throwing lemons at the neighbors

ok. so picture this. riley is fast asleep in the other room and i am putting laundry away. i go into our bedroom and out of the corner of my eye, i see caelan throwing lemons over the fence.

my first thought. eric and i were telling her yesterday we need to trim their tree because it is growing more in our yard than theirs... and it is dropping lemons everywhere. and this brings the bees....

so my thought:

she's throwing the lemons over since they are making a mess. (with this being said, i thought, well, its not okay to be throwing them back over, rude actually... so i popped open the window to tell her to stop.)

she didnt hear me pop open the window and i hear her conversing with the neighbors and i see lemon after lemon being chucked over into our yard.... and she is throwing them back....

oh, great. making friends with the neighbors are we? is this friendly conversation, throwing lemons at each other.... not to mention the height at which caelan climbed to the top of the swingset to stand so high that she could see those little kids so she can make good aim.... oh heavens.

enjoy!

there's been issued, a missing persons report:

missing person report:


doc hudson. missing since october 21.2008

if anyone knows of his whereabouts please contact riley rae asap.








also missing:



cactus lightening
mc queen

if anyone knows of her whereabouts please also
contact riley rae

these are small die cast cars from the cars' movie. we are not sure where they might have gone, but they are lost and they don't have a map to get home safely. not sure how they ended up lost as we watch out for pedestrians that might be interested in them.

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there is unfortunately no reward being offered at this time. riley is out of a job. please help in finding them! :)
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LUCKILY she hired on some new people working for the buying dept at her dealership... "MIMI" and 'YA-YA'




so, 'mimi' SPENT SOME TIME RESEARCHING AND ENDED UP PURCHASING SOME NEW ONES, UP NORTH: THANK YOU MIMI.







Riley is in awe of the newest additions. this car collection has lasted 1.5 years and hopefully she will be taking them to the races (or places she goes :0) ) for the next few years!
















thank you to ya-ya, also, charlie checker is doing great! he looks great at the dealership!

in order to understand completely you would need to listen to the following sermons... these are sermons that have changed our perspective. and quite honestly, have changed our lives....
you can catch it at: http://ylfc.org/cgi-bin/MediaList.cgi?section=&cat=Worship%20Services
and click to listen to october 26th... if you can i would suggest listening to ALL OF THE PRAYER AND FASTING SERMONS.... :) They have really ministered to eric and my life.

• we have been seeking God's wisdom and guidance in figuring out where we should be in life... making sure we seek Him so that we have peace in our life's knowing we are exactly where God plans to use us, to serve His kingdom.
• we have tried to simplify our lives by learning to slow down (a lesson i learned in my MOPS group) and Eric and I both decided to work on, and it is so amazing! through simplifying we feel like we can take more time to pray, more time to 'listen' to God. i have a hard time sitting in one place and having silence, but i have spent so much time in silence that i find myself praying during that time and singing (hard to admit :0)
• another lesson i have learned was one through my bible study through the warehouse church....(<---- which has been totally amazing. i have really gotten on track with my spiritual life through these bible studies) i learned not to carry my sins around with me, but to allow God to cleanse me of the things i have done in the past and look toward the present. it has been challenging but amazing to have burdens lifted off me.
• the last thing that has taken place is my heart being changed by God. at yorba linda friends i really felt my heart strings. i have felt them for weeks now....

yorba linda friends, is very involved in serving India. Our church is building schools and businesses in order to reach those from the farthest depths of the world, a place where they need Jesus so much. It is amazing to see the work our church is doing and week after week we hear updates.

it had been a few weeks since we had been to a service at Yorba Linda friends since we had been attending two churches- it got to be a lot on the girls. well in those weeks we really felt the enemy attacking us. we felt like god was so far away. often wondering, 'god where are you?'

last week we went to yorba linda friends and once again, they spoke on India, just like normal... and just like normal, my heart strings were being tugged at.

i sat in my chair, my heart beating as fast as can be. the room all of the sudden got really warm and i felt like i couldn't shake it. i couldn't ignore it anymore. for weeks i had felt this way, but this time it was different. i have prayed and prayed that god would use people in my life to speak to me. i know that god cant send me a letter in the mail, and i was having a hard time knowing how and when god speaks to people.

it was so clear to me. our head pastor Matthew cork said, 'we're going to sing another song and as the song is being sung, if you feel like you need prayer for something, prayer that your life would no longer be ordinary but extraordinary, then i want you to come up....' he proceeded with several more reasons that someone might want to come up....

