Home Again, Home Again

And this time for a little while. We had a great time with the fam! Matt and Melissa and their mom suprised me with a birthday dinner in New Hampshire on Saturday and then on Sunday we celebrated Matt's cousin's birthday. We drove up in two days and came home in two days. It went fairly well. It was nice to break up the driving and we were able to stop as much as we needed; not feeling rushed for time at all. Even the DC traffic wasn't bad at all! Thank goodness for the 2"s of snow that caused school and gov't cancellations for the day!

Today we're spending the day relaxing and just getting some laundry done! It's amazing how fast four people can go thru so many clothes in a few days! Matt is back at work but was able to get in early so he can come home early! This week will be fairly quiet, I think! Just hangin' around home and socializing with friends in the evenings!

Heading North, Once again!

Okay, so Matt and I love a challenge...we're heading up to PA tomorrow and then the rest of the way to MA on Friday...despite snow forecasts for Friday. Please pray for safe travel. Also, we have another "sick" child. Actually it's not that bad...conjunctivitis, not to be confused with pink eye (hahaha!!!). Fortunately, it's been controlled and we're ready for the battle. We are so excited to be in the North again with the fam and with the cold(er) weather...it's 10 degrees in Beverly, MA tonight...quite balmy outside as Steve would say...or to Melissa "butt cold!" Either way, it won't be aweful as long as we have heat! Well, hope ya'll have a great weekend...looking forward to talking with you when we get back...or just call us on the cells...esp. on Friday and Monday...what else can we do in the car all day!?

New England Pictures

Hey everyone, here are a couple of the good pictures from our trip to New England. I'm going to load the rest of the pictures on the browns4god.com website.

My cousin Daniel Richard with Daniel Richard (2)

My Uncle Ken with Daniel

The infamous "you have to delete that" picture

My brother Chris and Daniel chillin' on the couch at Grandma and Papa's

Mimi, Sammie and Daniel visiting at Melissa & Steve's house

Grandma Brown emotional after receiving her decorative tiles

Grandma and Daniel talking together

Home Sweet Home

We're home!! We had a great visit with family. On Tuesday we went into Boston's Museum of Science to see Body Worlds 2 Exhibit. It was a display of various cadavors in various lifelike positions...kicking a soccer ball, a dancing ballerina, etc. They were all done through this cool process called plastination. It was interesting and not at all "gory." We also had a great Christmas with all of Matt's family. The kids got tons of goodies, of course! Now finding homes for all of them in this apartment will be a challenge. While we were there, Daniel started with a cold again but he's doing well right now. Driving there and back went well. It went well especially since we brought better entertainment for Sammie. She did really well, not screaming and/or getting frustrated with being in the car for so long! It's always bittersweet to leave. Good to be in our own home again yet long to be up there with our family and friends.

Packin' UP

We're packing up our entire lives again! No, we're not moving again, but whenever we travel, it feels like it!! We're always on the go! Crazy Browns! We'll be going to New England tomorrow. We have decided to take the trip in two days...Yippee!! We cannot wait to see everyone again! It's only been 6 wks but it feels so much longer! Six weeks that we haven't seen our precious Sarah! Suprisingly, the kids' suitcase is already packed! I pulled their clothes out yesterday and Matt packed 'em up last night! How great! Now today is the rest of the packing and cleaning, including a haircut for Sam and buying a portable DVD player! If you have any recommendations before noon today...please call me!

Anyhow, if we don't hear from you before the New Year's, Have a memorable and safe New Year's! Happy 2007!!!

Tnx for the prayers

We would like to thank everyone who was praying for Daniel. He's been two days without any cough! He recovered on his own without requiring any breathing treatments since Saturday night! Being a nurse, and have cared for children in the hospital with RSV, I was very scared about how bad it would/could get. We are so blessed to have a Father who watches over us and holds us in His hands. Daniel did not get terribly bad at all! I think we caught it early enough to get proper treatment! Praise God for the quick healing He did on Daniel! Thanks again brothers and sisters!

A Blessed Christmas!!

Ours was great! It all started on Saturday with my mom and sister here. We opened gifts Sat. night b/c we (meaning Vicki & I) could not wait. Mainly b/c we had bought a special gift for our mom. On Sunday morning Mom and I tried to decorate cookies with Sam but she lost interest quickly, so Matt filled in and we made over 5 dozen cookies! (I still have 3 more batches to make at Matt's request!) Anyhow, on Sunday night, Matt and Sam went to the evening service at church and Daniel and I stayed home. After church, we all headed over to Barb & Nick's. We had Christmas and a great visit with them! On Monday we took our leisurely time getting up to start the day! There was no rush on opening gifts and both of the kids slept in until 8am! It's great to have kids who don't really understand the full concept of Christmas yet! After eating a wonderful pancake breakfast made by Matt and reading the Christmas story (based off of Christmas Eve's church program), we opened gifts. We started with Daniel since he's the youngest, and of course I was the last...being the oldest. It's good for my patience to have to be last every year! Sammie was funny b/c everything was Sammie's gift...even the underwear I bought for Matt! She's too cute! However, she wasn't too cute when she wouldn't take a nap that afternoon, but who can blame her...it's Christmas! Later, Matt made most of the dinner (I helped a little bit)...turkey, mashed pototoes, and a veggie. After dinner, we had birthday cake and sang Happy Birthday! Have you heard the "Happy Birthday Jesus" song? One of the children's choirs at church sang it and it was so beautiful! How was your Christmas? Did you go anywhere?