Thankful for . . .

I'm thankful for many, many things but this week I'm thankful for healthy children, who can run and play, and for friends and family to play with!

On Monday we started our week off with a necessary trip to Wal-mart but on our way home we stopped at the local park and had a Lunchable picnic and I let the boys play a bit, too. It was a beautiful day!  We ended the day playing with some old/new friends who live nearby and the boys had a blast!

Tuesday, Mason had a friend from his class over and all three boys were non-stop for about 4 hours! After we dropped him off, we headed to a friend of Conner's to celebrate his 4th birthday!  There were 8 little boys all under 6 - it was crazy fun!

Today, I thought I was headed to my mom's to grab some food and come straight home.  Therefore, at 12 noon I headed over to my mom's in my PJ's with no makeup on with two barefoot children in their PJ's.  And who was there was lunch - my old boss! I was beyond mortified to eat lunch in said PJs and bare face with the man I normally discussed debt ratios with while dressed in nice attire! Oh well - what's done is done and it was a nice lunch! My dad's gumbo is to die for!

Another friend of mine was in town with her new baby and two older kids, plus her sister's two kids, so the boys had a great time climbing trees and fences with four other kiddos! Mason even mastered the monkey bars today and he (and I) were so proud!

So I'm very thankful for a break filled with good friends and playing and family! Looking forward to more fun tomorrow!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

The Big Deer!

Thanks to game cameras (or maybe no thanks to game cameras??) my husband has had a one track mind lately and all he thinks about is deer or more specifically killing a deer! My dad and my sister have each killed a deer and he has been extremely focused on this task.  Like he comes in the door from work and gives the kids a half nod and grabs his gun and leaves, not to be seen again until after supper.

FINALLY after two weeks of this he kills a deer!! An 8-point buck.  Now life may return to normal in the Brown household!

The boys were very excited to see their Papa pull up in the yard to pick us up so that we could go see the big kill.  Mason walked right up to it and grabbed the antlers like nobody's business - Conner was a little frightened but he quickly recovered.

So thanks to the man of the house for putting meat on the table (and in the freezer!) and

I'm sure the head will look great hanging in his closet!!

Soccer Season Party

The Calvary Lime Green team celebrated a successful season at Hot Wheels Skating Palace this past Saturday! Mason has really enjoyed playing and is looking forward to playing again! Ryan & I do not know much about soccer but we had better start learning because Mason is having the best time!

Congrats to Mason and his teammates!!

Veteran's Day/Grandparent's Day Program

Mason and Conner had their annual Veteran's Day/Grandparent's Day the Monday before Veteran's Day.  The announcements went out kind of late therefore I was their stand-in grandparents!  Conner did not perform because he was not feeling great the day before and I didn't want to send him to school just in case.

Being up on stage in front of people is not Mason's idea of a good time, but he has really been making drastic improvements in his apprehension lately . . . and look where he is -- in the MIDDLE OF THE STAGE! He is in the white shirt in the center and never hid behind anyone! He sang his songs and did his movements.  He was FANTASTIC!  He was so proud of himself afterward saying, "I did better than last time!!"

For their treat I took them to Wal-mart to and let them pick out things for their OCC shoeboxes and then we headed to Chuck E. Cheese's! It was great fun!

Operation Christmas Child Packing Party

Where to start? First this event was AWESOME!! I know God will remember all those who helped but I also want to give a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who donated, packed, prayed, etc. It was such a blessing to me and I am sure it will be a HUGE blessing to those who receive one of the millions boxes that are distributed through Operation Christmas Child and Samaritan's Purse.

God has worked many wonders in my life and the lives of others but this was something so incredible and I am so thankful to be a part of it!  Briefly, I'll share some of the great things . . . first, I mentioned in a previous post the generous donation of 150 toothbrushes from a dentist office in Shreveport, those were in addition to the toothbrushes that had already been collected individually.  We had lots of toothbrushes but not as much toothpaste.  On Friday, when I and several other ladies went to the church to start setting up tables - there were 76 boxes of toothpaste!  We ended up with PLENTY of toothpaste! I have no idea who left it and I swear it wasn't there the last time I checked the donation table.

