My birthday month

My mother-in-law suggested that since my birthday was such a rough day that I celebrate my birth month instead. And I think it's only fair that since my birthday falls close to the end of the month that I celebrate a full 30 days instead of just the month of May. So I wanted to let all of you know that I will be accepting birthday gifts (in the form of cash or landscaping equipment!) until June 21. :)

We made the news!

We were on channel 2 news last night talking about the theft. It was kind of nerve-wracking. You don't want to be one of those people who sound like they have no education. But people have been calling us all day and apparently, we did ok. They are supposed to be posting the story online, so I will post it here if I find it online. Then you out-of-towners can see it.

Update: Here's a post on AM 750's website about it.
http://wsbradio.com/news/052407lscapingtheft3a.html

Landscaping Thieves Sought
(WSB Radio) -- A lapse in judgement leads to a crime that could put a small metro Atlanta company out of business. Tim Brown, the owner of "His Scapes," a Christian landscaping firm that provides work for recovering drug addicts and alcoholics, lost his $30,000 truck and $20,000 worth of equipment Monday when he left the keys in the ignition while on a job.
The vehicle, which was parked in front of a house on Nesbit Ferry Road near Spalding Drive, was recovered on Wednesday by Sandy Springs police. It had been stripped and there's been no sign of the trailer or the equipment. Investigators have seen a pattern of this type of crime developing over the last few weeks, but no arrests have been made.
24 May 2007

What a week so far- We could use some prayers!

This has been a pretty stressful week. It started out great. It was my bday on Monday and my inlaws kept the three older kids after church on Sun and Tim and I had gotten to go out to eat with only Vivian. Even though she nursed the ENTIRE time we were there, it was still a pretty nice change from all four.

Monday starts out fine. I decided since I had the three older ones gone I would spend my time cleaning the house. Around 11:50, I get a phone call from Tim that changed the course of our year, at least.

His truck, trailer and all of his equipment was stolen from him. He was at his aunt's house in Dunwoody cutting the grass and someone came and just hopped in and drove off. Thankfully he and the ministry guys who were with him were on the back yard so there was no confrontation with the thief. After talking with the police, Tim found out that this type of theft is running rampant in Atlanta. And that a lot of times, the theives are holding a gun to the landscapers to get their equipment.

The truck was recovered after a good samaritan left a message on the business # on the side of the truck and told the detectives where it was. Tim went to go pick the truck up last night to find that it's not even driveable. It has been stripped of anything of value. The battery and part of the engine are missing. And of course the trailer and all of the equipment is gone. We did have insurance but we had purchased a good bit of equipment in Jan that we had not added to the insurance yet. So we are now making payments on equipment that we don't have. And I could never have imagined the time and energy that we have had to spend in the last three days trying to straighten things out.

The maliciousness of this has just opened our eyes so much to the state of the world that we live in.

I have to say, I am so proud of my husband. He has picked himself up and with a push-mower, an old blower and a borrowed truck and trailer, he is still servicing his customers. He has really humbled himself so much. We know that all things work to the glory of God. And that is a promise.

Romans 8:28
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Matthew 6:20-1
"But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Our desire is to please and serve our Lord. And I know that his word is true and unchanging. I know that this too will work for His glory. We would appreciate any prayers. Please pray that we will be a light for Christ through this.

Classic Brown family holiday

Yesterday morning Tim made me breakfast and let me get ready for church kid free!! It was great. We went to church and even though Tim had to sit with Madison during her entire Sunday School class, we were able to have all three of the little ones in the nursery during church!! After church we see that Madison's class has gone outside on the play ground during church. That would normally be great but since it had rained the day before, she had red clay all over her. Tim had plans for us to go out for a nice lunch so we turned her clothes inside out and untucked her shirt to try and make her presentable. We finally left church about 12:40. We are headed to a surprise lunch for me! Well, we get to Alpharetta and turn to go into the mall. At this point I realize that he is headed to The Cheesecake Factory. This sweet man has forgotten that we live in a very populated place. So he goes in and finds that the wait is an hour. Well, at this point it's 1pm. So we continue on for a nice place for lunch that has a shorter wait. We arrive at Buca De Beppo's. It's a nice Italian place. The parking lot doesn't look too crowded so we valet park and get all the kids out and go in to find that they have a 1 1/2 hour wait. Valet guy brings the car back around and we head back out. We arrive at Copelands. The wait's not too long, only about 20 min. 20 min too long. We decide about the time that Madison is laying in the floor, Vivian's screaming and Leah has done her high-pitched squeal for the millionth time, we need to leave. They called our name as we get up to head out the door. The guy apologizes and Tim says, "No, it's not your fault, we brought this on ourselves!" So McDonald's it is. At 2pm we drive through McDonalds and eat our Mothers Day meal in the car.


What, you thought that was it?!?!?! Oh no, the story continues!!!

Tim is adamant on taking me out to dinner after the lunchtime fiasco. So we decide to go to this little place in Jasper with country cooking and a laid back atmosphere. We head up there around 6:30 since we ate lunch so late. I am pulling up to the driveway when I realize, there's no restaurant there!!! It has literally been torn down, parking lot and all. Bulldozers now replace the Jasper Family Steakhouse. Sooooooooooooo, now what. Well there are two other restaurants in Jasper, Mexican and Chinese. And we weren't in the mood for either. So Tim decides that we are probably closer to Elijay at this point, so head further north. At this point it's 7pm and we are laughing hysterically. At least we kept our sense of humor. We had to stop on the side of the highway for Madison to go potty. Thankfully I keep a potty and a roll of tp just for this kind of emergency. So we finally get to Elijay. Well, there's a Ruby Tuesday's. Not exactly the idea he had but I like the salad bar there so we decide on that. It takes them forever to figure where to seat 2 adults, 1 kid, 1 booster, 1 high chair and 1 sling for a baby in a car seat. We finally sit down. It's 10 min before the server comes over. We order and I go up to salad bar and get may salad and there's no ranch. Apparently they are out of ranch and the fact that there's a WalMart in the same parking lot, means nothing to them. So we spend the next 30 min laughing at the guy who has (literally) a four-inch knife on his belt buckle. It that legal?

Happy Mother's Day!!

The BEST Mother's Day present EVER!!!

Oh my goodness. A burgandy colored envelope showed up at my door today. It's an envelope I have only ever admired from afar. What might it be???

A gift certificate to SPA SYDELL!!!

And not just any gift certificate. It actually says, "THE GIFT." It's a whole day at the spa.

This five-hour day of sheer bliss is sure to please anyone you know. It includes the Body Massage, Sydell Facial, Manicure, Pedicure, and Makeup. A gourmet lunch is also included.

I am going to be in heaven!!!

Now who can convince their husband that I will need a friend to go with me??? :)

To go or not to go-Updated!

My 10-year high school reunion is in Oct. And I can't decide if I want to go. On the one hand, I enjoyed highschool for the most part and I would like to see a few people. On the other hand, the end of highschool was particularly difficult and I am not sure I want to relive it. I graduated highschool shortly after having a baby and two weeks after my mom died. It brings back some pretty sad memories for me. But I keep thinking would it be glorifying to the Lord for these people to see what He has done in my life. I am not sure yet.

*I decided not to go. It's not worth the $$ and the time to me. We get so little time without our kids, that's not how I want to spend it. Also, it's in Oct and that's when Tim's bday is. He will be 30 and if we're getting a babysitter for something, I want it to be a special night for the two of us.