The Coat

This is a great message! Charity can be demonstrated any time of the year! My boys asked to watch it over and over! Carter even gave me a hug at the same time Pres. Grant gave his mom a hug. :)
Click on the title, The Coat, to watch. :)

"Special" Cookies

I am a horrible mom. I got these Christmas cookies for the boys (from Babe's Bakery - the yummiest place, anyway...) - for a special Christmas treat, you know. While the boys were sleeping, I couldn't resist. I HAD to try a little bit of the sugar cookie Santa and gingerbread boy. Now they really are "special" cookies. ;)

Love Christmas Cards

I love everything about Christmas! I love what Christmas represents - our Savior's birth. I also love the lights, trees, decorations, the spirit of giving, family traditions, the goodies, wreaths, Christmas books (which I collect, and read a different story under the tree each night), Christmas music, wrapping gifts (yes, I enjoy doing that), stockings, candy canes, doing the 12 days of Christmas for a family secretly, etc., etc...

I love all of the above, but I especially love walking to the mailbox in hopes of Christmas cards. I love to see how everyone's family has changed over the last year...and the cute/pretty cards that are out there! I put them around our windows by our Christmas tree...and always have a hard time taking them down after Christmas.

Temple Square + Little America for Dinner = New Browning Christmas Tradition

 The boyz were in awe! At Christmas, Temple Square is so magical!

Cannon a little intimidated by the fake Santa.

Romantic Tree

Curtis put up this Christmas tree in our bedroom. Romantic...don'tcha think?

;)

A Christmas Quote to Remember...

"If you desire to find the true spirit of Christmas and partake of the sweetness of it, let me make this suggestion to you. During the hurry of the festive occasion of this Christmas season, find time to turn your heart to God. Perhaps in the quiet hours, and in a quiet place, and on your knees—alone or with loved ones—give thanks for the good things that have come to you, and ask that His Spirit might dwell in you as you earnestly strive to serve Him and keep His commandments" (Howard W. Hunter, "The Real Christmas," Ensign, Dec 2005, 22–25).

Christmas Music Requests

Last year I posted a link to some of Curtis' Christmas music. People have asked for it again. Curtis sings with the group in all of the songs, but has solos for the songs:

#1 Jingle Bell Rock
#8 When All is Said and Done
#10 Homeless

Enjoy! I know I do! It's entertaining!

Click the above title, "Christmas Music Requests" (with green font) to listen. :)

Four Years of Marriage

November 24th, 2007 Curtis and I got married in the Idaho Falls LDS Temple. I wanted to wish Curtis a Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Anniversary this year (since they are on the same day)!!! He is a good man to put up with me!;)

Four facts that make Curtis so AWESOME:

1) He gets up with the boys at night - I haven't had to for a LONG time. Even when they were newborns he got up with them. I know, I'm spoiled!

2) He has a cute, little laugh that he does a lot that he doesn't even realize. ;)

3) He helps so much - mops the floors, gets the boys ready for bed, does the dishes if I make dinner, etc. I don't even have to ask.

4) He has a strong testimony! Makes sure he teaches our boys how to pray, listen to scriptures, etc. He is humble, and always tries to make others feel comfortable and at ease while around him.

Family Pictures 2011

Click the link below to see some photos from our family session. The barn where we took the pics is so close to our house. That's why I picked the spot. ;)

http://kellystewartphotography.blogspot.com/2011/11/b-family-idaho-falls-family.html

Christmas traditions

We are starting to get excited and ready for Christmas around here! We have a few Christmas traditions, but would like to start more. I would love for you to leave a comment letting me know what your family does each Christmas that makes it memorable.

