Our trip to Alabama

Last Tuesday night, Clynt's first cousin was killed in a car accident. We don't know any details as to what happened, because they are waiting on the autopsy results, but we do know that he was taken to a better place. He was 40 years old and had a 10 year old son. Clynt knew him while growing up in Alabama, but he was really Clynt's older brother's age. I met him last year while we were in Alabama. So, we found out on Wednesday what had happened. We packed our stuff and headed out on Thursday night. I HATE driving through the night, but it is much more comfortable for Corbin, so that is what we do. Corbin was an excellent sleeper and we made it to Alabama on Friday morning.

If you don't know about Clynt's family, here is a little family info. Clynt is the baby of 6. He has 3 brother, and 2 sisters. His 2 oldest brothers live in Alabama, his oldest sister lives in Arizona, and his youngest brother and sister both live here in Houston. So when we go to Alabama, we get to spend time with 2 of his brothers, sister-in-laws and 4 of our nieces. So that part is good. We had a wonderful time visiting with everyone. We saw MANY cousins, aunts and uncles, and his Grandpa and his wife. I was able to meet may people that I had never before and Clynt was able to just see many people that he hasnt seen in a really long time. So for the social aspect of the trip, it was wonderful.

However, their was a 10 year old little boy without his father. I was absolutely heart broken to watch this little boy sit and stare at his daddy in his casket. It is sooo sad. I don't think that I have ever been to a funeral with a little kid who had lost a parent, and I hope that I never have to again. If you have an opportunity to say a prayer for this little boy, please do. His name was Hank, and Hank was a precious little guy. Please also say one for the comfort of Wes's (the cousin that dies) mom. I cannot imagine out living my son, so I can only dream of what she must being going through. The whole situation was just so sad, but I know that God has his plan, even when we don't understand why it is.

Thanks for all of your prayers!

Ten on Tuesday

I have not done a Ten on Tuesday in a really long time, so I thought I would try to pick it up again. So today that is what my blog shall be. Tomorrow (or maybe even later today) I will blog about our past weekend and our last minute trip to Alabama.

1. How do you take your coffee on an average day? How do you like your coffee if you’re splurging?

I dont drink much coffee. I am more of a diet coke in the morning girl. However, when I am splurging and just in the mood, I do like a skinny vanilla latte!

2. What is your genre of books to read?

hmmm... I havent been reading a whole lot lately. My bible, and some parenting stuff. Other than that I dont seem to find to read like I used to.

3. Where do you want to retire, if you could go anywhere?

I think it will all be up to Clynt. He, I think, would like to retire in Hawaii, which would be nice. But I do want to be in a decent distance from my kiddos, so we will see...

4. The 17-year-old you is told to write a 10-minute speech. What topic would you have picked?

Volunteering. In high school, I volunteered a LOT so, I would have been able to write about all of that!

5. What word describes you best?

Christian. I am a christian, wife, mom, daughter, sister, and friend.

6. What is the next “event” that you are looking forward to? (ex.: vacation, moving, date, job change, etc)

Not sure. If I plan a vacation for the fall, that would be it. Otherwise, the holiday season!

7. Do you like to discuss controversial topics or do you prefer to avoid those types of conversations?

I like to avoid them. However, I dont mind putting giving my opinion if I feel someone is asking for it!

8. Would you rather add 4 free hours to each day, or add 1 extra day to the week?

One extra day... So I could see the hubster one more full day =)

9. If you created a sports team; what would your colors and mascot be?

Pink and white =) They would be the lady Pandas =) haha... I really have no idea.

10. If you had to be a teacher, what subject would you teach?

I would teach writing.. I am good at writing quick stuff, usually, and that seems like an easy subject with not much memory needed =)

My feelings are hurt way too easy...

I cry often. I just do. I mean, I didnt before Corbin was born but ever since then, ANYTHING will make me cry. That, along with me taking EVERYTHING personally, doest go so well. I cry probably 5 or 6 times a week, just because someone say something to me in a tone that makes me think that they are mad at me. I know that seems weird, but it is crazy! I find my self unable to sleep because I dont like thinking that some one is upset with me for any reason. I try to go out of my way to do things for people and make sure that people are happy, so to think that someone would be mad at me for something really makes me upset. Most of the time the person is not upset with me, I just take everything so so personally. It is incredibly annoying. I wish that I wasnt like that. I know when I sit down and think about every situation that it is all in God's hands and that HE doesn't want for me to worry. I find my self in prayer during the day about my friends more often than anything else. (well, maybe Corbin a little more, but you get the point). So I pray and I cry and I pray some more every time the smallest thing is said or done that I take in a negative way. That is just how I am.

