My Man

Today is our anniversary. 4 Years ago today was the best day of my life...to be married to the man of my dreams. I'm so blessed and oh so happy. I love this man with all of my heart and am so thankful to have him. I love every moment that I have with him (even when he doesn't want to talk in the mornings and wants his quite time..which isn't easy for me), he gives me a sense of security and love. I miss him so much when he is out of town, even if its only for one night. He is supportive and very loyal. He makes me laugh - sometimes so hard that I cry. He is the worlds best snuggler and warms my cold hands and feet every night. He can build an amazing roaring fire to keep us warm and cozy on these cold winter nights. Not to mention he is hot...when I first met him I thought he was so 'fine' (do kids say that anymore?) well and he still is which is just the added bonus. He is a wonderful daddy to Collier. Justin, thank you for asking me to marry you and for the love and support that you give to me everyday!

Man in the Mirror

This sweet little man loves to play on my mirror and I finally was able to grab my camera and capture his sheer delight. Oh my goodness, slobber gets everywhere...I could make a really good windex commercial! But he loves it and laughs and oohs and aahhhs the whole time. ADORABLE!

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:1-14

Mid-Week Ramblings

This past Saturday our early morning running group cancelled our run due to ice and snow on the roads. I was glad because I really wanted to sleep in and I did! Whoo Hooo! But Saturday afternoon when the sun was bright and shinny and the snow and ice was all melted away my running partner and I ran 9 miles. It was actually fun! Yep you read that right...fun. Yesterday, I took Brinkley with me and we ran 4.7 miles. It is much harder to run alone and most of it is a mental game. When I started all of this I had no idea of the mental aspect that plays into training for a marathon, but I think that it is MORE mental than physical! Mind over matter! In two weeks we'll be running 11 miles and I will be beside myself when I finish that run! I'm sure we'll need to celebrate after that run!

Today is Ash Wednesday and as we enter this Lenten season and begin the long walk to the cross, I've been thinking about lent and what it is all about and what it means to me! I have also been thinking hard abot what to "give up" and have been praying about it. One of the preachers at our church wrote a really good commentary that I thought put it in good perspective. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did:
REND YOUR HEARTS
by Steve DeGweck
Ash Wednesday is nearly upon us and with it the beginning of Lent. Lent has become associated through the ages with fasting and doing without. Thus many Christians give up something they enjoy for Lent ‑‑ some eat no meat, others no chocolate, etc. Such things are all well and good if they remind us to focus our hearts on God, but the real intent of Lent is that we should look inside our hearts. The prophet Joel writes: “Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; rend your hearts and not your clothing . . . .” Joel is saying to his listeners in Israel, “You people make a great show of repentance, enacting the rituals of penitence, tearing your clothes, wailing, weeping, and putting on a great act. But nothing changes. The next day you begin again to forget the Lord your God, and go your way, until the next time you are called upon to “perform.” Joel is saying that true repentance is sorrow for sin, not an empty ritual.
The first task of Lent is REPENTENCE. “Return to the Lord, your God . . .” We are invited to bring our sins and our burdens, and all the false gods and selfish choices of our lives and lay them before the throne of God. Sometime back the newspapers told of a man who walked into the police station to confess a crime he had committed fifteen years before. The reason for his confession? This is what he said: “I have not been able to get it off my mind.” Here was a man willing to subject himself to punishment in order to restore his peace of mind. Some of us are troubled and we don’t even know why we are troubled! The issue is unresolved guilt. Lent is a time of repentance. It is a time for confession of our sins and the beginning of a new life.
Lent is also a time of ABSOLUTION. “Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love . . . .” It does no good for us to confess our sins if we keep beating ourselves up over those same sins. This may be the chief reason why so many people fail to truly repent and begin new lives. They never experience the absolution of God. They hear the words but refuse to believe it could be true. An old Scottish clergyman once said that the devil has two lies he uses at two different stages. Before we commit a sin, he tells us that one little sin doesn’t matter‑‑no one will know. The second lie is after we’ve sinned when he tells us we’re hopeless. Friends, the good news is that no one is hopeless! We never venture so far from God that he cannot reach us — if we will open our hearts!
Finally, Lent is a time of RENEWAL. “Who knows,” wrote the prophet, “whether he will not relent, and leave a blessing behind him . . . ?” Lent is a time of renewal and refreshment. If we have repented of our sins, we can experience the absolution of God, and we can turn over the burdens of our hearts to Christ who is far better to bear them than we are. But rend your hearts, says Joel, and not just your garments. Do we have the courage to repent of what really troubles us in the deep watches of the night? The question is never, “Can I change?” but rather, “Am I willing to change?” And am I willing to pay the price? Am I willing to take a stand for something I believe in? That’s repentance.
So I challenge you to RETURN to God today and begin a new chapter in your journey of faith this Lent. Lay down your sins — every burden, each regret — at the foot of the cross, and leave them there. Believe that God has forgiven you and experience his absolution today. Tell yourself that today begins your new life. In the words of the prophet Joel, “Rend your hearts and not your clothing.” Only then does Lent really begin. But only then does new life begin, too

Snow

I am so glad that its snowing! It is so much fun and just so pretty! I think that Justin and I were meant to live somewhere that it snows more because we both become like kids when it snows and just get so stink'n excited. If only we could move Compass Lake and Lake Eufaula north it would be more likely for us to live there...but we really need to be close to these two locations during the summer time! Oh well, I'm just thankful it is snowing right now. Gosh it is pretty!

