Thankful Thursday

1.  Teamwork.  David and I are in the process of retiling our downstairs bathroom and were shoulder to shoulder tonight busting up tile and cement board together.  I love having a true partner to work with, whether it's raising kids or in a more tangible home improvement project.  Of course, having a partner to play with, like when sightseeing around Seattle, is awesome too. :)  Either way, we're in this thing together.    

2.  Grocery carts with steering wheels.  Because if it buys me an extra five minutes at the store, it's a good thing.  

3.  Running later in the day.  This morning I got to sleep in an extra hour and went running when my mom came over around 10:30am.  It was about 15 degrees warmer and I got to see the neighborhood in sunlight instead of complete darkness! 

4.  Consignment sales.  I know I've said it several times before, but what's not to love?  You get to clear out stuff you don't use anymore, make money from it, and then usually shop a presale to find great deals on clothes and things your kids will use.  Win-win-win!

5.  Getting "boo-ed".  Since I first heard of the "boo-ing" tradition a few years ago, I have wanted to be a part of a neighborhood that participated in something so cute.  Last Saturday night, we heard the doorbell ring and went out to find a plastic pumpkin full of stickers, candy, and color-on placemats.  In it was also a note saying we'd been "boo-ed" and listed instructions on how to carry on the fun.  On Sunday night after the kids were in their pjs, we loaded them up in the van and snuck out to deliver our little bags of treats.  Audrey had SO much fun sneaking up to the door, leaving the treat, ringing the bell, and then having me carry her while sprinting back to the van.  It was a blast for all of us, actually.  Even Luke kept yelling "Been Boo-ed!  Been Boo-ed!" on the way home.  


This next week is going to be quite a full one for me, so please pray everyone stays well, sleeps well, and behaves well!    

Thankful Thursday

1.  My father-in-law, Ed, whose birthday was Sunday.  He's smart, funny, generous, and hardworking...all traits I'm very grateful he passed on to his son. :)  He is a fantastic Granddad and I'm so thankful they (and we!) have him in our lives.  

2.  Free or cheap kids' meals.  Now that we have to buy two, it makes a difference to pay attention to restaurant specials when we do get crazy enough to dine out with the kids.

3.  Fall/winter clothes.  I changed out my wardrobe this week and it's nice to see some old favorites.  Especially since most of them fit for the first time in two years!  

4.  Having the entire house clean at one time.  Except for the basement.  And it only lasted one day.  But whatever...it mostly happened.

5.  Honest conversations about passing judgment, giving/receiving grace, and humbleness.  We had quite a time this week in Bible Study while studying the story of Gomer and Hosea.  This blog post about an interaction at Starbucks was also a great reminder to stop and think about where someone might be coming from and then respond with the love of Christ.  Not always easy, but always the best choice.  

http://www.prodigalmagazine.com/she-yelled-and-called-me-names/

Have a great Friday, y'all!

Half Marathon

40.3

63.3

83.2

78.6

27.5...and counting.

What are those numbers?  Those are the miles that I have run per month over the last five months.  That does not include training that took place in April or May in preparation for the Peachtree Road Race we ran in July.

83.2 miles in August alone.  The hottest and most humid month of the year, and I ran 83.2 miles.  

With a perfectionist personality, it's easy for me to get disillusioned with things very quickly.  When I first ran 7, then 9, then 11 miles, I would get overwhelmed with amazement.  But as I added mileage, I somehow made the mistake of subtracting the awe of what I was accomplishing.  Suddenly 10 miles didn't sound like much anymore, which is crazy.  When I stop and really let myself think about it, it absolutely blows my mind.  

Never ever in a million years did I think I would do a half marathon.  As in, never.  And yet just over one week ago, I crossed the finish line having just pounded the pavement with hundreds of other runners for two and a half hours.  Woah.

But let me make one thing perfectly clear:  I couldn't have done a single step without God's help.  Not a step of that race and not a step of the 40+ training runs I trudged through in preparation.  With each passing week, my muscles, lungs, and heart grew stronger.  What really surprised me was how much my prayer life grew as well.  Sure, a lot of time was spent begging Him for oxygen, but a good bit of it was also just talking.  Lifting up people whose names came to mind.  Thanking Him for the beauty of my surroundings.  Praying through situations and decisions, fears and uncertainties.  There wasn't a run I finished where I didn't whisper a prayer of "Thank You, Jesus, for the strength to do that" and mean it with every exhausted fiber of my being.    

