Out of the Mouths of Babes

My kids watch a show on Cartoon Network called Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu. If you have boys then the odds are that you know about this show and all the Legos that come with it!

The storyline for one of the characters, Lord Garmadon, is that he was bitten by a fierce serpent, The Great Devourer, and that evil now runs through his veins as a result of the snake bite.  Even if the evil Garmadon wanted to be good, he couldn't, because of the Devourer.

 

 

This morning on the way to school a conversation came about where the older boys could not understand why a family member was a certain way.  They couldn't wrap their sweet, innocent little heads around the sad fact that sometimes family treats you worse than others.  The only way I could explain it was just that "he had evil in his heart."

 

Conner is all his five-year-old wisdom said, "Like the Great Devourer bit him." I immediately caught the Ninjago reference and started to say no that it wasn't quite like that, but thought for a minute that it was EXACTLY like that.  A wise & cunning serpent, a devourer, has breathed his evil into him.

 

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8

 

Just an encouragement this morning to stay the course, fight the fight, finish the race, lest you get devoured . . .

 

Children sometimes have the best and simplest ways to explain things!

Embracing the Camera!

 

So every week Emily over @ the anderson crew Embrace's the Camera - meaning she actually gets in pictures with her kids instead of just acting as their photographer and no one ever knowing what she looks like! So dressed up or still in her PJ's she's getting in the photographs! Of course, the week I'm prepared to do so she didn't do a link up but here I am embracing the camera with the bigs anyway!

 

 

springtime fun laying in the grass

 

 

me holding an alligator! Conner was a little scared so I was brave -

 it was surprisingly very cold and somewhat soft

 

 

I don't always love myself in pictures but I'm glad my kids will have memories of all the fun we had TOGETHER!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AARON!

Baby boy is officially a toddler today - sniff, sniff! I cannot believe it has been one year since he's been here! We all love him so, especially his big brothers! They are his heroes and favorite playmates!

 

Aaron, on his birthday, 4/19/12



 

 

mommy & daddy love

 

getting to go home

 

2 months

 

1 year

 

 

 

2 months - little cowpoke

 

 

1 year - cowboys can't be still!

 

you're a walker! you've been walking for about 3 weeks!

 

sweet guy!

 

mommy's new man - 2 months

lay still with my monkey? you're crazy mommy!

 

 

You weigh 20 lbs 9 ozs and are 29 inches long. You have 5 teeth (two bottom, three top). You say "dadadada" and "mamama" but you don't use them to identify us you just babble them. You like to laugh and clap to direct attention to yourself.  You've got the silliest fake laugh - it's so funny! You love to be outside and you have a 6th sense about when someone is eating junk food (you come running!). You eat a lot of food and are always begging for food if anyone else is eating and you are not.

 

You are not really a fan of being away from mommy but you are getting better!  You are a MESS maker!! You love Klenex and toilet paper. You put everything in your mouth (like all babies do!).

 

You have been the biggest trooper in dealing with our crazy schedule! We seem to always be in the car on our way to somewhere and you eat most of your meals in your carseat! You roll with it quite well.

 

Your favorite time of day is 3 o'clock when the boys get home! That is your naptime but you have to stay up for a few minutes to play and giggle with them!

 

WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH AARON RYAN (AKA AARON GAGA) BROWN!! Couldn't imagine life without you!

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

These Days . . .

These days I'm a baseball mama & coach's wife more than any other title I answer to and it's been crazy busy but I'm loving this time with my family.

 

Ryan is coaching Conner's tball team and Mason's machine pitch team! Conner had his first set of games this weekend.

 

My little Panther! Go #12!

 

 

Ballpark Baby

 

Love these memories of older brothers playing and cheering

 

Ryan & Conner

 

Playing Catcher - I think he's bored! :)

 

 

Off to the farm - Aaron loves his Papa!

 

two peas in a pod 

 

look at me go!

 

my little country boy

 

Mason is determined to build a pond in our backyard!

 

Spring time Saturday evenings

 

love

 

beauty

 

 

BBQ beans for supper!

