Family Dinners,,,,Yummmmm!!!!

Been too long since I have updated our BLOG. Seems there are so many things that will eat up our time...and they are all legitimate. I've come to realize that if we could get by without sleeping there might be enough time in a day to do it all....nah, we would just have more to do and still not enough time. So I'm back to sleeping being an ok thing. Anyway the subject of this BLOG is one of much discussion and hope. Kim and I have wrestled with finding a good time to have Family Dinners. Many, many months back when our Sunday Schedules were not complicated by having 3 Wards in our building we would all get together after church. But now, schedules and commitments clash and Sunday Dinners are very hard to make happen, if we want everyone to be there....and theat for me is the whole purpose to have as much family there as we can get!!! Anyway after much evaluationa and discussion, Kim came up with the novel idea to do them on the 1st Friday of each month. I never gave much thought about Friday's, since I thought everyone would be busy getting ready for the weekend, but after we discussed it we felt it was a really good time and so the new "Brown Family Dinner Time" has been resurrected. WE had Jacob and Tiffany over for Dinner this past Monday to celebrate his birthday since we were out of town on his birthday. As we talked about the Family Dinner, he offered to have the 1st one at his house. We gladly accepted his offer, and looked forward all week to good food, but more importantly, time together. Family time is under-rated by the world, but I know in my heart how important it is to not only maintain the ties that bind, but to also nurture and build them. Momma Louise has so often remarked how family never gets together anymore, and how good it was when she was younger to see sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles, and even the dogs and cats. So that is what we did at Jacob and Tiff's. We bought together sons, daughters, brothers, grandmoters, friends, dogs, and cats....ummm maybe no cats, don't remember any???? And the end result was at least for Kim and I a wonderful opportunity for relationships and love to grow. Of all the adventures ann opportunities I have had this year...this was number 1 for me. What a joy I had to be able to sit back and see my little kids grow up in front of me and mature into the young adults they were that night. Since we were not hosting, it was one of the rare events where I actually could sit back and do that. Of course we helped were we could, but it was so nice to watch with wonderment the fulfillment of family life. It wasn't all mushy, family, huggy stuff, we had some fun times too. I got to show Jacob and Tiff some stars after everyone had left, we had a "Most Pregnant Contest", we told stories on each other, we ate some reaqlly good hamburgers, and some really burnt hotdogs, (compliments of Mark)...I really liked them. It was what getting together as family should be like...fun, laughter, and love. The one low point was that Josh and his family are in Northern VA, and it is really hard for them to get down. So that was an intricate part that was missing...Josh, Ellie, Emma, and Luke. But we hope to give them enougth notice in the furture.....1st Friday of each month.....(Here's your notice), that they can join us as often as they can. Anyway I have attached a few pictures of the event for your viewing pleasure. Not sure they will end up in the order I want. I will close with a thought for "The Blog"....There are two ways of exerting one's strength: one is pushing down, the other is pulling up.....Booker T. Washingtone 1856-1915)....love you all...kjb

Here is Jessie showing us her little pregnant belly. She is so excited about being a Mom.













Holly and Jessie sharing a Pregnant together Sister moment!
And Gino, Mom and Charlie having some couch time! AND OF COURSE THE INFAMOUS .....I look the most pregnant contest. Everyone aggreed it was a draw between Holly and Mark!!! And there I am with Jessie and Tiffany getting in my couch time.