the complete set

Thanksgiving came a day early this year-- when all of the Brown cousins finally got together for the first time! We were delighted to get to meet and hold and play with Baby William, and introduce him to his cousins, especially Kyren. They have both gone through so much this year and overcome more than most of their peers! It was incredibly touching to see them interact... and we look forward to many more playtimes in the future. Thankfulness for these two strong and healthy boys seems like an understatement!

Thanks, Shutterfly!

Last year we didn't send out a Christmas card. We were a little preoccupied. And frankly, we didn't know how to appropriately include a picture of our boys, when, well, they'd hadn't even met yet. Kyren was born on September 20th, and the first time Christian met him was on Christmas morning. We thought about sending out a New Year's card, but with all of the hospital visiting and preparation for Kyren's homecoming, let's just say ... it never happened.
So this year I have been thinking about how great it will be to finally be able to get that 'first' Christmas picture of our little men, and send it out for all the world to see. And i, being thrifty me, was overjoyed to find out about a certain special offer Shutterfly is having for bloggers. 50 free cards just for letting readers know about how super fabulous their cards are! I have never used them, but i've received a lot of them in Christmases past from friends and family, and have always been really impressed with their quality. In fact the first time i ever took note of them as a company was when i received a Christmas card in the mail a few years ago,and promptly turned it over to see where in the world these people found such a great photo card. And now that i have some cherubs of my own to show off, I am really looking forward to perusing their selection.
So stay tuned for a cute and adorable high def quality 'Merry Christmas from the Brown Family' greeting in a mailbox near you! (for the mere cost of shipping and handling) :)

terrible too

the possessiveness, meltdowns, and all-around-two-ness continue... and my nerves are wearing thin. in other words, i'm failing to see my son's selfishness in his every thought, word and action (specifically toward his brother) as a reflection of my own. i mean, am i really any different? it is truly pulling into focus the immeasurable patience of God. i have such a short fuse when it comes to this terrible two thing. i find myself getting so angry when he yanks the toy out of his brother's hand, or pushes him to the ground when he's too close. and yet how often do i get angry at others for their thoughtlessness, or judge them for their perceived sense of entitlement, or even rail against a complete stranger who cuts me off?
... and how often does God get angry with me? the answer is never. and it's not because i'm any more selfless or self-controlled than my two year old. it's because He's infinitely long-suffering. His Love knows no bounds. and because He only sees me clothed in the righteousness of Christ, my tendency toward self is somehow swallowed up in grace. not that my selfishness should go unchecked. in fact, in all of this mayhem, may i be constantly reminded that i am no different from my little one, except that i have faith in Jesus, and therefore should be all the more overcome with gratitude for the gospel! more motivated to patience and graciousness. and challenged more deeply to love him as God does.
Lord PLEASE teach me to be slow to anger, abounding in love. help me to stop in the moment that i am tempted to yell, shame, or use my physical advantage over him. open my eyes to see the little 'me' in his attitude, his whining, and his manipulation. give me a heart like Yours, that i may discipline this child with consistant, firm, tender love. that i would seek to point out when he is doing well, and shower him with hugs and kisses and pride. and that i would be quick to forgive, and when necessary, confess my own wrongs.
i cannot do this in my own strength. thank you for the promises you give us in your Word that you will never leave us or forsake us-- in parenting, that is such a comfort. thank you that you give grace to those who are weak, and you have compassion on your children. Thank you that you are never-changing, all-knowing, ever-abiding, and eternally merciful. my only hope for this journey lies at Calvary-- where you took all of my terrible-two-ness-- past, present and future-- and abolished it... setting me free to walk in a manner that's worthy of such a sacrifice. it is for freedom-- to LOVE-- that you set us free! teach me how to love my children, the way each of them needs, each step of the way.

who, ME??

