Night at the Museum

We decided to kick off our long weekend by heading out to the Children's Museum for the Target Family Night, meeting up with our friends Shawn and Erica and their kids, Manning and Caleb. We had never been there before, so we were pretty excited to check it out. Wow, was it great! The entire place is designed for kids from birth to age 8. There was so much to look at and play with that Brennan got a little overwhelmed. His favorite indoor activity was watching a giant clock with a dinosaur on it. His favorite outdoor activities included the sand and the water feature. We were a little unprepared for the water, but Brennan sure loved it and dove right in!

Brennan's meet and greet with a dinosaur

Hatching out of a dinosaur egg

Brennan and Manning showing some sand-love

After looking at the big water sprayer for a while, he jumped right in! It helped to have friends show him how it's done...

The face--he does it every time he gets really excited and focused on something. He was really excited about the water!

Pool Playdate

Brennan and I had a playdate at the pool today. Given that it was high temperature was in the low 90's, the water felt pretty good! Brennan loves water, so the pool was a great treat. We went with our friends Andrea and Isabelle. Isabelle and Brennan share the same birthday, so it's great fun to see them side by side. The pool we went to had two shallow baby pools, where the water only went up to the kids' waists. They could wander at will and play with all the great toys that were scattered around to enhance the water fun. Isabelle loved to play in the pool, but she also loved to climb out the pool so her mama kept a close watch on her! Brennan didn't learn that trick (thankfully), but he was completely captivated by being in the pool. A great summer treat!

On Our Nightstand, Part 5

Here are some more books that the Downer family has been enjoying as of late:

1. "The Wisdom of Tenderness" by Brennan Manning
2. "Until We Reach Home" by Lynn Austin
3. "Grace Based Parenting" by Tim Kimmel
4. "Praying the Names of God" by Ann Spangler
5. "Treasuring God in Our Traditions" by Noel Piper (excellent!)
6. The Heirs of Montana series by Tracie Peterson
7. "The Boy Who Cried Abba" by Brennan Manning
8. "Jesus Wants to Save Christians: A Manifesto for the Church in Exile" by Rob Bell
9. "The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name" by Sally Lloyd-Jones (a note on this book: it is our desire that Brennan grow up hearing about Jesus, listening to different Bible stories, and hearing the Word of God spoken every day by reading it with him from his little Bible he was given at his dedication. This storybook Bible has been a great tool to help introduce our little one to the One we eagerly desire him to know and love with all his heart)

Boy in a Box!

Oh, the irony

When we go outside, we try to make sure Brennan wears a hat to protect his little head from the sun. He usually pulls it off in about 10 seconds flat because he doesn't really like wearing it. Today, he's decided that he loves his hat, so he's been wearing it around the house, taking it off and putting it back on at will. He's also been dragging around his other hat and even demonstrated the new look of wearing one hat on top of the other. If only he were this enthusiastic about wearing his hat when we really want him to...

Pony Boy

When I was a kid, I had a rocking horse. We've saved that rocking horse, storing it even when John questioned why. Now, it finally gets to be used!


Brennan has always enjoyed climbing on Mama and Daddy, but lately that's been his activity of choice. He sure does love it, though! When I see this picture, I see a little boy--not a baby anymore. He's growing up fast!

Day of Baking

With 7.5 pounds of strawberries waiting in the fridge, I spent today figuring out things to do with them all. So, we now have strawberry bread and strawberry pie (my first attempts at both!). Now, it's off to freeze most of the rest for enjoyment later on.

Strawberry Fields Forever

We spent a good portion of today out at the Chesterfield Berry Farm with our friends Shawn and Erica Morrison and their kids, Manning and Caleb. It's strawberry picking season! It was a lot of fun and definitely brought back memories of picking strawberries in the summers back in Minnesota. Great fun!

