Ten Things Tuesday

I have not been feeling too bloggy lately, but I have been dying to share with you my big accomplishment: I finished my first 5K on Saturday! It was such a fun day, from start to finish. I loved being part of such a beautiful group of women that included every size, shape, color and age imaginable.

The challenge of training for and completing this race has taken on a deeper significance for me over the last couple of months. While I am incredibly proud to have reached one of my fitness goals, I am far more grateful to have finally come to a place where I can say I am at peace with my own body. Like so many other women, I have spent years at war with my body--starving it, stuffing it into girdles, hiding it under carefully chosen clothes, saying horrible things about it, keeping detailed lists of every flaw and mistake. My struggle with infertility was the last straw--not only did my body not look as it should, it wouldn't even work as it should. It was the ultimate betrayal.

However, on Saturday, as I ran alongside my fantastic clinic leader, Renee'...as I crossed the finish line and saw my wonderful husband cheering for me...as my gorgeous little boy hugged me and cried, "Run! Run!"...as I looked around at all the amazing women who were celebrating our success together...I was finally able to reclaim this body for what it is: a gift from God. It's not perfect, but it is a gift nonetheless: A tool, a vehicle to move me through this life and allow me to work and play and serve and grow and experience all this world has to offer. I promised God that I would begin to celebrate the gift of my healthy body as a way of honoring Him, and so I thought I would start right here....

1. My arms can comfort my baby, hold my husband, and hug my friends.

2. My hands can write a note of encouragement and fix food for someone who's sick.

3. My legs take me quickly down to my baby's room when he needs me in the middle of the night.

4. My lungs allow me to sing praises to God when I gather with my church family.

5. My heart beats all day long, all night long--I never even have to think about it. That's pretty amazing!

6. My back is strong enough to carry an ever-heavier toddler, bring in the grocery bags, haul the laundry basket, scrub the toilet, and make my house a pleasant place to live.

7. The little lines forming around my eyes and mouth show that I have spent many, many moments of my life smiling. I am thankful for those moments--even if I'm not exactly thankful for the lines!

8. My feet have carried me through some of Jonesboro's roughest neighborhoods, down the dusty streets of Honduras, along mountain paths in Ecuador and trash-littered streets of Guyana, through cobblestone sidewalks in Hungary and Costa Rica, up the side of a mountain in Colorado and through dozens of flooded streets in Mississippi and Louisiana while I tried to do what God had called me to do in each of those places.

9. My body is the most sacred and special gift I can offer my husband.

10. My lips allow me to speak words of blessing to those I meet every day. What a powerful privilege and responsibility.

"For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Your works are wonderful, I know that full well."
Psalm 139: 13-14

Ten Things Tuesday

What a gorgeous couple of days we've had! It's been wonderful to enjoy some sunshine without all the heat and humidity. Playing outside and even working in the yard have been a treat.

My in-laws are coming tomorrow, so in honor of their visit, today's list will be just 10 of the things I appreciate about my family-by-marriage...

1. They truly think of me as their own and treat me as such.

2. They love to travel! I love to hear about all the exotic places they visit...Hawaii, Panama, Florida Keys, Branson....;) As a bonus, my MIL always brings us cookbooks from the places they visit.

3. Technically, both my mother & father-in-law are retired, but the truth is that they are full-time shepherds at their church. They go to the hospital several times a week, sit with the sick, check on the shut-ins, lead a grief recovery group, visit families in crisis--I can't even keep up with all the ways they serve the flock there.

4. They love to try out new restaurants, so eating with them is always a culinary adventure.

5. They adore John Mark! Their support throughout our adoption process was just amazing, and they welcomed their grandson with open hearts. I just love seeing them all together.

6. My sister-in-law has been a single mom for about 8 years now, and she has made many sacrifices in order to be a stay-at-home mom during that time. She is one of the strongest people I have ever known.

7. SIL is "den mom" for her son's scout troop and goes on every camp out, fishing trip, backpacking trip and pinewood derby race known to man. And never complains about it!

8. Both my parents-in-law and my sister-in-law bought webcams so they can talk to to John Mark online. Yes, it's pretty ridiculous. Yes, it's also pretty adorable.

9. My nephew has an amazing head for science. He loves to take things apart and see how they work. Rockets, chemical reactions and physics problems fascinate him.

10. This family has gone through many heartbreaking losses in the last 10 years, but they remain faithful to God and secure in His love. Their commitment to the Lord is a blessing to everyone who knows them, and I'm especially thankful that my son will grow up experiencing this kind of faith.

