Our Strong Tower

Thought right at this second:

Does anything smell any better than a steaming hot cup of coffee sometimes?  I love the smell of coffee.  And I would also love if it would hurry and cool down so I could get some caffeine in my tired self.  I had a terrible night’s sleep [hate those].

But all will be looking up soon!

It seems like today is surgery day for several people: my second momma (the one I asked for prayers for the other day), my sister-in-law, and my friend’s Dad.  Gee whiz people!  As my Mom has always said, “We never run out of things to pray for.”  Indeed.

Last night’s baseball game didn’t go as planned…meaning: we didn’t win.   But the boys will be back on the mound tomorrow afternoon and hopefully bring home a winner!  I’ve always told them that you can sometimes learn more from the losses than the wins. 

Of course, who knows if tomorrow’s game will even happen now that we have Hurricane Isaac moving this direction.  We here in SE Missouri should catch the remnants of it and they are calling for quite a bit of rain here. I’m sending prayers to those on the coast and further inland who are dealing with MUCH more than rain right now.

On another note completely-check out what my little gymnast is up to now:

She was so pleased with herself that she figured out that she can use the footboard of her bed as a balance beam to practice.  Oh my word.  I don’t know how many times we have said the words, “Be careful, we don’t want to break something else!”  Clearly she’s listening.  Clearly. 

I can so relate to the commercial with gymnast Shawn Johnson and her Mom where her Mom says, “Our home is a training facility…”  Yes, I gotcha.  Here’s the commercial…this is what our house looks like constantly. 

Haha, I love it.

Here’s Day 18 from #SheReadsTruth-

Has anyone else ever pictured themselves full-on running into the arms of God to be protected and kept safe?  I know I have.  I don’t know how many times during diagnosis and treatment (and pretty much every time I still walk into Siteman), I would just bury myself in His Robe and would never have the courage to peek out.  And friends, that’s the beauty of God.  He is THERE with a love so grand we could never imagine.  He WANTS to be our protector and our guide.  I am so thankful.  There are no words.  He is truly my strong tower.

Love you guys.

xoxo

Weekend Catch-Up

Hey Monday!  Nice to see ya!  Eh, not really…trying to be positive here. 

Did you have a good weekend?  Do anything fun??

We didn’t have a whole lot planned, but somehow we were kept very busy.  

The boys had their first baseball game on Friday.  IT WAS A WINNER!!!  Tyler pitched the 23-0 blowout and Zach had timely hits and some amazing catches in the outfield.  So proud of my boys!  I love having them both on the same team. 

We had a family reunion planned for all day Saturday on the river, and it looked like it was going to be a nice day for it [according to the weather forecasts].  Turned out that we actually got rained out not even thirty minutes after getting there.  We waited it out as long as we could under the canopies in the boats but finally just called it quits and packed up and headed home. 

Yesterday morning I got in 8-miles before church.  It wasn’t fun.  I wasn’t really feeling it.  Nothing hurt, just lacking motivation I guess. 

Now THIS MORNING’S run was fabulous!  I put in another 8-miler…just because it felt AWESOME.  My times were close to the same, but today it just felt effortless where yesterday was clearly not.  It clearly shows in my heart rate charts-

 

Definitely could tell I was in the zone today.  That one dip just after 40 minutes was when my hubs called me, other than that it was pretty steady.  Average HR for Sunday was 166 and for Monday (today) was 170.

 

I have also got caught up on my #SheReadsTruth devotions from the Proverbs study-

DAY 16-

 

DAY 17-

Are you joining in?  I am not only reading some beautiful Scripture, but also finding verses that are ACTIVELY applying to me.  I love that. 

More baseball for us today!  Bring it, Bulldogs!

A very important person in my whole entire life is dealing with breast cancer and is scheduled to have her double mastectomy this Wednesday…would you please keep her in your prayers?  She has always been like a second mom to me, and now she is my sister.  Oh how I hate this disease. 

Please get your mammograms, do your breast self-exams, and be your own advocate.  Nobody knows your body better than you. 

Love you guys.

xoxo

Back On Schedule

Twas the first week of school and by Friday everybody looked like this-

Actually, this was taken Wednesday after the first day.  Little princess was completely wiped out!  She dozed off from the grocery store to home…which is about 5 minutes or less! 

The boys are no different, except they have to get up even earlier to get to the school for Cross Country practice.  You know they love that.  *insert LOTS of sarcasm here*  So they are extra tired. 

No rest for the weary around here, though!  The boys have their first fall season baseball game this afternoon, about an hour away.  And it’s back to being HOT outside.  Joy.  I actually really love watching my boys play ball on the same team, but I am not a fan of this ridiculous heat we have had this summer.  It was beautiful for a week or so, and now it’s back to 100 in the afternoons.  Blech. 

Bring.on.fall.

