April Newsletter

Happy Spring. Enjoy! – Justin

 

 

Uncle Merritt and Netnet

The best thing that has happened since the last newsletter is Pedro has an appointment for his NVC interview  on May 16, 2019. What a blessing. Thank all of you  for praying for him and thank God for his faithfulness. Please continue to pray for him as he prepares for the interviews and plans his travel to Juarez. Several weeks ago Annette and I went to Dothan for her brother William’s retirement dinner. He retired from Southern Nuclear ( Alabama Power) after 39 years. It was fun to hear his stories and meet some of the people he worked with over the years. We got to visit Aunt Madee and The Duffs while we were down that way. It is always great to visit Aunt Madee and we had a great time visiting Tricia and jumping on the trampoline with the girls. This past weekend we went to the Smokey Mountains with the Camargo family(except Pedro who will be with us next time) and the Nabors children. We met Annette’s sister Virginia, her daughter Elizabeth and her family for a day at Dollywood. We had a blast. We cooked breakfast at Metcalf Bottoms Saturday. It was very crowded. The bathrooms weren’t open and only the middle section of picnic tables was open. The weather was perfect and it brought all the locals out along with everyone on spring break. We had a blast. The kids all went wading in the creek. Even Susie tried it but she didn’t like the cold water. I told Jeffery we needed a camping trip reunion. We came home through Townsend and it reminded me of the Easter weekend we spent there. We stooped in Chattanooga for Dinner and Baskin Robbins on the way home.

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Famjam! It’s Sunday and I’m writing our letter as the girls nap. Well Maggie is napping. Elizabeth is talking. Sundays aren’t easy, but that’s not why we go to church, amiright, parents? We did NOT have to leave church early to retrieve a screaming Maggie, however, her cries were echoing through the halls bc they stopped pushing her in the stroller.. which they’d been doing the entire hour+. High maintenance, mama’s girl. She’s 8 months and definitely letting us know what she likes and doesn’t. She’s into solid foods which is fun! Big difference than Elizabeth who didn’t eat anything until 10 months.. and still still barely eats. Elizabeth just wrapped up swim lessons! She loved the water but still isn’t a fan of going under water. We will hopefully get over that fear this summer! Tomorrow (is April, what?!) and on Mondays of this month I will be taking a cake decorating class on campus!! I’m excited to do something for myself and to decorate cakes!! And also to eat cake afterward. Haha Brian is about to wrap up another semester. Exams will start while we are bacheloretting it up at the beach! I sighed with relief writing that because it means summer break is close and a slower paced schedule is near! Brian also added a bagger to our riding mower and that also means summer(thanks Jeff/sue-Christmas present) bc it’s mowing season! If you’ve ever been to our house you’ve seen our massive yard. The bagger means we won’t be running and playing in a foot of grass clippings! Woo! Sorry our article was less than thrilling. Well that’s it for us! Looking forward to wedding festivities with everyone and the BAHAMAS baby for SUSAN’S SIXTIETH over the fourth!!! Epic adventures await us.. now.. the bidding starts for who wants to keep our children.. and GO!

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Trent and Abbie

Hello family! We hope that everyone is doing well and enjoying the beautiful weather that we have gotten lately. We have been enjoying our back yard, planting flowers and building furniture for the inside of our house! We went to Disney World where I ran a half marathon. We got the extra treat of staying with Mike and Lucy and had to the BEST time take Leah and Annie with us to Magic Kingdom. It was the best day! Trent’s job has gotten really busy so he has been working extremely hard to manage that. I love teaching and have grown to love kindergarten so much!

 

We have some really BIG news!  WE ARE ADOPTING A BABY FROM INDIA! CRAZY? Yes we know, but we want to be obedient to what God is calling us to do. When Trent and I got married we set a place in our budget for adoption, it was something that we wanted. We had not necessarily felt called until the last few weeks. We have been praying a lot together and separately about whether or not we should begin this journey now. We feel very called and have started the process with Lifeline to adopt from India. We covet your prayers as we begin this journey. We know that we are getting to change a child’s life by bring them home, but we are also a little weary as it is a huge financial commitment. We know that God is faithful and that He will equip the called and provide. We are trusting in His goodness and having faith for the what He will do. We are praying for the gospel to be shown brightly in this process and magnify the kingdom for His glory. We haven’t advertised it too many people and have only told family and close friends. We aren’t sure when you will get the newsletter to find this out, but we wanted to share with you guys!

 

We love you all dearly and cannot wait to all be reunited at Caroline’s wedding!

JEN

Family!

I cannot believe how quickly the month of March has gone by! I am still loving my apartment! I  love living right on the edge of downtown Birmingham. It’s a fun location, within walking distance to a cute wine bar and some yummy restaurants. My friends and I have been taking advantage of that, which has been fun! On another note, I am still not loving my job. I’ll leave it at that- prayers appreciated!!!! Recently, Kate, Brian, and their little family came into town to celebrate Elizabeth’s 2nd birthday, which was a blast! It  was an excuse to have a small family gathering, which is always fun! Missed you out of state folks! I am involved in a small group with a couple girls from my home church, which has been so great for me, considering I have yet to find a home church of my own.  Iv made some new friendships through that! A few of us girls got together last week and tried out a kickboxing class. What an experience! I think I laughed more than worked out!! Last weekend I went to the lake with Sue and Jeff , and it was sunny and 70, and beautiful!  It made me SO ready for lake weekends with everyone! Love you all!

–Jen

 

 

LA

Hey family!

As we move into April, a lot of exciting things are coming up. I’m participating in Birmingham’s Statue2Statue race- and it’s exactly what you’re probably thinking. You run the 9.3 miles from Vulcan to the Statue of Liberty, no hills spared. It should be a challenge! Then a couple of weeks after that I’m traveling to Memphis to tour the newly renovated Mormon temple. My old teammate and friend invited us up and it’ll be an interesting opportunity for spiritual conversations. Following that weekend, we’ll celebrate Caroline at her bachelorette trip! And then the month of April will be over just like that.

Nik just got back the other week from visiting CA for his dad’s birthday and had a great time. He saw Muse in concert and was able to make up lost time on all his favorite restaurants (which I honestly think is what he misses the most haha). I’ve heard In-N-Out won’t make it this far east, but we can always hope.

Miss y’all and happy Spring!

LA

April and Joe

Hey family!  Since we have NEVER written a newsletter…EVER…there is A LOT to update you on.  First, my name is Joe and I married April 6 years ago.  Ya’ll were there, and I believe we have met, but just in case you were wondering why another pale, bearded guy not named Tim was at the family events…that’s me.  Second, April and I were in Mississippi for a while and it was okay.  We had a baby named Anna, who was, is, and will forever be awesome.  I also became a Presbyterian Minister….which is good or bad depending on who is reading this. Then we decided that we missed ya’ll and moved to Bham.  And to top off a great 6 years, we had another awesome kid named Sam.  Ya’ll will meet him soon…he’s still getting used to life outside of the womb.

Recently, we have been really enjoying RUF at Birmingham-Southern.  We love that campus and those students.  We have been so encouraged to see God work through this ministry despite us having very little idea what to do.

We have also LOVED being a family of four the last 3 weeks (maybe 4-5 when this newsletter comes out?).  Anna takes her big-sistering VERY seriously, and is amazing at it. Check April’s Instagram for the minute-by-minute updates.

And one last shout out to April: She entered the Labor Hall of Fame with a future lineman for the great University of South Carolina…weighing in at 10lbs 6oz baby.  She also has been such an amazing mom to both Anna and Sam in this season, and I couldn’t be prouder.  Ya’ll should be too!

Lulu and Uncle Dennis

Hello Family!

I think this news letter is suppose to be February and March. I apologize if I repeat any news already written.
The highlight of February for me was a trip to Colorado to see all the out west Dunne’s. Caroline accompanied me on the adventure. (By the way. I am sitting at the drs office and there are 8 people in front of me so I have a lot of time so all this might be way more detail than you want).
Ryan Anna and “Lucia Buddy” picked us up at the Denver airport at midnight and we drove to Keystone Colorado where Justin Brittany and Denali were waiting for us in  a cabin Justin rented which was at 10,000 feet.  So needless to say it took some time to adjust to the altitude!!
We slept in the next morning and after Breakfast by Brittany we headed to the slopes. The kids were very kind to this old woman and skied with me all day!   We enjoyed some delicious Santa Fe soup prepared by Anna. I can’t really remember what we did next. I am sure we played a game and Brittany won because she cheated(I am kidding. Dunne family joke!)
Our next adventure was cross country skiing. Now that was really hard. Way too much work!  But we did see a moose up close and personal which made it all worthwhile.
We drove to Breckinridge for dinner. It was a lovely drive thru the mountains. After dinner we found this cookie place that made double doozie cookies. We bought too many so we ate some for breakfast the next day.
After our cookie breakfast we went snowshoeing. It was just like hiking in the Smokies except instead of beautiful green mountains, it was beautiful snow covered mountains. I would highly recommend snow shoeing!
We ate pizza in Keystone for a late lunch. Justin and Brittany left for the long drive to Salt Lake City and we left for the short drive back to Denver. Unfortunately everyone else was headed back to Denver and what should have taken less than 2 hours took 4. We drove right thru the area that a couple of weeks later had some avalanches. Glad we missed that!
Being that we were pooped upon arrival at Ryan and Anna’s, we ordered food and watched “Free Solo”. It is a documentary on this guy that attempts to climb some mountain in Yellow Stone. I would highly recommend it.  Very intense.
Anna had to return to work Monday but Ryan took a day off. He took us to a pizza place for lunch and then took us to the airport. What a great trip it was!!
March was a month filled with waiting on Speing Break to arrive. Caroline Perry and I slipped to the beach for a weekend. We didn’t ever go to a grocery store and the only thing in the refrigerator was Diet Coke, Coke Zero, and water. How great is that!  Susan came down Sunday and Monday we went to Tallahassee for a great visit with Aunt Madee. She has improved so much since our last visit. She was back in her apartment and back to her old self. We enjoyed lunch at a cafe and visiting on her porch. The visit was too short but so so enjoyable.
Well luckily for you people I am in a room at the dr now. So I will end. I know I didn’t update you on Dennis. He works a lot and watches Netflix with me at night. On April 8th we will celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary!  I have been blessed for 30 years now! Here’s to 30 more!
I know I haven’t said anything about Trent and Abbie and Caroline and Perry. We are blessed to have them close by and they give Dennis and me much joy. They are kind to involve us in there lives!

Guess that is it. Did I win longest article ever?  We love y’all!

Lulu and Uncle Dennis

 

Helen and Cory

 

Hey Family!

Life has been a bit crazy here at the Nabors’ house!  But God is our strength and He is sustaining us through this time.  I didn’t write an article last time – please forgive me!  What is going on at the Nabors house… too much work!  The girl that coaches with me had a baby recently so she has been out.  This part of the year is the main part of our season, so I cannot just have anyone fill in for her, which means I fill in for her.  That has given me a handful of extra hours at the gym plus hardly any office time – I am coaching her events and my events and anyway, it is just for a short period so there will be an end.  Not sure yet when that is, but there will be.  So that in itself has made things a bit crazy for me.  So besides work, what is going on in my life – I am doing a Beth Moore study on James and loving it!  And that is about it 🙂

We enjoyed two weeks of spring break with the boys but back to school this week.  Baseball is in full swing and the boys love it – so does Susie! Well, she loves wondering around the park 🙂  Susie is my least pickiest eater – yay!  She wants to do whatever her big brothers are doing and she is quick.

Cory and I got to go to the marriage conference at our church and it was awesome!  Just setting aside specific time devoted to us and our relationship, was worth it.  We working on being more intentional with our time together and our time as a family.  In the midst of the craziness we are still able to have time that is shut off from everything else that calls for our attention.  The times together have been so good.

My parents took all 3 kids to Gatlinburg and Dollywood this past weekend.  They had a BLAST! We missed them terribly but we did make use of that time and spent some quality time together along with knocking out some fun projects like mopping the floor LOL and doing taxes and cleaning the bathrooms in our house, etc.  Cory also has installed a new hot water heater for us.  That is really all I can think about right now, oh, we have regionals next weekend and would appreciate any prayers that the girls just do what they are capable of and wherever that puts them, that’s where they finish 🙂  And so excited that Pedro has a court date – I am sure Lynne will write about it, but that is an answer to prayer – May 16. Still praying so please keep praying but definitely one step closer 🙂 God is good and His timing is perfect!

I love each of you! Excited about Caroline and Perry’s shower Saturday night!

Nabors Family

Aunt Sue and Uncle J

Hey Family,

Happy spring! It is nice to have the extra hours of daylight.

After having a very busy December and January,  February and March are months of getting back into a routine. The Nabors every other Monday, handbells at nursing homes on Wednesday, and tennis on Thursday’s and some Friday’s. It is also getting to be lake time. Looking forward to being there with family and friends when it gets warmer.

Luanne and I were lucky enough to spend an afternoon with Aunt Madee a few weeks ago. Nothing better than enjoying a delicious lunch with her. She knows all the best places. Then we got to hang out with her on her porch just visiting. It was great  to see her so improved. Aunt Madee, you better be looking for an outfit for Caroline’s wedding!

Can’t wait to see everyone at the wedding!

Thanks again to Tricia and Justin for doing this letter!

Love,

Susan

Caroline

Here is mine!! So sorry

Hello family! I am wiring this article right after spring break so i am feeling very rested and rejuvenated!! The past couple months have been busy, but also wonderful. We have cheer tryouts a couple weeks ago and are starting a new season with 13 new girls. I am reminded everyday how fragile and weird teenage girls are 🙂 but it will be a fun year with these girls.

Wedding planning is still in full swing. Everyday I’m reminded how blessed I am with this family and an awesome fiancé. We are only 83 days away from wedding day!!!! Can’t wait to be seeing everyone. Love you all

Caroline

Morgan and Jeffrey

 

Hello all,

Not much has been going on with us lately, but that is about to change. The transformation of our house is now complete, and we are putting it on the market in a few days! It’s been a year in the making and we are pumped but some words that uncle mark shared with me are proving true, “it’s great to be a seller, but then you have to become a buyer. And I don’t want to become a buyer…” Just thinking about the grind of looking at a bunch of small over priced houses makes me sick. Thats made even worse when I think about the fact that all the money we are making on this flip is just going to go to good for nothing real estate agents and Uncle Sam.

I’m kidding really. We love our real estate agent (literally. He’s Morgan’s uncle). He’s been some what of a consultant in this whole process and we couldn’t have done it without him.  I’m not kidding about dreading being a buyer. Just looking at the market, it seems impossible to find a reasonable deal. However, the Lord will provide!

In other news, Morgan and I have recently been in contact with a missions organization in Nepal called Mountain Child. After they reached out to us randomly we filled out an application and were “accepted” just this morning (Monday 4/1). This came out of nowhere, but we are currently taking time to pray through the positions they have for us. I would be leading short term teams on 6 to 14 day treks into the Himalayas to do ministry and Morgan would be developing a program to prevent and minister to girls involved in the sex trade. Essentially we would just live in the mountains and I would grow a massive beard, yet again.

It would be a 5 year commitment so we are not taking this lightly. It would no doubt be a large shift in the trajectory of our life. Please pray for us as we make this decision.  We honestly have no idea what the Lord has for us. I’d say we are at 50/50 right now. It’s hard to imagine this dramatic change but maybe it’s what the Lord has for us. Lately Morgan and I have been very encouraged by Trent and Abbie and their faithfulness to be obedient to God’s calling (if you don’t know what I’m talking about you need to give them a call).

Anyways, stayed tuned next month to find out where the Terches will end up next!

Love you all!

Morgan and Jeffrey

NOTE THE BELOW IS A SLIDE SHOW – MIGHT NEED TO HIT ARROWS TO SEE ALL PICS (JUSTIN)

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Tricia and Tim

 

Happy spring everyone! The Duff family is happy to be enjoying warmer weather. No more jackets piling up in my hallway, no more tears for missing gloves, and soon hopefully no more runny noses (except for those caused by the Tallahassee allergies).

Not much new had been going on in our house. Tim goes to work, big kids go to school, and if you ask Sanjae what she and I do- we “go to meetings”.  Poor thing plays by packing up her little toy bags and her baby dolls and says “bye Mom, I’m going to a meeting!”

Bryan finished up his soccer season-his team went undefeated which he found very enjoyable. Nora Grace started her softball season and is playing great! It seems to really have clicked for her this year and she is loving it (so is Tim ). Adah Marie asked to play t-ball this year … in the backyard, not on a real team. Sometimes I get the feeling she would like to live life invisible; having all the fun with no one watching. Sanjae is growing so much and making new strides every day. She strives to keep up with the big kids and be in control at all times. One day, I am sure that strong persistence will serve her well! Deon is doing well. He is coming out of his shell more and more. When he lets it out, he has a silly and playful little personality.

Tim’s ankles have been struggling lately so he hasn’t been able to run as much. But, as the weather has warmed, he has been out fishing. The kids have enjoyed going with him to the beach and playing in the sand while he fishes, occasionally taking turns with the reel.

I am still teaching my Hebrews Bible study, which will end at the end of the month, and working with some other women at our church to grow the ministry of foster care and adoption.

In March Madness news-Tim and Bryan have officially lost the family bracket. It’s all down to Adah Marie and myself- Auburn vs. Virginia. Adah Marie has Auburn winning the whole thing which is looking like a great pick right now!

Love you all!

Lynne and Pedro

Newsletter April 2019

Hey family!! This house is still spinning!! We are surly living our best life!!

Start off with Jonathan. He is loving baseball! Enjoying all the practice and games! It’s a lot, I kinda got scared he would burn out, but he seems to really enjoy it!! He is also playing on a small flag football team, it’s very very relax (especially compared to baseball). He is loving just being out with other boys playing ball!

SammyD is growing up SO fast!! Nearing two digits! Almost ten years old  it’s hard to believe! SammyD is loving playing flag football! He loves being able to throw and catch the ball instead of just playing on the line! It’s been a great warmup for the football coming in the fall!! He is learning the piano! He is doing such great work!! Aunts Susan won some according Lesson’s during our youth fundraiser, so SammyD will begin lessons Wednesday April 3! He is looking forward to this!! School is going well for him. Still continue to pray for a strong group of friends to surround SammyD !!

Gabby….Gabby…Gabby….my Gabby girl!!! Where has the time gone?!?!? She is 13!! Growing super super fast!!! Enjoying life!! Our church youth group is amazing!! Just some great friendships made!! She is loving getting to know the other youth and growing and learning and hanging out with them!! She tried out for Berry’s Dance Team (they are called the Berry Sparklers). When she tryout for dance team, when driving to school that morning she shared with me “Mom, I’m not worried I KNOW I’m going to make the team!!” She always confident but this ways over the top even for her. I slowly tried to bring her down. But she says “Mom I had a dream! Daddy was here and y’all were all watching me dance at the football game!” And for those that don’t know, we HAVE a berry sparkler!! Gabby starts practice this week with her new dance team! And for those in town she will preform at celebrate Hoover day, Saturday, April 27 in Veterans Park off 119. The celebration is 11-3, we don’t have an exact performance time. But I’ll let y’all know!

This leads me into out FABULOUS news!! Pedro has gotten an appointment!! May 16th he will be interviewed at the American consulate in Juarez Mexico! This is amazing news!! This means that YES it is a REAL possibility that he will be home by the end of the summer!!!

We are so excited about this news!! This is the first step in getting Pedro home!!

I will actually be going to visit him Tuesday April 16- Saturday April 20. I’m so excited to get to see him!!

Life for me is work, kids, church, and more work! That’s about it  I got a promotion at Mountain Brook Gymnastic, so I’m now a manager there. I will be in charge or leading the parent night outs and subbing as a weekend manager. So that was a blessing God gave me!

Pedro is working hard in Mexico! He has had to make some big adjustments being back in a different culture! He is doing well! Enjoying his family!!

Lastly those that are in town Gabby has a play this weekend April 6th and 7th and I know she would be thrilled to have extra support in the audience! Come enjoy the berry middle school play!

Love you ALL!! Looking forward to seeing those that will be at the Dunne’s for Easter!!

The Camargo’s

Justin and Brittany

Family,

Short and Sweet this time. 530 local time and I’m trying to get this out before work! I think I can say without fear of contradiction that things are still very well in SLC. Brittany and I had an epic ski season. Our local resort just reported over 600″ of snowfall on the year…. lots of deep powder turns this year!

Now we’re in the shoulder season and we’ve somehow found that we have either had friends in town, or have been traveling for 6 weeks in a row. Fun time of life for us! Brittany is still being a super woman as she works and makes straight A’s in NP school. She will graduate in December.

I was home this past weekend and it was awesome to see a lot of you! I know things change but wouldn’t it be awesome to make another full participation Burgin Trip? I hear Salt Lake is close to a lot of national parks! Come see us.

Love,

Justin and Brittany.

Winter Newsletter

All, it has been too long since we have done one of these. Thanks to Tricia for pull the articles together! On a different note, not a lot of editing this month, sorry!

Enjoy

– Justin

LA and Nik

Hey y’all! Happy 2019!

The new year means a new and FINAL semester in my child life classes. I’ll have an internship beginning in the summer, then I’ll sit for the CCLS certification exam. I’m still working at The Sanders Trust and still training for half marathons, so nothing new there. If y’all have any “must-sees” in Austin, TX lemme know! I’m heading there in February. Nik is still working and finishing his kinesiology degree. I think he’s still keeping his eye out for more weightlifting competitions, but he’s gotta get his knee back to 100%.

It was good to see who I did over the holidays, but as always, missed those who couldn’t make it!

Love y’all!

LA & Nik

Trent and Abbie

 

Hey family!

We hope that everyone is doing well and enjoying the new year. We have been extremely busy. Trent is enjoying hunting whenever he pleases, that’s why we moved back to Birmingham ya know! We have gotten really involved at church. We hosted 11th grade girls for D-Now. It was such blessing and a reminder of how much young people need discipling. We love our small group, and how it’s growing! School is great for me. Kindergarten is like no other. It’s tiring but so rewarding. Trent has now taken over the job he’s been working on in Fort Myers, Florida. He’s super excited about that and has really been working hard. We are going to Disney this month because I am running in a half marathon and are planning to do lots of camping since hunting season is almost over. 🙌🏼🙌🏼 That is all we have for now. We love and miss everyone!

Abbie and Trent

Ryan and Anna

 

Hello Family,

Thanks again to Tricia for keeping this newsletter going (Justin supposedly helps, but let’s not kid ourselves, it’s mostly Tricia). Reading your articles helps us stay somewhat up to date on everyone and makes us feel a little bit closer to home.

We are right in the middle of ski season here in Colorado, yea! Last season was horrible, very little snow and warm, but this year has been great. We’ve had a whole bunch of snow in the mountains and in the city and it has been much colder this year, so it has felt like a real winter. In bigger news, Anna is in the midst of applying to go back to school to get her masters in teaching, so that she can go teach in the elementary school. She loves taking care of the little ones 10-24 months old, but it’s just time for a change. I know she’d appreciate your prayers through this application and school process.

It sounds odd to say since we’ve lived here for 20 months, but it feels like we are finally settling down and getting into the swing of things in Denver. We joined a really strong small group/bible study back in August after taking a year to find our church home (Denver United) and it’s really been a blessing having a strong faith centered and loving group of people here in Denver.

