU while still a student in the program. He just finished taking one of his general exams and we are still waiting on the results.

I am still busy with Grace and Andrew during the day and working on the children's ministry stuff while they sleep and at night. We are working on getting an Easter Egg hunt together for next Wednesday and I am having a hard time finding prizes for it.

I think we will have to take a trip to Covington over the weekend to get that finished up. We are thinking about going down to Abita Springs on Saturday morning and garage sale hopping. They are having garage sales throughout the entire town. Maybe we will find a treasure. We are going to John and Alissa's Saturday to start up our dinner club and then going to Owen's party in Picayune on Sunday. Man...we have a busy weekend already! Oh, and I almost forgot, I get my braces adjusted on Friday and I will be sore for a few days again.

Anyways, that's about all that's going on with us for now. I hope everyone has a good week and I will try and post more regularly.

Grace's First Word

2007-02-06T17:57:00.000-06:00

I guess I should update everyone since it's been awhile. Grace has been sick, but is getting much better. She was diagnosed with RSV on January 26th so we have been pretty much home bodies for the last few weeks.

While we were home last Friday Grace said her first word (besides dada and mama of course). She looked at me pointed to it and said "book" I couldn't believe it! She continued to say it throughout the night and will still say it if she sees this particular book that is her and her daddy's favorite book "Put Me in the Zoo."

In other news, the children's ministry has gotten off to a good start this year and I am really enjoying it. Also tomorrow I go in to get braces! I am a little scared, but I think I will be fine. My treatment didn't qualify for invisaline but I am getting ceramic instead of regular metal. So it should be as obvious, I hope. No time like the present I guess to start something that will take 18 - 24 months! Grace isn't even that old yet. It seems like a really long time, but hopefully it will pass soon enough.

I hope everyone is doing well. Have a great week!

JUST A MOM? No, Director of Child Development and Human Relations!

2007-01-16T13:12:00.000-06:00

JUST A MOM?

A woman, renewing her driver's license at the County Clerk's office
was asked by the woman recorder to state her occupation.

She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself.

"What I mean is," explained the recorder,
"do you have a job or are you just a......?"

"Of course I have a job," snapped the woman.

"I'm a Mom."

"We don't list 'Mom' as an occupation, 'housewife' covers it,"
said the recorder emphatically.

I forgot all about her story until one day I found myself in the
same situation, this time at our own Town Hall.

The Clerk was obviously a career woman, poised,
efficient and possessed of a high sounding title like,
"Official Interrogator" or "Town Registrar."

"What is your occupation?" she probed.

What made me say it?
I do not know.
The words simply popped out.
"I'm a Research Associate in the field of
Child Development and Human Relations."

The clerk paused, ball-point pen frozen in midair and
looked up as though she had not heard right.

I repeated the title slowly emphasizing the most significant words.
Then I stared with wonder as my pronouncement was written,
in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire.

"Might I ask," said the clerk with new interest,
"just what you do in your field?"

Coolly, without any trace of fluster in my voice,
I heard myself reply,
"I have a continuing program of research,
[what mother doesn't)
in the laboratory and in the field,
(normally I would have said indoors and out).
I'm working for my Masters, (first the Lord and then the whole family)
and already have four credits (all daughters).
Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the humanities,
(any mother care to disagree?)
and I often work 14 hours a day, (24 is more like it).
But the job is more challenging than most run-of-the-mill careers and the rewards are
more of a satisfaction rather than just money."

There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk's voice as she
completed the form, stood up and personally ushered me to the door.

As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up by my glamorous new career,
I was greeted by my lab assistants -- ages 13, 7, and 3.
Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model,
(a 6 month old baby) in the child development program,
testing out a new vocal pattern.
I felt I had scored a beat on bureaucracy!
And I had gone on the official records as someone more distinguished and indispensable to mankind than
"just another Mom." Motherhood!

What a glorious career!
Especially when there's a title on the door.

Does this make grandmothers
"Senior Research associates in the field of
Child Development and Human Relations"
and great grandmothers
"Executive Senior Research Associates"?
I think so!!!
I also think it makes Aunts
"Associate Research Assistants".

New Year, Just as Busy as 2006

2007-01-11T11:45:00.000-06:00

So far this year we have been really busy. Johnny has been working on remodeling our bathroom for the last two weeks and it looks wonderful. He is almost finished and hopes to finish today. I can't wait for it all to be finished so I can show everyone what a wonderful job he did!

Amongst the renovation last week, Grace and I had to run some errands, do some visiting and go to my eye doctor's visit.

