Days 26 & 27 and lessons learned this weekend.

Happy Monday everyone! AA and I had an eventful weekend this weekend and had some hard lessons to learn and some great lessons learned as well! Here is a short list:

1. Don't get attached to something that isn't yours
2. When you ask God for something He can say no (hence numero uno)
3. You can't argue with God
4. Running on a treadmill next to your hubby isn't quite like running next to him outside.
5. My lungs are 99.9% healed!
6. AA is my teammate for life. Through the good and the bad.
7. The Cougs are amazing. :)

AA and I decided to flip flop are runs this week. So we did a 10k race on the treadmill at the gym (did you go outside this weekend....brrrr! Too cold for me, especially knowing we are going to run in TX at the end of the month!). This was the first run I actually felt 100% back to normal. I played a game in my head. Every three songs on my ipod I would change the speed. It actually worked! 6 miles flew by! Done in 56:30. I had been praying that this was a good run and that God would give me power and He did. Thank you Jesus. Finally under a 10min mile. For a while there I never thought I would get there again. Still kind of slow, but better and better each day!

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Day 26. What do you hope your grandchildren will say about you someday when you are gone?

Wow what a question huh? Here is a short list:
1. Devoted follower of Jesus
2. Faithful to her family
3. Always enjoyed and got excited over the little things
4. Respectful
5. Funny
6. A great mom and grandma
7. "You could see the love she had for AA"

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Day 27. Write a blog to encourage someone and build their confidence!

Dearest Megaruuu,

I love you to pieces. I hope that you know this. You are going through more then I can imagine right now and I wanted to let you know that you are an amazing mom and wife. But more importantly, you are one of the most faithful women to the Lord I know. No matter what stands in your way you are not afraid to cry out to God and then faithfully walk on the path He has designed for you, even if that path is scary and non attractive. SJ has an amazing role model in you.

I am here for you, I love you and I am praying for you.

You mean the world to me. I am not quite sure where I would be without you.
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Don't forget to enter my giveaway here! (scroll down to the bottom).

Day 25: post a pic of your favorite comfy outfit. Plus 100th post!!!

Hi! First, you are going to want to read to the end of this post...just sayin'.

Second, running update! My lungs are feeling better and better by the day so now I just have to make sure my legs and the rest of my body are in working order. We will run 8 miles tomorrow...again praying for warmer weather.

Third, today's question. Post a picture of your favorite comfy outfit.

If you know me....you know sweats and I are best friends, loves of each other lives and all around soul mates. I wear the following outfit all the time. And to Stacy and Clinton's horror I even wear this out of the house! Safeway has seen me in this outfit A LOT! Starbs....even more! So here we go:

Black sweats, target tank and AOPi/AGR Homecoming sweatshirt

My favorite slippers. AA got them for me at Dismores (a grocery store in Pullman) and I just can't part with them. Stop judgin'. :)

On Top?

Oh hello sexy. Top knot (AKA ponytail) and pearl earrings (trying to keep it classy!)

So now that I am completely embarrassed myself, let's celebrate this 100th post! WAHOOOO! And because I love all of you I want to have my first giveaway to celebrate! If you win...I will send you one of my favorite things!

How to win?

1. Become a follower of this blog (if you aren't already)

2. Leave a comment on what you are grateful for. Meg is doing a great series on gratefulness that we can all use! Thanks for the inspiration Megaruu!

Winners will be announced Friday, March 4 by 2pm!

Opps missed a day!

I not only missed a day of blogging but also in running. I was feeling so tired and lethargic yesterday. I just couldn't get the energy in any part of me to go run 4.5. So I will do it today and then we have our 8 miler tomorrow. I asked when we should run it. His response "never." Hmmmm...not good. We will more then likely be at it tomorrow morning. I am praying for a miracle that it warms up a bit.

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Day 23: What are your strengths and weaknesses?

Oh how I hate this question! HATE IT! But here we go:

Strengths:
1. Compassionate (most of the time)
2. See the glass half full
3. Good listener
4. People person
5. Ambitious

Weaknesses:
1. Not one creative bone in my body...NOT ONE!
2. I judge too quickly
3. I am a COMPLETE control freak (REALLY trying to work on this one)
4. Too emotional
5. People pleaser
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Day 24: What is Jesus teaching you presently?

Two BIG things!

1. To be patient. Remember up above, the control freak part? Jesus is teaching me to slow down, trust His plan and just be patient. If it is waiting for the "right" house, waiting to be healthy again or simply waiting for an email, I am almost being forced to learn this lesson. It has been a huge lesson in my life right now and I am so thankful that I am learning it!