We are looking forward to some family coming out to Denver in the next couple of months. My parents and Justin and Brittany are coming in February and then Jeffrey and Morgan are stopping in for a day on their way to Crested butte, so we can’t wait to see them soon! Caroline is letting work get in the way of fun things so she isn’t able to come in February (please give her grief) and Trent and Abbie will be in Orlando that weekend in February. Abbie is running a marathon with friends in Disney World, so everyone wish her luck! I’m thinking she times in around 17 minutes (conservative guess).

That’s all for our quick update. I hope everyone is well and we love ya’ll!

Ryan and Anna

Aunt Susan and Uncle Jeff

 

Hello family,

So glad Tricia is reviving the newsletter. It is fun to read each of your articles, even those from people I see often.

For me, the past two months have been a whirl wind. First there was thanksgiving fun in Carrollton, then getting ready for Christmas, then the joy of celebrating Christmas with family. In January, Jeff, Jennifer and I traveled to Miami, stopping in Saint Augustine on the way to view their “world famous” lights. The town is very cute and they had hung lights everywhere. We took a trolley ride around the town to view these were famous lights. It was fun but nothing in comparison to Callaway Gardens.  Which is another place I got to travel to after Christmas.The Dunne and Terch girls made it to Callaway for  bicycle riding and trolley riding. Hardly anyone was there and Snowflake (our trolley) galloped through the displays, sometimes ahead of the music. But we sang along anyway.  Jeff, Leigh Ann and I traveled to watch the Tide play in California. Jeff and I stayed after to do a little sight seeing. We saw many wonderful things but my favorite part was our drive on the Avenue of the Giants. through Humboldt Redwood State Park  This is a Redwood Forrest in Northern California. It is one of the places I’ve always wanted to go. And it was worth it. They are amazing.

Next  travel destination, (this time Luanne, Caroline, Jennifer and I) was  to Aunt Madee’s. She is always the best hostess, even from her rehab room. We stayed very busy.  We joined her in a therapy session where she put us to shame with her volleyball skills. We went out to breakfast together twice and spent the day with her in her apartment. I was so glad to see her and to see how well she’s doing. Love to you, Aunt Madee!

As you can see, it was a busy two months. Glad to have a little home time.

For this new year I pray for myself and for each of you that we experienced God more and we let him guide us each step of our way.

Love you all!

Susan

Lynne and Pedro

Hello Family!

I’m actually on a bus headed home from West Virginia, with Brookwood Baptist youth group. I chaperoned our youth ski trip. It was a great trip! Honestly though I am exhausted!! We had a great time! Gabby struggles and that was hard, but I’m hoping next sure she will have more confidence knowing she has already done it!

Life here at the Camargo house is quite honestly rough! We (or I) miss Pedro more that words could express! We have been back for just over a week and we have a long haul! We are leaning on The Lord trusting Him to get us through.

The boys are wrapping up a basketball season! Jonathan’s team is doing well, they are undefeated. While SammyD’s team is struggling. It’s been hard for SammyD not being able to play basketball with all his friends he is missed how things were. We laugh about how we wanted more, bigger, better when in our little “yellow house,” now all 5 of us would give anything to be back in that little yellow house!!

Please continue to pray for Pedro. Pray that The Lord will guide us in making the best decisions for our family.

 

Lulu and Uncle Dennis

Hello family

Where has January gone!!  Time flies when you are old!  The Terch girls minus Kate and the Dunne girls started the year in Callaway Gardens at Fantasy in Lights. No one was there. It was kinda creepy. We at breakfast at the hotel and then rode bikes in the rain. It was a great adventure. On January 7th Caroline Abbie Trent and I started Whole 30. I think I dropped out first and then Caroline and then Abbie. Trent was never really committed. It was a good learning experience but I just can’t live even for 30 days that restrictive. It cost to much to by all that weird food too!

   Caroline and I are hot and heavy into planning this wedding. Sure is easier with boys but it really has been fun anyway.  Hope you all can make it on June 22 and the night before!!  Lots of birthdays and anniversaries to celebrate that day!

      Just got the call that school is cancelled tomorrow!  Yahoooo!  Nothing like an unexpected day off.

    I am writing this while watching the Nabors children. Helen and Cory will have to cut my pay for my slacking on the job!  See picture

Susan Caroline Jeniffer and I went to see Aunt Madee over MLK weekend. It was a nice visit. She is in the rehab facility at Westminster Oaks. She hopes to be back soon to her apartment. She really needs our prayers as she works on regaining her strength and mobility.

Jennifer

Hello family! 2019 has been so busy for me so far from traveling place to place! Iv been to Miami, St Augustine, San Francisco, Tallahassee and Callaway Gardens all in the past month or so, and am not complaining! Life in Birmingham is about the same for me! Still on the job hunt. I have applied a good bit and had an interview and hoping for more. I’m getting desperate due to me turning 26 this year and falling off my parents insurance plan. So fun. So who knows what kind of job I may pick up! Recently went to Tallahassee with sue carol and lu to visit Aunt Madee. It was a blast! From getting to break Aunt Madee out of her room and throwing her a small birthday party, to Susan driving down a 4 lane road on the wrong side of the road and almost killing me and Caroline, it was a good time. Hope all is well with everyone!  Looking forward to seeing all at Caroline’s wedding!

Love you all!

Jeffrey and Morgan

 

Hello all,

Things have been going very well for Morgan and I.  Duck hunting season was miserable, but other than that i cant complain about much.  Things at the house are going fairly well.  We are hoping to have it on the market in the next month or so.  It’s been a lot of work, but I have really enjoyed it.  It’s definitely put our marriage to the test at times, but really the Lord has been using it to strengthen our relationship more than anything. I will say it will be a relief to sell it.  Our basement is always flooding for one reason or another and i feel like i have PTSD every time i walk down there.  Never know what I’m gonna find! I owe Trent a big favor.  He has put in some solid time helping me out.  The last project we worked on was installing a sheet metal ceiling in our laundry room.  It was tricky, but i think it turned out pretty good.  The last two big things on the list are building a pagoda on the back deck and a 6′ fence.  We might just call everyone that’s in Birmingham to come on over one Saturday and help us finish strong..

Other than the house we just go to work and go to church.  Not sure when we will all see each other next but we should make something happen!

Love Yall.

Morgan and Jeffrey

Lucy and Mike

 

Hey Fam!

Quick update:

Hannah – doing well, getting baptized on Sunday (2/3/2019), almost 5 months old, rolling over, smiling at anyone who will give her attention!

Carissa – this girl is sassy! She loves to sing and dance, making up her own songs. She also likes to push her boundaries to see how far you will let her go. She really is the life of the party.

Annie – enjoying pre kindergarten, reading beginner books, riding a 2 wheeler. She is quiet but very aware on what is going on.

Leah – currently on day 4 of fever with a bad asthma flare! Flu negative…probably adenovirus….hopefully not pneumonia. Time will tell. She is thriving in school, one of the top in her grade, a sweet friend to all, and starting violin this month.

Mike – staying busy, one of the busiest seasons yet, working hard to be intentional and present when at home. Raising up elders and deacons in the church this year. Adding 2 more small groups next month. Lots of growth PTL!

Me – enjoying being mostly home with the kids, working only Fridays at Middleton Pediatrics but working pro bono for the Burgin family all hours of the day and night (you know who you are 😜), excited about returning to the women’s bible study – this time Nancy Guthrie’s Even Better Than Eden, and enjoying the Holy Spirit reveal my sin through my children and marriage – very humbling yet causing lots of repentance and growth!

Love you all!

Caroline

Hello family!

Nothing too new with me since the last time we had a newsletter ( I don’t think at least!). I am busy teaching, being the cheer coach and wedding planning! All three are very fun. I have really enjoyed teaching and I LOVE my coworkers. They have become great friends. Cheer is awesome! We are headed to Nationals in Disney World on February 7th. This is the first time Hueytown Cheer has gone to nationals. I am very proud of my girls and excited for this experience for them! Wedding planning with mom is the best time! I have enjoyed every minute of it and it has shown me yet again how blessed I am with the parents the Lord has given me. Engagement season is going much quicker than I thought it would but I am not complaining cause i am ready to be Mrs. Sims 🙂 We were just planning the rehearsal dinner and I am so excited to get everyone together! I love yall so much.

 

Kate and Brian

 

Well my people we are late again on this newsletter. Maybe that’s our new normal. Whatever I’m trying to get it in on time so you’re getting what you’re getting. We are in a busy phase of life right now. Brian is still working hard as ever at Mississippi State researching and teaching. Elizabeth is growing like a weed in talking more and more each day. Maggie is growing too and is currently in a separation anxiety phase that comes with the six month mark. It’s hard to believe she has been around for that long already. We are just taking each day as they come and I am trying to survive with two little ones at home and trying not to stress Brian out too much by begging him to come home as early as possible in the evenings! Haha Sundays are definitely our hardest days so I don’t know how those of you with Minister husbands do it each week! Yesterday we had to leave the service early because Maggie cried the whole time! I walked out of the service after getting a text and immediately heard her crying echoing through the halls! I’m still not sure what the deal was. So we took her to small group with us last night and she still cried the whole time. Hoping it’s just a phase. Elizabeth did great though if not a little extra cranky from being awake late. We got to FaceTime with aunt Madee recently and that was a lot of fun catching up with her! We are going to the beach next week and looking forward to some sunshine! Love you all and so looking forward to our family reunion at Caroline and Perry‘s wedding! If this doesn’t read right it’s because I used Siri to type this out. Haha

The Blanks

Net Net and Uncle Merritt

 

Its hard to decide where to start so I will start at Christmas. We had a lot of fun at the Burgin Family Christmas party. We played a dice game organized by Caroline and Annette won.  We really missed all of you that weren’t there. Annette and I enjoyed having Merritt home for several days. I got some very nice presents. Will and Luke made me a “ Happy Box “ to put letters and cards in to take with me as I travel to  look through and read when I get homesick or sad. I have had a lot of fun writing letters to my grandchildren and now they have gotten old enough to write back. Their letters are special and I keep them in my Happy Box. On Sunday Dec. 30 Annette and I took the Camargo family to the airport for a trip to Mexico to visit Pedro. We left the airport and headed to Tallahassee to visit Aunt Madee. She has a room in the assisted living facility as she recovers from a kidney stone and an infection. We caught her at lunch and visited with her until she had to go to therapy.  We headed to Orlando from there to visit the Aitchesons. It sure was good to get to Florida and see some sunshine.  We were able to go strawberry picking the next day and picked 30 pounds of strawberries. We chopped them up to make jam, ate strawberry short cake and chocolate covered strawberries. It was warm enough for some of us to swim a few times. We rode bicycles to the park and to Clemmons Curb Market. Clemmons had fresh corn and it sure was good. We left Orlando on Jan. 2 and headed to Atlanta so I could take a review course for the Georgia Utility Manager license. I took the test on the 8th and passed. I left Atlanta and headed to Cary NC to work .  Annette keeps Will, Luke and Susie every Friday. I try to eat lunch with them when I am in town. We have a lot of fun playing outside swinging on the swings or the hammock and throwing the tennis ball for Skylar. I ad a nice MLK weekend with Samuel David and Jonathan. Lynne and Gabby were skiing and Annette was judging . We grilled with the Nabors boys and Susie Friday night and had basketball games Saturday. We ate lunch Saturday at SD’s favorite place Jacks. All in all it has been a good start of 2019.

 

Marshall and Raina

 

Hey everyone so last time we wrote an article I believe it said we were going to move to Montana but we haven’t.  Who knows where we will go next but as for now we are living in the wonderful basement of my parents home.  I am currently working as a server at hot and hot fish club and a part time host at Olexa’s Café. My favorite part of every week is Sunday church/park day, which is also the only day of the week Raina and I both have off days.  So moving on now for our 1-year anniversary I took Raina and Skylar on their first ever, backpacking trip. We went to the Pisgah National Forrest and hiked to Pilot Mountain. It was a very interesting 3 days.

The first day started off with perfect weather and the best views I had seen in a while.  We set up camp beside the Davidson River the first night and finished with smores as any Burgin would do at a campfire.  The second night camping got more interesting just as we chose our spot for the night it starts sleeting and it caught us of guard since the weather channel app told us that rain wasn’t expected till early morning on the 3^rd day. It sleeted for about 3 hours then turn into a down pour that lasted the remainder of the hike.  Around 2:00 pm on the third day we cross a road that does lead to where my car is parked.  So we scramble to get some cover and get the map out to decide to either take the road or finish the rest of the hike through the woods. Now we are both completely soak head to toe and around 35 degrees.

A large white van drives by and I ask the man inside if he knew how far the Fishery (where the truck is parked) was from here.  He told me about 2 miles down that hill. So we decided it would be best to just get to the truck as quick as possible. We hike down this curvy mountain road for about 30-45 min. and then I see the white van coming back up with hill. The man stops and apologizes that it is actually 4 miles the other direction. I took one look up that hill and ask him how much money would take to let us climb in and drive us to our vehicle and he replied, “don’t sit on my seat and you are good.” So we all three climb in and when he dropped us off and I pulled out my wallet he said no sir this is my good deed for the month maybe God will send some blessings my way next time I am in need.

 

Hey, it’s Raina! THAT WAS THE BEST TIME EVER!! ^ Skylar and myself are dying for our next backpacking trip! So, I am employed at Chickfila Eastwood Village in Irondale and started in October and hopefully am up for a promotion to be team leader here in the next few weeks! One manager seems a little hesitant because I am also now BACK in my masters program, the rest seem to be ready to make the shirt switch. I work mornings at the Beacon Treatment center for Substance Abuse as an intern and evenings at Chickfila. I am hoping to finish my masters in Clinical Mental Health by the end of this year! So, I do ask for prayers during this time. Huge shout out and thanks to Big Mike for the kind words and eye opening conversation on the balcony at the beach this past summer. I don’t think I’d be in school right now if it wasn’t for that one on one time with you. So, we are doing well down here in our home sweet basement, attacking debt, stepping up our cooking game and enjoying Sundays off for church and the park with our pup. We are on day 5 of Whole30, thanks for the suggestion Abbie and Trent, we’re really enjoying it now that we have passed the KILL ALL THINGS stage. Hope everyone is having a great start to 2019!! Keep Killin It! Love you all =) p.s. please pray for marshall’s sweets addiction during these next 3 weeks;)

 

 

Tricia and Tim

Happy 2019 everyone! It’s 9pm here in Tallahassee and I just finished getting everyone in bed and cleaning up the kitchen and dining room. I am choosing to ignore the giant pile of clean laundry that needs folding and the playroom mess so that I can sit down and write a newsletter article.

It’s been pretty hectic in the Duff household. A new little one came to stay with us right before Christmas, but will hopefully be able to go to family soon! The kids will miss him, but will hold joy alongside the grief as he is reunited with his family. The Lord truly reveals himself to us through our kids open hearts. They are unafraid of letting little ones fully into their hearts, space, and routines knowing it will be temporary.

Tim is still working hard at work and at the church. He continues to run, but not as much as he would like.

Bryan is thriving in fourth grade. It has been his best year yet, praise the Lord !! He is also, as he says, “the master of defense” on his soccer team. As he was talking about his game tonight he said “oh, mommy, that gives me an idea about chess!” Only in Bryan’s brain.

Nora Grace apparently is a teenager trapped in the body of a 7 year old. Dresses and pink are now “disgusting”. She still loves her many crafts and is gearing up for softball season.

Adah Marie is the family comedian and always keeps us on our toes. She seems to be enjoying kindergarten, but good luck getting her to tell you anything about it.

Sanjae is as sassy as ever. We have seen so much growth in her this year. All she wants is be independent and keep up with the big kids.

I spend most of my time keeping up with all the kids and the messes they make. I am continuing to teach Bible study—we will be finishing up Hebrews this semester. I am also working with a team at church to help people see our community needs and encourage them to go out and meet them.

Miss you all and can’t wait to see you hopefully soon!

 

Uncle Mark

 

Its cold and wet in Raleigh NC. So a good time to write a newsletter article.  I had the great pleasure of going to Disney World with my kids and grandkids in December. Great Christmas present for Pops. Having all of us together for a few days was very special for me. We rented an RV on a Wednesday and headed out Thursday morning for the Fort Wilderness Campground. Hard to believe but the pickup point for the RV was in downtown Birmingham on Morris Avenue. Hard to maneuver a 32’ RV on Morris Avenue cobblestones. April, Joe, Anna, Karen and I headed out Thursday and made an uneventful trip to the campground.  Arriving at the RV site the Duff family had already had dinner cooked, campsite squared away and scouted out the resort. Turned the RV over to the kids, all 9 of them and went to my campsite, a perfectly good cabin with four walls and a roof, running water and a kitchen, TV, all the amenities required for camping.  Made all the better because Disney told us the wrong cabin number and we had to move so they comped us one night.  Spent Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in the parks and headed home on Monday.  As much as the kids loved Disneyworld, they may have enjoyed the campground just as much.  The number and variety of blowup Christmas decorations was amazing. Mickey’s Christmas party Friday night was fabulous, and all the kids did great staying up till midnight; even if it did rain some. My first RV trip was a great success and look forward to doing it again!

 

Justin and Brittany

Family,

I will keep it short and sweet this month. For me, things are really about the same: I work 50-60 hours a week, I ski on the Saturday’s and maybe one other night a week, and Brittany and I stay involved at Gospel Grace. The only thing new coming up for me is that I was asked to teach at a youth camp over Presidents Day Weekend….. your prayers would be appreciated as I am conscious of the warnings of doing such a thing (see James 3:1) and am humbled by the opportunity.

I will try to speak on Brittany’s behalf….. I hope I do not regret this. Brittany is doing really well. School keeps her busy and balancing studying, clinical time, and work makes her schedule very sporadic but she handles it with excellence. Somehow in the midst of this she still takes care of me, which is no small task.

In other news, I have been (TENTATIVELY) tapped to be one of the managers for phase two of the airport project. What that means is that we are likely extending our stay in Utah for 5 or so more years. Its a bitter sweet thing, thank God for airplanes and a western family reunion while were out here????? Guest are always welcome!

Love,

-Justin and Brittany

P.S – It’s been snowing like crazy in Utah. You guys NEED to come ski! See video of Denali enjoying some fresh powder.

 

Summer Newsletter

Uncle Merritt and Net Net

It has been a busy summer for me .Last week Annette and I went to the 88th Burgin  Family Reunion in the Crooked Creek area near Old Fort NC. The Burgin family came from Maryland along with the Lytle family to settle in Crooked Creek. My great- great grandfather William Merritt Burgin left North Carolina in the 1840’s to go to Tuscaloosa along with two brothers to live with an uncle. It is thought they left North Carolina due to a famine. The Baptist church in Crooked Creek is called Mt.Hebron, and William Merritt Burgin settled in the Hebron community in Pickens County. The reunion takes place on the third Sunday in July every year. We enjoyed a day in the Pisgah National Park and tried to go to Sliding Rock. It was so crowded at Sliding Rock they closed the parking lot and people were parking a mile away to walk and go sliding. We decided to hike to a couple of waterfalls instead. It’s a beautiful area and we plan to go back next year. We went to Atlanta with the Camargo’s for Pedro’s court date. All went well and we were out of court quickly. We spent the rest of the day visiting CNN, the College Football Hall of Fame and the zoo. We had a lot of fun. We spent the 4th at the Terch lake house. We had a great time, ate a lot of good food and enjoyed the water. Several of Jeffery and Morgan’s Asian friends were there and they wished me Happy Birthday in 5 different languages. I went to Little Rock Arkansas for World Changers with the youth. We had a great trip. We met up with about 180 youth and adults. We slept in Sunday school rooms at Lifeline Baptist Church. We repaired and painted 14 houses, held 4 vacation bible schools and hosted a block party. Leah and Annie came to Birmingham and spent a week with us so Leah could go to Summer Show Offs with the Camargo’s and Will while Luke and Annie played together. Samuel David had his birthday party at a Trampoline park while the Aitchesons were here. We are headed to Destin in a week for a little fun in the sun.

 

 

 

 

Aunt Madee

Hello Everyone:  I find it no fun to write for this Newsletter. How can it be fun when one has had a sore leg (after a sore ear!!) –   And today sitting with one leg wrapped from knee to toe!

Some weeks ago I skinned my leg – a very deep injury – as I was trying to crawl into the back end of a truck.   You know one of those big trucks with two elegant seats in the back and with a skinny running board.  They are so big and elegant looking, one could never think of them as a “truck”.  Anyway, my friend has one and was taking me out to eat – I had practiced getting in and out several times and was in awe of the whole experience. The back was cushioned and had all the elements for  super comfort—places for your drinks, food, music, phone, etc.

Well, on my last trip in and out, I missed the running board and went skinning down to the ground!

It has been very slow healing- and of course, as the doctors very tactfully  say – “When aged, healing is much slower.”

As a result of my crippled state, I have been tossing the idea of a move within to the Oak South building where the dining and all extra activities are held.  For those who have visited me, you will recognize it as the building where we ate and where Lu and Caroline stayed in the guest room , and we played table tennis.   I love my apartment where I am, and a move would be “giving up” many amenities –  And a “trauma” move for me.

On a brighter note, Clyde and Janice Hollis from Columbus, Ms. will  visit me for a few days next week.  They will bring their two married daughters, and their five  children!  Mercy me ! What will a one-legged hostess do!!! – any suggestions??  Am looking forward to the upcoming Newsletter and reading about all of you, and about your summer activities. 

I love you – aunt made

Duff Family

Summer break is coming to a close here in Tallahassee. School supplies have been bought, sorted, labeled, and packed in paper bags ready for the first day of school on August 13. We are ending the summer with a beach trip to Destin. It looks like the entire Burgin clan will have been to the condo at some point this summer.

Our summer has been pretty laid back. Bryan and Nora Grace attended a camp at our church for one week and Nora Grace and Adah Marie attended a VBS at another church (we attempted to send Bryan to the VBS, but it did not work out). Those two camps and our upcoming beach trip were our only planned activities of the summer. Otherwise, we have been hanging out with friends and trying to survive the onslaught of mosquitos, no see ums, and humidity.

Not much else going on around the Duff household. Tim is still running. I am gearing up to teach a Bible study on Hebrews in the fall and spring. Sanjae’s adoption status is still pending. I am also trying to prepare myself for the possibility of homeschooling Bryan. Bryan’s therapist has recommended that we be prepared to pull him mid year if he has a situation like last year. We are praying that he has a good teacher/student relationship and thrives in 4th grade without having to be pulled out of school.

Sorry we haven’t visited recently. We will have to remedy that situation soon.

Love you all!

Caroline

Hello family! I am currently writing this article from the beach! I have been spoiled with TWO beach trips this summer so no complaining here!! This summer has been crazy for me. The last article I wrote I was an unemployed college graduate living with my parents but now….. I am an EMPLOYED college graduate living with my parents!! Yes you read that correctly, I HAVE A JOB!!!!!! I will be teaching 6th grade social studies at Hueytown Elementary School. The Lord is so faithful with this job. My mom reminds me often that when I started this teaching thing I have always said I wanted to teach 6th grade, and now here we are! Aunt Susan has volunteered to dress up in character of a historical person we are learning about so I will be sending out a sign up sheet for anyone interested 🙂 What awesome family support I have hahahaha!! But really, I am very excited. Also, joke of the century…. I have been asked to be the cosponsor for cheerleading! Go Panthers 🙂 I will be with a girl who has lots of cheer experience so I am very excited about it. The bulk of my summer has been beach trips, lake trips, getting my classroom ready, and enjoying hanging with the fam! I have really enjoyed having Trent and Abbie as the new roomies in Carisbrooke:) Haha it has been fun.  Its sad they are leaving but they won’t be too far (1 mile or something like that!) So they will be seeing a lot of me!!!!!! Most of the time my life seems so bust, but when I have to write it out it does not seem like that much! I will have to start writing things down so I will have more to share. I love you all more than you know!

