summer summary

It's been a crazy hectic summer. Hopefully I can get around to posting more details, but here is a quick list:

• 9 months of winter actually ended in May
• Fargo Half Marathon. Ran the entire 13.1 miles. Looking forward to another one!
• Broke my hand in my first game of rec softball. Surgery to insert 2 pins, surgery to remove pins, and now therapy.
• My parents visited in June. Rented an RV, drove around Yellowstone, and white-water rafted.
• Early summer consisted of yard work: stained concrete patio, planted garden, spread river rock, plants in pots, new patio furniture, etc.
• Baby shower for Kraby's and baby Everett came in June
• Work work work
• Grillin'. Homemade Ice Cream. Peach Pie. Best Ever Homemade Lemonade.
• Unlike Texas, we have a record breaking spring with so much rain.
• Small town 4th of July rocks. Fireworks illegal in the city but no one listens. 180 degree view of fireworks followed by a professional show, all visible from our deck. Small town rodeo and dance and riding the Marathon float in the parade.
• Hills Alive in Rapid City. Awesome. Christian Bands. Shopping. Starbucks. Ice Cream.
• VBS Leaders at church with 5-6 yr olds....way out west in Discovery City learning 'bout Jesus.
• Softball champions
• Learning Photoshop but would really just like to take some classes.
• Rapid City for Caleb's birthday. Fly-fishing = 2 trout 24 and 25 inches. Ice Cream. Tally's Silver Spoon Breakfast. Alex Johnson Hotel. Sturgis.
• Tested and tried spiritually but feeling really good right now. God is revealing himself in many ways.
• 15 hours of sewing this past weekend. Finished quilting one of a few projects.
• Joined Pinterest. And oh so in love. Now all I want to do is shop, sew, craft, decorate...etc. So inspired.
• Took a last minute job coaching JV volleyball at a local private school. Exhausted but having a blast. Only in week 2 of practice.
• Colorado on Friday. Much. Needed. Just checked out 4 books on tape...CD... (one of which is Learn to Speak French) and so ready for the road trip.
• Lawn mowers in Sears have been replaced by Snow Blowers. Winter is coming.

God is good all the time. I am thankful He is teaching me constantly; I just need to listen more and fully trust in His promises. Faith. Contentment. Trust. Patience. Joy. Humility. His Purpose.

five days

....until the Fargo Half-Marathon. Ruh roh!

We started off our training so strong....during the winter months. But ever since the sun started shining and days became warmer (still haven't reached 70, though), the motivation has dropped. Not sure if it's the super long list of yard projects that we are trying to finish before hosting a baby shower June 4th, or just pure laziness. Regardless, the registration fee and dorm (yes dorms at NDSU because all hotels were sold out and these were cheap and one block from the race) fees have been paid, so we are committed. I am also excited to escape Dickinson for a weekend, visit a bigger city, enjoy the shopping and restaurants, and spend time with Caleb. My super sweet (and former cross-country runner) husband said he will run with me, even though that means it will be about 30 minutes slower than what he could do without me. But honestly, I'm going to need all the support and motivation I can get during a minimum two-hour run. I'm trying not to be intimidated by 13.1 miles and focus on the "fun" we will be having, but that's a little difficult right now. Too bad I can't record my thoughts throughout the race and blog them. :)

registered

Caleb and I have officially registered for the Fargo Half Marathon. 15 weeks until race day. Anyone interested in joining us?? It's going to be soooo much fun!! There are bands playing at every mile! It received the Runner's World Reader’s Choice Award as the #1 Best Value Marathon in America and the 8th Best Overall Marathon in America (January 2010)!

Convinced? Click HERE :)

new year, new look?

Obviously I failed at trying to blog more, so we will see if this "New Year's Resolution" starts in February :) You may also notice the changes in the blog. It is totally not finished; I've been tinkering with the html codes. I also just installed Adobe Photoshop so I hope to have a custom header and signature. (Any help on that would be fantastic!) :)

Looking back, Christmas break was fantastic! One of my absolute favorites! Caleb, Bella, and I hopped in Caleb's new truck (woohoo for a 4WD vehicle!) and conquered the 24 hour road trip to TEXAS! It was so much fun, and we only stopped for a 1-2 hr nap each way. Total Road Warriors. We listened to an 18 hr book-on-tape, The Help. It was actually a great book and helped the time pass quickly.

