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::thank you for your list*, craig...
Bre has been taking piano lessons for about a year and a half. she's been practicing on a keyboard that we found at a garage sale, until now. yesterday we found this piano. it is old and has some scratches, but it sounds beautiful and will work well for us.

thankful for friends from church who helped us pick this up; no easy task!

this weekend i ran 6. i actually paid attention to my training schedule, and did what it said! i started running with a lady i met through bre's gymnastics. she is much faster than me and has run several ultra marathons (we're definitely not on the same level), but we're planning to run together on her slower days. i got up this morning and ran 4 miles with her at 6:30 a.m. we kept our pace at 9:20. it felt pretty good. i'm going to try to run a couple times a week in the morning, even though it is so hard to get out of bed!

i'm supposed to run 9 miles for my long run this weekend, 10 the following week, and the next week will be the 1/2!

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::my $2 garage sale find this week; made it worth getting up and going in the rain.

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::it's looking like fall in our backyard.

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::went to the zoo today with my friend jenny and her kids. meg fell in love with one of her boys. they held hands most of the day, and told us they were going to get married and live in a golden house.

to celebrate the first day of fall, i made this. if you haven't tried the recipe, you really should. it makes 3 loaves, so we're going to share some with neighbors, even though i think we could eat all 3 in one day.
i'm making this tonight. a new recipe. the house smells so good today. ahh, i love fall!

update

remember my friend sherri? i wrote about her here and here.
she has been training all spring and summer, and is running her first marathon in less than 4 weeks!! she has  lost 90lbs. and is doing great.
i am so proud of her! i'll be running the 1/2, and then sticking around to cheer her on to the finish for the full. what an amazing moment that will be in her life! not just because she will have finished a marathon, but because of what that represents in her life. she has overcome so many things. most of all, i love that all her running has been chasing after the Lord and seeking to live a life that glorifies Him.

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::her favorite thing to wear for school!

well, here it is wednesday and i've been able to run 2 days this week already. woo hoo! it has been so nice. yesterday i ran 6 miles, which is amazing for me to get time to run that long on a weeknight. tonight, i ran 4.5 with a friend. we both agreed that it's harder to bounce back now that we're 35!

i don't think i've mentioned it, but school is going really well! this time last year i was already feeling burnout.

this year the kids are complaining less, and they have been motivated to get things done so they have time for other things in the afternoon. they also seem more excited about learning in general. i know God has been teaching me too. i have more patience, and i've figured out some of the things that work and don't work for us. i still have a lot to learn, of course, but i really love the changes we've made. some of the changes have been simple little things. for example, i started giving each child a checklist of what needs to be done for the day (their chores and their school work is on the list). i have been amazed at how motivating it has been for them to get everything checked off for the day! hopefully that will continue...

we're looking forward to a trip to the apple orchard this week.

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weekends go so fast!
i got in a good 6 miles on saturday. i even conquered the big hill.
bryce got a touchdown and interception during his football game saturday morning!
saturday night we sat by our fire pit and made smores. it was such a good night.

it's going to be a challenge to get much running in this week. i'm hoping for 3-4 days this week.
i should probably think about running around 5:30 a.m. to get it done, but that's not likely. i wish i had a running
partner.

New Album!

My friend, Eric Schumacher, in collaboration with David Ward (and others) just released their latest album, Merciful to Me. It was co-produced by David Ward and Steve Cook (of Sovereign Grace Music). It contains the vocals of Devon Kauflin, Shannon Harris, Jake Armerding, Lucia Newell, and others, as well as a host of great instrumentalists from around the country. The 13 tracks are an eclectic mix of styles, including bluegrass, pop, classic jazz, driving rock, and orchestral arrangements.

I love that all of these songs are theologically rich and have gospel-saturated lyrics. I especially liked the song, Merciful to Me.

For more information about the project and song samples visit their website.

1/2

i did it! i registered for the 1/2 today, so i guess it's official.

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the wall is slowly taking shape.
not the best picture, but you get the idea.

it was a good long weekend.
friday i ran 5 miles.
saturday i ran 5 miles.
sunday i ran 6 miles.
monday i ran 5 miles.
today was my best run in awhile. i even had positive thoughts about running the 1/2 next month.
i still haven't registered. i still haven't really trained either. oops!
i have 2 more weeks to register before the price increases. hmmm...

saturday i slept in until almost 9! it made me thankful that i'm not training for a marathon this year; getting up for those early morning long runs.

some things we (myself included) are working on as we go about our school days:

getting the day started right - greeting each other with a smile in the morning

A cheerful heart is good medicine,

but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22

gentle answers to each other
building each other up
laughing together
encouraging each other
working hard and doing our best
remembering good manners
if someone is talking, remember to look them in the eye

this is going to be one of our key verses to memorize and put into practice this year:
Romans 12:10
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.