Falling for Charlottesville





"I'm glad in God, far happier than you would ever guess—happy that you're again showing such strong concern for me. Not that you ever quit praying and thinking about me. You just had no chance to show it. Actually, I don't have a sense of needing anything personally. I've learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I'm just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I've found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am. I don't mean that your help didn't mean a lot to me—it did. It was a beautiful thing that you came alongside me in my troubles." Philipians 4:10-14 (The Message)

Don't you love this translation of the "Whatsoever State" passage?  I latched on to this scripture very early in my Christian walk.  It has been a hallmark of my faith to be content with every circumstance.  The Lord gave that gift to me quickly, and I am so thankful.  I can find joy in such little things with the reminder of this passage.

This past week, we took advantage of the school break, and took the kids up to Charlottesville to see the leaves, and to see Montpelier (home of James and Dolley Madison).  The weather was gorgeous, the leaves and mountains stunning, and the house was beautiful.  TJ got to practice some country driving, and I got to play around with my camera some more.  What an amazing backdrop!

Even in such a beautiful scene, I was reminded to take life a little more slow.  To pay attention to the details.  Like stopping when the kids found interesting leaves, to look at the scenery they found interesting, play a round of volleyball with my girl.  I tend to get so busy "taking care" of everything that I don't get to enjoy "everything".  We rented a small cabin at a KOA campground, and had a ball cooking outside, and playing card games with the kids, and even Jay and I snuggling Zach (who had a hard time sleeping)- all three of us in a double bed!

I love that our God displays Himself in such obvious ways! Look around you, He is in creation. Such magnificence!





The End of Summer Rush

Whew! It has been almost two months since I posted! That is CRAZY!

The end of summer felt like a mad dash to the end. We literally had one event after another all the way up until school starting.

The beginning of August was spent with my cousins and aunt and uncle visiting. We were happy to host Jill and Sean and their sweet little girls- for selfish reasons. :) I got to spend more time with them. We did all sorts of touristy things during the day, and got creative at night. Jill really got into making things, and loved it so much she went back to Missouri and broke out her sewing machine.

The following week, TJ, Cory and I left for Kansas. My cousin John got married, and my sister, brother and parents all flew out. It was so great to see all my family, and we had a great time. I even got to spend a day thrifting. I dragged my parents and Cory all over Wichita and covered a googled list of thrift stores. But believe it or not, the biggest score was in the bustling metropolis of Newton, KS (population 18,437).

The end of the month was spent in Chicago for a Geico conference. Jay was the emcee, which had him stressed out to no end, but he did great! We explored the city, and had a blast! Our hotel was the Intercontinental on Michigan Ave. Right in the heart of the Magnificent Mile. The building is an historic building, and there are so many things to do right within blocks. I got my Anthropologie fix (twice), and lots of other shopping, and we had delicious food and tours. The highlight of the trip was getting to spend a few days with our friends Jason and Kelly. They were our closest friends, while we lived in Iowa. It was so great to re-connect and have a few laughs. They are an awesome couple and so much fun to be with. Plus, I had a running buddie for the 11 mile training run I needed to do. She kept up like a champ! Running along Lake Michigan was a real treat for me. It was gorgeous!

Last, but certainly NOT least.... I ran the Rock N Roll Half Marathon on September 5th. This was an amazing accomplishment for me. I went from very little exercise to preparing for a 13 mile run from January to September. I know that I am not the first person to run a half marathon, but to think of how difficult it was to even complete 3 miles at the start to being able to finish 13.1 at a strong time! I am just overwhelmed. The reality is still catching up to me. I walked by my gear check bag the other day, and thought to myself, "I can't believe I did it!" I am amazed at the ability of a strong body the Lord has given me. The running has definetly had a big impact on my walk with Christ. And the most exciting part of the race was that I got to run with my best friend since third grade. She and I have been through so much together. It means so much to me that she is a part of my life. I tell her all the time, "You and I, we have a history." I love the woman that she is, and I am so proud of her accomplishments. Love you, Heather!

The race was on a gorgeous cool morning, so the weather was perfect. We started strong and steady, and having Heather with me pushed my pace. I had the awesome pleasure of having family along the route. Sarah, Jessica and Rachel- all three of my sis in law's were at two points, and I was able to see them clearly yelling and holding up posters. And I saw my sister Valerie just about a mile after the start. Then Rick, Rhonda, Madison and my other daughter, Rachel were at about the 11 mile point (when I was getting tired). And my boys and Jay were at the 13 mile point yelling for Mama. I finished well under my expected time at 2 hours, 7 minutes.

More to come.....

 

My baby started Kindergarten!

Sewing, sewing, sewing

I feel like I have spent every minute of the last 6 days sewing. That is a really good thing, I just need to figure out how to balance my time. The funny thing is, I told myself each day, "At 1:30, I am going to go outside and lay on my float in the pool. And just float." And every afternoon, the storm clouds rolled in. Like clockwork. It was almost comical.

So while things are moving along on the running a small business front, I also have to move things along in my discipline. I hate that word. I like words like, "spontaneous" and "thrifting" and "reading". Those now have to be scheduled.

I have neglected my study of the Scripture lately, and am so disappointed with myself. I had this awesome plan to study the life of Paul during the summer months. I have given myself over to the plan that I will now wait until school starts, and I have a few quiet hours during the mornings. So, in the meantime I went back to my hip-high stack of books (waiting to be read) beside my bed. I have started reading John Pipers Passion of the Christ. Boy, talk about deep. How easily I forget the Saviour's love for me in my ramblings and musings. How easily I forget that the Almighty God of the Universe created me and loves me. I tend to put such earthy and human qualities on Him. I thank God for His unfailing and unchanging nature.

I am very much looking forward to riding with Jay to visit a couple of offices this week. It will give me some much-needed time with him and the two little kids, and I have a bag ready of things to work on in the car. I get to thrift, and hit a fabric warehouse and my fave store. Anthropologie just put out a bunch of fall arrivals, and I can't wait to see them in person.

Have a great Saturday everyone! We are completing our chore list today so that we have everything done before our big ole family week next week. I can't wait to see my cousins and aunt and uncle.

Here are a few of the new bags I made this week: Jay keeps trying to get me to sell the Market Bag.