Last Saturday we helped Billy and Lacy move into their new house. Grace stayed with a babysitter for the first time for more than just a few hours. She was actually with the babysitter from 8:30am - 8:00 pm! I was proud of myself though. I handled her been away from us very well. (I just kept myself busy)

Billy and Lacy's house is really nice and we are very happy for them. I know they will be happy when all the unpacking ends and they can just sit back and enjoy it.

Last Sunday Johnny ran the 100th Jackson Day race with his dad and the whole running group while Grace and I worked the nursery at the church. Afterwards we all met up and went to eat at Gerald's. The afternoon was pretty much relaxation time since we had such a busy week.

Monday Andrew was suppose to come back but had ran a little fever the day before so he stayed home. After breakfast and morning stuff, Grace and I joined Tonya on a trip to Covington, because we needed to go anyways and she wanted us to go to her doctor's visit for Christian with her.

Well we didn't realize until we got to the doctor's office that we didn't have room to do any of the shopping we needed to do because of the 3 car seats, the double stroller, and the recent addition of Dale's boom box in the trunk. We decided that we could no longer take just one car somewhere. We now need two! So while Tonya took the boys in for the appointment, Grace and I borrowed her car and we did a little shopping at Michaels. I came and picked Tonya up and we headed back home since we had no room for anything else anyways.

It was ok though, Tuesday afternoon after Andrew left and Johnny had been working on the bathroom some more, Johnny needed to take a trip to Lowe's in Covington so we were able to go to Wal-mart to get the supplies that I needed.

Wednesday was a busy day because Johnny was offered an interim job with the local High School as band director and he was trying to decide if he should take it or not and then once he did decide, he had to fill out the application, call the principal and go down to the school board office.

Today he is actually already at the schools trying to see where the classes are so he can prepare for the week next week, which will start on Tuesday because of Martin Luther King Day.

Speaking of new jobs though, I was looking through my blog and noticed that I hadn't posted about my new position. I am still keeping Andrew, but I have also accepted a job with the church as the Children's Ministry Coordinator.

I am basically responsible for getting everything ready for the teachers to teach for Wednesday nights, getting new curriculum, scheduling teachers, planning summer activities and stuff like that. The big job will be during the summer where I am in charge of VBS. I am starting to prepare early though, so maybe it will not be so crazy.

I am excited about it and I think it's going to be fun. Anyways, that's about it for now and it's time for the babies to eat some lunch so I gotta run.

Christmas 2006 and New Year's

2007-01-08T22:27:00.000-06:00

Christmas was wonderful. Grace had such a great time that no matter what else was going on, it was perfect. She loved paper and more paper. She also loved bows.

We had a busy holiday season, but enjoyed visiting everyone. We did miss those not around this year though. We actually had Christmas dinner at our house this year and I was very pleased with the menu and the way all of the decorations came out. Sadly I didn't get any pictures of the decorations before they were taken down though. Grace was the main attraction and we took tons of pictures. You can view the pictures here. I hope everyone else had a great Christmas too!

We had a great time New Year's eve with some friends of ours Sally and Steve and their daughter Katrena playing some karaoke Revolution and Catch Phrase. We actually stayed up and watched the ball drop and made a toast to the New Year.

Happy New Year!

Cruise

2006-12-22T23:24:00.000-06:00

Our cruise was awesome! I really enjoyed getting away with just Johnny. He is so sweet and wonderful that I hardly ever get to just enjoy being with him. It was really nice.

It is really late and I am tired so I am not going to go into much detail right now, but I promise to post more as time and energy allows over the next few days.

Just a thought to leave you with, just imagine, laying on a beach, perfect weather, beautiful scenery, wrapped in your sweetheart's arms with nothing to worry about.

Perfect right? Sound like a fantasy? Well technically it was, it was great!

I did post some pictures from the trip here.

Have a great holiday!

Grace Crawling

2006-12-13T10:02:00.000-06:00

Grace has started crawling. I can't remember actually what day it was, but she was 8 1/2 months old. She also immediately started pulling up on things and standing a good bit. Now that she knows how to stand, she's starting to get into everything! Which is kinda scary and exciting all at one time. She is trying to take a few steps but nothing as of yet.

She does say baba (bottle) and dada (daddy) but still not saying mama. She also came very close to papa (pawpaw) the other day.

She is now eating foods twice a day mixed with either oatmeal or rice and still drinking four bottles a day.

She has been sick a little recently, but is finally starting to feel a little better.

We also recently took new family pictures (to use for our Christmas card) on the tractor that belongs to Johnny's family and Grace loved the tractor. She had the tightest grasp on the steering wheel that I have ever seen. She did not want to let go! You can see the family pictures here.