2. How to study His word again. I have always relied on Bible studies in the form for books. But I have been using the same author now for a long time and felt like God was calling me to something else. So now I am using the "what/so what/now what" technique to study the word. I had never heard of this technique and was almost a little embarrassed when someone brought it to my attention. What is so great about it...you only need your Bible, a pen and piece of paper! I have learned so much in the last couple times I have done it. It really dissects the Word and helps me see how to apply it to my own life. Here is how it works:

What: Read the passage (usually only 5-7 verses...but as long as you want!). Then write down what it is actually saying. Don't use any knowledge that you have from any other part of the Bible. Just write down, verse by verse what it is saying.

So what: Now...start dissecting. Study those verses, look up what words mean. Look up where similar stories are in the Bible. You know that line down the middle of the page with different verses? USE THEM! :) Maybe use a different translation, such as the message, to dissect it further. Doing all of this step, is usually when your light bulb moment will go off. You might have one or a lot! But it is so fun praying before I start "Jesus teach me something" and He is always so faithful.

Now what: Take what you learned and apply it to your life. Pray to work through all of these things. Change your everyday life to reflect what you are learning.

I would love to hear what you are learning!

Day 22. What are some needs that need to be met in your community?

Snow? Come on snow! Everywhere I look and listen it is snowing...except in freak-frackin' West Seattle! COME ON SNOW!!!!

Running update! Yesterday I ran 4.5 miles and felt great. Today it was either 3 miles or cross train. I really wasn't looking forward to 3 miles so I decided to do speed work....8 x 400. Ugh...this was going to be hard. But it was well worth it. I haven't felt like I have ran fast for almost a month and a half, so this was nice. I was extra sweaty at the end...I love to sweat. Let me clarify...I like to sweat when I am supposed to...NOT when I am on a date with my hunka-hunka burning love hubby, or in a meeting or any other time other then when I have gym clothes on.

One more thing....does anyone REALLY like the New Lady Gaga song? Okay she is weird...with a capital W, I do realize this. But her new song makes me want to do the running man the whole song. Have you seen a 6' tall woman do the running man? It's a sight.
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Okay enough jibber jabber! On to the question!

What are some needs that need to be met in your community?

Hmmm....interesting question. I work at a nonprofit, I see needs that need to be met everyday. It makes me sad, it makes me happy when people overcome challenges and it makes me mad when someone doesn't have a champion to lean on.

But without a question the one need that needs to be met in people's hearts is the empty hole that can be filled by no one but Jesus. And what is so sad, is that that hole is constantly trying to be filled by jobs, men, beauty, friends, ect, ect ect. The list goes on a mile long. And the only thing that will always fit perfectly in that hole is having a relationship with God. Knowing in my heart that I suck and that Jesus came to this earth to die for my suckiness so that I could have a relationship with God and spend forever in Heaven with Him, has been the only thing that will fill my heart then, now and forever.

There are a lot of needs that need to be met, here and all around the world. But none of those needs have eternal implications.

What do you think?

Day 21. Write a letter to your husband to encourage him

Well I just looked at the forecast and it looks lie the sun we have all loved so much will be disappearing but it looks like Saturday, the day of AA and I's 8 miler will be sunny!! YAY! Running in the sun is so much better then the clouds!

My amazing Aunt Laura sent me a funny email this morning asking if I was as crazy as her to sign up for this. You see, it is a CRAZY race but what is even more crazy is that it is the same day as the See Jane Run Half Marathon that all of the aunts and friends have signed up for. But she explained we can start with an afternoon time so we can fit in both races! And you know what I said to her "have you met me? I am the craziest person you know! SIGN ME UP!" That's right folks, after running 13.1 glorious miles with family, my best friend from 3rd grade and other friends I will be jumping over fire, running through mud and swimming through dirty water! And at the end you know what I am going to look like... SEXY! Dead tired....but one mud drenched, muscle aching, warrior horn wearing sexy woman! And you know what? I CAN'T WAIT! _____________________________________________
On to today's question!

AA,

To say I would be lost without you would be an understatement. You have filled my life with such joy, humor, love and devotion, and there are simply not enough thank yous. You are my rock, my Jamaican Sprinter, the love of my life and I cannot wait to see where God takes our life. And the best part is that you will be right by my side. This weekend I kept thinking how much of a team life requires us to be. And I wouldn't want any other teammate but you. It is hard for me to remember what my life looked like before you. And at the times I do remember there is a great pain in my heart. My life radically changed when I met you. I learned how to love and how to trust God again.

Thank you for loving me when I don't deserve it and showing me what God's love truly looks like. You have pushed me to be a better person, a more God fearing woman and for that I will be eternally grateful!

I love you AA, my hunka-hunka-burning love man.

Day 20. Write about your job and why you love it or hate it.

Today was a fabulous day! We slept in, kind of, went a drive, our new favorite thing to do when we have nothing to do, enjoyed a yummy breakfast and then deep cleaned our apartment. It is so nice that my amazing man offers to help clean. It makes it a little but more bearable!

