Two years from yesterday, I was not happy. I did not like my life. I did not like the path I was on. My waking hours were filled with distractions just to make it until I could sleep again. For years this was my life, and I saw no end to this cycle. My parents probably thought they had lost me in a way. And I know they would not be surprised to learn just how close they were to losing me for real.
I rarely left the house. And I never went anywhere by myself. As far as I ever got was the mailbox, where I went and got the mail almost every single day. For years it had been the family joke that I would never meet a woman unless it was on the way to the mailbox. Honestly... I hated that joke. But I have a different view of it now, and the new joke is that I didn’t even have to go that far.
Two years ago today, Sunday, July 29th, 2007, I was sitting in the kitchen when my dad told me there were two beautiful young ladies at the door to see me. “Right,” I thought, “very funny.” To my surprise, there was at least one beautiful young lady there to see me (no offense to the Carolyn.) She had jet-black hair with streaks of red, white, and blue; no make-up; and a heavily worn t-shirt. She was enchanting.
I stood on the stairs just above them. Carolyn handed me a piece of paper, and started talking. I nodded along while staring at the paper. Ladies and gentlemen, I could not tell you what Carolyn was saying, or what was written on that piece of paper - because I was not listening, nor was I reading. I was sweating, probably blushing, feeling my heart pound, reminding myself to breathe, and thinking, “who is that girl?”
When Carolyn finished, the mystery girl told me her name, which I immediately forgot. (I’m terrible with names.) She then said where she lived, and that she spent a lot of time on the front porch reading, and sometimes took walks around the neighborhood. I made sure to remember all of that information.
The next day, I went outside to “play basketball” in the backyard. What I was really doing was trying to build up the courage to “take a walk” around the block... where she happened to live. In the meantime, I kept peeking around the corner of my parents’ house, hoping that maybe she was going for a walk herself. After at least two hours, I chickened out, and went back inside.
Soon after, the doorbell rang. I didn’t answer the door. I never answered the door. Not unless I knew exactly who it was. It rang again, and in my head I begged for whoever it was to go away. I watched out the window and waited to see who had been disturbing my peace, and there she was. The mystery girl came back and rang my doorbell. But I couldn’t go out and let her know I had been there the whole time. Thankfully, she came back again, I eventually learned her name, and the rest is a much longer story.
It seems fitting to be spending this anniversary in Disneyland, which is where we should be as you are reading this. (As I am writing, we have not left yet, but I’ve scheduled this to post on our anniversary. I hope it works.)
As I said in my last post, this Disneyland trip is the first time I get to combine one joyous thing from my old life, with the most joyous thing from my new one: Disneyland with my family, and with my wife. I love my wife. I love my family. And I love my Heavenly Father for hand-picking the perfect girl for me, and placing her at my doorstep. To deny it was a miracle would be the same as denying the existence of the sun.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
California, Here We Come!
The Burningham Clan is going to Disneyland. All 26 of us!
I’ve been writing in my head, trying to figure out how to explain to you all why I’m so excited for this trip. Obviously, I love Disneyland. I’ve been there countless times. Between mid-2005 and mid-2007, I went 8 times. Jenn and I honeymooned in Disneyland last year. And, yes, even after going that often, it still feels just as magical.
But this Disneyland trip is different. First, it’s been a very long time since my entire family has gone all at once. And when we did, there weren’t this many of us. Second, this is the first time I will be in Disneyland with my family AND Jenn.
Before Jenn came into my life, Christmas and Disneyland were the main things that still had the power to make me feel genuinely happy, even if it was just for a moment. There is a magic about Disneyland that you have to believe in to feel. But also, my family always has so much fun in Disneyland. The kids are so happy, and the adults have an excuse to act like children. It’s controlled insanity. Lots of silliness, but never too loud or over the top. I like that. Just enough to make the wives roll their eyes, but not have them reaching for the aspirin. That’s the perfect gauge if you ask me.
