We start'em early

While I hope to soon blog more about Christmas and what is going on with us, this is just a quick peek at Luke today to wet your appetites. Aaron got an ornament that plays the Mississippi State Song and Luke has definately grown attached to it-and learned a new phrase:

Reading Grandpa's Boat Book

The Most Perfect Christmas Picture Ever:

This is Luke reading his "Boat Book" to Santa, wearing his Daddy's Santa hat. It was this morning and even though I need to be packing for our trip (we are leaving in the morning!) I had to put this up here. ENJOY!

See the ticker? Its up there-at the top ^

Only 13 more days until Christmas! That is less than two weeks! How exciting!! I hope you are enjoying this time. The shopping and the cards arriving in the mail make me think of others, the music on the radio reminds me of the Joy of this season, and the bells dinging outside help us return our focus to the giving spirit that is to accompany this time of year. The trees in houses and outside that are evergreens remind of the eternality of our Lord...I could go on and on. I hope that you don't miss it-don't get overwhelmed or stressed.
Have Peace. Isn't that what we are celebrating anyway?

Yet another short post

It snowed here a couple weeks ago, several inches and it sits on the ground looking pretty. The past couple of days though it has sleeted, rained, and melted just a little bit...so now the snow has an odd shiny plastic look to it...it's like Barbie snow...I don't know how to describe it better than that. So it looks odd, but its funny. Thought I'd share.

Good Job!

Today I was playing Luke's miniature piano, in hopes of getting him interested in it (so I could check my email without him in my lap).
Well, instead of Luke running over and taking the wand from me, he smiled and said, "Good Job".
Of course this is what we say all the time to him, but this was more that mimicking-this was in context!
And so very sweet. I have such a sweet kid!

Don't I feel special?

This morning Luke looked at me from across the room ,and then he blew me a kiss. Complete with the smacking sound and everything! It was F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-C! He may never do it again though, he didn't seem to think it warranted the response I gave...oh well. Great while it lasted.

This Christmas

We will be spending this Christmas in Mississippi! We are excited. And a little stressed, maybe. Christmas cards should be out Monday, packages Tuesday, and I'm lacking just a little before I can say I'm done shopping. Sad to say, but I'll probably finish up shopping in Mississippi.
We are going to drive down, 12-ish hours. whew. I'm already tired thinking about it. I know some things already-number 1: Aaron is going to play football with the guys one day. Just so you know. ;) Lots of Bonner family to hang out with! (I'll miss you Emily!!) And I hope to visit with some friends and oo and aah about how big little ones are getting. Possibly walk around outside without snow boots (hahaha)...it doesn't take much to excite me. But that's a good thing.
Yesterday I was struck once again by the fact that when we go over to the Sprayberry's house, Mary won't be there. It was so odd and incredibly sad to imagine sitting on a stool in her kitchen and not being about to talk to her... I am overwhelmingly excited about where she is right now-in the presence of our LORD!! But I think maybe not being there where she was, not actually missing her being there, because I'm not there, is making it take a little longer for reality to set in that she is at home, in heaven. Meaning I'll see her when I get there, but not when I am in Mississippi this Christmas.
Our wonderful God who created our emotions and gives us the amazing capacity to be happy, joyful, feeling a loss and sad-all at the same time! Thank you.

Christmas Pictures

Thanks Kelly for coming over and taking these! They are so nice! This is us in our living room with our decorated mantle and tree, taking pictures. Doesn't Luke look so adorable?? We choose this one to send out as Christmas cards:

Here we are reading our "Jesus book" with Luke and trying to get him to pose a little by getting him to pray. lol. We are such manipulators.

If you look closely at the next picture you may can see Luke's cuts and bruises, he had a rough weekend before we took these, poor kid. He's tough though.

Its amazing how much he has grown since the last Christmas pictures we took!

Yeah, I know. I'm odd.

I am wearing my lower retainer for the first time in, well...lets just say a long time. And I'm thinking today isn't going to be very pleasant. I am wearing it because me teeth are shifting, its very uncommon for me, they usually stay put pretty good but my bad habit of gnawing on the inside of my cheek (gross I know) has kind of taken over and I think it is contributing to my teeth shifting and to the headaches I've been getting lately...
all that to say, Keep me accountable please, if you see me chewing my cheek stop me, sometimes I do it without thinking. Bad bad habit.
Probably To Much Information but hey, my blog, I can talk about whatever I want.

