Random Musings

Here are a few random thoughts that are swirling around in my brain lately. Enjoy ::

• You know when they are re-surfacing a road or a parking lot or something and there are all those little tiny rocks and when you drive that hit the underside of your car (or in my case, huge van -- with a lot of underbelly surface area, I might add!)? I really can't stand that sound. It makes me feel like I might lose my mind! True story!
• I'm super proud of the hubs who took 2nd place in a "Biggest Loser" contest that his work put on. It ran from the first of the year until last Friday. He lost just under 40 pounds (39-point-something). I'm so happy for us. He can use his cash prize to buy some new clothes that fit, since most of his are WAY too big! Way to go, Kirbs!
• It seems a bit crazy to me that I saw flurries in the air on Saturday and was shivering at an outdoor event (May 11th, mind you!) and then on Tuesday (only 3 days later) I had sweat pouring down my back while standing perfectly still watching Rebekah's track meet. It was 98 degrees. Minnesota is a crazy place!
• There is nothing in the whole entire world like a fresh, new baby. I just cuddled one that was less than 24 hours old. NOTHING. LIKE. IT! Welcome to the world, sweet girl. We waited and waited and prayed and prayed for you and are SO glad you're here.
• I guess when people ask me "Are you a runner?" I have to answer yes (although for over a year now I've been running on a regular basis, I still always said "Nope."). But since I've listened to a few podcasts on running, read a book or two on running and am up to 7 miles on a longer-run day, I guess I should finally start saying yes. Really? Weird! I barely know myself!
• School is almost done for the year. How can that be? In a couple days I will be the mom of a high schooler? What. on. earth? That might be even harder to believe than the "runner" thing.
• I am thankful for my belt sander.
• I'm not a fan of talking on the phone. But the other day when I hung up with an out-of-town friend that I hadn't caught up with in WAY too long the digital timer on the phone said I'd been talking to her for over 2 hours. That's a really big deal for me . . . and I loved every minute of it. Now if only we could make it happen in person, that would really be great!

Ok, I guess that's all. Carry on!

Multitude Monday {double feature}

Here's my continuing Multitude Monday post which is part of a series started years ago on Ann's wonderful, amazing blog that is a favorite of mine. If you've never checked it out, do yourself a favor and click on over. She's an amazing, gifted writer, a wonderful friend and an inspiration (not to mention a mother of 6)!

"One Thousand Gifts"::

3189. Mom's night at preschool

3190. Anna's bravery for her Kindergarten shots

3191. some great finds at the annual "garage sale" at our school

3192. a fabulous CSC banquet (one of my favorite nights of the year)

3193. my longest run ever (over 6 miles)

3194. 1st thru 4th grade talent show :: so entertaining!

3195. middle school open house with Rebekah

3196. my book club girls (what a blessing!)

3197. spring weather . . . finally!

3198. trampoline back up again in the yard

3199. clothes hanging on the line

3200. a really, really good book

3201. a freshly vacuumed house (thanks Mom!)

3202. a playdate for the 2 littles and a bit of time to myself

3203. the college-aged girl with her Bible and open journal on the table at Starbucks, writing away like crazy. 

3204. birds chirping outside the window during my early morning quiet time

3205. well-deserved good news for a dear friend

3206. powerful words

3207. 60's and sunshine

3208. Rebekah reading "Charlie and Lola" to Sara before school

3209. dinner at my parents

3210. chats with friends

3211. our basement filled with kids watching a movie on Saturday night

3212. a productive morning

3213. washing and packing up all the winter gear!

3214. 18 years today since he asked and I said yes

May you realize all the blessings the Lord brings your way and take the time to make note of them. (you'll be glad that you did!)

eight {and a bit of Flashback Friday}

this crazy-haired baby

turns 8 today!

Oh how the years go by . . . 

Happy Birthday, Joe!

We love you lots!

Here's my continuing Multitude Monday post which is part of a series started years ago on Ann's wonderful, amazing blog that is a favorite of mine. If you've never checked it out, do yourself a favor and click on over. She's an amazing, gifted writer, a wonderful friend and an inspiration (not to mention a mother of 6)!

