It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times

I've never quite felt the meaning of that quote from Dickens until this weekend. Send me with a group of 9 of my girlfriends to Oklahoma City, sans children, for a getaway and to run a half marathon? Sounds wonderful!! Sign me up! Wanna run all 13 miles in the rain (sometimes pouring), while it's only 47 degrees outside? Don't let me forget to mention that you will be so cold that you cannot uncurl your fingers from the fist they're in, your socks will be so wet that they will sink slowly into your shoes allowing your shoe to rub a bloody mess into your heel, and you will not beat the personal record that you'd been certain to demolish. Hmmm... maybe I would think twice about that one.

But you wanna know the truth? I WOULDN'T CHANGE IT FOR ANYTHING. I had to pass on the list of what I learned this weekend to my loyal readers.

#1 - The women of God at Northside Church of Christ are JUST. SOMETHING. SPECIAL. I've known that before, of course. But I experienced it on a whole new level this weekend. The time we spent laughing; eating; sharing truths from His Word; encouraging one another; eating; a few tears; eating... it was all just... priceless.

It is no wonder that God tells us to "spur one another on toward love and good deeds..." & to "...not give up meeting together... but let us encourage one another..." He knew how much we would need each other.


#2. Pigs don't sweat.

#3. I hate the treadmill. I hate the rain even more. If there is any threat of rain, I will not run outside. Even if I am supposed to run 10 miles. So what did running 13 miles in these conditions teach me? A reminder of one of my favorite truths - that He can do "immeasurably more than all I can ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us." Finishing THAT... well... it wasn't me. It was Him.


#4. Bondi-bands are not only hip and trendy, they are necessary for running in the rain, eating chocolate, and robbing hotel rooms.

#5. I need more humility. I do NOT have to be the best. I do NOT have to run faster than last time. It's ok if other people who are running their first 1/2 marathon match my time (or beat me). :) I pushed through; I finished. And for today, that is good enough. Because that is where God needed me to be, for today.

#6. I miss Ted's even more than I thought.


Oh how thankful I am for my weekend, my friends, and the goodness of my God!

Drama Queens

Aaaahhhh.... so peaceful....


Just kidding!

It's a Bathtime Party!

Will's favorite thing in the world is taking baths. Therefore we found it appropriate to theme his first birthday party accordingly. Enjoy the pictures!

It's my party and I'll drool excessively and all over everything if I want to:


I'll also kiss cute baby girls if I feel so entitled:


And I just might practice taking a few steps... but only a few.


The amazing bathtub cake, made by my incredibly talented friend Brianne. Notice how the tile matches our bathroom:


The little bathtub came off the big cake and was Will's own personal cake! He LOVED the bubbles and began picking them off one by one. Check out his cute little grin as he eats the first one:


Figuring out how this works:

This is good stuff!

Did you really let me just eat all of that knowing how I would feel afterward?:

We asked our friends to wear bath attire in honor of Will (those who didn't comply were banned from the picture):

Happy family (well, mostly... the 2-year-old was tired of pictures by this time and let us know it):

Will's favorite gift - his couch/sleeper! He crawls all over it and thinks it is great fun!

A big thanks to my mom and dad for all their help, and to my sis for getting her kiddos up at 6 a.m. to make a surprise appearance!

Happy birthday, big boy!!

Nothin' Says LOVE Like Good Friends and Good Cookies

On Wednesday Sophie's friend, Stuart, came over to make cookies with her. They had a blast! On Friday Sophie said to me, "Mommy, who could come make cookies with us?" I said, "I don't know, who?" She said, "I bet Stuart could!" They are cute little buddies.

My daughter would give her right leg (and probably her left as well) for cookies. Her love for cookies shines bright in the picture below. Sheesh- what a 2-year-old!


I caught Stuart on camera after he spilled the red sprinkles all over. Too cute!

The brothers played beside each other all morning.


Sweet girl.

These beauties were 2-year-old masterpieces.

