My Girls

I took these back in January, but it's never too late to share sweet pictures.

Rylee playing dress up. On this particular day she was getting married (to Matt Joey again). See the ducky towel on her head...that is her veil!!!

We went on a short walk and both girls pushed their strollers. It was nice because I didn't have a stroller to push :-).


Little cutie!

Ella Jean

The newest member of our family arrived this week!!! Ella Jean Arnold (yes named after Heather Jean ;-D) entered the world 3 weeks early weighing 6 lbs 4 oz and 18 3/4 inches long. I was very bless to get to spend the entire day with Bethany at the hospital and she was amazing! Ella is beautiful and I have no doubt that she will be as special to me as her mama is.

My Dear Husband

I will start this by letting you know that my husband will not like the fact that he is the subject of this post :-). However, the reason I want to write about Matt is because I am so proud of him! Last year he decided things were going to change. His desire wasn't to retire from Nissan, but he had worked there for 12 years and really had no idea what direction to go. After many months of prayers and interviews, he could see the light at the end of the tunnel and knew there was life beyond Nissan. Today was the end of his second week at our church, World Outreach. He took a position as the Operations Manager at the church. Matt has always had a desire to be in ministry...but he never thought it would be in this capacity!!! It's perfect for him though and he loves that his day to day work is really about to serving the Lord.

Lisa's New Blog

Okay, my friends are starting these blogs with wonderful pictures and cool stuff, and I haven't uploaded anything new about 3 weeks! The pressure :-)!!! I think my problem is picture anxiety...I haven't taken many lately and so I'm avoiding my blog. Acknowleding the problem is the 1st step to resolving it. Let's forget about my issues and focus on what's new...

Lisa, my neighbor, has a new blog and lots of pictures of her 3 really cute kids. Check out her blog and leave a fun comment. Our lives are so busy and I love that can pull up a website and see what's going on with my friends and family. Welcome to the blogging world Lisa!!!

In the Brand home, we are all recovering from the horrible stomach bug that passed through our house over the past 2 weeks. Matt came home last night not feeling well and just the thought of him throwing up almost made me sick (it's still too fresh on my mind). Praise the Lord, by this morning he felt fine! I am also getting ready for Bethany's baby shower this weekend. I can't believe it...my baby sister is having a baby! Ella is due on March 10th and we can't wait!!

Welcome Melissa!

I wanted to welcome my sister-in-law Melissa to the blogging world! She got a little pressure from the rest of us, and I am so excited she decided join us. Check out her blog and leave a comment...I know she would enjoy it!

I also have lots to update (our trip to my inlaws and Matt's birthday) but I will post those soon with pictures. As for right now, I needed to get that stinking cat's picture moved down. I was really sad about Him about a month ago (boo hoo hoo) and everyone told me that cats run off and he may be back. My thought to that was "not my buttercup...he's a really good cat and loves us and wouldn't just run off". After 3 weeks of looking for him, I had really given up hope that we would find him. Last Thursday I got an email from the PAWS that there was a cat matching his description. So, as we are packed and driving out of town, I make Matt stop just so we know it's not him. Sure enough it was! They too thought he was a female (had it list on his kennel)...poor boy. We drive back home and get him all set up in our garage and make plans for family to come check on him and feed him while we are gone. I couldn't believe that my efforts paid off and we actually found him. Well so much for all that effort...we were home one day and he ran off again. At least I tried!

Buttercup Marlin Skittles Brand

It has been almost a week since we've seen our Buttercup and our hope is that he has found a wonderful new home as an inside cat. We never really considered ourselves "cat people". We liked dogs and had always had dogs. There was a slight problem with mice at our house (actually any problem with mice is a BIG problem) and so we thought a cat would help the situation. Not only did Buttercup get rid of all the mice, but the girls LOVED him. He really was a sweet cat and we are going to miss him!

Let me explain the name...

Buttercup was the original name when we thought he was a she. After a trip to the vet we discovered that she was actually a he. The poor boy needed a more masculine name, so Rylee decided that Marlin (Nemo's daddy) would be a great new name for him. Last but not least, Skittles is the name Aunt Bethy had given him from the beginning. So, when we would say his name it would go something like this "Buttercup"..."Marlin"..."Buttercup Marlin Skittles Brand". No joke, we would laugh when we said it but that is how it came out just about every time. No wonder the cat found a new home...he just wanted a decent name!

