catching up on things

I should have known it would take me a while to get back to the 'ol blog after Mama's passing. It's been a difficult couple of months adjusting to life without her after being so involved in her life on a day to day basis. Sometimes I still have to remind myself that she's not in the hospital anymore. I hope that's not too strange.

 

Even in her death, the Lord used her life to bring us closer together as a family. Al, I'm so glad that you were able to come over (suprise mom) and go through the funeral with us. It wouldn't have been the same without you, so to have the whole family there was a huge blessing.

After the whirlwind of that weekend, we got back to our new reality....Sam started a new job as you know and he is transitioning well. The weeks seem like they go by so fast these days though. Which is good and bad, considering the weekends come fast, but they don't stick around for very long and then it's off to work again. I've been occupying the majority of my time studying and preparing for my big NCIDQ exam at the end of this month. I am a tad bit a lot  nervous about that to be honest. Let's just say, I still have a lot of studying to do, so poor Sam may not see much of me this month!      

Valentine's Date

Although the last few weeks have not really been anything to write home about, we have had a few exciting moments in between. 

It first started when I momentarily lost my mind and you and mom convinced me I needed a PUPPY. I  somehow ended up with that puppy... and wait you ended with his brother.....our poor husbands had no. i.d.e.a. 

You, Me and the brothers

Little Franklin

On a hike with Franklin the day after we got him.

The day we gave him away. 

 I will miss that little guy. 

We are our mother's daughters and those puppies (and babies ) will get us every time. Unfortunately, little Franklin was only with us for about a week. We thought we could do it, but it was not the right time for a puppy after all. He did bring a lot of sleepless nights laughter and excitement to the Brown house while he was here. I'm glad that you and Henry made it back to Sweden safe and sound and the your husband didn't throw him out the window when you got there:) 

A few weeks ago, as you know, Ashley and Rob welcomed their sweet little girl Kate. I waited two weeks to go see her, and was so anxious to get my hands on this sweet little thing. 

she makes the cutest faces.

They are all doing very well and Ashley is such a natural. Kate has great parents and I'm so thankful for this new little blessing in there lives.

A couple Mondays ago we celebrated our birthday a little early with tickets to a NEEDTOBREATHE concert that I got super last minute! It was a great concert. They always put on an awesome show, and this was no exception. I was kicking myself for not jumping on tickets earlier when I first heard about it because I am definitely not as tall as Sam and standing on my tip toes to see over people is not fun:( But other than...a great time was had at the beautiful Alabama Theater.

Tonight we will be hunkering down in the Brown Basement due to threats of severe weather in the area. After the storms last April, you better believe I take these warnings pretty serious! Lord willing, we will all be ok:) Looking forward to seeing pictures of you and Henry!

xoxo,

Whit

Mama

"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints..." -Ps. 116:15

Dear friends and family.... our sweet grandmother, Mama, passed away this morning surrounded by her sons and family. She lived to be 89 years old.

Mama and her sweet smile.

Nicole, and Mama

It has been a long, long year of ups and downs for Mama and although we are deeply saddened by her earthly passing, we are joyful and confident that because she trusted in the Lord, she is with him today in heaven. Her body is healed and she is struggling no more. 

"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." -Rev. 21:3

Thanksgiving 2011

Thanksgiving with the grandkids

I am personally so thankful for this sweet lady, and so glad that I was able to call her my grandmother for the last 25 years. She was one of the kindest, most thoughtful, strong-willed, and loving ladies I have every known. Her love for the Lord and her family were her two priorities. Her passion were those relationships, and we will forever be changed because we knew her. 

With two of her sons, Uncle Jerry, and my dad, Scott

"Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue....Her children rise up and call her blessed....Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."

-Proverbs 31:25-26, 28,30

with Austin in 2010

I praise God, that even in the face of death, He has provided a way for us to truly live....though our bodies decay and our flesh fails us...we are promised a new life with Him by trusting in Christ's finished work on the cross on our behalf. A trust that Mama took with her to her very last breath. 

"Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God, through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them." -Hebrews 7:25

Sweet Mama, I love you and miss you so much already....but rejoice in the promise that, even today, your faith is now sight! 

"So we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For these light and momentary troubles are achieving for us eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, and what is unseen is eternal." -2 Cor. 4:16-18

We love you.

Hello New Year!

Welcome to the world Nolan Brown! Our new nephew was born at 11:36 p.m on New Year's day...that's one reason to celebrate the new year!

