Proud Wife!

When Josh came home from work today he was just beaming! He told me that a guy (Judson) that was a teenager when we were at Calvary in Henderson called him today. Then he started this long story about their conversation...



Judson recently went to the wedding of one of his best (girl) friends from high school. After the wedding he and a few of his friends were sitting around talking at one table and a couple tables over was the bride's father and some of his friends. He kept hearing the bride's father talking about this new youth minister in his town. Not knowing where he lived, he didn't really pay much attention. Here and there he would catch a thing or two that was being said about this youth minister. Things like, our principal loves him, our secretaries love him, even a few of the teachers have said great things about him. He is at the school all the time; at football games, volleyball games and he is seen doing stuff all over town. He also heard that he has been one of the greatest influences on the kids in his town and he is really making a difference in their community. When he got to the part about the youth minister's two year old son passing away about a year and a half ago Judson's ears perked up. He leaned over to their table and said, "Are you talking about Josh Croswell?" The man (the superintendent of Daingerfield/Lone Star ISD) said,"Yeah, that's who I'm talking about, how do you know him?" Judson went on to tell him that Josh is one of the reasons he makes the good decisions that he makes, and that he (and Josh King) was one of the biggest influences on him when he was a teenager!



Wow, what a compliment!! I am so proud to call Josh Croswell my husband and I am so thankful that he is allowing God to use him in such a huge way! I don't think I could be any more proud, even if something like that was said about me!

Fall is Here!!

It's that time of year again! I walked outside this morning and you can just sense that things are beginning to change. No more sultry summer days, no more dips in the swimming pool, no more sunburns, and no more sweat!
I don't know what it is about fall but it is definitely one of my favorite seasons. The smell outside, the beautiful color of the trees, the aroma of burning brush piles, and getting to snuggle up with a big cup of hot chocolate on the back porch! Something about walking outside and smelling all that fall has to offer gets me excited.
I hope that all of you have a wonderful fall season this year!

Have Fun!

This is for all the mommy's of young ones and the mommy's to be!
How many of you have ever said to your little one, "No, let me do it. I don't want you to get dirty." I am guilty of saying this on more than one occasion! As I was getting Ashby out of her bed this morning she was saying, "nummy?" Yes with a question mark, like can we go get some food cause I'm starving! So we went into the kitchen, I put her in her high chair and started making her some oatmeal. She waited patiently in her little chair until I was finally finished. I brought the oatmeal over to her and started trying to feed it to her, but she was wining and putting her hands in front of her face like she didn't want it. I have realized over the past couple of months that this doesn't mean I don't want any, but it means I want to do it myself! So I said, "No, let me do it. I don't want you to get dirty." She looked at me with those beautiful blue eyes and I thought to myself, "what difference does it make if she gets dirty? We have a bathtub, soap and time!" I gave her the spoon and the bowl and said, "have at it!"



A few minutes later she started saying, "Mommy, Mommy!" So I went over and she wanted me to help (picture me with a big smile on my face)! As I am typing this she is sitting in her chair with oatmeal all over her face, hands, hair, shirt and Kali (our dog)! It is one of the cutest things I will see today and she is so proud of herself for doing it all by herself!



Sometimes I feel like this is how we are with God. He tries everyday to help us do things and we don't want his help because we want to do it all on our own. But just like Ashby started calling for me because she needed help, we call for him because we need his help! He is always there to pick right back up where he left off. I know with our kids there will come a day when they really don't need our help anymore. They will be all grown up with kids of their own. But there will never be a day when we don't need the help of our Savior! Even when we think we can do it on our own he will be right there to pick up where he left off! Isn't that a wonderful feeling!!

Marriage

7 Years!!! Sometimes it seems unreal that Josh and I have been married for 7 years, but other times it feels like we have been married forever! For our anniversary we really didn't do much. Josh went to go play golf so me and Ashby stayed home and baked some sugar cookies for him.
When I was growing up, one very vivid memory I have is from my Grandma Brown's house. Every time we went to her house the very first thing we did was run into the kitchen to see if there were any sugar cookies in the cookie jar....of course there always were!

Every time I smell or taste those cookies it brings back great memories of my Grandma. So to get back to our anniversary...we spent most of the morning measuring, mixing, rolling and baking the sugar cookies. I had lots of fun and I think Ashby did too! Josh had lots of fun eating the finished product!

We have always heard that the 1st and 5th years of marriage are the hardest. For us it has been the 6th and 7th. During the past 2 years there have been times when we just wanted to strangle each other, but God wrapped his arms around us and held us until we knew that there was no one in this world that we loved more than each other.

We can see how a major tragedy could cause a marriage to be stressed and even end, but we are living proof that with God all things are possible. I know without a shadow of a doubt that Josh is the one for me and I love him more today than I did 7 years ago when I married him!

VACATION!!!!!

