Christmas Morning 2009

Our boys had a great Christmas! I was so proud of them a couple of days ago... I told Ben and Collin to go and pick out some of their toys to give away...so Ben actually picked some really good stuff that he realized he did not play with anymore...he wanted to give them to another little boy for Christmas... This made me so proud of him and his kind heart and willingness to give some of his things and the positive attitude he did it with even before he knew what he was getting for Christmas...Collin of course was just putting things in the pile because he thought it was a fun game...they were so sweet. Of course I told him that Santa would probably be bringing him more stuff. They got what they had asked for on their lists...well, most of it! Thank you to all of our family members that sent them gifts. They had a great morning opening everything and spending time together!!
We are so blessed with our children and our family, and our friends. Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!!

CB & EB

Dog Sledding Trip

Some deer on the side of the road... A herd of Elk on the side of the road..

We actually went on this trip the weekend of the 20th..but due to the fact that I forgot my camera and we had to buy a disposable and get a cd of the pics...I am just now posting...they are not the best quality..but at least we have something to remember the trip by.

We had an absolute blast going up for a couple nights to Banff and going dog sledding with the kids. It has been a rough couple of weeks for my family. My grandfather, George Owen, is going through his last days right now in a hospital in Paducah, so we almost cancelled this trip. I am so glad that we went. We all really enjoyed it and the boys did great on the hour long ride.
We also spent some time taking the boys tobogganing and they had a blast. Collin actually enjoyed it this time and Ben as always is fearless and will climb to the top of any hill and throw himself on the sled head first and go down the hill full speed ahead. It was nice to spend the weekend up in the mountains one last time before we return to the States.

My grandfather is still in the hospital and he has spent the week surrounded by family. Please keep him in your prayers. Also, upon returning, we found out that a dear friend of ours from Illinois, Michelle Ashby, has been diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer. It has spread to many parts of her body..her spine, ribs, pelvis, and liver. We ask for your prayers also for the Ashby family. Michelle us undergoing chemo and radiation right now. Her husband, Ryan Ashby went to Harding.
CB

A Holiday Masterpiece!!

Alas, the putting together of the Gingerbread House...

CB

I am So Proud of this Boy!!

Tonight was a milestone in the Brown household. Ben had his Christmas program for school tonight. His program started at 7pm and we left just after 6pm to make sure that we would get there in time. The snow and traffic was horrible..and it took us over an hour to get to the church for the program. I was so worried because I had a feeling that this night was going to be really good for Ben. We made it in time, his class had not gone on yet.
For most children this is always a wonderful experience. But for us until tonight, these programs have been always unpredictable because Ben has serious anxiety about these type of events. The first year of Preschool was horrible with programs...see my post from May 2008. Last Christmas was somewhat successful, but Earle and I had to hide from him to stop him from spotting us and running off of the stage in a screaming fit of anxiety. He made it though last year, but was scared and upset afterward because he did not know where we had been. Today he told me he was going to do it...yesterday he sang one of his songs for me all the way through every verse. It does not seem like two songs would be so significant, but tonight they were...just enough time to show how much my little boy is growing up and changing. I am not saying that he was not scared tonight...I think he was, but he was also excited.. This is before the concert, you can see he is fidgeting with his hands...but proud and smiling because he knows he is going to go through with it.

Our pictures did not turn out well at all, we were far away and the lighting was difficult. I was so disappointed about it, but it still gives you an idea.

Here he is, actually up there in front of hundreds of parents and kids...smiling and getting ready to sing.After the songs were over, there was applause...this cracks me up because he is holding his ears...he said the applause were too loud...but that is a good thing!!Afterwards the boys sitting down in the lobby watching the video of the performance...you can see he is still excited/nervous...fidgeting with his mouth and hands.

But you know what, he did it!!! This is a first for Ben and a huge step in his confidence. For once tonight I was the one who got teary eyed, not Earle, and it was all over two silly Christmas songs. I cannot tell you how proud I am of this kid. And also for his teachers this year who have helped him so much!!

CB

The In-Between....

Well, we are in the in-between, in between Thanksgiving and Christmas that is. I don't have much to say, but I felt we were due a post. It has been really cold here the past few days...and last weekend we had a blizzard. SO we have spent quite a lot of time at home, inside, watching movies and trying to find crafts to do, books to read, warm food to eat, hot chocolate to drink, etc. Ben has his school program tomorrow evening and we are looking forward to that. On Monday morning when we all got out to take Ben to school it was -17 degrees Fahrenheit! So it is beyond cold this week! Hope everyone is having a great week!!