New Addition

Last Thursday, we welcomed our newest immediate family member! Our nephew, Gavin's cousin....Baylor Kai Young! He weighed in at 7 lbs 9 ounces and 19 inches long. Baylor has a full head of hair and is so adorable and cuddly. Here are some pictures from these past visits:

Aunt Brooke and Baylor

 

My brother, Brandon

Baby Baylor 

Renee, Baylor, Gavin and Eric 

Gavin not too sure about me holding another baby 

The Young Family 

Thankful Thursdays

You knew this one was coming because of last week's entry....Gavin.  So much joy had entered my life when the evidence of his presence was known.  God is definitely going to use Gavin in a mighty way and I'm so excited to see how.  When it comes to Gavin, I have so much to be thankful for.  Let's start from the beginning....

Once we found out I was pregnant, we prayed EVERY night for his life; his health, his development, his character and his future.  We also prayed for no complication and a safe and smooth labor/delivery.  My pregnancy was perfect.  My labor/delivery were perfect.  My baby was perfect.  So much to be thankful for within this short paragraph. 

His health:  Gavin has only been sick 3 times in 20 months (without including his hives episode).  No major injuries yet unless you count a chipped tooth.

His development:  Gavin has been in the 50th percentile for all areas of physical growth.  And I think it's safe to say that my kid is a genius!  :)  He constantly surprises me with the way he thinks and processes daily activities.  He continues to talk A LOT.  He's been jibber jabbing ever since he was 6 months old (not sure what the norm is though). 

His character:  Gavin is such a social butterfly!  I think he'd rather be surrounded by a ton of strangers than be at home with his parents.  He loves interacting with other kids (especially his cousin Dylan).  He actually obeys certain commands we use....which is astonishing to me!  He's such a cuddler too which just melts my heart.

I'm very thankful and honored that God chose me to mother this amazing child...even more so that he created such a human being that has brought so much joy to so many lives!  Thank you, Lord!

   

God Speaking Through the Airwaves

So after my first run yesterday (which was only 1 mile), I'm feeling ok.  I started thinking about my ultimate body makeover and got a little impatient with the thought of how long it might take.  Then when I got in the car and turned on my radio, this song was on:



I like to think that God was speaking to me through the airwaves....

Preparation

Have you ever had one of those weekends where you just couldn't stop eating?!  This past weekend was my weekend to do so.  Saturday morning started off with a huge chocolate pancake made by my husband.  Then for lunch, I had more than 2 helpings of leftover tuna casserole.  Then we had a mini-date night and headed to Chili's.  We split a burger but also got chips and queso along with fries.  THEN, we attended my friend's 30th birthday party in which appetizers and dessert were served.  No joke, we probably went to the buffet table at least 5 times.  At least I can say that I only had one piece of tiramisu. 

Then comes Sunday.  At church, I at half of a cinnamon roll and drank a cup of coffee.  No biggie there.  Well, it got worse.  We spent the rest of the afternoon at my mother-in-law's house watching the playoff games.  There I practically ate a whole bag of Jalapeno Kettle chips along with some chili-cheese fries and chili and topped it off with a couple beers.  When we got home, I actually ended up finishing that bag of chips and washed it down with a Fresca.  Gosh, I think I gained weight just writing it all out! 

Needless to say, I gained 3 pounds in one weekend.  Today, however, is the beginning of my running week.  I'm preparing my body to start up P90X again.  So Eric has agreed to support my goal and to help where need be; mainly with Gavin.  I'm going to be wise this time and I'll just start off with 1 mile today.  Then February 1st is the start of the workout routine.  I think I'm more prepared this time....can't really explain why though.  My end date is May 2nd.  Gosh, that seems so far away!  But it's not because my baby will be 2 during that month. :( 

So raise your eco-friendly water bottles; here's to the start of the ultimate body makeover! :)

Thankful Thursdays

As I'm reading other bloggers' blogs, I have been seeing a trend of labeling days of the week. It seems to be like a little motivation to keep writing. I thought I could adapt this popular concept (believe me, I'm not a crowd follower). So for Thursdays, I'm going to name something specific of what I'm thankful for.

My husband is to be listed as my first Thankful Thursday. It was a toss up between him or my baby boy; but there would be no baby boy without the husband so....

My husband is not your stereotypical type of husband and for that, I am grateful! Society sometimes depicts the man to care about nothing but sports, computers and doing what the wife says. Ok...so MY husband does watch sports but he doesn't mind watching Cars every night and an occasional glimpse of my show every now and then. He does use the computer a lot but he has to do his online classes somehow....perhaps online? And as far as doing what I say, it goes both ways....it's a partnership.   

