My Husband Rocks!!

It has been way too long since I have done a MHRF post, but  I have been inspired to remind my husband how much he means to me!! And since I air everything else out here on this lovely blog, it only makes sense to include posts such as these.

 One reason Michael rocks is his absolute dedication to hard work and his love and passion for being the protector of our family! Last Sunday we drove in the rain to church, praised and worshiped while listening to the rain pounding outside. Ran to the car in the rain, and got home in soaked clothes, to find a house full of rain.  Well a bedroom full of rain. Apparently we were having a drainage issue and the 9 inches of rain we had gotten that morning had started seeping in the weep holes of our home, right into the boys bedroom.  At this point I was ready to close the door and put our house on the market, but Michael didn't even hesitate, didn't ask for help, he calmly went to change and spent the rest of his day outside, in the rain, digging ditches, cleaning french drains and gutters, and with no complaining or grumbling! Then to top it off he finished outside, to come in and start sucking the water out of the carpet with a rental carpet cleaner for the rest of the night.  I was so overwhelmed with it all, and he could tell... he told me to take care of the kids and go on to small group that night... When I got home, the room was cleaned, there was a carpet fan going and I didn't even have to look at it. He never ceases to amaze me with his attention to detail (not my strong suit) and ability to spring into action and take care of a problem. My sweet husband worked all day in the rain and hunching over a small carpet cleaner (and at 6'7" anything short is a backache)... proving his love and commitment to our family and more so me... by doing it all without grumbling or complaining. 

 I'm sure he was thinking, "Yep, this is about to go on the blog" :) I love him so much!!

Michael, I am so blessed that you chose me! Thank you so much for making God and our family the highest priorites in your life. I love you!!

MY HUSBAND ROCKS!!

One reason that My Husband ROCKS is his selflessness!! Michael has made so many sacrifices for our family and not complained one time! I am so blessed to have a husband that works so hard to provide for our family, and has made it a priority to allow me to stay home with our boys! Because I don't work, he will probably never have the biggest TV or the coolest clothes, or the nicest cars... however. I am blessed to have a man that knows there are more important things in life. Thank you for playing ball with William in the backyard. Thank you for holding Cade and playing horsey with him, Thank you for the books you read, and the tickles and kisses you share with Brennan. If you haven't noticed you are their Hero! Thank you for sharing God's word, and setting such a good example for all of us! Thank you honey for making our family and our families relationship with God your priority! Thank you for sacrificing so much of your time and your self to me and the boys. YOU ROCK!! We/I love you so much.

MY HUSBAND ROCKS!!

I want to stop today and just tell you how much MY HUSBAND ROCKS!!
Michael is such a supportive husband, and father. I love the way he is able to joke and be silly with our boys, be stern and loving with our boys, and be their true hero and spiratual leader. I love to hear the wonderful things they have to say about their father.. and what a wonderful example he is to all of us. This was really made obvious to me earlier today when William was having some serious behavior issues. I am constantly amazed at the calmness that comes over Michael when he is talking to the boys, something I struggle with greatly! I am so thankful that God has blessed me with such a wonderful husband and such a strong role model for our entire family, especially our boys!!

Today I just want to share some of the fun things the boys shared with me about Daddy:
William:
What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy? Cuddling
What is the silliest thing Daddy does? Reading stories with a silly voice, and playing horsey
What is your favorite game to play with Daddy?Rock Band :) yes he really does love it!

Cade:
What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy: Work with him and stay with him
What is the silliest thing Daddy does? Tickle me
What is your favorite game to play with Daddy? Golf

Daddy is our Super Hero!! I Love you Bestie Loopa!!

MY HUSBAND ROCKS!!

I know this post is supposed to be on a Friday, but hey it's close:)

I was inspired by others to make this "my husband rocks" post on how Michael and I met and all the things that make him "THE ONE".





I am not ashamed to say that I am not a career woman. I attended college because that is what I was supposed to do... and because I thought it would be a great place to find Mr. Right. However, it took a few trial and error dates and boyfriends to actually figure what I was even looking for in my Mr. Right.


Michael and I met several times, probably 4 times, before we could even remember each others names. Michael wasn't as flamboyant as some of the other boys that seemed to catch my eye. As the semester went on I continued to go on dates with this boy and that... and Michael became a steady friend in my life. We saw each other daily on campus, we worked at the same restaurant, we were in "sibling" social clubs, and over a short time, became best friends. However.. that is all I saw him as; a friend.


One day Michael decided to ask me on a date... although I took it as hanging out. We went to dinner by ourselves and visited for a while and then he took me home. Call me blind, but I still thought it was just a couple of friends hanging out. I guess I just wasn't ready to see him for more.


