The Brown's

Jordan's weekly Email

2011-12-27T15:37:00.000-08:00

ola,

I am so grateful to have been able to talk to you all this last 25 of December in Brasil. I am so grateful for all you who love me and send your love in emails, packages, letters, and prayers. I am so grateful for my family who give me inspiration and bring me the direct revelation that I need in the moments that I need them. I am so grateful for my Mom and Dad who I admire so much. I can feel their love and I miss them terribly. I am tremendously grateful for my brothers who act like they don't love me ha. but I know that they do. I am so grateful for my Grandmas and Grandpa who make me laugh in their letters and give me support and news about how the Trailblazers are doing and how Kobe is a joke ha. I am so grateful for all of you who are taking this time to read what a 20 year old kid is writing. I want to say, "thank you." I've thought about this life so much this December and what is the purpose of it all. I know I haven´t found the secret to life but I think I got at least a hint.
.......................

It's you. It's my parents. Its my brother's, grandparent's, sister-in-law's, nieces, and friends. I am here to let to know you, learn to love you, and to help you and me return to our Father in Heaven. This life has challenges but why do we dread them? They are glorious opportunities to grow and become a little more of who we should be. Why can´t we smile when its raining and windy outside? Remember somewhere, someone asked for the rain. Or give thanks to our Heavenly Father when one of the people we love is taken from this world? Because in Spirit World he has a purpose and will help hundreds of people. I won't claim that I am perfect in looking for the silver lining in the hard thinks but I am learning to, "that all these things shall give [me] experience, and shall be for [my] good."

I love the story of the Saviors birth and I had the chance to read it this Christmas. And I found a few things that I didn't see before. The first was something that Sister Hart commented in the Christmas conference that we had with President. She talked about the angels that brought, " good tidings of great joy," she commented that the angels that sang in Celestial Choirs were not resurrected angels but pre-mortal angels. And I like to think that I had the opportunity to bring tidings declaring the birth of the Savior 2 times. When I sang in a Celestial voice (and I know that Johnny Brown was in the Choir too) and I have the opportunity now to lift my voice to declare the things that I knew and I am blessed enough to know now! and the second is in verse 7:

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

I think the reason that Mary did not give birth in the safety and comfort of an inn I think is very symbolical. First I think that it was Mary´s mission to be humble enough to accept the humblest of conditions as we have to accept hard things in the conditions that we do not always choose. The other thing that makes me really feel something for my Savior is that The King of Kings, the Lord of Lords was born in a manger because he was simply rejected by the inn keepers. Jesus Christ was born into this world having already been rejected by many. He grew up and was the great teacher and soon after was rejected again. I know that my Savior had a purpose on this earth. I know that he was born, lived, and died in the face of rejection and hostility. I know that my afflictions are only but a moment in the eyes of the Lord and i know that he has already walk the road that i am traveling. I love Him.

I am so grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ. He lives and is calling us back home. Lets make a goal this year to LISTEN and FOLLOW that sweet sound of our Saviors voice.

te amo,
elder brown

Christmas

2011-12-26T20:38:00.001-08:00

We had a very Merry Christmas. Here's a few highlights.
Paisley had fun playing with her very own nativity.

We opened just a couple things before church...

Santa brought her a Baby Alive...a couple movies, books and some candy...

She got a fun recliner...a cute little ballerina doll to dance with and a ton of princess stuff!

She started out opening presents in her Christmas dress...then came Belle...

and then Tiana...

and finally she transformed into Snow White...

Our Paisley is definitely the princess of the household. She is super girlie, sassy, smart and thinks she is the boss! She likes to test us but we know life would be boring without her. We love our Paisley Girl!!

We had fun opening presents and watching the excitement and happiness in her face, but one of the best parts of Christmas was getting to talk to Jordan!! He called about mid afternoon and talked about and hour or so. It was good to hear his little Brother voice and to hear more about the area he serves in and more about Brazil. He talks funny a little bit, but speaks English good enough...for now! :) He says they have their work cut out for them down there and they stay really busy but there is nothing better then the mission. He sounded good and we were happy to hear from him.

Christmas Tree '11

2011-12-06T13:08:00.000-08:00

Michelle and the boys came up this weekend so we decided to decorate the Christmas tree. They literally did it in a matter of minutes, but they did a good job spreading them out. Paisley didn't hang any ornaments, she would just hand one to Cale or Bryce and have them hang it.
All the rest of my Christmas is in storage so its nice to at least have a tree.
(Don't mind Paisley's outfit, she dresses up EVERY day and for some reason wanted to wear her doggy leash while decorating!? She is her Father's Daughter when it comes to crazy clothes combos!) :)

Cars, trucks, bugs, dirt...

2011-11-10T15:20:00.000-08:00

and anything else BOY! I can't wait for April!!!!

Baby Update

2011-11-08T12:06:00.000-08:00

So I am now almost 18 weeks and tomorrow will be officially 4 months pregnant! I had an ultrasound a couple weeks ago but the baby didn't feel like cooperating so I go back in this Thursday for another appt./ultrasound and we should know whether this little one is boy or girl. I can't wait and can't believe how the time is flying by! I feel good so far. I've been feeling more hungry lately but haven't gotten to the eating in the middle of the night stage, thankfully! :) And still continue with my Zumba class a couple times a week. (if you haven't tried it...you have too, its sooo fun!) I'll take a belly pic eventually. Josh told me it looks like I'm "showing", but I just feel like its more of a muffin top then usual....we'll see.
Meabwhile, here is a pic from baby center of what the baby "looks like"

Happy Halloween

2011-11-01T14:08:00.000-07:00

We had a fun day yesterday. Paisley and I went down to Josh's office for a work party. They did a chili cook off and let the kids trick or treat from desk to desk. Paisley had no shame and would straight up grab handfuls of candy for every ones bowls! That's my girl, she loves her candy!
After that we all headed home and went to a party. We did some trick or treating with friends and ate lots of food and candy!! Paisley's legs were "tired" and needed to be carried a bit, but it was fun.
We came home and went around our neighborhood. By the time we got home she must have gotten a second wind..or was already on a sugar high!? And almost ran from house to house talking about how she wanted more and more candy!
After a few houses we came home checked out the goods and handed candy out to the kids who came by.
She originally said she wanted to be a butterfly, so we bought wings and a cute little tutu. After she got some princess dresses for her birthday, she quickly changed her mind. :) Of course she couldn't be anything else but a princess. She chose to be Rapunzel. She wouldn't wear her crown but she would wear this nice little hair piece I found at the $1 store! I think she was cute and we only ran into one other Rapunzel.
We had a very Happy Halloween, hope you did too.

Cheese

2011-10-23T15:35:00.000-07:00

I Love this face!

Birthday Girl

2011-10-21T13:13:00.000-07:00

Paisley turned the BIG 3 last week! She had a super fun birthday week and a pretty fun party too! My Mom flew in last Wednesday so she could celebrate with her and Paisley enjoyed having 2 Grandma's with her at the same time! Paisley was spoiled with attention, toys and treats! I had fun getting the party together and was thankful to have our parents here to help(and Josh of course). Paisley is all about anything Princess. So that's what we went with when planning the party. We had a tea party/princess theme. The girls had cute tutus with fun costume jewelry and the boys got shields and swords. There was plenty of food and fun friends to visit with! We all had a good time and Paisley is still talking about it. I wanted to do a fun, big party for her since this is the last year she'll be our one and only...but, I think next year we'll tone it down and do a family birthday!

We let her open a few gifts from family on her actual birthday. She pretty much loved everything she got. More princess stuff of course! She is definitely a girlie girl! We are just in shock how much of a little girl she is and by how smart she is! She surprises us everyday and we couldn't love her more!

Sequel...

2011-10-01T07:53:00.000-07:00

Coming April 2012!!!
(We don't know the sex yet...just that there will be another baby this cute next year! :)

Summer

2011-08-30T14:19:00.000-07:00

...according to my phone.

We went to the Fair. Where Paisley milked her first live cow without any hesitation! We also entered one of Johnny B's zucchini's and it won a Blue ribbon!

We've also been able to enjoy lots of fresh fruits and veggies from Johnny's garden. Here is the first delicious and juicy watermelon and one of his enormous zuccchinis! He's also got a ton of tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, cabbage, collard greens, and corn! He's a serious gardener! :)

Grandpa helped Paisley plant some tomatoes. She waters them everyday and checks on them all the time to see if they are red yet. Well today was her lucky day, she picked her first ripe tomato and then carried it everywhere! She was pretty excited!!

While Josh is busy at work...the girls will play! We've spent many days by the pool and at the aquatic center with friends and love every minute! Paisley is usually out after five seconds in the car!

We've been loving summer and don't want it too end!! Take your time Fall and Winter!

California

2011-08-02T13:12:00.000-07:00

My parents recently moved to California to take care of my Grandparents. So we were lucky to stop and stay with all of them for a couple days. My Brother Michael came up for the weekend so that was a nice bonus! They loved having Paisley around and had fun watching all the crazy things she does and says. We ate plenty In N Out and Jack in The Box. Along with a lot of other good food.

