Glorious

I visited Burke last weekend and he took me to Shenandoah National Park. Although we missed the fall leaves, it was really beautiful.

































Furry forest friends....
























We just imagined those leaves....



















on these trees.
































There were 800 overlooks and Burke was patient and stopped at them all. I have to take pictures, you know.















Burke and Beau warming up for church with This Little Light of Mine....no, no, not annoying at all.














Sweet Story: Mr. Norton is the preacher at Arlington Church of Christ where Burke's mom goes to church. They were so sweet and so thoughtful and ordered me a CD. (What they didn't know was that my CDs were stolen from my car a few months ago, so this was a very fun surprise.) So a big blog thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Norton!



















And a perfect ending to the the trip...Burke called on my way home and his new nephew Hudson John was born. We are going to Mexico for Thanksgiving and I was very nervous Hudson would be stubborn and not make an appearance for our visit. So I was VERY EXCITED to hear this news! Congratulations, Benjy, Carolyn, and brothers! Looking forward to meeting Hudson next week!

Paul and Debbie Plus 5!

Well, my friend Debbie with four kids that's pregnant with her fifth is now my friend Debbie with five kids.

Meet Elizabeth Ann Schulze.



















For those that haven't "met" the Schulze's, they are a sweet family that have adopted me here in Austin. They let me be a part of their family every Sunday at church...and birthday parties....and holidays...and births....and...




















She is absolutely adorable. And the blanket she's wrapped in....I made!! Elizabeth makes it look really cute.




















Paul and Debbie














I got to hold her for a long time and then the siblings came and I had to take turns.














Sawah...the new big sister!















And Daniel was so excited about his FOURTH sister that he played his game. It made me laugh really hard.

Liam is Back in Austin!

My sweet friend Heather brought her adorable son to visit me again this past weekend. I love when Heather and Liam visit. Liam is getting so big and so independent. His favorite word is "no" but when he says "Stacey", my heart melts. I love you, sweet boy. (And Heather, you're alright too.)

We had some crepes at Flip Happy. So goooood! Liam got pretty annoyed with me and all the pictures I wanted to take. His frustration got pretty humorous and entertaining though.

Pretty, Heather. Pretty.

He's such a good little walker! He'll say "up, up" when he wants down. He says it when it wants up too. He says it when he wants out, under, across, beneath....

There were swings and slides and clowns at Zilker Park. But running back and forth under the bridge was the best of them all.

On the train at Zilker Park...I mean, seriously, he is precious.

Ready to ride the choo choo train!

The typical picture of Liam and I. Except usually, he is actually pushing my face away. Yes, kids love me.

Smith Elementary School Fall Festival. Liam won a ball at the duck game.

A pancake brunch before church...

Showing off the fish face...

Liam, I love, love, love you.

And, Heather, we didn't get one picture together. Well, I guess it's official.

I love your kids more.

Can't wait to meet Audrey! Come on baby girl!

Chicago

Dear Debbie,
I m very sorry for not updating my blog in a timely manner. I did miss seeing you guys on Sunday but Burke swept me away to Chicago for the weekend. Pretty fun, huh? Here are the highlights of the weekend.

First, we have Burke Brednich, my very own human GPS. He's an amazing gadget. I just hold his hand and I get everywhere I need to be without getting lost. Amazing.

This is the Chicago River and also the place where a very angry homeless man cleaned one of Burke's running shoes. Now we love everyone but it was a bit awkward.

Next, we went to the John Hancock Observatory and saw the city. Beautiful. And the little headphone tour was fun too.

We saw Jersey Boys, musical about Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons. Loved it!

















It rained the next morning and we went to the Shedd Aquarium. We watched a really cheesy sea show called Fantasea. Funny. Isn't he a cute little guy?














Chicago, so great! We loved walking around the city.

The Navy Pier...

About to get on the Ferris wheel at the Navy Pier....














And here we have Burke holding on for dear life on the Ferris wheel. Apparently, he's not a big fan of heights. I, of course, was very encouraging and supportive and laughed really hard for a good 5 minutes.
Thanks for riding with me, Burke. And thanks for letting me take a billion pictures. I owe you one or 16...

Then we went and saw the opera Faust. I loved it. It was my first opera. Honestly, I wasn't sure if I was smart or cultured enough to get the opera. But, by golly gee, I think I am. Really, really loved it.

This is a horrible picture taken by a pretty intoxicated man but if you take 5 steps back and squint your eyes a little, you can sort of see how beautiful our hotel was. I thought it was so pretty.

It was such a wonderful weekend. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it and look forward to more. Burke, thanks again for being so amazing to me and treating me to such a wonderful time.