The Brown Chronicles

Ben's First Day of First Grade

2011-08-22T12:25:00.000-07:00

Love these pictures. We are lucky that Ben is missing his two front top teeth for these photos:). I love it. He is about to lose the two on either side too, so it makes for a great memory. Got the idea for the Age/Info photo from, http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisalucky/3589299142/. Wish I could take the credit but I cannot. I found it from browsing pinterest. Ben was quite excited about today. Collin was quite sad that his brother was going without him. Bless them. What fun they are! Thank you Mama Cindy for their fun new backpacks and gear!
~CB

Summer Fun...from my perspective;)....

2011-08-08T14:26:00.000-07:00

We stayed in Houston for most of the summer this year. It was good! We enjoyed lots of stay cation time. We did make a trip to Kentucky to see my family and one to Kilgore to see Earle's mom around Memorial day. I'm so behind on all of our postings that I think I'll just go ahead and post all the different pictures that I took with my phone. Be prepared this will be a marathon of pictures ahead. I just also posted a few of the pictures that the boys have taken on their camera this summer. Be sure to click onto "Ben's Musings" and "Collin's Candor" pages to see what has been going on from their perspectives.

~CB

Qualities in a Wife..

2011-08-08T07:03:00.000-07:00

One day about a week ago, we were driving home and Collin said, "Hey mom, you know what, when I become a teenager, I think I'm just gonna go ahead and get married."
"No!" Ben interjected. " You do high school first, then college, then you find a wife! You can't get married when you are a teenager."
Collin, "Actually, I think I am going to."
And thus the debate continued the whole way home. We got home and they discussion got more detailed. They wanted to make lists that they could keep adding to, with qualities that they would like to have in their perspective wives. They wanted to pray about the qualities on the list, and store these lists somewhere in the attic?(cracked me up.)

So here are the lists:

Collin's Wife's Qualities:

I want a wife that likes to go to McDonald's.
I want my wife to look like my mommy. (Bless him!)
I want my wife to be cozy.
It would be nice if she liked to play soccer.

Ben's Wife's Qualities:

I really don't want a wife that works. If she worked then what would our kids do? Well I guess if she really liked working I could hire a babysitter.
I want her to have long lighter colored hair.
I want to be the boss of her. (oh dear)
I want a wife who likes to go on dates to a movie or places where we pick out our own food. :D
I want a wife who smiles and laughs most of the time but can be serious.
I would like her to wear regular clothes, like jeans and shirts but still wear a little lipstick.
I want a wife who goes to church, because I'm going to church.
I'll pray for her when the babies are in her belly, so that she won't die, cause then I'll have a baby all by myself and I'll just have to go out and find another wife.
I want a wife that has jewels in her personality. ( I kept trying to get him to explain this, but he just kept repeating the same statement. Funny.)
And mom, I'm never ever going to get a divorce, so my wife and kids won't have to worry about that.

I hope it all works out for them:).
~CB

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-30T19:04:00.000-07:00

What better than to spend a beautiful day with my boys!! They were so sweet. Lorie and Mops helped them pick out little gifts while we were in Vegas. Then they picked out pictures on the computer each to make a big collage for me with help from Lorie. Thank you Brenda and Lorie. That was very thoughtful of you! I am sure you probably saw this on Facebook, but Ben also made some cards for me at school and was very sneaking trying to get them home under his jacket when he got off of the bus in 90+ degree weather. It had been quite a busy week for us. I had totally forgotten about having pictures taken when we were still dressed up for church. That's okay. I'd rather remember how we just were, on a normal day. God is good. I am so very blessed by my boys. They are silly, smart, messy, cantankerous, ornery, funny, and full of quirks and surprises. They question us constantly, and they do not forget a thing, ever. They keep me guessing and they astonish me. Though it is not always easy, they teach me how to be a better mother every day. One of the best things at their young age is that they are best when they are home with us and we know them the best and get the best part of them. A constant reminder that who a person is when no one else is looking is the most accurate version of who we are. Sometimes I wish I could just press pause. I can't wait to see who they grow up to be.
~CB

Las Vegas

2011-05-23T22:55:00.000-07:00

Catching up here! Earle and I went to Las Vegas at the end of April for the first time. It was fun! A very short trip considering the flying days were a little long. We stayed on the strip and did lots of walking, eating, saw what all of the hype was about. We saw three shows, The Hypnotist Unleashed, Beatles Love, and Penn and Teller.
Though we had a good time and yes, even I tried my hand a few rounds of three dollar blackjack on Fremont street, I was somehow struck a little by something unexpected. Vegas is so extravagant. I can see why people want to go there. The luxury hotels are amazing and the casino resorts are all decorated and presented in the most over the top way possible. There is no expense spared. It is pretty incredible. And while you may find a great hotel and flight deal to Vegas, you still have to pay for everything while you are there. I'm not saying that this is not what we expected, it was. We were prepared. But what I was not expecting was to find a place where many people are starving. I mean, I have lived quite a few places where there are large homeless populations, but they were different than this. Generally I see homeless asking for money, food, and beer. In Vegas, we would be walking around day or night and there would be many homeless people sitting on the walkways between the casino resorts holding up signs that would say, "Need food. Need water." Most of them would not ask for money. This kept baffling me. When we would eat a meal, we would try to pack up our leftovers so that we could have something to give these people as we walked by them.  Another thing that really bothered me was that I hardly saw anyone give anything to these people. Most people come to Vegas with money to blow for their vacations of luxury. And they would not even look at these starving people. It blew me away. Though we had a great time, I could not get past this. The ethics of it really bothered me.
One chilly night I saw a girl in her late teens hunkered over on the walkway to our hotel and she was wrapped up in a blanket sitting there holding a sign that said, "Nine weeks pregnant. I need food, please. I need water. Anything. Please."
Over the next two days I saw many of these young homeless pregnant girls asking for food or a water bottle. Never coming up to you. Never asking for money. Just sitting there. I am sure that lots of run away girls go to Vegas because they think that they can get a job there dancing or being a waitress or being a lady of the evening. Young teenage boys stand all along the streets at night pushing cards with naked call girls on them that would be happy to come to your hotel room if you would like them to. They tap the cards loudly in your face, and get right into your personal space. I guess I can see why these girls are homeless, pregnant and starving. They are used and cast out and have probably come from a bad circumstance to begin with.  It was just so terribly sad to watch.
Earle felt the same way that I did about the situation. Only he is not as dramatic, of course. And I did not want to over discuss it to kill the mood of the trip. But it did nauseate us. Sadly though the situation of these starving people and the way that people refused to even acknowledge their presence is what stuck in my head the most about the trip. Where is God in the hearts of those who won't look at these people and have no compassion on them? Seriously?! How can we as human beings in a situation where people have pockets stuffed with cash for throwing away in casino's and meaningless entertainment walk by people who are begging for water? And all that these poverty stricken people ask for is your crumbs? Dip your finger in the water people.  It was so Lazarus and the Rich Man! Come ON!! I know the extreme cheesiness of that last comment. I don't mean to be a buzz kill on the awesomeness of Las Vegas. I have talked to many people about their trips to Vegas. Most people have told me that it was one of their favorite places and that they hope to take many more trips there. I have talked to at least a dozen people about it in the past few months and not ONE single person happened to mention these destitute girls. It was like eating the most magnificent chocolate dessert...only to find that after the first few bites there was a rotten taste in the fudge icing...and then your realize that the milk in the icing had gone sour. Oh how easy it is to ignore other people's pain when it is not our own. Okay, I am getting off of the soapbox now. Mission/Relief trip to Vegas anyone? It would be a great way to help people and also have a good time at the same time...a real win/win!!

All that being said, the trip to Las Vegas was not one that was wasted. I truly enjoyed getting to spend time with Earle and we did do quite a few fun things. We had a great time. If we go again, I'll just go prepared with lots of granola bars and water bottles. We LOVED going to Fremont street, which was the old "strip". This is the strip that many of your grandparents remembered from their golden age. Only not mine because they, well, at least my father's parents would have rather died than step foot in a casino resort. You can have breakfast for a normal price and even play three dollar black jack a time or two without breaking out a twenty. Also it was much more family friendly. You saw normal people there, and the waitresses and housekeepers for the most part had on more than bra tops. If we do go back however, we have decided that we will stay at the Golden Nugget Resort Casino on Fremont St. and ride the seven dollar-a-day bus called, "The Deuce" to the new strip for the shows and shops. Just a little FYI.
Now you just mark my words. You will decide to go to Vegas for a trip and you'll have your eyes open and your purse stuffed with granola bars, and coincidentally all the unfortunate young women I've mentioned will have moved to L.A.

Proverbs 28:27 He who gives to the poor will never want, but he who shuts his eyes will have many curses.

~CB

Orange Bag Kind of Girl

2011-05-16T14:57:00.000-07:00

For a few days now, I have been walking by a bag of hardly eaten oranges. They were starting to get a little soft, but not quite bad yet. For days I've been asking myself, "Why did I get the bag instead of just one or two. I never eat them..."
So, like a little boy might experiment with anything he sees, I decided to see what these oranges could do for me. I grabbed an orange, rolled it on the counter for a moment, and sliced it in half. I then headed straight to my bathroom. My shower door has not been really soap scum free since the day we bought our home. I clean the inside but usually have so many other things to clean that the last thing I care to spend my energy on doing is scrubbing down the glass door. I cupped the peel side of the orange like a round scrubbing brush, I started scrubbing the inside of the glass door with the orange. And then it happened. Instant gratification. And as soon as I started scrubbing, the citric acid in that orange cut straight through a year and a half of the scum on my shower door. I kept going, with a circular motion till the juice in that half of the orange was gone. The glass was clear, but there was sticky pulp all over the glass. I decided to put the stopper in the sink, and fill it with warm water and some white vinegar. I grabbed a washcloth and went to town wiping the pulp off of the shower door. What took a year and a half to form on that door, took about 10 minutes to obliterate with an almost bad orange. I'm guessing that lemons do this trick as well, without the stickiness.
I took the oranges outside to our patio table. Our table is wrought iron with a glass top that has literally not been cleaned off since last summer. I am aware that disclosing this information is totally disgusting. Rest assured we have not eaten on it since then either. It is what it is folks.
Anyway,I grabbed my oranges, rolled one, cut it in half and went to

work on the table. Five minutes later after wiping it all off with the warm water and vinegar, a brilliant shine! I'm sold!! This must have been how my great-grandmother used to clean things. I will never go back to buying one or two oranges or lemons. If you think about it, there is only a little citric acid in the cleaning products that you buy at the store. Even the all-natural organic cleaning products. You still have sit and scrub for quite awhile sometimes. In it's strongest form, the citric acid is so much quicker and more potent.

Plus, I don't feel bad at all about handing my boys orange halves and some vinegar water and telling them to go wipe down the shower or some windows. Since we need things to do in the summer this daily pastime will fit into their routine quite well.
~ CB

The Quiet Fox

2011-03-26T09:29:00.000-07:00

This, my friends, is known at many a preschool as the "Quiet Fox." I am pretty sure that this is what the teachers have the kids to as they walk down hallways during school to remind themselves to be very quiet.

At our house, it has taken the form of a whole new monster. While smiling in the first photo, the one underneath is the general expression that I get when Collin does the quiet fox, though the one below he is actually doing the sign for 'I Love You.' He did think he was doing the quiet fox but forgot to put his thumb in.

Collin does not use the quiet fox at home to remind himself of being quiet. He tries to use it as a weapon to get others to be quiet. Here are some examples of when Collin uses the quiet fox:

When he is singing a song and I try to sing along with him.
When he is watching a cartoon and I am talking too loud in the same room.
When I ask him to do something that he does not want to do.

I will say that he really dislikes it when I use the quiet fox on him.

The picture below is another one of Collin's made up signs.

We refer to it as "Silent Talk Block," but he will not speak what it is called, if he even has a name for it.

Yet another random sign that he has started using when he wants us to be quiet. Sometimes he will use this one when he is just tired of listening to whatever it is we are discussing. We will be having a conversation at dinner and *BAM* we are given the "talk block" with a cool glare.

Trying to create the power to silently hush others at age four. Huh. It is possible that I should be concerned. Hopefully just a peculiar phase. Imagine what we could all do with that power!

~CB

Collin Turns 4

2011-03-26T08:16:00.000-07:00

My sweet boy turned four years old this past weekend! I can hardly believe how fast the time has gone. We celebrated at Chuck E. Cheese this year. It was a huge hit! A great end to a rather stinky Spring Break week. I love this boy. He and I are alot alike. We have the same moods. I get him. He is so sweet but extremely ornery. I am constantly reminded of how blessed we are that he is ours. God is good! Happy Birthday Collin! Mommy and daddy love you so much. And so does your big bruddeh!
~CB

An Unfortunate Incident...

2011-03-25T15:02:00.000-07:00

Our Spring Break week started with a bang. A bang to the elbow that is. Monday of last week was quite rainy and incidentally there was nothing to do around the house. By about ten o'clock in the morning I had two little boys running completely wild and asking me every five minutes what we were going to do. So I decided that I would take them to one of those places with the big inflatable things to play on so that they could run off the energy and we could all stay sane. After the boys had been playing for about 45 minutes or so, I was watching Ben slide down one of the big slides. When he got to the bottom, he stood up on the thin mat on the floor and randomly lost his footing. He came down straight on his elbow. He tried to shake off the pain and came to the table where I was sitting. I looked at the arm and elbow, I was not sure it was terribly hurt. He was kind of whimpering, but no outright big crying. Within about ten minutes, it started to swell. So we headed to Texas' Children's ER where shortly thereafter it was announced that he had fractured his little elbow. He was such a trooper. He hardly cried. They x-rayed him before they had given him pain medicine. He held his breath and tried to be brave, finally screaming out when they raised the x-ray table too high for him to stand the pain. He is casted now for the next few weeks and acts like he does not have a broken arm.

CB

A Sad Goodbye to a Loyal Friend

2011-03-15T21:59:00.000-07:00

There is something special about a relationship between a loyal dog and his owner. I am not the type person that likes it when other people's animals crawl all over me or jump all over me. I do, however, love my own dogs, even if they can cause mischief at times. There is something special about the selfless love a dog gives to his owner. They love as if they are forever grateful. They love as if they are forever protective and they live to please you and comfort you. Wow, what if we exhibited this type of selfless love to each other? Strange to say that a good dog is a good example of selfless love.
Tonight is our last evening to spend with our dog Max. We found out today that he has cancer in the bone of his shoulder. It is quite a rapid growing kind of cancer. He has been in quite a lot of unexplained pain over the past few months off and on. He is a large dog and almost 11 years old. So rather than have him undergo radiation and leg amputation, we have decided to put him down tomorrow morning.
I remember when we first got Max. We had only been married a few months, and lived in a small apartment. Someone had left a box of puppies behind a bush just outside of an animal hospital. So I guess he was a rescue dog. At the time, our five month old dog, Molly, had been in obedience school at the animal hospital because of her cantankerous behavior. A few weeks before we got Max, the animal hospital had advertised that they had puppies to give away. They were cute puppies, but I was in no way about to take one of them. Slowly, one by one, most all of the puppies had found homes...all except Max...who had been described as the aggressive one. The leader of the pack. We finished our obedience training for Molly and had decided on having her spayed. Earle was the one who took her to have her spayed that morning. He called me later and told me that there was one puppy left in that litter. He told me that he wanted me to see the puppy when we picked Molly up. I had no desire. We got there after work that evening and they brought Molly out. I was hoping that Earle had forgotten about showing me the puppy. Of course he had not forgotten. He asked the lady to bring Max out. So out came this cute puppy. I wanted to say no. We lived in a small apartment with a dog that was wild(Molly). But something in me couldn't say no. I guess he knew I would not have been able to resist Max. He just looked at me like, "please say yes, and I'll always be good to you." So I did. Even though I had been warned that others did not take him because he was aggressive. He was quite the mischief maker. When Max was a puppy I would walk into my bedroom and find pillows and comforters lying as flat as a sheet while the room was covered in white stuffing. I would find large chunks of wood chewed out of window moldings and other things. He could undo a latch from the other side of a crate with ease, and get out of his crate while we were at work, only for us to come home and find the whole place bombed with defecation. We had to put a locked padlock on his crate as a puppy, and eventually he figured out how to get that open as well. On occasion I would walk into my closet and gasp at the smell of urine, where he had marked my entire bottom rack of clothes. Oh the fury!!
But even with all of that tom foolery, Max ended up being the most gentle, kind, and loyal dog. He never growled at us, ever, in anger or aggression. He would growl when he was tired..sort of a, "don't bug me" growl, but never mean. He lived to please and protect us, and I think especially me. When Earle would be out of town with work, he would jump up into Earle's spot in the bed. While I was pregnant with Collin, Max sort of became my shadow. Following me around to make sure that I was okay. He has ever since. Although he has caused messes and mischief, he was well worth taking. From the get go, Max let Molly take the lead, he let her eat first, always. He let her speak for both of them for a long time. I had to learn to listen to what he was trying to tell me because he had such a quiet, non intrusive way of communicating his needs. Once I sort of figured out how to listen to him, I think we made a special connection. He has been like a guardian to the soul. He has lived through many moves and transitions in the Brown home. Sweet Max, we will love and miss you, but we don't want you to suffer. Thank you for making your paw print on our hearts and being such a good example of loyal, and selfless love. You have blessed our lives with your gentle spirit.
Tonight Max had a rib eye steak for dinner, along with a granola bar, and his pain pills were covered in a fluffy cloud of whipped cream. I think he'll have a bacon-wrapped fillet mignon for breakfast before we go in the morning. I can't really think of any other way to honor him, but I think it will make him happy.

I'll be honest, the glowing green eyes kind of freaked me out, but I could not get a picture without it. They seemed extra glowing, and I could not edit them out.

~CB

About Lice and such...

2011-03-07T13:39:00.000-08:00

This weekend I got to go spend the weekend with my cousin Jennie aka "The Lice Lady of Atlanta."
We had a good time and I got to follow her to a bunch of her lice client homes where I saw and helped de-lice many a child, teenager or mom. I was not exactly expecting to do lice but apparently we are getting in to rampant lice season. When I arrived at the Atlanta airport and got in the car with Jennie, she said, "You are going to hate this cousin, but we have 3 lice clients to go to right now..."
I was like, "You've got to be kidding me!"
I have never had lice before (knock on wood). But I heard right before I left Katy on Thursday morning that there were some lice cases at my son's school last week. I am definitely going to be proactive in checking! Some things as a mom that you might not know about lice that you may find interesting or helpful:

*Most school nurses do not catch all of the lice cases. Especially the nits that are the eggs laid by the lice that attach to the hair.

