a life beyond running shoes.

visiting the academy of science in golden gate park griffith observatory with mimi and mr. denny (the hollywood sign is in the background) santa barbara with g'pa adams sweetpea's cousin's first bday our time in tennessee with family we had lots of other adventures including golfing, more cousins in palm springs, a road trip via I-40 to tennessee, signal mountain with friends, monterey aquarium with more friends, and more exploring "the city" . and hello september.

because i am behind and i have things i want to share.... i will start with this: sweet pea turned 4.  not sure how that happened but it did.  peanut turned 8.  now, that seems impossible!   and here is our easter:

i will finish the year with my last books read.... over the last month or so.  i have not even sat down to write my xmas letter and yet i post about my final reads....  happy 2013! global girlfriends: how one mom made it her business to help women poverty by stacey edgar what a fun and amazing story about a woman who started with a vision to do something about poverty among women around the world. check our her website: www.globalgirlfriends.com  making peace with the land by fred bahnson and norman wirzba a scholor and a practision discussing the biblical merits of working for the good and steward of the land. adoption without debt. by julie gumm. practical and inspiring of how it can be done. for reals. eat and run. by scott jurek carnivore turned vegan while pursing the dream of being/becoming an ultra runner. the hobbit . by jrr tolkien i re-read it so i could go see the movie.... i opted to spend my one movie date a year on les mis .  g...

we had a great thanksgiving with my mother-in-law in town.  we visited "the city" on the best weather day of  her visit.  we feasted with friends and had my new niece come visit.  we took her to a local brewery. i also trained and ran my first half marathon on this coast.  i got  my personal best time!!! 2:10 guess all that backyard circuit training we are doing really might be making a me a stronger runner.  and of course threw in some advent wreath making!!  merry christmas!!!

we got to really celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary.  sunrise. dinner at sunset. hiking.  shaved ice (aka snow cones) while watching surfing. more sunrises. snorkeling. despite the one day meeting that husband had (like the obligatory timeshare meeting that you have to sit through in order to get to stay there), we had an amazing time!! this was my first time snorkeling and i LOVED it!!! one of my highlights was running on the beach with hubbie.  funny how it takes vacation for us to see this activity as a luxury. it was amazing to finally get some nights away from kids and enjoy just having time together. thank you friends and family that helped make this happen!!! maybe it won't take over six years for us to do it again! and i read two books:   the weird sisters  by eleanor brown   and eddie would go by stuart holmes coleman:  one a novel threading shakespeare quotes through a story about sister all with fata...

i am not sure i even know where to begin. i think i am changed. i don't think i can go backwards. i think i am on a journey..... one that god is working and unfolding. i am pretty sure he has been working on these things for more than just this summer, in fact for years, but i think the books i encountered this summer are part of moving us forward and moving us deeper.  hubbie and i have always had this heart but i realized we have been okay just saying that we could not do it "right now."  i repent. i have been lazy. i have had a hard heart.  my heart does not look like jesus. it is not okay.  i have to move toward jesus and toward others.  he is calling me to himself.....  freedom of simplicity . by richard fotster. he takes the other two books from previous post and grounds them. he completely argues that simplicity is a spiritual issue.  it is a spiritual maturity issue.  it something to be cultivated, practiced, exercised.  i k...

i have to admit.... i didn't think it would be the oakland a's. but the kids had a ball!!! peanut was upset when we left for an inning to go buy hats!  and it was a crazy game.... 22 runs. it will be a shame when they go to another game and there aren't as many hits! showing off our new hats!!!

i am working backwards.... we got to leave town for a few days before school started just the five of us.  this does not happen often since we live far from family, we usually take our vacation time to travel to them.  we always love it but don't often get time as a family of five. we got to head north to the coast. mendocino. hiking, walking, eating, bike riding, beach exploring, tide pools, tadpoles, baby frogs, wine, and reading.  wonderful...... and delightful.  we are so thankful that we are loved so generously.  we are thankful to have enjoyed our children.

almost amish by nancy sleeth (one woman's quest for a slower, simpler, more sustainable life) does that sound right up my alley or what?! it was.  she takes a look at a community that has be able to stay connected to each other while remaining somewhat "out of touch" with modern culture. sleeth a makes the case that current american culture [and even modern church culture] are the ones that are out of touch not the amish.  sleeth takes ten tenants of amish culture and in a way deconstructs it, finds the merit, and challenges her reader to see what they have that we don't.  her ten things: home, technology, finances, nature, simplicity, service, security, community, families, and faith.  the ones that i really loved:  homes - aren't cluttered. technology - serves as a tool and does not rule. [i have stopped checking my cell phone or email on sundays....so mom, call my home phone] finances - save more and spend less.  simplicity - small and local lea...

we galavanted around the southeast visiting family. after months of new friends, it was nice to be with those familiar.

camping at camp fresno. no....not in fresno... thank you, dear lord. not tent camping....but not much higher up on the luxury spectrum. kids welcome to the sierras. dinky creek....not so dinky. smores. redwoods. creek swimming. fishing. climbing. hiking. family. and lots and lots of dirt.  what a great week! i might just need a whole year to gear up for it again!