When I sit and think about it though, I am most likely not the only person that feels that way. So it makes me think about how often I hurt other people's feelings unintentionally. I would guess that it is rather often. So I would just like to say to anyone who is reading this, that I am sorry. I am sorry if I have ever said anything to any of you that would be taken in a derogatory

or negative manner, or even if I have just said anything stupid or talked too much about something that you didnt care about. I really have a love for people, and i thrive on the ability to help others. I LOVE being needed, which is why I am the way that I am with Corbin. I want to be needed and loved and I want others to feel that way also.

So, I LOVE you!!!

Caring so much more for Corbin....

It is so weird how nutty I am about everything that Corbin does, eats, sees, etc. I have such high standard for Corbin and go out of my way to make sure that those things happen, but when it comes to me and Clynt, I could care less!

For instance, Corbin ONLY drink Organic milk (or at least that is all I purchase for him), however if Clynt is on a cereal kick and is drinking milk like crazy then I will buy 2 things of milk, one Organic for Corbin and 1 regular for Clynt. It is not that I care any less about Clynt than I do Corbin, but I feel so much more responsible for Corbin's health in the future. Kids are hitting puberty much earlier and many diseases are attacking people much more frequently and I honestly believe that much of it has to do with what is going into our bodies. Milk cows are given so so many hormones and chemicals to make sure that they are producing enough milk to supply people with and so on. Their was much less leniency with this when our parents and grandparents were little. I dont want to get into a debate on what goes on with animals that we eat and drink from, however I am just so fearful of giving Corbin anything that could be dangerous to his little body. And it is really weird how I place the same importance on Clynt and I's health.

Before Corbin came, I NEVER in my right mind thought that I would want to breast feed, or make any of the more natural choices with him. I was all about convenience then. But when I was pregnant with him and felt a human life inside me, I knew that I ONLY wanted the best for him. How selfish of me would it be to not sacrifice for my son, when I knew that I was capable of doing so much for him. So when he came, I had latching problems with him and I ended up pumping, and giving him my milk. Believe it or not, i did this for 6 months. I would spend so many nights in tears because it was SOOOO much work! It was like breast feeding and bottle feeding in one. I had to pump, and then give him a bottle. So each time he ate, it would take at least an hour to make it all happen and then another little while to clean bottles and all that jazz. It was crazy, but every time I wanted to quit, I thought about how much it meant to his little body. I did this till he was 6 months old, and even then I cried like a baby when I quit, because I felt like I was still being selfish. Now, I made huge sacrifices to do this, and if I am busy and I dont feeling like cooking dinner for Clynt and I, I will just order take out... I dont make near the sacrifices for us.

For Corbin's baby food, I made EVERY single bit of it home made and for the most part used organic veggies. I was so afraid of all the chemicals in store bought food, that I would stay up at night (after working full time) and make his baby food. I NEVER gave him a lick of sugar until his first birthday, and I mean I was an overall protective (and caring) mother.

I have slacked off a little bit, but I still dont give him juice (even though clynt and I are addicted to soft drinks), I make sure he is at the dentist every 6 months (even though we are lucky to get there every year), I use his own high chair at restaurants to avoid the germs in other high chairs, and I order special chemical free sunscreen online (and I have Clynt and I use and aerosol with TONS of chemicals in it!

These are just some of the things that I notice my self doing for Corbin and I often times just sit and laugh because it is humorous to me how much strain I put on myself to make sure things are perfect for Corbin, yet I don't give near that much attention to Clynt and I! I suppose I am just one of "those" moms and I am sure I always will be.

Sticking to a budget

Sticking to a budget is one of the hardest things for me to do. Ever since I met Clynt, we have had enough money to vacation, shop, and do anything that we wanted to do. We would set a budget but never follow it because we always had extra money to spend. Then with us both being college graduates with good jobs, it got worse. We would spend, spend, spend. Corbin has never gone a day simply in a onsie (unless he was sick), because he had so many clothes it was unbelievable and I liked for him to have pants and a nice shirt on at all times.

But now, in order for me to stay at home, we lost my income. Before I quit, we paid off all of our debt other than our house, and just a tiny bit on Clynt's truck. That meant, my car, credit cards, medical bills, and just anything that we had. Now we have a budget that we have to stick to or we end up spending out of our savings account (which is not okay!). We are really sucking at it. Somehow the Lord manages to provide us with more than we thought we were going to have, so we havent had to pull a dime out of savings or anything. However, I really want to be good... I shouldn't shop every day and go out to eat all the time. Sometimes is okay, but regardless of how much money we have or make, we should still stick to a budget.