*Lice only are transferred with head to head contact...which mean that elementary children and younger are at the biggest risk because they always talk or sit with their little heads touching. If a bug gets on a pillow or chair and you sit there, you can catch it. They can only live for about 24 to 48 hours off of a scalp which is the lice's food source. Lice don't jump or run around your home.

*Lice cannot be killed by washing your hair. They can hold their breath for up to 8 hours. So baby pools can be a breeding ground for lice.

*Some doctor prescribed treatments can kill the bugs themselves, but nothing can kill the nits. They have to all be combed out of the hair. If you miss one, you will not be rid of the lice. Most of the prescribed treatments have pesticides in them that can harm small children if they are allergic, and can really irritate the scalp.

*Human lice cannot be caught by animals or animal lice by humans.

*There are three types of lice: Head lice, Body lice, and Pubic Lice. Head lice only live on the head. You cannot transfer it to other parts of the body.

*Lice like clean hair and scalps the MOST! All of the houses we went to were very nice and very clean. We are talking $500,000+ homes in the suburbs of Atlanta.

*Using hairspray and hair mousse and other hair products does help to keep a barrier from the lice getting to your head. They also hate the smell of mint, there is a product on my cousin's website that you can use. Mousse your kids up and hairspray them rubbing the mousse on the scalp before school.

*During the spring and summer it is a good idea for everyone to do lice maintenance even if you don't have it. Especially after camps, parties, and times when your kids have been with other kids. Slumber parties are not the best idea during this time. We went to one house where the little girl had it, then we checked the very clean teenage girl, and of course she had it too. She had a friend spend the night with her who was watching her be treated....the friend choose not to be checked, they had slept in the same bed. ICK!

* You can do maintenance by helping your child in the bathtub or shower. Just condition up their hair and run a lice comb through it for about 5 minutes around the crown, part, neck and hairline. Don't rinse out the comb but use a white paper towel to wipe the comb gunk off. Looking and folding after each wipe to see if you see any nits. They are tiny dark brown ovals. You can order the special comb off of my cousin's website. If you do find nits, you can also order the foam product from the website to treat them. If your child has it, it is worth paying someone to come to your home to treat you. If you live in Houston, and have the comb and foam on hand, I can show you how to comb through the hair.

* I am going to order the comb today and I got some foam that I brought back just in case. Her comb works much better than the ones you might get at Walgreens or CVS. It is a professional patented lice comb. It makes a big difference.

*Lice has been declared a national epidemic. Almost second to the common cold in children. There is something called the Super Lice that is a strain that is very hard to kill with prescribed treatments. They have become immune.

One thing I found funny while doing lice calls was that we would be elbow deep in the lice foam, combing lice out of sections of hair, and the mom of the house would then ask us if we would like a snack or a drink. We would politely say, "No thank you." But gross, who would want to eat something when your hands were entrenched in lice ridden hair. I'm sure I would offer the same thing though.

I will tell all of my friends that you all should order these three things to have on hand just in case, especially if you have elementary aged or younger aged children:
http://www.liceladiesatlanta.com/lice_ladies_store.html
These products are all natural with no pesticides and completely safe for young children. They have an enzyme in them that decinagrates the exoskeleton of the lice bug and loosens the nit glue so that the nits can be combed out. It is a fragrance free product.

The foam is good for up to a year and if you don't have to use it, you can give it to a friend. The comb will last forever. You can e-mail Jennie or me if you need to de-lice and I can help explain to you how to comb.
Hope you don't have to de-lice your home but if you do call a professional and Happy Licing!:)
CB

When I'm

2011-03-02T17:40:00.000-08:00

Discussion I overheard in the car tonight went as follows....

Ben: When you're in kindergarten, I'm gonna be in first grade, no, I'll be in second grade.

Collin: Hey Ben...

Ben: And when you're in 3rd grade I'm gonna be in 5th Grade...

Collin: You know what Ben...

Ben: And when you're in 5th grade I'm gonna be in 7th Grade

Collin: Ben..

Ben: ..and when I'm in 6th grade you're gonna be in, um, you're gonna be in 4th grade.

Collin: Hey Ben...

Ben: Yes, Collin.

Collin: Hey Ben when I'm yowr age, you know what?

Ben: What?

Collin: When I'm yowr age, I'm gonna love you. I'm just gonna love you.

Ben with a brimming over smile giggles: He loves me.

I looked back to see them holding hands across their car seats and smiling at each other.

~CB

My HOME Page(The original reason for the blog)

2011-02-28T22:43:00.000-08:00

So I have decided that I was well behind the times here with the old layout. When I originally started this blog it was to keep a scrapbook/journal online for our family. As I got more and more used to blogging, I realized that I was branching out into many different subjects, not all of them really family scrapbook material. I really enjoy writing on this blog even though I don't always take the time to do it for myself. I realized that things don't have to be lengthy to be interesting, even though I know I can sometimes be pretty lengthy! Maybe I can talk Earle into doing and Earle's Corner...that would be interesting for sure. I was so excited today when I saw that you can tab pages! So cool! Then I thought about the fact that we really love having people in our home and hosting new and old friends. So I tried to think of the concept as kind of like just having you over to our house. We would talk about the everyday things, I would probably cook a meal for you, or making you an espresso drink. It is likely that we would have some serious meaningful conversation about life but then we would probably also have some fun and laughs. So this Home page is going to be the everyday scrapbook page. Just like the original intent was for the blog. Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you soon!
~CB

Corndog, the verb tense

2011-02-26T13:27:00.000-08:00

One day earlier this week Ben came to Earle and I and staunchly reported that his brother had said a bad word. We get this quite often from both of the boys and usually the word that they think is a bad word is not a bad word. So we asked him what the word was. Of course he would not tell us because in his head it was a bad word and he did not feel he could actually say it to us for fear of punishment. We told him that it was okay, and after going round and round about this we asked him what letter it started with. He told us it started with an "H". We finally got around to figuring out that Collin had said the word "hate". We then asked Ben to tell us how he said it. Once again, Ben refused because he did not want to get into trouble. So Earle had the brilliant idea of trying to give Ben a different word to use in place of hate so that Ben would use it in the sentence that Collin said it to him. Earle told him to say the word, "Corndog" instead of hate. Of course what Ben told us that Collin said to him was, "Ben, I corndog you." Collin was in trouble because he is definitely not supposed to say that to people, but it began to be a game somehow of using corndog as a code for hate which obviously we never intended. The boys just think that the word corndog is fun to use, and they don't really know what a corndog is. All week, I have been telling them not to say "corndog" because of how they are using it as a code for "hate". But it all sounds so ridiculous to get into deep discussions about the word "corndog". This morning, the four of us went to have coffee at Starbucks for breakfast before Ben's game. Earle and I were chatting, and there were quite a few small tables of people within earshot of our table. Earle and I paused our conversation to hear Collin and Ben very seriously listing the things that they corndogged. Collin commented that he corndogged strangers. And Ben commented that he corndogged men. Collin also commented that his "big softie(security blanket he sleeps with)" corndogged Daddy. People were giving us somewhat strange side glances because of how all of this sounds. I was horrified and looking at Earle like, "I cannot believe you taught them to say CORNDOG"! It sounds horrid and they have no idea what it sounds like they are referring to! Earle still can't help but smirk and giggle when all this is happening. We quickly finished up and threw away our trash and left. The more we try to get them to stop the funnier that they think it is. We need to come up with another word. I corndog corndog.
~CB

Simply Saturday

2011-02-26T12:51:00.000-08:00

I realize that I have not been posting as I should so I thought I'd do something that I thought would be sort of easy. I am way behind on pictures of the boys so I decided to take my camera with me last Saturday morning to let you follow us on our morning. The boys usually wake up early on Saturdays. This is annoying because I have to wake them up on school mornings but for some reason the past few Saturdays they have been waking up in the six o'clock hour. After we get dressed on Saturdays, the boys like to go up to a place called La Centerra near our house that has a Starbucks and lots of other shops. They also host a Farmer's market every Saturday morning and they like to sit in the courtyard and drink their hot chocolates and eat their coffee cakes and run around as they please. They play music over the speakers there so there is always lots of wild silly dancing by our two.

Love this one!

After breakfast we browsed a few shops with good sales. Collin enjoyed watching the cartoons at Crazy 8's.

Later in the morning we go to see Ben play his basketball game. He has just tried basketball for the first time and really seems to like it. So funny to see a 5 and 6 year old team playing a game, but it is also neat to watch how they can pick up the strategies and concept of the game so quickly and really improve from game to game. Ben was really into blocking on defense during this game. Earle said they had not practiced blocking during his weekly practice but that he had played a good team the week before that were good at defense and he just decided to try his hand at overpowering blocks with his long arms and tall frame. It was funny. We were proud of him.

One of Collin's newly coined terms is, "Mom, I am SO boring!" Which means that he is bored. This is what he is telling me here at Ben's game as you can see sprawled out on the floor.

Topped the morning with kid's meals at Fazoli's. My kids think that there is nothing better than the bread sticks! It was a good morning. I am so glad that I have these good times to enjoy with these boys!

~CB

Randoms

2011-02-04T22:29:00.000-08:00

In split second I look over my shoulder.
What in the world is chasing me?
Where has the time gone?
Running from one thing to the next.
Where is my husband? Where are my kids?
Oh, I see them...although they are tiny specks in the distance in front of me surrounded by a beautiful light.
Stop.
Underneath me my feet run on a large black road with a white strip in the center;
formed by the hand of God, I think.
I look behind me. There are people behind me pushing me. Helping me. Friends, Family, Angels, Randoms.
I look forward and run faster to get to my family and the light. Can I go any faster?
I hear my sons call my name, "MOM!"
Wait, that seemed to come from behind me. I look far behind me. Yes, it is them, but I thought they were in front of me.
What? I look ahead...nothing, but snide snickers and jeers but no being to represent.
An illusion?. Yes.
Wait.
Who is chasing me?
I look down. The road is all black.
What?
I look behind me again. Wait a second, who are the Randoms?
I've missed something.
Who is chasing me?
Dear Lord, who is chasing me?
Oh. No.
Deceit
How did I get in front of him?
I look up.
I can't stop, he's behind me and close.
I try to utter "help" but no sound will come out.
I am nauseated. How could I have not known?
I look up.
A hand reaches down and I grab onto it. It pulls me off of the road.
Be still, He tells me. Be still. Wait for him to pass; he can't see you when you are still.
I sit as still as I can and as quiet as I can. I see him run past me down the road. My children are behind him and my husband. They see me and stop and walk to Him and I.
There we sit, still, confused but joyful.

~CB
Thank goodness God is a god who saves us and does not confuse us. Too bad Satan likes to. I was in a mood to write tonight but had no good topics...here is what emerged. Ah well, you know, sometimes getting heavy is okay:)

The Beginning....

2011-02-02T17:23:00.000-08:00

January 22, 2011
So, 11 years ago, today(by the time I finish typing this) Earle and I went on our very first date. Randomly, he called me up the week before and I had had not so much a crush, but lets just say a "peaked interest" in this Earle Brown. He was in the singles group at my church. Well, he was actually teaching the singles bible class and organizing their upcoming ski trip. He was not bad to look at and a big plus was that he had a job and seemed to be a somewhat comfortable, confident individual. Yes, that is how I sized him up at the beginning. Before I knew a single thing about him. This is way too much information, but it may be even more weird and random that only 12 years prior to this on the same date, I officially "began" my "journey" into womanhood at the age of 12 but as you know, God strings all things along in life, randomly, and thus the story of my 'now' life began.
At this time in my life I would be 24 in a weeks time. I had been teaching elementary music in a suburb of Houston during the day and tutoring kids part time at Sylvan learning center a few nights a week for extra income. I had recently been home for Christmas and then home again shortly after for my brother's wedding. I was no where near thinking that I would be considering marriage any time in the near future. I was actually considering moving from Houston after the school year had ended to another city where some of my good friends from college lived.
I had come in after a long day and evening at work. One of my roommates, Melinda, informed me that some guy had called me that she did not recognize. She said that he had a very manly sounding voice, and that he had said that he would call back later. That he did. He called and we talked for quite a while. He then asked me if I would go out with him on Saturday evening. That I also did. I was sort of excited because he had "basic potential" on the Carrie potential meter, and I had kind of hoped he would ask me out for awhile. I remember wondering what I should wear. I ended up wearing a black three quartered length black blouse with a black skirt from the Express with some blue and green embroidery at the bottom with a pair for of somewhat awesome black zip up boots. I have no idea what he wore. My friend Melinda said that you could smell the perfume/cologne trail as we left our apartment where he picked me up. He took me out to dinner to one of my still favorites, "Lupe Tortilla's" restaurant here in Houston. We spent a long time talking and after that we went to see a movie. I offered to pay for the movie. You know, to take the pressure off of him and he said, verbatim, "Um, no, I'm sorry, I can't let you do that." Good move Earle, good move. I would have taken note;). A girl wants a man to take care of her, even if she does not really need to be taken care of.
It was a stupid movie that I remember hating called, "And The Cradle Will Rock." All in all it was a very nice evening though. We seemed to have similar humor and there was an easy flow of conversation and we really enjoyed each other's company. He walked me to my door and asked me if I might be interested in going out on another date. I told him "Yes, of course!" Still unsure that I might be saying yes because of pity, he asked, "Really, would you really like that?" And I said, "Yes!" And then I went inside, no kiss, just a great time. A gentleman for sure.
Lately, I've been thinking quite a bit about Earle and I. We have had quite a bit of transition over the past few years and our lives have been busy and distracted lately. I always thought when I met, "the one" for me that it would be someone who was one of my best friends or someone that I had known for years or that I had dated for years. This was not the case with Earle and I. We just knew that we wanted to be with each other for the rest of our lives. We loved each other and we were committed to each other. We truly enjoyed being around each other. We only dated for 3 months before we were engaged. That is not long enough for best friendship. So it was weird in a way that the friendship actually grew into the deep friendship after we were married. Not at all what I had pictured. And I'm so glad that God put him in my life. Strange how you think you know how things are going to be, but something can catch your eye in a way you are not expecting and it can turn into something so meaningful and lasting. I'm just very thankful for that man these days. He's a good one.
~CB

Christmas 2010

2011-02-01T11:39:00.000-08:00

Well, I am way behind in posting! But I wanted to post the Christmas morning pictures of the boys. We did not have as many pictures this year, for whatever reason I did not have my camera. We had a great Christmas morning and day with the four of us and my parents and Lorie. The boys loved having Christmas at their house this year. It was nice to be able to put up a tree and actually use it for the desired purpose of Christmas morning and not have to travel. We had a relaxed day and just enjoyed being. It was laid back and nice.

Here are also a few pictures of my parents and the boys at The Children's Museum here in Houston. They had a good time! They really enjoyed being with Papa and Cindy!

~CB

What You Have All Been Waiting for, I'm Sure... and not the sample version: The Best OF....

2010-12-22T23:12:00.000-08:00

Facebook Statuses 2010!!!!
(Well, lets just say, "The Better Of" some of them are not entertaining at all...just figured it would be good to have.) Feel free to vote on your favorite if you have the time to go through and read them all...

Guilty Pleasure of the day: Listening to "Let me be the One to Love You"..from Celine Dion's Let's Talk About Love cd with my sister in the car. Singing it, and harmonizing it a the top of our lungs and yes, unfortunately directing the strings and the rests. There you have it folks...the dork shines.

This morning I was at Target looking for a book for C to give at his preschool Christmas party gift exchange. I picked up the book, "If I could keep you little..." by Marianne Richmond and started reading it. I'm not a sappy person but I totally teared up. If you have a little one and have not read it, it is a must. So sweet!

I'm afraid my dog Max who is elderly in dog years is developing Dogs Alzheimers. Is there such a thing? Out of no where we discovered that he is eating his own excrement. He pants and paces for us to let him out, and when we do he returns licking his lips. I'm so disgusted right now. He wants water constantly too. I know some of you friends are vets. Should I be concerned? I think he's losing his mind.

I'm watching an Reo Speedwagon Concert on Direct TV, I like a few of their songs even though they are lame, but I am sure you could guess the three songs...I would be lying if I said I have never owned their greatest hits CD...oh well, there you go, they are no Journey.

You know you have been to a truly good authentic Mexican food resturaunt when you walk in and your mouth waters, you can't wait to gorge on the chips, salsa, entree and beans and rice. You leave feeling like you must shower as soon as possible because you smell like you just ate some manure fried up on a plate, but strangely you can't wait to return. Tonights experience, Original Mama Ninfa's.:)

I remembered that I have a blog...

For some reason my house will not stop vomitting up laundry. I have no clue where it is all coming from. Everytime I think I'm finished there is another pile.

The note I sent to Ben's teacher today went as follows, "Dear Mrs. Marshall, I'll be praying for your day, it is going to be a hard one.Due to severe jetlag Ben was up at 2:30am playing on Earle's iphone and up at 4am for good. If you can figure out a way for the nurse to send him home feel free. I have packed a coke and some chocolate for you because you'll need the extra energy. Hope you survive.~CB"

One 6 year old crashed out in his bed, one three year old struggling to keep his little eyes open while his softing blanket, i.e. the infamous and extremely well travelled, "BIG SOFTIE" dries in the dryer. I just could not let him rub that thing all over his face after it has been on countless dirty floors and planes! Bless his heart.

Thankful for God's blessings of wonderful family and friends like family...and His protective provisons! :)

Questions from our kids about the trip: "Mom, do I need to say goodbye to my friends @ school? Are we getting a house there? Will People come to pack up our stuff? Are we Americans?" With all of our moving we've so confused our kids! Bless their hearts! I guess this is about the time each year we have prepared for moving! What a blessing that we are not!!!!

How do you load your toilet paper holder? Does the paper feed go on the front of the roll or the back of the roll? Is there actually a way that everyone is to properly feed it? Bestow your wisdom please someone. For I do not know the proper etiquette.

Having a great time seeing old friends. So weird how even the different smells bring back such good memories!

Ok, well I was checking out at Wal-mart and I fell for a sales trap. Andes De Menthe Chocolate Covered cookies...staring straight at me in the check out line. I felt ashamed for impulsively grabbing them and throwing them onto the check out belt...but alas they are truly decadent and I have no regrets...seriously!

"I can tell that you had your hair done today, now that you mention it," says he to me.

Ben got the "Most Outstanding Behavior Award" in his music class today. He came home this afternoon and immediately showed it to me. I'm not going to lie, I was surprised a little but very proud of him. He said to me, "Mom, I almost exploded, I was so proud." I love that he almost exploded.

