We are doing Great!!

Hey guys.. sorry its been so long since the last blog update. Ok where do we start. I have officially started working again. I got the job as a flex RN and so far so good. I have only worked 2 full weeks so far. The hospital is very different than the San Diego Children's hospital, but I like it a lot. Sean left for the first time a couple weeks ago for 8 days.. it was soo hard to be away from him. We havent been gone more than 1 night since we have been married, so that was hard.. but thankfully God has blessed me with a wonderful friend out here. Her name is Josey and she loves the Lord too. It has been great getting to know her. Well this past week Sean had a great outing. He went 7 innings, no walks, 3 strike outs, 5 runs. And he got the win! We won 19-5. He is the only pitcher so far to go that long in the game. It was such an improvement from before. His velocity was way up too. His mode was 92. He did awesome and i was soo proud of him. Anyway, after that outing they left for the road to Dallas(Frisco). Josey and I decided since we both didnt have to be back till Wednesday, we would take a road trip to Dallas and stay the weekend with them. So here we are, in dallas. I love dallas. It is very hip! They have all the good restraunts, shopping.. and more. I spent like 4 hours at the mall the other day because it felt like home with all the great stores. And I actually felt like I could shop and not worry about our car getting broken into.. ha ha.
Well fam and friends.. sean pitches again tomorrow, Tuesday. Pray hard. I really believe God has given his confidence back and his mechanics are dialed in. We continually need your prayers. Thank you for everything so far. Your encouragement has been incredible. We love all of you. I will see some of you in like 2.5 weeks. Yea! Cant wait to come home again.
These pics are of Sean pitchin hard and me at Houston's. As my family knows.. WE LOVE HOUSTONS!! OUr family Favorite Restaraunt.. My mom had told us that there was a Houstons in Dallas.. so Sean and I searched and FOUND!! It was sooo delicious!!

Start #2: Better, but still room for improvement

Hey guys,
This is my first post since Brianne has been talking care of all the action that has been taking place out here. She has done a great job letting ya'll know the ins and outs. I figured it's about time I give a little shout out. Sorry... I'll figure out how to do pictures when Brianne is around.

Life on the road. I forgot how much I don't enjoy 12 hour bus rides. We left Wednesday afternoon and arrived in Tulsa, OK at 4:30 am. After 3 games in Tulsa we arrived here in Springdale, AR. In all, we'll be on the road for a whole week. This is really the true test of what life is like as a married minor leaguer. For me, I have been living this life for the past 4 years so it isn't too big of a change since Brianne and I are use to a long distance relationship. At the same time this is the longest we have been apart since we got married. Lets just say life is much better when you get to spend each day with the person you are so in love with. I am missin her big time. The real challenge is for Brianne. Not only have i pulled her out of her comfort zone since we have moved away from SD (which she has never lived outside of), but now she is on her own in Corpus Christi. It is so awesome to see her faith grow right now. She is definitely outside her comfort zone, but is so evident she is leaning on God to get her though. God has blessed her with an awesome woman (a wife of another player) to make it through while i am gone. I can't be more thankful the she is in her life.

So my second outing was much improved from my first, but I still have more room for improvements. I felt so much more in control than I did last time. I was able to keep the ball down much better, but still wasn't able to make a crucial pitch to get out of a jam. Over the first 4 inns I yielded 1 run on 3 hits. I was on the verge of having a good start. My 5th was a little rocky though. I gave up 2 runs on 2 hits and a walk. The end line score: 5 inn, 5 hits, 2 bb, 3 runs. Not bad but not good. I might add in there that i had an amazing sliding catch on a bunt attempt (which the announcer said was one of the most athletic catches he has ever seen) and i picked a guy off trying to steal 3rd.

It has been a slow start for me this season. Coming off an impressive end to spring I have been really let down by my performances. It is so tough to go from one extreme to another. As Brianne mentioned in the last post my emotions had been shaken a bit after my first. Baseball is a tough sport and will humble everyone at some point or another. Through it all I have been learning a ton about myself and my faith. I seem to grow so much more during season because I am faced with so much adversity. It is in these times that i have to cling to God's words to get me through. "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4.
I feel God has been teaching me so much about what true success is. In human eyes it is solely based on performance. In order to reach success we must perform to a standard that humans have established as successful. I pressure myself with this so much because i know it is this success that is needed to advance my career. God continues to place an amazing verse (which is my life verse rightly so) that always refocuses me to a success that is valued by Him. Colossians 3:23-4 "Whatever you do, work at it with ALL of your heart, AS WORKING FOR THE LORD, NOT MEN, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. IT IS THE LORD CHRIST YOU ARE SERVING."
It is so tough to remain with this mindset when this game is only about worldly success and I will need to be successful to make it to the big leagues. In the end, I am reminded that God is faithful and has a distinct plan for Brianne and I. I must place all my faith and trust in Him and this plan He has already written.

