A LOT has happened!!
I can hardly believe it's been so long since my last post.
Elijah is 5 1/2. He started Kindergarten in August, just two weeks after we moved away from the Chicago area to west central Illinois.
Caleb is 27 months, or just over 2 years. He's showing off his terrible 2's in grand fashion and keeping us on our toes more than Elijah ever did at this age! Not sure if it's the move, transitions and adjustments, or what but it's been rough.
I turned 40 and Tim turned 41 this year. We've officially passed over the "young" years and are starting to feel old with each new crack in our knees, lol!
I went through a season after Caleb was born where writing and having time to myself just were not happening and mostly I was okay with that. I've not kept up with writing in his baby book or his memory journal, haven't printed pictures, and I haven't finished any scrapbooks. That is so unlike me!
Part of me gets saddened at that thought, but the other part of me knows why it's been that way.
It's been a really, really, really big couple of years for us.
When Elijah was born over 5 (!!) years ago now, life was slower. Was it hard adjusting to life with a newborn? Absolutely. Was I stressed out beyond recognition? For sure. But I worked at home half of my hours and in the office the other half. That meant 3 days at home with Elijah, juggling work in whenever he napped, when daddy was home, when Elijah went to bed, on the weekends, etc.
When Elijah was 2, that all changed. And after 6 months, it changed again. And it was that way until July when I resigned that job and am now working for a different organization, fully from home and just part-time.
Resigning from that job of 17 years was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, but for the very best reasons. I did it for my boys... for a better life for them and with them. I was so burnt out on so much time commuting and them spending so much time at daycare. We knew with Elijah starting Kindergarten that some big changes would have to happen so after a lot of prayer for well over a year, God opened the doors for us to move to be near my family and to slow down the pace of our lives.
As we adjust to our new lives in a smaller city, we're just immensely thankful for the ways God is teaching us so much through every decision and change, every new experience and adjustment. We are loving being near my family-- my mom & stepdad are just 3 minutes down the road, my dad and my brother & his family are just 10 minutes away, and everything we need is so close. Elijah is in a very small, private Christian school that fits him and his current needs perfectly (his class combines pre-K and there's a total of 7 kids in the combined class!), and Caleb splits his days away from me between my mom and my cousin. It's FANTASTIC!!!!!
I've literally had to "detox" from all of the stress with lots of extra sleep and rest after we moved and settled in. It's still ongoing as we continue the transition, but we are so grateful for this new chapter!! Please pray with us though as we continue to nail down certain things like doctors, chiropractors, etc. That's been a bit of a challenge.
We miss our Chicago family, my bestie and her family, dear friends, our church, and being surrounded by a variety of activities and resources. BUT there's so much more here. Including a lot more time with our boys... and though that's also had its immense difficulties, we wouldn't trade it.
I know not many people blog anymore or follow along here, but I wanted to post anyway and use this again as a bit of a journal.
Many blessings to you & yours this Christmas season! Thanks for reading. :)
Showing posts with label Events. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Events. Show all posts
Sunday, December 9, 2018
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Running & Torture
I equate running with torture.
Which is kind of ironic for a track-loving, cheerleader-guru, volleyball-playing-nut, gymnast when I was younger.
Then I grew up and {ahem} got a brain.
Which is probably why seeing this bumper-sticker cracked me up.
But wow, I want to be sick at the idea of running 13 miles, much less the 26 miles for a marathon. Even when I ran track in middle school I only did the hurdles, the 1 mile relay, and the 400 yard dash. Nothing over 1 mile, thankyouverymuch.
I do truly admire runners though, despite my thinking they are crazy.
And yes I know it's healthy, blah blah blah.
I love that my husband has gotten into it in the past year or so, and that he's run 2 5k races so far. I'm so INCREDIBLY proud of him!!!!
As such, last year I was fairly involved behind-the-scenes in our 5K at our church, to show my support of hubster.
And thereby somehow found myself on the leadership team this year for the church's 2nd annual 5K race.
Ma-hum-an-ah?!?!
It's a bigger deal this year, over 400 people expected, with strategic plans for promoting and launching the event into the social media world, etc. I'm heavily involved, and not even entirely sure how I found myself there.
