a life beyond running shoes.

i ran my first NYC turkey trot. in brooklyn. in my park. 5 miles. stef ran a great race. mine was hard. mile four killed me...thankfully it was down hill. it took all my determination to stay the 20 feet behind stef after the water break. but i finished with a PR..... well, at least for this distance. i have never actually done a 5 mile race. time: 10:30 minute miles (roughly - sorry tim, the difference between 10:37 and 10:30 just don't matter that much to me!) while there was a chip (to record time) there was not actually a mat to register the start for the individual. so there is no way to know my personal net time..... only what time i crossed the finish line from when the race started. it was a run to find my stating point. now, we can start really training. okay, not really. but it got me out of the starting gates. look out brooklyn half. we'll be ready for you this year! although, i can't recall doing a race in shorts....that will be a change. good thin...

it is hard to believe that seven months ago my father-in-law went home to be with jesus. it has been a long period in our lives. it feels like it has been a lot longer than seven months. it feels like a lifetime really. partly because life is so different. we are so different. there is a sobriety to life that was not there seven months ago. in the middle of church planting and having a baby, grieving a dad was not what we expected. we are still trying to figure out how to just be...... it makes coming into the holiday season a bit "confusing." don't get me wrong..... we will celebrate with family and friends. we will joyfully celebrate the advent of our savior. we get to sing great songs of praise (i love christmas carols) we get to think upon that for which we are most thankful for. .... but there will be a constant absence there. we miss him...... i will miss: his fried turkeys. his birthday. his constant encouragement. his laugh. his love for his grandchildren...

leaving town for two nights with friends proved to be wonderful, restful, and fun. we played outside, threw rocks in the river, threw the football, rode scooters, had a camp fire with roasted marshmallows, and ate dinner after the kids went to bed. it was great!

it was more than i could resist. the pampering...... the quietness..... the escape. the undivided attention. it was blissful. my children didn't even come up. friends, books, the city. adult conversation. and the massage. it was too much. the nape of my neck, my temples. i was in heaven. i could have fallen asleep there. i know he'll find out soon enough. i can't hide it forever. it will be written all over my face. the way my hair falls. but does he expect me to be faithful all the time. well, when i say it out loud it makes it sound worse. but it was free.... a gift certificate. who can turn down a free haircut? i mean really!!! shlomy, please forgive me. see in three weeks for color!

well..... the new found passion for running just expired. it was the hill's fault. okay, not really. the weather is dropping. not really the problem. it is my body's fault. okay that is not entirely true, although i think it is revolting a bit. the endorphin high has passed. the last six weeks have been AWESOME. to be back out there on the road, sidewalk, park. the slow transition back.... i have been careful not to do too much too fast. i have loved it. yesterday. argh. i could feel the struggle as i got out of bed. putting on my shoes to get out there was a challenge of mental proportions. but i got out there. met stef. she was the rock to my floundering, tired, struggling attitude. it did not help that it was windy which made the 45 degrees feel so much colder. it was hard. while we took the hill and the loop with determination on monday..... this was a different day. same hill, same loop....different me.... a tired me. a cranky me. the excitement of being a runner ...

our excursion took us up to new haven, ct. we played in leaves...... found statues of dead guys...... had lunch with a former florida student of mine.... and saw the gutenberg bible....which would have been much cooler if i had actually taken more than a second to look at it since i was also trying to keep little bit from jumping off the chairs and knock over the book display....but still very cool to see! and this is how i really feel about my brother's affections.....

we took a family morning yesterday and took bikes and balls up to the park. the boys loved playing soccer with daddy especially since we signed them up for their first organized soccer this fall. it is like "pre-soccer" where they practice toe touches, dribbling, and kicking..... but no games. they are enjoying it. (that happens to be a bicycle light attached to peanut's pants - who knows where he finds these things and where he gets it in his head that he needs to where it in the middle of the day while playing soccer) but back to our day. we have just had a stream of beautiful weather.... this day was no exception. and have i mentioned that sweet pea really loves her daddy!

note: she is standing at the coffee table where she pulled herself up. she likes to lick the table. it is a good thing she does not have any teeth yet..... babble away baby girl!!

it is hard to believe that sweet pea is 8 months. time is flying by. it is hard for me to believe that she is crawling, pulling up, gets delighted when her daddy comes home, has an opinion about green beans.... loves veggie booty. she adores her brothers, drives them crazy, and brings out the best in them. eat your heart out g'parents. another thought to the passing of time. we just got the flyer about the book fair at peanut's school....flashbacks, fond memories, and the shock of realizing it is my kid.....not me that will get excited about books, find favorite characters....or decide reading is not his thing.

