Happy 39th Anniversary Mom and Dad!!!

Today my Parents are celebrating their 39th Wedding Anniversary!!! This is such a blessing and my siblings and I are very proud to have them as our Parents. I often ask them, what did they do to stay married for so long and both of their answers are always A LOT OF PRAYER!!!

My parents marriage is a great example of what a Christian Marriage should be like. They worship together, pray together and attend Bible Study together. My Dad is Deacon in the church and doesn't take his duty as a Deacon lightly and my Mom is a Deaconess who is always there to lend a helping hand. I'm quite sure they have their challenges but their love for one another has never wavered. I pray that my marriage will last just as long and that Keno and I can continue to have the amount of love in our marriage as my Mom and Dad has in theirs!

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!!! Hope you have a blessed day and many more!!

Please don't forget to follow my Mom's Cupcake Business, Cookie's Cakes, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cookiesgourmetcakes and her blog at http://www.cookiesgourmetcakes.blogspot.com

Cookie's Cakes (Gourmet Cakes and Cupcakes)

My mom has finally decided to launch her own cake and cupcake business, Cookie's Cakes. She's completed several baking and cake decorating classes and finally decided to step out on her own. Please check out her blog at http://www.cookiesgourmetcakes.blogspot.com and visit her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cookiecakes.

Here Comes Peter Cottontail...

I remember the children singing this song at every Easter Play held at The Mount Moriah Baptist Church in Baltimore, Maryland. Whenever Easter season comes around, this song always pops into my head.

Before I go any further with this blog, I want you to know that The Browns know that Easter/Resurrection Sunday is about the Death, Burial and Resurrection of Jesus Christ and that Jesus is the reason for the season. The commercialized piece of Easter is fun to get involved with but the Easter Bunny, Candy and Clothes are not the sole purpose of the day.

This past weekend was The Munchkin's first Easter and Keno and I worked very had at trying to make it nice for him. I know most of you are probably saying that he's a baby and he won't remember any of this, but guess what?!? We'll remember it and special thanks to cameras, we now have pictures to show him when he gets old enough to understand. We don't ever want to look back over our son's life and say, "I wish I would've done this" or "I wish I would've done that".

We spent the past two weeks trying to find the right outfit for him to wear to church. Instead of going with the normal dark suit, shirt and tie, we went with a more casual look. After several trips to the store and looking online, I finally found what I was looking for. The Children's Place had a nice tan linen suit and navy blue and white plaid shirt on Sale that we purchased. I then found a hat to match. Yes, our son has a matching hat for most of his outfits along with shoes. (His mother has shoe fetish that has now carried over to him). We also found the cutest navy blue and cream saddle shoes that went perfect with the outfit, but they were too big for his feet. So, he had to wear his tan Stride Rites.

We died eggs earlier in the week and prepared an Easter Basket for the Munnchkin. Inside the basket was a Rabbit from Build-A-Bear named "Peter Cotton Tail" and a book called "The Five Little Ducks". His Nana and Pop-Pop bought him a high chair and cart cover for when we go out to eat and his Auntie Monie and Uncle Robbie bought him more shoes!! On Saturday evening, we arranged his basket and gifts. Since we went to Sunrise Service on Sunday, The Munchkin didn't get his gifts until we got home. He enjoyed everything that was given to him. He played with his new friend Peter Cotton Tail, played with the ducks on his book and tried eating his shoes. I know...I know...He doesn't have a clue why he got all of these things. But that's ok! When he gets older he'll be able to look back at the pictures and see what his Daddy and Mommy did for him and one day when he has kids, hopefully he'll do the same thing.

The Quest to find GOOD Diapers...

Our little Munchkin is now 8 months old and the quest to find the perfect pamper for him has finally ended!!! When he was first born, we used the Pampers Brand. We received a few free packs from the hospital and we had received several packs from our Baby Shower. Once we ran out of the Pampers Brand, we started using Huggies because we were also blessed with a few boxes of Huggies. Once we started using the Huggies Brand, we immediately noticed that the Munchkin was having leakage and his blow outs could not be contained. So, we decided to try the Babies R' Us Brand of diapers and they worked out fine for a few weeks, but we noticed that the Munchkin was waking up in the middle of the night completely soaked. We were running through sleepers like we were going through diapers. By this time, Keno and I were both frustrated. So after talking to my Mom and Aunt, they suggested that we buy the plastic underwear to put on the Munchkin at night when he's sleep. We listened to their suggestion and did what they said and that worked out pretty well. But we still felt like no diaper should be leaking like this.

