Our First Garden 2013!!!

   Well I decided I was going to try my hand at a little gardening this year but we didn't know how the soil here was for gardening so we went very little to see how it would go. Austin and I planted it. We got it in late but I thought hey it will be fun anyway even if we don't get much. So little man and I along with the help of my sister set off to work a little plot in the back yard. It was already July! Opps, I know it should have already been in the ground for over a month by then.
   We planted a pumpkin plant, three tomato plants, nine corn seeds, two rows of lettuce, 8 hot pepper plants and parsley. We will see how it goes. At least it will give Austin and I a little something to do. He loves watering and has his own watering can. He did really good at staying out of the garden too. He did love digging in the dirt the few times that I allowed him. He liked trying to pick the weeds as well. I learned how to pollinate a pumpkin plant. Love the things that Noah taught me about gardening. Can't wait till Lord willing when we have a big garden and we are all working on it all the time side by side.
   Well last week we cleaned the garden out. We didn't get any ripe tomatoes as we got out plants in to late but a friend told me to put them in the basement under newspaper so I thought we would give it a try and see if they would ripen. Austin helped me pick all the produce that was left in the garden and the pull the plants and put all our cages and pots away. I always enjoy teaching him new things and watching him imitate what I do. We have fun being outside together. Praising the Lord for my little boy and how busy he keeps me.

Hope and Austin digging up the garden.

Blueberry lemonade!

My hard working helper!!

Austin tilling (playing)  in between plants!

Picking flowers! 

So excited about picking his pumpkin!

Corn from our garden.

Picking hot peppers!!

Picking our tomatoes. 

Two years and still in LOVE as day One!!!

   Noah and I celebrated our second anniversary this year.  Our second anniversary!!! I can hardly believe it has been two years already. The Friday night before Noah planned a little special evening for us at home with a beautifully set table,  flowers, cards and food. He even cleaned up the kitchen as I rushed out early that morning to help my sister in law Jenny for the day. Austin went to bed and we had a delightful evening together. Our anniversary is over Memorial weekend so Noah and I decided to go and spend the weekend up at my Uncle Tom and Aunt Kay’s for the weekend because he wanted to spend the day of our anniversary in Lacrosse. KayLee was not working so she said she would watch him. 
   We traveled to Black River Falls on Saturday and Had a fun evening just chilling. Of course over the course of the weekend I had to get a trip to The Merchant General Store in. My favorite store to visit when in town. My cousin works at the library in town and because of the library being closed for the holiday she had to go in and empty the book drop. Austin and I went with her and Austin had a blast playing with the toys and having the place to himself. We even had time to get a pizza party in. Love times with my family. Jonathan and Noah found a place to bike that they loved so they went twice in two day.
    On Monday we headed of to lacrosse right away in the morning. I (Mom was a little anxious to leave her little boy behind as it is not something I have ever done. It was ok though and I was very excited to spend the day with Noah. We had a beautiful drive up there through some farm county. Beautiful, well kept farms and lots of rolling hills. It rained on and off most the day so we were not able to walk the board walk along the River. We got to go shopping though!!! We went to the mall and a couple other store. 
   We found a Catholic Shrine to tour called the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  It was located in  the middle of the words with a beautiful walking trail. It was very interesting to see their customs and tradiotions and very sad as well. As I watched one lady sitting in the back she looked so sad and desperately seeking God but finding no answers. Every where you turned people were praying to statues, lighting candles and paying money. All looks so good and glorius but in the end I know is such a hopeless loss with out a true understanding of  God and biblical salvation. They had a memorial to unborn (aborted) babies. It was so sad to read all of the statistics of the staggering amount of aborted babies, little precious lives that God created. Seeing the grief and pain it ultimately causes in the end as well. I just had to walk around reading all the words crying out to God for mercy on us, such sinful people and open our eyes to our wickedness. (Also the whole time thanking our heavenly Father for the precious life inside me!) 
   It was then late in the afternoon so we headed back as we still had to make the trip from Black River Falls to home. Noah decieded on the way home for supper we had to stop at A&W and give Austin another first time experiences. Austin of course loved it and had his first on tap A&W root beer from a cold frothy mug. He enjoyed every second of dinner!
   Well I have been truly blessed beyond words. The last two years have not necessarily been the easiest but then no one ever told me it was going to be. It is a wild ride sometimes but I am loving every minute of it and thanks God for where he has me in life. Being married had taught me so many things and I am still learning everyday. I serve a true and mighty God.