Happy New Year!

It is the last day of 2007 and what an incredible year it has been! The most enjoyable part of this past year is that it was a relatively quiet year...no major life events. It was wonderful to just enjoy the girls and family and friends. With that being said, 2008 already look like it is going to start out with a bang :-)!

Now let me tell you about our Christmas...

I've mentioned many times how great it is to be surrounded by family, but we also have family who don't live so close and we missed you all dearly this Christmas! Hopefully we will get to see you soon.

When Rylee was born, Matt and I started the tradition of having a birthday party for Jesus on Christmas Eve. We thought it was important that our children realize that Christmas was not just about them, and kids are all about birthday parties so this is an easy way for them to understand why we celebrate. This year Rylee made the cake (I directed the process, but she really did most of it herself). She really did a great job!

Christmas morning Matt and I wait an hour for the girls to get up. Rylee and Reagan are both early birds, but I guess we were more excited than they were :-). Rylee was all about the gifts and thought every one of them was wonderful (aren't 3 yr olds great). Reagan, however, got some pink shoes (shown above) and really only cared about those and whatever Rylee was playing with. She has since realized how fun all of her toys are, but that morning all she cared about were those shoes!

Daddy opening his gifts from the girls.

After we went through all the presents at our house, we went to Grandma and Pop's and spent the rest of the day there. Reagan found a pair of black sparkly shoes that Keely got for Christmas and did enjoy those as much as her pink shoes.

Last but not least, this was our attempt to get a picture of all the kids together. Imagine on the other side 3 cameras taking the pictures and all the other adults trying to keep the kids in the pictures. There were only a few who ended up in tears, but no damage done!!!

Do You Ever Have Those Days???

You know, Rylee and Reagan are precious but there are weeks I feel like God picked the wrong person to do this job. My Rylee is in a bit of a sassy stage and she likes to test the limits. About 99% of the time she is an incredible kid, but I am not great at discipline so that other 1% is really hard for me. And Baby Reagan...she has a runny nose, teeth coming in and had to get shots today! Mommy, mommy, mommy - there isn't enough of me to go around.

Then, as I am getting Reagan ready for bed, they bring it all into perspective! It's moments like this that make it worth all the work and effort and worry...

+Our little entertainers!

Jeremiah 29:11 states "for I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Even when I have no clue what I am doing (which is often), I trust that God has an incredible plan for these girls and He will protect and provide for them.

Wow...We've Been Busy!

My goal is to at least update this blog weekly. I won't be too hard on myself...it really has been a busy month :-).

In the past week I've had 3 parties, wrapped presents at the mall, celebrated Christmas with my dad and celebrated Carson's 5th birthday (and I am sure I've left out a few things)! Know what I did last night??? I went to bed at 6:30 and didn't get up until 6:30 this morning. It was glorious!

In between the parties we've had to do lots of baking, and I've discovered that Rylee has the potential to be a chef. First, the girl can crack an egg (no shells and no mess)...I'm pretty amazed. She loves to help me mix, measure and make anything. If she is in trouble, I've threatened that she won't be able to help with dinner and she straightens right up! I told her that I am teaching her now so that she can spend the rest of her life cooking for me :-).

Rylee getting ready to open presents from Grandpa and Amy (and her cousin Maggie in the back ground).

My little sister Rachael holding Reagan. I think Reagan stayed in her arms all afternoon!

Pam and Bethany at cookie exchange. We had some good food!!

Reagan's Chit Chat

My little Reagan is 15 months today!!! It is amazing how quickly time goes by. While the child said her first word "mama" as clear as day at like 8 months, most of her chit chat since then sounds like her own language...until this week. I was on the phone one afternoon and Reagan was walking around talking up a storm, but I really wasn't paying much attention. Then I realized she was calling for her paci. Rylee and I have always played this game when we are looking for something (mostly commonly with dolly...we'll walk around calling "dolly, dolly, dolly"...until we find her). Well here was Reagan with her blanket saying "aci, aci, aci" and sure enough she was looking for paci. It was really cute!!!