Five-Minute Friday: Stay

November 16, 2012 by · 4 Comments

Today I’m linking up with Lisa-Jo at The Gypsy Mama for Five-Minute Friday.

Join me!

The rules: Write for five minutes. No editing, revising, overthinking, or backtracking. Just write.

Today’s Topic: Stay

I’ve always been pretty cool with going places.

When the opportunity came up during my junior year of college to spend a month in Peru, I jumped at the chance.

And that was only the beginning.

Mission trips led to more of the same and eventually a long-term commitment of five years in Indonesia. Be still my heart, I still ache over missing it.

It seems like each event leading up to the now for us has always involved an obedience in being willing to go. And we were always willing to do just that.

So moving here…was different.

The way He brought us here was equally different.

We knew, this time, that it was time to dig those roots down. Maybe not permanently but definitely for an extended amount of time.

That was almost two and a half years ago. Golly, time flies!

And somewhere in all of the moving out of the transitory state of life and into something more stable, that little word crept into our lives and settled into our hearts.

Stay.

We have always had hearts to go. To tell. To love. To reach.

And now He has asked something different of us but no less important.

I believe my Father is teaching, and has yet to still teach, us some of the greatest lessons in obedience as we learn the contentment that comes from being satisfied in Him and in where He has placed us.

And the Truth of it is that nothing has really changed. He still wants us to Tell. Love. Reach.

But this time He wants us to Stay.

Five Minute Friday

Sig

Filed Under: adventures, Five Minute Friday, Indonesia, just life, what I'm learning, where I am

I Smile…

November 15, 2012 by · 2 Comments

…but not because I’ve had the flu for 24 hours now. No, that doesn’t bring smiles.

But, it is true…even on the most difficult days, there are always reasons to smile.

Like, right now. Tobin is upstairs giving Mae her bath. The two of them spent the day together. Out of necessity…I didn’t want to give her this at all, but also because I think daddies should do that once in awhile.They wrestled, went to lunch, played at the mall playground, stopped at the dollar store for puzzles, came home, brought me a present (B&BW Christmas hand soap!) played some more, had pancakes. I smile because they had a good day together.

I’m currently being guarded by two golden retrievers. Andre and Sammy know, and they protect. I love knowing I’m being taken care of by everyone in the house. :)

I smile, too, because we’re that good of friends with our neighbors that I can text and ask for some Sprite. :)

I smile because I’m keeping water down. That is huge, folks, though I will spare you the details. Let’s just say that never have I had a flu bug where I threw up so much with absolutely nothing in my stomach. UGH. The fact that I’ve kept water down for going-on-seven hours is most certainly a reason to rejoice.

I smile, too, because I got some amazingly AWESOME news yesterday, news that I really want to splash out onto the blog right now, but I need to wait. I have some details right now but am waiting on more AND I have a dear friend who deserves to hear it in person, and I want to wait for the chance to tell her. I love it when God moves BIG…really, really excited about some future opportunities!

I smile because next week promises a reunion with some dear friends. And pie. Though friends definitely come first on the list. But let’s face it…pie at Thanksgiving is SO good, isn’t it?! :)

I smile because I am loved, and that has been shown to me in countless ways this week.

What about you? What made you smile today?

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, dogs, friends, just life, Maelie, Tobin, where I am

Scattered Musings

November 13, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Ever have an extremely contemplative, yet scattered, day?

That’s me tonight.

I’m currently munching on a really bad protein bar. I told myself I had to eat all the ones in the house before I bought more. This current one I, unfortunately, purchased a large box of without considering the possibility that they might be bad.

Shudder.

It’s kind of funny how certain things start to clutter the pantry after awhile…for me, it’s protein bars and random boxes of crackers. I have no less than five different brands and probably ten flavors scattered throughout the kitchen. Oh, weird me.

So I put Mae to bed tonight and was all excited to run on the treadmill. Having one in our basement is a perk on evenings when Tobin is gone and I want to get a few miles in. So I resurrected the thing from it’s 8ish-month storage, hopped on, started running at the highest level it will go…and golly, this thing is shakin’! Feels like an earthquake!

