Five Brown Kids

Happy Halloween!

She can crawl over, pull herself up and play.

She's crawling all over the place.  And even more than that she wants us to hold her hands while she walks everywhere. Little lady is on the move! I loved the sweet & cuddly baby stage and hate to see it come to an end.

We went gleaning again last Friday.  Grapes this time!  Wonderful experience. But the few volunteers who were there only got through maybe a 1/4 or less of the field.  All that fruit is available to be harvested and handed out to people in need and no one is there to pick it.  Send an email to Melissa@foodshuttle.org to get on her mailing list.  Their are endless opportunities and they are very kid friendly!

My friend Evelyn, nursery leader on Sundays and immigration attorney all the other days of the week is in New Mexico this week providing pro bono legal services to women and children who have crossed the border illegally and are being held in "family friendly prisons". I try sometimes to imagine how desperate I would have to be to send my boys off on their own to find safety in a far away country or to pack up my two girls and try to escape with just the items I carry on my back.  My imagining doesn't go well.  I'm glad that a few families who have survived the unimaginable journey will meet Evelyn's smiling face at the end of it. Follow along here - Destination Due Process - as Evelyn and three friends spend the week hard at work serving the people who need their help most. God speed.

Taye came home from swim practice the other day with two certificates.  Last year in the virtual world Taye's relay team was the fifth best in the country in the YMCA world of swimming.  Pretty awesome.  A tiny reward for a LOT of hard work!

This is a quick recap of a very fun and very exhausting fall break. The weather was fabulous and Tyrone was home for most of the two weeks.    The first day we planned to try a new restaurant downtown.  But Poole's is only open for supper and we needed lunchtime so we went to the Flying Biscuit instead.  It was yummy! We met some church friends at Pullen Park .  It was their first time!  I think the highlight was a splashing fight on the pedal boats.   Jaxon and Taye both had football practices and football games and Taye had swim too.  Every evening is busy. (That's Jaxon with the ball - if those linemen can make a hole for him he's gone!) We biked 15 miles on the greenway to Emily's house.  I loved it!  My favorite fall break adventure.  (Scotia uses this bike extension and Blythe has a trailer) Jaxon had a basketball tournament.  Some Saturdays we fly around so fast it feels like our hair is...

4 ripe mangoes, peeled, pitted and cubed 2/3 cup sugar 1/2 cup corn syrup 6 tbsp fresh lemon or lime juice Combine everything in the blender or food processor until thick and smooth.  Pour into Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker and mix until thickened, about 25 minutes.  Let it set in the freezer for a few hours.   Straining the puree to get out any strings would make it perfect - we don't have time for that :-)

Bluegrass from jessica brown on Vimeo . I dragged Taye to the Wide Open Bluegrass Festival one night after swim practice.  It was amazing.  We hung out at the dance tent and listened to two really fun bands.  I'm in love!  Bluegrass is my new favorite. Can't wait for next year!

We biked to Emily's house on the greenway today. 15 miles! The kids did awesome! Blythe was happy, the boys were speedy and Scotia made it most of the way before she started to fuss.  It's almost a straight shot from one subdivision to the other. There is a small section that is not completed yet so we had to do a short detour on the road - but otherwise I loved it!