HUGE prayer request

Hello friends! This is so hard to write and accept, but Heath and I are coming to you all asking a HUGE favor. Heath was laid off this morning from his "stable" job of 4 1/2 years. Just when we thought times were already tough, this happened. We WILL be ok though. We have been down on our knees in prayer already. In Matthew 18:19 it says, "I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about something and pray for it, it will be done for you by my Father in Heaven." So, we are just asking all of our friends if they could keep us in their prayers in this time of need. In the Bible it tell us to be specific when we pray. So, our specific prayers would be for Heath to be able to find a job quickly, that our health insurance won't be affected, that he will be able to get a job that will provide him with a work truck or gas money for his truck, and most importantly, that our faith will hold strong and grow through this time of need. We know that this could be the Lord providing a better opportunity for us, but for the time being it still feels like we have no control. Which, we don't. We thank you all for your friendships and are blessed that we feel like we can call upon you all to keep us in your prayers. On a lighter note, Sterling is feeling much better today. Haven't had to give him anymore medicine! YAY!! Thank you and God Bless, Heath and Lane Brown

cold in summer?

My poor baby is so sick. Last night he was being extra clingy and fussy. Took his temp and it was 101. He is just miserable.
He (and I) didn't sleep very well at all last night and to top it all off, we got up to watch the lunar eclipse this morning. (If you missed it, I'm going to post a picture of it...it was really neat) So I took him to the doctor first thing this morning, thinking he had an ear infection. (BTW, he weighs 34 lbs.!!! Our future linebacker!) Turns out he just has a cold! Who thought you could get a cold in the middle of summer!! I knew you could, it's just never happened to me before, so that was the furthest thing from my mind. So...there is nothing they can do. Just ride it out. Poor Sterling seems to always catch the things that he has to "ride out". You know he is sick if he doesn't want to eat,(which is VERY rare!) AND just lays on the couch (another rarity).
Secretly I like it when he is like this because he is always on the go and now I get to cuddle with him and he actually wants to be in my lap. So sweet!

Here are the pictures from the eclipse. It only took an hour for it to completely cover the moon. Sorry they aren't the best of quality, but you get the picture.

ABC fun

This is right after Sterling ate breakfast, so he's still in his jammies. He's growing up too fast! I'm such a proud mommy! Oh, and he ALWAYS skips the "love" in I love you! (Sorry it's so dark!)

cowboy hats

Just wanted to share this picture of Sterling and Heath from this weekend. We were about to leave for his cousin Clayton's birthday party. (no they didn't wear the cowboy hats there!) The two of them came down the hall wearing their cowboy hats and I just had to snap a picture. Sterling LOVES to be his daddy's spitting image. What a cutie!

God is SO good!

I just wanted to share a quick thought and a HUGE blessing with you all. So, while I was busy complaining in my previous blog about the whole insurance thing and how we were going to pay $120 more a month (blah, blah, blah), God was working on a plan for us. I have been wanting to get Sterling into some kind of preschool program but knew we weren't going to be able to afford it, so I kind of put that thought in the back of my head thinking maybe someday. Well, I noticed, in our church bulletin this morning, that the little preschool through our church needed teachers aides and substitute teachers. I asked the lady who is head of it if there were any positions left for the helpers and she said there was one more opening! First blessing. So, she then proceeded to tell me that Sterling would be absolutely FREE and that I would be getting paid to do this. WOW! Three blessings all together, taken care of at the same time. I didn't even realize it until we were driving home that the money I make from doing this will more than pay for the extra insurance for the month. So, right then and there I got such a peaceful feeling come over me, that we were going to be ok! I have been busy worrying about how I'M going to be able to pay bills and how we are going to be able to handle the extra bills that have come our way. Marshall (our preacher) had an excellent sermon a few weeks ago on the power of God. About how God can do ANYTHING if we let go of the control that we "think" we have in our lives and to trust and be content with His desicions. That is so hard to do especially when you are struggling. If you can do this, He WILL work in your life. GOD IS SO GOOD! (can I get an "AMEN"! haha)

AHHHH

I'm sure this has happened to many of people and I'm sure many of you have experienced this also. This morning when Sterling woke up he was saying, "Mommy poo-poo. Mommy poo-poo". I go in there and he had stuck his fingers down his diaper and had smeared poo all over his blanket,bed rail,bedding, and clothes! It would have been kind of funny if it would have been the first time he has done this, but unfortunately this is not the case! Let me back up and tell you the story of what happened to me this past Sunday. Heath had gone to Tulsa for the day with his brother and a friend to go to the PGA tour. No big deal that I was with Sterling alone all day since I'm with him 24/7 all the time anyway, right? Wrong! I could have used Heath's help this particular afternoon. My child woke up from his nap telling me he had poo-pooed. When I walked in I found poop EVERYWHERE!!! I'm talking on his face, hands, legs, feet, rails, bedding, blanket, pacifier...it seemed like there was nothing that wasn't covered in it. He was holding the diaper with the poo just dangling (sorry if you're a little queasy!) just about to fall out! I didn't know what to do first! (Now that I look back on it, I wish I would have had my camera because that would have made for a really good scrapbook picture!) Needless to say, Sterling went directly outside and got sprayed off by the hose! About 15 min later I was done cleaning up. That was crazy! Back to today... it is going to get very frustrating if he continues to do this! Has anyone experienced this before? Any suggestions?! I didn't spank him or anything, but I got onto him very sternly and he started balling! He is a very sensitive, sweet little boy. Then I felt bad, but I shouldn't since I had poop everywhere to clean up! Anyhoo, that was the excitment for today! Have a great day!

