A Few Thoughts I Didn't want to Get Lost in my Head

So, it's been a good week. My review nights for exams are finished and now all I have to do is take the exams next Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday is Anatomy and Physiology and Wednesday is Statistics, so pray for me for both exams, but REALLY pray for me for the Statistics night. I know many people have heard me say this, but if I can just make it through that class!! I will count it a major accomplishment in my life.



If I could, I'd like to make a statement as the President of the Rhett Brown Fan Club! He had to critique an outside speech for his class this week. He chose Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have a Dream" speech and totally rocked it. Ms. Trumbo said that he was the first student to do the speech justice. I am so proud of my husband. He rocks on so many levels! Tonight he has to give his final speech!



Okay, so yesterday while I was on the phone with Wendy, my disposal literally dropped out of the bottom of my kitchen sink! Sorry for the hasty goodbye, Wendy! I freaked! There was water pouring out of the cupboards under the sink and let me tell you, it was a mess, but the Boys helped me get towels and it's all good now. Rhett has a project for the weekend (and who doesn't like home improvement projects that HAVE to be done?!?) and I'll have a new disposal! In the middle of the mess, I took a bag full of drenched under-the-sink-stuff to the garbage cans and what do you know? I had something to smile about! The climbing rose by the cans is ready to burst open with blooms! I could have gotten frustrated about the mess and inconvenience, but you know what, it wouldn't have helped at all, so I just smiled, took a deep breath and went back in to finish cleaning up and getting dinner ready. Thank you God for climbing roses that make me stop and smile!



Last night when Garett Bug was going to bed , he asked me to lay with him "for just one minute". So I did. After he had said his prayers we had a conversation that went something like this:

"You know those flying squirrels?"



"Yes."



"They look like brown bats when they are flying".



"Really?"



"Yes."



"Did you talk about flying squirrels today?"



"No. I just thought about them."



Okay, Bug may look like Rhett, but his thought processes are so like mine! The thought about it and so we talked about it. I love it! Who else thought about flying squirrels and their resemblance to bats yesterday?



I promised a picture of Reece and his new smile so here it is! He's such an introverted child! Just kidding! He's had a great week at school!



Okay, so Logan and Harry are great and will get more attention in the blog next time. I've got to get ready for Drop-In-And-Play with Ms. Pat at Reece and Garett's school. I can take the Babies up there one Friday a month and do crafts and activities and play and hang out with other Moms! I love it!

I hope that everyone has a great weekend! Be thankful for your kitchen disposals, blooming flower and children who tell you what is on their minds!



Until next time, I'm Fondly Yours,



Jeanne
Queen of the Brown Clan

Catching Up Once Again!

Okay, so obviously I'm not keeping up with this like I want to. We've been home from Phoenix for 2 weeks and life is flying by so I thought I'd jot a quick note down.

The trip home from AZ was good, considering we flew into Atlanta in the middle of thunderstorms and a tornado watch. The Boys all behaved and weren't scared (though Reece admitted to being "freaked out" when it lightninged outside his side of the plane). The most memorable moment of the flight was when Garett (jokingly) said in not a whisper, "Mayday! Mayday! We're going down!" There was a lot of turbulence, but we made it! Here are a couple of pictures from our wonderful trip! The first one is of Garett and Logi when we climbed into the Hole in the Rock. That was lots of fun! I posted a picture of all the Brown Boys at the Grand Canyon last time so here is a picture of Reece when he and Rhett spent a day hiking and exploring Sedona, AZ and the Red Rocks. They had a great time and spent a great day bonding! We spent a day with the Marlin's. Here is a picture of Eric and Rhett. I didn't get a family picture of everyone at once-you know how hard it is to get everybody to stand together when you have 4 kids!! So, the Dads get some face time! We had a great time seeing them and look forward to them coming this way next to go to the beach! I want to share just three more pictures from our visit. Here is my Mom and Logan, reading a book one night before bed. He did not want me to do anything for him while were there-Grandma had to do it all! It was hard for him to come home and not have a personal Grandma to do everything for him! Here is my favorite picture of Harry and Marty. Marty was getting ready for work and Harry had just woken up and they are both fresh and full of smiles and energy for the day! Marty needed his energy as he is a shuttle driver for a Resort there in Scottsdale. The night before we left, the Boys made stepping stones for my Mom for her birthday. She and Marty put the stones out front around their tree and we made sure to put the year on them so when we do the next ones we will have the beginning of the story of my Boys' growth! Here they are (minus Harry, obviously!). It was a great trip and we are looking forward to the next one already!! We better give Grandma and Marty time to rest up though! We definitely kept them hopping!!

