Last Long Run

Hello Sunday!

We boogied home from the cabin this morning to get home and change clothes and get to church. I had considered not coming back for church this morning, it would have made the morning not so rush-rush-rush, but after missing last week I was craving me some worship. There's nothing quite like standing to sing a praise and worship chorus with your church family. Sometimes I like to stop singing and just listen to the voices as a whole, all lifting up the Lord in praise and glory. It gives me goosebumps:-) I'm so glad we were there this morning.

After church, my mom and dad took Katie out to eat and then to their house to play while I headed out for my LAST LONG RUN BEFORE DISNEY!!! I had a great run of 10.5 miles! Here's my stats:

Mile 1: 8:48

Mile 2: 8:45

Mile 3: 8:57

Mile 4: 9:10

Mile 5: 9:14

Mile 6: 9:28

Mile 7: 10:15

Mile 8: 10:13

Mile 9: 10:38

Mile 10: 9:37

Mile .5: 6:37

TOTAL MILES: 10.5

TOTAL TIME: 1:42:09

AVERAGE PACE: 9:43 min/mile

I am stoked! It is another beautiful day and there were TONS of people out and about enjoying the weather. I like it when it's busy out...I'm kinda a scardy cat when I'm alone :-S I DID, however, encounter about 10 little chiuauas who seemed to interested in nothing but going for my ankles but luckily my 6'0 self was able to outrun their 6" legs...sheesh.

Now I'm off to do some more laundry and start to wrap my mind around all the stuff that needs to be done before we leave this week...OMGosh. I probably should have started a couple of weeks ago;-) Enjoy the rest of your day!

xoxo

Survivor: Kid Edition

Ahhhhh, it is another beautiful weekend in the Ozarks! After a seemingly endless winter, this sunshine and 50* temps are soothing for the soul. I am praying that March brings MUCH more of the same! I am so ready to say buh-bye to winter.

We spent the weekend at our cabin on the river with some friends. Their kids and ours are the best of friends and, thanks to the amazing weather, they were outside playing at the crack of dawn Saturday morning...and they didn't come in until the last smore was roasted for dessert well after dark. Needless to say, they were so d-i-r-t-y! And that's putting it mildly. Even the girls had dirt in the creases of the lines on their faces! But it was a joyous kind of dirty...the best kind a kid can be. I remember getting dirty like that when I was a kid; the kid of dirty that can only represent a great day! And that's what yesterday was for Tyler, Hailey, Zachary, Spencer, and Katie...a great day.

Michelle and I walked down to the riverbank to see what the kids had been up to all day. After all, we had only seen them 4-5 times during the day, and only for food and water. What we found was a mini survivor-like camp that they had spent the entire day constructing. It's pretty awesome! Check out the pics!

What a wonderful day. Our kids could definitely thrive on Survivor, don't you think?!

xoxo

Don't Let Your Prayin' Knees Get Lazy

Hello friends!

I hope everyone has has a good week! For us it's been pretty busy. It's been one of those weeks that wouldn't "let my prayin' knees get lazy" (from the song "Love Like Crazy" by Lee Brice...it's the story of our life. Seriously.). God continues to tell me that He is in complete control and He's got this covered...I won't go into details here but just know that it has been a loooonngg and drawn out test. But I have repeatedly given it to the right "Man" for the job..."And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

I had a checkup in STL yesterday with my oncologist and I'm happy to report that everything went great! He said to keep on doing what I was doing, and that I was a "freak of nature"...he assured me that it's in a good way;-) So after a great dr appt, a trip to Whole Foods, and a wonderful dinner with friends, we headed home. Hallelujah, another successful trip! I don't go back until May when I will also have my last echo and a bone density test.

So this weekend we are back at our cabin on the river, enjoying some rest and relaxation. Well I'M enjoying rest and relaxation, Jack is working on equipment and cleaning property. I like my job better...hehe;-) I'm planning on my last long run tomorrow while we are here. I'm shooting for 10 miles, but I don't want to push it. I'm only 8 days away from my Princess 1/2!!!!