While we set up I noticed we only had less than 20 bars of soap and so I put an announcment on Facebook and in minutes I had someone volunteer to buy 85 bars of soap.  We had 2 tubes of Chapstick and by Saturday morning we had over 100 tubes of chapstick.  I could go on and on with this same story - it was unreal, it was amazing, it was purely God at work!

On the day of the packing party we had about 20 women and a few guys come to help - I was overwhelmed at the turnout for a Saturday morning! It was a great time! We had to add extra tables because the donations kept pouring in! One lady called her husband to come and look because it was an awesome sight! Several ladies cried.  It truly was a blessing to be a part of!

Our original goal was 100 boxes plus $700 shipping and I thought that was almost an impossible goal . . . well it wasn't! At final count we donated 146 BOXES!  WOW! I had not even given thought to the fact that we only had enough shipping for 100 boxes until someone volunteered to donate any money we needed for shipping! I did not have to ask or beg for this money - God gave it before I even realized we needed it! God is so good and faithful!

Ephesians 3:20-21

The Message (MSG)
20-21God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.
Glory to God in the church!
Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus!
Glory down all the generations!
Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!

Here are 138 of the boxes!

For me this is a year-around ministry so I'll be on the prowl for lots of good deals until next OCC season! If you spot something - let me know! And if you buy anything I'll be happy to store it for you!

Happy Halloween

I was totally slacking on Halloween pictures this year! As is customary around our house we were rushing to get of the door and Conner refused to wear his costume!  We headed to Josh & Erica's house for our church's 2nd Annual Halloween Outreach Party.  They had a huge banner that said - "Looking for Something Sweet? Taste and see that the Lord is good!"  We passed out over 300 bags of candy and gave out free hot dogs! It was a great night!

We took a break from the outreach to go trick or treating! 

Here is my Special Ops Commando Ninja aka Mason!

And here is Raphael and Leonardo!

I stole the wings and headband from Conner's Book Parade costume and went as a bumblebee!  It was a great family night!

Busy Saturday

Like every Saturday, our day started off with soccer!  And guess who scored a goal - MASON!! I almost missed it because his crazy daddy was jumping up and down and was all in my way! He was so happy!!

Way to Go #4

I love their team and their coach - praying after the game!

After soccer we celebrated Addison's 1st birthday with a Spooky Tea!  The boys love Addison's big brother and they had a blast playing swords and playing outside and painting pumpkins!

When we left Addison's I took the boys to my friend Ashly's parent's house for a hayride and hot dog roast!  Ashly & I went to high school together but she lives in Texarkana now and I don't see her much and I hadn't seen her new little baby girl, Noelle, yet! So we had a great time with them!

On the hayride!



Here are the boys not wanting Ashly to take their picture!

Another fun and busy day!

Pumpkin Patch

After the Book Parade, Ryan & I took the boys to the Pumpkin Patch to pick out a pumpkin.  I knew we were waiting a little late but I didn't realize how late until we got there - there were hardly any pumpkins left!  All of the pumpkins were huge and deformed but were determined to make the best of it!  They each picked out a pumpkin and were able to use the foam stickers I got to decorate 4 sides of their pumpkins because they were SO BIG!

Book Parade

Friday was the boys' school's 5th Annual Book Parade! It ended the Book Fair and Red Ribbon Week 'cause we've got better things to do than drugs - READ!

Mason's class read Gaston Goes to Mardi Gras and so he was ready for Mardi Gras on Friday!

Conner's class read Ladybug Girl, Bumblebee Boy and he was the cutest little bumblebee I have ever seen!

They were both very excited to see that Ryan took off work that day to watch them and Mimee braved the cold to watch them as well! And they got to check out - that's always something to be happy about!

Rain is a Good Thing!

What happens when it rains? Worms come out to play!

Two sweet boys!