i want to cry….but i’m not going to….at least not now. 

today kenzie is turning in a baby picture for her 8^th grade yearbook.  yep – that’s right – she’s going to be in high school next year.  i’ve been thinking about this most of the school year already, but there’s something about turning in that picture that finalizes things and makes everything more real. 

there are days when it doesn’t seem like that long ago that i was rocking her to sleep, but most of the time it seems like a life time ago. 

i’m so proud of the woman mackenzie is turning into. 

she is kind and compassionate.

she is carefree and doesn’t worry much about what others think of her.

she is sensitive and has a warm heart.

she is a good friend.

although i’m sad that she’s growing up so fast and time literally seems to be flying past us…..i’m very excited about seeing how the lord uses mackenzie in the future.

snuggle with your babies – take pictures – journal – savor this time.  

cosmo brown

anyone who knows us – knows how much we all love animals (ok so jake only “likes” animals).  each of our pets has a unique personality and we have many funny stories about each of them.  cosmo however takes the cake.  he is an enigma.  according to most articles – he should be dead.  before we knew it was a “no no” – we used to throw him onions from the cutting board and have fed him numerous grapes.  i mean they’re healthy right?  cosmo is a pug, but i think he has more pig than dog in him.  he goes through the trashcans and eats banana peels, coffee grinds, plastic bags, dryer sheets, kleenex – basically anything else that will fit in his mouth.  he doesn’t chew – he inhales.  he’s sucked down entire bags of chocolate and bottles of beer.  he’s wandered out of our house on numerous occasions and has waddled into any of our neighbors open doors looking for food (luckily he’s friendly). we try taking him for walks to help work off some of the fat from his numerous expeditions in the trash can and neighborhood adventures – as soon as we hit the street – he runs straight for any cigarette butt that he can find and sucks it up….even walks are unhealthy for cosmo!  yet despite all of this…he is still alive.

there is only one time that the end has come close…..we had just moved back to california from maryland and were spending some time with my parents.  i was petting cosmo when i felt something on his neck.  i looked closely and saw something that resembled a june bug.  YUK – I HATE JUNE BUGS….but it turned out to be something even worse…..a TICK!!  so i had never seen a tick before, let alone one that was attached to MY dog!  luckily my dad knew just what to do……he first tried putting rubbing alcohol on the tick – trying to get it to release cosmo’s neck.  over and over again he tried – no luck.  then he tried burnt out matches…..can you see where this is going?   after several attempts still nothing….but then my dad didn’t quite blow out the match and POOF cosmo was on FIRE!  my poor fat pug sitting there completely unaware that his back was literally on fire.  thankfully the fire only had a chance to burn off the alcohol and didn’t hurt cosmo.  

so my friends, this is why cosmo is an enigma – he eats chocolate, grapes, onions and everything else that should kill him and yet he continues on!

happy halloween

i can’t believe that october is over!  we never even made it to the pumpkin patch this year :(  - i guess it’s a sign that our kids are getting older and pumpkin patch visits just aren’t a priority anymore.

for halloween we decided to go to our church’s annual carnival.  the kids had a blast!  it was our first time attending and it was wonderful to see how many people from the surrounding neighborhoods came to the event.  everything except food was free of charge – so awesome! 

since our kids are getting a little old for bounce houses and the other games that were at the carnival, mackenzie and her friend volunteered for the evening.  a good portion of the youth group volunteered – such a great experience!

here are a couple of pictures:

mackenzie was one of the 3 amigos and blake was a soccer player from his favorite team - liverpool.

(yes that would be my daughters toe sticking out of her toms – that’s how we roll)

after the carnival, blake decided that his candy bag was not even close to being full enough – so we went trick-or-treating around our neighborhood.  all of the kids (mackenzie’s two friends + my kids) wanted to take the dogs with them.  cosmo the pug is a “little” out of shape and would not be able to walk around the entire time –he’s been known to plop down and refuse to walk anymore once he’s decided that he’s met his exercise quota.  mackenzie really wanted him to come along – so she decided to strap a laundry basket to a skateboard and created a “wagon” for cosmo.  it was absolutely ridiculous – but hysterical!  cosmo of course loved it – nothing like laying around in a bunch of blankets being pulled around the neighborhood!  the girls just had to be a careful anytime that cosmo moved – since any weight shift caused the basket to tip!   of course my phone was dead at this point and i didn’t have my camera – so no pictures of cosmo :(

all in all a fun night – but jake and i are absolutely thrilled that it’s over – and the christmas season is in full effect! 