The next few days are going to be a tad crazy, trying to get things ready to go for our trip and such, on the personal side and the business side. But I keep reminding myself that it will totally worth it once we hit the road. Yes!!!

Have a great Saturday!

xoxo

12.5 Done And Done

Hey! Happy Sunday to y'all! I hope wherever you are that you have had as beautiful of a weekend as we have here. It has been in the 50s since Friday! Woohoo!

In case you're jealous lemme tell ya...it's supposed to start raining tonight and be chilly all week. BOO! But I guess it is still February, after all.

I have been watching the forecast all week anticipating the weather this weekend because I am sooooo ready to run outside. I've had my Garmin Forerunner for 3 weeks now, and have yet to take her on a nice long run. We've had 3 dumps of snow and beyond cold temps since I got her so she has been patiently waiting on the counter for things to thaw out. Me? Well, I haven't been so patient!

BUT today was the day! And boy, she didn't disappoint. I was so excited to take off this morning! I used it to keep an eye on my pace, my overall time, and every time it beeped (I set it for every mile) I felt stronger somehow...like it was some kind of validation for my sweat. I liked it so much, I'm wondering how I ever ran without it?! It gave me so much information so I could keep a good pace, and it was motivation to go faster at times. Ahhh, can you tell I like her?! ;-)

I wanted to be able to look at my mileage splits but I guess I didn't set something right because it didn't do it. Do I need to hit the lap button each mile maybe? Anyway, here's the stats that I DO know:

Distance: 12.5 miles
Time: 2:12:22
Avg Pace: 10:35/mile
Avg Heart Rate: 178 bpm
Calories: 1441

I'm going to go pack up the car in a bit, we are at the cabin this weekend and unfortunately it's time to head home to start another week. I'm so ready for summer when the schedules are looser. The kids aren't going to be happy with me for making them pack up, though...they love it down here. They are building a "beach hut" on the riverbank out of tree branches and limbs and spare boards they've found. I'm going to let them finish their masterpiece and then we'll head home.

Have a great rest of your Sunday, lovelies!

xoxo

Found: June 2009

**Edited to add: I was going through a list of old posts this morning and came across this one. I remember writing it, but never published it...I don't know why I didn't. Maybe because I was just getting my thoughts in order for myself, or maybe I thought DID hit publish, but didn't. Who knows?! At any rate, after rereading it, I thought I would publish it today. I think one of the neatest things about blogs is that you can revisit and see where your mind was and what was going on in your life from any given time. So these are some of my thoughts from June 2009, still with 4 months of Herceptin left to go. ~xoxo

********************************************************************

When we face trials and hard times in our lives do you ever ask yourself "Why??"


"Why is this happening to me?"
"What did I do?"
"How could God let this happen?"


I know I asked these questions when I was first diagnosed with breast cancer back in September as a 30 year old wife and mother of 3 young children. I must tell you, though, that I didn't ask them for long. Because from the beginning, I believed that God was in control and He had a plan that was much bigger than anything I could ever imagine. What His Will would be for my life, I didn't know...what my future holds, I'm not sure...but one thing I do know is that I have the right Man in charge. I don't have any control, and to tell you the truth: I DON'T WANT IT! Have you seen some of things He has to deal with?! I don't want that burden! Nor could I handle it. I trust in Him completely and am at peace with whatever He chooses for my life. Do I hope and pray that I will be here to see my children grow up and sit in rocking chairs on the front porch with my hubby when we're 90? Of course!! I pray that He will have me do great things for Him right here on earth until He calls me Home at a ripe old age, of say, 100!

I read something this morning in my daily devotional that spoke volumes to me. Maybe it will help those of you who may be dealing with a difficult circumstances in your own life:

"God allows circumstances for two reasons: to reveal areas in my life where I am not like Christ (see Romans 8:29-30) and to use me to bring His light into a dark world (see Matthew 5:14-16)."

I felt very strongly about this when I read it this morning and knew immediately that I wanted to post it. Like I said, maybe it will touch one person...

Perfect

I found this verse tonight and it just spoke volumes to me. I had to share it with you before I burst! Don't you love it when God puts His hand on your shoulder and His Word in your path?