Anyways, this is the update on Miss Grace.

Johnny and I are leaving for our cruise on Saturday and we couldn't be more excited! Well, Johnny's not quite as excited yet as I am , but he still has finals to deal with and grading. But I am sure that as soon as he is done today he will quickly get excited about the trip. We only have 3 more days till it's cruise time! Hope you all have a great holiday season!

Thanksgiving

2006-12-12T22:28:00.000-06:00

I know this post is a bit late, say almost a month . . . but I think some people might still want to know.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving time with EVERYONE in Johnny's family at his parents house. I enjoyed getting to visit with everyone and getting to play with my nephews. They are getting sooo big! We even had visits from Uncle Barry, Aunt Monica, and Laura and her two boys. We also had a visit from Aunt Lynn, April and Matthew and their two boys.

We all had way way too much to eat and played games and took a few pictures that you can view here.

After everyone left on Saturday we went over to Covington to visit with John and Alissa. It was really fun to see them again and get to visit. Grace went with us and meet Terry, one of Billy and John's friends from college and had a good time playing with him.

Sunday was the Piano Praise at First Baptist that they have started doing yearly and it was spectacular! All of the pianist did an excellent job. From our church mom, (aka. Ginny Burris), Carla Stafford and Jessica McCormick all played in the performance.

Halloween

2006-11-06T09:54:00.000-06:00

Grace was a sweet pea for Halloween this year.

We went to visit Uncle J.W. & Aunt Mac, Valerie and Chris Talley, Dennie and Madonna Fowler, Martha and John Dennison, and Mercer & Ron Brumfield.

We also tried to see Mrs. Mary Beverley and Mr. Huey but they were not home. They went to visit their granddaughter and found out that Rebecca their daughter is expecting again in July of 2007.

Daddy had to be in Baton Rouge this week for his general exams, so we took pictures to send him a kiss and a little treat!

The Washington Parish Free Fair

2006-10-30T13:22:00.000-06:00

The third week of October is always fair time in Washington Parish. The town shuts down for four days to play hosts to the many of spectators and visitors that join us for our beloved fair.
Actually they have starting the opening ceremonies on Tuesday evening now, so it's really five days of the fair.

This year was Grace's first fair, so I had to bring her at least a little everyday. On Tuesday evening we went to see the opening ceremonies and waited to see some of the maids introduced for the Queen's competition that was taking place and then we left.

On Wednesday, we woke up early and joined Johnny's parents to ride in the fair parade with Grace. I was a little afraid that she would get scared, but she loved it. It was very warm even at 9am in the morning. So we plastered her down with sunscreen and put a cute little sleeveless pumpkin dress on her and didn't use any shoes or socks and loaded up in the back of a red ford pick-up truck and started throwing candy and waving at people as we passed by. It was alot of fun and I think Grace had a great time. (I will post a picture later, after I get a copy or a chance to scan it.) As a matter of fact, our picture winded up on the front page of The Era Leader for the issue after the fair.

After the parade, we came home to rest for a while and then that afternoon, Grace and I went up for an hour or so, just to look around.

On Thursday, the weather looked as if it was going to pour any minute, so we spent most of the day at home. That afternoon, we decided to try our luck and go ahead down for a little while. We winded up staying for the ventriliquest which was awesome and then visiting with Grammie and PawPaw at the stage for a while.

While we were at the stage, Neal McCoy came in and was taking pictures with everyone. I had thought about getting a picture of him and Grace, but she was sleeping, so I had decided not too. Right before he left, everyone backstage kept trying to get me over for a picture. So I finally gave in and took a picture with Neal McCoy with Grace sound asleep in my arms. While we were taking the picture Neal McCoy commented " Well ...she isn't impressed with me at all...is she?" I can't wait to see this picture and tell her that story when she gets older! We sat in the audience with PawPaw and Grammie for a little while so Grace could visit with Aunt Lacy and Kristen and so I could give her a bottle (maybe 15 minutes) and watched Neal McCoy then we went home. Grace was ready for bed
and I was ready to be home too.

Friday morning we got up and I made Johnny strawberry crepes for breakfast and let him sleep in because it was his birthday! After he had gotten up and finished breakfast we went to see Jennifer, Chris, Carter and Cole who were all at Grammie and PawPaw's. They came in earlier Friday morning for the weekend and for the fair. We visited and winded up having lunch with them and not leaving for the fair until around 4pm! I think we all took naps at some point during that visit to Grammie and PawPaw's. When we made it to the fair, we went to Old McDonald's farm, looked at the tractors's, Johnny got a 2lb turkey leg and then we went to the playground for Carter to play. The character's had already went home for the day, but Carter had a great time anyways. After he was finished, we just walked around the fair for a little while before going to Uncle J.W.'s for chili and birthday cake. After chili, we went home.

