3 Decades Old...

Well.... It's official.  I am 10 decades old.  As of Tuesday, I have lived on this earth for 30 years.  My world-wind birthday WEEK has included a trip to the beach with Georgia and Allison, flowers, cards, a trip with work to Birmingham for a conference, dinners with co-workers, a new flash for my camera, a surprise dinner with friends and a fiesta by the pool to wrap it all up.  Needless to say, I am feeling very blessed having my family and friends celebrate this special day!  And believe it or not, I do not feel a day over 18!!  Here are a few pictures from my week-o-fun...

An un-edited picture before going to birthday dinner:)

A peek at what my new flash can do...

Our hats at the beach:)

Here's to my next 30 years!!!

Foto Fun!!

Work Halloween... I was Jessica:)

EZV

Rapper Eli

Surprise!! It's a....

TRUCK!!

BEFORE

AFTER



In case you can't tell, our family has a new addition!  Now parked next to Heidi the Honda, is a new Ford F-150 truck, yet to be named.  Now along with Stuart's big boy job, he has a big boy truck... and all that comes with it:)  I must say that it is mighty nice, despite the fact that I will probably never get to drive it!!  Hopefully this nice new, flex fuel truck will make those trips to the big boy job at the crack of dawn just a little bit more enjoyable!! 

A Boring Blogger...

I must apologize in advance for the lack of enthusiasm and excitement in this blog post.  Not only does it only contain boring information, it also has ZERO pictures for your viewing pleasure.  I promise readers (all 5 of you) that I will return with blog wonderful-ness as soon as I can!!

Basically for my own documentation, here is what has been going on around the Brown house:)  Stuart started his "big boy job" (yahoo!!) last week.  Good thing since he got a "big boy truck."  (next post, I promise:))  He spent the week reviewing policies and procedures, receiving his case load and schedule and creating his classroom website!  It makes the "real world" seem a little more realistic now that he is actually knee deep in working.  I am sure that it will be super realistic once he gets that first pay check!!  Students start on Wednesday, so I am sure that he is excited to actually begin his first year of teaching!  He is currently enjoying one last summer trip, fishing with friends in Florida. 

Not much in my world.  We had a power outage this morning which prevented me from completing my domestic duties... darn.  One of my best friends did welcome a precious new baby, Jack, into the world.  He will be one week old tomorrow and I absolutely can't wait to pay him (and his mom) a visit next Saturday!!  Summer is definitely winding down and it should be a very busy next couple of weeks at work.  I also must mention that I am MORE THAN EXCITED to welcome my therapist at work back from her maternity leave!!  It has been a LONG summer without her!  I am crossing my fingers that she has a smooth transition back into the swing of things as she leaves her precious bundle of joy:)  I am sure with my work craziness and Stuart's school year kicking up, we are in for a hectic few days!!  And once again, I promise to thrill you with a way more exciting post next time.  Until then, check ya later, summer!!

He's a Big Kid!!

Guess What?!?

This guy right here....

HAS A BIG KID JOB!!!  A huge YAHOO to my favorite Stuart in the whole world!! 

You can start calling him Mr. Brown:)  He is the newest special education teacher in Phenix City and will be teaching 9th grade math and co-teaching biology!!  I am so proud of him and know he will be a great teacher for all his students!!

Congratulations, Mr. Brown!! 

My head is spinning!!

I am smack in the middle of site visit and can barely look ahead.  I can honestly say that I have always been blessed with jobs that are not too requiring of my time in the "after hours," but this job is surely not the case (I know, since I have had soooo many jobs:)).  I have put in many, many hours at our agency to ensure that our charts, paperwork, trainings, etc are all up to par.  I am exhausted, hungry, grouchy, emotional and can barely see the light at the end of the tunnel.  I even question myself, "am I cut out for this?"  But then I stop and think of all of the consumers that we have helped and those who's life has been changed for the better, because my agency exists.  I know we are by no means perfect, but knowing that it allows us to have a program, a bed or a staff to look up to tomorrow.... it makes it all worth it.


ps-- to anyone who has called, emailed, texted, facebooked, etc in the past 7 days... forgive me.  I have barely even acknowledged my own existence, much less anyone elses.  I promise I will re-surface when this is all over!! 

A Leave of Absence

Whew... what a week. After graduation, I had a work conference in Birmingham until Thursday and a weekend of work to prepare for site visit (which is quickly approaching)!! Until next week, I will be eating, breathing and dreaming of our state accredidation... no big deal?!?  Unfortunately, I am overwhelmed with cleaning up messes made prior to my arrival at this position, but it has been a tremendous learning experience.  One HUGE lesson learned is how important it is to be a team player.  It amazes me how much more can be done, especially for the good, when everyone does their share and works together.  Hmmmm... what a concept.

