Andie's Birthday Walk

I finally got a high school to donate their track to me for Andie's walk. It will be on February 20, 2010.Our charity will be Make A Wish Foundation. I will also have a tax ID number for everyone to have the write off. I will update with a registration form as soon as I get it all done. Thanks to Jennifer McNutt and Peoria High School for your generosity. This is HUGE!!!!!!!!! You guys are awesome.

Love,

Brooke and Family

P.S.

Happy 9 month Birthday Baby Girl!!!!!!

I Think This Would Be Good For Everyone To Read ( I Got This From Another Blog)

Before I start my post tonight, I want you to sit back and really think about what I am saying here. You may be dealing with this in your life in one way or another and this could seriously help you make things better. It most definitely did for Aimee and I, and it really didn't take a lot of work to fix what had been broken.

Aimee and I know some people who are dealing with marital issues right now and this post is for them. Although, this information is also great for those who aren't having issues or don't think they are having issues as we all need to strive to be better people. You may find this helpful to share this to someone you personally know who may need to hear it.

A little while back, I posted briefly about Aimee and I were having some troubles in our marriage but that everything is back on track. I spoke about how my choices started to follow my feelings, which was completely backwards, causing me to swerve off track in my life. Just as Brent Riggs mentioned to me before, you can't lead with your caboose (aka feelings) or your engine (aka decisions) will run off the track in the wrong direction.

Whether or not Aimee or myself were at fault for the things we did to get us from point A to point B, I realized that the negative feelings were controlling my decisions. I didn't want to deal with the pain, the anger, the sadness and mostly, the fear of these negative feelings going on forever and ever. I wanted out! I wanted the easy route! I wanted to go where the grass was greener! I wanted to start over!

I wanted all these things because I was SELFISH! I made a promise to my wife when I asked her to marry me. I made a promise to my family when I married her and I made all these promises right in front of God. Oh, but a promise can be broken. Oh, but I will ask God to forgive me for this divorce and I promise not to do it again so that will be okay. Oh, but no one understands what I have to live with and life would be so much better if we weren't together. Oh, the kids will be okay and they will still get to see me. Oh, but I never loved her in the first place. Excuses! Excuses! Excuses!

I made all the excuses and I look back on them now and I was trying to convince myself only to make me feel better for the wrong thing I knew I was doing. Aimee may not be perfect and I may not be perfect, but I know that I was attracted to her enough to ask her for her number. I knew that I once laughed for hours without a single argument. I knew that I once tried to go out of my way to impress her so she would think I am not like all the other men. I knew that I once told her I loved her and I felt the love in my heart when I said it to her without being forced. I knew that I once couldn't wait to spend every waking hour with her, cuddle with her, and give her long, wet kisses that beat all the motion picture awards for "Best Kiss."

Most importantly, I knew that I wanted to spend forever with her when I got on my knee and asked her to marry me. I knew that I wanted to share forever with her when I agreed to have a child that I would have to help raise as a team. So, for making negative excuses against all of this love I knew I once felt was completely letting my feelings run my decisions.

When I wake up in the morning, I brush my teeth, wash my face and put on some deodorant. I do this because it is a routine for me, but mainly because I don't want to completely scare away my clients with goops of eye boogers, rotten breath that stinks just as bad or worse as the onion patch growing under my arms. Not everyone, including myself, really enjoys doing any of these routines, but we do it anyway. My point is that we are choosing to do something regardless of how we feel about it and not to mention that we probably have a lot more people who like us because we do it.

The whole point that I am getting at, which turned my life right-side-up, is that I chose to do something that wasn't led by my feelings and wasn't really what I "felt" I wanted to do at that time. I know God put us together for a reason and He wouldn't let two souls get married if they weren't supposed to be married. Besides our salvation, marriage is one of the most important things. I made many decisions in my life that I felt were right and maybe some of them were wrong, but we NEVER make the wrong decision to marry someone because we love them.

To give love, you must feel love. If you resist being selfish, forgive easily, know this world is not perfect, and go out of your way to do the right things for your husband/wife, that lost feeling of love will find its way home very quickly. God gave us this greatest gift for a reason and it was not to be selfish and love ourselves only to make ourselves feel happy, but to love others unconditionally so that they can see and feel how amazing this gift truly is.

I had moved out and I had started over. I felt the world was a better place for making the decision that I did and my life felt like it was going in the right direction, but the devil is so deceiving. I am not ashamed to speak my faults to the world, but I was dead wrong.

Aimee and I are happier now than ever before. We understand each other more for having gone through this. We both show each other love and respect, and now we go out of our ways to mold our lives to fulfill each others needs.


Summing it all up in to 3 parts:

1. Remember that you once made a decision to be married because you loved one another or you were at least attracted to each other at some point to engage in a relationship.

2. Lead with your choices and your feelings will follow, but of course you have to make choices that are with a pure heart and without sin.

3. Know that you are not perfect and neither is your spouse, but forgiveness is key and you must give love and respect in order to receive love and respect. You can never give love and respect to your wife/husband/children with a selfish heart that focuses on your own feelings.


Aimee and I will be praying endlessly for those who are struggling to fix their marriages. Just know that we are not experts in anyway, shape or form, but that we love you all and we pray that we were able to help you with our situation in one way or another.

God made men a special way in a "blue" color and woman a special way in a "pink" color that when you join them together it makes purple. Purple is the color of royalty and a husband and wife are joined together in God's beautiful image. There was no mistake when He blessed us with marriage, so leading with God as our engine, the caboose will always be on track. Let your feelings follow your choices!

Brent, thank you for giving me the best advice and allowing me to use it to help others. You are a blessing to me and my family.

God Bless,

Results To My Blood Work!

I got a call from the doctor today about my blood work that I had posted about. Well, I have good and bad news. The good news is there is nothing wrong and the bad news is there is nothing wrong with me. I guess she was right, ALL my symptoms are related to stress. HMMMMMMMM!!!!! They checked my thyroid, hormones, complete blood count, and cholesterol. So I'm going to go back to excercising, I have started my vitamins again, and no more coffee. I started drinking coffee again after Andie passed away. My therapy I guess. Hopefully this will get me semi back to normal. If there is such a thing for me. HA! HA! People have been asking, so I thought I would let you all know. Wish me luck!

Brooke

Results To My Blood Work!

More pics from Labor Day

Labor Day!!!!!!!

I forgot one fun thing we did this Labor Day. We went to the JW Marriott Resort. Fran and I went on Friday am for a little R & R. Then Duane brought the boys in the afternoon. We just relaxed and swam all day. Then on Saturday it rained and rained. The boys and I still had some fun. It was Nicelodeon Weekend, so we went to see Sponge Bob, Dora and went to the Nickelodeon activities. Boston and Eric got picked to go up and play the slime game. That was cute. The high light of Brogan's weekend was to see ALL the cool cars. We all know how he is about cars.Then Saturday afternoon I took the boys and Fran home so my lovely husband and I could spend some well deserved time together. It was nice to have dinner and then relax in our HUGE beautiful suite. It had a huge sun deck too. On Sunday, I took Duane back and the boys and I went and swam for a while and then came home. It was a good fun break for our family.

More Beanies!!!!!!!

Yes, I finally took the Beanie Babies from Auntie Kelly's church and the ones from Mrs. King's mom to the hospital. It is so awesome that people are still helping us keep Andie's legacy going. I also want to thank Heather Houston for dropping by the adorable Beanie the other day. That one I'm keeping for myself. Thanks so much to all of you for thinking of us still. The hospital is very grateful and so are we.

Love to all,

Duane,Brooke, & Andie