Thankful

So, I just read my sister's blog and she made me cry. What an amazing post about being thankful for ALL things in our lives whether good or not. As my mom always said, "God is still in control." It seems that over the past few years I've had to remind myself of that very fact. God was still in control when my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, God was still in control when my parents moved away, God was still in control when I blew out my knee and had to have surgery, God was still in control when my son had a fainting incident and we had to run tests to find out what was wrong. In all things, good or bad, I'm thankful to know that God is still in control and He doesn't leave the "control" in our hands. This is what I am thankful for today. God's timing. God's love. God's patience. God's grace. God's mercy. God's control.
What are you thankful for?

Psalm 107:1
"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever."

Half marathon

So Ben and I are both doing a half marathon this May. We started our training program this week. I really like the program cause it mixes up your workouts and you get Fridays off. Monday was just a strength and stretching day, but yesterday was a 3 mile run. Now, I've been running at the gym about 4 days a week and typically run about 3 miles at a time. So, I figured this run wouldn't be too difficult. Here's where I made the mistake. My brother said he was going to run outside, so I decided to do the same. I mean, yeah it is cold (like 38 degrees), but the sun was out so I thought it wouldn't be too bad. I have a 3 mile course mapped out and so I put on my MP3 player and headed out. I forgot how much your lungs burn when running in that cold weather. YIKES! Much different than the 70 degree climate-controlled gym. So, I finished my run and was exhausted. It is much harder to run outside than on a treadmill indoors. Today's workout is either a 2 mile run or cross-train (biking, swimming, walking, etc). I'll wait till the end of the day to decide which option I'll choose.

I'm boycotting Mondays!

Ok, so I've decided to boycott Mondays. Here's why. Last Monday I came into work only to find out that my laptop had crashed. I sat around for 1 1/2 hours and finally got a loaner computer to use. My laptop was declared officially dead and now I'm waiting for my new computer to arrive. In the meantime, I'm using the loaner computer which only has about half the programs loaded on it that I need.

This morning, I got up and at 6:00 my doorbell rang and someone was banging on my front door. Now, first of all, let me say my heart was racing cause a knock at the door at 6 a.m. can never be good. I cautiously went to the door, looked through the peephole and who do you think was there? The police. I opened the door (as many things were racing through my mind) only to be informed that my car had been broken into and my stereo was gone. The policeman proceeded to tell me that several other cars had been broken into. They also seemed to know that this happened around 4 a.m. How, you might ask? Well, some idiot down the street told the police he heard his car alarm going off at 4 a.m. but decided it was probably a false alarm so he didn't event get up to check....thanks alot, moron! So, upon further evaluation, I also discovered that my cell phone was stolen (it was in my car cause it was on the charger). So, the list of missing items:

• Driver side window
• Car stereo
• Cell phone
• Favorite CD

I must say, I was quite irritated when the officer told me to not get my hopes up on catching who did this. So, not only do I have missing items, but we will have to pay to replace them (fortunately my husband is handy and I won't have to pay for any labor) and this guy/guys will get off scott free and make money on my stolen property. What's wrong with this picture?

What are you cooking?

I absolutely love this time of year. I don't have to come up with any reason to do some baking beyond the fact that it is the holiday time. Over the next several weeks, I will be preparing for many events ranging from office parties to bake-off contests to holiday gatherings. Coming up first is our office Thanksgiving dinner next Friday. I don't know what I'm being asked to make as of yet, but should find out soon. For Thanksgiving, I know I have to make the fried turkey, but don't know what else I will need to prepare. Brad has said he's putting in a request that I be responsible for the mashed potatoes (mainly cause he doesn't like the ones his mom makes), but we'll wait and see. I'm usually responsible for some type of dessert. After Thanksgiving, I will go full speed ahead into holiday and Christmas baking/cooking. Making some things ahead and freezing and having other things around the house. I'd be interested to hear what you are making for the holidays. Any new and exciting recipes? Feel free to share. I know I'm always looking for some good ideas.

Updates

So, today was the day. Both my kids were baptized in this morning's service. What an absolutely emotional moment. Not only were both my kids being baptized, but my father-in-law was the one baptizing them. Then to add to the emotion, it was my Sunday to sing a special. So, needless to say, I struggled through the first verse slightly as I had to sing right after the kids were done. Anyways, it was a beautiful moment. Unfortunately I do not have a digital video camera, so I used our regular video camera to tape it (mainly so mom, dad and Gigi can watch when they come at Christmas).

Did you know it's only 18 days until Thanksgiving and 45 days until Christmas? Unbelievable!!! I must admit, though, that I'm so excited for Thanksgiving as it is my 2nd favorite holiday only to Christmas. If for no other reason than being with family, eating lots of food and watching football. I mean, really, does it get any better than that?

One other note of interest. I've decided to do something I don't ever think I even dreamed of doing. I'm going to run a half marathon in May. Can you believe it? I decided I needed a challenge beyond soccer and we have 2 half marathons in Indianapolis during the month of May. One is centered around the Indy 500, but it is always sold out way in advance. So last year, another one was created and the course takes you around Geist Reservoir (a really nice lake area). I'm really excited! We'll see how it goes. The official training sessions start in January, but I've been exercising consistently (about 5 times a week), so the start of training shouldn't be too difficult.

Well, that's it for now. Off to watch some football and then head to church for Christmas program rehearsal.

Happy Halloween!

So, you know the biggest difference in costumes as children get older (especially girls)? I have now learned. Maryna's outfits used to consist of Disney characters, cute animals, etc and Garrett was always cute animals, clowns, etc. Now, Maryna looks for something cool and not girly and Garrett looks for something that requires the least amount of effort possible. So, what do you think they chose this year?? Not High School Musical 3 characters, not any adorable farm animals, not even a typical ghost or pumpkin. No, my son decided he wanted to be Homer Simpson because it required simply wearing a mask, white t-shirt and jeans. Maryna, my sweet girl, chose to be a DJ/rapper. Yes, I'm talking baggy clothes with boxer shorts hanging out of the pants, the large BLING (ring and necklace purchased by her father), baseball cap to the side, and the added bonus (which was free) - the I'm too cool to talk to anyone attitude. I must admit that I'm sad my kids are beyond looking "cute" for Halloween and want to just be cool. My how quickly they grow up. So, below are pictures of my 2 kids dressed in their Halloween garb.














Here is Homer Simpson






























And here is DJ Rapper