Monday, October 29, 2007

Trunk or Treat and Other Things


Yesterday was an eventful one for us at church. Ben was in rare form and topped it off during the communion/offering time. I was serving and he was causing a scene b/c he wanted to do it with me. We had to get him to go stand with Carrie until it was time for all of the little kids to put their money in the kids offering jars. To make us feel better, our preacher brought his four year old up to say the offering prayer. Ben could not believe that Conner was getting to go up on stage and "preach the gospel" into the microphone (that is his phrase for just about anything that takes place on stage). So after the offering, Ben asked if he could go over to Conner and give him a hug and Carrie thought that would be okay. So Ben (never really intending to go see Conner) headed straight up to the stage and over to the podium and did his best impression of the song leader. Sadly, the song leader was singing from his seat so Ben had center stage all to himself. After the shock of what he had done wore off, I tucked my tail and went up on stage and got him off. Needless to say, we were horrified. Its funny to you all but it wasn't your kid. That's right, we have the little boy that everyone thinks is hilarious and precious b/c of the things he does but is secretly glad that their child doesn't do the same. The lesson here: NEVER trust your 3 year old when they say they want to walk across the church and give one of their friends a hug.

I'm not done there. Lesson #2. For all of you dads, don't teach your kids that it is okay to pee-pee outside. If you do, it is very likely that they will end up doing said trick on the playground at school and you'll be hearing about his new trick from his teacher. That was our surprise today when we picked Ben up from school. I felt horrible because that one was all on me.

Finally, last night was our church's annual Trunk or Treat and we all had a great time. But since I am on a roll with the sage advice, here is Lesson #3 for this post. If you are going to dress up, either for a church Trunk or Treat event or ANYTHING with little kids, please don't wear this costume...

Yeah, I think a few kids (and quite possibly a few adults) went home last night with a new phobia of clowns. There was one little boy who I don't think will ever be quite the same. Ben was a little scared at first but once he realized who was under the mask he was okay taking candy from her (that's right, it was a she under there) but approached with caution. Others were not so lucky.

Collin was the cutest one there and had there been a contest, I'm sure he would have won (I am a little biased though). Here are the rest of the best. Enjoy.

Will you take me home with you?

Hmmm...what do we have here.

Almost there....


JACKPOT!!!

A well deserved break. Please tell me we don't have to go back to the clown. Have a Happy Halloween.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Earle's Birthday--

Yesterday was Earle's 34th Birthday! We had lots of fun. Ben helped me make a cake for him and we had a special day. To top it all off my mom was here for the night, and babysat for us. Earle and I got to go to Emeril Lagasse's for dinner in New Orleans. We had a great time. Here are a couple of pics from the day.







Also, once again April has tagged me... and I thought it was pretty appropriate given the time...and no, don't worry, it is not 100 things. So here goes...


MY MAN


1. Who is your man? Kenneth Earle Brown

2. How long have you been together? 7 years

3. How long dated? 3 months

4. How old is your man? 34

5. Who eats more? Earle

.6. Who said "I love you" first? I think we both did

7. Who is taller? Earle

8. Who sings better? Not him...no offense

9. Who is smarter? We scored the same on I.Q. tests, but he is more left-brained and I am more right brained.

10. Whose temper is worse? Mine

11. Who does the laundry? I do.

12. Who takes out the garbage? Earle does

13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do

14. Who pays the bills? Earle does

15. Who is better with the computer? Definately Earle

16. Who mows the lawn? Earle does, when I do, it is kind of all over the place

17. Who cooks dinner? Mostly me, but he will grill the meats for me.

18. Who drives when you are together? Earle

19. Who pays when you go out? Earle

20. Who is most stubborn? probably me

21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? usually me

22. Whose parents do you see the most? Mine

23. Who kissed who first? Earle kissed but I complied.

24. Who asked who out? Earle asked me out

25. Who proposed? Earle came to my music classroom

26. Who is more sensitive? Earle

27. Who has more friends? Probably me, but Earle has a few longtime great friends.

28. Who has more siblings? We both have a brother and a sister

29. Who wears the pants in the family? I think we share the pants, but in different areas, and I am good with that.


Okay, I tag, Angela Grace, Becky, and Rochelle(hint, hint...start a blog!!) Oh yeah and Sandi

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Texas Fun!

Okay, I realize we are not keeping up with the posts as frequently as I would like but there just doesn't seem to be enough time in the day to get these done sometimes. Lucky for you, I have every other Friday off and I am finally getting to sit down and get this done.

We have been very busy as of late. Two weeks ago we made a trip to see my parents in Kilgore and on Saturday we headed over to Forth Worth to see my niece Summer perform at her HS football halftime show. She is a senior this year (I don't even want to think about that) and is the drum major for her band.

Not that anyone else would really care, but I made my first trip offshore last week on Thursday and Friday. It also marked my first time in a helicoptor. Pretty cool stuff. I'd post pics but

1). I am probably the only one who cares

2). I didn't take any pictures

These platforms out in the Gulf of Mexico are actually pretty impressive. One of mine floats in 3,800 feet of water. I think these things are pretty cool.