Mmmmmmm. These are seriously the best homemade sugar cookies (and frosting) I've ever had, thanks to my mother-in-law. I couldn't stop eating them. It's hard telling a 2-year-old to quit when you're being a hypocrite! If you need a good recipe let me know. These are amazing.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

When the Workin' Day is Done...

... oh girls just wanna have fun! (Are you singing with me yet?)

Yes, I'll definitely be THIRTY on Sunday. And as you saw in the previous post, my sweet hubby braved the kiddos for the weekend so I could celebrate Kansas City style.

My sister, Katie, met me and our dear friend, Tara, in KC on Friday night. We slept until 9:00 a.m. on Saturday morning - it was heaven.

Here are the three of us before we left the hotel Saturday morning. Tara in the middle, Katie in green.


We did lots of shopping. Unfortunately for me, I almost gave Tara a heart attack when I picked up a serious case of mallchairitis at Oak Park Mall. The good news it was gone within the hour.


Tara couldn't keep her eyes off the double-decker carousel. I had known all along I couldn't leave KC without the mandatory you're-turning-30-so-you-better-go-ride-the-carousel-and-get-the-last-bit-of-kid-out-of-your-system ride, so off we went.


Tara chose a pint-sized dolphin.


I chose the mammoth panda bear, which just might have been larger than real pandas.


Katie and I took this fabulous picture at the Plaza while listening to our favorite band-0f-the-day perform. You can see them in the background. I'll send my firstborn child to anyone who can tell me the name of that band.

We finished the night with a yummy dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. It was my second choice, but after a clothing mishap we found ourselves unsuitable for dinner at the Peach Tree.

Aaah, fair Kansas City, you have stolen our hearts. Until next time, dream of future ELG visits! (ELG = Eroh Lytton Girls)

Where the Wind Comes Sweepin' Down the Plain

Saturday we got the kids up bright and early and headed south to Oklahoma City. We had a packed weekend of visiting lots of old friends.

This is my dear friend, Ashley, who is a speechie that I used to work with. She is still Sophie's "Auntie Ashley," even though it looks like Sophie is scared of her in this picture. It was also great to see my other speechie friend, Jennifer, and her growing, handsome boys!


We had some wonderful friends in Edmond who were our "adoptive parents" while we were college students. Their names are Bill and Amy Arbuckle. We grew very close to them and their kids - Will, Justin and Jemma. Our Will is of course named after both grandpas (William Robert), but we call him Will after Will Arbuckle.

Here are Will and Will:


All 3 Arbuckle kiddos with Will:


I had to throw this one in for my brother - sportin' his Marines' gear:


Saturday night we stayed with my fabulous friend, Heather, who I grew close to in grad school. Her little girl, Emelyn (Emme), is 2 weeks older than Sophie. It was so fun to have the girls together again.

Here are Soph and Emme at 1.5 months:


Emme now:


Kisses for an "old" friend:


Emme was kindly checking Sophie's heart for her:

And yet again, Emme was helping out Sophie - fixing the velcro on her shoe:

We also spent Sunday morning/afternoon with our old church friends, the Carters and the Hagers... might I add how above-and-beyond Kellee Hager went for us in helping clean up Will & Ben's clothes after a massive blowout (Ben's a little old to still be having those).

The last thing on the agenda was a Sunday evening trip to Capitol Hill to visit the kiddos that we used to work with. It was great to see everyone so grown up, and especially beautiful to see two of our kids who are now in college and leading God-honoring lives.

Picture Pages

In reference to a budding friendship with a potty-seat, Sophie does have some friends. Even if they're forced on her by Mommy's desire for adult conversation.

But really, if she keeps doing this, she's going to lose them quickly:

Trying to catch Will's smiles on camera is not always easy. He's a sneaky little monkey, and quickly turns them off when he sees that "silver flashy thing."

*Thanks to Sandy and Merina for the fabulous, cushy quilt in the above pic!

It's a little tough to tell, but Will is smiling up at his sister in the below shot. He seriously already loves her and is frequently caught grinning when she's near (meaning when she's in his face).

Truly, mom, we love each other. We mean it.

Who Cares if He's Real or Not? At Least We Get Candy!!