I'm BACK!

Oh my goodness, everyone let out a collective sigh...
*sigh*
Finally, I'm back online. We recieved our new Dell in the mail today and I put it together myself! I know, I'm good. Okay, okay-Luke helped. He is now typing on "his" keyboard (the old computer's keyboard).
I don't have anything for you right now, I'm just so excited to be back online! I'll have something up here for you later-thanks for checking on me!
Come back soon!

Where is your...?

What a smart young man!

By the way, our computer at home is still down, we hope to have it back up soon.

Last Night

Lately Luke has been really into Praying-all the time. It is so precious. He puts his hands together and says "Pray" (or something that sounds similar to "pray").

He wants to pray a minimum of before every meal and every time you lay him in bed, but sometimes the need to pray just strikes him randomly. LOL. We love it.

Also a quick picture of Luke and Aaron singing "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider":

...aren't they too cute?!

Stupid Computer.

We woke up this weekend to discover our computer had crashed, yes-its dead. I have not yet thrown it out the window because we are holding out hope that it can be repaired this weekend-bbuuttt....seeing as how this is the fourth time it has crashed since we got it 5 years ago, that hope is dwindling.
I am right now at Aaron's office at church, hurriedly writing this while he is watching Luke at Afterglow-isn't he just Superman?!

So anyway, I may not be posting for a while, and I may not be responding to any e-mails. I can still be reached.

I mean the internet hasn't be around forever right?

I can survive without it, right?

...right?...hello?

"Don't Smile"

Luke and I play a new game now. Kind of a stare game, a no smiling game, make the other person laugh....I don't know. But he looks at me and I look at him, we have our lips pushed together in a 'trying-very-hard-not-to-smile' face and then one of us smiles or laughs and so does the other one. Then, very quickly we try to school our faces and begin again. I must confess-Luke is better than me! I crack every time, he even makes little sounds to get me to laugh...he cracks me up. I'm not even sure how we "learned" this game but I love it. And when I laugh he peals in laughter! So, so funny. If we can somehow capture it on film I will share, but for now be content with a few snapshots of the face he makes ^ Lol.

Fresh Photo :D

Just now, Luke's toys made it out of the wash...I had a little fun and threw them all out of the dryer at him and for a few mintues he was swiming in toys! He was having so much fun with his "new" toys! It was too funny so I took a picture and put it online right away:

Keeping count?

I don't know how many of you realized this...I just did. But I have blogged more times this month than any other month I have been blogging. Just a random fact for you.
October 4th last year was my first post on my brand new blog; so I have been at this a full year now, starting my second. I have really enjoyed doing this. I have also enjoyed hearing from all of you how you read my blog regularly (even if I don't see a comment from you). :D That has really influenced me. I think to myself sometimes, "I should put that on my blog". Or Aaron will say to me, "You should blog about this...". Its nice. I have loved that this is a way for us to share our lives with you. All of you. If you go back to my first post ever, you see different people-we have grown so much in the past year-and you have been a part of that.
Thank you for loving us, praying for us-and for being a part of our lives.
We love you.

Brittany (for all of us)

Run in with the law!

Yes, folks. You read that title right. Today Luke had his first run in with the law (and hopefully his last!).
Allow me to tell you the (now) funny story: He has a toy phone that used to be a real phone, sometimes I walk by and take it away from him thinking he has gotten ahold of our real phone, then I apologize for being a mean mommy and I give it back to him. That's background, today after lunch, he was sitting on the floor holding his fake phone and suddenly I hear, "Hello? Hello?" come out of the fake phone! Okay-NOT FAKE PHONE. I almost just hung up the phone when instead I said hello back...."This is 911 emergency..." AAHHHHH! "I-AM-SO-SORRY!" "Mysonhadthephoneandhedialed911andIamsosorryhehasafakephoneandthatswhatIthoughthewasplayingwithIhadnoideahewasdialingyouIknowyouarebusyandthiswasacompleteaccidentIAMSOSORRYIwillneverletthishappenagain."
...okay, maybe that's what I said, and maybe it isn't, to be honest I was so surprised and I really probably was talking very fast. The 911 Emergency Dispatcher was very gracious and I was very relieved.
Then about 15 minutes later, our door bell rings...
That's right, Police Officer Santa (yes, that is his real name-don't tease him) was at the door, making sure we were okay. Double checking our story, and that we lived in the house; he even looked at my license and wrote some stuff down. aaahhh. So he was very nice, said maybe when Luke was older we should explain to him why he should not dial 911 unless it is a real emergency-since he probably doesn't understand that now.
Of course I was a little freaked out to see a police officer at my door (I was hoping it was a package with a present in it...no reason...I just like getting them). But he was nice and he was doing his job-making sure we were safe and alright.
Thank you sir. Much appreciated.

