Fun in the sun...

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood. Big Brownie noticed right away that the sun was out and he exclaimed that..."SPRING IS HERE!" We all initially had shoes on, but as time passed, it was just more fun to run in the grass with our bare feet. I couldn't resist a bare feet picture of The Brownies..I'm sure my mom will be proud! The added excitement of having a new puppy to run with, seemed to melt the hours away. What a great day to enjoy each other. To find new buds, blooms and green grass. It has been a blessing to have sunshine today and when the Brownies wake from their naps, we will continue our fun in the sun!

Lots of laughs and giggles...

Lots of gifts of love...

Lots of "I love you Mommy's"!

Say What Wednesday...

Yes, a lot of our smiles and giggles surround potty training and yes, we have a new one for you this week...

Big Brownie has broken through his anxiety about using the outdoors as his latrine. Last week, I had a little bit of work to complete. It was one of those days that it wasn't too cold or too wet to go outside to play. I opened the back door and let Big Brownie run and explore, while I watched from the kitchen table. He finally realized that he could pee-pee on the grass...and that it was fun. He managed to successfully do his business a few times. Daddy Brown and I were standing at the backdoor talking and we noticed Big Brownie was kinda in a funny position, pants down around his knees, kinda squaty but kinda not. All of a sudden, Big Brownie pulls his pants up and runs to the step all the while screaming, "I poo-poo'd in the grass, I poo-poo'd in the grass!" Sure enough after further inspection, there indeed was #2 in the grass. You can imagine the conversations we have had over the next couple of days.

I frequently feel like I have a "peanut gallery" of sorts. I'll make something to eat for meal time and I get the usual, "I'm not hungry" or the "I'm not going to eat this", from Big Brownie. A couple of days ago, Daddy Brown came downstairs to an average breakfast of eggs and jelly toast. Little Brownie usually doesn't have a problem with pounding his food. Big Brownie looked up at Daddy Brown and said, "This is the best breakfast EVER!"

Sometimes I will indulge in the guilty pleasure of eating a candy bar while no one is around. Otherwise, I really don't get to eat it. I referee the dispensing of equal parts to Big Brownie and Little Brownie while barely getting a bite. I had tucked away a Snickers candy bar in the cupboard from prying little eyes and a few days ago, I had a chocolate craving. I remembered my little Snickers bar. During nap time, I enjoyed the whole bar to myself. My mistake was leaving the wrapper in the center of the table as opposed to discarding it. Big Brownie woke up from his nap and scanned the table. Once he saw the wrapper, he grabbed it and realized it was empty. He held it in the air with a serious look on his face and turned to me and said, "No Mom, you share the chocolate, don't eat the chocolate!"

The Brownies have recently discovered popcorn. It is a treat we don't get everyday, but most of the time, at least once a week. If it were up to the Brownies, it could be added to the food pyramid as its own food group. Last week, we had popcorn and juice as our afternoon snack. The boys were sitting on the back porch on their over-sized pillow with popcorn and juice. The bubble machine was spitting out thousands of bubbles per minute and they were watching the birds and the clouds pass by. Daddy Brown came in from work and asked the boys about their snack. He said, "Wow, are ya'll eating popcorn?" Little Brownie yells, "POTcorn!" and Big Brownie says, "Yeah Dad, we are eating our popcorn and juice...and my mom is the best!"

One of The Brownies favorite places in the world to visit, is the pet store. Having a new puppy, over the last couple of days, we have made a couple of trips to our local Petsmart. We usually visit the fish first, then kittens, birds, mice, hamsters, snakes, etc. Little Brownie has to ride in the buggy because I don't trust that he will keep his hands out of the fish tank and I don't think he could resist the urge to touch and throw every dog toy he could get his hands around. As we go through the store, he yells..."FISH!" and"Bird!"and "CAT!" As we walked over to the cats, Big Brownie was so excited to see they had so many. He looked at me and said, "Mama, I want to sing them a song". I said, "Ok baby, go ahead. What song are you going to sing?" He crossed his arms around his own chest and said, "Hawaiian like me". I agreed that would be a nice song to sing to the cats. As we stood in front of the cat counter, he swayed back and forth, with his little arms crossed and sang the entire song to the cats. He didn't care that people were around and that they stopped to listen. He wanted the cats to find comfort and to him, Hawaiian like me is one song that comforts him. After he was done, an older lady came up to him and said, "That was a beautiful song and you sang it so well." As he backed into my legs and looked at her with a shy and sweet face, he said, "Do you want to hear me sing, Jesus loves me?" It was so precious.

