Lincoln's 4th Birthday!

On Thanksgiving Eve this year, April, Lincoln, and I went to a worship time at our church. At one point during the service, we began to sing the hymn "Great is Thy Faithfulness." As soon as we sang the first few lines, we could see Lincoln perk up a little. He looked at both of us with his big smile and dimples and said, "That's my night night song!." April and I smiled at each other because we knew exactly what he was talking about. What Lincoln meant was that he recognized the old hymn because we have played it for him to help him go to sleep at night since before he turned 1. However, it is more than that just a "night night" song. It's an old hymn that communicates deep truths about who God is. It's a song that holds special meaning for our family. As we look forward to celebrating Lincoln's 4th birthday with him tomorrow, we can't help but be reminded of God's overwhelming faithfulness to us. On December 5, 2008 at 2:27 am Lincoln was born prematurely with lungs that just were not quite ready to work the way they were supposed to. It was clear that we had no other option than to depend completely on God, our rock. 

Now, 4 years later, we could not be more grateful and blessed to have Lincoln in our family. Lincoln truly is a gift from God. He is full of energy and keeps us on our toes. His laugh instantly brings a smile to our faces. His wit still blows us away at times. His sweet, tender heart melts ours. However, most importantly, when we look at our little boy we are instantly reminded of God's faithfulness and grace. We can't help but give God praise for all that He has done and continues to do in Lincoln's life and in our family. We are excited to see Lincoln grow up to become to the boy and man God created him to be.  

If you haven't taken the time really soak up what the hymn "Great is Thy Faithfullness" says, here are the lyrics for you. We hope this song fills your heart and mind with the powerful truth of God's faithfulness to you as well. 

Great is Thy faithfulness! 
Great is Thy faithfulness! 
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Hawn Family Photos

Back in April (...we're a little behind in blog world) a great friend took photos of the Hawn family to celebrate my mom's 60th birthday. Here are a few of my favorites :-)

We HIGHLY recommend Jessa Anderson Photography!

Check her out at: http://www.jessaandersonphotography.com/

http://jessaandersonphotography.blogspot.com/

selfless, generous, unconditional

Just found this post that Jeremy never finished up... Made me smile to read it so I thought I'd share:

Yesterday was the best Valentines Day of my life. That's a pretty big statement from me because I'm not really that big of a fan of Valentines Day in the first place. It just seems like it's another big commercialized event where people buy a lot of stuff they can't really afford instead of doing the things that really matter for the people they say they love. That's just me...but with that said...Valentines Day 2012 was pretty awesome!

When I came home from work, I found out that April had decorated our little but awesome house/studio (aka "the luxury box"). She hung hearts from the ceiling, blew up balloons, lit candles and shaped them into a heart, put together a slide show on the t.v. with pictures of our family from the last year, and made a really nice dinner :-). That seems like enough to make for a pretty nice Valentines, right? It was, but I think what really made it special was to know the thought, time, and energy she had put into everything – despite what kind of day it had been. She hadn't had the easiest day so far because...

Lincoln woke up hysterical the previous night/morning at about 1a.m. so April got up with him and managed to calm him down for a little bit. That didn't last long because a little while later he was crying again and couldn't sleep. For the rest of the night April was in and out of bed trying to console him. At one point he complained about his ear hurting so we knew he might have an ear infection. Eventually April laid down with him on his bed (a toddler bed by the way) which seemed to help him sleep a little better. However, April was loosing sleep the whole time because she was trying to lay down next a little boy who likes to sleep in some pretty funky positions. Let's just say that toddler beds are probably called “toddler beds” for a reason. Adults aren't supposed to fit in them! But, when you're a parent...I guess you do what you gotta do when your kid needs help. Needless to say...when it was time to start the day, April was already exhausted. I went to work and April called the doctor to see if she could get an appointment to have Lincoln's ears checked out again. They had an opening in the afternoon, but in the meantime, April had a very unhappy camper on her hands (in addition to everything else on her “to do” list). I guess it would be pertinent at this point to mention that my wife currently has 3 part time jobs that she does from home while also trying to care for a 3 year old. Please don't hear me wrong...we are extremely thankful that God has provided us both with sources of income (especially in these trying economic times), but if my math is correct I'm pretty sure that April's workload adds up to far more than a full time job. And then of course there is  the constant accumulation of laundry, the meal plans, the cleaning, her involvement in two Bible studies, putting up with me...should I continue? To be honest, I'm not really sure how she does it all. So, when there are days that our son is sick and needs some extra TLC...well, those days can be a little rough. This is precisely why Valentines 2012 meant so much to me.

