Today I am thankful the the little things: being able to run after the sun comes up, a husband that cooks pancakes for everyone on Saturday mornings (and today he unloaded and loaded the dishwasher too), watching my kids laugh and play together this morning, a warm and cozy home, laughing with my husband, and just being together as a family today...
Saturday, November 06, 2010
Thankful...
Today I am thankful the the little things: being able to run after the sun comes up, a husband that cooks pancakes for everyone on Saturday mornings (and today he unloaded and loaded the dishwasher too), watching my kids laugh and play together this morning, a warm and cozy home, laughing with my husband, and just being together as a family today...
Running Update!
The half marathon is next Saturday so by this time next week, I'll be done (probably in more ways than one). But I think I am actually getting a little excited.
The training plan I have been following had my longest run at 10 miles. But I have found that for me, half the battle in running is mental. I know some people say "if you can run 10 miles, you can run 13." But for me, I feel like 'if I can run 10, then I can run 10.' So I was hoping to try and do a 10-mile and a 12-mile run before the race.
A couple of weeks ago I did a 10-miler and it went better than I thought it would. Last week, I did my first 12-miler! I just decided to take it one mile at a time, trying not to think about how much farther I had to go. It went pretty good for the majority of it - but I did feel like I was slowing down on the 11th mile and then the 12th mile really hurt - pain in muscles that had never hurt before. I decided to just listen to my music and take it slow - my goal was just to keep going without stopping.
I finally made it and was sooo glad to walk again. I walked it out some and then got in the car to head home - then I found out really quickly that I hadn't walked it out enough! My calves started just burning like fire and my calves had never ever hurt after running before. I called Kim when I got home and she told me to ice them so I did the ice bath thing and popped motrin and that helped tremendously.
I'm sure I will get sore at the end next weekend but I feel better just mentally knowing that I have run 12 miles before and just have to go a little bit further this time. Hopefully adrenalin and the sight of the finish line will help me do that last mile!
The training plan I have been following had my longest run at 10 miles. But I have found that for me, half the battle in running is mental. I know some people say "if you can run 10 miles, you can run 13." But for me, I feel like 'if I can run 10, then I can run 10.' So I was hoping to try and do a 10-mile and a 12-mile run before the race.
A couple of weeks ago I did a 10-miler and it went better than I thought it would. Last week, I did my first 12-miler! I just decided to take it one mile at a time, trying not to think about how much farther I had to go. It went pretty good for the majority of it - but I did feel like I was slowing down on the 11th mile and then the 12th mile really hurt - pain in muscles that had never hurt before. I decided to just listen to my music and take it slow - my goal was just to keep going without stopping.
I finally made it and was sooo glad to walk again. I walked it out some and then got in the car to head home - then I found out really quickly that I hadn't walked it out enough! My calves started just burning like fire and my calves had never ever hurt after running before. I called Kim when I got home and she told me to ice them so I did the ice bath thing and popped motrin and that helped tremendously.
I'm sure I will get sore at the end next weekend but I feel better just mentally knowing that I have run 12 miles before and just have to go a little bit further this time. Hopefully adrenalin and the sight of the finish line will help me do that last mile!
Wednesday, November 03, 2010
Thankful for Surprises...
This past weekend we had the opportunity to surprise my parents for Halloween. They live about 11 hours away in Georgia and had no idea we were coming! We showed up at their door with the kids dressed in their costumes saying 'trick or treat'!
It was worth the ride just to see their faces! It was one of the first times my Mom didn't know what to say! ;)
The crew getting ready to head out - for a 3 hour candy collection!! (We had no idea)!
I think they were still in shock at this point.
It was fun for the kids to ride in the back of the car- but it got tiring lifting the littles in and out of the car - so I offered to drive and Brian did all the lifting (what a man)!
One of the many houses...
One house left a big bowl out even though they weren't home...
On Sunday evening, we got to go to the Fall Festival at Mom and Dad's church. I think Mom told everyone she saw the story of the weekend! Cute to see how excited they were.
The kids loved playing on the church playground.
Free pony rides...
Yee-haw Larry Boy!!Needless to say, it was a whirlwind of a weekend and I think we are still recovering from traveling 22 hours within 3 days but it was so fun and such a great memory. I am thankful that I had a husband who thought of doing this and then sacrificed to make it happen!
Tuesday, November 02, 2010
Thankfulness...
It's that time of year again to focus on Thanksgiving (thanks for the reminder Kelly and Kim). (I'm a day behind getting started...)
Today I am thankful for freedom ...
freedom to vote...
freedom to speak ...
freedom to believe in God...
freedom to live our lives for His glory... (without persecution)
freedom to worship with other believers ...
