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!!

We are Finally in Corpus and Welcomed by a Popstar Surprise!!

So in the last four days we have stayed in 4 different cities! It has been soo crazy. We left Orlando Thurs afternoon and arrived in Hammond, LA thursday night. We got there after 9 hours of driving, and once we arrived David Clemons was itchin to go grab some food and shoot some pool with us. He is amazing guy! Now I know why sean has been so obsessed over him. He is all around GREAT!! So at 10pm we walked down to town and grabbed some pizza and shot some pool. We were out til 115 am and then hit the sack to wake up at 8 am the next day to drive 9 hours to Dallas, Tx. Once we arrived in Dallas we met up with one of sean's old friend's from Baylor. We then went to another friend of Sean's Rehearsal dinner. It was fun to meet many of the guys sean lived with throughout college. My dear friend Dana was also in this wedding, so i got to see her at the dinner. Very fun!! That night we crashed at his friend's house. We woke up Saturday mornin to head to Round Rock, Tx for an exibition game against triple AAA. That game was really fun! Austin is awesome! Then Sunday mornin we headed to our final destination, Corpus Christi!! We arrived here and had to drop Sean immediatly off at the field! I met up with a couple other wives, grabbed lunch, got ready for the game and then went to their 2nd exibition game.

This game was really fun because Mr Sexy back himself was at the game! Justin Timberlake is in a new movie called "The Open Road"- and it is based off a baseball theme. He is a Corpus Christi Hook in the movie, therefore they were shooting some of the film at the field! Jessica Biel is dating Justin, and so she joined him out here. Sean had a kick hanging out with them and chatting with different people in the film crew! Sean was the professional photographer for the team.. ha ha.. He has a new nick name as paparatzi sean because he wouldnt stop taking pictures of them. As you can see he snagged a couple good ones of them. Sean also had Justin sign a baseball for me.. kind of sweet and funny!
One of the newspaper writers found out about the signed ball and interviewed me for the corpus christi times.. The link below shows you the few statements about us.. Pretty funny!! It is the last 2 paragraphs of the article!! So i guess our first day in Corpus wasnt so shabby!

Today we woke up and spent the first hour searching for a breakfast joint.. couldnt even find a Denny's.. so ended up at Starbucks. Sean has eaten Starbucks for bfast the last four days with me and is a bit sick of eating a pastry and coffee.. He reminded me today that he is a professional athlete and needs more than that!! Pretty hysterical!!

Anywho.. we are trying to find a place to live. After looking all day.. pretty frustrated. But we know God has somethin for us!
Good News is I have an interview set up for thursday for the Children's Hospital that is in town! Pray hard guys.. I need a job and we need a place to live asap!!
Well cant wait till some of you come and visit! There aint much here.. but we will figure out the hot spots!
Love you all. We made it safe and are excited for this baseball season!!

http://www.caller.com/news/2008/mar/31/justint/

Double AA HERE WE COME!!! Watch out.. Mr Walker is on FIRe!!

Hey loved ones.. sean is seriously on fire! He pitched yesterday and it was the absolute best i have ever seen!! He was supposed to pitch on Thursday, but surprised him and said he had to pitch Wed. He did awesome though!!
He pitched a total of 59 pitches in 6 innings! (That is really good, in case my friends dont know.. ha ha) He also pitched 80% strikes! (Also AMAZING). He also gave up NO runs, and no walks and struck out 7! And last but not least, he got two at bats.. and the first at bat he hit a rocket over second base and got a HIT!! So GREAT!! It was so fun to watch! I was screaming and jumping up and down when he got on base.. After he got a hit, the next guy was walked. So sean got over to 2nd, then the next guy got out and sean stole third with an amazingly awkward slide... It was awesome and he wasww SAFE.. the next two got out so he didnt make it home.. oh well!
Well after that amazing outing.. he found out he made the double AA roster! We are soo excited. We are headed out of Florida right now. Everything is packed up and ready to hit the road!!
We cant tell you how thankful we are of all your prayers!
Thank you soo much!
Here are some pictures of him pitching and hitting... Then that night we went out and celebrated over some good food and drinks and the last one is of us enjoying the sunshine at a gorgeous resort!!
We have had an amazing time here in florida and are thrilled to start our next journey..
More updates to come!! Now its time to find a place to live, find a job, and start our great season of baseball!!
Talk to you all soon. Love you!

Easter in Orlando!