instantly Eric grabbed my hand and we went forward. a gentleman prayed with us. for our finances, for Riley, for my health, for peace to surround our house and for the enemy to flee.

when the prayer was done i told Eric, i had to stay up there and talk to Matthew. we turned around and he was done with the woman he was praying for... i walked over and began to weep. i cant explain to you if it was weeping of joy. weeping of relief. i am not sure but i was filled with so many emotions all at once that i could hardly speak. he allowed me to weep for a minute and he had tears in his eyes as well.

i said to him, something like this, 'every time you talk about India this feeling comes over me. my heart starts racing and i feel so much love in my heart and so much sorrow for these people. i have these feelings and i cant get them out of my head, its a feeling, (and at the same time he spoke these words when i spoke them) its a feeling i cant shake. and then i proceeded to say, 'so now what do i do? what do i do with this?'

after speaking to him there were a lot of words exchanged, it was amazing. i felt the hand of God work in my life like i have never in my life felt before. with Eric still by my side Matthew prayed with us... and the things he prayed for were just perfect. they were words taken straight from my mouth.

so needless to say, i don't know what is going to happen from here, but Matthew and i are going to be emailing and we will probably meet very soon to discuss some things he had mentioned to me. he said the first step in knowing what god wants of us is to act on the first step we feel, and that is being there. so he said, they will get me there, and we will figure this out together. there are a few teams going and i may be part of one of those teams.

these are short trips, no i am not moving to India.

these are trips where we go and worship with the people of India. we pray for the people, we will help empower the women of India to find jobs to help their families. to support the schools being built. to love on the people and to allow God to work through each one of us, in the way he has fit.

God is doing big things. we are seeking Him daily. seeking Him first. realigning our priorities. taking care of our family. spending time praying as a family and not just at the dinner table.

we are being stretched. we are being taken from our comfort zones. we are being moved into directions we never saw coming.

but we feel gods peace. we feel the enemy attacking but we feel prayers surrounding us.

the blog world is interesting. you never know who is reading your blog, or if they know you personally or not. but no matter what i find people placing blogs in my lap, people that need prayer, people that God is using, and i follow these blogs and weekly i pray over these. i often wonder, how many people and who is reading our blog. and if you know us personally or not. but the fact of the matter is, we feel so much prayer surrounding us. we feel god giving us clarity in the things that seem blurry. we find strength in our times of weakness.

just a few steps away i felt so depleted. i felt so drained. my cup half empty, actually dry. and so quickly things turned around, when i recognized this happening. i began to pray more. and someone spoke into me, 'god allows trials and struggles because this is how we know faith. this is how we grow spiritually.....'

we have grown. we are growing. every day. more and more.

we covet your prayers. thank you to those who have faithfully prayed. we hold tightly to that.

its somewhat scary to post something like this. to post your heart and soul into the life's of others... but this is what we do. we open our hearts and share with you. the journey. the journey of all the happenings in our lives... and this is such a huge huge thing- it had to be shared. shared so you can offer your prayers, shared as an encouragement, which i hope it would be.

seek Him. take time to be still. take time 'to listen' it is amazing to hear the things He might want to say.

-megs

i've been tagged???

oh great, i've been tagged . by my friend sarah sherman.... so, i guess now i am supposed to go to 'my pictures' folder on my computer. go to the 6th folder... and post the 6th picture.... well.... i have a very crazy particular way of organizing... so, i had to kinda change this up a bit.... i have my folders set up first, by year, then by month, then by date.... so, i went to the 6th folder (year), 6th folder again ( month), then the 6th folder again (date), then on to the 6th picture...

so here it is.... and the rule is to post the picture then i am supposed to tell a story about it....

this picture was taken in temecula.... we were on the way home from my in-laws house in fallbrook. the picture is of caelan, riley was somehow cut out of this shot???? hey, ya win some loose some :) anyhow, my in-laws had just moved to fallbrook from orange county and the drive was so long for the girls since the drive was still so new... well, they had to go to the bathroom. so, we stopped off and got a bite to eat and they were able to use the restroom..... not to interesting of a story, and not a super picture.... but hey, just following the rules....

so here we go.... i tag....... alissa rollins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! come on liss, do it. its quick and easy.... and don't forget to tag the next person....

whew! ok. finally time....

i finally found a moment to sit and write to you all....

so here it goes, a little but of rambling... okay, maybe a lot of it....!

