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!!

18 months ALREADY?!?

It's so hard to believe that our little girl is already 18 months old! Time has certainly flown by, and we have enjoyed every minute watching this little girl grow. She's becoming an amazing little person who loves playing with the dogs, laughing, and playing peek-a-boo anytime she can..with anyone who will play! =) God has given us such an amazing gift in this little person. I know that as parents, it is our responsibility to teach her..but I can't help but think about how much she is teaching us along the way.



We've come so far, from the days of the hospital incubator at just a few days hold, to running and playing in fields of flowers. We're so blessed to have this beautiful little girl, who we'll get to watch grow up with a family FULL of cousins her own age. We're so thankful for Bon & Brew..and can't wait to meet the two newest cousins coming soon (but not as a pair this time--they have different Mommys). We know that all of these little ones will be a blast for the two older girls to keep up with as the years go by!

I PROMISE to try and be better about updating--have i said that before? Well this time I PROMISE!

Ok..it's been a while..

So I know that I promised that I would be better about keeping up with the blog. I haven't been so great lately. We've had lots of things going on, and I'll post pics and videos soon. Our Lili is growing up so quickly. She's talking more and more, and we're having a blast..I can't wait to be at home with her this summer. We're going to have such fun! Eric's still running marathons. In fact, we'll be going to Oklahoma this weekend for the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon. We've traveled alot recently, and I still need to post some of the adorable pictures from Hawaii. I'll try to get pictures up soon, but wanted to drop in and let everyone know we're still around.

Coming soon to a blog near you--
*Hawaii Vacation Pictures
*Easter Pictures and Video
*Oklahoma City Marathon Results and Pictures

Rough Week..

This week has been a rough one, starting with a Monday morning phone call saying that Lili's Grandpa Bob (my dad) had a heart attack. We eventually got word that he would be having a heart cath procedure on Tuesday morning..in our family, this wasn't too alarming considering dad has had this procedure several times, and has had much more serious procedures. He had the surgery on Tuesday morning, and the doctor inserted four more stints into his heart. Everything went well, and dad is feeling better already, after going home on Wednesday. This was definitely an answered prayer.

On Wednesday night, I woke up with an awful earache. I toughed out the day at work, then ended up spending 2 hours in the urgent care clinic. Considering that we'll be leaving for vacation on a plane in less than a week, I decided that ear problems were nothing to mess with. Apparently my sinuses are draining into my ears, causing my eardrum to retract..I have no idea what that means, but I can tell you that it's not comfortable. So, it's an antibiotic and sudafed for me. Hopefully, I'll be as good as new in a few days..though the dr. assured me that things would get worse before they got better..great.

On Sunday, we'll be heading up to Houston to spend some time with SeaStar, Jon, and the boys. We're planning a big family trip to the zoo. We may even get to see Aunt Jenn Jenn and the girls! We'll also be stopping by for some shopping to pick up a few last minute things for the trip to Hawaii..prepare for some cute pictures!
Twins + Lili = cuteness overload!!

Stacey is brave

Eric here...for some odd reason, my wife decided that it would be a good idea that I updated the blog.

So here we go...

Today was an exciting and long day in the Brown family life. It started with me waking up at 0'dark 30 to go run for fun. I ran a 1/2 marathon at 7am in 34 degree weather with 20 mph winds. As always Stacey was there to cheer me on. And of course my other #1 fan, Lili. They woke up early too and braved the cold chilly 1st day of March.

I ran a personal best 1/2 Marathon time out of all previous 1/2 Marathons and 1/2 Marathon splits while running full marathons. I ran a 1:45 and some change. My pace was an 8:05 mile. I came in 80th place out of 604.

Afterwards, we hurried home, I showered and then off to church. Following church we went to Target to look for red clothing so that Stacey could dress up like Thing 1 and Thing 2 tomorrow at school in honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday.

Then on to visit Great Aunt Carol and first cousin once removed Naomi who was home for the weekend from Belton.

Finally the end of our afternoon adventures entailed a short trip to the grocery store.

The reward of all this was Stacey made some very yummy chili. I have eaten half the pot already.(I tend to be a little hungry after these long running events...well I tend to be a little hungry all the time)

so long, farewell, auf wiedersehen good bye

Old Age..

SOOOO..nevermind that whole moving thing..it'll be about another year before that can happen..just not God's timing right now.

This is going to be a short entry..just long enough to let everyone know that The Brown's have officially gotten old. We go to bed by 9:30 on Friday and Saturday nights, and were up by 7am this morning playing with blocks on the floor..which was awesome by the way. Then, because of Lili's ear infection and the crazy winds outside, we moved the family walk to the mall tonight. Wow..we're old.

But..the most exciting thing that happened today..LILI BLEW KISSES!!

More tomorrow and an update on Eric's half-marathon..

Movin' on up..

We've decided that it is time for our family to move to a new home. Eric and I purchased our house almost 3 years ago, knowing that this would not be our forever home. We knew that this house was to be our start, and for just the two of us (and the dogs), it's been wonderful, and we brought our first child home to this little house. We've decided that it's time for us to think of baby girl, and to find the home that she'll grow up in. I want a neighborhood where we can walk down the street and play at the park, where we can spend hours drawing on the front sidewalk with chalk, where I can feel safe knowing that my little girl is playing with her friends outside..and so the search begins. In the next couple of weeks, things will get very busy as we prepare our house to go on the market so that it can provide a new family with their start..

We'll keep you all posted!

Monday Memories

There's not a whole lot of new news in the Brown household. Eric's almost completely over the illness of last week, but it seems like mine is just beginning. I'll get through it, I just pray that little Miss Lili will remain as happy, healthy, and unaffected as she has to this point.

