Little Miss Priss

I just wanted to brag on my Prissy for a minute. We did decide to do the obedience training with her and I am so proud of how much she has changed. (MiMi is a lot happier with her too!) She was boarded at Mans Best Friend for 2 weeks while going through obedience training and I picked her up last Thursday. She is doing so good at not jumping on people and furniture, trying to get everyones food, and following commands. She can heel, sit, stay, and go down on command while in the house. At our next follow-up visit we will start doing commands outside where there are many more distractions. We are still working on everything, but shes totally improved so much that I had to brag. I dont feel like I wanna kill her anymore and shes getting so much more attention! LOL


Okay, now I will share some Prissy pictures with you! :)

Laying with Daddy. She cant do this anymore because shes not allowed on the furniture now. :)

And again, laying with her Daddy

Do we see a pattern here?

Down...no, really shes just laying there. Her down consists of going down then rolling over on her back so she can get her belly rubbed!

Keeping in touch with all her Dawgs!

Last, but not least...a puppy pic! Why cant they stay this small?

Family Game Night!!!

Hey Browns, listen up! We are having a Family Game Night on May 17th at The Lily Pad! The room is already reserved and we were thinking about starting at 3:00 that way everyone can go to church, eat lunch, and rest for a few minutes before arriving. Come and go as ya please type thing...we dont want to interrupt a sleeping child. We figure everyone can bring their own drinks and we might order pizza for dinner. That will be an easy clean up! ;) If you have any games you would like to play feel free to bring them with you-although Im sure Karlee and Meagan have enough games for us all! (Curses anyone?) Anyway, hope to see you all there!

Care Packages Are Love In a Box

What better way is there to say I love you, I miss you, and Be safe out there when you cant be with your Honey Bunny? I have been sending John many different care packages, but this time I decided to take some pictures. (I cant believe I havent been doing that all along... whats wrong with me?) Anyway, here is my latest care package to John...Easter theme, of course.

His Easter box filled to the brim...with lots of purple, undoubtedly. :)

Whats inside, you ask? Well, easter eggs filled with his favorite candy. Snickers, Reecie Peanut Butter Cups, and the Chicks, Ducks, and Bunnies Sweettarts that you can only get at Easter! There is also a big purple egg filled with Dove Milk Chocolate eggs...only the best chocolates for my hubby, per his request! :)

I also sent him 4 egg shaped popcorn balls. (One for each of the guys in his office.)

And these Rice Krispie Treat things...

Well, I felt bad for sending a bunch of junk food, so I also made sure he had a new Nintendo DS game and the newest WWE magazine. (Along with his Easter card.)






He doesnt want a bunch of junk to have to carry or ship back home and the only personal things he took with him was his Nintendo DS, MP3 player, camera, and Bible. So, basically all he gets is food or things he can throw away. Any other suggestions??? lol Well, I only have one more care package to send him now anyway.

A boy can learn a lot from a dog: obedience, loyalty, and the importance of turning around three times before lying down.

Prissy can be quite a handful sometimes. I love her dearly and she is so darn cute, but lets face it, she has behavioral issues. lol I dont want everyone to think of her as a brat and most importantly, I need help for when we get to Columbia for good. (Especially because we will probably be in a stinkin apartment!) So, today we had a free consultation with Man's Best Friend to see what kind of dog obedience training they offer and if it would help my Basset baby. :)

The lady we met with was very nice and her family actually owned MBF! The Obedience Training and Behavioral Problem Solving focuses on teaching basic obedience commands: sit, stay, down, heel and come. They also address behavioral problems such as housebreaking, chewing, barking, jumping and running out open doors. It is a 2 week boarding where they will build communication skills and teach her right from wrong. After that they will train me and then we will have 4 more follow-up days to make sure everything is going well with her training.

The price for this training is steep but well worth it if we can get her to listen better, not have accidents in the house, no more jumping on everyone as they come through the gate, and quit that loud, obnoxious barking. Oh, not to mention.....wait for it......they are offering a 50% military discount right now! WOOHOO! So, now its time to discuss this with John and hopefully get her into training! :) I cant believe my dog might be able to go for a walk without a leash! Lets hope they can work miracles like the reviews say!