Running Revelations

This is the LAST week of our running clinic! Can't believe it's almost over...can't believe I've made it this far! I am just T-minus 5 days from my first 5K. (And, yes, I did say "first" on purpose. Trying, trying to convince myself to stick with it...)

We really did have a good session this morning and I made some big discoveries:

1. Long-sleeved t-shirt and shorts: Best running outfit. 56 degrees: Best running weather.

2. Even disciplined, seasoned runners wake up for an early run and think, "Dangit. I just knew it was going to be raining." This could, perhaps, be the most affirming discovery of this year. I thought real runners always wanted to run. Who knew that they are big slugs like the rest of us? (Although, unlike the rest of us, they are big slugs with nice firm tushies.)

3. I am going to look way more legit out there on the track with my first race shirt on.

4. It feels great when someone slows down to run alongside you. When I first realized how much our clinic leaders were having to hold back in order to run with us, it was fairly humiliating. Now I choose to embrace the comraderie and realize that everyone has to adjust their pace a little to stay with the group. (There's a sermon in there somewhere!)

5. Running shorts with built-in panties are my new-found love. So much so that I am considering sewing undergarments into all my other pants. They don't ride up! They don't show over the top of your shorts! They are always right there when you are getting dressed! One down side, however: if you keep putting your shortswiththebuiltinpanty in the dryer, eventually the panty part shrinks up so much that you cannot pull the shorts up all the way. And there you are, running with your crack hanging out.

Still waiting for this revelation: What do I eat before I run? So far I have been running so early that I don't even bother, but the 5K is at 8am, and there's no way I can put off breakfast that long.

10 Things Tuesday

It's Tuesday! Time to pause and be thankful--

1. We had a wonderful weekend in Little Rock and Searcy, but I am GLAD to be home today!

2. We had a potluck at Ladies' Class today....boy, do I love me some potluck food. Especially what the older ladies bring. Those gals can cook, kids!

3. I am so grateful for the ladies who are kind enough to watch our babies while we meet and discuss our bible lessons each week. It is such a blessing to have a little quiet time with friends and to know that our babies are being loved and cared for.

4. I got to see Brother Winston at the church building today. That is definitely where he belongs. Praise God for his healing! He is such a gift to our church family.

5. John Mark took a loooooooooong nap this afternoon. It did not help his grouchy mood too much, but it did help mine!

6. I received a very unexpected phone call from an old, old friend today. It was good to catch up and talk about life and faith and Harding gossip and American Idol.

7. We had pancakes for supper. I love pancakes any ol' time, but supper is the best.

8. It was Neil Diamond night on American Idol. Sadly, no one sang "Cracklin' Rosie." This is not really something to be thankful for, necessarily, but Neil looked pretty dang good for someone who's gotta be pushing 70.

9. I paid bills tonight and there was more than enough money in the bank to cover them all. While the news talks about skyrocketing food and fuel prices, I really am grateful that we don't have to make choices such as whether we will buy medicine or food, pay the mortgage or the electric bill.

10. It is just 10pm and I am done with all my tasks...off to do a bit of reading. I am so very thankful for good books!

Sewing Projects

I think I am finally on a roll of finishing some sewing projects rather than just starting them...or, you know, just buying the fabric and then stuffing in in a drawer. This week I made a little dress for our friend Bella, who will be turning 2 in a few more days! It's a simple peasant dress with puff sleeves. I made a matching diaper cover, 'cause a girl can't be going around with her undies showing (unless they match, and, in that case, you definitely should be showing them).

I think next time I use this pattern, I will make the sleeves a tad longer. Anyway, in case you cannot tell, the main fabric is brown gingham. Jamie found this precious accent fabric. She has a great eye for that kind of thing, which is why she is my favorite crafting partner!

I also finished a simple skirt for myself. I fell in love with this fabric and bought it without knowing exactly what I would do with it. I think this will be pretty for summer with sandals and a simple white top, which I sure did find at Gap for $9.99. I decided to line the skirt, which was not called for in the pattern. Some nifty online tutorials gave me all the info I needed. I also did my first completely solo zipper on this project--even my mom was impressed!


My goal for next week is to actually sew the stack of shorts I have cut out for John Mark's summer play clothes. I am recycling a couple of Michael's old button-ups to make the shorts. After that, it's Mother's Day gifts. I'm really excited about those this year--I'll be sure to share the final product with y'all.

