Thanksgiving

It has been a much needed break for me- this Thanksgiving holiday. But more importantly it's helped me focus on the many things I'm thankful for this year! I have so many blessings. Sisters who are best friends. A doggie who loves me. Healing in my heart from hurts. Reconnection with my mom. A cozy place to live. Students who share their hearts with me. A church that loves Jesus and people. So many things. And yet, I still struggle. When my body hurts. When I feel sad. When it seems like all the good is not enough to overcome the bad. When I pour out my heart and it's refused. When the doggie pees on the floor. So many things can go wrong. BUT GOD...he intervenes and reminds me He has the power and control. Moving won't be so bad. He knows my heart's desire to be a wife and mom. He knows that I want Sami much to have a "normal" body free from pain. He makes all the struggles seem small when I remember how big He is. Is it easy? Not even a little bit. Is it worthy? More than I eve realize now! So join me in focusing on gratitude for the little, big and bigger things God does. Hope is his business.

so far...

Family Fun at Corpus

Since my last post, we had a family trip to Corpus, a blue moon, lots of Millie time, summer Bible study and a fun last HURRAH before I go back to work Wednesday! Yes, Wednesday! 

Corpus 
I loved being at the beach, listening to the waves, and teaching Jenna and Ben how to "jump" the waves like my sisters and I did when we were younger. Lots of sandcastles were built, holes were dug and a fun time was had on the beach! In the house, we took turns on meals. I have to say I got off pretty easy. I didn't cook breakfast once and I only had to make dinner once, which Andrew graciously ended up doing on the grill. It was a real blessing to be treated so well. Thanks guys! 

 


My favorite part of the trip was watching the sea turtle release at the National Seashore. It was beautiful and so special to be a part of it. I am not a morning person, but I was so excited to be there at 6:45 a.m. I'll never forget whispering in Ben's ear - "It's time to get up for the turtles" and then seeing his blond curls POP UP in bed. "Ok, let's go!" Jenna was more like me, she stayed in her pjs and was unimpressed until the main event. I think we all enjoyed it and it was a special event to share as a family. 

 


Another fun adventure was family pictures. Amber is gifted in photography and she brought her tripod and told us how to color coordinate beforehand and boy did the pictures turn out great?! Keeping Jenna, Ben and Uncle Andrew involved was a challenge, but we did and it turned out to be a blast!

 


Blue Moon, Millie, and Bible study
Lance was kind enough to keep Millie and Jett while we were at the beach, but Millie was glad to be home and I was glad to have her back! We've been on walks to explore a new park, sat outside to watch the blue moon and had lots of snuggle time. Too bad she won't be able to go to work with me. :-( Another blessing this summer has been Bible study. A friend invited me and I honestly was out of the loop. It has been such a blessing to have sisters pray for me and over me as I battle through my health issues and emotions. I am so grateful for them and each Wednesday night we meet. 

 

HURRAH
Today, I met Scarlett and the kids for one last summer HURRAH! We bowled, played skee ball and LASER TAG! It was great fun and lots of special prices. With our tickets, we all went home with a bracelet! Jenna got a bouncy ball and Ben got a dinosaur. It was lots of fun. To top off the day we enjoyed a yummy lunch at Rudy's bbq and then went our separate ways. I'm so thankful that we got to have one last day of fun and that I convinced Scarlett to play laser tag and then she DOMINATED! ;-)

 

Love,
Brandee

Camp Aunt B

Love this girl!

This month I had the pleasure of hosting Camp Aunt B with Jenna and Ben. They each got their own special day to spend with me and I have to say I think I was just as excited as they were! I tried to pick something unique to their interests and something they would remember. I think it was successful and I hope Camp Aunt B is an annual event. 

Jenna 

Fishie!

Jenna is ALL girl - sparkles, glitter, crafts, and fun. Our day we started off by going to Michael's and looking for a fun craft to make. Jenna quickly decided on something and then we walked around - we found the clearance aisle and everything was an extra 50% off! BINGO! I pulled baskets down for her to look through - stickers everywhere. We both love stickers. I mean, really, who doesn't? And for 25 cents too! She kept saying, "Aunt B, this is too much, we have enough." But I told her the price and said to keep checking with me. We didn't buy every pack but close to it. So with her original craft choice, the clearance items and some things for myself our grand total was $31! We hit the jackpot. We were getting hungry by then so I let Jenna pick our lunch spot - and of course - Chick fil A it was. We had a tasty lunch and then stopped at Memorial Bakery for cupcakes, but then once Jenna saw butterfly cookies she couldn't resist! She even made sure to get a flip flop cookie for Ben. Once we had our tummies full and our supplies we went home and crafted...so fun! We listened to Frozen, sang and used the hot glue gun. Jenna has such a kind heart and made sure to make something special for everyone in her family - Mom, Dad, Ben and then one thing for everyone to share. Then we hit the pool - Jenna has gained a great confidence in swimming this year and I loved having time with just her in the swimming pool! She has become a fish! 

