How to help your hubby get more exercise...

Step one:  Go to a department dinner/end of year meeting-celebration at the park with the fam...

Step Two:  Take the kiddos and head home right after the dinner part, telling hubby you will come and pick him up when the meeting-celebration part is finished...

Step Three:  Come home, busily get the kiddos situated and ready for bed

Step Four:  While doing laundry after the kiddos are all settled (about 1 hr after coming home)... 

               remember that you left this...

                                ... in this...

Step five:  Retrieve above pictured phone to realize in horror that there are SIX missed calls from hubby, with a few 'sweet' messages...

Step six:  Call hubby, to find out that he started walking, and is only about 5 minutes away by now... (and note that it is still about 85 degrees with 80% humidity outside...)

Step Seven:  Own up to the fact that there is no excuse, explanation, or answer other than simply groveling at his feet at the sheer act of stupidity...

...Oops...

... Hey - at least he got some exercise, right??!

A sure fire way to tell...

...If you have skipped nap time...

... so I was trying desperately to reclaim some sort of order and cleanliness to the house in honor of a visit from family (nothing like a visit from family to spur a cleaning spree!!), and as I was doing the floors, I rounded the corner to find that Joshy had found his own little 'bed' (and no, I hadn't mopped the kitchen floor yet... ewwwww!!! oh, and thanks to our new, fancy camera, you can see in VIVID detail just how grimy the floor really is!  - when I pined after this camera, stouting the great detail it would capture... I wasn't exactly picturing dirt detail... but I digress...).  Yep - just another check in my 'mother of the year award' box... 

To my Dad...

I love you and I miss you on this Father's Day.  

I couldn't find a picture together, so I put this one of you with Sarah... (and it was depressing how far back I had to go back to find this picture!  It's been WAY too long since we have seen you).

What can I say?  

You taught me how to live by your word, but more by your example.

You taught be how to hoe beets, by telling me how, and then  physically being there beside me. (...okay, the promise of cinnamon rolls at Prices didn't hurt, either!!)

You taught me your testimony by sharing it in church, and by living it in our home.

You taught me how to work, by telling me to do my chores, and by being outside working with us.  (after you flipped on the light, tore the covers off, and belted out the Cougar fight song...)

You taught me how to love, by saying that you loved me, and then showing me that you loved me.

I could go on... but I'm afraid my tears will ruin the keyboard... I miss you so much, and will never forget the lessons I learned from you (and continue to learn from you).  

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, Dad

I love you

Just a hop, skip, and a jump...

... a really LONG Jump

       .... okay, a really, REALLY LONG Jump away....

Some days I just miss my mom and dad more than others. 

Today is one of those days...

Love you and miss you!!

Stay safe and hurry home...

So you can then come and visit us here!

... or better yet, come and visit on your WAY to back home...

... or come out to MN on your next mission...

... or just pack up and move on out here... ;)

... yep... really missing you today (and every day!)

Bye Bye Blue...

PULL OUT THE PINK!!!!

The BIG Picture...

...Is in TWO days.  Can I just say, I am so nervous I can hardly stand it??!

(and, no, this is not a real picture of our very own baby... just some random ultrasound shot off the internet... I'll scan some of ours in when I get some time... or energy... or just plain desire... oh who am I kidding, it's probably not going to happen for quite some time, so you can look and this and just guestimate about what ours looks like)  (personally, I think they all look like aliens at this point...)

Okay, so with baby #5 why am I so nervous??!  Well, I'll tell you... I don't know.

• Maybe it's because this is the first time we have found out in utero since our first go around

• Maybe it's because after 3 boys I am SO ready for a girl I can already envision the cute pink and purple onsies, complete with matching JoBows (you ARE still going to make just a few darling bows in your spare time, miss Jolene, AREN'T you??!!!)

• Maybe it's because I was SO sure that the last one was a girl, that it took me a few seconds after delivery to realize that it wasn't a 'girl with extra parts'... I had, indeed, just delivered a boy... (and was glad I had stuck a couple of boy 'go home' outfits in with the whole bagfull of girl 'go home' outfits for our new guy)

• Maybe it's because my father in law called a while back to say that he had a strong feeling that we were having another boy (ummm, yea... thanks for that one, Steve!!)