There are so many inside jokes and stories I could tell, but it would take way too long, and probably wouldn’t be funny to anyone but us... “Uuh To Joy”; “There’s two of him, apparently”; “We know who we are”; “bang!” instead of “freeze!”; the funky chicken; clicking heels; “the line to nowhere”; “Mr. Toad Goes To Hell”; “The Torturous Tiki Room”; “No, really, how many are there?”; “I smell puke”; tipping a Small World boat; marching; skipping; monkey walks; push-ups on napkins; reflective ears; bush benches; “Look up, and to the left”; “I left him with some guy - he said he’d watch him”; “Don’t eat me!”; “Have you seen my sombrero?”... Okay, I’ll stop now.
So then Jenn came into my life, and she made me genuinely happy. And when we went to Disneyland for our honeymoon, it was amazing, but... something was still missing. Don’t get me wrong. I will always look back on our honeymoon as my favorite Disneyland trip, but for different reasons. That was the happiest Disneyland trip I’ve ever had, and will ever have. But I’m hoping this trip will be the funnest trip I’ve ever had.
I’ve been writing in my head, trying to figure out how to explain to you all why I’m so excited for this trip. Obviously, I love Disneyland. I’ve been there countless times. Between mid-2005 and mid-2007, I went 8 times. Jenn and I honeymooned in Disneyland last year. And, yes, even after going that often, it still feels just as magical.
But this Disneyland trip is different. First, it’s been a very long time since my entire family has gone all at once. And when we did, there weren’t this many of us. Second, this is the first time I will be in Disneyland with my family AND Jenn.
Before Jenn came into my life, Christmas and Disneyland were the main things that still had the power to make me feel genuinely happy, even if it was just for a moment. There is a magic about Disneyland that you have to believe in to feel. But also, my family always has so much fun in Disneyland. The kids are so happy, and the adults have an excuse to act like children. It’s controlled insanity. Lots of silliness, but never too loud or over the top. I like that. Just enough to make the wives roll their eyes, but not have them reaching for the aspirin. That’s the perfect gauge if you ask me.
There are so many inside jokes and stories I could tell, but it would take way too long, and probably wouldn’t be funny to anyone but us... “Uuh To Joy”; “There’s two of him, apparently”; “We know who we are”; “bang!” instead of “freeze!”; the funky chicken; clicking heels; “the line to nowhere”; “Mr. Toad Goes To Hell”; “The Torturous Tiki Room”; “No, really, how many are there?”; “I smell puke”; tipping a Small World boat; marching; skipping; monkey walks; push-ups on napkins; reflective ears; bush benches; “Look up, and to the left”; “I left him with some guy - he said he’d watch him”; “Don’t eat me!”; “Have you seen my sombrero?”... Okay, I’ll stop now.
So then Jenn came into my life, and she made me genuinely happy. And when we went to Disneyland for our honeymoon, it was amazing, but... something was still missing. Don’t get me wrong. I will always look back on our honeymoon as my favorite Disneyland trip, but for different reasons. That was the happiest Disneyland trip I’ve ever had, and will ever have. But I’m hoping this trip will be the funnest trip I’ve ever had.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
An Eventful Month
Here are some pictures from The 4th of July...
This is McKenna’s birthday party, where Jenn ate the caramel-covered little smokey...
A few weeks ago, Mike, Bret, my dad, and myself picked up and hauled the 2x4’s and sheetrock for our basement. We estimated that we hauled over 5000 pounds total.
And this weekend, most of my family went camping in Fillmore. Jenn and I aren’t really into camping, so we didn’t go with them. But we decided to drive down and see them on Saturday. We played Hearts (I lost, Jeremy won - he usually does), ate lunch, and just hung out.
Now, in case you’re still wondering about the cop car in front of our house in that picture in our last post, here’s the story as we know it...