 

Trent and Abby

Fam Jam,

 

I actually have quite a bit of time on my hands as I sit here alone in the Fort Myers, Florida airport, which means this article will be fairly long for us. And boy oh boy has a lot happen since we wrote our last article.  As most of you probably guessed, the project I will be working on is in Fort Myers, Florida which means I will make at least two trips to Ft. Myers each month. It’s surely not the worst place in the world to visit every two weeks. I currently love the company that I am working for (Cooper Construction Company). The company is ran by two great Christian men who have their priorities in order. It is a refreshing feeling to work with and for Christian men who live out their faith. Abbie received a kindergarten teaching job at Liberty Park Elementary and cannot wait to get started. We have been moving her stuff into her classroom over the last several weekends which allows her to decorate during the week. We are praying for a friendly and supportive group of fellow teachers to help her learn the ropes of her third new school in three years. Additionally, we are praying that she continues to have a positive effect on little ones as she has done in both Georgia and Texas. Hopefully this will be the last time we relocate her classroom for a long, long time.

 

Now for the most exciting news of the summer, we bought a house. It is a beautiful home located in the Bluff Park area of Hoover. We should be closed on the house by the time you read this news letter as we are closing on 07/24/18. Once we get settled in, and the décor up to Abbie’s standards, we will throw a cookout for all the Bham folks. We pray that God uses this home to advance his kingdom in every way possible. We hope to share many of meals with each of you in the home. If you don’t live in Birmingham and want to a sneak peek at the home the address is 2254 Locke Cir. Hoover, AL 35226. You can check it out on redfin or Zillow.

 

Well, I guess I underestimated the amount of time I had as the plane is almost completely boarded. Better run so I don’t miss it.

 

Abbie and I love each and every one of you very much!

 

Love,

Abbie and Trent

 

 

Brian Blank

Hello Everyone!

Since our last letter, our attention has shifted from having fun with everyone over the summer to preparing for Maggie to arrive.  We enjoyed seeing some of you in May (briefly at the lake over Memorial Day) and June.  We had a blast at the beach a couple of weeks ago with the Terch and Dunne families, but we missed the rest of the Burgin clan.  It really has been too long since we had a big beach trip with everyone.  Since our return, we have spent essentially all of our time preparing Maggie’s room, making meals, cleaning and organizing the house, packing our hospital bags and thinking about when Maggie will come.  This time definitely feels different already.  We have spent more time preparing but have had less attention to focus on Maggie than we did for Elizabeth, so we can already see the birth order effects rolling into our family.  Also, since our last appointment, we have figured out who our doctor will be when Maggie arrives.  Our prior doctor is still recovering from his car accident, so he will not be available.  However, Kate has gotten to meet with our new doctor a few times now, which has been good.

 

Otherwise, all is well for us.  We have enjoyed the summer, even though the beach and lake are less fun when 8 months pregnant.  Who knew?  We are thankful for having gotten Elizabeth to play in the sand and ocean more this year, and we are enjoying the endless energy she has.  She loves walking everywhere and exploring, especially outside while it is raining, which has been often during the past few weeks.  Though exhausting, she is so much fun.  Currently, mealtimes are the biggest struggle.  She rarely eats much but always acts hungry.  One of our friends told us that you either get a good eater or a good sleeper.  We know which one Elizabeth is.  🙂

 

We hope to see everyone soon as a family of four!

 

Love,

 

The Blank Family

 

Jennifer

Hi family!

 

Summer is flying by. I took off a week of work recently, and headed to the beach with my family and the Dunne’s. It was so great getting to visit with those who I haven’t seen in a long time! Made me hope that we can organize a Burgin Beach trip 2019, 2020? Ate lots of food and had lots of fun fellowship. The next week, I then headed to the lake for July 4th, which was short and quick.  Then the next week I headed to Atlanta, with my boss and a co-worker, for Market! It was one of the most fun things I have gotten to do at this job. It was lots of hustle and bustle during the day, and fine dining at night. Tiring, but amazing. I have been visiting a church recently called Christ Fellowship, and have thoroughly enjoyed it. The lesson a few weeks ago was on Gods wisdom in Friendship and Relationships, and let’s just say it was exactly what I needed in this stage of my life. Praying I find community and friendship within the church. Oh also— I officially am moving out!!! I am in the process of finalizing an apartment but should be final early August. If you have read any of the past newsletters you should know how excited I am about this! Love you all. 

Jeffrey and Morgan

Hello All,

Not much has changed with Morgan and I.  We have continued making progress on the house.  Currently I’m working on building out a laundry room and bathroom in the basement.  Trent was kind enough to swing by and help me out a few weeks ago which was nice.  We went to the lake over the fourth and had a great time with everyone that was there.  Looking forward to the day when most everybody is back around town and back enjoying holidays together.  Until then we will just invite half the Asian population of UAB. Over the fourth Morgan and I (with mom’s permission) invited three of our Asian friends to come to the lake.  To our surprise around 13 showed up.  It was a little crazy, but they had a blast.  I was really thankful for how everyone just took it in stride and loved on all of them.

I have hit the one year mark at work and have been asked to take over as CEO of Harcon… not! But i am still very much enjoying my work.  We have a job inside the Magic Kingdom at Disney World so I am currently trying to weasel my way into a free trip to go ride space mountain! It may or may not happen but if it does I’ll let all you Floridians know. Morgan is still crushing the adoption game at Lifeline.  Her and her team are growing the India program and have so many cool stories of Christ’s goodness. I’m blessed to be able to have a front row seat to all of that.

Morgan and I love our church, Grace Fellowship.  We have been there for a little under a year and are really starting to develop some solid community.  Morgan and I are diligently praying for Abbey and Trent knowing that they will make the right decision and come to our church. No pressure or anything but it would be awesome to go to church with yall, and if you don’t choose Grace then we will question not only your relationship with us but also your relationship with Jesus.  But seriously no pressure!

We love you all.

Morgan and Jeffrey

Aunt Susan and Uncle Jeff

Hello everyone,

Hoping everyone has had a fun summer, though most are working and summer is just another season, not a vacation. There are back to school ads on TV and I don’t even pay attention to them. No more buying new backpacks and school supplies or planning a last-minute trip to Whitewater before school starts. I enjoy seeing pictures of the great nieces and nephews enjoying their summer so keep posting.

Our family had a fun beach week in June. We rented number 5 The same week Luanne and family were in our  place. Though only a few were there during the week, everyone was  there for the weekend and we had a good time. I specially enjoyed playing with Elizabeth on the beach though she wasn’t too sure of the sand at first. I look forward to many more beach trips with her ( and of course her parents).  And next year Maggie will be there too!

For The Fourth of July this year, it was looking like the crowd was going to be smaller than usual. With the fourth being in the middle of the week and so many of you living out of town (glad to have Trent and Abbie and Joe, April and Anna back in town) I thought it was going to be a quiet day. Jeffrey invited four of his international friends to come to the lake. Four more people, no problem. Jeffrey wasn’t even sure they would show up. But they did, bringing eight more people with them. Fortunately we always cook lots of barbecue and had plenty of food. I think they enjoyed their time boating and swimming. Jeffrey and Morgan were great hosts for them.

Though it is hard to talk about, Grandys house sold so we all have been busy cleaning it out. As Forrest Gump says “That is all I have to say about that”

Maggie is due to arrive soon so every phone call is “is that kate? is she in labor?” My bag is packed and I’m ready to head to Mississippi when the time comes.

With the family spread out across the US, it is time for our clan to start planning family reunions. And Everyone better show up when we do!

Love you all

LA and Nik

Hey everyone!

This summer is flying by! A handful of fun and interesting things have happened since the last article. I got to revisit Alabama Splash Adventure with some of y’all- which, I need to take a minute to mention that they just hosted an 8 hour “coasterthon” fundraiser July 13th that NONE of us participated in. So it goes like this: you ride the Rampage for 8 hours, and if you last until the end your reward is…*drumroll* …a free day in the park! What a prize. Next year I expect participation.

    Anyway, I went to Destin for some sand, sun, and beach volleyball, spent a lake weekend with old friends and teammates, and most recently, moved into a house! It’s a small, 1920’s little thing in Forest Park right outside of Avondale- so Trent, feel free to stop by anytime on your way home from work. The invitation is open to everyone!

    Nik is busy with work and getting his masters in kinesiology, so when he comes up for air we explore new restaurants and splurge for icees at the movies.

And that’s a wrap. Love y’all!

LA & Nik

LuLu and Uncle Dennis

Hello Family

It has been a wild summer. It started with a trip to Tallahassee to get Aunt Madee and bring her to the lake. It was great fun visiting with her on the drive and then at the lake. What a special lady you are , Aunt Madee!!

Then there was Bible School and Camp Lulu. The Camargo kids and Nabor kids were a joy to be with for a week!  Then I spent a week in Dallas cooking for  60 plus youth on mission trip. Oh and the week before I left , Abbie and Trent arrived (Yay!!). They stayed with us until they found a house. After mission trip was a week at the beach. All the Dunne kids were able to make it for at least the weekend. My heart was full to all be together even for  48 hours. I went from the beach to spend a few days in Mobile with Dennis while he worked. We spent 4th of July in Daphne Alabama. They had a concert in the park that was beautiful followed by fireworks. The next week was filled with cleaning out Grandy’s house. I can’t think about that too much or it will make me sad. As I write this I am sitting in a hotel room in Moab UT. Dennis and I are on a road trip. We spent last weekend with Ryan and Anna and then came to Moab to explore Arches National Park and then will head to SLC tomorrow (Thursday) to visit with Justin and Brittany.

      That is my summer in a nutshell. Well a little more than a nutshell but anyway. I love y’all and look forward to seeing you all some day!

  Oh and welcome home to the Johnsons!!  I need to confess that I haven’t seen April Joe and Anna yet. I am so sorry I am such a lousy Aunt!  I will pay penitence for this grievance when I return to bham!

Helen and Cory

Hey guys!  I am hoping this article makes it in the newsletter as I am late getting it in!  Life is a big crazy in the Nabors house!  Basically Cor and I just work so it seems like how can things be that busy, but they are 🙂  Susie has had rough few months.  Ear infection that wouldn’t heal.  After 6 weeks of antibiotics, we were told her ears were clear.  We started to ween off the reflux meds and that back fired big time so sleep has been scarce the last two months, but there is hope!  Last night she actually slept most all night with very little crying out and only had to go up 1x to put her paci back in – success!!  Praying that continues 🙂  And praying she isn’t in pain anymore!  She’s so happy during the day but just struggling sleeping.  She’s crawling everywhere, pulling up and wanting to keep up with her brothers.  I’d like to slow down time and slow her down!  The boys are doing great!  They are such good big brothers and helpers!  We have been getting their school supplies and getting ready to start school – they are both ready!  Will has said he misses our time doing school together, so that was good to hear.  This year is going to be a bit more demanding so hoping we can get into a good routine!  Work for me is busy and I am so behind on so many things, but I will keep plugging away and work to get there!  Cory’s lost a couple of guys and now hired one new guy but looking to hire another so work has been a bit crazy for him as well.  We head to the beach Saturday, and we are looking forward to a much needed vacation!  I am working late at night trying to get things prepared so I can turn work off for the time while we are there and just be in the present!  Two new babies entering this world soon – praying for both of them!!  And can’t wait to meet them!  Love having Abbie and Trent back in town!  And Caroline will be in town working too – super exciting!!!  We love all of you!!!

 

Justin and Brittany

Familia,

I will keep it short and sweet this time. It has been same ole same ole for Brittany and I outside of the few guest we have had this summer. Brittany is busy with school, clinicals, work, and church and I am busy with work, church, and playing in the mountains.

Mom and Dad came into town for a long weekend and it was fun to show them a little part of our life here in Salt Lake. We took them fishing in a little mountain range about an hour outside of Salt Lake called the Uinta’s. This place is well know for catching brooke trout by the dozens, Ryan and I got the chance to experience this in June which was a blast……. however we weren’t so lucky this time. Dad and I caught 7 fish but we still had a really good time despite our 4 mile hike turning into 9……Sorry Mom and Dad!

Anyway, not a lot of detail that I can come up with. We miss you guys a lot. Brittany and I will be in Birmingham September 19th-23rd for her brother’s wedding. I would love to see some people. Perhaps a cook out at Trent and Abby’s new fancy house?

Love you all!

Justin and Brittany

Spring Newsletter

Aunt Madee

Hello Everyone:  I was struck by a comment in Tricia’s e-mail with the request that we EACH write something – quote, Tricia:  “It doesn’t have to be a long or super detailed article – just a bit of something to connect us all together”.

This is one beauty of the Burgin family – the “something that connects us all together”.  In fact, may I suggest  for the next newsletter each of us write about what/ why/how the “something”  connects us. It could be many different things; I could guess one thing that each of you would write. Can you?? 

 

My activities here at WMO continues to center around the activities ‘here on campus ’-  as they would say.  I walk from my apartment to the Administration building daily to participate in my exercise classes, play table tennis, and attend many different functions – plays, musicals, etc.  However now I use a roll- aider to go that far—a roll aider is a little gadget with wheels and a seat- For me, it helps with my balance, and a tool to avoid falling.

 

One of the recent activities was the day of the Royal Wedding.  A big TV screen in the Maguire Center was set up for viewing the wedding – and us attendees wore hats, gloves,  wobbling on high heels, and whatever else we could “round up”. – Afterwards, there was a reception, tea with trays of food – Some of the costumes were interesting/funny to see!! But wasn’t the Royal Wedding beautiful – but no more so than each of your weddings!!

 

I love you all.  Part of my comfort in life is having Tricia and her family here, seeing all of you from time to time, and your wonderful e-mails and contacts through the year.  Thank you!!

Blanks

Hey fam!

We just got back from the beach with Mom, Dad, Jenn and Caroline! Our first of two beach trips this summer! I can’t say it was a typical beach trip as we got rear ended and pushed into the car in front of us trying to cross 98 coming off the mid bay bridge(the most millennial interaction ever-they compared the number of accidents they’d been in this year 🤦‍♀️-she thought somebody had hit her and nobody was behind her.. can we say texting and driving?), we then got a flat tire on the way to Baskin Robbins the next night, and the A/C was out the entire trip! Brian also flew out Friday for a funeral in TX. If any of you remember Matt Miller or his wife Caroline from our wedding, his dad passed away from cancer. Keep them in your prayers! Brian got to stay with Trent and Abbie so it wasn’t all too bad of a trip! We still had a ton of fun despite the drama. Earlier this May, Elizabeth was dedicated at church and our parents drove over to celebrate with us. We had several of Brian’s coworkers and their families over for an end of year cookout. One of the families is even keeping Harley over Memorial Day while we are hanging with Brian’s family at the lake! Hope to see some of you one morning on our visit to Mom and Dad’s house! Especially Aunt Madee! Most of our days are spent trying to keep up with Miss Independent herself who wants to walk everywhere on her own! We are soaking in our last two months as a family of 3 before we welcome Margaret Ann, who will go by Maggie. Y’all can pray for my doctor who I haven’t seen since February. He was in a car accident and got a bad concussion. I haven’t quite figured out what to do about my rapidly approaching due date and which doctor might deliver Maggie! I’m trying not to be too anxious but I’ll be 30 weeks Memorial Day so the final countdown is on! Keep us all in your prayers as our next update might be around the time she’s due! August 6! Woo! Happy summer!

The Blanks

 

Nabors

Hello Fam,

I am headed home from the lake where we had a wonderful time (as always) thanks to Aunt Susan and Uncle Jeff!  Aunt Madeegot to come (thanks to Lulu), and it was so awesome seeing her!  She got to meet Susie, which meant so much to me.  I still miss Grandy and often I hold Susie and talk to her about Grandy (and B-pa).  Tears still seem to come easily at times when I think about her – and things I want to share with her… though I always smile knowing how blessed I am.  I miss her greatly because I was loved deeply and blessed immensely.

The last two months have been busy at work.  It’s been an encouraging time for me as we have had a handful of athletes from other gyms asking to come to our program.  We have become known for a gym that creates top level athletes in a healthy environment (and we have tough conditioning) 🙂  We still have a ways to go to be the program that I envision, but we are on the right path.  And more than anything, God is opening up opportunities for me to be His hands and feet.  This is my mission field and I want to plant seeds and shine His light.  We haven’t had the most successful championship season, but our girls continue to push forward.  We have one last qualifier that we will be attending in June.  My goal for our two athletes is for them to do in the meet what they do each day in practice.  We have struggled with the nerves of competition this season, so I have some work to do to help our athletes in this area.

Will finished kindergarten.  This year has been wonderful!  His teacher was amazing, and I am so thankful for her and all she did to help Will grow.  His love for learning and for Christ were definitely stirred by her.  Luke graduated preschool 🙂 but he will do another 4K program next year.  With his August birthday, we decided to not have him start kindergarten yet.  He also had a wonderful teacher at MBCC. He is excited to go to the same school as Will next year.  Susie is growing too fast!  She’s always wiggling and squirming – she loves to kick her legs, especially in the bath.  She’s started eating cereal and is slowly catching on.  The boys love her so.  Will has really enjoyed helping out with her – Will loves to entertain her and loves on her.  Luke tends to be my ‘errand runner’ and help by getting a diaper or burp cloth or that sort of thing.

Cory has been busy.  Work has been a bit crazy for him.  Not everyone takes pride in their work, wanting to do their best, in all things.  So he’s got his work cut out for him right now.  Last Sunday our pastor had a very encouraging, inspiriting message (in my opinion).  Two things he said/quoted that hit home with me that I wanted to share – 1) Bloom where you are planted…. not waiting to ‘bloom’ when you get to where you want to go, but right where God has you. Similar to the parable that Jesus told about the talents.  2) Be faithful in the small things because it is in them your future lies. -Mother Theresa…

Know that each of you are loved so much!  We look forward to every time we get to see any and all of you!

 

 

Trent and Abbie

 

Fam Jam,

I hope all of you received my email, if not, we are moving to BIRMINGHAM!! I got a job with Cooper Construction as an assistant project manager and will start June 18th. We are so dang excited to get home and be closer. If you are thinking we are moving Home to have kids, you could not be more wrong. However, we are excited to spend more time with the kiddos, and all the fam, living in the ham. While it was not the best circumstances, we did get to spend about 24 hours with Brian in Dallas. We enjoyed sharing a couple of meals together and picking his brain about finances. We missed seeing everyone at the lake, but hopefully we can catch up with each of you on July 4th.

Sorry this was a short article, but we love each of you very much.

Love,

Trent and Abbie

Jennifer and Caroline

 

Hello all! I am currently living my best life at the lake. It’s even better cause AUNT MADEE IS HERE!! I am loving visiting with her and teaching her about the new iPhone she has. Aunt Madee you’re doing so great already!!!

This article is from myself as well as Jen. We are both doing great. I am still looking for a job in bham, post graduation life is weird and I’m ready to have my own classroom!!

And Jen told me to say: “My life is fine. Thanks.”

We love y’all

Jen and Carol

 

 

Net Net and Uncle Merritt

It has been a busy spring with the Camargo’s moving back in with us in preparation for Pedro’s court date of July 12 . They are settled now for the most part. Summer has been with us while Merritt hiked. Marshall and Raina will be living downstairs till they head out west in the fall. We went to Destin for 5 days with the Nabors, Aitchesons and Camargo’s . We sure missed Pedro, Mike , Merritt, Marshall and Raina. The weather was perfect and the water very nice. We found a bunch of sand dollars one day and rode a few waves in the raft. I also got to spend s lot of time with Susie . She is laughing and talking a lot now.

I have also spent some time in Carrollton mowing grass, trimming and cutting trees. We had to cut down one of the hammock trees and several others.

All is well here at the Terch lake house. What a great place to spend Memorial Day.

 

 

Marshall and Raina

 

So it’s been a semester full of driving. For those who don’t know I started working for my Dad in January. So I have spent a lot of time in the car between working and following the lady statesman around the south east. But the season has come to an end and so our time in Cleveland, Ms. Raina has turned in her resiginatation to Delta State and we will be moving to Birmingham for the summer. Future plans to come in next news letter.

Currently we are both in Cleveland working our favorite kids camp. OKAR CAMP.

I love and miss everyone!!!! Hope everyone had a great memorial day.

Duffs

 

Hey fam,

As I write this, the little two are playing on the rain while the big two are at school having board game day. The past two months have been chock full of activity so I will keep this article to the highlights.

Sanjae’s adoption update: the judge granted her mom a 20 day extension to write a brief for her appeal. The lawyers do not believe she will be able to successfully do this as she is representing herself. The 20 days have since passed and we are waiting to hear whether she successfully filed or not. If she did, the court has 30 days to review and rule on it. If she didn’t, we can adopt any day.

Adah Marie graduated from preschool and is headed to kindergarten in the fall. Due to her August birthday, we will re-evaluate next year whether she should repeat kindergarten or not. As it stands, her preschool teacher thinks she needs to go onto kindergarten.

Nora Grace completed her first season of softball and absolutely loved it! I don’t know when little girls are supposed to turn into attitude filled preteens, but apparently it’s 6 for Nora Grace—pray for us!

Bryan had an up and down third grade year, but it has finished well. He started a new flexible thinking therapy at school which we hope will yield positive rewards. He will also be starting cognitive behavior therapy this summer.

We spend a lot of time in our house working on emotional and sensory regulation. Tim and I are learning to recognize when our kids are disregulated and what works for each one to regulate themselves. The goal being that they will learn to do this without us in the future. We are not naturals at it, but we are learning.

We are looking forward to summer and the freedom that comes with it. Please pray for us, as much fun as summer freedom is, the lack of strict schedules really wears on Bryan which affects us all.

We love y’all and look forward to visiting some over the summer!

Love the Duffs

LA and Nik

 

Hey everyone!

Not much new happening with Nik or myself. We did just recently get back from a trip to CA to see his family and friends and it was great. We ate at our favorite restaurants and got to visit our old church.

One of the highlights for me was when we drove out to see Nik’s great grandparents. Being born in the early 1900s, I was curious of the story of how they met, their role in the wars, etc. Mr. Cook was familiar with Eglin Air Force Base and had driven through Alabama on multiple occasions. His job was to supply military parts across the U.S. and some overseas. It slipped my mind to ask if he recognized the Schestopol name, but it was still neat to hear him remember those times. He could recall the smallest of details of things that happened decades ago (reminds me of Aunt Madee!)

Overall, it was a nice little vacation, and I’m excited to spend time with some of y’all this summer! Love ya!

LA & Nik

LuLu and Uncle Dennis

 

Hello Family

      These article are hard to write because I can’t remember what has happened during the last 2 months. But I love hearing about every one so I will contribute too.

     Not much happening with the old Dunne’s. Dennis and I finished watching Bluebloods on Netflix. Now I want to go to New York City. Our new night time entertainment is Hawaii Five-0.  It is fun seeing all the places we took Grandy last year when we went to Hawaii. Brings back good memories.

     Dennis finished reading a book on Cason Calloway that he borrowed from Grandys house. He said it was very interesting reading about how Calloway Gardens came to be!  If you want another good book to read try the book “Before we were yours”

It is about a crooked adoption agency in Tennessee and the story of its affect on this one family. Really good book!! And it is kinda true.

   Today was the last day of school!!!  I have loved driving the special needs bus but it will be nice to have a break.

    Dennis is still blowing and going with his dog training. I am a wimp and told him I couldn’t deal with boarding dogs. It was good money but just to disruptive for me. So he is just doing training on location.