After a couple attempts to stop/start it again, I realized an important little piece that holds the base together had popped out and was g.o.n.e.

No running for me.

I did some strength/cardio stuff instead. Not nearly as fun or as sweaty as running. (Did I really just say that?!)

At any rate, I’m sending hubby to the basement to hopefully fix the thing for me. Some days it’s just easier to run on the treadmill than run in the cold.

Though I have unofficially promised no one…ok, ok, myself…that I’ll do one day a week outside.

Ask me how I’m doing with that in the middle of January. :)

Tomorrow is a pretty crazy day for us. Gymnastics, a meeting, family pictures. Plus, my Bible study is SO lucky…I’m baking them my favorite cake. :) That, too, needs to be done tomorrow.

Yikes.

It occurred to me a few days ago that last year, I spent the entire month of November writing about the things I was (am) thankful for…and I (obviously) haven’t been doing that this year. It was almost a convicting realization.

It’s not that I’m NOT thankful…I guess I’ve just chosen to express that thanks in different ways this year…though I’m sure I will officially post something at some point.

I was talking to God about that, trying to explain that I really AM so thankful for all He’s given and blessed us with. In the middle of that explanation, it hit me…

Duh, Mel…He knows.

Perhaps because true gratitude is a reflection of the heart. Though that can be shown on the outside, and should be, the fact that I haven’t been talking doesn’t make me ungrateful.

It gave me something to think about for sure. :)

I can’t believe Thanksgiving is nine days away. We’re heading to Minnesota to see Tobin’s family and a few friends, too. It should be an eventful trip with an ever-wiggly, active toddler and two rambunctious golden retrievers. Yay for family bonding at it’s finest? 😉

Thankfully, I thought ahead this time. I got a steal of a deal on this, and while it has the potential to ensure that Tobin and I are singing Veggie Tales songs for the entire weekend, it will keep a certain little girl entertained during the 12-14 hours we will spend in the van. :)

Between that and her A-B-C Turtle, which is a favorite toy on long trips, and coloring, I’m hoping it’s an enjoyable trip.

And, hey, if it’s not, at least we’ll have grandma and grandpa to provide us with the sanity we lost on the way there. :)

P.S. If you have any tips for long road trips with two year-olds, I’m all ears. Please. Talk.

:)

Well, I’m about out of words (yeah, right, like that ever happens!) and morning is coming way too soon. Off to bed I go so I can (hopefully) run on my non-earthquak-ing treadmill bright and early.

Happy almost-Wednesday, friends!

Sig

Filed Under: being mommy, blessings, family, just life, Maelie, random, running, travel, where I am

Little Blessings (Pt. 53)

November 12, 2012 by · 2 Comments

Tonight I realized it’s been too long since I’ve done this.

So…

:) Small potty-training successes. I’ll take each one!

:) I love you, Mommy, with a squeeze around my neck.

:) Cozy blankets and furry slippers. (Thinkin’ those might make the list every time this winter!)

:) Our first hint of snow tonight.

:) A surprise visit and chat with a sweet friend.

:) Thanksgiving next week! Headed back to Minnesota for a few days.

:) Hearing a song or reading a verse and feeling like it was written for me.

:) Laughter over silly things.

:) The changing of seasons again…I don’t love to be cold, but I love the unique each different season brings.

:) The faithfulness of my Father.

 

Sig

Filed Under: being mommy, blessings, friends, just life, where I am

Current ABC…

November 11, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

…in 5.

Go, Mel!