Butterfly Cookies!

Craft concentration

Ben

The fire truck!

 

Ben is all boy! He loves trucks, animals, dirt, and trains! I contacted the local fire station about a tour and they said to come by anytime, so Ben and I went to the store and got some Gatorade. Ben picked blue - his favorite color! Last week at VBS the theme was all about superheroes so I told Ben he was going to meet real live superheroes! He got confused and said, "At church?" So we drove over to the fire station and Ben shouted, "Oh no, that car is in trouble!" I thought, "Oh no, I missed my turn!" The firemen were outside training - we parked across the street and walked into the fire station to meet Mr. Justin. Ben, who is rarely shy, hid behind my legs until we walked out to the truck. His eyes lit up - the boy had a permanent smile on his face. I did not even have to ask him to smile for the camera. It was precious and I am so glad I got to be a part of that moment! Mr. Justin was great and showed Ben all the hoses, axes, secret compartments and even the ambulance! He let Ben sit inside the truck, on the front and turned the lights on for him to see. Mr. Justin even gave us a coloring book with stickers. It was amazing. Then we made our way to Hermann Park to ride the train, see interesting art work, drink our own Gatorade (green for Ben) and eat at Chick-fil-A! It was a great day full of fun! 

Aunt B and Ben

Checking out the ambulance
 

Permanent Smile!

Crazy Sculpture from the train! 

We finished off Ben's day by enjoying a sno-cone with Jenna and Scarlett in Old Katy and Ohana Ice. YUMMY! 

SNO-CONES!!!

vbs

       

    

                          Sisters!

Getting ready to sing!

I still remember going to VBS at First Baptist Katy as Ms. Julie's guest - I am pretty sure I was in 3rd or 4th grade and I was in her class or wanted to be! The week was full of flannel board stories, crafts and songs! If you don't know what a flannel board story is, click HERE to learn about Jonah! In fact, I still have one of my crafts and it is hanging in my kitchen today. We glued on different beans and I am sure they represented something. Sadly I don't remember what now. What I do remember is the closing talk and Dr. Wisdom sharing the gospel. My heart was pounding so fast and I knew that God was speaking to me. They called people forward to come and pray. I wasn't sure I wanted to go up at first because I was worried what my friends might think, but then my heart kept pounding more and more. So I got up and walked down the front to find Ms. Julie and prayed with her. In my memory that is the moment I accepted God's gift of salvation and became a believer. I was so excited to be with him and not to be left behind. Summers following this we transitioned to Backyard Bible Clubs and VBS faded from the picture but I will always remember that day of VBS and how I felt stepping out and walking forward to accept God's love in my life. Needless to say, VBS has a special place in my life.

My craft from VBS

This past week, my sweet niece and nephew, Jenna and Ben, had VBS at their church. One day I stopped by to take a Sonic drink to my sister. Scarlett was in charge of coordinating volunteers this year...a HUGE undertaking! After I dropped off her drink, I peeked in Ben's class and then saw Jenna too.

Crafting!

Friday night, they had a finale, where the kids sang, there was food, sno-cones, and lots of fun! I am so thankful I live close by so I could attend and encourage and love on the kids as they showed off their DIVINE 9 - fruits of the spirit songs. I'm not gonna lie - the song keeps going through my head - I might have to get it from Scarlett! It is very catchy! I am very thankful that J & B are going to VBS and that they are learning and singing about God from a young age. It makes my heart happy and it makes me proud to see my sister & her husband serve God in unique ways at their church! Even Grammy volunteered this week. :) My favorite was seeing the Divine 9 represented through ART! Enjoy the pictures and have a great Saturday! 

Love, 
Aunt B

Charms and the kids

Artist in action

The Divine 9! 

dress like a cow

Cow Appreciation at Chick Fil A 

We love free food!