Thank you, Jesus, for so many prayers answered today. I just flat out love you <3

John 11:4 (NIV)
When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it.”

xoxo

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Busy With...

Hello friends!


How have you been? It's been almost a week since my last visit, sheesh! Rest assured that the lapse in posts doesn't mean a lapse in thoughts of my wonderful blog world. I have a certain routine every morning that consists of going through Google reader as I eat breakfast...it's my "break-time!"

But I haven't taken the time to write anything myself. Not knowing quite what to write at times, to being too busy to have the time makes for six days of absence. But being busy also means that my life is very full: of love, of family, of happiness, of learning and many other things that take somewhat smaller roles.

Full of love: the flowers that Jack got me for Valentine's Day. A dozen beautiful roses that he went out and got first thing Sunday morning because "he wanted me to have the freshest flowers available." He is precious;-) I'm so in love with him. Full of family: Katie came home so excited that the nutritionist who visits the school regularly made them green eggs and ham yesterday. She proclaimed how delicious it was and went on and on. Tyler, being the loving kid that he is, made sure we got eggs and green food coloring at the store yesterday so he could make her some for breakfast. She was beyond excited at the sight of him whipping up the green snot, er, I mean eggs and ham for her this morning! Ahh the love between siblings. Zachary missed out on the feast because he had basketball practice at 7am so he was gone early this morning. Lucky kid, he had school breakfast~ Lol

Full of happiness: My parents got their plane tickets to meet us in FLORIDA for my upcoming Disney Princess Half-Marathon! I was so disappointed when they said they couldn't come, and OVERJOYED when they called me yesterday and said they had tickets in hand!! YAY! I'm so excited for them to come see me run and enjoy a few days with us at Disney World. I told them it will be memories they will treasure forever. We are down to 15 days:12 hours:30 minutes:40 seconds! Wheeeeee!!!

And last but certainly not least, full of learning: The pastor's sermon on Sunday was continuing the series on loving our neighbor. The Holy Spirit has really been working on me with this, and it hasn't been fun I will admit. But then again, the best lessons aren't. I have had conviction laid on me for the way I use my mouth to speak hearsay...or let's just say it plainly here, gossip...and the way I make judgements about people sometimes. Both clearly not examples of loving my neighbor. This week I have prayed hard and heavy over Ephesians 4:29 "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." So I am trying to focus on making sure that the words that leave my mouth are good and helpful, and mostly pleasing to the Lord. Something else the pastor pointed out is that we can't do this on our own...that it's a DIVINE QUALITY that we get from the Lord...so I'm praying for my fair share;-)

Something else that falls under the learning category has to do with my latest Beth Moore purchase:

Geez, I just L-O-V-E this woman! She has been anointed by God with a heart that speaks to all women. I'm tellin you, there is no one that can set my heart on fire for Jesus like Beth! And "So Long Insecurity" is her latest book. I got it in the mail yesterday and started reading it in the post office parking lot...no I'm kidding I waiting until I got parked at the school and started reading in THAT parking lot;-) I'm participating in an online study of the book from Beth's blog, and I can't wait to see what God has to reveal to me through it. If you would like to purchase one and join us (or not), you can here.

So I'm off here to get another load of laundry folded and hopefully sit down and read some more of my new book. I can see sunshine today so that's a good sign...maybe the mounds of snow that are on every corner will finally melt today! Have a great day, y'all!

xoxo

Feelin' Like A Monday

Happy Thursday everyone :-)

Somehow it feels like a Monday to me...hmmmm I wonder why?! Oh yeah, it's because the kids JUST went back to school today...this IS their Monday. Yes, they have missed Monday-Wednesday this week due to snow. It has been a crazy winter thus far, they have had quite a few snow days. Needless to say, they can most likely say "Buh-Bye" to their spring break and any other holidays they would normally have off between now and May.

It's gonna be a looonnngg spring.

