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....

Is That Really Me?

I'm not who you think I am.  I'm filled with anger, resentment and jealousy.  I talk behind your back.  I most likely make fun of you.  I'm a manipulator, schemer and deceiver.  I gossip way too much.  I've lied to you on more than one occasion.  I get annoyed very easily.  I overanalyze your every word and action.  I always assume you have ulterior motives.  I think the worst of you.  I hold grudges.  I hate your unfairness.  I don't listen to you all the time.  I tend to give you horrible advice.  I'm disgusted with myself.

Unfortunately, that's who I really am for the time being.  And the "you" I was referring to is just that....you; friends and family. 

All of this came to the surface because one of my "schemes" bit me in the ass yesterday, hence the Not the Greatest entry.  It sucks when someone calls you out on something you did or said because that completely affects your character.  It reminds me of the game Chutes and Ladders.  You work so hard to climb up those ladders then all of a sudden you stumble upon one chute and you're sliding all the way down near the bottom.  It sucks!

Thankfully, the best part of noticing your character flaw is that you can change it!  Now that I, along with everyone else, know my real disgusting self, I can change for the better; to become Christ-like.  Hopefully in due time, I won't even know that person I described above. 

So, for starters, please forgive me!  I am so sorry I have treated you this way.  Please know that I do love you and I want nothing but the best for you.  All of you have enriched my life with your love and friendship.  I will do my best to return the blessing.  Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Love,
The New Brooke                 

Not the Greatest

Today was not the greatest day for me.  It felt as if anyone I came into contact with gave me bad news of some sort.  I've been feeling sick to my stomach all day.  There was a moment (that lasted 2 hours) where I wanted to curl up in a corner and just cry all day.  Being at work prohibited me from doing just that.  I can't really go into detail but today just sucked big time.

On a brighter note, watching videos and viewing pictures of my son made me feel a lot better!  Here's what helped me get through the day (along with continuous prayer)....

 

Don't Call It A Comeback

It is 11:30 p.m. right now and I am happy to report that I made it to the Finals in our Fantasy Football league!  Don't call it a comeback 'cause I've been here for years!  Now it's down to me (Sore Loser) and another woman (Ho Zone).  So wish me luck....Mama's gotta get a new pair of shoes!

This weekend has been a tad bit busy.  Friday, I had the day off so I tried to get some Christmas shopping done.  Let me tell you how disappointed I was when I came home with just a box of diapers.  I got fed up with people.  Driving was a complete nightmare and customers were just flat out rude in the stores.  Saturday, Eric, Greg and Grandpa put in a screen door in the front of the house.  Also, Jeff (Eric's dad) got into town!  We all went out to eat last night at Hooters....gotta love their 007 wings!  This morning, we went to Golden Bear for breakfast then for the rest of the afternoon, I was watching my team beat the other girl's bootahtay in Fantasy Football!  Maria (Jeff's wife) got into town today as well.  So tonight, we had our gift exchange. 

I have some funny videos of Gavin's blooming personality and I'll post them when I'm more awake.  Good night for now and remember to cheer for the Sore Loser next week! 

Slacker or Just Being Careful?

Yesterday marked two weeks of not working out!  It's killing me to let you all think that I'm this super P90X woman but I'm not.  I stopped because my lower back pain was getting worse. 

Thankfully, it's completely healed.  I could start P90X again but let's be honest I'm not going to.  We have family in town this weekend.  Christmas next week and the New Year after that.  So my new commitment to P90X will begin January 1st....along with everyone else who made working out a New Year's Resolution! :)

That's all I got for today....

Views from a Toddler

Gavin has been using my small camera lately.  I'd like to think that he loves to take pictures and will have an artistic eye when he gets older.  But it's most likely because he likes the sound the camera makes after he pushes all the buttons....

Lunch Breaking News

Hello all!  I'm writing you during my lunch break to let you know of a little scare we had last night.....

First of all, I'm not one to admit that I'm getting sick but I will tell you that I'm fighting back with all I've got!  I'm doing my usual remedies for upcoming sickness which is overdosing on vitamin C and gargling with mouthwash at least 3 times a day.  All that's wrong now is my nose running.  Other than that, no sore throat and no aches or pains. 

Ok...back to the news.  After Eric and I watched a stand-up comedian online, I was getting ready for bed (ok, I was actually on the pot when this happened) when all of a sudden the power went out!  This happened around 9:15.  After finishing my "business", we tried to flip the breaker.  But it wasn't flipped off to begin with.  So we went outside and realized that it was just three houses that turned off.  Everyone else was fine!  Since I was already in the mood to go to bed, that's what I did.  Gavin stayed asleep but I covered him with more blankets. 