okay, I need to go now...Luke just grapped our upstairs phone-gotta run!

New Feature

I am experimenting with Google's AdSense. You may notice an advertisement on the sidebar... Do not click it just because you think I want you to ! This is a real advertisement, and if you are interested in what it says click on it and you will find out more...if you click, I get a little cash. :D But we want to avoid fraud-so really only click if you want to, not because you want to get me money. This is just a trial for me, if I don't like it, I won't keep it. I am not on 24 hours a day so be my eyes, if any ads are not good, please let me know. I don't really get a choice in what appears on my site and that is mildly unsettling, but they apparently base their choices on pertinent key words or topics.
So we'll see what happens!

Be Proud.

For those of you who know me, and who read my blog regularly, this will mean a lot to you. I, myself, am fairly proud of this moment of achievement, so I'll share. In the past I have been strictly a Heinz Ketchup person, don't believe me?

~Click here~

So anyway, in an effort to cut grocery costs at our house we decided to try more store brands. It was a very good thought, but lets be honest here...I really had very little intention of applying that to Ketchup.

Cheese? Sure. Ham? Whatever. Ketchup? uummm....are you crazy?

Well, a Huge growth step for me-I did buy "Not-name brand" Ketchup, and its not too bad. I KNOW! This is a pretty big deal! I won't say whose brand it is but I will say it is not Hunts (I just don't like them).

So anyway, the point is this: I save some change that will add up over time, but really I have gotten a new attitude. I tried something new, something I thought would be a big sacrifice for me, and you know what? Its not such a big deal. And I'm glad I did it.

Flat Stanley's visit

We had a lot of fun with Flat Stanley while he was here visiting us. This is what we did:

First we went to Culver's, because they don't have Culver's in the south. He got his picture taken with the Culver's Crew, and then they gave us some fun free stuff to give to Hannah! They were so nice and had heard of Flat Stanley before.

From there we went to Aurora's Phillips Park Zoo. We saw the Sunken Gardens, and lots of fun animals! We got real close to a very big turkey. We also visited the Zoo's Mastodon Museum. Two Mastodon skeletons were discovered right there on site and we saw some of their bones!

Luke and I took Flat Stanley for a walk the next day, down the street to our local Fire House, the Oswego Fire Department's Station number 2. The Firemen there treated Flat Stanley like a celebrity and were so nice! Here is the Fire Chief with Flat Stanley and Luke holding his fire truck while posing with two real firemen!

On Sunday of course we went to church. All of Hannah's friends wanted to take a picture with him so here they are in front of our church Huge wall map. Our Flat Stanley met another Flat Stanley and they took a picture together-fun.

On Monday we took a special trip into Chicago, just to go sightseeing with Flat Stanley. In the first picture he is in front of the Hancock Tower, then in front of the Field Museum (that's where Sue the T-Rex is!). Then we have a picture of him with the Chicago skyline behind him, you can see the Planetarium, the Hancock Tower, and Navy Pier. And of course we had to get a picture in front of Wrigley Field!

Then Stanley accompanied Mr. Scarbrough to AWANA Headquarters. He looked around and had his picture taken throughout the building. And he even got his picture taken with someone very important-Jenny, she is rewriting the Sparks books right now!

And then we developed pictures of his trip and mailed them, and Flat Stanley back to Hannah in Mississippi. That's the fun thing about Flat Stanley, since he is flat, he can just hop into an envelope and go wherever he wants! We had a lot of fun with him. Thanks for sending him to us Hannah! One day we hope to do all that fun stuff and more with you and Madison and your mommy. Love you!

Bring the Rain

I have heard this amazing song on the radio and I really love the lyrics. I hope they encourage you.

