It's all good . . .

A Special Visitor

This past weekend, Lily and Derek had a five day weekend, and to make it even better, my amazing niece, Madeline, came to visit.  She is going to BYU and is getting married this April, and so it was a last chance to have her to ourselves before the wedding.

She arrived late Friday night, and the two of us stayed up way too late catching up.  Saturday morning, the kids woke up to find her there.  They were so excited.  She came with us to their basketball games, which was very fun, and a soon as we got home, the kids put her straight to work playing with them :).  First, they had her play Wipeout on the Kinnect.

Lily and Derek loved getting to spend time with her, and she read them stories, played games with them, and just listened to anything and everything they had to say.

Saturday afternoon, we all went out to get frozen yogurt at one of the places where you can put whatever toppings on it that you want.  The kids thought it was amazing :).  And after Lily and Derek were in bed, Madeline and I stayed up late, once again, watching a movie and talking about her wedding plans.  It was way too much fun :).

You see, Madeline has always been like a little sister to me, since although I have four older sisters, I never had a younger one.  Ever since she was little, I have loved doing things with her, and I am so glad that we have just gotten closer over the years.

On Sunday, it was the first Sunday of my new calling at church as the Primary Chorister.  I was very nervous, but as always, as soon as I got in front of all the kids, I felt right at home.  I am always brought right back to when I taught school.  I loved being with the kids again, and I had a wonderful time.

After church, Madeline and I decided to make a special treat for Family Home Evening, a chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake.  I had been wanting to make it for a while, and it was the perfect opportunity.  Unfortunately, we didn't take into account how long it had to chill afterward, and so instead of dessert on Sunday, we had it for breakfast on Monday :).

It was worth the wait though :).

Madeline flew out on Monday afternoon, and so we decided to show her a little of the area first.  We took her to Garden of the Garden of the Gods. 

When we first got there, the weather was gorgeous, but after going down the trail a bit, the wind picked up, and all of the sudden it was freezing.  We hurried back to the car and decided to look at the rest of the park inside the warmth of the van.  While we were driving around, a herd of deer crossed the road right next to us.  We stopped and I took some pictures out the window - it was so cool :).

After we were finished, I took her to Rudy's BBQ for lunch.  It was the perfect way to end a wonderful visit.

The kids and I were very sad to see her go, as it was so wonderful to have her here.  It is crazy to think that the next time we see her, it will be at her wedding.  So exciting :).

A Very Happy Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is an interesting day.  It can be a day full of excitement and fun, it can be depressing and sad, or it can be a time to show those around you that you love them.  Kevin and I have have had a tradition for most of our marriage that we would go out before the actual day for our special date, and usually that was our gift to each other.  This left the actual day to be about our family, and showing our kids we love them. 

I love this tradition of ours, and even though I didn't get that date with Kevin this year, it was a wonderful day.  To prepare for it, the kids and I made their Valentine cards for school.  I decided to go back to one we did a few years ago, as it is cute, personal, and VERY easy to do :).

On Valentine's morning, I woke up early to have a special breakfast for them.  For years, I have made heart shaped pancakes for dinner on Valentine's Day, but this year we had other plans for dinner, and so we had them for breakfast :).  I also put out their box of chocolates from me and a special Valentine card from their daddy.  They were so very excited about it :).

Soon after breakfast, we received a surprise call from Kevin.  It was the best Valentine gift ever, and really set my day up to be wonderful :).

My day was filled with Valentine parties.  I am Derek's Home Room Parent, and so I am in charge o the parties (which I like, because then I can contain the chaos).  Because I am in charge, I never get any pictures of his party, and so I made sure to get a couple.  And when Derek wouldn't smile for me, I had his sweet friend Molly get in the picture, and his face automatically lit up with a smile :).  (She is one of his "best girls.")

For the party, I read them a cute Valentine book, they did an art project, ate healthy snacks (since they were getting all that candy), passed out their Valentine's, and then I taught them a silly Valentine song that I used to sing with my 4th graders.  They loved it, and it was fun being back in "teacher mode".

