Brown Family Blog

PICU

2010-06-29T21:12:00.005-05:00

So for those of you who perhaps follow this blog but have not yet jumped into the land of FaceBook (which has taken over most of our posts, sorry), you may not know that we had our first visit to the hospital with a kid. With a 5, 4 and 2 year old, that's 11 years of parenting without an ER visit. But who's counting.

Luke woke early Saturday morning (4:30) after a tough night of labored breathing and coughing. We couldn't get his breathing under control after a couple hours of trying the meds we had so we called the doctor at 9 for a 10am appointment. The doctor gave him 2 nebulizer treatments in his office with minimal improvement and we were in the ED by noon. A few hours later he had been admitted to the Pediatric ICU. There were lots of intense moments on Saturday when his lungs were bad but his temper and fear of the place were worse making his breathing worse not better - despite being on a bunch of meds and 02.

Saturday night we both were able to stay there with him (thanks to amazing friends and family taking the girls all day --Paul & Laura, Amy & Jamie - and overnight - Dad) to take turns resting and helping with a 14 hour continuous nebulizer treatment. He eventually adjusted to the mask, just needed one of us to keep it on his face when he would roll over or shift. Sunday was a huge improvement. It was almost a fun day - as I got to grab the girls from Rich's house, bring them to the hospital to visit. Then our friend Ben and Nichole picked up the girls for a shopping spree and sugar fix before I met them at a birthday party (not far from the hospital) to bounce and slide on blow up houses. What a great outlet for 3 kids, er I mean 2 kids and their supervisor, to let off some steam after having been in an ICU all day. We had some time as a family in the ICU with a happy and improving Luke and I got home that night to sleep with the girls, thinking Luke was doing great and coming home the next day. Turns out his O2 Saturation levels dropped too low while sleeping so they put oxygen up his nose - which he hated and that only lasted 5 min, before Missy took over doing O2 blow by all night.

Ashley, Nicole and I met Alli for doughnuts in honor of Nicole's birthday and then got to the hospital by 7:30 on Monday. Luke was looking pretty weak and sick of being there, but given his performance the night before we were told we would probably stay another night. Exhaustion was beginning to hit all us really hard by then. I had fallen asleep on the floor next to my bed trying to set my alarm the night before, Missy had slept even less than I had and Luke hadn't gotten through a full sleep cycle in 3 days due to not breathing, poking nurses or bubbling O2 hoses. He finally napped for a brief period around noon while I dropped off the girls at Matt & Stacie's house where she entertained the birthday girl with gifts, water games and toys - amazing family. So during Luke's nap, the nurses reported that his 02 had only dropped to 93%, so the doc said we could go home. Surprising to us - and Luke. We packed up quickly. He was confused and tried and when we told him we were going home, he said, in a typical 2 yr old fashion, "no". But by the time we got home he was happy to be here. We all were.

So many of the prayers were answered, but even more than that we had peace. As I caught on the radio this morning: Big God= little problems. Little God = big problems. The covering of prayer and offers for tangible support were seemingly endless. Throughout the ordeal I can only recall feeling scared once (when the nurse started talking about all the reasons you don't want to intubate an asthmatic - RN's not a great discussion to have with the parents when it isn't necessary) but with a brief prayer God again granted me a peace that surpasses understanding and I knew that He was in control. I didn't know the outcome (still don't - not really) but it was very clear that God was in control and going to give us the strength to get through whatever we were going to face.

I'm not saying there were not tears and more emotion and Love for Luke felt this weekend (pretty awesome how trials bring that out) but so many times, the tears were either pure physical exhaustion (which God quickly countered with the strength we needed) or tear of joy as we saw the ways God was providing for us, through family, friends, prayer support, visitors, great kids, I could go on, but you get the point. It's not that God prevents us from going through the storms in life, but having Him present with us through the storms. I don't know if the clinical outcome was impacted by prayer - given his speedy response and great attitude, I have to believe it was- but even if it wasn't, the prayers were answered in the peace that Missy and I had - the growth and maturity that Luke displayed - and the love and support poured upon us by family. It is the power and unity of the Holy Spirit that explains the peace, connection and beautiful orchestration of this weekend. So many people took the lead of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and put their own needs aside and cared for us, cared for Luke, cared for our kids.

I have a whole new understanding of what parents go through when a kid is in the hospital. And to anyone facing a health trial of a child, my prayers are with you - and beyond the physical healing we ache for - my prayer is that through the power of the resurrection of Jesus, you could also experience Peace in the midst of trials.

2010 Resolution of a 5 yr old

2010-01-02T09:31:00.000-06:00

The following story is immature humor but I just felt the need to share. Only read on if a little bathroom humor isn't offensive.

It was Jan 1 and Missy and I were talking to the kids a lot about it being a new year- as in "lets keep the house more picked up this year" and "be quick to listen- its a new year". Seems to be working too (31 hours in, so a bit early to say). Anyways, while we don't formally make resolutions or call them as such, Ashley picked up on the idea of a fresh start that comes with a new year.

I was doing some reading on the couch when she came down and asked for a cup of juice. I asked she wait till I was done with paragraph and then I'd get it for her. She said okay and pulled herself up onto the couch and in the process she passed gas. Head between her hands she said, genuinely disappointed, "Man, I wasn't going to fart for a month!" Kids are funny on so many levels. Hope you are doing better than Ashley at keeping your resolutions.

2010 Blog Restart

2010-01-02T09:30:00.001-06:00

Sorry for the lack of posts to this blog for the last 4 months. We've gotten on Facebook and it seems to keep us from posting to the blog as much. Happy New Year to all and I'll do better this year at keeping this site rolling.

Ashley Soccer

2009-09-12T22:18:00.000-05:00

Ashley had her first pre-K soccer game today. The weather was perfect and she was so excited to be there. The first field she was on was a bit crowded, but once she was put on a team of 4 she really shined. Scoring a goal in the first few min, and 3 more after that! She had a great sense of ball control and how to navigate the field.

Luke, did however, make navigating the side lines a little challenging. Here he is wearing the side line marker. We typically got it off his head before it caused any confusion.

Ashley was very happy, and when her tounge wasn't out (she gets that from her Mom's side I guess- taking after MJ) she was all smiles. Here she was grinning ear to ear because the ball that went out of bounds nearly hit me with the camera.

Can't wait for next weeks game. More pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/brandonmbrown/AshleyS1stSoccerGame#

Camping with Friends

2009-09-07T08:30:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures from our Labor day weekend camping trip to Kettle Moraine (30 min north of Lake Geneva, WI) with our friend's Mike and Krista and their son Will. Things we learned:
- Our kids LOVE being outside (The kids, especially Luke spent most of the weekend smiling)
- Camping can be comfortable and easy when you go with very well prepared friends
- Weather was amazing. (We had "a cloud" pass in front of the sun at 11:12 on Sunday. Sunny by 11:14)
- Vacations with a 2 hour drive are easier than those with a 18 hour drive
- Luke loves playing in the mud (wait, we already knew that)
- Good friends are a gift from the Lord.

Notable Quote:
On the drive there, looking at a street sign, "Dad, what's the word on the street?" - Ashley

Camping | Thacher Island

2009-08-04T11:27:00.001-05:00

On Monday afternoon Bob (my brother in law) and I paddled out to Thacher Island and saw a sign that said "campground". We immediately went into planning mode. Missy was cool enough to offer to stay behind with the kids for a night while Bob, Alli and I scrambled together enough camping gear in the dry bags (and garbage bags) we had and kayak back out to the island.

We left at 7:30 and it was getting dark quick. An intense paddle got us to the island just in time and the couple who are inn keepers were cool enough to not only reopen the boat house for us, but also to pull a trailer around for us and drive our gear to the campsite. We set up camp just before dark, loaded on the bug spray and explored the island.

The first thing we did was to walk around to the inland side of the island, call home and confirmed that we could blink flashlights at each other and it was visable. Our morse code was really rusty so we stuck to talking on the cell phone. We then explored around the island (navigating around the worlds largest Sea Gulls (some looked to have 3 ft wingspans). Walking around they were cat sized. Freeky; Anyway, the Inn keepers had left the lighthouse unlocked for us, so we went up to it and took some pictures of the cool, though creepy entrance. We then marched up the 137 stairs (Alli counted) and got within feet of the red light. The view was amazing. The moon was shining bright and the waves were crashing down below.