When we got back, Garett and I had a field trip to Hollywild Animal Park! Here is Bug with a few of his friends and the huge brown bear we saw! We had a great time with the animals and then had a picnic and played on the playground at Lake Cooley. Fun times for sure!!

What else is going on? Let's see-Reece lost 2 teeth (on the same day!) while we were on Spring Break, so I'll take a picture of his gappy smile and post that. The tooth fairy had a field day with him! After we got home, Harry started crawling, like belly up off the ground crawling. The race for manhood is on. I am sad. He is also getting 2 more, maybe 4 more-I can't tell, teeth in. Time is flying - he'll be 11 months old on Monday, the 21st.

Last weekend we went to a showcase at the Poinsett Club for Rhett's sister, Meredith. She teaches ballroom dance and we went to see what all of the students have learned! That was exciting! Meredith danced too and I must say, Rhett and I were impressed! There wasn't the tossing of dancers like there is on Dancing with the Stars, but it was fun all the same! Here is a picture of Rhett and Mimi. Rhett did wear a tie...it came off the minute he stepped out of the ballroom!! :o)

One last bit of news! I talked to Melanie Jeter last night and she told me about Madison's accomplishments with the Charleston Southern University Golf Team. You can read all about their success here http://csusports.athleticsite.com/article.asp?articleID=2461 I am so proud of the wonderful person she has become! I have been a part of her life for 20 years (could it be that long?!?) and I love her so very much!

Well, I have been asked to pick flowers outside with Logan and since he is my boss for the day, I must oblige. By the way-if you have an assistant-don't forget-next Wednesday is Administrative Assistant's Day! Let them know they are appreciated! Take it from me, a little kindness and appreciation can go a long way!

Until next time, I'm fondly yours,

Jeanne

CHO of the Brown Family

Hello from Arizona!!

Well, we made it!! I had planned on writing sooner, but we have been so busy having the best Spring Break EVER that there hasn't been time!

We left Greenville last Friday afternoon, March 28th, spent the night in Atlanta and flew out Saturday morning for Arizona. The boys were absolutely WONDERFUL on the plane! I'll post later when we get home with pictures, but everyone slept, no one cried and we got compliments on how well behaved our children were! Music to Rhett's and my ears!! :o) Imagine the looks we got when we walked up to the gate with 4 children! I'm sure people were kicking themselves for not taking an earlier (or later) flight! But it was all great!!

I have just one picture to share for now. Here are my Boys at the Grand Canyon! We had a great time and Rhett and Reece want to hike to the bottom in the future. I'm happy just to look down from the top!! The views were awesome and the Boys were duly impressed, although we did have to make sure Logan didn't launch Bubba over the edge!! We took lots of pictures and will share more later.

Yesterday we spent the day with Eric and Kris Marlin. They are friends from Greenville that moved here just 6 weeks ago-perfect timing for us to visit! We loved getting to see them and the children we had met (though they left Greenville 4 years ago for Nebraska, so the children have grown alot!), Abbie and Joe and got to meet the 2 year old twins, Sarah and Lizzie. We had fun catching up and the kids all loved playing in their pool.

We've been swimming, hiking, shopping and having a great time with Grandma and Marty. It's a huge adjustment for them to have us in their home for a week, and an even bigger adjustment for their dog Serenity, but everyone has adapted and are having a blast! We leave tomorrow, Friday, to head home and so we covet your prayers that the airplane trip home will be as calm and uneventful as the one coming.

Hope everyone is having a great week!!

Until next time,

I'm Fondly Yours,

Jeanne

Queen of the Browns :o)