We spent Christmas weekend with the McElroy's. Our days were filled with great food, fellowship, shopping, riding four-wheelers, and lots of Taboo and Spades. :) Bella and I traveled to San Antonio while Caleb stayed in Aledo helping his parents around the house. Mom and I shopped-til-we-dropped for two days. It was absolutely wonderful. She is the ultimate shopping buddy, and I can't begin to explain how much I enjoy time with my mamma. I was in awe of all of the stores and clothes and shoes and people and shoes and clothes and accessories and clothes! I also had a wonderful dinner with my parents and Chris and Britteny. Thursday before New Years we drove up to Lake LBJ to spend time with my grandma. Caleb and his parents as well as my brother and Britteny came to the lake for the weekend, too. It was so perfect spending time with our families for the last few days in Texas. I miss them so much already....and the weather. :)

North Dakota life is back in full-swing. (I plan to have another post dedicated to living here since it is totally unlike anything else.) I am actually sitting in the Bismarck airport right now trying to get to Houston for work. Due to sub-zero temperatures and snow all weekend, my first flight was cancelled, and the new flight is now delayed. Woohoo. Caleb and I are getting in shape to train for the Fargo half-marathon in May. :) (I noticed I have a "half marathon" label already, but I don't remember ever running one....probably that time I trained for 2-3 days?? Let's hope this go-around has a better result!)

Anyway, we are doing good and staying warm! I am sooooooooo ready for the snow to melt. It's piled about 4 ft tall in front of our house. Fortunately, each day is longer than the previous and one step closer to warmer weather....whenever that is....March, April, May??

I'll post pictures soon. I'm on the work computer so no access to pics.

love y'all

cheers!

I can't believe it's been more than a month since my last post. Goal for 2010 #1 - blog more!!! So the first thing that came to mind when beginning this post was "Cheers!" First, I come from a family that loves to "Cheers!" And Caleb loves how my grandma "Cheers!" So it stuck with him and he makes sure a quick toast occurs every time we sit down for a meal with guests. :)

"Cheers!" also came to mind because I have a new, cheerful blog background, too! :)

So I looked up the definition of this salutation, and two of the three words that came up are Goodbye! and Thanks! So.....

Goodbye and Thank You 2009!! Caleb and I had a wonderful first year living in Colorado! We are going on two years of marriage now, and we are loving every minute of married life! I have the most wonderful husband, and I am so thankful that we can have so much fun together! Some of the awesome things that kept us busy this past year include: Buying our first house!...which led to lots of projects around the house :); backpacking and fly-fishing in Meeker and South Fork; camping at Goblin Valley State Park; hiking Arches and Canyonlands National Parks; riding Slick Rock in Moab, UT...Caleb's dream!; weekly rides with our local mountain biking group each week during the summer; Palisade peaches...the best!; Farmer's Market; Colorado Wine Festival; Canning Peach Habenero Jam!; Quilting classes :); cross-country skiing!; lots of snow skiing in Vail, Keystone, and a visit to Breckenridge!; our new addition, Bella!!; making new and wonderful friends; Bunco!; lots and lots of weddings, which include lots and lots of wonderful trips to San Antonio and Fort Worth!; visitors!....we had more people visit us in Colorado than in Texas! :)...and we truly feel blessed and thankful for all of the support and love from our family; and then what better way to end 2009 and welcome 2010 than with our wonderful Houston's First Baptist friends, Cas, Gina, and baby-on-the-way in Keystone! (pictures to come!)

We LOVED 2009, and I am jumping up and down "cheering" that we get to spend 2010 in Colorado, too!! For two months we were unsure of this, though. In November, we found out that Marathon Oil Company was accepting bids for their Colorado asset. Talk about sad news! Caleb and I could not imagine leaving Colorado just yet. So we prayed and gave all of it to God. There were a lot of reasons to believe that it was selling...which means that we would have to move, location and timing both were unknown. So we lived in uncertainty until the first week of January. (This uncertainty and possibility of moving was the reason for the previous "Changes" post.) But we found out the first week in January that Marathon decided not to sell, before the bids were even due!! ALL OF THE GLORY TOTALLY GIVEN TO GOD!! This situation completely taught me to not stress, especially about those things that were out of my control. And I really did trust God's plan for us. I know that wherever and whenever He decides it's time for us to move, that we will be happy no matter what. And I truly do believe that with all my heart....which is a comfort I haven't always carried with me. So, thank you, God, for keeping us in Colorado and growing me in this circumstance, too. :)

We already started 2010 off with the Farrar's visiting us and snow skiing in Vail with them, as well as Eric and Melody's wedding in Fort Worth this past weekend! Caleb and I did our first Half- Marathon training workout last night, and this morning I have blisters and really bad knees. Really?!?! So....we'll see how this goes. I'm in more pain this morning than all my years of volleyball. A little frusturating. I feel kinda pathetic, too, and I kept reiterating to Caleb that I am not a baby and I never sat out in volleyball due to injuries. :)

Anyway, I have LOTS of pictures to post from the past month, so hopefully I can get some of those up tonight!

CHEERS TO 2010!! Love y'all!