The highlight of the trip for all of us came when we went down the top ten stairs and noticed what we had not before: A door. I opened it to find an outer door. Opening that reavealed to us the walkway around the top of the lighthouse. It was adrenalin pumping, wind blowing, exposure that was so cool. The moonlight was fascinating. It made me think of Psalm 19: A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
2 Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.

We got back down to camp, had a quick snack and settled in for a good nights rest. Worked out great until at 12:15, something triggered the two, very loud fog horn systems on the island. The two horns had different pitches and sequences and seemed to go off ever 15-30 seconds for a good majority of the night. See Gulls also added to the volume factor- so that answered the question we had earlier in the night of "Why would we be the only ones here? this is amazing" But we would do it again in a heartbeat.

The noise had us up at 5 am and up in the top of the lighthouse again for sunrise. The paddle back home was smooth and wonderful and much more restful without a pending darkness.

There are some pictures posted on the Picasa site. Photos

Beach Photo

2009-07-28T10:05:00.002-05:00

We have had 3 perfect beach days. Here are some of the photos put together in a collage.

Back to the beach!

Summer Vacation 2009

2009-07-26T19:56:00.002-05:00

We have arrived the beach an so the blog will get a bit more active for a while- and I have relinked our blog to our FB site too. Seems like the best way of sharing the joy of this vacation with all of you.

We drove through the night on Friday. Left Chicago a little before 2pm, skirted around city traffic and made our way across the country. The kids were great, required only a handful of potty breaks, and fell asleep in PA, woke up in MA. We made it in just under 17 hours with only 42 min in stopped time. Heavy fog through most of NY and western MA slowed us down a bit. So we were at the beach by 7am.

The weather was perfect on Saturday. The kids had a blast and everyone got a nap at some point in the day so we all slept well last night; thanks to the sound of the waves, a hard day of playing.

So, with all that God has blessed us with, we took some time this morning to make a list of things we are thankful for.
fun beach| house | safe travels | yummy food| God |sleep | family | fun neighbors | answered prayer | happy kids| health | wave sounds | Luke's awesome attitude | 2 great days of beach weather

More posts coming soon with pictures if I get my act together.

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-25T21:17:00.001-05:00

Hi all. Happy Memorial day!
We had a fun and busy weekend. Check out the pictures of some of our adventures at our photo site

Nicole got some flip flops this weekend. Take a listen to this to see how she says it. We think it's funny.

Oh, and for some other fun, check out Reason 738 why Missy doesn't leave Brandon at home with the kids unless she has to.
Zip line video (Photo credits to Ashley)

Swing Set Complete

2009-05-11T21:48:00.002-05:00

Time Lapse in motion this time; (sorry about the low quality video.)
Again, huge thanks to Rich, Bob, Alli and Matt. Missy- you are an
amazing mother!

Thanks for a fun and successful project.

Swing-set time-lapse

2009-05-10T22:15:00.002-05:00

8 hours of work- amazing family; thanks Rich, Alli, Bob and Matt. Missy was amazing to let us have such a power tool filled Mother's day- not to mention be such a great mom that this is what she really wanted for her birthday/mothers day. Always giving the best to her kids.

Very happy with the progress and hoping to finish up tomorrow or Tuesday.

Kids say (and hear) the darndest things

2009-04-16T09:33:00.002-05:00

Actual conversations heard in the Brown house:

End of a very busy day I say "lets just go to Taco Bell". (Closest fast food to our house and Missy hates it so it pretty much is just an expression for lets eat out cheap and quick since we never go.) Ashely says, "I want to go to Tinker Bell!" Nicole jumps around chanting, "Dinner with Tinker Bell, Dinner with Tinker Bell!"
Tinker Bell didn't show up, but the kids ate their taco.

Kids sitting on the couch with a backpack. Dad says, "What are you doing?"
Ashley: Going on a trip. Waiting for our airplane.
Dad: Where you going?
Ashley: Hawaii. We are going to see Julia and we are going to ride on an octopus. My baby [doll] has never been.
I should point out that neither have they- not that their mother has not tried, but we went skiing instead.

Nicole likes to do as much parenting as she is able so it is good for her that she has a little brother. The other day they are sitting at the table, I was working from home in the other room and I hear their mom telling Luke to sit down in his highchair. (He loves to try to stand up if we have not yet buckled him.) I tuned it out and continue working. Nicole, who makes all of her "S" noises "SH" starts telling Luke: "No Sh_it! No Sh_it!" In context and used to Nicole's "accent" Missy didn't even notice it, but from the other room, pretty funny lunch "transcript".

Photo Catchup

2009-03-20T21:28:00.001-05:00

March was a busy month and I have promised many of you some updated pictures of the kids. Luke has not been growing as fast as he did at first but he is looking and acting older each day. His smile is his default facial expression and now that we have his diet more figured out he is a much happier kid. There is a photo here of his first haircut.

We all battled a 2 week period where one or more of us were sick with something but with the help of some antibiotics we are coming out of the woods and we are really looking forward to enjoying the nice spring weather in store.
More, shorter, posts coming soon.

Ski Trip Highlights

2009-02-06T10:43:00.007-06:00

We had a great time in Steamboat, CO. After finding the deal on Wed and buying on Friday, we were there Sunday through Thursday. Missy deserves a wife/mother of the year award for dealing with my spontaneity and packing perfectly for a great trip. The weather was warm and sunny- so while that meant no powder days, it was great for teaching and enjoying skiing.
So we asked everyone what their highlights were:
Ashley's highlights

"Going fast on my skis"
"Hanging out with Popi"

Nicole's highlights

"going potty" (with a big smile- have we mentioned she is potty trained now? and yes, that was her first response)
"going on airplane"
"skiing" - or rather getting pulled around on skis
Riding the Gondola
Chilling on the sun deck with Popi

Luke's highlights

Sleeping in the stroller
Taking a plane ride
Watching Dad and Ashley ski
Bouncing on Popi's knee

Missy's highlights

Seeing Ashley's new (and Brandon's old) excitement for skiing
Getting on skis for the first time in 5 years
Family time
Being promised a warm weather vacation as a prize as recipient of the "wife of the year" award

Popi's highlights

Time with the grand kids
Time in the mountains
Cross country skiing so fast his pole broke
Having the Gondola stop for 5 min on our way down the mountain from our farewell lunch at the top

Brandon's highlights

Teaching Ashley to Ski
Skiing with Missy
Skiing with Tom & Sandy (friends who live there and showed me over 18 miles of Steamboats best skiing in a little over an hour and a half. Then helped me coach Ashley)
Skiing in the trees
Skiing tele (free the heel- free the mind)
Seeing Nicole happy on skis
Great time with family (kids were fantastic)
Traveling with Rich
Being in the mountains
Oh and skiing (steep, bumped, glades, wide open, groomed, pretty much anything)
The whole trip was such a blessing

See more pictures AND VIDEO's at our photo site here

Steamboat Springs

2009-02-03T14:31:00.002-06:00

We've had 2 amazing days of skiing. This morning Ashley and I rode the Gondola up and took 1 hour, 3.5 mile ski down to base where we met up with Mom, Popi, Nicole and Luke. We put Nicole on skis for the first time (pictures of that coming soon... maybe even video) Then Ashley Mom and Dad rode up a chair lift, got some video of her coming down the hill and now we are back for lunch. This afternoon, with naptime, Missy and I are getting some skiing in. Off to the slopes!

Snow Penguin

2009-01-11T20:31:00.001-06:00

We've posted more photo's of our snowy fun on our photo site: http://picasaweb.google.com/brandonmbrown/wintertimefun

In this picture from yesterday, Ashley is just getting up from making a snow angel. Today she wanted to make a snow penguin. I wasn't familiar, so she showed me. She basically did a belly flop in the snow and flapped her arms like a penguin. Quite amuzing. And when she got up, it did kinda look like a penguin had just taken a slide in the snow. You should try it sometime.

Luke's Mobile

2008-12-17T16:06:00.002-06:00

No, Luke didn't get a cell phone- Luke is now mobile- as in, he is crawling. He came to my office today and when I put him on the floor in my boss's office, he crawled. Repeat performance about 20 min later when mom was around.
The girls took the motivation of food, Cheetos if I recall correctly, but look only took a shiny pen.