I am so thankful for sweet friends like the Johnson's! They are pretty much up for anything and they proved it Tuesday night by dressing up like a cow with me to go and get FREE food at Chick Fil A. At first Marianne wasn't too sure about it but then I sent pics and she was okay. Thanks to my sister, Scarlett, I had great tips on how to make our cow costumes. I made a trip to Michael's for black felt and then cut out random cow looking shapes. Chick Fil A posted a pattern for the ears online so I traced it on art paper, cut it out and colored it with Mr. Sketch markers. Our ears smelled like licorice and bubble gum! Then I glued the ears to an elastic headband. Really it was fun and gave me a project for the afternoon after a doctor appointment that morning. I love that Marianne and Elliot are up for trying new things and that they like to have fun! Thanks guys for being so flexible and willing to dress like a cow! 

Love,

Brandee

So thankful for this sweet couple!

#milliemoo

How is already the middle of July? Time has gone by so quickly since my last post. I still continue to be amazed and filled with gratitude and the friends and provision God has given me as I recover and heal from these crazy blood clots! 

Millie came home after staying with the Jeans & Jett out in Spring for almost six weeks. She lost some weight, got some new moves to play with Pogo, and had a good time antagonizing Jett. I am happy to have her and I am pretty sure she is glad to be home. We just got back this afternoon from a trip out to see everyone! Thank you so much to Amber & Andrew for loving on Millie and watching over her until I felt strong enough to welcome her home. It was a true blessing for me. Amber captured some great pictures of Millie and would send them to me almost every day!

 
 


July was filled with a lot of thunderstorms. I made my first "real" grocery store trip by myself and the weather was fine. When I came out, it was pouring rain and I had no umbrella! I survived though and was thankful to have Millie waiting home for me. I think she knew that I needed watching over - she jumped in the car and made sure I got all the groceries out in the pouring rain and then zipped in the house. As you can see, I have a great love for this little pup, Millie. She is a blessing to me and such a snuggler!

Today on the way home we stopped at the famous, Denovo coffee. Sadly there is not one here in Houston, but I love going to the one in Spring. Auntie treated us to drinks and then Millie even got a VERY special puppy latte. Check out her eyes! I think she has hit a sugar coma because she's been sleeping or fighting it since we got home! So thankful to the Jeans who introduced Boston Terriers into the Smith family. They sure are fun and make great friends! 

Love, 

Brandee

gratitude

Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night and think of a great sentence or idea and think to yourself, "I'll remember that in the morning"? Well, I did that last night and when I woke up today it was gone. I don't know if it means I am enjoying writing more or if I'm more forgetful. :) Either way I'm okay! So no fancy sentences today, just gratitude. 

I have been writing a lot about being grateful and I was reminded once again yesterday that I have major reasons to be thankful!

• When I was in the hospital, there was a big rainstorm and almost all of my neighbors' cars flooded, so much so that a couple had to get new cars! My car was here but God protected it and even though a car three spots over was totaled out with flooding, my car was just find and dry as a bone inside after the storm. So thankful for this!
• I saw a new hematologist yesterday at Memorial Hermann. He is wicked smart and board certified in three different specialties. I found out my previous hematologist (the one assigned by the hospital) does not have certification or specialization in hematology. He is certified in oncology, which has a lot to do with blood, but it is not the same. So I am switching doctors effective immediately. 
• Which leads me to my general doctor - Dr. Kim Dunn...she is amazing. I have been so blessed by her throughout my blood clot ordeal and even before that she took great care of me as I had the flu and a cold. She is a smart cookie and has recommended many great doctors and suggestions during this time. 
• Also, my friends. I am very blessed to have a great support. Yesterday Marianne went as my "2nd ear" and I am so glad she did because she remembered questions that I forgot and I was able to have someone to talk to and process the information with after my appointment. She is a true friend!
• Millie. She brings me such joy just by being here. I love her cuddles, her personality and presence.
• Amber's pictures. Amber is a great photographer - see previous post. She is traveling right now and keeps sending me pictures. I love it and I feel like I get a glimpse of somewhere else I can't be right now. It is encouraging. 
• Neighbors. I have a sweet neighbor Therese who also has a Boston Terrier. His name is Pogo - when Millie & Pogo play there is fun! Therese has also checked on me and brought me delicious pizza and lasagna during this time of recovery. :) And she helped me find out what was living under my patio last night - POSSUMS! I am so glad I did not discover them by myself! EWW!

I could keep going on and on - really I am so thankful for the love, support and prayers that people have offered and how God continues to intervene and save my life, save my car and save me. Thanks for reading and Happy Tuesday!

Love,

Brandee

P.S. Enjoy a video of Millie slurping a puppy latte!