Dave says...

We believe in the guidance of Dave Ramsey for Christian finance principles. One of the principles he teaches is that it is never too young to start teaching little ones that money does not grow on trees. His suggested age to start is 4 years old. That is what we are going to start doing. Once a week(hopefully), Lili will "help" with chores around the house and earn $0.75. With this money, she will be taught to give a quarter to Jesus first and will put it in her Jesus box. We are very blessed and want her to learn early tithing is one of the ways we show our thanks to God. The next quarter will be "fed" to piggy. She will be taught to save for the future. We save for vacations or "big" purchases. If we see something we want, but Mom or Dad will not get, she can save for it. The last money will go in her purse. She always want to buy a gumball, but we hardly ever have quarters. When we told her she could earn quarters to spend at the gumball machine, she was extremely excited...stay tuned for updates on this parenting adventure.

Slowly but surely...

Update!

Quick Update

A lot has happened in the Brown family since the last post. Here is a brief synopsis-

- we bought new house and moved South of the Border from Bryan to College Station.
- Lili started a new preschool this year
- Lili is going to be a big sister in less than 7 weeks...

My Toddler

I know that it's been a while since I've updated the blog. I won't promise to do better, because I never do. Check back soon though, maybe you'll be surprised. We've got lots of new things going on in our family, and I'll try to keep everyone posted and updated.
This post, however, is dedicated to my toddler. That's right, I said it. We no longer have a baby in this house. Lili is a full-fledged, no doubt about it, TODDLER. She talks so much..though still not always understandably, loves the backyard, and loves mud even more. As you'll see in this picture, she has also become VERY independent. Note: her shoes are on the wrong feet, and her socks don't match. These are not things that bother Mommy.

One Tough Cookie..

My little girl is one tough cookie..it's now been officially proven. This week started out a little bit rough for Miss Lili when she woke up Sunday morning with pink eye. We skipped church, and headed straight for the urgent care clinic to get her started on some antibiotic drops. We carried on throughout our week. All was ok until Thursday.

I was sitting in meetings at school when Eric called me to tell me that Lili had busted her head open at daycare. It's such a scary thing to hear that your baby has been hurt. I rushed to urgent care where I arrived just in time to see my sweet girl getting her vitals taken..while happily eating animal crackers. Then we saw the doctor who decided that she would need staples. I think I may have cried more than she did while they did the actual stapling. By the afternoon, she was running and playing like normal. Luckily they only had to shave a small spot on her head, and her 5 staples are pretty well covered by her hair. As her daddy told the nurses: "It took us 19 months to get that hair!" She'll have her staples out this week.

As the doctor said after giving her the staples--"If this is the worst thing that ever happens to her, she'll be alright!"

On a related note..sort of--please keep Baby Konnor in your prayers as he is temporarily back in the hospital. Hopefully he'll be ready to come back home in the next couple of days.

As promised..

I promised my family this weekend, that I would make every effort to become a better blogger. We had a wonderful weekend this weekend visiting with family in anticipation and celebration of the newest baby on the way--Konnor. We got to spend time with Lili's oldest twin cousins--Kendall and Kourtney, and youngest twin cousins--Brewer and Bonham, as well as Lili's aunts, uncles (sorry Uncle Robert--we missed you!), grandparents, and grandpa's cousins who we had not seen since Lili's birth. It was a wonderful visit, and as soon as we upload the pics, I'll post them. All of the babies are growing up SO fast, and it is wonderful to get everyone all together.

To keep everyone happy until the pictures are posted, I've decided to post a list of some of the adorable things that my Lili is doing these days--more for my own memory than anything..though I hope that you my reader(s) will enjoy them as well.

*Lili LOVES to talk on the phone. She'll carry around our phones, propping it between her ear and shoulder "talking" to anyone or everyone. "Hello", "Who is it?", "Hold on." It's precious!

*Lili is now "blowing her nose". She holds a wipe on her nose, and then blows out a quick breath from her mouth.

*Every night before bed, I tell Lili what I remember my own mother telling me before we went to sleep. "I love you a bushel and a peck, a bushel and a peck, and a hug around the neck." Now, when I get to peck..Lili takes out her paci and kisses my cheek..pure preciousness.

Hope you're all doing well--also, welcome to my newest "niece"--ok, she's not blood, but she'll still be my niece. Welcome to the world Rylie Ann Figley--can't wait to meet you!!

Until next time, all!!