My Nana has dementia so every day was like a new day for her! :) She doesn't remember who any of us are but it was fun to spend some time with them both. Despite the memory loss, there is still that familial connection and love felt. And its almost like getting to know her all over again. She is so relaxed and is a great Nana! It was funny too, every time she would see Josh or if he would stand after sitting for a while she would say, "wow he's a tall guy, huh?" "he's really tall" EVERY TIME! Because she would forget she said it like 3 times before! I guess its not really funny, but kinda is at the same time. Gotta find joy in the journey right!? :)

Paisley had fun skate boarding with Uncle Michael.
I'm not sure why they are both half naked!?
Its nice to visit family in a place that is warm and sunny! I love Washington, but 80 and sunny, perfect!

Disneyland

2011-08-02T12:19:00.000-07:00

Josh and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary in June and we decided we wanted to do something fun to celebrate. So we thought we would take Paisley with us and go have tons of fun at Disneyland! We were able to get a deal on a three day park hopper pass and we had the most fun ever! It was fun to go and be a kid again and to see all the excitement and happiness in Paisley's face each day! Josh was a good sport and rode all the kiddie rides also. Paisley was about 4 inches too short for the more big rides, like Splash Mountain, but we had fun riding the smaller rides. We'll have to take her again when she is a bit taller. (Its a good deal though, because before 3 they are free!)

Paisley enjoyed her daily cotton candy.

Mesmerized by "Its a Small World"

I got to ride on Dumbo with her like I did with my parents when I was a kid. I loved it! (not sure why I have a death grip around her...we were buckled in)

She love, love, loved the tea cups!

Paisley was happy, yet shy at the same time to meet two of her favorites Princesses.

The carousel was a must...

as well as trying to pull the sword from the stone.

The parade was amazing! Lots of color, music and dancing!

We never took a family shot, but I guess this will work.

California Adventure had some fun shows to watch and more smaller rides for Paisley.

The Ariel ride was fun, just like riding through the movie!

Paisley picked an Ariel doll and swirly sucker as her souvenirs, along with the crown she is wearing in some of the pics.

And of course you can't go to Disneyland and not have some if this!

Disneyland really is the happiest place on earth! :) We were smiling constantly and I had so much fun sharing some of my childhood memories with Paisley & Josh and also making new ones on our fist "family" vacation. Its crazy how much you love your kids and how much seeing them happy can make you happy! We all had a blast and can't wait to go again!

Aloha Festival

2011-07-25T14:54:00.000-07:00

Saturday we went to the Layton Aloha Festival. We had entered Paisley into the Baby contest, and guess who won!?

This crazy, cute girl! She couldn't wait her turn. She literally cried the whole time till they called her name. She ran right out on stage waving, smiling, and blowing kisses! She loved being on stage and didn't want to leave! There were definitely some cute kids, but she was my #1!
We also had fun walking around, listening to Hawaiian music and watching the luau performance! We had some tasty Hawaiian food, but went down to Bountiful for that!
Gotta love "Mo' Betta Steak"!!

Happy 4th!

2011-07-05T15:11:00.000-07:00

We had a really fun 4th of July.
Breakfast in the park, fun at the parade, Italian Ice, cotton candy and s'mores. Bouncy house and big slides, watching friends in a volley ball tournament, eating way too much food, playing with sparklers and watching fireworks!
I love the 4th of July!

Twin Falls, Id

2011-06-26T11:35:00.001-07:00

Nancy was working up in Twin Falls, Id this past week and invited Paisley and I up to stay with her in her hotel. We had fun visiting the temple, swimming in the pool, playing at the park with Malakai and Chelsea, eating out and enjoyed all the attractions at the circus! We were only there a couple days but we had lots of fun and were happy to go.

Nap Time

2011-06-20T15:10:00.001-07:00

On most days I generally look forward to Paisley's nap time. She can wear me out with all her energy and non-stop talking! I love the thought of a couple hour break. However, lately she doesn't think a nap is necessary. I do not like that!
Today she finally fell asleep after an hour or so of talking/playing in her room. Half the time I go in and take all her toys out if she is being too rowdy. But after going in once I just left her alone. A while after her being quiet I checked on her and found her like this.

She loves to play, and has a great imagination. I love being home with her and have tons of fun.
But its important to rest....for my sanity! :)

Summer

2011-06-11T18:40:00.000-07:00

This is pretty much all we've been doing since the sun and warm weather decided to finally show up. Paisley has so much fun at the pool and is getting very brave. She has even jumped in a few times with and withOUT her floaties! I had to jump in and scoop her up the other day, but no harm was done. I think its safe to say we both learned our lesson though. :)

We are loving the sunshine!

Cinco Anos!

2011-06-10T16:03:00.000-07:00

Five years ago today I married Joshua! Its crazy to look back and see how much we've both grown and learned, together and as individuals. We are still very much a work in progress but things are going good right now.
Josh is my best friend. He is always there for me, to listen, to help solve problems. He is a lot of things I am not, patient being one of those. He is a good provider and a great Dad to Paisley...and sometimes he is there to just drive me nuts.
But hey, I'm sure I do the same thing. And What are friends/spouses for!? :)

I Love You Josh and look forward to being together for the rest of time and all eternity!

Our Happy Easter

2011-05-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

We happened to be in Washington for Easter Sunday. Paisley got to play with all her old friends in Grandma's ward nursery. She also got some fun stuff from the Easter Bunny. Plenty of candy, toys, a bunny, book, a rain hat to match her lady bug boots and cute Rapunzel, Flynn Ryder and Maximus dolls. Her Grandma Brown got her Tangled for Easter and loves it, so she was happy to get "Punzel" as she calls her.

(Guess I haven't uploaded all the pics yet, I'll do that later.)

Family Time!

2011-05-10T14:39:00.001-07:00

(Top 3, Picture credit to Ciera)

I literally took hundreds of pics while I was there...didn't want to miss anything. Here are just some of the things we did while at Grandma's.

Paisley and I were in Washington for a couple weeks and were able to be together with all my siblings, Grandma and my Nephews. My Sister, her boys and my Grandma had never met Paisley before this trip! Crazy right!? So we had a blast catching up, visiting and just being together!
Paisley loved having her cousins around. Cale is super sweet and smart. Bryce is a character and so similar to Paisley...this made for an interesting time. They played, argued...and played and argued. But when the time came for Michelle and the boys to fly home, Bryce of all people was asking if Paisley could come home with them! Too funny. But it was nice for them to get to know each other and have so much fun being around each other. We did all kinds of fun arts and crafts, Easter egg hunts, spent time at the park and the beach, saw "Rio", ate breakfast together, watched Tangled...a lot, played Candy Land, played with Grandma's dog (Zoe) and took lots of pictures! It was so nice to be together, I think it helped to strengthen the bonds that were already there and made us all a bit closer. It was definitely a little piece of Heaven for Me (as well as for my Mom, this hasn't happened since mine and Josh's wedding, almost 5 yrs.)...I'm lucky to be able to spend eternity with them!

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T14:05:00.000-07:00

I Love these ladies. Here's to 4 Generations! Happy Mother's Day!

Flat Stanley

2011-04-12T13:19:00.000-07:00

My Nephew Cale sent Paisley his "Flat Stanley" A couple weeks ago so we have been trying to take him around to see some sights and have fun with us in Utah.
Here are some of the things we did with him:

We hung out at Temple Square.

Saw some cool planes and helicopters at the Hill Aerospace Museum.

Stanley walked on the moon with Neil Armstrong.

Played with Paisley at the Discovery Gateway Children's Museum.

And before he got sent home today, we took him to see how salt water taffy is made. We sent him back with some to share with the class.
Paisley loved taking Flat Stanley around, he also got to play in the snow and fly some planes at the Aerospace museum. I can't wait for Cale to get his package in the mail, I hope he likes it. :)

Jordan

2011-04-03T20:30:00.000-07:00

Flies to Brazil tomorrow!!!
Monday April 4th! Wish him luck and say a prayer for him! We are excited and nervous, but know he'll be fine.

Lately

2011-03-12T16:57:00.000-08:00

It doesn't seem like we have done anything really exciting lately.
We have celebrated about a million Birthdays it seems since Christmas. Mine was January. Then came Jordan's, then Johnny's which we celebrated at Tucanos, great food! After that came Michelle's, Aaron's and then Amanda's! Nancy's is this week and then Baby B. turns the big ONE! Followed by my nephew! We've had fun celebrating and eating tasty food.

Paisley and I frequent Costco almost weekly where she loves to eat a "Costco dog." And I enjoy a nice slice of pepperoni pizza. :) We cannot go there anymore and not get a hot dog. We occasionally buy something besides food, but it gives us something to do and we have a cheap lunch.

We had a fun date with Jocelyn and Hillary. The girls got to play and I got to talk to another adult. After lunch and play time we went and watched Gnomeo and Juliet. I thought it was really cute, and it wasn't too long for the girls.
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The weather here has been constantly changing, we go from bundling up to sandals in one day! Crazy, but its been nice to wear flip flops every once in awhile.

