8.27.2008

Pictures of my boy

Last night, we went to our staff picnic out and had a blast playing volleyball, and eating s'mores. A good friend who works down the hall from me at the church brought her camera and snapped off some pictures of Caleb. He's pretty photogenic.

Click on this link to see them.
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=67379&l=888d2&id=674246144

8.24.2008

Reunions, birthdays, videos, oh my!

A lot has happened since we last talked.

Let me recap.



Andrew Peterson really did sign my chest. Told you.

Our good friend Mandy Spotts and her boyfriend, Ryan, came down to have dinner with us. They read Caleb his bedtime story that night.


The whole fam travelled up to Yakima for Kara's 10 year high school reunion. It was a whirlwind trip with activities on Friday and Saturday that kept us moving. Seeing all of her high school friends was good for her, and I enjoyed myself too (even though I thought I would dread it).

Kara with her bestest friends from high school, Dot & Heather.
The whole gang.

Jace...wow!

Greg Dawson, the man, the myth, the legend.

Caleb made some friends too.

He even met a girl, but don't worry. There were chaperones.

We had just enough time to see Grandpa & Karen Santos. Caleb wants one of these someday. So does daddy.

We were visited by my cousin Cristi and her Greenville friend, MO. We apparently were trying on some new shorts that the girls had purchased earlier that day. I'm wearing Cristi's.

It was Cristi's 21st birthday. We made her wear a beautiful but subtle sash to the restaurant where we shared her first "adult beverage" together. Good times.
You didn't know my son came with his own convenient carrying case.
Caleb enjoying his first corn on the cob.


Some videos for your viewing enjoyment.










8.22.2008

Week #2

I'm going to be blogging about my weight loss journey over the next couple months. Part of this is to keep you informed, but I also need more accountability with this. So I figure the both of you who read this blog will be able to keep me on track. Thanks, you two.

My long term goal is to be 250 by my 30th birthday on January 2. Here we go.

Last week = 292.5 lbs

Today = 291 lbs

Difference = (1.5)

Pound it!

8.15.2008

Weighing in at...

7 days ago I decided to take the plunge and do a "jump start" diet. It consists of setting a certain amount of calorie intake per day, all made up of slimfast shakes, luna bars, and soup. It sounded bland (and it was) except for the soup which was my highlight for the day. Kara cheered me on all week and tried to eat her dinner in the closet so it wouldn't be tempting for me to overtake her and steal her food. She was great.

I weighed in at 296...7 days ago.

Today, I weighed in at...292.
4 lbs down. 52 to go.

Two years ago I would have thought this would be an impossible task. 52 lbs!! YOU SO CRAZY! But after losing my first 40, I've realized that it's not that crazy of a proposition. It can be done. It will be done.

8.12.2008

Caleb's birthday...3rd edition

Yes. A 3rd edition. I'm really wishing right now that I was one year old again. Man, you get a lot of presents. Of course, you don't remember anything later on. But who cares! Here's some pics from our weekend in Redding.

Juli is catching up. She's due in December. We hope it's a girl, so Sam has someone to play with.

Opening presents with Tutu.

Caleb and Aunt Jean, affectionately called Tia.

Caleb's first birthday cake, designed by Grandma Tutu.


Jena gave Caleb his first TIE DIE tshirt.


The Brown siblings got together and were astounded at Juli's Guitar Hero skills.

Then we found out that she wasn't human.


Grandma & Uncle Joey hanging in the pool. This was before Caleb pooped on Joey's lap.

His first floaty. He got to open this present early.

Lots of good friends came out and partied with us. I can't tell you how many photos there are in the world of us doing this same pose.

It wouldn't have been a party without Mel.


Caleb was having a great time, I swear.

Daniel & Angela Herrera (the newlyweds) came up from Sacramento to love on our little one year old. Thanks you two!

Rochelle Fast and her husband Troy (not pictured) came up from Modesto too. We are so blessed.

It wouldn't be a first birthday without this picture. Great cake Tu Tu!


He really liked this thing.


Justin & Melissa Morris. The shirt that Caleb is wearing was a gift from them.

Thanks Tutu & Tia (Jean) for making the long trip from Nevada. Couldn't have done it without you.

"Don't go too far away from me, Grandpa."
I think the weekend tired our little man out.

Playing with Uncle Ted at Red Robin.


"This pose always makes the girls pay attention, Uncle Noah."
"You so crazy"

It was just a matter of time...

Brown Family Headlines

For some reason, the "free" internet that we've been "accepting" from our "neighbors" has "disappeared". So we've been without the ability to update blogs, email funny forwards, and check sports scores for the past three days. It's a bit like going on a fast...ok, not at all. But it is hard. So here's some quick updates.

"Caleb learns that he can defy authority"
We were walking through IKEA the other day and Kara and I started to walk down an aisle, but Caleb (who was following) decided that he didn't want to join his parents. He was going to walk the other way. We politely asked him to come with us, but he didn't even look our way. It felt a little bit like Genesis 3 (look it up, dear!). The fruit had been eaten. The garden was defiled. And we dragged our little boy through IKEA.

"Jeff & Kara get to rub shoulders with Andrew Peterson"
One of the highlights of our weekend was that Andrew Peterson...http://www.andrew-peterson.com. He did a concert Sunday night at our church and played one song for each service during the weekend. Take every stereotypical recording artist you've ever met, and through them out the window. He is nothing like them. He was very real and authentic. We took him to Boone's Treasury after church on Sunday, and shared a meal. Our time with him came to a climax as he signed my chest with a Sharpie marker after his concert. You want a picture? Dream on.

"Samaria Rae to make her appearance on October 24"
As her due date draws near, we have been meeting with our midwife every month for checkups. At our last checkup (this Monday) we decided to nail down a date for the scheduled C-section. October 24th is what we've chosen. Please pray for little "Sam" as she continues to grow and develop and take baby punches from her big brother.

"Jeff jump starts his metabolism with a 7-day diet"
So I've been on a plateau for about 6 months. No pounds going away, no pounds coming in (except a couple). It's been pretty frustrating. Especially after losing 40 lbs last year, running in a 1/2 marathon this summer, and feeling the best I've ever felt physically. We finally joined a gym. The YMCA approved us for financial assistance that cut our monthly dues in half - sweet. So we heard from our friends Justin & Melissa Morris about a jump start diet that includes Slim Fast shakes, Luna bars, & soup. All of these adding up to a certain amount of calories a day. I was skeptical at first, but I was willing to try anything to get back on track with weight loss. Last Friday, I weighed in at 296. I won't weigh in again til this Friday, so check back to see how I did this week. 5 days down, 2 to go.