Nolan weighed 8.5 lbs and is 21.5 inches long. Melissa (sister-in-law) is doing great and we are all thankful for a healthy baby boy! Can't wait to meet him!

Christmas in Atlanta

Al...it was so good to see pictures of you guys with Bjorn's family at Christmas. I actually forgot that this was your first Christmas in Sweden, since we were all in Dothan last year. I remember my first Christmas away from home, and even though it was bittersweet at first, I'm so thankful for such a sweet second family.

So this was the second time to spend Christmas with Sam's family in Atlanta. We missed Jon and Melissa, and Parker, but I don't blame Melissa for not wanting to travel when she's about to have number 2 any day now.

We spent a long weekend soaking in family, and friends, and everything Christmas. We ate a lot of food, played games, told stories, and enjoyed being together. Here's some highlights from the weekend.

Saturday, I had to go and get some Starbucks, and on my drive I passed by a church and did a little double-take...."Did I just see a camel?" Oh...yes...I did. There was a church having a live Nativity play, and I was hooked...I really wanted to go back and see them and go to their candle light service. I asked Sam and after he looked at me like I was a 4 year old asking to go to a petting zoo, he humored me and we went. 

Obediah the Camel

 

There were probably 1000 people at this candlelight service, but it was a lot like being at Calvary in Dothan on Christmas Eve. We were reminded of the miracle of Christ's birth and the real reason for Christmas....and we sang all of my favorite Christmas hymns with our candles lit. I decided that a candle light service will be our tradition Christmas eve, wherever we are, live camels or not. 

Eileen was a champ the whole weekend, even though she had had all 4 wisdom teeth removed a couple days before Christmas. She definitely took it a lot better than me...that's for sure:)

my favorite of Sam's presents

Christmas Night, the Brown's like to do their annual Lobster dinner. It always gets interesting when you throw in Lobsters. Unfortunately for me, I don't like Lobster, so they decided to make some Coconut Shrimp for me. 

I was in charge of getting the shrimp ready.....I think I did a pretty good job for my first attempt.

We had a great dinner, minus me having to leave the table early...the Lobster smell finally proved to be too much. I was little embarrassed, but it is what it is. I have a weak stomach around certain things.

And finally.....it wouldn't fully feel like Christmas until you see a house with 14,236 inflatable Christmas toys in one yard. Haha. Sam told me about this house, and he had to show me our way out of town. No surprise it was causing somewhat of a traffic jam down the street with people stopping to get pictures.

There were even things coming out of the windows. Whoever thought of this was a genius...whatever they were trying to accomplish, most likely just having the most inflatables in a confined space, I think they took home the gold. I'm sure their neighbors loved it too.

Well that's about the gist of it. Speaking of gifts Al, even though I'm super jealous you got tickets to see Coldplay this year, Sam and I might be getting a new little nephew tonight....we're super excited:)

Happy New Year!!!!

Whit 

Veselé Vánoce

My first Christmas in Sweden was spent in Gothenburg and was fun and relaxing. We went to visit Bjorn's mom Margaretha, her Bjorn, and Tove. Margaretha's Bjorn has two daughter's and two granddaughters, Beata and Hillavye, who were all there with us. It was nice to have kids around during Christmas, they make everything more interesting because they stay so excited about every part of the holiday.

In Sweden they open presents on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas day, so we needed a Santa Claus stand-in for the little girls. My husband got that privilege:)

 It was a little improvised so he didn't have the red suit, but he had a big red sack to make it more authentic. He pulled out presents from the sack and handed them out to us- and the little girls didn't doubt for a minute that he was the real thing.

Margaretha and her Bjorn made a feast for all of us on Christmas Eve, and I loved getting to spend time with them and Tove. 

The day after Christmas is Bjorn's birthday...his 33rd birthday, to be exact. He's quite an old man these days:)

Overall, I had a great Christmas in Gothenburg, even if my American family was very missed. I might have forgotten one thing though... Bjorn got me a Christmas present that was in a little metal box. When I opened it there was a slip of paper that said, "Check your email." So I checked it on my phone and saw that he had ordered us tickets to see Coldplay....in PRAGUE!

Needless to say, I was freaking out a little bit. I love Prague, and have wanted to go there with Bjorn, so it's hard to believe it's actually going to happen. It's a little while away, not until next September, but I can't wait.

So that would explain the title of the post- "Veselé Vánoce" means Merry Christmas...in Czech:)

Hope your week has been good, Whiggle! Miss you.
Allie