Is there anything better?

I love my job. It is the absolute hardest job I've ever had. About 2 weeks ago, we had to be somewhere at 9a on a weekday morning. For one day, I had to actually wake everyone up, as opposed to allowing everyone to wake on their own. I woke up while the house was still quiet, to make sure I showered, dressed appropriately in "non-mommy" wear, actually blow-dried and styled my hair and wore make-up. You know, how I looked most every day prior to having The Brownies. I then woke Daddy Brown and Big Brownie woke up in the process. I roused Little Brownie and got them dressed, barely fed and out the door we flew, so we wouldn't be late.

It was a wake-up call for me. What if I had to work outside the home? This would be our song and dance everyday. A dance that many Mom's out there are faced with everyday. We have certainly sacrificed a lot in worldly possessions and luxuries to be able to afford the ability for me to stay home. Some months are tighter than others and makes things a little more stressful. However, both Daddy Brown and I are so committed to our jobs as parents first and foremost that for as long as we can, I can stay at home and raise our babies during the day and Daddy Brown can come home to healthy, happy Brownies...most days. I know there are some Mothers that prefer to work outside the home...I always thought I would be one of them. Would I be able to fully commit to the job of being a Mom full-time? Could I let go of the professional person I had worked so hard to become?

It was definitely a struggle in the beginning. When I just had Big Brownie, I still worked full-time hours on part-time days. When I became pregnant with Little Brownie and after delivering him, I went to part-time. When I realized that I wasn't doing either job to the best of my ability, I felt like a failure. I didn't want to let anyone down. Daddy Brown helped me realize that the only people I shouldn't let down, was my family. All the rest of it, we would work out...and we did. It was the best decision we have ever made. I love the opportunity to see all the "firsts" of our Brownies. Some Mom's want to stay home, but can't for one reason or another. I have so much respect for those Mom's who get up everyday, get their families ready and out the door to school or daycare, puts in a full day of work, come home to make supper, work on homework, baths, bedtime and on top of that, keep the house clean and the laundry caught up. Wow, it still amazes me these "Super Mom's" exist.

For me, I'm happy to be a stay-at-home Mama. I'm glad to know that I have each day to teach them shapes, colors, numbers, ABC's, etc. I'm so proud to know that Daddy Brown and I can actually potty train a child. I'm happy everyday to have the ability to look at these faces everyday. Most days I think I'm not that much to look at for them, but they are the most beautiful creatures we have every created. No spreadsheet, proposal or presentation has ever measured up to the success I feel in our Brownies. I mean seriously, is there anything better than this?

Or this...

Or this...

I don't think so!

Praise...

Today is all about praise! The Good Lord answers prayers, not in our time, but in his. Daddy Brown has been suffering for 8 days the effects of kidney stones. He FINALLY passed a 5mm kidney stone this morning. Although very sore, he at least is not in the tremendous pain he has had off and on since last Monday. Many prayers have been said over him throughout the last week, and finally, awww...what a relief! Praise God!

I'll admit, I've falling off the workout bandwagon for the last 2 weeks. However, today during nap-time, I made myself stay off the couch. I am so glad that I did and now, I'm back on my game. No one is keeping score except myself. Daddy Brown is ever supportive of me, no matter if I lose 1 pound or all 50 pounds in my challenge. I am thankful for the desire to get up and move today. With that, I continue to pray for the desire to get up and do something, to eat better and make better choices.

Giving a shout out to Aunt Fudge's daughter, Chocolate Fudge. She has started a blog and she is an amazing young lady. So proud of her and her relationship with not only her family, but also in her faith. She is a great witness to her friends. I also want to say a special praise to Aunt Fudge's youngest son, Peanut Butter Fudge, who is 4 years old. Yesterday, he called Daddy Brown's cell phone and left a message saying..."I'm gonna get baptized and ya'll are welcome to come". After talking to Aunt Fudge, he decided after seeing someone get dunked in the tank, he wants to be baptized too. Aunt Fudge told him that when he was old enough, at least 6 years old, he could get baptized. So, in 2 years with a personal invitation to attend, Daddy Brown, myself and the Brownies will be in the front row when Peanut Butter Fudge makes the decision to follow Jesus. So awesome that he has an awareness and a desire at such a young age.

