a life beyond running shoes.

means that i get to finish books at 3 in the morning that i have been working through for a while. i started this book in november when my husband brought it back from a conference he went to. i was a bit insulted thinking that it was a subtle way of telling me that i don't keep a clean house. it is not. in fact, this might be one of the best books i have read in a long time in relation to christian living. i found it to be one of the most encouraging and challenging books i have read for the practicality of making & creating a home.... not just a house but a place of hospitality. "how much more hospitable it would be if our homes were routinely to be places filled with satisfying meals, with shirts warm from the dryer, with smoothly made beds--not because we are trying to win the housekeeping prize but because these are good and pleasant ways to care for one another and ourselves." it is not about "baking for jesus" but about seeing the job i have creatin...

i have been working through it for the past year (as with many of the nonfiction books i read). i have read his new york times magazine articles but they are about twenty pages. this was an undertaking.... but well worth my time and energy. section one was a bit scientific with strands of corn and hybrids and technical language. at some point, after skimming through some of the technical language, he moved on to what it means that there is a food industry that is largely based on my ignorance of how it actually operates. compelling! section two was totally engaging because i found it fascinating to learn about how farms work. to read about farms that raise animals to live like animals and really what it is that god intended when created eco-structures. it was amazing to see how it all worked together. section three was purely enjoyable. it is his journey of foraging for food and i was intrigued by the mushroom/fungi stuff he learned. how cool! here was one thing he said that i was ...

i think his language is super cute!!! translation: i bonked my booty on micah's bed.... swinging. this is the boys room. we came up to get our snowpants on but we missed the snow. it has already changed to rain and is all slushy and melty. plan #2....bake cookies!

we just met this past weekend and discussed joshua ferris's then we came to the end . it was one of those discussions that we could all agree that finishing was a chore. we discuss some interesting this about it, read some of what we thought were the only funny parts, and concluded that we appreciated it more because of our conversation. if i had been left to myself, i would not have finished....nor would i have even made it half way but having missed the last three book club meetings i was compelled to get through most of it. while i'm not glad i did, it was mostly good to discuss together. our basic conclusion was that we did not understand how it was one of the top ten books of 2007 other than it was different, unique, and stylistically original. but i typically like my books to have plot and character development. happy reading!

today marked our first worship service.... in our home. the flatbush church project meet, sang, heard the word, broke bread, and celebrated christ together. it was a frenzied week of lots of hands on deck from buying chairs to setting up chairs to clearing our entire living room to taking care of our sick kids elsewhere. it was pretty amazing to think that a year ago we were still trying to decide whether or not this house was feasible or wise. twelve months later, god has so ordained that we got to sing our praises to him in this very same living room. we were singing: "To see you high and lifted up Shining in the light of your glory Pour out your power and love as we sing Holy, Holy, Holy" and i thought that it is amazing that we were singing his praises in our living room, in this community, with these neighbors. god is really amazing.

we actually got out for dinner last night. it was the first time since july that we planned a date. that is sad. we spent too much, ate too much, but enjoyed ourselves totally. we did the tasting menu..... the conversation went like this: wife: should we do tasting menu - it is six courses? i'm not sure my tummy has room for six husband: no, we don't need to spend that much money wife: true.... but we do need to spend that much time out [the note under the tasting menu said to allow around two hours for dining] husband: true....and since it will be a while till we do this again.... let's try it. wife: why don't you get the wine pairing and i can just take sips. husband: good idea. course 1: crab bisque with butternut squash ravioli and smoke cream fraise course 2: braised octopus salad course 3: homemade pasta with duck confeit and trumpet mushrooms and a sour cherry reduction course 4: pork belly and mushroom with a perfectly seared scallop course 5: salmon with p...

so if i don't think about it and write it down, i'm afraid i won't do it. i posted a while ago a list of books that the average american has read 6. i would like to get through some of that list, but there are other books that i would like to read this year: tale of two cities - dickens omnivore's dilemma (finish it) - pollan the unsettling of america - berry the chronicles of narnia series - lewis little house on the prairie - alcott [i have never read these] revolutionary road - yates dominion - scully unaccustomed earth - lahiri orthodoxy - chesterton of course, none of these are on the list to help me feel smarter or more accomplished. nor could this list be more varied. anyone want to chime in on books they would like to read this year? just curious. and just a plug for how cute my kid is..... here are some pics on sarah's blog .

