Thinking of Spring

I took these pictures on Wednesday, April 20th when there was no rain and it felt like Spring.

I can't wait until I can post pictures of the sun....that we see for more then a few hours! :-)

The Boys

They keep us busy! :-)

And their teachers.....

It was suggested that we split them up when they go to Kindergarten. LOL!

Marathon Girl

Elissa finished logging 25.6 miles today.

She finishes the last .6 mile to make 26.2 on Saturday at the Kids Eugene Marathon.

She has ran these miles in the last 9 weeks.

It may seem easy to accumulate 25.6 miles in 9 weeks, but let me tell you....it's not.

She's almost 7 yrs old (Momma had to push her).

She was very enthusiastic when she decided to do this and that enthusiasm left quickly.

It became more "work" that she needed to do every other day.

It has been raining almost every day of these 9 weeks.

We were both SUPER excited that this was her last .6 mile before the race.

On one of her runs I took her on a long 3 mile run to catch up on some lost days. Previously she had only run 1 mile at a time. She always asks to go on runs with Darin and I and we tell her that we go to far and too fast for her. She's never accepted that answer......until today. We slowly walked/ran the 3 miles. I told her that just the day before I had ran 7 and she couldn't believe it. I asked her if she now understands why Mommy and Daddy tell her that she can't run with them....she smiles and says, "YES" in an exhausted tone.

This whole commitment and perseverance was a good lesson for her.

She was really proud of herself today and had to call Daddy and tell him that she finished her miles.

I can't wait to finish the very last .6 miles with her on Saturday.

And Zach is going to run Saturday with Daddy.

It will be a fun family moment. :-)

Please be praying for Dad, Chad and I.

We'll be running on Sunday, May 1st at the Eugene Marathon.

Chad and I are running the Half Marathon (13.1 miles) with significant time goals.

Dad is running the FULL Marathon - 26.2 miles - so could really use your prayers. :-)

Stay tuned......

The Real Meaning

It brought tears to my eyes when I finally opened this card from Elissa this morning.

Nana called her yesterday and asked her to make a card because Nana had got us a gift but hadn't gotten a card.
Of course Elissa is always up for making a card.

Due to getting food ready and taking pictures of the kids and generally being self absorbed yesterday, I didn't get to opening the card. I thought Darin had.

It reminds me how hard I can be on her and myself and that she does hear and I'm doing ok.

Thank You Lord for this blessing.

Elissa's sweet heart and the reminder.

Happy Easter!

We had a really nice Easter, but it was really more about the worldly view of Easter.

We did the egg hunt and Easter baskets and Easter service and ham dinner, but did we really stop and take in what Easter is really about? No, not really.

We let a t-ball game keep us from the Good Friday service. Not that going to the service means you are really taking in what Jesus did, but it sure helps to keep a right focus and show your children what is important.

We let Easter morning be about toys and candy in their Easter baskets. And then more toys and candy when the grandparents came over. Then arguing about how much candy the kids can eat. Then the kids arguing over their toys.

I'm just really bothered by the whole thing and want to do better next year.

Though acknowledging what Jesus did for each of us is not just something we do once a year, it is a daily ongoing rememberance and thankfulness.

But I want to do a better job of bringing the real reason for Easter to our family.

So, that said;

I'm thankful for the time we had with our family.

*******

Saturday Easter Egg Hunt

Leaving for the outer island.

And the hunt is ON!

It was a great hunt!

Easter Sunday

Elissa sang in the kids Easter choir and did such a wonderful job.

A little clip of the program.

Then we had Easter dinner at our house with the Grandparents.

Grandma Myrna & Grandpa Frink

Nana

Papa & Grandma

We are so blessed!

Self Expression

As I was making Elissa's lunch today and very sick feeling came over me and yes, I ended up in the bathroom. This will be my 3rd or so round of the flu this winter. I'm pretty sick of it. Fortunately it has turned out not to be as bad as the rest, but I just want to sleep. So as I was trying to take a little nap on the chair while Zach was watching "How to Train A Dragon", he decided to get creative. This is what I found when I woke up or did he wake me up to show me?? :-)



 

MY SWEET BOY!