The "Photo Gods" cursed me last week. Back several months ago, I accidentally spilled breastmilk on my small digital camera and sadly, it never recovered. I have been using my really nice Canon Rebel xti and last week, it stopped working for an unknown reason. Of course, when there is no camera around, amazing pictures are lost. Like our very first kite flying experience last week in the back yard. Or the afternoon snack time on the back porch whilst the bubble machine is running in the background. So, Tutu Nani and Aunt Berry came to my rescue. I now have a small digital camera that I can carry in my backpack from Tutu Nani and a Canon Rebel that had been retired when Aunt Berry upgraded to a Canon D40. It's nice to have family members that can "hook you up" when the "Photo Gods" decide to rain on your parade! Praise Be!

Lifting up Uncle and Aunt Berry today for an unspoken prayer. He knows what their hearts desire and will answer those needs. Please say a prayer if you will to help them and all people involved to come to a quick resolution and solace in their decisions.

Meet Andy...

Well...meet our new family member Andy. Andy is short for Andolini. Yes, it is from the book and movie, "The Godfather", which is one of my favorite saga's. (For those who are not familiar, Andolini was The Godfather...Don Vito Corelone's original last name before he was a stowaway to the US). Anywho...Sissy has done so well with little Andy. We brought him home, introduced them in the backyard and not exactly two peas in a pod, but pretty close. Andy rests in Sissy's "crook". I think it is very comforting for him to have an older "mama" style dog to follow and love on.

She has definitely put him in his place a couple of time. We frequently have Cheerios on the floor after snack or breakfast. Sissy decided some weeks ago that she would pass on eating the cheerios in hopes of scoring something much more awesome to eat. Yesterday, Little Brownie gave Andy his graham cracker and Sissy politely came over and took it from Andy. She was not bothered one bit by his jumping around and barking. So, he went back to eating the Cheerios on the floor, which to him, was a big treat. He also wanted her to get up a play with him in the middle of the night. She nipped at him with a motherly snap, and he laid back down and went back to sleep.

The Brownies are having so much fun as well. They don't really understand the concept of "Not running" so Andy thinks they are running to play. As all puppies do, he likes to nibble on hands, feet, toes, ears or hair. They have adapted well so far, but we have a ways to go. Keep up in your prayers and we'll keep you up to date with what I'm sure will be our "Brownie Saga" as the days go by.

Say What Wednesday...

Ok...it's Wednesday and of course, my Brownies do not disappoint in their words to entertain.

This past week Big Brownie has decided not only does he not want to wear underwear, but he also wants to hold his pee in for as long as he can. We played outside and I even tried to entice him with permission to pee-pee outside. I think he thought it sounded more fun then it actually turned out to be. Anticipating that this would be awkward, since Daddy Brown was at work, I tried to describe the action of pee-peeing on one of our trees in the backyard close to the house. We walked over to the tree and I said, "Ok, all you have to do is point and pee-pee." He said, "Oh, will that make pee-pee come out of my finger?" I was baffled for a minute and finally said, "Oh no, point your pee-pee to the tree and then you can pee-pee on the tree." He said, "Oh, I'm not going to pee-pee on the tree." I said, "Why not? It really is okay to pee-pee on Mommy's tree." He said, "No mama, I'm not going to pee-pee on the tree...it needs water to drink, not pee-pee".

He also had playtime at Aunt Apples this week. He told her when she asked him if he wanted to go pee-pee in the potty..."No thanks, I don't want to be troubled with that right now."

We still fight with what beverage is going to be in the bed with Big Brownie each night. Some nights, he wants juice, some nights he wants water and some nights he wants juice and water. Last night, Daddy Brown had prepared a minimal amount of juice to water ratio. After taking a few sips he said, "Mom, I need sleepy time water, this is daytime water".

Is it just me or is it hard to answer some questions of a toddler? When they watch a movie and a preview comes on and it begins with "Coming Soon". Then I'm asked, "Mom, what does 'coming soon' mean?" It seems to be that my answer is something like..."Well, it means that show is going to come on REAL SOON." I've also found that it helps if you say it slow and drawn out.

Little Brownie this week decided that he has observed Big Brownie getting heart treats for pee-pee in the potty long enough. He ran over to the counter yesterday and scream..."HEART TREAT!" He kept exclaiming this message to me until finally I caved and gave him a heart treat. He was so pleased. He gummed it around in his mouth over and over again. Finally, he looked at me and smiled. He said, "Oh...heart treat...ummmm, good!"

