USC Gamecocks

It has been quite a while since I have posted a blog on here, and would like to get back into it but don’t know how much of a reality that is.  So much has happened since my last blog and I want and need to start getting things out of my head and back on paper.

As my sister has said, I have gone to the dark side.  Before you start getting all kinds of thoughts in your head, the dark side to my sister means following College Football.  I know, major shocker.  A year and a half ago, Web Brown came into my life and pulled me to said dark side, much to the dismay of my best friend Elisa who tried many years to pull me in herself. 

Web used to play football for the USC Gamecocks, and we have been dating since July 2012.  He played from 2003 to 2007.  He started every game of his senior year at Center, and was team Captain as well that year.   A few months ago, Web and I went on a Stadium Tour of Williams Brice and we went down the “Hall of Captains”, where his picture is proudly displayed.

Before I go too much further, let me share somewhat scary/game-faced/I’m ready to hit something/lets win this game Web:

And here is normal/everyday/not so scary/approachable/quite handsome Web on his Israel trip:

I was never the girl who followed football.  In High School, our track went around the football team, so the students walked around the track during the games, instead of watching.  I grew up watching NFL football, and am a Dallas Cowboys fan mostly because my dad is, but I don’t know that I could honestly name 5 NFL teams right now.  I watch the Super Bowl, and can tell you the basics of football, but that’s about it.  So needless to say, I have quickly learned about football.  I still don’t know everything, and ask a lot of questions during games, but I am getting there, and I am learning.  

Web is on the radio before every USC football game.  The home games are broadcasted across the street from the stadium, and last season I went with him.  My first game was very eye opening, having never gone near the stadium on game days, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.  I have to say though, that I do love going down there.  It is a crazy exciting adventure and you always see something new.   

Last night was our first USC home game of the 2013 season, and it didn’t disappoint. It was brutally hot, but so much fun.  Web picked me up from work and we headed straight downtown.  Surprisingly the traffic wasn’t as bad as I was expecting.  We parked and started the walk to the stadium.  Web is great to walk in crowds with, because not only is he protective of me, but he “parts the sea”.  People seem to get out of his way when they see him coming.  Web is very protective when we walk through a crowd, making sure I’m staying with him and I am safe.  We made it to the BP across from the stadium and waited until it was air time.  Web is a natural on the air.  He not only knows his stuff, but can communicate it in an articulate way.  I enjoy seeing him talk about one of his passions.  I appreciate how he not only talks about the game, rules, strategies, but how he talks about the players and leadership.  He keeps in contact with some current and former players and builds relationships with them to encourage them not only in football but with their walks with the Lord.  Web gets fired up about two things, Football and the Lord and I love when those two things mesh.  

I look forward to many more games this season, and in seasons to come.  I guess you could say I have crossed over to the dark side….I am now a gamecock!

 

Happy Father's Day!!

Yes, I know...I am almost a week late...but in my defense, I do not have internet at home, AND my dad was out of town, so I get a break right??


I have the most amazing Dad!  He is hilarious, quirky, really good at girl problems, loving, supportive, encouraging and a great example of a what it means to be a follower of Christ.  I grew up (still growing up in some ways) knowing I was loved, accepted, and could take on the world if I wanted to.  There is never a dull moment when my dad is involved....even grocery shopping is fun when you slide cereal boxes up and down the aisles, and throw rolls of paper towels OVER the aisle. 

I am so thankful to have him in my life, and don't know what I would have done without him.  I love you football head!! 






aargh!!  Knew I was forgetting something!  Happy first Fathers day to Ben!!!  If you want to read about what am amazing dad he is, check out my sisters blog benandsarahorner.blogspot.com

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's day to my amazing mom!!  I am so glad to have you in my life!  Thank-you for all you have done for me!!

Happy Mother's Day to my sister!  It's her first Mother's day!

I'm so lucky to have these women in my life! 

Sisters...Sisters...

There were never such devoted sisters....


ok, sorry...done singing White Christmas now!

I am incredibly lucky to be close to my sister.  We weren’t always this way.  When she left for college, and we didn’t share the same space anymore, we were able to appreciate each other and the closer we became.  Sarah has always been my protector, my confidant, my truth teller, and my supporter.

I remember her first year of college (I think), we got this massive ice storm.  CIU and Ben Lippen were closed for over a week.  My mom was out of town, and our house lost power.  CIU surprisingly still had power, so my dad went to stay with the Boans, and I went to stay with Sarah in her dorm.  Now, her dorm wasn’t massive, but it wasn’t small either, and I slept on the two-seater pull out couch.  It was my first experience of dorm life, and Sarah could have easily been put out and annoyed that I was there, but she wasn’t.  She took care of me and we hung out together.  She could have easily not included me because it was her freshman year and wanted to hang out with her friends, but she didn’t.    I don’t think I will ever forget the way she treated me.  She may not even remember, but I do! 

Fast Forward a few years to when we worked in the same building, and she was just two floors up from me.  I would go see her on my breaks and talk to her about life.  There were days that I could have stayed up there for an hour because we were just talking about…well, everything!  A lot of moments were shared in the confines of her cubicle.  Now that she isn’t up there anymore, I truly miss those days.  It was nice to have a half hour each day to just talk to her.  I really miss her not being upstairs.  I think back on all the times when we had wardrobe and hair questions.  We would ask each other “does this look good”…. “do you like my hair”…. Or simply:  “fix this!”

