May and June 2013

Wow! What a crazy few months May and June have been! Just for family journaling purposes, I'll outline the months here...

MAY
May 3:  5 Year Wedding Anniversary

• Weekend getaway to Bend, OR. First time we've gotten away for a night since having kids! It was very fun! We experienced the downtown scene with an Art Walk, street music, and a delicious dinner! On day 2 we did a couple of hikes; one gaining elevation above ground, and the other going down under the earth in a lava tube cave! We took two different routes driving on the way there and back. Both drives were gorgeous! :)

 

May 9: 10 Year Anniversary of our first date!

• Can't believe its been 10 years! You can read a version of "our story" on this blog post.
• We can't wait to see what the next 10 years brings! :)
• Also took the girls for Dr. appts this day. Got a great new Dr. here in Vancouver who will be wonderful to help us with the next steps for Alice.

May 12: Mother's Day

• So nice to be here in the PNW where BOTH of our mothers are!
• We love the mom's and women in our lives! (Read last year's Mother's Day post here, and Ben's most recent tribute to his mother here.)
• Had a 'farewell' dinner at Mom and Dad Brewer's house for Aaron and Hoku, who started their big move to Ohio that next week! (We miss you guys so much!)

May 16-21: Trip to Utah/Training for Maura/Alice Turns 2!!

• Flew to UT with both girls. Girls were pretty good for the most part. It is hard to keep Alice contained/still for ANY amount of time, so considering the circumstances, she did really well!
• Maura trained to be a Sound Beginnings teacher on Friday, the 17th. She is excited to add this class to her music studio as well as start teaching Let's Play Music in the fall!
• Alice turned 2 on Saturday, May 18!! We had a fun little picnic/party at the park for her and it was great to see Matt, Melissa and kids, Grandma and Grandpa Brewer, Adam and Kylie and crew, and Aaron and Hoku + their girls there!
• We now have a 2 year old and a 3 year old! Busy, Busy!
• Visited with family and friends, went to BYU to reminisce and had a wonderful time! (despite the NW rainy weather...really!?...we must have brought it with us)

Our little 2 year old!

May 24: Brewer Music Studio Playing Party

• My private students played for each other at my house! Had a great time and enjoyed some refreshments afterwards.

May 25-27: Memorial Day Weekend

• Just took it easy. Went to the park, went on walks and just enjoyed time with our little family! :)

May 31: Merrilee LOVES goats! (Who knew!?)

• Went to some friend's house for dinner. They own some goats and at first Merrilee was a little nervous, but after checking out the situation, she jumped right in and started feeding, petting, playing with, and hugging the goats! SO CUTE!
• This coming from a girl who freaks out and cries when she SEES a cat, dog, or most any other animal.
• Big breakthrough!

Hugging the goat!

JUNE

June 1-2: Matt and Jeralyn came down to visit!

Strawberry pickin'!

• Went strawberry picking, played Wii golf, let the cousins play together, and had a nice family dinner together!

Cousins playing together...

June 8-9: Clark College Chorale Concert

• Maura has been a part of the Clark College Chorale (Community College community choir) since we moved here.
• Had a fabulous concert of show tunes and Broadway, including Les Miserables! Maura accompanied "You'll Never Walk Alone" on the piano with Janet Reiter (4-hand accompaniment).

June 16: Father's Day!

• Maura gave a talk in church about inviting the spirit into our homes.
• We love the Fathers in our lives! (Read Ben's most recent tribute to his Dad, here. )
• Went to Maura's parent's house for dinner...Yum!

June 18: A BIG change!

• Ben quit his job in Portland to help run a startup company here in Vancouver!
• Really Exciting! His dream job! :)
• Go check out Oakiwear!! www.oakiwear.com

June 24-25: Scout Camp

• Ben was called to be the deacon's quorum advisor (teach the 12-13 year old boys at our church)in our ward back in April.
• Ben went to the first 2 days of scout camp to go support the boys in their efforts!

June 28-19: Family Camping!

• Went camping as a family with some other families to Cougar Campground near Mt. St. Helens.
• 1st camping trip of the summer! Lots of fun and PERFECT camping weather.
• Girls were great! (They both had lingering coughs/colds from earlier in the week...they both slept REALLY well, but Ben and I didn't because their snoring/coughing kept us up!
• Played in the lake, ate yummy food, Ben went fishing, we went to Ape Caves and Trail of Two Forests
• We were all beat, but it was a great way to kick off the summer! Looking forward to more camping this summer!

Throwing rocks into the lake

Games in the tent

She loves the outdoors! She cried because she didn't want to leave. :)

We've just been loving life around here! :) Looking forward to lots of fun this summer!

A Father’s Day Tribute to my Dad

Earlier this month I wrote a tribute to my mother for her birthday. It was a neat experience to take the time to ponder deeply the things I love about my Mom. It was even sweeter to place those thoughts into writing.

It’s only fitting with today being Father’s Day that I write a tribute to my dad, Michael Clark Brewer.

It is difficult to know where to begin. I will start with my earliest childhood memory. I was three years old. It was the Portland Temple dedication in 1989. I remember holding my father’s hand and walking through the temple with him. I probably talked loudly the whole time, and my dad was probably very patient with me. My earliest memory is one of my favorites of my dad. I also remember when my dad baptized me, ordained me, and crying his eyes out when I left to be an LDS missionary. 

The greatest tribute to my dad is this: He taught me to be a man and he taught me to serve.