For Lily's party, I was in charge of the activities, and her class was so much more wild and hard to keep under control, that I left and realized I hadn't taken a single picture.  Oh well.  They had a great time, and I taught them the song as well.  It was a blast :).

When we got home, their was a special package waiting for them from Grandma Valerie - girl Legos for Lily, and a Star Wars transformer for Derek.  They loved them, and really loved getting a package.

It was then that the UPS man showed up at our door with a giant box.  I was so surprised.

Kevin had sent me the most gorgeous arrangement of flowers, since we couldn't share the day together.  I love them, and so does Lily - since there are lilies in the arrangement.  What an amazing husband I have!

Then it was time for the kids special dinner.  It just happened to be Culver's night for the school, and so we went and got them their kids meals and ice-cream.  It is always one of their favorite things.

I didn't eat with them, because I was going on a "date" - actually, a large group of my friends were going to the restaurant by the golf course for a 5 course meal, and invited me to join their group.  So I went stag, but still had a fantastic time, even though I was there with 5 couples.  They were good friends and just happy to include me.  The company was great, and the food was wonderful.

And while I was off having fun, Derek and Lily were having a blast at the Young Women's camp fundraiser.  They were babysitting at the church to earn money for girl's camp, and they had all sorts of games, crafts, and other activities for the kids to do.  Lily and Derek thought they were at a giant party :).

When we got home, we discovered, not just one, but two special treats on our front porch.  Two of my friends dropped them by for us, and it was yet another reminder of how blessed I am.  And so, yes, it was a wonderful Valentine's Day.  A day that could have been sad, was full of fun and surprises, and reminders that my children and I are loved :).

PS. And another reminder to my forever Valentine, Kevin - I love you more :).

Becoming a Butterfly

Lily just had her 3rd Grade Music program, and it was titled, "Life Cycles of the Butterfly."  Lily, who loves science maybe more than she loves performing, was quite excited about this.  Add to it that they were able to choreograph their own movements for each of the numbers, and she was in heaven.  And she even got to stand next to her best friend Katherine :).

Each class acted out a different part of the life cycle, and Lily's class had the caterpillar stage - much better than being a cocoon :).  Here is the video of it all.  It was much different from any school program I have ever seen, but Lily did a wonderful job and loved every minute of it :). 

When it was over, I commented to Lily that I didn't get a picture of her being a caterpillar, and so she promptly laid down on the stage and posed for me - so fun :).  I sure love that girl of mine!

My Big Helper

Lily is such a wonderful help to me.  Every day she does little things to make my life easier.  She does her chores daily, rarely ever complaining.  She wants to learn how to do knew things, and continues to grow up more every single day.

Well, on Saturday, my ankles that I had injured on Thursday night, were hurting badly because I had walked on them too much on Friday.   And so when I looked outside at the falling snow, I knew there was no way I could shovel the driveway a second time that day.  It was then that my big helper stepped in.

Lily went out and shoveled the driveway for me (and for only $0.50).  It was a huge help, and she was such a trooper to do it, and for the very first time.  It is nice to know I can always count on my sweet Lily :).

A Fun and Busy Week

Life is pretty busy, that is just how things are, but this week has been exceptionally busy.  Most of it was good busy, it was very full with things like doctors appointments, basketball practice and games, meetings, lunch bunch, visiting teaching, and such. I even went to Costco with a friend, who helped me pick out a new pair of glasses.  (I haven't bought new ones since Kevin and I got married.)

We had a few extra special things that happened in all that business.  One of them was Tuesday afternoon, when one of the awesome young men in our ward came over to play with Lily and Derek.  We have such great young men in our ward, and they volunteered to come and play with Lily and Derek once a week.  They play Legos, video games, help them with sports, etc.  It is great.

Wednesday night, we had another extra fun thing scheduled, Start the Art Night at the elementary school.  The school is full of artwork from the different classes, as well as musical performances.  The kids got to show me their artwork, which they were so excited about.

And they always have an I-Spy search, and if you find all the things on the list, the kids get a prize.  Lily was awesome about leading us around the school on our search.  And Derek was super excited, because he found his best friend MacKenzie, and so they got to walk around together - most of the time they were hand in hand, running from exhibit to exhibit :).  I could never get a picture of them holding still.

