July happenings and August plans!

Well this month is flying by, maybe because I will it to go slow as it is the last month before my sweet sunshine turns 2! I say it all the time, but I REALLY can't believe how fast time is going by!!!!

Yesterday mid-morning I made a spur of the moment decision that it would be the day we start official potty training. She has gone in the potty once or twice, but those were really just flukes. The day went surprisingly well I thought! She had one accident and the rest all in the potty! I woke up this morning thinking here we go, no turning back... I have a panty wearing big girl. It's surreal to think that she may never have another full day of diaper wearing again! Today has been more trying, she has had 3 successes (including her first poo poo!) and 3 accidents, I'm kinda confused as to why she is having so many accidents today after doing so well yesterday, but we are pressing on and skittles prove to be a great motivator! :) We are so proud of our big girl and her new skill!

Ella keeps us smiling ALL DAY LONG! She is so polite with her constant "thank you mommy!", "may I have _______ please?", and "no thank you". Her prayers that she says all day long are so sweet! The other day she had a box of cheez-its that we had just finished and she shook it and said "it's all gone" Jon said "yep it's all gone" she opened the box looked inside then turned it upside down and a few crumbs fell out on the kitchen floor, Jon said "Ella don't make a mess" she looked at her crumbs and folded her hands and said "Jesus, cheez-it's, amen!" put her finger on one of the crumbs and out it in her mouth. When she asks for candy she always prays for her candy before she eats it. She is talking so much and singing lots too! Love it when she sings "You are my sunshine" and "beautiful"! She is eating more and more solids, and is handling it very well! She still throws up every few weeks or so, but much improvement from the throwing up every.single.time. she eats! She just seemed to grow up overnight, I looked at Jon and said she just seems so grown up all of the sudden. :') *sniff sniff*


Speaking of growing... Ella will be turning 2  on August 9th!! We are so excited she is reaching another amazing milestone in her life! Birthday's are a BIG deal in the heart world, they are never taken for granted and are always a time to reflect on the long road we have been on! Last year we had a huge birthday bash  to celebrate Ella. This year instead of a huge room full of people and Ella having to stay secluded in a corner unable to open gifts because of germs, (that just doesn't sound fun for a little girl to me) this year, although we are JUST as thrilled, we are planning a very small party with a few of Ella's friends. I know so many of our family and friends will be disappointed to miss out on a party, but this is going to be WAY more fun for Ella!!!So this year we ask that you send extra prayers her way and we hope you all understand and don't get your feelings hurt. We originally planed another big party, but this year we will just have a big celebration with a small group and post LOTS of pictures and we hope you celebrate in your hearts along with us as we enter this new year!

Speaking of growing up, we are ready to leave the crib behind and move on to a big girl bed! She has never tried to climb out of the crib, which is why we have been able to keep it this long. She is nearly 3 ft tall so we decided that moving her to a toddler bed was not necessary. We started the search for a twin size bed. Being the "penny pinchers" that we are, we started looking on craigslist and quickly realized that this was not going to be cheap. A nice bed, new mattress and box springs, bedding... well you get the idea. Then I saw it, THE BED, it was a gorgeous white bed with four tall white posts, and only $100. We called as soon as we could but they said we were too late someone else had already called and was on their way to pick it up. I was SO disappointed, really more disappointed then I thought I would be over a bed, it was just so perfect. Later that eveing I convinced my sweet husband to call and see if it had been picked up yet, they said no, that they hadn't been able to make it then, but they were coming now. The next morning I called to make sure it really was gone. It was sold, gone. I texted him later and asked where they bought it he wasn't very helpful and just said "some shop in Moore like 8years ago" I then asked him who he sold it too, I thought just maybe they would sell it to me, he didn't respond, so I thanked him and decided to leave the poor fellow alone. The next day it hit me maybe I can find it online and buy it new! I searched and searched, this bed seemed as if it never existed, finally I found it, listed for nearly $1,000. Not only was that price just NOT an option, but it said it was discontinued. I continued to search for this bed (yes it was just that perfect)  and found it again this time listed for over $2,000 and again discontinued. I told Jon all about my findings and how disappointed I was. I asked him to call the man on craigslist again and ask who he sold it to, I would buy it for way more then they had bought it for by this point. Jon called the man, he didn't answer, Jon left a message and tried to explain the situation and asked him to call us back. He never called us back (I don't blame him really hahaha) So we decided that door was firmly closed and we began looking for a different bed. All the while I never could get the other bed out of my mind and all the other beds fell far short in comparison. We began searching in other nearby states hoping that we would somehow find this bed again. Finally after about a week or two... Jon called me to the computer, He had found the headboard of that EXACT bed! It came with two side tables and a brand new mattress and box spring. They were asking $450. That was way more then the $100 for the other bed, but it did include more. We knew we needed the foot board since it was supposed to be a 4 poster bed not 2. So Jon, being the amazing man that he is, took on the challenge and began a search to find THE BED! He called and called tons of places. We finally found the bed head board and foot board in Canada. They wanted $750 for the twin bed and $500 for shipping. Ha. Not going to happen. Then he found it in New Jersey, the man was very helpful and told us that the company that made this bed went out of business years ago, but this bed was one of his best sellers when he stocked them. He then told Jon he had 7 twins left in his warehouse and he had 1 full size left. He said he would sell the twin for $350 and shipping for $190! Now we were getting somewhere!!! A little pricey, but getting way more realistic for a dream bed! We talked about it and decided that a full size would actually be better, we didn't know it came in full size, but she will be able to use it until she is an adult verses the twin she will outgrow in her teens. We got excited and Jon called back to get the price for the full size, the man went to check and then when he came back he told us that he was very sorry, but he was mistaken, they had sold the last full size that they had. :( I was so bummed. I tried to stay positive, after all before a few minutes ago all I wanted was that bed in a twin! The next day Jon called a place in the Dallas area that used to have the beds.The man told him he didn't have those beds anymore, but that he used to get them direct from the company in China before they went out of business and he was the distributor to other furniture stores. He told Jon he had a list of all the furniture stores that used to carry it, he told Jon one of them might still have one, or at least a spare foot board (that we could put with the headboard we had seen on craigslist) So Jon called everyone on the list, finally a shop about 30 mins east of Dallas said they had a white four poster bed, but couldn't remember anything about it, it was up in their attic not even for sell anymore. She went upstairs and took a picture to text to Jon... it was THE BED in a FULL size!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Jon asked her how much she would be willing to sell it for, her answer was $150!!! Did you catch that???? $150!!!!!!! That is for a brand new full size bed that is worth $2,000-$3000!!!!! We said "we'll take it!" we also are purchasing a mattress from her and the brand new full size bed of our (my) dreams, plus a full size brand new mattress is going to be less then $350!!! God is SO good!!!!! Blessings even in the bed Ella sleeps on! We are going to get it in the next few weeks, now we have to hope it will fit in her room hahaha! She is going to look so incredibly tiny in that great big bed, but she will grow into it before we know it!

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support for us and our sweet sunshine! We are so very thankful for the love you all show us!! Many blessings ~ The Burks :)