What We Did Last Night

Yesterday Elijah caught a grasshopper. Not one of those little green ones but a honkin' big one that moves slowly and can hop from here to California in a single bound. We haven't named him yet. Not sure why...maybe it's because we don't plan on keeping him for more than a couple of days. Last night we sat there in front of his little bug home mesmerized, watching our grasshopper eat big pieces of hearts of romaine. We watched him for a very long time. Long enough for my legs to fall asleep. Nature is pretty cool. So are boys. Put the two together and you get interesting, sometimes creepy things to look at.
I am admitting an addiction, friends. It's called The Office. Seth and I haven't really been into TV much for the last year or so but this one show has caught us real bad. It all started by a DVD rental, a random disk from Season 2. After a marathon of Season 3, we now jump to watch the webcast on NBC.com the day after it airs on TV. It's awesome. Anyone else think so?

Race Photos

Here are a few photo proofs from the marathon last Saturday. Now that there is a little time between running the race and not being able to move, I am amazed at this journey the Lord has taken both Seth and me. It began last year at the KC Waddell and Reed 5k and ended this year with the KC Waddell and Reed marathon. Although I have a feeling that this really was not the ending but just the beginning....
How's that for mystery?

Six

Dear Son,
Today you turn 6. How can this be? Wasn't it just yesterday that I held you on the couch, a three day old baby, and wept because your arrival filled a part of my heart I never knew existed?
I looked at you tonight, on the last evening of your fifth year, and saw shadows of the little one I held so many years ago. Your face has changed so drastically from little boy to boy. Your thoughts are ever so intriguing just as I knew they would be long before you had a voice to spill them out.

Wasn't it just yesterday you called dinosaurs "dintohores"? That you told us "I can't reeeaach it" when you sat on the potty and couldn't manage to take a poo?

I am so proud of your mind, your gentleness, your compassion. You have a heart to protect the little ones as I have seen you jump to protect your brother.
I love you and am so proud to be your Mom. Happy Birthday, my little man. I have a feeling it's going to be a great year!

THE END

It is finished. The hours and hours of training, the hours and hours of running the race are all in the past now. I think I am going to stick with the vow made yesterday at mile 22 that I will never, ever do this again. And even though I am hobbling around today like a 95 year old woman, the thought of running a half marathon in the future doesn't sound so bad. Anyone want to join me?

**I just want to say a big huge thank you to everyone who was so encouraging through all of this. Friends and family who prayed us through the race and all of you who even took the time to babysit the boys while Seth and I trained the big runs...you are so awesome and so appreciated! We love you!**

Countdown...

It's T minus 3 days now, my friends. The big race is coming up fast and I actually think I am excited about it. Last night, we took the boys for our last longer run. It's interesting how different a run can be when you are staring a marathon straight in the face. It was good...a little confidence booster for me.
In other news, my family is flying in on Friday!!! My parents, my uncle, and my brother will all be here to see Seth and me run and also to celebrate Eli's birthday next week. It's going to take a whole 'nother post to describe what it feels like to be the mom of a 6 year old.
The boys have watched this video a couple of times and are now running around the house doing the "haka". I'm not even sure what the word "haka" means but it definitely speaks to the testosterone driven. How else can you explain an almost 6 year old and 2 1/2 year old running into my room completely naked to show me their haka dance? And in my defense, they were getting ready for a bath. We don't usually condone the running around in birthday suits in 65 degree or less weather...

Autumn Days

It is officially Fall. Totally a favorite time of year since we moved here to Kansas City. Seth came back home late last night so today we took a little field trip/family day. We all had a great time. Please enjoy the slideshow that just took me a good hour to figure out! =)


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

And To Your Left...

I have updated my "check 'em out" list. Our good friend, Dan, recently put up a site that gives updates of their adoption. They're still waiting for the little guy but he is going to be here before we know it. Our other good friends, Jason and Chassy, joined IHOP full time this last summer. They are an amazing family. Yeah, we like 'em!

Peace Out.

What is Your Name?

