5K Queen

I'm laughing just thinking of the title of this post. For new years I decided to give myself an "Out of The Box" resolution. Something so out of my comfort zone that it would practically be a joke. I decided to run a 5K every month for the whole year of 2014! The only sucker who took the bait was my husband who I think has to take the bait whenever I offer it, due to contractual obligation implied from our wedding vows. The first race was in Fremont Michigan. We barely made it out of the drive way because of snow and actually got stuck on our way home. The Frostbite. To my surprise, I loved it. I loved doing something with my husband, knowing that this was my first step, and when I finished, I couldn't believe that little old me could do it.

November 15, 2013

Seriously, time has been flying. I imagine that working, being a mom, being a wife, GEMS leader, friend and taxi driver to the kiddos has made time for reflection pretty non-existent. T1 is 13. A sassy teenager who is never far from his ipod touch. He did football last fall and is going to try swimming later this month. My heart hurts for him as I know that rough times that he wont want to share with mom will be coming soon. I adore that he still hugs and kisses me. T2 is 11 and to look at her you would assume she is older than Tristan. Her heart is helpful and her struggles are not as apparent as Tristan's. She decided to try out for the school musical and tonight I should know if she made it. I am so nervous for her. I see that she struggles to live up to her "determined stereotype". I try to encourage her to not live between those limits. I need to spend more time with her. T3 is 8 and a diva. "I know, right" is the phrase that comes out of her month more often than not. She struggles with being the follower when it comes to friends. I just want her to learn to stand on her own, but she looks for the approval of others. Super talented as well. Dance has been new this year and she excels in that like she did in gymnastics. J and I have celebrated 16 years of marriage this summer and celebrated it by taking our son to an airplane show. Family is still a priority and we stand united in the messy laundry, dirty dishes in the sink, racing to and fro pace of our life. I'm so afraid that life will pass us by and I will be left saying "I thought we were going to put a stop to this craziness."

Breathe

Would you believe it is 4am? I can't even try to remember how summer was this year. The only thing that comes to mind is hot. September brought the craziness of school, football, soccer and of course gymnastics. Tristan is having a wonderful transition to middle school. He plays trumpet, plays rocket football and is doing so well in school. I have been impressed with the responsibility that he shows. He is no means perfect, but homework is no longer that big of a struggle and the discipline he learned from GT is such a blessing. Trinity is enjoying being top dog in elementary. She is a safety and enjoys the power a fluorescent belt can wield. LOL! Her beauty and "mothering" amazes me daily. She is no longer a little girl and while she has always been tall for her age, I swear she is growing out of the girls clothing department. Im going to turn around and see a young woman soon. Tessa still adores her siblings. She has been doing well at gymnastics. She will be going to her first meets soon. She is my fashion diva, refusing to wear the hand me downs I saved from Trinity. Justice is her store of choice and dolls and stuffed animals still top her list. The farm is going well. We get six eggs everyday from our chickens and Tommy has been our lesson horse for Jeff and now for Trinity. The alpacas still don't trust us but seem to be happy together. We recently bought hay for the winter which set us back a pretty penny (and more since the price was driven up by the harsh summer and drought.) The garden survived thanks to faithful watering and aside from plenty of weeds, we got zucchini, tomatoes, corn, beans, watermelon, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers and pumpkins. The apple trees gave no fruit because of an untimely frost after it had already started budding. Much of the landscaping plants we bought on memorial day were hastily planted wherever we found a spot. The heat was a huge factor in our "laziness" in being outside. Mom brought more perennials over from the condo and Jeff and I continued to trim back the overgrown plants that were left by the previous owner.

Quick catchup

- summer is hot, thanking God for our mini pool. - Tristan graduated from elementary school. Cried like a baby! - Tessa made PreTeam for gymnastics. - Trinity made the best friends ever this year. - Taking Thursdays off of work for summer. - have 6 chickens, 1 horse, 2 alpacas, 2 barn kittens, 2 dogs and 1 turtle. - have the best assistant ever at work. - spending lots of time with my nephews Brevin, Ian and Alex (at least more than usual) - my 4runner is still holding up woohoo! - started a garden. - love my pitchfork, mower cart and iPhone.

Dirty bathtub

As I walked into my bathroom I couldn't help but notice that my bathtub was sporting some good old fashioned dirt in it. The kids took a bath and left muddy prints by the knobs and dirt in the tub. I made the decision to be blessed by my dirty bathtub. :) It meant my kiddos had fun in the world that God created for them. That they were healthy enough to play. That they didn't sit in front of the tv or computer tonight. That tomorrow we will celebrate my sons 12th birthday when I know of a family who wishes they could have celebrated their sons same birthday. I could go on and on because I am blessed more than I deserve. Humbly I bow my head and say... Thank you Lord.

The cross

Today on my way to pick up a prescription at the doctor, I approached the front doors behind a family. There was a woman wearing her food service uniform with two young children who ran to the kids waiting area to watch tv. There was also a young man with them. He had cargo pants on with a pack of smokes in the side pocket. He looked too young to even be able to buy them legally. By the time I caught up with them at the second set of doors, I noticed the upside down cross he wore around his neck while he held the door open for me. My usual response is a smile and a quiet "thanks". The woman told the receptionist that they were there for an appointment, but then she stepped aside to let the newly 18 year-old deal with the rest. He had to sign his own forms and learn about HIPA laws. She didn't offer help and he just signed whatever the receptionist put in front of him. I soon moved on and did what I went there to do and said a small prayer for that young man. Especially when I went back to my own children. Now I am not super worldly so I didn't think too much about the upside down cross until later when I googled it for my own knowledge. Aside from being the name of a band it is a sign for followers of Satan. Did this 18 year-old mean to portray his allegiance for the Evil one? I immediately sensed a battle for this young mans soul. My prayer for him went from little to the magnitude of putting him on the top of my prayer list. How many battles are being fought for our souls and the souls of our loved ones? Of total strangers who take the time to open the door for you? Was my smile enough to tip the scales for our side? What else could I have done?

Dump day!

You would swear it was a holiday. Ever since I've been married and we owned a house, there was a special day on the calendar. From April to October, the third Saturday of the month is dump day. The day you can fill your car, truck, trailer and throw it away for free. Maybe we just have lots of junk or it is like a coupon for a freebie... You have to take advantage of it! Today was an old dishwasher and part of a dog house that turned into a chicken coop. Packed it into the car and got a cup of coffee to drink while we waited to get into the dump. Usually the first one of the season causes huge lineups. (we are experienced in this remember) But we did have a productive day getting things marked off the project list. The bonus of having decent weather lately.