We are going for the record...

of illnesses around here. I feel like I have written about this all too much. First me having Celiac and now Davis has been sick for almost 2 weeks.

Davis started running a fever about 2 weeks ago. He has been very lethargic,weak, and has not had an appetite. Originally he was diagnosed with the flu. Of course the kind that is not covered by the flu vaccine. His fever lasted 6 days, then he started feeling better. He went to school all but Monday of last week. He started to feel crummy again Friday evening. Saturday he played in a bball game and then we ventured to the Shrine Circus. By lunch he was feeling terrible and he didn't want to eat. When we got home he was glued to the couch for the remainder of the day. Sunday was the same, fever off and on and extreme exhaustion. So today we went to the Dr. He had his blood drawn to check for a number of things...I'm praying it is just another virus, which is most likely what is going on. It's just taking it's time to get out of his system.

Please pray that he will feel better soon. He has been down in the dumps because he has missed out on several things that any 10 year old boy would be mad about. Such as VDay party, 4th grade school program, bball championship...which by the way his team won! And today a rootbeer float party for meeting his reading goal. Poor guy :(

Thanks for the prayers once again!

I asked for prayers...

for Connor, David's cousin. With deepest regrets I am asking for prayers for his parents and brothers; Connor passed away on Tuesday evening. Ron,Nan, Brennan, and Brayden, as well as his extended family are in deep sorrow over the loss of this beautiful young man, who is now singing with Jesus.

If you would like to read more about what happened with Connor I suggest reading the Caring Bridge site for Connor.

Please continue to pray for Ron, Nan, Brennan, and Brayden.

God Bless.

Would you please pray...

Last night I mentioned Connor in my post. Connor is the son of Ron Deal, David's cousin. If you know Lloyd and Barbara Deal; It is their 12 year old grandson.

Well, as of today he has not improved. He was still not doing good this morning. They are currently in Amarillo. Yesterday Connor was diagnosed with MRSA staff bilateral pneumonia. Not a good diagnosis.

So please join us in praying for Connor! This sweet boy needs all of our prayers!

Thank you sooooo much!

At the Brown House

There are many things to post, yet I haven't had the time or desire. This has been a long and unfortunate week.

To start things off Sophie began the week on Sunday with a high fever that lasted until Wednesday morning. Then it was Davis' turn and he started running a fever Tuesday evening and is still running one as I write. I will be taking him in to the doc tomorrow if it hasn't let up. He is miserable. Then David returned home from ever making it to basketball and was in bed by 9pm tonight, Davis quickly followed. I'm also not feeling so great. No fever yet.

The tornadoes on Tuesday afternoon wreaked havoc on this area as well. We drove through the north part of Edmond this afternoon and it brought tears to my eyes. As does any other tornado damage that I have seen. It just hurts my heart for the families enduring this natural disaster.

Tuesday we also got word that David's cousin's 12 year old son Connor was admitted to the hospital for pneumonia. By yesterday he was in ICU and on a vent. As of now all we know is that he did start improving some this morning. He was not moved from Amarillo to Dallas Children's. We are praying that he continues to improve;please join us.

To finish out today we have added two canines to the Brown family. Yes, we did have a dog that we got last summer. She was an amazing escape artist. She would jump fences at the drop of the hat. She got out a few months ago and was never found. Last Friday we decided to take in a small black pom... she was not fond of children or men, very aggressive, and nipped a few times. Today we returned her to the rescue and decided to try two of her other dogs that she had. One is a Sibernees (cross between Pyrenees and Husky) and a Calahoula mix. I am hoping they will be great additions to our family. So far so good... they are sleeping soundly outside in the same dog house.

So that's a brief update on my family. Sorry it was a bit of a downer. I will post more about our new pups, who are adorable by the way! Please pray for Connor!

Beauty school drop-out

So we've been hit with ice again. Not as bad as last year. So far all trees are standing. To pass time today Davis and I added a little highlights! Davis even helped pull my hair through the cap! Fun fun...Sophie had fun just brushing through the stringy strands of hair. She finally crashed on my bed at 3pm! I'm off to check the damage.

Simple Entertainment

This morning at church I had the privilege of hearing a wonderful sermon by Jeff McMillon. One of the highlights of his lesson focused on our emphasis put on entertainment. These days we are not easily entertained and often seek out the most extravagant forms of entertainment. I so agreed with his examples. I can't say I have not fallen in to this way of thinking but I do have strong opinions about overspending on lavish excursions over and over...Part of my opinions are based on frugal ways of thinking. Don't misunderstand me; I do think it is good and important to vacation with family. I just think that all to often over indulgence is taking place.

So my intentions of this post is to hear what others are doing for entertainment with their families. What do you do that is simple and memorable with your loved ones?

As for our family we have done many "simple" things to have fun! Here is a small list.
1.Read together
2.Sleep overs
3.Karaoke
4.Make desserts
5.Camp outs (my son has done this the last 2 years for b-day, it was less than $50, and very memorable)
6.Slept out on trampoline
7.drive out to Pops
8.visit Oklahoma attractions (we love Roman Nose State Park)
9.Go to the dog park
10. Visit a family who has farm animals (this has included gathering eggs, and holding baby kids (goats :))
11. Attended concerts in the park
12. Volunteered at outdoor theatre and received free tickets for admission (Summerstock in Edmond during summer)
13. Block parties
14. attended several county fairs and went to 4-H competitions

There are many more but 14 is our family number so I'll stop there.

Eating out is overrated...

How many of you agree with this? Probably not many :) I love to eat out, or shall I say loved eating out. I actually struggled with this at one time...wanting to always eat out that is. mainly because I thought it was faster and easier, I'm starting to realize I was wrong. Not only has eating out been hard on the budget but I'm sure it's been hard on our bodies.

Since finding out I have Celiac I can only eat limited things if we do eat out. Salad...with my own dressing. How fun is that? Maybe a few more items, but not many. There are a few places that have GF items but they are pricey restaraunts like PF Chang (only for Krista's b-day) and Outback. After my most recent episode/flare up last Thursday I'm terrified to eat anything I did not prepare. I'm sure I'll get over that eventually.

I'm proud to say I have eaten all my meals at home for the last 7 days. That is really good for me.Although, I have had a couple of half price medium Coke's from Sonic :) I have made some really good meals this week, and very healthy too! My favorite was a pasta bake w/ GF noodles and salad w/ a huge avocado from Crest. Yum yum! Oh, and I cooked a chicken in the crockpot after pulling all the skin off, that was a chore but very yummy! ( I have made chicken this way many times but never w/o the skin, it is so much better)