Brennan did surprisingly well out in the field. He attempted to pick some berries, ate a few berries, and wandered up and down the row. He seemed to enjoy carrying around the little container we got for him to put his berries in.

The Morrisons, hard at work collecting their own strawberries. Their little ones sure enjoyed picking and eating!

Daddy teaching Brennan how to empty his container into the big flat.

Enjoying the ride back.

The finished product. A whopping 7 1/2 pounds!

There was a huge, deep area filled with corn for kids to play in. Brennan was a little unsure of himself when we first put him in, so Mama got to go in too. He settled right down and really enjoyed playing.

Posing as various farm animals.

We got to go on a wagon ride!

Since he was too little for the bounce house, we opted to play in the hay. It was fun for him for the first few minutes. After that, he was ready to be done with the hay.

Brennan and his buddy Caleb. Caleb enjoyed it more than Brennan. Brennan just wanted to slide off it and keep on walking.

Wonderful Weekend

We spent this Memorial Day weekend down in Newport News visiting our friends, Brent and Wendy Vallee and Kevin and Liz Hass. It was a great way to celebrate our anniversary (Sunday--six years!) and John's birthday (today!). Lots of good fellowship and fun activities. Brennan even slept great for naps and at night in his pack and play--in the same room as us, no less!

Despite a rather cloudy start to the day on Sunday, we got in some good beach time with the sun coming out shortly after our arrival. Brennan really enjoyed playing in the sand with some fun new beach toys, but wasn't really all that keen on going near the water (which was just fine since the water was pretty chilly).

Relaxing after a big lunch

He would only come down to where the sand started to get wet from the waves--and that was only while holding our hands. I think there was something about the waves that scared him.

We spent part of Monday checking out the Virginia Aquarium. There were all kinds of fun fish to look at, giant sea turtles and sharks, otters, snakes, and a sting ray touch pool. Brennan seemed to enjoy parts of it, but really, what keeps a 17-month-old's attention for longer than 2 minutes anyway?

Daddy pointing out some cool fish

Shark attack!

One of the very cool sea turtles

Toilet Paper Trails

I turned my back for a minute, and the next thing I know Brennan is pulling the toilet paper off the roll, dragging it behind him like he's leaving a trail to find his way back to the bathroom. Fun activity for the kid, but not so much for the mama who gets to roll it back up.

Fun with Food

We're attempting to teach Brennan the art of eating with a fork, but using the hands is just so much more fun (especially when spaghetti is on the menu)!

Little Book Lover

Since I love books and reading so much, it's definitely my desire that Brennan also grow up with a love for books. So far, I think it's working! He loves books and can sit for quite a while flipping through the pages of his books looking at the pictures. He has recently started telling himself the story in his special way when he flips through his books (his current favorite is "Good Night, Gorilla"). It's also been fun to head out to the library, which I love to tell Brennan is the happiest place on earth, where we get tons of books for his reading pleasure. I've also recently discovered that our local library does a Mother Goose story time on Saturday mornings for kids up to 24 months. With me working in the mornings during the weeks, I haven't been able to take him to story time during the week, so this has worked out perfectly. The first week we went, it was not pretty. But this week, Brennan behaved MUCH better and really seemed to enjoy being there. Whew!

Dancing Boy

Our little man loves to cut some rug. And now that he knows how to turn on the radio in his room, he can cut all the rug he wants. Here he is showing off his moves. (He tends to play it safe with a simple side-to-side rocking motion -- aka "the sumo"). He's also sporting the outfit my Mom got for him for Easter. Alas, as it was 50 on Easter he couldn't wear it. Today it was about 93 -- more appropriate weather for shorts.

Enjoy the video!