So those of you who voted in the poll to the left, well, too late now and we were all wrong. No one had voted for Wed.

Pictures, perhaps video of the crawler coming soon.

Regional Santa's & Luke's Forward Motion

2008-12-14T07:10:00.003-06:00

Ashley and I were having breakfast the other morning (Nicole was still sleeping and Mom was taking care of Luke). I asked her what she was thinking about and her answer was, "Well, when I grow up, I don't know what I want to be, but Nicole is going to be Santa Claus. .... I know there is already a Santa Clause, but he can take care of all the far away people and Nicole can do all the close by people."

I think she is on to something there. Perhaps we can even extend the idea such that each town, or street- maybe even each house has their own Santa.

Oh, and feel free to place your bet on which day Luke will be crawling in the poll to the left. He has made forward progress but mostly by doing a push up and collapsing forward again and again. For the sake of the poll an official "crawl" consists of forward motion using his arms - while not crying. Scouts honor on which you vote for as it is all anonymous.

Perspective

2008-12-06T15:15:00.000-06:00

We are enjoying some peaceful snowfalls recently. This morning we were outside finishing up the driveway and Nicole looked down the street to see someone using a snowblower (takes all the fun out if it if you ask me). She said "LOOK! Sprinkler!" Don't think it would be as much fun to run through as the neighbors sprinkler in August, but fun to see how a kids mind works.
Then Ashley looked down the street the other way, laughed and said "She's using a spatula to clean the snow off her car."

So hope your spatulas and sprinklers are doing a good job of clearing your snow and you are able to enjoy it this weekend.

Nicole (2), Ashley (4)

2008-11-29T10:29:00.001-06:00

Being the older sisters, we share a room and we also are going to
share this post. We have had a great fall. We had a great time in
the leaves and a few times dad set up a zip line across the length of
the backyard (from maple tree to swing set) and it has been lots of
fun. We just "turn scared into fun" as dad keeps reminding us.
We love drawing and paiting and maybe dad will scan and post some of
artwork. Ashley loves to draw the family- It looks like 5 smiley
faces of appropriate sizes for each family members with legs and arms
coming out of the circle that is the head. On special days, we get
bodies, but mostly we look like M&M's.
Nicole loves to laugh and keeps the rest of us laughing. I can't
think of a story that would tell well on here, but she has a way of
saying things in the few words she knows that makes it very clear what
she is trying to express.
Oh, and as long as we are writing, Dad is all about Christmas music
this year and is very excited to have found the mp3 stream of Moody
Christmas at http://www.moodyradio.org/brd_AudioMin.aspx?id=13144 If
time allows this afternoon we may start decorating the house! 1st
week of Advent this weekend- we are getting excited.

Luke- 7 months

2008-11-29T10:16:00.001-06:00

The much awaited post on Luke. He has been one of the main reasons we
have not been posting as much on here. He had a tough time from 2-6
months old. Turns out he doesn't like his monther eating dairy- his
skin would break out and without the coordination to scratch was
pretty much miserable. Now that Missy has been (or at least given her
best effort at) not eating dairy he is a new kid. Very cute, happy,
smily and loves to play with his sisters(and be played with). He
isn't quite crawling yet, though it feels like that could happen soon.
He is still eating well and not at all small. Mom is getting a nice
upper body workout hauling him around.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T21:06:00.002-06:00

I'm sitting, with laptop, by a fire in my backyard and thankful for a beautiful star lit sky, a warm fire, plenty of wood and even a leaf free back yard thanks to sunny, warm weather this morning. I'm also thankful for the new Fernando Ortega album, Christmas Songs It is great, but that brings up my question that I'd like to pose: When is it too early for Christmas music? I suppose i could make a poll on the blog, but I doubt canned answers will do. So give me your comments, but also, let me tell you why I'm all for it now that Thanksgiving is over, well, nearly.

The bottom line is, that Christmas Music stirs up all sorts of emotions in most everybody- the good songs at least, and it stirs my heart to Worship. The words of some of these songs are so filled with scripture, Joy, excitement, beauty. Take for example, "What Child is this?" This, This is Christ the King! Whom Shepards guard and angels sing. Haste haste to bring Him Love, the Babe, the Son of Mary.

To some, just lyrics I suppose, but to me, a call to remember the price that God was willing to pay to reach out to us to show us love so we can know and worship Him. I guess I say all this on Thanksgiving to say, I'm thankful for a God who knows us, desires us to know Him and give us a purpose. So you, my facebook and blog readers, join me around the fire on this perfect night as best you can; cold enough to need a fire, not so cold it hurts, stars that shine from mind-blowingly far away-
to reflect on what you are thankful for- something my mom always tries to get us to do around a table of food that I always had a hard time getting into but now wish I did more often- God has blessed us in so many ways. And since I'm going first this year I'll take the best answer- I'm thankful for what this music is so reminding me of- The ultimate Gift of God sending his only son to walk this earth, die on the cross and rise again so that we may have Life and have it abundantly.

Oh, and thought I'd apologize for the lack of postings to this blog in a long time at the bottom of this post, not the top. Luke has kept us busy and I'll tell the full story on that shortly. He is doing well now and i'll leave it at that as my hands are cold and the fire could use some attention. Happy Thanksgiving and God bless.

You Bet

2008-09-20T08:08:00.001-05:00

Ashley has started her second year of pre-school. This year she is going to Harvest Christian Academy (Church School as she calls it) on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. She loves it and arrives to school eager to see her friends and has big smiles when we pick her up. We are thrilled with her excitement to learn, make friends and worship the Lord. She comes home singing songs from the Thursday morning chapel and last night even used it as her excuse for why she couldn't go to bed, "Dad, I've got to worship God" We still made her go to bed- I didn't take the time to explain that we can worship God in all that we do, even sleep- now there is a nice thought.

Yesterday, I asked her if she is well behaved for her teacher, Mrs. Zievel. "You bet" was her response- wow that story doesn't tell as funny as it reads- so to fully appreciate the wit of a near 4 year old, stop by sometime- hope to see you soon.

Sorry it has been so long since I've posted to this blog. The camera doesn't come out quite as much when we are not on vacation. I'm posting a recent picture of the girls and a posting about Luke will be coming along shortly.

More Fun on the Beach

2008-08-11T21:52:00.001-05:00

I am not typically the "author" of our blog, but I feel it is
necessary to step up to the plate and make an entry. From viewing the
blog, it appears that the only highlights on our vacation to the beach
occured on the kayak which is definitely not the case. Nicole and
Ashley were incredibly brave in the water. It took some time learning
how to brave the waves, but Nicole by the end was saying "another one,
another one" after each wave she jumped. It was great! Luke and my
dad became great buddies. My dad had the magic touch with Luke
whenever he would begin yet another screaming fit--oh the fun of
newborns. It was a great time with the family...such a unique
experience that so many do not get to experience with their families
and we thank God for that daily. Now, enjoy some pictures that are
not kayak related :)

I was there

2008-08-08T23:20:00.001-05:00

I have now received a few concerned (one proud) inquiry into the
validity of the previous picture. Was that really Ashley out there
alone in the boat?

Of course not- do you really think i'd allow a 3 year old to take my
kayak out into the open waters of the Atlantic ocean? Not a chance
I'd risk my boat like that. I was holding on to her the whole time.
Oh, and Ashley was safely secured, having a blast and felt like
royalty as I maneuvered her through, over and with the waves. Here are
a few more pictures of when I was not hiding behind the backside of the boat.

Home safe

2008-08-06T07:42:00.001-05:00

We arrived safely at home yesterday afternoon after a great drive
through the night.

Before we left, Ashley got some kayking in. We are so proud of her
for getting so much braver during the time we were there. She had a
blast.

Ashley, the kayaker

2008-07-31T13:24:00.001-05:00

Mom and Luke are back and it's great to be all together again. Nicole seems to still be battling a teething fever, so pray for her, and us. The waves were just the right size for Ashley and me to get out and play in the kayak. She got over her fear and had a blast. I even convinced her to jump off the boat into the water at about 4 ft depth. Good times.

Morning Paddle

2008-07-30T10:49:00.001-05:00

Here are a few pictures I took this morning just before I left for a
sunrise paddle on a ocean of glass. It was pretty amazing. I kept
the flag in view for most of the shots because, well, "I'm proud to be
an american!" Sorry, I'm back from bursting into song- enjoy the
pictures. I owe a thanks to Matt and Stacy who came over at 5:30 to
sleep in my house with the girls so I could get the paddle in. Thanks
guys!