And apparantly Paisley thought Josh's lips were a bit chapped and wanted to help him out. :)

Josh has been busy working as usual, he's a champ. And Paisley and I hold down the fort at home, playing, cooking, cleaning/picking up and more picking up. I've been exercising trying to drop a few l-b's. Luckily our apartment complex has an exercise room. And I am going to start Zumba on a regular basis, its a blast and a great workout. Paisley literally talks non-stop! She is super smart I think but we are still working on the idea of putting pee pee and poo poo in the potty. She always tells me "its too hard for me." Whatever, hopefully she hops on the potty train soon. Other than that we are doing well. Loving life right now.
(sorry these pics aren't the best, they are all from my phone.)

Music

2011-02-19T08:26:00.000-08:00

I am obsessed with Jennifer Hudson and this song right now.

And Bruno Mars

Love these songs, I'm happy I finally taught myself how to post a link the right way. :)

My Valentine's

2011-02-18T18:16:00.000-08:00

For Valentine's Day Josh and I got Paisley these cute Lady Bug boots and this shirt that says "Mommy's Love Bird" I saw it and thought is was too cute to pass up.
She loves the boots and had fun eating her candy. )She got spoiled by her Grandma's as well, lots of fun stuff and more candy.)
I washed and dried Josh's old wallet and it was done. :)So I got Josh a boring but much needed gift, a wallet. He seriously had been walking around with his wallet stuff in a Ziploc baggy! Yeah, that's my Josh! He likes it and hasn't lost it once....yet.
Josh got me a really sweet card and took Paisley and I on a date out to my favorite, Mexican! We all had a Happy Valentine's Day! :)

My Little Monkey

2011-02-17T13:42:00.000-08:00

Great Letter From Jordan Today

2011-02-14T16:09:00.001-08:00

Ola Familia!,

Como foram suas semanas?! (This means "How was your week?" Guess Jordan is trying to keep up on that Portuguese!) I bet it was great! Or at least I hope it was really good. It sounds like everyone is doing good there. I have gotten so much love and mail and packages from everyone this week. Thank you so much it is way awesome! A real missionaries dream! And thanks mom for sending Elder Bezona that package he really needed that and I know he is super grateful to you for sending it to him. He didn't grow up in the greatest home environment and just a little boost now and again can really perk up a missionary and help the work.

This week we had a zone conference with a General Authority, Elder Ringwood, he is a member of the the First Quorum of the Seventy. It was such a great experience! He gave us some great counsel and it gave me renewed strength to do better and to always improve. I have quickly discovered that missionaries are not perfect, including Elder Bezona and myself. I always have looked up to missionaries and thought of them as the best people on the planet and now that I am here, my eyes have been opened. Elders and Sisters truly have to improve everyday. I can see the difference in the Elders like Elder Ringwood told us are consecrated servants of the Lord and ones that are just merely going through the motions. And I see how Satan works on everyone, even missionaries! But it is how much power you allow him to have over you that determines how much you love your companion, the work, the mission. The Dallas Texas Mission has some Elders that are just straight up amazing missionaries and I love seeing them and feeling their spirit and how they carry the Spirit with them all the time. I feel sometimes lost out here in a sense. I wonder sometimes if I have the Spirit with me or not because I should always have it and the more I have it the more I get used to having it so it is hard to really recognize the Spirit sometimes for younger missionaries like me. An experience that I would like to share with you this week was when I was on exchanges with Elder Thatcher. He is my Zone Leader and one of those missionaries that are just incredible! Our appointment with an investigator "punched" (fell through) Elder Bezona went on splits with another missionary that evening. I being the companion that stayed in the area, was the Senior Companion so it was up to me to figure out what we could do from 7-9 that night. I have not really taken charge of scheduling what we were going to do out here yet, so I guess you could say I was kinda nervous and flustered because the appointment fell through. Elder Thatcher asked me what we were going to do and we just headed out. We visited one part member family and a less active family before we could find anyone to just let us in. So after hearing, "we are too busy tonight" and "come back next week," We were guided by the Spirit to the Nuttall family. I have never met them and they were unmarked on the ward directory, so I didn't know if they were active or part members or recent converts. They let us in and we sat down and talked to them some and I felt like it was time to share a message. I was kind of flipping through the scriptures and I opened up to 2 Nephi 31:19-20 and read them that scripture but something Irmao Perry, my MTC teacher, showed me was to put an "almost" in front of each thing you have to do it really put everything into perspective. It reads in 20:

Wherefore, ye must "almost" press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a "almost" perfect brightness of hope, and "almost" a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall "almost" press forward, "almost" feasting upon the word of Christ, and "almost" endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall "almost" have eternal life.

We cannot afford to just "almost" do what the Lord has commanded. We must "do it" if we want to have the blessing and reward of eternal life with our Heavenly Father in the highest kingdom. The Nuttall's are a good family. They are well rounded in the gospel and are teaching their girls good things, but we ended up finding out that they have not been attending church that often. After the lesson we snacked on some candy that they gave us and said goodbye. As we got into the members van that was taking us around Elder Thatcher said to me, "that lesson was inspired." And when he said that it blew me away. I realized that the lesson and scripture we shared and bore testimony of ( p.s. I have started to call it testiMONEY now ha. cause only good comes from a pure and honest testament of what we believe) was sent from our Heavenly Father and the Spirit told me where to stop in the scriptures and I read the lines. I have been really struggling to know and recognize if I have the Spirit with me always and in that instant, in that 30 minutes that we were in that home the Spirit guided and directed me, to know where I needed to go in my scriptures to help these people, and all it took was for Elder Thatcher to help me recognize that I do have the Spirit. I am realizing now that my Heavenly Father is answering my prayers and he is doing it in a way that I get more out of it, through missionary experiences such as I had with Elder Thatcher at the Nuttall Families home. I can truly see how my Father in Heaven has his hand in all things.

By the way Brittney got baptized!!! It was so amazing and the Spirit testified to me that what she was doing was right and what her Heavenly Father wants her to do! After she was baptized, and I'm sure I will never forget this, she walked up the stairs and I was a witness and she looked over her shoulder at me ..... and she smiled. I have NEVER seen someone look so radiant and pure in my life. I love my Heavenly Father and I don't know why he consistently has mercy on me because I do so many things wrong but I knew at that moment in time he was smiling down on her and I. Just like it says in Doctrine and Covenants 50: 22

" Wherefore, he that preacheth and he that receiveth, understand one another, and both are edified and rejoice together.
I guess I thought I was the one preaching and she was the one receiving, but I see that Heavenly Father preached and I was one that received, soo much.

I love yall! ha

Elder Brown

Paisley Loves this Song

2011-02-10T18:22:00.000-08:00

Don't mind her ratty blankie. Just enjoy her beautiful voice and funny faces!
We love this girl!:)

Time Out

2011-02-07T12:14:00.000-08:00

I had the chance to attend the Ogden Time Out for Women this weekend with my Mother-In-Law. It was great! The whole experience was much needed. And I cannot wait to go again, I went to another a few years ago with my Mom in Bellevue, Wa. and I don't plan on waiting so long in between this one and my next. I totally recommend TOFW to anyone who is reading this, they are inspiring and uplifting and you leave feeling 100 times better than when you arrived. They introduced me to a lot of new online tools or references for LDS women:

You can check out the schedule for TOFW 2011 at www.TOFW.com along with daily blogs and clips from the various TOFW speakers from around the country.

Mormonchannel.org where they do interviews. (Stephanie Nielson, Nie Nie Dialogue (blog) is a new TOFW speaker! And has been interviewed here.)

Mothersmite.com

And You can also follow them on Facebook. :)

This is a quote I found on their website.
Its is from Deanne Flynn who we were able to listen to this weekend and she was great.

"Mothers provide a constant, steady foundation for the family. And though many of us may feel weak and imperfect, hardly "rock-like" at all, we simply must resist the urge to feel powerless and undervalued.
We must hold on to the bar...

no matter how rough the ride...
or how long the journey.
Our families depend upon it."

The speakers were just able to make me feel good about being a Mother, a Wife, Sister and Daughter. They strengthened my testimony in the Gospel and helped me to feel content and happy with my life...not wanting more or something I don't have. They help you see different perspectives and just make you feel happy. I loved it, can't say that enough. :) I hope you check out the website, even if you aren't able to go, there are stories up and lots of links to read and learn something from.

