SURPRISE!!

So here lately I have had some great surprises and some not so great! I am only going to talk of the GOOD ones NOW!

So the first one happened to when we got a bad surprise but ELLEN came from Charleston to be with me! I loved that surprise I wish I had a pic of my face because that was the only smile anyone saw for a while! Ellen made me smile from one of my big ears to the other!! I was so happy and glad that she came! She helped me get my mind off things! Thanks Ellen for being such a great Adopted sister!

The next surprise happened today! So I was on my way to the bank and I had not talked to my BFF Tiff since we went left for the weekend. I picked up my phone and called her. Well she was out running some errands in my neck of the woods of the salon. We talked till I got to the bank and I told her I had a break at work around Noon so I would call her! Well MUCH to my GRAND surprise TIFF, VIC and GINNY came to the salon and saw me! I was so excited! I had the door locked cause I was there by myself and I heard a knock and I looked and I was so EXCITED to see the three of them there! We chatted till my client arrived and then I had to say See ya Later! When they were leaving IT was so cute Ginny said that she loved me and she didn't want to leave her MinDee! It touched my heart stings so and made me feel so good! What a cute little one she is! Again Thanks to Tiff and Vic for also bringing me beautiful flowers and Jello! I love you guys and I am so thankful for our friendship.....family time. We love being with you guys! So laid back and easy going!

So to the good surprises please feel free to come visit me! BTW we are getting ready some birthday's!! GUESS WHO!!!

Weekend In Charleston

This weekend we went to Charleston so I could spend some time With my BFF Ellen! (BFF Rose is so last year!) Ha anyway Geoff and I left Friday after he got off work and got there about 9PM. Geoff played Kyle and Ellens Wii Fit till almost mid night! Kyle and Ellen get us hooked on Wii games and then We have to buy them so we have one here! Any way I had a great weekend...Saturday Ellen and I spent time together.. We went and got Pedicures and then did a quick trip to Ross'! I got a really cute leopard print shirt that I just love for $8!!! AMAZING! I love it. Then we got some lunch ran some errands and went to Ann's House and I did Ellens Hair! Wish I had a pic because it looks really cute, at first I wasn't crazy about it but then at church Sunday I could not stop looking at it! But Ellen is just cute Anyway! So we watched the poor Georgia Football team get destroyed and it was not a good thing! I was so pumped up for the game and then we had to go and loose! DANG IT! Anyway we cant win them all I guess! I still love my Georgia Bulldogs! So Ellen was a good girl and went to the Relief Society thing at the church and then came home and the game got over and we went back to their place. I was tired so I totally hit the hay! We went to church Sunday and it was amazing! Really good talks, Sunday School was freezing but good, my fav was YW with Ellen though! The YW pres gave a great Lesson. What an amazing women she is and I don't even really know her! I just loved the lesson and the girls were so sweet!

All in all I had a really good weekend!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY.....

To Blake, Happy Birthday to Blake! So today is Blake's 13Th birthday! He is a teenager! SCARY, I know but he is growing into a young man! He wanted a 1st baseman's glove and an Atlanta Braves key chain thing. So he got it and his dinner of choice...Roast Beef and mashed potatoes and gravy! It was good and then we had Cake! Yum-O cake that mom made.

I just want to let Blake know how thankful I am for him being my brother. We have had our moments where we did not get along but lately he has been my best bud! He is just so smart that he sometimes doesn't know what to do with his smartness. Just as long as he grows out of him thinking he KNOWS EVERYTHING!! We love you Blake you don't always know EVERYTHING and that is OK! But any ways Happy Birthday Brother! I love you and I am so thankful you are my brother. You mean the world to me especially since my time of sadness. I am so glad you were there for me and spent time with me when I was sad! I love you brother and am very proud of you! Always remember who you are and that you are a son of our Heavenly Father. He loves you and is always there for you. And Blake, Thanks for taking care of dad on your weekends hunting, picking corn or doing what ever you guys do in the woods! Keep doing what your doing and just know how much I love you!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BLAKE!!!

The Color Purple

So I did the stupidest thing today! I had decided I wanted to do something different to my hair but I did not want to cut it...Geoff likes my hair long! So I decided to color it. Well Stupid me mixed my color not even thinking and when I was in the shampoo bowl my friend Dana who does my hair for me said.. Huh this is really purple what did you mix? Well I mixed a natural, gold and red. Much to my empty mindedness my natural is a BLUE base! So when you mix BLUE and RED you get PURPLE!!! Good thing it is my hair and not a clients hair! I was able to get it toned a little bit with a reddish brown but still is not exactly what I wanted by any means! I am just glad that it is MY hair! Next Time I will just let Dana mix the color and leave it all up to her. I don't know what it is but I get stupid when I mix my own hair color! I just don't Think everything through! So maybe I will post some pictures but right now I am to embarrassed! So hope this can make someone laugh! Cause It made me WANT to cry...but I stayed strong! For now any way! So much for good hair on my birthday! Good thing is It is still attached to my head...at least it didn't fall out!!!!!!