We are going through a Dave Ramsey lesson with our CARE group and people that make millions still need to have a budget and live by it. The lesson is amazing and we are learning so so much, but we still find it hard to see extra money sitting in our account and not go out and spend it! The idea of a budget is to tell your money where it is going and not have it tell you where it went! It is a wonderful concept and we are really loving getting to go through it and learning how to better manage our money.

Me staying at home, and us loosing my income is still TOTALLY worth it. Corbin should come first in our lives, and this is one HUGE step to making that happen. He is growing every single day and just being able to see him for a few hours of that day was not worth it. He deserves more of my attention and I LOVE being able to give it to him. So this decision was a choice, and I do not regret it for a second... It is perfect for us!

2 blogs in 1 day... oh my!

After I last blogged about houseword and Clynt's need for details to be done, and my desire to be lazy, I went and cleaned our 2 bathrooms downstairs. (We have another one upstairs, but it didnt get done because it is next to Corbin's room and i didnt want to wake him.) Then I worked on laundry, and got all of it done other than hanging up the hang up clothes. When Corbin woke up, i stopped working on anything... He was being super cute and I just didnt want to waste time with laundry when I had a little man to play with. =)

When Clynt got home, we went and met my family at LaCasita for dinner. When we got home, my boys hung out while I got back on my "details" kick and I cleaned and organized our closet, and finished the laundry. If you would have seen my closet before, you would understand why it drove Clynt crazy. I had clothes that I would try on and not hang back up on my top shelves, shoes EVERYWHERE (which drives Clynt crazy because he built in a shoe rack a long the bottom of our entire closet for me to have room for my shoes, so when I dont use it, it drives him crazy). I also have a pile of clothes that need to go to the dry cleaners and have been sitting there since I quit working! Anyways, it is one of those "details" in the house that I am trying to work on to keep my husband happy and try to meet some of his desires, even though it isnt what I one of mine.

Now Corbin and daddy are rocking in a chair next to me. Corbin's bedtime is supposed to be 8:30-9, however, Clynt is a giant sucker!! He will let Corbin stay up as long as he is cuddling with him. It is cute, but Corbin does need a more decent bed time.

Goodnight blogger world! =)

House work

I should be doing house chores right now while Corbin naps, however, I am not. I seems to accomplish 1 thing a day and then I am done. I wish I was one of those people that liked to clean. Our house is never a disaster or anything (well other than when corbin's toys are all out), but I dont think it is ever spotless either. Their are things in my life that I tend to not worry about, and the house being incredibly spotless is one. Don't get me wrong, I get very stressed and overwhelmed when the house is messy, but when there are a few things out of place and the tables arent dusted, I dont seem to worry about them.

HOWEVER- I was listening to KSBJ earlier and I picked up on something that was said and that was that you should go out of your way to do the things that are important to your spouse. A clean house is important to Clynt. He doesnt need perfect either but he does like to see that I accomplish something and attempt to make the house look nice. So i think that I am going to try even harder to pay attention to the details, which are what Clynt pays attention to. He is an engineer so it just comes with his personality and that is one of the things that I love the most and hate the most about him!! That sounds confusing but the truth is that I when I am not in the mood the detail oriented-ness drives me CRAZY!! I need too not worry about that though.

Have you ever seen Fireproof? If not, you should definitely watch it! It will remind you of how important it is to learn your spouse and try to fulfill their basic needs. It is an amazing movie and Clynt and I love to watch it as basic reminders to our marriage.

So I am going to go finish laundry and clean the bathrooms (or try to before the little man wakes up) just to let Clynt know that if the details are important to him, I can make them happen =)

Love you babe!

A wonderful church family!

Last night we spent a couple of hours in the hospital with many wonderful people. Our dear friends whose son had heart surgery last Friday and finding themselves in a situation where sooo many prayers are needed. He has developed a couple of problems and so they are really monitoring him and trying to figure out what is causing the problem. So, please join with everyone in prayer.

Not sure if I have ever mentioned that Clynt and I lead the CARE group that we are in, but I would just like to mention how amazing this group is. Courtney called me yesterday around 7:30 or 8 and asked for us to come up to the hospital to pray. So we went and dropped off Corbin with Clynt's dad and headed straight up there. Meanwhile, I was calling the other couples in our group and also contacting a couple people from our church. Within and hour, EVERY couple in our CARE group had dropped what they were doing and were at the hospital to pray. It is soooo encouraging to see how well the relationships have formed in this group. They are all such AMAZING people and we love them all so so much! Little Baby Asher and his mom and dad (and little brother) are so incredibly important to each and everyone of us, and I hope that they were able to see that yesterday.

Also, within an hour, our campus pastor and his assistant were at the hospital with us. It is just SOOO warming to know that we are part of a church family that LOVES sooo much and truly believes in the power of prayer.

Lord- Please continue to be with this wonderful family, and keep Baby Asher safe and in your arms!