YAY!!!

Ok, so this is the last one for today...I promise! I just wanted to write to tell the exciting news! After church tonight we went to Wal-Mart for some things. We ended up getting Sterling a step stool to go in front of the toilet, thinking maybe, just maybe, it would get him excited to go on the big boy potty. Well the second we got home and brought it in, he immediately took it to the bathroom and starting pulling his pants off telling me he had to go!!! WOW!! He was so excited to go in there. With my help, he actually went standing up like a big boy! I can't believe my baby is growing up so fast! Just wanted to share the good news...wish us luck in the next few days, weeks, months...whatever it takes I guess! :)

Mommy, Monkeys!

Well since I have a lot of catching up to do on this whole blogging thing, I thought I would catch everyone up on some of the fun things we did this summer. Since most of my family lives in St.Louis and we go up there to visit when we can, we decided to go to the St.Louis Zoo! From the second we got there, Sterling was in zoo heaven! He loves animals...especially monkeys! We were able to walk up to the glass where the monkeys where sitting and Sterling was face to face with two. It was so cute! He kept saying,"Mommy, Monkey!!"...it was adorable. Every new thing he saw that he recognized he would get so excited and start pointing. We had such a fun time and will definitely be going back...when, and only when it cools, off!

Swimming lessons

So, since we saw that Sterling is a little water bug, we decided to put him in swim lessons this summer...he LOVED it! His teacher said he was actually advanced for his age and that if she were to be doing private lessons for him that she would have advanced him to the next level. That made us feel good. He just loves being in the water, and doesn't really have any fears. We are trying to concer the whole going under thing, but he's getting there. The teacher was so fun. She had them go on "magic carpet" rides. He learned to blow bubbles, row his arms, kick his feet, run (treading water), and many more things. I'm such a proud momma! Here are some pictures of our fun times at the pool!

Our family

Ok, so between myspace, hotmail, facebook, and our home email I've got a lot to keep me busy on the computer. Not to mention the fact that we are about to have a two year old on our hands! Yes, I said it...an almost two year old! Hard to believe, I know! Sterling turns two on September 22. He can say how old he is, what day his birthday is and who is going to be on his cake (Elmo!). He is such a talker, (hum, I wonder where that comes from?!) which is awesome because now I know what he wants and when he wants it. He is such a sweetheart, but can be a little toot at times...hence the two year old syndrome! He is also very smart, and we have no clue where that comes from! He picks up on things really fast and remembers them too. Which leads me to my next thought...potty training! Yep, he is starting to potty train. Sterling is very entertaining to say the least. Get this, he won't go potty in the the "big boy potty", but he will go pee pee on the tree and on the ants outside!! He is hilarious at times, I'm tellin you! I keep his diaper off during the day and when he has to go he tells me he has to go outside. Well, as soon as he is done he turns around and says "mommy, cookie!!" That is his reward for going. I give him one those 100 calorie snack pack cookies every time he goes. Sometimes he will go, stop and come in to get a cookie, then turn around and go back out there to go again just so he can get another cookie! Sterling is a WONDERFUL eater. Almost too wonderful if you ask us. This child will, literally, eat until he gets sick. He's done it many of times. I really think he was born without that mechanism in his stomach that tells him he's full! Our friends and family are amazed every time they see him eat. So I never have to worry about getting him to eat something...and he likes EVERYTHING! (even raw squash!) I could go on and on about him, but I will catch you up on us as well.

Heath is still working for the same company he has been at since we married and moved here. He is now a residential master and commercial journeyman electrician. He has one more year to wait until he gets his overall master license. He has been done with school though for over a year, but you have to wait two years before you can take your masters test...it's weird I know. Work has been really slow around here for a while. Northwest Arkansas had a huge boom, and about a year ago is when it started slowing down. Right now they are barely holding their 40 hr. weeks. We are really having to rely on God a lot right now. We just found out that they raised our monthly health insurance premium by $120 a month!! So we now pay about $500 a month just on health insurance! Does anybody else think this is absolutely ridiculous too? Anyway, your prayers would be greatly appreciated in our time of need.

As for me, I am still blessed to be able to stay home and raise our child. Since before I even had Sterling I have been trying to find something on the side that I can do to make extra money for our family. Well, in June I was introduced to MonaVie. So far it has been doing wonderful. Haven't quite built the business the way I need it to, to be making the money that is needed, but with the Lord's help hopefully it will go in the direction that is right for us. I only want to do it, if it's something God wants me to be doing. It is such a wonderful product that I can't imagine not doing it. MonaVie is an organic fruit juice that has completely helped us and our family/friends with health issues. When you take the 2 oz a day, it equals your 5 servings of fruit we are supposed to have in a day. How many of us actually eat 5 fruits a day? (*plug*) It sometimes seems too good to be true, but it really works! It's taking what God naturally put on this Earth and using it to better help us. If you have any questions or are interested just let me know. It's not something that you have to make a business out of yourself...only if you want to do that. You can choose to just drink it and get the health benefits from it. Other than that, nothing really new going on in my life...just busy with a two year old (and trying to keep up with my scrap booking!)

So, that's us in a nutshell right now! Love all of you!