My House

Let’s let the doors fling wide. Let’s just get it straight. Get it clear. Get it out in the open so there are no secrets.

This is my home.

I know what you’re thinking…

It’s small.Yes, it is.

It’s blue. It’s Old Towne and we didn’t pick the paint, but it grows on you.

How can you live there with four of you?! We just do.

Aren’t you planning on moving with your family growing?! We plan on moving when God closes this chapter and clearly opens another.

But where is Jonah going to sleep?! In his bed just like the rest of us.

Is it even 1,000 square feet? Probably not.

I have grown increasingly unsettled with the over-arching sense of entitlement we, as Americans have in our daily lives to the point where it’s making me unnerved enough to sit down and examine my own life to re-focus my priorities.

Most may look at my home and think it’s too small, too old, too whatever. What I have to say to all the naysayers is the following:

It is also the home Sadie went from crawling to walking, to running in.

It is the home that Jonah came from from the hospital in.

It is the home where we have paid down thousands of dollars in debt.

It is the home where we share family dinners every night in.

It is the home that is always open to someone in need.

It is the home where we wrestle together on the floor.

It is the home where we run in circles around on the hardwood floors.

Where we treat our backyard like another room.

Where we open the windows first thing in the morning to let Yeshua’s (Jesus’) light in just like Nana Shara liked to do.

Where we bake our cookies while we make a mess on the floor.

Where we paint on the sidewalk with water.

Where we read our books on the couch.

Where we rock to sleep a crying baby on the porch swing.

Where the dishes wait, the laundry grows, and the floors collect dust so we can play some more games.

Where we laugh and cry after the sun rises and before the sun sets.

Where my husband comes after a long day at work for respite.

Where I savor the easier days and cling to God on the harder days.

Where Sadie and Jonah are learning to laugh and love one another for the rest of their lives.

This is my home. Where we live. Really live. It’s not about how many bedrooms I have, or the square footage, or the designer labels. It’s about raising my family within the confines of these walls to love the Lord and all He has given us because He really has given us everything we could ever ask for.

So stop asking and start thinking about what you have in your home. And I’m not talking about the granite counter tops or the neutral carpet or the crown molding on your walls.

I hope you’re lucky enough to say your home looks just like mine.

Adoption

Adoption has quickly become a regular topic of conversation on my side of the family in the past year or so. My brother, Steve and his wife, Shelley went through a wild ride adopting my adorable hunk nephew, Isaiah.

Most recently, my other brother Matt, and his wife, Marilee have followed the Lord’s leading and open doors to start the process to invite their fourth child into their home from Ethiopia. I won’t go any further in explanation than that because their adoption website is so moving and inspiring.

Please go check out their story and consider giving to their cause. We can’t wait to add another beautiful niece to the family that God has specifically hand-picked for them already.

Daddy at Home

We’ve had it so good with TJ being off work since Jonah’s birth day on October 12. He’s made breakfast for us each morning since we came home from the hospital, done a million loads of laundry, all the cleaning, taking both kids so I could sleep and recover, ran all the play activities of the day, and really made for an easy transition for Sadie accepting a “foreign” person into her little world.

He has to go back to work tomorrow and I have been dreading it like we used to dread him returning to college in Texas back when we were dating long distance. You know the date of departure is coming and tears instantly well up without a moment passing.

I love having him home to keep me company and I honestly have no idea how I am going to navigate productive days on my own with two littles and all their demands (especially when we are in the thick of a massive growth spurt and I am nursing almost every hour).

I know eventually I will find my new routine and get into a groove, but I also know that to get there will take time and many failed attempts that simply end in some not so great days where I question my ability as a Mom.

Anyhow, I’m so thankful that we saved all that vacation time for this season in our lives as a family so we could relax together and make memories with the four of us.

A personal favorite memory was one morning where we took a family walk around the neighborhood, and then came home and painted a pumpkin together. It was the simplicity of the things we did to fill our days together that was so wonderful…And there were also plenty of mornings where we all just got to lay in bed and snuggle…

Cousins

Here’s a classic picture of Sadie with all her cousins minus Isaiah, who was napping on his Mama and Bella who is living in another state. Funny to think in just a few weeks we’ll be adding yet another loud one to the mix!