A few weeks later, I was just hanging out in my room and caught myself thinking of Michael Caldwell! I was thinking of how good he was to others, of how he always went out of his way to help people, of his hard work ethic and the leadership he showed at the restaurant, of the example he was able to show by his actions and his life. I kept thinking of all the pictures he had of his nieces and how proud he was of them. The respect and love you could see in his eyes when he talked about his parents and his family. And I knew I had to see him! Not being one to sit around and wait for things to happen I called him immediately and asked him to dinner that night. 10 months later we were husband and wife. Now 6 1/2 years and 3 kids later I am still completely amazed with him and fall more in love with him everyday.... and as they say... the rest is history.

How bout them RAIDERS

So this will be my last post for a while I'm sure. I'm caught up with my updating.... so I want to leave you with one last comment.

Go Raiders!

Wreck'em Tech!!

Michael the Barber

Michael never ceases to amaze me with his abilities.

Today he added another talent to his list, Barber!

The boys needed haircuts and we are trying to save some money for the Holidays, so I gave in and let Michael give it a try!!! HOLY COW! He did such a fantastic job, and Cade had never been so good getting his hair cut. We made our barber shop outside, so no clean up needed; and they even got dum-dum suckers when they were finished, because isn't' that the best part anyways. Here are a few pictures of the event. :)
Cade During

Cade After

William During
William After

Here is what Brennan did, while we played Barber shop.

Wisdom beyond his Years

Michael is constantly amazing me with his outlook on life and biblical issues. Here is the story.


Note: This journey has been filled with Godincedences - explanation: We don't believe that things just happen (coincidence), but instead that God provides and has impeccable timing. So we like to use the term Godincedence.

As many of you know we had a thriving church family at Alpine Church of Christ in Longview, TX. Service opportunities were abundant, the large amount of dedicated young couples provided friendships that constantly gave encouragement and support to one another; and the strong and enthusiastic children's ministry was the perfect environment for my children to learn about God, meet wonderful friends, and start a foundation for their personal faith. Then (long pause) we moved to Corpus... (music: dun dun duuuuun) Ok it's not that bad, but I wanted to make a good transition.... :)
We struggled to find a church family and visited many different congregations. Then for some reason one of the congregation that we had visited early on and had decided it was not for us, was on my heart, so we visited one more time. What we had perceived as a very "traditional" and stagnant church seemed to have a new passion. So we decided to check it out a little more. Over the next month we got to know many of the members, several of them that have now become our best friends, and grew a love for the congregation and the needs it had and service we might could offer. After about a year, the congregation came to a "Y" in the road. Much of the congregation was looking for growth, but there were others that were happy the way it was. It seemed like all of a sudden everything came to a screeching halt, and the "traditional" stagnant family was back. The young couples class that we had been working on with two other couples was not growing, nor was the children's ministry. Two ministries that are obviously close to my heart. Worship became blah and church became a duty... all the passion I had for corporate worship and service to our church family was quickly vanishing. This period seemed to drag on for a long time and Michael and I were both discouraged. However, I was to a point that I was ready to throw in the towel on this "stagnant" congregation and look elsewhere. I felf like we could not serve in a congregation that snuffed out opportunities and closed doors. Michael, although discouraged, encouraged me to keep my faith and trust that God would provide. "Lets give it a little more time." and He was right. In a matter of months, so much has changed, so much growth has taken place. We have had a series of parenting and marriage classes that have proven to be an outreach to the community. The Wednesday night children's program "Kid's Town Rocks" has excited William and the teachers in that ministry have been such a blessing to our family. This has also encouraged our Wednesday night attendance and brought us closer to many of the young families... which most of them Godincidentally have recently moved to the area. I was also Godincidentally reintroduced to a childhood friend, that moved to the area over the summer, who's husband is now our college minister, another new ministry and door for growth and teaching. I have seen so many brought to God over the last several months, and the passion for God is now visible in our church family. The growth and passion for those who had become disengaged aka Me.. is reaffirmed. I could go on and on with details, but I won't... I mostly wanted to tell this story to encourage any of you who might be struggling with this yourself... God is listening, just keep trusting in Him, continue to keep your personal study going, and His answer will eventually become visible to you. Remember God has impeccable timing. And also remember Gods, biblical order. Trust in the leaders around you. In corporate worship and in your personal household. Michael truly is the head of our household in every way and I am so blessed to have him. Although we are a team, and make so many decisions together, I am so glad he put his foot down on this issue, and reminded me that I had taken God our of the equation. Michael showed great wisdom to me during this time, and encouraged me to wait and give God a chance to work. To not limit God's abilities to open hearts and provide what we needed. I was reminded through all this to trust in God and also to trust in my husband and partner God blessed me with, the head of our house hold, and spiritual leader of our family. After all this I pray that we are all able to reach others around us, to be an encouragment to one another, and that God will provide us with wisdom beyond our years to handle opportunites that come our way in a manner that opens hearts to His work.