I have to keep myself in check as I try not to let Satan sabotage my thinking as I feel so completely inept and incapable of working on promoting a race! I'm not in shape, I'm embarrassingly overweight, and I have major self-esteem issues, like as I pictured every person I handed a flyer to this past weekend in the lobby judging me and wondering why on earth I'm the person they're hearing from about a 5K.
But whatever, I had a blast meeting new people, greeting guests, having a laugh-fest with a couple campus pastors and a good friend I hadn't seen in a while. I'm such a people person that despite the silly thoughts circling my head, I'm grateful I had the opportunity.
I admit I really am enjoying it all immensely. It is a lot of fun and I'm learning a lot. I'm being stretched and pulled in ways I didn't know were even left in me. I'm overwhelmed and feeling like I got in way over my head, but in ways I know are going to benefit me as a person and my health.
If you live in the area and arecrazy amazing enough to love to run {or walk too, actually!}, let me know and I'll get you more information! But basically until June 2nd, you'll likely see a bit less of me around the blogosphere, as I spin around in circles {but NOT running, mind you!} and try to stay sane.
As if staying sane is possible for someone like me....
--
{side note: you'll probably see me less anyway as I tend to stay away from blogs in the weeks leading up to Mother's Day.}
Which is kind of ironic for a track-loving, cheerleader-guru, volleyball-playing-nut, gymnast when I was younger.
Then I grew up and {ahem} got a brain.
Which is probably why seeing this bumper-sticker cracked me up.
But wow, I want to be sick at the idea of running 13 miles, much less the 26 miles for a marathon. Even when I ran track in middle school I only did the hurdles, the 1 mile relay, and the 400 yard dash. Nothing over 1 mile, thankyouverymuch.
I do truly admire runners though, despite my thinking they are crazy.
And yes I know it's healthy, blah blah blah.
I love that my husband has gotten into it in the past year or so, and that he's run 2 5k races so far. I'm so INCREDIBLY proud of him!!!!
As such, last year I was fairly involved behind-the-scenes in our 5K at our church, to show my support of hubster.
And thereby somehow found myself on the leadership team this year for the church's 2nd annual 5K race.
Ma-hum-an-ah?!?!
It's a bigger deal this year, over 400 people expected, with strategic plans for promoting and launching the event into the social media world, etc. I'm heavily involved, and not even entirely sure how I found myself there.
I have to keep myself in check as I try not to let Satan sabotage my thinking as I feel so completely inept and incapable of working on promoting a race! I'm not in shape, I'm embarrassingly overweight, and I have major self-esteem issues, like as I pictured every person I handed a flyer to this past weekend in the lobby judging me and wondering why on earth I'm the person they're hearing from about a 5K.
But whatever, I had a blast meeting new people, greeting guests, having a laugh-fest with a couple campus pastors and a good friend I hadn't seen in a while. I'm such a people person that despite the silly thoughts circling my head, I'm grateful I had the opportunity.
I admit I really am enjoying it all immensely. It is a lot of fun and I'm learning a lot. I'm being stretched and pulled in ways I didn't know were even left in me. I'm overwhelmed and feeling like I got in way over my head, but in ways I know are going to benefit me as a person and my health.
If you live in the area and are
As if staying sane is possible for someone like me....
--
{side note: you'll probably see me less anyway as I tend to stay away from blogs in the weeks leading up to Mother's Day.}
Friday, October 28, 2011
Tim's Second 5K
This past Saturday Tim ran his second 5k this year {and ever!}. I'm so incredibly proud of him!!! He did a great job!
It all started off bright & early, and we saw a beautiful sunrise on our way to the northwestern suburbs.
Upon arriving we met up with some friends and chatted for a bit while trying to move around enough to keep warm. Most of the runners were prepped for the run... not for standing around for 45 minutes in 38 degree weather!
Just before the race was about to start, Tim's sister, her husband Bonga, and baby Toby came. We were so excited they were there for it! Bonga is from South Africa and runs marathons all the time, so this 5k was no big deal for him. But it was still really neat that he participated, we were so glad he was there!
Bonga coming around the bend
and crossing the finish line!
Tim coming around the bend
and since his first 5k I messed up his finish line picture, he wanted me to do this one on high-speed, the camera was deciding to freak out, and it ended up being zoomed in when I didn't want it to be so my high-speed is super-close-up to his face. This was really the only good pic as he was starting to cross the finish line. :-/ I feel sooooo bad I keep screwing this up!!!
