a life beyond running shoes.

hubbie and i actually got to attend a conference a couple of weeks ago thanks to my  mom for coming up and keeping our kids. kevin twit came and spoke on how songs shape our souls . here is his article titled "why we still need hymns." he was awesome. our hymn sing was a sweet balm to my soul. here was one of the nuggets that he shared with us that i have been attached to ever since: Beams of Heaven ©2004 Christopher Miner Music.  Words: Charles Tindley.  Music: Christopher Miner. 1. Beams of heaven as I go,  through the wilderness below,  guide my feet in peaceful ways,  turn my midnights into days.  When in the darkness I would grope,  faith always sees a star of hope, and soon from all life's grief and danger  I  shall be free someday.  I shall be free someday. 2. Often times my sky is clear,  joy abounds without a tear;  though a day so bright begun,  clouds may hide tomorrow's ...

for not having done this sooner. we have not had a date since july. that is terrible!!! but last night we hit the town. joe's pub. dinner, drinks, and music. dinner was only decent. my grey goose dirty martini was perfection shaken. the music was phenomenal. laurence juber (fingerstyle acoustic guitar player of the former band wings as in paul mccartney's other known band). he was insanely good.....down right amazing. set list included fav: strawberry fields, live and let die, a spoonful of sugar, little wing. one song he played that i loved was one he wrote: in your arms. we had a great time!!! thanks for the free babysitting, tiff!!! and the tix, mom!!!!

he is his own person. fully. completely. one thing about him is his love for all things sports. that would include the clothing. he fights with me every morning to wear basketball shorts. even if it is 19 degrees outside. we compromise. he wears shorts inside and changes when we have to leave the house. of course, he changes into some version of sweats or athletic pants. (translation: he needs sport clothes. when he grows he needs big boy sport clothes and right now he is wearing little sport clothes. also, he was singing "leaning on the everlasting arms" from church this past week.) he also love music. here is his own version of language with a little "unto the lord" thrown in there. (he is a pastor's kid and all) he does create his own words and sentences. funny boy!

he is such a fan..... this is our friend beau.... he loves our kids. our kids love him & his wife. i think they hang out with us because of our kids.

browsing around through the nikeplus website & my itunes, i found some cool mixes especially created for workouts.... some even include voice overs from coaches. okay, so i downloaded one and have yet to try this "increase your endurance" workout. the nano & nikeplus have the setting called "powersong" that can be accessed at anytime during a run....for instance, at the end of a run or up a hill or at a moment when one would need an extra push. my personal powersong reminds me that i have an affinity for all things juvenile: fall out boy's "thnks fr th mmrs." it always helps me finish my runs with that extra UMPF! but, i spent about an hour working on my running playlist. downloading a few new songs, rearranging the order, deleting some that fail to inspire, etc. then, i hit the pavement...... i think i smiled for at least the first half hour of my run. i was flat out enjoying myself. delighted with good, grooving music. good beats that kept...

this is what we do for fun.... we make up songs... (he is saying "bless you.") here are our costumes. we wore them to the playground. why not get more than just one day of trick or treating out of them. thank you aunt laurie & uncle dre for such cute outfits!!

it was still dark at 6:30 this morning when i laced up my shoes. i hadn't run in a week and a half due to coming home from california with a head cold. i was not looking forward to it. i had already lost the challenge and my motivation had waned. should i do the short loop twice or meet my friend the hill? i decided to just face the hill. i was dreading it. everyone was passing me. i felt sluggish, yet i felt i had started too fast and was going to have nothing left in my legs for the way home. at a nice, steady pace it is a 5 minute hill. thanks to some good music, i clocked 4:30 on that hill. i thought i was struggling with each step i pounded.... yet the hill was telling me otherwise. my body was moving with memory and ignoring my head that was trying to get in the way. i found a rhythm that was steady yet arguably difficult as i could not get my own voice to be quiet long enough to enjoy the downhill portion of my run..... three blocks to go. i wanted to quit so badly. the tra...

from church yesterday..... to christ the lord let every tongue, its noblest tribute bring when he's the subject of the song, who can refuse to sing? survey the beauties of his face, and on his glories dwell think of the wonder of his grace, and all his triumphs tell. to him i owe my life and breath, and all the joys i have he makes me triumph over death, and saves me from the grave to heav'n the place of his abode, he brings my weary feet shows me the glories of my god, and makes my joy complete. since from his bounty i receive, such proofs of love divine had i a thousand hearts to give, lord they should all be thine a thousand men could not compose, a worthy song to bring yet your love is a melody, our hearts can't help but sing. all i can say is "wow." god is growing my faith.... he is stretching my trust..... he is proving himself over and over and over. as a friend of mine just reminded me... god is not my father (of the earthly sort).... he is faithful, consi...

last night, john and i had a real date. the last one we had was the monday night before asher's arrival on wednesday. we had some dear friends brave enough to tackle both boys.....for free. so, we headed into the city to see glen phillips , former lead singer of toad the wet sprocket , both being a favorite. he played joe's pub which is a cool venue.....dinner theater type place. of course there is a two drink minimum, but we ordered dinner....like a real date. glen was awesome!!! he played some old toad stuff, some of his older solo stuff, and stuff from his new album, mr. lemons . we really enjoyed ourselves.....and really enjoyed him. he is such a shy yet vulnerable performer. (i did not take this picture) when we got home, i had to pull out my old toad albums to see how long i had been listening. i got "fear" in 1992......then got "pale" (the earlier album) shortly thereafter. i got every subsequent album near release date....including "co...

this is a great album. 'nuf said.

in light of having re-watched high fidelity last weekend, i thought i would re-visit my top 5 favorite bands/artists from college: 1. toad the wet sprocket 2. the violet burning 3. sarah mclachlan 4. radiohead 5. counting crows honorable mention goes to james taylor , the catherine wheel, candlebox , dada , pennywise (snowboarding phase) and mary's danish (pink hair phase). of course there were a slew of christian bands that i followed due to the accessibility of seeing them play in southern california ( dakota motor company & the prayer chain were my top 2 favs). as my husband would have me clarify to my reading audience, i do have emotional connections to bands that have nothing to do with their talent & ability. WHATEVER!!!! they all rock. toad the wet sprocket's lead man, glen phillips , is coming to NYC at the end of february to play joe's pub. i am trying to figure out if a babysitter could actually swing a toddler & an infant at bedtime i...

okay if i hear " fibber island " one more time, i think my brain might explode. this is the favorite song of my 21 month old - a great song by they might be giants - that has been played over & over. i love the fact that my kid loves music....a personal interest of my own... but i am a bit tired of the album entitled no . part of why we have played it to death is our unlimited access to rhapsody on-line. if only i could get him to fall in love with the decemberist - who i am hooked on right now. my sister sent us the albumb for xmas but i had already been listening to it on rhapsody... but now, we can listen to it in micah room. i think he is starting to warm up to " sons & daughters ." micah is a dancer and it lends itself to a little hop here and there. you can see them perform at the above link... enjoy!