Start the day with a smile!

Sunday morning Aileen woke up giggling! She giggled all through her bath, she giggled all the while I was getting her dressed, she giggled and hopped all the way out to the car to leave for church. She did get over excited and started stemming (screaming, jumping and flapping her arms) too much when we first arrived at Church, so I told her, "Aileen I would rather that you would laugh instead of scream out"........

So you guessed it, she giggled all through Sacrament meeting, all up and down the halls with Alan during my Sunday School lesson. She did calm down some for Relief Society and then I made the big mistake of fanning her with a fan (because it was hot) and she started laughing again!!! We ended up leaving about 10 minutes early and she laughed all the way home in the car, all through lunch until she finally went up to her room, laid down on her bed, and took a nap!

It's so cute when she laughs, you can't help but smile and laugh too! Probably because its so rare!

Funny Story = Alan Thinks the dishwasher is broken

While Alan being unemployed is no picnic for him, for me it does have a few perks!! While he's home and I'm working he has started doing a lot of the household chores!! Yay! He has always been very helpful, but he has really taken on the "Mr. Mom" role right now! Isn't he a great guy! I've always know that he was!

Funny Story:

Alan told me that the dishwasher is broken and that we need to call the repair guy. I asked him what was wrong. He told me that the Electrasol powerball tabs are not dissolving in the wash cycle. So I said to him, why don't you try again, maybe the little trap door didn't open for some reason, so he re-washes the load, still didn't dissolve and so he tries a 3rd time.



Before we call a repair guy I decide to just go check out the dishwasher myself. When I open the door I see that the Powerball Tab is still in its individual cellophane wrapper!! I look at Alan and say, you haven't unwrapped the tab, that's why its not dissolving.

We both laugh and he said he thought it was like the gel packs I bought before that you don't have to unwrap you just toss them in and they are ready to go!!

Like these! I'll remember to get these next time at the store!!!

Visiting Teaching done in Style!!!

Yes, we went visiting teaching in a newly detailed convertible!!! It was too much fun! We did this because it was Mary Ann Stephens' birthday this month and we needed to CELEBRATE!!

We rang her front doorbell holding this cake and started singing Happy Birthday!!

She was nice to ask us if we wanted cake.....of course the answer was YES!!

Mary Ann Stephens and Becky Wangler

Lacy Lassiter and Me!

Presents - this top was made out of some really cool fabric and you can barely see it but there is jewelry in her hand that matches it perfectly!

Of course I got her a Jelly Watch.....I told you in earlier posts I'm crazy about them and it is what I am giving everyone this year!!!

Then it was off to the Movie Tavern where we ordered lunch and watched the movie "The Help" Love, love, loved it!!

Our hair doesn't look too bad for people who have been driving around in a convertible!! It was a great afternoon! Now that's my way to go visiting teaching!!

Let me tell ya......

Utah and Idaho were beautiful this time of year, with cool breezes and very pleasant temperatures!! Even when everyone else thought it was hot....it was like springtime!! Anyone living in Texas would understand that this is a very big deal since we are breaking records with over 100 degree weather for too many consecutive days.....it was really nice to be in cooler weather!

We just got back from a Brown Family Reunion where we had a niece, Jill, get married (the youngest of the family) in the Twin Falls, Idaho temple. Then the next day my Nephew Ryan took his precious little family to the Twin Falls Temple to be sealed as an eternal family.



Jill & Kade Searle, she has cowboy boots on under that beautiful dress!! Love it!

I really like Jill's husband. I went up to introduce myself to him and said, "Hi, I'm the favorite Aunt Lois" and without missing a beat said, "Yes, I think I've hear that"!!! You gotta love someone who I know has never heard anything of the kind, but says that he has!! They are a beautiful couple and seem so incredibly happy and in love!! The Reception that night was great!


The Wedding luncheon on Friday was awesome!!! Now being from Texas, we really understand barbecue and what is good barbecue........but I gotta tell ya, the caterer had some AWESOME BBQ, and I'm not a lyin! It was worth the trip just to get to eat those ribs and chicken and really delicious baked beans. Really it was GREAT!

Ryan, Kaci, and Mackie Jo

When Ryan and his family went to the Temple the next day, there wasn't a dry eye in the crowd! The Temple president did this sealing himself and it was such a spiritual experience. Then to see that precious little baby girl, Mackie, be brought in and be sealed to her parents for time and all eternity! I'm telling you, it was beautiful!

Then to see All of Kris (Alan's little sister) and Tad's children (4) and their spouses all in temple at one time and in one place it really was an amazing sight and one I hope to have some day!! I was so happy for the privilege of being there!!

Aileen loved seeing all her aunts and uncles, and cousins and she really loved getting to see her great Aunts and Uncles. It was obvious she was in a very happy place because she freely gave out kisses and hugs and we know that doesn't normally happen and it was pretty wonderful to see!!

Mom, has full size beds for visitors to sleep in and so we were going to split up and have one of us sleep with Aileen and then the other have one bed all to themselves. But after the 1st night that we were in Ogden and the house was full of other family.....we had a bedroll out for Aileen to sleep on, but she wanted to sleep with Alan and I so we had 3 in the bed in a very small bed..... so after that, that is how we slept 3 in a very small bed for two out of 3 very big people!! But it was fun!

yes, Alan is falling off the bed.....lol!