    I am all out of news. Hope you all are well

I love you all!

Aunt Susan and Uncle Jeff

 

Hello family!

Even as I write this at 11:15pm,  there are several others here at the lake  writing articles. We miss all of you who could not be here at the lake. Though rain was predicted for each day we have only had one short shower. There has been tubing,  Sea doo riding and boat cruising. Dennis had been the great boat driver for the trip. Cory has pulled tubers on the sea doos. . Cory has also been our air conditioner savior. He has repaired one unit and  gave one unit a temporary fix so it will work until a new part is ordered. Yay Cory!! Thank you!

Aunt Madee is here at the lake with us and we are really enjoying her company. She is smart, funny and wise.  She is a pleasure to be around. So glad Luanne was able to go and get her.

On another note,  I am having so much fun being a grandmother. Elizabeth is fun to be around. We,Blank’s Jennifer and Caroline, got to go to the beach together and had fun playing in the sand. Well maybe not in the sand but just being together. The air conditioner broke while we were at the beach. That is a long story to be told another time. There again rain was predicted but we had great weather.

That is all this time!

Love y’all!

Susan

Camargos

 

Hello family!! It’s hard to imagine life without each one of you (and who even would!!) our family amazes me more and more!! Especially when I see a glimpse into other, we just have something special!!

Thank you so much to Aunt Susan and Uncle Jeff for there generosity in hosting us at the Lake house AND thanks to LuLu for getting Aunt Madee there!! It was awesome seeing everyone! For those who might have caught up with me there, feel free to skip on down!! 😂😜

For those who don’t know Pedro, the kids and I have moved into my parents house. This is in preparation for Pedro’s last steps in getting his papers!! This is a good thing unfortunately along with good come scary, hard, and out of our comfort zone!

July 12, at 8:00 A.M. in Atlanta, GA pedro will have to appear in immigration court. We will be asking for the Judge to close our case here in the US and allow Pedro to await his Nation Visa Center (hearing or trial, which we call NVC hearing) Currently as of the last several years no immigration judge has granted this the next best thing is they will grant a voluntary departure. In the voluntary departure the Judge will give Pedro so many days to leave the US. Anywhere from 30 days to 120 days…there hasn’t been any pattern establish so this is very unknown. Worst case scenario is that they will detain him immediately and deport him. Any ruling the court makes that day the following step is the same. We have already applied for a NVC hearing date but have yet to be granted one. Prays that we will be granted one soon. If the date is known before he leave we will know the time frame he will be gone BUT if the NVC hearing is not scheduled before he leave he will have to wait in Mexico until he receives his hearing date!

We have tons of plans A through Z and more. At this point so much in unknown we have decided to try to settle into mom and dad’s house and just enjoy family here this summer and when July 12th comes we will face what happens then 😃🙏🏽

God has been so good and brought us through SO much! We know He will continue to walk before us! Pray that we will continue to lean on and trust in Him in every circumstance!

As far as life outside of that Pedro is working lots this summer and always busy working.

Gabby and SammyD are finishing up school (virtual online). And Jon Jon and I are on SUMMER break!!!

The kids summer calendar is bursting at the seams! From VBS with LULU (Camp LuLu), VBS at our church, show choir camp, big kids have overnight church camp while Jonathan is at soccer day camp, Jonathan and SammyD are playing soccer 1 or 2 times a week in a summer league, then they have music and arts camp where they will preform a play and to wrap up the summer the beach!! So is say they will have LOTS of fun!!

I’m excited about Trent and Abbie’s move back home (Birmingham, I’d even take Alabama or the southeast for some of you guys hehehe) sad that Marshall is headed out. But you all are young, live life!! Though I love living through your adventure through the newsletter!!

Anyways love each one of you so much!!

Lynne

Justin and Brittany

 

Family,

It is so good to read everyone’s articles and catch up on the happenings. Thanks to all of those who wrote and sent pictures!

Quick update for Brittany and I: Brittany is a full time superwoman with juggling school, work, Church, and taking care of me. I am convinced that she is one of those people who could go 3 days without sleeping or eating but still be better at life than 90 percent of the population. I am a lucky man. For me, life is full between work, Church, and being a hobbyist. I have recently become obsessed with mountain biking so it is only a matter of time before I break my collar bone.

The Lord has blessed Brittany and I in Salt Lake “far more abundantly than all we can ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20) with our Church and community group, so we are currently starting to go through the membership application process. Exciting times!

That’s really it. We love and miss you all……….. Time to start planning the 2019 Burgin Family Western Road Trip? I think its an optimal time with Ryan, Marshall (soon), and I out here. Just a thought!

Love,

P.S. I went on a little road trip over Memorial Day with some of my Indian friends from Atlanta, below are a couple of video’s to get people excited about our 2019 road trip.

 

 

 

 

Justin and Brittany

March Newsletter

Happy Spring Everyone! I hope everyone had a fantastic Easter weekend. Enjoy catching up with everyone via the newsletter.

Love,

Justin

 

Aunt Madee

Most of you may be aware that I was in the hospital the first part of January for an upper respiratory infection.  After three days in the hospital –( and dear Tricia staying with me through my Emergency Room visit) I was transferred to the Health Center here at WMO, where I stayed for three weeks!

I mention this as a prelude to what I have been doing for the past two months!

EXERCISING to get my strength back!  While I was in the Health Center, I had one on one Rehab exercises;  but once dismissed, I was assigned group or class exercises, plus exercises to do at home!

I go to some type of class exercise each day.  For example, Reach-N-Flex, Strength and Balance, In Touch/Yoga, and Brain Gym –

Have I told you that I failed one section of an exercise:  I had to draw a Box!!! You know, the kind all of you learned how to draw in grade school!!  Well, I did NOT know how to draw a box!!!  So, you can tell all those little ones in the family – Lucy and Helen’s little ones, as well as Tricia and Lynn that Aunt Madee NOW knows how to draw a box —And will demonstrate on our next visit!!

I was in the Health Center on my 92^nd birthday.   My stay was a very nice one – My friends brought a birthday cake;  and a fellow – also in the Health Center – had his guitar, so he played music and sang!  Not exactly my favorite kind of music, but it was fun!!!  And the other patients in the Health Center, as well as the Nurses, sang too – very festive!

Now, I am back to my routine- and the latest news is:  I now have an I-Phone!!!!  But using it is a different matter.  I need lots of help!!  So come to see me!!!

I love you all – and miss my beloved sister, Grandy

Aunt Madee

 

Blank’s

Well my people. I almost forgot about writing this and we are about to eat lunch and go see some bunnies for Easter pics. SO short and sweet. Our original bible study fell apart and we joined up with another. Really enjoying it! E still HATES the nursery and snuggles with someone the entire time refusing to be put down. She will learn! She IS starting to wobble walk so any day now she’ll take off! Her first birthday (!!) was a blast and we loved having those of you who made it! Brian had a great spring break and we did lots of eating out! This weekend we are hosting all of Brian’s family and having a blast!! We are in the home stretch to summer vacation and we can’t wait for TWO more beach trips! Also… Caroline… the youngest… is almost a college grad. We got old!! Oh my stars I almost forgot! We are having another GIRL! We are now accepting all advice on welcoming in a second child! We bought some new outdoor patio furniture so come visit! We are ready to eat outside under our bistro lit patio! Anywho. This was scatterbrained but we love yalllll!!!!

Duff’s

It is official, we are adopting Sanjae on May 3! It has been a roller coaster of a year as we waited for the judicial process to work. But permanency has finally come for our resilient little girl. We will be tweaking her name a bit. She will be Imara Sanjae Duff; still called Sanjae.

In other news, Nora Grace is playing softball this spring. She seems to be enjoying it much better than her short foray into soccer. Tim and I are still getting used to the evening activites that are quickly becoming the new normal in the Duff house. Transitioning to a new phase of life for the older kids is requiring some routine changes which doesn’t always go smoothly with our special needs kids.

Everyone else is about the same as January. Tim is working and getting back in running shape after throwing out his back in February. I am still teaching 1 Timothy on Wednesday nights. We are almost done though as we began chapter 6 this week. I am also helping organize a conference our church is hosting called Empowered to Connect. It teaches parents, particularly parents of kids from hard places, the science of brain development and how that is affected by trauma and how parents can manage the behavior that comes due to that trauma. Bryan is plugging along through his last nine weeks of 3rd grade. Adah is finishing up preschool and getting ready for her ballet recital in May. She is really coming out of her shell lately, which has been a joy to see. Sanjae, like all 4th children, is just trying to keep up with all the big kids. She is full of smiles and bubbling energy with a handful of drama thrown in too.

We had a relaxing trip to the lake with Aunt Susan, Uncle Jeff, and Leigh Ann at the end of our Spring break two weeks ago. The lake was beautiful, and the kids had a blast running around and playing. They especially enjoyed the “Harry Potter room.”

We love you all and hope to see you soon!

The Duffs

 

Jen

Hi Family!

 

Hope everyone is well. Not too much is happening here in the life of Jen. As most know, im not the happiest at my current job so I recently applied for a new job here in Bham, as a Interior Design Assistant/ Store Manager at Chickadee Interiors. It is a retail store with interior design help on the side. The interview went really great and I actually got a job offer from them, but it was going to be me doing the same exact thing I am now except I would work Saturdays and it would be more retail based…. so I declined. But it was good interview experience! A few weeks ago Kate and Brain had a small bday party for one of my favorites, Elizabeth!! How is she 1 already! It was a good time with family and friends. Susan and I went to the week last week for a day and it made me so ready for summer! We need to plan a time to get everyone down there. We cleared out some of our rafts that we never used and made room for all the new fun rafts to come!!(get pumped) I am also in the process of searching for a house. I have been looking for a few months now on and off but I am now in go mode, looking and hoping to find me a new place soon! I love living with the parents but I am currently on the track to being 30, single, and living in my parent’s basement…or homeless. Anyways, hope to see everyone soon!

 

Love yall!

 

-Jen

 

Leigh Ann

Hey family!

Spring has sprung, and I’m ready for this 40 degree weather to turn into 70 so I can hit the lake! I haven’t been terribly busy, my schedule has been pretty consistent this month- go to work, come home to schoolwork, then meet Audrey for a run. We’re training for the Nashville Rock N Roll Half Marathon on April 28th. Our goal is to do a race in every state, so heads up to everyone living outside of Louisiana, Tennessee, and Georgia (the conquered states)- you may be getting a phone call to take in a couple of crazy ladies for a weekend in the coming years! I’ve tried to get Nik into it, but he’s not much of a runner. A 1 mile fun run is about what I can convince him to do (even though he doesn’t think the words “fun” and “run” should be in the same sentence). I think in the last article I wrote he was about to compete in Tennessee. I got to be his coach and learn to “count attempts” (which is slightly more complicated than it sounds), but it was a blast and he was pleased with his performance. If there’s ever a local meet I’ll let y’all know.

I’ll wrap it up there. I miss and love all of you!

LA and Nik

 

Carmargo’s

Hello family!

We are headed back home from Orlando! We had a great time with the Aitcheson’s!! Short, always too short!! But it was SO great!! We even got to visit THE Largest McDonald’s in the WORLD!!

Well I have no clue where I left off on the life of the Camargo’s, I apologize that I didn’t write an article last time my moms dad past (Mr. Ware/Gran) and it was a crazy time!!

Life seems to have flown by since Marshall’s wedding! Basketball season for the kids was a awesome for the kids all three play and really loved it!!! Which was a blessing, For those who might not know my moms dad, Gran, was pretty great at Basketball!! He is even in the hall of fame at Birmingham Southern. So I know it brought delight to him to hear about the kids love for the sport even in his last few days!! 😍

Well talking about basketball I’ll start with Samuel David who’s team won 11 straight regular season games and went on to win every playoff game to be the 3rd grade boys basketball champs!! He is on to Soccer which has t gone as well and he has quickly been reminded of the not so fun feeling of loosing. But his team is coming together and though he doesn’t love Soccer near as much as football and basketball it is really helping his running!! He is practicing 3 days a week and games usually on Saturday and Sunday!! I can already see a HUGE improvement on his running! He is growing so much! Eating my out of my house some weeks!! He is being baptized in a week and it is so much fun to see his excitement grow!!

Jonathan is doing GREAT!! He is working hard in school and is learning more and more each day!! He LOVES Soccer!! (Daddy may get his dream of a Soccer player 🤞🏽) He has a natural talent for it so they say 😃

Gabby is doing great!! Growing up way to fast!! Can’t believe she is 12!! Still loves to sing!! Still dreaming of being a utube star!! She has been working REALLY REALLY hard on her weight doing some whole30 on and off and trying to really change some of her lifestyle and has work hard!! I’m beyond proud!!

Pedro and I are doing great!! Trying to enjoy and savor each moment of life!! God has been SO good to us!! And we are praising Him for that!!

Please continue to pray for Pedro and his family in Mexico. His brother Martin started dialysis and it has been difficult for his family! We pray for guidance for his family and the doctors and for a miracle healing!

Love each and everyone of you!!

Lynne

 

Nabor’s

Hello family!  Well, I do not like to be one that doesn’t write an article as I always enjoy reading others!  As far as what is going on at the Nabors’ home… Susie is growing bigger every day! She is cooing and smiling and seems to be a much happier baby lately 🙂  She slept through the night once this past week so we are hoping that we can make that a regular thing soon.  Will is playing baseball and Luke is playing tee ball.  He is very adamant that he is not playing baseball 🙂  We played in the fall, but spring is definitely more involved which isn’t a bad thing 🙂  My girls just had state meet and we did well.  Our level 7s and 10s got 2nd place and our level 8s and 9s got 1st place.  So that was exciting!  We still have areas to improve on for sure!  But continuing to grow and get better!  Work is keeping Cory busy too.  It is just hard to find good, hard working people these days.  Everyone wants to do nothing yet get paid LOL.  So that is the quick version of all that is going on at the Nabors’ house.  It’s 11:55pm, so am going to get this in before the deadline 🙂 Love to all!!!

 

Aitcheson’s

We are coming off a really fun weekend having had my parents, Lynne and her kids in town for a long weekend. (I sent Girl Scout cookies back to Bham for those of you who ordered them – thank you and enjoy!) One of the many highlights was going to the world’s largest McDonalds! Also, I think we crushed (as in ate) 20+ lbs of strawberries lol. We did also crush some to make strawberry jelly of course.

The kiddos: all doing well. Leah is enjoying doing musical theater right now. Annie has learned to cross the monkey bars on her own. And Carissa will talk your ear off and boss you around!

Mike is doing really well. He has been in one of the busiest seasons since we’ve been married. The church has had a growth spurt this year in attendance. Mike has hired a DOO. And we are looking forward to moving into a brand new school that should be finished this summer (about 0.5 mile from our house).

Me: well if you haven’t heard by now, baby girl Aitcheson #4 is on the way. Whoohoo! Due date Sept. 10. I’m still enjoying working part time at Middleton Pediatrics but looking forward to winter/busy sick months being over. We’ve had a grad student move into our mother-in-law. She has been a fun new part of our family. She takes care of our kids while I’m at work and helps me around the house. We are so thankful for her during this busy time in our life and feel humbled for how well the Lord shows his care for us.

Love you all!

Lucy

Lulu and Uncle Dennis

Hello family! I started not to write a newsletter this month because I was insulted that Justin did not include my picture I sent him of Dennis Caroline and me at the sugar bowl. But I got over my resentment and here is our letter.

January and February have been dog months. We have had a dog in the house plus Rosie for pretty much every day of  February and March. It is very interesting to see all the different personalities of different dogs. We’ve had a hyper active crazy dog, a not very intelligent dog, a laid-back 30 pound overweight dog, and currently we have a sweet little puppy. Dennis has done a fine job of training all of them!

In between dogs we have had the opportunity to go to Carrollton for some rest and relaxation. Well I am not sure about the relaxation. We had some fun getting the 4 wheeler unstuck a couple of times. I will send a picture but who knows if it will make the cut!  I don’t know when this letter will be published so either Happy Easter or I hope you had a happy Easter. He is risen!!!!

We love y’all.

Lulu and Uncle Dennis

 

 

Trent and Abbie

Fam Jam,

 

First, I am thankful that Tricia is persistent in requesting articles from each of us. If any of you are like me, which I know some of you are, you like waiting until the last minute to complete anything. It is currently 8:40CT and the article is due at midnight. Anyways, we have had quite the last two months in the Dallas Dunne household. Abbie went to Nashville for the women’s SEC basketball tournament with most of girls in her family. They had fun shopping around Nashville and watching some good basketball for a fun weekend. While Abbie was in Nashville, I flew to Denver to do some snow skiing with Ryan and Anna. Two weekends later, Abbie and I met Jeffrey, Morgan and Ryan for an epic weekend of skiing in Utah with Justin and Brittany. I mean it when I say EPIC! The good Lord decided to dump a luscious 7” of fresh pow pow in the beautiful Wasatch mountains on Friday night for us to enjoy on Saturday and Sunday. It was truly the best two days of skiing we’ve had in the last 14 years. Although the skiing was epic, the company was better. It was great to spend and extended amount of time with some family. Thank you to the western Dunne’s as they were both great hosts.

This past weekend, we went camping with some friend at Lake Mineral Wells State Park. The temperature rose to the high 80’s on Saturday, making it enjoyable to take a plunge in the lake. We are hoping for a couple invites to lake Martin this summer 😉. In the January article, we informed everyone that we would be moving back to Birmingham this summer, unfortunately, we don’t have any more exciting details to share for this article. We are looking forward to reading everyone’s article.

Abbie and I love and pray for each one you!

Love,

Trent and Abbie

 

Ryan and Anna

Family,

Winter is over and we hope everyone had a great winter, we certainly did. We spent most of our time wishing for the week to go by quickly so that we could get on the ski slopes during the weekends. We also found ourselves wishing for Carrollton nights around the fire cooking hot dogs and hanging out with everyone, we really missed those. Anna has been back and forth between Birmingham and Denver for a few different weddings, so I took advantage one weekend and drove Lucia and myself to Utah to ski with Justin and Brittany, Trent and Abbie, and Jeffrey and Morgan. We had a BUNCH of snow and it was an epic weekend. It is technically still ski season for another couple of weeks, but we are ready to get the backpacks, hiking shoes, and Coleman stove out and get after camping and hiking season. I want to take up fly fishing this spring and we both want to get into mountain biking this summer (Justin has pounded it in our heads how much fun his mountain biking trips were last summer). We’re mostly looking forward to exploring new hikes and trails though. I was told Marshall and Raina were thinking about moving out here so we gotta keep that instagram game up to convince them to make the move. Our doors are always open for anyone looking for a Colorado adventure, and we are going to try and find some time to come home too, we really miss everyone! Hope everyone has a great spring!

Love,

Ryan and Anna.

 

Jeffrey and Morgan

Hello all.

The main thing that I would like to share is that I miss you all. I’m ready for time together this summer.

Morgan and I mainly go to work and church and weddings and try to work on the house when we can. Next letter we will have some good before and after pictures for everyone. The house is coming along nicely.

I have been in this study at church the past few weeks learning about the theology of work. When there are days when I am just grinding through work sometimes I wonder “what is the point?”

Well, the famous theologian Martin Luther has a unique yet simple perspective about work that I would like to share as it has greatly impacted me these past few weeks. Luther proposes that God carries out his plans and promises and allows us to love others through our work. A simple example of this is a farmer. A farmer may feel like he is just sitting on a tractor day in and day out, but he is serving and loving you and me by providing us food. There may be times where I feel like I am answering emails and phone calls for no meaningful purpose, but i can have a different perspective. I participate in building concrete structures, like a parking deck on a college campus. I am helping provide students a place to park which allows more people to go to school which may in turn help more people get jobs where they can serve others in some sort of capacity. Our jobs can be platforms where we love and serve others by providing for them in an excellent way. We may not always be able to see it, but God is ruling the world through our occupations.

The fallen world tells us that the primary purpose of our capitalistic society is to create companies that 1) protect the survival of the entity, 2) maximize profit margins, and 3) appease any shareholders and stakeholders. But i would like to challenge that and ask what the deeper purpose of our work is (those three things are important by the way dont get me wrong, but maybe they shouldn’t always be our focus).

To you this may be a simple concept and you might not agree with it, but i have enjoyed pondering it. It has also helped give me some extra motivation which i need every now and again on Mondays.

Anyways, thanks for letting me ramble. Love yall!

 

Justin and Brittany

Hello Family,

March has been a busy month for Brittany and I, we just said good bye to our 21st visitor this month. It’s been a blast and we have a lot of fun memories to look back on. The highlight of the month had to be finding untouched snow and natural jumps in the Wastach with Ryan, Trent, Jeffrey and their ladies (you were missed Anna). Brittany and I skied close to 35 days this winter but that Saturday was the best of the year by far.

Outside of entertaining a host of guest, Brittany and I continue to adjust to this strange city. It is hard to avoid the polarized nature of Salt Lake. Mormon culture is the vast majority but there is also a unavoidable loud minority of hippies that have an absurd reaction to the outpouring of the culture. This tension is more obvious on some days than others. For example, one of the largest holiday’s in SLC is Pioneer Day to celebrate the Mormon pilgrimage from the east coast to SLC. In reaction to Pioneer Day, the hippie’s have “Pie and Beer Day”…. catchy I must admit.

Brittany and I happily find ourselves outside of these camps as we are fully committed to the local church in Salt Lake. The Lord has blessed us through Gospel Grace Church and we are learning a growing daily.

It’s getting late so I am going to end rather abruptly with a quote that the pastor referenced on Sunday by the last christian philosopher John Stott. ” The greatest ambitions of mankind can be summarized into three categories: significance, transcendence and love. All three are found in God.”

Love,

Justin and Brittany.

January Newsletter

Intro

Happy February Family! I hope everyone is having a superb winter. A couple of Highlights form the Newsletter:

1. Uncle Mark wrote an article. This is kind of like seeing a yeti so I suggest you read.
2. Jeffrey and Morgan have an intriging proposal in the last paragraph of their article. Read and respond in the comments section!

Lots of Love,

Justin

 

Caroline

Hello family!