i did! the loop in the park. my old friend....... the hill. we meet but under different circumstances. we ran the opposite way so we didn't really "do" the hill as we have known it before but we still have to conquer the incline. it also feels super good to get back into the comfort and pace with my running partner. it is nice to have conversation while we run. i love hearing about her job, work, readings, life.... it makes the miles so much more interesting. and it was a spectacular morning. 45. no wind, sun. crisp. perfect! it feels good to have done it. we finished and i felt good. excited. gotta love those endorphins!!! when we met this morning we were still trying to decide what to run. i was feeling particularly optimistic..... we can do it! let's do the loop. i was so excited i even called my mom to boast! sweet pea is 8 months tomorrow. it feels good to get three miles under my belt. of course, i might not feel as excited about my accomplishment tomorrow. ...

adventures into the city. central park....who knew diana ross had a playground?! picnic with friends. rock climbing (or jumping). museum of natural history. i love days off of school.... especially since school has cramped our adventure calendar. we had a great time and the day was beautiful.

it took me two evenings, three naps, and one morning to finish. ...both. ....i promise. both are written by ladies i know. one of the authors is in my small group bible study..... the fourth book in the series just came out. i read the first. the other author is my neighbor. there is a a sequel to this novel and she is working on the third....in between a new baby and an almost two year old. i was curious. about both. about their style of writing, the subjects, the culture of the novels..... just curious. curious what reading a book when you know that author is like.....found out it is not much different than just reading a book. i forgot that i knew the authors. miracle girls : high school teens.... diverse not cookie cutter - creative. the coming together of an unlikely group of girlfriends. kooky parents, cool teachers, a little bit of teen romance, youth group culture of my bi-gone eras. i was smitten. i laughed out loud....and i even teared-up at the end. a love noire : roman...

we made spider web cookies. went trick or treating..... sweet pea was a chicken and went as a ballerina underneath.... you know, her indoor costume. peanut was a monkey. little bit was the same dragon/dinosaur that he was last year. he was not talked into the hand me down mouse costume. and we hate the time change.

took treats to peanut's class today. meringue ghosts with sprinkles for eyes....recipe found on myrecipes.com . we had fun making them. we opted out of the mini chocolate chips for eyes because we didn't have them..... we did have sprinkles. i think his class liked them....only three came home in the tuperware. we also carved our pumpkin tonight.....okay daddy carved the pumpkin. tomorrow....costumes!!! parade!!!! candy!!!! we enjoy halloween.......

my husband is going through this book with the leadership team at church. because i am not able to go to the meetings, i have been trying to read it along with the group.. i have been trying to tackle a couple of chapters a week and finally finished. the purpose is to present our leadership with a vision to be a neighborhood church that actually reflects the neighborhood we live in.....which is a multi-ethnic neighborhood. it is an excellent read. deymaz is bold. using the church in acts as his example, he would argue that there is a biblical mandate to be multi-ethnic and that we as an american church culture have gotten too comfortable being homogeneous.... that we have allowed the church to be the last place where segregation is acceptable and tolerated. we like to worship with people that worship like us. he argues that the primary purpose of building such churches isn’t racial reconciliation, but rather the reconciliation of men and women with God. he challenges the idea that t...

she can crawl... just about a week and a half ago she decided she was tired of sitting still. she took her time but now can get just about anywhere she needs to. she can also get into all of her brother's things. she is driving them crazy. i love it! we get to have lots of conversations about a kind heart. we have very little kindness when she grabs uno cards or knocks over the train tracks or grabs books or takes race cars or......

i know that we really have not spent much time together in the last year. and actually the last couple of years we have really been on again and off again. you have been very patient. you have waited.... on the side-lines. you have been faithful. i have missed you. no, really..... i have. it was nice to spend tim e with you the other day. well.....okay, that is not true. it was painful to spend time together. we are awkward. we just don't have the same rhythm anymore. we are out of sync. i think this will take some time. we'll get back there. i think. i hope. it just takes time....right? we've been here before. stating all over. starting from the beginning. it takes time to get comfortable. it takes time to find our pace. it takes time to settle back in to it. we have to take it slow, breath and relax. we are old friends. easy strides. we'll get there. i have to be patient with myself..... i have really missed you. i think...... ps. i spent time with your close...

with the idea of not using a flash. watching my friend, made in brooklyn , take some really beautiful shots, i decided to try my hand. while i am not her in photographic skills or baking skills...... i made our first apple pie of the season. yum. with apples we picked. i love the north east. we've come a long way in two years....two years ago i threw out my first attempt at home-made apple pie. version #2 of that year was not much better.... this was much better.

after 480 pages..... i called it quits. (with another 300 to go) i couldn't do it. this was my latest book club book. i was committed. quick fold laundry, read book. saute onion, read book. kids to sleep, read book. went to the discussion..... got the idea. i am not finishing. i enjoyed it. liked it even....... it was just long. and i can't really do long right now. so, i recommend it......with full knowledge that it is a beast to get through but really quite good with witty humor, sarcasm, and charm. perhaps one day, when i do not have three children four and under, i will pick this back up. i said the same thing about the brothers karamozov ..... perhaps.

we had some fun during lunch with just ourselves. we like being us....some days. translation: all the single ladies, all the single ladies. (yes, he is singing beyonce)