Yesterday and today are going pretty well though we really miss Mom.
She comes back tonight and we are looking forward to having her back.
Nicole is running a fever, which we think is teething related, so when
that is running high she really needs a lot of attention- but all is
well and we are making do.

These pictures were sent with Picasa, from Google. Try it out here:
http://picasa.google.com/

Update

2008-07-29T12:38:00.001-05:00

Well, I've posted a few more pictures in our MA album and am adding the below video of Luke laughing. Very cute kid.

He is on his first airplane ride right now; headed back to IL with his mom for his great grandfather's funeral. They will be back tomorrow. In the mean time, Ashley, Nicole and Dad are on the beach with some of the cousins. So far, so good but we miss having the full "team" around.

Vacation and nice wearther arrive together

2008-07-28T07:57:00.002-05:00

I wrapped up my time in the Wakefield office friday and came back to
the beach and perfect beach weather.
We had a fun weekend on the beach and had our good friends, the
Bradley's and jeff visit this weekend. The bummer of the trip however
is the passing of Missy's grandpa Sunday morning. It really is a
blessing and it was his time but now Missy, Luke and some of the rest
of her family is flying back to Il for tuesday and wed. Just thought
I'd check in with the b log and let you all know what is going on and
we will posr some new pictures soon. Please pray for safe travels and
that God will comfort our family in this time.

The weather man was wrong

2008-07-23T06:06:00.002-05:00

Well I posted a few more pictures last night of our gorgeous day, see the album to the left. There are more pictures from the morning when it was still cloudy and once it got perfect out we were too busy playing in the waves, kayaking and enjoying the day to remember to take pictures. The weather called for last night and today to be rainy- it was supposed to be easy for me to leave for work in 20 min and be in an office all day. Well, the weather man was wrong. I'm squinting in the sunlight as I write this, watching a beautiful morning. I'll manage to get to work I suppose.

It has been a great morning so far and thought I'd share a link to today's Truth for Life devotional. Check it out if you get a chance as it talks, in words far more eloquent than what I can come up with of God's amazing grace and greatness. But as i sit here looking at the ocean and read the hymn at the bottom, to look at the sea and think not of God's greatness as I tend to, but to use it as an analogy of the greatness of my sin, it makes God's greatness that much greater because He has concurred death and my sin which means He is far greater still. Romans 8:2 "For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death." Freedom is amazing!

Photos posted

2008-07-22T07:36:00.002-05:00

We have not had the best weather, but that is all a part of the fun. Great thunderstorms have rolled through almost every day. Anyone can have a great vacation at one of those spots where the weather is good, but it takes character to enjoy Rockport weather.
Check out the photos we have posted.

Beach Front Naps

2008-07-19T13:13:00.002-05:00

We had so much fun on the beach that we are WIPED OUT. Great beach day and more pics coming soon.

22 hours

2008-07-19T10:40:00.002-05:00

Well, we have arrived safely in ma.
It took 22 hours in total but 3 of that was stopping at our good
friends house a little over an hour from here and a few hours in
stops. 16 hrs driving time.

We left home at 9pm thursday night after a beautiful (though week long
packing) job. Missy did an amazing job of preparing and it was great
to put the full utility of the minivan to use. We brought everything.
The kids fell asleep around the IN state line and slept till just east
of Buffalo. It was great driving through and making good time. Hard
but great and reminded me of college drives btwn chicago and out east.

The we stopped for a stretch and Missy took over driving while I
napped. 45 min later I woke up to help the girls pick up some stuff
they dropped and a min later Ashley was getting car sick. Sparing you
the details it was bad but not too hard to clean up and we took a few
more breaks medicated and moved the girls to the middle row (sorry
luke). The rest of the drive was a little more stressful but event
free- the best kind of driving.

Well, off to play on the beach but thank you all for your prayers.
Will send pics soon.

--
Sent from Gmail for mobile | mobile.google.com

Happy Mat Genius

2008-07-14T21:33:00.002-05:00

So I think my son may in fact be smarter than me. They say true
genius is being able to focus on the task at hand. Luke can focus on
the star [see photo] on his "happy mat" activity map for 45 minutes.
That is 44 minutes longer than I've ever been able to focus on
anything.

Additionally, Luke here is wanting to give out a fist bump [see photo]
to the blog readers, show how big he is getting and let the world know
that while Dad and formula will make do, Mom's amazing in that she
takes care of him and his sisters solo most every day. Dad's just
proud of himself for having the time to get a photo and post a blog
all while Mom is out- for a mere 3 well deserved hours. (I wonder,
will I always refer to myself in the third person as Dad? Any parents
of older kids care to let me know when/if that goes away?)

Swim lessons and Thunder

2008-07-02T22:20:00.002-05:00

With our trip to beach less than 2 weeks away we thought it would be a great idea to get the girls more used to the water. So we had our first swim class at the park district on Tuesday. Ashley is old enough to go to class by herself, but Nicole needs a parent with her. Ashley's class had 5 kids in it, Nicole (and Brandon) was the only one in her class- which would be great 1:1 instruction, had the instructor ever worked with "little kids" before. Nicole was having a blast till the instructor told me to put her face in the water and thinking she knew what she was doing I, mistakenly, obliged. She cried the rest of the time; which had the added benefit of convincing Ashley that she should be scared too (we were after all in the same pool). So day 1 didn't go great, but we talked up day two like crazy, but I guess God heard the prayers of our Girls and brought a huge thunderstorm through right at the beginning of class- so class was canceled and the girls bought themselves another 24 hours to prepare. Wish us luck!
Here is a picture of Nicole pre-dunk:

Smiling Video

2008-06-15T09:57:00.002-05:00

We took Luke for a walk and he was all smiles. Here is a video of his smiles.

(Facebook readers, I think to see the video you will have to visit our blog http://5brown.blogspot.com to view)

Smiles and Tummy Time

2008-06-12T07:45:00.001-05:00

As you can see, Luke is geting bigger and more interactive by the day.
The second picture here is of "tummy time" which he takes as an
opportunity to nap on his stomach, not sit up and get the excercise it
is supposed to be.

Related to Tummy time yesterday, we heard Ashley walking through the
house singing "Duh nu nu nu.. nu nu Tummy time. Du nu....." I looked
at Missy and she explained that one time, in trying to get Luke
excited/awake about it she sang about tummy time to Luke to the theme
of Hammer time.

Oops... Spoke too soon.

2008-06-08T12:32:00.002-05:00

Luke read the posting from yesterday and decided that he'd make me insert my foot squarely in my mouth. He was up yesterday afternoon and cat napped some, but was mostly up till 1am. But he was for the most part happy and while his parents were not all that happy to be awake much later than we would have liked, he did sleep from 1 till 8 this morning.

Not really a blog worthy piece of news but thought I'd mention it out of fair "reporting".

Those of you reading this on facebook: Missy and I are both now importing this blog to our facebook notes application, so you may see this duplicated if we are both on your friend list.

Not about Luke

2008-06-07T07:27:00.002-05:00

So, since this blog has been pretty much all about Luke recently, and sometimes his sisters, thought I should warn you that this post isn't really about the kids.

This week I finally got around converting 6 cd's of the Psalms to mp3. It's this really great recording my Mike Kellogg (Moody radio) but when I pulled it to MP3, the track names were not found, so I had Unknown artist, Unknown Album, Track 1, Track 2...track 37, so when I got to work, I decided to fix that. I opened up the properties window and had to fill out the properties for the mp3. Okay, Artist. I was floored.

It seemed too amazing to me to put "God" as the artist... but it was right. Sure, David may have been the composer and Mike Kellogg was the one reading it, but "artist" on audio books is the author, right? It made me realize that the God of the universe wrote a book, wanted to express a message to the people He created and I even had the opportunity to hear God's Word spoken. It is an amazing thing. And best of all, God's Word is living and active, which means it is a message for me today just as much as it was to David 3000 years ago. I listened to the Psalms all the way home as I biked through the woods and they never looked so good.

