Mid valley blossom boogie...

I decided to run a really small race about 10 miles from here. My friend Tia was running and I decided, what the heck...why not? We ran the 10k and I went into it knowing basically nothing about the course. I have to say though, it was beautiful. Very scenic. At one point a baby bull got out of it's fence and started running beside us. It was something I have never experienced thus far in running, and probably never will again. We took a slow pace, and for the first time ever during a race, I could breathe and take it all in. Instead of focusing on running my rear off, I was able to enjoy my surroundings. It was very hilly but because of our 10 min. pace the hills felt great. Having company was awesome. It's a race I would love to do again in the future.

Grace's first sleepover...

One of my favorite things as a child was having sleepovers. My mom was great about allowing us this simple pleasure. We were homeschooled, and I think she realized how important it was for us to have friends outside of this. I however am not nearly as good as she was about encouraging sleepovers. But when you have a child like Grace that wants so badly to have one, what choice do you have? She had her very first sleepover Friday night with her best friend Haley, and they had so much fun. It brought back all those fun memories of good times with friends.

You're never too old to climb a tree...

I forgot how much I loved this tree until it suddenly bloomed over the weekend (literally), due to the hot weather we had. It's one of my most favorite trees to look at, and it smells of the most beautiful springy smell ever. The blossoms have reminded me that spring is here, and that makes me a happy girl indeed.

I love all of you...

I love you Scarlett. I love everything little, tiny, cute thing about you. I love your out of control, curly hair. I love your beautiful blue eyes. You may be a spitfire, but that makes you who you are, and that makes me love you even more.

A night to remember...

This is why family home evening is everything to this family. What would we do without our treats on Monday nights? Or our games, or jumping on the trampoline...and each other? How could we live without the valuable lessons of family, Jesus Christ, kindess, honesty, etc.? My kids live for this night. I hope they always will. I hope they always jump on the trampoline and have icecream smeared all over their wonderful faces. That would make me happy.

I love you dad...

One thing I loved to do growing up, was to leave little notes for my dad. He traveled a lot and for some reason I always worried about him. I wanted to make sure he knew how much I loved him every second of every day. I also know that my dad reads my blog. So, dad...I love you!!!

We are pilgrims on our knees...

I read a mothering essay today that I absolutely identified with. It touched my heart on so many levels. I felt like I was reading my everyday life all wrapped up into one beautiful package. I just had to share it. Enjoy.

Sensible Shoes by: Emily Baer


"Motherhood is mostly about wearing the right shoes.

We are ballet dancers with our newborns in the middle of the night. We are construction workers on the living room carpet with our toddlers and their building blocks. We are scientists and mystics when banishing bad dreams and monsters in the closet. We are coaches, cheerleaders, teammates when life gets tough and faith is thin on the ground. We are therapists and sometimes we are drill sergeants. We are intuitive, understanding, and forgiving. We are the kissers of boo-boos, the medical team on the field, the picker-uppers, the duster-offers, the go-get-em-now-ers.

We are the teenage battering rams. We are the least liked chefs. We are the ponytail wearers, the carpool drivers, the wipers of smudges, the please and thank you enforcers.

We are the grateful recipients of dandelions and painted paper hearts, of whispered I love you’s and little hands held in the dark; and also of rolled eyes and skeptic pre-teen attitudes.

We are a brave face. We are pilgrims on our knees asking for guidance, direction, and a few tablespoons of grace. We are the tearful-proud standing in the corners, watching our little ones blossom for all the world to see.

We are believers of make believe and impossible dreams. We are the keepers of maps, the holders of keys, pilots and co-pilots when those dreams take flight (and they regularly do).

We are champions of the underdog. We are party planners and cupcake decorators, banner hangers and town criers when the world should know how wonderful our children are.

We are the oft under-consulted consultants. We are collectors, curators of our children’s hopes and histories. We are the ride to the movies, the ticket to freedom, the tether to self discipline.

We are the first sought when something is amiss. We are the seekers and the finders, be it mittens, or homework papers, or broken heart pieces. We are a harbor. And a force. We are just the right words at just the right moment; a quiet resolve to see things all the way through.

And when it is entirely necessary, we are professors of lost arts, like how to spin around barefoot in the sunshine."

#1 denominator...

We had a van growing up similar in looks to the above picture. It's a vehicle that stands out in my mind and always will. It was a van that got us many places, and caused much embarrassment to me and my teenage sisters. I don't even know how long we had it, but it seems to me that it was for.ev.er.