My dad has been attending early Sunday church meetings since before I was born. He is faithful in EVERY church duty assigned to him. Growing up, whenever there was someone in need, we were there. We moved people, fixed fences and roofs, shoveled driveways and moved some more. “The Brewer Boys” were always there. Were we excited to help? Not all the time. But my dad was. He taught us how to work, serve, and be men of God.

My dad, has had ups and downs all of his life. He has worked extremely hard, even to this day, to support a family. My dad is a man of little words, so I will share some of the things he has shared with me over the years, so you can get to know the greatest man in my life.

He worked at JC Pennys as a manager for many years. He had many difficult bosses, many who didn’t like the fact that he had six boys. My dad told me that there were many hard days where he would leave the sales floor and go back to his office, ready to give up. Completely. Completely give up. These are the words of an almost defeated man. Almost.

My dad said of these difficult days, “I would look at the pictures of my six sons sitting on my desk, and I would then have the strength to continue on one more day.” This continued on for 16 years.

Most fathers would love to come home after a long day and rest. My dad would come home to six boys. Resting was impossible. J He played with us, and must have crashed the moment we went to sleep. When the weekends came, we were helping someone move. Sunday came, and my dad was at the church before I was even awake. Monday came, and my dad was off to the office, before I was up for school. As you can observe, my dad is pretty amazing, but there’s more.

Despite Saturdays full of sports and other activities, my parents were able to slip away and visit the temple. They found great solace there. They would always return refreshed and renewed. This example of temple attendance was very powerful on us boys. We were not financially well off, but my parents always gave a very generous Fast Offering. When one of my brothers was being set apart as a missionary, our bishop made a very spiritual and inspired comment. The bishop said, “he was inspired to tell us that the reason our family was so blessed with righteousness amongst us boys was directly related to my parents giving overly generous Fast Offerings for many years.” I’ve never forgotten that experience.

After a recent blessing for my dad who is having pain in an ailing arm, he made some special comments that I will never forget. He expressed that he has always felt a little less than others around him and that he is not a man of many eloquent words. He described how he often felt like an outsider at the work place because of his beliefs and the fact that he had a large family. Many thought he was crazy for having so many kids.

Let me begin by saying I believe my dad is greater than all those around him. I think he is a man of wisdom and requires only a few words to make his point, while it takes others paragraphs to do the same. I thank my dad for having so many kids. I love my brothers, who all received our eagle scout award (with a double case of “boot in the butt” from our parents) we all served LDS missions and we are almost all married with children. My dad may feel small in this life, but I can’t think of a more giant of a man. I can’t think of any who is loved by God more than my dad. He has given everything, literally everything, to his family. My dad gave up golfing 30 years ago to raise a family. He was pretty good. Now he is relearning the game, from his sons.

My Mom and Dad have earned the right to enjoy the twilight years of their lives. I wish to build them the biggest mansion on the highest hill overlooking Vancouver. Funny though, my Dad would be happy living in the simple home where they raised six boys; the very boys that kept my Dad going one more day, so many years ago.

I love you Dad. Happy Father’s Day. I hope to celebrate you for many more years.

Your Son,

Benjamin

Tribute to My Mother

Today my Mom turns 55 years old. 55 years is a long time. My Mom isn't old. In fact 55 is the new 40. :)

 In all seriousness, I wanted to take some time to write a tribute to my mother, Ruth Ann Brewer. As many of you know, my mom was blessed with six boys, no girls. We were a lot for my Mom to handle. I am not sure how she would get through each day with us boys, well, being boys. It's quite a miracle to be more exact. I am not sure how she did a lot of things. My Mom made sure that we had a good hearty meal every night. Family dinner was important to her. She rarely made something we didn't like. She took great pride in having a delicious meal ready for my tired, worn out dad (he is amazing too, but he doesn't get a blog post till Father's Day).

I've heard that angels walk the earth. I believe that statement to be true. I was raised by one.

I was raised by a mother who had endless amounts of patience. It's impossible to keep six boys quiet, so she would play with us, and read to us and lived the old adage "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em." We in turn would clean for her and sew with her (good times) and plant her flowers for her. We would also ruin all of those flowers by playing basketball in the front driveway. :)

I was raised by a mother who stood by my dad through thick and thin. Not many marriages have that type of strength now days. They honored each other, and I have no memory of them fighting or quarreling in front of us. I think the love they showed to each other made us boys feel secure in our home.

I was raised by a mother who maintained a spirit of love in our home (though at times we would fight her to the death). My Mom would always prevail. If it wasn't a song my Mom would sing after each quarrel, she was calming telling us to get along, or we would have to wash dishes. :)

I was raised by a mother who introduced me to music. I believe that love of music is what led me to my wife Maura. We now like to make beautiful music together, thanks to the influence of my mother. My Mom loves to sing, and knows more songs than what's in the music dictionary.

I was raised by a mother who carried no pride of her own, but held and holds a great deal of pride for her six boys (now men). These boys all received eagle scouts, all served two-year missions for the LDS church, 5 are now married with nearly 14 grandchildren between them and many more are on the way.

I was raised by a mother who is more like Jesus than anyone I have ever known. She exemplifies the spirit of love, humility, meekness and kindness. She doesn't seek after worldly gain. We grew up under poor worldly circumstances, but I think we were the most spiritually rich people in town, thanks to my righteous mother.

I was raised by a mother, and I am all the better for it.

Happy Birthday, Mom. We hope you have many more to come.

Love,

Benjamin