Happy Thanksgiving!

From all of us here in the Brownell family, to you and yours. May your holiday be filled with family, friends, and a joyful time. We are so thankful for our family and friends, our Lord who provides for us everyday, and those who will sacrifice their holiday with family to protect our freedoms. Happy Thanksgiving!!

A Night to Remember

If you're married to a hunter, you no doubt hear the stories of a few nights each year when deer run wildly around the forest pursuing a mate (or two...). Legend has it, if you're lucky enough to be there, towering bucks will run out in front of you without caution.

Well, last night Daniel finally experienced it firsthand. Several does running about, a few bucks flying by, and one that stopped right in front of him.

So, the next time you visit, our home will probably have a buck mounted proudly for all to see. (Girls- does this mean I have to remove all China and florals from the home-I'm unsure of hunting decor etiquette). Needless to say the kids ( and the hubby ) are estatic.

Happy Birthday Rush!

Today our baby boy has turned 5! Doesn't seem possible that those scary and troublesome days are now 5 years behind us!

When we took a business trip to Houston, my water broke at 21 weeks. No labor though. We held our breath and jumped the plane home two days later, figuring, it was a only 2 hour flight. Also, I feared being admitted to a hospital in TX while Daniel had to fly home with the 4 children.

We made it home, had about 6 weeks in the hospital on bedrest --while my mother and friends shuffled our children around so Daniel could work during the day.

Finally, Rush arrived (oddly enough, I was the only one in the room of medical staff that was convinced I was in labor!) I had nurse who couldn't use the thermometer (I was burning up from infection) and a Dr. who wanted to check my appendix - turns out it was fine :)

Rush and I both had e coli - we were told the mortality rate for the baby was about 80%. However, the Lord had other plans. Rush fought that off and also pneumonia (very bad when you're on oxygen and 3lbs) the week of Christmas. That was a tough holiday.

It was a long ordeal, but we were able to bring him home the last day of January, after 11 weeks in the NICU. Praise the Lord!

Mountains and More

On Monday we found some more great waterfalls (while out apple picking- see next post below). The first waterfall was one we missed on July 5th b/c it was reserved for a wedding. I'm so glad we stopped this time - it was beautiful. And, no railing so we climbed to the top!

After the waterfall , we headed up to Black Rock State Park --the view was incredible--3600 ft up. You can see a few states, I'm sure. This was another stop we had to fly by back in July due to time constraints.

We finished up the day at Amicalola State Park. There is a huge waterfall (400ft?) and a restaurant in the lodge at the top. It has a gorgeous view, so we had a sunset dinner there. To make it even better, on the way out, after plunging down the mountain, we passed a group of 7-8 deer.

This picture is taken standing at the top of the falls looking over N. Ga:

More waterfall pictures from the first stop...

This spot is usually covered by water (bad drought here); Robert is in a hole that goes down about 5 feet and out the front.

The falls don't look too huge, but if you see Rachel back behind where Rush is standing, it looks alot bigger. I would guess it's about 50 ft. up to the top.

Robert got to the highest rock while we helped everyone else.

Apple Picking

Rush loved going into the trees looking for the little apples.

Today we were able to go apple picking for the first time in a tiny town called Long Creek. It was beautiful outside and the kids loved it. I never realized they grew all types of apples next to each other in one grove--about 9 varieties. As usual, it went by too fast, but so much fun! Grandma and Grandpa Brownell were up to visit us in SC, so they went along.

Now, what do I do with 6 bags of apples.....

Successful Hunt

My favorite hunter shot his first doe of the season on Saturday (the internet's been on the fritz since then or I would've posted that night). He went out to check out the trails and find his way around, so Robert wasn't with him.

Needless to say, he was very excited, as this was his first night out at the new hunting club in SC. Even better - he had to drag the deer up a steep hill afterwards. It had run down the hill in the few seconds before it died. Clever deer--sticking it to the hunter.

Daniel took Robert with him (he's a Jr. member of the club) Sunday after church was over. But, the next few nights were very windy as a cold front or two moved through, so Daniel and Robert didn't see anything besides foxes and such. And it was 29 degrees!!

They'll probably try again next week.. I'd like to load up the freezer for the year. The meat is so much better than Publix b/c there's no hormones or meds given to the deer. It's very lean because these deer are raised on soybean fields --instead of having to live in a tiny stall at a meat farm their whole lives. Much nicer for the animal to have a normal life.

Happy Birthday Daniel!!

(I've noticed I usually post these birthdays a day late, due to all the excitement and just having a too-full life! But, sometimes I just don't get to sit down long enough to worry about posts!)

So Happy Birthday Daniel! Not going to post which one, but he's thirthy-something.....

I couldn't find a more manly, loving, caring, giving, humorous, wonderful guy. I can always count on Daniel to do the right thing, keep a level head, and stay in control of the situation.

I love you !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!