Summer Days are Here Again!!!

Holla!!  Finally - school is out and summer has begun! 

I mean seriously, THIRD GRADER, WHAT?!

The Snow Cones stands opened!!!

 We bought a new sprinkler and are spending many hours outside playing (well Mama is at work, but the kids are living it up!)

 I mean seriously.  I die!

 Played so hard Monday, Bree passed out at dinner...whilst eating :)

 Happiness :)

"I am going to sonic Mama, want an ice cream cone?" 

 And mean ole mama won't get the sprinkler out at 8pm :)

 Summer nails...

 Tball nights...big boy playing a the pitcher's mound

Got to see our sweet niece Bailey and Brooke!

Went to Nicole and Aaron's Stock the Bar Pool Party..

Summer is off to a great start!

Monday Catch Up

Once again, another catch up post...

• Boni is out of the ICU and doing good.  I am not going to say everything is perfect and she is a happy camper, but she is good :). Please say a prayer tomorrow for her as she is planned to go in for her final surgery on her leg!
• We had a great Mother's Day (before B had her accident) and I have some cute pics.  I love being my kids' mama and feel very blessed!

 My mama!





 Bree in her new Elle and Ollie dress!


• Owen's last day of school was Friday and boy was the boy counting the days!  Claire's last day is Wednesday and she is READY!  We all are ready for summer...

• This weekend was an easy one and we relaxed. Of course took a few silly pics...

Bree is Owen's shirt and Tara's heels :)

 Every night, Bree puts lotion on with me before we go to bed - She laughs hard because it tickles to put lotion on her feet :)


• Since I have been spending so much time at the hospital, I started reading the 50 Shades of Grey series while Boni slept. Holy COW!!!  I had heard so many things about it, but nothing could have prepared me for what I was diving into!  I never want the books to end :)...I don't think Shane does either :)

Have a great day!

How Great

I cannot thank yall enough for all the prayers! I was so happy to see that I was able to update some of you that know Boni too! 

She is doing much better and very stable.  She is still in ICU and will be through Tuesday, when she has her next leg surgery.  Then we will have to wait and see where they put her after that.  All of her other complications and injuries are healing well and the Dr's are thrilled with her progress.  She is in good spirits and we are keeping her smiling :).  Travis and her mom are having to keep her phone away so does not spend time responding to all the texts and emails :), instead of resting. If you know B, you wouldn't be surprised :).

I have spent every lunch and every evening until late at the hospital with her and relieving Travis or her mom when I can.  I am exhausted, but I will be there to help until she is good to go.  I will sleep when she is home and better.  I love this girl so much and it has shook me to the core to see her this way.  I also want to be there to do whatever I can to help Travis and the girls, they are just an extension of our family.  Shane and my kids have been spending time with the girls and the kids are all having a ball together :).  Times like these, I am even more reminded of what a perfect, Godly man, the Lord blessed me with in Shane.  I have barely been home and he still encourages me to be there for her and their family. 

Monday night, Shane and I took all 6 kids out for pizza and ice cream.  It was fun and crazy.  We don't know how the Duggars do it :)

As we all watch Boni heal and have her ups and downs, we still praise the Lord she is alive and healing.  He has had His hands on her the whole time and showed us, once again, just HOW GREAT HE IS! 

Thanks for the prayers and keep them coming!

Thank you Lord for Your answers to our prayers!

Prayer Request

Hey yall - I would love to write a post about the wonderful Mother's Day we had and post a bunch of pics, but my heart is heavy right now and I need yall to pray.  My best friend Boni was in a horrible accident last night and is in ICU. She had emergency surgery last night and still has at least one more by the end of the week.  She is stable now and making jokes like the Boni we know and love.  Boni, Travis and their 3 girls are like family to us and we are sick that she has had to suffer and go through this.  Please pray that she stays stable, no other issues come up, the current ones heal, and for the Dr's and nurses, in addition to that sweet family.  She has a long recovery ahead of her and will need our prayers for a long time. 

Thank you so much and I will keep yall updated!

Bless This Mess

I have been a mama for over 9 years if you count the time I was pregnant with Claire.  As a young new mom at 22, I thought I knew what I was getting into and had it all figured out.  I am so happy I felt this way, because I am a better Rachel because of this humbling, hard, awesome, thing called motherhood. 

Motherhood has taught me:

