Christmas Card 2008

Better late than never right?!? Since I just now figured out how to do my scanner I am just now getting this picture on here! But I wanted it to be on the blog! Anyway, I will have Christmas with the Brown's post after New Years...I'm a little behind. Just a little. ha

There are no words

Mi mejor amiga es de Mexico

Translation=

"my best friend from Mexico"! One of my best friends ever, Hayley, came back to the states for Christmas this year and while she was here, she came to visit me!! Her and I have been best friends since the 9th grade! In high school and college, where one of us was the other was not far behind. When I got married (in college) I separated us for the first time. It was so rough. And when I say rough, I really am not doing the emotion justice.

So, she got married 1.5 years ago and was forced to move to Mexico for her husbands job.

Stab a sista in the heart!

At least I was only 3.5 hours away when I moved!!

So now they must stay in Mexico for 4 years. She still has 2.5 more to go, blah. But thankfully to this awesome thing called Skype, we can talk for FREE over the computer as long as we want. It's awesome! So, she came to visit on Thursday. It has been a little over a year since we have seen each other and it was like no time has passed!

We started off when she got here with a major catch-up session, of course. Then it was off to another Christmas party for her and me. (I have had tons of parties this year and I LOVE every minute of them!!) Here we are at Kitchen Queens...

(no we did not do the red and green on purpose. we realized it when we looked at the picture!)

Today we decided to drop Sterling off and go shop all day. Didn't intend for it to be an all-dayer, but it turned into that. But that's ok because we had so much fun. Sterling loves his "aunt hayley" and was so sad when she left.

about to go shopping

Some worn out girls!

We wanted our picture together and Heath wasn't home so next best thing....Sterling. Here is his attempt! Pretty good for a three year old!

Then we just decided to do the timer. Much better. (that is a sticker Sterling decided to put on his neck and I just now noticed it was on there when I downloaded this picture!!haha little sneak!)

Look at this gorgeous sunset today. We haven't seen the sun in a while here and it was an absolute beautiful day today. Just a glimpse of God's beauty! Thank you, Hayley, for coming to visit me this time! I had so much fun and it was so good to finally get to squeeze your neck! A year is way too long!!! Thank you for always being such an encouragement and such a wonderful Christian example to me. Love you girl!! :)

future Picaso??

Our church had a family Christmas party last night. There was so much to do Sterling was kind of overwhelmed at first. But at one of the little stations they had set up was a coloring/drawing contest for different age groups. Sterling's was, of course, the 3-4 year olds.

We have been noticing that Sterling is starting to be VERY artistic. He will sit and play with playdoh for hours (no kidding) and actually sculpt things out of it. Well, in the past 2 months or so, we have noticed that he likes to draw stick figures. Any chance this child gets to draw he's all over it. Last night was no exception!

Here was his entry for the drawing contest....

(if you can't tell that's Daddy by the Christmas tree with the presents under it)

Guess who won!?! Sterling Brown!! When they announced his name over the microphone and everyone was clapping and looking at him, he LOVED it! He walked right up there to get his prize. (which was a little thing of M&Ms) I don't know if this is normal for a recently-turned-three year old to draw like this, but his parents sure are proud! Way to go Sterling! :)

(of course I didn't bring my camera in because it's pretty much broke because it will only take pictures outside, so I didn't get any of him last night at the party to showcase his winnings, but I am getting a new camera for Christmas so beware of many many pictures to come! haha)

HO HO HO HAAAPPY BIRTHDAY

When Heath finally got off work last night, we met Shane, Rachel, and the kids at a local pizza place to enjoy a birthday dinner together. We had a lot of fun, as usual! Thanks again Shane and Rachel! :) So, I think the kids were extra crazy because they knew they were going to see Santa after dinner!!

Sterling and the birthday boy! There's the birthday boys and their boys! :)

And like Rachel said, the lucky wives!

Then it was off to the mall to see Santa!! Sterling was so excited! He kept saying,"We're going to the North Pole to see Santa!!!!" I kept telling him that he was here visiting so we could tell him what we want. Didn't sink in.

