All About Me....and Gavin

We watched a very disappointing movie last night, All About Steve.  I figured since Sandra Bullock was in it, that it would be well worth watching....I figured incorrectly.  I signed up for Netflix awhile ago and I like to watch movies by myself, no offense to Eric.  I love to watch movies in subtitles, not only because I can't hear the tv very well but because I sometimes don't understand what the actors are saying....especially when they have a British accent for example.  Also, regarding the sound, for some odd reason, the dvd makers think it's really awesome to turn up the volume during action scenes but then dull down the dialogue.  LAME!  I love movies that make me laugh really hard; that make me cry a lot; or that make me crawl into Eric's arms and never leave.  A good movie to me is one that reflects my own life or presents life-applicable lessons.  I don't have any examples off the top of my head but I know they're out there!

Gavin and I took a walk with a friend last night.  It was a little chilly and he got a little fussy toward the end.  So I carried him for a little bit and boy did he give me an arm workout!  My arms and back are a little sore this morning.  But it was a nice, long walk.  Once we got home, I gave him a bath, fed him and he fell right to sleep!  I wish I could take pictures of his sleeping positions because he cracks me up.  His arms are always bent in a weird and awkard position but apparently it's comfortable to him.  I moved one of his arms and he put it back in that seemingly uncomfortable position.  Oh well....

I'm getting really excited about our Mexican fiesta this Saturday.  We have a little bit of cleaning and a lot of grocery shopping to do!  It's gonna be a good turnout.  I love being able to see friends we haven't seen in awhile.  Speaking of parties, I've been thinking about Gavin's First Birthday Party!  Not sure exactly when or where but it's going to be amazing!  If you have any ideas, please let me know.

Ok....have a great day and I'll possibly write again tomorrow.   

Kickin' Butt

Everyone has seen or at least knows about the show "The Biggest Loser."  My favorite is when Jillian Michaels literally yells in the contestants' faces because they're not pushing hard enough!  I WISH I had her as a personal trainer....but that would be extremely expensive.  So, I borrowed a Jillian Michael's Workout DVD which was FREE. 

Why is it that the simple exercises WITHOUT weights are the worst and most painful to do?!  Simple squats turn into burning thighs, constant uppercuts turn into numbing arms and ab crunches turn into laboring contractions!  And that's just the first 15 minutes of the DVD!  Needless to say, Jillian kicked my butt last night.  However, I am keeping to my promise of working out every day this week! 

Tonight, I'm gonna take Gavin on a walk around the neighborhood.  Speaking of Gavin, he kept saying "Mama" this morning!  I know I have probably said this before but he is such a joy to wake up to!  I walk in his room and he's standing in his crib.  He's all smiles and full of laughter because I'm sure he's excited that someone will finally get him out of that crib!  When I get home from work, we spend some time in the kitchen while Daddy cooks dinner.  That's probably my favorite time of the day.  Gavin loves walking around in his walker to see what he can get/run into.   

Please keep Eric in your prayers for a job.  More 2 Life received a letter which confirmed that they will not be funded by the government grant for next school year.  Which means by September Eric will be out of a job.  He's not really looking for another job right now but we will be in constant prayer about which direction he'll be taking.  I love the way Eric has grown into our family's spiritual leader.  He speaks with such wisdom and encouragement that it makes me think, "Why wouldn't I want to follow him?!"  :)  Eric has encouraged us to not live in fear but to live by faith; knowing that the Lord will provide him the perfect job.  Even though it's not the economy's timing for job placement, we're relying on God's timing for Eric's employment. 

This week is going by fast but I am definitely ready for the weekend!  BRING IT!!!

Reconciliation

It's always nice to reconcile a difference with a friend.  For the past week, I've been feeling out of sorts with a couple friends and the Lord kept tugging at my heart to say something.  How else are my friends gonna know that I'm hurt if I don't say anything?  So I called them up yesterday and I got the response I was expecting, "Oh Brooke, I didn't know...."  Things were reconciled and it was such a great burden lifted off my shoulders!  I can only give God the praise for that! 

