Burnett Family

I’ll skip lamenting the fact that it has been __ days since we posted and get straight to fixing the problem…writing a blog post! :)

Our friend from Alaska, Barrie Greenfield, came up from Bible school in Texas the other weekend to fix some of her own Alaskan salmon for us! Some of the family were rather skeptical, since we hardly ever eat salmon (what can you expect when you live in OK?), but I think we all enjoyed it! I thought it was delicious. :)

 

We peppered her with all sorts of questions as she prepared it (pun intended…sort of), such as, what kind of salmon it was, how they fish for it, what other ways do they eat it, how do you know when it’s done, etc.

 

On the side – Garlic Knot Rolls

Roasted Asparagus – the best way to eat it in our opinion! (Thanks, Aunt Janis!)

and fresh flowers. :)

I experimented with a new dessert – puddingwiches. They’re like ice cream sandwiches, except they have a pudding type filling inside graham crackers (or Ritz, if you run out of graham). Pretty good stuff!

After listening to Barrie’s wild bear hunting stories (true Alaskan she is), we wound up playing Fishbowl for Friday Fun Night…lots of laughs. =D This was the charades round…any guesses?

 

 

The next morning, a few of us got in some target practice. Speaking only for myself, I think skeet shooting is more my forte. :)

The Sharpshooters – heh heh. ;)

More posts coming soon…right, Abbie? ;)

We had a fabulous whirlwind of a weekend in Texas!

Buzzing down the road for the Saturday night, SAICFF. closing ceremonies!
Family road trips are the BEST. We (kids) always have an itch to go somewhere.

Mr. Randy Putz, our fabulous host – putting up a total of 14 people for the night is no small task. We always enjoy his kind, full-of-joy fellowship.

Of course, John-Clay had been in San Antonio for the whole week, attending the Film Academy along with the Henline family and their friend, Emily. J-C said the Academy was the best ever – plenty of practical instruction and challenging messages.

The week is always key for networking with other Christian filmmakers. It’s encouraging to see how much independent Christian filmmaking has grown and improved in just the past 9 years since the film festival began!

John-Clay’s main project last year was making the documentary, Captivated.
Phillip Telfer was the producer of the film, which was a semi-finalist at the festival.

This was our third year to drive down for the closing ceremonies on Saturday night! Sooo excited. =)

Doug Phillips – President of Vision Forum Ministries

Special music for the evening was provided by Charlie Zahm

We were thrilled when the Henlines’ film, The Forgotten Martyr: Lady Jane Grey, won the Best Young Filmmaker’s Award and was also runner-up for Best Short Film!

Captivated was up against 15 other documentaries, so we weren’t sure whether to get our hopes up for an award or not. We were pleased when Captivated won runner-up for Best Documentary and was a finalist for the Best of Festival Award! =)

In actuality, the best award of all was the feedback received during the week from the many people whose lives have been greatly impacted through the message of the film. Praise the Lord! That’s a work that only HE can do.

Courageous deservedly won the Best of Festival Award! Stephen Kendrick gave a meaningful speech, honoring his dad for the powerful influence he has been in their lives. One thing that really stands out among all these filmmakers is their passion to do what they do for the glory of God, that He might be lifted up and seen for Who He is!

What better way to end the night than by bringing down the house with the Orange Blossom Special! Personally, the harmonica was my favorite. :)

Remember the Dorninks? We were so happy that seven of them were able to stop for a night going and coming from the film festival. They joined us for our bi-weekly volleyball practice at a church gym, which was super fun!! Sorry, no pictures of that. We were pretty busy playing, losing, and winning. :)

Discussing guns, I think. :)

My dear friend, Melody – we can talk for hours! And every time I’m left challenged, encouraged, and hungry for the Lord. That’s a good friend for ya. ;)

The Moms.

Spoons! A favorite around here.

 

 
Benj got a lot of basketball time out of Dustin and Kelly, much to his enjoyment.

Somehow, the length of the Dorninks’ visits seem to expand…and grow…and carry on…(not because we tempt them with homemade ice cream or anything).

On their way back from San Antonio, they planned to drop in from 10pm – 2am (yes, you read that correctly). But it so happened, they got an early start and expected to arrive by 7pm instead. Then, their mini-van broke down in Waco, and we weren’t sure if they were going to be able to come at all. :( Van got fixed, they arrived at midnight and decided to stay the night! (Nachos are a great midnight snack meal, by the way.) Wellllll, when their departure time of 11am rolled around in the morning, we said, “Is there any way y’all can stay longer?” A few phone calls made, and the rest of the day was spent with them until we sent them off with a blessing at 10pm that night. =D Good times!

Good friends = willing to ask meaningful questions, talk deep, and truly desire to build each other up in the Lord. The Dorninks definitely fit that list. We shared some great discussions together, and I know our family was really encouraged! Hopefully, we’ll find an excuse to meet up again soon. :)

There’s the re-cap for you! With the calendar as full as it is, I’m sure we’ll have more to tell you about soon. :)

Thanks to all you blog readers for staying in touch! We appreciate each one of you and pray that the Lord will really be the treasure of your heart as you walk through life with Him.

On Saturday, the 11th, we hosted a Valentine’s dinner for the couples from our church.

We had lots of fun getting everything ready!
Lots of cooking…

Old love songs… ;)

Last minute, we decided to learn a couple of old love songs as entertainment for the evening. Although I’m not sure it sounded that great, we definitely had fun serenading all the love birds with “L-O-V-E” and “Let Me Call You Sweetheart”. :)

Enjoying our time together to the fullest!

