Molly's 9th Birthday

Molly celebrated her 9th birthday on May 11. She invited four friends to spend the night and we went to Atlanta to the American Girl Store the next day. It was great fun! More pics to come...

 I can't believe it's been nine years since that sweet baby girl came into this world! My family and my kids mean everything to me and God blessed me with the bond of a son and a daughter and I'm forever blessed. Every summer I jump on the blogging bandwagon and set a goal of sticking with it. I've failed miserably over the last few years, but I'm really going to make an attempt to do better. I think blogging is a wonderful way of documenting our journey in life. 

Happy 2012!

Happy New Year! They just seem to come faster and faster but we're thankful for one more! Like my granddaddy always says about birthdays- "it's better than the alternative"! LOL! I just love some of his famous sayings because they are humorous but so true. Tomorrow we get back to the working world! We've had a great couple of weeks to be lazy but I know we are defenitely more productive on a regular schedule. I can have this attitude because I know everyday we get up and go, gets us a little close to summer break. I love my job but I love relaxing and staying home with my family much more. I didn't really make any earth-shattering resolutions... just the same ones- eat better, exercise more, read my Bible more, use my time more wisely and continuously try to become a better mother, wife, daughter, sister and friend. This holiday season was a little different with Christmas Day and New Year's Day being on Sundays but I loved that. I can't think of a better way to spend those two days of the year. I hope this season brings much happiness and love to our family. I also hope to do a better job with my blog this year. I'm praying about some changes for our family and we'll just see how God answers those prayers... 2012 could be a big year for The Browns!

Cute Fall Door Hanger for Thanksgiving

How cute is this pilgrim boy door hanger? I can't wait to hang him on my front door on November 1st! I am always excited about putting up my Christmas decorations but I don't think we should overlook the opportunity to be thankful! Go to facebook and "like" Southern Occasions Monogramming and Gifts if you would like a pilgrim boy! Happy Fall :)

This and That....

Well, you know it's been said that school teachers can be dangerous with a little spare time on their hands because we don't have alot of it from August til June! So, I guess I'm guilty as charged... plus I have a sister and a mom that are extremely talented and crafty and I'm always trying to tap that inner side of me as well! LOL! Anyway, Mom and I saw a similar idea a few years ago. Since then, alot of people have created these cute little door hangers. I decided this summer I would try a few of my own and try to add a little "cuteness" to them. I love Halloween and decorating for Halloween so I decided to start with my love! What do you think? They are made of burlap but are painted with exterior paint so they can actually be hung indoors or outdoors. I think they're really cute and I can't wait to hang one on my door with a big ole pumpkin sitting on my steps! More to come about these....

We celebrated the 4th of July on Monday with a celebration and cookout at Grandmother and Granddaddy's house. It was great family time! We actually had several reasons to celebrate.... this great nation and it's freedom, Mia's "Gotcha Day" (or as we refer to it... "Family Day") was one year ago, and my little cousin Madison's 11th birthday! It was a great day because we all can't believe how far Mia has come in one year. She has blessed our family more than we ever imagined and I'm so grateful and thankful that God chose US to be her forever family! What a miracle! I'm so thankful to be an American and I can only hope that along the way I've taught Will & Molly what it truly means to be patriotic and count yourself blessed each and every day just to be an American!We wanted to make 4th of July extra special this year in honor of Mia so Ashley and I got the kids together to make Chinese Lanterns and cute cupcakes for our celebration. They turned out really cute. We got the ideas from the crafting chicks website. You should check their website out.... really cute ideas!

Summer is passing by so quickly. It always does and I'm always suprised! You would think by now that I would just accept that it's never going to last as long as I would like for it to! I'm thankful for the time I do have just to relax and spend at home with my kids and I'm one of those people who really need to work... I'm much more productive when I'm on a schedule. I guess we always want what we can't have and God knows what it best for each and every one of us. Jeremiah 29:11 is one of my very favorite bible verse for that reason. God promises us a future of hope and happiness. Everyday might not be happy but we can have hope in Christ everyday. Like Ashley and I talked about recently, I'm learning more and more that nothing catches God by surprise and this ol' life is happening just the way he planned for me... That is why I want to always seek His will and make sure I'm living according to His plan and not my own.

Enjoy this beautiful Thursday! Do something fun....I'm going to have lunch with two of my good "teacher" friends from Donehoo! Can't wait to catch up with them....