I thought that for this Monday I would share a "Monday Memory". This is one of the first photos taken of Lili and I in the hospital. That day was such a blessing in our family's lives. Lili brings so much joy to everyone that she meets. I hope that this post finds all of my readers well (both of you!).

What a Week...

I haven't had much time this week to post about what's going on in our lives because Eric's been super sick. He came down with the flu and strep throat simultaneously. It's been a week filled with temperature taking, ramen noodle cooking, medicine giving, and diaper changing. He even missed 3 and a half days of work with this stuff--you know it was bad!! Sadly, I'm afraid that I'm getting it now.

In other big news, my big girl took to her sippy cup full time this week!! I'll try to post a pic of her and her sippy later. She also cut her first molars without even making Mommy suspect teething. I found them by accident. What a good girl!!

Time flies when you're having fun!!

It's been SO long since I've updated this blog, but I promised my sister that if she would keep hers updated, I'd do the same. If you know my sister, you know that she'll hold me to it! (That's why I love her!)

Since I last posted, my sweet little baby has turned into an adorable toddler (walking--almost running)! It's hard to believe that the last year has flown by so fast! Lili is actually 13 months old today. The last year has brought in so much excitement to our lives--it's been the year of babies! Lili was joined by one beautiful step-cousin Makenzie in July, and her adorable twin cousins, Bonham and Brewer in October. We're lucky to be able to spend time with the boys frequently and hope that the three of them will go up to be close friends. I'll include some pictures from her birthday parties below. She was very spoiled this year with Christmas and birthday so close together. After two birthday parties, our house STILL looks like a toy store exploded. We were lucky to have family and friends at each party--particularly Allie and Chris who are expecting their own little miracle, and Aunt Lisa, Uncle Jon, and Bonham & Brewer who made their first road trip to come to her Bryan party.
Lili enjoying cake at her birthday party in Waco
Lili cheesin' through a cake eatin' grin at her Bryan party

Lili loves bling! Thank goodness Jenn , Lisa, and Allie are around!The Aggie fam! The best picture of Lili and Bonham & Brewer..the boys were precious in every picture, but Lilipie wanted to be on the move!

A Rough Start..

We had a rough start to last week. On Monday, Lili started teething. She's only 4 months old, so she's an early teether. As usual, she was a trooper, and slept through the night even though she was in pain. She's got two little teeth coming in on the bottom. We still haven't mastered showing us her teeth instead of sticking out her tongue.

On Tuesday, we helped our friends Sarah and Phil pack up the truck for their move to Oklahoma. Sarah and Phil are great friends of ours and we miss them already. Hopefully, we'll be going to visit them in Oklahoma pretty soon. Eric's plan is to run a marathon there, but we're not sure how scheduling will work out once he starts his new job.

This one's for you Sarah!

Long time, no update!!

I'm SO sorry that it's been so long since I've blogged. There's been a lot going on! Let me get you caught up on what's happening in our lives. The events may or may not be in order.

Last weekend, Eric, Lili, and I took a much needed vacation to Houston to visit with Lili's Aunt Lisa and Uncle Jon. Aunt Lisa and Uncle Jon are expecting twins in Octoberish. These babies have already been prayed for a LOT, and we can't wait to meet them.

Here are some pictures from our trip:

This is Lisa and Jon's cat Desi playing in Lili's bouncer. This trip was a test to see how their cats will react to the babies. We thought Desi was trying to play with Lili in her bouncer at one point..turns out he wanted the hanging bear.





Aunt Lisa and Uncle Jon have a BIG leather chair. I laid Lili down in it, and she immediately thought it was the PERFECT place for a nap.
Here's Lili taking a bath in the BIG kitchen sink. It was NOT quite the same as our bathtub at home!


As always, we had a wonderful time with Lisa and Jon. We'll see them again soon in their new house!

Quick Update..

It's been a while since I've updated! I apologize to you, my faithful readers! Since I last wrote, we've experienced Lili's first illness induced doctor visit. She was coughing and congested with a slight fever, so Eric took her in to find out that she had her first ear infection. Luckily it didn't seem to phase her, and we the help of an antibiotic, she's on track to recovery. The good news is that she now weighs 14 pounds, and is in the 90th percentile for her age. On Sunday, we went to a friend's birthday party at the Splash pad at Tanglewood park.


Now, I'm sick with an upper respiratory infection (YUCK), and Eric is actually slightly under the weather too..hopefully all of this passes soon!

What to say..

The last couple of days have been very difficult and the coming weeks will be as well. Eric and I struggled for the first year of our marriage with friendships. It isn't that we didn't HAVE friends, but that after we graduated, all of our friends also graduated..and they left..but we didn't. We finally joined our Sunday School class at FBC Bryan, and felt that we'd found a group we clicked with. Here we began to build friendships that we knew would last..and it was then that I realized that these friends would be leaving us too. Well, that time has come. The Bynums and The Lancasters are leaving us. These couples have probably made much more of an impact on our lives than they realize. They've been with us through some very tough stuff, and through Lili's birth and hospital stay..they've prayed with us, cried with us, laughed with us. For that we are forever grateful. We'll certainly keep in touch, and maybe some day, God will put us back in the same place, but no matter where we are I know our friendship will stay strong. I thank God every day, not just for these friends, but for all of the other couples in our bible study as well. I know that each of you is in our lives for a reason, and I am so thankful for your friendship.

On a related note, I thank you all for your prayers. We had a big breakthrough as Eric finally said: "I think I'm ready to get serious about finding a job." This is the answer to one of my biggest prayers as of late. Thank you all for sending up the prayers right along side me.