Go away, sickie bugs!

So....the past few days Kenzie has been eating abnormally....or really, just hardly eating at all. I wasn't quite sure if she was coming down with something, or if she was just going through a 2-year-old eating phase....but now I know. She definitely had a tummy bug. Not only did she wake up crying at 2:30am and proceed to puke as I lifted her out of her crib, but I now also know she felt gross because I do.

I was hoping that when I woke up this morning feeling a little funny that it was just in my head. I told myself that I'd eat some breakfast and feel better. But nothing really sounded that great. So I just waited. I finally ate a little bit of lasagna and a bowl of Golden Grahams for lunch. That definitely did NOT help. But I was still ok. But now...at 6:28pm things are just getting worse instead of better. I still haven't had any of the *worst* flu symptoms. YAY! But my stomach hurts so bad and nothing sounds good at all. I have also developed an achy body, particularly my legs, in the past hour.

Kenzie, however, seems to be feeling much better. After her afternoon nap, she munched on some cereal and ate a bowl of applesauce a little bit ago. Poor Ryken....he is the one suffering the most. I have SUCH a hard time even stepping foot in the kitchen when I feel this gross. I DID feed him. It just wasn't very much fun for either of us : )

Right now, my house is a disaster area. There is music on. The TV is on some boring PBS news show. Ryken is crawling around, discontent with life and wishing he could somehow get into more than he already does. I just found Kenzie running around with no diaper on. Yeah...not in the mood for THAT right now. As I type this, she is using a measuring cup to transfer cereal from her puke bowl (which she never used) to her toy microwave. And I just don't have the energy to stop any of it. I am counting down the hours until Chip gets home. Current countdown.....4 hours 23 mins...give or take.

And yet, in the midst of all of this, God was so gracious to bring to mind so many others who are in SUCH worse circumstances. As I was lamenting being a "sick mom" (which is one of the worst and hardest things ever, in my opinion) my wonderful Father turned my mind to all of the moms who are chronically sick. All of those strong women who live with MUCH MORE challenging physical conditions on daily basis while trying to love, serve, and raise their families...and some of these women have no end in sight. And so, in my mind I turned my solo pity-party into a time of prayer......asking of God to be with those sick moms......the moms who are fighting cancer....or lupus....or MS....or any other multitude of chronic illnesses. Asking that He would give them peace. Asking that He would give them strength. Asking that He would give them grace in the area of their children's obedience...and that they'd have overwhelming, unexplainable patience as they deal with their little ones.

And while my physical condition is defintely no better than it was an hour ago (and possibly even worse), I feel better. I have a thankful heart. And I have the comfort of the hand of my Father.

Another Giveaway....

Ok...So I know I need to do a REAL update soon and not just keep blogging about giveaways...but these are some REALLY GOOD ONES and I want everyone to have a chance at them : )

I just ran across this Mother's Day Giveaway Extravaganza on Metropolitan Mama's blog.....and you could win.....you ready for this......a LAPTOP and CARRYING CASE! And it's an AMAZING one too : ) So...go check it out. All you have to do is look over the post and then comment about it! She is giving 7 other ways to earn bonus entries too! So take a few minutes and check out her blog....and maybe, if you take time to enter, you'll be the lucky winner of a new laptop. (Or maybe I will be the lucky winner..that'd be pretty great too!)

Summer Fun Give-away at Kiki's Korner!!

Well....it is pushing the 100 degree mark and swimming season is OFFICIALLY here! I've always HATED trying to find a good bathing suit...one that isn't hundreds of dollars....one that is cute...one that is modest...it almost seems impossible. I almost always have to "settle" on a bathing suit. Usually modesty and price tie as my top two priorities...and the cuteness factor gets left out.

But my friend Kiki just reviewed some ADORABLE....MODEST....NOT-TO-PRICEY suits on her blog! The best part is...she is GIVING ONE AWAY : )

Go visit Kiki's blog at the link above for the details of the giveaway....you seriously NEED to check out the Lime Ricki website! Even if you don't win the giveaway, Lime Ricki is giving a 10% off discount to Kiki's readers with the coupon code 10KIKI at checkout.

Happy Birthday to the LOVE OF MY LIFE!!

Chip doesn't like being the center of attention. He doesn't like people to make a big deal about him. He would never make it a point to tell you that it is his birthday. Some people want special treatment on their birthday. They want the world to know that it is their day and they want the world to celebrate. Not Chip.

