Count Your Blessings

The past few days have been crazy and eventful but not in the normal crazy ways we usually have around here. This past Thursday was St. Patrick's Day and was also the first day that the weather was supposed to hit the 90's so Kate & I invited some friends to meet us at a park for lunch. We were having a fun lunch but while we were cleaning up Miss Kate decided to wander off & I had my first official "I've lost my kid/ Panic moment." I was running through the play structures and looking like a total crazy person. Since it was so nice outside the park was packed & since it was St. Patty's Day everyone was in green- it was impossible to find a tiny person in that crowd. Finally, (which was really probably like 2 minutes) my friend spotted a lady holding Kate on the edge of the play area waiting for me to find her. I was so relieved in that moment. The time that Kate was actually lost was very brief but still all the worst thoughts were running through my mind, "What if she wandered into the parking lot, what if someone scooped her up, what will happen if somebody did take her, what if she's fallen somewhere and all these bigger kids run over her, what will I say if someone offers to help me 'she's wearing a green dress...well everybody is in green!', what if she is scared out of her mind?" Yeah, my mind go in the craziest directions in a matter of seconds. Once I had her back in my arms she gave me a hug and quickly told me, "I Ok mom, I Ok." I was so grateful and knew it was a blessing that it ended up being such a minor incident.
Later that day Jonathan called me & told me one of his best friends, Ben, had been in a skiing accident and broke his neck and femur. I was in shock for a while and it took some time to realize the severity of it all. I initially thought he'd be in the hospital for a few weeks but then would be back in Lubbock and back at Tech. Sadly, we've now found out that is far from what the reality of it is. He will likely be in hospitals for the next two and a half years. 
Ben is more like family than a friend. The summer I was pregnant with Kate he actually lived with Jonathan and I in Plainview. We spent a lot of time together and also got to know his family. They are all great, great people. His mom is so loving and kind, his dad is cool and easy to talk to, his sister is a sweet girl and they are all such a close-knit family. They love the Lord and appreciate all that they are given. Every time his parents come to visit their kids they also stop by our house to say hi and visit Kate.
When I first heard the news I got in contact with Ben's mom and my heart broke when I heard her voice. I wished I could reach through the phone and give her a hug. As a mom, I understand the connection you have to your child but I could only imagine her pain. I thought back to my moment in the park and all the crazy thoughts that had run through my mind and I couldn't even begin to imagine all that must have been running through her mind. I could barely understand her words through the tears and I had to fight back my own tears. I can't imagine how it must feel to not be sure if your child will survive the next few hours and to also know that no matter what happens your life, as well as his, is forever changed.
That first night was scary. Jonathan was hurting for his friend and trying to think of what he could do to help. He hurt as he began realizing that his friend's life was changed. We both stayed up late that night waiting to hear the results from the first surgery. I kept thinking about his parents and how they must be hurting for their son. I also thought of the family as a whole. Every time I hear of a crazy accident that shakes up a family I think about the night my Papa Chuy had his accident and how our world was turned upside down in a matter of minutes. The pain, shock, confusion, and unknown of what is to come is completely overwhelming and devastating.
In the days since the accident Ben has had some progress. At first he couldn't feel anything below his neck but he has now regained some movement in his arms. His spinal cord is still intact so that gives hope for a better recovery. The vertebrae that he broke has been replaced by a metal rod, he has been concious most of the weekend where the doctors initially thought he'd be out the first few days. He is breathing on his own and doesn't have any brain damage. Most of all, Ben seems to be at peace for the most part. He knows that God has a plan and that he will be taken care of. I've always known Ben to be a person with a great attitude so I know that he will be strong throughout his recovery. The doctors are saying there is little chance that he will ever walk again; however, considering all that has happened and how much worse this could have been, I know that God is working in this situation and He will continue to bless Ben.
After all of this I just keep thinking about how many blessings I take for granted. I keep thinking about Ben's mom and her pain. I think about how badly she must be wanting to pick up her baby boy, hold him, and give him a hug. I need to cherish the moments I have when I hold my baby girl. I find myself hugging Kate a little more than usual these days because I just can't imagine not being able to even hug her. I think about how much we take our ability to walk for granted. It is something that is so natural to us but its something that can be taken away in an instant. I think about how blessed I am to have a partner in life to always be by my side. I'm blessed by good health and the health and protection of my family. I'm blessed that I was able to finish college. Most of all, I am blessed to know that I have a Father who brings me all these blessings, comforts, and protections.

Jonathan and Ben were supposed to play at a cofee shop in Plainview this coming Saturday. Jonathan and I decided that rather than cancelling it, we should use it as an opportunity to help Ben and his family. We are in the middle of getting things together that we will take to Ben at the hospital in a few weeks and we are trying to raise as much money as we can for the family. This is going to be a long process and the medical bills are going to be completely overwhelming. His parents will eventually have to go back to work so making the 2-3 hour drive from their home to Denver, where he is, will get expensive fairly quickly. We hope that this fundraiser will be the first of many more to come, we want to do as much as we can for this family.
If you read this, please pray and continue to pray for Ben and his family. Please pray that we can raise money to help the family throughout his recovery. Lastly, remember to count your blessings and give praise to He that gives them for at any second your life could be forever changed.

*I've added some pictures so you can see the faces you are praying for. There is also a copy of the poster we've made for the Benefit for this Saturday.

