12.05.2010

Christmas Spirit!!

I just love Christmas and am definitely getting in the Christmas spirit!! In my last post, I mentioned I re-decorated my tree. I thought I would share with you my new tree today! I used the same decorations, just changed them up! Every time I saw my tree I wasn't happy with it and I didn't want to go through the whole Christmas season not liking my tree. Now I like it!




Today, my wonderful friend Rachel was so nice and took pictures of Jonathan, Hershey, and I! We wanted some cute pictures to put in our Christmas cards. Here are some of the pictures Rachel took of us. Thanks Rachel!!












Merry Christmas Everyone!







12.03.2010

Girl's Baking Night

I am very thankful for so many things....girl friends rank very high on my list of things I am thankful for! Jonathan and I have had the opportunity to lead Homegroups at Second Baptist for several years now. Last night, all of the girl leaders and girl participants got together to have a Christmas baking night! It was so much fun! All of the leaders taught the girls how to bake different Christmas goodies. Last night definitely got me in the Christmas spirit! So much so that I completely re-decorated my Christmas tree and added more decorations in my house...but that's another story. Here are some pictures to share with you my wonderful night!


Sarah and I


Julie, Rachel, Katie, and Stacie


Rachel, Katie, and I


Cute decorations


Sarah's station making turtles


Finished turtles!


Ashley's group made Rocky Road Peanut Butter Candy


Stacie, Julie, and I


My group made Santas, Reindeer, and Snowmen out of chocolate covered Nutter Butters


Finished products below!




Happy December everyone!

11.29.2010

A Burgin Update

So, Jonathan asked me why I haven't updated our blog lately. There is honestly no excuse. It has been over a month! Sometimes I get so caught up in reading other blogs that I neglect ours. So now for a Burgin update. We had a great Thanksgiving! We spent Thanksgiving day in El Dorado with my family and then after Thanksgiving, we headed to my in-laws farm to see Jonathan's family. While at the farm, I sat in the deer stand all by myself and hunted! I usually hunt with Jonathan, but this time I wanted to hunt by myself. I really wanted to impress my husband by killing my first deer without his help, but unfortunately all I saw were squirrels and an opossum.

Today I woke up to a ton of Cyber Monday emails! Talk about overwhelming! I was checking out everyones websites trying to figure out the best deals. I came up with my WISH list.

My Cyber Monday / Christmas Wish List:




Of course that wasn't all :)

Our house is now decorated for Christmas and has been for a couple of weeks now. I love Christmas time!!! These things say Christmas to me!


Gotta love Yankee candles!


The best Christmas cookbook ever! You can find it at Dillard's for only $10! I get one every year!


Can't wait to bake this cake!


The joys of Christmas magazines!


The little Razorback / hunting tree in our room


Our tree!

I love Christmas ornaments that have meaning. Growing up my mom always bought mom, dad, and daughter Hallmark ornaments. It is so much fun looking at those each year. Here are some of our ornaments that I would like to share with you:


Jonathan's mom gave us this ornament with the date of our engagement


This was given to us by my parents "Our First Christmas"


Our second Christmas together




If you are from El Dorado, you know what a Spudnut is!!!

I can't wait to have special ornaments for our future children!!

10.17.2010

Beautiful


"Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight." (1 Peter 3:1-4)

As if it isn't enough pressure from the world to be a perfect woman! Every day I pray that I will become the Godly woman and wife that God desires me to be.

I grew up in El Dorado which really had no good places to shop. When I was little my mom and I would drive two hours to go to a decent mall and we would shop and shop all. day. long. We knew it could be a while before we went back so we shopped until we literally dropped. I remember coming home and laying out all my new clothes and admiring them. I would try on each new outfit then go show them to my dad. I loved to hear my dad tell me how much he liked my new outfit and how pretty I was. Then, I remember as a teenager I was obsessed with looking like a Victoria Secret model. I always thought that they were beautiful and had the perfect body. I wanted to look like them so bad! Sometimes I still feel that way, but not as much as I used to. I have always had the desire to be beautiful. I love cute clothes and shoes and I still love to shop! But now, I look at beauty a different way. I feel sorry for the Victoria Secret models and other Hollywood celebrities. They have so much pressure to be perfect. I would be so embarrassed to have someone photoshopping all of my photos. Looking at every flaw I had. Trying to airbrush this and that, making my legs longer and skinnier, breast bigger and waist smaller. How mortifying.

