Hunter - 2.5 weeks old :)

Ry's first hotdog!

Baked Pork-n-Bean Sandwiches (Bill Miller)




Oscar Mayer beef or turkey franks- sliced in half lengthwise (can substitute cooked bacon slices)



can pork-n-beans, drained



shredded cheddar cheese



toast



*On large cookie sheet, place toast slices. Cover each slice with a layer of beans. Line & cover each toast with hotdog halves. Top with cheese. Bake 350 for 30-40 min. until crispy.

http://gilbatesfamily.com/blog/page/5/

Super Moon

March 16, 2011: Mark your calendar. On March 19th, a full Moon of rare size and beauty will rise in the east at sunset. It's a super "perigee moon"--the biggest in almost 20 years.


"The last full Moon so big and close to Earth occurred in March of 1993," says Geoff Chester of the US Naval Observatory in Washington DC. "I'd say it's worth a look."



Full Moons vary in size because of the oval shape of the Moon's orbit. It is an ellipse with one side (perigee) about 50,000 km closer to Earth than the other (apogee): diagram. Nearby perigee moons are about 14% bigger and 30% brighter than lesser moons that occur on the apogee side of the Moon's orbit.





Above: Perigee moons are as much as 14% wider and 30% brighter than lesser full Moons. [video] "The full Moon of March 19th occurs less than one hour away from perigee--a near-perfect coincidence1 that happens only 18 years or so," adds Chester.



A perigee full Moon brings with it extra-high "perigean tides," but this is nothing to worry about, according to NOAA. In most places, lunar gravity at perigee pulls tide waters only a few centimeters (an inch or so) higher than usual. Local geography can amplify the effect to about 15 centimeters (six inches)--not exactly a great flood.





The Moon looks extra-big when it is beaming through foreground objects--a.k.a. "the Moon illusion." Indeed, contrary to some reports circulating the Internet, perigee Moons do not trigger natural disasters. The "super moon" of March 1983, for instance, passed without incident. And an almost-super Moon in Dec. 2008 also proved harmless.



Okay, the Moon is 14% bigger than usual, but can you really tell the difference? It's tricky. There are no rulers floating in the sky to measure lunar diameters. Hanging high overhead with no reference points to provide a sense of scale, one full Moon can seem much like any other.



The best time to look is when the Moon is near the horizon. That is when illusion mixes with reality to produce a truly stunning view. For reasons not fully understood by astronomers or psychologists, low-hanging Moons look unnaturally large when they beam through trees, buildings and other foreground objects. On March 19th, why not let the "Moon illusion" amplify a full Moon that's extra-big to begin with? The swollen orb rising in the east at sunset may seem so nearby, you can almost reach out and touch it.



Don't bother. Even a super perigee Moon is still 356,577 km away. That is, it turns out, a distance of rare beauty.
Author: Dr. Tony Phillips
Credit: Science@NASA

St. Patty's Day

WEBSTER COUNTY, KY - The US currently has one of the largest populations of Irish ancestors in the world and, as a result, millions of our citizens participate in a variety St. Patrick’s Day celebrations every year on March 17th.




From wearing green to taking part in religious observances—and even enjoying a good “green” brew—St. Patrick’s Day has become a widely accepted cultural practice in the states by people with a range of backgrounds.



But do we really know who St. Patrick was or what role he played in history?



While much of St. Patrick’s story has become muddled by years of ever-growing exaggeration and folklore, many historians agree that he played a pivotal role in shaping our world’s history.



Though St. Patrick is generally believed to have died around March during 460A.D, he was born during the late fourth century to a wealthy, but not particularly religious family in Britain. While his father is believed to have been a Christian deacon, many historians agree that the title may have simply been a means of religious tax incentives.



Though his early life and early adolescence was more than likely quite secure, he was taken prisoner by a group of Irish “raiders” that attacked his family’s estate when he was only 16. After the abduction, St. Patrick was taken to Ireland.



During this 6-year stretch, he was sold as a slave and worked as a shepherd in the countryside. As a result, he spent much of his time isolated from other people. In reaction to his lonesome and weary travels and captivity, historians believe that St. Patrick turned to religion as a means of comfort and tranquility. In particular, St. Patrick turned his attention to Christianity for his solace.



However, after over 6 years of slavery, St. Patrick finally escaped his captors under “divine” direction. As he wrote, God spoke to him in a dream, telling him to leave Ireland.