Is it ironic that my 3 yr. old is roaming around our house shouting the fruits of the spirit? He's been yelling,"The fruits of the spirit are LOVE! JOY! PEACE!PATIENCE! KINDNESS! GOODNESS! FAITHFULNESS! GENTLENESS! and SELF CON-TRO_OOOL!" I think the Lord is trying to see if I can take a hint. Hellooooo Monday!:)

So AAA was great! I think they r totally worth the yearly membership. They put on my old spare so that I could get to Walmart to have the new tire put on. Question: do you tip AAA? I had no cash. Instead I just gave him my coke and my HEB brand Doritos out of the lunch I'd packed for Bens field trip. Was that tacky? I asked him if he'd like to have them and he said he would.

Today I threw on my infamous Hot Pink Track suit to walk Ben to the bus. He looked at me and said, "hey mom, that hot pink jacket and those pants are a real outfit. Just like my dinasaur outfits that I like to wear so much. " yay.

As I was cuddling with Collin in the morning he said, "Hey mom, you smell good, but sometimes een da morning you ahr a little bit stinky. Mom, I fink it is yor bref. Yeah, yor bref is a little stinky."

Taking Lorie out on the town. First stop is Sonic then downtown to the Wortham to see HGO present Peter Grimes. Nothing like a little Benjamin Britton to lift anyone's spirits. I was embarrassed at sonic when I could not find my cash. The worker was laughing at me when I realized it was sticking out of the top of my dress, where Earle had stuffed it.

There is much rejoicing in heaven today. My sweet little grandmother ma received her crown early this morning. Heading home for the party. Definately a life worth celebrating.

Strange toliet issues in our house...Ben has aquired a paranoia that if he flushes the toliet it will "Flow" at any minute, so he simply refuses to flush it so surprises await around every corner; Collin has apparently forgotten how to aim..there is nothing like waking up at 3am to a tiny blond boy saying he needs to pee pee, and when I sat him on the potty, I got a shock when he peed all over my legs. Nice.

Does anyone else get multiple random e-mail messages on their iphone that are blank and say that they were sent 12-31-69? What is the deal? Is someone trying to reach me from the other side?

Panty hose poll: some of my friends r trying to help me... Do you wear them? Can u wear tights with a nice dress? R they completely out??

Sad admitance: For the past few days there have been some kid's meals purchased, which have been half eaten, so after they go to bed, sadly, I have eaten the other half of their meals for my meal...sometimes you just need to eat in peace, and by that time, you don't care!:)

I remember my first grade teacher giving me the daily class "Super Student" award. I had not idea why. I asked her and she told me, "I was so proud of you because you did not come up to my desk today constantly and ask me lots and lots of questions about each and every assignment." I think we will start the "Mommy's Favorite Child" award at our house

I think I'll change my name to Joy for the day.

Earle came in the door with a bouquet of Stargazer Lilies today. They are one of my favorites and it made my day. I love you big daddy!;)

Hello Monday, hope you're a super fun day. I long for some pep in my step,
and some joy from a tired little boy. Now to get some tasty dark juice to give me a little push in my big caboose. ;)

Beautiful day for sipping my peppermint mocha and watching tiny people play soccer:)

When trying to convince a good friend that she would love to have kids someday, it does not help when that sweet friend is sitting out on the patio having breakfast and your three year old smiles at them and intentionally locks them out of the house while you are preoccupied getting your hair done in the bathroom.

I've recently realized that developing friendship/relationships or maintaining them is not so much about the distance that seperates you, but the energy and desire it takes to open a friendship account and making enough deposits to keep your account balanced and active. Its more a decision than a circumstance. Thank you for all of your deposits!

My kindergartener just informed me that his ice cream sandwich was in the shape of a rectangular prism... Sadly,I had to look this up to find that he was right.

Coversation over steak dinner tonight: Ben,"Mom, did you know that this is cow and they wring the cow's neck and kill it and then there is blood and you eat the killed cow? YUCK!"Me,"Well, I think you might have the technique confused with a chicken, but yes, steak is a killed cow." About ten minutes later after a fing...erlicking plateful Collin responded, "Hey mom, I'm done with my cow. Can I have dessert?"

At 5 am this morning I woke up to hearing my boys playing in the living room. Collin was acting out Superwhy at the top of his lungs..."With the Power to read I can change the story and SAVE the day!!" Ben told me that they were afraid they would miss us leaving. My alarm had been set for 6. Nice.

must get up and go pick up child...must get up and to pick up child...must get up and go pick up child.....

It is not awesome when you look in the car mirror and see that an eyelash

has fallen near your chin and you go to brush it off with your hand and realize it is attached. Call me nanny mcfee! Hooray for having a pair of tweezers in my purse!

While watching a Leslie Sansone video Ben who is laying on the couch tells me, "Mommy, rest is better than exercise. It really is." ... spoken from the mouth of a babe...

Imagine the excitement when Ben was unwrapping a birthday present from my mom this evening expecting for there to be a costume inside for him;little did he or we know that the costumes inside were for Earle, Collin and myself.I should have looked inside the box before I wrapped it!He was so excited that he was going to... have live Star Wars characters all around him on his birthday! Yes, you know what we will be wearing for Halloween! Gee, thanks mom!;) This added a fun new twist to our evening!

Ben, "Mom, I was just thinking about something, how do parents get milk in their bodies that they feed to their babies? I mean, how can I do it for my kids? That's gonna be so cool...and where does it come out of exactly?" Me, "it comes out of ladies chests. Only mommies though, sorry, buddy you'll be a daddy!" Collin ...interupts, "Well, I'm gonna be a mommy."

Ben was so excited this morning and I was excited for him! I was proud of him for not being too nervous and being so brave. It was a good first day of kindergarten!!

I hate it when I search everywhere for my sunglasses...then realize that they are on the top of my head.

I think it's funny when my 3 yr. old does what the tv asks him to do...like Dora will say, "what was your favorite part of the adventure?", and he replies....so funny.

All week Ben has been expelling repulsive gas for fun.I told him that was not going to be acceptable at school because it is very bad manners and very unpleasant to other people I tried to explain to him that u can't just do that for fun, and if u have to, make it quiet and just politely say "excuse me". He giggled and... told me that he will probably just say, "Excuse me, I cut the cheese in my pants." Great.

Collin (boy,age 3) was sitting in my lap just now, twisting my engagment ring, and all of a sudden looked up at me and said, "Mom, when you die, can I have this?" What in the world?!

having one of those days where I felt skinner than what the scale told me...hmm...false self image in the opposite. Please let me know if I am busting out of something that I should not be wearing...apparently my gage is a little off these days;)

Uh Mom? Yes, says I. My tooth just fell out onto the van floor, says he.

A Favorite Ben Quote of the Week:
When walking by the produce section of Wal-mart I could smell the peaches. I picked one up and said, "wow these smell great! Here Collin smell this, " and he did. Then I said, "Here Ben, smell this peach" He then exclaimed," UH Uh! NO way, I'm not smelling that thing, it looks like a f...uzzy bottom with a crack! GROSS! I will never smell it!"

Ben informed us tonight that tomorrow when he goes to another churches VBS with a friend, he needs to wear his blue sweatshirt with the hood. We asked him why and he told us, " so that people will think I'm cool and call me dude." Okay...

Today, in a bathroom stall at the movies, I was helping Collin get off the potty. He said, "hey mom, what's this?" I looked in his little hands and saw he was grasping a USED plastic applicator from the floor! I almost vomited! Could be one of the grossest things yet! Apparently it's my week for bathroom adventures!

Just stopped at a run down texaco where the bathroom was unisex and outside. The deadbolt had been stolen and a huge wad of to was where it once was. I latched the door from inside preparing the seat when the door swung open. I screamed very loudly in a very normal looking mans face. Then asked him to stand guard.

While eating breakfast, my oldest said, "Mom, I was wondering if today could be all about me? I mean you know, I could pick everything we do and get whatever I asked for and stuff like that." I responded with a blank stare and said, no, sorry, not today!

This evening I was walking into the grocery store and reached back to pull up my jean capris around my waist...or so I thought...apparently, I ended up pulling my underwear up over part of my shirt in the back...it was not my capris...yeah, I'm into setting trends these days.

Dear Spouse *ahem*, though you are most always one of the most joyous and brightest spots in my day, it is not at all uncommon for me to hear violins playing in the background when you speak.

Walking into the YMCA this morning Ben asks me what my favorite exercise is. He says, "Wait, I know what you like, you like to rub yourself up and down on that board thing that goes. Yeah, you really like to do that." "WHAT?!" I ask, clearly confused. "You know, that thing that you used to do it on that broke when we w...ere in Canada." says he. "Oh, you mean the treadmill, I think you meant RUN?! Sure, thats my fav.;)

Me + 1/8th of a yellow cake with choc. icing left in the pan + a fork = one very guilty lady...."thou shalt confess thy sins one to another..."
Happy Lord's Day! Anyone wanna go for a walk?

The other night we had a major thunderstorm, the next morning Collin came up to me and said that the "funder" had really scared him. He told me that Ben had come into his room and slept in his bed because he had been scared. I asked Ben about it and he said, "yes mom, he was scared, and I will ALWAYS do that for him." ... Totally touched my heart. Sweet brothers!

My poor Ben is puking...bless him! Would it be horrid if I wore rubber gloves and tied a hankerchief around my face while tending to him?

Every year around Mother's Day, Ben(Age 5 1/2) asks me when it is going to be "Brother's Day". This year my response was, "Happy Brother's Day Ben!, everyday is Brother's Day!" His response was, "I thought the parents were supposed to get stuff for the brothers.." "Oh." says I.

Early this morning Ben just burst out laughing, for no apparent reason. Then he said, "Hey mom, I'm laughing at myself because I tooted in the bed last night, and it was really funny." I think I should start a book called...things that are hilarious to boys...

Recorded some of the series "Life" on the discovery channel for Ben(51/2) to watch. It is a scientific series about nature and different animals. Tonight he watched an episode about the Deep Sea. I was taken aback by the question, "Mom, what is sperm?" I told him to ask his father who gave him a very simple age appropr...iate answer. Whew! Maybe we'll hold off on the discovery channel for awhile.

Son #1 and son #2 were just taking a shower. They were nice and clean. I turned off their shower water and stepped away to grab towels for them. I heard giggling from #2...I turned around to see #2 peeing on #1. I immediately turned the shower back on. I don't get it!

Overhearing my boys while watching Team Oomi Zoomi....Collin says, "I'm Buck Ben, I'm Buck..." Ben says, "Buck is a Robot and you are a human, you can't be Buck"...Collin says, "I don't care, I'm Buck!"

was trying to get the leashes on my dogs this morning at the door..and tripped on something...I looked down to see that what I tripped on was a hot dog bun sized turd that my dog max had created...apparently he could not wait until we got outside the door...oh the fury!!

Today my son Ben left his DSi in a grocery cart outside at Academy...we did not realize it until we were 10 minutes away. I called and there was no sign of it. Over dinner I told him to ask God to get it back for him so he and Earle prayed for it...about 30 minutes later the phone rang..it was Academy and someone had turned it in!! What a great lesson!

Happy Valentine's Day Earle! For your gift I had my upper lip waxed, my eyebrows waxed, and my hair trimmed...you are now married to a woman again instead of a beast.

Shelter in a time of Storm

2010-12-01T14:52:00.000-08:00

So, in my previous post I stated that as we drove away from the village of Buckie the snow was coming down by the bucketfuls. I of course was the driver. Just before we drove out of Hunter and Elaine's driveway, the boys and I said a prayer that we would be safe and that God would protect us and watch over our drive. The roads in this area are very narrow and one lane goes each way with only the paint on the road as the divider. There are no street lights when you are not in a village or town. So I could only see as far as my lights would shine. The snow bank on the side actually was a decent guide. I tried to say in second and third gear for the 25 miles that we travelled that night. We had heard that the worst stretch of road in this area was the 10 mile stretch between Keith and Huntly Scotland on AB96 heading to the Aberdeen airport. I was getting a little nervous about running out of gas even though we had a full tank I was worried in case we got stranded that we might need more. So when we made it to Keith, I pulled into the first station that I saw. We had seen many people broken down, stuck and many people fishtailed out in the road, but I still had pretty good traction in second gear. I thought we could slowly still plug along the next 25 miles. After leaving the gas station, I realized that not only were we driving on snow, but we were now driving on black ice under the snow. The realization of this made me somewhat apprehensive to continue. We got to the center of Keith and there was a very steep hill to get up and then there was a sharp curve at the top of this hill on a two lane road. I was still doing just fine in second gear. In front of us though, there was a big semi-truck struggling to get up the hill. It made it to the top of the hill and stalled. We stopped and after a few minutes I realized that it was stuck so I started trying to turn around and find a different way. I then realized that stopping the car had lost our traction on the road. I saw that all of the cars behind us had backed way up. So, I decided that maybe I could go in reverse. Earle and I managed a little ways back down the hill. Out of no where, a random man, came up to my window and told me he wanted to help me get backed up and see if I could turn the car around. He managed to help us get most of the way down this hill in reverse. Just as we were still facing forward, and were getting close to trying to turn the car around, a big tour bus came quickly around that sharp curve at the top of this hill. It fishtailed out and lost control and started sliding. It slid straight into the spot that we had just backed out of and was sliding straight at us. I threw the door open and Earle jumped out of the car. I started yelling, "Get the boys out of the car!" But I was sort of frozen and was not doing it myself. The people on this tour bus were just standing up looking out of the front window in horror as this thing kept sliding straight at us. The bus was able to stop about 10 feet in front of us. I threw us into second gear and the man helped us get turned around and we drove straight back to that gas station passing the long line of cars that were behind us. I asked the lady to use the phone so that I could call Elaine because we did not have a cell phone. "Hello, Elaine? Well, the good news is that I am at a phone calling you, the bad news is that I don't think we are going to make it past Keith. Could you help us look up a place to stay here for the night because I don't think there is any way I want to get back on that road to your house...." Elaine was frantically trying to help me figure out if I should go back to theirs and chance it or if we would find a room.
Out of no where a couple of men walked into the gas station. A minute later I heard someone saying, "Right then. You will stay at the Ugie House Hotel. I've got two rooms."
"Pardon me?" says I. "Are you talking to me?"
"Yes," says the kind man.
"Seriously? You are talking to me?" I ask again.
"Yes, Quine. It is just up the hill, to the right..." says the man.
"Oh my goodness. Thank you so much, " I said, "Do you see that man in the car out there," I said pointing to Earle, "could you tell these directions to him because I know I will not remember right."
So he went out and I saw him briefly chatting with Earle, as I was getting off of the phone with Elaine. Then he got into his car and drove away. Earle and I started going the way that he told us, we had to go back up that hill, but before we got there, there had been another wreck or something and we could not get by. So we decided we would park on a side street and walk to the hotel and carry the boys. We turned off and started to park and an SUV came up behind us. A man in his late teens or early 20's said, "Aren't you all going to the Ugie House Hotel? I was in the station then you were talking to Robbie. We were behind you. Follow us, we know a different way."
And so we followed him. And it was a very steep way, but we managed to get there about 10 minutes later. We parked and as soon as we were parked we knew we were stuck but did not care because we had made it to this place.
We carried the boys up to the door and went in. There was no one at the reception desk. It was an old hotel and it looked as if there was a lounge and eating area. We rang the bell and a few minutes later a teenage girl came in and said, "Are you the lady on the phone that Robbie told me about?"
"Well, I was at the Shell station and a man said he had two rooms. Am I the right person you are talking about?", I asked.
"Yes, you are. He told me about you. He owns this place. And he told me not to give that room to anyone else that comes in because he promised it to you. And I'm not to charge you more than 60 pounds. This is our last room and it is a family suite, there are two bedrooms and a bathroom with five single beds all together. There is tea and biscuits for you in your room for tonight and you will have your breakfast downstairs in the morning." says the girl.
Earle and I just stood there shocked and amazed and pretty much speechless.
"Thank you so much," I said. "We had no idea where we would be able to stay and we have these two little boys, this is an amazing blessing."
Earle and I continually uttered thank yous up the stairs to our room, and through the very windy hallways of stairs. There were only ten rooms at this hotel. Our room was quaint and comfortable. The keys were the old keys from the 1800s with the round end at the top and a thin metal cylinder with the tooth that hung down at the end as the actual part that unlocks the door. We got in and started trying to get our flight situation figured out. Earle and I were both on and off the phone with Elaine, and airports. We managed to figure out that our morning flight had been cancelled and we were able to switch it to 5:15 pm. the next day out of Aberdeen, then we would have to stay the night in London and fly out of London Sunday morning.
We started settling in for the night and I got the kids bathed. Something to know about me is that I am a little freaked out about things like ghosts and haunted type places. I started asking Earle, do you think this place has ghosts? Should I be a little scared? Look at these keys."
Earle said, "Carrie, this night can only be described as a night of Divine Intervention. I don't think God brought us here to be killed or taunted by evil spirits or ghosts," he chided. "I'm pretty sure you are fine and if you think you see one, it is a good one."
He had a point. How very blessed we were that night. Random things that happened only to be explained by Divine intervention.
We slept well. We woke up and had breakfast. The owner, Robbie, came down as we were eating and grabbed a shovel and he and Earle shovelled the car out so we could leave. We made our flight. An experience I think that we will never forget, and we will go back to when our children ask about the power of prayer and of the Lord's provision. If you look really closely, you can see the owner, Robbie standing up on the deck.

~CB

Our Trip to Scotland

2010-12-01T13:26:00.000-08:00

Glamis Castle outside of Dundee

The Royal Mile in Edinburgh

Edinburgh

My sweet friend Elaine. She's so pretty!

Dungeon time for Collin

Hunter and Elaine outside of Edinburgh Castle

Looking at Edinburgh Castle

Church in Buckie, missing five from this evening. Yes, that is the famous Bill Pirie.

Loch Ness

Nessie

Me, Samantha, Louise, and Elaine

Hilton Caldonian Hotel in Edinburgh

We had a great visit with our friends Hunter and Elaine in Buckie Scotland. By the time we arrived on Saturday afternoon, we ended up having a total of five and a half days before we had to head on our trip home. We squeezed quite a bit of sight seeing into those five days! Especially for two jetlagged little boys. Earle had never been to Scotland, and since this area of the world is so special to me, we had decided that we would plan to go there to celebrate our ten year anniversary. So a couple of years ago we started planning for it so that it would really happen. Our anniversary was in July, but we decided to book the trip in November because there was such a difference in plane ticket prices. We ended up having to shorten the trip at the last minute due to Ben's strict school absence policy.