Bring the Rain

by Mercy Me

~

I can count a million times
People asking me how I
Can praise You with all that I've gone through
The question just amazes me
Can circumstances possibly
Change who I forever am in You
Maybe since my life was changed
Long before these rainy days
It's never really ever crossed my mind
To turn my back on you, oh Lord
My only shelter from the storm
But instead I draw closer through these times
So I pray
~
Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain
~
I am Yours regardless of
The dark clouds that may loom above
Because You are much greater than my pain
You who made a way for me
By suffering Your destiny
So tell me what's a little rain
So I pray

~

Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain
~
Holy, holy, holy
Is the Lord God Almighty

Ultimate Monopoly Game

We claimed not to be interested...but we were. We said we wouldn't do it...but we are... We are hooked, almost addicted-you might say.

We are loving playing the McDonald's Monopoly game! We are playing with the pieces and online. I think we are doing pretty good! If you aren't going to play would you please give us your pieces?! That would be awesome. And if you are playing, but not playing online, would you please e-mail us the code so we can play it online? That would be great. I hope you are having fun-play responsibly now-no one needs to eat McDonald's for every meal (at least not every day!). haha.

Vienna Christian School Commercial

On the side bar you see an awesome commercial and then it's hilarious bloopers, allow me to explain:

We are friends with missionaries in Austria, Thomas and Mollie Gardner. This is some of their students (and Thomas appears at the end). They do not have Mountain Dew in Austria and have to import it, apparently this is very exciting for them! haha. They are so talented!! The video cracked me up and I had to share! ENJOY.

Our Visitor

Yesterday Flat Stanley came in the mail all the way from our niece Hannah in Mississippi. We are hosting his visit to our area and need to show him around a bit and then send him back home with pictures of his trip. This is part of Hannah First Grade class' geography project.
I am very excited! And can't hardly wait to show him some of the great places and things to do around here. Any ideas or suggestions?
And don't worry-I'll post after we're done so you all can see too!

Pastor Appreciation Month

October is Pastor Appreciation Month.

Now I don't say this because I am married to a pastor, though I'm sure that's the main reason why I am aware of the focus of this month, but because I think it is a great thing.
This month has been set aside to take notice and appreciate your pastors and why limit it-the leadership of your church.

American Heritage Dictionary -
ap·pre·ci·ate (ə-prē'shē-āt')
To recognize the quality, significance, or magnitude of
To be fully aware of or sensitive to; realize
To be thankful or show gratitude for
To admire greatly; value
To raise in value or price, especially over time

The most important thing we can do for them is pray. And I hope we are doing that all the months of the year, not just this one.

Mrs. Mary Sprayberry

From her Memorial Service, Riverwood Bible Church,
September 14, 2007:

Mary Ellen Sprayberry

July 13, 1951-September 11, 2007

~

What a privilege to have known Mary Ellen Sprayberry. Mary impacted her world with her soft touch of joy, color and laughter. Wife, mother, friend, child of God; Mary occupied all of these roles and she did it with distinction and delight. her arms were most often around someone, if not literally then figuratively. Mary found the world a place that needed cheering up and she did it by being herself. Her kitchen was not only a place of nourishment for her dear family, but also a place for untold number of young people to pass through and be nurtured and love and cared for. When you had Mary's attention, you were her whole world. Mary will be missed. Deeply missed. But what a privilege to have known her, and to have loved her, and to have been touched by her spirit.

Mary's Life Verse:
"...you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind."
Matthew 22:37

The Valley Song:

You have led me to the sadness

I have carried this pain

On a back bruised, nearly broken

I'm crying out to You

-

Chorus

-

I will sing of Your mercy

That leads me through valleys of sorrow

To rivers of joy

-

When death, like a gypsy

Comes to steal what I love

I will still look to the heavens

I will still seek your face

-

But I fear You aren't listening

Because there are no words

Just the stillness and the hunger

For a faith that assures

-

Chorus

-

Alleluia, alleluia

Alleluia, alleluia

-
While we wait for rescue

With our eyes tightly shut

Face to the ground using our hands

To cover the fatal cut

-

Though the pain is an ocean

Tossing us around, around, around

You have calmed greater waters

Higher mountains have come down

-

Chorus

-

Yeah

-

Alleluia, alleluia

Alleluia, alleluia

-
Alleluia, alleluia alleluia, alleluia,

Alleluia, alleluia alleluia, alleluia

-

Chorus

-

Oh, Lord sing of Your mercy,

Mercy, Your mercy

-

--by Jars of Clay

(c) 2003 Bridge Building Music

Hilarious

This is tonight. This was going on for several minutes before I decided to make a video clip of it, so here you go...Luke waking up Daddy:

What do you think...$10,000 worth?

