Never a Dull Moment in the Brown Household

My mom recently told me that I should write a book on all the crazy stuff that happens in our household. I guess with the fast-paced life as a working mother of 3 and a pastor's wife...it doesn't seem like it's really that out-of-the ordinary. Our household is just always in an uproar. There's hardly a time when you can call that you don't hear our kids and dogs in the background.

Chaos. It's what we live and breathe every single day.

So I bet you're dying to hear what happened today! Of course it was another one of those "never a dull moment" days. About noon today, I received a call from the school saying that we needed to pick up my daughter from the school immediately. At recess, she got kicked in the nose and proceeded to have a massive nosebleed that the school nurse could not get to stop. They said her clothes were full of blood and they even thought her nose might be fractured.

My husband was much closer to the school than me, so he ran up there to get her...only to find out that the school recommended that she go straight to the ER. I was able to leave work and join them at the ER a few minutes later. Poor girl....her hair was wet from the blood and she had blood all over her jeans, shirt, and face. She kept the ice pack and towel close by....and her nose was STILL bleeding!!!

When asking her about the incident, it was funny to find out that the student who kicked her in the nose was her BEST friend!!! I told my daughter that her friend was probably sitting in class worried about her!

She had her x-ray and it was determined that her nose was not broken. The doctor said possibly fractured a tiny bit, but he really didn't think it was. (interesting diagnosis, huh? That's a small town hospital for ya!) I was just thrilled that I made it through the whole visit without passing out!!! I am known to pass out at the sight of blood, hospital rooms, and x-rays....yes, I know it's weird, but it's entirely true. Normally I get very hot and then suddenly the room starts spinning.

So after her x-ray, we were on our merry way....first item of business was to get some food in her! She had missed lunch since this happened at recess right before lunch! She chomped down a happy meal before I could blink my eyes. :)

Right now, she's doing much better! She's giggling while watching Disney channel as I write this. However, her eyes are starting to look a little purplish around them...and she has some interesting purple streaks around her mouth. She may get a little colorful bruising from this incident!!!

Thankfully it was just a minor accident!!!!!!!

Less of Me...More of Him

I was so excited yesterday when we weighed in for The Biggest Loser at church. I finally passed the ten pound mark with 10.4 pounds lost! This makes a total of 30 pounds since I first started losing weight...(including one major setback called "Vacation"). So my goal of losing 50 pounds is finally coming closer and closer! At that point, I will be able to fit back into all my skinny clothes! Yippee!

My husband keeps remarking that if I continue, then there won't be any of me left. Ha ha. So far from the truth. But actually that thought got me thinking.

Less of me. Isn't that how it should be anyway?

My life should consist of less and less of me....and more and more of God. That's been my heart's cry for the past several weeks as God has been doing a work inside my heart. It's so easy to get consumed in me...my life, my plans, my family, my work. Instead of focusing on me, I need to keep my eyes on my Maker and Creator!

Less of me...and MORE of God!

YooHoo...a Perfect End to a Good Day

My kids love drinking YooHoo. I really don't understand why. To me, that is the nastiest chocolate liquid I have ever tasted! But for some reason, while out grocery shopping tonight, I picked them up some YooHoo, making that a highlight of their day. It's the simple things in life that keep us happy.

Right now, they are chilling out and drinking YooHoo after a long, busy day. My husband and I are both on the computer, and amazingly enough, our 2 dogs are currently "sharing" bones. Our timid dog, Sammy, is waiting for our monster dog, Scooby, to get the rawhide bones soft. Then when Scooby is not looking, he steals the bone from him, leaving Scooby to find another one. It's really quite a genius plan of Sammy's.

Today started off with a soccer game and a football game. The soccer game found us with a tied score of 1 to 1. However, it was a special game because my daughter scored the goal for her team! This is her second year of soccer, but it's her first "game goal" scored. She was simply ecstatic. That was grounds for going to McDonald's for celebration! On the way home, my older daughter asked me, "What's the difference between a gator and an alligator?" She's too funny!!!

My son's football game didn't go as well. They basically got killed by the other team. He was so hoping to win...

While waiting for everyone to get showered and ready after the games, my "T-Rex" (aka Scooby) decided it would be a great day to get his paw caught in the screen on the window. Yep. In an attempt to kill a bug, he thought it would be best to smack it with his paw....not realizing that the screen was there. Poor thing got caught up in the screen, so now we have a nice little hole in it. What makes it even MORE interesting is that my hubby just made and installed those same screen LAST weekend! Great timing, Scooby...

