Thoughts on Marriage

In talking with a friend recently, I realized that I have a "view" on marriage.  I believe that entering into and maintaining a marriage that honors and glorifies The Lord is a blessing, a challenge, and takes a massssivvve amount of intentional living.  It's a series of decisions that have to be made over & over again.  Every. Single. Day.  The decision to place your spouse before every other person and thing.  Even yourself.  The decision to enjoy your spouse.  The decision to forgive your spouse.  The decision to be gentle and kind toward your spouse.  When these thing don't happen, I absolutely do NOT believe it's always because we choose NOT to.  I think a lot of times, it's just that we forget to make a choice either way.  We get caught up in the millions of other things in life.  Our spouse is one of the FEW constants in life, so I guess it can be easy to just overlook them...  So, my "view" on marriage is that it should be the most intentional part of your day, your energy, and your life.  Although I am by NO means an expert or a master at marriage, I know that I try to be intentional in my relationship with B-Riz (he usually makes it really easy!), but there are plenty of occasions (a lot more than I care to count) that I fall into the trap of marital stagnation/selfishness.

Brian and I were super into talking about marriage when we were dating/engaged.  I feel like we made a pretty intentional and informed decision on who we were choosing as a lifelong spouse.  Um, don't get me wrong here...

I mean, did he sweep me off my feet when we started dating?  YES.  

Was I blinded by love like so many other young & in lovvvve females?  HECK YES.

 ... but luckily B-Riz is the bomb, so my unconditional infatuation didn't result in any regrets :) 

But, seriously.  We talked about marriage SO much before we were actually married, that I literally can't think of one thing that took me by "surprise".  We discussed how we expected to be treated privately & in public, spending habits, banking, working aspirations, parenting, disciplining, temptations, what we wanted our kids involved in, what kind of church we envisioned our family being a part of, what we pictured evenings at home looking like, if we wanted to be the hosts or guests on the regular, what kind of house we wanted to settle into, pets, # of kids, where to live (something we never have/will be 100% in agreement on!), how often we wanted to visit parentals, strengths, weaknesses, pet peeves, concerns, dreams, travel, hobbies... you name it, we probably talked about it.  Like... 12 times.  We talked about our parents' marriages alllll the time.  The amazing qualities we saw in them that we wanted to adopt for our own marriage.  We looked at their marriages and discussed all the little things that we saw would be an inevitable challenge at some point, and tried to come up with ways we could avoid, or at least be extra aware of, these issues.  We discussed our opinions on every little teeny tiny thing, and where we differed, we just talked some more.  Until we came to some kind of COMPROMISE (one of the most beautiful, yet easily forgotten, parts of marriage if you ask me!).  

We tried to foresee what could potentially be the biggest trouble areas for each of us, in terms of being a good and BIBLICAL wife/husband, and figure out ways to be prepared.   I'm not sure if it's a personality thing, but we have approached our marriage as some sort of challenge, without even realizing it!  Brian's competitive nature won't really allow him to fail at anything he puts his mind to.  And my analytical thought processes want to know the root of every word/action/facial expression.  This has resulted in us talking almost everything out.  Honesty is the name of the game.  When we're not rolling smoothly, neither of us is down.  Sure, we have had our seasons of frustrations/annoyances, but (SO FAR) nothing that has festered into a serious issue. 

However:

We are both acutely aware of the fact that satan is just WAITING for his moment to attack us.  We know that at some point, and probably MULTIPLE points, we will find ourselves in the midst of some major marital discord.  I hope and pray that our approach will have us as prepared as we can be for those times.  I know without the slightest doubt that The Lord will see us through thick & thin as long as we continue to use Him as the glue that holds our marriage together.  We are one, now.  Two souls bound by God.  Since June 2, 2007:  Brian and Roxanne = brianandroxanne. 

I'm super thankful that thus far, we have experienced a pretty smooth ride on the marriage train :)  I am genuinely looking forward to the triumphs, trials, great times, and not so great times ahead with B-Riz as my husband.  I know there are many laughs, many tears, and many learning experiences on the horizon.  It's amazing how much God can move and teach and work through this supercool and GENIUS creation of His: Marriage.

 

Daddy's Little Elf :)

It's beginning to look a leeeetle bit like Christmas at the Bradford Casa.  Woohoo!!  

Yay!

Happy T-Giv, Fools. Love, The Stomach Bug

DISCLAIMER:  This is not for the weak of stomach! 