A=Aaaaahhhh. As in, sleep. Soon.
B=Baby doll. Maelie totally found her Christmas present today. And couldn’t seem to forget about it!
C=Coffee. Always wonderful. Dunkin’s Gingerbread Latte is my current favorite.
D=Dirty Girl Race next June. YaHOO!
E=Elections. The bright side? At least the phone calls have subsided. Now when my phone rings, I have hope that it’s actually someone I WANT to talk to.
F=Family pictures Wednesday. Good grief, it’s about time. 😉
G=Gingerbread cake. With lots of frosting.
H=Happy news for a friend. :)
I=iPod. As in, shopping for a new one. Old one died a sad death.
J=Jellybeans. Actually, I still have part of a bag from Easter. But they just don’t sound good right now.
K=Koala bear…courtesy of my husband. 😉 Have I mentioned that I regularly regret living so close to Australia and not actually visiting? Bummer.
L=Leg warmers. Loving them with boots and leggings right now. SO cute.
M=My Maelie-girl. Two years old. Time flying by but loving this little girl more every day.
N=No idea?
O=Oh, Indo…how I miss thee. Especially when the temperatures get colder and I just need to go to the beach.
P=Potty training. Starts tomorrow. Going two days hard core to see what happens. (Is it wrong that I’m praying she’s a potty training prodigy?)
Q=Quiet. Still thinking and reflecting on Friday.
R=Running.
S=Ssssshhhh…I ran today. Foot is ok. Not wonderful but we’re making progress.
T=Thinking about my to-do list. Kinda long.
U=Umbrella needed. It’s raining. Rumor of a potential snow-ish substance tonight, too.
V=VERY ready for pie. Easily my favorite thing about the Thanksgiving meal.
W=Waiting. Have I mentioned I don’t do that well? Yeah, waiting.
X=Xtra pain from workout tonight. I am silently cursing those chair leg-lifts we did. I may not be able to move tomorrow.
Y=Yawning Yellow Yak…Young Yolanda Yorgenson is yelling on his back. (You’ll never guess what book I’VE been reading!)
Z=Zebras. African safari, anyone?

Ok, I’ll put an end to the dorkiness at least for tonight. Oh, and it took me 18 minutes, not 5. Oh, well. :)

Hope your weekend was fantastic. :)

Sig

Filed Under: just life, random, where I am

Five-Minute Friday: Quiet

November 9, 2012 by · 6 Comments

Today I’m linking up with Lisa-Jo at The Gypsy Mama for Five-Minute Friday.

Join me!

The rules: Write for five minutes. No editing, revising, overthinking, or backtracking. Just write.

Today’s Topic: Quiet

Tonight I took my girl on a “date”, and we went to a movie night for preK-junior high students.

It was free, it was our time together, there were lots of great friends to hang out with.

But I noticed something as the movie started.

There were So. Many. People.

So. Much. Chaos.

SO. MUCH. NOISE.

As time went by, it became clear that it was going to be impossible to pick up on any kind of story line much less actually watch the movie. We lasted maybe halfway through the movie before she became restless and it was clearly time to go.

There was just so much noise, it didn’t work.

I’m not angry or upset. It was fun, for the most part. But, watch the movie?

We did not.

I thought about that during the drive home while my overly-tired daughter, for once, sat quietly in her seat, fighting sleep.

About how I often live my moments and my days in the chaotic instead of the quiet.

I almost-purposely surround myself with things that keep me busy and going, determined that I won’t need to think if I don’t stop and be still.

There ARE those quiet moments, though.

The ones when He almost forces stillness and silence. Perhaps because He wants me to listen?

I think so. No, I know so.

And I always walk away from those moments of quiet with something. A piece of Truth. An encouraged heart. A smile in the reminder of His goodness. A glimpse of Grace.

And as I take those steps from the moment, ready to dive headfirst back into the chaos of life, and there’s nothing wrong with that sometimes, may I always remember

that He moves deepest in the quiet.

May I always be willing to stop and listen.

Five Minute Friday

Sig

Filed Under: Five Minute Friday, friends, just life, Maelie, what I'm learning, where I am

Laughing at Myself and Chatting to Whoever Will Listen

November 8, 2012 by · 2 Comments

Ok, I’m a funny girl.

Potentially the kind that doesn’t realize she’s funny until two days later.

