Driver's Permit

Cameron got his DRIVERS PERMIT TODAY!

While I'm excited for him, I'm terrified to be in the passenger seat with him behind the wheel.  And I don't feel old enough to have a child driving, but yet somehow I am.  It's very unnerving.

Camping Trip 2013

I haven't been camping in over 12 years.  The last time I was forced to camp, I was 6 months pregnant with Courtnie, slept in a tent on a lass than satisfactory air mattress.  And it rained.  It definitely did not leave me with good memories or with any desire to camp again!

However, both Mom and Dad planned a camping trip with EVERYONE on board.  I had no other option than to brave the trip and embrace being out of my comfort zone as best as I could, which meant I had to drop my negative thoughts and especially my less-than-enthusiastic attitude.  I asked Dad if he got us a cabin and he said we had a "shelter".  This is our so-called "shelter" and he wasn't kidding!  The walls aren't even solid, concrete floors, and nothing but a metal picnic table.  I knew we were roughing it then.

Then he hung this beautiful sign just for me, which reminded me to embrace the wildlife... and the fact that I wasn't in a four star resort with all the pleasures of comfort.  He knows me well....

Colton is about the only child now who will let me take his picture without protests or extra time spent primping for my "candid" shot.

Here are Courtnie and Jason attempting to rub sticks together to start our campfire.  While they spent a good hour or so on this task, the rest of us gave up on them and started a fire in the pit.  I must say, their persistence was quite impressive!

The Camp Master himself :)


Pictures of our nature hike.  We called Colton our Trail Master; he led the way for every hike and was very pleased with himself.  He made his poor momma hike down ravines and back up by way of slippery dirt.  We took random detours that included beautiful sights as well as off-the-trail hiking in thorny bushes.
















Family time.  Our Camp Master fed us extremely well this weekend.

And we spent many hours just hanging out and talking.

Campfire and games by night included s'mores, Would You Rather?, Charades, Bucket List, telling scary stories, and hour long game of Rock, Paper, Scissors that we never completed.










The Camp Master also took pictures of the kids sleeping, at least the ones visible from their mound of covers anyway.








The family did a little fishing.  This momma took a nap so these photos are courtesy of Aunt B.

And here are some panoramic views courtesy of our Camp Master.  The first photo is our first sitdown by the campfire and the second is our family's Sunday morning worship time.

And on our way home we decided to make a stop and complete one of Courtnie's bucket list items: to be in two places at one time!  She and Dad were both in Texas and Oklahoma at the very same time together :)

Family Bucket Lists

While sitting around the campfire this past weekend, we began discussing items on our bucket lists.  It was really neat to hear what everyone dreams to do and has big plans for.  I want to remember this time spent with family and help them achieve their goals.  Sometimes there is a piece of me that can't wait for time to move forward so I can see how my children achieve their dreams, but then I really don't want them to grow up at all but remain my sweet little babies forever.

Jason:

• Buy land and live in East Texas
• Go to a Denver Broncos game in Denver, CO
• Take the family to Disney World
• Visit Fenway Park in Boston

Brandie:

• Take a romantic island vacation with my husband
• Have my own garden and lots of fruit trees
• Be a foster parent
• Get in the car for a getaway vacation with no destination in mind, just drive and go
• Rock drug babies in the hospital nursery by day and walk the streets and minister to those in prostitution at night

Cameron:

• Go to Ghana on a mission trip
• Take an exotic hunting trip
• Create a brand of clothing
• Visit Chicago's  Wrigley Field, Yankee Stadium in New York, and Boston's Fenway Park

Courtnie:

• Be in two places at one time
• Dance on Broadway
• Take a selfie with Taylor Swift
• Judge a dance competition
• Live with a friend when she's older

Colton:

• He thinks we're nuts and wonders why we aren't just happy to play outside and go hiking in the woods 

Random Facts About Me

• I wiggle my toes to go to sleep
• I talk to myself and reply to myself... but I'm not crazy!
• I suffer from social anxiety
• I have absolutely no desire to leave my country.... ever!
• I have a serious fear of having my hair cut
• I am a very sorry loser
• I wear my flip flops year round
• I want my own garden and chickens one day
• I love to blog and I love to read
• I still use a paper calendar/planner and look through it everyday
• I'm habitually early everywhere I go
• I can't hear out of my right ear
• I'm terrified of needles
• I sleep with the covers around my head with a tiny tunnel for cold, fresh air
• I've had a total of 7 piercings and hardly ever wear a ring in any of them anymore
• I was once VERY materialistic
• I hate to color, one little mistake and you have to redo your whole paper. Far too stressful.
• I'm a BIG crybaby, I cry all the time. All.the.time.
• I don't eat any food that once loved in water. People dump dead bodies (like Osama) in the water and I have no desire to eat digested dead people.
• It ticks me off when people stab my butter. I'd rather throw it out and buy a whole new tub. Rude!
• I freak when I see milk sitting out on the counter for any length of time. Germs!
• Don't EVER touch my pillow.
• I don't like vegetables, but I eat them.
• It actually HURTS when my feet are touched.  And afterwards, I have to rub the touch out until the pain goes away.
• I'm a germaphobe
• I love going to the dentist
• I like to sleep in and go to sleep early... and take a nap... everyday
• I am passionate about the fight against human trafficking
• I'm terrified of elevators
• I'm addicted to Medicated Blistex (Softlips is a very close second)
• I'm terrified of pain
• But gave birth naturally three times because I feared the epidural more
• My family nickname is "Nene"
• I love and appreciate all things chocolate