**You have been warned...**

It all started a week ago.  On Tuesday evening we took a nice little Family'o'Four outing to Cristina's Mexican to enjoy our last meal in McKinney before traveling for the T-Giv holiday.  All was well, until an explosion of vomit erupted from poor little CamCam's adorable little body.  Over.  and Over.  and Over.  I wrapped her in my scarf and Brian's jacket and exited the premises as quickly as possible while Brian & Aves stayed behind for damage control.  This continued off & on for the next 5ish hours.  But by morning, C-Lil was a champ!  She acted like nothing had happened.  We let the day play out and decided we were safe for travel, so we packed up as planned and hit the road for Lufkin!

T-Giv day was a blast!  Everyone was happy & healthy, full & exhausted by day's end!  A Longhorns victory was a perfect cap for a TEEriffic day.  After a good night's sleep for everyone, Friday's plan was to relax with fam, watch football, and let the kiddos play. Unfortunately, my supercool SnL came down with the dreaded stomach bug early in the day and was down & out for the next 24 hours.  After a trip to AcuteCare, some prescription meds, & some crackers & Sprite she was finally ready to emerge from her bedroom come Saturday morning.  We met up with some old friends and their little man for lunch on Saturday (dear Lord, I hope we didn't spread the germage to that sweet boy!) and watched lots MORE football that afternoon/evening.  MarshMarsh hooked us up with a delish dinner that night and everyone hit the hay pretty early.  We were all wiped.  Um.  FF to 12:30.

Little Averton was puking her little angel face off.  I was having chills and aching to the max anyway, so I didn't lose any sleep by spending my night assisting my sweet firstborn.  Poor sweet girl did so great!  She was a champ and by the end, didn't even cry anymore when the vomit sessions would hit.  She even talked/waved to a train that was driving by at about 3am in between gags.  Haha... sad/funny/precious all at the same time.  By 3:30, Aves tummy had chilled out and she slept the rest of the night.  This momma, on the other hand, was straight up MIZZZZ.  Achiness was O.O.C.  Feverish and freezing.  Dramatic?  Maybe.  True?  Heck yes.  I woke up to find out that Brian had begun throwing up that morning and was locked in the back bedroom.  My poor familia.  Brian's ANGELIC parentals saved the day and took the kiddos while I took some advil for the aches and tried to sleep off my fever.  I finally got a few hours of DEEP sleep and started the slow but steady road to feeling better. 

Brian and I were quite a scene in the car on the way home.  We looked like death, both felt like we had been hit by a bus, and hardly uttered a word the whole way.  Our girls, however, were happy as ever!  SUPER thankful their illnesses were short-lived :)  On Monday, Brian was as good as new and I was def improved.  Last night I felt great and was pumped to start a new HEALTHY week. 

So...at around 12:30, I had this dream of total DejaVu.  Brian busted into the room with Cameron in his arms because she had just started throwing up...  Wait.  Um.  I wasn't dreaming.  SERIOUSLY?  Thankfully, that was the only time Cam threw up last night.  HOPEFULLY we are now in the clear and can start venturing out in public again by tomorrow! 

Despite all of our tummy issues, we truly did have a fantastic Thanksgiving!  We enjoyed tons of quality family time, the girls spent hours upon hours with their big-kid cousins, and we enjoyed lots of football/rest/food!  Thankful for a family who is willing to HELP in times of need :)   Hope your T-Giv rocked too.  I think 2011 will not be forgotten anytime soon in the Bradford Casa!

Missed you, Curry familia! 

Building Towers

Aves is SUPER into towers & castles.  Our backyard "playground" is now known as Avery's "castle" :)  AND, she drags the girls' bag of wooden blocks around the house to build her "tower" wherever we happen to be hanging out.  And she FUUHHREAAAAKS out when it starts tipping over.  I mean like... you would think her life is being threatened.  Silly child.  SUCH a perfectionist.  :)  I love watching her build her towers and love seeing how proud she is when she builds it almost "as tall for (aka-as) me!!"

What's not to love about that proud, SUPERpumped little face??  Love my Aves :)

Fall Festival Cuties!

Since B-Riz had golf plans and Casizzle was down with that dern stomach bug, G-Money & I (in true Bradford-Weghorst Commune style) took Aves, Cam, & Tot to Hope Fellowship's Fall Festival yesterday.  THEY WERE PRESHLINGS!!

They had SO much fun sporting their cute little costumes.  They ADORED the opportunity to run around with all the big kids.  They jumped @ the chance to pig out on popcorn & cotton candy (thx for waiting in that line, Geg!) Aves' excitement about the giant inflatable slides was super adorable.  She would have gone up & down those things for 3 hours straight if there weren't lines for every ride.