I have finally overcome the obstacle of trying to be pretty for the world but to be beautiful in God's eyes. Like when I was a child and wanted my dad to think I was a pretty princess. Occasionally I come in contact with a girl/woman who I think is absolutely beautiful. Not Sports Illustrated swimsuit beautiful. But a woman who loves God, loves others, and has a gentle and quiet spirit. When I read the passage from 1 Peter or read about the Proverbs 31 woman I fear that I will never be able to be this woman. I have this insecurity inside of me that is so hard to let go. It's only hard to let go because satan tries to remind me everyday of my failures. He will not win this battle.

Honestly, it is just sometimes real hard to be gentle and quiet especially in a marriage. I wish I could say I was an easy going humble person, but I'm not. I pray everyday that God will give me strength to be patient, loving, and always put others ahead of me. Jonathan tells me every day that I am beautiful. Of course I want to be outwardly beautiful to him, but more than anything I want to be beautiful to him on the inside. I want to be a submissive and respectful wife, but I know I can't be that without God's strength.

I am doing this Bible study called Woman of God. It addresses all kinds of issues women face. Beautiful, is this one I did today. It was such a great reminder of how God views us women. I don't think these verses are saying that we should not wear makeup or jewelry or spend time and money on nice clothes, but it is saying don't make it our main focus. Don't make idols out of it. Our focus should be on God and the way we treat others. The Bible study gave a great exercise to complete at the end of the lesson. It was a very positive exercise that helped me to see all the gifts I have. I think everyone should do this exercise.

Name one gift you have in each of these areas:

Physical:
feet
hands
figure
face
mouth
hair

Emotional:
listening
stability
patience
empathizing
supporting
understanding

Mental:
remembering
analyzing
comparing
contrasting
calculating
interpreting

Spiritual:
praying
encouraging
healing
teaching
meditating
giving

One question this asked was "When do you feel most beautiful?" My response was when I am working out and eating healthy, when Jonathan tells me I am beautiful, and when I am seeking God daily.



10.08.2010

Fill in the blank Friday



1. The first thing I do in the morning to start my day is feed Hershey and fix a cup of coffee .

2. Today I wish I was off work and going to visit my parents...oh wait I am! Wish Jonathan and Hershey were going too .

3. If I had an extra $100 in my bank account today I'd go buy the adorable owl coffee mug at Pier1 and buy some of the books I have been wanting to read!

4. Tomorrow I am going to get up and run, eat some of my dad's yummy breakfast with a good cup of coffee, then probably shop with my mom .

5. Two things that don't go together are mustard and spaghetti. My husband eats that.

6. Something I can never pass up at the grocery store is a good deal....especially at Kroger .

7. The last time I tried something new was I can't think of the last time I tried something new...guess I should get out more!



10.04.2010

Relaxing Weekend

This weekend Jonathan, Hershey and I decided to take a little trip to the farm for a relaxing weekend. It was an amazing weekend! Jonathan's family has a farm and it truly is such a beautiful place! It was so much to fun to go relax and not have to worry about anything! Jonathan got up Saturday and Sunday morning to hunt, while Hershey and I stayed in bed! My morning consisted of getting up and fixing a yummy cup of coffee, did a little reading and writing, then headed down to the river to watch Hershey swim and read some more. Friday night we went to eat at Who Dats....one of the best places to eat! Saturday we grilled turkey dogs and made smores. The weather was amazing! I am so glad Fall is here and that we had a great relaxing weekend!


Hershey after she swam!








Pretty much what I did all weekend....Great book!


Funny sign at Who Dats!