ba-rix

Tonight,  I saw an unanticipated result of our current administration's influence on today's youth.

Chandler was describing an efficiency report for Fort Stewart that he had accidentally  "over-seen" while we were in Savannah recently.



His grandfather, an engineering contractor for McLean, had some reports lying on a desk, in a closed binder in the same room the boys were bunking.

Total happenstance report reading,  really.

What Chan was impressed by was the efficiency of the Army as detailed in the report.He was describing how the report listed amount of wattage used per army barrack.

And that's when I spotted it. 

He said "Army Buh-Rocks"

Bunk houses by this name would be the current President of the United States.

(And I'm pretty sure he didn't serve...) 

We often tease ChanMan about his creative pronunciation skills, and it is a homonym, so, I won't devote any more of this post to something that may embarrass him.

However, it is an ideal time to tack on a little praise-worthy note.

For all the things they are learning to pronounce or spell or do in life, I believe these Brewer kids are well on their way to becoming fine adult human beings.  

 (May this post serve ever a reminder of this worthy expectaion) 

 Chandler especially leads the charge in this thing I describe to you now, the others participating with joie de vivre:

They have learned to spot the bright yellow embroidery on  jackets, hats and patches denoting a seasoned veteran from aisles and aisles away. 

They know IwoJima, Vietnam, Korea, WWII.

 They stand on perpetual watch for the tell-tale car tags and camo fatigues of our service men and women.  

 They are ever-ready and ever-eager to grab a door, extend a hand, offer the respect they feel is  due:

"Thank you for serving our country" 

And to our local First Responders I often hear:

"Thank you for serving our community" 

Even the Coast Guard have met with their appreciation... 

 ...and when they were younger, Mall Security and  Citadel recruits too. 

(a uniform by any other name still respect demands)

They really are a good bunch.

I'm proud of you, BrewCrew. 

"UNBOUND" FLVS '12-'13 Yearbook

Chandler and Logan were featured in the 2012-2013 Florida Virtual School Yearbook with their answers to the theme question: "What does the phrase Cherish Today, Challenge Tomorrow mean to you?"



Chandler: "Take each day as it comes and be ready for the challenges of tomorrow." 



Logan: " I think the phrase Cherish Today, Challenge Tomorrow means that you should seek out what you want to do with your life and to challenge yourself to achieve the goals you have set." 



They can be found on page 5.

Chandler's Leadership Project

Chandler was enrolled in the same FLVS hosted leadership class as Logan but had delays in his project due to waiting on certain items to arrive via shipping. His project idea was to partner with the same CareNet center that Logan had, with an emphasis on encouraging young fathers. We learned that many care centers are trying to increase efforts to reach out to expectant fathers and  provide new parent education  for young men facing a new phase in life. 

Chandler assembled "New Daddy" bags. He chose a baseball themed bag and a small, soft baseball. On each baseball, he wrote "Play Catch With Me Daddy" or a similar sentiment to capture the idea that a young man will have an important role to play in his baby's life. He also included a copy of The Life Book~ generously provided by Gideons, Intl.

Canes

Tonight's game ends the season for Chandler's 15U Canes. Whew! 

Firstborn 14

Our firstborn is Fourteen.

Happy Birthday Chandler Brice!

You are an awesome young man. 

What a tremendous gift it is to know you and be a part of your life. 

We Love You!

Drive, Chip & Putt

Some family members from home alerted  us to the Drive, Chip & Putt Championship when the ad started airing on tv during this season's Master's Tournament. I promptly registered Chandler and a little later, we received notice that he had made the 'lottery-style' cut for the first qualifying round. 

We've been a little pre-occupied with baseball, but Chandler took the opportunity to practice at the driving range whenever he could find a chance to do so. 

Though he has been swinging a club since he could hold one, and though he believes golf to be his birthright (I mean, he's from Augusta, how could it NOT be so, right ? Right. ) Aside from friendly rounds of "PuttPutt", this was Chandler's first competitive anything to do with golf. 

Chandler's First ScoreBoard  

Chandler warms up before his group is called to the tee box. 

Chandler waits for his turn at the first event: Driving

 Is there anything more fun than entertaining a toddler in a 'mandatory quiet zone' ? I don't think there could be. Perhaps dental work without Novocain, but it's an awfully close call.

Who can resist conical cups? Not us. Even with the benefit of a sippy cup on hand, we insist on experiencing the joy of cold splashes of water whenever a conical cup is available. 

Coach Dad consulting Chandler as his 'time' draws near. 

An exceedingly nervous Chandler tees up. 

A true picture of "tension" as the men on either side of the ball try to will it to obey their gestures: 

Chandler wasn't feeling too swell about things as we left... I can only share this photo because it was such a quick, sneaky shot it preserves most of his dignity in its off-centerdness...but I wanted to share it because it is the next best thing available  to having watched in person as his dad wrapped an arm around him, beaming with pride anyway... "Attaboy- you're my son and I'm proud of you!" <paraphrased, of course>  

For The Championship

No one in the stands last night bothered with the whole bleacher. We only required the edge of our seats to keep a sharp eye on the field, the coaches, and especially those umps.

Each team had scored  dramatic wins in the previous week, bringing them to this third, tie-breaking match for the season championship. Those of us holding our breath were blue by the time a score finally blinked onto the scoreboard in the fifth inning.

As we neared the end of seventh inning, the score had climbed in such a way (6-1) that the fans for the opposing team began to quietly celebrate their (inevitable) win behind me. In all fairness, their optimism was understandable.

At this age, they only get seven regular innings.

It was all but over. Only the technicality of one last  'at-bat' for our team remained before the other team could get on with celebrating their win.

With gloves of resignation on their heads and the threat of tears in some eyes, our boys made the switch.