I am proud, y'all.  And I think rightly so.  I imagine that running a half marathon will be one of my top ten biggest personal accomplishments of my lifetime.  But I can't claim the victory as my own.  It was only because of the Lord's strength and grace that I made it.  As I started talking to God out loud between miles 11 and 13 of the race last weekend (yes, literally out loud) and begging Him to carry me through, I realized more than ever that He had been with me every single stride of every single run.  

When I first began drafting this post in my head, I imagined it as a note to my kids about their ability to do anything they put their minds to.  My basis would be not only about the strength of the human will and determination, but also because they had a bit of me in them.  The much, much more important reason they can, however, is because of the same reason I was able to reach this goal:  We can do all things through Him who gives us strength. (Phil. 4:13)  That doesn't mean it'll be easy or without pain.  Trust me, training was neither.  But, it can be done.  With His strength, it is possible.  They may have a bit of their Mama's drive in their blood, but if they have God in their heart as I pray they will, they can move mountains.  

So, Luke and Audrey, when I'm old (and I do NOT mean 40) and can't walk very well, remember that your Mama once ran a half marathon.  Be proud of me for that, but remember Who I give all the credit to.  Make sure you're doing the same in your own lives.

Thankful Thursday

Wow - because of other posts and lack of time, this is my first TT post in almost a month!  It feels good to stop and focus on the big and little blessings this week...

1.  Outlet shopping with Grandmom!  This morning the kids and I met David's mom to do a little shopping.  They got some great clothes, including their adorable "fancy" matching Christmas outfits that they'll wear to see Santa and to the Christmas Eve church service.  Audrey can't wait to do a fashion show for David later.  We're thankful for some cute new dudes for sure!

2.  A week off from running.  After finishing my first half marathon last Sunday, I decided to reward myself and rest my body for 7-8 days straight.  It's been awhile since I've had that kind of break.  Of course, due to Luke's wake-up calls, I'm not getting to sleep in much longer than if I got up and went running.  Maybe that'll just serve as a reminder when I start back and face lack of motivation that it's better to get up and do it.

3.  New television shows.  I'm thankful the fall season has kicked off and we can quit watching the same Big Bang Theory reruns.

4.  Crafty Christmas projects.  That's all I can say for fear of giving anything away, but a few people on my list this year are going to get some handmade decor...whether they want to or not. ;)  I enjoy doing a little of it and I hope they enjoy the fruits of my labor.  Or at least have a basement to hide it in.

5.  October.  I love this month.  I love the abundance of beauty (fall leaves, gorgeous decor), tasty treats (pumpkin-flavored food, candy), fun (pumpkin patches, hayrides, Halloween) without the pressure, stress and busyness that await us in the next two months.

Enjoy it a little this weekend!

September 2013 Recap

September's theme would definitely be family.  We got to spend time with members on both sides, several of whom we rarely get to see.  We went over my dad and stepmom's one Sunday, had my brother, sister-in-law, and nephews over two Saturdays ago, and of course there was the trip to Baltimore I wrote about below.  We also hosted David's parents for a few nights when a pipe burst in their kitchen sink, causing flooding in that room and several others including the basement.  With the dehumidifiers and fans running it was 95 degrees in their bedroom and sounded like a jet engine, so they opted to check into the "Grandparent Hotel" as Audrey dubbed it.  The bad-for-them-yet-fortunate-for-us thing about their stay was that it helped us discover a plumbing issue of our own that we may not have found until it was too late.  The sump pump in the basement stopped working, but a few trial and error fixes, $50, and a new piggyback floater switch later, (yay for getting to be the one describing that to the guy in Home Depot) it seems to be working.

On a drier note, Audrey started pre-K at the beginning of the month and there were actually no tears for either of us.  She's settling into the new class very well and since I get to be one of the two room moms, I'll get to be a big part of her school year.  As will Pinterest, I'm sure.     

What else?  David traveled to LA for a few days at the beginning of the month, my sweet friend Kara had baby #3, Reid, who I got a rare chance to see in the hospital before they headed back to their new home in South Carolina, and I rocked painting two popcorn bowls at my small group's ladies' night out pottery painting.  (I lied about that last part.  I'm terrible at painting ceramics, which is why I chose something that only our family would see and use.)

My running has been going well and I reached my training goal of 12 miles twice.  I have my half marathon this upcoming weekend, which blows my mind and freaks me out all at once.  I'm trying not to think too much about it, but I'm definitely planning on a post with details should I actually live to cross the finish line.  