Where oh where do I begin? I feel like it has been forever since I have seen everyone! I don’t know the last information everyone has heard so here is a snap shot of the last couple months of my life!! I finished up fall semester with my wonderful kindergarteners. It was such an incredible experience and I am so grateful for the time I had in that classroom. Christmas break was busy and relaxing all at the same time! I loved seeing everyone at Christmas (its my favorite time with all of you, my favorite people :)) After Christmas, I was super super blessed to travel to NOLA with Perry, and my two wonderful parentals who so graciously gave perry and I an experience of a lifetime!!!!! Then I was off to the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!!!!! Sorry all you Auburn people, this is not a dig at all but it was the most exciting football game in my entire life and I was so so so lucky to get to be there! Right after the game, a couple friends and I had to drive back to Tuscaloosa because I had orientation for my INTERNSHIP!!!! I am placed in a 4th grade class for the first 6 weeks and then a 1st grade class for the second 6 weeks. I cannot believe I am going to be graduation in May. The exact date is May 5th at 6pm so all of you can put it in your calendars!!! That is about it in my life! I go to school, come home and hang out, go to sleep early, and do it all over again! I love having FaceTime dates so anytime after 3:30 if you are bored you can FT me!!! Its a party!  I would also appreciate any and all prayers as I seek the Lord’s guidance in preparing and eventually finding a job. It is an exciting time, I am continually reminded at how amazingly blessed I am to have my family. Y’all are truly the best. I love you all

Caroline

 

Kate and Brian

 

Well we are back in Starkvegas post holiday craze and in our normal routine. Elizabeth is as fun as ever and FINALLY at 10 1/2 months has a tooth coming in. I was starting to think she wasn’t going to have any. It hasn’t been too terrible, surprisingly. She loves walking with help and has started to stand for a bit without assistance. She will be walking before we know it! She is also so thrilled that she will be a big sister come August and so are we (hope you already knew that info). I’m 12 weeks (today is jan 21-no clue when you’ll read this) and I’m ready for the nausea to leave me alone. It’s no April/Helen style but still inconvenient. We should find out gender in February! In other news, we have decided to get involved with Pinelake Church. They are one of “those” satellite churches that have several campuses all over Mississippi. We visited several Starkville churches and this one just felt right for our family. Tonight we attended Group Up where we met other people interested in small groups. We have been praying for this event for quite awhile and we are very thankful for the group we ended up with. To be a group leader, you  must have been attending Pinelake for 3 months and we have just hit that mark. None of our other members had so viola we are now the facilitators of our group! Since the summer Brian and I have been working on our spiritual lives as a couple more intentionally and specifically on what it looks like to pray together. Ironically (or you know, just the way Jesus works), the Lord has guided our church to begin 40 Days of Prayer. With our small group we will study how the Lord instructs us to pray. Each day we will take the same 1 specific prayer and pray for 1 minute at 1:00 and watch how the Lord transforms our prayers. I’m pretty excited about it all. I think it’s easy to forget how powerful prayer is and to take it for granted. Anywho, this article got long. That’s what’s happening here in Starkland! Love you peeps.

Kate Terch Blank

 

Uncle Mark

 

In all the years of the newsletter I think this will be the second article I have written. Anyway; Whats going on in my life? Enjoyed keeping Nora Grace and Adah Marie while Tricia and Tim went on vacation, and then keeping Anna while Joe and April had the flu. Got to find time to have a weekend with Bryan and hang out with Sonjay. Work keeps me in North Carolina most of the time. A little too far from home but Raleigh is a nice area with lots to do. Trying to get motivated to get my house ready to sell. Don’t need the headache of upkeep.  Looking forward to 2018. Time to pick a USA destination for a trip. Been to Greece and Bora Bora the last two years and time to stay in the USA. Road trip to see those Dunne family’s out west? Disney World with grandkids? Maybe hitch a ride with Space X to Mars? Don’t put off till tomorrow what you can do today!

-Uncle Mark

 

Ryan and Anna

Hello Sweet Family,

I am taking a turn at writing our article (Anna), so it will be much cleaner and nicer than anything Ryan has ever written! We had so much fun seeing everybody at Christmas (other than Mike and Lucy 😦 but the facetime was awesome!)!! Since we got back to Denver we’ve been pretty busy with work and still trying to find a home Church. We’ve been to a few really good ones but Ryan is REAL REAL picky. Which can be a good thing I suppose. I’m ready to make a decision but I know The Lord is in control of this and we will find a church that we fall in love with and can really serve the city of Denver. We’ve also been doing the Whole30 with a few of yall and all I want is to eat pizza but I guess I can wait until February 5th to do that. Although, we’re kicking ourselves for starting it so late because, well, the SUPER BOWL is the 4th, so carrots for us. We were so excited to hear about baby Susie, that was such a nice January highlight. Ryan really wanted her to be late and make it the third January 24th birthday with him and MIke, but she was ready to enter this world and we are very happy about that! Speaking of birthdays, Ryan turned 27 yesterday and his birthday wish was to watch Lord of the Rings (nerd) and go to bed really late, which we paid for the next day. It was worth it though. For those that are curious, we are FINALLY hitting the slopes this weekend and we are ready for some skiing visitors!! We got some fresh pow this past Sunday (I can’t make that sound cool), but we are pumped and Ryan can’t stop talking about it, so I’m sure you will see some pictures grace various social media this weekend, so get excited!

 

We miss all of you very much and we pray that this year is full of blessings for all of you.

 

 

Love yall,

Anna and Ryan

 

Leigh Ann and Nik

 

Hey everyone!

Well, I can say that the new year began well for Tide fans! What an interesting football season it’s been. I was able to go to NOLA for the playoff game against Clemson and it was a blast (thanks Mom & Dad!). What more is needed with great food, football, and family to kick off the new year? So far I can’t complain.

As some of you know, I officially got accepted into UA’s child life program at the end of November, and so I have begun my last semester of classes before applying for an internship. Depending on when I get accepted for one will determine my graduation and when I take the exam as a Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS). So please pray that I am diligent and focused these coming months. I have a lot of work ahead of me!

Nik probably has more going on than me right now. He just recently passed his CSCS (Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist) exam and that’s HUGE because it allows him to coach at multiple team levels. He’s keeping his eye out for positions in high schools up through D1 universities. He’s also about to enroll in UAB’s postbac program to fulfill science requirements for a kinesiology degree down the line (hopefully provided by the school at which he’s employed). That’s the plan, at least. We’re praying local opportunities present themselves. Also, by the time this article is sent out, he’ll have competed in his first, southern weightlifting competition in Madison, TN. Should be exciting!

I think that’s all for now. Love y’all!

 

-LA & Nik

 

Jennifer

 

Hello family,

 

You’re lucky I am still alive and able to write this letter.. Some girls in the family and I have been on the Whole30 diet for 15 days now and let me tell you, it isn’t easy(hints why I am barely alive)!!!  Thankful for my family who hasn’t kicked me out of the house yet after all my complaining about it. Besides being hangry, I had a very busy end of December and January! It was filled with many fun things! After Christmas,  me, susan, lulu, carol and LA headed to Callaway Gardens for the light show and bike riding! We spent the night in one of the cottages there and had a blast!! The perk of the trip was getting a free 16 pound bag of ice! Then after that fun trip, us girls and a few men in the family headed to New Orleans for a heck of a football game. Roll tide. The weather was frigid in Nola but nothing could keep me away from beignets! We even went and got midnight beignets after the game to celebrate. I had my hopes up after that trip that I would be getting a ticket to the National championship game, but was wrong.. it was a good thing though, because I ended up getting the stomach bug the day of the championship. I didn’t even watch half of the game which was a bummer but we won so that was a plus! Anyways, nothing new is going on with me. Same job. Same dwindling bank account. Same living situation. I am, however, about to start a small group with a couple of girls from my Home church next weekend, and I’m really looking forward to that. Hope all is well with everyone and I hope to see everyone soon!! Love you people. -jen

 

Lulu and Uncle Dennis

Hello People

It was great being with everyone over Christmas.  Wish Mike and Lucy could have been here in person but at least we got to see their faces on a screen! It was especially nice to see Aunt Maddee. Thanks Tricia for bringing her to us!

As most of you know, Dennis surprised Caroline with 4 tickets to the Sugar bowl and she took Dennis Perry and me!  It was a quick trip to the Big Easy but it sure was fun.  We stayed within walking distance of both the French Quarter and the Superdome.  The first thing we (we is Me Caroline Perry Susan Jennifer and Leigh Ann) did upon arrival was walk to Cafe du Monde for some beignets!  It was what Caroline wanted to do because she had never been to NOLA.  They were sooooo good.  Our next meal was at a restaurant that Uncle Merritt recommended, Mandina’s on Canal Street.  Dennis, Jeff, and Jeffrey had arrived from the delta and duck hunting by this meal.  The food was outstanding!  Thanks Uncle Merritt! We killed a few hours resting up in the hotel room before the New Years Eve fireworks show on the Riverwalk.  It was a spectacular show.  Not up to Disney World standards but good none the less!  After the fireworks show, Leigh Ann told every body individually that she loved them so she would be the first person in 2018 to tell us she loved us.  Love you too Leigh Annie!

Woke up New Year’s day in time to make our 1030 reservation at Court of Two Sisters for brunch.  It was our last real meal in New Orleans and we made the most of it. We got to the stadium fairly early (530 for a 745 kick off) and since I have shared with you every meal we ate so far I will continue and tell you, we ate chicken fingers in the Superdome for dinner.  The game was great even if Dennis did sit by a rather crazy Clemson fan that kept getting into his personal space and running a nonstop commentary on the game. He handled it well. I think my favorite part of being there was watching the awards ceremony and getting to watch what I wanted of it instead of what TV wanted to show.  We were all pretty wound up after the game so what did we do but walk to Cafe du Monde for beignets!  Great way to end a great weekend!

Dennis and I have been doing weight watchers and I am therefore trying to cook without cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup.  Anyway I wanted to share a recipe I got online!  If you like chinese food you will love this.  And it is really easy! http://www.hungry-girl.com/email/recipe-makeovers/sheet-pan-cashew-chicken   Sorry I tried to make it blue where all you would have to do is click on it but you will have to copy and paste to your browser.  I am not very tech savvy

I love y’all!

 

Abbie and Trent

Hello Burgin family!

We sure do miss everyone and cannot wait until we are reunited again! Trent and I have really not done too much since the year has started! Trent has gone duck hunting and to Carrollton for a long weekend. I have survived my first case of pink eye and have managed so far to not get the flu. We have almost completed Whole30, which is a MIRACLE.Luckily Trent and I did not kill each other. Shout out to everyone else in the fam for sticking with it and for the support! We have also registered for a half marathon that we will be doing at the end of March. We have officially decided that we will be making our way “HOME” this summer and will be moving back to Birmingham.I am trying to see how many teaching license I can get in the across the country. Just kidding, but I am up to almost 4.  We have absolutely LOVED Dallas and met some super great people(Praise the Lord for answering prayers and blessing us abundantly), but we are ready to be home and close to family. Please be in prayer for us as we search for jobs, look for a house, and as I apply for an Alabama teaching license. Before we move back early summer, we are planning a road trip to visit the out west Dunne’s! We will update you on that trip in the next newsletter! We love you all and are praying for each of you!

 

Morgan and Jeffrey

Hello all,

Morgan and I very much enjoyed the holidays with everyone.  They flew by way too fast.  I cant remember if we told everyone this last news letter and I’m sure most of you know already but we bought a house and have been living there for a little over a month now.  It needs a lot of work and hopefully we can get it looking good enough to sell in the next year or so. We both have enjoyed sprucing it up so far.  There have been some eventfully evenings where pools of water have mysteriously appeared in the basement (welcome to home ownership right?) but for the most part everything has been going pretty smooth.

Work wise things are the same for us.  Morgan is still kicking butt helping people adopt kids from India and Haiti and I am still working for Harcon.  We are still working on a parking deck in Tuscaloosa and have another job building a school building for UAB and two more in Auburn.

We love our church that we have gotten involved with (Grace Fellowship). We have been going there for around 5 months and are enjoying getting to know everyone.

I was thinking the other day about when I was going to see everyone next and I couldn’t think of a time before thanksgiving where we would all be together again. I propose a family wide beach trip in honor of Grandy this summer. I’ll leave it up to her children to plan that out.

Love all of you.

Morgan and Jeffrey

 

Helen and Cory

 

Hey family!

Today Susie is 2 weeks – yay! I was so ready for her to make her debut but now I’d like time to slow down:-) Let’s back up…. We had a wonderful Christmas here. Spent Christmas Eve with Cory’s family. Got to see my family Christmas Day. We missed the Aitcheson’s, Marshall and Raina but we did get to see Marshall and Raina at Grandy’s. We loved having Christmas at Grandy’s though Grandy is still missed, I’m sure by us all!

We spent New Years here with just our family of 4. We got the boys some poppers and the parachute fireworks. My parents came over on the first and helped us clean our house. They shampooed our carpets, helped us organize our toys, mop and really clean our kitchen floor, put up Christmas dishes, etc. we got so much done and I was so thankful!!

Then it was just waiting for Baby Susie. She came on her own time lol but she’s here and we are loving her. It’s late and I’ve tried to write this article all day lol. So Susie came on Jan 10 yay! We went home on the 12 and Luke got the stomach bug. Three days later Will and Cory got it. All had light cases but the stomach bug none the less. So I quarantined Susie and myself and thankfully we didn’t get it. The boys are super sweet and love their little sister. They don’t like when she cries but they love to hold her and kiss her.

Today, Jan 25, my grandfather went to be with Jesus. Thankfully we spent Sunday evening at their house. Got some pics of him with Susie 🙂 now just getting used to being a family of 5. Thankful for my moms help, my dads and Susan and Lulu!! I can’t keep my eyes open so hope this makes sense. Love to all!!!

 

Tricia and Tim

Happy New Year!

It was wonderful to see you all (the Aitchesons via FaceTime) over Christmas.

I am currently sitting in my living room moving Sanjae’s hand away from the keyboard every five seconds as I type this so please excuse any disjointed thoughts throuought this article. Also, Adah Marie is laying on the couch in the playroom with a throw up bucket as she is the second child to come down with the stomach bug in our house this week…pray for us, the stomach bug is the worst!

In other Duff news, Bryan is in the midst of soccer season and is happy to be playing defense all the time now. He is very aggressive and unafraid of charging another player coming towards him Edith the ball. Nora Grace and Adah Marie are still loving school and ballet. And poor fourth child Sanjae just has to tag along for everything (but she does get me all to herself every morning so that balances it out).

Tim is still training for the 50 mile race in Alabama in March. He is also frequently busy fixing random things around the house because homeownership is super fun (insert eye roll). As for me, I am preparing to start back a Bible Study on 1 Timothy. We only made it halfway in the fall and are hoping to finish in the spring.  I am also gearing up to potty train Sanjae  in the next week or so. She’s beyond ready, but I am not.

I think that’s enough mundane info for you all until the next newsletter.

Love you all!

 

The Duffs

 

Uncle Merritt and Net Net

 

Well life has been very busy since Christmas. Wasn’t it fun at Grandy’s. It was great to see everyone including FaceTiming the Aitchesons. It was great having  Aunt Madee. Annette andI had a great visit with heron the way  to Atlanta to drop her off at Pete and Donna’s. We toured their house and at pizza with them. We learned Pete got his pilot’s license after he retired from IBM.
We went from Atlanta on to Orlando to visit with the Aitchesons. We had a great visit. The girls opened their presents . They really loved the games . We played them numerous times while we were there. Lu, Susan others that got the great grandchildren gifts did a great job. Even though it was cold for Orlando we road bikes and played outside. To cold to go swimming though. We walked and rode bikes to the grocery store and bikes to a curb market. We got fresh corn at the curb market. The Aitchesons headed to Kentucky New Year’s Eve . We traveled together to Atlanta. When we stopped in Atlanta to get everybody in the right car and say goodbye we noticed the Aitchesons van had a tire going flat. It’s about 10 pm and we are at a Chevron station in down town Atlanta . There are several people hanging around outside and one of says he fixes tires . We sort of laugh at him and he says I really do I have a plugging kit right here and he pulls it out of his backpack.. We let him start to fix the tire and he noticed it had a bubble on it indicating the belts were separating and the tire was bad.So we unloaded the car enough to get the spare out and let him help put on the spare. He told us the name of a 24 hour tire store about 4 miles away where we got a used tire  and had a few laughs with the guy changing the tire. It was an exciting ending to a great visit .
I am back at work in Cary where it has snowed twice this month 4” the first time and 8” the second time. Not much fun sitting around an apartment 600 miles away from home while it snows. The first time the set a record for 200+ hours below freezing .
As you know Annette’s Dad passed away yesterday morning. I am writing this on a plane headed back to Birmingham. What a great person he was. Full of fun and games and very serious about his commitment to Christ . I am very blessed to have father- in-law like Mr Ware was. He told me 39 years ago when I asked permission to marry his daughter that he did not feel like he was losing a daughter but gaining a son.
We also welcomed Susie into the world . What an amazing miracle a new birth is . I haven’t held her for 2 weeks now. Can’t wait to hold her this afternoon .
Remember “He can do exceedingly more than we can imangine”

 

Raina and Marshall

Good evening!!

Wow, I’m so excited and blessed to be a part of this big, beautiful, loving family. Marshall told me about these newsletters a couple years ago and I just think it’s so incredible. As you know from the wedding, my family is not very big but we sure do love big. I have enjoyed every step of this Burgin adventure and getting to know all the special people in Marshall’s life and now mine. There really are no words to express how grateful I (we) are for everyone’s love and support throughout our engagement up to the “I do”. We had so much fun celebrating with every one of you and hope you enjoyed yourselves too. Thank you for making it extra special.

So, I think I’m supposed to talk about what’s going on in this crazy, beautiful life.. Well, as you all know I am the Assistant Softball Coach at Delta State and the season is HERE! We leave for our first tournament next Thursday in Gulfshores! Fingers crossed for some decent weather because we have a really great spot on the beach and I wanna stick my toes in the sand AND my mom gets to come stay with me this particular trip, and I sure do love my mom-time. So, I’m currently preparing myself for season craziness, well aware that time will fly by.. so I just have to stay focused. I’m really looking forward to it because we have a great group of girls with EXTREMELY good chemistry. It hasn’t been this “together” since I played in 2012 and it’s really exciting to watch.

Marshall, Merritt and I went to Angel Fire, NM for a school ski trip over New Years and it was BEAUTIFUL!! We didn’t get to experience the 82 runs this mountain had to offer, in fact only 6 of them.. due to a rough season of NO SNOW, but it was still worth every penny and every minute of the 16 hr drive to and from. I am pretty sure I have become addicted to snowboarding even after being stuck on the biggest run for, 2 HOURS! I married a very patient man! Now, Marshall is away for the semester working with his dad and Uncle Mark. It’s a real stinker not having him here but we are doing great and it’s for the best right now. We are at a stand still on our masters and have started studying for the Praxis test to make our way towards enrolling for a masters in teaching. It is a one year program and will be a better fit for our dreams and lifestyle.

I think I am writing too much so I am going to close this up.. I know there are many more other articles to be read and I can’t wait to see what everyone is up to. RIGHT THIS MOMENT, Merritt is off tonight and working vigorously on his school work and quizzes. Marshall is on the road from NC to go meet my mom in Savannah Georgia where she is meeting him to hand Skylar over. =) My heart is so happy to get him back here keeping me company and for Summer to have her buddy back. Oh, and Marshall being gone isn’t all that bad, cause Merritt just cooked some BOMB spicy food for us. We get to eat all the onion and jalepenos we want now! I love you all and can’t wait for the next get together!! For you folks out West, we’re coming for you!!

 

**  Oh and if you didn’t get a chance to check out any photos from the wedding because I am a procrastinator, here is the link:  https://alitakesphotographs.pixieset.com/marshallraina/

Ali did a great job capturing you all dancing, laughing and hanging out. Go check it out! Download code is: 2000

 

Justin and Brittany

Hello Family,

It’s a pretty exciting life here in northern Utah. We are still loving our Church and continuing to learn about what it means to be a part of a church plant…… lots of volunteer opportunities. The longer we live in the Salty city the more Brittany and I notice the subtle dominance of the Mormon culture. Outside of the watered down beer, absurdly large families, and extreme lack of diversity, there appears to be  lack of independent thought and general knowledge of anything outside of the Utah border. This does not surprise us now that we have dabbled in Latter Day Saint doctrine. Mormon leaders consolidate power and influence by being self proclaimed “prophets” and apostles”  who are the standard for truth. However this “truth” is a moving target that depends on the thoughts of whoever happens to be the senile old white guy in charge at the time. No matter how absurd or radical the “Prophet’s” thoughts might be, you must not doubt. Doubting the words of the leader is equated to doubting the words of the living God, and therefore makes you subject to excommunication from the majority of society. This inability to question and wrestle with truth appears to permeate the entire life of the average Mormon. And why wouldn’t it? Everything from their relationship with God to appropriate social norms are determined by those in charge. The result of this is a cookie cutter people. Despite being extremely kind and polite, they are void of diversity and freedom in Christ. The enslavement of the Mormon church is similar to the enslavement of the secular world, to quote C.S. Lewis, the average Mormon, like the secular man, is “like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.”

That’s enough pontificating for me. Quick update: Brittany is being her typical super woman self and working, in school, taking care of all of the house hold stuff, etc. I just work, dream about skiing, and ski. We’re all adults here so I will just go ahead and say it, skiing is truly the most fun you can have with clothes on.

Looking forward to having some visitors! I am thinking a Burgin family Western road trip? If you draw a 7 hour radius from Salt lake there are about 8 national parks! Think about it.

-Justin and Brittany.

October Newsletter

 

Morning Family!

Really good stuff this month, clearly a lot of excitement for the upcoming wedding celebration! In addition the wedding celebration, there have been several Birthdays this fall that deserve celebration. Below is a list of those folks. Be sure to tell them you are glad they were born and sorry you forgot about their birthday.

Net Net: September 9th

Ann Johnson: September 9th

Jonathan: September 10th

Raina: September 11th

Marshall: September 13th

Pedro: September 24th

Aunt Susan: October 6th

Lucy: October 11th

Cory October 11th

Carissa: October 30th

Also please note upcoming Birthdays:

LEIGH ANN: TODAY, NOV 4TH!

Will: November 10th

Uncle Jeff: November 20th

I am praying 2 Thessalonians 3:16 for you all this morning “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all”.

– Justin

Net Net

 

Hey family

I wanted to make sure Tricia got 100% participation so I am writing to say that I have been busy this weekend working on the wedding for Marshall and Raina. I am looking forward to seeing everyone there and enjoying our time together. I am still busy driving the bus and working at the gym for Helen. The fall is busy with a gymnastic meet every weekend. The girls I coach are having a great season so far. Even with work and the wedding I would like to do something for Christmas possibly. I need each of you to send me some of your favorite recipes from Grandy (or the Burgin family). I want to put together a cook book. Also if you have any pictures of Grandy that would go in this cookbook please send them to me. I want y’all to have something special to remember your Grandmother by and so I need to  know what recipes you remember or want fromher collection.

Raina’s mom (Rachelle) was here this weekend and we got some much accomplished for the wedding. Next weekend Marshall is bring the Delta State Golf team to Birmingham and they are staying at our house. It should be fun.

See everyone soon,

Love Annette

 

Aunt Madee

USED WITHOUT PERMISSION:

Do I dare attempt to write about this?? But it seems a way to share with all the Burgin family the intellect of one of its members – Dr. Douglas Brian Blank ll.  The title of his dissertation is so lofty. I feel scared-   “Does Political Giving Impact Shareholder Wealth?  Evidence from State Campaign  Finance Reforms”.  And the dedication so charming:  “This dissertation is dedicated to my wife, Kate, for patiently supporting my educational pursuits”.

The dissertation is 55 pages, including all references, etc.  I haven’t finished reading these pages.  Of course, the material is ‘’over my head”, and slow reading; but I still found it interesting reading.  In today’s political arena, we read and hear the debate about Campaign Finance Reform and the positions taken by individuals running for office . If only in some small way, reading and studying this excellent piece of work helps me in  knowing how to cast my vote the next time I am in the voting booth,  then I am  a more informed voter and indebted to Dr. Blank.

 

Uncle Merritt

Hello family I must apologize for not writing in the last newsletter. I’m glad most of you did write an article. It was great to read the articles and feel like I know a little of what is going on with everyone. It has been a very busy couple of months. I have been working in Cary, NC which is about 570 miles from home. We have been staying two weeks at a time to cut some of the driving down. We have two jobs there so I guess I will get used to the drive. On the home front we getting ready for the Stiffler/Burgin wedding. Less than a month to go. Everything is coming together slowly but surely. Hopefully Men’s Warehouse will finally get all the groomsmen clothes correct. I know its stretching Annette’s patience when they can’t seem to order what’s written down on the order. I think we are down to 4 shirts and a pair of pants. The wedding is going to be a lot of fun. Can’t wait to see everyone. We had an Insanity of God Encounter at church in July with the Ripken’s. It was challenging and informative at the same time. If you haven’t read the book or seen the movie I would recommend both. It is so easy to take for granted the freedom we have in the United States. See you in November!