And they're done, woohoo! :)
Toby showing off his new mad walking skillz
Later on nearby at Tim & Kandy's mom's house
Really enjoyed hanging out with my little buddy!
Congrats again to Tim on finishing his 2nd 5k race, so very, very proud of him!!! :)
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Labor Day Reflections
This time last year, I was enjoying time with my family, relaxing along the Mississippi Riverfront in my hometown, and helping my best friend Tracie move. This year was very different, but still relaxing and stressfree.
This time, it was the first time in years that we haven't traveled or had guests on Labor Day. We had ideas of what we'd do - bike ride, go to a movie, etc. Instead, we relaxed, slept in 3 days straight, spontaneously met friends for lunch, went to evening church, chatted with people at church we hadn't seen in a while, watched rented movies from the comfort at home, I did organizing projects while Tim did video editing projects, made waffles, rested, I did some reading, baked brownies, we watched a bunch of our favorite Friends episodes, we had a BBQ with some of our closest friends, and I played around with Instagram! Such a fun weekend!!
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| part of our living room, just messing around with Instagram :) |
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| a reorganized spare closet where our games & puzzles reside. forgot to take a before pic, but trust me it looks SOOOO much better! |
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| we tend to only use these when guests come. Tim & I don't play games well together, we are both too competitive! ;) |
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| made some yummy strawberry lemonade this pic reminds me how much I dislike our kitchen countertop, blech |
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| Parker wanted to give a big shout out to my blog friends! :) |
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| Monica trying to get Parker to tell us what his little brother's name will be |
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| tickle time!! |
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| run away, run away... Sherah has a knife!!! |
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| Marty & Monica chilling with their kiddos |
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| I couldn't resist posting this, I love how Charlie is going after that water! |
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| Marty & Charlie enjoying the swingset |
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| Parker patiently waiting his turn {okay so that's not quite true....}
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Tuesday, July 12, 2011
More Anniv & Birthday Stuff
Hopefully you guys won't get tired of hearing me talk about our anniversary & my birthday from the week before last... er, two weeks ago now... {wow, losing track of time}! It's just so much better than talking about Fibro all the time, blech. And quite frankly, it's been a really rough, exhausting, overwhelming couple of weeks. So for more interesting things....
Hubster surprised me with an early birthday present back a few weeks ago with PhotoShop Elements. It is something I'm still trying to figure out, so if you know any tips or tricks, please share!
Tim & I had agreed to no gifts, and yet he surprised me {because he's SO sweet!} around midnight on Thursday 6/23 & Friday 6/24 as the clock rolled over into our anniversary with this beauty:
Sorry for the poor picture quality {taken with my phone}, but let me tell you... this Samsung fit-in-your-pocket camera is exactly what I needed! I really love it!! And besides, right now the best part is it has a working flash, yay!!!! :) Oh how I have missed having a camera with a flash for the past 6 months.
Then, as if that wasn't enough, he also got me a nifty iHome unit for my birthday. Which quite frankly, stunk, and we returned it. My mom & stepdad also got me one but a different brand, so I'm using that one instead! I had first run across them in our Santa Barbara, CA, hotel room. It was a true delight of an alarm clock. It plays from and charges your iPhone or iPod, and has all sorts of neat features. Unfortunately, we learned the hard way since then that they don't sell those specific ones to consumers, only to hotel chains. Muh-huh?!?! Seriously, frustrating. But we've come to at least mostly love this one, despite two days of it not waking me up on time {thankfully over the weekend!} because pausing the iPhone means it won't work, and because it has a supposedly-neat-that-just-drives-me-batty feature of a Mon-Fri alarm and Sat & Sun alarm. After we've finally played around with it, I think we have it mostly figured out, and I really am thankful for it. We have yet to figure out what else we're going to purchase from Amazon with the credit we have from returning the other unit we didn't like at all, but for now, I am enjoying this baby:
Our weekend getaway for our anniversary & my birthday was really nice. We went to my hometown and took the drive slowly so we could enjoy it and not be stressed out about getting there.
I was so exhausted from a stressful week at work, but wasn't able to fall asleep in the car. I immediately crashed on the couch once we arrived and slept for an hour and a half! After that, we brought some KFC over to my brother's house where his family & my dad were anxiously awaiting the food's our arrival.