"One Thousand Gifts"::

3174. free Starbucks :: I ordered at the drive thru and when I got to the window the guy informed me that their computers were down, so they couldn't ring me up. They could still make my latte, they just had no way of charging me for it. How great is that?
3175. a new babysitting job for Bekah
3176. 1/2 way through Kirb work trip and no major problems
3177. Kirb getting back home safely
3178. parenting with a partner again :: so much easier as a team!
3179. listening to my kiddos perform :: Bekah singing and Jake on the trumpet
3180. a super fun night with TONS of friends at a girlfriends annual gathering with probably close to 100 other ladies (my once-a-year night when I stay out WAY, WAY past my bedtime)
3181. having my parents over for lunch
3182. a nap on a cold, gloomy Sunday afternoon (following my late night)
3183. hearing from the mom who drives Jacob to jazz band 2 mornings a month what a nice boy she thinks he is (who doesn't love hearing good things about their kids?)
3184. friends who give our kids rides to stuff
3185. a hearty conversation with a girlfriend about running :: it amazes me that I would actually choose to carry on a conversation about that particular topic at all!
3186. waking up to NO fresh snow on the ground for the first time in a lot of days :: there's still plenty of the white stuff on the ground, but no new snow overnight for once!
3187. cross things off my to-do list
3188. taking time to make some cards :: it had been a LONG time since I had done that. I almost forgot how much I like it!

May you realize all the blessings the Lord brings your way and take the time to make note of them. (you'll be glad that you did!)

flashback friday

Joey the 2-headed giraffe boy . . . wearing tap shoes . . . in our snow-free yard (it is FAR from snow free today!)

April 2009, age 4

multitude monday

Here's my continuing Multitude Monday post which is part of a series started years ago on Ann's wonderful, amazing blog that is a favorite of mine. If you've never checked it out, do yourself a favor and click on over. She's an amazing, gifted writer, a wonderful friend and an inspiration (not to mention a mother of 6)!

"One Thousand Gifts"::

3153. our REI dividend arriving right when we needed new rain boots :: perfect timing!
3154. packing up
3155. the amazing, fabulous, genuine, caring, smart men that teach 5th grade at Falcon
3156. a great 3-day trip to the Audubon with Lydia's class
3157. such a nice group of 5th graders to spend 3 days with
3158. making the "Ort Hall of Fame" for the first time ever in Falcon Heights history (our group went 4 meals with ZERO food waste . . . our teachers and a few dads were more than willing to "take one for the team" a time or two and clean up some trays, I'm sure)
3159. seeing kids challenge themselves, even when they're a bit scared :: at the end they are so glad they did it
3160. watching the kids genuinely encourage each other, even kids who aren't friends with each other
3161. the 4 fabulous girls I had the pleasure of bunking up with
3162. learning to use a compass ("Put Red in the Shed and follow Fred")
3163. being home again
3164. Face Time
3165. sunshine
3166. snuggles with Joe who was home sick from church
3167. getting in a run between rain showers
3168. a friend of mine drove by me when I was out running, slowed WAY down, opened her window and starting singing "Hey Shana, you're so fine. You're so fine you blow my mind. Hey Shana!" Made that last mile or so MUCH more fun and a bit less painful!
3169. my dad pitching in to help when I needed hand
3170. Joe's quick recovery
3171. a good nights sleep
3172. chirping birds
3173. our washer and dryer

May you realize all the blessings the Lord brings your way and take the time to make note of them. (you'll be glad that you did!)

Flashback Friday

Last year at this time our basement looked like this ::

I'm so thankful to be on the other side of that project!

Bread & Wine

I'm quite certain that I've mentioned before how thankful I am to have been introduced to the writing of Shauna Niequist. Her first two books Cold Tangerines and Bittersweet were some of the most enjoyable books I've read in the past year or two. Her stories resonate with me in a deep place. It reminds me of the way I connect with the music of Sara Groves or JJ Heller. It's like someone has finally put into words feelings that I've had pent up for so long and could never express in ways others could understand . . . and then, all of a sudden, there they are right in front of me. Articulated so perfectly.

Well, Shauna has a new book coming out soon :: Bread & Wine: a love letter to life around the table with recipes. It is a memoir of sorts. Shauna loves food and loves entertaining and so many of her memories are inextricably tied to food and time around the table with those she loves that she combined the two into a very unique type of book. Stories from her life. Times as a family. Times of birth and death and crisis and how people always bring food when they want to be helpful and are at a loss for what else to do. Many of the book's chapters end with a favorite recipe for a dish with a connection to the story that had just been told.