After having the kind of day she had, I knew that what April really wanted to do was to be in bed by about 7p.m. But, instead of choosing herself, she put thought, time, and energy into making the evening really special. Because of April, I was able to come home from work and walk in the door to see all of the decorations. I was able to walk in the door and experience the joy of hearing my son say, “Daddy, watch!” with excitement as he attempted to blow out all the candles that she had lit (and re-lit several times). I was able to come home from work and smell some really good food that April had prepared for dinner. I was able to walk in the door and see a slide show of pictures, bringing back memories of the good times that our family has spent together over the last year. Because of my wife, I was once again reminded that real love is selfless, generous, and unconditional. I'm a pretty big fan of that kind of Valentines Day.

-jeremy

This is how we do it

Sometimes the simplest things in life can bring the most joy. Here's a perfect example: After dinner one night recently, we decided it was time for a spontaneous dance party in the Brown house (aka "the luxury box"). We had the beats, (provided by none other than DJ MommyA.), we had the glow sticks (left over from a prior party of epic proportions), we had an amazing light tech (Lincoln), and we had the moves...the rest just flowed. Here's evidence that sometimes you just need to stop what your doing and get down.

Where is the joy in your life today?

-Jeremy

Resolutions

I normally don't make New Year's resolutions. But somehow this year seems different. Maybe it is being 30. Maybe it is the feeling of being stuck... or just unsure of what the future holds. Or maybe the motivation comes from being in a situation where it seems like I'm stuck, but am really content and happy most days. Not sure. Whatever it is, this year seems to be begging for goals, dreams, and plans (albeit insignificant ones since so much of the "real" stuff is on a holding pattern with an undetermined end... I think God likes to keep us there every once in a while to remind us who is really in control, who knows the future, and who should be patient and rely on him).

I resolve to...

(in no particular order)

Learn to sew

Sew something I'll actually use

Create art for our home

Play with Lincoln more

Potty train my unwilling subject (Lincoln)

Send my sweet boy to preschool (this is somewhat inevitable...

but I feel like if I look forward to it I won't dread it as much)

Date my husband more

Do something unexpected (leaving this open-ended for a reason)

On December 31, 2012 ask me how I did... or check back often to see what we're up to!

(found the graphics on the To Resolve Project... kinda fun http://www.motherlanddesign.com/2010/12/to-resolve-project.html)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas celebration with your families! Since we visited Jeremy's family for Thanksgiving, Christmas was a pretty chill holiday for us (if you don't count all of my crafting madness and the extra hours of work I've put in lately - both wonderful and worth the extra time). Here are a few pictures of our Christmas fun!

"Helping" Daddy decorate the tree. He was so into it this year!

I love how he makes everything more special...

Christmas is magical through the eyes of a 3 year-old!

 Decorating cookies with mommy (his favorite part was adding flour)

Merry Christmas from Lincoln (who wears that hat voluntarily quite often) and his dog Belle

Lincoln and Mommy enjoyed taking a Gingerbread House making class

I frosted and he put the candies on (with a little direction)

Christmas morning!

Digging to the bottom

The newest addition to the Brown household.

We've named her Morning Glory!

first pictures of each new year

We spent New Year's at home with a sick kiddo, watched movies, and actually missed the ball drop... twice (NY and west coast). But for the first year in Lincoln's life he actually slept through New Years! Yes, for three years in a row our party animal rocked it into the wee hours of the morning, despite the fact that all other kiddos at parties were sound asleep. We just chalk it up to preparing for his future rock star days!!!

A Handmade Christmas

Sooo… this Christmas was sponsored by Pinterest. Haha! After visiting Pinterest a time or two, I decided I would initiate a handmade Christmas (it rubbed off on a few friends and I can’t wait to see all of their creations!). My mom and aunt planted the idea in me years ago when they reminisced about years past when they all agreed to exchange handmade gifts at Christmas. I loved the idea from the moment I heard it… so this year I committed to it. All handmade gifts. Well… not entirely true… I also picked up a “habit” from my mom of tucking away gifts throughout the year. So Lincoln will receive a few little non-mommy-made gifts. Other than the said already purchased gifts and a couple stocking stuffers, I made all of the Christmas gifts we gave by hand. I don’t think I have anticipated a Christmas like this since I was a kid. I was so excited for each person to see the gifts I chose, labored over, and love.

I LOVE to give gifts, but I’m a really picky gift-giver. I don’t like the pressure of, “What am I going to get so-and-so, because I have to give them a gift.” I love to give gifts when they are unexpected. An out-of-the-blue because I thought of you gift. I love to put tons of thought and energy into every gift I give. When you are getting married or expecting a baby, I will pour through the registry, wander the aisles for way too long, and search out that special gift that reminds me of you and me or is something I highly value. I put thought into it.

I care so much when I give a gift. It matters to me. So for the few people I made gifts for this year… please know you mean so much to me. And to the rest of our friends and family… well I ran out of time and money. JK! We’ve just decided over the years to reduce the number of gifts we give, and allow ourselves to focus on what Christmas is really all about… the real gift we received. 

...not all children pictured here are the actual grandchildren... but there are 12 of them haha!