Our 3 little ladies are really almost like siblings.  LOVE seeing them interact and play together.  Thanks Geg, for helping with the leetle ladies, and for taking over photographer duties since your wifey couldn't make it.  

The girls are SOOOOOOO excited to trick-or-treat tonight (esp Aves...Cam doesn't totally get it yet.)  Avery keeps asking me, "Where's Halloween, mommy???"  Love my littles and can't wait to take them door to door tonight with B-Riz!  Also TOTALLY can't wait for them to help us hand out candy.  

Cutie pies.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Cameron's First Pigtails

When CamCam was a teeny-tiny, people ALWAYS thought she was a boy.  Regardless of how much pink she had on, the fact that she never kept a bow on her head resulted in millions of "how old is he?", "oh he's a precious boy!" blahblahblah.  I really didn't care to be honest.  I know that the name "Cameron" threw people off even more, so I would just say thanks and, "oh, by the way...she's a girl.  don't feel bad...everyone calls her a boy!"  I'm pretty sure people still felt bad.  :)

We're pretty far past the gender confusion stage, but just for those who might still have the inkling to call my C-Lil a boy, SHE CAN NOW ROCK THE PIGGIES!! I pulled Cam's hair into pigtails the other day and um... I melted.  She looked SO presh.  her hair just seems to get thicker and longer everyday!  I'll prob have to give her first trim soon to keep those bangs out of her eyeballs.  (tear).  So crazy that my leetle lovebug is getting so big! 

Aves was this age when Cameron was born (actually about a month younger), and it's just so crazy to think back to how OLD we thought Averton was.  Sweet little nugget was still SUCH a teeny baby and had to take on the big sis role.  But man, she did SO great at it, and continues to bring joy to my life by being SUCH a sweet, tenderhearted, caring big sis.  

Love my girlies.  

And LOVE these pigtails :)

Game 6

God told Joshy he was going to hit a homerun last night.  And he did. 

"2 outs.  2 strikes.  2 times.  SERIOUSLY??"  I think that's GOTTA be what Wash is saying here...

Post-game scene in my garage.  No words needed.

Bring it, Game 7.  Best World Series EVER.

How to Score World Series Tickets on Gameday!!

1. Watch Standing Room Only ticket prices on the gameday immediately preceding the day of the game you'd actually like to attend.  They will most likely drop continually as gametime approaches.
2. Convince yourself that this same trend will occur tomorrow.
3. Book babysitter for tomorrow's game as a "just in case we score tickets" safety net (thinking that "duh, you totally will...")
4. Watch tickets obsessively on gameday.  They will most likely stay higher than they did the previous day, but will still trend downwards.
5. ...Until lunch.  Freak out when you check prices AFTER lunch and they have SKYROCKETED.
6. Watch in horror as they continue to climb...and climb... and climb.
7. Tell babysitter to come even though you don't have tickets.  You'll "figure it out".  You'll just have a date night if there are no tickets in your future (all the while both knowing that you have NO intentions of letting the night slip away without getting your hands on some friggin tickets!)
8. Head out to a dinner date with your hubby.  You'll just text some people from Craigslist who listed their tix for $600 each until you find someone desperate enough to hook you up with an 80% discount
9. Act like driving through Chick-fil-A was TOTALLY what you had in mind when you agreed to a "dinner date".  And DOWN that cookies'n'cream milkshake with pure bliss :)
10. Visit the nearest ATM to draw out your maximum "willing to pay" price per ticket in cash.  You're headed to the stadium to find some people roaming about who just happen to have a few extra tix.  Perfectly legal of course.
11. Park insanely far away, one space away from some abandoned train cars chillin on the railroad track.  Say a quick prayer (or 12) that your car (and all of your possessions) are still there when you return, which could be after the game...OR 30 minutes.
12. As some dude asks you if you need tickets, and you respond yes, follow him into the nearest strip mall, because like he said, "We can't do anything on the street because of the city ordinance.  Follow me."  Totally understandable.
13. Giggle to yourselves as the 2 dudes in front of you shell out $350... EACH!... for tickets in the farthest possible seats the stadium has to offer.  You know these seats are the farthest possble seats because the seller busted out a laser-pointer to show them their seat location on the giant poster adorning the wall behind you.  Nice little make-shift "ticket office" they've got here.
14. Try to breathe in teeny tiny short breaths, taking in the least amount of oxygen possible.  You don't want to get high off the unbelievable amounts of marijuana infiltrating the air in this shady place.
15. Peace out when the dude behind the desk informs you that even though game starts in 7 minutes, SRO tix are still $350.  
16. Stroll around the stadium looking for shady characters.
17. Pretend it's totally normal that the men you pass whisper in your ear, "tickets..."  "hey... you shoppin'?"   or "i got some.  follow me..." but don't slow down.  You'll figure out that you're just supposed to follow them until they stop to lean against a tree or tie their shoe.
18. As you discover that what you once though was a competition is really a massive network of ticket scalpers, you name your price and take the first tickets that are flashed in your face.  Besides, all you want is to get into the game.  You've got the greatest standing room only secret at Texas Rangers Stadium (and your friends are saving your seat in hopes you really did "figure it out")
19. After making the exchange, be sure to take off on a mad sprint toward the entrance gate.  Otherwise, as you mosey back toward the stadium, the guy might notice that you shortchanged him $100 (accidentally...promise!).  He might whisper, "hey. sir.  excuse me, sir..." ever so gently.  And then being the sweet little lady that you are, you might turn around and yell at your husband who is well on his way to the gate that he needs to come give this shady character "his" money.  I mean... honesty is the name of the game, right?  Even when dealing with shady illegal ticket scalpers.... 
20. Breathe a sigh of relief as the little ticket scanner blinks green and the ticket lady tells you to, "have fun, go rangers!"