Hey everyone! Hope you all had an amazing Easter Sunday! It actually was one of my most favorite Easters! I know. I thought I was going to be really sad being away from home, family, cousins, amazing food, Easter egg hunts... But Sean and I had the best time! The day before, Sean pitched an amazing game! He threw 5 innings, and it was AWESOME!! The coaches told him before the game that he was going to have to hit that day too. Sean hasn't hit since high school, so when it was his time to go up to the plate, he was nothing but smiles! It was like a lil boy in tee ball.. he was so anxious to get a piece of that ball. Sean did great.. and after a couple balls and a couple strikes, he hit the ball soo hard.. right up third base line. Unfortunately they got him out.. but it was so fun to watch. I had my camera to take his picture, but of coarse the battery was completely dead!!
Anyway after a great game. We came home had a nice dinner and then dyed Easter eggs. We had a lot of fun.. they weren't turning out the way Martha Stewart had taught us on TV an earlier day!! But nonetheless, Sean was hysterical with all his ideas!
The Next day was Easter! We got up early, opened our Easter baskets, and Sean sent me on a egg hunt throughout our apartment that he had hid when i went to bed the night before. So Adorable!! Each egg had another clue to find the next egg.. all led up to an amazing date he is taking me on tonight! We are goin to go lay out at this cool hotel, then out to dinner to this really nice restaurant, then off to fun zone to race on the go cart track! Should be really fun!
Well after opening our baskets.. we headed over to Mimi's for a tasty breakfast, then went to an awesome church!
After Sean was done with baseball, we had 2 other couples over to eat a big Easter feast! I made a delicious ham, great potato casserole,baked beans, rolls for dinner,plus turkey pin rolls, veggie platter, and fresh guac and chips for appetizers. It all turned out real good. I was so excited everything worked out! I had never made a ham or my moms famous Easter potatoes and was a bit worried.. but all worked perfectly! It was really fun to hang out with the other couples and after dinner we played battle of the sexes! So hilarious! Of course the girls won!!
Well we still don't know where we are goin! Looks still like Double AA but.. who knows!!
Keep praying.. we will update as soon as we know. It is crazy that it is Tuesday and we probably are leaving Thursday and yet we don't know still for sure! SO NERVE RACKING!!
Well love you all... Have a great Week!!

One more week of Spring Training!!-TIME TO PRAY HARD!!

Hey guys.. it is now thursday, the first day of spring.. and if we are really lucky and in Double AA this year, we will be leavin Orlando in exactly one week! It has flown by!! This past week we had fun on St Patricks day going to a local pub with the entire Astros Organization(not planned) but all the boys showed up for a good time. We, unlike them, got there at 8pm and were out of there by 9:30pm. We are not used to being out at all at night and 9:30 was pushin it, our bed was callin us home!
The boys were shocked to see us leave so early, but we didnt care one bit! That night at the pub, we hung out with a new couple we just met. He was with the Padres Organization for the past 5 years and recently got picked up with the Astros. They are from South Carolina and have been married for 4.5 years. She was really sweet.. it was so good to just talk to another wife. The next day we had them over for dinner, and the next day she and I hung out and went shopping and laid out while the boys played. It was so refreshing to be with another girl and hear all her baseball stories.. All in all this time out here has really been very relaxing and fun for the both of us. Sean and I are just anxiously waiting the assignment of where we will be heading. As far as baseball stuff.. they started releasing people yesterday.. soo scary... 3 pitchers that sean had known over the years got released.. and he thinks a bunch more people will be released tomorrow!! This is the time where it gets very stressful around the field and clubhouse. Pray!! Sean and I had the privilege to go out to dinner with the head Big League chaplain last night. It was really great. He is a young guy who really loves the Lord. It was interesting to hear his background in that he grew up going to Hume Lake Christian Camps and decided his senior year in camp, while my dad was speaking, to commit his life to ministry.. So wierd all the different connections we had, but great to go out to eat with another strong believer. Great resource for Sean throughout this journey!!
Well guys.. Sean pitched an awesome outing on Tuesday. He got to pitch 3 innings... and the first two were awesome, 1-2-3 outs in both innings... then the third was a bit more rocky in allowing 2 runs coming in.. but his pitching looked great.. and the coaches seemed pleased!
All we can ask for is that God will have us wherever he wants us! Please continue to pray for sean.. We really want to be in DoubleAA but know God ultimately knows the BEST plan for us!
Love all of you.. miss you more and more everyday!
Sorry no pics this time.. We have been slacking with the camera!