I surprised myself this morning during my workout and did 8 miles.  I had not intended to go that far, but it just felt good so I went with it.  I’ve been taking it pretty slow as I ease back into a running routine…but fast or slow, I don’t care.  Running is running.  And I love it.

With all the school-stuff happening on Wednesday, I forgot to share with you my #SheReadsTruth journal for the day.  Well here is DAY 15-

Proverbs is SO FULL of wisdom.  It’s little bits and pieces of good advice and lessons.  I find something every day to make me think, pray about, and store in my heart. 

I am not getting my quiet time in the morning like I was during the summer since the kids are all getting up earlier, so I've gotten just a day or so behind.  But I’m catching up as soon as this post goes up.  It just took me a couple days to figure out how our mornings are going to go around here!  But I’m on it now!

Have a most fabulous Friday everyone!

xoxo

First Day of School ~ Twenty Twelve

Well, it’s here…

Another FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL.  <----- I really tried to type that sentence with an exclamation point but it just didn’t feel right.  I’m not a fan of sending my kids back to school…I like them here.  With me.  All the time.  Forever and ever.

Well, ok, maybe not forever and ever [a Momma needs her quiet time, too], but MOST of the time yes.  This Momma bird likes all her chicks in the nest.  I know it won’t stay this way forever and the kids going back to school is another stark reminder of that. 

Tyler is a junior.  Let me repeat, A JUNIOR.
Zach is a freshman.  A FRESHMAN.
Katie is in third grade.  THIRD GR-ok, ok, you get the point…  Third grade’s not so bad.

My boys are in High School.  Where I was, just yesterday!  Man, when my mom said that time goes by so quickly once they start school she wasn’t kidding.  It.is.flying.

I remember saying that a kid’s junior year in high school is like their last “good” year (for the parents).  Because after this, it will be “Oh, this is the last ___________.”  Welp, here we are!

I’m trying to be a big girl here, so just bear with me.

SO, what does every parent do on the first day of school??  Yes, we take pictures.  I mean, my parents did it to me so now I HAVE to do it to my children.  That’s just the way the world works.

Katie is happy to oblige…of course.  The boys, well, not so much.  Check this out:  
 

The caption for the photo could be:

“And Miss Katie is happily sending her two big brothers off to prison for the rest of their lives.”

Seriously!

Good grief.  Again, I had to threaten to follow them into the school to get their first-day-of-school pictures if they didn’t take them for me at the house.  Needless to say, they opted to take them at home.

I kept snapping, hoping to get one of the boys to crack a smile.  I even told them that I wouldn’t put them on Facebook-which I totally did.  Should’ve smiled boys!

Nope.  Nothing.

Humph.

So I just took more pictures of Katie  

Just before we all got in our separate cars (first time for THAT on the first day of school-wahhhh!), they felt sorry enough for me that I finally got smiles from my sweet, sweet boys.

I am so proud of this picture that I may just put it on the school website and blow it up poster-size and hang it around the house. 

Have an awesome day, guys.

And go ahead and smile!

xoxo

Spending Our Time

Almost a week has gone by since I’ve updated…imagine that.

Sometimes I wish I had more time for blogging; more time to spend writing posts with great links to articles I read regarding breast cancer and workouts I find, more time to share with you the different ways I feel God’s presence in my life on a daily basis, and more time to show you the ins-and-outs of the new recipes I find and how my family likes them (or not, haha!).

But there really isn’t any TIME for that…you want to know why?  Because I am out LIVING.  Praise God!  I am out spending my time with my kids and my handsome husband.  I am trying to spend my 86,400 seconds in each day wisely and with the people I love.

That is something that us cancer survivors face on a daily basis.  The uncertainty of not knowing exactly what our futures look like.  Will I still be here next month?  Next year??  I honestly don’t know.  But I want to tell you TWO THINGS that snap me out of this way of thinking (mostly) when I am consumed by these thoughts:

1. NOT ONE of us knows what the future holds.  Tomorrow is not promised to ANY of us.  Not just cancer patients, but everybody. 
2. I KNOW who holds the future.  I rest in knowing that my Jesus is alive and is still in the business of performing miracles.  He is still the same as yesterday, today, and will be TOMORROW.  He is not startled by anything and already knows what our future holds, and I rest in that.

So while I don’t have any links to the [few] articles I’ve read this week about different advancements in breast cancer, or any of the new recipes I’ve tried (thank you Pinterest), I DO have some great pics of us from the past week [Hello Cardinals game!!!] and of course, my #SheReadsTruth journals to share. 

 

Scary headline: Attempted kidnapping of a local runner.

 

Working on it: !!!!!

She Reads Truth PROVERBS STUDY:

DAY 11-

DAY 12-

DAY 13-

DAY 14-

 

School starts tomorrow.  Tears of sorrow for summer ending and my “babies” getting so much bigger.  But smiles abound for the people they are becoming.  May God watch over and protect all the students and teachers returning to school here tomorrow.