My Heart Skipped a Beat

I was walking through the store, when I came across these, Cadbury Christmas Mini-balls. They are red, green and white. My heart skipped a beat...oh, how I love them so much!! Usually March is the happy time with the Cadbury Mini-Eggs. I am so glad Cadbury puts them out at Christmas time too! I won't tell you how many bags I bought. I had to stock up...these things go fast!!! ;)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies with Icing

I made these cookies today. And let me tell you...they were well worth it for two reasons. Reason #1 - They taste soooo good! Reason #2 - After Cannon and Carter had one they both came up to me and said, "Thanks mom, for making these pumpkin cookies! You are the best mom ever!" Then gave me a hug. Okay, so Cannon said it, and Carter copied right after.  Here's the recipe:

1 cup canned pumpkin (15 oz.)
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 egg
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. milk
1 TBS. vanilla
2 cups chocolate chips (These are optional. I made a dozen without choc. chips and 2 dozen with.)

Combine pumpkin, sugar, oil, and egg. Mix well. Add flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve baking soda with milk and stir in. Add vanilla and chocolate chips. Mix well.
Drop by spoonfuls on greased cookie sheet and bake @ 350 degrees for about 10 mins. Makes about 3 dozen.

Frosting:
1/2 pkg. cream cheese softened
1/2 cup butter softened
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg

These cookies are DELISH with or without frosting! Enjoy! Happy Fall Y'all! :)

Count Your Blessings

I have a calendar. A large, dry-erase calendar. On the last day of each month, I erase the month that just ended, and fill in the calendar for the new month. There is extra space on the side where I write (with input from the three boys) words that pertain to the month...so Cannon and Carter will look at it and learn to read the words. For the month of November I asked them what they are grateful for. Here is the list:

-family
-books
-penguins (Carter came up with that one out of no where)
-music
-sun
-preschool
-Bobbin (our cat)
-seasons
-hoses (nice one, Cannon)
-Jesus
-gospel
-bed
-horses
-home
-food
-Mickey Mouse
-technology
-scriptures

What do you count as a blessing in your life???

Happy 2011 Halloween from The Browning's!

Cannon wanted Carter to be Buzz...but we couldn't find a costume. Carter got to choose from what we had at home: hamburger, tiger, or pirate. He chose what Cannon was last year. Carter always gets the leftovers. ;)

Boo at the Zoo



Excited for treats!



Happy Haunting!

Reaching Those in Need

"Reach out in love to those who need our strength. There are many among us who lie alone in pain. Medicine helps, but kind words can bring to pass miracles. There are many who walk in frightening circumstances, fearful, and unable to cope. There are good bishops and Relief Society officers who are available to help, but these cannot do it all. Each of us can and must be anxiously engaged."

-President Gordon B. Hinckley

Happy, Happy SECOND Birthday to CARTER today!

Cute Chubby-Cheeked Carter

Loved playing in the water this summer

Sometimes gives dirty looks and scowls like no other

Happy Birthday to our now 2 year-old!
Two things about "Carter Boy":

*He likes to bounce, hop, skip, run, and jump. Pretty active little guy!

*He has a cute, raspy voice along with a lisp...and a cute smile! Enjoys playing with cars, trains, things with wheels.

Happy Birthday, Carter!!! We sure love having you in our family!!! You bring lots of smiles to our faces!!! :)

Happy, Happy, Happy THIRD Birthday to CANNON today!

Celebrating Cannon's birthday at preschool with Ms. Deana, his teacher!

Cannon got the neighbor cat, Scrappy to sit in the stroller. Cannon even talked me into stopping what  I was doing to take them for a walk. He's smooth like that - or I'm a pushover. ;)

Cheezin it at Reed's Dairy.

THREE tidbits about the Birthday Boy:

*He is a sponge! He remembers everything - especially the little details! He loves to read and be read to. He is constantly having me spell words.

*He is a sensitive, little guy. He likes to give hugs and kisses to me, his dad, and brother. Sometimes when he is crying he will say in a sad voice, "I'm crying!" :(

*He is independent, curious, energetic, and has his own agenda. Enough said. ;)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Were glad you are a part of our team (family) :)!!! You are turning into a little boy right before our eyes!!! We are excited to see what the future has in store for you!!!

Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

I have made MANY, MANY chocolate chip cookies in my day. I have tried various recipes too. My ULTIMATE, FAVORITE chocolate chip cookie recipe is below:

1 cup of butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups flour
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 bag of chocolate chips (not just any chips, but the BIG milk chocolate chips made by Guittard (in a silver bag)...only to be found at WinCo. I ALWAYS use milk chocolate).

Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes (depends on your oven...for ours it is 10 minutes, and I let them sit on the baking sheet for a while after I take them out of the oven). Makes about 3 dozen.

I make these cookies a lot on Sundays, and make them for new neighbors who move into our neighborhood.

Betcha can't eat just one! ;)

The Stars of the Show...

Here is Cannon as Woody! He sure loves this costume...and would wear it all day every.single.day. if I would let him.

My boys sure have a thing for Toy Story 1, Toy Story 2, and Toy Story 3 - they pretty much have all three movies memorized. They are constantly "roping" Curtis into playing Bullseye. Curtis gets a workout taking those two around the house all the time. I think Cannon is saying in this pic, "Yeehaw, cowboy!" The boys have everyone's Halloween costumes all figured out...they want me to be Jessi, Curtis to be Bullseye (of course), Cannon to be Woody, and they still haven't decided if Carter should be Buzz or Stinky Pete. ;) Stay tuned...

Forget-Me-Not

I attended the General Relief Society Broadcast with my mom, niece, and sister last night. All the talks were great, but the one that really stood out was President Uchtdorf's. Here's a recap (according to my notes):

There are FIVE pedals on a forget-me-not flower so here are FIVE important things to remember:
1) Forget Not to be patient with yourself.
-Don't compare yourself with others.
2) Forget Not the difference between a good sacrifice and a foolish sacrifice.
-Ask yourself if you are committing your time to what matters most.?.
3) Forget Not to be HAPPY now!
Your golden ticket is NOW!
4) Forget Not the "why" of the gospel.
-Gospel is a light! The gospel is joy when we understand the why!
5) Forget Not that the Lord loves you!
-You are not forgotten!

Favorite quote from the entire talk: Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf- "Sisters, wherever you are, whatever the circumstances may be, you are not forgotten. No matter how dark your days may seem, no matter how insignificant you may feel, no matter how overshadowed you think you may be, your Heavenly Father has not forgotten you. In fact, He loves you, with an infinite love." 

Today at Lowe's.

Today I went to Lowe's with Curtis and the boys. While there, I saw a girl I recognized...Ashley Sullenger. I told Curtis I was going to go talk to her. He didn't want me to go bug her, but he knew I was going to anyway. People don't believe it when I say I was shy when I was younger. I was. I hardly ever raised my hand at school...I didn't like the attention on me. I still don't, I just like to talk to people (maybe because I am home with a 2 year-old and 1 year-old all day). So I walked up to Ashley and told her I look at her blog all the time. We talked about teaching for a little bit and our kids. She is a cute, cute girl and really nice! I told her she is wise beyond her years from reading all of her posts. Her little guy, Ledger is darling. I don't know why I asked for a picture, but I did. Go to: http://patrickandashley.blogspot.com/ to see her and her family's story.

*Picture taken from my iphone - that's why it is so small.

Cannon's First Day of Preschool

Cannon's first day of Preschool was September 6, 2011. I was grateful the teacher let him in her class - especially since the deadline was Sept. 1st, and he won't be three until Oct. 21st. The main reason I want Cannon to go to school is for the social aspect of it, and so he can learn to sit. I also want to give Carter more one-on-one time too while Cannon is at school.