The Big 2-5

2011-01-22T14:02:00.000-08:00

My birthday was a couple days ago and I turned 25! I don't know if that's a hard birthday for some, but it was just like any other for me. Josh made me breakfast in bed, which was nice. (next time I'll let him know that its also nice to sleep in on your birthday, he brought me breakfast before Paisley was even awake!) But it was totally appreciated!
After we all got ready for the day we headed out to get some lunch, I wanted Texas Road House. Note to self, they don't open till 4 in the afternoon, and I was hungry for lunch! So instead we went to Apple Bee's. I hadn't been there in months. After the waitress bringing something I didn't order and me spilling my water on Josh's pants, I finally got my steak and shrimp. It was delicious and only 550 calories! :)
After lunch I laid Paisley down for her nap and told Josh peace out. I went to a couple stores and got a few things. It was so nice to shop by myself and not have to chase Paisley around or bribe her with candy.
I told Josh all I really wanted was some new polishes for my nails, pretty simple I thought, so I just stopped by Sally's and picked those up while I was out.
After that we just relaxed at home. Paisley and I watched our usual tv and enjoyed some nice American Idol. I didn't know what to think about the new judges, but I love them. They are so different and its nice to have a change. It always help to have some people audition who think they can sing but really can't!
I enjoyed my Birthday and can't wait to see what this year brings.

I guess I'm officially part of the quarter of a century club, thanks Big Brother!

How do you Brush Your Teeth?

2011-01-20T17:24:00.000-08:00

Paisley really likes to look at herself in the mirror. She likes to watch herself make faces and even cry. So it wouldn't be any different when it comes to cleaning those pearly whites of hers.

Up close and personal is the only way to go for this girl.

Jonah and the Whale

2011-01-20T17:18:00.000-08:00

Paisley loves to read the story of Jonah and the Whale.
For Christmas she got the Veggie Tales Jonah story from my Sister and she got these cute little dolls that she plays with in the bath from my Mom.
If I ask her why the fish ate Jonah, she'll tell me "because he didn't listen."

She is so funny...I could probably use this story about obedience to my benefit. :)

Elder Brown

2011-01-07T15:04:00.000-08:00

Jordan has been temporarily assigned to the Dallas, Texas Mission. He will be serving there until his Visa comes through. We are so excited for him to be out serving and preaching the Gospel. He flies out Monday morning!!!

Elder Jordan Brown
14883 Turnbridge Dr.
Frisco, Tx 75035

If you want to write Jordan send the mail to the address above.

Click on his name to the right to read his latest letter.

A New Book

2011-01-01T19:30:00.000-08:00

A few weeks before Christmas Paisley and I were checking out the Deseret Book Store. Paisley loves to go and read through a ton of books (its right behind the Children's museum, so we stop in every once in a while). While we were there I started reading a few and found a really cute one that I ended up getting her for Christmas. It reminded me of our Mother-Daughter relationship so I picked it up.
Its pretty cute and very sweet.

Its called "You are My I Love You"
By Maryann Cusimano Love & Satomi Ichikawa

I am your Parent
You are my child.
I am your quite place;
you are my wild.

I am your calm face;
you are my giggle.
I am your wait;
you are my wiggle.

I am your carriage ride;
you are my Queen.
I am your push;
you are my swing.

I am your audience;
you are my clown.
I am your London Bridge;
you are my falling down.

I am your carrot sticks;
you are my licorice.
I am your dandelion;
you are my first wish.

I am your water wings;
you are my deep.
I am your open arms;
you are my running leap.

I am your way home;
you are my new path.
I am your dry towel;
you are my wet bath.

I am your dinner;
you are my chocolate cake.
I am your bedtime;
you are my wide awake.

I am your finish line;
you are my race.
I am your praying hands;
you are my saying grace.

I am your favorite book;
you are my new lines.
I am your night-light;
you are my starshine.

I am your lullaby; you are my peekaboo.
I am your goodnight kiss;
you are my

I Love You.

From Jordan

2010-12-31T22:09:00.000-08:00

Another great letter from our very own Elder Brown:

ola,

Preparation day is such a bitter, sweet time for me now! Because before I write my letter to you all I pray to know what to say and I feel closer to you all when I do. Also I re-read all your letters again and think about all of you a little more today than the other days of the week. I think the Lord knows that it would be definitely hard if I could write you everyday. It would be really hard to focus on what the Lord needs me to do that day. The Big Guy's got it all figured out! (ha ha). So Christmas in the MTC! Wow, it was awesome. We had 3 devotionals and the students who prepare our food really cooked with heavenly pots and pans that day because the food was exceptionally good on Christmas, or maybe the Lord blessed my taste buds, I hear that he does that sometimes ha. The devotionals were fantastic. I really messed up though, the first meeting of the day was the MTC Talent Show and we are never allowed to bring our cameras to devotionals but I guess I didn't get the memo because it seemed like everyone knew for this event they could bring them. So I missed such a great chance to record some of the great talent there is here at the MTC. So many great singers, so many great pianists, and people who play other instruments. They were blessed with these talents and they worked hard to develop them. They were all incredible. You know how sometimes like in middle school talent shows they put in someone who can't do whatever they are doing really well, but just need a friend so they put them in the talent show so hopefully people like them after ha. This was not like that at all, they all were really, really good. One of the missionaries I met here, Elder Bush, played the piano in the talent show and he blew us away. He and his companion could both play and they did some funny and exciting things while playing. Then after that devotional we had another after lunch. It was more serious and the Spirit was there for sure. When there was about 5 minutes before it was to start everyone stood up and I didn't understand what was happening but I did soon after. Elder Russell M. Nelson came to speak to me, I say me because I felt like throughout his talk, me and him were having a one on one conversation. I have been so lucky to have had 2 apostles come and speak at the MTC. He spoke about the Savior and his birth. He knows so much about the gospel! Something interesting I learned was the meaning of Bethlehem is, "City of Bread," then Elder Nelson said, " .. the bread of life was born in the city of bread.." It amazes me how powerful and vast the Apostles testimonies and knowledge of the gospel is and also how close they are to the Savior. Sometime I feel like I'm getting closer and doing better at coming closer to Jesus and then an Apostle comes and I realize how far I need to go. "He didn't say it would be easy, he just says it will be worth it." We can all get as close to our Savior as an Apostle if we really focus on what we want, and if what we want is to follow Jesus Christ and build a better relationship with him. We can't help but be obedient if we want that and through obedience, patience, and diligence we can come closer to our Elder Brother. Later Christmas evening we watched two actors act out the Christmas Carol. I really enjoyed that. Christmas in the MTC was great, I was lucky to be here when I was!

The rest of the week was fun as well, lots of learning and speaking the language and it is coming along. I can say almost everything I want to, but I really need to work on knowing more verbs and speaking fluently, now that's the tricky part! But it will come! Other then that he is doing great!
Before I end and you think I'm an ungrateful missionary I want to say THANK YOU SO MUCH for all of the presents and cards! They mean so much to me and I love them all, especially the gift from josh and ash, the tie with the little girls on it. I wore it and everyone was saying things about it and I would just smile. Thank-you again and I love you all. I am grateful to have an amazing family and friends behind me supporting me on my mission. There is an Elder in my district who doesn't get much mail or packages from anyone and I really could not imagine what that is like because you all give so much to me! I am definitely spoiled out here, thank you all again and I hope you had a great Christmas! I will see you in one more!

Elder Brown

Paisley Sayings

2010-12-30T09:46:00.001-08:00

Paisley just told Josh:

"don't touch my stuff Daddy."

"Whatever Daddy!" (with a hand up)

Heaven help us when she becomes a teenager! Yikes!

More Christmas Pics...

2010-12-27T14:09:00.000-08:00

Paisley with her very first nylon stocking. (Josh's family's tradition:)

We really did have such a fun Christmas. Paisley is soooo spoiled, she got tired of opening presents after a while. Plus she wanted to open and play with everything after she opened it. It took a while, but we eventually got through all of them and her room in now packed full of fun toys/games!
We also had fun baking cookies for Santa and we even left a nice little carrot for Rudolph!
Christmas night, we were wiped out from all the festivities, Paisley fell asleep on the way home before 6 and I was in bed by 7:30....we didn't get up till 9 am the next morning! Best night sleep in a long time!
Hope you all had a fun, Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas

2010-12-27T11:42:00.000-08:00

This pretty much sums up how fun our Christmas was!

Paisley when she first saw all the presents...she was excited to say the least!

We had a great time with family, visiting, eating way too much food and opening presents!

Letter from Jordan

2010-12-26T08:53:00.001-08:00

We got a great letter from Jordan this Christmas Eve.
Check it out by clicking on his name to the right!

I Love to See the Temple...

2010-12-23T17:08:00.000-08:00

We were here last night to walk Temple Square and check out all the pretty lights and life size nativity. I was so excited since this was my first time, in person.
It was beautiful! In the front of the temple they had sheep and shepherds on both sides and then in the front in the reflection pond they had Mary, Joseph and Jesus with floating lights! I loved it!

When I got Paisley out of bed from her nap this afternoon. She looked at me and told me "I want to get married in the temple." I was in shock. She is so sweet and innocent and I hope she stays that way even if its just a bit and will some day be married to her sweetheart for time and all eternity! Love that girl!

Santa, Take 2

2010-12-18T18:42:00.000-08:00

We had our ward party last night and it was really nice, with great food and a fun singing program. After all the entertainment, they had Santa of course.
I was following Paisley and she walked on the stage at the exact moment they opened the curtain for the Special Visitor.
I didn't know what she would do, I thought she would be scared and not want to see him. She turned around and realized why everyone was clapping and cheering, not for her obviously. :)
She walked straight over to him and put her arms up. He picked her up and she sat on his lap, no problem!