Merritt

Justin and Brittany

 

Hi family!

Justin and I are doing well here in Salt Lake. It’s becoming fall out here, and it is BEAUTIFUL. The leaves are changing and snow is falling in the mountains. We’ve been spending our weekends hiking in the mountains as much as we can before it gets too snowy. Last weekend we hiked to Lake Blanche in Big Cottonwood Canyon. It’s right by the Brighton ski resort. The highlight was definitely seeing a MOOSE! It was huge and majestic and amazing. Other than that we are pretty much just working, and I’m doing school. We are loving our church and are trying hard to plug in there. Y’ALL we are so excited to see everyone in a few weeks at the wedding! We really do miss all of you, so we’re looking forward to some time back in the South with our people.

 

Love y’all,

Justin and Brittany

 

Ryan and Anna

Hey Everyone,

 

I (Ryan) am currently on a plane to Marshall Burgin’s bachelor weekend in the woods/lakes of Arkansas, so if any of us should not return, then you know it was a good time! Only a few exciting things happening this past month in Colorado. The leaves changed colors, so Anna and I got to see the famous yellow hillsides full of Aspen trees, really beautiful. We also had our first snow this past Monday, October 9th, 4 inches! We are used to sweating this time of year so snow was a fun surprise. Truthfully we are pretty nervous about the winter to come. I like to say I love the cold, but thats referring to the South’s version of cold, so we’ll see how these next few months go. Tricia asked for a day in the life of our pets so Lucia asked me to say Eat, Sleep, Poop, Lick Junk, Lick Butt, Maybe get to play if Owners aren’t lazy, wish my owners hadn’t given me a girl’s name, Lick some more stuff, and repeat. Pretty exciting life for Lucia. Anna and I are still trying to find the right Church home, so your prayers are very appreciated. It’s less than a month until Marshall’s wedding, can’t wait to party with all you awesome people. See everyone real soon!

 

Love ya’ll,

Ryan and Anna

 

Aunt Susan and Uncle Jeff

 

Just start typing and something will come to mind that you can write about. That is what I told my self but nothing did.. But I guess I need to write something. So…… I keep Will and Luke on Tuesday’s. We have fun playing games(high ho cheerio, the pizza game, trouble etc) sword fights and racing. I get to see Gabby, Sammy D and Jonathan at church where I get great hugs and smiles. I miss seeing all the other grand nieces and nephew. Move closer!!!  Jeff and I got to visit Elizabeth the weekend of my birthday. A great present to spend time with her and with Kate and Brian. I love being a grandmother!!

Miss everyone and can’t wait to see you all soon!

Susan

 

Jeffrey and Morgan

 

This month, Jeffrey and I officially joined a church, Grace Fellowship! We are excited and thankful for how God brought unity and clarity to both of our hearts on this decision. We have also joined a small group in Cahaba Heights that we are really enjoying… Thankful to the Lord for His abundant grace and provision in all seasons of life!

We also put an offer on a house this month! It’s a fixer-upper off of Valleydale road. Our offer has been accepted contingent on the inspection. The inspection is next week, so if all goes well, we may soon be homeowners! (To be continued…) 🙂

Jeffrey is still loving his job at Harcon (they will soon be starting a new project at UAB), and I am enjoying Lifeline… I have recently been blown away seeing God perform miracles to bring children into their forever families. It never ceases to amaze me as I watch Him move on behalf of children, ultimately for His glory and advancement of His Gospel to all nations.

We are still loving newly-married life and are thankful for the ways Christ is revealing Himself in new ways as we live life together.

We love you all and pray blessings over you!

Morgan & Jeffrey

 

Lu Lu and Uncle Dennis

 

Hello All

Gosh it seems like we just wrote an article! Sorry if I repeat anything from last time. Dennis and I have been busy. We had a party at our house for a friend’s son who got married last weekend. We went to a football game with Susan and Jennifer.  Kickoff wasn’t until 8 pm. I am usually on the couch by 8 watching Blue Bloods on Netflix. ( we finished all 14 seasons of NCIS so we had to find something else to watch). Anyway we survived and it was fun to be with 2 of the Terch girls. We got to hang out with Perry and Caroline at Perry’s family tailgate before they had to go find their seats in the student section.  We also saw Karen and her sister who were using the Terches other tickets. I couldn’t quit looking at them because they looked and acted so much alike. Is that how me and Susan are?  I don’t see it but maybe others do!  Dennis and I continue our adventure on weight watchers. I dream about Krispy Kreme donuts, spinach dip, anything cooked with cream of chicken soup, the old timers breakfast at Cracker Barrel and I could go on but you get the picture. Actually it hasn’t been too bad. Dennis says he is one bite away from going on a binge of eating every unhealthy food out there. That’s all I got for now. Looking forward to seeing everybody at Marshall and Raina’s wedding!

I love you all!!

Caroline

Hello all!! I’m trying not to make all my articles sound alike but I don’t think I’m doing that! My kindergarten placement is still great, it is so surreal that I only have 7 more months of college!!!! Mom and dad are thrilled to have me back 😜 I am still involved with Calvary youth! We just got back from fall retreat which was awesome! I am not investing in two girls. A 9th grader named Olivia and a 10th grader named Riley! I’m so ready for Carrollton weekends, even

told me kids about sitting by the fire and roasting s’mores! One of my babies has never had a s’more, which of course broke my heart! I am forever thankful for each of you and counting down the days until we see each other!! Also shout out to my parents for always answering my phone calls when I’m stressed, which is all the time!!! Being an adult is hard but worth it! Love you all

Caroline

 

Trent and Abbie

 

Hello fam jam,

Abbie and I are currently waiting for J Dunne to arrive at the DFW airport. Justin is flying into Dallas for Marshall’s Bachelor Party that is taking place this weekend in Hot Springs, Arkansas (Ryan is flying into Little Rock). Yes, that means all 6 Burgin cousins will be together this weekend. I think it’s safe to speak for everyone and say, we are JACKED! I think we all truly understand how special our bond is and how important it is to cherish our time together.

Life is Dallas has been nothing short of spectacular for these Dunne’s. We have made friends, done a few awesome things, and most importantly, found a Church. This past weekend, 10/06 – 10/-08, the Smith ladies (Abbie’s side of the family for you jokers who just asked yourself who the Smith’s were) were in Dallas for Mayson’s 13th Birthday. Mayson and I crushed six flags over Texas while the older women shopped. It was, and always is, great the have visitors. If any of you are ever in the Dallas area, you will always have a free place to stay (well as long as we are here).

Abbie and I cannot wait to see everyone that will be at Marshall and Raina’s wedding.

We love each of you very much.

Trent & Abbie

Kate and Brian

Hello my people. Well what’s new, what’s new… I guess I’ll start with Brian. He is headed to Boston for the next few days to present his dissertation. It’s a big conference and so most all of his finance friends will be there. He is looking forward to seeing them, catching up and presenting his paper. That leaves me and E at home just chillin. I think this is our first time by ourselves with no other family help. Pretty pumped. When she goes to bed I fully plan on drawing myself a big ole bubble bath in our jacuzzi tub and getting after some crafting. I’ve got my silhouette machine and I’ve been making some shirts for E. If you saw her 7 month pics with her little sparkly pumpkin outfit, I made that. So if you need a not too fancy shirt, I’m your girl. It’s pretty fun.  E is wanting to crawl and so we are just waiting for the moment she takes off! We are still looking for a church so keep us in your prayers. There are sooo many churches to try. Wellp gotta go. E is torturing Harley. Peace n blessings.

 

Jennifer

 

Family,

Feel like I just wrote a newsletter!! So this will be short and sweet. Last weekend I went to the Ole Miss Bama game with Lulu, Uncle Dennis and sue and it was a blast!! I’m lucky they hang out with me!  I painted my room and got new decor and accessories so that was fun and a nice change! Also, got to celebrate mom’s birthday with a yummy meal at Gianmarcos with the family(Minus kate brian and E). Besides that I’m still mooching of of the parentals at home(: love you all and see y’all soon!

 

Leigh Ann

Hey hey!

It was great reading what everyone has been up to after all this time. I laughed and cried and miss being together with y’all so much. I’m excited for fall weather and campfires with everyone in Carrollton! Maybe the cooler temperature is here to stay.

October has been, and continues to be, a busy month for myself as well as Nik. The first weekend, Audrey and I drove to Sarasota, FL to watch the 2017 World Rowing Championships. What an experience! Being surrounded by Olympians of a sport I love and respect is a memory I’ll never forget. We befriended fans that had traveled across the globe to watch someone they knew compete; we witnessed amazing comebacks that gave us chill-bumps; and whether or not your country was racing in that moment, everyone was cheering for the athletes- and everyone stood for whoever’s national anthem was playing during the award ceremony. And you know you’re surrounded by the best of the best when the Paralympic rowers move a boat faster than you can. It was incredible. And If we’d had more time, we might’ve stopped by on our way home to say hello to all you Florida residents! But moving along..

Nik and I have a wedding in Oklahoma (on the 3rd weekend of October, if you can believe it! They aren’t of the SEC…), Nik’s getting his crossfit certification in Atlanta, and I’m racing in the UA Women’s Rowing Alumni Race in Chattanooga on November 4th. So it’d be a nice birthday gift if we won (let’s be honest, we will!)

Also, please keep Nik’s family and our California friends in your prayers. Nik’s mom and dad didn’t have to evacuate, but the fires are right around the corner from them and the air is terrible.

Love y’all!

LA

 

 

Helen and Cory

 

So, it’s now October… What’s new in the Nabors’ house?  Let’s see… Not much 🙂  Will is doing well in school and we are starting to get into a routine with his work, which is helping lots!  Luke is doing well in is school or at least I get no news which I assume is good news 🙂 Will and Luke are still playing baseball and enjoying it!  I think Cory’s work is going well.  They’ve hired some new guys so they aren’t so short staffed anymore which is always a plus.  Things are the gym are going well for me.  I am starting to really get bigger so I am slowly trying to not spot as much though we still have some skills to learn on bars for season.  Hoping things come together soon!  We’ve had college coaches in the gym (and through out the summer), so that is always motivating even to the girls that aren’t being looked at yet.  We’ve had Alabama, Arkansa, Kentucky and Mizzou.  Auburn is coming next week.  We still have a long ways to go to become the program I envision but just enjoying the process.

Currently, I am reading The Daniel Dilemma.  It is a book written by our pastor on How to Stand Firm & Live Will in a culture of compromise 🙂  He uses the life of Daniel to help give us an example of how we can hold firm to Biblical principals but still be an influence on those we want to reach.  I am not far in it, but really enjoying it so far.  There are so many books I want to read right now, but not a ton of time – so hopefully just one at a time I will get to each.  I am looking forward to seeing everyone at Marshall and Raina’s wedding.

Still miss Grandy.  Songs, memories, thoughts, things I want to share with her… and tears still come.  I got a new phone recently and when restoring my iPhone back up, it only brought in pictures of Grandy 🙂  Of course I would like my other pictures and videos too, but thankful for the pictures of Grandy.  Thankful for each of you!!  Love to all of you!

 

Lynne and Pedro

Hey family!!

We can’t wait for Marshall’s wedding and to see everyone!! Life here is crazy!! Feeling in the eye of the storm! Trusting in The Lord to carry us through!! Hopefully can update more next time!! See you all soon!!

Lynne

 

Trica and Tim

One of these days I am going to have Tim write our newsletter article. A different perspective and writing voice would be refreshing for you all as readers.

I am writing this on a peaceful (currently) Saturday morning. Tim is out for a long trail run, Bryan slept in until 7:30 after reading late into the night and is slowly waking up by staring out the front window, and the girls are all sitting at the table having a tea party i.e. spilling water all over the floor. Oliver is curled up at the corner of the couch thankful that no one is bothering him while I sit here typing out an article as quickly as I can before the inevitable chaos ensues. I tell myself “Today is the day that I will model self control. Today is the day that I will not only teach my children how to calm down and use their words when they are stressed and upset, but I will model it as well!” I will surely fail at this endeavor as I so often do. But, thank the Lord that in my failures I will have another opportunity to model repentance; another opportunity to remind them that I am a great sinner in need of a great savior just like them. Maybe, as Paul tells Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:16-17 “I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost [sinner], Jesus Christ might display His perfect patience as an example is those who were to believe in Him for eternal life. To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

September Newsletter

All,

Its been a long time and a lot of life since the last newsletter. Thanks to Trica (and Aunt Madee) we are getting it going again. I miss y’all every day but I am STOKED that we can remain connected through these short updates. Enjoy.

Lots of love and prayers,

Justin

 

The Blanks

My people,

Well this article is being written at the last minute. So this is going to be short and sweet. And I am also using my voice to text translator on my phone to type this. That’s how last-minute this is. Well an update. Today is Elizabeth’s six month birthday! It’s crazy how time has flown. She pretty much consumes our lives at this point. Brian is working hard as always at MSU teaching a couple of Tuesday Thursday classes. He’s home on Monday Wednesday and Friday. Just kidding he works just as hard researching on those days. Haha, I am loving my time at home with Elizabeth and we both love watching her grow into her own little personality. We really have enjoyed our summer going to the lake and twice to the beach and plenty of weddings. We are excited about the fall and going to Carrollton and riding four wheelers and watching lots and lots of football. Roll Tide! We are hoping those are Elizabeth’s first words. Haha, We can’t wait to see everyone at Marshall and Raina’s wedding! Come visit us sometime in the tiny town of Starkvegas! Love to you all!

Nabors

Hello Family!

Thank you to Tricia for getting the newsletter started back up!  Sorry that I am one of the last ones to send my article in.  I am reminded so often of how blessed I am to be a part of this family!

The Nabors’ family is surviving LOL.  Life is busy but things are going well!  We had a wonderful relaxing Labor Day weekend at the Terch Lakehouse – we are so blessed and thankful for Aunt Susan and Uncle Jeff’s generosity!  My boys remind me often that I don’t cook like Uncle Jeff – he just cooks things so much better J

The boys are playing baseball.  Well, Luke would correct me in that he is playing tee ball J and Will is playing coach pitch.  Their first game is this Sunday, Sept 10^th (Jon jon’s birthday).  Will and Jonathan get to play on the same team which is lots of fun.  And both boys’ games are at 1:00.  Will has started kindergarten, and he is enjoying it so far.  I believe most know, but we are homeschooling him, but he does attend a co op twice a week.  His teacher is out for the month of September because she has adopted a child and just spending the month getting everyone adjusted.  His teacher for this month is Connie (Miller) Livingston.  I honestly just remember Beth Miller, but Connie looks very similar.  We are slowly getting into a routine which is always helpful.  Luke is in 4-k and loves it.  He’s got a great teacher this year, and so we are looking forward to this year.

I am feeling much better so thankful for that.  I will be 22 weeks on Sunday.  I believe everyone knows but just in case – we are having a girl.  Her name will be Susie Helen Nabors.  The boys have been so excited to have a girl since we already have enough boys LOL.  But just the other day Will asked if we would be having barbies or baby dolls in our house.  I told him we probably would, but he is not okay with that.  We will cross that bridge later.

Work is going well for me.  It is busy, but we are continuing to improve and grow and become a stronger program.  We just had one of our girls verbally commit to the University of Arkansas, which was exciting.  She is just a sophomore but that is how things are these days.  We have two others being heavily recruited (a freshman and an 8th grader) then 3 others that we are working on getting out there to start being recruited.  I had the opportunity to go to a training at the ranch, which was a great experience and got some great drills and learned a good bit!  I also got to work with some of the top coaches in the country (and took 3 of my girls) so that is always an awesome experience!

Cory’s work is going well – they’ve had a few workers leave, but he has finally hired a guy that seems like he is going to be a good employee and got another possible hire that seems to be a good worker as well. So that will be nice for him to have some good help J  I’m thankful for all his help – the past few months I’ve been pretty worthless in all areas and he has really done so much (along with the boys!)!

Lots of love from Helen, Cory, Will & Luke

 

Camargo’s

Well family the Camargo family is right in the eye of the whirlwind we call Life. Twirling around with church, family, work, friends, activities and more! Some good, others bad, and most just in the middle, it’s hard to tell sometimes because before you can even deal with one situation 10 more have bombarded your mind. But I will try to give you all (since you asked for it) a small peep into our world. Hehehe!

Guess I’ll let Gabby start off! WOW! Gabby is really rocking this new life style we are trying to create! For the most part with minimal complaining she measures and writes down everything she eats. She journals weekly about her fitness life which is heavily rooted in dance fitness classes 3 to 4 sometime up to 6 times a week if we make all the classes! Picture is worth 1000 words so…Here is 2 pictures of her on stage with the instructor by the way this is in front of an entire basketball court filled with adult ladies dancing (100 or so…)

Working hard and enjoying her “happy” spot!!

The instructor saying WOW this baby is killing it!!

Well it’s hard to move pass Zumba or Dance fitness as it has newly been renamed at our gym because most of our life is focus and revolving around this and helping Gabby achieve some of her health goals!! There is an open invitation to join us at a LifeTime fitness at these classes anytime any of you are in town! Big classes in the gym are Monday Wednesday 9:45AM, other classes, Monday at 6PM, some Wednesday at 7:15PM (include a bible time), Thursday and Friday morning at 9:45, and Saturday’s at 8, are in a smaller studio pack with only 50 so of your closest friend…but hey seriously it is fun!! And watching Gabby just once is worth while 😃
So to say the least she works on being healthier each day. Though if you see or saw her this weekend (NetNet’s birthday, 2 wedding showers for Marshall and Raina, Jonathan’s birthday and birthday party, rounding it out with Raina’s birthday and Marshall’s to come mid week, I’m planning on cutting her a bit of slack since she is literally going to be surrounded by cakes, ice cream, desserts and sugar all weekend. At the same time we will use it as an opportunity to learn how to balance and make the best choices we can. Along with eating healthier and dance fitness, Gabby is taking voice, piano, and drama (thankfully from the same church, Vestavia Hills United Methodist, where they have an amazing conservatory!! She and SammyD will both be starting practices for there holiday show choir production this coming week.

We can transition into SammyD’s world! He is so excited about Holiday ShowOffs, this is what there performance is called! If you missed it last year, sorry it was a phenomenal show!! SD was the little drummer boy in a song that the high school group performed with live drum line which was incredible!! Just as a little plug ANYone that wants to attend the show there are 3 identical performances (super kid friendly and GREAT kickoff to ones holiday!) Friday December the 15th at 6:30PM or Saturday December 16th at 10AM or 6:30PM tickets are $10, it WILL sell out. I would need to know and money before November 1st to purchase tickets (look for an email closer)

Ok sorry for that side track I hope SD will forgive me, life of a middle child always being over shadowed!! Hehehe! On to number 23 SammyD!! Well I think this maybe his favorite number not only did it belong to MJ (Michael Jordan) it rhymes with his name!! So football season for his team the raiders has started off with a bang! They won their first game 7-25!! He has been given an AMAZING coach, it has been the work of the Lord!! This coach leads the boys spiritually, teaches them what it means to be becoming a Man on top of the game if football!! We could not have ask for a better one!! One of those guys where you can just see the Lord shining through him!! Anyway I could go on and on about him! He calls SammyD his fruits of the spirit man!! He has been teaching the boys about how they need to have and use all the fruits of the spirit (they are a team) do not leave any fruits behind! So proud to hear SD recite the fruits to his team at least once during ever practice!! Even though he may not be the best football player out there SammyD sure loves the game!! And is improving every day!! He is currently playing guard (offensive line) first string and playing defense second string. I forgot exactly where on defense but somewhere on the line hehehe!! Along with football he is rocking homeschool and loving being able to play with Jonathan! Recently he got to us a sword as he called it (machete) to help his dad cut the brush that grows up and around the creek behind our house. I love watching Pedro teach our boys things!!

Well onto Jonathan! This Sunday September 10th he will be a whole hand!! I can’t believe my baby is five!! It’s hard to process for me!! I still rock him and will till he just won’t let me anymore!! Hehehe!! Now I KNOW why the babies are the favorite!! It’s just SO hard to let go!! He is no longer the “baby” he is a big boy in TK5 (transitional kindergarten) he is in the oldest class in school and he LOVES it!! His teacher is fro Puerto Rico and loves speaking Spanish with him!! Yah!! Except she did tell Pedro she would try really hard to reign in her secret words she is use to using when she gets mad or hurt…she laugh and said don’t want Jonathan to repeat one to daddy…hehehe!! Pedro laughed! They also starting teaching Spanish twice a week at his school so it is so fun to hear him talk about sharing words he already knows with his friends! Jonathan is growing up SO much!! He is playing baseball with Will out in Leeds and is LOVING every minute of it!! Can’t wait for his first game Sunday double header on his birthday!!

Well now onto Pedro and I… We are just a little whisper in the wind that is the Camargo family 😜 Pedro’s doing good just working working working nothing has changed!! We are more than grateful that he works so hard for us!! Together him and I are just trying to enjoy each moment of the kids lives and cherish them as we know they go by fast!! Pedro says this is our chance to be with them and He knows better than most that when that time comes to an end who knows where that will lead or when you may see them again.

Well as for me I’m just living the life! Being wife mom teacher coach nutritionist…you name it!! I have gotten a full-time job and Hoover, so that is very exciting we are excited to have insurance again and to be putting away for retirement!! Though it is good news it comes with a hefty price, it is an extra long route and that means lots of time away from the kids! But they have stepped up and really taken on lots of responsibility!! I’m so proud of them!!

Miss everyone!! Looking forward to thanksgiving praying that we will be able to lots of you!!

Love you all Lynne

 

Little Merritt

Hello friends and family. I hope you are all doing well. School has started back for me this past month, and it has been a slow start to it. My classes this semester are definitely going to be tough on me. However they are definitely classes that will benefit me in the future. I am going to be learning a lot about starting a business in the outdoor recreation world. I hope to put that knowledge to good use with some of the ideas floating around in my head for my future. Other than that not too much is going on with me. There has been something on my heart lately so I think I will share it too.

Recently, Michael Bennett, a black man who plays defensive end for the Seattle Seahawks, was put through a rough encounter with the police. After watching the Connor MacGregor-Floyd Mayweather fight in Las Vegas, Bennett was at a local club hanging out with some friends when everyone heard what they thought were gunshots. In the panic every one was fleeing the scene, and Bennett was acting no differently. He was thinking the thoughts we all would be in that situation, wondering if he was going to make it through alive. When suddenly he heard “Get on you knees! Hands behind your head!” Obviously he quickly obeyed the orders from the men pointing deadly weapons at him. Still he had to ask them, “What did I do? Why are y’all doing this to me?” All he could think about were all those unfortunate folks before him who had been in this exact situation. Guns drawn, he tried his best to be compliant while trying to understand why they had targeted him out of the crowd. It’s something we will never know exactly why, only those police officers that stopped him do. In my personal opinion it’s pretty obvious that he was stopped because he was a large black man. I can hear some of the thoughts going off in your head because they have been in mine too. I start to think man ‘I am so tired of hearing this’.  Imagine how tired those people who are being profiled must be.

I think the solution starts here with us and how we view the world. The moment that we begin to say or think “well they do things this way” we need to correct it. The instant we group people together based on how they looks is the moment things start to go wrong.  We have to judge people on their own individual actions. I know I would not want people to judge me as if I am the same as every white guy with a beard.  Imagine something has been stolen from inside your home. Now imagine the person you think would do this.  Does that need to change?