But back to why you all check this site. The boys. Ben seems to grow up a little bit more every day and Collin is still quite possibly the best baby we have ever seen. He never fusses and can pretty much go with the flow, which we be critical for him as he gets older and has to keep up with Ben. One quick story, over the past month or so we (mainly Carrie) have been teaching Ben about 911. We told him that if he ever sees Mommy on the ground and cannot wake her up to dial 911 on the phone. Well, about 2 weeks ago Carrie was doing something and Ben got ahold of a phone and proceeded to dial 911. Carrie thought she caught him in time before the call went through and went on about her business. A short time later there was a knock at the door and a squad car had been sent out to check on the call. Apparently it did go through. No harm was done and the officer was very nice about it all. On to the pics.


Collin LOVED the drums at the football game. Everytime they were playing he just flailed his arms and kicked his feet.

Me and my buddy.

I'll try and do a few more this weekend. Enjoy the weekend.

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

100 Things About Me(Carrie) that you might not know...

Okay, April tagged me, so here goes, by the way April, I really enjoyed reading yours!





100 -- I sometimes find myself singing along to Laurie Berkner even after Ben has fallen asleep in the car and that scares me...especially when Earle is singing along too!!


99---I load the dishwasher and clean the kitchen every night before I got to bed, or else I am annoyed at the situation in the morning.


98---I really hate putting laundry away!


97---I hardly ever iron, and if I do, it is probably for church.


96---I generally wash my hair every other day, and sometimes I wake up and realize it has been 3 or 4. (The big clip is handy)


95---If I had time, I could sit and watch the Real Estate channel for an hour...Earle has caught me before.


94--Some of my favorite shows other than prime time shows are: Any Rachel Ray show, Property Ladder, Hidden Potential, Flip this house


93--I occasionally have to pluck a long chin hair.


92-- I don't always use lady like manners at home...I sometimes fear what Ben has learned in that regard!


91--I like having fun with friends, both as couples or just girlfriends.


90--I often over analyze things that have happened in conversation with others and I worry about what people think about me.


89--I love being a mommy to Ben and Collin


88--I love being Earle's wife


87--Though I was blessed by being able to have my babies...I did not love pregnancy itself.


86--I think there are times in my life when looking back at myself, I was a little weird, and somewhat dorky. I worry about what others think of me now, if they only knew me during those times...college was one of them, high school was another, it is a good thing Earle and I hooked up after!


85--I was baptized when I was nine.


84--I have to admit at nine, I was a little excited about the communion cracker and grape juice...


83--I have always worried about my weight, but never the less, I love to eat! So I fluctuate.


82--My hot drink at Starbucks is a grande, nonfat, mint mocha


81--My cold drink is a Venti, Java Chip lite, with no whip(only 7 points for WW when I am counting....if I am really trying to be good, I will get the Mocha lite, only 4 pts. for the Venti.


80--I used to get starbucks everyday, but now I can't afford to get it that often with the two boys.


79--I like singing classical music, but I really don't love listening to it for a really long time.


78--I don't love to exercise but I try to do it when I can because it helps my day and I am good after.


77--I do love walking, especially on a cool fall day.


76--I have a hard time sitting and being still.


75--I started trying to read through my Bible in 2004 when I was pregnant with Ben...I am almost through it, I go through spells when I don't read at all, and sometimes only a chapter on the toliet...but slowly but surely, I am almost there. I just put my little ribbon in the spot where I am supposed to start next, and the Lord has kept it from coming out of its place.


74--I am very close to my family, but we all live far away.


73--I am the most close with my sister Lorie she is one of my very best friends.


72--I am not the best about keeping up long distance friendships, but if I really care about you, after a few years go by, you will hear from me. I am trying to do better about this...horray for Blogs and Facebook!


71--I love CHOCOLATE!!!!


70--I really hate RATS... and we had some in our garage when we lived in TX! I was horrified!


69--I am all about communicating and not really passive aggressive. It goes against my nature.


68--I am not really into politics, but around voting time, I always pipe in to make a somewhat educated vote.


67--I am always changing, my perspective always changes.


66--For some reason, I am really not a fan of Winnie the Pooh. I hate it when I am at Target and I see what I think is a cute outfit on sale for one of the boys, and then, Oh, well, it has Winnie the Pooh on it.


65--I love decorating my house, it just takes me a while to figure out what to do. I think I am acutally pretty good at picking out colors and stuff.


64--I love playdates, but I hate that many times, it is really hard to visit because the kids are going crazy!


63--Christmas is my favorite holiday.


62--I like to bake, but I can't keep it in our house, because Earle and I really will eat the whole pan!


61--I love my boys' feet, I think they are so cute.


60--I like people who are genuine, and don't mind just being themselves.


59--I admire my husband.


58--Sometimes..I can be a little bossy to Earle.


57--I am more of an organized person than I percieve myself to be. In order for me to not be a little stessed out about a cluttered situation, I like things to be about 15 min. away from being a pretty picked up house. Mondays can be hard, because I try not to worry about all the cleaning on the weekends.


56--I hate it when folded piles of laundry explode all over our house like little ant hills. Does that happend to anyone else?


