What are you thankful for?

Sometimes when life gets so hectic, things aren't going our way, or you think it just can't get any worse, we have a hard time remembering we still have things to be thankful for.  I have really had a hard time finding things to be thankful for because I just don't feel like life for me is very fair right now.  I understand that life will never be fair, but there are days when it just doesn't seem like anything good will ever happen to us.  So rather than listing all of the things that are just not fair, we lost a baby, both of us are working 2 and 3 jobs not for extra money but just to keep a roof over our heads, Matt can't get even get an interview for a full time job etc., I want to try to focus on the things that I can be thankful for.  By changing the way I look at life and think about things in my life, my hope is that it will become easier to find the good in everything again.

1) I am thankful for my job.  I love what I do.  I love the youth and their families.  I love watch them grow in their faith and asking questions. 
2) I am thankful that Matt has a job.  The fact that we live in the highest unemployment city in the state, it is a miracle that he has a job
3) I am thankful that our cars are still running.
4) I am thankful for Blossom because she has helped us get through some really hard times
5) I'm thankful for living so close to the water because it reminds me of how amazing God is.
6) I'm thankful for living in Florida because cold weather is just not for me.  I might complain about how hot it gets but I will take that over being freezing any day.

Disney Race

So I finally got around to getting my pictures on the computer.  Please enjoy our race weekend photos.

This is me ready for my race.

All of the family getting ready for our 5k run together. L-R: mother-in-law, me, sister-in-law, brother-in-law

The disney magic start

Here I come

Matt's race was on the anniversary of our miscarriage so he wore the date on his arm

The after picture from the 1/s marathon L-R: Matt, brother-in-law, sister-in-law and father-in-law

Father and son after the race...we did together in colorful fashion

Riddle Wednesday

Every Wednesday on Facebook I post a riddle for my youth group to figure out.  They aren't allowed to post the answer on facebook so they have to tell me in person when they get to church that night.  Everyone loves a good riddle so I thought I would post the riddle on here as well.  I'll post the answer after youth group each week.

"What ends everything?"


Answer: The letter "g"

Favorite Things Tuesday

Body Glide
I love this stuff and think it is one of the best inventions ever.  I use it on the bottom of my feet and heals to help prevent blisters when I'm running.  I also use it when I wear dress shoes and it works like a charm every time.  I give it two thumbs up :-)

Youth Ministry Extravaganza

Tomorrow morning I am headed to Kansas City, MO with tons of youth directors in our synod.  This is a fantastic event for youth directors to gather and refresh, get some training, network and just enjoy the company of other youth directors.  I haven't been to one of these in a few years so I am very excited.
What I'm most excited about is I get to see snow for the first time in over 5 years.  I am nervous about landing in the snow but I'm hopeful the person sitting next to me won't mind holding my hand :-)
I will post lots of pictures and stories when I get back on Monday.

Favorite Things Tuesday

A few of my friends do a "famorite things" post on their blog once a week so I thought I would jump on that band wagon...here is my first favorite things post.

Bamboo Sheets
I love our bamboo sheets we got for a wedding present.  They are so soft and keep you cool when you want to be cool and warm when you want to be warm.  I would love to have another set of them but they are soooo expensive.  I'm hoping that since January is known for white sales I'll be able to find a good deal.  Please let me know if you see any good deals on bamboo sheets :-)

The next race

Matt and I have really gotten into races.  Matt's ultimate goal is to run in an ultra marathon, but for now is sticking with 10K and 1/2 marathon races.  I have gotten into running because of Matt's job and his interest in running.  Although I am still stuggling with finding "the zone" and the joy of running, I do like the benefit of weight loss that has come from it.
Our next race is Feburary 12 and it is called the Suncoast Classic and it benefits the Ronald McDonald House.  I'll be doing the 5K and Matt will be doing the 10K.  I still run slow so I'm guessing Matt and I will finish our races at the same time.
To train for the Disney 5K I did a variation of the couch to 5K training.  I found several different versions of this training online so I basically made my training schedule.  I really want to keep improving my 5K time so I have created my new training for this next race. 

Jan 17: 1 min run/90 sec walk for 30 mins
Jan 19: 1 mile test run (to see how fast I can run 1 mile)
Jan 20: 90 sec R 90 sec W 3 min R 3 min W x2
Jan 25: 3min R, 90sec W, 5 min R, 2min W, 3min R, 90sec W, 5min R
Jan 27: 5K run outside
Jan 29: 90sec R, 90sec W, 3min R, 3min W x3
Jan 31: 3min R, 90sec W, 5 min R, 2min W, 3min R, 90sec W, 5min R
Feb 2: 1 mile test run
Feb 4: 3min R, 90sec W, 5 min R, 2min W, 3min R, 90sec W, 5min R
Feb 7: 5min R, 3min W, 5min R, 3min W, 5min R

Sarasota

One of the goals Matt and I set for 2011 was to learn to love Sarasota.  Neither of us were thrilled to move here because we both loved Tampa so much.  It has taken some getting used to as the speed of life is much slower down here.  As Matt puts it...most people come to retire and die here not start families.
Two nights this week we have taken Blossom to walk on the Ringling bridge.  The view of Downtown from the bridge at night is beautiful and anytime you can see sail boats on the water is also beautiful.  I have attached some pictures from our walk.

PS I'm still working at getting our race pictures off of my camera...they are coming I promise :-)

Happy Birthday Grandpa

Today is Grandpa's birthday.  Grandpa passed away November 2009 and I miss him every day.  So Happy Birthday Grandpa we miss you and love you

The pain of Miscarriage

I can't  believe it has been a year.  This past year has been a year of depression, heartache, and anger.  There are times when I feel like I am the only one that remembers our baby.  It isn't that I want everyone to stop their lives to mourn with me, but at times I want to know that certain people in my life haven't forgotten our angel baby.