What's different about my husband?  He's sensitive, compassionate, thoughtful and so stinkin' hilarious! He's the one that wants to discuss our argument right then and there (where as I want to dwell on it for hours). He's the one that runs out to the store to get medicine if I'm sick and will wrap me up in blankets (where as I would say "Oh you're not that sick so suck it up"). He's the one that goes grocery shopping and cooks dinner for our family almost every night (where as I despise the thought of making a PB&J). He's the one that prays when the going gets tough or when we're flying high (where as I would sulk in self-pity or rub our achievements in others' faces). He's the one that makes me laugh so much (where as I try my hardest to make a funny).  So yes, my husband is perfect.  As for me, well, have a lot of work to do. :) (Side note: I might have exaggerated on MY aspect of things...just a tad).

I'm thankful that my husband comes home every night to be with his family.  I'm thankful that he thinks of me often that he calls me just to say "I love you."  I'm thankful that he loves to make our child laugh.  I'm thankful that he puts his family first....always.

With all that said, I'm not afraid to proclaim how much I love my husband.  I've said this before and I'll probably continue to say it over and over but WE HAVE THE BEST MARRIAGE EVER! I am so thankful for my marriage. I know we'll have our rough patches some days but those will be our opportunities for our marriage to grow!  We always hope and pray that we can be a testimony to other couples.  Why did we get married?  Because we ultimately want our marriage to glorify God (got that answer from my pastor.) :)

The Talk

So Eric and I had "The Talk" last night.  The Talk was about our future; to be more precise, about another baby.  We both have our we-can/we're-not-ready moments but we never mentioned it to each other.  Last night was our first real discussion.

The direction of our conversation went like this:  baby, finances, Eric's education, being envious of others, focusing on what we do have, and the end result was to start taking care of what we do have!  It was a long conversation with Eric trying to pry things out of my mind.  He said he would like to have "The Talk" again but as of January 17, 2011 we're not ready.  I'm really great with that answer because even though the Lord will provide for our every need, we really know He wants us to be responsible too!  We're not ready financially or emotionally and I'm seriously ok with waiting!

In the meantime, I wrote out a list of ALL the things we need to do to our house.  Believe it or not, none of it requires remodeling or reconstructing....it's ALL cleaning related!  We both agreed that we would take it one day at a time and if need be we'll spend a whole weekend on the list.  Not gonna lie, I got really excited about the whole weekend of cleaning!!!

I can't express to you how free I feel because of The Talk.  Now we both know how we feel and what needs to be done.  First up, the dishes....

Laughter in the Midst of Danger

Just to put everyone's mind at ease, everyone is ok. 

Here's what happened Thursday night: 

The measuring tape is now hidden.  I'm probably a bad parent for allowing this to continue but it was just so funny....at the time.

Then Saturday morning came.  I told one of my dearest friends, Amanda, that I would run a 10K with her.  It was her birthday and one of her friends couldn't make it due to illness.  I didn't want Amanda to do it alone so I volunteered to join her.  Note to self: never run a 10K, let alone a race, on a whim!  My first goal was to keep up with Amanda.  Failed.  After 1/2 mile, I told her to run ahead if she wanted.  My second goal was to finish the race without stopping.  Failed.  I stopped 4 times for 15 seconds each.  My third goal was to not finish dead last.  Success!  Yes, I did throw up after the race.  Yes, a lot of people passed me including an 80-year old man and a woman more portly than I.  Yes, I am severely sore and am unable to walk correctly.  Yes, I am laughing about it now.  So, IF you ever plan on running longer than a mile and you've NEVER done it before....practice and train yourself before you do so!

The last and cutest dangerous event was this morning's thunderstorm.  It was ferocious!  The bright lightning bolts and big thunder booms didn't make Gavin scream but it definitely worried him.  The lights flickered on and off and his little jaw dropped as he said, "OH NO!"  He ran into my arms and held on tightly.  He left his mouth and eyes wide open until the power was completely turned on.  Then his infamous word was said after he wasn't scared anymore, "Cars?!"  Have I mentioned how we're getting sick of that movie?  No?  Ok....it'll happen soon....real soon.

Happy Monday!

Sorry

Sorry for yesterday's PMS moment.  I do appreciate the comments y'all left and I may take my dad's advice and update it once a week.  But for now, schedules are getting pretty crazy especially with work and life after work.  Don't worry....I won't shut it down completely....just yet. 

Emily, I was going to continue to read your blog regardless.  Your girls are so precious and your photography amazes me. 

Kelly and Katie, I know I don't leave comments on your blog and for that, I'm sorry.  Watch out though....here I come! :)

In all honesty, I just didn't know who actually reads my blog but now I do!    

January Happenings

Things have definitely calmed down since the holidays.  I've been back at work since last week; Gavin is trying to get back on schedule despite his little croup episode this past weekend; Eric is back to working and doing schoolwork.  Yes, things have calmed down....oddly enough.

Gavin continues to amaze me with his cuteness.  It's almost as if he's trying to make us laugh.  He likes wearing my shoes (should I be concerned?!)  He likes playing with his kitchen (again, is this a red flag?!)  He still LOVES his cars and crashing into other cars (phew...).  He is definitely talking a lot more and we can actually understand him!  Here are a couple videos that I couldn't help but laugh...

