Sunrise

As I opened the blinds at work this morning I could see a reflection of red on the sidewalk. As I walked out the door, I saw the beautiful sunrise above! What a great reminder of the love of our Lord for us! He painted the sky so beautiful just for us to see! I've been at my desk since 4 am today, so it really helped de-stress me to step outside, breath in the cold air, and gaze at the sky.

Specklebelly

Tuesday afternoon I actually laid down on the couch while Brody was taking his afternoon nap. It probably goes without saying that I fell asleep. I was woken up by Mike whispering to me that he was going goose hunting in the field across the street.

After he left, I got up and made dinner. Then I fed Brody. Just as Brody finished eating, Mike walked in the door. He had an expression of pride and enthusiasm on his face. He was also carrying two big, specklebelly geese Brody was not only excited to see "Da-deee"...he was very intrigued by the geese! He was pointing at them as soon as Mike walked in the door. Then as I was taking a picture of Mike and the birds, Brody ran up to them and started hugging one of them!
I think he would've liked to play with the geese...but I don't think they would make a very sanitary toy! He cried when Mike took them back outside.

Saturday Snow

Saturday morning we woke up to a beautiful field of snow! Angela was very excited to see the snow (especially after we heard it snowed in Dallas during the Cowboys game)! This was the view off of our back porch. We had a relaxing morning. We ate cinnamon rolls, sipped on coffee, and played with Brody. When Brody went down for his nap, I convinced everyone that it would be fun to put up our Christmas decorations! It goes a lot faster when there are 3 extra people helping! Of course, we had to rearrange the living room (even moving the entertainment center...that was Mike's job)...but it was worth it! Here's Nancy, Mark, & Angela separating branches for the tree.

Staci, Brody, Mike, Angela, & Mark in front of the tree. (Don't worry...I'll take better pictures of the Christmas decorations later).
Saturday night we went over to Grandma K's house for dinner. When we got there, Grandpa gave Brody a toolbox with a few tools in it. He was soooo excited when he saw the screwdrivers! He played with the toolbox the entire time we were there! He didn't even want to sit at the table and eat because he wanted to play with the tools!
Angela was kind enough to teach Brody how to climb on top of the tool box...and then jump off. (Thanks Angela! lol)
After dinner we watched the movie ELF until it was time for the KU football game. We stayed thru the 1st quarter...then we had to get Brody home. He was worn out and was asleep before we even got out of town!

This has been such a fun week with family. I'm sad that it had to come to an end!

Thanksgiving Day

We went to Plains on Thanksgiving day to spend time with Nancy's family. We first went to Grandpa & Grandma Brown's house and then headed in to LH & Thais's house (Nancy's brother and his wife) for Thanksgiving dinner. We had TONS of food and tons of fun. We spent time eating, playing games, eating, watching football, eating, talking and eating!

This is the crew that was at G & G Brown's house.
Jared, Heidi, & Holly (3 of Mike's cousins) eating lunch at LH's house.

We spent the night at LH's house on Thursday night while Nancy, Mark, Angela, & Jared stayed and G & G Brown's house. We went to G & G Brown's house this morning for a big breakfast of pancakes, bacon, sausage, eggs, and peaches (from a local orchard)! Yumm!

Brody finally convinced someone to take him outside (it was in the 20's!) after breakfast. Grandma Brown bundled up and went out to explore with Brody. The first thing Brody noticed was the mower. I wasn't surprised when I looked out the window to see him "driving" the mower.
Grandma Brown said that she told Brody about the different trees and animals that live on their farm. When she couldn't keep his hands covered from the cold (because he wouldn't leave his sleeve pulled over them) she made him come back inside.
On our way back home we passed thru Greensburg, KS. Greensburg was hit by an F5 tornado in May '07. It looks like a lot of the debris has been cleaned up...but the town still has a LONG way to go. Mike used to play Greensburg in high school sports, so he'd visited the town several times. He remembers when the dirt field below was full of houses and trees. Now it's just flat ground!
We stopped in Pratt to get a few things at Wal-Mart and to get lunch. We decided to go to Micky D's for lunch and we got Brody his very first Happy Meal! I have to admit that he didn't eat very healthy on Thanksgiving. I'd try to feed him turkey or corn...then someone would give him a bite of sweet potatoes and healthy eating would go out the window! He spent a lot of time begging food off of people! All that to say that I think he was ready for a meal that had some substance to it! He didn't want anything to do with the french fries...but with every bite of his hamburger (and he ate all but 3 or 4 bites of it) he exuded a loud "ummmmmmmmm!" I think he liked the burger.
Tonight we're just hanging out with Mark, Angela, and Nancy at our house. We're also watching the snow fall steadily outside the window!!! I'm sure there will be a beautiful snow picture in the morning.