 

Duff’s

The Duff household is currently preparing for the effects of hurricane Irma. The forecast for Tallahassee, being on the edge of the “cone of uncertainty,” changes regularly. We have been told to prepare for evacuation due to a closer hit, long power outages from tropical storm force winds if it scoots the east coast, or just a light rain.

In other news, fall schedule is in full swing around here. Bryan and Nora Grace are enjoying 3rd and 1st grade. They’re happy to be back in the school routine. We are always in the midst of making decisions regarding the best strategies for Bryan. Adah Marie started preschool and is having a blast. Her teacher says that she “works hard,” but I am waiting for her mischievous side to reer it’s head in school. Sanjae goes once a week to mom’s morning out, otherwise she tags along with me on errands and meetings. We are still in the appeals process, so we won’t know anything about the adoption status until January at the earliest.

Tim is busy training for a 50mile race and running the church productions on Sunday mornings and throughout the week. He is also planning our 10 year anniversary trip to Philadelphia in December, which we are very much looking forward to.

As for me, besides keeping up with all my crazy children, I am doing a lot of reading-cognitive behavior therapy, executive functioning strategies, racial justice in the church, neurodevelopment and the effects of childhood trauma (amongst endless amounts of laundry). I will be leading a Bible study on 1 Timothy this year as well (prayers appreciated).

That’s the overload of information on the Duff family. We enjoyed getting to see LuLu, Aunt Susan, and Caroline when they came down to visit Aunt Madee. Looking forward to seeing you all at Marshall and Raina’s wedding. (Or sooner if we have to evacuate).

 

Aunt Susan

From Susan, to the fabulous family of Grandy(who is greatly missed) and B pa.

It has been years since I have written to you. I will only in this brief letter begin from a month ago. Actually I will begin with a trip to Tallahassee in July. Luanne, Caroline and I traveled to Tallahassee to visit Aunt Madee. I highly recommend this trip to everyone. Aunt Madee is an excellent host! You will make many fun memories!  From working out to playing ping pong, attending shows to visiting the Duff family, going to church and of course eating! You will also learn things about Grandy, like  how on a trip to visit Aunt Madee, she jumped the curb in her car and ran over some bushes. The smushed bushes are still there!  Thank you Aunt Madee for a great trip!

In August/ September had a fun beach trip, Labor Day at the lake, an Atlanta trip to watch Alabama  in the new stadium (great work Justin!) and a trip to watch the Braves(who actually won the game).

Praying for the family. May your lives be a reflection of Christ! We all had great examples from Grandy and B pa. This was their pray for you and mine as well. Love you!

 

Jeffrey and Morgan

 

Hello familia,

I got married and now live with a female all the time so that’s pretty new. We traveled to India and Nepal with Morgan’s job and now I am settled in at my job with Harcon. Morgan is still helping kids from India and Haiti get adopted and I’m building a parking deck in Tuscaloosa. I absolutely love it.  We are looking to join a church and also buy a house.  Morgan and I have been thinking a lot lately about what it means to have the perspective that heaven is our home and not this earth.  We are focusing on learning what that practically means for our marriage.

That’s the update for now.  It’s short but that’s really about it.  Love yall and hope to see you soon!

 

Aunt Madee

Hello Everyone:  First, I must say how delighted I am that Tricia and Justin have agreed to start the Burgin Newsletter again.  I hope each of you will make a file for/to keep  the Newsletter.  That’s all you have to do now, as history is being recorded by each of us for you to file –  and your own children to enjoy in your later years. Remember how you enjoyed reading/ hearing the writings of Grandy-found after she had left us.

Did you know Lu, Susan, and Caroline came to see me here in Tallahassee at Westminster Oaks? It was the most wonderful visit I think I have ever had.  We visited the Fitness Center and  all had a good work out, using the various equipment, also played a round of table tennis, along with touring WMO.  Lu and Caroline stayed in our guest house.  Susan stayed with me in my apartment – that is very small.  However, I rented a cot; and we called it “the Girls Slumber Party”. On Saturday, we all had dinner with Tricia/Tim and the kiddies at 4-Rivers bar-b-que. On Sunday, the girls rode the bus with me to my downtown church.  As I write this, I have a  feeling of a deep loving, warm visit with them – just as though they are here now!

I look forward to seeing  you at Marshall/Raina wedding in November.  Please know I have my loving arms around  you all –  it gives me comfort —  Aunt Madee

Jen

Hello family! Love that we are getting back into the newsletter routine(even though half y’all don’t read them). I’ll jump right into my boring life!! I graduated a little over a year ago and am still living at home… I’m working at a small interior design firm in Mountain Broom called Liz Hand Woods Associates. I work some days in the design studio doing client errands,sweeping, taking the trash out, and some days of the week in her small retail shop! It is not my favorite job, at all. So I’m in the process of finding a new job(and I’m open to moving so let me know if you know of any designers hiring!!!!) Besides work, I don’t do much else. I had a root canal. I had a cavity filled. Aren’t y’all jealous!!! I did get to go to the beach with the entire Terch/Blank clan and it was so much fun and so needed! I have LOVED having a niece. It has taught me to love kids, which I know is a shocker for yall to hear. But being an aunt is so fun!! I have loved going to the lake this summer but cannot wait for weekends in Carrollton soon!! Can’t wait to see everyone at Marshall and Raina’s wedding!!! Love you all bunches!

-Jen

Aitcheson’s

Hey guys! It’s still hot here in Orlando! We’ve had a great start to the school year. Leah has a wonderful first grade teacher (who actually lives on our street). She’s received lots of compliments on her behavior and leadership so far this year. Annie and Carissa are at school 2 days a week, both with teachers we’ve had previously which is always fun! They are both transitioning well in their new classes. Annie is learning her letters and sounds. Carissa is working on potty training. Mike is doing well. He is gearing up to begin teaching a Sunday School class this fall and also start a men’s group. We had 2 large membership classes over the summer and most of them have joined our church. We are grateful for what the Lord is doing in and through us. As for me, I’m still working 1.5 days at Middleton Pediatrics and 1 day for Christ United Fellowship. I really enjoy both of my jobs. This summer Mike and I celebrated 8 years of marriage. The longer we’ve been married, the more I seem to love and enjoy him. Recently one of my friends wrote about marriage and I was moved by her words so I wanted to share…

 

“Marriage requires both service and sacrifice. This comes at a cost and in some seasons the price feels higher than others. We have at both times literally had to lay down our life for one another. To put our dreams or plans or comfort on hold so the other could flourish. This ebb and flow, this commitment to serve each other has been the very thing that has also given us the most in return. Though it costs something, the gain is priceless and seeing someone you love fulfill their dreams, pursue their passions and flourish brings the greatest joy. Sacrifice and service does not diminish as our culture might threaten, but rather it invites us both up to something bigger and better. Without {spouse} loving me in this way it would be so much harder to pursue my dreams. It hasn’t always been easy but I would say 8 years in we are better at the delicate dance together. We are better teammate and are both excelling more in working together and serving one another than either of us would be able to achieve on our own. For us, our dance works. Your dance will look different but all of our dances are beautiful and essential and worth the effort and sacrifice we pour into them each day. Keep on dancing, even when it’s hard and your feet hurt!”

Ryan and Anna

Hello from Colorado!

As you all probably know by now, Anna and I were part of the mass summer exodus of the Dunnes from the southeast and we ended up in Denver. We have absolutely loved it so far (not counting the Labor Day traffic we are currently stuck in). We’ve spent nearly every weekend camping or hiking or mountain biking, just trying to enjoy the mountains and the outdoors as much as we can. The rest of our time has been spent enjoying the legal marijuana, attending anti-gun rallys, complaining about the establishment, and just generally becoming the true hipsters we were always meant to be.

Lies aside, living out here has really made me think back on all those trips to Gatlinburg when we were younger and all the hiking, camping, and cades cove bike riding we did, just great times! Not a bunch of current events to report other than trying to live in the outdoors as much as we can. We’re really looking forward to ski season, so if anyone has a hankering for some gnar pow then come see us (not those Mormon filled, short mountains to the west in Utah, those aren’t any fun). Seriously though, we are open to visitors any time. I think we’d be show you a good time. Caroline came to see us, so she can give a report on that.

One downside to living out here is how far we are from family, so we really miss everyone and hopefully will see all you guys at Marshall’s wedding and Christmas.

Also, no surprise to most of us that Justin failed miserably as newsletter coordinator, so big shout out to you Tricia for getting the newsletter back rolling. Let this be a lesson to us all that backups are backups for a reason and their rightful place is on the sidelines.

Love y’all,

Ryan and Anna

Caroline

Hello family!

First off… ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!!!!!!! The most current event in my life involved traveling to Atlanta to watch the tide beat FSU! I am a very committed bama fan because I had to wait outside Coleman Coliseum for 18 hours to get a ticket in the lower bowl of the Mercedes-Benz Stadium (which is AWESOME, well done Justin) for this game. It was well worth every hour 🙂

In other news, school has started back in full swing. I am currently in the infant room of a preschool to log enough hours to be certified as an early childhood educator. I will get a placement in an elementary school next week and Mondays and Tuesdays in classes on campus and spend Wednesday- Friday in a classroom as a student teacher! I know that is probably boring but it is very exciting stuff for me because I am feeling more and more like a teacher! Praying I will have my own classroom this time next year!

There isn’t really anything else happening in my life. The Lord is continuing to heal my heart after losing Grandy. As I am sure we all are, I am still struggling without her here. Just the other day I picked up the phone to call her and my heart broke all over again. I know the Lord is faithful and In time will heal my heart! I enjoy looking through old pictures and remembering how amazing we had it having her as our grandmother! I wish there was more going on that I could talk about! I will try to remember all of the things I do in the next month so I will have more to say!

I love you all!!

Caroline

LuLu

Hello Family

Hope you are all well. School has started and I am back to being a working woman. I drive a special needs bus out of Hoover high school. All the kids are really sweet and they keep me laughing.

Dennis and I ran into some old friends the other day and they asked if we were bored with no kids at home or in town. I don’t think we are bored but I do miss the activity and noise of family being around.  We got to spend a few days at the lake over Labor day and enjoyed being with the Nabors and some of the Terches.  In August, Susan Caroline and I made a trip to Tallahassee to see Aunt Madee. (We got to see Tricia and family too!). Aunt Madee’s apartment is lovely with all her many artifacts, all with a story to go with them. It was a great visit!

I really don’t want to tell you anything about Dennis because I think he should write his own article. I might say something about him that he doesn’t want me to say. So I will tell you that I know he goes to work early every day and comes home late every day.  We are doing weight watchers and he has lost 10 pounds to my 8 pounds. I guess he isn’t eating as much as me.

I miss Grandy.  I have picked up my phone to call her and ask how to cook something but she isn’t there for me to call.  I have wanted to ask her questions about people I should know but don’t remember who they are. She was always good at keeping up with people. I run into people all the time who tell me what a wonderful lady she was. All I can say is yes she was and she is still missed.
Enough of that sadness. I will go now. And by the way.  I am no longer signing this news letter because I don’t know what to sign. I am mom, mama, Lulu, Lu, Luanne, and some day I will be Grandmama. So from here on out I am just signing “I love you all”. Maybe I will do a bunch of emojis in honor of Grandy.

I love you all 💕❤️😘🏈📝🎉

Brittany and Justin

Justin and I are coming up on one month in Salt Lake City. It’s been a wild month. Justin is working on the new airport terminal, and he’s staying busy (not as busy as with the stadium thank goodness!!). I’m doing my orientation on the hematology/oncology unit, and things are going fine. I’m going a little crazy, because they still paper chart and it’s like 1972 up in there. We are loving that the mountains are just outside our windows, and we can be in the middle of the mountains after a 10 minute drive. One of the best things we’ve found in Salt Lake is our new church, Gospel Grace Church. There really aren’t many solid churches to choose from here, so it didn’t take long to find our new church home. The people are so welcoming and the teaching is biblical. We even found a community group in our neighborhood that has been a really big encouragement for us. Another exciting development is that we just bought our ski passes, so we are ready for y’all to hit the slopes with us!! We’re finally getting settled in here and I think it’s starting to hit that we actually live here and aren’t just visiting. We are ready for some visitors, people!

Justin here. Just wanted to get one comment in…. Denver is a joke compared to SLC. If you want real, fluffy, snow then you’ll need to come to the other side of the Rockies!

Love and miss you all very much,

Justin and Brittany

 

Trent and Abbie

 

Hello Fam,

As most of you know, Abbie and I moved to Dallas, TX at the end of July with my job. I think we moved more stuff into Abbie’s classroom than our apartment, but oh well! I was originally slated to be on a parking deck with a 3-level office on top, however, I have been moved to two different job since being in Dallas. I am currently on a 1 million SF parking garage for American Airline. Anyways, enough about me. Abbie and I are settling in and quickly and starting to call Dallas home. We have had the great pleasure of having multiple guest in our short tenure here. Kate and Brian stopped by for a Sunday morning breakfast (Brian was in a wedding just north of Dallas in Denton) and Ryan and Justin flew into town for a fantasy football draft (you can laugh, but fantasy football is really important).

Abbie is loving her new job teaching 2^nd grade at Thomas Haley Elementary. She has the privilege of teaching the GT (gifted and talented) kids. In Texas, instead of removing “GT kids” from the classroom during an allotted time a day, they are grouped together in a single class for the entire year. If you heard her stories from last year, you know this is the opposite. She still has challenges, but much different (and better) than Augusta.

Tonight, we are going to watch the Yankees vs Rangers games with some sweet tickets. Abbie’s dad coached the Yankee’s assistant hitting coach (Marcus Thames) in high school, so he is giving us tickets for the game as well as passes underneath the stadium. You should be jealous, cause it’s going to be awesome.

Anyways, Abbie and I miss seeing each of you very much (especially the beach trips). Would love to figure out a way to get everyone together at the beach again to reminisce on the days of old. We look forward to hopefully seeing everyone at Marshall’s wedding.

Love Y’all,

 

Trent and Abbie

 

 

LA

Hooray for the newsletter!

I am so excited for this to be happening again! And I’m glad to be back in the south! With Nik! So much joy in life right now. It really is good to be back in home sweet home Alabama. Nik is working at Robert Trent Jones out in Hoover, and I’m once again working for The Sanders Trust while I take classes through UA (shocker). Over the past two years I’ve been wrestling with what I want to do in the future, and after a taste in childcare and in the non-profit sector, I’ve narrowed it down to Childlife. Luckily, I already had over half of the course requirements for the degree, I just need a few to complete the specialization. Hopefully by this time next year, I’ll be in the middle of an internship within a hospital.

For those who have never heard of a Childlife Specialist degree, you’re not alone. It wasn’t until my junior/senior year of college until I first heard the term. It hasn’t been around too long. In a nutshell, they help children with illnesses, injuries, and/or disabilities cope with their extended stay in the hospital. They counsel families, plan activities, explain medical terminology…they basically try and make the circumstances not so terrible. So degree number three, here I come! I love y’all and can’t wait to hear what everyone’s been up to!

-LA

 

Holiday Edition

Burgin Family,

It is an honor and pleasure to be related to most of you. If you normally just scan this Newsletter, don’t do it this time. At minimum scroll down and read Jeffrey’s article, as much as it pains me to complement that full fledged dingle berry, his article is enormously entertaining and he has set a new standard for the Newsletter. Happy reading folks!!!

Justin

 

 

Grandy

When you get my age not much happens that makes life very interesting! I guess that is my fault. I should be involved in more things and then I would have something to write about.

So let’s see.  Since last time i wrote, we had a wonderful Christmas gathering. My kitchen was finished the week of Christmas and I still don’t know where everything is.Madee and I spent a week in Destin, I took Madee to Tallahassee and drove home—all in one day—so I guess there is nothing wrong with me.  Oh yes, i broke my foot the day we were all together at Christmas! It still hurts when I walk a lot on it. I still play bridge every week and go to church on Sunday. I gave up Wednesday night because it got dark so early and I did not want to walk in the dark with my foot–if I stepped on a stick or rock or anything that turned my foot it would hurt badly. I am thinking about getting a cane! What do you think, Justin? (Justin Insert. Get you a cane, just make sure you get one from here http://www.brazos-walking-sticks.com/categories/Walking-Canes/Exotic-Walking-Canes/ )

I think of all you grandchildren more than you know!!  I am just not good at keeping up. I love each of you. I pray for you, sometimes by name and then sometimes I just tell the Lord He knows my grandchildren and children. Just take care of them all!!

 

grandy

 

Aunt Madee

 

I had a delightful visit in Birmingham with Grandy from December 29^th to January 18^th.  The only thing missing  – I did not get to see the Dunne “boys”.  But I was there for Grandy’s birthday, which was fun!  Lu, Caroline, and Jennifer brought a delicious red velvet cake, and we all sang Happy  83^rd birthday!  What an accomplishment for Grandy; and she is still as sweet and caring as ever!

 

Merritt and Annette had us ALL for a gourmet dinner of bar-b-b-queue ribs with all the trimmings.  It was a great evening – food, children, adults, plus Gabby’s excellent impromptu performance!  Then one day for lunch, here came Susan and the troops with a Mediterranean lunch for us.  I had never eaten this type of seasoning , so it really was a treat for me – we all cleaned our plates!  Jeffrey was there, too.  So sorry he was not well, but we enjoyed our visits while he rested on the sofa.  Also, great to see Lee Ann, and share our tales of California!

 

So you think this is too many treats for me to receive on one visit – well, here is another one!!  Corey and those two precious boys came over one evening.  Merritt did a another great job with the grill – this time we had delicious steak!

 

Clyde and Janice Hollis  drove over from Columbus for a visit.  We had  lunch prepared by Grandy – and it was delicious , too.  You all know about Grandy’s cooking!!!

 

And to close a memorable visit, Grandy and I went to Destin beach for a week.  It was beautiful, as usual.  I sat in the sun on the deck, and left with a face as red as a  beat.  But guess what – I didn’t blister –Upon my return, it turned into a gorgeous tan, giving me  many compliments .

 

The Caribbean could not have been better!!!

 

Looking forward to seeing you again for Trent’s wedding –

 

I love you All

 

Aunt Madee

 

Uncle Merritt

December started off with Marshall’s graduation from Delta State. We started the Christmas season off at Calloway Gardens for Fantasy in Lights with the Camargo family. We had a blast riding bikes and walking through the Butterfly House. The Birds of Prey exhibition was fantastic. Having an owl or a hawk fly over your head so close they touched your hair was incredible. Christmas dinner at Grandy”s was great and opening presents was a lot of fun.It was great to have the Aitchesons in Birmingham around Christmas. We headed to Carrollton for New Years. We certainly missed the rest of y’all. Words really can’t express the fun we had sitting around the fire, riding 4 wheelers, walking through the woods, riding bikes to see the cows and just being together. It was neat to watch another generation begin to understand how special Carrollton is. For the icing on the cake Aunt Madee was here for a visit. Work has been busy trying to finish jobs in Spring Hill Tn and Biloxi Ms. The weather just will not cooperate. I’m writing this from Wilmington NC where we are working on a foundation for a new tank. Annette and I are headed to Orlando next weekend for Leah’s birthday party and Carissa’s baptism.

 

Uncle Merritt

 

 

Uncle Jeff

 

Thump-Thump- Ouch-Thump- Thump-Thump- Thump-Thump- Thump-Thump- Thump-Thump- Thump-Thump-Thump-RTR!  I think that pretty sums up 2015.

 

Uncle Jeff

 

 

Uncle Dennis

I’m writing this article having received pressure from my wife. Since I’m not coaching this year for the first time in forever, I feel kind of lost honestly.

The duck hunting season was a lot of fun as it afforded me the time and opportunity to hunt and fellowship with Ryan,Justin,Trent and Jeffrey. The season was capped off in fashion with Jeff joining us for the final 4 days.

Hopefully that wasn’t too boring. Well it probably was since I’m not real big on keeping tabs on my life events. Blessing to you all and I look forward to seeing you when I see you.

Dennis

 

Lu Lu

Dear Family

 

I think this is suppose to be a holiday recap but I can’t remember the holidays!  I do remember that it was great to see all 7 of the Dunne children.  Does a mama’s heart good to have all the family back together under one roof.  The ski trip was just great although it wasn’t perfect because Abbie was absent.  However I am glad we have a reason that we have to go next year.  Thanks Abbie!  Last weekend I hosted a dnow group  here at the house.  I say “I” because Dennis was hunting with Ryan and Trent and the Terch men.  I had nine 8th grade boys.  The downstairs still smells like sweaty boys.   Brings back great memeories.

I am choosing not to write anything about Dennis.  I think the in-laws should have to write an article too.  I want to know what the “married into the family men and women” are doing too.  This isn’t a blood relative only letter. Y’all get to read it and y’all should have in write it too.  So get to it people.

Susan and Jennifer and I went to the circus last week.  It was the last time the elephants were going to be there.  I guess Barnum and Bailey finally folded to the animal rights protesters.  They will be missed (the elephants not the protesters).

Guess that is all.  I love all of you!

 

Lucy

Hey Family!

 

Well it’s been a busy start to the year. Maybe that’s why I’m having a hard time getting my article in on time.

 

Things in Orlando are going well. We celebrated Leah’s 5th birthday a week or so ago. She continues to grow and mature every day. She lost her 2 bottom teeth recently. When she lost her first tooth she was freaking out because she didn’t know that we lose our baby teeth. She had to call Gabby and Sammy D just to make sure lol! A few days ago I taught her how to ride a 2 wheeler…it didn’t take her long. After a few tries she was riding 30 yards or so by herself until she hit a quick left and we ran into a parked car in a driveway. Leah scraped her hands, I hyper extended my elbow. I’m now trying to decide if I should go see ortho since my ROM is very limited. Annie is right behind Leah at all times. The most recent news with Annie is that she is potty trained. She’s really enjoying being a big sister…she follows Leah’s lead well. And Carissa…she’s just the sweetest. She goes with the flow pretty well. She’s smiling, laughing and talking right now. She’s rolled over twice and she doesn’t mind tummy time. As for Mike and I we are both doing well. I guess we will see you at Trent and Abby’s wedding.

 

Lucy

 

Tricia

Happy New Year (a bit late)!  I hope everyone’s 2016 is off to a good start.  As for the Duffs, we are back into the normal routine of things with the added perpetual waiting and waiting for our phone to ring. Who knew just waiting for a foster placement would be so tedious?! We are impatient to begin this journey and clearly are not very good at patiently waiting for it to begin 😉

2016 has brought a few additions to our “normal” if there is such a thing as normal. Tim has taken on some extra responsibilities at church and has been busy reading books and attending training meetings to that end. He is also training for another race that takes place in March. I am busy, as always, juggling 3 kids and their various activities and needs (and messes!). I am also diving into the murky world of autism research. Over the Christmas break, Bryan was diagnosed with high functioning autism spectrum disorder (asperger’s syndrome). So, I have been compiling information from his psychologist, pediatrician, and teachers and working with the school to develop behavioral management strategies to help Bryan perform to his highest ability in the classroom. Now we just need to look into behavioral therapists to help him manage stress/anxiety and anger. Bryan’s 2016 so far has been filled with testing; autism screening, adhd screening, speech testing, and gifted testing (the last two we should have results about in the next few days). He turned 7 this past month and enjoyed almost a week full of celebrations and space decorations! He is also busy playing soccer, which he is thoroughly enjoying! He is very aggressive and has a tendency to trash talk (I think Tim is a bit proud of him-but we are trying to get him to tone it down a bit…a bigger kid might just take a swing at him one day). As for Nora Grace,she is still loving preschool and ballet and seems to have a new best friend every day. She is looking more and more like a little girl, instead of a preschooler, every day; can’t believe she’s going to be 5 this summer! Adah Marie is getting more and more mischievous as she gets older! She is the constant comedian; always smiling and having fun with everyone, but watch out–she bites! I don’t know about your experiences-Grandy, LuLu, Aunt Susan, and NetNet-but the this third child is a whole new breed from the first two; she certainly keeps Tim and I on our toes.