She wanted to share her candy with him...

And then he gave her the treat bag.

I was kind of glad she happened to walk on stage when she did because then we didn't have to wait forever in the long line.

When we headed to the car I asked her what she wanted from Santa this year and all she said was candy! Guess we can return all the things we've gotten her so far for bags and bags of goodies!? :)

Week 5 Update from Jordan

2010-12-18T08:10:00.000-08:00

(Weekly updates on His Mission blog as well, if you click on his name under his pic.)

Ola Family,

Family, it's been 5 weeks now! The sisters in our district wanted to have a 5 week anniversary party this week. It surprises me to think I have been out on my mission for 5 weeks already. Every P-day I start looking forward to what I need to do on the upcoming Sunday and on that Sunday I start to think about the devotional on Tuesday night and after that I begin to think about the Training Resource Center where we practice with investigators. Then P-day comes around again! The Portuguese is coming along, they say a lot of missionaries once they have hit a certain point plateau and don't progress very much for the rest of their stay in the MTC. I need to work harder because they say the ones that don't fade off sky rocket and learn so much more and can speak a lot better. It's time to really put in extra effort! One of our teachers yesterday asked us , "Why are you on a mission?" The point he was making was we need to work hard everyday at everything we do. He read to us in Abraham 3:22-23. He told us we are the "Noble and Great Ones." We have a great responsibility because we have the gospel. Heavenly Father sent us to our families with the gospel because we were valiant in defending and supporting the plan He presented in Heaven. When our older brother stood up and said, "Send me," we fought for him and defended him and knew he would accomplish the Atonement for each one of us! I have been richly blessed to live in the family I do and be able to have had all the experiences that I have had. With this great blessing there comes an even greater responsibility. I have to come through, the way I see it I don't have any other choice.

Elder Jones, my companion, this week has had some health problems and the doctor at the MTC has referred him to a doctor outside of the MTC. So I guess it is pretty serious. I hope he gets better or they can make him better. So as you know an Elder can't go alone so I get to go with him to the doctors office and my goal may be a little big but I think I can do it, it is to place a copy of the Book of Mormon! I'm already nervous which is pretty sad because it's in English, try it in Portuguese! But I won't let fear stop me. I really want to do this and I will do my best to accomplish my goal. Besides Elder Jones having some health problems I found out he has let some of the other elders shave him ha-ha. It was pretty funny but also really really nojento (gross)! I'll make sure to send some pictures of the craziness to you all, I wouldn't want anyone to miss out on this one.

Know that I am working hard in here and will work harder. I have talked to Elders from Brazil and they tell me some great things about the people, the food, the gospel, and missionary work there. They tell me Salvador is really hot but the people are just laid-back kind-hearted people. Who speak slow, yay! ha. One of the Elders I talked to his last name is Salvador so it a good sign. From what I've seen from the people I have met and what I have learned about Brazil, Brazilians are amazing people!

p.s. I had my haircut and the girl who cut my hair has relatives who live in Oak Harbor and have the last name Barney. That is funny huh?! And to make it better her old college roommate married Nate Lemme! Small world!

I got the memory cards mom. Thank you for them I will make sure to take more pictures. I got your package today also thank you for the Christmas presents and all the candy. I really love you and appreciate you for all you do for me out here! Tell Tammy and Gary thank you for sending me a package too, that was really, really kind of them! And the last day to send packages before Christmas is the 22nd.

Remember who this holiday is named after. I love my Savior (Salvador) Jesus Cristo muito. I know that (eu sei que) ele vive ( he lives). I love this gospel with all my heart and if I was anywhere but here I would be missing out on an amazing experience. em nome de Jesus Cristo, meu Salvador e Redentor amem.

Elder Brown

A Pillow

2010-12-15T15:26:00.000-08:00

I have never given Paisley a pillow in her crib for fear of her suffocating. I didn't know if she needed one or when toddlers should usually start using one?
But since we will transfer her to a "big girl" bed sometime this week, I thought she could use a pillow.
I bought one and gave it to her to sleep with 2 days ago I think, and her naps ever since have been well over 2 1/2 hours!
Had I known that, she would have had a pillow months ago!:)
She would usually sleep for about 2 hours or so, but they have been even better with that little $2.50 cloud of sweet quiet time!
Love it! :)

My Little...

2010-12-14T17:59:00.000-08:00

Lunch Lady!!!

My Grandma sent Paisley this wig for dress up! I think its hilarious and she totally looks like a lunch lady!
(Reminds me of Adam Sandler's lunch lady song! )

Christmas Lights

2010-12-11T21:25:00.000-08:00

I took Paisley downtown last night(not Salt Lake, but hopefully we'll do that this week!) to check out the Christmas lights and decorated booths.
It was pretty cold, but we had fun. Paisley Loved running around!

I Love Nutcrackers, so this was my fav! (sorry for the glare, I'm no pro.)

I tried to get her to stand in line for Santa, but couldn't manage it....maybe next time!

p.s. Notice the "blankie" in some of the pics! That thing goes everywhere with us. And despite me trying to talk her into leaving it in the car, that she could have it when we were done, she wanted to bring it. I'd say about 5 minutes into walking around...she looks at me and says "Mommy hold it" Man she is bossy! So I walked around looking like I was the one who needed a "blankie". :) Luckily it did help keep my hands warm since I didn't wear gloves.
She is something else! And I guess we love her for that. :)

Santa...

2010-12-10T13:36:00.001-08:00

Paisley wasn't too sure about Santa again this year. But like last year there was no crying, she just didn't want to sit for long

Maybe she was embarassed that her skirt came up?...who knows.

She did love the candy though.

I think we'll try another Santa or two. She loves fake Santa's (pictures, figurines, etc.) and Santa's on TV....one day she'll like him, maybe when she understands more of what he does!

Reading...again

2010-12-01T14:33:00.000-08:00

I found Paisley on our bed the other day with a stack of books "reading".

And then she pretended to sleep...I love that she loves to read, I hope she is super smart!

Christmas Tree

2010-12-01T14:07:00.000-08:00

Paisley has been asking for a tree for a while now, so yesterday we finally got one. I wanted to go to a tree farm and cut one, since that's what I did growing up. But I wasn't a fan of the prices (maybe next year). So we decided to go and pick one out from Wal Mart!(it was either there or a parking lot, we needed some other Christmas things so Wal Mart won) :) They were all wrapped up so Josh just grabbed one. They were all the same size, I wasn't wanting a super big tree since we're only in an apartment but it fits and Paisley is happy to see it every time she wakes up or whenever we come home.

I should probably put more ribbon on it, but don't feel like going to the store right now.

Paisley putting her ornaments on!

Don't hate on my car...she's been with us since we've been married and has gone through a lot with us. Here is our first time strapping a tree to her. Don't mind the dirt, the snow can really get things dirty, she can clean up nice! ;)

Paisley had fun playing in the mini trees...

And here she is telling me her favorite thing...No! Isn't she sweet!?

(Amanda isn't a fan of pics of B. online, but she was too cute with this wig on not too share! She is a such a happy, easy baby and is fun to play with.)

Black Friday

2010-11-26T19:11:00.001-08:00

This past weekend and all this week Josh has been checking out all the Black Friday ads, online and the ones that came in the mail. And yesterday he asked me to sit down with Him and make a list of what we wanted from certain stores. He was super excited about going, not sure why, but he was!
So we made our list, ate some Thanksgiving dinner and that night headed out to the first stop, good ol' Wal Mart. We drug poor Paisley along but luckily Nancy came and sat in the car with her while Josh and I ran in (since she was sleeping...Paisley, not Nancy :) He headed for the PS3 games and I wanted a mini chopper and hand mixer. (I didn't have one...but, I do now!) Most of the time spent in the store was waiting, you couldn't start grabbing things till mid-night.
About 5 till you could seriously hear the roar of people on the other aisles and then all of a sudden I was being pushed involuntarily toward the mini chopper I was hoping to get for a whopping $2.97. The kind lady next to me made it there first then handed me one. With a quick thanks I made my way down to the hand mixer. Grabbed one of those and headed to the register, I got a call from Josh, he was already in line with all the games he wanted!
I later found out that Josh had literally gotten down on his hands and knees and was reaching between peoples legs to get the games he wanted!(seriously!? my Husband!? I was so proud!) ;) He was excited and enjoyed the thrill. From the time we grabbed the stuff, checked out and then headed to the car it was only 12:05! Good, right!? :)
So, we went home and all slept. Josh and Nancy got up about 3:40 am! And then headed to Target...I continued to sleep!
Best Buy followed...
I woke up around 8-ish thanks to Paisley. Josh was still not home.
I text him and he said he was just now checking out at Best Buy!
He got home around 9 or so with all but 1 thing we had on our list! He was so excited and he had a great time! It was his first Black Friday experience and He was happy he got all the things he wanted and we knocked out a few Christmas gifts while he was out shopping till he dropped!
I liked all the deals, but I'm not to into the fighting crowds.
As I was standing in Wal Mart waiting for mid-night I kept thinking, look at all these crazy people! Then I realized I was there myself! :) Guess I was just as crazy for one night, one store! I'm glad Josh had fun, we'll see if he goes again next year!?
Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Next Sunday

2010-11-23T14:35:00.000-08:00

So I thought scripture stories and how they apply to us today would be an easy talk topic, It was harder to narrow it down to only a few than I thought. I have finally decided and can now start piecing together what I want to say. There are so many stories and we can learn and apply each one to our lives individually. I just hope I can make sense and don't speed talk! ;)

On the other hand, I'm kinda wishing I get sick...or this storm sticks around and I can just get out of the situation all together!