But I am excited that it is Chip's birthday today.

Twenty-seven years ago God blessed my mother and father in law with a new baby boy who they called Stephen Paul Brown. His birth has caused me to greatly respect the woman who is now my mother in law.....not just because her baby boy is now my husband....but also because her baby boy weighed close to 12lbs at birth. WOW! You would never know it if you looked at him now. But he was one BIG baby!


This is the 5th birthday of Chip's that I have been blessed to celebrate with him...and I hope to celebrate many many more with him. Chip may have been born 27 years ago...but if you ask him, he has been 19 for the past couple years, and will probably still be 19 this year too. He was 18 on his first few birthdays that I celebrated with him (even though he'd been alive for 22 years at that point)...and stayed 18 until 2 years ago when Kenzie was born. He felt like since he was a dad he should turn 19 that year. Maybe when we have 3 kids he'll decide its time to say goodbye to the teenage years and turn 20....maybe not : ) But no matter how old he wants to be, or how old he really is, I am still so thankful that God gave Chip as a gift...first to his parents to raise, and now to me to journey through life with and raise a family with. Chip is the best husband a girl could ever ask for and such a wonderful father to our children. He is more than I could have dreamed up and truly my best friend and dearest love.



Happy Birthday, Chip. I love you with all of my heart!

Love, Your Dani xoxo

Fun this past week!

This past week has been a fun one : ) Here are a few things we enjoyed!

On Monday night we used Chip and Kenzie's birthday club coupons for free meals from Red Robin and free Cold Stone Creamy and had a SUPER cheap family date night : )


Kenzie had fun dumping out all of the sugar/sweeteners all over the table.


Once again...she couldn't get enough of the lemon slices!


She was so excited to get a birthday balloon!!

The evenings have been a nice time to play outsidel...once the sun starts to go down the temperature cools down to a very pleasant temperature. Kenzie had a great time playing outside with her friend Kingston the other night. Ryken thought he was such a big kid when we let him ride the bike!





This could be dangerous.....




Kenzie climbing up a tree with daddy's help...


Now that the weather has been heating up during the day (mid 90's and even close to 100 already!!) we've been playing with water outside. We did this on Monday and Wednesday this week and the kids LOVED it!






On our second outside day, we were teased by a few small breezes. Chip has been dying to try out his new kite that he got as an early birthday present...so even though we really knew that there was no wind, we decided to go and run around with it a little bit. It was fun..and Chip got a great workout running around trying to get it to "fly".




Kenzie has been having fun doing some crafty things. We got her markers and scissors for her birthday. She loves to color and cut.



Although we have to keep a close eye on her.....unfortunately we've seen what can happen when we don't!!



If you look closely you can see where she cut out a chunk of her hair...


Kenzie and Ryken are getting to be good little playmates. He loves following her around, and most of the time she is happy to have him join in with whatever she is doing. .


He is also becoming quite the little daredevil. Here is where I found him tonight.....and he isn't even 9 months old yet. I have a feeling things are going to get pretty interesting in the next few months.....

Another birthday celebration!!

Chip's Grandma Brown turned 80 this year, the day after little Miss Makenzie turned 2! Chip's aunts and uncles were able to come to Mesa to celebrate her birthday, so last Saturday we all went out for a wonderful dinner at Buca di Beppo's. YUM! We had a great meal as a family.


Chip's mom, dad, and Uncle Greg


Chip's dad, Uncle Greg and Aunt Nancy


Aunt Nancy and Tricia..plus the birthday girl!


(Great) Grandma and Grandpa Brown


Uncle Marty and Aunt Bobbi plus Ryken


Me, Chip and Kenzie

When it was time for cake, Kenzie wanted nothing to do with the cake. Instead, she wanted to eat the lemon slices from our water......so strange!!


Ryken was being his happy little crazy self the whole night. What a goofball.


He was very fascinated with Uncle Marty's beard...and they quickly became good buddies : )


HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA BROWN! We had a wonderful time celebrating the blessing of the wonderful years God has given you and pray for many more!!

Gotta go in order so....Easter Egg Hunt!

Kenzie and Ryken had a great time hunting for their Easter Eggs in Grandma and Grandpa Brown's backyard on Easter Sunday. It was a beautiful day with gorgeous weather.....a perfect day to celebrate our Lord's ressurection! Here are some pictures from the day! I have to get caught up...so only a couple pictures.....