A few weeks before school started, the teacher sent us a ladybug to decorate and turn in on the first day. I had Cannon color it with markers, and I strategically added a few stickers to it and bendable straws for antennas - you know I had to decorate it a little more. When the teacher called Cannon's name to take up his ladybug to put it on the bulletin board, he said to his teacher, "My mom did this ladybug." GRRRRR! He told on me. ;) All the other moms started to laugh. I didn't do it all, I just did a little of it. :)

YoU ArE mY cHiLd

Our trip to the ER

Today hasn't been the best day. This morning I took the boys to my parents' home. I was chatting with my parents, and couldn't hear the boys. Silence. Mom's usually know if it is quiet, something is going on. I went to look for the boys. I found both of them in the master bathroom. Cannon was licking his lips while holding a bottle of blue gel cap Sleep Aid pills. Not good. I asked him if he ate any. He said he had four over and over again. My mom said quite a pills were missing from the bottle (about four or five 50 mgs). I called my sister who is an ER Pediatric nurse in Atlanta. She told me to call Poison Control and gave me their number. I called and the lady on the phone seemed VERY concerned! She told me to take him to the ER immediately. I left Carter with my parents (later my sister went and got him from them), and called Curtis to have him meet me at the ER. We got right in because poison control told EIRMC we were coming. I thought Cannon would go to sleep, but children react the opposite with Benadryl (Diphenhydramine) in them. He was HYPER and GRUMPY!!! The staff watched him and his heart. Luckily they didn't have to pump his stomach. I usually don't mind hospitals...but it is totally different when it is your child there!! Scary!! I can think of many other ways I'd rather spend three or four hours of my day. I can also think of many other ways I'd rather spend my money (and yes, we do have insurance...I just hate paying for stuff that's not fun). ;)

Josh Groban Concert

*Be sure to PAUSE my playlist at the bottom of this blog so you can hear Josh sing, "You are Loved".

Back in March, I heard that Josh Groban was going to be in Salt Lake City at the Energy Solutions Center on Aug. 13th. I told Curtis about it. Curtis had already been to a Josh Groban concert a few years back with a date...so I told him it was my turn.:) Luckily, Curtis wanted to go again...since he likes Josh's music. We went and had a GREAT time! The majority of the crowd consisted of single girls (hoping and dreaming that Josh would one day date them or marry them) and older couples. There is just something that girls love about guys that can sing...and sing well. In all reality, if you have a significant other that sings - he doesn't write songs about you and sing love songs to you all day. I married a guy like that...he doesn't really sing that much around me. Humph! Go figure!

We went to the concert and left the boys with Curtis's sister, Becky and her family. Those boys loved hanging out with their cousins! :) Thanks you Becky and Dan!!! It is nice to have a date every once in a while! Everyone needs to do it!

The concert was SUPER good! Josh G. is a smart guy - you can tell by his vocabulary. Also, he is SO musically talented!!! Not only did he sing with that amazing voice of his, but he played the piano and the drums!!! It isn't fair that one person got so much talent! Next time Josh Groban is in your area...I would recommend going to his concert!!! Also, he sounds the same in person as he does on his CD's...which is rare these days with artists (and the digitized stuff with technology).

One of my favorite blogs!!

My in-laws have a business called Fin Fun Mermaid tails (I mentioned this a while back explaining how they were featured as one of NieNie's favorite summer items). Anyway... I am my in-laws marketing person. I was THRILLED when one of my favorite blogs agreed to do a post and giveaway! Click on the link below to go and enter the mermaid tail giveaway!!!

www.71toes.blogspot.com

Summer 2011

Cannon and Carter at Funland on the airplane.

The plane and train were a toss-up for 1st place. They loved them both equally!

We have spent many days at this little park.

Cannon and Curtis on the 4-wheeler at the Browning Reunion.

Carter just goin along for the ride!

Cannon enjoying the pond at the Browning Reunion by Heise Hot Springs.

Cousin Jake and Cannon would constantly cruise around on grandma's jazzy (due to Jake's broken leg).

Wrestle time!

A BIG brother hug!

I Can't Stop Thinking About It!!!