As accounts suggest, he walked nearly 200 miles to Ireland’s coastline and eventually made his way back into Britain where he had yet another divine “vision.” In this dreamlike state, St. Patrick stated that he was urged to return to Ireland as a Christian missionary.



For the next 15 years, Patrick devoted his life to learning Christian teachings through intensive studies and was finally ordained as a priest. After receiving this honor, he left for Ireland with a two-fold mission. On one hand, he sought to minister to Christians already living in Ireland, while on the other he begin to convert the Irish people as a whole.



At the time, the majority of Irish culture was dominated by a form of nature-based, pagan religion, yet in his attempt to convert the majority to Christians, St. Patrick did not aim to completely destroy their traditions. Being familiar with both Irish culture and language of the day, he instead integrated the country’s age-old celebrations with an ultimately Christian teaching. For example, he used large bonfires to celebrate Easter and even “superimposed” the image of the sun (one of the most important symbols to the Irish at the time) onto the Christian cross. This image is now what we know as the Celtic cross. With this more “natural” transition to the Christian religion, St. Patrick was able to convert a large portion of the relatively small Irish population after many years of effort.



Until the day of his death, St. Patrick continued to visit several churches he had founded and offered religious advice to the Irish people.



Luke Short

iSurf News

Historical information provided by The History Channel (www.history.com)

Posted by Karen Orange - iSurf News
http://www.isurfwebster.com/news/local-news/6831-the-story-of-st-patrick-.html

Baby Hunter

Hunter's first play date

Hunter at 4 days old and Mr. Joseph at 13 weeks. :)

My good friend Carly with Hunter (Joseph is her adorable baby)

Hospital visits and going home

Great Grandma, Pappy, Sean, and BIG brother!

Nana and Hunter

My good friend Jess with Hunter

Cousin Emily and Aunt Melinda with Hunter

Uncle Dave, Aunt Michelle, and Daniel with Hunter

Daniel and Hunter

Me and my baby

Daddy and his baby getting ready to go home

Waiting on the car

On our way home from the hospital on Wednesday

Hey, look, the newborn outfit actually fits me!  :)

I forgot to take a picture of PastorTrail, Scott, and Angele's visits!!!!! So sorry!

I'm thinking they are definitely brothers!

Hunter Matthew Brewner

Just getting to the hospital, last day being preggo




My water broke at 1 a.m. Monday morning.  We checked in around 2 am. and pretty much hung out with very little progress.  I stayed around 1-2 cm and 80% effaced, but never really had consistent contractions.  They started Pitocin around 2 p.m. and of course that got things going!  It was not really super intense until transition and that's when I started to say that I couldn't do it anymore.  My goal had been to VBAC and to have a drug free natural delivery.  By God's strength, I was able to achieve both of my desires.  Luckily transition didn't last too long.  I went from 4 cm to 8 in like an hour or so and then 8 to 10 in 15 minutes.  The pushing part was not bad at all really.  I was so determined to push him out that I had good energy for pushing and had to only push for an hour.  He came out 9 pounds 5 oz!!!!!!!!  Huge baby.  22 1/2 in long.  Born 03-07-11 at 10:33 p.m.  He is beautiful and looks a  lot like Ryan when he was born.  He was so alert for a good few hours after birth, which was so different than with Ryan because of the C section.  I ended up with a 3rd degree tear and hemorrhoids, so I am sore, but we are both doing great and praise God we are both healthy.  Here are some pics :)  Oh yah and I couldn't have done it without my husband, who was a wonderful coach, and my good friend Kristina, who is a birthing assistant/doula in training and who was our Bradley teacher.  They helped me to stay focused and encouraged me.  They also gave great massages and got me through the transition part when I was asking for drugs; they did not allow me to give up!  They were amazing, as were the nurses and my midwife and doctor.

First United Methodist of St. Pete

Sean had an assignment to do for his Humanities class - going to a church with interesting architecture and also attending service.  We found this church in St. Pete and headed down there as a family today.  Ryan and I didn't really get to participate in the services because he was not willing to stay quiet during the sermon and I didn't want to put him in childcare since we had never been to this church, but Sean got to be in there.  I got to do what I like - take pictures!  :)  And of course chase Ryan around the church!

Boys will be boys!

We took Ryan to the playground at the library yesterday and he decided digging in the dirt is way much more fun than going down the slides!  It almost looks like he has a black eye.  I didn't capture this, although wish I could have, but he also jumped in the library fountain.  It was really funny!  Guess he was cleaning himself off!