Isn't that onesie just the cutest?!! ;)
We really enjoyed our time Friday night just hanging out, playing in the yard, the girls climbing on Tim or the trees, while we awaited their mom returning from work {she's a nurse and works 12 hour days 2 days a week, and this was her first week back after Joshua was born}.
My brother sets up traps around his property to catch the chipmunks that are trying to get into everything around his house, and loads them up on his Jimmy and takes them away so they're free somewhere else.
My brother's newest love. He says this thing is absolutely amazing. I'm glad he enjoys it and it can help save them money on Starbucks runs. I don't care to ever find out - coffee is disgusting.
Our anniversary night ice cream treat with family:
Saturday was full of our cousin reunion - which was such a blessing and I'm so thankful we got to do that!! Despite all the hard work Tim, dad, & I put into it, it was so completely & utterly rewarding!
I'm kind of sorry I didn't get pictures of Tim running back & forth in the rain as he unloaded & then reloaded things when we thought we might still be able to have it in the park shelter house. It was sad, but also kinda funny. He gently but firmly insisted I stay in the car {and I'm really thankful he did} - it was pouring rain & storming hard when he was loading the car back up. I felt so, so, so badly for him! He was soaked the rest of the afternoon, poor guy.
Joshua was the hit of the event with the teenagers!! :)
Saturday night my cousin Aimee & her family invited us to join them for dinner. We went to Ruby Tuesday's and had a really nice, relaxing time getting to know them all better.
Sunday was really a delight. I got to hear my brother preach one of my favorite sermons of his ever. He'd emailed me the week prior to make sure it was okay with me for him to use an illustration from a traumatic event in my life as part of his sermon. I'm trying to get a copy of the recording so that I can tell you even more about it. I was so enthralled and emotional while he was preaching that I'd do a terrible job of relaying it all. So for now, just trust me, it left a big impact on me!
It was followed by a birthday lunch with many of my favorite people!
After that, just before heading back out of town, we met up with Aimee and her family in the hotel parking lot to say goodbye. Little Alyvia was asleep and sick in the car, so we did the best we could to include her in the pic! :) Of course... I'm not at all shy about such things so after them briefly commenting on how it was too bad she couldn't be in the picture, I posed like this, and they followed along! :)
After that we finished the trip by eating dinner at Cracker Barrel, yummo!
The day after my birthday, I was back at work going about business as usual when I got a few unexpected guests {Brian, Monica, & Parker} and a nice birthday surprise!
My coworker Sarah, who is an amazing cook even though I don't particularly like much of it myself, and she made this incredible chocolate cake and it was totally vegan! I couldn't believe it. Amazing.
Thanks again for tolerating all my pictures, and for sharing in the delights & blessings of my special weekend with me. :) It's not every year I get to do these types of things, and it was really, truly special for me.
Hubster surprised me with an early birthday present back a few weeks ago with PhotoShop Elements. It is something I'm still trying to figure out, so if you know any tips or tricks, please share!
Several days prior to my birthday, my dear friend Annemarie took me to lunch at my favorite Chinese restaurant on the planet {seriously, this place is amazing, no one I ever take there has been disappointed!!}.
Tim & I had agreed to no gifts, and yet he surprised me {because he's SO sweet!} around midnight on Thursday 6/23 & Friday 6/24 as the clock rolled over into our anniversary with this beauty:
Sorry for the poor picture quality {taken with my phone}, but let me tell you... this Samsung fit-in-your-pocket camera is exactly what I needed! I really love it!! And besides, right now the best part is it has a working flash, yay!!!! :) Oh how I have missed having a camera with a flash for the past 6 months.
Then, as if that wasn't enough, he also got me a nifty iHome unit for my birthday. Which quite frankly, stunk, and we returned it. My mom & stepdad also got me one but a different brand, so I'm using that one instead! I had first run across them in our Santa Barbara, CA, hotel room. It was a true delight of an alarm clock. It plays from and charges your iPhone or iPod, and has all sorts of neat features. Unfortunately, we learned the hard way since then that they don't sell those specific ones to consumers, only to hotel chains. Muh-huh?!?! Seriously, frustrating. But we've come to at least mostly love this one, despite two days of it not waking me up on time {thankfully over the weekend!} because pausing the iPhone means it won't work, and because it has a supposedly-neat-that-just-drives-me-batty feature of a Mon-Fri alarm and Sat & Sun alarm. After we've finally played around with it, I think we have it mostly figured out, and I really am thankful for it. We have yet to figure out what else we're going to purchase from Amazon with the credit we have from returning the other unit we didn't like at all, but for now, I am enjoying this baby:
Our weekend getaway for our anniversary & my birthday was really nice. We went to my hometown and took the drive slowly so we could enjoy it and not be stressed out about getting there.