The Top Dogs

Last night was our fall fest/Halloween carnival at church. It was so much fun and we all dressed up. Here we are, Daddy and Mommy dog and our litter of puppies. I had so much fun making the costumes and they were so easy that the boys got to help. They were so proud! Brennan wasn't crying about his costume, but he Dislikes his car sear so much!!!
This is what he does instantly when buckled!

On our way out to go home, Dr. Denman asked if William would like to help him drive the tractor for the hay ride!!! William loved it. Thanks Dr. Denman!!!

Cade wasn't sure about all the costumes and ended up getting held most of the night! Here is the greatest Daddy in the world with a sleeping baby in one arm(the small white lump with small black spots) and an unsure toddler in the other. (Cade kept taking his ears off)

My Husband Rocks Friday!

Michael is so wonderful. I am constantly in awe of the selflessness he shows everyday, but today I am thinking of a specific example that he showed to me earlier this week. On Tuesday, it had been a hectic day. I had not gotten nearly as much done around the house as I had liked and i was exhaused from having a teething toddler and a gassy infant all day. Michael came home from work exhausted and not feeling well. He walked into a disaster area of a playroom, a toddler with an attitude and a fuss bucket baby Brennan . After dinner was over, we put the food away(but left the kitchen a mess), bathed the older brothers and got them to bed. I did my normal bathroom pickup after tucking them in, while Michael tended to Brennan, but it really hit me what a great partner I have when I stopped picking up to come and nurse Brennan. Again Michael wasn't feeling well, but after handing over the baby he got up and went to the kitchen and started cleaning up from dinner. I figured he was going to rinse the dishes, and put them all in the sink, but by the time Brennan was finished eating, the entire kitchen was spottless. Michael even hand washed and dried every dish we used that evening. So after the baby was relaxed from feeding I was able to just sit for a little while and enjoy my husband rather than trying to get the house cleaned up for the next days events. I am so blessed to have Michael as my husband!! He really does ROCK!!

Michael, Thank you so much for all you do for me and the boys. Thank you for coming home with a smile on your face, and thank you for being such a wonderful example and Christian leader for our boys. We love you!!!

If you are interested in joining My Husband Rocks Friday to build up and affirm your man go to
http://honestandlasting.blogspot.com/2008/06/my-husband-rocks-friday.html.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day!

Today we all pause to step back to honor and say thank you to all the men we call Father. In our house we did just that. Michael, aka, Daddy was a focus in our family today. From breakfast, to the park, to a movie, to dinner, and watching the NBA finals; it was a day of laughter, smiles, hugs, kisses, and just good family fun. I hope you all enjoyed your Father's Day as well.

I have to stop and say I'm so thankful that God has blessed me with such a loving husband and partner. But even more so on my mind today is the blessing of a wonderful father and leader to guide our growing family of boys. It is so special to watch their eyes light up when he enters a room, and the special way they fit into his loving arms.
But I must say one other father is on my mind today, William summed it all up in a picture that he drew for Daddy this morning. It had four people in it. Daddy in the middle, and William, Cade and Baby Brother to the sides. After he was finished I asked him if their was anything he wanted me to write on it for Daddy, and his response was.... "I want to be like you" . It brought tears to my eyes. The innocents and total commitment that he holds to his Daddy; is exactly what we should all have when it comes to our Heavenly Father. Thank you God for giving us such a wonderful example to follow while trying to serve you our best. I hope this is a message that will stick with us all daily, "Lord, I want to be like you"
























We Love you Daddy!!!!!

Talent Show Beauties

Sorry the picture quality is so bad, but I had to post this... I'm sure I will pay for sharing. Feb. 8th was our Youth Dinner and Talent show, to help the kids raise money for mission trips this summer. Michael and a couple of his buddies were good sports to humor their wives and go along with our plan. They put on a beauty pagaent, complete with evening wear, talent, Q&A, and of couse lounge wear. They were such good sports about the wardrobe changes, and flaunting there stuff infront of the whole church. You can be the judge, who is the biggest beauty.

PS. In case you arn't sure, Michael is the red headed beauty. Isn't he a vision in purple. By the way... 6'7" men/women do not need heals. They made him so tall!!!

Progress.

Well this is Michael's store. A friend of ours works at a neighboring business that was doing some aerial photos so Amanda cropped this our for us. So here is where they were about 2 weeks ago and I have to say not much farther as of no. They were working on the windows yesterday:) Progress!

What Dove Season?

I just had to send this our for all of our hunting friends our there. I know you can't see them all in the picture, but there are at least 24 white tip dove hanging out in our backyard. I thought I would have to lock the doors and hide the guns to keep from having a freezer full of "illegal" dove. Greg, quite dooling!