Noah's set table for my birthday and our Anniversary!

Austin playing tractors at Aunt Kay's 

Jonathan 

Noah

 Lady of Guadalupe 

Votive Candle Chapel 

Memorial to unborn babies.

 Lady Guadalupe with babies.

A New Years Eve Party!!!

Not to be left out he had to toast in the New Year as well.

Can you believe it this little guy as awake at Midnight.       

Bringing in the New Year as a family!

Can you believe it these two are still up at MIDNIGHT!!!!

                 

Joyce and I

       

Brianna and I

Toasting in the New Year 

Just being us.

It was cold but he braved it for a little while. Praise the Lord Auntie Wendy lives across the street.

Skating on New Years day with Auntie

   We had a fun New Years Eve and Day. My sister Brianna came up for a couple of day before her mission trip. We went shopping, to a white elephant party and skating, played games and laughed and laughed and laughed. But on a more serious note we had some great encouraging talks about were we where with the Lord in our personal lives. She is such a huge blessing to me and one of my closest friends. 

  Josh and Joyce came over to our house to bring in the New Year with us and we had sparkling grape juice at Midnight! A Velie tradition that I am now adding to our family traditions. We started out the evening at Timothy and Nikki's for a white elephant party and tortillas and then finished off the night with a party at our house and of course we had to bring out the snacks. Us girls watched a movie and the guys putts on their phone and the computer. Austin went down to sleep but got up about 10:30 and I figured it was pointless to try and get him back to sleep. So Austin got to spend his first New Years Eve seeing in the New Year.

   On New Years Day we had some friends over for breakfast and then we went skating and played games, eat more food of course and talked and laughed till our sides hurt. Truly thankful to the Lord for such great christian friends. 

   I am so looking forward to what this new year has in store for us and praying that I will be in total service of the Lord and to come to the end of this year knowing more about Him and having a stronger and closer walk with Him.