Washing dishes…

Mom did an amazing job decorating!

John-Clay and I were grateful for all the help getting the photo booth ready to take pictures for the couples when they arrived! ;)

And during dinner…

We kids served them, while they ate by candle light…

They played some games and told lots of hilarious stories, and we heard LOTS of laughter!

The honeymoon stories were soooo funny!!

Meanwhile, back in the kitchen…

That’s one good reason to serve at an event for couples…you get to listen in on conversation between married folk. ;)

On the 14th, Dad and Benjamin did something special for all of us girls. They bought us flowers and chocolate and took us to dinner at Tio’s Mexican Restaurant! Grandma and Grandpa came with us too, and we had a great time. <3 John-Clay and Caleb had a fun Valentine’s Day, as well. They went to the OKC Thunder basketball game! :)

 

Hope you all had a wonderful Valentine’s Day!
Remember……Jesus loves you!!!

Christmas is definitely one of my favorite times of year! We have some really fun traditions, I love being with family, plus I get to bake … A LOT! :) No, really, I think you’ll be able to see why it’s so special to me after you look at all these pictures – enjoy!

 

The twins and I got to accompany some friends to Branson earlier this month. There’s a lot I could say, but to sum it all up, we had a VERY good time! A big highlight was that we unexpectedly all got free tickets to Silver Dollar City-it was so pretty all decorated up for Christmas, and the roller-coasters were terrifying  great!

 

When we got back home, most of our family got to sing and play for the sweet folks down at the Senior Citizen Center here in town.

Tradition: We always go Christmas caroling to our neighbors, and around town. (including the local police station and sometimes to random folks we’ve never met =) Our list is getting bigger. It seems to be a real blessing to others, but sometimes I think we are the ones who feel the most blessed by it.

As I said earlier, we did LOTS of Christmas baking. =)

Christmas caroling.

 

Tradition: For several years now, mom has put together a themed Christmas tea for just our family. This year the theme was ornaments. She did an AMAZING job with spazzy decorations and lots of good food – we all really enjoyed it!

 

After the tea, Dad read from a Christmas devotional, then we opened stockings and presents. With both the older boys working, and well, I guess some us girls have taken plenty of trips this year, it makes me appreciate even more when we can all be together – I love my family.

 

For the first time, our little church group held a Christmas Eve candlelight service, complete with beautiful carols and formal dresses. It was lovely.

  

We were encouraged to memorize Luke 2:1-20, this was a blessing to me.

 

Tradition: Daddy writes up our annual Christmas letter. We sent out 106 copies this year! :)

We had a special time celebrating at Grandma’s house on Christmas day after church. We are so blessed to have godly grandparents who live close and love the Lord.

A few of us did some duck hunting, we got…one. :) (Carinna didn’t hunt, she brought our dog to retrieve the ducks, and Dad carried a rifle hoping we’d spook a doe.)

Some special things we do at Grandma’s on Christmas is: Eat Grandpa’s amazing chex-mix and open stockings.

  

We taught and learned some new games this time. It was fun and we had some pretty good laughs! =)

 

On the 26th, we drove up north a little ways to welcome the Paine family to Oklahoma. They are moving here from Chicago. We had a great time fellowshipping, playing volley- ball, and playing games. We are glad they live “close” and are definitely looking forward to the next time we can get together with them!

On the 27th we celebrated with mom’s side of the family at Granny’s house.

Yay! We remembered to sing carols this year! :)

It’s pretty fun, there are 5 great-grandkids now, which means there are little people around again! =)

 

The winners of a game with their prizes. :)

Twins holding twins. Carinna has Nickolas Patrick and Maggie has Natalie Shae.

 

Special traditions at Granny’s are: Eating her delicious homemade cinnamon rolls and playing white elephant.

“ And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto YOU is born this day in the city of David a Savior which is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:10-11

According to this picture, you would think it is spring…

Yes, our lilacs are BLOOMING.
In NOVEMBER!!

At our house right now, you could be collecting colorful leaves off the ground with the rich perfume of lilacs floating through the air. Crazy! =D I guess the drought caused the lilacs to go into dormancy, and now the big rains woke them up and they think it is spring. =D

According to this picture, you would think it is summer…

We made homemade oreo ice cream last week for a guest who we were trying to bribe to stay longer…it worked! :) It was a little strange to enjoy the treat on a chilly day instead of in the triple-digits, but delicious nonetheless!

According to THIS picture, you should know it’s fall!!

Last winter, we became huge fans of chai tea. The other day, Mom brewed up this new recipe from Taste of Home which we heartily rated as a 5-star winner! We use sucanat in place of the sugar (sucanat is unrefined sugar that tastes more like brown sugar and gives a slight caramel flavor to the tea). Unfortunately, we haven’t tried it with whipped cream on top yet, but it would be delicious!

Chai Tea

2 cups water
2 individual tea bags
1 cinnamon stick
6 cardamom pods, crushed
1 whole clove
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
2-1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup sugar
Sweetened whipped cream, ground cinnamon and cinnamon sticks, optional

In a small saucepan, combine the first six ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

Stir in milk. Return to a boil; boil for 1 minute, then strain. Stir in sugar until dissolved. Pour into mugs. Top each with whipped cream, cinnamon, and a cinnamon stick, if desired. Yield: 4 servings

“To every thing there is a season,
and a time to every purpose under the heaven:”
Ecclesiastes 3:1

May our Unchanging God be your stay in whatever
season of life you find yourself in today!