GG's Visit to KS

This past Saturday Daddy Steve and Namaw brought GG up to Kansas for a visit. This was the first time that she's been up to visit us. We were excited to show her our home and our town. I think she was more excited to see Brody ;) Here's me, Namaw, and GG on the front porch (I was giving GG the grand tour). After touring our house, I gave Daddy Steve & Namaw the 2006 blog book that they had ordered. They all sat down on the couch to look at it. I've just started working on the 2007 blog book (I had to wait on Blurb to fix a glitch) and it's going to be longer than 2006's book!
As soon as Brody woke up from his nap he wanted to go outside. Daddy Steve was excited to take him outside to play.
While the girls were inside making burritos for dinner...the guys were outside enjoying the beautiful sunset. GG even called Sissie and told her how beautiful the sunset was on Saturday night!
We stayed up late on Saturday night watching old Andy Griffith shows and talking. Sunday morning we went to church. Grammy was at church and we invited her to join us for lunch.

We made Suzanne's Tomato Basil Pizza Squares for lunch. It was yummy!!!!

I don't know what Sunday afternoon would be without a football game...so during halftime of the Cowboy game...the boys went outside to play a game of their own. I think it was Daddy Steve and Mike verses Brody and Remington!
I think Daddy Steve and Brody were wrestling in this picture.
Daddy Steve and Namaw were giving Brody a bath and this is what I found when I walked into the bathroom!!!
Namaw and Daddy Steve putting Brody to bed. They really love putting him to bed. Daddy Steve likes to tell him a story as he's falling asleep...just like he used to do for us when we were little!

Monday morning I left Brody at home with Daddy Steve, Namaw, and GG while I went to work. They played with him for awhile after he woke up and then brought him to my office just in time for his morning nap. I convinced them to eat an early lunch and Namaw went to Wendy's and brought back food to the office for us to eat. They left my office around noon. I was sad to see them go...but happy that it's only a month before we'll see each other again! It was so good to have GG come and visit us for the weekend! We don't usually get to spend that much time with her all by ourselves!

It's Over!

My H&R Block class is over! Last night we went to class to go over the final and go over updates/changes that have happened since class started 3 months ago. I ended up with a grade of 96% for the class! I was happy :) It was strange to leave class and say goodbye to my classmates. I've spent 3 hours a night, twice a week, for the past 3 months with these people. Now I'll never see them again. As we left...we were basically saying, "Have a nice life!" Very strange!

An exciting thing about last night was that we got out of class really early! I was home by 7:45. That meant that I got to spend time with Mike and Brody before Brody had to go to bed!

Today we have a Board meeting (so I'll be leaving work a little late)...and then I'll rush home to start baking! I'm making Caramel Apple Crunch pies today! YUMMM!!!

(I haven't forgotten about posting pics from this weekend...I just haven't had time yet! I'll get to it either today or tomorrow.)

Not quite over

We had a fun weekend. Dad, Mom, and GG came up from Texas to visit. They're going to leave some time today. Right now Brody is home (hopefully still asleep) with them. They're gonna drop him off at my office on their way back to Texas. I'll post some pictures of this weekend later. Just wanted to let you know that we've been having lots of fun!

15 months

Today Brody is 15 months old! He had his 15 month doctor's appointment on Monday. He weighed in at 22 pounds and was 31 1/2" tall! What I thought was strange was that the nurse weighed him on the big person scale rather than on the baby scale. Is it time for that already?!? He also got his last 2 shots until he's 4 years old! YAY!!!!

Brody now says more words than we can count...but he still only has 2 teeth! Here's a couple of pictures of him at work this morning.

Here's how I found him when I walked into the front office.
What?
You don't use a stroller to reach your typewriter? "Oops! You caught me Mama!"
Playing with blocks (mainly I just wanted to show you his cute hiking outfit...complete with hiking boots)
Junior taught him a new trick. When you blow on the flashlight...the light goes out! For some reason this only works when Junior is holding the flashlight?

