Hide and Seek.

Sometimes I hide in my own house. When I emerge from my silent abyss, I almost ALWAYS find a mess. And then I'm mad at myself for ignoring the obvious. Quiet. So then I crabbily pick up the mess, only to return to the place of hiding. Why don't I learn to stop this cycle?

P.S. I'm on the verge of emerging. Wish me luck!

Green Drink

This lady in my ward taught me this great recipe to get veggies in your diet. I do it at least 3 times a week. Kinda Good, Kinda Weird.

1 C Milk
1/2 C O.J.
2 LARGE handfuls of Spinach
1 Scoop of Ice

Puree. Drink with a straw.

Enjoy.

Balls and Homework

Grateful for Charlie's love of all balls. She's hilarious with the round object.

Grateful for Laila and her sweet desire. "I do homework, too!" (as she patters away with a pencil and a piece of paper)

Thanks and Giving

(Image from Bakerella)
No, I didn't win that darn dress, but it was oh so cute, don't you think?

Anyway, after chatting it up with my dad last week, he told me I needed to start a grateful journal - or at least a list on the fridge or something.(he must sense I'm a little selfish at times)

But, why not use my blog, I already have, that never use.

So today I give thanks for my Faith. Whenever I'm down, or feeling lost, or feeling yucky, sad, depressed, lonely, confused... etc. I search here, where I know I can always find an answer.

And the Giving part, today - I'll share what I found today. Enjoy.

Wanna help me win this cute dress?

Click this link: http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=481611262791&set=a.360123487791.188477.56291792791

Scroll down until you see my comment - comment number 62 - And LIKE my comment! I love ya for helpin!

Get Ready, Get Set

Seriously, I am so far behind on this blog, it's sad. And then to think, I will be doing another one! It's TRUE! I'm hoping to post six days a week, and it's all about my journey to running a marathon. Included will be the honest truth of icing feet, stepping on the scale, running hills, and fartleks... Not to mention, the fundraising I'm doing for RAINN. So go ahead, I know what you're thinking, I can't see her successfully do a blog about nothing, let alone something specific... It's true, I tend to start and not finish... But at least I got off the couch! :) Stay Tuned, it's coming soon, October 1st, to be exact. So Grab Your Shoes, Ipod, and Vasoline (I'll explain later) and let's do a run together!

Decluttering, life is good!

Fun Projects:

Armoire - TOTAL disaster - Cleaned, sorted, organized. Lovin it!

Book Shelf - Collection of junk thrown together - Emptied, Dusted, Style added!

Kitchen Shelf - Seriously overrun with appliances, books, and an easy place to put things out of reach - Tossed the junk, reorganized the shelf, looks great!

I love the feeling of tackling the HOT SPOTS in the house - It's almost like I'm nesting... is this like preparation for back to school? Either way, I'll take it!

One Step Closer.

I've been on a journey this year. I entered into a valley - a yucky lonely place. And slowly together with my rockin' husband holding my hand, have been climbing out. (sometimes I feel like I'm wearing a boot in this climb) But I found this article accidentally (yeah right) and really loved it.

And today, I got rid of some baggage. I was holding on to a few little things, reminders of this old me. I didn't want to fully let go. I just wanted to hang on to a little piece of the past. You know like 'just a little'... When I realized, that wasn't me, and I let it go. I tossed it happily in the trash, and did a fist pump in the air, with a HUGE smile on my face, and I could feel myself, climb one step higher.

You know, I'm not the only one having a hard time letting go of this 'one thing' you know you need to change about yourself. Why do we let it drag on? I don't have the answers, except to take it one step at a time. Hopefully, I can inspire you to toss some old part of you in the trash, that is holding you back from even greater blessings. Get going. Those blessings are waiting for you, from a loving Father in Heaven.

Looks like a good read.

Tids and Bits

I volunteered to be the PTO President at the kids school. Yes I did. I must have been under the influence. Ha! No, I'm really excited, it's going to be F.U.N.

I only have a week left in the boot.

Charlotte and Laila are hysterical together. Except for the times when they discover body butter, popcorn, or shampoo.

Hallie and Colson are a nightmare together. Fighting ALL the time! Please help.

Made some great new friends in the ward at church, so nice!

Josh and I are doing better than ever.

I'm reading the Book of Mormon again, but this time super quick with a specific topic in mind. It's changing my life. Seriously.

That's it for now!

Pictures to come soon!

Summer Vacation

Instead of going on vacation, we're here, at home. enjoying things like our play set, our gym membership, local events, and friends close by.

My summers usually consist of trips to the orchard, or zoo, or water park, or even a trek home to Indiana. But this year, we haven't done those things. We've spent time at home.

We've worked on our house: painted shudders, doors, the basement, replaced the damaged carpet, spread mulch (26 Cubic feet of mulch to be exact), painted an accent wall in the living room (RED of course), hung pictures, replaced hardware, finished the bathroom project.