Our 2012 Year

Well it is 2013 already; can you believe it? My how the time flies! I should have posted this a long time ago but I just wasn't able to get around to it. It is so fun to just stop and think about all the good and rough things the Lord brought us through in the last year. We certainly have a lot to be thankful for in the Brainard household.
   Our biggest blessing of the year was welcoming our first baby Austin Lee , April 15th. He has been the most wonderful gift that the Lord had given us so far. We can't stop thanking Him enough for blessing us with him. He has brought so much joy and laughter to our house these past months. We will never be the same, but that is a good thing. The Lord has taught us so much through the little life he has entrusted us with. Austin has also brought us closer together and with a deeper love for each other than we had even before. It is so funny the new feelings I have. No one ever told me these things but they are truly wonderful.
   Austin is now 10 months old and is has been a little bit of a rough journey. When he was just a couple of days old he started staying up a lot at night and the when he was three weeks old he started to cry a lot and I could tell he acted like he was in pain. So I took a lot of stuff out of my diet and slowly started adding it back in and I narrowed it down to dairy. That was easy enough. I just went dairy free and no more pain crying. He was how ever still a more fussy baby who spit up a LOT, and still didn't sleep a lot a night. He nursed every two hours like clock work for the first five months.  Well he kept his mommy in shape with all the walks we went on. Praise the Lord he was born in the spring! He now eats food like crazy out eating both his older Velie cousin Caleb and Joshua. He can crawl, walk along things, say: hi, bye, dada and mama. He waves, claps and took his fist step two weeks ago. He loves to play with Jamel and Jasper (two little boys from church). I can't thank the Lord enough for all the wonderful things that people gave us and all the help I have gotten. I surely didn't do this alone.
   Noah and I also celebrated our first anniversary on the 28th of May. We went on a little weekend get away in the end of January before the baby come. We went to a number of guitar stores, the mall, skating in the middle of town of town in a public park. Ate at a few different places. My favorite was the Thai Palace and Noah's was the little sandwich shop we eat at called Potbellies! We had a wonderful time. Then for our actual anniversary Brianna came by to watch Austin and Noah and I spend a day on the lake fishing and canoeing. I packed a picnic lunch and we had a wonderful time. I of course got a sun burn. It was a fun time and nice to just spend a couple of hours of just Noah and I time. Being married this last year has been wonderful with all the new found joy and wedding bliss with all the usual ups and downs as well but with the grace of God we came though everything with no fits flying ;) God is good and I have learned so much from Noah in the time that we have been married.
   We went on a trip to North Dakota in August for Austin to meet Grandpa Brainard for the first time. We had a lovely trip. Austin had already gotten the privilege to meet Grandma Brainard as she had already came and stayed at our house and met Austin. Grandpa was already making plans to go on back packing trip and camping trips with Austin. It was so fun to see them together. That is all we did for family trips these year. However Noah did fly Austin and I out to Colorado in October to see the newest member of the Velie family. Luke Bryan Silverberg born to Jason and Nicole on September 18th. He is just a cutie. We flew out there with my sister Brianna and stayed for a whole week. Austin did so good on the plane. I was very worried but he was a trooper and if he started getting to fussy food is always a sure fix for this little guy. The first thing that Noah noticed when he picked up Austin after we got back was he was heavier. We helped Nicole pack and move and clean. We had such a crazy busy time but it was so very fun. Went for walks and held the cute little Luke. Was such a blessing to be able to see Luke while he was still a baby.
  Well those are the biggest highlights of our year and we have so much to thank the Lord for. I have learned so much about parenting and being a wife in the last year and I pray it is all to the glory of God.  I am a blessed women and can't thank the Lord enough for the amazing things I have been given.

Merry Christmas

Hello everyone, I wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas. Christmas at the Brainard's house was especially fun this year with it being Austin's first Christmas. I don't think he got into it like his mom did but he did liked the wrapping paper of course. The bow is still in his toy box.

   Noah got his wisdom teeth out the Friday before Christmas. After his appointment we headed over to Jeremy and Deanna's to spend a long weekend. Deanna and I went out for a girls lunch date on Saturday afternoon at the Lunchbox and on Sunday we sang at the nursing home and Austin, Brianna and I payed a quick visit to Nene (Jeanine) and Pat. Deanna and I spent Monday cleaning and getting ready for Christmas Day. We took the three boys outside to play in the snow and slide on the pond. On Christmas Day the Velie family got together at Jeremy and Deanna's house; Grandpa and Grandma Velie and Uncle  Tom and Aunt Kay's family came as well. We had a wonderful spread of tacos with all the fixings you can think of. Grandma played the piano and little kids ran all over the played inside and out; skating and snowmobiling. We played games and everyone eat Christmas goodies and drank hot chocolate. KayLee and I had our annul walk, talk, laughs and photo shoot.
   Everyone says Christmas is a time to love but it is not the only time to love. We should be loving all the time. The Bible teaches us so much about loving. People need to remember that Christmas is not a time of show but rather a time to show love and Christ. Tell people why Jesus came to earth so very long ago. So that He could die on the cross and forgive sinful retches such as I. So while getting caught up in all the hustle and bustle remember to share the greatest gift of all; the plan of Salvation. I know it is the greatest gift I have ever received.

Austin with his present. 

A Car! Noah made it.

He loved the bow.

Happy face!!

Another one.

Another toy made by Dad

Brainard family Christmas 2012

                                Fun times with my Best Friend and our Annual Christmas Tradition

 

Love her!!                       

Snow Fight (She started it!)                            

                                     

                                     

In honor of KayLee