A Perfect Picture

Of Christ's Grace.

Yesterday my day did not go as planned, of course. I had committed to running 5 miles in the morning and instead I needed to take my son in to have his ear infection looked at again (he wasn't wanting to eat). So the appt was at 10:15a when I would have been finishing up my run at the Y. So I took him to the doctor and told myself that I wasn't going to let this deter me from running today (since it had been a week). We got down to the Y at 11:30a and the sun was still out, but there was a huge dark cloud looming. I checked him into childcare and talked with a friend and told her I needed to get going or I wasn't going to beat the rain.

Well, just as I'm walking up to the door to go outside (I loathe running on a treadmill), it literally started hailing. And not a light amount, but sideways driving hail. I had put on my rain jacket just in case it did start raining. So I zipped up and moved forward. The hail turned into driving rain. The first mile I was running and trying to keep my rain hood on while my hands were freezing. I was determined to get this run in.

After a mile the rain started letting up. I could tuck my hand into my coat and start warming them up. Then the rain stopped and I could really focus on running. Then the sun started peaking through. At 3 miles the sun was out and I was hot and I took my jacket off. As I rounded to come back, it was a beautiful day. The wind was really strong and hard to run against, but I plugged along in the sun. I finished my 5 miles and was very thankful that I did it and it was done!

Today I was thinking about that run and it just struck me of what a beautiful picture that was of how God has been working in my life.

He has called me to trust Him and let go my issue of using food. At first it was horrible and overwhelming and I wanted to turn back, but I bundled up and moved forward. Day after day it became "easier". I felt His strength and rays of hope shined through and blessings of weight loss were given to me and today I feel the full force of His love and grace shining on me.

Not for anything that I have done.

I KNOW that I would not still be following a food plan without Him stepping in and taking over in my utter weakness. I KNOW that He has enveloped me with His grace as I make poor choices and feel my rebellion rising up and struggle to make the next right choice and not make the right choice and then struggle again to make a right choice. And then cry out to Him,  "I can't do this. It is not within my power to do this." He gently says, "I know. But I have the power to do it for you. Just sit back and watch my work."

I'm so overwhelmed today by His Grace and Mercy and Love, that I can't keep silent.

I have done nothing to merit the strength He has given me to continue on this path. Today I feel like I don't deserve the pound I lost and I am SO humbled by His Grace and Mercy. I just can't express how this whole thing has not been me.

These are the scriptures that are coming to mind:



Proverbs 3:5-8 NIV

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

Isaiah 58:11 NLT

The Lord will guide you continually, watering your life when you are dry and keeping you healthy, too. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring.

2 Corinthians 12: 7-10 The Message

Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn't get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan's angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn't think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me, My grace is enough; it's all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size - abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.

Lysa TerKeurst had a great blog on God keeping us humble the other day.

I want to continue to give Him all the glory - every day.

I have been reading this book, TrueFaced by Bill Thrall, Bruce McNicol and John S. Lynch.

It will challenge your thinking.

It could, set you free.

This is the product description:

TrueFaced draws a clear distinction between two very different underlying motives Christians sometimes operate under: our determination to please God or to trust Him.

Let me know if you read it, I would love to discuss it with you.

Cabin Fever

We decided to rent a cabin again with the Jones' Family.

It was a cabin (remodeled home) in Packwood, WA.

The weather was rain, rain and more rain.

The company was priceless.

Daddy and Kirk took the kids on exploring adventures each day.

Kirstin and I had no desire to explore in the rain. :-)

They had to find the perfect walking sticks (that we had to bring home).

See the elk way in the back.

And here are the elk right in the back of the cabin.

The kids "sneaking" up on them.

And LOTS of hot tub time.

Zach wanted to be in there 24/7.

And he got an outer ear infection for it. :-(

When the girls came in, it always caused a bit of a ruckus.

They wanted to control what the boys did.

We had to separate them a few times, so the girls quickly learned to be congenial. LOL!

It is so nice to have some downtime with friends that are like family.

No pretenses. No frills. Just simply who we are.

Again, PRICELESS.