On Saturday morning, it turned cooler. In fact, it was too cool to get Grace out for the Fair 5K. We stayed home while Johnny, Uncle Billy and PawPaw all went to the race. I was a little sad about not being able to go. I always go and watch Johnny run and I miss out this year.

After the race they all came home, washed up and we all headed back up to the fair. We went around the mid-way, eat lunch at various locations, walked around Mile Branch, the commercial building and the craft buildings. We also went back to the playground for Carter to play some more and let him see all the characters. Grace loved...I mean...loved the dragon from Dragon Tales named Cassidy. We have pictures.

As we were heading out it started to sprinkle. By the time we were back to Uncle J.W.'s it was raining hard. We visited with Aunt Monica, Uncle Barry, John and Alissa before heading back home. When I got home Billy and Johnny had decided to make supper. They were making Red Beans and Rice, heating up some bar-b-que chicken I had cooked earlier and I can't remember what else. I feed Grace while Johnny, Billy and Lacy ate and then they all played with her while I ate.

We all started thinking about how we were here at our house and they (Jennifer, Chris, Carter, Cole and PawPaw) were all at there house, so we called to see if they wanted to play a game. They agreed so we headed over with the Karokie Revolution Game in tow. We all (except for Chris who conviently went to sleep and PawPaw who just wouldn't play) played and had a great time. We decided that it would be the game we play at Thanksgiving when we are all in. Get ready! It will be here before you know it.

Sick, Sad and Still oh so sweet!

2006-10-11T21:51:00.000-05:00

Grace is getting over her first sickness. On Monday afternoon, she woke up from her nap burning up. She had a fever of 102.5! I of course freaked out and immediately called the doctor. They told me to start downing tylenol and motrin alternatating between each every 4-6 hours as needed and that if she still had fever in the morning to call and get her in.

We all woke up at 5:30 on Tuesday and Grace was fussy, burning up still and had started refusing her bottle so I called the doctor and got her in for 11:00. Her fever had finally gone down around 10:00am, of course right before we see the doctor.

The doctor checked her out and determined that no illness was visable except for the congestion, so she wanted to take a blood sample and run some tests to see what was going on.

I figured that this meant we had to go to another doctor's office, wait some more and then wait for the results overnight and finally get the results the next day.

Very welcomed, in comes a nurse to take the sample that they had analyized in just 5 minutes. Grace had her first virus!

Luckly, it wasn't a bad one and the doctor suggested to continue the medicane she was already taking and the just let the virus run it's course.

So that is what we have done. She and I have hung out on the couch or in the bed and have just been taking it easy. I started getting sick on Tuesday and a good portion of today. I just felt crummy and had the congestion and overall head stuffyness, thankfully no fever though.

Finally today around 10am was the last time she was running a fever and I am feeling much better too!

Andrew of course hasn't been here since Monday since Grace was running a fever still. Andrew will be back in the morning and hopefully we will all be feeling better and well rested by the weekend.

We have to be, the fair is next week! Yes, I said next week. I can't believe it's here already!

Southeastern Game

2006-09-18T09:07:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday we went to our first Southeastern Game of the season. It was a great game. We won 41 to 13 agains Jacksonville Dolphins! We tailgated and took in the whole experience. Grace came with us and was very surprizingly good. She had a ball playing with papa and daddy's hats throughout the game. I posted some pictures on my picassia web albums.

I know, it's Monday and no one, I mean no one is happy to be at work! Except for maybe Katie, so she can share her WONDERFUL news. I am not telling until I see it on her blog first! Hopefully we will alll get to see soon! Hope everyone has a great week!

Our Night Out, Chili's, Putt Putt and Snakes

2006-09-15T23:02:00.000-05:00

Tonight, Johnny and I went to Covington with Grace and Johnny's parents (Mom, Dad, Ginny, Bill) whomever you decide to call them. We went to eat at Chili's and then went to play Putt Putt Golf at Funland in Mandeville, LA.

We all had a great time and unfortantly Mom and Dad beat me and Johnny by four points. I will have to say, I feel pretty sure that it was my fault. I got the maximum strokes on at least 3 holes, maybe more. It was a fun game though.