The minute I walked into Hunter and Elaine's house it did not feel at all as if eleven years had passed since I had been there. The smells were the same and brought back such wonderful memories and warm feelings. We got to spend time visiting with some of the people I knew from the college trips that I took to Scotland. It was great to see life in the highlands of Scotland from this angle of my life. I feel like when I was there with Harding there was such an agenda, while it was great, I think I was too busy 'doing' to soak in some of the perspective and culture that I could have paid more attention to. The character and history of the architechture of the buildings is so unique and beautiful. The cobblestone and windy roads and stone fences that don't have any cement in them that are hundreds of years old stretch for miles. We attended church there in Buckie and there was so much to appreciate. Songs passed down through generations sung by rote, in their original form. Folklore that would be found only in the most rural areas of the United States are just the way of doing things in the Highlands of Buckie even with all of the modern ways that they live and things that they have. The people even in the shops stop and ask about you and where you are from and seem to truly want to know. Life is not too fast for a cuppa (cup of hot tea) and a biscuit (cadbury choc. cookie) multiple times a day.

Perspective on Christianity in Buckie is also different to me from the angle that I see it now. So many people are kind and warm. Not many talk at all about God. Very different from the atmosphere of churches and Christians in Houston or Nashville or places that seem to be in the Bible belts of the United States. It definitely made me think about how easy it is for the ones of us that have Christan friends, churches, and resources at our fingertips. Mr. Bill Pirie told me that Buckie's church is the farthest north church on the Western Hemisphere. That is pretty cool. They are down to 10 members, people who have just had died and some that have moved away and others that have just gotten busy with other things in their lives. But to those 10 people I have so much respect, for meeting and continuing even if to the ones around them it seems that they are weird or strange for doing so. They seem so intrigued about what kind of things we have going on in our own churches and in other larger ones in Scotland, but I am terribly intrigued and silenced with respect for these people and their dedication to their faith. Hunter and Bill run the services every week. Hunter is away to sea every six weeks for six weeks and Bill runs the services with an occasional guest speaker from Aberdeen or another congregation an hour or more south of Buckie. Bill is 79 years old. He still has his Harley, and still makes a mean pot of Cullen Skink Soup. They do not have a hired preacher, but they own a church building. They have been looking for a preacher ever since I can remember and the members have said that they would pay someone out of their own salaries to lead their little church. The few members there get along great and truly encourage each other. Just a situation of persistence worthy of respect. I think something not many of us have ever had to worry about.

We had a great time visiting with Hunter and Elaine's daughters, Louise and Samantha. Louise has been married for many years to Stuart Cowie who dives in the north sea to fix oil drills near the bottom of the ocean. They have twin daughters Courtney and Teegan. Samantha is working at a bank and living in Inverness. Just bought her first flat! So neat to see these girls become grown up ladies!

We arrived on Saturday afternoon and I drove from the airport to meet Hunter and Elaine in Huntly and follow them to Buckie. That was definitely an experience because I had never really driven in the UK and have an issue with distinguishing my right from my left when I am tired or confused. Our car rental was a manual, and Earle was not sure about driving it...but we survived and made it. Saturday evening Hunter made pizza for us and we just sat around and visited until Earle and I were falling over from jet lag. Sunday we got up, went to church, came home and Elaine made beef wellington, nips, tatties, yorkshire puddings with gravy, and a Pavlova for dessert. OH MY WORD! So good! The afternoon we had many cuppa's and visited with Samantha and Louise and Courtney and Teegan. That evening there was church again in the town and I got to see Tracey Johnstone and later at Elaine's house Alan and Grace Johnstone. On Monday we left late morning to head to Edinburgh. We stopped at Glamis Castle and took a tour. Ben absolutely loved it and soaked it all in. We then to Hunter's sister, Ruth's house, about 30 minutes outside of Edinburgh. She made us an elaborate tea and then as a special surprise to us, her husband drove us all in a Limo into Edinburgh and dropped us off until the next evening. When we got there Hunter directed him to the Hilton Caldonian which is just in the town center and you can see the castle from it. Hunter and Elaine surprised us again because they had booked us to stay the night there as our 10 year anniversary gift! It was so special and really cool! We spent the next day doing the Edinburgh Castle and seeing the crowned jewels and also going to as many of the shops as possible:). We were home Tuesday evening and Wednesday we spent the day just hanging out in Buckie. We went to Cullen for ice cream, even though it was cold, I told Earle it was a must and we walked around some shops in Buckie. Thursday we went to Inverness. We drove out to Loch Ness to visit the famous home of the Loch Ness Monster, "Nessie". Then back to the shops at Inverness. After that we met Samantha and had dinner in her new flat. Friday morning Earle, Hunter and Stuart went to tour a distillery, and I got our things together then spent some time with Louise at her house and had lunch with her. It had started to snow and the news was saying that the road to Aberdeen had been closed. So we decided that we would leave later that evening and try and spend the night in Aberdeen to make sure that we would make our 8:15am flight out to London. That evening we had dinner and Bill and Eleanor's house. Bill made his Cullen Skink and it was awesome! When we left the snow was coming down by the bucketfuls! We arrived back to Houston a day late, you can read the details in my next post.

We so loved our time in Scotland! I wish we had had another 2 weeks to travel to Stirling and Peterhead and see everything there and visit with all of the other people I have such great memories of. Oh well! We will just have to go back much sooner! Eleven years is way too long, especially to go without all of that magnificent chocolate!!:)

Sweet Little Ma....

2010-11-01T13:01:00.000-07:00

Red was her favorite color. Shoes and purses made her happy, so did little sweet treats. She was set in her ways, but read her bible every day until she could no longer see well enough to read it. Her head was full of scripture. She would scratch our backs for a long long time when we were little. She loved having her nails done and her hair done every week. She was quirky and particular. She liked her tea hot and if it started cooling down she wanted it warmed for exactly 17 seconds in the microwave, no more, no less. She referred to food that was not very tasty as "just medium". She was not extremely outgoing in social groups, but she ministered to the people that were close to her in her family. She is one of those people who was pivotal in my faith, because she was my father's mother and she did not have just a Sunday morning faith. Christ was part of her daily life, and so were the scriptures.

I was rummaging through my grandmother's things at my parents house and came across a scrapbook that our extended family made for my grandparents 50th anniversary in the 1990s. I came across this poem that my dad wrote for my grandmother. I loved it and wanted to share it with you.

Mother

by Dan R. Owen

She's wrinkled now, her once smooth skin

Remembers when we nestled close,

And cuddled tenderly

At two, or three or seven.

She's cleaning now,

recalling days we crawled upon her floors

And slammed her doors,

As she toiled within the kitchen.

She's cooking now, with bony hands,

For herself, and a white haired man,

Recalling countless meals she made,

When gathered round her table laid with food, we prayed,

And talked of daily family things.

She's rocking now, recalling when

She rocked us slowly, closely,

Holding tight and patting out our fears, our tears, our sorrows,

And gave us strength for our tomorrows.

She's lonely now, her furrowed brow

Considers times when blonde babes

And bright eyed kindergarteners were her daily partners.

She's praying now, in quietness,

Naming our names before His throne,

As countless days and years she's done,

That God might bless us, every one.

She's reading now, with glasses on her nose.

God's book which in our hearts still grows,

Because she put it there, so many years ago.

She's lying down to sleep at last,

Unconscious how her fleeting past,

Has formed and shaped the lives we live,

And colored things yet future.

And I, her long gone middle son,

Wearied with the setting sun,

And resting neath the peaceful moon,

Remind myself to call her soon.

~DRO~

Lorie, Jennie and my dad and I recorded a few last minute hymns for little Ma's funeral. We were tired but had a good time doing that for her. She expected it after my grandfather's funeral, so how could we let her down...especially if she could be seeing us!

The service was a beautiful one. Much thanks to Andy Clausen and Mike Moore for doing the service for our family. It was a heartfelt tribute to a godly woman, who was fondly remembered. She was ready to meet her Maker. Though we miss her, we are glad she is where she truly has always wanted to be. I went by myself to Kentucky for the funeral, just because I thought it would be easier to be helpful without chasing the boys around. Earle held the fort down at home with the boys. I did get to spend some time enjoying my family and some friends while I was in Paducah. If nothing else, a death always teaches us that life goes on, and that we need to make time in our lives for focusing on the important things. I think it is neat how God brings family and close friends to your side in times of sorrow. He wants us to see our joys, and remember our blessings.

Lorie got to spend the past couple of months with Ma. She sat by her side daily for hours the last couple of weeks before ma passed away. Something she said to me was such a great comment. She said that on the night that ma passed away, even though she had been in the hospital bed almost unresponsive for almost three weeks, Lorie said that she had seen ma less than an hour before she died and that when my dad called her and she went back into the room after ma had died, she said it made such an impact that there is absolutely no way that there is not a spirit in a person's body. Such a difference from breath when the person's spirit resides there and then death when the body releases the spirit. I thought that was a beautiful observation.

This was the last time this past summer that the boys saw Ma. She gave them pop tarts and was so sweet with them.

Halloween 2010

2010-11-01T06:27:00.000-07:00

We had a great time trick 'o treating with some friends in our little neighborhood! I dressed up for Ben...and of course he seemed uninterested in the least. LOL! And asked me why I did not have on the red gloves that Princess Amadala wears in the Wii and Xbox games. I think he was just stifling his excitement! Collin was going to be C3P0, but he decided last minute he was not feeling it. Of course the masks did not stay on. Hope you all had a fun time too!

He Gave Me a Song--Part 2, Blowing the Dust off of an old Cassette Tape

2010-10-05T00:18:00.000-07:00

Wow. I had no idea the processing that would be stimulated by my willingness to delve into this subject. If you get bored, please don't feel obligated to read these, but I feel inclined to continue sharing.

So, that box of cassette tapes was where I left off. Well, I pulled out my PTHS Choir 1994 Spring Concert tape. It was dusty and buried under a bunch of meaningless accompaniment tapes. I scoured the house for a tape player, after I finally found one that would play, I then had to search for batteries, it was nearly midnight and everyone else was asleep. I had to resort to stealing two double AA's out of a Wii controller. I think it has been a few moves and many years since I have listened to that tape. You see it is hard for me to listen to this tape because every time I do I have a lump that wells up in my throat and I have to choke back the tears that start to form as my heart gets a familiar surge as if steel is piercing it and it is ripped open once again.  And there I sit vulnerable, as the Spirit interprets my groans and offers up my heart to the Healer of all things. As I sat there and listened to the songs, the memories surged through my head, the tears came and my heart ached but did not regret.
So the story goes as follows....

...It was my freshman year in high school. Yes, the same year as the "Daydream Believer" incident mentioned in my previous post. I signed up for choir, of course because I was told that it was fun and I was guaranteed to get an easy A for my credits. I walked into the classroom with the other freshman girls in our "choralaires" group. We were all gushing and bubbling over with excitement over our outfits and awe of the day because it was our first day in high school. We were hushed when standing before us was not the person we had expected. The former director had resigned or retired and the new guy was definitely not the typical, "bubble gum" looking choir director. He was tall and lanky with long arms and dark circles around his eyes. With his eyebrow raised all he had to do was stand there and stare at us with a cold, stern look to make us cower just a little in our seats. And with a rather smooth but searingly direct tone, he asked us who had signed up for choir because we had heard it was an easy credit. None of us raised our hands. He then said something along the lines of, "Good, because I was going to show you the door and tell you to leave."
Talk about a buzz kill! Little did we know he was faking it a little, to establish his boundaries. Well, not faking about the easy credit part, but he want to make a very strong no nonsense first impression. And that he did. I am pretty sure the first impression was something like, 'yes, he seems weird, but definitely not stupid.'
I think we listened to him out of fear at first, then it slowly grew into respect for his musicianship.
By the end of our freshman year quite a few of those girls had grown over their fear of him and enjoyed choir and appreciated his sarcastic sense of humor, but many did decide to pursue other subjects the next year. His sweet wife, who was the choir assistant and accompanist helped add so much warmth to the room that year. That first year, our school's choral program went from being one of the worst in the state, to getting sweepstakes at District and I believe scoring pretty high at Regionals. I cannot remember with absolute certainty, but I think we made it to the State level that year. I was mostly just part of the girls' choir, but at times the girls' choir members performed with the varsity mixed choir. Our director gave us theory tests, sight reading tests and ear training tests constantly. This is normal in the state of Texas, but at the time was not the norm in Kentucky. We had no clue, and many of the kids at our school were not wealthy, so most students had not had private lessons in voice. That first year, Mr. X gave us something to get excited about, and he gave us something that made us feel like we were gaining some respect among musicians and other school choirs in the area. For a group of kids who had nothing to do but hang out at an empty parking lot across from a gas station called, "the corner" on weekends, this gave those kids, including myself a reason to be busy doing something else constructive.

As the next couple of years came and went, this whole choir thing was getting more and more attention. The choir members were practicing for hours a day, if you count the hour of class and most days there was some type of rehearsal after school for an hour or two. But each hour of practice was a very focused hour in full, no small talk or goofing around. We continued to do well at competitions even though our director did not really care about those things. I understand now that he probably felt more restrained by having to attend them because it was what we were supposed to do for our school's recognition and status. He would have been much more content just practicing for concerts for the full purpose of building our skills and understanding of music. The ironic thing here is the political part about how God is not allowed in schools. Where music is the focused subject, this is hard because the earliest documented vocal music written was written for use in churches and masses. So much of written music's foundation is based around praise and worship to God. Truly there is no way around it not being a part of your performances unless you really try to exclude anything sacred, and as well you would be excluding anything truly substantial in the roots and history of written vocal music. So it is a total contradiction to say that schools with a vocal music program leave God out of schools. Because generally speaking, the majority of the most profound vocal literature written in music's history were written as passionate praises to that particular composer's Maker. University's would never leave this stuff out because of the significance of the levels of difficulty in some of the pieces and the advancement of the skills and techniques of the individual singers and choirs.

Pause for a quick side note here. In the past decade I came to realize while I was a choral director in the public school system in the Houston area that some people do not know what the difference is in "sacred music" and "secular music", even though to some of us it seems like a no brainer. Sacred music is music that refers to or speaks of God or a religion. Secular music does not in any way refer to God or in most cases religion.
I realized this when I was discussing with the principal of my school one year what he would like me to do for the "Winter Holiday Concert." He said to me, "The board of director's is really frowning upon doing sacred songs. So nothing like that."
I responded,"Sure, that is fine, but what type songs did you have in mind?"
He said, "I was thinking more 'traditional' songs."
I said something like, "Ok, maybe some multi-cultural songs celebrating harvest and snow?"
He said,"No, more "traditional" than that. The board likes traditional holiday type songs."
I responded, "Oh, you mean like Jingle Bells and Frosty the Snowman?"
He responded, "Yes, and Silent Night and We Three Kings type stuff." I played completely stupid and said, "Oh, sure I can totally do that. I think we'll have much to pick from that."

Anyway, getting back on track here, we also did sing quite a few secular pieces that were pop music, and art songs. But my point is, in this particular situation, as I am sure in many serious public school choirs, as your ability to sing harder music grows so often does the number of sacred songs you include. Take a large group of mild to moderately depressed teenagers with on average moderate self-esteem issues, and put them in a room where for hours a day they are practicing over and over music that much of it was written to praise the Lord, well God starts to shine through a little, even if it is totally unintentional on the director's part or the students. All of a sudden the teenage funk lifts from their eyes a little and they see some hope. Even if the songs are in a different language. You have to know what the words you are singing mean in order to sing the piece musically. So, there you have it. It was a catch twenty-two. And if I remember correctly, randomly, the kids in our choir started spending more time being constructive and kind and had less time to do stupid self-destructive things. Don't get me wrong, there was some of that, but over all by the fourth year, in our little choir room not only were class statuses and races status lines blurring over but students were treating each other with respect and dignity and strangely enough building each other up and encouraging each other. Imagine that. Not to mention the fact that when ever we would have a concert in the evenings it would be packed with people. Not only parents would be there but other teenagers and children. Teenagers that were not involved in the choirs but were friends of people in our choir and also teenagers from other schools choral programs. Younger siblings of the choir members were so impacted with wanting to be a part of this that it left a lasting impression on them. I say this because my brother was a freshman in 1994 when I was a senior, and he was really enthusiastic about being a part of this and he is not a typical choir dork personality. I am so glad we had the experience together. I think my sister watched from afar hoping to be apart of it as well. She did go on to explore many of her musical talents and was in high school choir and an elite girls' group. Maybe I am just blowing this all out of proportion, trying to make some type of good sense out of the whole situation, but I feel like there was something divine happening with this choral program. It seemed to be touched just a little with God's fingertip. I know this sounds like a cheesy lifetime movie at this point, but I'm not kidding. And I am only seeing it now, as I am looking back at the situation from a distance. So there we all were, standing in the midst of it.
I had no idea that I was about to learn a huge life lesson. Things were great, it was the spring before I graduated from high school. School was all about choir and also plans for the future. Randomly, we, the choir members, started hearing people say ugly things about our group. People were saying things incinuating that there was talk that we were turning into a cult. We had a little candle lighting thing once a year when we went around the room and said uplifting things to each other and thanked each other for things that happened over that year and it was a farewell to any of the seniors that were leaving. People thought that was weird for some reason and I guess that is where they got the whole cult thing from. Also they must have thought that Mr. X had too much control over our time and lives. What I don't think they understood was that the choir students really wanted to be investing time in this because it was something that truly made them feel good about themselves. I know that when good things are being done and God is being glorified, Satan comes in like a roaring lion. Talk started getting really ugly. We started hearing horrible things that we or our director were being accused of. Mr. X was a very gifted musician. He was socially a little different from some people, but if you look back in history any truly gifted musicians or mathematicians are generally a little different. To be honest, I think most of them seem to lead life a bit misunderstood by others. Mr. X was a man of faith and a firm foundation in God. Much of the criticism seemed to be focused on him. Satan was working on creating dissension between people, jealousy, confusion, pride, power, anything really. It was total mayhem. I remember just before the last spring concert, we found out that Mr. X was losing his job due to the fact that he did not have tenure. That was the ultimate reason for letting him go? How convenient, truly. I felt like even though I was leaving and going to college, this thing that I had been such a big part of was being pulled out from under me knocking me flat on the ground and ripping me open. I know, it sounds dramatic but I think all of us who had been a part of the choir with Mr. X were absolutely devastated. That last concert was the hardest thing I think I ever had to sing. We felt like we needed to do the best singing we had ever done so that we would have that concert to remember. To remember what it was like to see God shine into our lives from an unexpected place. When the school year ended, there was an overall state of blurred confusion and nauseating ache that hung over the ones of us whose lives had been so much a part of this. All of it was totally out of any of our hands. Rumors were still hanging over us like a cloud and people did not know who or what to believe about how all of this came about. Mr. X was absolutely devastated and so was his sweet wife and his kids, I am just sure of it. His family handled the negative attention in such a way that was truly above reproach and in a Christlike manner. The different relationships that were torn apart were awful. It makes me wonder what Satan was so afraid of and what those friendships would have gone on to do if Satan had not gotten the best of the situation.  People can be so cruel to each other. Just as we saw God's light we saw Satan's ugly darkness. I don't think Mr. X ever got past this event in his life. He just never seemed happy, or truly contented with his work after that. Mr. X passed away in late 2008. His sweet wife is still a blessing to so many and still teaches music.