 The Cox family: Kenneth, Kayleen, Melinda, & Ben (left to right)
 Ben, our dear friend. We look forward to the day he can come visit us in Lubbock and play some tunes with Jonathan in the garage.

A Time to Gush

This post is a little different from my normal post and I have a feeling it may end up being pretty gushy; however, it is what is currently on mind. I just wanted to write a little something about my best friend and other half. I am so incredibly blessed to be married to the person God created and molded for me. Jonathan is wonderful and such a blessing to my life. I love him so much and sometimes I still get butterflies in my stomach when I see him. I love hanging out with him, laughing together, watching our cheesy TV shows, and just being "us." I love that on road trips we can talk about anything and everything and not even realize that we don't have the radio on.
I recently started a little thing with Kate where I say, "Daddy is a..." and she says (in a very excited voice), "NERD!!!" We constantly tease him about being a nerd. However, all kidding aside, Jonathan really is one of the smartest people I know. (Even though in elementary I made it in to the smart school and he didn't!) These days Jonathan's life is a bit nerdy but I'm so proud of him. He goes to work & deals with complicated issues and numbers and all these other things that are way over my head and then comes home and works on homework and/or researches work related things.  He tells me about his stuff at work and it sounds like it would be so boring to me but he's really excited about it so it makes me happy. I'm glad that his work excites him and everything he is doing is helping build his career and get him where he wants to be. Along with talking about Jonathan's dedication to work I have to talk about how amazed I am with how hardworking he is. Ever since we started dating he has juggled going to school, working, making time for me, and for a while playing & teaching drumming. Then, of course, once we got married and had Kate he has added family time and Daddy-Kate time on top of everything else. I really don't know many people who could do all of that and keep their sanity, but even more than that- doing all of that successfully. Kate and I owe everything we have to our hardworking provider. I'm so thankful and proud of all Jonathan has done for me and for our family in the past few years. I'm so excited for his graduation that is just under 2 months away now! I'm proud of his accomplishment and he so deserves the honor and recognition for all of his hard work.
My life has not been so easy in the past few months; there's been sadness, frustration, darkness, and much more but yet through it all Jonathan has been my rock. He has a way of making me laugh when I'm sad and making me feel like a princess when I'm down in the dumps.
Jonathan is a fascinating man and I feel like this post doesn't even begin to explain all that he is and all that he does. I'm so in love with my husband and so blessed to have him in my life. Kate is blessed to have him as a Daddy and some boy some day has big shoes to fill.

Go Pioneers

This past weekend was Homecoming for Wayland Baptist- Jonathan's school. I guess since this is his last semester as an undergrad (YAY!!!) he all of a sudden has some school spirit and he wanted to take in the events of the weekend. So, since I use any opportunity to dress Kate up & maybe even sew something I fully embraced Jonathan's school spirit & we were a Wayland family for the weekend!

To kick it all off, I got to use my "refashioning" skills to make Kate a Wayland dress since she doesn't have anything blue & gold in her closet...for some reason there's just a lot of red & black...and pink. Haha! Jonathan gave up one of his old t-shirts for my cause. I was so excited to get my little project going. I immediately had tons of ideas flooding my brain. I finally figured out what I was going to do & got it started. One of my favorite parts of sewing is learning how to "refashion" old clothes. I just love the idea of it & it makes it way cheap- usually free! What could get better then new, free outfits?! Anyway, after a few mistakes that I made work to my advantage & a discovery of my love for elastic thread I finally had Kate's Wayland dress complete! Ta-daa! (Which by the way, Kate now says that after she's done something she thinks is impressive.)

Now, back to the details of the weekend. It was so nice to go back and visit Plainview. That little town is so dear to our heart so its nice to go back and automatically feel like we're back at home for a while. To start the Homecoming day off, Kate & I visited the family carnival. The "carnival" was actually just a couple of air jumpers, face paint, & balloon animals but Kate liked seeing all of her old pals. For lunch we had some delicious sandwiches from our favorite place in town. If you are ever visiting Plainview you must eat at Fieldhouse! So so good! We also got to get some sewing time in with some friends who were wanting to learn how to sew. Later that afternoon we went to the Wayland basketball game where Kate's little dress fit right in! We had a lot of fun & Kate enjoyed identifying all the basketballs she saw. (This is her latest thing: Pointing out what she sees & saying "I see I see!") Wayland won the game & Jonathan was able to finally embrace some school spirit! Here are some pictures I took, I never got a great one of the 3 of us but we were all sporting our blue & gold and were a little Wayland family for the day. (However I must say, red &

black still seems to suit us better!)

 

Of course we had to get some "poc-poc" for a snack!

A couple of side notes: I almost forgot to mention Kate's new do! She got a haircut last Friday & now has a little bob. She seems to be loving it & it has given her a new little sassy attitude. (as if she needed any more!)

Also, fun fact about Wayland: the majority of Jonathan's family has gone to school & graduated from there. His grandparents, parents, sisters, a brother in law, aunts, uncles, & cousins have all gone there. Wayland has a nickname of being "Wedding Bells University" and it seems to have been true for our family. While attending school there all of the family listed above, as well as Jonathan & I, met & got married while in school. Crazy right?!  

We have another fun weekend ahead! We will be heading to El Paso to see family and some of Jonathan's old friends from high school. I'm sure there will be interesting stories to share next week!