Take, for instance, the post I wrote two days ago. Death by Dum-Dum?

Though it was election night (and, by the way, there was no dancing in our house :() I was not referring to my president when I titled it. Just wanted to clear that up there, though it did kinda make me smile when I thought about the irony of it all.

The fact is, Obama’s our president for the next four years and, like it or not, that’s the way it is. No amount of foot stomping and tantrum throwing from people old enough to vote is going to change things.

So I accept it and pray extra hard for our country because we really need it.

And I may, or may not, crack an extra-big smile when I think of the completely un-considered title of Tuesday’s post. 😉

I laugh at myself for other reasons, too.

Like today when I was just belting out a song with the radio and realized the guy at the stoplight next to me was totally watching.

Yeah, yeah, dude…you just wish YOU could look half as cool while hosting an impromptu karaoke session in your vehicle.

Does anyone ELSE do this? Please tell me I’m not alone in the I-wanna-be-a-rock-star concerts that take place each time you get into your vehicle?

At any rate, I turned the corner and laughed a little. Didn’t bother my self-esteem at all!

I have SO been in the mood for any-and-all-things gingerbread. Candles, lattes, my favorite cake. And, today, Mae and I were walking through the store, and I caved. I completely broke down and bought gingerbread cookie mix.

I don’t think I’ve ever bought a cookie MIX.

Cookies are just something you make from ingredients. Not everything thrown into a bag.

But, we shall see. Cookie baking is on the list for tomorrow, and I’ll let you know if they’re any good. I have a feeling, since they’re gingerbread, they’ll totally hit the spot. :)

So I’ve been on a running break this week…think I mentioned it once or twice. 😉

I hurt my foot. :( I’ve had two stress fractures before (one in my leg, one in my foot) so I knew what to look for and would bet a lot that’s what’s going on. It makes me sad because I’m itching to run…get out there, pound the pavement, and shatter my not-so-wonderful 5k time from Sunday’s race. Can I blame it on the chocolate? Never mind…that was AFTER the race. 😉

Anyway, I posted a 29:01 on Sunday, which was frustrating. (And it has taken me that long to be able to talk about it.) I can run it in 27:30 when I really push myself, but for some reason, that particular morning I just couldn’t get through the pain. It was a bummer…a few tears even dripped. :(

One of my friends is going through the I-really-shouldn’t-run phase now, too, because of a different injury, and we chatted yesterday about how crabby it was making us that we just couldn’t run.

For me, it’s knowing when it’s ok to push it again. I’m thinking I may try intervals sometime next week, but until then…yay for Pilates?

WOO HOO!!! Ok, that was forced exuberance.

I’m trying to look for the good in it, and though I miss that time of cranking up the music, tuning out the world, and praising Him, I have enjoyed, just a teeny-bit, sleeping ’til seven. But I’ll be ready to go at 6 a.m. next week for sure!

Hope you all have had a good week, and guess what?!?!

Tomorrow’s Friday…gotta love that. :)

Sig

Filed Under: friends, just life, music, random, running, where I am

Death by Dum-Dum?

November 6, 2012 by · 1 Comment

Ok, so I’m in kind of a quirky mood…potentially to curb some of the nerves these election results are bringing tonight?

Ugh.

Definitely a nail biter.

Anyway, so I was driving home from my hair appointment tonight, eating a dum-dum. (Thank you to my favorite hair stylist for letting me be a kid and take one. Or two. ;))

Then I suddenly had a really freaky thought. Something like, Man, it would be a bad time to get in an accident and have my airbag deploy. I’d choke on my dum-dum, and that would be the end.

Ok, ok, I admit that my brain can get extremely imaginative at times. :)

But it was enough for me to crunch the rest of my sucker in about half a second and get that stick out of my mouth. No more driving with dum-dums for me!

Now that you know for certain that I’m really quirky…

Tonight is that one night every four years that is such a strange paradox. I detest the way the news stations report election results and yet I’m glued to the tv…and feeling insanely sick to my stomach but eating some form of chocolate anyway.

