a life beyond running shoes.

we are away for a few days with some friends... no daddy. so he doesn't forget us..... this is our favorite church song right now. he sings it all the time. full volume. full body. it is awesome. enjoy! and yes, we use photo booth.

here is world vision team brooklyn: we ran 10 miles in central park today. it was 35 degrees. i was freezing. i had gotten very used to the warmer, spring weather. this was a terrible joke. but it was nice to have a change of scenery..... i keep having those moments of "hey, i live in NYC.... wow!" it was really fun and amazing. thank you to everyone that helped me reached my fundraising goal of $500. i decided to try and go for $700... they give orange (team color) shoelaces to wear on race day to those who hit that mark. i have never been on a team before. it is really fun to see other people wearing the team jersey.... it was super encouraging yesterday to see other teammates running.... especially on that second five mile loop as we were heading uphill. orange jersey - what a great sight! i think there are 600 (of the 3000 runners) that will be wearing jerseys. HOW COOL!! as much as i get nervous before a race, i am also getting excited. thanks for joining my jou...

we love to sing church songs all week long. we have some new favorites but today he wanted to sing one of our favorite from christmas. never mind that we are in the easter season..... theology lesson to come :) he also likes to make up words that fit into songs. he is the creative type!

spring is here!!!! (photo from ditmasparkblog.com - photo of the day by nelson) this weekend's 10 mile run - 65 degree weather. spectacular! of course, everyone was out in the park.... i did get a bit testy. this morning it was 50. i get confused how to dress for this. i know thirty and below. i know 60 and above. 50 is just confusing. stef and i had a good, hard, quality run this morning. we did the hill.... that blessed, beloved hill three times. upon finishing the last hill and working our way around the rest of the loop our cloudy morning turned into spring showers. it wasn't a drizzle.... it was raining. like the sky opened up. adventure run - spring style. epiphany: i really do love this sport. there were not that many folks out there this morning.....nor a few weeks ago when temperatures were still hovering the 30s. i have trained and retreated now three times. that would be three babies later, i am still training hard for a race..... i don't have many moments ...

i got the email this morning with all the race weekend info. holy cow!!! here is my fundraising page . i am over 50% to my goal. this has been an amazing journey so far. just over two weeks until race day. 13.1 miles. we have cancelled four long runs: 2 for snow, 1 for temperatures below 20, 1 for rain and wind up to 65 mph in central park. training in the winter certainly has limitations. but last week i had a great training week. two really hard run. one easy loop. this weekend we are doing three loops of the park. next weekend we are doing 10 miles in central park. then the race!!! WOW! i can't believe it is getting closer. some days i think i am ready. some days i think i am crazy for doing this. but having never done a race where i actually raised money, i am finding myself so much more motivated, inspired, and eager. it has been really cool to do this.....and for an organization that i really love. thanks for journeying with me! and for donating!!!

i took a detour from sophie's choice . the last 75 pages are hanging over my head.... i'll get to them next weekend. for now, young adult. #3 in the series. delightful. witty. interesting. easy. mindless. engaging. silly. young. refreshing. light. so not sophie's choice . it was what i could handle at this moment in time. it was a wonderful saturday night read. thank you anne dayton! i look forward to #4!

the baby girl is walking. she took a few steps before her birthday but has taken off this week. and here is proof: (eat your heart out grandparents....)

can i post about a book i am almost done with? i love my book club. going on five years. i think we found our core group. six women. different as can be. we all come because we need it. in some way, it gives us something. we have had a wide variety of characters come through our book club doors. some have stayed; some have moved on. some needed us only for a time; some might come back. this discussion's book: sophie's choice . discussion helped me see its merits past the sex, foul language, and laborious narration. it is the type of book that warrants discussion. it almost necessitates it; it is too hard and too complicated to just sit in the private thoughts of its reader. it has to be grappled with, wrestled with, hated and loved. had it not been for this group, i would not have finished. because i finished, i would put it on the list of books i would like to teach one day and am probably not qualified to teach because it is so complex, difficult, sensitive, and raw. my...

halfway to each other: how a year in italy brought our family home. susan pohlman quick read. my favorite kind these days. she was interesting. marriage falling apart. they take a shot at rebuilding by living in tuscany for a year. two kids. beach side property. my cynicism says.... duh, of course you could rebuild in that environment. but what struck me was the way she candidly revealed how they ended up so far from each other: materialism. perfectionism. productivity. the social life. the kids. the activities. the life style. the american dream. it was what allowed them to stop communicating. i think she is careful not to blame those external things but admits those "things" are what gave them the excuse to stop working toward each other. it allowed their life to become just passing each other in the hallway between drop-off, pick-ups, dinner parties, family, friends, and church. it allowed them to get to the place of thinking "i work harder than he/she does." ...

and strip me naked. need a little assistance. yum chocolate. what a love! dear sweet pea - what a year it has been. thank you for being such a joy in the midst of sorrow. you are a blessing we didn't know we would need. you are a delight. you are precious to us. who knew i could like pink, even a little. i am thankful for purple, green, blue & brown. while you are cute in pink, i still love my babies in overalls. you are adorable. you love your daddy. you are funny and have great expressions. here's to learning to walk, getting some teeth, and getting some hair in the front. we love you, baby girl!

can you believe she is one? i can't. it has been a whirlwind of a year. i think i was in a fog for a good bit of it. it has been a journey for our family. but she is an amazing addition for us to celebrate. manhattan children's museum. family adventure. the boys loved the fact that baby sister's b-day warranted a trip to their favorite place. she enjoyed treating them to such an adventure. candles and cupcakes tomorrow.