Dare to Love

For Christmas and birthdays, my husband and I never get each other gifts.  We'll usually go out to dinner for our birthdays.  And for Christmas, all of our gift giving goes to our family and friends. 

This year, I did something last minute for Eric.  The beginning of November, I started doing the book The Love Dare.  It's basically a 40 day challenge to show your spouse more love.  The challenges definitely showed me how I treated my husband and how I could improve.  Even after the first week, Eric said, "I don't know what it is but lately this week we've been clicking a lot better!"  I couldn't say anything and it was killing me!  The book encouraged me to journal everything down after each daily dare.  That I did.  Then towards the last 10 days or so, I decided that I would print out all of my journal entries, bind them together and wrap it as a Christmas gift to Eric.  That I did, too. 

Christmas morning, after Gavin opened all of his presents, there was one left.  I said to my husband, "That actually isn't for Gavin.  It's for you."  Eric looked a little surprised.  After he read my opening letter (describing the contents), he said, "This is the BEST gift I have ever received!"  At first, it made me think that all the gifts I had given him before years before were junk but that quickly left my mind! :)  I was so happy that he liked  loved it!  He spent a good amount of time reading all the entries while I played with Gavin and his new Christmas toys.

I encourage you to read The Love Dare.  I don't know any marriage that doesn't need improvement.  Eric and I may have the Best Marriage Ever but we're striving for Perfection! :)       

Christmas at Home



Christmas at Papa's

Christmas at Mema's

Out of the Ordinary

Last night, I did something out of the ordinary.  I made dinner!  While at work, I thought to myself, "Self, you should do something special for your husband today.  You should look up simple, quick & easy recipes for tonight!"  And there you have it....dinner made.  Eric was delightfully surprised and said that I should do this every Thursday.  See, last year one of my many resolutions was to cook on a weekly basis.  That, like all the rest of unresolved resolutions, came to an end after 2 weeks.  What did I make?  Orange Picante Chicken with rice and broccoli.  I found the recipe on http://www.campbellskitchen.com/

Another thing out of the ordinary happened last night.  Gavin wouldn't sleep at all!  He was crying  screaming at 3 different times during the night.  So at 2:30, I got him out of bed and we laid on the couch.  HE IS A MOVER AND A SHAKER!  It seemed as though my little boy could not get comfortable (having flashbacks of him in my womb).  Needless to say, I maybe got 2 1/2 hours of sleep.  Thankfully, the Lord has given me strength and energy to start the day!  I'll let you know tomorrow if I made it through ok. :)

I'm still working on those posts that are to come.  So many pictures, so many videos.  I'll leave you with a bye-bye....

Posts to Come....

Once I sort out my pictures and videos I will be posting them in different segments.  Here's what's to come:

Christmas at Mema's
Christmas at Papa's
Christmas at Home
Dare to Love

Stay tuned with anticipation.....

I Will Call You Blessed

For years, I've been listening to the Christian band Shane & Shane.  As I enjoyed their music, I was introduced to their friend, Caleb Carruth.  He had a similar sound to that of Shane & Shane and even recorded an album with one of them.  On his first solo cd, he included the song I Will Call You Blessed.  It's about his wife and how amazed he is to have such a Proverbs 31 woman.  When I was single, I remember wanting to become that kind of woman so my husband would one day sing this song to me.  :)  If you're a wife, strive to be this kind of woman.  If you're a husband, play it for your wife to encourage her in such ways.

      

Christmas at Grammy's

This was one of our 3 stops on Christmas Day.  My mom (aka Grammy), my step-dad, my grandma and my great-aunt Judy were all there to celebrate the special holiday.  Here are some pictures....

Hello 2011!

The past 10 days have been wonderfully amazing!  All 10 days were spent with my little family which was great therapy for me.  We did our four Christmases; we went bargain shopping about 5 times; we took a lot of naps; and we brought in the new year.

Hello 2011!

I'm expecting the usual from you, 2011.  I know you will have your ups and your downs.  I know you will have many blessings for us like your former years.  I even know the wonderful celebrations we will have with you.  For all of that, I can't wait!  I do have one request though:  Strength. 

Everyone, every relationship, every body part, every emotion, every thought, every work needs to be strengthened.  Writing that out actually makes me feel a little bit stronger!  Imagine putting all of your strength into everything you're passionate about.  You would definitely see results and hopefully others will see it too....especially the body part one. ;)  That's what I would like to accomplish this year:  to put all of my strength in everything I do.  2011, watch out because you're gonna see Brooke like you've never seen her before!

We had a wonderful Christmas and this year Gavin really got into the presents.  I have a ton of pictures and videos that I need to download so stay tuned for that.  He's been amazing us every day and because he's so stinkin adorable I sometimes question if he's really mine. ;)  Gavin has been trying to repeat everything we say.  He plays with his toys nicely all by himself.  He likes to throw away his dirty diapers.  He absolutely loves to run...thought about getting him a treadmill for Christmas.  But we have one downfall, he still hates haircuts. 

More to come....