Have a great weekend! We're off to Searcy and Little Rock for some hospital business and some q-time with my brother and sister-in-law.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

I have been having this strange urge to work in the yard this spring. Specifically, to grow flowers. This is somewhat odd since, to put it nicely, I do not have a green thumb. I don't even attempt to keep houseplants, because the only ones hardy enough to withstand my poisonous touch are also the kinds babies can't eat. And we still eat everything around here.

However, all winter I have thought about clearing out the leaves, trimming up the bushes, breaking up the soil and planting some happy little bursts of color in my yard. Maybe it's some sort of latent motherly drive: Must grow. Must nurture. Must cultivate. Must cut and display in cute vases around my house. (Okay, that last one is more Martha Stewart than motherly, I'll admit.)

So strong was this urge that I actually did something very uncomfortable: I went to the garden store and asked for help. I did not attempt to pull my little wagon around and pick up plants as if I was a seasoned gardener; nor did I eavesdrop on other shoppers' conversations about gardening to glean information. When the friendly sales person said, "If you have questions, let me know!" I latched on to her as if she were my only hope. She was probably expecting to answer questions like where are the begonias? or could you suggest a good fertilizer?, but I lit into her with my list of yard woes. We have too much shade. There's this shrub we have that's hideous. Our soil doesn't drain well. I have no idea how to take care of plants. It was like free therapy! She was incredibly helpful, and maybe just a little pitying of me in my ignorance. She suggested some beautiful flowers that were, quote, "impossible to kill" and told me exactly what to do to keep them looking nice. I have plans to find this same lady next week when I attack the back yard and milk her for more information.

On the personal growth front, this was huge for me. Not the planting flowers part, just the willingness to ask questions part. I love to learn--I would be a full-time professional college student if it were up to me--but I hate, hate to admit I cannot figure something out on my own. I took a B in one of my literary criticism classes because I could not bring myself to ask the professor to explain the reading assignments to me. I will not go to a running store to buy new shoes because I don't want them to see that I'm barely classified as a beginning runner. I throw away sewing projects when I can't get the zipper in straight. My mom says I was even like this as a child: If I could not do something right on the first try, I would just walk away and conclude I couldn't do it at all.

At the ripe old age of 31, I realize there is too much I still need to know about marriage, parenting, discipleship, friendship to keep pretending that I already have all the answers. I want to be humble enough to admit I can't do everything right on the first try. I want to be curious enough to ask questions. I want to appreciate the wisdom and experience of others. I want to be passionate enough to risk looking foolish. I want to learn.

And I want to grow flowers.

Ten Things Tuesday

I am so not putting the picture up today. Just not worth my trouble. But it IS worth my effort to be grateful for the many blessings I have...

1. Today I managed to get ahead of schedule and JM and I had such a fun morning while we got ready for bible study. Mama did not have to say "I can't read right now" or "Hurry! Hurry!" once.

2. We had a small group at Ladies' Class and we had a wonderful discussion about discipline and helping our kids develop a relationship with God. It was just what I needed, plus...

3. My friend stopped by after class with some recommended reading. Oh, do I love some parenting books! I will even read books I completely disagree with, just for heck of it.

4. The brief rain showers today made for a very peaceful naptime (for Little Guy, not me--well, it was peaceful for me in a different way). It was nice to enjoy some quiet time, listen to the rain and enjoy a cup of coffee.

5. Got to go to TCBY with one of my favorite people today. He is one of my "old" youth group kiddos, and I adore him. He always makes me laugh, tells me about the latest in the artsy world and suggests TV shows I should check out.

6. Baby Halle arrived safely today to meet her parents Mark & Jamie. Praise God!

7. MG moved the brokedown TV off our deep freeze and we discovered a motherlode of frozen food--still very much in-date. We had parmesan-crusted Mahi-mahi for supper. Yuuuummmm. And I did not have to crust it myself. Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.

8. It was Andrew Lloyd Weber night on American Idol. And I did not have to listen to Kristy Lee Cook. (That almost deserves its own spot on the list, people.)

9. My husband gave me a "time-out" when the baby and I got into a war over a diaper. Sounds harsh, was actually so thoughtful and much needed. :)

10. I finally finished the little dress I've been working on for our friend commonly known as The Bell-bell. It is pretty darn cute, but I'm not completely sure about the sizing. Don't tell the hubs, but I am going to try it on JM in the morning.