There was even a station where they could make a fun craft, which was the only time the whole night that Derek held still :).

It was a very fun night, and even though Derek accidentally left his prize and craft at the school, a friend of mine found it for me and put it in the office for safe keeping, which saved him from being very sad.

On Thursday night, Lily and I went on a special date to see the Broadway performance of "My Fair Lady."  We went with my friend Lisa, and her daughter (which just happens to be Derek's best friend, MacKenzie).  It was such a fun night, and we started with dinner at On the Border.

I wish I had taken more pictures than the ones at the restaurant, but I couldn't bring my camera into the show, and I never had a chance to get a picture outside the theater - it was very cold.  The show was absolutely delightful!!  It was well cast, well acted, and you just can't beat the story.  Lily was enchanted with it all.

The only downside of the whole night, was when my shoe caught on the stairs and I almost fell head over heels down them.  Luckily I was holding Lily's hand, which helped me turn my body to keep from falling, and although I still ended up with a wrenched back and two slightly sprained ankles, it could have been much worse.

Friday night was a Girl's Night with some friends.  We went and saw "One for the Money " (I have read all the books), and then went out for dessert.  It was a blast, the movie was fun, and I had such a wonderful time getting to talk and laugh with friends.  And the kids got to have Brooke babysit them, which is their favorite thing :).

And then last night, it was Dinner Group at my house.  Three awesome families came over, we had yummy soup for dinner, and the kids played for hours while all the adults talked.  It was a wonderful way to finish off our very busy week :).

And the snow, snow, snow came down, down, down . . .

On Thursday, while I was picking up Lily from school, the snow started coming down, and down, and down. It made me think of that song from Winnie the Pooh, the one about the rain coming down , down, down.

And it just kept snowing, and the wind just kept blowing. By the time we woke up, there were big drifts everywhere and school had been canceled. A good thing too, because we were completely snowed in.

This wouldn't have been too bad, but it just kept on snowing. Lily and Derek decided to go out and play in the storm with the neighbor kids, but Derek only lasted about 10 minutes, because the wind was pretty bad and snow kept blowing in his face. Lily had a ski mask on, which helped, but the neighbors even had ski goggles on :).

Lily lasted an hour, but then she came in and she and Derek had a nice cup of hot cocoa.

Because it was too cold and stormy for the kid to play outside, we had to come up with things to do so we wouldn't go stir crazy.  Lily had been begging me to paint her face, and she had even checked out a library book with instructions how to do it.  She picked the floral garland, and then because Derek didn't want to be left out, I painted and American flag for him.

And then Lily painted a cute little ocean scene on my hand :).  So fun.  Derek's face paint only lasted about an hour before I had to wash it off, since he kept accidentally rubbing it against things in the house.  Lily was so careful about hers, that it lasted until I washed it off before bed.

And then twice on Friday, I had angels come and help me.  My friend Judi's husband and son came by to shovel my driveway so I wasn't trapped.  It was a huge help. 

The only problem was that it just kept on snowing!!!  And the wind kept blowing, which meant drifting.  And so later that evening, when my friend Linnea's husband called to see if we were okay, I was once again snowed in, and so he and his son came and shoveled for us as well.  And it just kept on snowing, and the wind just kept on blowing.  And I woke up to more drifts.

Half of my driveway was covered in a 2 1/2 foot drift, along with a foot of snow all the way to the middle of the street.  And so I started shoveling, and not ten minutes later, out neighbor came out and helped me with the worst of it.  After he had to leave, I kept on shoveling, and 1 1/2 hours later, I had cleared the driveway and the road enough that we could get out.  And just look at the snow on the sides of the driveway!

One good thing,was that the storm had finally stopped on Saturday morning, and so the kids got to really play in the snow.  Derek kept trying to sled down the mounds of snow by the driveway, which ended up knocking off tons of snow onto what I had already shoveled, and so I sent him to the back yard to play in those drifts instead.  He and Lily and one of the neighbor kids made tunnels in all the drifts - so fun :).

And so it was a crazy weekend.  Hopefully we won't get any more snow for a while, because these drifts might be there until May, but hey, it will water my lawn nicely :).  And I think a snow blower is definitely in my future.