While we were there, Johnny decided to look into the pond that was there. He remembered that there use to be fish in the pond and started looking for some. Well he didn't find a fish, but he found a SNAKE! I think that's when my game took a bad turn. I was so worried that the snake or the mom snake would be just around the corner. We had a good time, but I was ready to be off that course so I knew there would be no snake around!

Of course, once we were off the course we told the girls working at the desk and they were both high school age girls and they were freaking out and trying to decide if they should call the manager. I hope they did.

BTW - Johnny also recently found a King Snake in our front flower bed and thought it was a good idea to mention it to me. Now I am scared everytime I go out the front door! He didn't kill it because he said that it was a "good" snake. I am not sure there is such a thing. In my opinion, a "good" snake is a dead snake. I am just saying....

We did go to Target afterwards though and picked up Grace's Halloween Costume. She is going to be a "Sweet Pea". We think she is anyways. Here is a picture of what her costume looks like.

Wreath Complete

2006-09-13T14:06:00.000-05:00

For about $1 maybe $2 with the ribbon, I made a new wreath for our front door. We had one that the berries had gotten so hot from being outside for a year that they had burst and turned gooy. So I cleaned the berries off the old wreath, bought a berry spray from Wal-mart for $1, hot glued the berries on the wreath and made a bow from ribbon I had lying around. The result, a new wreath for about $1 and about 30 minutes of time! I know it's not much, but I am so proud that I could do it and it look half way decent.

Jumperoos, Mobiles, Toys and Music

2006-09-12T11:13:00.000-05:00

A few days ago I went to Wal-mart to get some toys for Grace and Andrew. Granted, she has some toys, but being the first baby means that as you get older, you get new toys since you don't already have them. I really was looking for some good developmental toys that they could play with for at least a little while that were not too pricey. Also, we listen to children's songs at least 2 hours a day and the two CD's that we have, I think we are all getting tired of although they are very good.

Also, Grace loves looking at things move above her and we didn't have a mobile that moved on it's own. So after much research and shopping I made a few purchases.

Jumperoo

Mobile

Sorting Shapes
Stacking Rings
100 Bible songs for kids
123 Favorite Kid Songs

Family Pictures

2006-09-05T17:04:00.000-05:00

Some friends of ours Tiffany and Scott Haynes took some pictures of Johnny, me and Grace on August 23, 2006 that came out great. They are starting to take pictures and they needed volunteers to get a portfolio together. They did an excellent job. Hope you like the pictures too!

A link to their photography website is here.

Picasa 2 Beta

2006-09-05T15:59:00.000-05:00

Picasa has a new picture program that is freaking awesome. This is the first web album that I uploaded, but there are more to come!

http://picasaweb.google.com/natashaburris/GraceAndAndrewPictures

The weeks have went on...

2006-08-24T10:04:00.000-05:00

So far, Grace, Andrew and I are doing just fine. We are all getting adjusted to the new schedule of having two to care for. They are finally starting to take their naps at the same time and we are all managing well. I have to say, it's fun, but it sure has been challenging some days. Like those days that Grace just sleeps and sleeps and Andrew decides not to sleep. Oh how I wish he would! Anyways, we are all managing fine and today is actually the last day I keep Andrew this week.

Tomorrow, I have a few errands to run in the morning, then Grace and I are accompanying Johnny to Baton Rouge for the day and joining him and some friends to Chinese for dinner. After dinner Johnny, Grace and I are staying with Billy and Lacey before heading to Ruston (actually Homer) for the weekend early Saturday morning.

Our friends James and Shelly are hosting dinner club this month and it's on a weekend we can actually attend so we are going. Hopefully we will get to visit with some of our other friends this weekend too.

We will probably stay in Homer all day Saturday and then go to church in Ruston, visit with some friends after the service and then eat some lunch at Tia Maria's before heading back home.

That's what our agenda is for the weekend as far as I know. I am looking forward to it, but mostly looking forward to hanging out with Johnny in Baton Rouge tomorrow and getting to meet some of the people he is friends with there.

I hope everyone has a good weekend.

Grace and Her Big Toe

2006-08-21T09:27:00.000-05:00

Grace has found her big toe and likes to suck on it.
In fact, she even decided to include it with her two hands for this photo.

The Joys of Being a Stay at Home Mom

2006-08-15T15:43:00.000-05:00

Thanks to my wonderful husband, I get to stay home with my almost five month old daughter Grace. I also keep a little boy named Andrew that is six weeks older than Grace during the week. This blog with be a collection of my thoughts and a record of the different events, adventures and stories that will follow as I go through the day to day with these two precious little babies.

This is a picture of Andrew and Grace playing yesterday.