Baby Dedication

Today was Baby Dedication day at church.


Here's an excerpt of what Tim (our preacher) said during the service today:
"Christian parents who dedicate a child are making a promise to the Lord to do everything within their God give ability by submitting to the Holy Spirit to raise the child in a godly way, prayerfully until he or she can make a decision on his or her own to follow God.

Eph. 6:4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.


Parents who make this vow of commitment are instructed to raise the child in the ways of God, and not according to their own ways, the way they were raised, or the popular opinion of the day but according to the Word.



Proverbs 22:6 Train your child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.


That means teaching and training the child in God's Word, demonstrating an example of godliness, disciplining according to God's ways, and praying earnestly for the child.



COMMITMENT OF PARENTS
Do you desire to publicly recognize your child as a unique gift of God’s grace, to be used for His Glory?
"We do."


Do you commit with God to teach your child the Holy Scriptures and to seek to lead your child to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ?
"We do."


Do you commit, to the best of your ability and with God's help, to provide a loving family environment in which your child can grow in love, loyalty, and obedience to God?
“We do."



Do you commit with God to set before your child a godly example of prayer, meditation in the Word of God, church attendance and godly living?
"We do."


Commitment of Congregation
Do you in this congregation commit yourselves with me to love these parents by holding them accountable to raise their children unto the Lord - meaning to be willing to admonish, correct, come along side, encourage, and love them as these parents bring up their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord."


We ask all of you who are our brothers and sisters in Christ to join with our church in holding us accountable to being the parents that God desires for us to be!

Random Thoughts

You know you're a mom when you willingly get a grass stain on your jeans just to save a diaper coupon from blowing away! (I didn't MEAN to fall down when I was chasing the coupon across the yard...but I did what I had to do to not let the coupon get away!)
___________________
I was talking with an ex-Naval officer the other day. He has been stationed all over the world (Greece, Italy, & France just to name a few). He was originally from Kansas and when he retired, he and his wife wanted to move back to Kansas. They looked for a small town that met their one requirement....it couldn't have a stoplight. They chose Bushton, KS (which didn't have a stop light at the time). He said he's ok with the fact that Bushton now has a stoplight. He said that Friday is his morning to turn the stoplight on. WHAT?!?!? He said, "We take turns turning it on in the mornings and off in the evenings. Friday morning is my morning. It's no big deal! I just go down there and flip the switch!" LOL! In Sterling our stoplight flashes yellow except for the hours of 8 am-6 pm when it runs like a normal stoplight. I'm pretty sure that ours runs on a timer (but I guess I don't know that for fact...I just assume that's how it works). I had no clue that some stoplights DON'T work on a timer and actually require someone to "flip the switch"! That's small town America!
___________________
Mike finished the banister (or handrail) for our stairs today! It looks great! He used his draw knife (to make it look like a log) so it fits perfectly with the decor of the house!
___________________
Brody has been asking to "mow" all day long. I don't think he understands that we don't have to cut the grass anymore! Mike just took him outside to do some other chores. They were chores he could use the lawn tractor for...so Brody was happy!
___________________
All the laundry is done. Mike's work shirts are ironed. The house is cleaned. And...I just finished baking 6 loaves of Amish Friendship Bread! I'm gonna go sit down and rest :)

Chicago Girls' Weekend

This past weekend I got to go to Chicago to see some friends. The group of girls that I met up with became friends online during the summer of 2005. We met on Babycenter when we were all in the midst of trying to get pregnant. We have grown so close over the past 2.5 years and it was so fun to finally get to hang out in person! Everyone from our online group wasn't able to come...but I have a feeling next year they won't miss it!

GG let me use her Delta miles to buy my ticket. Delta doesn't fly non-stop from Wichita to Chicago...so I had to fly to Atlanta (then have a 3 hour layover) and then to Chicago! Sounds crazy...huh?!? Anyways, I arrived in Chicago late Friday night. Before Kim (who lives in Chicago) came to pick me up from the airport her husband, Steve, said, "How are you going to recognize this girl to pick her up?" LOL! Little did he know that we've seen so many pictures of each others lives that I would've recognized him if HE came to pick me up!!