Me, Right Now

what I ate for breakfast today:  Half a bagel with strawberry cream cheese, a small glass of OJ and a small glass of milk.

who I last spoke to on the phone:  The doctor's office - nothing big, I just needed to work out a referral and a follow up on some tests.

the last web site I looked at:  My friend Jill's blog.  I am trying to catch up on my google reader, as it always seems there are at least 75 new posts on there when I do finally get to it :).

the last book I read:  Mr. Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson, which was good, but I also finished an audio book the same day, Storm Warning: 39 Clues book 9.  (I am trying to make sure I am reading what Lily is, and she LOVES this series, and since our library has the audio versions, that is what I listen to when I clean or drive around town.)

my last iTunes purchase:  So embarrassing, but I had the urge to listen to some NSync the other day, and so I downloaded a few songs that I used to listen to with my nieces, Megan and Brooke when they were 7 and 4 and I lived with them in Texas :).  Now my own children are older than that - so crazy how time flies.  The specific songs were "I thought She Knew" and "It's Gonna Be Me."  Yes, I know . . .

the last meal I cooked for dinner:  Baked pork chops, rice, gravy, and corn.  So yummy!

what I'm wearing right now:  Jeans and a VERY old BYU sweatshirt.  I think it went through two of my older sisters before it got passed down to me :).  Oh, and my black Simple tennis shoes - they are my favorite :).

my current favorite tv show is:  NCIS and Up All Night - love the drama and wittiness of the one, and love how I laugh so hard at the other, that Kevin thinks I have lost it :).

the last person I sent an email to: My mother-in-law, and before that, Kevin.

something I recently learned:  That I am a lot stronger than I give myself credit for.  I also learned how truly amazing my friends are :).

something I'm not looking forward to: The cold front that moved in with possible snow.  I was really loving the 50-60 degree weather we have enjoyed the past few days.  

something I'm thankful for:  My amazing children and my wonderful husband.  I know that sounds cliche', but it isn't.  I am grateful for my relationship with each one of them, and for the joy of knowing we are an eternal family.

how I'm feeling overall:  A mixture of exhaustion, numbness, and loneliness, that is all balanced out with an overwhelming feeling of peace and gratitude.

This and That

I feel as though I have been neglecting my blog this month.  Things have been super busy this whole month, but they have been good as well.  I have found myself with that fervor that people tend to get at the beginning of the New Year - a desire to clean, organize, get goals back on track, and plan for the coming year.

One of the little things that has been our family "To-Do" list for a while now, is to get the piano tuned and to buy a new piano bench, as our old one was literally breaking into pieces. (It was a cheep thing I had found on the internet.)  Well, a few weeks ago I finally got the piano tuned. 

It was more of an adventure than I expected, as the tuner found a small mouse nest in it.  It was super old, and had to have been there since either before we got it, or from when the piano was in storage when we moved to Georgia.  I paid the extra to have him sterilize the piano, and I am so glad I did, as when he took the keys off, he found two more old icky nests.  So gross, but now it is clean.

I also searched around town and found a nice, sturdy new piano bench :).  Lily is loving not having to use a dining room chair anymore.

Another thing going on that has caused a lot of excitement in our home this week, is the school book fair.  We are a reading family - everyone, from Kevin on down, loves to read.  And so when the book fair comes to town, the kids know that they get to choose a new book.  I usually give them $5 to spend, and then they have to use their own money to make up the difference for the rest.

This year, I even spent a morning volunteering at the book fair.  It was the very first day, so my job was mainly to help the classes as they came in to make their wish lists, and to keep anyone from stealing all the little pencils, erasers, and such.  It gave me a great chance to scope things out :).

Then, on Thursday, I took the kids into school early so they could pick out their books.  Lily had enough of her own money to buy both books she wanted, and so she sweetly told me that I could keep my money.  What a wonderful girl she is.  Derek, of course, got another Star Wars book.  It came complete with 3-D glasses - so fun!

Soon, we will begin our deep cleaning of the house - and when I say "we," I mean that I will be enlisted the help of the kids this year. They can help me clean baseboards and wash walls and doors, right?  In fact, Lily keeps asking me when we are starting :).  Basketball has taken over our Saturday mornings, but I am sure we can find time to squeeze it in.