I know you may be thinking, " Oh whatever! Your father was a preacher and you came from a Christian home. " Well, if you had known me in high school, you would have known that I was searching, just like everyone else. I believed in God and knew I loved him but I was still trying to figure out how to make my faith my own and I made many mistakes and stupid, impulsive choices.

The big life lesson learned here:
Satan will take the one thing that you believe truly reflects God's beauty in your life and drag it though a field of manure, he will eat it and spit it back all over you so that you are covered in a horrible stench that is so horrible that you feel like you can't stand the smell of it and you are going to vomit so you have to let it go; OR you can choose to hold onto it and let it air out and sooner or later, you will be able to breathe again.

It seems like God always has a way of resurrecting and reflecting the experience if something was good and pure to begin with. We know that sin is an earthly trait, but strangely enough, singing is a heavenly trait. The angels in heaven do it and I think God gave us this ability for his own enjoyment and joy of being praised. It is comforting to know that we will be singing for eternity. I just hope when I enter those pearly gates that some of the songs playing over God's ipod are "Down in the Valley" performed under the direction of Mr. X by the PTHS Men's Choir and Amazing Grace and Lamb of God performed by the Concert Choir.

Our theme song that we sang at the end of every concert was entitled "An Old English Prayer." The words are as follows:
God be in my head, and in my understanding.
God be in my eyes and in my looking.
God be in my mouth and in my speaking;
God be in my heart, and in my thinking.
God be at my end, and at my departing.

I am pretty sure that the PTHS choir still sings this at the end of some of their concerts. I think it could be one of the traditions that was kept from our time there. And I see, spun off of this experience so many lives that transformed and God's light that continued to shine in the work, careers and lives of those choir members of mine. So many of them chose careers that helped others and built others up and edified God. Little did we know it at the time, but God's light showed through those dark times and blazed a bright future for so many of our lives. How amazing it is that we now have facebook and blogs and can actually see how this has come to fruition in the lives of the people from high school that we have been able to reconnect with. I have heard many people sharing the same type of stories over the past couple of years, about Satan destroying something that had such a divine effect on people associated with it. Stories where Satan played on everyone's weaknesses involved to soothe his appetite for destruction. Satan almost convinces us to believe the lies he is feeding into our heads, but if we just turn our eyes, shifting them ever so slightly, we can see God's promise and the reason that we are not the ugly vessels that Satan is trying to convice us that we are. We are human, and we all fail, thank goodness for the hope we have and the freedom we have in Christ. And I have to be honest, I love it in these situations when Chirst has the final word. It brings me joy, and for that I am forever grateful.
"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven."
~Matthew 5:14-16

I do not think I have ever explained or shared all of these feelings about this before. For a time, I just could not go there. Self preservation, I guess. Or maybe it was easier to pretend that it did not bother me as much as it did.

Stay tuned to "He Gave Me a Song Part 3"

Enough of the sad now on to the joy. So I took the liberty of transferring some songs from that last concert. Read below.

PTHS Choir 1994 downloaded songs
PTHS Choir 1993 downloaded songs   --If you click onto this site you will find the 6 decent songs that would even play on my tape. I would love the rest of the concert. I took the tape to have it made into a cd but it was so damaged that they guy could not get it to play. So I was able to manually rewind it and get the first few songs. We always talked about a greatest hits cd...and if you have any old tapes or songs you would like to have compiled onto a cd, here is our chance. We can save and download these into our computers and burn a cd or put them onto our ipods. I would LOVE to get some more of the best songs on here. The folder is in box.net and you can add anything you can download into it. I bought a cheap digital recorder at wal-mart that had a USB port in it and I sat the recorder on top of the speaker in my mini-van to record these. I know, super ghetto, but at least I've got something. I just realized that in that ice breaker question where you have to pick those five things that you would take if you had to leave in a fire and you choose your kids, your dogs, your grandmother's bible, your computer with all the pictures and yes I just decided this tape would make the list.

To the Family of Mr. X--(click)

He Gave Me a Song--Part I

2010-10-03T22:35:00.000-07:00

A couple of days ago I had gotten out the old hymnal to look at some hymns that were some of my grandmother's favorite. I came across "He Gave Me a Song". I remember singing it when I lived in Denver and went to church there where my grandparents attended. With the song's rather exciting bass lead and "peppy" women's two-part back up vocals, how can a person help but get the song stuck into their head, merely by seeing the title on the page. Man, I hate it when sheet music sings at me without my permission and ends up playing like a broken record in my head for a day or two! However, it planted some processing seeds and I'm feeling entitled to share the thoughts it evoked. It dawned on me that I really have not shared much about "Music Carrie". Why I am not sure. I am working on expressing some of my emotions more in my writing and I guess the journey for me was somewhat of an emotional one and closer to my heart than I thought. It is definately an area in which at times in my life it has left me feeling very exposed and vunerable so maybe that is why the topic seems to be more of a guarded one.

Some of you knew me back in a different day, maybe it was in high school when I was totally into my high school choir in every way. I was the epitome of the choir dork. While I say this in a joking light, I truly wanted to sing all of the time and I am pretty sure I drove some people nuts while doing so. I try not to let as many people know the side of me that was once the over eager singing girl. Not quite as bad as Rachel on Glee, but thank goodness we did not have You Tube! My girlfriend, Kelley and I would sit in our bedrooms with our portable cassette players and our latest background vocal cassette tapes and we would sing with all of our might just to keep our repertoire updated and practiced for the next singing event. Anything from Les Miserables to Anne Murray would be on the list and we would trade off and constructively critique each other's performances. I was also a member of what I thought at the time was the most skilled choir around, because unlike the other choirs, not only did we have musical knowledge, but we had passionate hearts behind the music we made. Yes, as cliche' as these sentiments sound I did realize in high school, just like every other music dork out there that I wanted to major in music, not just so that I could sing but to influence and teach other's how to share God's love through the power of music. Wait, did I just say that? I think that somewhere in the adolescent fog of egocentricity I may have heard God's voice whispering thinking that it was my own. Huh.
I will say that it was when I was in ninth grade that I first performed at our church at a "Young at Heart" banquet. Chuckle while you will, but my friend Kelley had shared with all of the willing singers in our youth group her background vocal tapes so that we could do a good deed by singing for the elderly people at our church. Hopefully the elderly guests hearing senses were not great because Kelley was the only one that sounded decent. My parents were kind of surprised that I got up there and sang the song, "Daydream Believer" redone by Anne Murray. I think that they were pretty speechless actually. Then my father spoke and said, "If you really enjoy this and think you might like to do it again, well, maybe you should consider taking some singing lessons before the next time."
My dad has never been one to beat around the bush about things. To his surprise I was so excited and could not wait to get started with the lessons. The point that I am trying to make here is that for some people their talents in certain areas come very easily and naturally. I had to work very hard to find my voice. My almost faulted over analyzing skills came into play very effectively over the next few years because I had to learn how to hear pitch the way it was supposed to be heard, and to breathe correctly which took many, many years to finally "get". It also took lots of time for me to understand the function of vocal chords, the mouth and positioning them in such ways in order to produce appropriate and ear pleasing sounds. Then as not to psych myself out while focusing on all of those things, trying not to forget to put my heart back into what I was singing. I had a passion for the music, but I lacked the confidence in the performing of it, and I was working on the developing skills. One of the most important things that I learned during this time was that it only takes one or two people encouraging you and believing in you for you to start believing that you can do something, especially if that person is someone who you admire. My friend Kelley, well, in my eyes she truly was the "Rachel from Glee" with a beautiful voice. I heard her perform "The Greatest Love of All" when we were in the 6th grade and I thought that she was the best thing since sliced bread. The fact that she did not treat me like I was beneath her was a great lesson. What a great lesson that was in helping me to understand that exalting others instead of yourself was so important, and a great example to me for many years to come. Sometimes it takes people a long time to understand that competition within a friendship will destroy it and that a quiet confidence in yourself can be used to let others see the beauty in themselves. I'm sure she has no idea I have thought all of that, but hey, thanks Kelley.
So as I was typing this post I remembered that I had a box of old cassette tapes around somewhere and I went to find it. Laying in the box as chance would have it, was a recording from the "Young at Heart Banquet Spaghetti Supper" the summer after my freshman year of high school. This was the second one, so lessons had been had and I was more excited by the minute about singing. I had to share for pure nostalgia purposes. Great memories, what a fun time! If you so choose you can click on these two songs for your humorous listening pleasure.
One Moment in Time ...performed by Kelley and I Somewhere Over the Rainbow...performed by me

Stay tuned for "He Gave Me a Song" Part II.
Let's just say this story is a journey of faith and how I came to understand some of what defines me as me.
CB

Ben turns 6!

2010-09-19T11:40:00.000-07:00

This year when we asked Ben what he wanted to do for his birthday, he said he wanted to have a friend sleep over. He has never had a friend sleep over so we agreed that instead of having a party we would let him have his friend Braden stay the night and we would take them to do some fun things that Ben chose to do. Of course, since he is still into Star Wars, we had our second Star Wars themed evening. Earle and I felt kind of like this was a lame excuse for a kid's birthday because there was no planning, etc...but Ben loved it! He had a cookie cake that we just stuck some of his star wars characters on, but it had lots of chocolate icing. And we openend a few presents from family and Braden. Then he asked to go see, "The Nanny Returns", and he picked Mission Burrito for dinner. The boys thought that they were so big and cool! They had grand plans of staying up all night. We let them talk this up, then at 11pm after some focused Wii and XBOX time, we told them that it was time for bed, and in about 5 minutes they were sound asleep! It was a fun night!

This card Collin picked out and it streched out and when you got it completely extended it played "Happy Birthday" on the guitar...

Collin really wanted his card back....

I would say that this is the Jedi himself, but Ben tells me that this Anakin costume is the one after he turns to the darkside...

Happy Birthday Ben!! We love you and are so proud of you! We can't believe you are 6!!

The "Big Boy Preschooler"....

2010-08-31T18:26:00.000-07:00

Okay before you look at all of these pictures, I will admit, I got extremely carried away. You would think the kid was having his senior year photos or something. Maybe I was procrastinating taking him to school. Anyway, he played along and like any proud mother, I just couldn't pick one! Collin had a great day at school. He has told us for two weeks that he was going to be very sad on his first day of school. I was apprehensive because of that for him being that he has never really spent any significant time away from me and if he has his big brother has been with him. This morning, while we were driving Ben to school he asked me, "Hey mom, since it is my special day can you take me to Starbucks before school so that I can get a kids hot chocolate?" He is SO my child!! I told him that we did not have time this morning(because of the extensive photo shoot festivities) but that if he would be brave today and not cry and have a good day and a great report that I would take him to Starbucks tomorrow morning for a kids hot chocolate. He said okay. And as the day would have it, to my surprise, he held up his end of the bargain, so tomorrow we will be toasting our cups at Starbucks in his honor.

A little unsure at first...

But he's a big boy now...SO big!

Very excited to go to school!

So innocent....

Very funny...

Surprisingly ornery...

A little shy....

And there he was, my baby boy growing away from my grasp, into such a big boy...
I did not cry, I'm not the type that generally does about these things, but I was proud of him for being so brave! It brings me such joy to see these boys succeed in being independent and happy!
CB

The AWESOMENESS of THE BOY Kindergartener

2010-08-23T08:12:00.000-07:00

I have to admit, I was concerned that Ben would be nervous for his first day of kindergarten. If he had been nervous, I would have been too! But it was the exact opposite. He thought he was awesome. He may have moments of severe anxiety, but as I have said in previous posts, his self esteem is not really an issue here. He picked out his clothes the night before, asked me for the morning routine description, and followed it to a tee. He also asked me this morning to put superman tattoos on both hands...so I obliged him. As you can see, he was ready to go and full of personality! He went to his class with no crying or worries and told me he'd see me at the bus stop this afternoon. Such a big boy!! I'm so proud of this little guy!
CB

Down in the River...sung by Ben and Collin...with a little Mommy

2010-08-11T20:02:00.000-07:00

Just click on the title...you will have to download and run...and you can hear it. We were just goofing off. This is one of their favorite songs for some reason so I just thought I would record them singing it. So sweet...Ben even adds a southern drawl...enjoy!
CB

So what did we do this summer???

2010-08-10T19:39:00.000-07:00

Well, here it is folks. In a nutshell! I am usually never without our camera. But for some reason I have not been my normal picture taking self, so here is our summer journey through the eyes of our phones.:)

It did not start out so well....I was a super sick girl. Embarassing, YES! I don't think it could have been an uglier moment...but one must remember the lowness of the lows..and these are the chronicles!

And then there were lots of Dr.'s appointments...with two boys...Finally as things were starting to turn around, we were able to have friends over and start to have some fun.

Our good friends Doug and Rochelle invited our family to go to their lakehouse.

Everyone had a blast!! We enjoyed spending the time with our friends.

We took Earle to an Astro's game for his Father's Day surprise. As you can see, the kids were super excited....
We went on a road trip to Kentucky to see my family.....

Earle was tired....

But I was feeling SO much better!!
Pause: we also went to lots of VBS's! Three to be exact!! The kids had a blast.

Play: back in Kentucky we had lots of fun with Papa, Cindy and our cousins who we love very much!
Cindy made an awesome chocolate cake...and got the kids a snoopy snow cone machine.

There were many stories read...

Collin finally became consistent in making poop in the potty!! Yay!!

We got to visit sweet Ma, but she was unsure of who we were...that's okay we were still glad to see her! Although Collin's potty habits were getting better, poor Ma's were getting worse. My poor dad has been stuck with doing her laundry...including the soiled garments...bless her heart!! And bless his!! She just giggles about it. I hope I'm at the giggling point when I'm the one doing my parents soiled undergarments...
Our sweet friends, Mike and Ginger Moore, let us stay at their lake house. Everyone had a much needed relaxing time and lots of fun!!Ben loved riding the tube...Collin loved being with Papa.Papa got to relax...and to be honest, that is truly an IBC...but I thought it made a funny picture...believe me I'd tell you otherwise!;)
Thanks Mike and Ginger!
On the way home we got a flat tire and Earle and I were stranded in a Walmart in West Memphis on the fourth of July in, as chance would have it, our Canda Flag shirts.Ben soon discovered he had a loose tooth...And then he lost it...it fell out into the floor of our van one day.

We got to see Mops a few times but apparently did not take many pictures. We are so blessed to have her near us!! We always love seeing her.

I got to visit Lorie in Mobile again..and as chance would have it, there was also a COCKroach that we shared the house with...even enjoyed the lovely pizza she baked for me.
We got to have our niece and nephew Christopher and Tiffany come for a weekend visit. The boys loved it and so did we. Earle took the boys to the Nasa Space center to the Star War's exhibit..and Tiffany and I had a shopping girl's day! They are such sweet kiddos!!
We were so excited to hear that our friends the Carlson's were moving to Houston. Here is Ben, Collin and their son Cooper at the Cracker Barrel...such a blessing to have them near us!!
Earle took the boys on lots of guys nights and kept them while I was at Lorie's house. As you can see, he willing took them to Chuck E. Cheese...something mommy never does:).Ben learned his 100 sight words for kindergarten and earned his prize...costume parts...of course.Collin worked on learning his alphabet letters, lower case and capital.
Ben learned the art of getting Collin to have fun doing things like feeding him popcorn while he enjoyed watching a movie.....very special.

And they were exhausted!! But had so much fun! We had a great summer and it will be sad to see Ben start kindergarten and Collin start preschool...but I'm sure the sad will only be short lived! This mom is ready for some occasional kid free mornings...but I love them to death and am so blessed to have them. I am so grateful for Earle too this summer, he took great care of me! So I guess we are all caught up now! Now to get that camera out!!
CB

On Raising boys....

2010-07-19T19:27:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been thinking about the dynamics in our house. I grew up with a younger brother and a younger sister. My two aunts lived with us for awhile and one of them for a long while, so my poor younger brother was vastly outnumbered. The levels of estrogen in my childhood home were high, so things seemed to sway a bit more in the way of adhering to the wants of the women and girls in our house. I am sure, however, that my dad was greatly pleased to have another male around. In my opinion I was often a little confused and yet a bit intrigued at the differences even in my brother and myself. Growing up, I thought that my brother and father were just a certain way because of their own personalities, I had not yet clued into the fact that there are such innate differences in how God has made the male and female minds. Lorie, my sister and I are almost nine years apart. So her and my role were not as much as a role of piers, but I seemed to play a more maternal, helper, care-taker type of role with her. I did get to do some girls things with her. I always enjoyed fixing her hair and helping her pick out her little clothes. I think maybe she acted as my token girl.
I have been meaning to read Dobson's book on Raising Boys...I really have. It got overshadowed and I got more focused on reading "The Stong-Willed Child." This was helpful, but I need to go back and read the other. I really always thought while growing up as a child and into my young adulthood that I would be a "girl mommy". That I would have two little girls and maybe a token boy. I just assumed this is how it would be. I dreamt of fixing their little hair and coloring with them, of dressing them in super cute dresses and putting jewelry on them. God had other plans for me. Which I am truly blessed because of. I would not trade my two little boys for anything! I love having them! They are so much fun. The sister/sister dynamic and the sister/brother dynamic, I have decided is still very much different from the way that two brothers interact. I have had so much to learn!! I have been shocked, cracked up and at a loss of words more times than I can remember! I decided to make a little list of what it is like for me to have these two little boys.

1. From the time they are both up until at least one of them is napping we constantly have lots of energy! There is laughing, running, giggling, spilling and sometimes peeing everywhere.
2. Unlike girls(only from my personal experience as being one) my boys did not seem to be born with a low self-esteem or lack of confidence. They both, from the beginning have thought that they, themselves were awesome.

3. They have a high and constant sense of competition. My eldest is a true Alpha dog, but the youngest also wishes to be. They each think that they should be the first to do something, or get something.