The concept of reconcilation and forgiveness has been on my mind.  I know some people hold grudges against others for something stupid they've done in the past.  Why do we do this?!  How is that going to benefit your life, bring you joy or even glorify God?  Why is it so difficult to let go of the past?  Yes, I believe we have a past to learn from it and to not make the same mistakes again; but to hold it against someone for years is absolutely ridiculous.  You don't know their heart and the possible changes they've made.  I know Jesus has even said, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone...." (John 8:7)  I'm not sure if you know this but sin is sin; we are sinners; and we are forgiven of our sins by the Ultimate price that was paid on the Cross....if we believe.  Why is forgiveness so difficult for us, mere humans, to apply?  When you "forgive" someone, that means you won't bring up that hurt ever again!  When you "forgive" someone, that means you look at them in a new light.  When you "forgive" someone, that means you will have peace within your heart.  When you "forgive" someone, that means you are glorifying the Lord.  Why wouldn't you want to forgive?!

My prayer for you is that you forgive whoever has hurt you in the past.  Forgive and forget; I KNOW that's easier said than done but forgiveness is so needed in today's world.  Forgive and let it go....

Not a lot

This weekend was nice, especially since I spent a lot of time with Eric and Gavin.  We didn't do much of anything but I love the fact that we were together. 

I have a confession to make.  Last week, I worked out a total of 0 days!  I KNOW!!!  I'm very disappointed in myself.  I got lazy....really lazy and I didn't want to make the effort of driving to the gym or even walking around the block!  Ok, now that I got that off my chest, I will be working out every day this week to make up for last week's laziness.  I have 3 options:  drive to the gym, run around the neighborhood or a workout dvd at home.  Now I really have no excuse to get some sort of physical fitness in my daily routine. 

Eric and I have the funniest nephew ever!  Dylan learned a song from a field trip and he allowed me to video tape him singing it.  It's called "Tootie Ta Ta"!  Here it is:

For some reason, Gavin feels like he's getting bigger and bigger but to be honest, he's only gained 3 pounds in 3 months!  He is now 20 pounds and I'm not sure how tall he is.  Last week, I had to pull out the 9 month clothes and give away his 6 month clothes.  It's getting harder and harder every 3 months!  Actually, it's getting more difficult to watch him leave with Eric to go to Miss Shirley's in the mornings.  I wish we could all stay in bed and just cuddle. 

Well, this week will be just me working out a lot!  And then we have our monthly get togethers starting this Saturday.  It's a Mexican theme so let me know if you want to join the fiesta!

Adios!

Hurting teeth

A good butt shot....

Nightmares

Nightmares are the worst!  When you wake up from a nightmare, you have to figure out if it was real or not.  In my case, I had to wake up three times from three nightmares last night.  Eric was on a staff retreat for an overnight stay and I was home with Gavin....and my scary dreams.  I'll briefly describe them.

The first nightmare, I was in my car getting ready to pull out of a parking spot and my passengers were distracting me.  I ended up backing into a cabin.  Since Gavin was in the car, they took him and wouldn't tell me if he was ok or not.  I wanted to cry in my dream but I couldn't for some reason, so it sounded like I was whimpering.  I woke up with the urge to cry and I quickly ran to see if Gavin was ok.

The second nightmare, I was in a room with the ceiling fan light on.  The door was closing but it didn't close all the way.  Then I could tell that someone was on the other side of the door trying to shut it.  I quickly opened the door and I saw a shadow of a guy run into the next room with the light off.  There was a storm outside and every time the lightning struck, the light would show the shadow of that guy....and he was holding a crowbar.  I knew he could see my shadow in the hallway so I froze; knowing that he would run after me if I moved.  I woke up scared out of my mind!  I kept listening for the slightest noise to indicate someone was in the house.  I ended up falling alseep again....

The third nightmare is a continuation of the second one.  Some guy with glasses was leaning over me, trying to wake me up.  I could tell that he was a victim because he had a long, bloody, sideways "S" on his forehead.  He said to me, "Come on, wake up!  We gotta get outta here!"  And I looked behind him and there was that shadow of the guy with the crowbar!  I woke up scared more than ever.  I didn't want to get out of bed or even move while I was laying there!  But I heard Gavin crying and I immediately had to overcome my fear.