After we dismantled Scooby from our window screen, we went to Bloomington to go to dinner and spend some time shopping. My husband suggested Subway for dinner...which is a clear indication that he's in the Biggest Loser competition at church now. He normally despises Subway! But with him in the lead at over 19 pounds lost, he's kicking it in high gear!

Shopping was fun as usual...found some great deals on a "50% off all clearance prices" sale. But we didn't anticipate the downpour of rain that hit us leaving the mall! So after spending way too much money, buying a boatload of much needed groceries, and spending wonderful quality time with our wonderful children...we are finally home drying off.

It's been a great day...that's for sure! Memories that will last a lifetime. I am hearing the hysterical laughter of my son in the other room, which means I had better log off and watch "America's Funniest Home Videos" with him!!!

Did God Plant People?

Yesterday my daughter starting asking me how everything was created again after the big flood. Apparently she thought that everything was completely destroyed in the flood. This question led to a great discussion on how the mountains and land were still there...and how the plants and trees started to grow again after the water receded.

Then came the question that made me hold back my laughter. "So then God had to replant people so that more people would be on the earth, right?"

Replant??? Where did she get that from?

But then that got me thinking. In a way...not the way she was thinking...but it a way, God does "plant" us. He places us into the family where we are...He places us in certain situations. It is up to us to how we handle those situations. Are we complaining about the place He has put us in? Or are we placing our trust in God and enjoying the path He has us on?

My Blessed Saturday

After a day being sick on Friday, I was looking forward to an uneventful, quiet Saturday to rest. So NOT what happened!!!

Our morning was spent at games...Kirk went to football and I went to soccer. Both games were losses, so that was disappointing for our kiddos. After lunch, Kirk went to mow the lawn, with 2 of my 3 kids helping out. I went to work on worship, but soon found myself dozing into dreamland....a result of my recovering from being sick.

I awoke to my daughter's friend saying, "Where's Scooby?" Now, in our household, that question is of utmost importance. Scooby is our psychotic, maniac dog, who makes you feel like you are watching a two year old. He must be monitored every moment, because if not, he will find things to eat, such as blankets, couches, stuffed animals, shoes, bowls, pencils, batteries, and whatever else he feels like. So as you can imagine, this question jolted me out of my peaceful dreamland. Next I hear a follow-up question that is just as shocking..."Why is the front door opened?"

Our next half hour was spent tracking our dog through the neighborhood. I do have to admit, I was a tiny bit excited at the prospects of this maniac being out of our house. We just can't seem to find anyone who wants a dog like Scooby...I wonder why??? :) My kids finally cornered him inside the neighbor's garage. They were not home, but Scooby had slid through the opening they left open and had cornered their dog inside. (and she was one very, very scared dog) My kids squeezed through the opening and easily caught the escapee and brought him home. Once home safe and sound, Scooby collapsed on the floor and slept for a very long time!

An hour or so later, my hubby decided to fix the toilet in the extra bathroom. It was suppose to be an easy fix...just needed a few parts replaced. Well, after his great efforts, he realized we needed some parts that we didn't have. So...we ran to the store, being careful to take our bathroom breaks since our water was shut off at home. Coming home, he started replacing the parts, but soon realized the shutoff valve was actually not working as water poured out all over the floor.

Needless to say, after hours of work and dozens of soaking wet towels, we finally got a new shut off valve on and all seemed good. Well, at least until one flushed the toilet. Then there was a leak. Hmmm....just a tiny leak. But oh what problems that caused. After one more big flood, the shut off valve (the new one) decided now it won't turn ON! Sooo....we're gonna let the experts handle this one.

And to add to my day, I found out that my dryer now does not shut off automatically. It actually goes down to 20 minutes left on the timer and then just stays there...indefinitely. Yeah. I pulled a burning hot load of laundry out after I realized the dryer had been going for almost 2 hours...but I had only set it for 50 minutes!!!

What a day this turned out to be! God sure does know how to teach us patience, doesn't He???

What was I thinking???

Yesterday I was sick. It was a blah day that I filled with about 20 hours of peaceful sleep. But when I did wake up, I did something very weird and out of my character. We ordered pizza for dinner on a really good coupon deal we had, so we ended up with 3 pizzas, one of which was a taco pizza.

Now let me just note here that I don't normally eat taco pizza. Those of you who know me real well know that I am a cheese pizza kind of girl. I like things plain, without much spice or taste (as my husband would say). So now I am pondering the question of, "Why in the world did I eat a piece of taco pizza while I was sick???" I don't even usually like taco pizza!!! It was not the right thing for my empty stomach...nor was it something that I enjoyed the aftertaste of for the rest of the evening. I don't think I'll eat taco pizza again for a loooooonnnngggg time!