So the pattern with Sterling is that he gets really excited about something and then when the time comes to actually do it, he freezes or freaks out and doesn't do it. (with new things) But we figured we give him a chance to see Santa even though we thought it would probably be a disaster.

Heath dropped us off to go park and when Sterling and I went in, he immediately saw Santa and literally ran over to him. Thankfully Santa was taking a break and there was nobody else in there, so when he saw us coming he stood up. Then Sterling ran up to him and raised his arms for Santa to pick him up. It was the cutest thing ever!!!

So he was all about Santa for about 5 seconds because this is what we got the rest of the 3 min he sat in his lap. Heath trying to coax him into a smile.

Sterling and Claire playing after they told Santa what they wanted!

I have been behind, once again, on every one's blogs, but I will get caught up soon and I can't wait!! I always feel lost when I am behind on reading every one's blogs! Have a fun and safe weekend!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HEATH!

Guess who's 29 today!!

It's this guy...

So today is Heath's 29Th birthday!!! (old man!) And he is celebrating it by working all day! Poor guy! But it beats last years birthday when this happened. Wow the difference a year makes. Never in our wildest dreams did we think, "oh, next year I will have been laid off again and thrown into owning my own business right away!" Anyway, it has been one wild year, that's for sure! But in true Heath fashion, he takes everything in stride.

29 words to describe Heath on his 29Th birthday:

1.)CHRISTIAN

2.)PATIENT~ I have never met anyone with so much patience!

3.)HUSBAND

4.)DADDY

5.)CARING

6.)UNDERSTANDING

7.)LOYAL

8.)HARD-WORKING

9.)TRUST-WORTHY

10.)SWEET

11.)DEPENDABLE

12)HILARIOUS

13.)HONEST

14.)CONFIDENT

15.)SMART

16.)TENDER-HEARTED

17.)GENTLE

18.)COMPASSIONATE

19.)UNBELIEVABLE ENDURANCE

20.)LOVER

21.)SELF CONTROLLED

22.)GIVER

23.)JOYFUL

24.)STRONG

25.)EXTREMELY HEALTHY

26.)WONDERFUL

27.)NURTURING

28.)DEVOTED

29.)AMAZING!

I just want everyone to know what a wonderful man I am married to. Seriously, he is one of the best people I know! I thank God everyday for him and pray everyday that He will give us the chance to grow old together.

Heath~ Words do not express how much I love you!! I am so proud of you and everything that you do and I am proud be called your wife. Thank you for providing for us and doing so with a will full heart. God has blessed me with you way beyond what I deserve. Thank you for being such a wonderful Daddy to our little boy. Sterling is, so far, your spitting image and I can't thank God enough for that. Thank you for always making us laugh and for always seeing the best in situations. You truly are such an amazing man. Happy Birthday babe, we love you!!!!

So being the sentimental person I am, I included some cute pictures of Heath when he was little... (Becky, I am sure you are going to enjoy this most of all!)

From what his family has told me, Heath was always a happy kid. He always made them laugh and was so sweet. He's still the same ole Heath then today! :)

(except this picture! I think he was bored or something! I just love this picture though)

Heath and his mommy!

Of course I had to stick a picture of Heath's twin brother, Shane, in here! What would a birthday post be without a picture of the twins! Happy Birthday Shane!

Can you tell who's who? Shane=blue Heath=yellow

And to sum it all up with one picture....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HEATH!!!

all these parties

I love this time of year especially for all the times we get to spend with good friends. I have been especially busy with Christmas parties! I had our ladies night out ornament exchange on Thursday. Saturday was spent with our good friends Brad and Maria at their house for a housewarming/Christmas party. We had so much fun! Thanks Brad and Maria for opening your house to all of us! We had a blast!

some of the girls

Then Sunday night our small group had a gag gift, dirty Santa exchange Christmas party! Oh my word, one word to describe...hilarious!!! I LOVE our small group! I think it is made up of such wonderful people and I love spending time with each one of them! Thank you Steven and Christie for opening your home to us! Heath and I had so much fun!!