I was cleaning the kitchen, like REALLY cleaning the kitchen, and I started to think about big kitchens. First let me explain. Have you seen my kitchen? I will bet you $1000 that your closet is bigger then my whole kitchen. AA and I cannot be in there at the same time. When I put away dishes my feet never have to move. So when I am in the "deep clean" mode I am always a little thankful that I have a small kitchen. It would take me all day if I had a big kitchen. There are pluses for sure of having a big kitchen. But today I will be thankful for my tiny kitchen.
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Okay on to today's question!

I work for The First Tee of Greater Seattle. TFTGS is a non profit organization that teaches underprivileged kids life skills through the game of golf. We serve almost 1,100 kids on four different courses every year and more then 40,000 kids in almost 100 elementary schools!

I am the Program/Volunteer Coordinator. I am the lead for all volunteers, our National School Program, help run four different fundraising events every year, and coach. And that is only the top of the list! There are only four of us on full time staff so we all where a LOT of different hats. It always keeps us on our toes!

The things I love about my job:

1. The people I get to work with
2. The job we are doing in the greater Seattle area
3. How amazing my boss is
4. Flexible vacation
5. Can work from home
6. The little ones I coach
7. The connections I have made
8. I love planning events so fundraising events is right up my ally!
9. And much more!

What do you do??

Day 19. Write about your favorite comfort food (we are women- we ALL have comfort food!)

Today AA and I set out to run 7 miles. We both wanted flat and non windy. Well we got one of those. We went to Greenlake to run 2.5 laps of flat flatness. It was windy but sunny so we couldn't complain too much. We saw friends and co-workers and probably spent way too much energy dodging people and little ones. And when you are over 6' tall like AA and I are, little ones....aka kids....get lost in our vision. So to say we almost trampled a hand full of them would be an understatement. But we finished and are on our way to 13.1. Oh and PS...I didn't have to stop....WOOT WOOT!
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Okay on to today's question....comfort food. And since I have been doing such a good job of writing letters I am going to write a letter to my comfort food. I hope you enjoy!

Dearest Ben & Jerry's Smores Ice Cream,

I love you. I mean I REALLY love you. If I could eat a carton of you every night I would. You are the yummiest, most assessable ice cream I have ever tasted. I love you Ben & Jerry's Smores ice cream, but my butt does not. No, she just doesn't like the jiggle or girth that you add. I know....how dare her! And come to think of it my love handles aren't too fond of you either. They want to disappear but you are right there to make sure they don't. It just shows the love you have for them. And you know what I say Ben and Jerry's Smores Ice Cream....SCREW 'EM! Let my butt jiggle and let my love handle stand out, because you make me oh so happy. Thanks for looking out for my sanity instead of parts of my body. Where would I be without you? I am now going to induce myself with a ice cream comma.

Over and Out,

Your stalker.

Day 18. Describe your personality.

SUN!!! People...sun again! THANK YOU JESUS!

No running today, too busy running around with my fabulous husband. A little break here to read Cooking Light and write on here.

Describe my personality. Uhmmmm no? I really don't like doing these things. I am scared what you will think, when I am not sure what I think. I am only 25 and fully aware that I have a lot to learn from God in my future years about who I am. But here is what I do know about my personality:

-I am fun when I choose to be
-I am grateful even though I don't always show it
-I am WAY TOO emotional
-I am confident, but can have that all shattered in a matter of minutes, only to feel better then next.
-I don't like change
-There are times when I am flighty
-Full of faith
-I am loud
-Guarded and selfish
-Lazy yet ambitious

So as you can see I don't even know who I am. That's okay I have learned more about my personality today then I knew yesterday, and I am guessing that trend will continue as long as God intends it to.

Day 17. Write about 3 things that make you happy.

Sun again! How blessed are we???

Quick health update....had my INR levels checked again today. They are up which is good! I go back again next Friday for another check. JESUS THANK YOU!

Quick running update....ran 4.5 miles yesterday and felt good. Almost normal. I had to stop a couple times but other then that I was running like I used to. Then when I was back home I took the stair 4 flights up, like I usually do, to our apartment. And for the first time in a month my legs ached before my lungs did and I didn't feel like I wanted to pass out at the top of the stairs! Praise JESUS!
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On to today's question....3 things that made me happy...

1. Jesus...plain and simple. Nothing brings more joy to my life then Him. I am, overcome with emotion that He would want to have a relationship with me. I simply can't thank Him enough for guiding me, loving me and ultimately dying for me. It pains me when I think about what my life without Him would look like.

2. Friends and family. I LOVE people. I mean I L.O.V.E people! I have the most amazing friends and family who I simply just do not see enough. I come alive when I am around them!

3. And because today is sunny for the second day in a row I will say putting on my sunglasses made me pretty gosh darn happy!

What makes you happy??