Love y’all!

xoxo

Slight Return To Sanity

Hey y’all… 

I hope your Wednesday is going well today!  So far this has been a pretty good week, with one exception (which I will get into in a minute). 

Katie and I made it back to church on Sunday (which always starts the week out on the right note!), I have made serious progress in my office (i.e.-my desk), we are enjoying cooler-than-normal temps around here, and I’m including running back into my workout regimen! 

My stress fracture in my fibula feels good, and the femur ache is come and go…and seems to be kept at bay by not running every day.  So while I’m doing a lot of the same kickboxing, strength training, DVDs, no impact cardio, stuff I’ve been doing for the past two months, I’m also including 7% incline walks on the treadmill and an easy jog every now and then. 

A slight return to sanity.

We have been rockin’ and rollin’ with the #SheReadsTruth girls in the Proverbs.  Today is Day 10, but really, who’s counting?!  You can pick up, join in, or read any Scripture at any time.  She Reads Truth is just a community of Christ’s daughters joining together in His Word and loving each other and focusing on HIM.  Simple.  And beautiful.

Here are my past few days:
DAY 7-  

DAY 8-

DAY 9-

DAY 10-

 

In other news,

• I went and checked the boys’ high school schedules yesterday since school starts next Wednesday.
• I registered Tyler to take the ACT again, in October.
• In cleaning up my desk, I have been attempting to update my payroll program on my computer.  I am now stuck somewhere between hitting my head on the desk in frustration and throwing my computer away and starting over.
• We spent a gorgeous afternoon on the river the other day. Just the 5 of us, just the way I like it. Much needed.

So now on to what makes this NOT such a great week…  Jack’s cousin, Laura, passed away on Monday.  She leaves behind a husband, children, and grandchildren.  Yet another life taken way too soon by cancer.  Breast cancer, to be specific.  I hate it.  It hits way too close to home for me and I can’t help but let my mind wander.  It sucks.  Cancer sucks. 

BUT, you know what doesn’t suck?  The fact that I KNOW that Laura is dancing in Heaven right now, pain free, and having the most wonderful reunion with her parents and others who have gone before her.  I KNOW that.  And that is what makes this just a tad more bearable.

Please say a prayer for Laura’s family, if you would.

And please, please, please, if you don’t do anything else today…

Check yourself.  Schedule your mammogram if it’s time.  Be proactive.  You could be saving your own life.

Love.

xoxo

So Refreshing

Hello!

Tis Saturday.  Finally.  Hallelujah.

Woke up to sunshine and MUCH cooler temps than we’ve had in MONTHS!  And it was beautiful…so refreshing. 

It really made me want to get up and head outside for a RUN, but since I was able to start slowly running this week I didn’t want to push it.  Plus my right thigh (femur bone) is all of a sudden aching…ughhhhhhh.  I have no idea.  My healing stress fracture in my fibula (that I’ve been off of for 8-weeks) feels good, but the femur, which I haven’t had problems with since last December/January and SHOULD be well healed by now, is acting up.  I could scream.  Or hit something.  Or both.

Anyway.

On to today’s devotion from #SheReadsTruth …Proverbs, Chapter 6-

And I really liked the cartoon…heehee

Have a good Saturday, friends.

Don’t forget to check your breasts, ladies!! 

xoxo

She Reads Truth ~ Proverbs

The latest and greatest stuff from the #SheReadsTruth gals came out this week!

There was a few days break [grace days as they called it], and then on Monday of this week the new study was announced.

This is good stuff.

For the next 31 days we are studying the book of Proverbs.  One chapter, every day.  Dissecting, praying, and diving deep into His Word and sharing with each other via the She Reads Truth site and Instagr.am. 

This community is beautiful.  Sisters in Christ all sharing our hearts with each other and how God is working in our lives and what each day’s scripture means to us.  I can’t tell you how many times I have read through the scripture and then checked other people’s comments and had my eyes opened to a whole new perspective that I had missed!  I love that. 

Here are my journal entries since Monday-

 

It’s not too late to get involved in this study.  It’s never too late!  You can pick up where we are, or you can start at the beginning and catch up.  You don’t have to have a smart phone with the You Version app…you can find all the details on how to join us on the She Reads Truth site.  I promise you won’t be disappointed.  You will be lifted up and encouraged every single day. 

We are all so imperfect and fall short of God’s expectations for us.  We sin, we say and do things that make God look down at us and shake His head.  {BUT- we are FORGIVEN.}  We can lay our sins and our imperfections at His feet and He will so gladly pick us up, dust us off, and sit us back up on His shelf.  He LOVES us beyond measure.  We are His children-HIS DAUGHTERS-and we are so treasured by Him. 

How grateful am I?!  Oh my goodness.  I have no words. [That seems to be happening a lot today.]

I am excited to see where this study goes and what God has to reveal to me through it!

I am ready.  Are you?

xoxo