55--I love it when my boys laugh.


54--I wear the ugliest things to bed...I really need some girl pajamas...poor Earle.


53--I realized today that I was high time that I threw away my pregnant undies, they are not very flattering and really way too big, even for spare pairs.


52--My favorite ice cream is mint choc. chip.


51--I have cut tags out of my clothes before if I am going on a trip so that people with me might not see the actual size. (Not as bad as Seinfeld scratching out the 33 and putting 32 or whatever)


50--I don't like really scary, disturbing movies.


49--I do like movies that are somewhat action/adventure with a twist.

48--I have two dogs, Max and Molly, and yes, I do still love them.

47--The dogs sleep in our room, and yes, sometimes our bed.

46--Because the dogs get on our bed, I have to wash our bedding often, so I never buy expensive bedding, because I replace it probably every year.

45--The first place I shop for my kids clothes are consignment stores. I look for things in the 2 dollar range or cheaper, if I get to where I am paying four dollars for a shirt, I take my 4 dollars to target and buy the shirt there.

44--I have decided that in most cases, shoes are easier to find at payless or somewhere than at consignment stores. Plus, you can't really skimp on the kids shoe size.

43--I generally never spend more than 20 dollars on any item in my wardrobe, unless my mom has gotten it for me. When first I enter a store, I go straight to the 75% off rack.

42--I do however think that a good pair of jeans, and a good bra are worth more than the 20 dollars.( those are the exceptions.:)

41--Earle and I did Crown Ministries when we first got married and we really try to keep ourselves in check with those principles...the link is provided to the right of the page.

40--Someday we would love to have no mortage payment, but that is still a very long way off. Other than that, we try to stay living debt free...thanks for Earle to teaching me, I knew nothing about budgeting before we got married...but as most of you know, he does all of the bills, and I think that is a great thing. I would hate doing myself. It is not my talent.

39--One of my favorite resturaunts is Carrabba's, and I have not had it in a long time. I keep moving to places that don't have one.

38--I love Qudoba...I wish we had one here.

37--I like spicy food...I can sometimes hang with the guys in that division.

36--I hate that I am having a hard time with more things...

35--I love being a mom, but it is definately not as easy as it seems...Ben teaches me new things everyday.

34--One thing I have learned this week from Ben is that he gives the most amazing apologies, I mean, he takes responsibility for what he has done and verbalizes it and tells you he is sorry, many times with no prompting. It has been an example to me.

33--I once had my picture in a Scotland newspaper with the Queen of England..and so did April...she stopped and waived at us.

32--I am a housewife that needs to get out once in a while....I like to keep myself busy.

31--I like to dance, even if I am not the best at it.

30--I have colored my hair since I have been out of college...but over the last year, I am back to my own....only to discover like 5 gray hairs?!!!

29--When I sleep at night I prefer that the sheet is not tucked in so that it does not pull my toes down.

28--I also like to sleep with one leg in the covers and one leg out of the covers, and when I am really sleeping, I can't be touching anyone.

27--I repaint over toenail polish many, many times before I actually take it off and start fresh.

26--I would love to get away with Earle, especially to Scotland, he has never been.

25--I am a little afraid of going on a cruise because of just being on water for so long and probably all of the scary left at sea shark movies like Open Water.

24--I am the tiniest bit afraid of flying, I am nervous every time.

23--I hate passing semi's on the road when I am driving, and I get nervous being the passenger of someone else driving by one.

22--I am nervous driving in heavy rain.

21--I don't think I will be voting for Hillary.

20--I am so thankful that God has blessed me with such a wonderful family.

19--I think I am really getting somewhere now.

18--I like to write poetry and stuff, it has been a few years, but I think I might be really good at writing sappy hallmark cards...seriously.

17--Generally speaking, I am not a touchy feely person.

16--Earle says, and I think he could be right, that I am not really as nice and sweet all of the time as people think I am. I think it just must be how my talking voice sounds.

15--I give side hugs.

14--I am already feeling bad for the people who have taken up so much of their time reading this.

13--It is morning now....I started this last night.
12--There are many more interesting things I could post here, but I am not sure they would be appropriate for everyone to read.
11--All four of my grandparents are still alive.
10---I love reading Sandi's Works for Me Wednesday
9--I am not a morning person...it takes me a while to feel like talking.
8--Earle and Ben are morning people, they talk a lot, so it can be a little conflicting.
7--It is now day 3 for the hairwashing.
6--I wear pretty inexpensive make-up...I usually by it at Wal-Mart.
5--I do splurge for Biologe Shampoo and Conditioner.
4--Collin is waking up.
3--We are leaving for a trip to TX today.
2--Collin was up much of the night with a cold.
1---I say "Halleleuiah, when I am scared and I sing strange high pitches when I hurt myself on accident!!!!!!!
Yeah...I can't believe I am done. I am going to tag Sandi, Angela Grace, Rochelle, Becky and Lorie!!! Have a great Weekend!!

For those of you that I tagged and you don't have a blog yet, use this as a starter post and go up to the top right of this page and click on "Create Blog"
Carrie