No one who knows me (even just a little bit) would ever call me a foodie. I don't enjoy cooking, and I'm a picky eater. So I know it is probably surprising for me to be excited about a book that is part cookbook and is so tied to food, but Shauna's stories draw you in and her descriptions of the intimacy found around a table are something I enjoyed thoroughly.

Being the font snob that I am, before even cracking the book open I was in love with the chosen typography. The title itself had a hand-lettered look, completely with feather-like flourishes. LOVED it! And when paired with the sans-serif, all lowercase subtitle and authors name, it was even more lovely. So we were off to a good start before the book had even been opened. Now I know that "you can't judge a book by its cover", but a good cover sure doesn't hurt either.

Then once you dive in to the "meat" of the book (pun intended), it only gets better. Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the book ::

From the chapter titled "run" ::

But I have also long held the belief that one's tears are a guide, that when something makes you cry, it means something. If we pay attention to our tears, they'll show us something about ourselves. Against my preferences, watching people cross marathon finish lines makes me cry. Crazy, deep, ugly cry. Specifically, watching average-looking people cross marathon finish lines makes me cry. Professionals who finish in two hours are amazing, but it doesn't move me the same way. And not all physical feats move me like marathons do. I don't cry when I watch the Olympics or the Super Bowl. There's a thing I have with marathons.

 If you know me at all, that one is so very me! I'm a crier too. I guess I better start paying better attention . . . and in case you're curious, she did eventually run (and finish) a marathon ::

I got an e-mail from my friend Nate. Registration for the upcoming year's Chicago Marathon was open, he said. Was I still up for it? I immediately wrote a reply: No, not this year. Next year. And as soon as I wrote it, I knew it would always be my answer: next year, next year, next year. I deleted those words and began again.
Yes, I replied, before I could change my mind. Yes. I'm signing up. And I did. And then I dug out my running shoes -- shoes that had been to the coffee shop and the farmers market but had never been running.

Another favorite from the chapter titled "morning, noon, and night ::

I've long wanted to be better at accepting help, better at admitting weakness, better at trusting that people love me not for what I can do buy just because they do. It would have been lovely to learn those things on my own terms, when I wanted to, the way I wanted to. But we never grow until the pain level gets high enough.
. . . love isn't something you prove or earn, but something you receive or allow, like a balm, like a benediction, even at your very worst.

And as a fellow midwesterner, (she is from the Chicago area) I resonate strongly (especially this year) with the opening to that same chapter, which begins :: "Winter turned to spring just when we were sure it never would." Right about now I would like to say those same words about Minnesota and this particularly long, cold winter.

And from the chapter titled "open the door", we read

What people are craving isn't perfection. People aren't longing to be impressed; they're longing to feel like they're home. If you create a space full of love and character and creativity and soul, they'll take off their shoes and curl up with gratitude and rest, no matter how small, no matter how undone, no matter how odd.

So, I echo Shauna's thoughs :: pay attention to your tears, accept help, admit weakness, trust in love and let people see your imperfection.

Oh, and she also talks lots about babies . . . and you know how I feel about babies! (If you were at the Y the day I was on the stationary bike reading through my tears the chapter titled "hail mary". No surprises there. Baby stories bring me to tears.)

multitude monday {a day late}

Here's my continuing Multitude Monday post which is part of a series started years ago on Ann's wonderful, amazing blog that is a favorite of mine. If you've never checked it out, do yourself a favor and click on over. She's an amazing, gifted writer, a wonderful friend and an inspiration (not to mention a mother of 6)!

"One Thousand Gifts"::

3133. coffee with a friend
3134. my Bible study girls
3135. 5 years of Anna
3136. time with friends
3137. a wonderful, powerful, meaningful Maunday Thursday service :: Christ's sacrifice is so amazing to me
3138. grace, survival and coffee on tough days
3139. friends with the willingness and skills to help when you are out of ideas
3140. genuinely caring, concerned, loving teachers who care for (and teach) our kids when they are struggling
3141. Joe's excitement over Timberwolves tickets
3142. the depth of the love and sacrifice that Holy Week gives us the opportunity to reflect on and give thanks for
3143. 50's and sunshine
3144. running on a glorious day {and just over 5 miles . . . that's the farthest I've ever run in my life!}
3145. He is risen!
3146. the sites and sounds of melting snow all around
3147. Easter dinner with our family
3148. lunch and time to catch up with a friend
3149. friendships that span decades and miles and remain a great blessing
3150. my selfless parents
3151. Rebekah's generosity and giving heart
3152. fun, personal, hand-addressed mail in the mailbox {such a bright spot amongst the bills and junk}

May you realize all the blessings the Lord brings your way and take the time to make note of them. (you'll be glad that you did!)