4. If one gets something the other does not have, the one that gets it flaunts it vigorously in front of the other and says, "Hey, look what I have that you don't." If one gets in trouble for disobeying or being ugly, the other often snickers in their brother's face which just antagonizes the one already in trouble.

5. The narcissism aside, it the same context, these little boys are super compassionate. They LOVE each other and hug each other and love being together. This is just how they are, how they interact, how they play.

6. They are constantly wrestling with each other, usually knowing each other's boundaries. This was hard for me because I was not used to this at all and thought they were being violent. Earle assured me this is just how boys are.I am still trying to figure out what to freak out over and what not to. They usually don't actually hurt each other unless they are mad. They also push and hit at each other all of the time and laugh hysterically about this. Like I said, until one gets fed up and then hurts the other one. This goes in cycles constantly.

7. No food, drink, snack or piece of gum is safe from being consumed in our home. If they see me chewing something they immediately see it, ask what it is, and want some unless it is a vegetable or fruit. If I have something that I don't want to share, I have to sneak it or often just wait until they are not around when I have it. I have tried to establish food/drink boundaries so they don't generally take my drinks or grab food off of my plates without asking. Earle has not established these boundaries, so they take his, and he also takes theirs.

8.  This week I had to have a talk with Collin because there was pee all over the bathroom. They had been enjoying the pass time of peeing together at the same time standing up...and Collin, however, is too short for this still. So he just peed straight across. I would hear them laughing, then walk in and the entire powder room floor would be covered in pee.

9. They are smart. They do not forget anything that you say you will get around to doing for them or place you have agreed to take them, ever. They never stop asking when it will be time to go or do. Or when it will be the next meal time or snack time.

10. When one is scared at night, the other one comforts him. When Collin gets hurt he often goes to Ben to help him feel better. It is super sweet. The truly seek comfort from each other.

11. They think any potty word ever used or any word that could remotely sound like or rhyme with a potty word is absolutely hilarious. When doing alphabet flash cards with Collin, he cracks up and laughs hysterically when he sees the letter p.

12. They have an innate sense to order me around. I am wondering if that is just how God makes boys or if they just think they should get to tell me what to do.  I of course, don't let them order me around, but they try it multiple times a day anyway. They certainly don't get this from Earle because he does not order me around, he is very respectful to me.

13. Two things that I have that seem to make them both really happy:  Recreational time spent with them, and their favorite food. (From what I learned in His Needs Her Needs, I think that recreational companionship time is there from the start with these boys.) I think they both enjoy getting special little prizes too, maybe gifts is part of their love language.

14. They are mess makers!! Although they do not like their bodies to be dirty or stinky, they can turn a room upside down in seconds flat. From dumping out entire toy boxes to getting into the pantry and coating the kitchen floor with flour and baking soda or even once, a jar of red pepper flakes, or possibly a bathroom floor flooded over from the toilet with something stuck down it or toilet paper everywhere. It is never boring around our home.

15. There is LOTS of screaming. I mean LOTS!! But to be honest I think it is mostly Collin, and if I think about my sister, she was a serious screamer too, so maybe that is not just boys.

16. They throw things. They throw everything. I do not understand this. They know they are not supposed to throw balls over the fence, nerf darts in the chandelier, but still as hard as they try to stifle it, they just can't help but throw things.

I am sure I could continue the list for days. But it gives you a good idea anyway. I just wanted to document a little before this phase passes and I forget how it was. God has taught me so much with these boys. I'm so glad he chose them for me. But I'll be glad to lend them to you for a day if you are interested;)
CB

Such a time as this...

2010-07-12T22:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I have had writers block. I am doing a bible study on Esther and today I ran across a verse that I simply could not get out of my head. I think the writers block has a bit to do with just being busy, but also, with trying to organize my thoughts to make sense of my current setting. Plain and simple, I think my reflective state sort of pauses me sometimes until I can figure out what in the world I am sorting out. In a way this extroverted girl becomes quite introverted at times. My friend Brandi would put this post in her, "Deep Sheez" category. :)
It has been fantastic being back in Texas. I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude and blessings by the fact that we were able to move back here, and also by the fact that I know if we would have not been where we have been over the past five years, I would not be the same. I remain so grateful for the things I have learned and the people I have been blessed to know in our time away from Houston. I can't imagine being without some of those sweet people in my life and I cannot imagine being the same me, if that makes any sense at all.
It feels a bit strange to me trying to be able to balance some things out. I have been blessed to have some second chances. What I mean by that is that I am blessed to live near a few of my close friends yet again. It is also great to be making some new friends. I know God has a plan in this. I am happy to have these second chances but also sad that I don't have the second chance with others. I know that God brings people together for his plan for a reason, so I am excited to see what unfolds in this plan of His.
Earle and I have chosen to place membership at a church near where we live that we are excited to be a part of. So that is great, but we still have connections with the church that we attended when we lived here before which we feel like was such a huge part of nudging us into being who we are today. It feels good, but hard to balance trying to have two hands and a foot in one church and yet a foot is still holding us up in the other. Kind of a weird feeling but a good one knowing that God uses our experiences that are united in Him to make us stronger and to encourage us. Just trying to be led by the Spirit in these things. But I have to say, still a bit confused by it all and an overwhelming since of blessings.
Back to the verses in Esther. Esther 4: 12-14....
~ When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer, "Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come into a royal position for such a time as this?"~

This last part in verse 14 really hit home with me. I can think back to circumstances over the past few years that I have felt that way exactly. Circumstances that I felt called to get involved and take a stand or an action. Questions would run through my head as to why we were there, etc. It seems like anytime we are called to a situation like this there is quite a bit of anxiety experienced and courage needed to follow through. I guess I am a bit apprehensive to see what is awaiting ahead of me and what God might call me or our family to do. I also pray that I can be courageous enough to answer the call, when God may want to use me. In my experience, these circumstances are never very pleasant. I also think to wonder how many times God has been calling me and I have chickened out. In a nutshell, I hope I am ready for such a time! I am a little apprehensive!! Maybe just my mood at the moment. But I strongly believe that nothing is coincidence. So chew on that I guess!!
CB

He and Me

2010-06-30T20:44:00.000-07:00

So, here we are at the lake with my family in Kentucky. It just so happens that tomorrow is Earle and my 10th anniversary. Every year, it seems like we have been on a family trip around this time of the year because it is so near the 4th of July and everyone has an extra day or two off. I am pretty sure that 10 years ago, it sounded like a perfect weekend for our wedding so that people would be off and able to travel. As a matter of fact I can't remember the last time we did anything just for us on our anniversary. That is okay! We are having a great time with my family! We have plans to go on a trip in November as our 10 year anniversary gift to ourselves. We also decided before we left that we were not going to worry about getting or doing anything for each other this week because of that.
I feel a little bad because after we made this agreement, I did not even get a chance to get out and get a card for him. He always says that the cards and gifts are just for the woman anyway but I don't always agree with that. This is why I hope this post will at least suffice for a card.
Ten years ago, I had dated my then fiance' for three months and been engaged for another three. This was the night before my wedding, and I really had absolutely no cold feet or hesitation before I jumped right in. I did not really know Earle, but I knew that it felt exactly right and that he was the man for me. After we got married, there was a brief period of, "Oh my word, who is this person and what have we gotten ourselves into!" But after the better part of a year or so, this changed and we started to become a little more of one person than of two people.
We lived away from both sets of our parents and I think that was a really good thing for us at first. It made us learn to communicate with each other instead of through other people. I remember early on praying that God grow Earle in certain areas that were of interest to me. I was surprised that after a couple of years, God was really growing him into a man who was a great Christian leader for our home. I am sure that Earle prayed similar prayers for me, but strangely we grew to have more and more in common and with every turn, seemed to have more similar goals and focuses. After the first five years of our marriage Earle and I started our crazy five years of moving. Earle and I would have major transition obstacles to overcome and though we would be tired and cranky, exhausted and apprehensive, we somehow managed to lean on each other to get through these tough times. After a few years, one day it dawned on me that when I referred to "home" it did not mean in Paducah, with my parents, but it meant that it was anywhere that Earle was that I would rather go home to. I will also say, it was during these same five years that we started our family and I was able to see what a gift that God had given me in Earle as a father to my children. Earle has such a heart for children and is so patient with them, I have learned to really admire that trait in him. He has taken great care of me in times that I have been sick, and he has been so patient with me.
I guess what I am trying to say here is that to me, it is not the day that counts or the event or gift given on this decade anniversary, but it is all of the days in between that count to me. It is the daily life events that proves how much I know that Earle is committed to me and to our boys and to God. Strangely enough, though he and I are so different in so many ways, I have recently realized that we are both better because of the other one. We are much more efficient together rather than individually, and I believe that God has used our collective spiritual "gifts" much more than our separate ones.
Don't get me wrong, we both have our faults, and we have also had hard moments, but I am so glad that God picked him for me to struggle with through some of these areas. I love that Earle is eager to learn and grow from each new perspective and experience, always looking upward.
I have to say, I love him more than I did those ten years ago. Much more actually. He was definitely the one for me. Ten years ago, on this night before my wedding, I did not even know what to hope for in a husband, I mean I could think of a couple of things, but seriously, I did not have a clue what this journey was going to entail. God truly surpassed my expectations of what a spouse should be, and with each turn, I am amazed at this gift God has given me. I love you Earle, thank you for becoming who you are. Thank you not only for being yourself, but letting God mold you with each passing day. Thank you for your mind, thank you for you compassionate heart and thank you for loving me.
CB

To Infinitiy and Beyond....

2010-06-17T19:53:00.000-07:00

Well, we are proud to finally announce that we have a big boy now!! We told Collin last Wednesday that on Monday we were going to throw away all of his diapers and pull ups. He was able to pee the potty when he needed to, but had never done a poo. We got down to Sunday afternoon before the big day when we had promised to dump his diapers. He woke up from his nap, came downstairs bare bottomed and announced to me that he had pooed the potty. I walked upstairs and saw this to be true. We were so proud. He then told me that we needed to throw away all of his diapers because he was a big boy now. So we put his undies on, and have not gone back since. Such a control issue for this little stinker. Right down to the last diaper and just to make sure I am not forcing him, he spins the situation. Good for us actually. He has had a couple of accidents, but all and all a pretty easy week. He was ready, I guess we were just babying him a bit. He had asked for a Buzz Light Year for a poop prize when we initially told him about throwing away his diapers. He was so excited on Sunday evening when he got to go pick out his Buzz Light Year! Congratulations Collin, you are a big boy now! We are so proud of you!
`CB

The Three Amigos...

2010-06-05T19:44:00.000-07:00

Collin is the sweetest little boy, but his sweetness can be deceitful at times.Don't let him fool you. He has developed quite a sense of humor and also quite a stubborn personality! Nothing gets by this kid, even though he talks so innocently!He is so much fun and he and his brother make a great pair!!

The boys like to take their light sabers into this tunnel by our house and have light saber battles! For some reason it is a special thing to do!! They have a blast! Their cousin Christopher enjoyed it as well!

Below are photos from their first Astros game with Earle. They had a great time!

These next pictures truly depict the many faces of Ben. Sometimes he is a pirate, other times a computer tech, other times he is just a boy who likes to wear a cape, necklace and a walking stick. Bless him!! What an imagination this one has! I told Earle I think we need to get him into some type of acting. He studies people's mannerisms like no child I have ever seen. And of course accessorizing definitely makes one much more cool. The boy is extremely comfortable with himself and what he likes to wear...sometimes Earle and I don't even notice that he has gone with us to a store or out to eat or a Dr.'s office in costume because it is just what he likes. It will be fun to look back and remember these days with him! The pirate is in the blue rubber spider man shoes seems to be the most interesting...but the boy with the cape and walking stick, well, that is just Ben.

I have not been as camera consumed over the past few months...so I have been totally off of my game in that respect! Luckily while I have been sick and recuperating(you know, the fissure:), Earle has taken lots of pics of the boys and what they have been doing together. These are some of the better ones from the past couple of months that I downloaded today from his phone.

I love these three amigos!! They are my favorite!

More than you would ever want to know....

2010-05-30T11:19:00.000-07:00

Warning...you may not want to read any further! I am sharing some information that is both disgusting and personal. You may want to read the next person's post on your blog roll instead of this one..especially if you are not a female!:)

I have debated over the last few weeks, in my few moments of sanity and calm whether or not to share what has been going on in my life the past few weeks. There are many reasons for my hesitation, both the disgusting personal nature of this post and also the fact that I will probably always be known as "the girl who had the..." and also, many terms discussed even with my sweet husband describing my condition as painful and horrible, could not even be discussed with him or my Dr. without one or all of us erupting in laughter over the terminologies used.

I have told many of you I would call over the past few weeks and I simply have not...not because I did not want to, but I have not been doing especially well to say the least. And to be honest, this is not a pity post! God is good, I am blessed and this circumstance proves that point with each passing hour as Earle and the boys have blessed me in more ways that I can say.

Anyway, lets get down to it, shall we? I have always struggled with random bouts of constipation or diarrhea, and for those of you who know me well, I am always eager to laugh at and share these experiences at my own expense. About 7 weeks ago,however, this went a bit further than a laughing matter. At that time, I had what I thought was a severe case of the hemorrhoids. At first it was just a bit annoying, but as the weeks passed, I was spending hours on the toilet each day in pain and I was constantly uncomfortable even off of the toilet. I called my family doctor and initially told them that I had to have something to help my hemorrhoids...which he prescribed immediately and I then drove an eight hour trip each way to Mobile, AL. to visit my sister. I thought things were getting better...even though I sat on Ben's "critter pillar"(neck pillow) the whole way up and back in the car. I was constantly on the toilet just trying to get some type of comfort or relief the entire time I was at my sister's. Even still, I thought things were on the upswing. A couple more weeks passed and if I would go a day or two without having to have a bowel movement, I thought things were going great. Then I would have a bowel movement, then I would be on the phone to my family doctor asking if he needed to see me...but still getting a call back from the nurse prescribing me foams and creams to 'insert' that would probably do the trick. It was getting out of hand!

I was spending at least 3 to 4 hours a day on average on the toilet, Ben was putting Collin down for his naps, and pretty much running the place. Though Ben was being the best helper a mom could ask for, this was really really getting in my way and completely unfair to him! The climax hit two weeks ago on Saturday when I was on and off of the toilet, literally for 14 hours. Yes, that is right, I said 14 hours! I woke up that next Sunday morning, Ben had been throwing up all night, and I was still in excruciating pain crying and just ready to jump threw a window. At this point for hours after a bowel movement I would have excruciating burning and spasming for 2 to 4 hours that was absolutely unbearable and worse than either of my children's births. Anyway, this particular Sunday morning..as Earle kept asking me why I had not seen a Doctor...I was hurting too badly to again explain that I had called several times...I drove myself to the ER. When I say drove, this was a serious thing because I could not sit or lay at all, I could only sit on a toilet or stand. A very sweet Nurse Practitioner and a nurse asked me what they could do to help me. They told me that pain meds would only constipate me and that since I had driven myself they could not really give me a shot of anything to knock me out. So I asked if they could give me anything local. They said they could give me a couple of big shots of Lydocaine in the affected area. Without hesitation, I said, "Absolutely!!" So they gave the two large shots...probably the most painful shots I have ever had, but about a minute later I was able to regain my composure and had some relief! Although these ladies had seen the affected area, they were still going on the assumption that this was all caused by my hemorrhoids. They told me that I needed to get in to see a surgeon.

After some advice from a friend, the next day I called a Colorectal Doctor and they were able to get me in for my initial visit on Tuesday. Once again, Earle was staying with the boys so I could go, so I had to drive myself. I was sobbing the whole way. Once I got to the office I could not even stand still long enough to fill out the paper work, I was sobbing, I looked and sounded like a huge mess. Crying at the receptionist, and then even more in the Dr.'s office. I'm telling you, the worst pain I have ever had. The doctor called me into his office for a conference before the exam. I explained what had been going on and told him that I had to have some relief before I left there today, and I hoped he could help me. He told me that he was going to need to examine me. I walked into the other room and did exactly what the nurse told me to. If you have never been to a Colorectal doctor's office, let me tell you, the exam is more than a little humbling!
After the exam, the doctor came back into the room. He told me that I did not have a chronic hemorrhoid problem, but that my problem was something else. I had what is called a severe/chronic Anal Fissure.
Click on the highlighted part to read...but basically it is like when you give birth, women can tear where you have the baby toward where you have a bowel movement...well with an Anal Fissure, you tear from where you have a bowel movement toward your tail bone. I just learned a huge lesson about going straight to a specialist! Anyway, the doctor wanted to try and treat it with the correct medicines for a week or so, and if it was not getting much better, we would have to do a surgery called a Lateral Internal Spinctorectomy. Yes, I said Spinctorectomy...its okay you can laugh.

I decided if by Friday things were not much better, I would give the go ahead on the surgery. Well, Friday got here that week and I woke up with a horrible vomiting stomach virus. The kind you cannot even lift your head up off the pillow without vomiting. I was sick all day, and all night. On Saturday morning I felt like the virus was getting better. A couple hours later I started have some severe cramping on the left side of my back and I passed a kidney stone. Later that evening I was in excruciating fits of pain after the virus started giving me diarrhea and I had a few hours of horror. So Monday morning I was calling that doctors office every two minutes until someone answered. They were able to get me in for the surgery Monday afternoon. I felt somewhat validated that the doctor told Earle that after he had seen inside with the camera's and everything my fissure had been a really bad case and that I had definitely needed the surgery. Somehow I felt less wimpy.

My mom was able to come on Tuesday evening and that has been a big help. I also need to thank Rochelle for watching my kids on a moments notice and Brenda, Earle's mom, and Elice, his sister, for helping so much with the boys when they were here last weekend. Unfortunately I passed another kidney stone today, bigger than last Saturday's so I guess I'll be contacting a urologist this week. But needless to say, this is why I have not been around. I am doing SO much better! Thank you Lord for giving me relief through this surgery! My sweet boys have been so good. The only thing is that Collin still has not pooped on the potty yet, and I am sure after hearing me crying on the potty, so much lately that has not helped the case! I am ready to be happy and healthy again! So to those of you I have not been in contact with lately, now you know! I'll be calling you soon....and hopefully we can talk about something other than my anal issues:). Please know that I have edited and edited this post for fear of offending, so I hope it came across in a somewhat tasteful way! I am looking forward to a much better week. I had not asked our church for prayers or anything like that because I could not get past the idea of someone announcing that Carrie Brown had an Anal Fissure and might need a Sphinctorectomy from the church pulpit. I could just hear the auditorium erupting in fits of laughter...and so that is why. But I did have a few of you praying for me. So thanks for the prayers. And I then found out that my parents had told their small group and people at my dad's church, and extended family members so now more people do know. Sort of embarrassing but I guess the prayers did help. Just a great example of how God has a good sense of humor! Now at least I've documented for the Brown Chronicles! Happy Memorial Day weekend!
CB

Sisters...

