A Home For Princess

Hello, friends! And happy Saturday!!

We have spent the day on the river (of course), enjoying the sunshine and the company of family and friends. This is my sister-in-law, Kristy's, 40th birthday weekend so we met up with them at a gravel bar upriver and swam and bbq'ed. Hot dogs, bratwursts, chips, and sodas were on the menu, and knowing this, I had already packed my lunch;-)

My own personal menu consisted of a spicy hummus, baby spinach, yellow peppers, and zucchini (fresh from my dad's garden!) sandwich on a sandwich thin, a jazz apple (my fave!), and some baby carrots. Um yeah, I stuck out. But I'm cool with it because I know I'm nourishing my body in a healthy way and putting only the best things in it. I read something the other day that said, "If everyone could see your internal organs like they see your hair and face would you take care of them better?" Here's to things that make ya think......;-)

On another note, I need to introduce y'all to the newest member of our family...

Everybody, this is Princess!

Princess has been with us for the last 3 days. On Tuesday, Jack came home from work with a little something in his front seat. He told Tyler to go and check and that little something was a little beagle puppy. She was clearly starved and had fleas and ticks all over her, she also has something wrong with her back legs...she kind of hops with them (as Katie puts it). She was in pretty rough shape:-( Apparently she had been dumped in a ditch in the middle of nowhere and Jack found her on the way to one of the job sites Tuesday.

He said he has no idea what made him stop and pick her up and bring her with him, but we are so glad he did! Of course as soon as Katie locked eyes with her, it was all over. She had her named and cuddled within moments of her being home. It was so sweet!

So now, Princess is flea- and tick-free, smells good, is sporting a hot pink collar, and is now *ahem*an inside dog*ahem. Did you catch that?? Yes, me who has sworn that I would never have an indoor pet, now has a baby beagle currently curled up on the couch. I just can't help it! When I watch her try to hop along on her back legs, my heart just melts!

I've wondered in the past few days what Princess thinks?? She went from living in a ditch, scrounging for food and water, probably hiding from other animals, and dodging the few cars to go by, to being a 6-year-old girl's new BFF! The first thing Katie wanted to buy her was a crown...we convinced her that probably wouldn't work very well! So we settled on a pink collar;-)



The last thing we were looking for right now is a dog...let alone an inside dog with some special needs, but she fits just perfectly into our family and we love her already. It just goes to show that perfect defines itself;-)

Blessings, friends!

xoxo

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." Philippians 2:3-4

River Time!

Summer time around here is known for one thing: the RIVER!  We are blessed enough to live in what I’ve often referred to as “God’s country,” where we live amidst rolling hills, trees, rocks, creeks, woods, and wildlife.  I have traveled all across the United States, and have yet to find anywhere as beautiful as the Ozarks of Missouri.

I like to travel to different areas of the country and enjoy all kinds of things, and I’ll admit I have often said the words “Ughhh, I wish we lived closer to ANYTHING!”  But I will also say, that I breathe an easy sigh when I watch the Current River flowing by or see the rolling hills of our small town.  I feel so blessed to live here, where I can see God’s fingerprint everywhere I look…and I am reminded to thank Him every day for His handiwork.

Here’s a look at our river time this past weekend:

Zachary diving off the boat:

Katie helping her Daddy drive the boat:

Katie jumping (her favorite thing to do EVER):

Tyler’s wind-blown hair:

Coolest feature on my sis-in-law’s camera makes it look like Ty is paused mid air:

And Zachary is standing on the water:

Cute (and ornery) kid:   

Gravel bar relaxing at it’s finest:

I was letting Brayden play in the water and he almost got a handful of gravel into his mouth!  Aunt Erica has to pay better attention:

Zachary and Mason watching the river:

Mom and Jessica getting some sun: 

Jack and Brad cooling off the easy way:

The boys helped Katie tie her boat to the post so she could float:

Zachary chillin:

Mom and Katie floating in the river:

Brayden wants in the water sooooo bad!: 

He is LOVING it!:

He probably would’ve taken off swimming if I had let him go…don’t worry, I NEVER would!:

You think his Momma was relieved to have him back on the bank??  Yeah, probably;-)  But she was glad he loved it!:

So that’s what we do around here for river time!  It’s the simple life and we LOVE IT!

God Bless!

xoxo

Now That’s Just Awesome

Hey guys! 

How’s your week going so far??  We are in the midst of our craziest week so far this summer…there is a baseball game every single day.  The timing is just great  too (heavy on the sarcasm here) because we are also in the middle of what the weather guy calls “a July and August-like pattern.”  Which means lots of heat and humidity.  We’ve been in the mid-90s for several days now.  Needless to say, my outside runs have been taking place early, before it gets really heated up…although you couldn’t tell it by looking at me when I’m finished!  I’m a sweaty beast…sorry too gross for pics;-)  The stats for this morning’s run are:

Mile 1	10:55
Mile 2	9:30
Mile 3	10:03
Mile 4	9:57
Mile 5	10:50
Mile 6	9:32
Mile .20	2:45

TOTAL: 6.2 miles (10K)                    TIME: 1:03:35

The 3 H’s are reallllly affecting my run times…HEAT, HUMIDITY, HILLS.    We are at our cabin for a couple days so it’s the gravel road and many hills that I’m competing with, as well as mother nature.  Triple whammy I suppose.  But it’s ok, cause I feel awesome when I’m done!