Back to the ol routine

So today was my first day back to making my lists of things to do and a full day of work at the part time job. I thought I would start off this week by jumping in head first. Not that I have put to much on my books this week for the salon but for my own sanity I felt like I needed to get back to the norm. It was not easy but it has been a long day. Making deposits, paying bills and running errands. Opening a checking account for the part time job and then coming home to dirty toilets and clothes needing folding. I made a list yesterday for the week and I never ever seem to get everything crossed off or if i get close I end up adding more to the list before the weeks end. So for my own satisfaction I crossed off 6 things so far....the list has about 15 more things to do this week on it so I am hoping for the best! Good luck right!

Well I am glad for the change of heart I am having I just hope to keep being strong. Thanks for all the prayers and support! We love you!

PS Thanks mom for dinner, it was YUM-O! A little Rachel Ray for ya! HA

Oh yeah Geoff started a Taebo Class and he is loving it. He comes home drenched in sweat but I really thinks he likes it! Glad he found a workout that he likes and wants to attend! Go Geoff keep up the good work! I love you!

Updates and Thoughts!

Yesterday was a good day. I planned a baby shower for one of my best friends..Tiff! I had already done one for another friend Elizabeth so I decided to do one for Tiff. We have become so close and I just love her and I am so thankful for her in my life. What a great friend she is and is always there for me. She has been right there for me through this tough time in my life. How she is so strong for me even when she is so tired herself from trying to potty train her sweet Ginnie, and carry baby Liam. So the shower turned out good. She got lots of things that she was wanting and some really cute clothes! I am so glad that we could help her get ready for Liam. Thanks Tiff and the family for your love and support!

Today was our first Sunday back since our sad news. It was really hard for me today to hear the babies laugh or cry but we only stayed for the first meeting because I didn't want everyone coming up to me. I am thankful for the few who did. It meant a lot just the hugs and the I love yous from them melted my heart! Joe and Shawna, some of our other really good friends, gave us hugs and told us they were praying for us. They themselves have been through trials also and they are such good examples to us. I know that if they can make it through then we can too! Thanks Joe and Shawna for your love an support! We love you Guys! Also Tracy gave me a hug and that meant so much. I am so excited for her and Brad to welcome their sweet spirit into their home soon! Also another person who I admire a lot came up to me and said I just want to give you a hug and tell you I love you and thinking about you. Rodney was this person and he is the one who also did our ring ceremony when we got married. He has always been a great example to me when he was bishop and stake president. Thanks for your love and support Brown Family.

I also want to thank those who brought us dinner... Steve and Leslie for dinner Monday night..my fav her homemade Chicken noodle! It is so awesome that to be honest I hated to share it but Geoff, and Dad were lucky enough to get some of my chicken noodle.

More thanks to

~our friends for the phone calls

~My mom for going with us and staying with me when Geoff had to run out for something

~My Dad for the blessings and support.

~My sister Emilee for holding me when I cried and stopping by just because she wanted to!

~My sister Jessica for the text when she was out of town, glad you could go sis!

~My sweet brother for walking with me the Thursday night before we found out. I tried to walk with mom but she walked to fast for me, so Blake stayed behind to walk and talk with me.

~Geoff's sweet parents for checking on us and helping us with their love and support. For sitting with us when we were down, and thanks to Geoff's dad for watching the Carolina game with him.. I was to scared to watch it with him! Geoff's mom for calling and checking on me while Geoff was at work!

~To Mary Ellen for coming and sitting with me that Friday night and Saturday morning! My adopted sister who is awesome and I love her forever and always! I loved her so much I shared my french toast with her from cracker barrel since she wanted to surprise me!

~ to all those who prayed for us and kept us in their thoughts and prayers at this time. We are so thankful for everyone who has called and sent cards!

Just an update we are hanging in there. Geoff is doing better than I, so it seems, and he just keeps on going. I am having some issues with my emotions. I know that everything will be OK it is just really hard for me to go to a store and see the sweet babies with their mommies. We, me and mom, went to target the other day and of course there were about 15 babies being pushed around in the shopping carts and a woman on her cell phone with a husband of a wife who had just witnessed his son/daughter being born. She was so loud and just going on and on and on about how excited she was and how she wanted to know ASAP about the weight and length and everything about the baby. That has been the hardest thing for me. I know she didn't know and it is not any ones fault but it just still hurts. I will get better and one day maybe when I plan my trip to England we will get there and all will be well. Thanks to Brytt my sweet and amazing cousin for reminding me that she had a detour on her trip too! You are amazing Brytt for taking the detour and being so strong. Thank you for your wonderful example and one day I hope to be a fantastic mom just like you and our moms and g-mas!

