Tuesday, October 5, 2010

September Wanderings

I'm blogging, I'm blogging, I'm blogging!!! Can anyone believe I've actually found time to sit down and write an update??? I mean seriously...well, to be honest, completely honest...I will tell you where the time came from. I finally rolled out of bed at 6am this morning like I should do every morning and started my day with a much needed and long overdue quiet time with Jesus. Amazing how He's literally added hours to my day every since. No lie...just the Truth=)


Anyway, September is always a busy month. Kids are back into the school routine, and this year we've added weekly gymnastics for Savannah, which she LOVES. Joey's classes hit full stride this month, and about the time I start winding down from Weston's birthday celebration, I'm gearing back up with preparations for Joey's (Sept. 30th) and Savannah's (Oct. 8th).


Somewhere in the mix we also found time for a few other adventures...Weston's dedication over Labor Day weekend....

....a trip to the Atlanta Aquarium, which really, with two kids, never gets old. We always have so much fun with them watching the same exhibits each time we go. This time, we ate lunch at the CNN center and headed over to this really cool playground near the north side of Centennial Olympic Park. If you have kids and haven't ventured to this rolling slide, you're missing out=) Just look at their faces!.......September also included our annual trip to Macon to celebrate Joey's and his dad's birthdays. We always have a blast when we visit them=) And for some reason, we also chose this month, two weeks before Savannah's big 3 Year Old Bash, to have have laminate flooring installed in our entire downstairs.


Don't get me wrong...I LOVE IT. But I've been a little stressed and overwhelmed at the process of reorganizing the downstairs and putting everything back together. Pictures will come soon...promise. Probably after her party though=)


Overall, it was a good month. I've really been enjoying my kids even though I feel like they both do more screaming, squealing, whining, and crying than I can handle some days. I can't really blame Weston, I guess I'd be miserable too if I was cutting two molars and another new tooth all at the same time. Savannah? Well, I think she just does it to get attention because she sees Weston gets attention when he whines and cries. What can I really expect with a 1-year old and a 3-year old anyways?


I love them. People love them. It's especially cute now when Weston really decides to ham it up. So I'm pushing them both through a store, Savannah will smile and bat those big blue eyes, saying the darndest things to people, while Weston will raise his little hand, arm bent at the elbow, grin that winning smile and say, "Hi!" to everyone. People literally stop and stare, and laugh, and coo, and smile. It makes me feel good that at least my kids can bring joy to the lives of others because I'm pretty sure I always look like I just finished exercising or am about to start. (Which most days is true...save money on the make-up, right?)Savannah is my little "do-it-herself" child these days. Pick out her own clothes. Put on her own shoes. Pour her own juice. Buckle her own car seat. I love it. It can be a little annoying at times having to wait on her to figure things out, but I'm 100% certain that my loss in time is her gain in critical thinking and fine motor skills. She is sweet as sugar when she wants to be, and Joey and I both agree that our favorite thing in the whole wide world is to hear her singing at the top of her lungs anywhere...the car, the house, her bed, the grocery store. I'm pretty sure she witnessed to at least everyone two aisles over one day in the grocery store with her very accurate and loud rendition of Jesus Loves Me. =) Gotta love her.My children are true gifts, but I would be remiss if I didn't brag on my hubby a little. I mean, after all, I did miss his birthday post=) We were actually all one-by-one experiencing the joys of the stomach flu the week of his birthday, so I was very busy doing loads of laundry to be fair.


Anyway, Joey has been great, especially lately. He understands how hard a day can be with Weston's most-annoying-sound-in-the-world as your background music. He leaves in the evenings to study often, but always comes home with a treat for me, usually my favorite--a kid's size Baskin Robbins chocolate ice cream. (In case any of you wondered=) He is well-liked and respected at his job. He's consistent and intentional with all he does. He looks a challenge in the eye and will eat every last bit of that elephant one bite at a time. He always puts me and the kids first, even staying home from work unexpectedly when I was literally laying in bed for 24hrs, dying from the stomach flu--I wish I had been as mindful of his own needs when he experienced the same. No matter what we go through, I can always count on him. I'm so thankful every day that he chose me, but more importantly that he and God chose each other. That, my friends, has made all the difference in the world. Love you honey! Happy belated birthday=)


holy experience

Let the gratefulness continue...
#72 family
#73 God's financial provision
#74 the joy of a child
#75 birthdays
#76 marriage
#77 fun family times
#78 rolling slides
#79 6am morning readings
#80 blessed added hours to a day
#81 warm September sun with cool rustling breezes
#82 squealing, screaming, whining, and crying
#83 a child's heart that so easily and readily forgives
#84 a husband in every sense of the word

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Sunday, October 3, 2010

I Run-Lesson Nine

Lesson Nine: God can.

Simple huh? While life lately has been anything but simple. I haven't written much because I haven't had the time to write. I'm still running, but ever since the Sprint Triathlon, I've also been recouping. Babying some injuries that needed some time and a little less stress. Now, starting tomorrow, it's time to kick back into gear.

January 8th, 2011--the Half Marathon looms dark and ominous in my future. Ha! The problem with this statement is, honestly, this is how I've been viewing it. There is nothing, nada, zip, zilch, zero--nothing inside of me that wants to run this race, much less train for it. Period. To be perfectly transparent, I haven't truly decided how much of it I will actually commit to running. I guess the training schedule will tell. I'm discouraged and in a very negative place when I think about this race. Sigh.

Why you ask? I think I'm just afraid I can't do it. The other part of me is afraid I just don't want to do it bad enough. I'm scared of re-injuring myself or injuring something else. I'm afraid I will ultimately be disappointed with my performance. I'm just flat out scared.

So why do it? 1) I feel like it's the next step in my running journey, what God's called me to do. 2) On a personal level, I'd really like to get to a point where I could do more triathlons, definitely more sprints, but even more challenging, something inside of me gets excited about trying to complete an Olympic length triathlon. Running a Half Marathon is just stamina preparation for that next step in my training. 3) I've lost weight. I'm fitting into clothes 3 sizes smaller than I was last year. If that's not motivation to keep running, I'm not sure what is.

So where does that leave me? Continuing to run. Like the little train that could, chugging along, thinking, "I think I can. I think I can. I think I can." Except somewhere in the middle of my run, I realize, it's not helping. These thoughts aren't getting me through. They are not enough. Then I find myself repeating, "But God can. God can. God can. I KNOW He can." Suddenly my mileage for the day was almost done, and God did. And I trust that He will just continue to be my God of "can" because "can't" isn't gonna cut it anymore. Not with 13.1 miles ahead of me in January. I can't, but God can.

What can't you do, that God WILL do through you today?post signature