 

 

I'm loving these days with my boys, but pieces of me misses the fellowship of small groups at church during the week and pieces of me yearns for the days that I can pack my bags and head out into the mission field . . . but then I'm reminded that these are the people God has given me and they are my mission field. They are the souls I'm to win. And when the Great Commission told me to GO it didn't say I had to go far and so for now I'm satisfied to GO to the ballpark and to GO to ball practice and to GO to the grocery story because you never know what God has in store for the day!

 

The days are long but the years are short and I'm intending to make the most of them! Love my family!

 

And lest anyone think we are smiley all the time lots of our days have been spent whining about going to ball practice, staying up too late and waking up too grumpy, missing our home, and spending 10th anniversaries eating casseroles and going to bed early!

 

And funny story - the boys were playing Kingdoms (made up game) and Ryan & Mason were the kings and Aaron & Conner were the knights and I thought I'd at least get to be Princess, Queen, or Damsel in Distress but when the time came to assign my role I was told I was the Cook! :) No romance here!



Joy That's Unspeakable

Spring break was awesome! The boys were loving being home and staying up late and playing ball and having sleepovers and getting dirty! You don't need many words - today pictures will do!

 

 

Palm Sunday Egg Hunt

Mason - red jacket, Conner - blue jacket

please take note that they have Easter baskets (you'll need to remember this!)

 

 

My middle joy

 

My baby joy getting blown away

 

My big joy

thankful for God's protection from this poisonous snake

that was coiled up and ready to strike my Mason.

he saw the white of the inside of its mouth and knew he

needed to run fast to Papa!

 

dirty joy - future snake wrangler? I hope not!

 

joyful brother love -

after they dug a hole in my front yard to bury the snake

 

egg dyeing joy

 



 

rainy day joy

 

driving under the water joy

 

can you still call it backroading if its your road?

 

Easter Egg Hunt when mama forgets our baskets joy!

 

baby joy - Love!

 

a little storm damage won't stop my joy!

 

mud puddle + boys = JOY

 

X 2

 

if we ride side by side I'll get more muddy joy

 

Thankful on Easter Sunday for so much JOY!

 

 

Have you heard this song? It was pretty much all I could do not to fall on my face in worship of my King. I hit my knees, unashamed, I shouted for joy, unashamed.

 

JOY - its unspeakable!

HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY CONNER!

How this baby boy got to by 5 I have no idea!!

 

Here he is at his second birthday party . . . and third . . . and fourth . . .

 



 

 

 

 

Oh my gracious how I love this crazy child! He is SO FUNNY and his imagination is SO VIVID & GREAT! You never know what he is going to say or do at any given second!! He is full of surprises and keeps us guessing and laughing and shaking our heads from sun up to sun down!

 

He is kind and generous and loves his brothers with a fierce devotion and loyalty - what that means is that if you mess with Mason or Aaron he will beat you down!

 

We are so thankful for our precious "sweet baby!" Throughout his life he's been Conner . . . Sweet Baby . . . Davy Crockett . . . Leonardo . . . and a host of other titles on any given day!

 

 

SWEET SMILE BEFORE BLOWING OUT HIS CANDLES!



 

 

THANKS EVERYONE FOR COMING TO OUR PARTY!

 

BROTHERS FOREVER

 

SWEET RERE & AARON

SWEET MIMEE & AARON & FAITH

 

MASON MADE CONNER A CARD WHERE HE DREW HIM & CONNER AND WROTE BROTHERS FOREVER! CONNER COULDN'T READ IT BUT HE JUST KNEW IT WAS SOMETHING SPECIAL - THIS PICTURE IS THE HUG WHERE CONNER GLEEFULLY EXPRESSED "I LOVE IT MASON!"

 

I'M 5 TODAY!!

 

 

DONUTS AT SCHOOL FOR HIS BIRTHDAY!



 

BROTHER EXCITED TO GET DONUTS TOO!

 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET CONNER! WE LOVE YOU!