Noah 5, Courtlynn 4, Jed 3, Sadie 22 mo., Karis 15 mo.

Right after this picture was taken, Uncle Matt attempted to solicit simultaneous smiles from the crew by running in the backyard, screaming with no shirt on. Instead of smiles, poor Jed and Sadie fell backwards into the sandbox completely startled and my terrified little lady was a little upset at “Unca Matt.”

Mommy and Daddy couldn’t stop laughing. Sorry Sadie.

Brown Family Traditions

TJ and I have been throwing around ideas for traditions and ideals we would like to instill in our own family “culture” as our kids grow up. Luckily, we were both raised with strong moral convictions by our parents and we would like to pass along the importance of our faith, the awareness of others in need around them, and being a stand-up individual.

Here are a couple things we would like to see our family routinely do in the years to come:

Birthdays: For each birthday, in addition to receiving presents, have child collect and guests/family bring an item that the child will give to someone in need. For example: Sadie’s birthday is in November just before Thanksgiving. This is the perfect time to be collecting canned goods and having her deliver them to a food pantry or homeless shelter to support Thanksgiving dinner for the homeless.

This way our kids get to enjoy their birthdays and receiving gifts of their own, but they also learn to give to others who desperately need the necessities we often times take for granted.

Receiving Commission: Our kids will have a list of chores that are unpaid that they are simply required to do as a member of our home. Beyond those chores, they will have the opportunity to do more to earn their own money. They will learn to divide the money up into 3 categories: Save, Spend, Give.

With their giving money, we would like them to adopt a child through an international organization that is the same age as them to support every month. This way our kids have develop a heart for missions and can develop relationships with kids their own age who live in much more need by writing to them through their own childhood.

Prayer Pail: Sadie already always asks to pray all the time (especially before dinner). Right now, it’s limited to praying for her cousins. We would like to use the above pail in our dining room to start off our family dinner times by letting each of our kids pick a stick from the pail to pray for. This way we are sure to always be changing and adding things to pray for and it gives us a good foundation to start our conversation throughout dinner.

Thanks Board: And since Fall is approaching soon, here’s a tradition to start now. Every year I’d like to put this board up in view and have the kids draw or write things they are thankful for during this season and hang them up as a visual reminder of all the good.

We would like our kids to grow up knowing that there is plenty of bad that is easily seen in the world, but we need to be intentional about looking at the good and be thankful for the big and small things that take place in our lives!

What do you do in your family? I’d love to hear more ideas!

Thankful Thursday-Blessed

I used to listen to this song by Martina McBride on the radio back in high school hoping that one day I would have a glimpse of this kind of life. It popped into my head again this morning (while in the middle of some crazy contractions) and as I was singing it to myself, realized that I indeed have everything this song describes.

Porch swing and hardwood floors included.

I am so blessed!

I get kissed by the sun each morning
Put my feet on a hardwood floor
I get to hear my children laughin’
Down the hall through the bedroom door
Sometimes I sit on my front porch swing
Just soakin’ up the day
I think to myself, I think to myself
This world is a beautiful place

I have been blessed
And I feel like I’ve found my way
I thank God for all I’ve been given
At the end of every day
I have been blessed
With so much more than I deserve
To be here with the ones that love me
To love them so much it hurts
I have been blessed

5 Years of Wedded Bliss

5 years ago today this guy was waiting…

for this girl to walk down the aisle. I lucked out! And as I tell him all the time, he’s stuck with me now whether he likes it or not! Hopefully, I make life somewhat enjoyable for him though!

Happy 5th Anniversary babe!

Sweet Reunion

Over July 4th weekend I got to reunite with an old best friend I hadn’t seen since I was 13 years old. She and I used to meet at the corner where the big tree was in between both our houses when we were little to play. We’d sell lemonade, have mini garage sales on the lawn, play tether ball, four square, go to the beach, swim, and play piano together. You name it, we did it together like we were attached at the hip.

When her Dad’s job was transferred and she moved to Colorado, I thought it was a world away and things would never be the same. But all these years later, we’re still going strong!

Only now we share our lives as Mamas to our own daughters who are exactly six months apart and who look like they could be related. They both have the same bubbly, loud personalities (and many of the same food allergies).