I will be spending the day waiting for my husband, father-in-law, sister-in-law and brother-in-law to cross the finish line at the Disney half Marathon. 

Today I am in a much better place than I was even a few weeks ago.  I think it has taken me so long to find peace with what happened because I never allowed myself the chance to grieve.  I just wanted to be ok and strong for everyone else, that I convinced myself I was ok and didn't need to grieve.  My advice to those of you that are new to this club no one wants to be a part of, or are like me ant still grieving, don't be afraid to be sad.  Don't be afraid to talk about how you are feeling because chances are someone will listen, and someone will give you a hug and someone will be there for you.

Am I still sad...of course. Do i think about what my life would be like with a 4 1/2 month old...yes.  Am I still searching for the answer to "why did this happen to me"...absolutely.  Am I doing the best I can to heal and move on...every day. 

I did it!

My first Disney race was a success. We got up at 3:00am to catch a bus at 4:00. Once down in the lobby we were starting to get concerned that we were the only ones waiting for the buses. After checking with the front desk found out conflicting news on whether or not buse were actually running to our hotel. We just decided to get the car and drive ourselves. It was in the mid 40's so it was very chilly. After standing around...or dancing as I was doing to keep warm it was now time to get into the chute. The people watching was fantastic at this event due to the costumes and interesting people. Santa was running the race (picture to follow). For the first 1/2 mile it was hard to even run because there we so many people. Once it started to thin out it was easier to find your "happy pace". I loved running through all of the countries and getting to watch the sun rise. As I hit mile 3 I came around the corner and saw Matt and his dad in the stands. After crossing the finish line they gave you the medal, water,snacks and then you hit the traffic jam. If you didn't want your picture taken you got stuck in this big crowd that was not my idea of fun after running for 3 miles. I was finally able to break free and find the rest of my family.

All in all it was fun. I finished 30 seconds slower than my last race because of the crowd so I'm sure I would have beat my personal best. Tomorrow is the 1/2 that Matt is running in and we have to be up by 1:30am. I have lots of pictures to share when I get home.

What if....

My husband has wonderful parents with a lot of love to give.  After both of their biological children were grown they decided to become foster parents.  After having a child in their home for a long time and were moving toward adoption the birth mother came back into the picture and ended up taking the child back.  This was extremely heartbreaking for all of them.  Some time later that received news of two children that needed home.  5 years ago this brother and sister were adopted into their family and if I could speak for my husband he would say that they are probably more of a blessing to him and his family than his family is to them.

So I want to talk about 11 year old Rob.  Rob has a very creative mind and has lots to share and ask.  He loves to learn and read and then share with us what he has learned.  We like to call a lot of what Rob says, "Robisms" because sometimes you just can't help but laugh.  I spent the last week with Rob and if I had to sum up my time with him it would be, "What if...?"  Rob has a lot of "what if" questions.  What if there was a tornado, what if we had special powers, what if we were fish, what if... 

This made me think about being a child again, a child that is pure at heart and in awe of the wonderment of the world.  It then brought me to a song I loved when I was in high school by Jars of Clay called "Faith like a Child." 

What if we as adults could go back to the place where our faith in God was not clowded but what the world tells us and faith could be as pure as a child's?  What if we could play and be a child again?  What if the faith of a child in our lives, revealed to us that our own faith needs work?  What if......

Disney Race Weekend

Thursday-Sunday my husband, his family and I will be heading to Disney to take part in the 2011 Disney race weekend.  My mother-in-law, youngest sister-in-law, youngest brother-in-law and I will be running in the 5k on Friday.  My husband, father-in-law, sister-in-law and her husband will be running in the 1/2 marathon on Saturday.  We are all very excited about the run and can't wait to post pictures after.

This race benefits the leukemia/lymphoma society so I will be running for Joey.  Joey is a little boy at my church with leukemia.  He is 9 years old and lights up a room with his smile.  I will be wearing a shirt in honor of Joey at the race.

Blog Hop

A blog hop is a fun opportunity to share our blogs with other bloggers.  Just simply enter your blog information below where it says "click here to enter."   Your blog will then be listed and the goal is to follow everyone on the blog hop and have them follow you back.  Happy Blog Hopping :-)

Hapy New Year

It has been a busy holiday season for us.  Matt and I went home to Orlando Christmas Eve to attend service with both of our families.  On Christmas Day we started what we hope is a new tradition to go putt-putt at Disney.  The weather was beautiful and we had a great time.  Matt's family came back to Sarasota with us and spent the week here.

On 1-1-11 we headed down to Sanibel Island to eat at the Bubble Room.  If you ever have the change to eat their I recommend going hungry as the servings are huge.  It is also a requirement that you save room for dessert.  They are famous for huge desserts and more specifically their red velvet cake.  I have to say I was actually a little let down by the red velvet as I have had better.  Our favorite was the orange crunch cake and I'm pretty sure Matt and I will be dreaming about this cake for years to come.

                                                    Pretty view of the beach

                                                      The dessert case at the bubble room

With the new year in full swing, a lot of people set resolutions for things they hope to stick with throughout the year.  In lieu of resolutions, Matt and I have made a list of hopes and dreams we wish to happen for us in 2011.  Here is what we came up with...

1) Get Pregnant and carry the Baby full term
2) For Matt to find a full time job with benefits and enough money for us to pay our bills and have a little left over
3) To continue running and improve our personal bests
4) Spend more time together.  Both of us are now working 2 jobs and our time together is precious
5) Learn to love where we live and explore Sarasota more