August

 My goodness it's August, and school is just around the corner. The air up here in the mountains is starting to slowly change. In the morning the coolness of my bedroom reminds me the days are going fast.  As September creeps around the corner plans of wood chopping are being made for the weekends, and fall activities are being scheduled out. I don't know if I am fully ready yet. Every year when I notice the air change it brings about a slight panic to hold everyday tightly, and remind myself that the warm autumn days are still ahead. We've been busy around here. We spent sometime up in northern British Columbia with friends and came home to our living room carpet gone and new floors in.  This was such a huge burden lifted off our shoulders. With the amount of vomit that we deal with from Henry I just couldn't go any longer. My dad said when he pulled it out the smell was terrible.  We are just so grateful to have that small problem taken care of.


 

Ten Things...

1. Summer day camp with happy kids running to the van to tell me all the exciting things of the day and new friendships growing within our little community around the lake.

2. A sweet little sister lost with out her tribe, trying to pass the hours while babies nap watching her favourite afternoon cartoons. With five of them gone today the house was very quiet, even though I still had four at home I too felt a little lost.

3. Gaining a new sister. A beautiful wedding weekend. Catching up with family from afar making memories looking over a beautiful lake with a summer breeze.

4. Wedding celebrations.

5. A new friend for our gal Greta. This gorgeous Nubian was here as a guest while her family was away but as it turns out she is going to stay and help eat some of the long grass.

6. This smile on our girl Greta, she really needed a friend. She no longer cries for the kids to come outside to play.

7. Our one and only rooster.  He really is the most gentle rooster, we recently separated him from our hens I feel a little sad for him.

8. Hot summer nights. Bedtime with these two is becoming quite the juggling act. They no longer are content to snuggle and lay still.  Climbing, kicking you name it they want to be everywhere but in bed. In these moments when their tiny sweaty heads are peacefully passed out swoon that they are mine.

9. Simon, our faithful dog. It took some convincing for us to bring a dog into our family, one of those reasons being some of my children having an encounter with a cougar last summer. Boy am I so glad we caved, he is just wonderful.

10.  Friends. Friends that see your ugly side and still stay.  Heart mom bonds are like nothing I have ever experienced. Your bond is over fighting for your child's life,  I'm not sure there is anything deeper than that.

Welcome

Hello! I thought I would reintroduce myself since it's been a number of months since I last blogged. 

I am Miranda Brown and this guy here is my husband Chris, we have been married 17 years this summer (we were babies when we married, I was 16 and Chris was 19) we have nine fantastic children - Austin, Zachary, Natalie, Presley, Rachael, Jude, Hannah, Henry, and Seamus.  

Four years ago we bought a house way too small for us up in the mountains of British Columbia with dreams of digging our hands in the soil and learning more about homesteading.  We are a homeschooling family for 12 years and we are gearing up to graduated our oldest. In this blog you will find many topics from homeschooling, homesteading, family life, and my walk as a Christian. I started this blog in 2008 to keep track of our days. My children read everything written it's become like our family journal. In fact it was them who encouraged me to start writing again. 

I absolutely love hearing from you! I read every comment and email that comes in, and will do my best to reply to questions within the comments at the end of that day (so check back there if you've asked a question).  The words you share bring me such joy and encouragement. And very often, they lift my spirits and make my day - and encourage me to keep writing and sharing in this space. 

I hope you enjoy getting to know our family outside of Hope for Henry.

XoXo Love the Brown's

two words

 

 

Celebrations for two little boys are underway, there is no stopping the calendar

now.. Birthday celebrations will roll into holiday traditions. And while I just may be the busiest I have ever been I joyfully ride this season.  I savor those late night car ride home with my teens, their hearts tend to spill out in the passenger seat of my van. 

Thank You...home we gathered at this weekend, deep in the woods, to share family stories and dreams and open our bibles together to the beautiful friends.

Thank You.... Thank You...to the wonderfully organized homeschooling mamas around us who so graciously and gracefully pull such good things together.

Thank-You... to my helpers who go the extra mile to make the days run a little smoother.

Thank You..... friends who continually wrap your arms around me and whisper "it will be ok".

Thank you... Chris for supporting my dreams and encouraging me to break out of the walls and dream bigger.

Thank You.... Hannah for always making me laugh.

Thank You... Natalie for your beautiful girlhood and your sweet gentle nature.

Thank-You....Henry for showing me how desperately we need Jesus.

Thank- you....Seamus for the soothing balm you are to my soul. I drink in your sweetness with joy daily.

Thank You...to my teens who said, 'thank you' to me at the end of each day last week as I played their taxi driver/chauffeur between classes, lessons, and rehearsals.

Thank-You

a letter to my kids

      I don't write a whole lot about my oldest children very often,  I really try to protect their story as their own to tell. But  I want to tell you about the absolute joy I feel in parenting my teens and middles these days. The fun we have together is more than anything I could have imagined, and the ways in which they inspire me are countless.  I never thought my kids would understand so much medical jargon. With out a doubt right down to my 7 year old they understand things that most never even know about. They all know how much of a flush Henry gets before and after a feed, they know his volume intake, they can program his pump just as well as us. They can attach his mic-key extension, understand his weights etc. really it's quite impressive. I quizzed them before I sat down to write.

