Birthday Celebration

Happy Birthday Justin! We love you, bunches.

San Angelo Trip

The kids and I traveled to San Angelo this past weekend for the annual last Friday of June/ pre 4th of July fish fry celebration. West was three weeks old and did fabulous in the car. Thanks to Jamie for the use of her surburban, Jimmy and Granddaddy for the fish and zucchini, Shirley for the food, decorations, and the clogging entertainment, and for everyone else that came and brought food. We had a great time!

Anniversary #7

Today is our seventh wedding anniversary.  Amen.
To commemorate the occasion the song of the week is Josh Grider's "Crazy Like You", one of the best marriage advice songs I've ever heard.



Well people sing songs all the time
About fallin' in love and losing their minds
But it ain't love that drive folks mad
It's livin' this life day in, day out
Tryin' to figure what it's all about
The who's, the when's, the where's, the why's, and the maybe's

I say everybody's crazy so what you need to do
You need to find somebody crazy like you
Someone you can fuss and fight with
And when you make up, then you can love all night with
Someone who shares your particular point of view
Oh they bound to be crazy, just make sure they're crazy like you

I looked high, I looked low, looked far, looked wide
Before I looked in a mirror and I realized
I spend my time lookin' for the wrong thing
Perfectly sane would be so mundane
A man like me, I'm subject to change
And I'm lookin' for someone who's track's'll fit my train

I found me a girl and she's five foot four
And I never found a girl that I love more
We are in tune and out of touch with all the same things
And she's as wild and mean as a deep blue sea
And pure and sweet as honey from a bee
And I love her to death, 'cause that girl's crazy just like me.

A lesson in the circle of life

Last winter Jonesy decided that she wanted a fish and started saving up her money to buy one. In January she finally had enough and purchased a female beta that she named Cutie.

Saturday night I noticed that Cutie didn't look so hot. She was still alive, but didn't look like she would be for long. Leslie and I wondered how Jones would handle it the next day. Should one of us make a midnight run to WalMart for Cutie 2.0? We decided to just go to bed.

When we got home after lunch yesterday, I took Jones aside and told her that I needed to talk to her about something. I told her that Cutie was sick. I had barely gotten that out and Jones was running to check on her. She saw that her fish was dead and the tears started. I picked her up and tried to console her the best I could. I told her that it was okay to cry, that I had cried when Willie died.

Her first words almost made me laugh, but I held it in. "Now I'll have to save up my money again to get a new one!"

When she had calmed down I told her that we could bury her in the garden like we did with Willie. "Or, " I suggested, "sometimes when pet fish die, people flush them in the toilet."

She looked up at me and started grinning. Then she said, "Or maybe we could use her for bait when we go fishing."

I didn't hold my laughter that time, but told her that it wouldn't be right to use her deceased pet for bait.

We buried her in the garden between the zuchinni and green beans.

Happy Father's Day

I am so thankful for a husband who does not define himself by his job, but rather by his family.

A man's worth is measured by how he parents his children. What he gives them, what he keeps away from them, the lessons he teaches and the lessons he allows them to learn on their own.

Justin, you are a wonderful example of a husband and father to our children. Thank you.

Happy Father's Day, Justin, we love you!

MHR

This is Justin painting toe nails. :)




MyHusband Rocks:
1. He loves God
2. He loves me
3. He loves our family
4. Is a terrific father
5. He likes music
6. Especially Willie Nelson
7. He likes his pick up truck
8. He likes to fish
9. He likes to be outdoors
10. And in his boat
11. He likes to snuggle with me on the couch with ice cream and the Office rather than going out for a date
12. He's tall and handsome
13. He has let me sleep in the past couple of weeks. Thank you!
14. He likes to cook and has done the majority of it recently, Thank you!
15. He took all the laundry to the laundry mat and did a weeks worth in one hour. Thank you!
16. He likes to read
17. He is smart
18. He is selfless in that he works crazy hours so I can stay home.
19. I like how we live in spontaneity
20. He's a good friend
21. I love you, Justin!

curly hair and blue eyes

Leslie probably doesn't realize it, but she quoted a Hank Williams song in her latest post, Two weeks today . I happen to like that song so I've decided to make it the song of the week.

Two weeks today

On Saturday my Aunt Ethel and Uncle Doug came to Temple and brought the stork my uncle made for West. My mom and Steve left Sunday. And now it's Wednesday and I can't believe West is already two weeks old. His umbilical cord came off last night and the girls are excited he can take a bath now. He is such a great baby. He cries when he has a sponge bath and when we change his diaper. He has yet to "spray" me, but has gotten Justin a couple of times. The girls are still elated and always want to hold him. Annie tells people "He brand new". Jones is overly protected and Georgia shows him off to everyone. At his two appointment he weighed 8lbs 2oz and is still 20 inches. His eyes are still blue and his hair is curly. He is so beautiful. God is so good!

Week old pics

Jones




Georgia

Annie





West

The Love of God

A couple of years ago I sold a car.  The man I sold it to, a total stranger, was in the house while we filled out a bill of sale and the title.  Jones was 3, Georgia was almost 2, and Leslie was very pregnant with Annie.  When I apologized for the mess and chaos he said,”No, I like your home.  It feels like there is a lot of love here.  Like a family lives here.” 

That made me proud.  

I don’t like working crazy hours, but in the wee hours of the morning it feels good crawling into bed next to a woman who loves me.

Georgia gives the best hugs I’ve ever had. 

I love it when Jones takes me aside when she knows I’ve just gotten a call to go to work  and says, “Daddy, I don’t want you to go.  I want you to stay here with us.”

I love it when Annie crawls into be next to me and snuggles up cheek to cheek for a few minutes before we get up to start our day.

I’m already addicted to that electric tingly feeling I get when I hold my son in my arms.

1Jn 4:7 “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. 1011 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ”

This week’s song is a recent recording of an old hymn that I first heard a couple of years ago.  I hope you like it.  I hope you know that God loves you.  It’s who He is and what He does.

 

West Huckaby Brown

Sorry for the delay, but I've been having technical difficulties.

For those of you who haven't heard yet....Our son, West Huckaby, was born Wednesday evening. We brought him home yesterday. He and Leslie are both doing well. 
Those of you who want to see more pictures can befriend my wife and check out her facebooker thing.

birthday and yesterday's highlight

We are going to the hospital this morning.
Should have a boy on the ground this afternoon.
Pictures and updates should be posted soon.

Yesterday morning Jones and I went to Austin to pick up Granola from the airport. We were a little early so we decided to kill some time by riding the escalator. While we were walking from the top of the up one over to the down one we passed Willie Nelson. I was star struck and Jones just said, "Hey, Dad, there's Willie."
He was gracious when I introduced him to Jones and her shyness kicked in and she wouldn't speak to him. We visited for just a minute and then he was on his way.
I don't have a picture to post because I didn't have a camera with me. Don't have one on my phone.

Preschool Graduation

Jones graduated from Preschool! Jones and Ethan have known each other since birth and they were able to graduate together. They had a great year together. The class went up on stage and sang a few songs and then Jones read 3 sentences from a Dick and Jane book. After the ceremony we celebrated with snow cones and cotton candy.