100 days!

Check out my ticker!!! Yes, you are seeing that right! Its been 100 days since I kissed my love goodbye! I cant believe its been that long already! (Well, sometimes it seems like F-O-R-E-V-E-R) I hope the next 4 months fly by! Just wanted to share my excitement with everyone! Hope you all are doing fantastic!

New Addition to the Brown Family

Ive had to bite my tongue for some time now, but I can finally say that my little brother is getting married!!! YAY! We welcome Blair with arms wide open as she and Trey seem to be very much in love. She is a very sweet girl and Im excited to have another sister in law! I am also extremely happy for Trey as he is the happiest and most motivated that I have ever seen him. I guess we will have to quit secretly referring to him as "failure to launch". :) (Shhh, dont let him know we called him that!)

The wedding will be this July so they are diligently working to make their special day perfect. Lets just say that June and July are going to be very busy!!! I guess we wouldnt have it any other way!

Dear Military Wife...

This post might be long, but well worth the read. It definitely brought tears to my eyes. Nobody knows who wrote this letter, but continues to be passed on to remind military wives that there are Americans out there who care very deeply.

Dear Military Wife,

I am an American woman that has no idea what is going on in the military other than what I hear on the news.

I have never had to let go of someone so that they could go fight for people that they didn't know, people that sometimes do not appreciate or understand what they are fighting for.

I have never had a sleepless night of worry because of a report that another bomb has exploded and I still haven't heard from my husband.

I have never had to wait for months on end to hold the one that I loved so.

I have never had to tell my children that daddy wasn't coming home tonight because he was so far away fighting for something that they aren't yet old enough to understand.

I have never had to hold my head high and suppress the tears as I hear that it will be at least another six months of separation before my loved one gets to come home.

I have never had to deal with a holiday away from the one that I thought I would share every day of my life with.

And I have never had to feel the panic rising in my heart at the sound of a ringing phone or knock at the door for fear that it is the news that everyone is terrified of getting.

For the reasons listed above, I can not tell you that I understand how you feel.

I can not tell you that you must be strong.

I can not say that you shouldn't be angry, because you "knew what you were getting into when you married a military man".
I can not say these things because I have never had to walk in your shoes.

What I can say for certain is that because of your unselfish acts of bravery and your husbands willingness to stand up for those who see him as "just another soldier" - -

I will never have to walk in your shoes.

I do understand that as a military wife you are expected to uphold a certain amount of control, but I never understood how you could do it, until now.

I have figured out that you are not like other women.

You are of a special breed.

You have a strength within you that holds life together in the darkest of hours, a strength of which I will never possess.

The faith you have is what makes you stand out in a crowd; it makes you glow with emotion and swell with pride at the mention of The United States of America.

You are a special lady, a wonderful partner and a glorious American.

I have more respect for your husband than I could ever tell you, but until recently I never thought much about those that the soldier leaves at home during deployment.

Until this moment I could never put into words exactly what
America meant to me.

Until this moment, I had no real reason to.... Until I heard of you.

Your husband and his military family hold this nation close, safe from those who wish to hurt us...but you and those like you are the backbone of the American family.

You keep the wheels in motion and the hearts alive while most would just break completely down.

Military families make this nation what it is today.

You give us all hope and you emit a warming light at the end of a long dark tunnel.

Because of you and your family...I am able to be me.

I am able to have my family.

I am able to walk free in this great land.

Because of you and your family, I can look ahead to the future with the knowledge that lifeis going to be okay.

Because of you and your family, I can awake to a new day, everyday.

I realize that you are a stronger person than I will ever be because of these things and I just wanted to take the time today to say thank you to you and your family for allowing me that freedom.

I will never be able to repay this debt to you, as it is unmatchable.

However, I hope that you know that no matter where you are...

what you are doing...

what has happened today...

or what will happen tomorrow...

Your husband will NEVER be "just another soldier" to me....

And you, dear sweet lady, will never be forgotten.

You are all in my prayer's everyday and I pray that God will bring you back together with your loved one safely.

May God Bless You