• Playing outside is the best time ever. It beats going to the movies, going to Chuck E. Cheese, everything. Yelling, running, chasing dogs, playing ball, doing cartwheels, swinging, and maybe even lining up toys just to jump over them, are pretty much the best things ever.  32 degrees or 132 degrees, still the best....as long as you are out with them.
• I am never going to be able to keep my house 100% clean and that is okay. 
• Sleep is important.  Kids need their sleep, but every child needs different amounts of it. 
• Pictures are important.  Take pictures at special events or every day activities.  Not only do I love going back and looking, the kids LOVE it.  They will really love it when they have their own and can see the insane amount we have of them.
• Experiencing new things are really scary and really fun at the same time.  Watching a child brave enough to face new things without fear or brave enough to tell you are they are scared, are both equally great.  Being there for both is extremely important...try not to cry :).
• Dinners are important.  Sitting together at the dinner table almost every night is imperative.  Letting everyone have a chance to say the prayer and tell about their day creates little leaders that are not afraid to speak.  The three little Browns love dinner time.
• Blood is thick. Shane and I are very protective of our kids, but hell hath no fury on a sibling scorned!  Claire, Owen, and Bree stick up for each other and protect their brother or sister with all their might. They may fight, but they don't let each other fight alone. 
• Keeping gum in my purse makes me a fun mom.
• Keeping wipes in the Yukon is VERY important.
• It's hard at school.  Kids are rough and mean.  Teaching my kids to be nice no matter what is really difficult when you want to pummel said kids. It is so important to raise good Christian based children.  Praying they are good examples is so important.
• Sometimes just being silly is the best medicine.  Making funny noises, tickling, making up songs, getting up dancing, and just laughing so hard you can't breathe can be the best things to turn frowns upside down.  Kids will forget when they fell down and scraped their knee, but they always remember that time when Mama put the dog on her head and skipped around the house or when Daddy put Owen's shirt on and danced in the living room.
•  Popsicles are the best food in the world.  The ice cream truck in the neighborhood with cause children to jump non stop!
• Teaching our children to pray and praying with them gives them security.  During scary situations or times when they are uneasy, teaching them to turn it over to the Lord, teaches them that not only are we here to protect them, but the Lord always will.  Praying for our children and their spirituality is the most important thing we can do for them on a daily basis.
• Being away from each other is not only important for me and Shane, but them too.  The memories they make with their grandparents are immeasurable and they will never forget them.  The quiet time and quality time me and Shane get, make us better parents.
• Showing your children how proud you are of them will produce the largest, cheeks hurting, smiles you will receive from them.  Kids crave their parents approval and LOVE for them to be proud.
• Our parents are awesome.  There are no better ones for advice...or ones to tell us to chill.
• Life goes way too fast.  Every stage will change and there is always a new one on the horizon, harder than the last.   You will never forget, even though you think you can't remember when they were this age or a baby.  Even an 8 year old can still remind you at a select time of that same baby girl she was that only wanted her mama.

I got this necklace this week (happy mothers day to me) and it says "Bless This Mess".  I love it because it reminds me we are blessed, even in this mess...not a bad mess, it is our mess that we have made and would not change for the world.

 

 

Happy Mother's Day yall!

 

 

 

The REAL Mother's Day Wishlist

I read one of my fave blogs yesterday and she gave me a great blog idea. AP at I Love You More Than Carrots wrote her true Mother's Day wish list and it cracked me up!  I thought to myself, what would I ask for if the sky was the limit....

1. A full night's sleep + a full morning's sleep. What does that mean? Sleep all night without a child pulling my hair or slapping my face, without a dog roaming the covers at 3am, and truthfully without a husband snoring (he can sleep in the next room of the huge hotel suite I am staying in :)).  Then when I wake up at 7am and think I need to get up for work or deal with rug rats, another full morning of sleeping in, with breakfast of Belgium waffles with whipped cream and warm syrup delivered to my bedside at 11am...by said husband in a full suit and tie. :)

2.  Mommy make over - tummy tuck, breast lift, lipo, and veneers.  All at once and with absolutely no pain and zero recovery time.

3.  A humongous, new diamond, wedding ring.  Like, we are talking 5 carat, princess cut, blinding diamond!  Oh and the same size earrings to match.

4.  A Birkin bag.  Bright orange with an Hermes scarf tied to it.

5.  Vacation to Tahiti with Shane - Like Kardashian style - private villa on the water with our own staff serving frozen drinks non stop.  Then, Bachelor style dinners every night with the fantasy suite too!

6.  Vacation to NYC with my girlfriends, mom, and sisters - all expense paid, unlimited credit cards for each of us, and dinner planned with the cast of Gossip Girl. My assigned seat next to Chuck Bass. The next night, private dinner with the Yankees starting line up...

7. A personal chef - one that will cook each of us our own meal every night.  That way, Owen will always get hot dogs or chicken and Bree will get pancakes :). Oh and said chef will remove all calories in my meals without sacrificing an ounce of taste :).

8.  A beach home in Gulf Shores- fully furnished for my whole family.

I guess that is all! :) What do yall want? For real?????!!!

Family Fiesta

I got to take off a couple days last week and spend them with Bree. Mom was sick, so I just took vacation.
One thing we did - a little lady got her first big girl hair cut!

How old does she look!!!!???  Love little bit!  Now on to the weekend...

So when you have a family of 5 and it's Cinco De Mayo on Saturday, what do you do? Of course have a big fiesta with fajitas and margaritas...and lemonade and sombrero cookies for the kids :). 

Shane and I had everyone over Saturday night to hang out on our newly furnished (happy mom's day to me!) patio!  It was fun.  The kids had a blast. I had too much fun :)...

Going back one night, Tara and Drew had the kids spend the night at their place Friday night. Shane and I didn't go out. We did yard work.  Such a glamorous couple we are :)...Tara took some awesome pics of the kids...

Have a great evening!!  I am glad yall enjoyed the shopping picks from last week - yall can always trust me to give you things to buy :)))!!