After a year of being married and living in Tennessee, Seth and I felt that it was time to move back home to Orlando. In 1998, the Lord began to do much in the both of us. Freeing us from the guilt and cynicism that still runs rampant in a whole generation of "church kids". Not long after our move, Seth and I began to get involved in the church. Which was a pretty huge step for us. I began to attend a woman's group called Titus which was started by Seth's mom. I had never really experienced anything like it. The discussions, the praying for each other...it was all new to me. One particular night, I had asked for prayer for some direction in our lives. The women prayed very sweet prayers. I actually remember many of them. Towards the end, the leader asked one of the ladies there if she had heard anything from the Lord to say to me. I had never met her before. She said she only had two words for me..."Precious Jewel". Something about these 2 words just shot deep into my heart. I had never really felt precious before and I certainly did not think myself a jewel yet I knew it was the truth. I tucked this phrase away and pondered many times over it. A few months later, I happened to go through some of my old treasures. I have a large, black trunk filled with things from my childhood, precious things I would never trade for the world. That day I opened an old photo album given to me after my grandmother passed away. They were all baby pictures of me. The very first photograph made me almost physically jump. It was a picture of me, on the day I was born. Written on the bottom was the phrase, "Precious Jewel". Out of all the things my grandmother could have called me, these were the words she chose. Or was it she who chose them?

Only a very loving grandmother or an even more loving Heavenly Father could call this newborn face "precious"! =)I looked like I just stepped out of a boxing ring! Onto Part 2...

Over the past couple of years I have had an idea. An idea I have discussed with Seth extensively. I even ran it past my mother at some point. I have thought much about it and prayed about it. I wanted a tattoo, a permanent reminder that tells me this truth every day of my life. It was so special how the Lord gave me this message. I am still far from totally believing this truth about myself but I trust Him to teach me. It is a message not only for me, but for every person out there who struggles with his/her identity. We are precious to Him, each uniquely designed. So Saturday I finally did it. I will have this reminder all the days of my life and for that, I am grateful.

The Week that Rocked

'Twas a week of music. That's right, friends, I attended two shows. Something I have never done before, unless you count me going to Seth's band shows back in the day. I'm sure they played 2 times in a week at some point in their illustrious, albeit short-lived career.
So the first band, Over the Rhine...WOW. I have been a fan since the year I graduated high school. Nothing like a good, old Over the Rhine song to take me back to the crazy emotions that filled me that year. This was my first time seeing them live. They were beyond amazing! Deep, sultry sounds interrupted only by a few drunken yells from fans who should have stopped at drink #4.
The second show was the. best. show. we. have. ever. seen! That's about all I am going to say about Mute Math. It was one of those performances where you just couldn't help but smile. Because they were incredible.
My social life is now coming to a close. Seth will be out of town for the next couple of weeks so you could say I took my opportunity when I had it. And what opportunities they were!

Introducing....

Clyde

You may be wondering why I would be introducing a horse, ridden in this picture by a complete stranger. As of yesterday, Clyde has a new name....Clyde Macchi! My mother-in-law, Pam, has had a lifelong dream of owning a horse. And now she is the thrilled owner of a 4 year old half paint/half quarter horse. He is beautiful! Welcome, Clyde. I think all of us have a special place in our hearts reserved just for you...

I want you to notice the people in the background of this particular picture. Yep, that's Seth and me! Our very good friends actually live here where Clyde lives. This ranch hosts horse shows periodically and our friends invited us out to watch this particular day. Little did I know that just a few months later, this horse that so obviously caught my attention would become part of the family.

Training

For the past months, Seth and I have been training. Lots and lots of running. Our lives have revolved around running. Can we go out and have dinner? Nooo, we have to go out and run. It's the weekend. Can we sleep in? Nooo, we need to get up and run.
It has been an interesting journey, this marathon training. It simply began for a half marathon but somewhere in there, it changed. The call to go higher, I guess you could say. Now 26.2 miles looms before me like a mountain I'm not sure I am able to climb. But inside I feel the challenge and say "Okay, let's do it."
Last night, Seth and I ran almost 18 miles together. It's a terrible process to go through. The breakdown of physical, mental, and emotional capabilities. Until all that is left is the resolve to get home. One foot down...good...next foot down...good. There are also the nice parts. The second and third and fourth winds that come unexpectedly and you think you can run forever. The moment of finish when you cannot believe you have run that far.
I will save you the plethora of spiritual analogies the Lord has shown me through this training. All I will say is that Paul spoke of "running the race" for a good reason. It makes total sense to me why he would use this as a picture of our lives in the Lord.
Seth and I will be running this race on October 2oth. Goal? To cross that finish line in whatever fashion seems fit, although I would like to stay away from the hands and knees crawl. Too dramatic for my taste...