for starters. i was challenged at MOPS to not be 'so busy'. it seems everyone goes through the day and anytime anyone asks how they are, the response so much of the time is, well, 'oh busy'.
so, i am going to be working on that.... trying not to always be busy, and trying harder to not always feel busy. simplifying our lives, realizing it is okay to say no sometimes. it is okay to admit that we cant do it all. i try and take on so much and it is crazy!
the woman speaking at MOPS also said, young moms always want to be busy, it makes them feel 'more important'. well, in the process we enroll our kids in dance, soccer, karate, swim, oh and don't forget science club, oh and the YMCA is having programs that the school keeps pushing... i mean heavens. we cant do it all. we shouldn't do it all! i take on this opinion as well. and for you that do take it on and maybe you can manage and for you, hey, that's great, awesome for you! but i just cant, and that's ok. :0)
i feel the desire to slow down. to appreciate a good book with my kids resting comfortably on my bed as we read all together. i feel the desire to focus on my kids more.
i feel so guilty rushing through my days. and as i am doing so all i can do is sit and look at my kids and wonder where time went.
so today, we got up this morning, got ready, took caelan to school, then took riley to school, then picked caelan up from school, came home and painted. my sister bought caelan watercolors and is teaching her to paint.... so we all sat down at the table to paint.....
now, i could have went and did that last load of laundry, which i would have normally done, i could have gone out and pulled the rest of the weeds..... but i am trying to slow down and realize that its okay to let some things go in order to spend quality time with my kids. i don't feel like i have spent nearly as much quality time as i should have thus far with them....
it was refreshing. very refreshing. the girls loved it and after riley went down for her nap with such ease. made me realize that taking a little time puts our hearts and minds at ease :)

anyhow, furthermore.... that brings me to Riley Rae. Little miss Riley Rae....
life needs to slow down in order to help her as well. we got the confirmation that she does in fact have Apraxia.... she was diagnosed with this early this summer... and since there have been several evaluations with several therapists and they have all come to this same conclusion...
apraxia ..... <------click there to get more info.....
basically, it is a neuro disorder. the brain doesn't connect with the mouth.... here is a video that i swear sounds EXACTLY like riley. if we weren't watching the video i would have thought it had to be her.... i should say the beginning of the video... the second part shows the little boy and his progression with taking 'fish oil'..... watch the video and check it out!

so anyhow, riley is in therapy twice a week now. once a week focused on the motor skills of using her mouth, the other is a pre-phonology class. things seem to be a lot better for her in the program now that we got a chance to iron out some stuff. eric went and met with her therapists and it seems like it will be a good fit now that they cleared up some stuff :)

but anyhow, it is interesting. life is tough. i have two children that couldn't be more different, so it makes life very interesting and challenging for both eric and i. trying to find 'that balance'.....

riley doesn't like to play with many toys. she loves riding her bike though. my parents bought her one recently and she is amazing at riding it. :) and last year we discovered she loves the movie 'cars' and when we were in Idaho last year we started collecting the hot wheels versions of the 'cars'.... she is obsessed and in turn i am too because i finally have that 'one thing' that she will flip over backwards for :)cause one must realize it isn't always the perfect time to ride your bike nor can that be something she can do any ol' time... so that's riley.... right on track, getting a program that fits her. and we're getting the help we need for her! yeah!

caelan.... she is doing great in kindergarten. she is progressing well. eric went to her conference and the teacher gave great report and mentioned she is progressing at reading really quickly so they are giving her some 1st and 2nd grade work... okie-dokie!

the 2nd part of the report.... she was kissing another boy....so, the teacher mentioned that the class was all learning to make sure they are always practicing using their own personal space... Lou came home and explained, but i love you mommy, so i give you kisses and _ _ _ _ is my friend, so why can i not give him kisses..... so anyhow, good ol' ya-ya was here that day and said we have to save our kisses for when we are older! :0) heavens.... :)

life over here is..... oops, i almost said busy! :0) life over here is grand. :) trying to move through each day learning more and more to enjoy the little things. sounds cliche but really, just trying to settle in.... and build special moments with our lil' family of 4, have fun and make great memories with our friends and with our families.... :)

until next time.....