the day is approaching..... it is saturday, but we made some cookies today with our neighbor, ms. shirley. i'm not sure how it happened. but it did. sweet pea's birthday. she is a funny girl. have i mentioned that she loves her daddy. she tolerates her brothers. only has two teeth. can climb the stairs in no time. and has taken a few steps. she is a delight..... when she isn't screaming for someone to pick her up (that would be someone other than little bit which tends to illicit the same scream). the agenda: friday - family trip to manhattan kid's museum. pizza night (which she actually missed every week since she goes to bed at 6). saturday - family lunch w/ cookies.... she already snuck a couple. thanks, dad. sunday - church. lunch with church friends and cupcakes. not bad for a first birthday!

if you have three minutes..... check out this video . it gets me so excited about the half-marathon i am training for. i teared up thinking that because of amazing people, i have reached 30% of my goal. thanks for participating!!! thanks for helping the world. thanks for being supportive of my training by giving financially. i am thrilled to be doing this. it is a great motivator. i get excited about getting out there and running hard and training hard. thank you!!!!

of our impromptu party. it was one of those nights when i realize how great my kids are. they were funny, affectionate, endearing, and hysterical. i was laughing so hard. we had a tickle fight. we had a dance party. we had a jumping, running competition. we had a workout. we had a laughing fit. perhaps it was the two glasses of wine i had..... or that they weren't hitting each other..... or that we were all in good moods..... or that we actually enjoyed each other's company. whatever it was.... it was a fabulous night. the kind that you want to embed in your memory. when your boys are small enough to still fit in your lap. when they still want your affection. when you realize that they are growing up. when you realize they won't always be this size. when you realize that you have really great kids.

i am running a half marathon in five weeks. the goal is to raise money for water filtration systems in kenya. i don't have to tell you that the need is great. this is my fundraising page . what is amazing to me is that the entire race benefits world vision's work. (an organization that i am personally fond of through the life and memory of my dear friend matthew) there are not many races out there that benefit christian organizations. i was pretty excited about this. i'm even coaching the training group on saturdays. it has been a really great experience to encourage runners who have never done something like this before. but while i can do the training, i need people to help fund the run. the cost of the race only covers putting on the race..... anything that is to go to world vision has to come through fundraising. please consider donating. so, how is my training going? i did 6.6 miles this weekend...... half way point. it was a spectacular day! i had a great run other...

did you know that in the winter..... in the snow... when it is cold.... the big animals stay inside. that would be at the bronx zoo. perhaps they are smarter than we are..... but we still had fun. saw the rhino. amphibians. hissing cockroaches. favorite thing was the bug carousel. and the starbursts. and making smashed pennies. (that cost 50 cents to smash the penny you provide) maybe we will wait until spring to go again. but then again we were some of the only people there.

we get to do things like go sledding. this was our first exposure. one loved it. one did not. and one barely tolerated the snow.... but was a trooper. thought for the day: lent. gracious god, father of my lord jesus christ and also my dear father, i thank you that you have permitted me to see another lenten season, during which i am privileged again to meditate on the cross of christ with its many comforting spiritual lessons. may this holy season give me great spiritual lessons. cause the message of the slain lamb of god to impress on my heart and mind the awfulness of my sins and to lead me to calvary for pardon and peace.... o holy spirit, during this lenten season grant all pastors a double measure of your outpouring to arouse the indifferent listeners, to stir up the lukewarm, to encourage the timid, to assure the doubting, to calm the disturbed, to console the sorrowing. -- my prayer book , for the lenten season during this lenten season..... it is good for me to try the discip...

at home. a day late. but very yummy. menu: sauvignon blanc. arugula salad with garlic crouton, shaved parmesan, and lemon. steamed artichokes with lemon butter. whole wheat flatbread with rosemary and onions. pan-seared scallops with beurre blanc sauce. chocolate mousse with salted whipped cream. seriously. we could not have afforded that meal at a restaurant. and we could hear the boys chatting in bed while we ate. no screaming.... no fighting.... it was amazing. thank you boys.

mark bittman's book includes 75 recipes. i started dog-earring the ones i wanted to try...... then stopped when it was every other one. food matters: a guide to conscious eating . in the same vane as michael pollan..... re-thinking consumption. discusses our nation's over-consumption. gets into the issue of gov't involvement. "healthy" ingredients. sane eating. what i love is that he starts his book with the supposition that we don't eat healthy. and when he actually changed the way he ate (as described and proposed in his book) he actually lost weight, lowered his cholesterol & blood pressure. one of the ways he does this is by eating vegan during the day..... then consumes meat & wine & cheese at dinner. he is a self-proposed glutton at dinner. while i am not sure i could do the vegan-thing so strictly, it did make me consider how many meat products i consume on a daily basis. i mean, would it be so terrible to have vegetable or lentil soup (...

what drives me crazy about winter is how home-bound i get. i don't parent inside all that well. i am more distracted - email, phone, blogging. outdoors - i feel like i am more on my game. the park, the farmer's market, the playground. but we don't live walking distance from the park anymore. a day at the playground doesn't work..... naps for sweet pea, school for peanut, pick-up, lunch..... well... this saturday, we had a family day. i did my run early without my training group. got home, showered, jumped in the car. i realize that we drove over two hours to just have lunch. but we were not at home. we were not bugging each other (that much). we stepped out of the doors. and we found a candy shop with a big gum ball machine. and a "haunted" indian smoke shop. (side note: those headphones are not plugged into anything. he wore them the whole ride home) it was mostly worth it...... minus the stress of trying to park our car when getting home when our entire stre...