Speaking of AWESOME…

As I was getting cleaned up after my run this morning, I was listening to The Gayle King Show on Oprah Radio (XM 156).  She started talking about a book called: “THE BOOK OF AWESOME”

 

I was listening to Gayle interview the author, Neil Pasricha and I immediately smiled.  Here’s a young man who, after being dumped by his wife of 2 years, fell into a rut of depression.  He said that he just felt down and also lost a very good friend who took his own life after HIS battle with depression.  He decided to start a website called, “100awesomethings.com” where he would list one awesome thing every day. 

Things such as finding money in an old coat pocket…the smell of freshly cut grass…when you push the button for the elevator and it’s already there…when your boss goes out of town…and many many more!

Before he knew it, he was an internet sensation, winning awards and being offered book deals! 

I think the reason his website and his book is doing so well is because we are craving positivity in our society. The news is so down and depressing so much of the time…wars, earthquakes, politics, the gulf oil spill…that we are seriously deficient in our daily dose of positivity.  How AWESOME do you think it would be for your soul if we just listed ONE positive thing about every day?  I think it would have a profound impact on how we look at things. 

I cannot wait to buy the book, and maybe even start a list of my own;-)  I may just start it right now in the back of my prayer journal!    

Maybe  give it a try and see how God will guide you to appreciate all the little things in life! 

Have a great day friends <3 <3

xoxo

Komen 2010: A New Day

Why a new day?  Because this year’s Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure was a completely different experience from last year.  And not just in the look:   

…But in the FEEL.  Last year I was a newbie, so to speak.  My hair was just starting to grow (I had just started going without my wig!), I was still taking Herceptin, in fact I still had 4 months to go…I still had the hysterectomy ahead of me and hadn’t had any scans since I had started treatment.  I didn’t really feel like a Survivor yet.  I was in kind of a funky mood all day long and it was evident to my family and friends also. 

FAST FORWARD TO ONE YEAR LATER…

I was so excited for yesterday’s Komen Race! I have been raising money, and gathering support from family and friends and was totally ready to CELEBRATE!  I can only describe it as a feeling of being free.  I am totally and completely finished with treatments and surgeries (Lord willing!), and I am in my pattern of good labs, good scans, good labs, good scans…  And I finally felt like I could release the Survivor that was hiding inside me last year.  I had the most amazing support of family and friends:

I also was scheduled to do a live TV interview for NewsChannel 5 KSDK at 715am.  I arrived on time and got sat down between the news anchors, got my headphones and mic on, and…we realized that the Survivor Procession was about to start so they told me to go ahead and do that then come right back.  Well, I did but they didn’t have a time slot for me by that time:-(  I did get interviewed by another reporter later, but I haven’t seen the footage yet.

The Survivor Procession is so amazing.  Over 4,500 Survivors in our matching shirts parading up to the main stage to celebrate and sing songs like “I Will Survive!”  It’s quite the sisterhood, lemme tell ya:-)  I walked with the Survivor Banner at the front of the Survivor Procession because I was a top ten survivor fundraiser and that was such an honor.

  

And then of course, there was THE RACE!  I had it in my mind that I wanted to run with the Survivor that won it last year, having no idea what she finished in.  Ummm yeah, well when the gun went off and she took off it took me about 2 seconds to realize that wasn’t going to happen!  She was off and gone before I had a chance to start running!  So with Tyler, Zachary, and Jack (Yes, I know!  And he ran almost the whole thing!  I’m SOOOO proud of him!  He said if I can beat cancer then he can run 3 miles.  Awwwe!) by my side we ran strong and I ended up being the 2nd Survivor to cross the finish line!!!  I was totally excited!  (BTW, the winner’s time was 19:11…’nuff said;-))       

And here’s what it’s all about folks…  I could not be more thankful for him.       

Our family last year and this…my how far we’ve come.  (And yes, I promise Tyler DOES have other pairs of shorts!  Geez, what are the chances of that happening?!)

 

It was the best day and I thoroughly enjoyed and embraced every part of it.  I was 1 of 70,000+ in downtown St. Louis yesterday (a record for STL AND KOMEN!), and 1 of 4,500 SURVIVORS.  The day raised $3.4 million for Susan G. Komen for the Cure, with 75% of that staying in the St. Louis area…how awesome is that?!  I am so proud to be a Survivor, and every time I think about all I’ve been through I stand a little straighter and feel stronger.  I pray for this God-given strength each and every day and He has never failed me.  He has never left my side and has carried me on days when I know my own legs will fail me.  And I am so thankful that I serve a risen Savior who NEVER FAILS and ALWAYS LOVES.  Thank you, Jesus, for your amazing love.

God bless you, friends.  Love y’all!

xoxo