We'll see!?

Help...

2010-11-14T22:17:00.000-08:00

So I got a call from my Bishop earlier today, but missed the call...and sadly I did not call back. But he is persistent and called me again earlier this evening.
And dropped the bomb I did not want to hear..."I would like you to speak in sacrament." Neither telling me or asking me, tricky.
So I said yes.
I know it'll be good for me.
And this is where you all come in.
He asked me to speak on what we can learn from the scriptures that we can use today? Of course there is plenty material to talk about, but I was hoping you could share a favorite scripture story, something that has helped you or something you have learned from a particular story or two?!
My mind is going crazy with stories and I can't sleep, I guess I'll write my ideas down and hopefully add some of yours!
I would appreciate some input.

Can I

2010-11-14T14:33:00.000-08:00

Just rewind time please!?!?

For more than one reason! :)

Our Elder

2010-11-10T12:01:00.001-08:00

Jordan is now officially a missionary and is at the MTC as I type! I have started a mission blog for him for anyone who wants to keep track of what he is up to and how he is doing in Brazil. (There is a link on the right of my blog) He was originally supposed to fly out yesterday to study at the MTC in Brazil but because of Visa complications he is at the Provo MTC.
He will be there until they figure out the Visa situation. I had his address and e-mail last night but left it at Nancy's house. I will probably have that again by tomorrow and will keep his information up to date on His blog for those who want to write and encourage our Elder!
Thoughts and prayers are always welcome as well! :)

We are so excited and proud of Jordan and we know he is going to do great work with the People of Brazil!

My Little Librarian

2010-11-05T10:08:00.000-07:00

Paisley LOVES to read. Yesterday I turned off the cartoons and was doing some cleaning. I noticed She was being pretty quiet (most times not a good sign!) but when I went to check on her she was in her room doing this...

She usually runs when she sees me with the camera...(a learned behavior from her Dad!) ;) But she was so into her books she didn't even care. She brought all her books out from her shelf and made a massive pile on the floor, she then made a little stack on her chair and read those, then got a new stack and worked her way through all of them! She did this for like an hour or so. I am so happy she likes to read, I hope she continues to enjoy it throughout her life and is super smart! :)

Halloween

2010-11-03T03:50:00.001-07:00

Paisley loved trick or treating. She walked to the first few houses and then was carried the rest of the way, but she had fun being with the other kids, getting candy and eating it along the way. She was a cow on Friday for a trunk or treat and was a strawberry on Saturday when we did the actual trick or treating (we're in Utah you know) :) Hope you all had a fun Halloween!!

Weekend

2010-10-30T16:11:00.001-07:00

Hope you all have a fun and safe Halloween weekend!

Playing Dress Up

2010-10-20T16:18:00.001-07:00

Paisley decided to break out some of her dress up gear today! She makes us laugh!

Paisley's Pumpkin

2010-10-18T19:23:00.000-07:00

Today we went over to Grandma and Grandpa Brown's house to pick out her very own, home grown pumpkin from her Grandpa's garden! She loves checking out everything growing and picking all the veggies he has. We have talked about the pumpkins for a while now so she was excited to have Papa help her find the right one! She had fun picking, washing, drying and looking at all the fun bugs on the bottom.

2 Year Rewind

2010-10-12T21:17:00.000-07:00

Paisley is 2! I can't believe that the time has flown by so quickly and can hardly believe the changes that have taken place in such a fairly short amount of time. I can still remember the day the doctor laid her on my chest for the first time. So little, chubby and innocent. The happiness and love I felt that day I thought could never be greater. But of course over these last 2 years with my ever growing Paisley it has grown in amounts un-describable! She has the ability to make me laugh and want to cry in the same minute. And although I am still working on my patience, she loves me unconditionally. I hope I can continue to grow and learn along with her and can't wait to see where this year will take us!
Here are a few (ok, a lot)of my favorite memories with my number 1 girl!

Of course there are like a billion more. But, I Love this girl, and I love her chubbiness! I wish I could go back in time and just squeeze her!

Grandma & Grandpa

2010-10-08T16:48:00.000-07:00

We did lots of fun things while my parents were here, but didn't take too many pics. They came for conference weekend and so we decided to celebrate Paisley's Birthday early.

We also got to celebrate my Dad's Birthday, which was last thursday. We went to Tucano's Brazilian Grill and then took a stroll down to Temple Square.

Friday and Saturday was filled with party preparations and then the party which was so fun! But I do think i'm all m&m'd out!
(For a while at least! ;))

Sunday morning we got up bright and early and headed down to Salt Lake again for conference! Can you say traffic!? And they aren't kidding when they say your seats will be given away if you aren't there in time! Luckily my Mom pulled the "we came from Washington" card and they were somehow able to scrounge up some seats! And it was great!! It was all of our first time to be there in person and its even greater than TV! Don't know when we'll do it again, but I'll never forget it.

We also dabbled in some shopping, organizing and lots of eating!! Another fun time with the Parentals! Love you guys! xoxo

Ahhh...

2010-10-07T12:10:00.000-07:00

Saw this picture on a friend's blog and had to steal it!

Wish I was here again, even if it was only for a day!
(Thanks Sheila!)

m&m Birthday Party

2010-10-05T08:19:00.001-07:00

Paisley had fun at her m&m birthday party! Thanks to everyone for coming, and for the help with food and for all her fun presents! We hope you all had as much of a good time as we did! :)

Check out this

2010-09-16T15:17:00.000-07:00

Watermelon! It's the biggest I've seen, I think it was like 30 lbs. or something!!

Paisley loves checking out the garden with her Grandpa B. She especially likes picking all his tomatoes (green or red!).

More hair pics...

2010-09-10T16:18:00.000-07:00

I love it and hate it at the same time! It makes me laugh!!! :)

Paisley's Hair

2010-09-09T13:51:00.000-07:00

Obviously Paisley has curly hair. Which can sometimes be a task to tame. It usually gets brushed and styled once a day...sorry if you miss it.

The other day I finally bribed her enough to sit still so I could straighten it! It looked hilarious and its a good thing its curly because she would have a caveman like mohawk... (Josh's opinion;)

Here are her nice curly locks...

Crazy after nap hair...

Her new caveman look...

Blah...

2010-09-08T16:10:00.000-07:00

My computer or Blogger is not liking me right now. I've been trying to open blog and upload pics but for some reason or another I can't! Maybe tomorrow...

Washington Trip (In a Nut Shell)

2010-08-05T10:35:00.000-07:00

Paisley and I wanted to visit Grandma and Grandpa in Washington, so a couple weeks ago we made the long drive (14 1/2 hrs!...both ways) To the good Ol' Pacific Northwest!! Totally worth the drive by the way!

We had fun picking berries at Dugualla Bay.

Running From the sprinkler.

Playing in a tub of water. (They had just given their pool away the week before).

Watching the butterflies.

Playing at the beach.

Checking out Deception Pass.

Monkey See, Monkey Do!

Played around with Plastic Panties. (We are going to try and attempt potty training. Wish us Luck!)

Visiting with friends!! This Park was pretty cool. It had play equipment, water toys, and plenty of grassy area for running around! Thanks Elizabeth!!

I think you can tell by Gwenevere's face how much fun we had! Can't wait to do it again!
(Well at least once the memories of the drive are a little more fuzzy!)

The Beach

2010-07-25T19:06:00.000-07:00

We took Paisley to the beach yesterday to swim in the pool and check out the water. She was not a fan!

As you can tell the water was really deep and the swell was huge! (Catch the sarcasm!?) I was a nice Mom and only took one shot of the sheer horror on her face before I scooped her out! She cracks us up!

(p.s. The water was actually a decent temp. Who knows with this girl...she was only Born in Hawaii!)

How Could I Forget...

2010-07-14T11:53:00.001-07:00

The 4th Of July!?

On the 3rd we went to the North Ogden Parade. It was a nice parade and Paisley scored a ton of candy, water bottles, bracelets and necklaces! After that we headed over to Plain City to check out their festivities. Paisley enjoyed the bouncy slide and the fishing game. The good thing about Utah is, that we had some more fun 4th activities and another parade on Monday too! It was a smaller parade, but we still had fun. It was nice too because Josh was able to come with!
We all had a ton of fun! The 4th is one of my favorite holidays! I love this country and am happy to live here and proud to have family members who have served and continue to serve in the Military! Love you guys!