I also have to give thanks to Matthew Westerholm (Friend from church and author of retro-evangelical.blogspot.com) who through that blog introduced me to Bob Kauflin's work and in his 75min interview (link) his discussion of the Psalms- to realize that Jesus is the only one who can say so many of the Psalms in the entirely. So prophetic. So relevant. So alive. Check it out. (link)

Our sleeper

2008-06-07T07:18:00.003-05:00

At the risk of making those of you with young children a bit jealous- and at the risk of jinksing ourselves, thought we'd share the "news" in Luke's life, which is, he sleeps a lot. We have not figured out a "schedule" yet, but have just tried to roll with it. Yesterday he woke up at around 4 pm (yes, I mean pm) after having slept from 11pm the night before, only waking for a morning and midday feedings. Then he napped from 6-10, ate again, then slept till 5am this morning. He and I went for a run, then he was back to sleep by 6:45, sleeping now.
He is growing like a weed, so that is what all the sleep is about we guess. When he is awake he is sometimes a bit fussy, but there are times he is wide awake, alert and smiling, even working to make eye contact, so that is fun.

Bunking It

2008-05-24T15:36:00.002-05:00

Nicole is out of her crib now. Both girls in the bunk bed resting
soundly. They also did a great job last night at both staying in bed
and falling asleep in a decent amount of time.

First smiles

2008-05-23T12:14:00.002-05:00

Luke is smiling now and Missy tried to catch a picture of it. The timing with the digital camera was not ideal, but we will take what we can get with these first smiles.

Getting big quick

2008-05-12T20:58:00.001-05:00

So many of you have commented that we have not had an updated picture
of luke in a while. He is doing quite well. If I say he is sleeping
well, then he will be up all night. He loves his changing pad and
there are times he just wants us to put him down, but he is a pretty
good cuddeler too.

Tandem Swingy Ball World Champions

2008-05-10T11:58:00.005-05:00

Ashley and Nicole are the world's best tandem swingy ball players. I have installed the "Big Swing" and the girls are loving it.

PanCan 5K Walk, Chicago

2008-05-03T15:50:00.001-05:00

The PanCan walk went well. The weather was a bit rough (50 degrees or
so and a really strong wind with some occasional drizzel) but it beat
the forcast and we made the 5K walk. We were walking in memory of Sue
Brown (Luke's grandma) and all of her grandkids (and kids) were there.
It was good to see everyone and the walk was fun, though a bit
anti-climatic and disorganized- evidenced by the fact that we didn't
get a picture with everyone or many pictures at all, but for having a
18 day old at an event of this size, we did prety well. Luke held up
great and slept through the whole thing.
Alli and Missy set up camp under a bridge and hung out with Luke while
the rest of us did the walk. Thanks to everyone who donated to
PanCan... it was a huge turnout and it was good to be together with so
many people who's lifes have been affected by Pancreatic cancer and
remind us and them that we/they are not alone. Nicer weather may have
allow a bit more socializing, but we'll take what we can- thanks to
all who were there.

We survied another week

2008-05-02T20:20:00.003-05:00

Luke is doing really well. The girls are really enjoying him. Today Ashley said that she really loves her little brother...but she loves him a lot more when he is awake. His parents kind of feel the opposite, especially in the middle of the night. Luke will be walking his first 5K in memory of Luke's grandma tomorrow morning down at Grant Park: PanCan Walk. It should be quite wet, so that will be interesting. We'll keep you all posted with how it goes.

He's got mad skills

2008-04-28T20:27:00.003-05:00

So in order to keep you up to date on all of his "skills" here is a video of his Pacifier sucking ability. His other skill is creating a lot of heavy diapers, but no one wants to see a video of that.

Almost a week at home

2008-04-25T13:03:00.001-05:00

Luke is doing well. We have been home a week tomorrow and I think
everyone has begun to adjust.

Melissa is recovering quickly but also being good about taking it
easy. Her sisters have been taking turns helping out by watching the
girls ever since my mom left on Tuesday. The pain from the c-section
is all but gone and while she does get tired a bit more quickly it is
perhaps the best recovery so far.

Luke is eating, sleeping and growing like crazy. He had is 1 week
check up and he was already 1/2 a pound over his birth weight. (Target
is to reach birth weight by 2 weeks) He started off this week being
up a lot at night and on Tuesday night only let us get 15-30 minute
blocks of sleep. He did better wednesday and then last night he did
great, but unfortunaltly that is because his tear ducts are clogged so
opening his eyes is hard; so he sleeps. It is getting better already
though, so that is good.

Ashley and Nicole really like having a "babee" in the house and will
randomly decide they need to find him to give him a kiss. Luckily he
is a good sleeper because when they find him sleeping in his bassinet
and nearly tip it over he grunts some and then goes back to sleeping.
There is some natural jealously going on and on occasion they are a
bit more needy than regular, but overall they love the extra visitors
who swing by and all the excitement. The nice weather has helped out
a lot in terms of giving them something new to do.

Luke's Homecoming

2008-04-20T07:18:00.005-05:00

Saturday Morning Luke decided it was time to leave the hospital and go hang out with his sisters and grandparents. Everything really smoothly but it was a very tiring 15 minute drive home so Luke slept almost all day.

The first night was not so bad. He was up to feed every 3 hours but is very happy. I've posted more pictures on our photo site and more are on the way.

Paparazzi

2008-04-18T11:35:00.003-05:00

I'm getting the hang of this stuff. Things are going really well today. I let my parents sleep a little, so did I, my sisters came over too. Check out a few more photos (will it ever stop- every time I turn my head someone has a camera- you'd think I was a first kid or something) on the bottom of my album

How life is like a construction site

2008-04-17T15:12:00.004-05:00

So I'm only 30 hours old and I have not had much of a chance to get out, but as I stare out the window at this construction site (see a picture of my view, click here), I'd like to draw some parallels.

1) Both are pretty scary: Whether it's learning how to breath or walk across an I beam, you get the hang of it pretty quick though and then it's just old hat.
2) A good team is important: Lots of guys on the construction site make it all come together; a great mom and an okay dad, great doctors and a talented nursing staff in here and my life is coming together nicely too.
3) Communication is key: outside they have a cool little radio gizmo they use to communicate with the crane operator. Pretty high tech looking. My communication is a bit simpler. If I want something I cry till all these people figure out what it is I want. Pretty sweet gig :)
4) There is clearly a designer with a plan: So it's amazing to watch this building outside come together- such coordination and clearly a designer. And as i stare at my hand an watch all this amazing stuff happen with my body and my mom's, pretty undeniable that there is a Designer. *Romans 1:20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
5) Sometimes things don't work out right the first time but with a little effort it ends up working: The guys outside put these pieces of steel into place and then have to use the torches and chains and brute force to get them to set right. Kinda like when I wasn't breathing quite right; just took a little effort to clear out my lungs and get back on track.
6) Life can be pretty gross at times: Whether that is a flying port-a-potty(click here for a picture of that) or one of my diapers, things get gross at times, but it is all a part of life.

Twice as old as my last blog

2008-04-17T14:42:00.003-05:00

Just wanted to give an update on Luke and Mom. He was just complaining that he had not been blogged about for half of his life. He is now twice as old as he was when we last gave you an update on his condition.

He is sleeping a lot today. He has done a good job of getting his lungs clear of fluid and has been a good eater. Visitors are coming by and he seems to like all of them, especially his sisters.

Mom is recovering amazingly. She is now "cable" free and only on tylenol for pain control. She is up and walking around. The only bummer is that she can not seem to fall asleep. Please be praying that she can get more than just rest, but actually fall sleep.

There is a construction project out the window that Dad and Grandpa are watching so that is making the time pass quickly (that and the internet access- which is how you are all kept up to speed on the day in the life of Luke.

More Pictures

2008-04-16T17:24:00.003-05:00

Take a look at the photos on our Picasa site (link to the left or here) for even more pictures.
Here are some of our favorites.

The girls had a blast seeing their brother. They couldn't get enough of holding him. He slept the whole time, but that made it easier to hold. He is eating well and very cute.

1st moments with my parents

2008-04-16T12:58:00.001-05:00

I like them!

Eyes open

2008-04-16T09:40:00.002-05:00

He is doing well, though still in the nursery. He needs to cry up some of the fluid in his lungs, but he is sleeping too soundly. So for perhaps the only time, we are hoping he cries a bit as long as it doesn't start a trend.