I couldn’t be more thrilled to have such a special friend in my life and am tickled that not only did we get to finally see each other after so long, but that our hubbies and daughters got along like forever friends too!

Lessons Learned from Unemployment: Part I

Two years ago at this time, I was pregnant with our first, and was praying for TJ to be able to find a job after moving back home from Dallas to California. We were living in my Dad’s office with our entire lives packed in storage. We were surviving on our hard-earned savings and the generosity of our families, friends, and even strangers to pull us through my pregnancy safely.

It was a scary time. It was a sad time. But it was also a rich time of growing in a lot of ways.

There are so many people in this country who are unemployed or underemployed. According to this new article from the Economist, it’s not getting any better any time soon. In fact, many have it harder than we did with the average length of unemployment being 39 weeks long.

Although many things we endured have seared themselves on us and left scars, time does really heal many wounds. There are numerous lessons from our seven months of uncertainty that I hope I never forget or take for granted.

Hopefully the things I have taken can encourage and offer hope to others out there who are hurting in the face of the unknown.

Hold on Tight

I knew I loved TJ before, but going through unemployment revealed things I didn’t know so well about him and what kind of man he truly was. He was a rock. He was dependable. He was assuring even in the face of no guarantees. He was a go-getter, a fighter, a survivor, and a leader. He made hard decisions. He did what had to be done even when he didn’t have an ounce of hope left.

I know trails like unemployment or deaths, etc. can easily divide and break up marriages, but it really did bring us closer together than we ever had been because we were intentional.

So husbands, be open about your fears with your wife and then hug her. Talk everything out in exhaustion because she needs to know how you are processing everything. She needs to hear it.

Wives, encourage him to get up every morning and fight. Be his cheerleader without being his mother. Work beside him in practical ways to help him accomplish his goal. Remind him he is not a failure, he is still your man, and hold on to him tight.

Give it Up

There comes a point when you have a real problem in your life that you realize you are trying to fix too much by yourself when you really don’t have any control. Sadly, it takes getting to that point that many of us finally realize we are doing so and finally give it up to God.

The sooner you do it, the better you will feel.

We spent a lot of time asking ourselves why it was taking God so long to intervene. We asked ourselves what He wanted us to learn from a nightmare. We were angry at different points, in despair at other times, and just plain confused for periods.

Despite those real feelings, we also knew God’s promises to us. We had just finished a year at Dallas Seminary and knew God’s hand was active in our lives.

So we spent a lot of time reminding each other of crazy stories and miracles He had done. We read Job. We reminded each other of verses or stories in the Bible to offer clarity.

It was the only thing that brought us back down to reality and out of a state of panic.

To be continued…

Sex Party-Boy or Girl?

Well, it’s been a whirlwind of a week. We have had Sadie’s Nana B in from Texas and she and Sadie have been playing hard since she got off the plane!

On Thursday afternoon, TJ and I went to THE ultrasound. We were joking with each other sitting there saying we were on a date. Guess it’s been too long since we were actually alone together.

The ultrasound went off without a hitch and our little baby was fully cooperative.

So, yesterday we had a great crew of our family and friends over in the backyard for the traditional Sex Party.

What’s a Sex Party?

The tradition started with my oldest brother and his wife. You go to get the ultrasound, but don’t let them tell you what you’re having. They write it down in an envelope with a picture of a confirmation from the ultrasound. You then think of a creative way to reveal the sex of your baby with everyone you love so you all find out together. The suspense is awesome!

With Sadie, we had our Sex Party on the anniversary of my Mom’s death. So we decided to make it special and do a balloon reveal so Sadie’s Nana could catch the balloons up in heaven.

This time, we went to Carters with our envelope. We picked out a boy and a girl outfit. We went up to the cashier with some cash and explained our scheme. When we left, the cashier opened the envelope to find out which outfit to wrap. She then wrapped the correct outfit in the box with the ultrasound results while we were out on our date.

Fast forward to the Sex Party where we opened the box and found out if we had a boy outfit or a girl outfit…

We’re having a……

BOY!!!!!

We couldn’t be more excited for this little boy to make his mark in our family. Sadie will be much more normal playing with her cars now, and we don’t have to rack our brains for a girl name! In all seriousness, we feel so blessed for this healthy baby boy who will be such a wonderful addition to our family and a great little brother to Sadie.