Today is August 3rd, 2010

Four weeks and 3 days ago, on July 3, 2010, we began the painful process of saying "good-bye for now" to our dear Austin Wayne Burt. Today I just want to take a few moments to share some memories of Austin.

The year 2010 came in with a "baby boom" for the Burt families - first our daughter Avery was born in January; my husband's sister gave birth to her daughter Cheyenne in February; and in March Wes and Lisa Burt welcomed their fourth child, Austin. They were born close together and remained close - our Avery always looked forward to spending time with her cousin & she has many happy memories.

In August of 2000, our house was full of family, all here to celebrate my husband's graduation from Officer Candidate School. I remember a bunch of cousins playing and laughing - and I remember Austin as a solid, bouncy toeheaded baby. Always smiling, never fussy, doted on by his older brother and 2 older sisters.

When Avery and Austin were about 2 my husband's parents had a big "to-do" at their farm in Nebraska. Bob and Gloria (my in-laws) had finally finished the enormous job of building their retirement home - it has some beautiful wood on display above the dining area that was taken from the old schoolhouse Bob attended as a child, among several other unique pieces. In their front yard they had a replica of an old-style wagon - and that summer Austin enjoyed "driving" Avery around in the little wagon. I remember several of us wondering if he might play football - he was still solid as a rock and plenty big enough (especially for a Burt!). He was as sweet and tenderhearted as he had been as a baby, taking good care of his "passenger" on the wagon ride.

I remember when Austin became a big brother for the first time - he was so sweet with his little sister. Even as she got older and he enjoyed typical "boy" activities, he was very patient with her. It was precious to see. And when a little brother came along, they became thick as thieves. And when baby # 7 arrived, Austin had 3 younger siblings to dote on and 3 older siblings to emulate. The love those 7 kids shared is not common - it is a genuine love that was clearly visible to everyone around them. And Austin was right in the middle of all that love.

Before my husband deployed, their family came to visit us for a couple of days. I remember Austin skateboarding in our basement, trying to keep up with his older brother and our son. I can clearly remember Austin an several of his cousins of the female persuasion riding every bike, trike, scooter, etc. around and around our cul-de-sac.

And although I wasn't on the fishing trip this past Memorial Day, I am so glad my children have memories of time spent with their cousins; in particular the time spent with Austin. I'm grateful for my husband, who took some great pics of Austin and got some precious footage of him catching a nice-sized fish, grinning ear to ear, proud of his accomplishment.

Toe-headed blondie, always smiling, quiet and polite, loved to ride his motorcycle, blessing to his family for his 10 short years; now safely with Jesus, still smiling from ear to ear, waiting for the rest of us to hurry up and get there.

A mourning aunt who is grateful for each memory of Austin,
Jan L. Burt

Day 36 done...but done very, very sadly :(