the book of jane . so the twist is that the main character is a christian woman. it is chick lit's version of the book of job. does it work? for lighthearted reading... perhaps. as for profound theological truths.... not really. but i guess that it not why one would read chick lit now is it? although, the character does ponder how "though he hides it well, god must still be in charge." which is a truth at points in life i have thought but mostly when seeking out the psalms or other passages from the bible. i guess it was just strange to read a total chick novel - with loss and gain of love, city scenes, emails, phone calls, dates, etc. - through the perspective of a christian character which in turn means that there was no sex. none. and the language was clean - refreshing! i've never read one of these before... it made for quick bus reading, i have to admit. also, i just met "anne dayton." if at the beach....i would pass this along to you.

we had fun snow yesterday. of course, it wasn't until the afternoon that it starting sticking and we could actually go out play in it. it was 5:30 and the street lights were on..... but they had fun. they even got pulled along the sidewalk sitting on the snow shovel.... daddy is quite creative! of course, there was another funny incident that occurred that i was not able to capture on film. i came home from teaching on thursday (only one more week to go!!!) and my husband was in the kitchen finishing dinner prep. it was very quiet.... where are the boys? i called out, "hello boys." in unison, "we're upstairs pooping." giggle, giggle. i slowly (i am 32 weeks along) make my way up the stairs and sure enough there are two naked boys sitting on their respective potties. peanut on the normal toilet and little bit on the kiddie potty....they are both pooping. a riot!!! of course, little bit gets up every two second to point and say, "see mommy, poop....

i miss it. it is cold outside and sometimes all i think is that is would be great weather for a run. i had lunch today with my running partner - which is such a lame term since she was my boss first, then a friend, then my running partner..... but as i learned many miles shared can make your running partner one of your nearest and dearest friends. there is a story in this month's runner's world titled " someone to run with ." while it doesn't necessarily apply to stef because it talks about partners that have come and gone, it did make me think of her... i know that one day i will have someone that is my new stef and she will have a new me because our lives won't always intersect.... even while they do intersect she has endured two seasons of gestation.... and yet one day we will get out there again. best quote: "any friendship that is based on running is, in essence, about accrual -- of time, of miles, of intimacy built over a lot of small steps forward....

my friend ( behind the gate ) read this and inspired me to follow suit. so, this was my first read of the new year..... how to make christmas more christmas and not more shopping. as we dialogue with friends about the days following christmas and having the 12 days leading to epiphany to spread out the christmas loot and struggling with breading in our children more selfishness and consumerism... this little book struck me with simplicity and honesty. it is not just about not spending... but the manner in which we spend. these are the questions that it raised for me: is the nature in which i celebrate this time of year one that teaches my children to be generous? am i in fact trying to find ways & places to be generous in my own celebration of advent? am i more concerned with giving the perfect gift for an individual OR spending time on a gift to show someone that they are significant.... (i have struggled with feeling lame about presenting hand-made gifts in the past when in fa...

this is really the first year that the boys really got into christmas. of course, i have been playing christmas music since before thanksgiving. they really loved the songs.....mostly jingle bells. thankfully, they did learn a few others: little bit really does not like to sing alone which of course drives the older one crazy because little bit mumbles the words and screams more than sings. the older one is actually more concerned with the words than the younger one.... go figure.

here come the sweet boys. xmas morning - the presents from us..... of course, they got them monday since we were in florida for xmas morning. they could not wait to get home to play, but they really do pale in comparison to the backyard playground at g'pa's house. these replace the two broken ones that they have been playing with for about 2 months now. it was a great debate what kind to get... real versus toy. we went with toy. the idea being that if they really do want to love music, we'll get real ones when the jump in money seems more appropriate. apparently they can be tuned.... we'll need to work on that!!!