I'm not very keen on offering a good play by play; technical sporting terms escape me. All I know is, pretty soon, the bases were loaded and the score was tied.

It was Chandler's turn to bat.

No pressure there, right?

Here's where it gets beautiful. His coach is also his dad. I heard Clay calling encouragement to our boy, using words that between them are kindling... In that moment, my heart swelled over them both. Regardless of how the next few minutes unfolded, I knew I was going home with champions either way. All heart & passion & emotion those guys of mine :)

Still, the inning had to be wrapped up: 

It was awesome.

(Thanks to Luke for the video)

Family Birthday

She said "I NEED A PARTY HAT!" 

We sometimes call our anniversary a "Family Birthday". Especially during seasons where sitters are scarce and we will be celebrating with the entire family. This was one of those celebrations. We have been very busy with baseball & the business and our family's 'birthday' fell during a particularly Extra Busy Weekend. On Wednesday night, as everyone was busy with Duck Dynasty (I tuned in from my dish washing station in the kitchen) I secretly concocted one of Clay's preferred treats: Jello Cake.

(He's forever in the debt of his mother in law for the passing down of this recipe :) 

One thing about Jell-O cake is that it calls for Whipped topping- an element that always makes for a decorating challenge... a blank, white, slippery canvas to be improved upon. 

I began to rifle through Riley's small plastic toys for something quirky when I came to these two finger puppets. I was quickly inspired to dress them up appropriately for an anniversary cake. It's just some scraps of ribbon and a few pins but it took concerted effort to get everything just so. 

The Family Birthday/15th Anniversary Jell-o Poke Cake: 

When I was in between steps on the cake, I was also secretly working on my special gift to Clay. We have always sort of played with those traditional and modern gift listings- usually picking something with a bit of a twist. According to this year's list, the appropriate gift would be a timepiece or crystal. I figured out a different take on a timepiece and that was the 'serious' gift. But, I couldn't figure out what Clay could really use made out of crystal. Somewhere in the brainstorming process, my brain switched to Krystal. So I made him a tiny Krystal...with real crystal onions. :)~ the 'not-so-serious-or-as-expensive-but-my-favorite' gift"

 Final touches on the tiny burger were finished around 1 AM. There were multiple coats of glaze to be applied, and a crack in the box to repair due to some miscalculations on the thickness of the cheese combined with the thickness of the mustard...

And then- it was cake for breakfast. Jell-o cake never lasts long in this house, nor can those who devour restrain their forks for long.

 The cake was gone almost as quickly as it was made.

 And that is how we kicked off our "Next 15 Years" (just imagining what those years hold...children in college & finding their spouses... maybe even welcoming grandchildren...wild, I tell you. And me?  I'm looking forward to every second of it.

Virtual Christmas Card

If you have already gotten a Christmas card from our family in the mail, you will recognize right away that this is our actual Christmas card's cover. (Unless you already live in Florida, then you got something a little different) Once you click on the links, you will see that the letter is the same as well. If you have not received a card in the mail, it is either delayed due to the antiquity of our local post office or...well, I was running low on stamps, see... and I knew that I planned to send this here virtual one... so... please enjoy this version and know we love you very much!

Even if you did receive a tangible card in your mailbox, there is a slideshow of the children in the virtual card.
Rather than try to get one good shot of the children all looking in the same direction at the same time, I had the realization that I could hit the continuous shot button and improve my odds...2000+ still shots later, I had another realization that a movie would be easier and after a little tweaking, we ended up with a stop motion-ish sort of slide show.

Every time I've played it back, I am moved to thankfulness again for the gift of our kids.
We hope this time of year finds you counting your blessings and enjoying the gifts that we have been given by God. They are innumerable, if only we start to count.

Brewer Family Virtual Christmas Card:
WARM WISHES FROM THE BREW CREW

Ballpark Bird

This weekend, we LIVED at a local ball park while The Brewer Brothers participated in tournaments...

Some of the games were LATE GAMES, so we befriended coffee:

 Enjoyed healthy snacks (what? they're orange, like carrots!) in the truck with Buzz & Woody 

(Rye has just discovered the Toy Story Franchise):

Gathered "flowers" in the big field: 

Caught up on some reading:

Discovered RING POPS ®

Napped:

Oh, and we watched a little baseball: 

FERNANDINA BEACH PIRATES  12U BABE RUTH LEAGUE

R.I.P. REPTAR

Reptar the Birthday Fish did what fish do best;  he died.

REPTAR, The Dearly Departed
(no worries, he's still alive in well in this candid shot from the family album)

RIP~TAR,  Reptar's Stand In

Think anyone will notice?

Reptar went to Fishy Heaven earlier in the week and Chandler handled it well...as well as these things can be handled, anyway. 

So, I'm not trying to fool him, but, there were a few double takes when he woke up to find this paper fish memorial sitting on the kitchen counter. 

In his morning fogginess, he had to get right up to the bowl to be sure it wasn't a real fish. 

 I made this little "memorial " night light out of Reptar's abandoned bowl.
("Who said shrine?!" A shrine would have candles... it's not a shrine!)
I made it because no other fish will be moving into Reptar's quarters...  we have all agreed, No More Pets!

Rest In Peace, Reptar.

You were a wonderful reminder of why we swore off fishy pets the last time...

...okay...the last two times... 

Chandler @ Bat

Just a snippet of one of Chandler's recent games:

Play Ball!

Chandler & Fisher are playing Babe Ruth Ball.

 Tomorrow is Opening Day.

Two games, opposite fields, identical start times... this should be fun!

On the bright side, Logan cheers early in the AM...and finishes just in time to catch her brothers' games.

Dear God,
Thank You For Coffee.
AMEN.

:) 

Chandler @ a recent practice

Coach Dad encourages Chan before bat

Florida: The Other Rain Forest