We are coming up on a year of this crazy life change, and my dear children I see the tears you cry when a new set of symptoms means seeing another specialist, and we don’t know how many times we’ll have to travel to get to an appointment there, how many years we’ll need check-ups with that particular specialty. You guys have done amazing and I am so proud of all of you.

I see your frustration and sadness when you witness another meltdown, or when you are told about another surgery, or have to endure your sibling being in the hospital yet again. I see your struggle to help out when you’re asked to in situations where your dad and I aren’t there and other adults ask you to step in when they don’t know what to do. You all have grown in so many ways this year and I am honored to be your mom.

I love who you guys are becoming. I see your compassion, kindness, and sensitivity to others’ feelings. You are wise beyond your years. God is going to use these experiences that cause you the most pain now to continue developing character traits in you that will be invaluable to you both now and as an adult.
 I am in awe of your love for each other.
You are amazing. And don’t you ever forget it.
I’m here for you. I love you every bit as much as your sibling, and I want you to know that I’m here for you too. We never know how much time we get on earth so lets make the most of every moment!

September dance..

  This time of year is like a delicate dance.... The September dance. . These babies of mine are getting older but not just the twins all of them. Their interest in the world beyond our doors increases, we find ourselves looking at the calendar each night, chatting and devising a plan of attack for the day that follows. Dance classes, gymnastics, homeschool coops, teenage work schedules, PT/OT medical appointments and the list goes on and on.....with a home and small farm to manage it adds up fast . My head spins a little trying to find our balance and grove... I bet you all feel it. Back to school ( I know some of you have waited weeks for this), back to work, back to it -

As I embrace all the exciting new things ahead for all of us this season, I gently remind myself  to breath and love these little people in a way that no one else can. That in fact, this is my job as Mama to stay strong and steady, to breathe deeply, to walk slowly through these wild and full days. To be the anchor of home.

These days.. these amazing glorious days... I will one day wish for them back. .. The messy pile of books read, the art made, the paint dried on the table, dolls, blocks played with and nine children snug in bed sleeping soundly under one roof.

 

This Girl

     This girl is so full of life. She is beautiful and confident that she was born a real life princess. She prefers to wear dress-up costume dresses rather than real clothes.
She recently fell in love with a dog named Simon, after the children's encounter with a cougar we had been discussing the idea of adding one to our little farm but it needed to be the perfect fit. Last week we took a road trip up north to visit a very dear friend of mine and Hannah told her Auntie Katie  "I really love your dog".  I was surprised when she responded with "you can take him home if your mommy says it's OK." The rest is history :) Meet Simon.

August Hobbies

                     Waldorf Gardening has been our thing this summer.  Every little piece is hand crafted. Zachary made this tiny chair and mail box. When I saw how much fun he was having I jumped in and hand painted the rock mushrooms.  It's enjoyable to sit and craft as babies nap and work our imaginations together. Natalie's creative juices got flowing when we were invited to my cousins baby shower. We had a couple packages of diapers that didn't fit the twins anymore so she got busy.

July

 

Summer on our mini homestead has been busy. Henry has kept us on our toes in and out of the hospital but between all our medical concerns life keeps trucking along and unfolding before us. The children have been crafting in their free time. Zach has been building a Waldorf village and Austin has been making and selling survival bracelets.  We have had friends up for farm campouts, bon fires, smores, and day trips.   Our days at home are slow and perfectly-paced. Not knowing what is happening from day to day with our wee little man stretches us all and we hold plans loosely in our hands. But here we are - growing alongside each other, trying new things, and falling back into the arms of each other to rejoice in the glory, the mistakes, and mostly, the adventure of it all. A lot of adventure. We continue to dream and plan and do things that are "crazy" in the eyes of the world.  Choosing to stand naked before our sovereign God, stripping off any and all fear and distrust. God's love is bigger than any earthly crisis. His ways are higher than mine so what do I have to fear. I rest knowing he holds every detail of our life in his gigantic loving hand, even though the enemy comes and tries to whisper his lies I breath deep and find my rest in his never-slipping grip. 

Rhythm

 We are loving these longer days, soaking up as many daylight hours as we can. Our barn project is getting closer and closer to completion. I love the way the boys have worked along side Chris reminds me of how the Amish do it with their children. I am sure lots of precious memories are being built in their minds.  I am enjoying the gentle rhythm of the last couple weeks. After every hospital stay it solidifies how precious time with our children really is.

There is so much negativity all around us lately in the news, so we have decided to have a media free summer. My little guys 9 and under will have no screens at all, while I will allow my older 3 sometime as needed. It's amazing the different rhythm this brings. I'd really like my children to see more of the beauty that is around them and the beauty in people. Protecting little ears from negative talk or coarse joking.

The babies continue to melt us all, I have waited a long time for them to be able to play together. I can't express the joy this bring to us. Our children all reach a place in our hearts but having a child like Henry reaches places you didn't know exist.  I am so in awe that I was chosen to be his Mama.