So, all that to say I really miss my husband even if it's for one night!  I've been thinking of happy thoughts ever since I woke up.  I love it when Gavin greets me with a big smile in the mornings.  I love how my husband calls just to tell me a funny story.  I love chocolate milk even though I haven't had any in a long time.  And it makes me laugh that Gavin looks SO much like Eric!  They even have the same eyebrows!

Bad nightmares but oh happy day!

In light of me being scared....

A little bit of this...a little bit of that...

I have too many thoughts in my head so I'll just get on with it....

Gavin is 8 months old today!  I cannot believe how fast this time is going.  Only 4 more months until he's a year old.  Somebody please tell me how this happened!!!   Gavin has two teeth now!  The other one finally revealed itself about a week ago.  Pretty soon we'll be eating steak as a family. :)  Gavin is also clapping a lot! 

He was given a rocking horse yesterday by a friend and he loves it!  
This past Saturday we had dinner at my dad's house.  He has three dogs that aren't used to little people crawling or crying.  Maxwell wasn't too sure about Gavin and kept barking at him.  His bark kept scaring Gavin but it also made him laugh at some points.   
My dad has a video clip of it as well.   
Eric is also proud to announce that we have set up Gavin's ESA 529 (Educational Savings Account).  Now we're able to start saving for his college tution.  If you would like to contribute on a monthly basis, please contact me and we'll send you the paperwork. 

I know I mentioned this a while ago, but I was on a fantasy football league.  Well, I ended up with thrid place!  Hey, considering I had no idea what I was doing and this was my first time, I think I did pretty good! :)

Side note: the matchmaking did not succeed.

Lately, I've been wanting to write a report about infomercials.  First of all, I LOVE infomercials!  It would be my goal to try every "As seen on TV" products!  But in our financial state, I cannont accomplish such a goal.  However, I have been able to try a few of them.  The Snuggie, Heel Tastic, WEN hair care products, Sham-wow, Ped Egg, Toe Spreader, Magic Bullet, and some more that I can't think of right now.  The only items we thought actually worked are the Magic Bullet and Heel Tastic.  The Sunggie was full of static, WEN made my hair feel unclean, Sham-wow did not absorb anything but my money, Ped Egg is too sharp for my skin (I'm actually afraid of knives), and my toes actually ached with the Toe Spreader.  We actually have a Food Dehydrator that we haven't tried yet and I'm hoping to make beef jerky.  I went to the "As seen on TV" website and there are a trillion of things to try out!  This might take a lifetime!

This week is a little laid back as far as plans go.  I'm still working out three times a week.  No changes yet but I know it takes awhile.  I also need to drink more water and watch what I'm eating.  I failed to make a dinner meal last week.  We had a lot going on and I couldn't even make it to the grocery store to buy the ingredients I needed.  I'm planning to cook two dinners this week...if it actually happens is another story.

If you'd like to see more videos, please check out my youtube account:  bythebrook23

Have a great week! 

 Playing with Daddy

         

The Rocking Horse

So far so good

Last week's workouts were great!  I continued with cardio tonight and now I'm wide awake and probably won't get any sleep tonight.  Gavin was up and down again last night.  Poor little guy had a HUGE booger up his nostril and I'm sure he couldn't breathe very well.  It actually scared me so I was constantly checking on him to make sure he was breathing.

I played a little matchmaker this weekend and for the most part I think I did good!  The set up was made before Christmas and it went well.  But the guy wanted another "group" setting before he asked the girl out on a real date (totally understandable to me).  So we had a game night this past Saturday and it was a lot of fun!  I'm purposely not mentioning any names just in case it doesn't work out.  I'll try to refer back to this story if it was indeed a success just in case anyone's interested in my matchmaking skills! :)

Eric and I were pillow-talk talking last night and we realized that we have been through a lot together in the 4 years and 4 months of being with each other.  We have gone through a death in the family, addictions, a bad experience in NY, debt, moving 5 times (me - 5, eric - 2), planning a wedding, getting pregnant and experiencing ALL the hormonal issues there, and then the labor!  Even though we've been together for four years and married for only one of those years, I feel like we've experienced and learned what couples do in 7+ years.  After reminiscing what we went through, Eric asked, "Why did you stay with me?"  The only answer I had and ever will have is, "Because I love you."  We have definitely had our up moments too: trip to Hawaii, Thanksgivings in Delaware, getting engaged on a cruise, our fabulous wedding, paying off our debt, finding out we were pregnant (priceless), the start of the contractions (another priceless moment) and last but certainly not least, seeing our baby boy for the first time!  I love my husband so much and I love the life we share now and until forever.