(Oh, I wish I would have got a picture of our gifts, but Heath and I walked away with a pooping reindeer and a bubble making set that farts when you move it. The pooping reindeer poops brown jellybeans out when you push on it. It's hysterical and both things were perfect for us! Sterling is already enjoying turning the bubble maker up and down just to listen to it. Funny thing is, it's still in the package! We all crack up every time! it's the little things! :) Heath is actually holding it up in the picture but you can't really tell.)

So from our small group to you... MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

(we missed you Hollie and Dwight! Hope you get to feeling better soon!)

now what?

I must say where to even begin my thoughts on this post, is going to be hard. My head is just swimming right now and I just feel kind of numb. Let me start by saying God is so AWESOME! HE has been providing many jobs for Heath and has allowed Heath to have the strength and will to do them. Take for instance Wednesday night, he stayed on a job from 8 am-12am and didn't get home until 1:00am. He has been sub-contracting for another electric company and they were building a Macadoodles. Inspection was Thursday, so Heath stayed and worked with them to make sure everything was done for inspection. Wonderful! Well, that specific job has been a steady income for us, a few days a week, for a few months now, it was just enough to pay most of the bills with.

That job is done, now what?

I start stressing. That's what.

He has had some odds-n-ends jobs here and there, which don't get me wrong, we are very grateful for because those are the jobs that cover the rest of the bills!

I actually have two really neat stories to share...

~about a month and a half ago Heath and I were on our way home and were discussing how we were going to make it and just talking about where jobs were going to come from because it wasn't looking like anything was going to happen. I was expressing my worry (which I'm really good at!) and even shed a few tears. Heath was saying, and has been this ENTIRE time, "it's going to be ok. God will take care of us. Stop worrying about it so much!" I am not joking when I say that right after those words came out of his mouth his phone rang and he said,"it's a weird number, maybe it's someone needing work done." He answered it and sure enough it was someone needing something done that was going to be at least a mortgage payment for us!! While he was on the phone I just had to look out my window, up at the stars and smile because it was like God was saying to me,"Do I just have to prove this to you right now!?! Lane, it's going to be OK!!" Cue the water works! Still waiting on that one though, don't know if it's going to go through.

~This Tuesday while Heath was finishing his last day at the job I talked about earlier, he got a phone call from the contact that hooked him up with the current job he was on. Remember me saying, now what? Well, the guy told him that he had another big electric company around here that needed someone to subcontract a 3000 sq ft home they are wiring. Heath turned around and immediately called the guy and all goes well. They plan to meet Friday. Today is Friday and I just got the call from Heath saying he got the job!!! Praise God! The bills will get paid for December! :)

So I bet you're wondering why I am feeling a little whirly headed and numb right now. You see I am on the office side of this whole thing and I am so lost it's not even funny. Actually when I say lost, that's kind of putting it mildly. I went from being a nursing major in college without finishing (and a nurses aide for a while) to being a full-time mommy. I have zero experience with computers, taxes, accounting, and whatever else it takes to run a business. I know that there is software you can buy,accountants to hire, and classes to take, but you know what, all of that costs money! And when you are making just enough to pay your bills, those things seem very far out of reach.

Well, last night at our ladies night out with our church I was talking with one of my friends that have owned their own construction business for 8 years. She was so wonderful to talk to because she knows exactly where I am coming from. But as she was telling me everything that she does and suggesting things that I need to do, my mind just went in all kinds of directions, in a bad way. I got to the point where I just wanted to break down and ball my eyes out right there, which I saved for the ride home. Some of the things she was saying I had no clue what they even meant and now I'm supposed to just all of a sudden do it!! Heath and I were NOT READY for this yet. So, I am calling her accountant Monday to see if he can just point me in a direction to go. We are going to our friends house to see how she does it all and what kind of routine she has for all the paperwork and such.