It's a boy

2008-04-16T09:16:00.001-05:00

Luke Matthew was born this morning at 8:15!

He and mom are doing well.

Weight: 8lbs 3oz

Height: 20.5 inches

We are amazed at God's goodness and the joy of growing our family. Can't wait to introduce you all to Luke!

It was a c-section so your thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery for Missy are much appreciated.

Thanks,

Brandon, Melissa, Ashley and Nicole

Missy on April 15

2008-04-15T21:12:00.000-05:00

This is what Missy looks like as pregnant as they come.

As ready as we are going to be

2008-04-15T05:52:00.001-05:00

Well, just under 24 hours from now we head to the hospital for the arrival of our third child (He is what makes this 5brown and not 4brown). People keep asking if we are ready and I think we are finally at a point where we can say we are as ready as we are going to be. The house has been cleaned top to bottom, the nursery is all set and the bassinet is in our room. Grandma is in town and having a blast with the girls who are also very excited to bring home their little brother.
Now, are we ready to be a family of 5- as a friend put it, move from man on man to zone defense? We will have our hands full and in our own strength we would not be able to survive a week, but the Lord will provide the strength we need. I just went to look up Isaiah 40 and ran into these amazing verses that I just have to share now.

The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him.Exodus 15:2

Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. 1Chronicals 29:12

The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him. Psalm 28:7

Awesome is God from his sanctuary; the God of Israel--he is the one who gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God! Psalm 68:35

The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. Psalm 118:14

"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation."
Isaiah 12:2

He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Isaiah 40:29

but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Ephesians 6:10

And in case you are still reading, this is one of my favorite prayers in the whole Bible an I pray it for you all, and ask for your prayers over Missy and the baby during the delivery and recovery.

Ephesians 3:14-21 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith--that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Climbs better than dad

2008-03-07T20:17:00.000-06:00

My Kid's Smart!

2008-03-05T22:04:00.000-06:00

So I came home the other night and found my 3 year old sitting at the dining room table with a pen and piece of paper. She had drawn the attached. The only ink on this page she didn't do is the star (her mom did that).
So it appears she takes after her mom in both the striking good looks and the brains!

Leap Day Fireworks

2008-03-03T18:40:00.000-06:00

We headed downtown on Friday night. Missy and the girls took the train and I joined them at a station close to my work. The girls loved the train and we made it downtown for a "fancy" subway dinner. We caught a cab at 6:25 and asked for Michigan and the river... after a confused look we explained there was a 6:30 firework show. Apparently he too was a fan of fireworks and did his best to get him there on time. We turned onto Michigan avenue and shortly there after saw the Wrigley building windows reflecting some flashes of light. Our cabby took off and turned up the side street and up to the river. We got out of the cab and were the first people (there we not many of us) behind the cop who kept people from walking too close to the sparks. The girls really liked the first 3 or 4 minutes, but then when the loudest bangs started they got scared and never recovered. Luckily the show was amazing and short (can't bank on nice weather Feb 29th) afterwards we stopped in the Fannie May (ate one for you dad) that was across the street, caught a cab back to a 7:30 train and were home in time for bed time, well almost.

Seattle Trip

2008-02-18T22:14:00.000-06:00

Why take a 3 year old, a 19 month old and 7 month pregnant wife on a 4 + hour plane ride?
I had to travel to Seattle for business but we also have been trying to find a time to head out west and see our good friends Becky and Rob who have kids very similar in age to ours. We also had some frequent flier miles deal that was going to expire before we would be traveling again (Missy isn't supposed to fly starting tomorrow due to the pregnancy and flying with 3 kids probably won't happen much; at least not until #3 is a little older.) Additionally I had hopes of getting some skiing in and WA, and OR have just been getting dumped on this year. On top of those factors, flights were only $212 so we took advantage and booked the trip.

A cabin in the woods
Ashley and Nicole were both great on the packed flight out there. We lucked out with the weather as Chicago had gotten lots of snow every other day of that week. Becky picked us up at the airport and we spent the weekend at their house. Rob is the director of Cascades Camp and they live on the property so we had access to a cabin of our own. It is a beautiful area of the country and the rain doesn't seem so bad when the alternative is sub zero temps at home. We spent most of our time at Becky's house but had a good time with the girls in "Maiya's other house", the cabin. Speaking of "other house's", Becky and Rob are just weeks away from their new house being done. The weekend we were there was the one weekend that Rob had to paint the entire house. It was an impressive undertaking and he had gotten a ton done by the time we got there, but there was lots more to do.

Marmalade anyone?
Saturday it worked out for us to borrow Becky's Expedition and meet our cousins, Mike and Leslie, in Yelm. They drove up from Portland and it was great to grab lunch with them. They are about the best listeners and conversationalists I've ever known, trouble is, they are so good that 3 hours of talking and you barely know what is going on with them. Still a great time, but just making the point that next time we will have to spend more time and make it a point to talk about them too. Thanks for lunch guys! our turn next. Maybe Mike can provide Marmalade sandwiches or something (Mike asked for Marmalade for his toast and they had to look around to see if they had any. Turned out they had a 2 gallon drum of it and were willing to open it if he wanted it, but also offered to let him take it home since no one ever asks for it. Mike opted for the latter so if anyone is craving marmalade, let me know I'll get you his number)

On our way back to Becky's (about 15 min drive) the car started puttering funny and upon our return Rob drove it around. It did it again and the check engine light came on. So with one car down, two pregnant women and a house to paint, the odds of me getting to the mountains to go skiing were quickly dwindling. But I was prepared for that. It was first a family weekend with hopes of getting some skiing in. (Crystal, which was where I was hoping to ski had 300+ inches already this season and 3+ feet in the days before my arrival. So much snow that the mountains were closed- power issue, road safety, avalanche danger, etc.) So we stuck around the camp and I helped Rob paint (just a little) and we took some walks when the sun peaked out. We also fed the horses that live just across from their house. It was wonderfully relaxing and great to spend time with Becky and Rob and lend a hand as we could.

Sunday afternoon we all headed up to Seattle to stay at Rob's parents house who were out of town. We grabbed a fun dinner down on the water in Seattle did a bit of the tourist thing (merry go round). Then headed to the very cool house of Rob's parents. They had a hot tub in the back overlooking the Sound and when we turned off the jets you could hear the sea lions barking. Not your typical February day for a Chicagoan.

I went into work on Monday and Tuesday and when my coworkers heard that I didn't get my skiing in over the weekend it prompted a Tuesday afternoon flock to the mountains. Business went great, very busy, but great the two days I was there but the highlight was the chance to see 6 of the "originals" interact and take me skiing. Great guys, fun stories, wonderful skiing. We lucked out with the weather and had the mountain quite to our selves. Bit too long of a story for my already too long blog posting, but I had a chance to ski a lot, on Alpine and Telemark skis... both were great, but I love Tele! No pictures to prove it this time, but definitely made catching the flight back to Chicago much easier knowing that I had gotten some skiing in.

Maybe I'll add to this later but for now thought I'd share that story.
Posting some pictures here as well but my apologies as this is a very poorly photographed trip; busy taking care of the kids i guess; not photographing them.

Sledding Photos

2008-02-02T15:53:00.000-06:00

With 10 inches of fresh snow we headed to the sledding hill (yes, man made, we still are flat landers). Of course the trip was mainly for me (Brandon) as Melissa is too pregnant, Nicole is way too small and Ashley is content with sledding on "hills" I make when shoveling the driveway.

We got there after suiting up and getting out the door (still a big process) and Ashley was quite excited. Nicole even got excited about getting into her red "infant-boggin". The hill is quite large and does look exciting. Ashley and I raced striaght to the hill (Ashley in tow) and ran up. The trail goes up the side of the hill and there are trees enough that you can't see the runs as you hike up. So we got to the of the hill and Ashley and I jumped on the sled. I asked her, "are you ready?" She gave an excited "yeah!" A woman standing at the top of the hill said, "Wow, she is brave." I joked, "It's her first time, she doesn't know she should be scared." Little did I know, I should have been scared.

The snow was only 24 hours old, but it had been warm enough to melt and turn to ice overnight so as we started down the hill we picked up speed quickly. Then started bouncing and bumping and snow was flying everywhere. We eventually "crashed" though I managed to keep Ashley on top of me. Her face was covered with snow and she was trying really hard to have fun but said, "that hills to big for me, I think." We stuck to to the bottom of the hill after that- except for me trying the biggest hill once. I determined that sledding pretty much just hurts, a little fun, even less control- made me wish I could ski soon. Maybe next weekend. Anyway, here are some pictures from the day. We all had a good time and no one got hurt.