One night, our creepy neighbors from across the street and some other people had what Jenn called “a garden party” (a.k.a. a public argument) in our front yard. Not the sidewalk in front of the house, but where our lawn would be if we had one. From what we could gather, there was a teenager who decided to live with them, and his family wasn’t happy about it. Then, our neighbor’s wife (?) found out, and she wasn’t happy with it either.
The next day, our very drunk neighbor was outside, acting crazy (he even gave me the finger at one point). Hours later, the cop car is in front of our house. Soon, our neighbor was forced to leave his home. He wasn’t arrested, he was just told to go. Then, late that night, the cops came back, and our neighbor’s wife (?) was arrested, or at least left with the police. She has since come back, but he has not.
It’s funny how a few rotten apples can spoil an otherwise nice neighborhood.
This is McKenna’s birthday party, where Jenn ate the caramel-covered little smokey...
A few weeks ago, Mike, Bret, my dad, and myself picked up and hauled the 2x4’s and sheetrock for our basement. We estimated that we hauled over 5000 pounds total.
And this weekend, most of my family went camping in Fillmore. Jenn and I aren’t really into camping, so we didn’t go with them. But we decided to drive down and see them on Saturday. We played Hearts (I lost, Jeremy won - he usually does), ate lunch, and just hung out.
Now, in case you’re still wondering about the cop car in front of our house in that picture in our last post, here’s the story as we know it...
One night, our creepy neighbors from across the street and some other people had what Jenn called “a garden party” (a.k.a. a public argument) in our front yard. Not the sidewalk in front of the house, but where our lawn would be if we had one. From what we could gather, there was a teenager who decided to live with them, and his family wasn’t happy about it. Then, our neighbor’s wife (?) found out, and she wasn’t happy with it either.
The next day, our very drunk neighbor was outside, acting crazy (he even gave me the finger at one point). Hours later, the cop car is in front of our house. Soon, our neighbor was forced to leave his home. He wasn’t arrested, he was just told to go. Then, late that night, the cops came back, and our neighbor’s wife (?) was arrested, or at least left with the police. She has since come back, but he has not.
It’s funny how a few rotten apples can spoil an otherwise nice neighborhood.
Monday, July 20, 2009
The Yard... So Far
Here are some pictures of the yard’s progress. It’s been quite an adventure... but we don’t feel like getting into it right now.
We’ll start with the front. Minus the weeds and the disgusting pond, it would look very nice. And I’ll bet when it was first put it, everything looked absolutely beautiful. But then it was left alone for over a year, and the weeds, crabgrass, and bugs took over.
(The police car in the last picture is a whole other story that we’ll explain in a later post.)
The backyard didn’t have much (if any) grass left when we moved in. It was all weeds.
Lastly, here’s the curbing and bark, along with some new and old plants they put it.
In the end, it will be nothing but grass, a few trees, and the beds. Plain and simple. But we’re still waiting on the grass.
We’ll start with the front. Minus the weeds and the disgusting pond, it would look very nice. And I’ll bet when it was first put it, everything looked absolutely beautiful. But then it was left alone for over a year, and the weeds, crabgrass, and bugs took over.
(The police car in the last picture is a whole other story that we’ll explain in a later post.)
The backyard didn’t have much (if any) grass left when we moved in. It was all weeds.
Lastly, here’s the curbing and bark, along with some new and old plants they put it.
In the end, it will be nothing but grass, a few trees, and the beds. Plain and simple. But we’re still waiting on the grass.
Friday, July 10, 2009
More Tidbits
First of all, we would like to wish a happy (belated) birthday to Cubby, who turned 14 last week; to Alex, who turned 13 on Monday; and McKenna, who also turned 13 on Thursday. (I feel like there was another birthday since Jordan's, but I can't remember... I'm sorry if I forgot.)