Video

We went to the Sandwich Fair and listened to a Fiddler's Contest. Luke was really enjoying it, and even though it is dark, you can still see Luke laughing and dancing to some bluegrass!

Another video of Luke

Luke pushing his lawn mower through Aaron's legs! He kept doing it-it was cracking us up.

Posting videos is fun!

Video of Luke walking

Luke walking!! He walks all the time, all over the place.

Very possibly the most serious and silly post I have ever written.

The question in my family is never, "Do you have Tomato Soup?", of course I have Tomato soup. There is always Tomato soup in the pantry.
Tomato soup is so good. Whether its a treat, "We are having Tomato Soup!" or a fallback meal, "Well, we can always have Tomato soup...", its always, dependably good.
It can be eaten alone, with a grilled cheese sandwich, with cheese (Cheddar or American), with noodles, and a combination of two or even all! You can be creative, like my brother and shortcut the addition of cheese and noodles by simply pouring your soup over macaroni and cheese. I have heard of people eating their Tomato soup with crackers, or pepperoni slices (not me)-but the options are there, and there are many.
Its a part of my upbringing. A permanent fixture of my life. Tomato Soup is a staple. And I love it.

I had Tomato Soup today for lunch, with noodles and cheese. Did you?

A Wedding Announcement

I have obtained permission to post this....

My brother Cody has gotten married! I am posting some pictures from the wedding at the Justice of the Peace in Texas. They are having their "Real" wedding next year on their anniversary. But Cody and Courtney are really married!

This is a picture of my mom Stacy, my new sister-in-law Courtney, her new husband and my brother Cody, and my dad Dean.

Here is the ceremony:

The new Mr. and Mrs. Cody Dale Durham:

My brother Cody has joined the United States Coast Guard (like my sister), and is leaving for Boot Camp on September 4th. After Boot Camp he'll be headed to California (where my sister Amanda is) for his "A-School". Because he and Courtney are married now, she can go with him and they can stay in military housing in California on base. This is very exciting for them. A lot of changes in their very immediate future. They could definately use your prayers!

Congratulations Cody and Courtney Durham!
We love you!

High School Musical

I have been hearing about a Disney Channel Movie called, High School Musical. Well, I finally watched it and actually really enjoyed it! For a complete review, click here, and you'll be taken to Plugged-In Online's Christian Movie Review.

The two central characters of the movie, Troy and Gabriella, discover that they have a newfound, and common, love for singing. But known as a Math Wiz and a Basketball 'Playmaker', they find that in high school, its hard to be more than one-dimensional. When Troy and Gabriella break out of their stereotypes by simply having other interests, it messes up the "Status Quo" and rocks the school off balance. Other kids start sharing too! Like the skater who plays the Cello, or the basketball player who dreams of baking the 'perfect souflee'. The movie has alot of great points and good themes, such as strong parent relationships, encouraging friendships, and an emphasis on teamwork and perseverance. But what caught me was how normal it seemed that there would be segregation in the lunch room-jocks, brains, skaters, cheerleaders, artsy, nerds, etc. all at separate tables.

I was wondering if that was something any of you have experienced? Do you, did you, find it hard to be multifaceted, more than just a label? Do you see this happening around you? Can you break out? Can you help others?

Just a musing...hope you enjoy.

Luke is 1

Another great picture of "My Guys":

Luke had his very 1st Birthday Party! Yes, thats right-he's ONE YEAR OLD!!

Here are some pictures of him eating his cake and enjoying his balloon and attention.

He is such a big boy: 24 pounds and 30 3/4 inches.

We had a great time watching him play with his new presents. He got so many!

My mom, Stacy, was here for his birthday and made it that much more special.

He is also a very proficient walker, I'll get a pic or video of that up soon. And my next post will be to show you all how we changed Luke's room. Can't wait!