Back Blogging

2010-07-13T11:11:00.000-07:00

Josh and I had our 4 year anniversary on June 10th. Thanks to a friend of ours we were able to stay the night in Salt Lake in a really nice suite! (Thanks again Derek!) (I took some pics with my phone and haven't put them on the computer yet.) We went out to the Red Iguana for dinner! Best Mexican food I have ever had! If your ever in Salt Lake you should totally try it. After dinner we went and saw Killers with Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl! Super cute! It was my first night away from Paisley in 20 months! Crazy but much needed. We are lucky to have Grandma and Grandpa here to help watch her!

We also moved out to our own place! It took a while but we are happy to have our own space and not be too far from family. (Pics to come once it's not so bare) Josh is working quite a bit and stays busy with that. Every now and then He gets to do his favorite thing and play some ball. (Extremely rare these days but he's good at providing for us) On the other hand ;) Paisley and I hang out at the pool a few days a week and just play around. I'm determined to make her a little fish like I was at her age. She is getting more brave, she like to splash now and will even jump in if you catch her. (I'd like to add that my job never ends and is 24/7! ;)

Paisley and I also went to Temple Square for the first time since we've been here this past weekend. Of course we've been to Salt Lake we just never stopped to walk around. We met up with some friends from Washington who were nice enough to lug some of our things down for us from my parent's! Thanks again to them! ;) Paisley loved the massive statue of Jesus in the visitors center and had fun smelling all the flowers and saying Hi to everyone who walked by! It was nice to go down and get to see all the things I've drove by and some things I've only seen on TV. It was also nice to walk around and feel the spirit of the missionaries, the buildings and the other visitors, it really is a special place.

(I would have the pics down here, but I can't figure out how to right click with this blasted mouse!)

On another note...my Not so Little Girl is 21 months old today! She is something else as I've said before. She runs everywhere, never seems to sit still and is constantly repeating what we say. She puts little sentences together but sometimes its just a few words. On Sunday I came out from my closet and she looked at me and said "Dress, pretty." She's my little Sweetheart. She likes to let you know what she wants and will really let you know if your doing something she doesn't like! Either way she keeps us busy and we love her for it!

Until next time...

No Internet

2010-07-07T17:00:00.000-07:00

We have moved into our own place now, and are waitintg for internet. Hopefully we'll have somehting by this week... Until then we are using it when we visit Grandma and Grandpa's house!

The Call

2010-06-24T06:13:00.000-07:00

This handsome 19-year old has been called to serve in the...Brazil, Salvador Mission!!!

He has such a strong testimony and we all couldn't be more proud of Him! He is going to be exactly what the people of Salvador need! We love You Elder Brown!

4 Years

2010-06-10T07:18:00.000-07:00

I Don't think I can describe these past 4 Years with just one word or even a few, but it has definitely been worth it! I Love You Josh!

Paisley's Happenings

2010-06-09T19:13:00.000-07:00

This girl is something else. She keeps us on our toes and I suppose we wouldn't have it any other way!

She enjoys a nice PB&J every now and then.

Likes putting her blocks in her tankini top.

Has more fun eating my lip gloss than applying it.

Loves the animals at the Zoo. And measures up to about the size of a "Juvenile" Gorilla.

And likes trying to feed herself...if only she could get more food in her mouth than on her clothes!

Progress

2010-06-01T20:17:00.001-07:00

So after hunting and hunting for somewhere to live...we finally have a place!
We move in on the 16th!
We've got most of what you need to furnish an apartment, but it will be fun finding other things to fill it!

And on another note...Our Anniversary is next week!
Four glorious years! Can't believe it!?!

Same Ol'

2010-05-25T06:52:00.000-07:00

So a few weeks our laptop decided to crash AGAIN, for a second time, after we took it to a guy who we thought had fixed it with a new hard drive!?! Obviously didn't do the trick. I think I learned my lesson that I need some kind of external hard drive or zip drive...something to store atleast my pics on, since they have been erased twice now! But as of yesterday we are Mac Owners, thanks to Best Buy and a deal. Hopefully we won't have to worry about crashes and losing things for a long time!

Other than that we haven't really been doing anything exciting to blog about around here. Josh has been working a couple jobs and I've been taking care of our crazy Energizer Bunny and apartment hunting. Hoping to decide on the place where we will live soon.

I guess I better finish for now since my little Bundle Of Joy has a marker cap off....her nose is running... and she has some change! :)
And now has green lipstick....I wasn't fast enough, I guess there's always the bath tub!

So True

2010-05-11T13:12:00.000-07:00

I found this from a friend's blog and thought is was interesting and so, so true...atleast for me anyway. I'm glad I ran into because it makes me feel a bit better about myself and the many aspects of my life I feel inadequate about and what I lack. (It may look long but it's worth reading.)

What You Don't See
By Tiffany Gee Lewis

What you don't see, when we all march into church on Sunday morning, is the chaos of the morning that happened just 10 minutes earlier.

What you don't see, when you look at my four little boys in their suits, is that the 7-year-old is wearing Dad's socks because we couldn't find his. And they go all the way up to his knees.

What you don't see, when I pull out the lovely quiet book I made a few years back, is that below it, in my church bag, are five baggies of smashed raisins because I haven't cleaned out the bag for months.

When you enter my house, with its shining entryway, you don't see the three loads of laundry dumped on my bed. Or the dirty pots I stashed in the oven. And you will never see the interior of my minivan, not until I find the time to vacuum it out.

When you admire the hand-sewn pajamas I made for all the kids, we don't talk about the three nights I got no sleep to make those.

If you look on my blog, you will see pictures of homemade chicken noodle soup with homemade noodles. You won't see my confession to popping in a frozen pizza THREE times last week for dinner.

Or the night we ate Cheerios for dinner, dry, because we were out of milk. There is a zoom on my camera for a reason. There is a delete button for a reason.

I don't think we're all playing a part. We naturally want to put our best selves forward, so that is what other people see. They don't see what's going on behind the scenes. I like to think that good parenting is like a duck on the water. What you see is the gentle, almost effortless gliding, not the furious paddling that happens underneath.

I keep a mental list of about ten people I want to stalk by camera, from morning to night, to see how they do it all. Are they up at 4 a.m.? Can they survive on three hours of sleep? Do they have a housekeeper? Because I drop balls just as fast as I can grab them. My intentions are of pure gold, but they come out as tinkling brass, at best.

I started a blog last fall. I dragged my feet into it for many reasons. One of the main reasons I hesitated was I didn't want to be another contributor to the cyberspace guiltosphere out there. Especially where mothers are concerned, do we need one more reason to feel guilty?

Because from the looks of things, other families are happier, their houses are cleaner, their marriages are better, their clothes are more stylish and their craftiness is even more crafty. Their lives are perfectly lovely, while my kids are running around screaming in their diapers.

My worst fears were confirmed last week when I got an e-mail from a friend who asked, "How do you do it all? Your column, your blog, all the things you do with your children? You're amazing!"

I looked around at my house, at the six bins of winter clothes waiting to be transported to the garage, at the sewing projects stacked against the wall, at the state of the toothpaste crusted to the sink ... I let things go, a lot of things.

A spanking-clean house is not a high priority for me. I'm a big believer in mud and its importance in a child's life. The time I take to write is time away from scrubbing that bathroom sink. I would rather read with my kids than shop at the mall, so I am certainly not up-to-date on the latest styles. I've been listening to the same music for 20 years because I can't seem to keep up with the latest music scene. And I require a lot of sleep.

We all have priorities. For some, it is keeping a spotless house, and they are good at it. For others, it is writing, or exercising, or serving others. And yes, there are some who seem to do it all, the Benjamin Franklins of the world. I tell myself I don't have to be them. And also, Benjamin Franklin was not much of a family man. Even he let things go.

What we don't see, when we look at each other on Sunday, or on blogs, or in our shiny kitchens, is that we all have different talents and unique situations. I tell my kids all the time: Life is not a race. The only person you are competing against is yourself.

What we forget to see, when admiring others, is our own personal finish line.

My Little Brother

2010-05-09T19:13:00.000-07:00

Check this out, My Little Brother was on Fox News!

Underwater Robot
April 22: In the Arabian Gulf Sonar Technician 1st Class Bryson Menke and Mineman 3rd Class Michael Darcy, both assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 1 embarked aboard the mine countermeasures ship USS Dextrous, prepare to deploy an unmanned underwater vehicle. EODMU-1 and Dextrous are conducting drills in the Arabian Gulf.

(Michael's the one sitting on the side of the boat!)

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T18:23:00.000-07:00

I always love church on Mother's Day because they tend to make you feel better about your self! And today was nothing different.
I love being a Mom everyday and am Happy to have this Little Girl as my Daughter! She is so smart and cute and teaches me things daily! (I'm a slow learner!)