The landscapers have started working on the yard, and it's almost done (at least the work aspect of it). Everything has been taken out. The pond, the rocks, the grass, a bazillion weeds, etc. And the two neighbors that were the first to show disgust at our yard previously, were the first to come and take some free junk that we were just going to haul away. They have also commented on how nice it's starting to look, so that's good. They seem to like us again.
Next they re-did the sprinkler system. Then came the cement curbing around all the beds, and along one outside edge. They've planted most of the plants, and we now have four trees, including the Japanese Maple that Jenn pushed for. The other three are another kind of maple tree. There are three trees in the front, and one in the back. Then they put bark in the beds and the other "curbed" areas. And today comes the hydroseeding.
We have been taking pictures, but I'm still working on getting them compiled together. I have some, and my mom has some. But we'll definitely post some before and after pics when we can.
My parents got a new barbecue grill, and they gave us their old one. So I've been a grillin' fool! I was warned with this grill that I might lose some eyebrows and arm hair, but so far I've only singed my arm hair once. It scared the tar out of Jenn, but I thought the flame was pretty awesome.
Speaking of barbecues, we spent the 4th of July at my parents house with my family, had a barbecue, and did fireworks. It was fun! We had a really good time.
All the while, Jenn and I have been incredibly ill with this cold/flu thing. Which is still kicking our butts. I don't know if we're keeping each other sick by hanging out together all the time, or if we just haven't been getting the rest we need because of the excitement. For better or worse, we've tried not to let it keep us down too much.
There have been many birthday parties lately, and we've been going to the ones we can. We would have gone to Cubby's if we could, but... that would have been a little difficult. We also missed Alex's, and we're sorry for that. But we went to McKenna's yesterday and had a lot of fun. Jenn followed up on Bret's chocolate-covered little smokey from Christmas Eve by trying a caramel-covered little smokey. Yuck!
She wasn't feeling very well after that. We don't know if it was because she was already sick, or if it was the combination of caramel, barbecue sauce, and hot dog in her stomach. My bet is on the latter.
The landscapers have started working on the yard, and it's almost done (at least the work aspect of it). Everything has been taken out. The pond, the rocks, the grass, a bazillion weeds, etc. And the two neighbors that were the first to show disgust at our yard previously, were the first to come and take some free junk that we were just going to haul away. They have also commented on how nice it's starting to look, so that's good. They seem to like us again.
Next they re-did the sprinkler system. Then came the cement curbing around all the beds, and along one outside edge. They've planted most of the plants, and we now have four trees, including the Japanese Maple that Jenn pushed for. The other three are another kind of maple tree. There are three trees in the front, and one in the back. Then they put bark in the beds and the other "curbed" areas. And today comes the hydroseeding.
We have been taking pictures, but I'm still working on getting them compiled together. I have some, and my mom has some. But we'll definitely post some before and after pics when we can.
My parents got a new barbecue grill, and they gave us their old one. So I've been a grillin' fool! I was warned with this grill that I might lose some eyebrows and arm hair, but so far I've only singed my arm hair once. It scared the tar out of Jenn, but I thought the flame was pretty awesome.
Speaking of barbecues, we spent the 4th of July at my parents house with my family, had a barbecue, and did fireworks. It was fun! We had a really good time.
All the while, Jenn and I have been incredibly ill with this cold/flu thing. Which is still kicking our butts. I don't know if we're keeping each other sick by hanging out together all the time, or if we just haven't been getting the rest we need because of the excitement. For better or worse, we've tried not to let it keep us down too much.
There have been many birthday parties lately, and we've been going to the ones we can. We would have gone to Cubby's if we could, but... that would have been a little difficult. We also missed Alex's, and we're sorry for that. But we went to McKenna's yesterday and had a lot of fun. Jenn followed up on Bret's chocolate-covered little smokey from Christmas Eve by trying a caramel-covered little smokey. Yuck!
She wasn't feeling very well after that. We don't know if it was because she was already sick, or if it was the combination of caramel, barbecue sauce, and hot dog in her stomach. My bet is on the latter.
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