And, as I have mentioned before, I love going on photography field trips with my friends.  It gives me a chance to combine two of my great loves - teaching and taking pictures.  Last week, I went on another photo field trip, and we all decided that we had so much fun, we are going to try and do them monthly, instead of quarterly.  So fun!

I was in charge of this one, and I took the gals downtown to where I have done some Senior pictures.  As we explored, I found even more wonderful places there to take portraits, and just to be creative.  Here are a few of my favorite pics from the day.

And here are a few more . . .

I also helped them figure out ideas for portraits, and both Judi and Anne decided to use me as their model, forcing me out from behind the camera.  It was pretty funny, especially when they just would catch me teaching :).

It was a fantastic day, and we ended with lunch.  We found this little deli downtown, and since I wasn't super hungry, I decided to order a tossed salad.  I ended up with the biggest and most expensive plate of lettuce (and pretty much only lettuce) I have ever bought :).  The company was worth it, but thinking back, I should have ordered a sandwich :).

And so that is a little of the things going on in the Brown house right now.  Not super exciting, but all good things :).

Wonderful Distractions

There are times in life when you just need a good distraction.  Something to keep your mind off things going on in your life, and although distractions can sometimes be a crutch, a good distraction can be just what the doctor ordered.  The past two weeks have been chalk full of these wonderful distractions for me.  They left me feeling strong and energized to go forward and do all that I have to do.

These distractions have come in every form imaginable, from a surprise package from my wonderful sister-in-law Shannon, or a loaf of fresh bread from a friend.  In fact, last week, my friend Lorraine showed up on my doorstep with a package full of treats and fun things - she knew what I needed before I did.

And then, my sweet friend Natalie, who invited us to go swimming on Martin Luther King Day.  We had so much fun, I completely forgot to take any pictures of the kids :).  Oops.  We also went to lunch, and then she and her family had us over for dinner on Sunday.  Not to mention all the wonderful phone calls I always receive from her.

We also had dinner group, which was a blast, a birthday party for Derek's friend MacKenzie, dinner over at my friend Kelsie's house, which was so fun, and lunch bunch with the ladies from church.  Also the super fun photography field trip I went on with some good friends, which not only was a fantastic chance to be creative, but also to laugh with friends.

And then there were my friends who would pick my children up from school for me when I needed it, especially this past Friday when I had a doctor's appointment.  And my neighbor who took Lily and Derek to their basketball games, because I had a meeting I needed to be at.

Not to mention the visits I got to do all week with different ladies in the ward because of my calling, or my fantastic Visiting Teacher coming to visit me.  And the other phone calls and people who dropped by, just to say hello.

But the best distractions I have had, come from my adorable children and the emails I get each day from Kevin. 

It has all left me feeling very blessed, and as I reflect back over the past two weeks, instead of calling them distractions, I would be more accurate if I called them tender mercies of the Lord.  I have felt His hand in my life and His peace and comfort continually.

Basketball is Back!

Basketball season began two weeks ago for Lily and Derek.  Their first practices were awesome, with both of them making a few baskets - the very first ones ever for Derek.  I also really like their coaches, which makes things even better. 

Saturday morning were their first games.  It was so much fun to watch, although I may be a little too vocal - oh well, at least I am yelling encouragement, right?  Derek's game was first, and Lily was great at cheering for him too.

Derek sat out the first quarter, but then played the second and third quarters.  He did such a good job and got right in there, especially when there was a loose ball to dive for.

He even got to take the ball down the court a few times, which was awesome.  Now, if I can only remember to work on dribbling with him every day, it will get even better.

If you want to check out a little bit of him in action, here is some video I took of his game.  It is pretty fun - to me at least :).

Lily also had a fantastic game.  It still blows me away how far she has come since she started playing last year.  She is confident and engaged in what is going on.  I love it :).

She also got the ball a few times, which was very fun.

 Now if only she can get brave enough to try and make a basket during the game :).

Here are a few highlights from her game as well.

It looks like it will be a really fun season for both of them :).