Typed till I got sleepy,
Brooke

Gavin playing with some of his toys from Christmas - 33 Weeks Old

Working Out is hard to do

After 8 months of baby excuses, I am back on track to working out once again!  I started Monday night with just a nice 30 minute jog (indoors on a treadmill, of course....why would I jog outside is 30 degree weather?!) then tonight I lifted weights, lunged my legs off, and loved that sore feeling!  For now, my goal is to workout three times a week with the support of my loving husband to take care of Gavin.  Not sure why I didn't commit to this earlier!  I guess this is just another New Year's Resolution.

Speaking of resolutions, I have mentioned two already but I want to clarify that I made one for certain areas of my life: 
Socially:  To have monthly get togethers
Physically:  To workout three times a week
Spiritually:  To do my daily Bible study
Domestically:  To cook at least once a week
Matrimonially:  To show my husband respect on a daily basis
Motherly:  To make my son laugh every day
Occupationally:  To not be distracted with socializing
Economically:  To pay off debt and to visit mom and pop restuarants when going out.
Emotionally:  To be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger (James 1:19)

Let's just say that I have a lot to work on....

Christmas morning, opening gifts....

...then with our friends, Jonathan and Stacey, later that night.

Gavin's always eating....just like his parents!  Hence, the workout resolution. :)

Love, Brooke

Christmas then the New Year!

Can't believe Christmas has come and gone so quickly.  I tried my best to capture all of the memories of Gavin's first Christmas.  I will say there are just too many pictures to post!  On our way to my mom's house for dinner, Eric says to me, "I never understood the concept that 'it's all about the kids' until now."  Meaning, we didn't care if we got presents or not (knowing that's not the true meaning of Christmas) but watching Gavin try to rip the paper and play with his "noise-making" toys was SO much fun!  He got lots of toys, some clothes, a few books, a couple toys for when he turns 1 year old, stuffed animals, and a blanket made by Grandmama.  This was probably our best Christmas ever!

I'm not sure if I wrote this before but we finally have a tooth on the bottom of his gums.  Just one.  He's starting to really use his high-pitch voice when playing or just talking.  It's very piercing but it's so funny to watch his facial expressions too.  Also, it seems as though he gains weight every time I pick him up but he hasn't gained a pound!  And, he's looking like Eric more and more every day.  Poor kid.  :)

Now onto the New Year!  We have had a great start already!  We attended our church's First Annual Chili Cook-Off where Eric has the award winning Hottest Chili!  I think he made it for me. :)  Afterwards, we went over to a friend's house to watch the ball drop.  Already this month, we have paid off TWO debts!  Leaving us with only FOUR left!  I can hardly believe it myself.  We have been doing really well and we're so close to being done forever!  By our calculations, we should be done by July of this year.  Another awesome report is that we FINALLY had to buy diapers for the FIRST time since Gavin has been born!  It was on December 31, 2009 while Gavin was 7 1/2 months old.  Amazing!

As a New Year's Resolution, I would like to start a monthly gathering with friends.  I would like to make it every last Saturday of the month; we will get together for dinner, dessert, games or just chit-chatting.  We'll start with our place of residence for the month of January.  And if you can't make it this month then shoot for next month.  I want our friends to know that we do actually want to get together but we realize that life's happenings sometimes get in the way.  Now, it doesn't have to be at our house every month; we would love someone to open up their house as well.  So, I'll be sending around an email.  Let me know if you'd like to partake in my New Year's Resolution!  It'll be lots of fun!

God is Good!