I love everyone for everything! Thank you, thank you, thank you for your prayers, love and support. May we all remember that if our trip gets changed that we can adjust and keep going. I am so thankful for the gospel and the knowledge to know that things happen for a reason and The lord has a plan for each and everyone of us. May we all be blessed in our time of need!

BTW....Our Georgia Bulldogs have had two victories since my last blog about our favorite time of year. We beat The Carolina Gamecocks and The Arizonia Sun Devils. So a shout out to our dawgs and dawg fans.....GO DAWGS!!

Also A J Green had an amazing night against the Sun Devils. We are very proud of all our dawgs that give us great football to enjoy!

Glory Glory to Ol Georgia!

Tough Times, Thankful for the Gospel

So we have not blogged in a long while. Geoff and I have had to experience some trials in our life together. As everyone knows we were expecting a sweet spirit and beautiful baby to come to us in April of 2009. Well Friday the 12Th of September changed all that for us. What a humbling experience to go in for a routine visit with our doctor and things seemed to be going well until.... until he could not find a heart beat with the hand held ultra sound device. No worries he said this is normal not to hear it with this, we will go to the big machine and get it there. Moving the the big machine I was excited to be able to see our sweet child growing or so we thought. Pulling up my shirt a little he put the gel and and moved the wand around...still no heart beat. Doc says sorry to have to do this but We are going to have to do a vaginal ultra sound again I am still not finding a heart beat. So in he goes and it was so sad...still no heart beat to hear. I asked Do you have the sound on because I still don't hear a heart beat. Doc says I am SO sorry but I cant find one. I am trying to zoom in and I still cant find anything. I had not had any signs of miscarriage but to our sadness it had happened. He said that he thought it had happened a couple of days ago. He talked to us in his office and got our number so he could set up a time for a D and C for Monday. I was so scared, upset, sad, empty and wondered what I had done for this to happen. I had been taking my Vitamins and been very careful. I just kept saying sorry to Geoff because he was so upset and sad. I have never seen my husband cry like this before. I called mom as soon as we got out and she just said, Mindee NO, no mindee. Oh Mindee I am so sorry. Mom was so sweet and loving. I know that if it wasn't for her and Geoff I would have never gotten through this trial in my life. We cried all the way home and continued to do so all weekend. Cried through the phone calls and blessing and prayers. Dad gave me a blessing and I wish Geoff would have gotten one but he decided not to. It really helped me to know and understand our Heavenly Fathers plan. He knows what is best for us even when we think we are right. So the weekend would have been rough if it had not been for our wonderful family and friends. Mary Ellen surprised me Friday night and drove from Charleston to be with me. I was not wanted to do anything and she just laid beside me for the evening and Saturday morning. I chose to watch the Georgia Game with mom because of who we played...USC Gamecocks. I knew if things didn't go well Geoff would be upset so He watched the game with his dad. Thank goodness we won! Sunday we chose not to go to church and just rest before the procedure Monday morning. I was so nervous all day long and just plain worried! Never having had any kind of surgery i was scared to death! Well Dad and Geoff gave me another blessing and how amazing it was I actually slept better than I thought I would Sunday night. Well Monday morning came and Mom and Geoff took me to the surgery center and to say the least everything went as planned. I am so thankful for the doctor we chose to work with. He was so kind and sincere through our time of sorrow and pain. The procedure took ten minutes and it was done. I was asleep thank goodness! Well recovery has been good. Monday our friends Tiff and Vic came to visit and brought me some beautiful flowers in a vase with red and black stones. I love it! They also were kind enough to bring me jello! They visited for a while and left me to rest with Geoff and sleep a little. Later another sweet couple, The Davis' brought me my favorite meal she makes...Chicken Noodle with homemade noodles! YUM-O! I loved it it was so good and filling! Thank you to all of those who have prayed for us. We know that the Lords plan is true and we are so thankful for the plan of Salvation and the blessing it brings into our lives. Thank you again to all those who have helped us!

Just a little note...When we got back from the doctor or some where Geoff found one of my worry shells on the couch. He asked me if I put it there and I said put what where. This shell on the couch. I said no but give it to me please. That was for me from Grandpa Maples..him telling me to rub my worries away because everything was going to be just fine. Grandpa and I would walk down the beach together and rub our worries away on our worry shells. Thanks grandpa for being with me and Geoff through this time. We miss you and love you! Keep taking care of our family! Thank you!

May we all remember that when times get though The Lord knows what he is doing. Keep praying and putting your shoulder to the wheel and push along.

We are again so thankful for everything everyone has done for us. We can not thank you enough! We love you!