(next post....

eric's birthday.... eric's trip to las vegas/lake mead with biola guys.... we painted our gourds with gourd paint- so cool.... thanks for the tips danny, (friend from biola...he has a company called gottagettagourd....) <---- check it out... also have posts for a womens brunch i went to and helped put on for the warehouse church... so much to post.... ;) we'll get caught up soon! this was plenty of reading for one day! :0)

hey!

if you yourself have a blog, you can add a 'gadget' under layout....
the gadget i am going to specifically mention is 'the follower'
you can add the gadget and automatically get updates from bloggers you follow....

so i added this gadget as well, so make sure you 'add' to be a follower on my blog if you are interested. and i will make sure and add you too! just gotta get the 'gadget' all set up! it should make it easier at night when we are all spending time going from blog to blog, you will know if there is anything new or not, it'll save the time of visiting information you have already read! :)

and if you don't have a blog, get one. period. we wanna know whats going on in your neck of the woods too! :)

more.

oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh. i'll be blogging more tonite! :) or tomorrow. i hope to find a quiet moment to do so!
there's so much to post:
riley's new bike from my parents.
trips to fallbrook.
painting gourds.
eric's 'guys only' trip to the river. hummmmmm.
farmers market and great deals shopping! old navy is having a sale- ya better check it out! :)
the yard. the best dog in the world, lucy- of course we all think our pets are the best in the world!
more on caelan's school experiences.
rileys IEP....

just so much. i hope to get caught up! oh, and i had MOPS today and oh heavens- got some great stuff to share on that one too! :)

for now, happy friday!

my "sparkle" is back,

megs

a time to share my heart

i started this blog with every intention of sharing the good the bad and the ugly. :) to share with you our hearts. to share our victories but also our battles. it is so important for us to in turn learn an grow from all of you and your impact in our lives...

thank you for your impact. thank you to all who pray for our family. thank you. ;)

so much is going on in the brewer house. so many things. :)
it is so easy to get busy.it is so easy to let the day slip away and not feel like you've accomplished anything. it is so easy to be 'down' because of the sadness sweeping our nation. it is so easy to feel overwhelmed by 'to do lists', it is so easy to drift away from time spent with God,it is so easy to go in our own direction instead of the direction God wants us to go in... it is so easy to take on more than we know we are capable of handling...

i spoke with a dear friend last night, she reminded me that this year was a time of restoration for her and her family. she spoke of how this year, she knows that it is a time of that restoration... i felt her. i felt it in my heart as if she took the words right out of my mouth and then it hit me. hit me smack dab in my face! that's us.

we have begun that time of restoration. We have been so busy and so caught up in homework, IEP's, housework, eric's masters degree completion, caelan's schedule, riley's schedule, eric's schedule, and my trying to just keep my head above water....

our restoration includes, praying through out the day,and praising God for the great things he has done, and will do, we are getting back into the word, we are planning quiet time to just sit,listen and reflect more, we are going to start making time to slow down.... to take a walk to the park.... to read to our kids because it is a time of bonding and learning not a time to rush through and fill it out on the reading log.... to take time for just eric and i. we are horrible at that.

• we have learning to pray BIG and when we pray expect God to show up!
• we are learning to trust in Him, this is something we learn every day, and something we need to work on every day...
• we are learning that we cannot let things, or others stand in the way of our 'victories' with God...
• we are learning that we need to slow down and allow God to work in our lives as we listen to our hearts and follow what we know is best....
• we are learning we always need to be growing more. we need to seek Him more....To pray as a family and not just at the dinner table.

there is so much we are learning. so much we have learned by just taking a step back and looking at decisions and our lives. and we are thankful for friends and family.

we have so much to be thankful for. we have seen gods hand in so many things.... our kids, our home, our families, our health, eric's career... we have seen God do such BIG things. and we often forget we need to 'shout to the Lord and sing praises for what He has done'...

we take for granted those Big things... and focus on the next big thing...

anyhow, sorry to ramble. just wanted to encourage you. encourage you to seek Him. Go to Him and ask him to show His glory. Ask Him to meet you in your quiet times.

my friend, elizabeth reminded me the other day... to walk around my home. and pray in each room. that way i gain focus on what and who i am praying for...... pray for riley. pray for caelan. pray for eric and remember to pray for myself.... our home, our neighborhood.... it was such a neat suggestion. and it is something i am going to start focusing on! praying for 'whats ahead' instead of always trying to figure out 'what is now'....

i hope i made sense. just a time to ramble and share whats in my heart and what is going on in our lives....

good things. god is doing such amazing things.

-megs

fall.

its time for fall. of course that is what the calendar reads but the weather isn't cooperating being i am looking out my window and the thermometer is reading 90 degrees. gross. welcome to southern California....

anyhow, at least my house knows that it is fall.... :)

we went to the gourd farm with my in-laws. what an amazing thing. huge pumpkins for 4 bucks compared to the 20 we would have paid at the 'pumpkin patch'..... we also picked up another gourd - thank you mary! i love it. it is going to be a treasure! for sure. i love it. it has so much character. its time to get 'cleaning' on the ones we got the beginning of this season! :)