This I know......

* That I hate not having a camera!!!
* That I'm happy to be home!
* That I loved, loved, loved being with family this past weekend!
* That it has been 2 yrs since the Alan Brown family has ALL been together at one time and one place.
*That Anne Marie is doing awesome since the blood clot scare and has now lost 17 lbs!!! She really was awesome this weekend watching all of us eat wedding goodies and stick to her Nutrisystem! So proud!! Hang in there sweetie!! You're doing great.
*That Allison won't let a silly thing like a broken hand keep her from taking gorgeous photos for her photo jobs!
*That my nieces have to be about the best mother's I have ever seen!!
*That watching my niece Jill & her new husband Kade get married in the Twin Falls Idaho Temple was Amazing!
*That seeing my nephew Ryan take his precious family to the Twin Falls Idaho Temple the next day to be sealed as an eternal family was AWESOME!!!
*That celebrating all these events in a Family Reunion was about the best family reunion ever!
*That my daughter Allison has been married 2 yrs now and Alan & I have been married for 33!
*That Heavenly Father kept us safe over all the miles we traveled!
*And that Heavenly Father gave us families for a reason and I am so grateful for the love and support we have felt from both families! Families are what make life worth living!
*That this last weekend's family reunion was just the 'pick-me-up' needed to handle the unemployment and looking for a job trial that we are going through right now.
*That I hate paying bills but so grateful that we can!!!
*That I am very grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for a loving Heavenly Father and for my Savior and his gift of the atonement.
*That there really are angels here on earth that leave surprises at doors and in pockets!!! Thank you and may God Bless You!!

That I really am trying to be a better person every day, Even though I fall so short!

Going out with my baby......

So life has been very crazy lately with my Dad in the hospital for so many different things and coincidentally ended up back the hospital again on Friday, but hope to be home on Monday (today) after they run one more test!!! Then you add Alan's unemployment with his emergency room trauma with diverticulitis. Anne Marie with her blood clots, my poor sweetheart. And me feeling the stress of being the only income right now........I decided we might as well take advantage of Alan being home during the day and go on a real life date together!!! So Wednesday afternoon we went to see "Cowboys Vs. Aliens" with Daniel Craig, Mr. 007, and Harrison Ford, who is always a favorite! And even though Alan was a little sceptical as to whether he would enjoy it or not, after the movie was over we both agreed it was really really good!! I will say that I didn't like Harrison Ford's character at first, weird to see him as not a nice person, but luckily he redeemed himself by the end of the show!! Whew! That would have been horrible if I had to dislike Harrison Ford!!

Anyway, Alan and I had fun, just being out with each other while Aileen was at Day Care, and not talking about "problems" but just enjoying being together! And matinees are cheaper!! yay!

Good movie!

Gospel Doctrine Bingo!

I try to switch things up every now and then in Gospel Doctrine. So I was thinking last week, what hadn't I done in a while. I've had Characters from the Scriptures come to class to share their story, I've had music, I've had a video/DVD, I've had group work, and the thought came to me, I haven't done a game for awhile. I had tried crossword puzzles before, but the thought came to me I hadn't done BINGO yet in Gospel Doctrine. So I planned out my lesson and saw what scriptures we would be reading in class and then put together bingo clues with phrases or words right from the scriptures. Then after several hours of putting this whole thing together and printing out all the cards, I thought, Oh my gosh, this could be a disaster and totally take away from the spirit of the class and most of all, totally NOT NECESSARY! And I freaked out a little bit! But I told Alan, I've spent so much time on this and already printed the card stock, I'm doing it.

All through Sacrament and in my prayers Sunday Morning, I prayed that the game would be a successful way to get the class involved in the scriptures but not detract from the class learning and having the Holy Ghost with us.

I had class members team up so one would have their scriptures open and one would be paying attention to clues as we would come across them while discussing the lesson. I also told them that when they got a Bingo, if they would just quietly raise their card, I would notice, but I would probably not stop right then, we would go over every one's bingo's at the end of the class. I also told them that after the first couple of Bingo's everyone should be going for blackout!

Then I started the class, and it was awesome!!! Everyone was very into looking for and hearing the clues throughout the lesson. It didn't stop everyone from having the great discussions about the scripture verses and/or stories that we always have. And when someone got a Bingo they just quietly got my attention and then we continued on with the lesson.

When it was all done, I gave the winners Key Chains that said "Jesus Is The Light" that I had left over from my Seminary days, which were a hit! I even had someone come up afterwards and ask me for extra Bingo Cards because they wanted to show their spouse etc...

That week we were talking about Stephen, Phillip, and Saul/Paul and one of the Bingo Clues was "why do you kick against the prick" and when we were discussing "what does that mean" Sister Denti said that in relating that statement to her personal life - she thought - how many times has her heart been pricked by the spirit telling her to do something but then she fought against it? Which I thought was an awesome analogy. And when I got home and thought about that comment, I thought - that is exactly what I had done. I had felt inspired to do the Bingo game. But then I second guess myself and 'kicked against the prick' a little, but did end up doing it anyway and it turned out to be an amazing experience!

Lesson learned, Lois Brown, don't 'kick against the prick"!