Now for the latest on the  kiddos:

Luke had his 18 month check-up this month.  He is doing really well and is in the 78th percentile for height and 85th for weight.  He got two shots and barely whimpered.  Those thunder thighs I passed on to him are good for something.  He is teething and entering terrible twos, so pray hard, y'all.  I'm really hoping the attitude I've seen lately is more because of the former and less of the latter.  He's certainly attempting to be more independent and I get to hear, "No LUKE" (as in, "let me do it") at least a thousand times a day.  His vocabulary is getting quite large, though his pronunciation hasn't quite caught up. Sometimes it's like playing a game show titled "Can You Guess What Luke is Saying" and I get really, really excited when I nail it after several attempts.  He gets less excited when I can't put my finger on it and quit trying.  

He's getting great at playing by himself for a little at a time and even at playing with Audrey for longer periods (and by playing I mean he'll let her boss him around and do what she tells him for a solid ten minutes before screaming "NO" or "STOP" at her until she yells back and they both end up in tears.)  He really loves being around other kids, though, and has started to flourish in nursery at church.  He is wonderful at sharing and often insists on taking Audrey something if I've given one to him, such as a cracker while I'm cooking dinner.  Helping also brings him a lot of joy.  I've found out that I can convince him to do just about anything if I introduce it with "like a big boy" or "be a big helper".  He loves greeting people and saying "hello" incessantly until they respond...and then at least five more times.  He is a regular comedian and loves cracking himself up and attempting to do the same for us.  

His favorite things to play are coloring/drawing, talking on the "phone", cooking in their toy kitchen, playing outside, and hide and seek.  Miraculously, he's really good at staying quiet when he's hiding with someone until he is found.  He also likes Audrey's dollhouse and gives great snuggles and bottles to her baby dolls.  I think physical touch is definitely one of his love languages.  As I wrote in a previous post, he loves to hold hands.  He also gives the sweetest hugs complete with an "mmm-MMMM" noise.    

Audrey is doing great, too.  She loves school and the structure and routine of it.  They do a lot of fun things in her class.  Just in September alone she's had a gingerbread hunt, got to act out bible stories on stage in chapel, had a visit from Johnny Appleseed, and celebrated at least three classmates' birthdays with cupcakes.  She has weekly homework for which she has to cut out 4-5 pictures from a magazine that start with the letter of the week.  We send them in and then she glues them in a booklet at school.  

Outside of school, she's still my little bookworm.  We've been doing reading lessons most days of the week for several months now and are nearing the end of the program.  It's astonishing how much she's picked up.  I fully expect her to be reading on at least a second grade level by kindergarten.  

Academics aside, she is still 100% a fun-loving four year old.  She loves to dance, play doll house, color/draw/craft (and I do mean LOVES it), read, hear stories, make up songs, play school, and hit the park.  Dresses are her favorite thing to wear and it's a good day if she has some pink, purple, or red on, which are her three favorite colors.  

Her maturity and intelligence continue to amaze me.  Lately she's asked several questions that have sparked discussion about heaven.  She wanted to know how our bodies get there and I did delve into the truth with her a little, but was careful not to overwhelm or scare her.  She took it all in stride and wisely said, "Momma, I bet Jesus and God are SO impatient and excited to see us get to heaven."  Out of the mouths of babes.  Sometimes I have to remind myself I'm not talking to an adult!  

She is a wonderful big sister and, though she tries to smother him with hugs and squeezes a little too often and can be bossier than her Mama (which is saying something), she is usually very patient and kind to Luke.  Watching the two of them when they interact sweetly makes my heart absolutely melt.  I so badly want them to have a great, close relationship their whole lives.  They really do adore each other most of the time.   

A few quips and quotes from the month:

 - When Luke wants to sit on the couch or in a big chair, he usually pats the seat and says, "Big Boy, Big Boy" as in, he wants to sit up there like a big boy.

 - Audrey's memory is still absolutely astounding.  (Though mine is fading these days so forgive me if I've already written this!)  We were at a park that looks quite similar to another one that we'd gone to, but not since probably 12-14 months prior.  She tells me, "We've been here before, Momma.  Remember?  Mrs. Kara set there and gave Reagan part of her banana."  Whaaaa?  Sometimes it's eerie!  

 - Both kids love Martina McBride's song "Happy Girl".  It started out that Audrey loved it, but now even Luke requests it in the car.  We have probably listened to that song 30 times this month.  

 - Luke's answer to where something is is always "under."  David and I can't ask each other where something is without the other saying "under" in a Luke voice.

 - Luke is really getting into songs with motions and loves the Wheels on the Bus, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and Head and Shoulders.  It is so cute to watch him attempt the moves, but he usually prefers just to watch you make a fool of yourself. 

 - Audrey loves giving me "energy hugs" before I go on runs (usually she has to do them the night before since I go so early.)  They are looooong squeezes that I promise really do help!

Pictures coming soon...ish.  Happy October!