What a Week

This has been an interesting week, filled with thoughts about heaven. My grandpa died on Monday morning. My pastor's wife died this morning. Dave Hammond is the children's pastor at Calvary Evangelical Free Church in Rochester, MN (my home church). He's also the pastor who married us. His wonderful wife, Peggy, battled cancer for eight years. She was an absolutely amazing woman. Her cancer was such a part of her testimony and instead of turning bitter and questioning God, she allowed God to use the cancer in her life to bless so many others. I learned so much from her. She's also the one that I had "the talk" with before John and I got married. We always tried to visit them every time we made it back up to Minnesota. It's strange to think that she's now gone, but I rejoice that she is now free from pain and entering in to her eternal reward in heaven.

Times like these remind that death is not natural. It was never meant to be like this. Death is a result of our sin. But Jesus came to conquer death. His death and subsequent resurrection defeated death. It doesn't have the final word.

Faced with the loss of two precious people so close together makes me wonder about heaven. What will it be like? What happens in the first few moments you are ushered into eternity? What will it be like to see Jesus face to face? What will it be like to meet fellow believers from all over the world and from all different times?

So, yes, there is a time of grieving over what has been lost in this life. But there is ultimate comfort in knowing that both my grandpa and Peggy are in heaven, seeing Jesus face to face.

"I Can Only Imagine"

I can only imagine
What it will be like
When I walk
By your side

I can only imagine
What my eyes will see
When your face
Is before me
I can only imagine

I can only imagine

[Chorus:]
Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel
Will I dance for you Jesus or in awe of you be still
Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine

I can only imagine

I can only imagine
When that day comes
And I find myself
Standing in the Son

I can only imagine
When all I will do
Is forever
Forever worship You
I can only imagine

I can only imagine

[Chorus]

I can only imagine [x2]

I can only imagine
When all I will do
Is forever, forever worship you

I can only imagine

Arizona Adventures

Brennan and I arrived home last night after several days in Arizona. We had a great trip hanging out with my parents and enjoying some wonderful Arizona weather! Sitting out on their back patio, we got to see rabbits, a jackrabbit, quail, and even a coyote!

Grandpa and Brennan enjoyed their big country breakfast

Story time

Mama and Brennan enjoying his very first carousel ride

Grandpa and Brennan enjoying the weather and checking out some of the wildlife from the patio

We went to a huge park for the playground options and discovered this neat little water park. Since we didn't have his swimsuit with, we opted to give Brennan the opportunity to check out the excitement from a distance.

Grandma taught Brennan how to sweep the patio. He sure enjoyed holding that broom!

Grandma, Grandpa, and Brennan

We flew back in last night after having an incredibly rough 24 hours with Brennan--refusing to sleep (the night before we left, Brennan got about 6 hours of sleep and I got maybe 3 hours) and general crankiness resulting from the lack of sleep. It made for a rather interesting and incredibly difficult journey home. But we made it. It wasn't pretty, but the end result of our homecoming was achieved. It was nice to be back in my own bed last night. It was also nice to have Brennan back in his own bed and to have an incredibly wonderful husband who got up with him in the night and again this morning so that I could sleep/rest more. What a treat!

On a different note, we found out the morning that I left Arizona that my Grandpa Prechel died. It's a very strange feeling to be 30 years old and this is my first grandparent that has died. Over the past several years, my dad witnessed to him and also led him in the Sinner's Prayer. We know that we'll see him again one day. My dad and grandpa talked for a bit on Sunday and he got to say hello to Brennan. We appreciate your prayers for the family!

Fun in the Sun!