One day while walking through Sam's Club, we noticed that they had a brand of diapers called Member's Mark. Keno suggested that we give them a try since everything else had not been working. I immediately gave him the side eye and then thought about all the trouble the other brands gave us, so I turned that side eye into a Kanye Shrug and said, "OK!". Now, these diapers are a little cheaper than Pampers and Huggies so I really didn't expect for them to work....Well let me tell you!!!!!! These are the BEST diapers by far!!!! The Munchkin has not leaked since we started using them and they can contain his major Blow Outs!! Keno and I are both highly impressed with this Member's Mark! 8 months ago you couldn't have paid me to use Member's Mark brand diapers. It had to either be Pampers or Huggies. I'm so glad that Keno suggested them. The Munchkin is no longer waking up in the middle of the night completely soaked and we have more money to put towards his Education Fund.

Kickin' It With The Browns

Check our The Browns in their first Ustream Video called Kickin' It With The Browns http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/11862803. We received a webcam as a Christmas gift this year and decided to put it to use. LOL!!! We thought it would be fun to record a live talk show where we talk about Hot Topics in Relationships such as Communication, Money, Children, Sex and many more. Last night we recorded our first show and we talked about Communication and the importance of it in a relationship. Now, this is our first time doing this so please be patient with us. We're still trying to perfect the flow of the show. Tune in to Kickin' It With The Browns every Thursday evening around 9:30 p.m. and check us out. If you have any hot topics that you would like for us to discuss e-mail us at nicolebrown30@gmail.com.

Is His Grace Really Sufficient?!?

Each day I receive an inspiration message from Joel Osteen Ministries http://www.joelosteen.com/. His messages are very inspiring and they help to jump start my day. Today his message is about God's Grace. I decided to share it with everyone on my blog because sometimes we forget that God's Grace is sufficient and it's His free gift to us. No matter how bad we think we messed up, God's grace is always there.

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Increase of Grace

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
“...But where sin increased, grace increased all the more”
(Romans 5:20, NIV)

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria

So many people today live in guilt and condemnation over their past mistakes and wrongdoings. They have this attitude that they are too far gone or they’ve made too many mistakes. They think that if they walk into church, the roof will cave in. Friend, if that’s you, nothing could be further from the truth! It doesn’t matter what you’ve done, it doesn’t matter where you’ve been; God’s grace is enough. Scripture says that we are saved “by faith through grace.” Grace is His unmerited favor upon you. You can’t earn it no matter how “good” you act, but He’s offering it to you as a free gift. His grace is what empowers you to change and live the life He’s called you to.

Today, don’t live another minute in regret, condemnation, heaviness or despair. Receive His grace. It’s as easy as opening your heart and inviting Him to change your life. Remember, there’s nothing you could ever do that His grace can’t bring you through. So open your heart to Him and receive it today!

A PRAYER FOR TODAY
Father God, thank You for Your grace upon my life. Thank You for receiving me no matter what I’ve done. I receive Your love and forgiveness. I commit myself to You today and all the days of my life. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

— Joel & Victoria Osteen

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Thank God for His Grace!!!

Daddy is great! He gives me Chocolate Cake!

Have you ever seen Bill Cosby's special when he talks about his children singing "Daddy is Great! He gives me Chocolate Cake"? Well, this is what my hubby was singing to the Munchkin last night as I interrupted their bonding time at 11:30 p.m.!!! Yes, 30 minutes before midnight!

Last night, the Keno watched the baby while I caught up on my "Mommy Chores"; sterilizing bottles, washing dishes, clipping coupons and watching The Real Housewives of Atlanta...OK, watching RHOA was not a part of my chores, but I decided to get it in since I had a little break. After RHOA went off, I went upstairs to check on the men of the house and to make sure the Munchkin was sound asleep. It was way past his bed time, so I just knew he was resting peacefully. Well, that's what I thought! When I walked into the room, I was in for a SURPRISE!! The Munchkin was wide awake watching the end of the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. New England Patriots game with his daddy. I could not believe it! I looked at the two of them and said, "It's Night-Night time." My husband then looked at the Munchkin and said, "Well Son, mommy has shut us down for the evening. Tell her that she's no fun and that Daddy is great, he gives me chocolate cake." I immediately remembered this quote from Bill Cosby's comedy special and laughed. It reminded me of my childhood. My Dad was a little more lenient than my mom. My mom was The Enforcer. At 5 feet 2 inches, she kept the household in check. I never thought I would say this, but I felt like her last night. After I shut down the party, I prepared the Munchkin for bed and he was asleep in 15 minutes. I guess I will be handling bedtime duty from now on.

No more chocolate cake,