Because we have been sleeping in and enjoying having the last 5 days off, it should come as no surprise that we forgot to set the alarm last night and accidentally overslept this morning. Normally I get up at 545am and get dressed and myself ready (makeup, hair, you know the drill...), grab my cup of coffee and curl up in the recliner with my Beth Moore devotional book and my prayer journal and have my quiet time with God. Due to the sleepies still in my eyes when I woke up at 645am, I had just enough time to get myself ready and get that ever important cup of coffee before the kids started getting up and THEN the madness began ;-)

It was a very weird feeling, not starting my day out with quiet time. I mean, I still had my quiet time once I took the kids to school (in fact, I just got done about 15 minutes ago), but I cherish that time of the morning so much when no one else is up yet, not even the sun. It feels very peaceful and new. I.love.it. It's truly my favorite time of day. I remember Beth saying in a Bible study once, "If you have little ones you'd be wise to have your quiet time with God before their little feet hit the floor, because once they do, trust me, you're gonna need it!" Or something to that effect. But it makes complete and total sense to all mothers out there, huh?!

In my inbox this morning, was my Daily Bible Verse...

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful." John 15:1-2

Yes, Lord. Please do so. Make me more like You and better able to serve You.


So it's a short two day week for the kids, then it's the weekend again! AND it's Valentine's weekend at that! I'm not sure what that means for us...we don't have any plans as of yet. What about you? Do YOU have anything special planned??

xoxo

Super Bowl Sunday

The chili is bubbling, tortilla chips are stocked up, the hubby is outside boiling up a batch of shrimp, and the NFL Today is blaring on the TV...must be Super Bowl Sunday!! And to make it even better, my team the

Indianapolis Colts

are playing for the title! Makes for a great Sunday, indeed. We are ready for game time!

We went to church this morning and it was wonderful to be at church after missing last Sunday due to the snow. AND guess what?? It looks like we are getting more tonight...ahhhhhhhh!!!!! We JUST got all the snow melted from the last round, now they are calling for another 4-6 inches tonight and tomorrow. Ugh. I'm over it.

But the sermon this morning was about loving our neighbor, and how we are to love each other unconditionally, as Christ loves us. Regardless of anything else, or personal judgements we may have about each other, we are to LOVE each other. We are first and foremost witnesses for Christ by the way that we act, and the way that others SEE the way we act. It spoke volumes to me.

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." John 13:34

I've also managed to get in 11 lovely treadmill miles today. ONE MONTH FROM TODAY IS MY RACE AT DISNEY!!!

Have a great Super Bowl Sunday, friends! And if you're cheering for the Colts, may your team win! LOL~

xoxo

Doctor Day

Hey guys :-)

How was your Friday?? Mine was good. We went to STL yesterday because I had early appts this morning and by going up yesterday it saved us from getting at like 4am...and it also gave us a little bit of mall time ;-) I have no fabulous purchases to report, though, all I bought was some dark chocolate covered strawberries from Godiva and a nonfat mocha latte from Starbucks. Yeah, it was that kind of trip.

Last night we met up with some friends who are also there for dr stuff and we all headed to dinner on The Hill in STL. The Hill is known for it's authentic Italian cuisine and has the.most.amazing.food.ever. I got the mahi mahi (which I've never had before, and it was fabulous), fresh spinach, and roasted fingerling potatoes, and homemade chocolate gelato for dessert. OMGosh. It was all wonderful!

Today's first appointment involved this: This is the brand spanking new Siemens Espree breast MRI machine. The last time I had a breast MRI was shortly after my diagnosis in September 08 and it was a standard MRI tube with holes for, um, yeah, you guessed it and I had to lay on my belly with one arm straight out so the iv didn't get kinked up (an iv for the contrast solution). It took about 45 minutes and was very uncomfortable...by the end of it, my arm and hand were numb.

TODAY WAS MUCH BETTER! This machine is designed for the breast MRI, with extra padding for the arms and shoulders, and face opening with a hole in it kinda like a massage table. AND to make it even better, the test now takes only 25 minutes! Awesome! But the MRI is the highest of the high of breast imaging technology, so high in fact, that it actually has a higher rate of false positives. But it's totally worth it to me to catch something before it actually becomes something, or can even be detected on a mammogram.

BEST PART: My dr just called, just this very second as I am typing and said that my results were PERFECT!!!!!!! Praise God!!! So this means no more imaging "stuff" until my mammogram in August, Lord willing.