Back to Work

Lots of things going on around the Gautreaux house as of late.  I've started working with a catering company, which has me working 2-3 nights a week.  It doesn't seem like much but it has shaken our household.  I haven't worked and been away from the family since before Courtnie was born and it was only for one year in Cameron's life.  To say these kids are lost without me here to feed them, get homework done, taxi them around activities, and put them to bed, is an understatement.  I started 4 weeks ago and we are still working on smoothing the bumps and planning better.  I added this evening job to my growing list of responsibilities - being a mom and wife, taking care of our household chores, top chef, watch a little boy Mon-Thur, drive three children around every.single.day, manage the finances, laundry... I just don't have the time to list all my responsibilities of the being CEO for the Gautreaux household.

I do enjoy working, very much so.  It's the season in life right now - dance, baseball, cheer, dance, baseball, baseball, dance.  These things add up!  Not to mention my teen and preteen grow multiple sizes within 2-3 months and need almost an entire new wardrobe!  Holy cow no one prepared me for growth spurts like this!!

I hope that my children read this one day and know that I wasn't out having fun and entertaining myself while they were stuck at home at the mercy of Dad's cooking.  I hope they know that every evening when I stroll in, sometimes after midnight, that I tiptoe into their rooms and give them a kiss and say 'I love you'.  I hope they know that it pained me to leave them before they even got out of school and that most times I teared up because someone else was the lucky one to drive them to and from activities.  I hope they know I worked evenings for them to be able to have all that they wanted; that this money was set aside specifically for their activities and not spent on whirlwind vacations (although that sure does sound lovely!).

I hope my children know that everything we do for them is done with love.

Someone sweet thought of me and sent me flowers.  Nobody has claimed to have sent them yet but what a wonderful feeling to know you have someone thinking or you and praying for you :)

Cheer Pics

Snaggle Tooth

I thought we were done losing front teeth, but man was I wrong! Colton told Jason this morning while at Cam's game that his tooth was sharp. Imagine his shock when he finds Colton's tooth half gone! I was extremely surprised since he hadn't said anything. When did it happen? How did it happen? Does it hurt?

He has no idea when it happened it how it happened. He did tell Jason last night his tooth hurt but it was after midnight (I live with night owls) and Jason just said it may be a cavity. He never thought to look and see if his tooth was broken, who would have?

I called the dentist and we were in the office within 45 minutes. Good news is this: he didn't brake it with any nerves exposed. And he didn't brake it far enough into the tooth were the bracket for braces will interfere. 

Bad news is this: we have to watch it closely to see about further permanent damage, such as the tooth dying. It could take weeks or even years for the tooth to discolor and die and if this happens it will have to be pulled. The bonded filling should stay put for awhile.

He did really well through it all, but then again it never hurt! He did fall last night in the kitchen and our best assumption is that it happened then. You would think he would have felt the hit, busy a lip, spit the tooth out, immediately feel the sharp tooth.... something! We've also found a tiny PIECE of tooth but nothing like what you see actually broke off. 

My Shoulder Miracle

Two years ago I was doing routine morning exercises, because that's just what you HAVE to do when old age sets in.  I was stretching my arms when I heard AND felt a pop in my upper right arm.  The pain was fairly intense at that very moment but overtime it subsided some.  Six months after this incident, the pain never quite went away and there were still times when I would wake up and the pain would be so intense I could do nothing but rotate heat and ice on it for a few days and avoid using my arm.  I made an appointment to see an orthopedic too see exactly what the problem was.  I can't remember exactly what he said though; my appointment was the same day several tornadoes ripped through our city and I was eager to get out of there and back home to my children.  I believe he may have said it was strained or inflamed; it was clearly nothing serious since he sent me home with exercises.  Fast forward 18 months.... the pain in my upper arm/shoulder has never gone away.  Although it isn't debilitating, it is definitely irritating but I've just learned to compensate.  I know not to throw my arm up in the air, not to sleep on my right side, to slowly rotate my arm for any use, etc.

Last week my arm hurt so terribly bad, I was truly not able to put my attention on anything but the pain from my arm/shoulder.  On a scale of 1 to 10, the pain was at a 20 for sure.  I've tried so hard to put a timeline together of my activities of the days leading to the current injury but really, no one activity jumps out at me as the source for the pain to return.  I know that Tuesday night I took a got bath to let it soak in heat.  I know that by Wednesday afternoon, I was in complete tears.  I wasn't even able to lift my shoulder the slightest or even THINK about pulling my arm away from my side without searing pain down my arm to my fingers and up through my neck.  To put this more into perspective, my kids were evening on the verge of tears watching me breakdown.  I was a complete mess, snot faced and all.