Great News and Not so great News!!

So Monday April 7th, 2008 was a GREAT DAY, and a not so FUN NIGHT. We started off the day by driving back from San Antonio. We went up there Sunday night to visit my brother. It was sooo great to get to see him and his friend Aaron. They were in San Antonio for The final four. If any of you know my brother, he pretty much lives the coolest life. In the last couple months he has gone to Patagonia, Chile, puerto rico, Monteray, San Diego for Opening DAY, Then now to San Antonio because he and his friend won tickets at a charity auction. So INcredible! We told him that if he ever needs personal assistants to help him with any of these amazing trips, we would quit our jobs and be his slaves.. ha ha.. Anyway we got home to Corpus yesterday morning. Yesterday afternoon I had my 2nd interview with the Director of the Hospital, I was a bit nervous on my way there. When I arrived, she was the nicest lady ever! She didnt ask me any nursing related critical thinking questions, just basically was thrilled to have me on staff!! SO I GOT THE JOB!! WOO HOO!! I walked away praising our Lord for taking care of us every step of the way!
Our God ROCKS!! Just one week ago, when we arrived here in Corpus, I was on the edge of crying everyday!! I just wanted to go home! We couldnt find housing, and I couldnt find a job, and i felt so unsettled. But in 7 short/long days God revealed so much to both of us. We got hooked up with an amazing studio behind this retired navy guy's garage. It is only temporary because his son is comin home, but for now it is great! Then I got this great flexible nursing job at the Children's hospital here. It is called a flex RN position, in that i make my own schedule and work as much or as little as I prefer. It is perfect with all the weddings and stuff i want to come home for. So thank you all for all your continual prayers! Prayer works! I have learned that full well!!

So the NOT SO GREAT NEWS... Last night was Sean's first start as a Double AA pitcher. He had been nervous and doubtful all week about it. He hadn't pitched for 2 weeks and that was freakin him out. I kept persisting and encouraging him to only think about what an amazing end he had to spring training. He has become an amazing pitcher. He really is awesome! Last night just didnt go as he had dreamed of it. He had a hard time keeping the ball down. He couldnt get ahead of the count with many of the hitters. His focus this year is to have lots of first pitch strikes, and to never get to a 3 ball count. He ended the night giving away 6 runs in four innings. It wasnt good, but its the first time ever pitching at this level and sometimes it just doesn't go your way. Many guys swung on his first pitch and it was a mess! The first inning he gave up a weak hit, then the next guy sean hit and walked, and the next guy hit a bomb, scoring 3 in the first! The second inning, there was no runs. YEA! The 3rd inning, he gave up three more! OUCH!! I seriously felt all his emotion at once, sitting in the stands!! I felt sooo mad, frustrated, sick to my stomach and sad. I wanted him to have such a great start! It just wasn't meant to be. So if you check his ERA.. it may be a number you have never seen before.. but i have full confidence he will get it down and pitch a great season.
God has a plan for us! He has an amazing plan for Sean and for ME. God has opened many doors in the last month. He wants us here in Corpus, he wants me to work with the kids here, he wants Sean to have an amazing impact on his teammates. Sometimes it is so fuzzy, when one day we perform so well and the next cant figure out why things are happening. But, We know that whatever God wants is what we want!
Sean was pretty bummed last night. A man of few words. All i could do was encourage him, saying the positive things that happened. We ended up winning the game in extra innings. At least he didnt get a Loss!!
Today Sean woke up very disturbed and sad. He sat at his computer for an hour, journaling to Jesus. Later I asked him if there was anything I could do for him? He said no. At that point tears rolled down my face because I could feel all that he was feeling. There is an amazing thing that happens when you are married. You truly become ONE! I felt everything last night and everything this mornin. As I sat there looking at him and telling him how much I love and respect him, he began to tear up as well. Satan definetly has a strong hold over Sean's mind with Baseball stuff. He knows he is in baseball because that is where God wants him, but he doubts his skills all the time. Please pray for us as we continue to face this crazy unsecure baseball career. It truly is a roller-coaster. Sean is an amazing Man. He desires God's desires so much! He has the most tender heart for the Lord. We are called to not an easy life being followers of Christ.. we hope and pray that we will overcome battles the way in which Christ has showed us. In a way we are missionaries on the field and stands compared to missionaries in the unseen world.
Thank you again for all your prayers. I am a HUGE believer in Prayer! Love all of you!
One last thing.. my brother found this website that you can watch the Hook's Home games Live. It is 14.99 for the season. But my brother and his mom did it and it seems to work well. If you are interested you can go to:
http://www.b2tv.com

Click on the “big savings” picture then click on “catch you professional and juniors team live action…” and then click the “cc hooks” logo. Fill out the forms and then you are done. To watch the game click on the b2tv.com home page and then the baseball link under the schedule.
Alright thats it.. to be continued next week!!