Last Pool Trip of the Season

Sunday night we went to the pool for the last time this season. The boys really wanted to go, but the water was way too cold to actually get in and swim. They still had a great time playing on the steps and jumping around the pool area.

Ethan's Soccer Game this past Saturday

Here are a few pictures from Ethan's soccer game this past Saturday. Their team didn't do the best this game, but he had a fun time which is all that matters. We are still enjoying being soccer parents!

Park and Bedtime

Here are a few pictures from last week's events around our house. Our weeks really seem to fly by now with soccer practice, church choir and mission friends on Wednesday nights, Saturday soccer games, and Sunday church. Last Wednesday was my day off work, and the boys and I went to our favorite park. Some of the pictures below are from our fun at the park. The other two are of Ethan being surrounded by all his stuffed animals at bedtime, as he often likes to have Daddy set up for him. And of course a "cheesing" Caleb getting his picture taken too!

Some of Ethan's School Work

Here are a few pictures of some of Ethan's school work so far from this year too. Every week they study a new letter and practice writing it, recognizing words and pictures that begin with that letter, doing an art activity involving the letter of the week, etc.

Some of Caleb's School Work

Here are a few pictures of Caleb's school work from this year so far. I can't keep everything that they bring home, so when I can, I plan to post pictures of their work here. Maybe sometime I'll get it together enough to do a separate online scrapbook for them with their art work, but for now this will have to do! He seems to be doing a lot of gluing things onto paper artwork. He is very proud to show me these things when he brings them home, which is cute too!

North Myrtle Beach Weekend Trip

Our family and my parents were invited by our friends, the Wiley family, to go with them for the weekend to North Myrtle Beach. We went Friday evening through Sunday afternoon, and had a great time! From all the pictures we took, you would've thought we were there for an entire week! Ethan loved the beach, as always, even insisting to take his shirt off on the first day and play in the cold water and windy air, all the while shivering and turning blue! Caleb is not as much of a beach baby . . . the first day he sat in Mommy's lap most of the time at the beach. On Sunday it was much warmer though, and Caleb ventured out into the sand and ended up playing for about 2 hours in the sand and tidal pools. We were so glad to see him enjoying the beach finally! This gives us encouragement that he will enjoy it when we go again sometime for a whole week vacation. Ethan even tried boogie boarding with Daddy on Sunday, when the waves weren't as big as they were on Sunday. The videos are of Ethan and Daddy boogie boarding. All of the pictures from our trip can be viewed at www.famof4brisk.shutterfly.com
Thanks again Wiley family for such a nice weekend!

Our New Home Gym

Our newest project at our house, now that the drainage issues are hopefully finally over, is creating a home gym in our bonus room that is usable for Scott and I. (Sometimes the bonus room can quickly become the clutter room, and isn't very conducive to exercising!) We finally got it cleaned up enough that we can access all three of our exercise equipment machines - the treadmill, elliptical, and weight bench. I had been mostly running and walking outside when the weather was nice, but with it getting cooler out (like 75 some degrees today, I know still relatively warm!), I think we will use the machines inside more in the winter months. At least that is the trend I normally turn to when the weather gets colder. My goal is to get Scott involved with me this year! It really is the perfect solution because we can put the boys to bed and then both go up there together and work out, making it a fun couple activity with benefits of getting healthier and in shape! We decided tonight that we were in a challenge with each other to tone up and lose weight. Our college Homecoming at GWU is coming up at the end of October, so we both hope to be slimmer and trimmer by then!

A Butter Biscuit at The Beacon!

I got to attend a field trip to The Beacon with Ethan on Monday morning. To those of us who live in Spartanburg, we know that The Beacon is a famous landmark restaurant here. So, I guess it is only appropriate to introduce it to the youngest citizens in Ethan's 4 year old class! His class was studying the letter "B" so they got to ride the church Bus to The Beacon for a Butter Biscuit and a Bubbly Sprite! He must've enjoyed it because he ate the whole thing, and didn't even leave a crumb for Mommy to nibble on!

Like Father, Like Son

Scott, a long time Star Wars fan, is so thrilled to have a son who shares his same enthusiasm in Star Wars. Ethan and Daddy enjoyed a special Sonic Slushee drink while watching a clip of the new animated Star Wars movie, "The Clone Wars," on the computer screen a couple nights ago. I thought it was very cute and a true testament to the saying, "Like Father, Like Son." :-)

Ethan's Special Decision

Something very special happened in our house tonight . . . Ethan asked Jesus into his heart to make his heart clean! Here is the story of how it happened.

Last night at Mission Friends at church, Scott and I taught the kids how to make salvation bracelets. This was our first night teaching 4 year old Mission Friends. The lesson was about people in other countries who make crafts for a living, so that is why we chose the bracelet making activity. The bracelets seemed to be a hit with the kids, and we talked about what each color bead meant. I will give both the 4 year old description we gave the kids, along with a more detailed one at the end of this post.