I often take these freedoms (and many more) for granted. Today I am going to vote and let my voice be heard, all the while trusting in God's sovereignty over all things.
Today I am thankful for freedom ...
freedom to vote...
freedom to speak ...
freedom to believe in God...
freedom to live our lives for His glory... (without persecution)
freedom to worship with other believers ...
I often take these freedoms (and many more) for granted. Today I am going to vote and let my voice be heard, all the while trusting in God's sovereignty over all things.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Running...
I started back running about a year ago. Running is a term I use loosely, because I'm not really a runner. I mean, I go out and I run, but I still don't feel like a runner. I'm still not very fast but my goal is to just go the distance without stopping.
Anyway, I decided a few months back that I would 'maybe' do the Richmond Half Marathon in November. I said 'maybe' because I wanted to leave the door open for me to back out of it. So I ran through the summer (which is miserable in the heat and humidity) and did a few races the past couple of months.
A few weeks ago, I paid my money and signed up for the half! I can't believe that I am actually paying someone money, a huge chunk of money, to torture myself for 13.1 miles. But since the money is paid, there is no backing out now!
Training has been going pretty good - the distance has increased now. This is my second 20-mile week so we'll see how I feel after Friday morning. I am sort of enjoying it - I really like how I feel after I'm done running but I am starting to enjoy other parts of it as well. I am not normally a morning person so I have been working hard to get my tired self out of the bed at the crack of dawn (actually before the crack of dawn). I listen to my praise music and try to use that time to think and pray. It's been good for me to have that time in the mornings.
So the half is coming up soon - I still wonder if I can do that many miles. But I have a friend who just did her first half (go Kelly) and she is giving me some inspiration!
Until then, the training continues...
Anyway, I decided a few months back that I would 'maybe' do the Richmond Half Marathon in November. I said 'maybe' because I wanted to leave the door open for me to back out of it. So I ran through the summer (which is miserable in the heat and humidity) and did a few races the past couple of months.
A few weeks ago, I paid my money and signed up for the half! I can't believe that I am actually paying someone money, a huge chunk of money, to torture myself for 13.1 miles. But since the money is paid, there is no backing out now!
Training has been going pretty good - the distance has increased now. This is my second 20-mile week so we'll see how I feel after Friday morning. I am sort of enjoying it - I really like how I feel after I'm done running but I am starting to enjoy other parts of it as well. I am not normally a morning person so I have been working hard to get my tired self out of the bed at the crack of dawn (actually before the crack of dawn). I listen to my praise music and try to use that time to think and pray. It's been good for me to have that time in the mornings.
So the half is coming up soon - I still wonder if I can do that many miles. But I have a friend who just did her first half (go Kelly) and she is giving me some inspiration!
Until then, the training continues...
Saturday, October 09, 2010
An Amazing Date Night
Sunday night a week ago Brian and I were able to sneak away for a few hours for a date (thanks for watching the kids Granny and PawPaw)! We headed to eat a quick dinner at one of my favorite places: Chipotle! I really enjoyed sitting down to eat with Brian and being able to talk together for a few minutes.
After dinner we went to see Matthew Smith in concert at a local church. We thought it may be crowded so we got there early to get good seats. But it turns out that no one else was early - so we had a few more moments to chat while we waited on everyone else to come to the concert.
The concert was such an incredible worship experience. Matthew Smith's website says that he is "an East Nashville singer-songwriter who writes brand new music to centuries-old hymn texts." He is also involved with Indelible Grace Music.
I know that many people in churches cringe when they think of putting 'new' music to the old, ancient hymns. But I encourage people to read more at the Indelible Grace website and to listen to some of the songs. "It was common for people to compose new music for each generation for many of the hymns that they loved. There is no rule that says each hymn can only have one musical setting, and in fact, hymnals are designed for you to be able to mix and match words and music -- that's why they have a metrical index. But unfortunately, we lost this tradition and got stuck in a more modern traditionalism of associating one particular tune with one particular hymn ... Our goal is not change for change's sake, but to rekindle a love of hymns and to invite many who would never associate rich passion with hymns to actually read the words." (Indelible Grace website)
It was such an encouraging and worshipful concert. I am thankful for the incredible music we were able to experience. Thanks for planning this special evening, Brian!
After dinner we went to see Matthew Smith in concert at a local church. We thought it may be crowded so we got there early to get good seats. But it turns out that no one else was early - so we had a few more moments to chat while we waited on everyone else to come to the concert.