But I promised not to talk politics, didn’t I?

So Mae and I spent the day at home today, and it was a long one. Darn time change…seriously, her eyes pop open with the sun…hellooo early mornings. For now, anyway. Thankfully I had a moment of genius when I remembered the “gift” my mom gave her several months ago. “Gift”=100+ piece plastic food set for her kitchen.

Gift for Maelie. I-will-injure-myself-by-stepping-on-all-these-tiny-pieces, non-gift for Mel.

I hid it in the garage…until today.

I can’t believe how many hours that kept her occupied.

She loved having new toys so much that I didn’t mind having to pick up that 100+ piece set a dozen times in an afternoon.

It was fun watching her “cook” all kinds of different food for me. She had fun, and for a moment, I felt guilty about not giving it to her for…ahem…about six months. Well, I felt guilty until I stepped on one of the plastic pieces and reminded myself exactly why I’d hidden the thing.

Oh, well. She’s not likely to forget about it anytime soon, so I’ll have to be extra careful about where I walk. :)

Well, it’s getting late…and I’m seriously thinking about turning off election results and watching a chick flick.

Sounds way more fun. :)

G’nite, friends.

Sig

Filed Under: being mommy, hair, just life, Maelie, random, where I am

Monday Random

November 5, 2012 by · 2 Comments

I’ve got a hundred thoughts swimming through my head, but it’s far too late to try to actually make any of them sound intelligent. :)

Can I blame the time change?

I went to bed at 9:30 last night. Usually, I don’t even start blogging by then. I must have been exhausted. Actually, the tired probably had more to do with an early morning race and two hours of bowling in the afternoon. All fun, but definitely energy-zapping.

So it was Monday, and a mostly uneventful one…except for the stop sign I ran. Totally not kidding, totally feeling like a complete scatterbrain. I drive that route a dozen times a week…there’s no reason in the world for it. I took Maelie home after that and we stayed home for the rest of the day.

Though I did go work out tonight…for part of it. More on that tomorrow, maybe. I’m on a twoish-week running hiatus, and I can’t say I’m in love with the idea. But when one has a stress fracture, the only thing that helps is NOT doing the thing that caused it in the first place. (And, yes, I ran yesterday. With said stress fracture. Like I said, we’ll talk tomorrow. :))

Speaking of tomorrow, it’s Election Day.

Like y’all didn’t know that. Well, you did if you’re like me and have literally been counting down the days to the end of the the political ads and completely annoying and inconveniently timed phone calls. Anyway, you know what you need to do…so go do it. Obviously, our country needs some help…so vote for the candidate that will bring positive change. And that is ALL you’re gonna get from me as far as politics go.

Anyway, I’d be shocked if you didn’t know which side I party with. :)

Though I may kick up my heels and do a virtual jig if things end up like I’m hoping and praying they will. I’ll let you all know if I dance, k? 😉

I sent in an application today for something big. It’s not a job but definitely involves responsibility and a pretty incredible opportunity. I’m really praying…for God’s Will first, but also that His Will lines up with what I’d like to happen. :) Do you ever do that?

I guess I just need to remind myself that when I find my joy in Him, He’ll give me my desires.

I’ve been really lovin’ this song lately…singing-it-all-the-time lovin’. Have a listen and sing along. It’s a good one!

Thanks, friends, for stopping by the blog tonight.

Hope your Monday was good…and that it didn’t involve running any stop signs! 😉

Sig

Filed Under: just life, random, where I am

Got Chocolate?

November 4, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Please forgive the lack of words this weekend. :)

This is what I did this morning…like, really early this morning. (Well, this pic was later…after we’d showered and put on our uber-cute hoodies from the race. My favorite goodie bag so far. :))

I will totally get up way too early to run a 5k if it includes good friends and chocolate. T’was fun. And chocolatey. :)

Hope your weekend had some kind of chocolate, too.

Sig

Filed Under: friends, just life, running
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