Nicole's Dedication

2008-01-21T07:01:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we dedicated Nicole to the Lord at our church. The highlight for Melissa and me is that her whole family came to the service. The service was very short, but so important to take some intentional time to pray for Nicole and for us to make the commitment to train her up in the way she should go. We chose Joshua 1:8 as a verse for her (which sets the bar pretty high- but by the Lord's grace we can do it). "This book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success."

Check out our photo site (link to the left) for a few more pictures.

We were also excited to share the service with 8 other families, one of which was Jay and Megan Miles dedicating there second daughter as well. My boss and his family (Mark , Megan's brother) was also at the service- well, not exactly- he was in the main sanctuary and missed the dedication service, but was there afterwards.

We had a fun and casual brunch back our our place afterward including all of Missy's family minus Matt and Stacie, but plus Tina and Joe. We had a ham, egg casseroles and a yogurt bar- which is my excuse to get in my favorite breakfast of vanilla yogurt, granola and fruit, but it worked out nicely and we had some good conversation and a great time hanging out in the sun filled house on a single digit day (it was 0.9 when we all got back here, but warmed up to 5.6 by the time people were leaving).

The Lord used the day to minister to us and it is our prayer that others were blessed as well.

Stones of Remembrance

2008-01-18T10:45:00.000-06:00

This story of the Lord's goodness is far over due in being written but as I sat down to write what God has been doing in my life in the past couple year I couldn't get over the Spirit's nudging to document the hand of protection that God had on our family in our first few years of marriage.
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Stones of Remembrance

In the Beginning

Proving that love is in fact blind, even after 5 year of dating, by the grace of God Melissa Brown married me on June 16th, 2001. It was a beautiful June day and as far as weddings go this one was perfect. The weather was beautiful, so many of the special people in our lives were there and Melissa's parents had provided a first rate wedding. The only complication was not having enough time with all the wonderful friends who were in town to help us celebrate the beginning of our lives together. As with every wedding day, this one had been eagerly awaited and meticulously planned. But there were additional factors that made the day that much more special. First off since the day we met as 15 year olds people joked about how convenient it would be for us to marry as Melissa (aka Missy) wouldn't have to change her name. Secondly, we had dated long distance 9 months of the year for all four years of college. Even well meaning friends early on expressed doubts that we would be able to stay together through college. Others warned that we would not be able to get to "truly experience" college life if we felt tied down by a long distance relationship. But as we look back we see how the opposite was the case. God protected us from hard or unhealthy relationships and allowed us to form lasting friendships without the complications that dating can introduce. We were also able to focus on our studies and actively participate in the ministries at our respective schools (and I at times on mountain climbing or skiing but that is besides the point). Perhaps best of all we had fantastic and romantic trips to see each other. While the trips were more frequent than we perhaps could afford they were worth the investment and paid dividends in memories and a courtship that had it's own unique flavor and established Vermont as a place that we both look on fondly and long to visit. The good byes were made easier each time as our mutual assurance of commitment grew stronger and the chance to begin our lives together drew nearer. The difficulty of distance did grow us stronger. God used that time apart for us to grow dependent on Him so that together we could be the husband and wife that God desired us to be. We came to the marriage ready to love one another as a demonstration of God's goodness and celebration of the unity that the Holy Spirit provided us- despite the 1000 miles between our daily lives. It might be said that we beat the odds by staying together, but that would not be giving the credit where it is due; the Lord kept us together for His purposes.

In Sickness and in Health

In the wedding vows on that day, we promised our love "in sickness and in health" and meant it. We and so many of the people there who knew my clinical history battling severe allergies and asthma thought that Missy was the one for whom that promise was going to be more about the former (sickness). As I will tell you, in the Lord's providence and wisdom that was not the case.

Only a few months into our marriage Melissa began to wake every morning with intense back pain. Soon she was waking up in the night and not sleeping well. We went to see the doctor and tried many things. Eventually we got a MRI that didn't show anything abnormal in her back that would explain the pain. There was a condition called Chiari that the doctors told us we should go see a neurologist about. Perhaps it was frustration with the lack of answers or Missy's inability to describe or pinpoint the pain but we opted to try a new pricey mattress and some physical therapy that the doctor recommended. The notion of more doctors appointments and treating a symptom free condition, "Chiari" whatever that is, was the last thing we wanted to do. But more likely God had more work to do in us and had a greater plan for His glory.

The "Dress Rehearsal"

In addition to the back pain the pain in Missy's hip from a high school soccer injury was getting worse and caused increasing difficulty walking and skiing. I mention the skiing because a good friend had given us his slope side house in Big Sky Montana. He had graciously given us his house and provided excellent suggestions for where to eat as well as the best masseuse in town. The masseuse was quite amazing and knew a lot about the problems with Missy's hip. She started us down the path of physical therapy to heal the injury to Missy's hip. Back home, a group of Physical Therapists provided some great treatment but there remained a good amount of pain. They suggested a cortisone injection deep into the hip joint. This procedure required full anesthesia and extensive radiology exposure since it is essentially steered by x-rays. This was the most intense surgery (though rather minor as far as surgeries go) that we had to deal with. We were very much in a hour of need and God had equipped us for this trial. By this time Missy and I were well connected at Harvest Bible Chapel. We had, through our Church, built a great group of friends through the 2:1 ministry (newly married couples small group). They had been surrounding us with prayer through all of the unknowns of this time. My little brother was on a summer missions project in Lake Tahoe, CA. He and his whole team (including the team member who is now his wife) were lifting us up in prayer. My family and many of their contacts across the country and globe were lifting us up in prayer. The peace that the Lord provided in those days was an amazing blessing and largely because of the prayers of so many people. The day of that operation I had just seen Missy for the first time since anesthesia and she was doing well but not fully awake yet. The nurses suggested I let her rest and so I used that time to make my calls letting the team of prayer warriors know that all had gone well. At that point I picked up a voice mail from Melissa's college roommate, Kim. She had called at just the time that we felt the immense anxiety lift and a peace that is hard to explain. Her message was a prayer for the Lord's hand of protection over us and for our hearts to be at peace. The Lord provided us with the medical care we needed, but more importantly with the support we needed from His Body, the Church. We learned first hand what it meant to believe in the power of prayer. James 5:16b-"The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working."

Arnold who?

The cortisone shot was somewhat successful in aiding in with the hip pain. It allowed us to travel out to California and visit my brother on Lake Tahoe. Unfortunately the back pain continued and even got worse. We visited a few doctors more and got some suggestions but no real answers. Then in late July we were referred to a Neurologist. Both of us thought that it was going to be just another appointment with no answers and because of some conflicts at work Missy decided to go alone to one of these appointments for the first time. A little side: never go to a neurologist alone. The Neurologist, Dr. Cozzens, was certain that the back pain was due to the Arnold-Chiari Malformation. In Missy's case 26mm of her brain stem were extending down out of the foramen magnum into her spinal cavity. Her symptoms were atypical but the reason for the back pain was that the spinal fluid was not able to flow freely past her brain stem while she was lying down and the discs in her back were drying out. Most Chiari patients suffer from debilitating head aches, visual impairment, loss of feeling and worse. The typical extension that justifies surgery is 7-10 mm and at 26mm the doctors were unable to explain why her symptoms were not worse; even why she was able to walk or breath on her own. The doctor recommended brain surgery as soon as possible.

Processing the news

We got that news the day before we were leaving on our annual road trip to Rockport, MA. We didn't get much sleep that night and the drive was one of the longest we can remember. We spent many hours staring at the road trying to process the news and think of how to tell her family that was all at the beach already. We had just picked up the Third Day album, Offerings II and the line that still rings in my head is "and things of earth will go faintly dim, in the light of His Glory and Strength." We wanted the things of earth to grow dim so we could focus our minds on His Glory and Strength. We needed those 16 hours together on the road to sit together, pray together, cry together, laugh nervously and choose joy despite the trial we were facing. We told Missy's family the night we arrived and the support of the family and time on the beach was just what we needed. We decided to schedule the surgery but to get a second opinion in the mean time just to play it safe; brain surgery isn't something we wanted to rush in to.