Apparently, our three houses shared a circuit breaker that busted and they had to replace the whole system.  They said it would take 2 hours but they didn't finish till 2:30 a.m.  Imagine lying in bed with all the lights off and with complete silence then all of a sudden, ALL of the lights come on and ALL of the electrical noises (that you don't necessarily hear until they're gone) come on....at 2:30 IN THE MORNING!  Thankfully it didn't get that cold that night.  And our sweet neighbor across the street offered to have us stay at their house with the heat!  I love our neighborhood!

Just had to share the news....

Gone Too Long

I know it's been almost a week since I've update this blog!  I AM SO SORRY!  Where shall I even begin?!

Thursday night was our church's Christmas Banquet. 

Friday at work, it was a madhouse!  We cleaned ALL day!  I was not at my desk that much at all.  Even though I didn't get any paperwork done, the back shipping room looks AMAZING!  Friday night, I relaxed after such a busy day.

All that cleaning must've stuck with me because we cleaned our house Saturday morning and afternoon.  That night, we had our Christmas party at our house.  We had a lot of fun.  Dinner was shared with friends and we demolished a fried turkey!  Afterwards we played White Elephant Gift Exchange.  Eric ended up with a kitty cat notepad and a $20 giftcard to Starbucks.  I got creatine powder and a $20 giftcard to Panera Bread (my favorite)!  Then we played games and had more friends come over. 

Sunday looked promising of a beautiful day but it rained by the time we got to church.  After church, we went to Eric's work's Christmas party.  If you forgot, he works for a children's theater company called Stages Productions.  We went to the owner's house for lunch and she made EVERYTHING from scratch.  We had Italian Wedding soup, lasagna, and red velvet cake.  Absolutely amazing!  After that, we went to one store for a little Christmas shopping then went home.  I think I took a nap at 6:00 because I was so exhausted.  I honestly believe I could've went to bed at that time but I knew I had other things to do.

Last night, Gavin was such in a cuddling mood.  He laid with Eric, watching Cars of course, and eating crackers.  I should've grabbed my camera but I didn't want to make any sudden moves or the child will run!  That's about it for the past 5 days.  

Music

Music means a lot to my husband and me.  It speaks what we want to say.  It explains our experiences and how we feel.  It beautifies our statements with melody. 

In my opinion, my husband and I have two songs.  The first one is The Day Before You by Rascal Flatts.  Interestingly enough, it was written by Matthew West; a popular Christian artist who wrote it for his wife.  This song was played as our first dance at our wedding:

   

Our second song is Love Is Not A Fight by Warren Barfield.  Eric sang this song during our wedding ceremony.  I wanted him to sing to me but I didn't want to know what song he was singing.  He did an amazing job and I will always remember that!  This song was also featured in a faith-based movie called Fireproof with Kirk Cameron. 

Those two songs represent my relationship with Eric.  But there's also another song that speaks even closer to my heart because it's about my relationship with the Lord.  I couldn't find a video so I will just post the lyrics.  This song makes me tear-up everytime I hear it.  It's sung by Watermark (a Christian husband/wife group that is no longer).  LOVE her voice!  If you're interested, call me and I'll play it for you! :)

It is time that we give you honor

This is the day to give you

All the praise that you deserve

Yes, it's time to give you honor

This is the day to give you

All the praise that you deserve

A Holy King, of everything

Inhabit the praises of Your people

A Holy King, of everything

Inhabit the praises of Your people

Have we waited far too long to surrender

Forgive us Oh God the years

We failed to seek your face

Oh Lord, your mercy turns us into

Grateful people

We can't seem to find the words

So take our lives that there might be enough

To tell you how grateful

Lord, we are grateful

Bless the Lord, oh my soul

(He has done great things)

And all that is within me

(He had done great things)

Bless His holy name

When I do think of ALL the great things the Lord has done, I am nothing but grateful that He chose to bless me! 

Christmas Parties

Believe it or not, I have 4 Christmas parties to attend within the next seven days.  Thursday night, our church is throwing a Christmas banquet at a nearby country club.  Saturday night, we're having our 4th annual Christmas party hosted by the Koroknay, LaChance and Lister family.  Sunday night, Eric's work is having their party.  Then Monday afternoon, my work is having a Christmas luncheon.  Phew....I'm exhausted just thinking about it. 