The tickets were legit.  You are OFFICIALLY at The World Series!

THE WORLD SERIES!!  

Holla.

Go Rangers   :)

World Series!!!

Okay.  So if you know me, you know that I love sports.  Love Love Love.  Sports played a big time role in my (& my fam's) life growing up, and they continue to be a massive part of my life with B-Riz & the leetle gals :) When it comes to professional sports,  I always have & always will be a big time Houston Astros/Rockets/Oilers Texans fan.  BUT, living in DFW, I have come to really enjoy watching & rooting on the Rangers!

Our seats were terrif! :)  But really, ANY seat would have been terrif if you ask me...

We've had people over to grill out for pretty much every single playoff game.  Super fun.  We're loving it.  (Minus the fact that it's cutting pretty drastically into my sleep regimen!)  Well... our great friends, the Wegs, have a pack of season tix they share with their fellow-Ranger-fan-buddies.  In addition, they purchased 2 tix to share for the playoffs/World Series.  Since Greg & Casizzle were going on Monday night, B-Riz and I decided "what the heck...why not now!?"  Although I would have been in heaven had I been watching my 'Stros dominate a World Series game, I had a super totally terrific time.  Def one of my new fave memories :)  I don't have much of a bucket list, but 2 things I want to do are to attend a baseball game in every Major League Baseball stadium in the US....and go to the World Series!!!  

Cute boys.  So pumped :)

Casizzzzzlllllle!!  Our first World Series!!

There's just something about sitting in a sports arena, surrounded by big time fans donning their teams colors, cheering their hearts out, biting their nails when the outcome is yet to be determined, watching the best athletes in the country play a sport at an elite level for a LIVING (um, how cool)... it makes my heart beat a little quicker and puts a smile on my face.  :)  I had the greatest time with my boo at a sporting event that I thought I wouldn't have the luxury of attending for many years!  THANKS B-Riz for a supercool date.  Loved every second.  

FRAMER.  Look at that backdrop.  World Series, I love you.  And you too B-Riz ;)

The ticket sitch is kind of a funny story...but I'll save that for manana.  I am WIPED (after a late night w/the Rangers and an early morning BOOTCAMP wake up call!)  My bed is calling softly to me and I am ELATED to hit the hay before 9p :)  Here's to an off-night for the Rangers and a great night's sleep for the Bradford household. 

Go Rangers!!  But, don't worry Astros, you still hold the key to the baseball chamber of my heart ;)

Staged.  But NOT unrealistic :)

Do you Vote?

Question:  Do you vote?  Do you think it's important to vote?  Has your opinion on that issue changed over the years?

Do you educate yourselves on presidential candidates?  What they stand for?  Their morals?  Their faith?  Their families?  Their stance on "the issues"?  Their political "plans"?

If so, HOW do you educate yourself?  Do you just rad their websites?  Do you watch the debates?  Do you watch CNN/MSNBC/FOXNews for the latest commentary on each candidate?

What do you base your votes on?  Do you vote for the candidate who's personal morals/values/beliefs are most in line with yours?  Or is it the one who you agree with on the highest percentage of pop issues?  Is it based heavily on their political party affiliation, e.g. Republican vs Democrat?

I find myself more and more interested/burdened with the duty of voting as I get older.  A lot of people think this is a touchy subject to discuss, but I am super interested in other opinions/thoughts!  This is your permission to share with honesty and transparency!  No judgments.  No offenses taken.  :)