Mini Trip

We went to Navasota to see Clynt's mom and step-dad this weekend. On Friday we got up there and went to get lunch and then we went into College Station to look at a few things. It is really weird going to College Station. I lived their for about 6 months while in my first semester of school. Considering those were the wildest 6 months of my life, the places that I remember while we are driving through the city are quite strange and even somewhat of a blur. However I do remember where I used to work and where my best friend lived and so on. It is quite interesting.

Anyhow, we ended up going back to their property and then going to get something to eat. They are in the process of building a house on their property and so they have 2 travel trailers and we stay in open of those, so the environment isnt necessarily the most conducive for nap times for Corbin. So, he didnt nap much, other than in the car, for 2 days. He did SOOO good though. I was very happy with him. He LVES being there because their is soooo much room for him to run free and explore, which is his favorite thing to do. he LOVE riding on all the toys and all that stuff. It is sooo fun to see the things he remembers. I just love watching him. We havent been out there in about a month and yet the second we get their he walks to the safe that all the keys are in and he drags your arm and points to the Gator. It is crazy!

Saturday we went to Lake Sumerville and went out on their boat. We had fun, but we are burnt. Clynt and I both decided that we are not really the water type. We had fun for a day, but I dont think that we would ever want to be out on a boat for days at a time in the TX heat. When we are at the Lake in Minnesota we LOVE it, but it is not the scortching heat that it is here, and when you are on a boat there is no where to go to cool down! So, we had fun. Corbin had fun when he was in the water, which is one of his other favorite things in the world to do. So all went well. We then went and got some wood for Clynt to help them do a little project and by the time he was done and we got cleaned up and ready to go it was 10:30! And then we had to still drive home. So we didnt get home last night until about mid-night and then I had to get up and go to work at the church this morning. Talk about tired!

Now, I am just relaxing while my boys are at the Astros game with my family =) We have our CARE group at our house tonight at 5, so we are looking forward to that. I am excited to see everyone.

And on one final note- Our friend's son, Asher, got through his surgery well. He is still in the PICU and then will be in the hospital for a few days following that, so they continue to need prayers, but now they are on their road to recovery. Thanks for all of you who prayed for our friends. I know they were heard!

Prayers

We have some close friends that have a 6 month old son undergoing open heart surgery this Friday for his Tetrology of Felow (not sure I spelt that right). Please add them to your prayer list, for the momma and daddy for peace about the surgery and for the baby for comfort and for the doctors for knowledge, and well... just for the entire situation. It is getting so close and I know that prayers are such an amazing thing for this. So, thanks!!

Since I wanted to ask for prayers for them, I thought I would just make this whole blog about a couple of needed prayers. One is for my wrist and it becoming normal again! I am so so tired of having to leave Corbin twice a week for therapy, and I really just want to be back to normal!

Another prayer is for Clynt's job and patience with the people that he works with! Almost every day he is upset with someone that he works with and I would really like to just see him at peace with everyone!

Well, I think that those are the two biggest prayer request right now, but mainly my prayer is for our friends and their son!

Thanks!!

Updates

So I was just thinking that I havent given many updates on any of the ordeals that happened in the last couple of months. So here it goes:

1) My wrist- My wrist is doing AWESOME! I am still in therapy but she did all the measurements on it today and I am doing really well! So, I have another month and hopefully I will be back to normal (or as normal as normal will be for a while!) . The scar however is a different story. It is very streched out and UGLY! So I have to put some stuff on it and massage it during the day and then I sleep with silicone compression on it all night.

2) My finger- That too is looking great. No feeling at all in it yet, however it is slightly curved and making its way back to somewhat normal! I am still having to wear covering on it, just to be careful with it, but it is getting soooo much better!

3) Corbin- Is doing wonderful! He is always learning new things and has such a personality. He has quite the little analytical brain too (maybe he'll be an engineer like his daddy), he just stares at stuff and figures it out. It is amazing! I love just watching him and seeing what goes through his brain. His biggest fascination right now is with chairs. He loves to crawl up into chairs (any type) and just sit their. It is sooo cute. I just love him to pieces!

4) Clynt- Work right now is a bit stressful for him, but overall it is going well. He is working in a dept other than engineering for the time being (Project Management) and he is loving to learn the new stuff, but along that comes learning how other depts operate, so he is getting there! There is still talk in the works for him to get his MBA, but he has yet to apply. He wants Rice, so he needs to focus on the application. I hope he accomplishes it, and I really think he will. He still has 4 years until he can take his PE exam, but he officially has his EIT (which you have to get before the PE), so he is progressing. He is wonderful!

Not sure their is anything else that needs to be updated. If I forgot something, let me know!