Flashback Friday

Anna in review ::

Newborn ::

Age 1 ::

Age 2 ::

Age 3 ::

 

Age 4 ::

Multitude Monday (a day late)

Here's my continuing Multitude Monday post which is part of a series started years ago on Ann's wonderful, amazing blog that is a favorite of mine. If you've never checked it out, do yourself a favor and click on over. She's an amazing, gifted writer, a wonderful friend and an inspiration (not to mention a mother of 6)!

"One Thousand Gifts"::

3112. the majestic beauty of an eagle in flight
3113. pregnant bellies
3114. story time at the library
3115. a hot bath and a good book in the middle of the day (many thanks to Bob & Larry for babysitting, so I could partake in this indulgence!)
3116. morning coffee
3117. sunshine
3118. the sounds and sites of melting
3119. 14 years of Jacob
3120. 12 years of Rebekah
3121. Kingdom Undone :: powerful show
3122. kids waving palm branches and singing
3123. Joe playing basketball in the driveway :: short sleeves and mittens
3124. my cold finally being gone
3125. visit from Rachel & Amy
3126. watching a good movie with the kids
3127. sugar cookies
3128. the arrival of spring (on the calendar, anyway)
3129. art show at church
3130. the weight of a newborn in my arms
3131. hot tea before bed
3132. book club

May you realize all the blessings the Lord brings your way and take the time to make note of them. (you'll be glad that you did!)

26 :: (14+12)

Although I know it's true, I'm still having a hard time believing it. The time just keeps flying by.

14 years ago this afternoon, I gave birth to our very first little bundle. Jacob Mason ::

Jacob holding up 14 "fingers"

Then exactly 2 years later (with just over an hour of difference in time of day), we were blessed with our second (not-quite-as-little) bundle. Rebekah Rae ::

Rebekah holding up 12 fingers

Happy Birthday to 2 of my favorite people on the planet. We are thrilled to have you both in our family.

multitude Monday (two weeks worth)

Here's my continuing Multitude Monday post which is part of a series started years ago on Ann's wonderful, amazing blog that is a favorite of mine. If you've never checked it out, do yourself a favor and click on over. She's an amazing, gifted writer and an inspiration (not to mention a mother of 6)!

We were visiting Kirby's family up north last Monday and I was not near a computer, so you'll get two weeks worth of blessings all at once. Enjoy!

"One Thousand Gifts"::

3071. fresh, beautiful snow :: and knowing it won't last too long this time of year
3072. carpools
3073. kind friends
3074. Angie, unselfishly, sharing the chance to pick Ann up at the airport with me
3075. meeting new people who become instant friends
3076. new books
3077. inspiring words
3078. fabulous news :: Mydi's mom is completely cancer free. Praise God!
3079. the way Ann laid her hand on each book after she signed it :: blessing it and it's owner
3080. sincere humility
3081. the opportunity to help at the Set Apart conference
3082. an asiago parmesan bagel from Brueggers
3083. talking homemade deodorant with brand new friends :: nothing like cutting to the personal right away
3084. the gift of brainstorms in the shower :: thank you Lord!
3085. pictures to aid memory
3086. morning coffee
3087. witnessing hard obedience to God first-hand
3088. another member of the family of God
3089. safe travels on dangerous roads
3090. Kirbs' fabulous driving skills
3091. finally arriving in Warroad 24 hours after leaving home (it's about a 6 hour drive, but the terrible road conditions necessitated an unplanned overnight stay at a hotel -- one with a pool. Bummer we didn't pack suits!)
3092. bumping into friends at the hotel where we were stranded (they were there on purpose)
3093. cell phone reception :: so often I take it for granted, but when you don't have any for a while you appreciate it so much more!
3094. all 24 "Stolls" in the same house :: it had been WAY too long
3095. cousins playing happily together
3096. delicious pizza
3097. a good run :: Kirb came along too, which made it even better
3098. the breath-taking beauty of miles and miles and miles of snow-covered trees while driving through the middle of nowhere
3099. kids traveling well
3100. family
3101. afternoon walks
3102. finding my lost running hat
3103. sleeping in my own bed again
3104. home again! (my favorite place)
3105. Jesus and grace
3106. surviving a REALLY cold 7K race
3107. celebrating Jodi and baby Evelyn
3108. girlfriend time
3109. being the first people ever to stay in the hotel room at a brand new hotel that just opened up
3110. our stay being free :: sometimes being the "guinea pig" is worthwhile, hopefully they get all the kinks worked out soon
3111. kids back to school after spring break

May you realize all the blessings the Lord brings your way and take the time to make note of them. (you'll be glad that you did!)