Helpless, that's all I felt.  I don't have insurance, our finances are in no place to visit a doctor, and surgery for this return injury was not even an option.  It was a leap of faith for me to go and purchase a sling for $13.  Being the anxious and fearful person I am, I wasn't able to look past anything but the pain and hopelessness of having to suffer with this pain until my death.  Yes, those were my thoughts exactly!  I prayed through the pain, "God you said 'where two or more are gathered in Your name' and you said multiple times in the Bible 'your faith has healed you'. You know my finances, You know I don't have insurance, I will use this miracle to praise Your name and bring hope to others." I repeated this over and over and over throughout each day for days in a row.  While I felt helpless and excruciating pain, I trued to remain hopeful in my God.

Thursday night rolled around and I now had this huge knot sitting on the front of my shoulder and my arm was hot to the touch.  My best guess at this point was that I had dislocated my shoulder somehow.   That night Jason and I became YouTube doctors and for 1.5 hours we attempted to put my shoulder back in place.  Having no insurance, this seemed like such a logical idea!  We tried many different methods that night and I cried more tears during that time frame than I knew was possible.  While we never successfully popped my shoulder back in place, nor did we ever confirm it was dislocated, we did grow closer together that evening.  Jason held me, wiped my tears, and did everything he could possibly do to comfort his hurting wife.  I just wish we had gotten on video the method of me laying on the side of the bed while he laid on the floor with his feet pushing on my ribs and pulling on my arm.  Sounds painful and the image was comical, but of this stretch felt so good!

Friday rolled around and my prayers continued while my shoulder still sent waves of pain down to my fingers and up to my neck.  I had no idea how I would pay for a doctors visit but knew, at the very least, that I needed to know what the problem was exactly.  I called the orthopedic I had seen 18 months prior and they were booked until Monday morning.  Extremely frustrated and irritated that they didn't think a dislocated shoulder was important enough to be seen, I called my family physician and another orthopedic and both were also booked until Monday.  

Feeling embarrassed and frustrated, I called a friend whose husband is a Physical Therapist.  We met him at their home Friday night after he got off work and before he was heading out to work a high school football game.  I took my arm out of the sling and was able to move it some without searing pain and immediate tears.  Shocked is an understatement!  He did some stretches and moved my arm and said the shoulder was not dislocated and the knot was just fluid protecting the rotator cuff.  He also said I had frozen shoulder from keeping it snug against my chest.  Jason was given some stretches to do with my arm at home, most of which we had done most the night before in our fabulous attempt to put my shoulder back in place.

The next morning, I was able to move my arm even more and the fluid/knot was almost completely gone.  This is when I knew a miracle was taking place before my very eyes and I began to see just how God had been working this entire time.  I had pulled a muscle in my butt a few months earlier (don't laugh) and it took my Rx too long to be filled.  By the time I returned from youth camp, that pulled muscle was almost completely healed and I never used those muscle relaxers.  I also had an anti-inflammatory medicine in my cabinet from another incident that I had never used.  Both were exactly what I needed for my arm/shoulder to heal and to help me sleep better at night.  God also filled my doctors' schedules so that I couldn't be seen that exact day, therefore I didn't spend money we really didn't have to spend on a doctor's visit.  A dear friend had already offered to bring dinner over on Thursday night, which happened to be the night my arm/shoulder hurt the worst.  She has no idea what that dinner meant to me!  And God placed compassion on my friend and her husband to see me at their home when really they could have spent that time together as a family.

During all of this, I had been reading about letting go of fear and giving it all to God in every circumstance and trusting Him with all of my heart.  All of this combined was part of one big miracle God so graciously bestowed on our family.  For all of this, I am very grateful.  Even as I type this modern day miracle, joyful tears flow and I find myself again giving thanks to my God for ALL He has done.

Today, my shoulder/arm is healing everyday.  It really just feels tired and heavy, but this isn't even a comparison from the pain I felt just days ago.  I still ice it and give it rest but I can use my arm and I sleep well every night.  There's not much more I could ask for!

I still cannot fathom how only days ago I had convinced myself that I would be living with this pain and saving for a surgery that truly would be months down the road.  And yet here I am using both hands to blog this miracle!  It wasn't a miracle that happened immediately, but a miracle God allowed to slowly take place and to teach me again to rely on Him always and to pray without ceasing.  God used this opportunity to draw me closer to Him.  And as promised, I am sharing this miracle with you and am hopeful that you too will look for the modern day miracles in your life.

Back to School

This may be the first summer that my children didn't drive me completely insane with arguing or complaining of boredom. I either did a good job of entertaining or they've learned they need to entertain themselves. I'm certain it's the latter! Regardless, I was a bit sad to see the summer come to an end. While I enjoy a normal schedule I do enjoy my children under my care more.

Cameron is still homeschooling and is now in 10th grade. He's a SOPHOMORE people! 

Courtnie has started middle school and is in 7th grade. She wasn't thrilled about wearing her uniform on the first day of school; she wanted to wear her new shoes :/ She looks cute though!

And Colton started 3rd grade. This is the first year for him to be in school by himself and walking to school has been lonely for him. He's always had his sister with him. But he's adjusting! Growing too fast for sure.