The Burgess Family Blog

We really nailed it this year for Christmasing. Is that a word? We did soooo much Christmassy stuff! Take that, stupid 2020. We.... Baked (well actually, the kids did that themselves-- Yay!) Made candles Shopped for gifts Put up extra lights and decorations Sent cards Made gingerbread houses Enjoyed our "elf on the shelf"  Put Santa hats on our pets Shopped some more Went caroling Went to TWO parades Rang the Salvation Army bell Read "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" Watched aaalllllllll the Christmas movies! And... Went to South Dakota for Christmas!  The kids said they wanted to go to the yurt again but it was already booked. So we found this place instead-- a cabin in the black hills. We needed a place that would let us bring the dogs, and would facilitate some good family together time. This place was basically like a yurt in that way, but with electricity and a bathroom. Perfect! They had donkeys and horses and ducks and... a zebra? She was so pretty.  No cell ...

Do you ever think about where you were this time last year ?  Before 2020 showed its true colors?  Everyone was filled with hope that the new year would be awesome.  And maybe it has been, but not in the way we hoped for.   You may have heard me complain about Wham's Christmas song, but mostly for fun.  I don't really mind it that much.  It reminds me of the holiday season of 2005, when I was pregnant with Winter and working at Old Navy in Bozeman while Luke was in Bible college.  The retail chain played the same songs over and over, and this was one of them.  I'd not heard it much before, but that fall I heard it about a thousand times!   It's kind of silly to think of it as a Christmas song.  It's more like a break-up song.  So, I make fun of it every year.  But if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. as they say.  I figured this year I'd re-write the "classic" break-up/Christmas song for our times--    "La...

Just a quick December update.  I'm sure there will be more once we get into the holidays more.  I can't believe the debacle that is 2020 is nearly done!  I'm sure 2021 will be just as interesting, but for now we're excited to be near the end of this crazy year.   I think we've made the most of it by adding more pets and trying to continue family time and make good memories together.  But it's been hard to see school and work disrupted, and it definitely wasn't a good time to try to connect to a new church.  Everyone is lonely and a little bit disoriented and frayed.   But, we've got each other, and all of our needs are met and then some.  So, we will enter this holiday season with gratitude and expectation of God's continued faithfulness! Anyway, He deserves the glory even if I don't think things are going the way I want.  We watched THIS last night and it was good to remind us what we should be centering on.  Now for some pict...

Hello, friends!  Hope everyone is doing well, despite this hard year. I've been sent home from work again, to work from home through the holidays as COVID cases are on the rise lately.  The kids are still in school for now though, which we are thankful for.  It's weird that the older ones only go every other day, but we're thankful for any taste of somewhat normal that we can get these days. November is a busy time.  We're trying to wrap our heads around this little one turning FIFTEEN this week! She's always been the sweetest kid.  Kind, thoughtful, a great sister and friend. It's been so fun to watch her grow, and it's a privilege to know her and have her in our family.  Happy birthday, Sarah Winter! In other news, we made a trip to Kansas this month, unfortunately for a sad reason-- Luke's uncle succumbed to cancer.  I'm glad we could go and celebrate his life, and see many other loved ones.  We got a couple of pairs of new glasses: Pearl convi...