• Maybe it's because this just may be our last one, so I'm trying to really take pause with each stage, really trying to mentally capture the memories before they are gone for good (okay, let's be honest, some stages I would like to pause, most however, I would really like to fast forward, and then be able to replay in the pause mode...)
• Maybe it's becuase I am just overly hormonal, and can pretty much cry at the drop of a hat lately...

• Maybe it's because I am always just a touch on the 'dramatic' side, and this is just another way to add stress and anxiety to my life...

So, what's your guess??  Now is the official time to cast your vote for "What will the Brewer Baby be??!!"

P.S.  If you say boy, I just may reach through the internet and poke you in the eyes... 

P.P.S... not that I'm hoping for any one gender or anything like that...

P.P.P.S... If it is a boy... I will be happy.  Really I will.  I love guns.  And swords.  And Jedis.  And Random Karate chops to the belly.  And potty training wild-squirting fire hoses.  I do.  Really I do. :)

P.P.P.P.S.  Seriously - I wouldn't give up my boys for anything - I really do love them more than I ever thought was humanly possible to love anyone!  

I HATE School... except...

... Here is an excerpt from our dinner conversation last night...

Dad:  "How many days of school do you have left?"

Seth:  "3 Days!!  I can't wait!!"

Dad:  "Can't wait?  I thought you liked school."

Seth:  "No!  School is SO BORING!  I don't like any of it, except for  math... and reading... and art... and science corner... and p.e.... and group time... and music... and recess... and lunch time... and..."

the list went on, but we were laughing so hard by then, we didn't catch the rest.

Our New Addiction

We introduced the kids to Uno on Sunday, and they have been obsessed ever since!  (as in staying up WAY past bedtime to play "just one more round!").  Sarah came in on Monday morning when we were looking at the FHE assignments for that night and when she realized that she was in charge of activity, said, "Hey, I know the PERFECT activity for tonight... UNO!"         Ben coupled with daddy a few times, then went on his own... and won!  Even Joshy gets into it by slapping the table and yelling "UNO!!"  when he hears someone else yell it.  

      So, watch out, all of you WEPR people... we may just have a new tournament cooking up for the reunion!

If you plant it... it will grow...??

We are on to year 2 of our adventure into the gardening world...

We are doing the 'square foot garden' method... pretty cool...

Wish us luck on our 2nd gardening season :)...

(maybe there is hope for my black thumb after all...??)

To Do List for the Day...

• Save the family...

    Check

(So we made the brave launch into operation:  Food Storage!!  I have been canning, bread making, wheat gathering, but I now have the hubby on board (we no longer have to have the discussion, "food storage vs. dermatology books... simply because I think he finally bought out the dermatology world library!!)  and we are launching a full scale attack on the challenge feeding our family for a year... and can I just say I LOVE Aldi's??!!!  The best place in the world to stock up on canned goods, without breaking the budget :)

• Save the world...
  

             Check

... have you jumped on the environment band wagon yet??  Well, here in rochester it is all the rage.  I admit, I have been dragging my feet a bit, well, except for when I have been forced to comply (they seriously have a place where you have to literally drive your lawn clippings/leaves and even broken electronics to in order to get rid of them.  The garbage man will literally take it out of your garbage can if you try to 'sneak' it by... not that I have tried that or anything...)  ... every house has a FULL sized recycle garbage can, and a recycle truck that comes by every 2 weeks - how sweet is that?!  And, these new 'grocery bags' are now becoming the norm in grocery stores (i.e. the people bring them in with them, and then the baggers put the groceries in here instead of in plastic bags).  

... so I have been carrying a bunch of these 'environmental' bags in the back of the van for MONTHS, but have not ever gotten them out to actually take into the store... until today.  In conjunction with my whole food storage storm, I decided to take the big leap and join the 'granola grocery bag group' and take mine in.  (okay, so it was at Aldis, and they don't provide you with free plastic grocery bags so it's either bring your own or carry each individual can out to the car on your own... not that that was added incentive for me or anything like that...)

... I have to say, it felt so good to be doing something for the environment, however small it may be :).  

• Raise the next superhero...
  

      Check

... for those of you who followed Ben through his superman cape phase... we are now onto a new phase - BATMAN!!  He has already declared that he will be batman for Halloween, and is getting in plenty of practice toting the mask and cape EVERYWHERE (we did, however draw the line at church... the mask had to wait in the car while we went in... and then it got right back on his face when we were done :)  ).

• Make dinner
• Do laundry
• Go to bed

... all in a days work :)