Second Opinion- No second guess

The weekend after we got back we went up to a friends place in Michigan. (As I tell this story I realize that we were D.I.N.Ks, (Double Income No Kids) and got to travel a lot) Our friends taught us to water ski and Missy did well after getting dragged behind the boat for a while and holding on with amazing fervor. The Monday after we saw our second opinion doctor who entirely removed any doubts we had about having the surgery. -By the way, I decided to join her on this doctors visit. Think of me as a quick study.- The doctor lacked in the bedside manner department but came highly recommended and was clearly quite bright. His comment was that if we didn't do the surgery and up until we did it we should watch for sudden onset of new symptoms which would most likely not be reversed by the surgery. We ask, "like what?" His answer, "Well a variety of things, headaches, tingling, loss of sensation, auditory and visual hallucinations, sudden onset of death." Like I said- a bit weak in the beside manner but there was no mistaking what we had to do. Two years into our marriage we were scheduling brain surgery.

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Romans 12:12

Melissa's courage and strength going into the day of surgery was undeniably the hand of God. We were so surrounded by prayer that it should not have come as a surprise. That morning as we drove to the hospital it all felt very surreal. It was so early and such a break from routine to drive to Evanston. I don't recall too many details from that morning until the time that Missy and I had in the pre-opp room. It was a moment that the love that we share was wonderfully tangible. Then Missy's parents showed up and a surprise visitor of pastor Craig, the pastor of the church Missy had grown up in. Missy's dad asked for a prayer and Craig became a vessel for the Holy Spirit to speak just the words that we all needed. As they rolled Missy down the hall to the OR the goodbye was reminiscent of the airport goodbyes we had during college. We knew it would feel like a really long time until we were together again, but we knew that if we looked to the Lord for strength we would soon be together again. Missy told me that it was only a few short minutes that she was alone before the sedation took effect and in those time songs of praise filled her mind and she knew we were doing what had to be done and that God was in control.

On the other side of the walls I was joined by Rich and Sue (Missy's parents), Ev and Jim (my parents), Pastor Craig, Kim (Missy's college roommate), Joe (a good friend of mine from Church), Debbie and Chuck (long time family friends of Missy's- Debbie being a nurse at the hospital which proved very helpful) and a flow of friends and family that made the long 6 hours one of the fond memories of God's goodness. So much support was shown to us; so many hours of prayer; so much reality- only the lasting things matter when brain surgery is happening- and they all came to show how much they cared for Missy. The doctor came out at the end and reported that everything had gone wonderfully because, to quote, "Missy has perfect anatomy. Everything was where it should be." To which I think it was Rich who pointed out if that were the case he would have been at work that day.

"yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes
my feet like the deer's; he makes me tread on my high places." Habakkuk 3:18-19

After explaining to her that all had gone well and where she was 3 or 4 times as she came out of the sedation it was clear that God had been working in our lives to make us rely upon Him for strength. The recovery was a tough battle; and the first night in the ICU was the hardest point of the whole thing. The difficulty in moving and managing the pain became very overwhelming. It was through this surgery that we learned that Missy's body does not process most pain drugs at all and the ones that did work only worked partially. But much like the relief that came with the sunrise, and visitor hours (and the warm coffee and breakfast they brought) God showed us that He was with us the whole time and we need only look to Him for strength. The pain that Missy was in was only for a season; the back pain was gone; no permanent neurological damage was done. We have yet to hear of anyone with such a severe herniation with no symptoms and most of the time any symptoms of Chiari are not reversible with surgery. We had reason to rejoice, but even had things gone differently, had her symptoms been worse or the surgery not had gone as well we know that God is in control and the hardships in life he allows are not without their purpose.

His ways are higher than my ways and His thoughts are higher than my thoughts, but as I look to the faithfulness of God as he brought us through the trial He allowed, I am so thankful for His ways. I would never choose them, but having been through the storm I am more in Love with God for all that He is, closer to my wife, more appreciative of our health, and more keenly aware of the joys of this life.

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 1 Peter 5:10

And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!" Revelations 5:13

Fevers & Funnies

2008-01-16T22:58:00.000-06:00

Well it has been a bit longer than I planned between posts but perhaps that is because life around here is really busy but at the same time not quite publishable material- but I suppose I just need to get in a more bloggish mentality of "everything is bloggable" even if it isn't publishable.

Nicole was kind enough to have brought home a nasty head cold and fever that she was happy to share with Ashley. Nicole's fever has been gone a few days though Ashley's has stuck around. Melissa picked it up just yesterday. All of them have been big troopers about being sick. Ashley tells us multiple times a day, "I'm done being sick. I want to be healthy." Which is exactly what I say when I'm feeling under the weather, which so far I've avoided this time around.

We are just hoping for a turn around by this weekend. Sunday morning we have a dedication service for Nicole. We are inviting some friends but mostly just local family to join us as we commit to raising Nicole under the instruction and methods of the Bible and through the power and wisdom of Jesus Christ. This has been our approach for some time now (her whole life) but this service will give us a chance to make a public statement and let other close to our family also pledge support and prayer for Nicole, our little rascal. Feel free to come should this blog magically get some readership in the next 3 days- 9am in Rolling Meadows.

Happy New Year

2008-01-01T16:47:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year!
New Years Eve with toddlers is a wonderfully quiet night. (well except for the canon blasts, that our neighbor shoots off every hour on the hour from 9 till midnight to ring in the new year)

The Weather man got it wrong when he called for an inch of snow on New Years Eve. We had about 5 inches by the time dinner was done so we bundled up and headed out. Ashley felt fearless in Dad's goggles and headlamp and Nicole was quite brave about the snow as well. It was pretty warm and we ran in the snow and played with the camera. I ran back for the sled and we took a long stroll down the sidewalk. On the way back we saw neighbors and played some more.

Check out the pictures on our photo web site (link to the left)
Have a great New Year!

Christmas Letter

2007-12-31T11:27:00.000-06:00

As 2007 draws to a close it is fun, exciting and mind blowing to consider how quickly Ashley and Nicole are growing up. They always keep us very busy and typically well amused. Ashley has loved being the big sister, especially now that Nicole is old enough to chase her around the house. From the time she was able to crawl Nicole would find a way of being right at Ashley's feet and that has not changed. The two love to play together. They have tea parties in the sandbox, climb anything they can (wonder where they get that?), use string to play "Choo Choo" train which involves Ashley walking backwards as Nicole runs to keep up holding the other end of the string. Thankfully Nicole has learned to fall gracefully and when not, heal quickly.

Ashley is going to preschool twice a week now and loves it. At first she was quiet and shy which surprised us all because she talks a good amount at home. She has a growing list of expressions that keep us laughing. Currently she finds about ten things a day which to exclaim, "What in the world?" as she furrows her brow and looks to us for an explanation. Overall she is a great listener and loves to help around the house, especially in the kitchen.

Nicole loves her time with her sister but also has enjoyed the times when Ashley is off at school and she gets undivided attention. She is quite good at communicating her needs with her very few words, but mostly just grunting, pointing and devising ways of climbing up to whatever it is she is going for. We are hoping some of Ashley's listening skills will rub off on her soon, but to date, Nicole's favorite activity is practicing different ways of charming her way out of the trouble she gets into. She is a wonderful self entertainer and is a very content child, when she gets her way.

Brandon is still working for Picis and really enjoying his work on software applications for hospitals. As for Missy, this has been a year of changes. Along with taking care of the girls, she has become an independent consultant with Arbonne,which is a botanical based skin care company that also specializes in nutrition, weight loss and aromatherapy. (www.brown.myarbonne.com.) The biggest news from the home front is that we are expecting our third baby in April! Ashley is especially excited, and she likes to tell everyone that her mommy is having a new baby, and proceeds to try to show them Missy's growing belly.

It has been great to hear from so many of you and we hope that you had a great Christmas! Wishing you all a wonderful new year and that we can all grow closer to God through His Son Jesus Christ!

Love,

The growing Brown Family

May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you.
1Thessalonians 3:12

Welcome

2007-12-31T11:22:00.000-06:00

We are back to blogging. We have been posting our pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/brandonmbrown if you care to see those. But now we will supplement that with some stories and text. Starting with my next post.
Thanks for stopping by.