Well, tonight at the dinner table, Ethan and I were talking about his day. He shared with me how he had gotten mad at Mama Bailey at the grocery store today because she told him not to push on the cart, and he hit her. He said he told her he was sorry, but he seemed to be almost joking/laughing about the whole situation. I got very serious and told him how disappointed I was in him that he did that. After talking about it for a few minutes, he got very sad and solemn and asked if I would give him a hug. I of course told him how I was happy he told Mama he was sorry, but we also talked about other things he could do instead of hitting when he gets mad - like telling Mama he was mad and talking about it, or trying to calm down and count to 10.

After that I decided to move on and I asked him if he remembered what the different colors meant on his bracelet. He had obviously worn his bracelet all day today. He asked me if I would help him remember the different colors. So, we went over each of the colors and I asked him questions to help him remember the meanings, rather than just tell him. He seemed to really understand when we said that our hearts are dirty with sin, and when we believe in Jesus and say we're sorry, that Jesus will make our hearts all clean again. I then thought it might be good to tie in the earlier sin of hitting Mama Bailey into my illustration. It seems like he really "got it" then.

Then as serious as can be, he looked at me straight in the eyes and said, "Mommy, will you help me say that so my heart will not be dirty anymore and will be clean?" I really wished Scott would've been home from work by now, but I knew that I couldn't put this off . . . it was clear to me that the time was NOW. So, I asked him if he wanted to pray to ask Jesus into his heart to make his heart clean and to take away the sin in his life. Ethan said he did. So, at first I really didn't feel like I was prepared to do this, but again I felt the Lord saying, "This is the time, I will help you to know what to say." I felt like this was so important, and I didn't want to mess anything up or tell him something he wouldn't understand. But I let the Lord lead me, and at first I just prayed out loud for Ethan that he would understand everything that we had talked about, and I reiterated everything about the meanings of each color of bead and how it can help us remember what Jesus did for us. Then after I finished that prayer, I asked Ethan if he wanted to repeat a prayer after me to ask Jesus into his heart. He said he did, and so from what I can remember, the prayer he said after me out loud went something like this, "Dear Jesus, I know that I have sin in my life when I do things that You are not happy with and that makes my heart dirty. I believe that You died on the cross for my sins to save me and make my heart clean again. Please come into my heart to make it as white as snow. Thank you Jesus." After Ethan finished praying this out loud, he looked at me and had the biggest smile on his face. We hugged and I told him how happy I was that he is now a new Christian! He said, "What does it mean to be a new Christian?" I said it means that you just asked Jesus into your heart! And he said Oh! :-) I told him that I knew he didn't understand everything about being a Christian yet, but that he would continue to grow and learn what it means every day. Boy did those bracelets come in handy to help me explain everything to him! I then got out my Bible and went over the verses that back up everything we talked about. Some of the verses I read him are at the end of this post with the descriptions of the colors of the beads. For my own memory's sake, I will list them here as well:

Romans 3:23 - All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 6:23 - The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Romans 10:9-10 - That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

When Ethan turned 4 back in February, I really began praying that God would help me to teach Ethan the plan of salvation so that he would understand it and one day come to know Jesus as his Savior. I had always prayed this for Ethan, since the time he was born, but when he turned 4, I think it really hit me hard, because that is the same age that I asked Jesus into my heart. I remember that I had a very basic elementary understanding of the whole thing, but I know that there was a change in my life and heart when I made that decision with my mom praying the prayer with me when I was 4 years old. So, I have no doubt that Ethan, in his 4 year old mind, understood what he was saying when he said this prayer. I look forward to many years of him growing in his faith. I am so thankful to Jesus that now my son is a true believer and will be with me forever, even into eternity! I will continue to pray for Ethan's understanding in this decision, as well as for Caleb to one day make this decision for himself too!






Sept. 11th is a day we all remember from 2001 as a horrible terrorist attack on our country. I am thankful to God that now we will have a happy memory of Sept. 11th, 2008, when Ethan asked Jesus to come into his heart and make his heart clean!

Here are the descriptions of the colors of the beads on the salvation bracelet:

Black - Our hearts are "dirty" with sin. Sins are the things we do wrong in our lives that Jesus and our parents wouldn't want us to do; Sin is what separates us from God. "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23

Red - The blood that Jesus shed when He died on the cross for our sins, like when you get a "boo-boo" and it bleeds and you have to put a band-aid on it; Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave, paying the price and penalty for our sin. He provided the only way to God. "But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

White - When we believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, Jesus will make our hearts clean, as white as snow - just like after you get clothes out of the washing machine and they are white and clean; When we become a Christian God cleanses us from all unrighteousness and washes us whiter than snow. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9