I got a book for Mother's Day and a section in it reads
In the Arms of my Mother
I came to Believe
That God sent an Angel
to Watch over Me.

I am lucky to be a Mom and strive everyday to try harder and to be better. Paisley deserves the best and although I am not perfect, I was meant for Her and Her for me! I am Thankful that My Heavenly Father has trusted me with her little Spirit and Pray that I can teach her the things she needs to know and prepare her for her life on this earth and the one here after in the same way that My Mother did for me!

I Hope all you Mom's had a Fabulous Day!

Logan for the Day

2010-05-09T18:09:00.000-07:00

On Friday Paisley and I ventured up to Logan to check out the sights. We stopped by the store Nancy was working at and got some deals and then we were off to find the Temple. Good thing we could see it from standing right outside the front doors of Fresh Market! (Cause I had no idea where it was.) It is a smaller, but pretty Temple and we were lucky enough to see a beautiful bride and groom. It was fun to watch all their family and them as they were taking their pictures. But at the same time, I went to take my own pics and sorry, but they were in my way. ;)

I was also able to find Sonic, so we pulled up and made our order...a nice grilled cheese, some tots and an Ocean Water! (I Love It!)
And...accidently meet up with an Old Friend, Candice!

I hope and pray that one day she will be posing like this (besides wanting down)dressed in white with the man of her dreams!

Diaper Wedgy

2010-04-29T11:09:00.001-07:00

Thats a healthy thigh/cheek if I ever saw one!

We Heart Our Crazy Kid

2010-04-21T20:41:00.000-07:00

Here she is modeling Uncle Mimi's (Jeremy) IPod.

Excited to see Daddy walk through the door, while showing off her new dress from Granny Annie! (Maison's Mom).

Me taking advantage of her cute face!

Enjoying some of the nice Spring weather, that aparantly (2 p's?) was short lived since its been rainging all night and day and night again!

"Adopt A Wild Child"

2010-04-19T11:31:00.000-07:00

I saw this sign at the Zoo...then Maison suggested we take a pic of Paisley in front of it! I thought it was pretty funny!

Of course we would never get rid of her or trade her for anything in the world, but it is pretty cute!

New Mexico...Again

2010-04-14T21:02:00.000-07:00

Paisley and I just got back yesterday from our vacation with Maison and her family!

Eli and Paisley August '09

Eli and Paisley April '10

We had fun at the Zoo, feeding the fish.

Took plenty of bathes.

Wrestled/hugged.

Cross dressed...you know Daddy loved this one!

Made wishes.

And wore lots of hats!

We had so much fun and can't wait to do it again!

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T20:14:00.001-07:00

p.s.

2010-04-02T09:16:00.000-07:00

Everyone else was barfy by atleast midnight! Boo!

Barfy

2010-04-01T18:05:00.000-07:00

Poor Paisley, when I got her our of bed yesterday morning there was barf all over her blakets, and pj's. I felt so bad because I didn't know how long she had spent the night like that. So we washed everything, bathed, got her some Pedialyte and rested!
You wouldn't even have known she was sick really! And she was pretty much cured today! Good news!
Bad news...I started feeling sick this morning and when the afternoon came it all went down hill from there! Barfy on the side of the road...then quite a few visits to the beautiful toilet after that!
Josh joined me not to long after I started!
Lots of toilet paper, Clorox wipes, and liquids later, I am feeling better, but don't really want to stand up since that increases the odds of more not so fun stuff! Hopefully it will be gone tomorrow like it was for Paisley...and I hope it doen't effect anyone else!

Lift and Separate

2010-03-30T22:19:00.001-07:00

In case you were wondering Paisley is developing quite quickly!
(Thanks to a kitchen towel)

Offensive...maybe!
Fun...definitely! We love this little girl!

Paisley's Week in Pictures

2010-03-22T12:00:00.000-07:00

More things she likes to do:

Play with her chalk and bubbles...Well, atleast I do.

Walk around with her head covered, while walking into things.

Put Daddy's hat on her head and jump on the bed.

Look outside the window and watch Papa work on the deck.

Look cute after church, with or without the do rag...We're teaching her culture...just kidding, I thought it was funny!

A Win-Win Situation

2010-03-15T21:01:00.000-07:00

Paisley was allowed to play in the nursery yesterday at church, even though she is only 17 months. Which meant she had fun at church and I got to enjoy classes again without baby wrangling!
Hence the win-win situtation!

Here she is after church.

Our Happenings...

2010-03-12T20:05:00.000-08:00

Today was an interesting day...I woke up to a fussy baby (who likes to get into everything you don't want her to touch!), and said Lord help me...its gonna be a rough day! Yikes! But it actually wasn't too bad. I love her so much, even though I let her frustrate me in half a second...I'm working on being more patient, some days are better than others, but I do try!?!
On another note, here are a few things we've been up to while in good Ol' Utah...

Paisley loves to visit the neighbors cows, goats and chickens.

She now knows how to make a fish face...if only she would kiss this way instead of a full on open mouth kiss.

She has come up with a new chessy smile, where she almost closes her eyes completely.

She loves wrestling with her Dad.

She has also had fun helping her Papa Brown work on the new deck and enjoys a small space every now and then.

I've been doing some of this. Thank you Nicholas Sparks.

And of course Josh is doing this as I write! Its his favorite thing if you didn't know.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Is...

2010-03-06T17:06:00.001-08:00

Feeling like, Blah! Even though I got my camera, I haven't taken anything worthy of posting...maybe next week!?!

Randomness

2010-02-24T13:20:00.000-08:00

So as I posted earlier, we finally made it to Utah. Its seems nice so far, but its quite a bit colder than Washington...we woke up to snow falling this morning, but its melting now...so its not that bad.
There are a few people we've been meaning to visit and a couple cool places for kids as well, but haven't got around to any of that yet. But hopefully soon!
I have been horrible at taking pics lately, especially since I returned Ciera's super sweet one, I can't bring myself to use my old school camera again. But thanks to Income Tax Returns and Costco, I will have a decent camera soon!
Until than here are a few random pics of the Person who has consumed our lives since before she was even born...who else right...?

I was able to clip her bangs and put the rest of her hair in 4 piggies.

She bundled up yesterday when we ventured out into the cold.

Happy Valentines!

I pray that she will Love this guy as she grows and continues to go to church.

She loves to read.

And talk on the phone! She's a girl, what can I say?!?

She got into the butter and started eating it! She cried when we took it away...?!?

I picked up these cute things at Payless for $2.50! Cute Huh?

A Paisley face...she's a crazy girl! But we love her!
(sorry if some are repeats.)

We Made It To Utah...

2010-02-16T18:05:00.000-08:00

Both in One Piece (Paisley and I) and we survived the car! I'm not sure what I think about the place, seeing as I've only been here a few hours...maybe I'll write more later.

Play Dough

2010-02-05T13:25:00.001-08:00

I wanted to make some Play Dough for Paisley, so I turned to the only place that seems to make my Ideas a Possiblity...Google. I wanted to make it edible since I figured everything else goes straight to her mouth! There were a ton of recipes but the easiest called for equal parts: Peanut Butter, Oatmeal, Honey, and Powdered Sugar. I made it yesterday with some assistance from my Little Friend Rylin. She had fun with it and liked the way it tasted so I figured Paisley would like it too. She loved poking it and ate quite a bit!

Just a Little Note

2010-02-05T13:16:00.001-08:00

To say, I'm glad its Friday!

Never Say Never...

2010-01-28T20:23:00.000-08:00

So we're going through some changes around here.
Josh is currently in Utah...job hunting/looking for a place for us to live. There have been some decisions made between Josh and I that have resulted in Us moving to Utah.
I have learned to Never Say Never. (Like: "I will never live in Utah...There are more, but I don't need to list them all, you know how that goes!)...Whatever! We have decided after much thought, discussing/arguing...whatever you want to call it that we will head down there and see what Utah has to offer.
I put my two weeks in at work today and will probably head down there with Paisley in a few weeks. I would Love to be able to stay home with her, she seems to learn and grow everyday and I don't want to miss anymore!
I am excited, yet nervous...but look forward to meeting new people and enjoying a new place.
Keep your fingers crossed folks!

Don't Ask Me

2010-01-23T17:30:00.000-08:00

Where she learned this little dance move?!?

Personal Hygiene

2010-01-20T19:33:00.000-08:00

We all know kids say whats on their minds, but I've been getting a few weird thoughts about how I smell!?!
So a while back when I started back at work with the kiddos, I was sitting on one of the buses in the back and a 3rd grader (girl) came and wanted to sit next to me, so I let her in. After a few minutes she told me I smelt good and that I smelled like soap....Ok... And then she asked me, "What kind of cologne do you wear?" :)

Today I was sitting next to a 5th grader (girl) eating breakfast and she said "You smell like popcorn." I replied with, "Thats weird." She then said, "You always do, what kind of perfume do you wear?"

This morning I used some B&B Sweet Pea Lotion...popcorn?!? What the H?
I love working with kids and I'm not sure why some think I smell funny?

p.s. I shower on a daily basis!!!