Whenever my siblings and I fought my dad would have us post our nose to the carpet of that van. Something we felt was so unjustified. (I now know we deserved every second of nose posting.) I can still smell the carpet. I can still see the color. I can still remember bickering and fighting in the van, driving my poor parents crazy.

It also holds good memories. My mom used to load us up and drive us to Wendy's and we would sit in the van and eat junior bacon cheeseburgers. Not sure why I loved doing that so much, but I did.

Somewhere along the line, the van got a nickname from my sister April and her friend. #1 denominator.

#1 denominator eventually got tired and old.It even ran into our chain linked fence one time. (I won't go into that.) It's brakes started seriously screeching. I went to a youth activity for our church. It was held at someones home. I remember hearing the brakes screech from a mile away. My younger sister and I said we needed to go, and ran a 1/4 mile down the street so that none of our friends would witness the horrid sounds of #1 denominator.

I look back now and laugh. I actually care about #1 denominator in some strange way. It will always have a special place in my heart.

Fresh cut grass...

You are looking at a picture of Grace and Scarlett watching their dad do weeding and yard work. They must have sat like this for half an hour.

It reminded me of of my own dad doing yard work. I can still remember the smell of the grass as he was cutting it. All of us kids, and possibly a few neighbor kids.. playing jump rope. Looking for roly polies that we could call pets. Eating a piece of southern cornbread. Catching lightning bugs.

The truth is, almost everytime my husband cuts our grass the smell floods back memories of my dads fresh cut grass. But, It reminds me of my mom too. When my dad traveled my mom would take it upon herself to cut the grass. I can still see her worn out stained tennis shoes lying around waiting for the next time the yard will need cut. It's may seem small, but to me it's a reminder of the sacrifices she made for our family. Without complaining.

These memories make me feel like a kid again. They make me remember home.

The sun is shining, the tank is clean...

Where have I been the last two days? Outside. Yesterday after church Chris and I and the kids cooked on the grill, and then spent the rest of the day out in the yard. It was only about 63 degrees but that's a heat wave as far as I'm concerned.

The kids had school off today and I loaded them up and took them on a picnic. I'm bummed that I forgot my camera, but had to at least blog about it.

We sat on a blanket and ate sandwiches, chips, strawberries and cookies. We hung out for over an hour in the grass just laughing and having fun.

Gosh, I love the kids so much. They bring their own wonderful element to our family. An individual ingredient, that if left out, would leave us bland.

Looks aren't everything...

Okay, so Grace is the kind of child that seems to focus a lot on outer image. I'm trying to teach her that what people look like on the outside doesn't really matter. She has her own idea's though, especially when it comes to the above guy. We are Survivor fans and this is "Jay" the underwear model from Survivor. Last night while we were watching, Jay was on screen and Grace leans into me, and say "I like him." Oh boy...what am I in for?

I heart you...

I love this little girl. With all my heart.

Connor turns 10...

My little baby Connor is not such a baby anymore...maybe a "babe" according to a few girls I know of.

He had a few friends over for a sleepover and kept us up half the night, but for that little man...it was worth it.

We love you Connor. Without your boisterous personality life would get dull around here.

Wheatfield half marathon...

My friends Alexis and Tammy and myself decided a few weeks ago to sign up for a half marathon in The Dalles that was held this past Saturday. It's a really small race and didn't cost much to run in. After we signed up we found a course map and realized it was a 380 ft. climb spread over 5 miles. We prepared for the worst. Basically, we were scared to death.

We started and by mile two the hills started appearing. Not like we expected though. It was very hilly but also manageable. We reached the top of the out and back course at mile 7 and realized we were averaging about a 9:08. I knew we could improve our time because all those hills we had just climbed, we could now run back down. That's just what we did. We picked it up and were even able to chat most of the time.

Alexis blew me away with her determination. This was her first half marathon ever, and she was a true champ. She chatted the whole time and seemed unphased by the arduous task ahead of us.

Tammy is truly amazing too. She had a bad knee most of the time, and yet still pulled through with a great time. I can't help but be proud of my friends.

In the end my time was 1:56:28. An 8:54 average.

I will always remember this race. I enjoyed the race. There was only one "I want to die moment" toward the end, but for the most part I felt pretty darn good.

Running with friends is wonderful. It's the not being alone that feels so reassuring when your trying to get through a race.

I would do this course again in a heartbeat.