We've also worked on our marriage. Talking, time together, dating, not to mention all the previous projects we've worked on together, and instead of watching TV at night, we've gone back to the beginning when we didn't have TV and read in bed at night. Our marriage has never been typical, and never on the top of our priority list, finances, kids, jobs, and moves took up a lot of our time. For the first time, we are making it a priority. Things have changed. We've changed. It's kind of crazy to see where we have come all of these years. We both were so unsure and yet attempted to navigate ourselves through this life of ours. It's been an incredible journey, of ups, downs, joys, sorrows, laughs and tears.

Sometimes I wonder why I write about the things I write about. Why do I sometimes share TOO much? I think because we are on this journey together. I don't have my life together, and I'm d*mn sure you don't either. So as I continue to "Find" joy in my journey, sometimes it gets a little ugly before it's pretty. It's not always rainbows and lollipops - that's for you Collette!

However, I know one thing for sure. Never would I amount to anything if I didn't know what I know. I know there is a purpose in this life. I know there is a Savior. I know that some things don't make sense, some trials seem too difficult to bear, that our hearts ache for peace. How do we ever make it through?

We have to TRUST the purpose. Have faith that His plan is better than our plan. We must forgive. We have to let go. We have to "give more than we get". (Michael Buble ;)) We have to serve, love, and press on.

Changing our hearts isn't easy. In fact, its down right impossible on your own. But I believe in miracles. I hope you do, too.

Happy Summer.

A new hobby.

Thanks to this:


I've been doing this:

My dad told me so.

Earlier in the day on the 4th, I called my dad to wish him a Happy Birthday. I enjoyed a fun chat, usually we celebrate back home in Indiana, but not this year.

I decide to throw my own party instead of the traditional trip home. I bought candles, fireworks, glow bracelets, bottled beverages, stuff for s'mores, and the list goes on.

Activities for the party included sidewalk chalk, croquet, a new playset, and a bonfire. I know it's hot, but really, I had a pile of crap I was tired of looking at, from the snow storms this year. Josh and I have seriously had no fewer than 5 bonfires. We do it regularly. NEVER, have we had a problem. EVER.

UNTIL we had twenty witnesses.

Back up to the phone conversation, I told my dad all about the party, including the bonfire. He says to me and I quote: "You need to have not one, BUT THREE, buckets of water, you know, just in case." "ok, dad". We only did ONE.

Imagine now, dry grass, huge fire... now to grown adults using buckets, coolers, lids, etc. to get this fire put out. Seriously, TOTAL mayhem. Thanks to some people with quick thinking we were able to put it out without any major damage.

But the lesson learned?

Dad ALWAYS knows best.

and P.S. Heath parties are always rockin'. Sorry you missed it.

Number Three Turns Three - Happy Birthday Laila!

Today's the day! She arrived in a hurry, I went to the hospital at 6pm she came at 9:30pm... My only entirely drug free birth, I guess I had a tylenol for a headache...

Her name came from Laila Ali - who was on Dancing with the Stars the season before she was born. I thought for sure she was a boy, my biggest surprise!

And Laila has definitely thrown us for a loop! She's the kid we have tried hard to figure out. We still have no idea what's going on with that girl. But she's so fun, and lovable, and beautiful. She has a way with showing love to EVERYONE. Sometimes I wish I could help her more, and wonder if I'm doing enough... but somehow we muddle through.

Laila, today is your day!

Happy Birthday!

An awakening.

Joy in my Journey today:

The Gospel of Jesus Christ
My Main Squeeze
My Posterity
A Body that can Move

WHERE IS MY DARN CAMERA CHARGER??

Pictures to come one day...

Our 3rd Home.

Finally, one we don't have to mortgage.

Good Things to Come

Good Things to Come

Running Now because I Couldn't Then.

As a few of you know, I am a Survivor.

And One in Six women are.

I once had a counselor that said Victims of Abuse often choose running as a way to heal. They choose it because it was something they wish they could have done, but couldn't. There are many reasons why I picked up the habit, but I'm sure this is one of them.

Anyway, I did some research and found a perfect organization, RAINN.

My Goal: $2620 - $100 dollars per mile.

Please Help by Going Here.

Also, I would like to dedicate each mile of my marathon, to a survivor. If you, or someone you know, were a victim, I'd love to run for you. Send me an email, let me know. The only person that will know is me. I want to think about that person during their mile.

* Update * 2 Miles Reserved *

Thanks a million times over for your help with this, please spread the word, any amount will help.

With Love,

Lucy

Hotel Booked

It's even more official... I booked the hotel for my Marine Corps Marathon.

I also did my two minute time trial in the rain at 6:00 a.m.

There was some debate, my time was 16:16 or 16:17 FOR TWO MILES.

Freaking Awesome.

Marathon Training Day 1

Three cheers for my "Running Coach". He's a volunteer, you could say... Not getting paid, I think I might be his 'experiment'. He really believes in me. Something that might just come in handy on mile 24. Just a hunch. But he's set a plan for me... a really thorough plan. So I plugged away at my 3 mile tempo run today, and I felt entirely out of shape?!? But it still felt great!

I'm sorry if you're not a fan of running. I think my blog has shifted to this focus, because hey, it's my focus these days! I will try to post pictures of my kiddos as soon as possible. It seems that's all anybody really wants to see!

Hopefully, I will pop in a little more frequently, but you never know, summer is just around the corner...