Brennan and I are on our mother-son trip to visit my parents out in Phoenix, AZ. John couldn't get the time off work, so we made the long trek alone this week. Brennan did so much better on the plane than I could have ever imagined, which made things so much easier. I'm a nervous flyer to begin with, but the nerves were compounded by flying solo with Brennan and trying to figure out to entertain and contain a wiggly 15-month-old for some pretty long stretches of time in very small spaces! Thankfully, Brennan slept for good chunks of time on each flight, looked at books, ate his snacks, and generally remained pretty quiet for most of each flight. Yay! Jet lag has been making the sleeping a bit challenging. Brennan has been napping great--as long as it is on someone or next to someone. He does well sleeping in his pack and play at night (praise God!). I just need to get over some jet lag and stop getting up so blessed early (3:30am=6:30am EST). Thank goodness for naps! We spent today at the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park, this great train-themed park in Scottsdale. We all really enjoyed the time spent there. There was a kid-sized train to ride, a carousel, a couple of playgrounds, and picnic areas. There was also a Pullman car turned museum that was the actual car used by four different presidents, including FDR. Pretty impressive! I'm including some pictures for our outing today that were taken off my parents' camera since I can't upload the photos from our camera without the software that's on our computer at home!

We took a train ride around the park. Brennan didn't really know what to think of it at first, but then I think he warmed up to the idea of being on a train.

Brennan and Grandma taking a break

He's discovered the joy of the slide, in addition to the joy of the swing

Stagecoach driver? About a century and a half too late...

Jailbird!

Brennan and Grandma enjoying a carousel ride

Brennan and Grandpa in the Presidential Pullman Car

Happy Resurrection Sunday!

From our family to yours, happy Easter! He is Risen! He is Risen indeed!

Maymont Family Easter

My favorite spot in all of Richmond is Maymont Park. After a several month hiatus over the fall and winter, we headed back out there today for their Family Easter bash. The weather was slightly uncooperative--about mid-50s, breezy, and drizzly. That didn't damper our spirits, though! Brennan participated in the Easter Egg "hunt" (all the eggs were thrown on the lawn, making for easy finding) and visited the petting zoo. While we loved watching him have fun and enjoying walking around, it'll be more fun in coming years when he is able to participate in more of the activities.

Waiting for the start of Egg Hunt. John compared it to the Oklahoma Land Rush. Being in the middle of it with my small child and trying to avoid being trampled, I would have to agree.

He was pretty proud to show off one of his hard-earned eggs.

Taking a break to eat lunch in the only dry spot in the park.

It was a little too wet to sit and enjoy storytime, but there was plenty of fun to be had by looking at all the fun bunnies on display!

The petting zoo was probably the highlight for Brennan.

He sure did enjoy petting the goats!

Visit with Friends

Well, after a brief hiatus from blogging, I'm finally getting around to uploading pictures on to the computer and thought I'd share a few with you, as well as providing some updates on life in the Downer household.

Last weekend, we took a mini-roadtrip up to Northern Virginia to visit some friends--Dan and Kate Bredbenner and their two sweet kiddos, Corban and Eva. We had a great time visiting, catching up, and playing in a park. It's a nice treat to be so close to them!

I realize it's another picture of Brennan swinging, but this kid is a swinging maniac! He absolutely loves the swing and this picture finally captured the joy that he expresses when he gets to swing.

Some closely supervised tire swinging with Eva

The Bredbenners--Dan, Kate, Corban (age 5), and Eva (age 2)

The road trip was made more fun by the fact that we had just bought a new car the day before. Now, the car we traded in was my 1998 Mazda Protege. I bought it back in 2001 and enjoyed my car until recently. The "check engine" light turned on in 2004 and no mechanic was able to definitively tell us what was wrong with it. It continued to run fine, so we weren't worried. About a year ago, it began having problems. And then more problems. Finally, we took it to a Mazda dealer where we faced the unfortunate reality that this car was on its last leg. Repairs would cost WAY more that what it was worth. Let the car shopping begin! We settled on a 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe and love it. There was a slight twinge when we traded in the Mazda, knowing what kind of condition it was in and feeling slightly bad about how much they gave us in the trade in value, but that disappeared after about an hour. Gotta love getting a new car!

John took his vacation to visit his family last month, and I get my vacation this month. Brennan and I leave in a week to head out to Phoenix to visit my parents. I'm excited for vacation, but definitely dreading traveling solo with Brennan on my lap on the plane. Prayers would be appreciated!