"Mommyyyyyyy! HELP!!!!!! HELLLLLLLLP!!!" the cries were loud and desperate from the other room.
i ran to the playroom half expecting to find him hanging upside down in some precarious position. instead he was sitting on top of his train table, trains clustered in his arms. "Kyren's trying to take my trains!!!!"
he's developed this extreme and irrational paranoia (as if any paranoia is rational) that Kyren's appearance on any scene, even if it's catching a glimpse of him down the hallway, means that he is scheming to steal/confiscate/or otherwise abscond with whatever C happens to be playing with at the time. even if it's something too large or heavy for K to possibly be able to lift.
and frankly, it's getting a little ridiculous.
on one hand it's totally understandable-- this little rugrat suddenly has mobility-- and has, on more than a few occasions, helped himself to toys in the midst of their being used by another... namely said victim. on the other hand, the kid has got to chill out. our days now consist of much yelling, screaming, hoarding, panic, sometimes violence, the aforementioned paranoia, and now crying wolf*. not to mention running down the hall and hiding things in another room when it's time to get his diaper changed-- just so Koo doesn't take his stuff while he's gone.
it doesn't seem to matter how often we try to explain that Kyren loves him, is curious, just wants to play with him, and doesn't understand what C's saying to him. not to mention that he's not doing anything truly wrong by wanting to play. he's still convinced the little guy's out to rob him of all that's his. what's truly confounding about the whole thing is that he can turn on a dime and suddenly share sweetly and nicely, for no apparent reason.
ahh, the joys of parenthood. the basic human instinct of anger displayed from all parties involved. the messy, mundane, and beautiful opportunities to show and be shown love and grace, discipline and kindness, selflessness and patience.
and hopefully one of these days he'll just magically snap out of it and the 2 will suddenly coexist peacefully, delighting to share their possessions and hearts freely, without reservation. ha!
or maybe it will take about 18 years of reminders...
either way, thank you God, for the little hearts you've given us the joy of teaching, mentoring, and raising for the glory of your Kingdom. thank you for the Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, and Faithfulness you display toward us each day. gift us with these by your Spirit, that we might point our children to the Giver of all good gifts, and when we are tempted to this same selfish anger as our son, grant us that Self-control we are in such desperate need of to parent effectively.
....and Kyren, please give that sippy cup back to your brother...

*of course this is a list of things Christian is doing, and none of it pertains to parental behavior...well most of it...*

early morning tutelage

~fresh out of bed this morning, Christian decided to read Kyren "My first book of words" -- as you can see, K was a studious pupil.

visit your daddy at work day

that's what we decided today should be, when all of our plans for today began to diminish due to other people's health and general busyness.
so we jumped in the car and drove to wilmington on a 'mystery trip', at which i practically had to promise C there'd be ice cream. fortunately there was. they have everything there. skyscrapers, parking garages, lots of paintings on the walls, elevators, a big cafeteria, an arcade (just a little too grown up for us yet, but someday will ROCK!), a little store (where the ice cream awaited), and lots of friendly faces that were happy to shake hands and/or high five.
C kept saying, "isn't it fun to go visit daddy at work??!!"
during lunch, i pointed out the huge windows all around and said, "wow, look at those bigggg buildings."
christian replied, "actually they're skyscrapers. . . . . . . . they're bigger than me!"
i pointed out a parking garage down the street. his reaction: "that's where other people have their mystery trips."
he ate his yogurt parfait with great delight, and kyren and i helped finish it. then a quick walk through the arcade and a tour of daddy's office and some Edy's dibs for the road.
both boys fell asleep on the long ride home in the warm sunshine, and consequently only had 30 min naps. but it was worth it... for a fun and memorable first trip to see Daddy. (at least since C was a little guy)

walka walka walka!

this week, our little miracle boy decided to take up 'walking' with assistance. he and C have been taking turns pushing each other in the radio flyer cart, and it is truly adorable. k is practicing balancing (and doing impressively well!) with 26lbs of big brother in the cart, and without. not bad for 10 months adjusted! i tried to take video but it didn't turn out too well.
it's fun watching them play together. Christian insists on pretending kyren is a fire dog and asks me to put him in the cart with him, drive them down the hallway, where he then gets out with his paddle (aka firehose) and shoots water up at the painting of a house on our wall, while standing on a chair (aka ladder).
i am experimenting using shutterfly this week... and couldn't get the slideshow to embed here, so this link will have to do for now:

http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/detail.sfly?sid=0AZNWrJm4bNmbiw&imageIndex=0&fid=f18d5476067af1123315f89dbf2f35f7