23:365

another reason to run...

22:365

i hear it all the time. people are always saying i remind them of her. i heard it just this morning at the grocery store. i don't really see it. we don't even have the same hair color?! but i love her, so i'll take it.

21:365

had to buy another box - we love these!

20:365

♥ my helper.

19:365

here we go again...

18:365

thank you God for the blue skies today.

17:365

randomness, here we go:

• i'm behind on posting pictures. this is harder than i thought it would be, but it's fun to share something about the everyday and it keeps me taking pictures.
• my new running shoes came yesterday. i ran 3 miles in them this morning, and loved them! saucony, of course.
• it made me realize how bad my other shoes really were.
  
• it's really easy to complain about the weather here, but i'm trying not to. i'm trying to focus on the many things to be thankful for each day.
• i went to a health food store (co-op) yesterday. i felt out of place. i'm trying to eat better, but some of the stuff there just looked gross.
• i think i was the only person there that didn't bring their own bag. shame on me.
• i had a 20 oz. pop today. shame on me.
  
• i'm pretty sure that cancels out my running for today. ugh.
• the cashier at the gas station was very friendly today. it made me think about how much our attitudes and words can impact others, even when we don't realize it.

16:365

so excited to be in cozumel for our anniversary next month!

ran 3 on the treadmill this morning and shoveled for over an hour. i'm thinking the shoveling definitely counts as a workout!

picture from here.

15:365

made these today. so good!

14:365

hands raised worshipping God at the concert last night. what a great night!!

13:365

after school treat.
so glad it's friday! it's going to be a great weekend - basketball game, girl's night tomorrow, church, and a concert on sunday.

*ran 4 miles again today. i'm considering running this on june 6th. my sister lives close by, so it would be so nice to get to see her too. i'd really like to sign up with team in training and run it for a great cause, but i did say i wasn't going to run a marathon this year. hmmm. i'll keep you posted.

12:365

i love her pictures!

11:365

blueberry muffins (made with whole wheat flour) for breakfast today. i had oatmeal. i soaked it last night, so it would be ready today. you can read more about why and how to do that here. i'm trying to eat better lately. i really started to notice once i got in my 30's that i just can't eat whatever i want anymore. i also noticed i have to work a lot harder to lose weight. it's been kind of a sad realization for me. so, i'm reading lots of books and trying to make some life style changes.

i had a great 4 mile run this morning and now i'm off to repaint someone's fingernails. ☺

10:365

a great start to a gloomy day - i talked to my sister sarah on the phone for about an hour this morning. it was so nice to just sit and catch up with each other. i miss her.

had a great run this morning. i am so glad to have my treadmill back! i can definitely tell i didn't do much for about 3 weeks, but eventually i'll get back to where i was. i'm planning on running a 1/2 in april and may, so i have plenty of time to get ready.

the trees have been so pretty here this week, it almost makes up for the lack of sun. almost.

9:365

a busy day ahead...run.dishes.laundry.school.clean car.piano lessons.gymnastics.make dinner.more dishes.

6:365

went sledding this weekend. she liked it way more than i expected.

5:365

they spent hours playing outside yesterday. temps in the 30's feels like a heat wave.

4:365

fresh flowers are a must-have in january! i usually buy them at the grocery store and then split them up, so i can have some in several rooms.
ps-hoping my treadmill belt arrives today. i need to run.

3:365

this was my christmas present. it has made organization so much easier, especially with all the hats and gloves we need right now. each kid has their own basket and we have extras on the top shelf for other things.

i had been loving this one for a long time, but not the price tag. i was so happy to find the look-a-like here.

2:365

i love sunsets! i could easily fill up these 365 pictures with nothing but sunsets.
yesterday after taking bre to gymnastics we saw this. as soon as we got home, i told the kids to stay in the car for just a minute while i grab my camera. then, we drove around the block so i could get a better view of it.

1:365

i decided to share 365 pictures this year. ideally, it would happen everyday, but that's not very realistic for me. i'm hoping this will keep me behind the lens - taking more pictures, making memories, and recording things i don't want to forget. as well as, capturing some of the more mundane everyday life things. i'm also hoping it will motivate me to learn more about my camera. i know it is capable of much more than i use it for.this is the snow pile at the end of our road. we've had more snow already this year than we usually have for an entire winter.

blah, blah, blah

the belt on my treadmill is looking pretty bad. thankfully, there is a replacement belt. we ordered it this weekend, and i am anxiously awaiting being able to run again. i'm hoping to surpass my 1,000 miles from 2009, but i'm not off to a very good start so far.

we're back to school here today after 2 1/2 weeks off. i expect some resistance.

i can't get this out of my head, some of the things she said have stuck with me. i am especially wanting to focus on serving with joy.

worth listening to

i should have been doing more laundry and unpacking today, but instead i spent some time listening to this, it was time well spent. go listen, it is worth listening to.

4,000 miles and home!

long time no talk, huh.
we're back from a great 2 week vacation. 4,000 miles later. we came home to an "arctic blast" and a blizzard. needless to say, we weren't too excited to be back to that. our driveway had about a foot of snow when we got home. thankfully, our neighbor came over with his snow blower. he did that on christmas day for us too. so awesome how God uses people to bless us!

ok, on to the trip:
monument valleywhite sands national monument in new mexico. this place was amazing! white sand everywhere. we slid down the huge hills on our bottoms, it was so much fun!
it looks like snow in this picture, but it's all white sand. so amazing!
carlsbad caverns in new mexico

the grand canyon - such an amazing place, pictures don't do it justice.

arches national park in utah - my first time there. i loved it. we're definitely going back to do some more hiking when the weather is warmer. i could spend days there!

hiking in arizona on new year's day - 70 degrees! we loved it!! the kids said, "Happy New Year" to everyone we passed. it made me smile.

ended the day with this sunset. ♥
another picture at white sands national monument. me with my greatest gifts. thank you, God.
"Watch out for falling rocks" - when we were driving through the mountains near flagstaff, a rock hit our windshield. it was really scary. thankfully, it hit my side and we were able to keep going. thankfully, it wasn't a bigger rock. God protected us in so many ways on our trip.


in arizona, i also got to meet up with my blogger friend stacey. she is just as amazing as i expected. it was so much fun to spend time with her and her daughter! our girls hit it off right away too.

it took us several days to get home. we drove through a blizzard and my legs were shaking for much of the ride home. it was awful. here is what it looked like when it was clear enough that my camera could focus and take a picture. it was much worse for most of the way home. we ended up stopping one night and getting a hotel because visibility was so bad. we're thankful to be home and thankful to have had such a great time together as a family. btw, i didn't run once. i really wanted to, but we were always so busy. hoping to get back to normal this week after not much exercise and not the greatest eating.