Saturday morning we picked up Amy and then Laura and then we headed to our first stop. COFFEE! I was so excited to get the caramel mocha that Kim had been telling me about for weeks! Here are the 4 of us in the coffee shop. Kim (from Chicago), Laura (from Alabama), Staci, and Amy (from Missouri). After coffee we did a little window shopping and then it was lunch time. We ate delicious wraps and then Kim dropped us off at the mall while she took her little girl, Courtney, to a birthday party. We discovered that none of us are big shoppers...so we decided to just have a little fun. We found a maternity store and proceeded to try on maternity dresses (using their strap on pillow/belly to make us look pg)! I'm sure the clerks were wondering why we were all dying laughing in the dressing room! Laura looked the cutest in her dress.
After the mall we headed back to Steve & Kim's for PIZZA!!! This was REAL Chicago pizza! It was THE BEST pizza I've EVER had (and if you know me...you know I LOVE pizza and have tried it lots of places). You can actually order this pizza online and they'll deliver it to you on dry ice and then you bake it. Just looking at the picture below makes me salivate! I've already told Mike that we need to order this pizza for a special date night :)
After dinner (which included entertainment...aka watch Laura get excited over the Alabama football game) Kim took us to our hotel room. I know a lot of my reading audience (or at least my brother and my dad) listen to Rush Limbaugh. He is always promoting Sleep Number beds. I was excited when I saw the sign at the front desk stating that they have Sleep Number beds! The first thing we did when we got to our room was try to find "our number". Kim wasn't feeling the bed change at all and kept holding down the arrow. Before long...there was almost a hole in the middle of the bed! Notice how low Laura is in the picture below compared to Kim?!?
We couldn't figure out how to get the bed to re-inflate. Not even the instructions helped! I think it was stuck. We ended up calling maintenance to fix it. I must not have picked the right number for me on Saturday night. The bed felt comfy when I first laid down on it...but by morning my back was killing me!!!! I'm sorry Rush....but I don't think I'll ever pay big bucks for that bed!

While maintenance was fixing our bed, we decided to get our sweet fix at the Coldstone that was just a few blocks away. Pizza and ice cream. Can a day get better than that?!?

Sunday morning we met up with Sapphire (from Colorado) and her 6 month old, Karalee, in downtown Chicago. We walked, and walked, and walked all around downtown! It was a gorgeous, fall day! (Below: Staci, Kim, Laura, & Sapphire)

We all loved getting to hold and play with little Karalee!
For lunch we stopped at Johnny Rockets. It was super crowded and for a while we were all scrunched around a 2 person table! The lunch of burgers, frys, and onion rings was yummy! After we finished eating we were going to stop at the bathroom before hitting the town again. We were surprised to find that you needed a token to use the restroom!!! Customers can get a token from their server while non-customers have to pay $0.25 to use the potty!! Of course, I had to take a picture of the prized token!
Here's a picture of all of us in front of Buckingham Fountain. (Staci, Amy, Laura, Kim, & Sapphire)
The fall colors were so beautiful. Leaves were falling all around us and the air was cool and a little breezy. I could never live in such a big city...but I loved visiting!
One thing that we learned about each other (that most of us hadn't really thought about) was that everyone has their own unique accent! Before meeting in person, when we'd read each others posts, we'd see that person's picture in our head. Now we hear their voice! It's kinda neat! I knew that Laura would have a southern accent (being from Alabama), but for some reason I never realized that Kim would have such a strong northern accent! Amy is the only one that I didn't think had an accent. That must mean she talks like all the Kansans that I hear on a daily basis ;)

We dropped Amy & Laura off at the airport on Sunday night and then I left the next morning. I met up with another girl, Jessica (from Georgia), while at the Atlanta airport...


Thanks for such a fun weekend girls! I can't wait to get together again next year!!!

Home

There will be a big post coming up about my trip to Chicago...but I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm back and had an awesome time!

Thanks to GG for letting me use her airline miles to purchase my ticket!

I think that Mike and a good weekend with Brody and Nancy while I was gone. I got home and found a perfectly clean house that had been decorated for Thanksgiving! Mike and Nancy bought some beautiful fall leaves and other decorations for around the house. Mike even bought several baskets of fall flowers! The house looked and smelled gorgeous! What a great thing to come home to! (Thanks Mike!)

When I pulled into the drive, Mike and Brody were on the mower. They both had huge smiles plastered on their faces as they drove towards me and Brody was just saying, "Mama! Mama! Mama!" over and over! I love my boys and really missed them this weekend!

Ok...that's all I have time for now. Sometime in the next day or two I'll tell you all about the Chicago Girls Weekend!