2015 Life In Review

When Ken was dying, I kept a journal that I would share with family and friends to keep them updated on our journey. It was healing for me to share my feelings and write them down. And it allowed me to tell our story once rather than over and over. I also think it made it less awkward to keep Ken’s health issues open to family and friends without having to feel like they were being nosy or invasive.

So today marks four years that Ken left this earthly realm. And for me I feel that this is a perfect time to be reflective and review this past year.

Keely is still serving her mission in Orlando Fl. She has been in a total of 3 areas- Cocoa Beach/Rockledge, Minneola and currently Lake Nona. Although I miss her dearly, I am amazed by her spiritual and emotional growth. She has blossomed while serving. This is a dream she has had since I joined the LDS church in 2001, when Keely was 5. I know she is where she is supposed to be and wants to be. We are only allowed to talk twice per year- on Mother’s Day and Christmas. I am looking forward to Christmas for the gift of seeing my Keely. We have Skyped the last 2 times. This time we will try Facetime. I am excited.

Jack is a senior in high school. He is quite social at school but prefers being hermitlike at home. He is taking journalism which he loves so maybe there is a career budding here. Driving is not his favorite thing so back and forth to school is about his tolerance level behind the wheel. He is coaching a basketball team of 3^rd and 4^th graders along with my brother, John. Jack has learned that kids often don’t listen, challenge your patience and learn at very different rates. He remains a loyal fan of FSU football. He also enjoys listening to music from hip hop to ballads. His sense of humor is his trademark, both in school and at home.

We gained some family members this year which has been great. My brother and great niece are sharing the living space with us. John has been a treasure sharing cooking and cleaning chores. (Okay maybe he does most of it and I help a little bit.) He has been an asset adding light, joy and safety to our home. His warped humor and quick wit always keep us smiling .

The soon to be 9 year old is a thriving 3^rd grader. When not on her i-Pad, she plays with Breyer horses, crafting and some homework/reading. She took swim lessons and patiently attends the basketball games. (She is not a fan.) There is new enthusiasm in our house for the cats and for all things dessert. Birthdays and holidays have taken on new meaning again through the eyes of a child.

I still work in a desk job. While still not a calling like I felt bedside nursing had always been, this is easy and pays the bills. The hours are flexible and all weekends and holidays are off. I am the secretary in the women’s organization at church. I love that both for the women I work with and the duties that I have. I became a hospice volunteer this year. This involves being given a patient that has a terminal illness to befriend.  The commitment is 1 visit weekly just sitting at the bedside and talking. Or sometimes just sitting and being there. I love it. I spent the first half of the year losing weight, eating healthy and increasing my physical activity. I have resumed old habits the last several months and have gained most of the weight back. I am discouraged and disappointed in myself but I have not given up on myself. I am continually trying to improve and revert to positive life changes. I am a work in progress.

We have 4 cats and 4 dogs. The house is often noisy and messy. I would not trade them (or at least not most of the time) for a clean and quiet home.

Ken’s mom, Sue passed away this year. She had a stroke around Mother’s Day and never regained her strength. Her youngest son did his best to find excellent care for her and was a great advocate for her those trying months. Today would have been her birthday. She suffered the loss of two of her children in her lifetime which took a horrible toll on her. And her twin sister also passed away just weeks before Sue’s stroke. It’s been a hard year for that side of the family.

Some milestones for the year: Jack and I attended WWE Wrestlemania in Santa Clara CA. I think this was a once in a lifetime event for me. We also attended a General Conference session for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Salt Lake City Utah. I got a new car, well new to me, in the late summer. It is a black Nissan Altima so now my car looks like just about every other car in a parking lot. It gets great mileage and is much more comfortable than my Juke so I am pleased with this change. We had a sibling reunion on the Oregon coast to celebrate my sister, Cathy’s birthday. I think this was the first time we had been together, just the 4 of us since adulthood.(And that’s been a while.) We had gorgeous weather and easy beach access.

So from my perspective that is a quick synopsis of our family in review. I am grateful for our blessings, tolerant of our challenges, and blessed to be surrounded by so many good and loving people. We are fortunate and give daily thanks for the lives that we are allowed to live and enjoy. We are truly blessed.

Keely's mission letter 2/16/15

So here is the latest email from Keely. I asked if I could share on the blog and she said okay. All names have been deleted into an initial to protect people's privacy. Leslie

A couple days ago, we were driving down the road, but we had to stop while LITERALLY LIKE 20 OR 30 DUCKS crossed the road. They were everywhere.

Also, I dropped my pudding on the ground and it was devastating. #strugglebus

Today we're going ice-blocking for district p-day and I'm a little worried I'll break my leg so this should be fun.

We followed a prompting to talk to this guy and he talked AT us for 40 minutes and when we finally got out of there, he was like, "You'll never forget the day I taught you the truth." #missionarylife

OKAY SO THIS WAS COOL. The Clermont sisters' investigator was baptized on Saturday, so we brought L with us to see. It was so cool. The speaker was really good and the Spirit was really strong. After the actual ordinance was done and we all went back into the Relief Society room, L was like, "That was crazy!" And we asked her what she meant and she said, "It just felt really...weird!" And we told her that she was feeling the Spirit and she looked SO HAPPY. I AM SO HAPPY.

We taught A last week too (she's the one being baptized in April). She's so excited to be baptized! She knows it's true and we're so happy for her.

Oh, after district meeting on Wednesday, this kinda less active recent convert named R called us and said he had a referral for us, we asked if 6:30 that night would work to meet, and he said yes! So we met up with this guy B and long story short he's a new investigator. Yay.

OH! On Valentine's Day, we were heart attacking (that thing where you put hearts all over someone's door with happy messages and scriptures) some people. So we heart attacked L and J
, then decided to knock on their next door neighbor's door. So this girl gets her mom and her mom lets us in right away and were were like ...What? and she was like, "How are you doing, sisters?" And again, we were like ...WHAT? So it turns out she's a less-active member and her parents are active in the Clermont Ward. She was like, "I've been baptized and so has my daughter, but my fiance and stepkids haven't. So you can come over and teach them. They used to meet with the missionaries, but we lost contact when we moved." ...YES PLEASE.

So for my spiritual thought: I was reading a really old Ensign (which is like one of the best things about iPads) and some Apostle was like, "I consider 'Notwithstanding My Weakness' by Elder Neal A. Maxwell a landmark address." So obviously I looked it up. It's from the October 1976 General Conference. I definitely recommend everyone reads it. Here's one of my favorite parts: "Some of us who would not chastise a neighbor for his frailties have a field day with our own. Some of us stand before no more harsh a judge than ourselves, a judge who stubbornly refuses to admit much happy evidence and who cares nothing for due process. Fortunately, the Lord loves us more than we love ourselves." I LOVE THAT. I feel like we all too often criticize ourselves unfairly. I know I do! But it's so important to remember that God loves us so so so so much. He loves us so much more than we can even comprehend! Whenever you feel down, remember that yes, you have weaknesses (check out Ether 12:27 for more on why we have weaknesses and how we can overcome them), but you ALSO have strengths!

I need you all to know how much I love Minneola and the ward and my investigators and the missionaries I work with and all of you and missionary work and the gospel and Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

Sister Keely Burnette 

P.S. We have a mission conference next Monday (the 23rd), so I won't be emailing then. I'll email on Tuesday (the 24th). I just didn't want any of you to think that I died or anything.

But if you're really missing me, you can write to me!