For Sale By Owner.

We are on the move and looking to sell our home! I had been meaning to get "caught up" in blogs, but what does that even mean?!?! If you know anyone looking for a home who may be PCS'ing or moving to Columbus Air Force Base, please refer them this link:

http://www.infotube.net/search_detail.php?u=ROBJENNY28&photo=1&Adnumber=237220

We love this home and have added so much value to it. Would love to sell it to another family that will get much value out of it as well. Thanks for your time and consideration.



Sincerely,
Rob and Jenny Brooks

our little Brooklets... (stolen phrase from my MIL) :)

what a *lucky* brother!


Here are more recent photos of the kids. Yep, they're still here. And alive. And growing.

A few days ago, we all went in as a family so that my Sponsor could get me, his Dependant, a new base ID card. You know, so that everyone knows my husband's a Major now. ;) Ha! While we were waiting our turn there was an 18 month old little girl named, Delilah. (hey, it least it wasn't Jezebel, right?!) And, you know, I really like that name and you don't see it often. I can only imagine it's due to that one case with a certain "Delilah". We're so superstitious, aren't we?? But, I do suppose we have all experienced a certain name that was bad news for us, whether it was a snotty girl in high school or a jock who broke our hearts. Anyway....those names don't usually end up being our children, do they??

Back in the Personnel office, this little girl Delilah was very sweet, and wanted to interact with Lydia if she would have it. She wouldn't. Lydia stubbornly turned her head 90 degrees away from sweet Delilah. Time passes, and we get called back to take care of our business.

Ben is such a wonderKid - I suppose that statement is half-true and half-"he's our kid", though, huh? Ben sits in a chair and quite matter-of-factly states, "I know Delilah, she's in the Bible. And she was a baaaad girl." (with emphasis on "bad" and almost as if he wishes he knew a girl like that!)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Rob remains the Check Flight commander this year. He became a Major Select this year, and looks forward to pinning on Major the beginning of February. He was recently awarded IP (Instructor Pilot) of the Year for his squadron, and we are all very proud of his hard work and accomplishments.

Jenny continues to take care of the home and Ben and Lydia. She enjoys the bond that is growing between the two of them, but is also learning more about siblinghood through them, as she is an only child. She is also Moppets Coordinator for the Christian nonprofit, MOPS (Mothers Of PreSchoolers). She plans the curriculum and cares for roughly 30 kids alongside paid/nonpaid caregivers. The program seeks to reach out to mothers of preschoolers through fellowship and breakfast with the moms, while their children are taken care of and shown the love of Christ. She is still an avid runner, and now enjoys taking Lydia for runs.

Ben is a 4 1/2 years old now and loves Legos and Star Wars. He enjoys his 4 year old class, and looks forward to Kindergarten. He loves to read and write. This past summer, he learned to how to ride a two-wheeler and swim. The swimming part was the more difficult of the two, as his fear was quite overwhelming! There were many tears, and both Rob and Jenny were fearful of the glances shot our way, as he screamed bloody murder many times! But he made it through, and it will be interesting to see what he retains this summer. :)

Lydia turned 1 this November, and enjoyed a wonderful birthday with both sets of grandparents and Halloween to boot! She was dressed as a bumblebee and it fits her personality perfectly because wherever she goes, she goes at it with such vigor! Much to her parents' dismay, she walked at just under 9 months. She could have "milked" babyhood all she wanted, but not Lydia. It was thought that she might be the laid back child - until we really got to know her!

As a family we enjoyed a few trips this year. In January, we had a winter birthday trip for Jenny to MI and visited her very best friend. In May, we visited Jenny's parents in Phoenix, and met with some old friends. September brought a trip to NH to surprise Jenny's Mom on her 60th birthday at her aunt and uncle's house. Rob and I also completed our first half marathon TOGETHER at St. Jude's in Memphis this year. We were excited to cross the finish line together at 1:49:14! We thank everyone who sponsored us by giving money. We raised a total of $1390, well over our goal of $1200. Rob's Mom and Aunt came to MS and watched the kids for the weekend, so we were also able to spend time together.

We are anticipating moving this summer, and will know where by early spring when Rob gets an assignment. As for 2010, we hope this finds you in a time of joy and peace, as you look forward to another year with newness and blessings.

Much love to you,
Rob, Jenny, Ben and Lydia

Two Halves make a Full, right? ;)

Pictured here are some other friends that also ran in the half marathon: Heather B and her Dad, and Shannon and Steve. It was such a fun time!

So...........remember back when I told you we were running a half marathon together?? Well, we did, and we raised $1390 for St. Jude's Children's Hospital! We couldn't have done it without so many of you donating to our cause, and we have you to thank! So, thank you for believing in us in that way. We had a great race together, and I can tell you that running a half with your spouse is so much more fun than running alone! Our finish time was 1:49:14. I am so proud of Rob, because this was his first half, and our time was only a minute and a half slower than my PR time a couple years ago (BTW, I learned you can only brag a PR within two years. After that time, it sort of "expires" if you will, and you can no longer brag your best PR. Ha.) However, my point is that Rob did excellent for his first time!

I will tell you along there way there were a few interesting things that took place:
1) a barefoot runner, running faster than us, and running the full marathon! Who knew people *did* that?! They do, believe me.
2) all the supporters along the way, especially the new route that takes you through the St. Jude Campus. It was so neat to see people whose lives have been touched by the many people of St. Jude!
3) Mile 11ish - When were running on a slight downhill, I asked Rob if he could "work the hill a little bit". And his response was, "I *am* working the hill." Tee hee. Did I mention he did outstanding?!?!
4) Rob mentioned after the race, that what was demoralizing for him was when I stopped to a full on walk to wait for him. WHAT REALLY HAPPENED: OK, when you're running with someone for 13.1 miles, it gets really difficult to stay exactly together the whole time. And at about mile 12, I got an excited surge (um, who wouldn't be excited to be almost done?!) and pulled away accidentally. I realized this problem, and just stopped and walked about 10 paces to wait for him. Not that bad, right? Rob's overreacting.... :) Would he rather I run circles around him, or just nonchalantly wait until he's right there? You be the judge.
5) EATING! We all love food, and it's just such a shame that you can't just eat whatever you want all the time, right? Well, when you buy yourself some calories by running so long, you CAN eat all you want! It's especially great, when you're not in Columbus, MS and you're in Memphis, and you have OPTIONS!

my teaser trailer.

This blog is seriously busting my chops. What's worse than going for extended amounts of time without a blog? Stress, yes, but not it. You stop reading other blogs! And then when you sit down to attempt to get out of the hole, you start reading all the other blogs. And realize your friend's child ate blood pressure medication, or that someone is having another boy! So, I need to be better, but I have to be honest: writing a blog just hasn't been at the top of my list. And it's not because I don't care for my unusually small fan base, it's just that other things like family life take priority first. But I am going to try to be better, and believe me, I know I have said this before about blogging.

So I have a lot to catch up on! And these are the top things that float to the surface: our half marathon (Yes, we DID!), our Christmas letter, my thoughts on a FULL marathon ("Yes, I can"?), Ben and his matter-of-fact thoughts on many matters, Disneyland, and Rob's promotion to Major.

Goal: to get this caught up before Ben turns 5 (tear!), we PCS, I run a full marathon ("Yes, I can"?), we go on a fun anniversary getaway, where I have a 20 miler planned.

Can I?

right after I go and change Lydia's poopy diaper....