Little Brownie and I found a big bouncy ball this week and have played with it outside. He will bring me the ball, and waits for you to say, "Ready?". He repeats and YELLS, "READY". He will not move until you say, "Go get it!" When he brings it back he is yelling all the way back..."I did it, I did it!" I think that is his favorite phrase, along with "Awesome", and the one we have been hearing a lot lately..."I sorry".

Wow...I really could go on, but I think I will give you one more of the week. Big Brownie seems to be paying more attention and his vocabulary is expanding everyday. I get a question from, "What makes toast?...to "What makes pee-pee?" To get his attention, I will frequently say, "Listen, I have a question for you." Last week he said, "Mom, I have a question for you and I need you to really listen." I said, "Ok, what is your question?" He said, "Mama, don't say, 'what is your question', say, 'what'." I said, "Ok, what?" He said, "No Mom, don't say 'Ok what'...say 'what'?" I said, "What?" He said, "What does what mean?" Ahhhh...really! Keeps us in stitches to say the very least!

Starting at Zero...

Recently, I had a friend post a very raw and real statement..."Today, I'm starting at zero." Without going into too much specific detail, he basically felt he had lost his way. Failed marriage, every other weekend custody of his 4 children, unemployed, had his identity stolen, gained 40 pounds with no desire to get back on the wagon...so to speak, wanting a drink after being 8 years sober and most importantly, has felt like he has lost his closeness with the one most high. He is struggling to muster the energy to seek his guidance and assurance. I went to high school with this person and he lost his sister, who was my age, to suicide when I was in the 9th grade. A loss I'm not sure he fully recovered. He is on my mind this morning and I'm praying for him. I ask that you do the same.

I'm reminded how fortunate so many of us are, but also, how so many are 1 tragedy away from "Starting at Zero". I know my faith and will are strong. I believe we all should "Start at Zero" every morning when we rise to a new day. And it is a new day. Every day you rise, is a new day to affect change in your life or in the lives of others. I read someone write recently, "when you see what God has been up to during this miserable time, I'm betting you will be surprised such glory can come from such mess". That is true. You can't imagine when you are in the throws of your own sorrow and depression, that anyone can pick you up and pour his love and blessings over you. It really isn't "anyone". We as humans can help to pick people up and love on them. However, there is only one...the Lord Almighty himself, that can help you help yourself. If you are feeling low today, I want to encourage you to open your bible. Continue to seek his guidance and his love.

I read another post yesterday that was encouraging to me..."Perhaps you’re going through some fiery trial right now, and feel that you’re carrying a burden that’s just too heavy to bear. You might even feel like giving up. Perhaps you feel like nobody cares about you enough to take the time to understand what you’re going through. Well, Jesus has something to say to you. Not only does he know who you are, He loves you, and wants to be with you forever. Indeed, the world will promise you many things; and you can even try to prosper in it. Worldly pleasure may make you feel good for a moment; however, it will ultimately leave you feeling empty, because it can’t give you what is needed most, that is, love. Only God can do that, because God is love. Moreover it is quite clear from what’s happening around us that the world is not the solution to our problems; rather, Jesus Christ is".

Yesterday is in the past and you can't change it. However, you can change your outlook and your attitude for today. If you find yourself at rock bottom, be encouraged that life is not hopeless, it is hopeful. Be encouraged that when you are down and out, the Lord can pick you up and wipe your tears. He can move you in ways that no other can. Be encourage and rededicate yourself to him. It's not too late. He'll be with you in the eleventh hour. Will you trust in him today? Will you accept what Jesus wants for you? Will you let Him usher you into a brighter life, and a more encouraging experience with God? Don’t let the devil cause you to feel like you are worthless. You are not worthless in God’s eyes. For you belong to the King of kings and Lord of lords. That’s right, you are a child of the King! Therefore, stand up and praise Him! Be encouraged! God is righteous, and HE will deliver you from all evil in his time.

I'll end with some scripture that spoke to me during my quiet time...

John 14:1-3 says...“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

Romans 8:38-39 says...“neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Psalms 9:9-10 says...“The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, A refuge in times of trouble. And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.”

Psalms 46:1-3 says...“God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling.”

John 14:18 says...“I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”