That’s really it for the Duffs until we get a foster care placement.

We miss you and love you all!!

 

Tricia

 

 

Lynne

Hello Family!

 

WOW! Being an adult stinks!! How I long to go back to middle school. I wish I could go back with the brain I have now, but I would still go back without out my older, wiser brain. Anyway, my life is just spinning craziness but I feel that elaborating on those detail would bore you to tears. I am trying to think of some great story but sorry, our life is just rolling on…we ARE afloat (well our mouths out of water) and PRAISE Jesus every moment for that!! Kids are growing, Pedro and I are working and paying bills, and working and buying groceries, and paying bills, and working. Yep that is about it! The kids will start soccer in two weeks and they are all so excited! I see many full Saturdays at the soccer fields 🙂 Nothing much has changed for us, we still pray daily that things with Pedro’s legal status will just some how miraculously just fall into place, until then we plead with God for guidance reassurance and understanding.

 

Gabby will be 10 in ONE WEEK! Yep, I will have a CHILD that is a WHOLE decade old!! She is double digits and SUPER excited!! We will be celebrating tomorrow night with a sleep over at net net’s house with at least 10 friends!! Thankful for my brother Merritt to the rescue who is going to be on bonfire patrol as the girls cook their hot dogs!! So think of me when you all are out with your valentines, pray everything is running smoothly and ALL girls are having FUN!!

 

Love each of you more than you know!!

 

Kate

Wellll here it goes. Blanks are mostly good. Brian is stressed wrapping up his research. 90% positive we will be heading to ttown for at least a year before exploring options. So hopefully we will be nice and close and will see you fine people way more often. Looking forward to graduation and new things. My days are same ole same ole. A few crazy days with destructive kids but mostly days that take up all my patience just doin the teacher thang. We find ourselves in an odd place here. I am still so surprised how liberal people are in Kville. It has a lot to do with the church we’ve chosen. Our church has a major focus on disagreeing well and for some reason we still find it difficult to believe we would be accepted as republican, semi-conservative thinkers. I went to a baby shower with church friends recently and many hot topics were brought up(religion,school, politics) and my opinion wasn’t welcome. It was odd but I was alone in a group of multi-aged women. I am trying to live in the now but find I’m quite ready for a little rental house, baby, puppy, and to be closer to home. Whichever comes first. Why is it that when you near the end of a life phase things sour more and more? We want to leave well but it’s getting harder. I’m for sure more cynical about things. I guess it’s a coping mechanism. Eh there’s that. We are going camping March 17 through the weekend for anyone interested. Party on people.

 

Kate

 

LAT

Hey family!

 

I’ve officially been in California for over 6 months…crazy! The weeks go by rather quickly these days. I’m still working as a lead teacher for the Y and am loving it. I run the extracurricular clubs for both the younger and older ages, and that keeps me pretty busy. We’re also in “campaign” season, where we try and raise money for kids who need scholarships, so that keeps us on our toes as well.

I had a blast seeing Mom, Dad, Kate, Brian, & JJ in Arizona for the National Championship game last month. Besides the game being absolutely awesome, the house we rented was really nice (good job mom and pop). So roll tide to that.

El Niño is upon Southern California, which, in a nutshell, is their rainy season. So Abigail and I are enjoying the extra water.

Love y’all!

Leigh Ann

 

Ryan

Alo Fanmi!

 

According to Google, I just said “hello family” in creole. Anna and I recently spent a week in Turks and Caicos courtesy of the generous owners of Fluid Engineering. The company as a whole made our yearly goal so we got to go on a trip. It was incredible! We got lucky and had great weather (forecast showed lots of rain), the food was delicious, we had great company, and I’ve never seen water so clear. We went snorkeling a couple of times and in addition to all the colorful fish and coral, we got lucky enough to see a sea turtle, a gigantic hermit crap, and a shark (nurse shark, harmless). If you’ve never just kicked back and relaxed on a Caribbean island with no schedule, I highly recommend it!

 

This Christmas was our first together as a married couple and it was a great one. We probably over did it on gifts this year (Lucia even got presents), but we figured we would do it big since it was the first one ever. Nothing but homemade and sentimental gifts next year!

 

After a two year hiatus, I got to go skiing again during the holidays. I say I instead of we because it was Anna’s first time to ever go skiing and anyone who’s ever been skiing before knows that you spend the first trip falling more than skiing. So, I went skiing and Anna went falling. It was a great trip as always. There aren’t too many things in the world I enjoy more than snow skiing. Jokes aside, Anna actually did really well. Justin and I “accidentally” took Anna and Brittany down some difficult blues at the end of the first day. Even though Anna was scared and I thought she was going to either kill me or divorce me by the time we got down the mountain, she dominated that afternoon and impressed me with her newbie skiing skill. I hate to admit it, but she was much better than me the first day I skied. The only explanation that makes sense is that her athleticism has skyrocketed since marrying me and being around me all the time.

 

I hope all you confused Auburn fans enjoyed watching (or just hearing about it because you were too ashamed to watch) some real football during the college football playoffs. I know we thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks to all the Terch’s for pulling the good guys through in Arizona.

 

The holiday season and hunting season is over, but it’s still cold out there so we plan on spending a few weekends around the fire in Carrollton in the next month or so. Maybe we will see some of you there. I hope everyone is happy, well, and that we see most of you soon.

 

Love ya’ll

 

Ryan and Anna

 

Jeffrey

 

Beloved kin,

It was long ago, sometime before the world became what it is today. No one knows exactly when it began, but the ending, how could anyone forget? The legend was a mixture of ferocious zeal and tender empathy. It’s like if Samuel L Jackson and Mother Teresa conceived a child. Blows your mind right? How could one be filled with such passion and disdain yet such great serenity and compassion all at the same time?

 

As potential matured into distinction, it would be natural that the future would be promising; only, we didn’t see it at the time. Superiority was on the horizon we just needed time for it to get here. Of course  once we realized the opportune circumstances that had come to be, they were already gone…. Tragic.

 

I sat on the sidelines for two years only hearing stories of what was happening. The massacre of an entire species was underway on the other side of the world, and I couldn’t even be a part of it. I didn’t know how things had gone from average to phenomenal so fast. Something was going on, and I couldn’t quit thinking about it. It seemed like every night as I slipped into unconsciousness my thoughts would wander to the day of my return to that rundown house in the middle of nowhere.  Fortunately time flew by.  Before I knew it I was back in the saddle.

 

As the sun rose that first morning, I sat in anticipation not knowing what to expect. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I had come back to something glorious. I was in the presence of a master. He had surpassed us all in understanding. A skill, nay, a natural instinct had developed. I hate to admit it but I think he actually knew what he was doing out there (never thought I would ever say that about him). Either that or he was just a good luck charm. I didn’t care what it was honestly; we were having a great time regardless.  It pains me to say that there were some that knew of the ongoing greatness yet were paralyzed by their feminine parts that had apparently developed while I was gone.  A short drive is yet a small price to pay to experience the ongoing extravaganza. One man was fully committed. He would have put his marriage on the line for pete’s sake. The other… well we all knew he was gay.  And we cant forget about that guy who kept using his back as an excuse to bail. There were definitely some yuppies amongst us. I digress

 

It had taken some time but we had stumbled upon the most valuable asset we could have possibly imagined.  He saw everything. He knew everything. He took us to the next level. With his expertise backed up by the rest of us actually being able to shoot, we became the best. We had finally made it.

However as the time went on thoughts grew heavier on all of our minds. We were on cloud nine but it wasn’t going to last forever. We entered the home stretch just trying to enjoy the moment.  But when the last shot was fired that day, we could only ride off in silence. We weren’t sure of what the future would hold.  The one who had become superior to the rest, the legend, may never return.

 

Just like that as soon as it all began it was over.  Unfortunately this ending brings no good news for the Deltas dictator (that’s what he called himself…pretty arrogant I know).  He will soon be off to join the life of slavery, and the world that he once knew will be long gone.  He will never experience the dirty D like he has these past four years, and consequently, neither will the rest of us.  Of course I’ll always be there reminding him of how good the old days were as I live the life he wishes he had. But it’s his own fault really. He saw what holy matrimony did to the two that went before him.  Sure they get to enjoy the more…passionate activities of romance, but will he ever be able to rise again to the level of excellence he once achieved?  And what will the rest of us do. He was always there, watching, learning, carefully planning what we needed to do. Now we got nobody!  Mediocrity? Will we regress to being average? This is our current reality, and it’s terrifying.

 

 

Other than writing this epic drama that probably has everybody scratching their heads I haven’t been up to much.  I went to Togo, Africa and came back and enjoyed Christmas with you all.

 

Love you guys!

 

Justin

I am feeling a serious lack of creative juices after reading Jeffrey’s article. I will concede to Jeffrey’s superior creative writing skills and simply proceed with a quick life update.

It was an exceptional Holiday season this year, seeing the majority of you was (in an old Savannah accent) just peachy!  My first Christmas as a married man had me and Brittany on the road driving all over the place tying to see all of our family. It was exhausting but we wouldn’t have it any other way.

The ski trip was great as usual. The addition of Marshall and Merritt was a welcomed change. If Jeffrey had a respectable immune system then the whole gang would have been there and the trip could have been legendary, but instead of having the A-Team squad up and make history on the mountain we had to settle with a simply amazing trip.

That is about it really. Work is good for Brittany and I. Denali is still the best dog in the hood. Life is good and its going by too quickly.

 

Love you all,

 

Justin

 

Helen

Hey Family 🙂

So thankfully Justin continually extended the deadline so that I would be able to participate.  Life is a little crazy in the Nabors’ house these days.  Work has been extremely busy for me.  Pretty much my fault, but when you are trying to build something, there’s a lot to give at first and it isn’t easy.  I just continually pray that God would shut doors for me if this is not where he wants me (not coaching but pursuing the level of gymnastics that we are pursuing).  Right now I am coaching on the floor 34 hours which leaves hardly any time for anything else.  Meaning lots of late nights working 🙂  I don’t mind, just don’t want it to take away from my family.  The last month has been tough, but God is faithful.  Besides the normal work load each week, we are in season so traveling on weekends just adds up.  By the time I get in bed each evening, I have nothing left and I am not sure how I am still going, but each day God renews my strength and supplies exactly what I need to get through that day.  I have a strong passion for what I am doing – not just the gymnastics, but the girls that I have the opportunity to impact their lives.  And I’m blessed with amazing people that help with my boys, love on my boys and care for my boys when I can’t (especially my two amazing aunts!!!!)… so what has really been going on.  Honestly doesn’t sound like much.  Work for me.  Work for Cory as well as work at home.  Both of my boys have had ear infections repeatedly the last 3 months.  Will’s ears finally look great!  Luke’s still do not, so we will be visiting the ENT on Wednesday.  We will go from there.  Possible tubes, which I know isn’t bad, but of course who wants there child put under.   Though I do hear that they can make a world of difference.  Luke is still his happy self a good bit of the time, but he doesn’t sleep well at night and cries out often.  He also is constantly wiping his ear and complains when I take his shirt off and random times.  He’s talking a ton but definitely hard to understand though Cory and I understand him pretty well 🙂  They think he cannot hear very well and that his speech is affected by his ear infections, so we will see what ENT says.  Though I don’t want him to talk this way forever, right now it is really cute 🙂  Will doesn’t miss anything.  He definitely has a much better sense of direction than I do and he pays attention so he can get you places better than I can LOL.  And don’t talk about anything in front of him that you shouldn’t or you don’t want him to know because he will be listening.  Both boys are loving school though we love our Wednesday’s when I do not work.  The boys help with laundry, dishes, cleaning… though they don’t quite get it yet, we so enjoy doing it all together.  Yes it takes longer, but we have a really good time working together (doing team work is what we call it :)).  Cory’s working hard at work.  He puts in his fair share of hours as well.  He also finished the bathroom that we added in our basement and he’s almost finished with the closet.  That has been lots of work for him – it looks amazing!!!  Well, that’s about it.  I better get this to Justin since he has patiently waited for me!  Love to each of you!  Pray for you each day and Thank God for this amazing family!!!

 

Helen (Cory, Will & Luke)

April

Hey y’all!

 

For someone who is supposed to enjoy writing, I’m sorry I fail to actually write anything for this most of this time.  To catch everyone up to speed, this will be an article in four movements:  Anna, Joe, April, and Penny.

 

First, Anna, if you noticed the change in the ranking system, you will notice that there is a new princess in the house.  You may have also noticed a change in your Facebook or Instagram newsfeed.  She is systematically taking over our house and cyberspace.  Quite a feat for 5 months of life.

 

Second, Joe.  Joe has now completed three full semesters and two summer language intensives (and an extra intensive on College Ministry for good measure).  Conversations in our house frequently revolve around reading schedules, sermon prep, and “April, do I have to wear a tie to this?”  Joe just completed a teaching series on the theology of work and has two new book recommendations for you:  Kingdom Calling by Amy Sherman and Every Good Endeavor by Tim Keller.

 

Third, April. (Hi!) I am now a Rodan + Fields Independent consultant along with Lucy, Caroline, and Abby.  If you have skincare concerns, please refer to your family’s personal consultant.  Terch family, one of you should really jump in on the fun…

 

And finally, Penny.  Penny is devastated that she has been replaced by a small human and takes it out on us by begging to go outside, barking to come inside, begging to go outside, barking to come inside…it’s a really fun game.

 

See ya later!

April

 

Trent

Hello Fam Jam,

 

I hope all is well with everyone. I will begin by wishing happy birthday to everyone that has had a birthday in 2016. Sorry I am a bad family member, I  do not know who all you are, but I know it was quite a few. This is going to be a short one for me, sorry. 2016 is going to be one for the record books for me. It is most likely my last year to ever live in the Mississippi delta, and that is pretty saddening. I have loved every second of living the the dirty d the last four years of my life. I did meet my smoking hot fiancé here. But more importantly, I killed a heck of a lot of ducks. That is obviously a joke, but i have loved living in the delta. Where else can you kill ducks in the morning and go to class in the afternoon? I am excited to start a life with Abbie wherever the good lord sends us. If you don’t mind, please be in prayer about me finding a job. I am attending the University of Alabama Career Fair on Feb. 17&18 which will be a crucial part of the job search. I hope to see everyone very soon.

 

Love,

Trent

 

Jennifer

Hello family!

Well I am officially a last semester senior and I am so nervous but excited to graduate and for the real world! This semester has already been very stressful for me but fun. I am doing residential design now and I am loving every aspect of it. I also am taking photography to have enough hours to be a full time student which is fun but a extremely busy. Besides school I haven’t done much else. Jeffrey drove to Tuscaloosa to watch  a basketball game with me which was super fun!! I am also headed to Texas next week for a design conference and to see what job opportunities there are in the world so I cannot wait for that! Me and a few friends are road tripping which should be a good time! Well besides that, nothing exciting has happened to me in awhile. Love and miss everyone!
Jennifer Terch

 

Caroline

 

Caroline

 

Hey family! I don’t really know the last time we all wrote so Im not really sure how much I have told y’all! I have started up my second semester of sophomore year at the greatest University on the planet RTR. Christmas break was amazing and much needed for me. The Dunnes went on the annual ski trip with a few added guest that made it that much more enjoyable! I really loved seeing everyone over christmas. Every time we are all together I am reminded of how blessed we are to have such an amazing family. This past weekend I served as a DNOW leader for my church. I had the seventh grade girls and really loved seeing each of them grow in the Lord. This weekend we talked about the ultimate need of people being the gospel and how we should be total bondservants to the Lord! Those who are on Facebook I am sure you have seen that I have recently joined an amazing company called Rodan+Fields! It is a skin care line sold through consultants! It looks like it may be a family business because April and Lucy are now selling! Haha! Me and my team say the more the merrier! SO basically current life consist of school, sleep, skin care, and more sleep. I found out last week that i have mono so most of my days consist of multiple naps! Hopefully the weakness will end soon because I am tired of having no energy! Other than that nothing is really going on! Justin thanks for still doing this! I don’t know who still all reads this (mine are usually the most boring) But i seriously read everyones cause i love hearing what is going on with the lives of my favorite people! Love you all

 

Caroline

 

Marshall

Hey family,

 

I guess it’s about time I got one of these articles done.  For starters I graduated College this past December with a degree in Recreation Leadership. For the time being, I am working as Assistant Manager at the Cleveland Country Club, which is the restaurant I have been working at as a both a server and cook since I came to Cleveland. I have been there almost a month now as manager, it was hard at first because some of the employees are my friends and now I am their boss and not their co-worker.  Despite the challenge I am starting to get used to being in charge and all my new responsibilities. I never realized how frustrating making a work schedule for all employees would be. I promise to write more in my next article but Valentines Day is a pretty busy one in the food industry. I also hope Justin is I as good at editing my grammar as Tricia was.

 

Marshall

 

 

 

 

November Gazette

All,

I can’t wait to see everyone in Carrollton. I hope everyone is well. Happy reading.

Cheers,

Justin

 

Aunt Madee

As I sit down to compose events for the “wiser generation” Newsletter to send to Justin, I am unable to remember just what I wrote before.  Perhaps, the phrase – “wiser generations”- as Justin describes us,  is not politically correct!

My apologies if I am repeating news about down-sizing, selling the house, and my move to WMO in May??

After six months  of settling-in – and a month off in July for family visits and to attend Justin’s wedding, I am beginning to “discover Westminster Oaks” –  known as WMO –  located here in Tallahassee, about 6 miles from where Abe and I lived in Forest Glen.

WMO is known as a retirement community, but I truly think what is meant by the word “Retirement” is retiring from the responsibilities of a house, yard, transportation, personal electrical repairs ( such as a lamp}, cleaning such as fall and spring cleaning, transportation to and from events in the City, as well as on WMO Campus – needs when ill, staff visits to hospital, rehab., etc. ——  Of course not having to cook is my favorite!!

Everything one needs is located here on campus – a Boutique shop, inventory donated and run by volunteers; a small grocery store with goods bought and sold by volunteers at retail prices; beauty shop, barber shop;  exercise and fitness center;  A Health Center offering walk-in services, blood pressure checks , as well as drawing blood as requested, etc.

*****The Entertainment and activities offered are many.  WMO has a close association with FSU, as well as the Community College, and benefits  from all their offerings;  and classes for a minimum fee.  Buses are provided to attend functions offered on FSU Campus ,Tallahassee, and surrounding areas.

There is an Entertainment Director.  Examples of some of the planned activities for this month:  Storytelling Festival (both local and professional), Monday Night music, Opera, Wednesday Night  Movies, Tacky/Ugly Sweater Day, Halloween costume-dance and food; The Nutcracker, Forums, motor coach trip to Atlanta to the Fox Theater , before theater dinner at Pitty Pat’s Front Porch ,and Atlanta Aquarium  —— And- on- and- on.*****

I have three rooms and a kitchen, stove, refridge.   One of my greatest pleasures is having Tricia and kiddies close enough for regular visits and me to their place.

  I have a queen size blow up mattress with pump.  The welcome mat is out – any time – no advance notice necessary for reservation.  Nothing to bring, just come!

Happy Thanksgiving to all! – Sorry, I will not be with you at the farm.

Love each and all of you!

Aunt Madee  ———       ***** not a paid  advertisement

Grandy

My mind is lost in kitchen remodel!! If I knew how I would send pictures not only of work in progress but what the dining room table l

use I put wood in the kitchen. Can’t wait for you to see it.

Isn’t it exciting about Trent and Abby? Another wedding, ahh! Okay, give us a break now before the next wave sets in.

I am not rereading to correct sentence structure or punctuation. Congrats to the new great grands: Anna Johnson and Carrisa Aitcheson !

Lu Lu

Hello Family

As I write this we are driving to Cleveland for the last ever home game. It is bitter sweet. We have seen lots of football in lots of places over the last 4 years but all good things must come to an end!  As a sweet lady once told me “don’t be sad it is over, be glad it happened”. I am really glad Trent playing football at Delta State happened. Number one reason for my happiness is Abbie Troy Smith.  Best thing to come out of DSU.  In case you haven’t heard, the date is June 4th. 3PM. Louisville MS. We have 30 rooms at the Quality Inn in Louisville reserved so look for more info coming soon on how to reserve your room. If you prefer more upscale lodging then you can look in Starkville (30 min away) or for the high rollers you can check out Philidelphia MS (casino place) about 40 min away.  The Dunne family and wedding party will be lodging at the quality inn with free hot breakfast and pool and convenient to wedding happenings!  Would love to have you join us! I remember how fun it was at Tricia and Aprils out of town weddings and am looking forward to a mini vacation at  Trent and Abbie’s wedding!

Caroline was at home for a few days last week for fall break. How fun it was to have her around the house. We shopped and went to the movies and ate at Olive Garden. Really exciting stuff. Then on Halloween, all the Dunnes except for Brittany( life of a nurse and working weekends) and Jeffrey got to watch Trent play in Florence in the rain. The future Dunne was there too along with her parents and sister. We are all true supporters of Trent!  Oh and Perry and and Caroline’s friend Jamie were in attendance too.

On another note. I was looking for something to fill my evenings and decided to start putting best loved recipes in an online cook book. If you want to check it out and even add your own to it, the info follows.

Desktopcookbook.com is the website. The user name is Dunne and the password is Dunne(I think the password is capitalized.  If it doesn’t work try lower case for password). Anyway would love for you to add your favorite recipes to it.

Looking forward to meeting the new additions to the Burgin clan!  Enjoy this time you young mamas. It goes way too fast!

Guess I have said enough. Ryan probably won’t read this because it is too long.

I love you all!

Uncle Mark

Don’t want Lu to be the only article in the newsletter (and it is a break from cleaning out attic and closets). Exciting summer and fall for me. The birth of Anna E Johnson brings the total of my grandchildren to four. Great to watch Joe and April learn to be parents and Tricia and Tim chase their three from activity to activity. On a short trip to Tallahassee I enjoyed watching Bryan and Nora Grace play soccer. Bryan has learned to trash talk even if he is the smallest one on the team.

Lots of new experiences these past few months. Spent a week this August in St. Lucia and, thanks to Susan and Jeff for tickets, I have attended a couple of Alabama football games.  Even shook a black and white shaker.

Back to looking through all this stuff. Amazing what can be collected over the years. Anyone wants beanie babies?

Looking forward to seeing everyone over the Holidays.

Love my family

 

Uncle Merrit

Well its been a busy time since the last Gazette was published. Annette and I celebrated 35 years of marriage along with Lucy and Cory’s birthday on 10/11/15. We didn’t actually celebrate until last Friday with a nice dinner date at Ruth Chris.I have been working in Stanton Tn.,Gulfport Ms. and now Spring Hill Tn.with a week in Louisville Ky. in between. It has been busy at church with a new youth minister and a work day as part of the Facilities team. Annette and I spent last weekend in Orlando welcoming Carrisa Joy into the world.We had a great time with Mike’s parents,Leah,Annie  and Mike’s brother Angelo’s family taking turns  holding Carrisa and trick or treating.Annette is back in Orlando  till Saturday to help out. I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving and spending some quality time in Carrollton with all who can be there