Get Lucky!

Well, I ran my first 7K on Saturday. I'd been working hard for the past couple months to be ready for the race and was really looking forward to it. Then the day got closer and closer and the forecast kept changing (and NOT for the better) and I got more and more worried. I can run in the cold. And I have. But I don't like it too much! I also don't enjoy running on ice or when it's windy. Anyway, turns out the air temperature on Saturday morning was about 20 and the winds were cold and gusty. (I think the wind chills were probably in the low teens). It had snowed over night and was icy.

I had planned to run it with my friend Nicole. The start time was 9 o'clock and we don't like to be rushed or late, so we wanted to be there about 8. So she picked me up and we got downtown and parked the car and were excited  and ready to run by a little after 8. I had run many times in similar temps and knew that it was pretty chilly, but that once I got running I'd be fine. What I hadn't thought through was that we'd be standing around in the freezing cold outside from the time we got there until the race started.

Now would be a good time to mention that there were over 10,000 people registered to run the Get Lucky 7K. That's a lot of people! (turns out 9,797 of them actually showed up to run -- the smarter ones stayed in their warm beds -- making it the largest number of finishers in a road race in Minnesota ever. Pretty cool). So, as it turns out when there are that many runners, you line up by pace (there were HUGE flags with pace times on them and you were supposed to line up near the flag that noted your pace) and you start in waves. We didn't even cross the starting line until 9:18 (and I heard that the last runners didn't cross the starting line until nearly 10 o'clock :: half the people were already done running by then!). So, if you didn't do the math yet, that means we stood around in the freezing cold for more than an hour before we actually started running. That part was not so fun!

I had just passed by the flag announcing that we had already run 5K when I finally had the feeling back in my feet. When we started running I couldn't feel them at all, and then they slowly started coming back to life, but felt more like bricks or 2x4s than feet. It was really a weird feeling! My fingers were pretty cold too. I'm fairly certain we had some mild frostbite. I kept saying to Nicole, "Can you feel your feet yet?", "My fingers are still numb!", "I am freezing!". It was one of the crazier things I've done and I'm so very thankful that I still have all my fingers and toes! The running part was fine, it was all that standing around before hand that was the killer!

Also, they had done the best possible job they could of getting the race route cleared of snow and ice, but it had just snowed overnight and the temps were low, so they had their work cut out for them. There were still quite a few icy, slick spots on the route. Running on ice and running on dry ground are two completely different things. They use different muscles. Your gait changes. It's not super easy and you really need to concentrate if you want to stay upright (and, let me tell you, I really wanted to stay upright!)

I had a personal goal for myself. I wanted to run the race in less than 45 minutes. I had been consistently running about a 10/10:30-minute mile for the past month or so and 7Ks is about 4.35 miles, so I figured that was a very reasonable goal and a nice round number. My official chip time was 45 minutes and 53 seconds, BUT I'm gonna say I still met my goal since about 20 feet from the finish line I (almost literally) ran into a WALL of people at a dead stop. There was a bottleneck at the finish since all the runners had to run through a slightly narrower area to finish than the streets we had been running on were. When you combine that with the fact that some people came to a stop to greet their non-running friends who were waiting for them at the finish line and then you multiply that my even a small percentage of the nearly 10,000 runners, you get a big mess. So I was very close to the finish line before 45 minutes, but my foot (where my fancy chip timer was laced onto my shoe) hadn't crossed the little finish line pad, so my time just kept ticking on until I could finally actually cross the finish line. I'm not a super competitive person, but after all I'd already been through in the race, I will admit I was not a happy camper coming to a standstill within feet of the finish line! I don't know how many seconds all that took, but I'm considering it a goal attained -- even though my official time says I missed it by 54 seconds. So there!

Well, that's my race in greater detail than you wanted, I'm sure. Thanks for sticking it out to the end. Here's a post-race picture of Nicole and me to reward you for reading all of that other stuff. We're sporting our race sweatshirts and medals (and it just so happens that we have the exact same hat too, so we really were twinsies!).

flashback friday

guess who?

{I LOVED that little dress}