-noelle

p.s. our house is already decorated for christmas!!

luke warm.....but with good intentions

lately i feel like my walk with the lord has been luke warm.   maybe it is partially due to a break in bible study over the summer, or just a busy schedule, but i feel somewhat disconnected.  i have so many good intentions……i’ve bought numerous books, from raising godly children to books on how to study the bible effectively.  three years ago i bought a book on how to encourage your daughter through middle school – i’m on chapter 3 and my daughter is in 8^th grade!  i’ve made schedule after schedule penciling in my quiet time in the morning and when that didn’t work scheduling it for nights after the kids go to bed.  why is this so hard to commit to a time to spend with the lord?  if i made a commitment to meet with one of my friends, i wouldn’t continually cancel.  but when i take the initiative to create the schedule, layout my bible or whatever other book i want to read during my quiet time, set my alarm for early, there’s always something that comes up….i don’t sleep well the night before so i need to sleep in a little to catch up; something comes up with the kids that throws our schedule off; i’m tired after work and just want to relax with jake.  there’s ALWAYS something, and honestly i justify the excuses and say to myself “tomorrow i’ll catch up.  the lord understands that my heart desires to this, he’ll forgive me”.   

the other day i came across one of my many new years resolution lists from a couple of years ago.  so many of the items on my list are still what i need to work on!  it was a bit of a rude awakening that although i get organized and make my lists of goals, i have a difficult time following through.  life is busy.  life flies by.  i can’t believe that my babies are 13 and 11.  you go go go and then before you realize it months have flown by.

i desire to live intentionally.  maybe some of my goals may not be realistic for the season of our lives right now, however i can still live with purpose and follow-through with what the lord lays on my heart. 

on my heart…

spending enjoyable time with my kids away from homework, chores and errands

spending daily quiet time with the lord

getting involved in our community

there are so many more items on my “list”, books that i need to read, studies that i need to go over with my kids, etc….however i think that this list has been my downfall in years past.  i try to take on too much, become overwhelmed and don’t accomplish what i really need to.    i’m going to try to put aside my “type a” personality and am going to let some things on my to do list slide and focus on what’s really important!

Isaiah 55:10-11 (NLT):
The rain and snow come down from the heavens
and stay on the ground to water the earth.
They cause the grain to grow,
producing seed for the farmer
and bread for the hungry.
It is the same with my Word.
I send it out, and it always produces fruit.
It will accomplish all I want it to,
and it will prosper everywhere I send it.

missing my dad

my dad passed away a little over four years ago.  it’s a strange feeling – some days it seems like he’s been gone far longer, other days the memories of him are so clear that it feels like i was just talking to him yesterday.

i inherited my dad’s singing voice.  unfortunately he didn’t have one – which is what was passed down to me!  when i was little, i remember sitting next to my dad in church and giggling while he loudly sang the worship songs next to me.  he was either singing the completely wrong words, or his tone was far off -  neither of which ever hindered him from singing loudly and tapping his feet to the music.  he would smile down at me when he really messed up a line – but then continued on.  so I guess it’s fitting that my memories of my dad always come rushing to me in church.  listening to my own voice, knowing that i’m not even close to hitting the right notes, instead of being embarrassed it makes me smile and reminds me of my dad.  something which started off so silly, has now become a simple way that i remember him in everyday life.  funny that the things that used to embarrass me about my dad, have now become what i miss most.  from him dancing and whistling around the kitchen in his bathrobe every weekend morning – to him loudly and very enthusiastically greeting my friends whenever they came to our house. 

so many memories of which i am so thankful for!  a good reminder to savor our time with our loved ones – don’t let life’s busyness get in the way :)  

christmas

the browns and christmas……..where do i begin?  the brown family LOVES christmas.  it is by far our favorite time of year.  we get so excited when september rolls around…….not because the kids are in school again, but because we are a few short months away from christmas!!!  i’m one of “those people” who drive their coworkers crazy with christmas music in the beginning of november.  

we have one rule……no christmas music, movies or anything else until november first.  you wouldn’t think that this would be difficult, but there is at least one of us that tries to convince someone else to let the rule slide. 

i came across this picture from last year…..i seriously cannot wait to decorate this year!

so excited to watch this…..

i can’t wait to snuggle with my baby with only the lights from the christmas tree lighting the room while listening to some bing.

i bought this today. 

took a deep inhale (yes i did inhale :) ).

i'm so happy!

christmas is right around the corner!!!

june bloom designs

the first batch of pillows are ready!   more styles are posted on www.junebloomdesigns.com                 

i had so much fun creating these and i still have more fabric to go :) my etsy shop will be up and running soon!

enjoy your weekend!