11 years ago on June 24th, we met at Subway to eat breakfast, read Scripture, and pray over our wedding day together {so yeah, you can tell we aren't into all that superstitious stuff...we even took pictures together before the ceremony--gasp!}. So what better way to help celebrate on the road, than to grab breakfast at the oasis Subway?! Here I am still learning my new camera and cutting my face off:
We began our trip with some interesting clouds...
...which thankfully never turned into anything {not even rain} and the latter part of the trip was gorgeous & sunny!
When we arrived, we were greeted by an oddly empty house since my mom & stepdad were traveling for our first 24 hours or so there - it was soooo nice & relaxing! They live on a little lake surrounded by trees, and such beautiful peace & quiet!!
Isn't that onesie just the cutest?!! ;)
We really enjoyed our time Friday night just hanging out, playing in the yard, the girls climbing on Tim or the trees, while we awaited their mom returning from work {she's a nurse and works 12 hour days 2 days a week, and this was her first week back after Joshua was born}.
My brother sets up traps around his property to catch the chipmunks that are trying to get into everything around his house, and loads them up on his Jimmy and takes them away so they're free somewhere else.
And if you know my brother at all, you know that's not quite the entire story....
My brother's newest love. He says this thing is absolutely amazing. I'm glad he enjoys it and it can help save them money on Starbucks runs. I don't care to ever find out - coffee is disgusting.
Our anniversary night ice cream treat with family:
Saturday was full of our cousin reunion - which was such a blessing and I'm so thankful we got to do that!! Despite all the hard work Tim, dad, & I put into it, it was so completely & utterly rewarding!
I'm kind of sorry I didn't get pictures of Tim running back & forth in the rain as he unloaded & then reloaded things when we thought we might still be able to have it in the park shelter house. It was sad, but also kinda funny. He gently but firmly insisted I stay in the car {and I'm really thankful he did} - it was pouring rain & storming hard when he was loading the car back up. I felt so, so, so badly for him! He was soaked the rest of the afternoon, poor guy.
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| Tim & Tim - oh how I love seeing these two guys just hanging out!! |
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| everyone looking at a great slideshow of childhood pics my dad put together |
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| first cousins who were there: L to R - Amber, me, Gerry, Stephanie {plus daughter Mellie}, Aimee, Tim - missing Michael, Randy, Alicia, David, & Matthew |
Joshua was the hit of the event with the teenagers!! :)
Saturday night my cousin Aimee & her family invited us to join them for dinner. We went to Ruby Tuesday's and had a really nice, relaxing time getting to know them all better.
Sunday was really a delight. I got to hear my brother preach one of my favorite sermons of his ever. He'd emailed me the week prior to make sure it was okay with me for him to use an illustration from a traumatic event in my life as part of his sermon. I'm trying to get a copy of the recording so that I can tell you even more about it. I was so enthralled and emotional while he was preaching that I'd do a terrible job of relaying it all. So for now, just trust me, it left a big impact on me!
It was followed by a birthday lunch with many of my favorite people!
After that, just before heading back out of town, we met up with Aimee and her family in the hotel parking lot to say goodbye. Little Alyvia was asleep and sick in the car, so we did the best we could to include her in the pic! :) Of course... I'm not at all shy about such things so after them briefly commenting on how it was too bad she couldn't be in the picture, I posed like this, and they followed along! :)
After that we finished the trip by eating dinner at Cracker Barrel, yummo!
The day after my birthday, I was back at work going about business as usual when I got a few unexpected guests {Brian, Monica, & Parker} and a nice birthday surprise!
My coworker Sarah, who is an amazing cook even though I don't particularly like much of it myself, and she made this incredible chocolate cake and it was totally vegan! I couldn't believe it. Amazing.
Thanks again for tolerating all my pictures, and for sharing in the delights & blessings of my special weekend with me. :) It's not every year I get to do these types of things, and it was really, truly special for me.
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