Thankfully today is a much better day. My mind is no longer in a dense fog and I am actually awake and out of bed. And for lunch today, I did steer clear of the leftover taco pizza! :)

A Day in My Life

Today was a crazy day. We are juggling cross country, soccer, and football, along with everything else that goes on in our household. Here's a glimpse of my day...

-Groan because my alarm clock went off at 6:20 a.m.
-Wake up my son...and then off to get ready
-Wake up my youngest daughter at 6:57 a.m.
-Get yelled at for waking her up 3 minutes early
-Make "cold oatmeal" (YUCK!) for my daughter
-Fixed her hair while she ate oatmeal
-Picked oatmeal out of her hair
-Fought for room in the bathroom to brush my teeth
-Finally got out of the house and off to work
-Spent my day at work...then came home to meet my kids off the bus since my husband got called in to work
-Got a contract for an article in the mail (Yippee!)
-Finished work, checked homework, and taught my son how to mop the floor
-Gave out unlimited TV night for his willingness to help clean
-Picked up my oldest daughter from cross country
-Turned around to get the book she forgot in her locker
-Got home just as my son was leaving for football
-Made omelets for my girls for dinner
-Made myself a healthy chicken wrap
-Burned the chicken wrap while trying to correct algebra homework at the same time
-Took my youngest to soccer practice
-Went to the grocery store during practice
-Helped my oldest daughter with English homework during practice
-Worked on my worship devotional for Sunday during practice
-Came home to realize I forgot to tape Survivor
-Helped my daughter study for a health test
-Made my son a dinner of pizza rolls (healthy, I know!)
-Watched my dog bite my son's nose trying to get the pizza rolls
-Collected massive amounts of laundry from every room in the house
-Tucked in 3 kiddos
-Sat down to the computer to check email/facebook and write this!!!
-Now I'm off to balance the checkbook and then spend time in God's Word!!!

I am so grateful to be blessed with the opportunity to raise my kids. My life was simply boring before them!

A Very Sticky Caramel Apple

So tonight my wonderful hubby decided to make himself a caramel apple. We bought those caramel apple things that you just wrap around an apple. It's like this big circle of caramel. Well, you're suppose to wrap it around the apple, then push the stick into the core, and then microwave the apple for about 15 seconds.

Well, he did his a little differently. Instead of wrapping it around his apple first, he microwaved the sheet of caramel FIRST! He was left with a sticky pile of caramel that he then tried to place onto his apple. Imagine a bright red apple with strings of caramel wound around it, barely holding on. And then there's Kirk mashing the caramel together to try to get it to stick.

Oh that truly does remind me why I love him so very much. He is the color in my world!

How Much Faith Do I Have?

After watching Biggest Loser tonight, I was moved by the contestent who lost her husband and kids in a car accident. It stopped my heart when I heard her story of how she lost everyone that she was so close to in just a blink of an eye. And here she was, moving on and bettering herself by being on this show.

How would I react in that situation? Would I have the strength to carry on after such horrific, life-changing events? Would I have faith that God would pick me up and carry me? Would I be able to go on with my life as she has?

It's amazing the little tests of my faith that I go through each day....some tests I pass with flying colors and some I just simply flunk. But each test of faith gives me a little more strength for next time.

Fun in the Brown Household

It just isn't a day unless something crazy comes out of my kids' mouths. My kids are the highlight of my day, and they keep me laughing! Here's a few examples of things that have been said in our household lately...

"Whoops...I just threw up on Sammy's head!" (Sammy is our dog)
"Why did we skip the year 1920?"
"You know, the moon has been around since the 1800's"
"Six minus four...how is that even possible?"
"Sustenence...what language is that?"
"I would like to play on the fence this year in soccer." (defense)
"You grow pasta in your garden?"
"That's where the caterpillars go into their canoe."
"What the Noman Rumeral for seven?

Sometimes my life grows so serious as I focus on work, bills, and the problems in my life. But all I have to do is listen to my kids to remember that life is more than just work and being serious. I can't wait to hear what they'll say tomorrow!!!

To Blog or not to Blog...

So at long last, I finally have a blog. I did start one a few years back, but after one measly posting, I never went back to it. Back then I didn't have much to say. I didn't see a reason to blog. Could I consider myself to be a "blogger"? I even wondered, "What is a blog???"

But now I've been thinking...I am a writer. My passion is sharing Jesus through my words...so maybe, just maybe, I should start a blog! Every writer has a blog, right? So, here it is...my blog..."Thoughts from a Pastor's Wife". I hope you enjoy the days to come, hearing about my life and things God is doing within me and with my family!