Tonight, Gavin was so snuggly.  After he ate, he cuddled with me while drinking his milk.  Then he cuddled with Eric while watching Cars.  After his bath, he didn't fuss much at all when going to bed.  I like watching him trying to get comfortable in his crib before closing his eyes.  He'll grab his teddy bear and his blanket and squeeze them both tightly.  We have one cute kid!

Weekend Overload

We definitely overpacked our weekend!  It was full of concerts, events, performances, family and sleepovers. 

Friday night, we rushed home after work to feed Gavin.  We then headed to our nephew's Christmas concert at his school.  The only thing that kept Gavin quiet throughout the whole concert was to have him draw on paper.  So we were in the waaaay back trying not to make much noise.  When Dylan came out with his class for their performance, Eric was jumping up and down, waving his hands like a wild man to get his attention.  Later Dylan said that he wasn't allowed to wave back but he did see Uncle E. 

Saturday morning, Gavin and I attended a baby shower for my brother's wife.  It was a jungle theme and my mom did a great job with the decorations.  We couldn't stay too long because we had tickets to see Eric's show, Santa's Holiday Revue.  We rushed down there just so Gavin could get scared from the loud music and just scream in the audience.  Needless to say, we missed his show and stayed in the lobby till it was done.  We went home for a quick nap then Dylan came over later to spend the night.  Let's just say that Dylan didn't want to sleep that night and Gavin got up really early today.

Sunday morning, we took Dylan to church with us.  On our way home, everyone was tired.  Heather picked up Dylan and the remaining three took a two hour nap!  When we woke up, we enjoyed our happy little boy!  He was cracking us up because he has a new "look".  It's kind of like a frontal evil eye.  He'll put his head down but still stare at you with his eyes.  The main event tonight (other than me kicking my sister-in-law's bootahtay in fantasty football) was putting up our Christmas Tree for the first time in the official Koroknay home.  Here are some pictures:

Before we put up our Christmas Tree

The Koroknay Christmas Tree

 Is that Gavin's "Baby's 1st Christmas" ornament?

Nope....it's Eric's! 

Here's Gavin's....

 

Feeling Free

Today I'd like to include an excerpt from a book I'm reading.  It explains what I'm going through right now and for some reason it says it better than I could explain. 

"....Your freedom is now dependent on your forgiveness.  Coming to this conclusion usually takes us a while.  We see all kinds of dangers and risks involved in forgiving others.  For instance, what they did was really wrong, whether they admit it or not.  They may not even be sorry about it.  They may feel perfectly justified in their actions, even going so far as to blame you for it.  But forgiveness doesn't absolve anyone of blame.  It doesn't clear their record with God.  It just clears you of having to worry about how to punish them.  When you forgive another person, you're not turning them loose.  You're just turning them over to God, who can be counted on to deal with them His way.  You're saving yourself the trouble of scripting any more arguments or trying to prevail in this situation.  It's not about winning and losing anymore.  It's about freedom.  It's about letting go."
"....But how do you do it?  You release your anger and the responsibility for judging this person to the Lord.  'Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord' (Romans 12:19)"

All of that to say I consider myself free of any past hurt or pain and a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.  I am free!

The Big News

History of Us:  Before we got married, we knew we both had accrued a lot of debt and we were ready to take on the challenge in paying it off.  Between the two of us, we had a combined number of 16 debts.  I'm not going to say how much it came to because 1. it's kind of embarrassing and 2. it's really none of your business. :)  Eric instantly became a fan of Dave Ramsey and his book Total Money Makeover.  So in August 2008, the total money makeover began for us.

Today, I am proud to say that we are down to ONE debt...the house aside.  Just one credit card (and granted it's a big one) left to pay off!  We cannot tell you how excited we are and what kind of feeling this gives us.  We are SO close and we're hoping to pay that last credit card in one year.  Then we'll be able to pay off our mortgage quicker and then truly be debt free!

The only one we can truly thank is the Lord because He has provided for us through this whole journey.  Jehovah Jireh - The Lord will provide.  Not sure if I mentioned this before but Jehovah Jireh is engraved in our wedding bands.  It's a reminder that everything we have is because of the Lord.  He's provided for us in more ways than our monetary needs.  Our true joy is from Jesus and we want to do nothing but praise Him!

So, if you see us with a bigger smile than before it's because our load is lighter thanks be to God!  :)