well, one of my goals was to finish a book (by michael pollan) i have been working through all year. i didn't do it. i guess it will make a great goal for next year....i just hope it does not actually take me all of 2009. here is what i did get to read as i finished up finals for one of my classes.... they wrote - i read. now i have to grade...yipee!!! sidewalks in the kingdom . a good read about why it is a good thing that christians live in cities. i loved how he talked about how we have to bump shoulders with our neighbors because of the culture of the city. i could relate to many of his examples as i have often gotten help on and off the subway, buses, out of the grocery store, etc. i did appreciate his discussion of how the american love of their automobiles has replaced our love of community and that sub-urban sparwl has evoked individualism at the cost of corporate identity within the church. at some point, i thought he was long winded but still found it to be an enc...

nope... as of tomorrow he is a big 'ole 2 year old. we had two two-year old friends come for a plyadate/party today.... tomorrow is a bit crazy with holiday stuff..... and since i am not an artist.... i can paint by numbers; thus, this cake that comes with pan, frosting dye, and a picture with what order to decorate in. i was up late, but i must say i am impressed with myself. peanut had a thomas the tank engine cake (created my a dear friend of mine) for his 2nd b-day and since i don't want to deprive the soon-to-be "middle child" of anything... i actually did this one myself. it looks good, but i have to admit that it looks better in the picture!!! one fun fact about our life here.... it is snowing!

i need to catch up my reading list as i have a couple of books that i am trying to finish by the end of the year. here is what i read in november: annie john by jamaica kincaid. now granted i read this for the class i am teaching.... but i still read it - twice actually. this was my first kincaid novel. it seems simplicistic on the surface but is full of fun stuff to get my english students to think and talk about. especially when you start looking at her anger towards colonization and all the funky places that comes out. i will probably teach it again, but might look for something a little more challenging... but why change it up too soon! okay...i succumbed and finished up the series just before the movie came out. man, have you ever seen such bad reviews for a movie with such hype? anyway.... the book. it was entertaining. i guess i need to fess up to the fact that i finished it at 4 o'clock in the morning but that had more to do with baby insomnia than a gripping story...

artistic photo by my husband.... me and peanut walking down the lane...g'ma, cousin, and peanut. g'pa and little bit - who enjoyed each other fully!!! and here is my absolute favorite.

four days, 2200 miles, 12 states, 9 movies, and turkey day at cracker barrel. leaving flordia..... on monday just after the lakeland memorial service. green valley, illinois walking across the corn fields. great-great-grandparents house in the midst of the trees. barn and road to houses. our family in front of house where great-g'parents friends lived. my mother-in-law's g'parents lived down the road. my husband a pallbearer....as we bury his great-grandpa. all celebrating a life well lived!

Go Down, Death Weep not, weep not, She is not dead; She's resting in the bosom of Jesus. Heart-broken husband--weep no more; Grief-stricken son--weep no more; Left-lonesome daughter --weep no more; She only just gone home. .... And Jesus took his own hand and wiped away her tears, And he smoothed the furrows from her face, And the angels sang a little song, And Jesus rocked her in his arms And kept a-saying: Take your rest, Take your rest. Weep not--weep not, She is not dead; She's resting in the bosom of Jesus. by James Weldon Johnson emailed by my sister-in-law (i skipped a few verses) my husband lost his grandfather this week. it is not like losing a distant member of the family that you saw once every couple of years.... for his family it is the patriarch of a close-knit family. they lost the man that was part of the daily fabric of their childhood. it is the passing of the man who shaped the structure of a family i am more than blessed to have jo...

five seasons took us two years.... on netflix since we don't have hbo. we watched the final episode on monday night and watch some of the extras last night. we are officially done. i'm a bit sad and relieved. it was one of the best shows we got into. if you have missed it..... it is a cop drama about baltimore, maryland. of course, like most things, it is never just that. here is the re-cap: season 1 - the drug war season 2 - the docks season 3 - politics season 4 - education season 5 - media you hate the cops, like the drug dealers, despise the politicians, feel for the unions, hate the system. it gets complicated and tries to deal with the reality of what city politics look like. it is never simple nor or the characters. it is a show about the blight of our culture... those who have been overlooked, those who profit, those who twist & shape the news, what truth really is, etc. a lot to deal with in a television show... which is why it was on cable. but one thing a...