Eddie The Man

For those of you who aren't aware, we lost Eddie our dog last night. We are all terribly sad and it is a hard time for all of us. Eddie was absolultely the kindest, most loving and gentle dog I have ever known. Please keep the kids in your prayers as he was their very best friend.

This has been a very rough year for us to say the least. I am going to take a few days off from blogging. Love to all -

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

Happy Anniversary to my niece Marcie and her husband Nick! I love you both.

Words

God has really been speaking to me lately about the power of words in our lives. Anyone who knows me knows that I am fairly outspoken (to say the least). One person I have been very outspoken to in my life is my husband. Chris and I both have used words in our marriage to hurt each other. We know each other well enough to know that words are the weapon that wound each other the most. I have been very convicted over the past few months and especially in the past few days over taking responsibility for the words that I speak. Words are VERY powerful. They have long lasting effect in our lives and in the lives of others. I am making a conscious decision to try with God's help to speak nothing but words of blessing on others (including my husband - especially my husband and children). God calls us to speak encouragement to others. Never are we to speak critical words or words of discouragement to others. Never. It is not scriptural. Words have a long-lasting effect on others and I pray Lord that you will help me to speak only kind words to not only those that I love, but all those around me.

Proverbs 16:24

Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

Psalm 19:14

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

James 3:9-12

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and saltwater flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

Happy 4th of July from the Browns!!!

Beautiful

Really, does it get more beautiful than this?

There is a time in life when you stop existing and you start living. There is a time in life when you are given a new chance and new dreams. There is a time in life when the old is to be forgotten and the new embraced. There is a time in life...And that time is now...

copied from the web.

Some of our garden is starting to come in and here are some pictures of our peppers, basil and tomatoes. We are going to have tomatoes out the wazoo! The chickens should start laying eggs soon. Now we just need a cow and we could be pretty self-sufficient in the grocery department!

We decided that every Friday is going to be make your own pizza night at our house and you HAVE to try my friend Amanda's pizza dough. It is too die for! We made pizzas Friday night and they were wonderful. Check her recipes out at http://www.backtothetable.blogspot.com/.

Off to Bible Study for the evening!

Life is Good!

I am much better and WOW what a beautiful day! Getting the kids back today from Nashville and then going down for the weekend to help Chris' sister move into her new house. I will be very happy to spend next week just hanging out with the kids and getting the house in order. We are going to try and take them camping July 4th weekend if we can get a campsite. Good luck with that, huh?

Even though in our family (like many other families) we struggle with time management, finances, everday life stuff, etc., we are SO blessed with health, great family and good friends. Life is Good!

Pine Ridge Indian Reservation

Honestly, it is very hard to try and explain our family's experience at Pine Ridge, but a few words I would use to describe it are eye-opening, hard, life-changing, fun, depressing and most of all motivational. The conditions there are ridiculous and embarrasing. The poverty level is almost indescribable and the kids, well, precious. Chris worked on a house and the kids and I worked everday at a VBS for the children of the community of Porcupine, S.D. I could talk for hours about our trip, but for today I am just going to give you a glimpse of our trip there and back. I hope and challenge each of you to go out and help others (and take your kids with you if you can!). Blessings and peace. Melissa

Sorry......

still not able to post pictures or stories. Hopefully tonight. Had to go to hospital yesterday to get fluids pumped into me. Feeling a little better today. I think I am a walking billboard for "don't drink the water.".