It's vacation time!! As I think back over family vacations I am reminded of lots of great memories that have gotten better over the years. At the time they were moments that I thought would never end, but now I look back and laugh with tears in my eyes! Let's take a short walk down memory lane.

The first vacation memory is from when I was 10. We went to Galveston to see the ocean for the first time. We had an awesome time at nasty, stinky Astro World, then it was on to the beach! We got there and it was awesome! The waves were huge (for kids) and we were having a blast. While we were in the ocean my dad realizes that he can't find his keys (yes we were in the ocean). Somewhere in the bottom of the Galveston Bay are my dad's keys, to this day.

The second great vacation memory I have was from when I was probably 12. Every time we had a chance we went to Arkansas to visit family. My Granny and Pappaw are both from the most beautiful part of Arkansas, the Ozarks. I believe it was over spring break one year when we decided to take a small hike up B Mountain in Cox Valley. We have a cousin that lives at the base of the mountain so we began at his house. The adventure began at about 10am. We looked at beautiful trees, saw lots of fossil rocks, lots of moss, and beautiful scenery! We saw some cave dwellings and felt like true outdoorsmen (and women). As we were on our way back down the mountain, a tree limb caught my dads keys and ripped them off his keychain. As he started looking for the keys we kept walking because we didn't realize that he wasn't with us. As we kept going we realized that he wasn't with us and we weren't sure how to get back. Needless to say, we made it back down the mountain 4 hours later wet and starving!!

The last vacation memory I will share with you was when I was 14. We went on a trip to Biloxi, Mississippi and to this day we still say it smells like a big stink bomb. We were going to the beach one day to have lots of fun in the sun. Little did we know that dad was once again planning on making lots of memories. As we got closer to the beach we saw a jeep driving on the sand. I'm not sure what my dad was thinking at this point, in our Astro minivan, but as we drove past the sign that said, "NO DRIVING ON THE BEACH," I'm sure he wasn't thinking at all! Not long after we passed the sign we were no longer moving. Yes, we were stuck, on the beach, with no way of getting unstuck. As soon as my mom realized what was happening her and Noey got out of the van. Stacey and I got out of our seats and layed on the floor of the van so no one could see us. I still remember the policeman asking my dad what he was thinking. I'm not sure of the answer, but I'm sure it sounded something like, "I'm a Brown and we know everything!"

As I said before, we have had many memorable vacations! I'm sure this vacation will be no different than any other. Especially since the back windshield of Noey and Jennifer's Trailblazer has already busted out and we haven't even left our house yet!!

Stay tuned to find out what our next adventure holds!!!

Boomer Kisses!

One of my favorite things is hugs and kisses from my babies! Before Boomer passed away he had started giving me "big lip" kisses. He would grab my cheeks and stick his lips out as far as he could and then give me a kiss. That was one of the things I missed so much after his accident! I longed to hear his voice, hold him in my arms, and get big lip kisses. Well, this week, Ashby has started giving Boomer Kisses! She can't quite pucker up like he did but she has started grabbing my face and giving me kisses! I love it!!! I just tell her to give me a Boomer kiss and she grabs my face with those precious little hands and pulls my face to hers and it is the best feeling in my world right now!! She has no idea what she is doing to me when she does things like that. Isn't it awesome how God knows just how to take care of you? I don't know why he had to take Boomer so early, but I do know why he gave Ashby to us when he did. He knew that she was exactly what we needed for just a time as this!
I hope everyone finds something this week that God is doing just for you!

Good Friends!

There are not many things that are better than hanging out with friends that you haven't seen in a long time. We went to Shreveport for my sisters surgery yesterday (which went really well) and then stopped through Marshall on the way home to surprise some friends. Mike and Becca Roberts are two friends that we have both known for a really long time. When I was a little girl at Arp First Baptist church they went to church with us. When I met Josh he was going to TBI in Henderson. Before we went on a date one night he had to go talk to a guy that he was going to school with so we stopped by there before we left. When he came to the door I realized it was Mike! Isn't it weird how small the world really is! Well anyway, at about 5 o'clock we stopped by their house for just a minute, and ended up eating dinner with them and leaving at about 10. We reminised about seminary and when I was little going to their house riding horses and making monkey bread. Their boys are all grown up (Josh 18, Kasey 15, Brett 13). They are such an awesome family. When I think of them I think of what an awesome minister Mike is and what a loving mother and wife Becca is. My prayer is that when people think of us they feel the same way that we feel about the Roberts...They are really good friends and even though we don't see each other often, we know we could count on them for anything!

And just a side note:
Ashby is just like her Boomer! While we were waiting on my sister to get out of surgery she was the star of the waiting room. She crawled up between two women on a couch, she played cards with two teenage girls, and she made friends with an older man who was visiting with his family!


I love my daughter and I am glad that she is a social butterfly! And it makes me smile to think of how friendly my son was too! I love my family!!