Out of the Blue

"Mom, do you have a baby in your belly?"
"No."
"Well, when are you going to have one?"
"I don't know."
"I bet Heaven is just filled with babies."

I bet Elijah is right.

How Old Are You?

2
Dos
Deux
Zwei
Due
Two

Here it is...The Pout

Aaannd we are back to normal

First Day of School

It was not quite how I have envisioned it for the last five years. There were no tears, no moments of "my baaaby", no shuffling off to kindergarten bright and shiny with new school clothes and a brand new backpack. Instead, Elijah and I sat down at the table with a pile of workbooks and a pencil. We began kindergarten in our kitchen at 9am.
If I have not made it obvious enough, I am homeschooling Eli this year. For five years I took a pretty opinionated stance on this subject. I believed that it just would not happen. I could never have the patience for it. Elijah loves being around other kids. As he grew older, I became more and more convinced that traditional school was definitely the path we were going to take. And it all changed this summer.
We tried every door available to us. We took a tour of the brand new public elementary school 2 minutes from our house. As we walked through the school, the discernment that we had prayed for gave us a pretty solid "no". We checked into private schools in our area. We decided that $4900 was a bit too much for, um, kindergarten!
So we prayed and prayed and prayed. The Lord finally put me in a place where I said that if He wanted me to homeschool, I would do it. Truthfully, I didn't really mean it. But then no other doors opened up. So I said it again and this time, I kind of meant it. Which surprised me. Time was running out. August 16th (first day of school in our district) was quickly approaching and we had no game plan. My one last hang-up was Eli and how he felt about going to school. So I asked him what he thought about homeschooling. Within five minutes of not much convincing on my part, he told me he "decided" he wanted to homeschool. Not to uber-spiritualize it all, but when he said this, I totally felt a peace. I knew that this year, we were going to do this thing. And it was cool.
Yesterday we began. And it was fun. The best part was the reminder of what an amazing kid Elijah is. Despite the stubborn-ness (I can't EVEN imagine where he got that from!) that rears its head on a pretty regular basis, there are so many layers the Lord designed in my son. What a privilege to be able to spend concentrated time this year, gently opening these layers up, revealing the beauty of Elijah's personality and giftings.
Yes, it's going to be a good year.

Ya Think So?

Yeah, he's pretty cute.

Camping Weekend

This is what a 2 year old looks like after a weekend of camping. Notice the location? Yeah, he crashed in the middle of the living room after sleeping in the car for 2 hours!

We really had a great time. Our new friends, Mark and Priscilla, accompanied us along with their three adorable kids. It was so chaotic and fun all at the same time. When you have 5 children running around, how can it not be?? Here are some more pictures of the kids. Unfortunately, I think the camera came out only once during the weekend so there were not many pictures. Oh well, what we did get turned out really cute!

Eli thought it was pretty funny when Josiah fell asleep in the middle of the room.

The Five Amigos minus One. Elijah and Cahira were inseparable the whole weekend. There were mentions of marriage and weddings. Ummm, yeah, I think Dana's wedding (see next post) did some "damage". The other two, Eranae and Josiah pretty much did what all 2 year olds do....ignore each other or repeatedly say "no" for no apparent reason. Trevan missed this picture but he is definitely one cool kid. He and Eli had some killer sword fights.

Snackin' in the new screen tent. Visited by Mr. Raccoon the first night. The 2nd night, Mr. Raccoon almost got his tushy blown off by Mark's BB gun.

We are definitely doing this camping thing again before it gets too cold. We have 2 boys. What more can I say?