Yesterday afternoon I got home from picking up Collier and we were sitting on the couch with Brinkley too! Collier was rubbing all over Brink and I decided I needed to get a picture. I got the camera and bent down to snap the picture and through my lens I see Collier move quickly to the crawling position...I lunge forward, drop my camera and still wasn't quick enough to catch him. He fell straight on his little head. I freaked out, I was scared and worried. He was screaming and I know it must have hurt. On top of the fact that it was time for him to go down for a nap....tired and hurt...not a good combination. Justin was at a neighbor's house and I called him to come home. By that time Collier was calmed down - I was not. I didn't want to lay him down in the bed since he just fell on his head but Justin said he was fine and so I watched like a hawk on the monitor to be sure I could see him moving and breathing. I felt like a horrible mom and I knew that I shouldn't leave him on the couch or the bed or the changing table but sometimes I do because up until recently he hasn't been in much of a hurry to go anywhere when I set him down. That is the end of that and I have certainly learned a HUGE lesson! I know that he is going to fall and have bumps and bruises but just hate that it happened. I still feel really bad.

I am sure that we're going to play in the snow this afternoon and I'll share more pictures then!

Have you ever needed a third hand and then decided to just use your mouth instead?

We had such a fun weekend. Saturday morning I got up bright and early and completed my 7 mile run with my running group. It has yet to be sunny and warm for our group runs....although I think I would rather it be a little cooler than to warm! Anyway, 7 Miles is my LRE 'Longest Run Ever' and I'll have many more of those in the coming weeks. Then on Sunday I ran my CRE 'Coldest Run Ever' 33degrees! That was very cold and would rather it be a little warmer or at least have the sun shinning bright to warm me up a little! I'm getting sidetracked. Back to saturday afternoon...we drove to Talladega with 6 other friends to go to the AWF Wild Game Cook-Off. We got to taste all kinds of 'wild game' and enjoy the festivities. It was certainly different and people watching was certainly at its prime in such a location!

Sunday brought the 6th Annual Butt-Off....Our very own cook off. Every year on Super Bowl Sunday we do a Boston Butt Cook Off and it always is full of fun, food and laughter Oh and the Super Bowl of course. The butt-off is a very big deal in our family. Justin starts smoking VERY early and cooks all day and does all that he can to ensure that he has the best BUTT. This year we had 4 cooks and about 40 people present to vote (if you don't cook, you vote!) I normally take a ton of pictures but when you have a little money it sort of changes your ability to walk around and snap photo's. It was really so much fun and although Justin didn't win....he only lost by ONE vote.....I certainly thought that he deserved to win! His butt really was delicious. To give you an idea of how big a deal it is....we even have t-shirt's and a trophy, how great is that! Collier had fun at his first ever Butt-Off although by the time the game was over he was WAY past nap time and I couldn't get him to go to sleep in my arms. Pop's had to take him home and Grammy gave him a bath and got him all ready for bed! Aren't grandparent's just the best!

Wednesday Collier had his 9 month check-up...Yep you read that right he is already 9 months and he is a grow'n! That little stinker is 19Lb 1Oz and a long, off-the-charts 31" tall. Doctor said that everything was wonderful and he is perfectly healthy! Couldn't ask for a better report. We're clear until he's........1 year old! Yikes that is sneaking up on my quicker than I care to know. I wish I could keep him this age forever! Oh well, back to reality.

He is scootching all over the place and is still trying to stand up in the middle of his crawls. This boy loves to stand up and would much rather be standing than crawling. But since he can't walk he will resort to crawling for the time - not sure if its really a crawl with one leg in front. Last night he found Brinkley's bowls and thought it was great fun to splash in her water! It was funny but will probably be quite a task to keep him out of it! Another new thing (thankfully has only happened once) Tuesday night I put him down around 9pm. After about 1 minute I heard him crying and it sounded different. I went and go the monitor (Video and the best thing we own!) and couldn't see him...moved the camera around....I knew he was in there because I could hear him crying....moved the camera up and yes he was standing in his crib screaming! How in the world did he do that? I was shocked and I was a sucker...because I went and picked him up. We rocked for a few minutes and got him settled down before I put him back down for the night. too funny!

TRAINING UPDATE: I ran 4 miles yesterday, alone, on a treadmill! I usually have my running partner but today it is rainy and she isn't a member at my gym and I needed to get my 4 miles completed this week. Saturday we will run 7 miles with my training group. This will be the farthest I've ever run. I think the most that I've run is actually 5! I did ok today but running on a treadmill is BORING!

We have a fun and eventful weekend ahead. I'll be sure to share all of our events and adventure as soon as I can!