Anyways, don't expect any fantastic and inspiring blogs in the near future (as if they were before:))!!  If I can only make it through the next week of my life, I promise to post about the happy and fun times as a Brown!!

“The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime.”

--Babe Ruth

ps-- I am so glad that I do have a wonderful player on my team:)  I couldn't do it without you!!

Green Thumb

Green thumb?  Not so much.  S and I have managed to kill a variety of hanging plants, all in a matter of months.  But for some reason, yesterday I felt the need to become "horticultur-ish" and try my hand at growing some things.  I started by researching a plant that can tolerate decent amounts of sunlight, seeing that for the majority of the day our front porch is in the sun.  After some deliberation, I chose to go with a petunia, that happens to be bright pink.  I really wanted a plant that blooms for more than 1 week, which has been the track record for my previous greens.  The tag claims that it will bloom from spring to fall, so we can cross our fingers that I can enjoy those beautiful pink flowers until the fall!!  I also wanted to branch way out of the box and try my hand a some herbs.  I did cheat a little by buying some that were already grown a little (and they were Bonnie's, Matt)!!  If nothing else, they will definitely provide a splash of color on our bland back porch, seeing that I planted them in a bright and cheery yellow pot.  I started out with some mint, rosemary and cilantro, which are all herbs that I will use in the kitchen.  So... here's to my green thumb (that is crossed by the way, to hopefully achieve success)!!

The new herb garden:)

My "pretty in pink" petunia!!

 PS... Without providing too many details, please continue to keep a situation that I discussed here in your prayers.  Just when we get two steps forward, we step right back.  It does provide hope that I know that there are people in the world who won't give up and are still  helping us fight for what's right.  It just doesn't seem to impact those who chose to work against us:(  Just know that any prayer you send up, it gets put to good use. 

Hope

Despite the daily stresses and ridiculous in's and out's of my job, I love what I do and I can only hope that I am doing everything in my power to make a difference.  Today, I would describe as a successful defeat.  I, along with my staff, stood up for someone who had no one.  We laid it all on the line and pulled out ALL the stops, simply to be defeated.  Would I do it again tomorrow, knowing and expecting the EXACT same outcome?  Absolutely.

I will say that there is a part of me that is not satisfied.  Not satisfied that I am in my clean house, with food to eat and surrounded by a support system who loves and cares for me.  If I could only say the same for the individuals that I work with on a day to day basis, life would be a little bit lot easier!  I would be perfectly content not having a job in the field I am in, simply because it means that there is no longer a need.  Until then... I will continue to persevere, push through, fervently pray, agonize and simply HOPE that tomorrow will be a better day.


PS... Feel free to throw up a prayer or 6.  Trust me, they will not go un-used. 

We're Baaaccckkk!!!

Yup, blog world... we are back!!  After days weeks with no home Internet, thanks to our lovely friends at ___________, we finally reached the end and had a successful installation this morning.  I truly can't believe how much I depend on the Internet for EVERYTHING!!  Between using my small, anything-but-smart phone and loading up to sit in the parking lot of Buffalo Connection (thanks for the WiFi, BuffCon!!), we are very pleased to announce that the Browns are once again, plugged into the high-speed world.

Here are a few, non-exciting events that we have participated in during our 3 week sabbatical:

• Work, work, work!!  Stuart and I are both very blessed to have job(s) that we usually don't mind going to work.  I got to go through some trainings last week, which I was very excited about and have no doubt it will help me in my future.  One of my favorite aspects of working in Mental Health, no day is ever the same.  Each day minute provides a new adventure!!  Stuart is actually working 2 jobs and taking his last undergraduate course ever, so we do not lack for things to do.
• We travelled to Mississippi to help throw a shower for my cousin, who is getting married in April.  It was a great time to spend with family and the boys got to play paintball while the girls "showered."  It was an exhausting weekend, but full of fun!
• We celebrated our first Valentine's in matrimony.  This included a long day at work (for both of us), grilled steak dinner at home and a bedtime of 8:00.  Wow....
• We celebrated my favorite Cotney's birthday.  It's funny that as we get older, each birthday, whether yours or someone else's, simply serves as a reminder of "man, I'm old."

As for our future:

• Weekends at camp
• Taxes at home
• Mardi Gras ball in Montgomery
• Wedding in Mississippi
• Fun at the Beach

So overall, despite the Internet debacle, we are happy, healthy and have no complaints about life!!  We hope this wonderful Spring weather is treating everyone well!!