I have thoroughly enjoyed watching her become a mother.  She is not your typical first time mother, in that she isn’t flustered.  Sarah is calm, collected, and goes with the flow.  He’s crying, she keeps it together until she can figure out why.  It is bedtime and he’s crying in his crib, she says “he will calm himself in a minute.”  At 3 weeks, mom and dad babysat so Ben and Sarah could go on a date, and they didn’t call to check in, or have a hurried dinner.  She (and Ben too) doesn’t watch you like a hawk when you are holding Caleb, or feeding him.  They let you do your thing.  Sarah writes a letter to Caleb every month and I have enjoyed reading those and seeing her love for that boy.  It’s amazing!

Sarah, thank-you for being my sister and for always loving me, laughing with and at me, supporting me, protecting me, and just plainly being there for me.  We have so much fun together, and I couldn’t have asked for anyone better.  Love you!

Life

Yes, I realize it has been awhile, that is partly due to the fact that I don’t have internet at home.  I don’t have it not only because it saves me money, but because if I did I would be on it constantly, and I just don’t need that. 

Life has been good.  It’s so funny the changes that I have gone through the past month.  I’m still trying to get into a good groove at home.   My personality is not one to get stuck in ruts.  I am constantly changing things until I find the one thing that works well.  This can be routines, organizing, product choices, anything.  With moving being such a HUGE change in my life, and with spending time with my nephew, I still haven’t found the perfect way of doing things for everything.  I have accomplished much more than I thought I would have; just have one or two more areas to find my niche.

In other news, and I know this is really odd, but the past few days I have been working on revamping a PowerPoint presentation.  My boss told me to go all out and he would “pull me in” if it was too out there.  I gave it to him today and am waiting to hear back on his thoughts.  I LOVED working on this project!  It brought me back to my Yearbook Editor days and I was constantly changing (yes, even PowerPoint falls prey) until I thought it flowed.  I was so giddy working on this.  I hope he likes it, if not, I’m interested to hear his thoughts.  

Myself

Life is constantly changing and moving, which isn’t always great for a girl who isn’t a fan of change. I do not mind change mind you, change isn’t an enemy, it can be a great thing. It’s just that in order to function, I have to have a routine and a schedule. So when that is interrupted, I am thrown for a loop until I can figure out a new one.

Last month was a very odd month for me. I don’t really know how to put it into words, but I just felt off, not myself. Don’t get me wrong, it was a great month, a lot of fantastic things happened, and I enjoyed it all, there were just many moments when I was alone in my house that I didn’t think things were right. The only conclusion I can come up with, is that when I moved into my house, I was on a marathon until the end of February. I moved, a week later was Sarah’s shower, work was insane with Annual Meeting, we were all prepping for baby, and several other events. I didn’t stop until the end of February and boy was I glad to get off that train. I don’t think I had time to fully adjust to my new “house” lifestyle. I don’t have a fantastic routine down yet for bills, or chores, and I’m not nearly as organized as I would like to be.

It all hit me in March that I’m not up to the bar that I set for myself. I had grand ideas for my house. I had dreams of organization systems, and filing cabinets, and great routines. I wanted lists of what I would accomplish weekly, monthly, quarterly, and here it is, month 3 and I don’t have those things done yet. I know my end goal, I just have to figure out how to accomplish it. Not having these things accomplished somehow seeped into other areas of my life, where I was able to beat myself up, and that isn’t right.

So now that is it April 4^th, it’s time to turn over a new leaf! It’s time to accomplish that goal that I set for myself. It’s time to become that “super OCD organized girl” that I used to be. It’s time to figure out a plan and set it into action. Wish me luck!

Self-Esteem

Every once in awhile my boss will ask me to read articles or books to get my point of view on them. Yesterday, he asked me to read John Rosemond's latest article in The State about self-esteem (http://www.thestate.com/2012/03/25/2207593/john-rosemond-high-self-esteem.html)

I thought he spoke a lot of truth! This day in age, self-esteem is rooted in praise, I feel good about myself, only if I am rewarded/someone notices what I did. That just makes me sad! Self-esteem should be rooted in who you are as a person, not in what you do. We definitely don't help children make this shift in thinking when we allow everyone to make the team, or when everyone gets a trophy in school. That isn't life, and when we play it safe by making everything equal, we only hinder kids by hiding the truth.

It also made me wonder if praise based self-esteem hinders their relationship with Christ. We don't get audible praise from God, we don't always get rewarded right away, we definitely aren't all treated equally. What he has in store for me, is not the same that he has for my friend. If we lead kids into believing that everyone is right and if they are praised all the time, what are we showing them with a relationship with Christ? We are setting them up for failure because we don't always get what we think we "deserve". We also run the risk of turning a "faith-based" Christianity into a "works-based" Christianity. They don't get immediate praise from God, or an instant reward, so they work harder, spend more time with God, pray more, all to get what they think they deserve.