I'm telling you, I go high and then low. I get really excited about this and then I get really scared because I don't want to mess it up and I just don't want us to fail. The whole way home last night I was praying and asking God to give me wisdom and the willingness to want to learn all of this. Because to be perfectly honest, I don't want to learn it. I think that's a pattern for me, if it seems to hard and overwhelming, then I just don't do it. But now I have to and I think that's part of the reason why I am so frustrated and overwhelmed.

I know one day I am going to look back at this post and laugh because it will probably all be a breeze to me and I'll think why did I ever feel like this? But for right now, it's not a breeze and I do feel like this! I KNOW that God will work everything out because that's what he's been doing the whole time.

Ok, the rant is over! :) Have a great weekend!

Somebody is 5!!

Look who's five! I can hardly believe little Miss Claire (or shall I say Haley Stacey Star! :)) is already five! It seems like just yesterday when I was getting married and Rachel was just a few weeks pregnant with her. The best part was when I was able to watch her for Rachel for about 6 months after she was born. Holding and taking care of that sweet, precious baby girl just made me want one that much more! I was able to watch her do some of her "firsts". It really doesn't seem possible that it's been 5 years!! But it has and she is growing up to be such the little lady, and being the only girl in the family (so far!), she has taken on that role as little lady perfectly!

Claire~ Heath, Sterling and I are SO proud to be part of your life and are just so happy with what a sweet, fun, HILARIOUS, smart little girl you have turned into. Sterling and I always look forward to seeing you at Sonshine School during chapel and love getting your little hugs each time. We love you Claire Isabella!!

So if you go to Rachel's blog you can see her bowling party pictures, and you really should go look because Rachel is quite the decorator and you will be impressed what she can do with a bowling alley! This was Sterling's first time to bowl and so, of course, I had to get pictures!

A little apprehensive at first but not for long What a hoss! Sterling and the Birthday girl!

Way to go Sterling!!

The next day we went out the lake to visit with Brittney and Seth who were in town with their girls, Jillian and Jules. Sterling and Jillian took just about 2 seconds to warm up to each other and then they were off! They went for a walk with their Daddy's and chased the dogs around everywhere, ate lunch, and stared out the window watching for cats. It was so cute! Destiny in the making here! :) (but not if her Daddy has anything to do with it! ;) kidding Seth!) Jillian and Jules were so precious and we all enjoyed getting to visit together!!!

They would not pose for anything! watchin for those cats...how cute is this! Look how cute they are together!

Thanksgiving 2008

Wow! We had such a wonderful Thanksgiving this year, busy, but wonderful!

We started our fun by spending the night at Nana and Papa's on Wednesday. And and when I say we I mean me, Sterling and Heath. I was able to help Becky cook a little and then we were able to spend some time with them. We won't be in town for Christmas this year so we took advantage of this holiday and spending time with them.

Sterling and Daddy made us all Eggnog pancakes...they were yummy!

Then it was off to my mom's for Thanksgiving lunch. Yep, we did two Thanksgivings in a day. We were stuffed, but loved every bit of it! Who could complain about two yummy meals?!

me, mom, and Sterling (doing his cheesin' business) My brother even helped cook! Shocking! :) (love ya T!)

Yummy! (yes, we got Sterling naked to eat...he had to wear the same outfit twice, couldn't have it dirty for the next set of pictures! ha) Oh, if you don't know what this is, these pickled beets now have a new name...red pickles. Sterling re-named 'em!

Then we had to go work off some of that lunch to make room for dinner. We (yes, me too) were taking turns throwing the baseball. Do you really think I would put a picture up of myself throwing it? I don't think so!!

So, then it's back to Keith and Becky's for dinner. I was so proud of myself for getting a picture of all the Brown kids, but Clayton and Claire have their eyes closed...go figure! Hey, at least they are all sitting there facing the same direction!

Sterling with his Great Mawmaw and Pawpaw. He loves them silly! (look at that sweaty mop on Sterling's head. The kids were running around like crazy monkeys and he sweats like crazy!)

Sterling getting him some Nana and Papa lovin'!

Worn out little boy!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!