With Love,

Allison

Father's Day 2011

We had a great Father's Day celebration yesterday! I felt really sorry for Darin though- here's why: we love making homemade ice cream at our house in the summer. This year we've made the grape and orange sunkist but he's been saying over and over again.... I want some homemade peach ice cream. So, I promised him a big freezer of my mom's " Summertime Peach Ice Cream" for Sunday. I bought the fresh peaches on Thursday so they would be really ripe and I mixed it up before church. All was well.... we got to church and in just a minute his phone vibrated. It was his boss from Alabama Power- get your clothes and get to work with two days of clothes- we're going on a road trip to Dalton, Georgia. It seems that Georgia had alot of power line damage from a late Saturday afternoon storm. I felt so sorry for him but not sorry enough not to eat that delicious ice cream! (LOL!) It was really yummy so I'll post the recipe below in case I've sparked your interest now. Anyway, I hope Father's Day was great for your family too. I believe God gives us our earthly fathers to love and protect us until He can for eternity. I often wonder if they realize what a huge responsibilty they have? Anyway, I was fortunate to spend the day with three other special father's in my life and the life of my children: my dad, my father-in-law and my preicous granddaddy. All of these men are special to me in more ways than I can say and I appreciate the love, example and support they daily pour into Will and Molly. I hope someday Will and Molly will realize what a difference these father figures have meant to the love, loyalty and stability we have in our family.

Summer has been rolling along pretty smooth. We went to the beach the day after school was out and stayed for the week. I'll post some of my favorite beach pics too. Then we came home and have attended two bible schools and began summer All-Star baseball practice. This is Will's last year to play Dixie Youth Major League all-stars and it's really a bitter sweet thing for me. I have loved, loved watching Will and his friends play ball together over the years. Many people think going to the ballfield is torture but I have some wonderful memories on little, cracked bleachers all over this state and now a trip to the emergency room too. He was pitching Thursday night at a practice game. A kid got up to bat and hit a pop fly. Will came off the mound and caught the ball but didn't realize there was a hole off the mound and he tripped. His glove slipped and the ball hit him square in the mouth. Scared us to death.... I heard one of the other coaches say "I think it knocked his teeth out". My heart sank but thankfully his teeth were fine. That tough little stinker even finished playing the game. By the end of the game his lip closely resembled some of the lovely ladies on the "Real Housewives" shows that have had just paid for a new injection of Botox, and when he pulled his lip back to show Darin it was Gadsden Regional here we come. Long story short.... we ended up at RiverView with Ashley's bud, Dr. Etchevery, and we left shortly after midnight with two stitches in his upper lip. These are the days I'll never forget about playing summer baseball. And I have to admit that it will be nice to be able to plan a vacation without worrying about a practice or game somewhere. It also makes me sad because I see Will growing up so quickly. He will be celebrating his 13th birthday this week and I really can't believe that it's been that long. We have a special bond and I know God has something really special planned for Will one day if he will be obedient. He's a smart kid with tons of common sense and I'm so blessed that God chose ME to be his mom! Love you Wizzy! :)

Ok, guess I need to get on with my day. I've made me a list of all the summer projects I want to get done before school starts back so I can get organized. I have really good intentions but every year it's August again before I know it and I really can't look back and see that I've accomplished anything. Let's hope Summer 2011 is different! I'm also going to post a pic of my Reese Cup cake that I made yesterday! If you know me, you know that me and Reese Cups are really tight and I like them anyway I can get them. I love cooking and especially in the summer when we grill and cook out. I know I'm a little strange but I love looking at cookbooks and recipes. I find that relaxing so I've come across some great treats over the years. I'm going to try and post a few of my favorite recipes as they come along. You may want to try some yourself!

With Love,

Allison

Summertime Peach Ice Cream

4 cups peeled, diced fresh peaches (about 8 small fresh peaches)

1 cup sugar

1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk

1 (3.75) package vanilla instant pudding mix

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

4 cups half-and-half

Combine peaches and sugar, and let stand for 1 hr. Process peach mixture in a food processor until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides. Stir together evaporated milk and pudding miz in a large bowl: stir in peach puree, condensed mil, and half-and half. Pour mizxture into freeze acoording to manufacturer instructions. Spoon into an airtight container and freeze until firm. Makes 2 quarts. Enjoy!