2010-05-17T11:37:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago I went to visit my sister Lorie in Mobile for the weekend. I was so glad to get to see her! We always have so much fun together! Since we had been in Calgary, I had not yet gotten to see her first house or even go to her church and meet the people that she is around. I was glad to finally get to do this. We always have fun just hanging around really not doing anything but cracking ourselves up. We ended up spending most of the weekend acting out funny scenes for pictures for a book that we made for our mom for Mother's Day. So, in the below pictures most were acted out for a reason that told part of the story in the book...We had certainly had fun doing it! I remind my sister that I used to pray for a sister all of the time and I asked God to give me one. I am so glad he did! Don't get me wrong, I love my brother too! And I am blessed to have him as well. But for some reason I felt at the age of 8 that I desperately was going to need a sister...and I did!!

My grandmother, who I call 'Ma' is having one of her sisters come up to visit her this next weekend. Her sister lives far away from her and they hardly ever get to see each other. I think the last time they saw each other was when they went to visit one of their other sisters right before she died. She is so excited to see her sister and she insists that instead of staying at my parents with her sister there as well, she would rather her sister stay with her in her little one bedroom assisted living apartment. They are having a little elderly persons girls' weekend! I understand how excited she must be! The sad thing is that it is most likely this will be their last visit together. My little 'Ma' is hanging on, but since my grandfather passed away in December she is ready to go meet her Maker, and to be reunited with my grandfather. She still recognizes people but is slowly slipping away mentally and sleeps for a good part of the day thinking that my grandfather talks to her from the picture she has of him in her living room. This visit from her sister is the most excited I have heard of her being in a long time. I guess I understand, and if I were in a similar situation, I would be most excited to see my sister as well! I'll have to have my parents take some pictures so I can post one. I hope Lorie and I have many more fun visits together before that last one! This was meant to be a happy post, sorry for the sad tone!
CB

Lovin' my boys on Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T12:06:00.000-07:00

I had a great Mother's Day! I got to lay in bed a bit longer than normal, and when I woke up and walked into the living room I was greeted with cards from the boys and Earle and gift certificates! It was so sweet! Earle then went to Panera Bread and got me one of my very favorite treats, one of their Frozen Mochas! I got to sip it as I got ready for church! Earle even vacuumed the downstairs floors and mopped them for me, knowing that I hate mopping them! He also vaccumed and steam cleaned my mini-van! That was so thoughtful! Thanks you boys for being so sweet! These days are going way too fast!! I love you!
CB

Unwritten rules of facebook...what you think most people just know, but some people clearly don't!

2010-05-08T20:57:00.000-07:00

Facebook is so much fun! It can be such a good way to connect with people, but it also has annoying points as well. I have been thinking lately...although some of you may think I tote the line with my status updates, etc..I think I actually filter much that comes into my head to post appropriate wording in my statuses...there are so many others who I see that either do not use a filter or absolutely have no clue. This got me thinking. I am pretty sure we have unwritten etiquette rules of FB. So I am going to write down some that I think, and I would love comments on others that you can think of. Some of these are actually based on people I have or have had as friends in the past, but all are just my opinion and of course meant to be humorous.

1. Don't post creepy profile pictures or people will be scared and they will not friend you.
2. Don't always write in all CAPITAL letters. This infers that you are a crazy person.
3. Don't post pictures of your kids and refer to them as, "the brats"
4. Don't over chat people. When on your fb page, stay "offline". Getting online almost means that you would not mind if the most annoying person that is online chats you up. Although there may occasionally be someone of whom you might want to chat with.
5. If you friend someone from the past and do not know their spouse at all and have absolutely no connection with them, do not send that spouse a friend request. This would infer that you are a stalker.
6. Do not use your fb status as an outlet to express your feelings when you are in an argument with your spouse, another family member or a close friend. An example of this is, "I am so angry with Earle! He is such a donkey(other word of donkey)!" So not classy.
7. Copy and Paste Statuses!! Earle hides people who post these probably more than once. An example, "copy and paste this, if you don't you don't love Jesus or your mom."
8. Just don't send out application requests on any general basis. It has to be something really good or for a reason if I send them. It is annoying to pile up like 150 app. requests, 100 or whom are all from the same person.
9. It is okay to ignore friend requests, especially if you have no clue who the person is. If they keep sending the request I would say after the third time, BLOCK!
10. There are many reasons and rules for defriending. Don't defriend a close personal friend(or spouse) that you see everyday just because you got your feathers ruffled. Because you want to REALLY show them how hurt you are. That is stupid. Especially if you know that you will eventually work things out. Do defriend people that you don't know, or anyone who seems inappropriate and you would not want to see your family pictures.
11. Most of the time, any family that you speak to cordially, should be allowed to be your friend on FB. Come on, it is not that exclusive, and when you get right down to it, we are all a little crazy.
12. I am not sure it is a great idea to post your phone number and address on FB. That does not seem safe...I guess it depends on how broad of a group you decide to accept into your FB business!

Commenters Additions:

13. If you don't want people in your business, don't post it as your facebook status. :)

14. Here is one from a non-fb-er...Don't get mad at someone when they didn't know something about your life when the only place you've broadcast it is on fb. "What!?! You didn't know (interject some major life changing event) I put it on facebook!!!"

15. In a similar vein, don't post overly dramatic status updates, e.g 'I am so ugly' or 'I feel like an idiot'...because when you put that on FB it looks like you're just trying to get as many people as possible to comment 'no you're not, you're beautiful!' or 'you're so smart'...

16. What bugs me a bit is a status that only a few people actually understand. I'm just annoyed with inside jokes, kinda of clique-y in my opinion. ~MC

I know there will be more that come to mind...these are just a few off of the top of my head. Comment and I'll add yours to the list! Good times and happy facebooking!!

Ben's first team...

2010-04-23T12:30:00.000-07:00

We promised Ben before we moved from Calgary that he could play soccer when we got to Houston. He is having a great time playing for the YMCA and Earle is excited to be starting the sports portion of our boys lives. He is the assistant coach on Ben's team. Ben if having a great time. It will be neat to see what he takes a big interest in...he say's he wants to do baseball next...

Vividity

2010-04-19T05:18:00.000-07:00

My eyes popped open and there I was in my bedroom. I was breathing fast. It was around 4:30am. My heart was racing and my stomach felt like it was in my throat. I was still in a state of panic as I tried to calm myself down trying to convince myself that everything was fine now and it was just a dream. It would have been different if I had known I was dreaming, as I usually do. I walked up the stairs to check on him. He was fine, sleeping peacefully in his bed.

I went back to my bed and tried to process through what had just seemed so real.

It had been a pleasant day in my dream. Earle and I and both boys were on a walk in our subdivision. We have walking trails and ponds that we frequently walk by. It had been a mild sunny morning with a slight breeze outside. I could smell the clean but slightly thick air. We stopped as we often do to look out over the ponds at the ducks and the alligators who like to sun themselves on the banks of the ponds or entertain the passers by simply by just being visible. There are just a few small gators and they keep their distance. Sometimes they will grin just for kicks. The boys and I were merely observing as we walked.

Then just like it happens in dreams the scenery changed a bit. Instead of being on walking trails we were up on narrow wooden pathways, sort of like a small bridge for pedestrians to observe the nature below. We continued to walk and watch.

There was an alligator up on the shore that the people on the ground were carefully spectating. From the bridge that we were standing on we could see down into the water. We were about thirty feet above the water. The water was so clear that I could see two other alligators swimming together near the bottom of the pond.
I took a quick glance around my surroundings and I realized that there were some areas on this narrow little bridge in which the sides were gone and their were no rails. I got nervous and Earle and I grabbed onto the boys hands tightly. I was more worried about making sure that Ben did not let go of us because he can be a bit impulsive. Collin is generally much more careful and more scared of things than Ben is, so I assumed he would cling tightly to us.

We had been up there awhile and Ben and Earle had wondered off to another area of this viewing bridge. The bridge turned into a more complex structure.
I now noticed that there were corners and turns in this bridge. It was almost a maze-like structure. All of a sudden Collin let go of my hand and started running as fast as he could. I was trying to get hold of him. I could see a part of the bridge where the sides were gone that he was quickly approaching. He turned and looked at me with the look of playful rebellion. And then in a flash, he jumped off the side of the bridge.
I had almost gotten to him in time but was about a step short. I hesitated. And for some reason my eyes would not let me look over to see him. I listened to hear a splash..I heard nothing. A split second later I heard only a groan. I tried screaming out to Earle to tell him I was going in and we needed help but no sound would come out of my mouth. Alright then. I am going to look down, see where he is and jump straight to him. I stepped up to the edge of the bridge to see where he was, but like I said, my eyes wouldn't let me see...

So there I was laying in my bedroom again, still a bit traumatized.
Why did I hesitate? Could I have rescued him? What was the outcome...I needed to go back into the dream to make it okay. I needed to know that I got to him and pulled him out of that water. I needed to make sure the alligators did not get him.

I spent a good hour just trying to get over this.

I finally decided to get out of the bed around 6:00am.
I went into our living room and looked at my e-mail and checked facebook. Around 6:15am I heard the sound of little footsteps coming down the stairs.
Collin was walking toward me in his sleepy stupor. He had two toys clutched in his little hands. He climbed up into my lap and just sat there for a couple of minutes in silence trying to wake up. I was holding him close and kissing his little tousled head. He looked up with at me with his big blue eyes and said, "They didn't get me Mommy, they didn't get me."

Talk about freaking me out a little!! I then tried to probe him to see what he meant by that, but I just got a chain of "I don't knows". And that was it, he was awake and now entranced in watching an episode of Blues Clues.
Earle came in a few minutes later all dressed and ready for work. He asked me why I was awake so early and why Collin was up. I told him that Collin just woke up and that I had woken up because of a dream.

And that's it. Exactly how it happened.

CB

Favorite Things 2010

2010-04-17T11:46:00.000-07:00

1. There are a few things that a girl like me simply has to have out of necessity. One of those things is of course something I could not get by without...My Garmin. If you have lived in the same place for awhile, you may not need one, but if you move often and travel often, they are great to have. So, I would like to extend a toast to the creators of the GPS systems! Here's to you! Without this trusty staple, I would have been lost most of the time.

2. Favorite Things I have done in the past year:
Trip across British Columbia with Earle and the boys to Vancouver
Horseback Riding and Dog Sledding in Banff and Canmore

3. This photo is of a favorite artwork of ours. Earle's co-workers from the plant in Cochrane gave us these three paintings done by a local artist of three different places to see in Alberta. I love it!

4. This little device has opened a whole new world to me! The Cuisinart blending stick purchased last fall. They are only about 30 dollars and blend soups, smoothies, and puree just about anything. There is no transferring required and I love the practicalities of it!

5. A favorite new soup I have made quite a lot of this year is this Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Bisque...I follow the instructions but also add a can of Rotel and some Cajun seasoning.

6. My new favorite Tassimo flavor is the Caramel Latte Macchiato...only about 80 calories!

7. Earle got me this Kitchenaid Stand Mixer for Christmas and I really love it! I had no idea what I was missing out on with the hand mixer.

8. These were inspired by my friend, Nicola Mooney, who got something similar on the T.V. show, My Rona Home last fall. Earle and I were able to find a super sale at best buy when it was time to move and I was excited! Why not have a little 'happy' in your laundry room!

9. Okay, well this is a given. I went for a year while in Calgary without a cell phone...and it was really fine, not torture, but I was plotting for the one I would get upon our return. I have never even had texting on any of our cell phones before. I have to say, I do love it. It is so not a necessity, but boy is it fun to have!

10. A big favorite of mine this past year has been my camera. We had upgraded last year to a Canon Rebel and I really like it! We take so many pictures it was worth spending a little extra on. We find great joy at looking through our pictures and remembering good times that we have spent with our family and friends.

11. Favorite New Store here.... "Charming Charlie" Love this store!!

12. Favorite Epiphany...it has to do with strategies in making friends and getting to know people. I like to analyse things quite a bit, especially with all of the moves we have had. It is sort of like self-evaluation, I guess. It finally dawned on me that it is much easier to invest energy initially in people that you feel comfortable with immediately. You know, like you don't even have to try and conversations flow easily. If you feel nervous or anxious like you are having to try hard to say the right things it is probably not going to be the perfect fit at first. So don't waste the energy. Get to know the ones first that are interested in getting to know you...then some of the others will come over time. Basically stop trying to fit in! To be honest it is pretty freeing!

13. One of my favorite Bible verses this year has been:

Philippians 4:4-7

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

14. With each move Earle and I are reminded seriously how unimportant our 'stuff' is. I know I have listed lots of "things" above, but to be honest when you have to drop things and go, stuff is pretty annoying and can weigh you down! Don't get me wrong, I love having certain luxuries, but my favorite things are below! I love my boys...even if my favorite time of the day is sometimes their bedtime.

This post is inspired by Michelle Carlson's suggestion...I'm starting here because it seemed like the easiest. When I first thought about it, I was not sure if I had any favorite things that were different from last year, but when I started to think of some little things that made me happy, I could definitely think of a few. By the way, I think Earle looks super handsome in this last picture!

A Woman of Few Words...

2010-04-16T21:29:00.000-07:00

So I realize that my past few posts have been a little surface-like and you know...picturesque....which is fine because of course this is also my scrapbook. I am feeling the urge to write, but to be honest, I just don't have much to say. Can you relate to my mood? This of course is not a bad thing. I am sure some of you are thinking that I am not posting as much because I must be having a hard time or not adjusting...that is really not the case. We are doing well, I tell you, we really are. We are happily settling in and I think we have rounded the bend, so to speak, as far as all of the moving in/unpacking has gone. We are meeting people at church and also starting to get to know our neighbors, so those are all really good things. Also, I think that in times of major transition, God numbs us just a little for a little while...so we can take the jolt...you know, kind of like in surgery when we get administered anesthesia...so maybe that is what it is. Anyway if you want, I thought it might be fun to open it up for suggestions. Suggest something that you might want me to write about...muse me a little. Nothing on politics please! It could be fun...especially if it is a funny subject. I really don't expect any comments, but if you do, and I like it, I will try to work in a post just for you.
CB

No Fear

2010-04-16T12:17:00.000-07:00

So we finally gave in and let the kid do the Euro Bungy at the mall. He has no fear. It freaks us out a little. He asked me this week about how you land when you skydive...you know for when he does it. Lord protect this boy!! Hope everyone has had a good week.

I almost forgot!!

2010-04-08T14:42:00.000-07:00

Okay, you know every year I have to post one of these pics of Collin to compare with today...always around his birthday and Easter. The basket he is holding on the Easter Egg Hunt is the same one he was in. Just a reminder to myself of how God is SO good! Collin is finally on the charts for his weight!! He is now in the 10th percentile! For us that is great news!!

Easter Fun!

2010-04-05T14:47:00.000-07:00

We had lots of fun this year celebrating Easter! Our church had an Easter Egg hunt on Saturday with games and blow-ups and also the Easter bunny himself. Little did the Easter bunny know that he would be stalked by a small golden haired boy. Collin followed the Easter bunny around
for the majority of the time. I feel bad for the other moms that were trying to get pictures! Collin kept stepping into everyone else's pictures asking the Easter Bunny to give him high fives. After we left the Easter Egg hunt we had many questions like, "Where does the Easter Bunny live?" and "What is inside an Easter Bunny"..etc.

Earle says he thinks the idea of the Easter bunny is weird and a little creepy. I guess the Easter bunny is a little random. Seriously, a bunny that lays eggs??? I get the whole egg thing being the empty tomb..but the rest is interesting.

Ben had a good time at the picinic too....but was not so into the big fluffy creature this year. He was more into the treats and activities. I tried following them around with the camera to get their pictures on Sunday morning before church and they kept running from me. I finally caught them, but they would not look at the camera...so...the token picture leaves a little to be desired. Maybe soon, I'll put the same clothes on them and try to get a retake.

Collin's Big #3!

2010-03-27T18:22:00.000-07:00

Well, I have been horrible at blogging lately, but I had to put up Collin's birthday pics!
Beware of many pictures ahead! We did not have anything really special planned. To be honest, Earle and I are still pretty exhausted and finally crashing after all of this transition. My parents came for a visit and we just had a family party. Collin wanted a "bowling" birthday party. I thought that was pretty funny. I am not sure why, the only reason I can think that he wanted this was because of playing bowling on the Wii. The night before, Ben and I decorated a 'birthday party scene' in our dining room after Collin had gone to bed. I just had gone out to the dollar store and bought less than 20 dollars worth of stuff...but for a boy turning three and fantasizing about a birthday party...this was awesome stuff! I'll try to narrate through the pictures.

Waking up to see something special down the stairs.... A fun party set up just for Collin! Yellow is his favorite color..so we had lots of yellow!

He could not even believe his eyes!!

He is three!

My sweet baby boy! Yes those are M&M's in his hand...they are his favorite...and he likes the yellow ones.

Blowing out his candles to his chocolate bowling ball cake...that he requested. Such a funny little guy!

Hmm...

Love this!!

Opening presents!! Thank you Amanda and Ryan!

He loved his bubble gun!

REALLY loved it.

Why not bombard us from the upstairs?

A tiny boy throwing skeeballs is a life threat to anyone within his throwing circumference...although he loved it!

Getting ready to bowl! Oh my...birthday DREAM come true!

Later that week playing in the backyard with Papa and Cindy.

Dad took them to fly a kite...it was more entertaining for me watching my dad try to get the kite going...but we had a good time.

Happy Birthday my precious Collin! You are such a blessing to our family! I cannot imagine it without you! I love you so much!

Visit to Kilgore

2010-03-01T16:26:00.000-08:00

I love the picture above..so cute!!

I know it has been awhile since I have posted. Following my last post, we drove up to Earle's mom's house in Kilgore and spent the weekend with her. The kids had a great time and were able to expend quite a lot of energy!! Earle's mom, his sister Elice and her husband Chad spoiled the boys rotten and let them play until they were about to drop...or at least the adults were about to drop. Chad brought up his little moped for Ben to ride...Ben ended up riding it with Earle and myself, but was thrilled. The boys ran and played and climbed trees...at least enough for them both be a little tired back at the apartment the following Monday after the trip. Last week we remained busy..but it was sort of our crash week because we were just exhausted from the weeks before. We are super ready to be out of our apartment! We are on the downhill now...only a week and a half to go. My friend Rochelle has been so sweet and let us come play in her backyard countless times! It is great to be near her again! Also, a girl I had met at Harding, (I was her RA her freshman year..and she also went to TOCC a few years prior to us in Mandeville) Judy McDonough, has just moved here this past weekend with her husband and her three little boys. So it was nice to reconnect with her.