This past Friday we went to Nielsen's Frozen Custard (and I'm still thinking about it two days later). I have heard ALL of the ranting and raving about this place, but inside didn't know if I'd really like it because I am not really a HUGE ice cream or frozen yogurt lover (despite my love for sweets)! When I had my first bite of that custard...I seriously thought I was in heaven! It was like eating pure cream!!! No comparison - this is WAY better than ice cream or frozen yogurt (in my opinion of course, and no, I am not getting paid for typing this on my blog. I recognize it is free advertising/marketing for Nielsen's, but the stuff is GOOD)! I have a feeling I am going to be making a few jaunts to "The Burg" just to taste more of that custard! Five stars! Two thumbs up! A gold star! That's how I rate it!

Today I turned 33

Today is my birthday. I am now 33. It has been a fabulous day!

Thanks to all those who made it so great! I feel so loved!

This is a picture of me and Curtis after he took me to dinner.

I picked a turkey dinner...like a Thanksgiving dinner from Jaker's.

It was delicious!

I had turkey, stuffing, cranberries, mashed potatoes, and rolls.

It's what sounded good at the time.

I guess I am another year older...I don't know about the wiser too, though. :)

My in-laws business was featured on Stephanie Nielson's (NieNie's) blog

My in-laws started a business about a year ago called Fin Fun. My mother-in-law sews up mermaid and mermen tails and sells them on ebay. My father-in-law's job is to package them up and send out the orders to the post office. These tails are selling like hotcakes! Click the above logo "fin fun" to go and order one. A few months ago (like in March) I had a marketing idea for them...to make two tails and send them to Stephanie Nielson (the burn victim/plane crash survivor). I guessed NieNie's daughters' sizes and the colors of mermaid tails I thought they would like. I told my M-I-L and she sent the tails along with a letter to NieNie. We didn't hear anything from Stephanie...until today. Today was different. I checked NieNie's blog (like I do everyday), and saw that Fin Fun tails were featured as one of NieNie's favorite summer items. The girls in the picture are our nieces (Curtis's siblings' kids). See Nienie's July 13, 2011 post.

http://www.nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/

Charlotte's Web

I am not a garage sale person, but if I am driving and see one, I will stop and look for one and one thing only - childrens' books. I want my boys to develop a love for learning, and reading is a great way learn! Plus, I want my kids to be smart...what parent doesn't want their kids to be smart.?. Reading aloud is one of the best things you can do with a child. Also, they love the attention and one-on-one. I started reading to Cannon when he was two months old. He loves for me to read and he can read really well for a two year-old. Carter likes books too. Back to garage sales...I found the book, Charlotte's Web a few weeks ago. I wondered if the boys were too little to listen to a chapter book. Carter wasn't too interested because there are no pictures, but I will give him a break since he is only 20 months . ;) However, Cannon loved it! So at night after Carter goes to bed, I will read chapters at a time to Cannon. As I read he tries to pick out words he knows and recognizes. Rewarding...very rewarding!

family festivities for the fourth

This was the first time my whole family had been together since 2001 - at my grandma's funeral. All of my siblings and their spouses and children got together in Idaho Falls for the parade, my nephew Ben's baptism, a BBQ, and fireworks. It was great to be with everyone...we need to get together more often! Here are shots of the festivites in no particular order.

Getting ready for the parade to begin.

Nice pic except for the phone right in front of Cannon's face. He is addicted to my iphone. See Carter trying to catch a glimpse too?

Ryan, Camille, Gabrielle, Andrew, and Max

                                                        

All of us kids: Dad, Becky, Me, Douglas, Alison, Camille, Mom

The whole gang - with us looking every which way. Sad to say, best photo on my camera with all of us.

Bruce, Alison, Austin, Zach, Madeline, Katie, and Ben from Georgia

         

Jeff, Becky, Brendon, Ashlyn, Hailey, Michaela, Lauren, and Chase from Colorado

Our little family



Curtis rockin' a red, white, and blue mohawk!