Blue - We talked to the kids about baptism, and after they make the decision to accept Jesus into their lives, that baptism is going under the water and coming up again as a new, clean person, so the blue stands for water and being baptized; One of our first acts of obedience is to publicly confess our faith through baptism. "So then, those who had received His word were baptized; and there were added that day about three thousand souls.. " Acts 2:41

Green - Things that are green are grass, trees, plants, etc. . . when they get water they grow. When we become a Christian, we have to grow as a new believer in Jesus and learn more and more about him through studying our Bible, and going to church, etc; "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen." 2 Peter 3:18

Yellow - Reminds us of the promise we have when we are Christians of a home in heaven. The streets in heaven are paved with gold; "In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I got and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also." John 14:2-3

New Fitness Goal

If any of my readers have noticed, I haven't been doing as many running workouts lately. After I ran my 5K in June, I really wanted to continue running and train for another race. But with the summer being so hot, it had been hard to be motivated to run in the heat, so I basically hadn't been doing much consistently. Well, now it is getting a little cooler out in the evening, so I have been considering starting up again. However, we really don't have any extra money to put towards race entries at this time, so without a race to train for, it is hard for me to stay motivated. I don't really love running that much. So, I decided my new fitness goal is to walk a total of 6 miles a week. It's not extreme, but it's better than nothing. So far, I've walked 4 this week. So, this is my new fitness goal, and I'm sticking to it for now!

Ethan's First Upward Soccer Game

Ethan had a great first Upward Soccer Game this morning. It was beautiful weather and a lot of fun! Daddy, Mommy, Caleb, Mama & Papa Brisken, and Mama & Grandpa Bailey were all able to attend and cheer him on. Ethan's team scored one goal and the opposing team scored one goal. Pretty good for 4 and 5 year olds! When we asked Ethan what his favorite part of the soccer game was, he said getting to run through the tunnel at the beginning when they called his name out before the game. He must've felt like an all star athlete! The picture in the upper left corner is of him running through the tunnel. Caleb enjoyed playing on the playground at the game (thank goodness for that!) and playing on his new motorcycle bike he got last night for his birthday. We look forward to more soccer games this season!

More Celebrating for Caleb turning 2!

We celebrated some more with Scott's parents tonight and Caleb had another birthday surprise! He had a great time riding around on his new motorcycle bike and pushing all the buttons that made sounds and music. Thank you Mama and Papa Brisken!

Making Progress

Scott, his Dad, and my Dad spent this past Monday through Wednesday trying to prepare our yard and house for more potential rains from Hanna. They made a good amount of progress in only three days. Luckily, it looks like Hanna is not going to hit us in this area as hard as originally thought. But hopefully we'll have time to finish everything before the next storm comes, and we can test out the new drains and ditches.

Here are the new drains we put in along the back of the house where the water came in last time over our brick patio.

Here is the ditch that was dug between our neighbor's fence and ours so hopefully the water will flow between the yards instead of into our yard.

Here are the pipes that will hopefully carry the water the rest of the way down our side yard into the street. We'll probably cover these up with gravel when we can afford to do so.

Here is the ditch that was dug across the back of our fence to carry water out to the street instead of into our yard. Now we have to get more mulch to spread over it and make it look nice.

Daddy Jungle-Gym

Ethan and Caleb's favorite activity when Daddy gets home from work is jumping all over him! You could say he is their very own Jungle-Gym! Here are some pics of my guys having fun.

Happy 2nd Birthday Caleb!

Caleb turned two years old on August 3oth. We celebrated with brownies and ice cream and opening a few presents. He received a vacuum cleaner from Mommy and Daddy, because he loves to push things around. Ethan got him a tiger flashlight that roars. And Mama and Grandpa Bailey gave Caleb and Ethan frequent jump passes for Monkey Joes, a local indoor bouncy jumping place. Those will get some good use in the colder months to come! Thanks everyone!

A look back two years ago . . .

Born August 30, 2006 2:33 p.m. 6 lbs 8 oz 19.5 inches long

Mommy had spent a night in the hospital with the doctors monitoring her blood pressure, because it had shot up all of a sudden at 37 1/2 weeks. In the morning, the doctor decided it would be best to go ahead and induce her. Induction started around 8:30/9:00 am, and Caleb was born at 2:33 pm! It was an almost identical birth story to Caleb's brother, Ethan!

Both Scott and I are so thankful for Caleb in our lives. He definitely adds something special to our family! We love you Caleb!

Pirate Party!

This past weekend we went to our friends' house in the Atlanta area for an end of summer fun pirate party! Ethan and Caleb had a great time with their friend, Ben. Ethan wore his eye patch that night to dinner, as well as to bed!

A Couple More Pictures from the Wedding

Here are a couple more pictures of Caleb and Ethan from the wedding . . . thanks to Sharon, my mother-in-law's special cropping talent! Just thought I would share these with the people that read my blog!