Collin was sick on Sunday, so Ben and I visited Cinco Ranch Church of Christ together. We had a great time and I was encouraged. I met a girl I knew at Harding..and also quite a few other ladies that have played the "corporate Gypsy" roll as well and moved with their small children quite a bit. A few of the have just moved here as well and live in the same area...so I am excited about the prospect of having that in common with some of the ladies I go to church with! We are ready to get into our house and get into a normal routine! I know I have not been on Facebook as much...I have been opting out of computer time and giving myself time for a nap..so hopefully I will get back into the swing of things soon. Also, it was kind of funny, but while we were watching the Olympic Gold medal hockey game...poor Ben was so confused with who he was supposed to route for! He thought our team was Canada! Well, I guess you Canadians have taught him well! :)

Oh What a Week!!

2010-02-18T18:41:00.000-08:00

So today we have been here in Houston for a week. Some of you may think that I temporarily fell off of the face of the earth. We have been busy every day until late at night. I must say even my facebooking has suffered tremendously! When we got here on Wednesday night to our little two bedroom apartment on the third floor, we were so glad to finally be where we were going, but we had many loose ends to tie up. I had been a little sick while in Calgary, but something happened on our flight and I ended up extremely sick. I had to go to a walk-in clinic the next morning to get some medication and breathing treatments. Earle and I were trying to set up just normal things here in the U.S. We had to get money transferred to our U.S. accounts and just random things...amid our exhaustion and sickness. Friday morning we started looking for houses with our friend and realtor, Butch Watterson. We quickly narrowed down the area that we wanted to live in and from that point on looked at many houses for the next 3 days. I am pretty sure we looked all day Friday, half day on Saturday and then again on Sunday afternoon after church. Sunday we found a house that we decided would work great for us. We made an offer and signed the contract on Monday evening...so that was lucky. Not to mention that we did get to have a few meals with some old friends who we were happy to get to be reunited with! Also on Friday night we got our dogs safely delivered to our apt. from Calgary. So anyway, I know it sounds like I am going all over the place here..but Tuesday night we decided to just sit at home and do nothing except watch LOST which was great! Wednesday night we had to go find a vehicle for Earle, and so we spend the better part of the night finding and taking care of that. He decided on a used Toyota Rav 4...and is pretty excited about it. Tonight we had been waiting to go to one of our all-time favorite restaurants...Lupe Tortillas..so we took the boys and experienced the best fajitas ever made. Ohhhh how I have longed for those since we have been away from this place! This weekend Earle is off tomorrow, so we are going to drive to Kilgore and spend it with Earle's mom and let the boys run wild and be spoiled..while maybe we will sneak off for a nap or two:) We close on our house on the 9th of March...so we are eagerly awaiting this last step of starting to get settled into our routine. I do have a picture that I took of the front of the house...but it was not yet listed and I will have to take better ones another time. Hope everyone is doing well. We are still caught in between a bit...but we are starting to catch our breath. Maybe next week I can read all of your posts that I missed this week! Thank you for all of your help and your prayers for our smooth transition! We hope to see many of you come to visit as we get settled!

CB

SO LONG...

2010-02-09T15:06:00.000-08:00

Goodbye Calgary! You have left and imprint on our hearts and will never be far from our minds!! We love you and will miss you very much!! We hope to keep in touch with you all and are so glad to have picked up some amazing friends along the way. Thank you for everything.

Now, we must move on to the next phase!!

If you are not a Texan, you are probably not familiar with this phrase:
GTT...I have wikipedia'd it for you!!

click here

See you on the other side!!
Cheers!!
CB

As a Mother, I threw up my hands, and God heard me and answered.

2010-01-31T09:03:00.000-08:00

We are drawing very close to our moving day. Our movers will be here at the end of this week and we will be flying out of Calgary to Houston next Wednesday, February 10th. My throat is tight and thick, not so much from the coughing but from the idea of our upcoming goodbyes. I am generally a compassionate person, but not an emotional one. For some reason the past couple of weeks, I am just plagued with emotions. I mentioned two posts ago about how I need to process by letting go, and also I mentioned about how I would miss my sweet friends. All of this continues to tighten in my throat. The one thing that I have not mentioned is how this will be affecting my Ben.
Ever since my boy was born, I have had a hard time understanding him. To be honest, he, for the first 3 years of his life was an extreme challenge. Many times I prayed over him, and asked the Lord to help me mold him into a kind, loving and wise young man. My frustrations laid in the fact that I knew what a bright child that Ben was. He had so many talents but his impulsiveness and behavior really made it hard for others to see. If you read posts from 2007-2008 you will see that I documented some really hard days. So, like I said, I threw up my hands and gave this away because when Ben was around 3 and a half, I realized I had been blaming myself for his behaviors. It dawned on me that it was not my fault, and it was not exactly me causing causing the bad behaviors, it was how God had made him, perfect in his own image, and it was only my job to try to learn to understand him. It was not my job to change him but to mold him. At this point, I sort of let go of it in a way.
Randomly, in late 2008 the Lord decided to send us here to Calgary. I am now realizing that one great reason for God plucking us up out of Louisiana is because of my prayers for my son Ben. We ended up at Calgary Christian School this year as Ben started his first year of kindergarten. It was like God thought to himself, I have the perfect setting in mind for you with the exact right personalities of teachers that you will respond to. Only, it is not here, it is in Canada. There is something really special about the fact that Ben was put in a class with these two particular wonderful ladies teaching him. They were able to give him just enough one on one time to give him a little boost with his behavior and also in his learning. Just loving, gentle nudges, that is all that it took.

With children we know that development is all about timing and crucial stages in a child's life. God's timing here was absolutely perfect. Ben has really grown as a young man in his behaviour and his love to learn and go to school. His teachers keep telling me that he was such a good boy and that it was not hard for them, but sometimes just a little bit of the right thing at the exact right time in a child's life is life-changing. Ben's last day of school at CCS is on Wednesday. Ben is sad to leave his teachers and his class, but he is also excited about moving to Texas so we can be closer to our families who he misses very much.

Tomorrow I am bringing red, white and blue cupcakes to Ben's school. We have made his class red, white and blue beaded necklaces, and Ben has written two very special letters to his two teachers....

Mrs. Degelder,

You are the best!

You make me happy!

I liked it when you helped me.

Thank you for helping me learn how to write letters and read better.

I will remember you when I am gone.

I love you so much,

Love,

Ben

Mrs. Bouwman,

I like it when you read to me and the whole class.

You make me happy.

I think you are very nice and pretty.

I really like the song you taught us in class about the planets.

I think you are a fun teacher.

I am so glad I got to be in your class!

And you know, I'll always love blue;

And also, I love you!

Love,

Ben Brown

To be honest, I am not sure that I am not giving all of these letters and necklaces and cupcakes for my own closure. Ben does not understand fully what God did for him and how he was blessed. I wanted to document this so that one day when we are looking at our scrapbooks, I can tell Ben how I threw up my hands to God, he heard me...and that God thinks he is so special and wanted to do this for him. Ben is now all caught up in school. His teachers and class love him. They really brought out the best in Ben and everyone was also able to enjoy his fabulous little funny personality.

I'll have to remember this as he gets to the teenage years..and if I am hitting a brick wall with him..I need to remember to listen to where or who God might be calling us to...who knows it could be in a different country.:)

Okay, after writing all of this, the lump in my throat has returned!

Ephesians 3:20
"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory, in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

CB

Things we will miss about Calgary...

2010-01-23T21:13:00.000-08:00

Tim Hortons...(Earle will miss the double double, and Collin the Tim-bits)
The deposit for the grocery carts(we used to dislike this, until recently we drove to a Super Wal-mart and could hardly find a place to park because of all of the grocery carts in the parking spaces)
The Farmer's Market...we loved this place, it is awesome! There is also an awesome one in Vancouver!
The fact that Spring last year lasted from May to September
People take time to have you over for coffee...the day will stop for a cup of Joe and a pastry.
Being able to walk to shops etc from our home..even the grocery store.
Our Church and personally I will miss singing with this particular Praise team! A group of wonderful people! Also, we will miss our Small Group at Church.
Being within an hour of the Rocky Mountains...hiking in the summer, sledding in the winter...
The freezing temperature allows you to put your child's dirty diaper outside and it freezes and does not stink...bonus!
The wildlife...and animals...we have Snowshoe Hares running all over the place in our neighborhood..and it was cool to see them change from white to brown to white again...
The environmentally friendly standards in Canada..it is so nice and clean!
The fact that my hair takes less time to straighten because there is hardly any humidity here!
I have learned so much about cooking and nutrition..from different friends here and just learned a different standard...so that is cool...and it kind of sparked a new hobby for me with cooking and appreciating different foods.
Canadians spend a lot of time focusing on their families and taking time off..they are encouraged to by their bosses...so that has been great..no long hours for Earle..ladies here get one year of maternity leave verses the 6 to 12 weeks in the states..so that is pretty awesome!
New Perspective on Health care...if you want to know how we feel after living here for a year and being a part of the Canadian system, we would love to tell you, ask us personally sometime..too hot of a political topic for a blog post...
All of the electric fireplaces...I get out of the bath, and walk into my warm bedroom with the fire going on a freezing cold night..pretty nice:)
We have sort of embraced the Canadian custom of leaving our shoes at the door...our kids naturally do this now and it does keep the floor more clean...
EH? and ABOOT
Coffee Break Bible Study Group
Calgary Christian School
Of course what I will miss the MOST are my sweet friends and the many coffee's and conversations that we have had...thank goodness for blogs, facebook and skype:)
We are definitely leaving here changed in many ways...I hope to get to visit some with Earle when he comes back for work. (you are going to bring me, right Earle??!) We are glad that God sent us here and would not change our experience for anything. It has been well worth the hustle and bustle!

CB & EB

Dear Shell Oil... E&P(Exploration and Production).....

2010-01-13T09:37:00.000-08:00

Dear Shell E&P,
First off I would like to say that I am grateful to you for providing me and my family some special opportunities and also stability of work and a comfortable lifestyle in which I can stay at home with my children and enjoy some of life's wonderful blessings.
That being said, I am getting terribly annoyed with you. I am tired! I have an almost 3 yr. old who will have lived in Illinois, Louisiana, Calgary and Houston before his 3rd birthday. Granted we chose to take these moves, but it is getting harder and harder to muster up the emotional energy..not to mention the physical energy that it takes to make such big moves. We have waited since the beginning of October...first wondering if Earle was still going to have a job, and secondly wondering where in the world you were going to send us to next...we waited out 6 weeks before we found out that answer..and it was a tense 6 weeks, we prayed and prayed about where the spirit was going to lead us next..and the Lord granted us a place that might provide some stability for the next many years...to Houston! So upon hearing that we were so excited and waiting to hear when our moving date would be. We thought it would be the beginning of January because that is when Earle's job was sort of officially supposed to shift over. Here we are mid-January...still, no word from human resources on the in's and out's of our transfer. People are having goodbye parties for us...but we are not quite gone yet! Everywhere we go, people are asking us when our move date is..and we still have to say...uhm...we don't know yet. I need to be able to say goodbye to people so I can emotionally deal with the saying goodbye and move on to the next step...it is how I process!!! We are spending the emotional energy on the anticipation of when you are going to give us an answer!!
I have finally remembered to tell Earle to contact the off-shore rep. who lives in Manila..to see if he can get the relocation process going. I find it bizarre that someone in the Philippines is doing the organizing for something that really is only happening to a small family in North America.
And to be honest, I am not thinking about what happens even after we arrive in Houston..only what happens before we get there. We still have bank accounts to switch to American Dollars, a car to sell and buy, a house to put up for sell, a house to buy, a church to find, a school to find...and social community to establish. Don't get me wrong, you help pay for all of these things and you make try to make the process less difficult for us...but still!!! I even think you could be making me fat from the unnecessary emotional calories I have consumed lately. I may need to write your CFO a letter to see if he would be willing to pay for anxiety meds, diet pills and a possible tummy tuck upon my arrival back to the US...come on..seriously, it is the least you could do.
Shell, I need some closure...I am too tired to deal with you at this point...I need to be done now. Most women would not put up with being in this type of limbo. I thought you loved me. Don't make me call you colorful names. I need a break!

Expatriate Wife,
Carrie Brown

(That being said, I am blessed beyond measure, I know this. God is good and his timing, I know, is perfect.)

My Bu....

2010-01-05T16:17:00.000-08:00

This picture was from our last visit together this past July. I am pretty sure I did not post this picture at the time because I thought it was not the best of me...but I am glad to have it now.

Malcolm Neville Owen (George) July 1923- December 2009

My sweet grandfather who our family referred to as "Bu" passed away early Monday morning the 28th of December. He had been having some health issues over the past few months and his body just decided to give in. He was a wonderful man who lived a full and fruitful life. He was one of 9 children, born in 1923...he was a Veteran of WWII, fighting in the thick of things in Europe. He was so brave...and God spared him. He led so many people to Christ. His life was a mission. I am so glad to call him my grandfather and also so glad to have such pride in who he was. He and my grandmother were married 65 years. I will miss Bu, but I have such joy and pride in the memories of him and his character and integrity. I hope that I can lead half as fruitful of a life. No regrets! I am glad he is now rejoicing with the angels...I am sure that God is glad to have him back! Here is the link to his obituary...if you would like to read a little more about his life.... We love you Bu...We will miss your laugh, we will miss your smile, we will miss your kind and Godly heart.

Christmas Morning 2009

2009-12-25T09:28:00.001-08:00

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

2009-12-24T12:50:00.000-08:00

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!!

2009-12-13T20:14:00.001-08:00

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

I am So Proud of this Boy!!

2009-12-09T20:13:00.000-08:00

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!!

The In-Between....

2009-12-08T19:12:00.000-08:00

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!!

Thankgiving 2009

2009-11-26T22:00:00.001-08:00

We had a great Thanksgiving dinner tonight with some of our friends here in Calgary. I really missed my family this year...and all through the day I sort of went about it feeling a little sorry for myself....but having these ladies over and their families truly made up for it! Erin and Nicola are American, so they were in the same boat as we were as far as not having relatives around. Brandi, was our token Canadian who had never been to an American Thanksgiving feast! I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends! I think I'll take these girls with me! Thanks for celebrating this American holiday with us!!
CB

Christmas Wish Lists

2009-11-24T21:13:00.000-08:00

Tonight before bed Ben, Collin, and I sat down to put together their respective wish lists for Santa/Mom & Dad. Even though Ben is now 5 this is really the first time we have done this. On Saturday we went to the mall and as usual Ben asked for everything under the sun. We kept telling him, "That would be a good thing to put on your wish list". By Sunday he had it down. We went somewhere on Sunday and the questions changed to, "hey daddy, do you think I should put this on my Christmas list?". So without further delay, here are the boys carefully thought out and diverse lists.

Ben's List
1. Mcdonald's cash register - Ben and Collin have been obsessed w/ playing McDonald's lately. They pretend that they are McDonald's employees and take your order, make your meal and then serve it to you. Either we should be worried that they are setting their sights low or we should reconsider how often we are getting them McDs.
2. Starbucks Frappacino Insulated Cup w/ red and white candy cane straw - If you know Carrie then this is really not a surprise.
3. Vampire costume? - No clue but apparently Ben has been pretending that the big toy box in our basement is his own personal coffin and will clear out the toys and rise up out of his coffin just like the Count himself. Don't ask me how he even knows that this is what vampires do. He's obsessed w/ wearing capes so I guess this make sense.
4. Star Wars battle droid ship
5. Superman Xbox game
6. Darth Vader doll from Blockbuster - We saw this Monday night while getting a movie. He loves Darth Vader. He wears a cape. Enough said.
7. Star Wars Wii game
8. Batman cartoon Wii game - I don't even think this exists but he got stuck on Wii games for a minute.
9. Blue Batman costume - He identifies Batman by the color of his costume. He's got the black costume from the recent movies but his collection is not complete w/o the traditional "blue Batman" costume from the cartoons.
10. Spiderman movie - We recently let him spend some of his "allowance" money on a used Spiderman video game for $9 bucks so he's got Spiderman on the brain. He's not a huge fan of Spiderman but since he doesn't wear a cape this shouldn't come as a surprise.

Collin's List
1. McD's cash register - See #1 above and there is NO WAY we only get one of these. It would not be good.
2. Hot chocolate with cream - Collin really just thought we were talking about things we like so this naturally makes the list.
3. Spiderman - clearly influenced by his older brother
4. Upsy Daisy w/ bed - This is some character from a REALLY strange children's show that comes on here in Canada. They both have watched this but Collin loves this show. Trust me, this show is strange. With names like Macca Paka and Iggle Piggle how can it not be?
5. Hamburger - We really don't eat McDonald's every day. Seriously, we don't.
6. Cartoon - Why not?

Not bad for a first list. Ben's got a couple of items on there that he has been talking about for some time but for the most part these were really random and funny. Now we'll just have to wait and see what Santa will bring.

EB

Star of the Week....

2009-11-16T09:37:00.001-08:00

I was about to throw away this paper and decided it needed to be recorded in our memories...so here it is...Ben's 10 question interview to share with the class as "Star of the Week"

1. Name: Ben Brown

2. Birthday: Sept. 7, 2004

3. Favorite Animal: Turtle (???)

4. Favorite Bible Story: David and Goliath

5. Favorite Bible Character: Jesus (good pick son;)

6. Favorite Book: The Franklin Books (I am guessing thus the turtle phase?)

7. Favorite Movie: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

8. Favorite Food: Pizza and Chocolate

9. Likes to: Play with my brother, go swimming, go hiking, go camping, go to movies, read stories, play the Wii.

10. Wants to: Have a job saving people when he grows up.

Yesterday Ben and I were at church by ourselves because Collin was sick and Earle had stayed home with him. Ben had decided that he had not wanted to go to Children's Worship so he sat and listened to the sermon with me. It was on The Fruits of the Spirit. When we got home I told Ben to tell his dad what he learned about in church...he rattled off all of the Fruits of the Spirit..in order...we stood there shocked and baffled...then we realized that he had been learning them in school as well. I need to remind myself not to underestimate that kid:)
CB