My Life

Okay, so we made it back from Colorado in one piece. It was an amazing trip filled with so many memories. We actually survived our hike which turned out to be unbelievably fun. Not to sound cheesy, but our anniversary was perfect. It totally fit our lifestyle right now and our budget (very important these days!!). I posted a little slideshow of our vacation here.
The weekend after we returned, I got to do a little part-ay-ing with some dear friends of mine. My friend Dana was going to get married the next weekend so, of course, we had to celebrate with a little dinner, a fun scavenger hunt down at The Plaza, and some chocolate covered strawberries and gifts after. Here are some pictures of that night...

Here is the beautiful bride, Dana. She wore this all night!

The girls.

The night was a bit steamy. We opted for air conditioning.

Fun, Fun!

That evening preceded a gorgeous wedding. Dana watches Elijah and Josiah every week while Seth and I go to our care group. So she and the boys have an awesome relationship. They LOVE her! They were very excited to see Dana get married...Elijah couldn't stop talking about it. A bit too soon, don't you think? (says the overly possessive Mama...)

The land is rugged. As we drove up to the mountains yesterday, I thought of the pioneers who had travelled hundreds, maybe thousands of miles and then faced the Rockies. And they kept going! The giant rock formations with trees sparsely covering them, beckoning and taunting.
It is a landscape I am learning to appreciate more each minute I am here. I grew up camping in the Pacific Northwest, green and lush. I lived in Tennessee, just minutes from the Smoky Mountains. Also densely covered with giant green trees. But the Rockies. They are different. A harsh beauty. I can see our family spending lots of time in this area in the future.
Today we went on a 4 hour horseback trail ride. Our guide took us up a mountain and down a mountain, through meadows and fields. It was amazing! It gave us an opportunity to sit back and enjoy our surroundings. My horse, Elmer, was a trooper. Blazing through muddy trails, making his distaste for puddles of water very known by choosing other paths every time, even if it meant sending his rider through tree branches. Seth's horse, Cutter, was the poky one. He had paid his dues, done his time and wasn't going to take "no" for an answer. If he felt like stopping to take a nibble on some tasty nettles, who was going to stop him? I think he and Seth got along perfectly. They understood one another.
During the ride, I asked our guide if we would see any wildlife. He said "probably not" because in the summer, the larger game stay up higher where it is cooler. I was a bit disappointed by his answer because I really wanted to see some kind of animal, maybe bigger than a squirrel. You know what the Lord did? Nestled in a patch of trees was a big herd of Elk. HUGE males with big ol' racks and the females eating peacefully. Do you ever get the feeling that God just gets a kick out of blessing His children? I do.

Well, friends, I have had a long day and that hot tub is calling my name. Tomorrow is our 10 mile hike. Pray for us =)

Trip Advisor?

I think they forgot to put the "Qua" at the Quality Inn here in Colby, Kansas. Of course, when you stumble in at 2:30am, bleary-eyed, you don't have the normal resistance of a sane person. It's one of those rooms where you cannot look at anything too closely. I made that mistake last night. The light switches have enough grease and grime covering them to send Mr. Clean on the warpath. If this is any indication, I have not taken off my sandals except to crawl in bed. The carpet has a non-plush squishiness to it. I won't even mention the bathroom. I should have taken the warning when I read the front sign that said "We serve homemade and Mexican food".

We are about to take off for our short drive to the Rockies. Last night's drive was a breeze. Night-driving through Kansas farmland is actually quite ethereal. Especially when you have just the right mix on the iPod!

And We're Off...

Tonight we leave for a gloriously planned trip to Estes Park, Colorado. That's right, friends, just Seth, me, and lots of nature...as in National Parks and horses and hikings. But, lest you think we are "roughing it", we will be staying at a condo that looks like this. Hot tub on the deck, here I come!
We are so very grateful to Seth's parents for agreeing to watch the boys while we are gone. I do believe a few more jewels will be added to their crowns this weekend! Eli has been looking forward to this looong stay with Grammy and Papa for months now. They already have a "list" of things they want to do. Elijah loves "the list".

So, my dear ones, stay tuned next week for the many pictures that will follow....