The other appointment I had today with with my new cardiologist. My oncologist wanted me to see her because of my consistently high blood pressure when I'm in his office...can you imagine WHY my bp would be high in an oncologist's office?!?! Um yeah. So now I'm wearing this handy dandy blood pressure monitor for 24 hours so she can confirm white coat syndrome. I feel so tied down with this goofy bp cuff on constantly and purse that carries the box that stores the info and the pump. It takes my bp every 20 minutes until midnight, then every hour until 6am, then back to every 20 minutes until 1pm tomorrow, when I can take it off. Basically, I can't wait until 1pm tomorrow;-)

So today has been a very good day. Now I am going to get comfy for the evening and enjoy my still cancer-free-ness. Have a good evening, friends!

xoxo

All Spiffed Up!

Woo Hoo! Take a look at me, will ya?!

Thanks to Kelly at Fabulous K Creative, my blog is all spiffed up! I'm so in L-O-V-E with my new look! I found Kelly via the LPM blog and she is obviously nothing short of uber-talented. This new design just LOOKS like me, don't ya think?

On another super-cute note, I wanted to share the card Katie made me for my birthday with you.

Yes, Katie, even though your room is messy, I will still love you. And yes, we've had this conversation...can ya tell?! After she gave it to me, I knew the last thing I was going to do was go up to her room...I think it serves as a warning ;-)

Have a great Wednesday friends!

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6

xoxo

Thankful Thirty-Two

Hello friends! Happy Monday!

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!

I am so thankful for today. For the opportunity to have another birthday and enjoy another year, another day, with my family. None of us are promised tomorrow, but when you have had your tomorrow directly threatened, each and every tomorrow is that much sweeter.

So on my 32nd birthday, I am looking back at where I was a year ago: I had completed 5 out of 6 chemo treatments and still had what seemed like an eternity to go. 6 weeks of radiation, and Herceptin treatments every 3 weeks until October...gosh. This one year almost seems like forever ago now. God has, and continues to, guide each and every moment. I am so thankful for His mercy and grace upon my life. I continue to ask Him daily to guide my life and to make me a blessing to someone. I don't want to waste a moment of my birthdays. They are truly a gift.

I had the best pre-birthday day ever yesterday. We went to Springfield and we met my parents, my sister Layne and her family, and my sister Jessica and her family at Red Lobster (my fave!) for a birthday celebration! It was the most perfect day. I am so thankful that Layne and Brett and the boys came down and sacrificed their sanity (because of sweet Caleb's dislike for his carseat) to be there. I am so thankful that Jessica and Jason and little Brayden were able to meet us as they were on their way home from a bull-riding competition in Iowa. Missing was our little brother Matt, his fiance Charli and little Mason. The day was great and I love my family so much. I don't know what I would do without them.

Another highlight of my day was my birthday present from my hubby and kids:

AHHHHHH YES!!!!!! My wonderful new BFF, Garmin Forerunner!!! I have wanted one of these for so long and I cannot wait to take her for an outside run! C'mon snow...MELT!!!

I did take for a long run this morning, but it was on my TM so I didn't do it to look at distance, obviously. I was more interested in my heart rate. LOVE this feature. I ran 12 miles in 1:57:36 and my average heart rate was 173, max was 188. Like I said, I can't wait to take her on an outside run and put all the numbers together. Ahhhh, I reeallllllyyy like it!

The kids are still out of school today, so they have been busy soaking up all the snow time they can. They have been sledding down the driveway on pool toys, and anything else they can find...having so much fun! I remember sledding down our hill when we were kids and our Papa would sled with us...I was always so afraid that he would break something jumping on that sled and zooming down the hill! But he was the biggest kid of all and he never missed a moment to sled with us. Miss you, Papa!

The boys also made a huge snowman this morning! Check "Bob" out:

I will leave for you to imagine what the circle area is on the lower, um, area... Lemme just say they are BOYS and they get their orneriness from their dad. Of course. I'm sorry to say that Bob didn't make it very long...there is way too much ammunition in this house for that to happen;-)

Have a great day and a great start to February! Love y'all!

xoxo