The concert was such an incredible worship experience. Matthew Smith's website says that he is "an East Nashville singer-songwriter who writes brand new music to centuries-old hymn texts." He is also involved with Indelible Grace Music.
I know that many people in churches cringe when they think of putting 'new' music to the old, ancient hymns. But I encourage people to read more at the Indelible Grace website and to listen to some of the songs. "It was common for people to compose new music for each generation for many of the hymns that they loved. There is no rule that says each hymn can only have one musical setting, and in fact, hymnals are designed for you to be able to mix and match words and music -- that's why they have a metrical index. But unfortunately, we lost this tradition and got stuck in a more modern traditionalism of associating one particular tune with one particular hymn ... Our goal is not change for change's sake, but to rekindle a love of hymns and to invite many who would never associate rich passion with hymns to actually read the words." (Indelible Grace website)
It was such an encouraging and worshipful concert. I am thankful for the incredible music we were able to experience. Thanks for planning this special evening, Brian!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Sweet fellowship...
We have been a part of our church family for almost 2 years now. The church has outgrown its building so there is no adult Sunday School time, making it difficult to get to know people. I had Carter not long after we started attending Grace so that added to the difficulty of getting to know people. I am just in a busy season with many young children so it has taken much longer to get to know other believers in this body.
Our church provides fellowship groups for its members/attenders which provides a time of fellowship and bible study for most adults. We tried a few groups last year but none of them really worked out. Some of the groups had something for kids, some of the groups didn't ... but most of them weren't close to our side of town anyway. We ended up just waiting to try to find a group this Fall.
Well, we finally found a group! We decided that we would get a sitter for our kids so that it would be a time for Brian and I to go to bible study together and be able to totally focus on the study and talking to people. At this point, if we took our kids, I would either be helping watch them or totally distracted thinking of them while someone else watched them... so since we meet just twice a month, this is our plan for now: bible time for Mom and Dad!
Now my favorite part is the teacher: Brian! He is leading us through the book of Hebrews. He is so gifted as a teacher and it has been so long since I've been able to sit under his teaching. It was so refreshing to listen to the Word being taught and to do that in an intimate setting with other believers. I am thankful for the old friends there with us and I look forward to the new friendships we have begun.
Can't wait for our next fellowship group meeting!
Our church provides fellowship groups for its members/attenders which provides a time of fellowship and bible study for most adults. We tried a few groups last year but none of them really worked out. Some of the groups had something for kids, some of the groups didn't ... but most of them weren't close to our side of town anyway. We ended up just waiting to try to find a group this Fall.
Well, we finally found a group! We decided that we would get a sitter for our kids so that it would be a time for Brian and I to go to bible study together and be able to totally focus on the study and talking to people. At this point, if we took our kids, I would either be helping watch them or totally distracted thinking of them while someone else watched them... so since we meet just twice a month, this is our plan for now: bible time for Mom and Dad!
Now my favorite part is the teacher: Brian! He is leading us through the book of Hebrews. He is so gifted as a teacher and it has been so long since I've been able to sit under his teaching. It was so refreshing to listen to the Word being taught and to do that in an intimate setting with other believers. I am thankful for the old friends there with us and I look forward to the new friendships we have begun.
Can't wait for our next fellowship group meeting!
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Back to School
Where has the time gone? I don't know but the calendar tells me that summer has ended ... that's fine because my favorite season is fall but I will have to say I am going to miss summer. We had a summer full of fun with friends and family. We went to the pool all the time, rode bikes and ate ice cream cones (although not at the same time), saw free movies, visited with family, and so much more. It wasn't as slow (or relaxing) as I would have liked but we still made so many special memories.
So ...time moves on and we have said 'goodbye' to the summer of 2010! We have jumped into school and our fall activities with both feet. The days are starting earlier and they seem to be lasting longer - but I find that it is such a 'good' busy.
I have been looking forward to school this year with the kids. Coleman is 4th grade already! Emmie is right behind him in 3rd and Calvin is in Kindergarten. Ellerie loves to do school with Calvin while also trying to mother Carter all day long. And Carter - well he just tears up the house every time I turn around - but at least he's cute!
So ... goodbye summer and hello fall!
So ...time moves on and we have said 'goodbye' to the summer of 2010! We have jumped into school and our fall activities with both feet. The days are starting earlier and they seem to be lasting longer - but I find that it is such a 'good' busy.
I have been looking forward to school this year with the kids. Coleman is 4th grade already! Emmie is right behind him in 3rd and Calvin is in Kindergarten. Ellerie loves to do school with Calvin while also trying to mother Carter all day long. And Carter - well he just tears up the house every time I turn around - but at least he's cute!
So ... goodbye summer and hello fall!
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