(Southern Living recipe, July 2002)

Reese's Cup Cake

1 box devil's food cake mix

1 cup confectioners' sugar

12 oz. cool whip

8 oz. cream cheese

1/2 cup sugar

1 bag Reese's Butter Cups

Prepare cake mix according to directions and pour into three 8 inch round pans ( I only did 2). Beat softened cream cheese and conf. sugar until creamy. Fold in cool whip. Chop 1/3 bag of Reese's Cups until fine. Fold into mixture. SPread between layers and on sides and top of cake. Half enough Reese's cups to circle the bottom. Chop the remaining Reese's cups coarsely and sprinkle on top. Chill. Enjoy!

(http://www.recipezaar.com/, April 2005)

Our White Christmas 2010!

The Brown's had a very Merry Christmas in 2010! Christmas is always a special time at our house because it's full of traditions and sweet memories from many, many years! It really is the most wonderful time of the year! I love the hustle and bustle of Christmas. I love shopping, cooking, decorating and all of those fun things we only do one time of year. This Christmas was extra special because of the snow! I really thought we might see a few flurries but God really suprised us with a 3" white Christmas! In fact, we still have a few patches of snow in our yard today. Darin took the kids outside Christmas afternoon and built a snowman with them. He was so cute!! We're going to be really sad when he's gone, but like the song says... he'll be back again one day!

We celebrated Mia's 2nd birthday on December 23. She had a "Minnie Mouse Birthday" in honor of her new love for Mickey Mouse Clubhouse! She was a little overwhelmed with all the gifts between her birthday and Christmas but she survived all the celebrations. Mia continues to be a blessing and continous reminder of God's love to our family. She has been home for five months now and has really adjusted well. She is talking much more and beginning to bond with our extended family too.

Will and Molly had a really good Christmas as well! Will's favorite gift was an airsoft rifle. I'm just hoping no one ends up in the ER as a result of this gift. Every now and then, I hear something that resembles an army attack or something from the History channel, and I realize it's just Will on my front porch with his new gun. Molly's favorite gift was a trampoline. She has been asking for a trampoline for quite a while, so Santa gave in and filled her request this year. In fact, Molly wanted to give Darin a trampoline for Father's Day last year! She just couldn't believe that he wouldn't want a trampoline, LOL!! Anyway, my children were blessed this Christmas but I really hope above all they are starting to understand the true meaning of Christmas.

I can't believe 2010 is coming to a close and it's already time for a New Year! I'm excited about 2011 and I can't wait to see what God has in store for The Brown's... Happy New Year to all of you!

O, Happy Day! Jameson Hayes is Home!

Let me just start by saying.... we had a big ole party at the Birmingham Airport this morning. Gina and Jameson's plane arrived at 8:30 and Jameson had a huge welcoming committee. What a sweet, sweet feeling.... just like it was back in July when we saw Mia for the first time. Jameson is a beautiful, healthy girl and is going to bring so much happiness to The Hayes family. Gina was thrilled to see everyone and Jameson handled the camera flashes, squeals and tears pretty well. She went to her daddy like she had known him from day 1! I think she's going to be crazy about her big brother, Owen, too. I can't describe the feeling you see when you meet these precious baby girls. We can't wrap our minds around what they've been through and where they've been. It's bitter sweet! You feel horrible in one way for taking them from their heritage and country but you know you're bringing them to a life of happiness, freedom and most of all a country where they can serve our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Opportunities they would've never had in China.... are abound here in the U.S.! Anyway, I can't wait to watch Jameson grow and bond with her forever family and I'm so thankful one more of God's children were rescued from that place. God never intended for anyone to be alone and orphaned. I would love to adopt a little girl in our family but that's something that must be prayed over and God must supply many needs in order for that to happen. We'll pray and see what happens...

Jr. High football is over now so everything is settling down a bit in the afternoons after school. I hope we have more family time now and can really focus on the important things in life. I love to watch Will and his friends play ball and I think it's important for them to participate in team sports but it's demanding and much family time is sacrificied. I'm looking so forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas. It won't be long before we can begin decorating, shopping, cooking and enjoying the most wonderful time of the year! I'm so blessed and I love my family. I hope all of you have a blessed holiday season! Be thankful and count your blessings....