Day 16. Write a letter to your future daughter. Tell her what beauty means.

Hello sunshine! Look outside....quick! Hurry...look! SUN!!!! Its freak-frackin' freezing cold out, but yes people there is sun! Thank you Jesus for the sun. Can we please have more of it?

I am reading this amazing book for our small group. The chapter we read last was about prayer. As I read I was more and more aware of how I kind of suck at praying. I pray, trust me I do. But after reading this chapter it reminded me that I need to pray with pure motives, believing that it will actually be answered, be ready to thank Him for answered prayers and to do it continually. Like all the time. If you are mad, tell Him, He can handle it! If you are happy, He wants to share that with you. Sad, ditto. Hurting, even more. If you enjoy the sun, don't forget to thank Him for putting it there. I sometimes get caught in only requesting and praising and don't do enough just plain ole' conversation. I am committing to do more of that these days, confident that the Lord will reveal Himself more and more to me.

Running update! I tried to run yesterday and just didn't feel right. It was a run/crosstrain day so I decided to stop running and just walk hills in the treadmill. I will run again today hoping it goes better. Usually I would get upset or mad at myself but this time, not so much. I am so blessed to be able to run, so if it doesn't go well one day that's okay. What a concept!
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On to today's topic! Another letter...I really like letters! So here we go!

To my dearest future daughter,

I don't know you yet, I don't know who I will be when I meet you. I am not sure God's plan on when we get to meet. But let me tell you one thing, the day we get to meet will be the happiest day of my life. Sometimes I imagine you, and your sweet smile and gentle giggles. I also imagine you and I up at 3am and sick days home from work. But no matter what our days will look like I want you to know what true beauty is. True beauty is not the size on your jeans, it is not how straight your teeth are or the perfect color of your hair. True beauty is not what you see on a magazine cover or the latest trend. Nope, it just simply is not. And if the world continues like it is today, baby girl you will be in a fight against what the world thinks is beautiful. Beauty is what God designed. Beauty is following the Lord in whatever He has for your life. And oh I cannot wait to see the beauty that unfolds in that. Baby girl, you are beautiful because you are of the Lord's.

I don't even know you, not sure when I get to meet you, but I love you more then you will know.

Love,

Momma

Day 15. Write to encourage a friend. Inspire her beauty.

Running update....I ran 4.5 miles yesterday and only had to stop a couple times to catch my breath! I am coming back! I can feel it! :) I have never been so grateful to be able to run. I pray through the whole process usually. God is so faithful!

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Okay onto encouraging a friend! I am going to just write her a letter on her...if that's okay with you? If it's not...sorry I am doing it anyway. :)

To my dearest Pig,

I am supposed to be writing you a letter to encourage you! But this morning the tables were flipped and you were the one encouraging me. You are always there to pass on an encouraging word, to pray for me and to make sure I know that I am loved. You have been a friend when I least deserve it and have supported me in things you have no interest in. You are the definition of a friend and I have no idea what I would do without. Your love is never failing, even all the way from Montucky! You are such a clear vision of God. Your beauty radiates and anyone who knows you is better because of you. I simply just don't tell you enough how much I love you and how beautiful I think you are. I love you Piggy!

Day 14. Style 31. Post an outfit pic!

Running update! I ran 5 miles on Sunday with my JS. We both struggled a little and I had to stop and walk every mile or so, just so my lungs could return back to a normal state :), but other then that we did good! I run small miles for the next three days and then this weekend sometime we have a 7 miler. I am hoping it goes well. I feel bad sometimes because I feel like I am holding AA up, but he has been so encouraging and we are getting better at being running partners. For the 7 miler I am going to test out my new handheld water bottle so I will let you know how it goes.

Health update! I went in today for an INR check (PS...I am getting really good at getting my blood checked) and the doctor said no more shots!! WOOT WOOT! They are lowering my oral med level just a tad and we will see what my levels look like on Friday. I really like my doctor, so I trust her when she says I need to keep coming in. I am hoping that by this time next week the clots will be dissolved and I will be in "full" working order again. :)

Okay here is my outfit picture:

Boots (Target)

Tights (H&M)

Skirt (Forever21)

Tank (Target)

Black Cardi (Nord)

Necklace (Nord)

Belt (Forever21)

Happy love day! And days 12-13 of the Beauty Challenge!

Hmmm, love. A beautiful thing. The Jamaican Sprinter doesn't like Valentine's Day much, and I get it...shouldn't everyday be kind of like Valentine's day? But he appeased me and had a great surprise this morning of treats and flowers. I remember the minute I first saw him, and then the minute I saw him the second time. I remember a lot from the beginning of our relationship. I play it out in my head over and over again because they are such sweet memories that the Lord has helped me remember. There were really hard times in our dating life when I thought "we just aren't going to make it." But then I can clearly remember the day when that no longer was in my thought process. Times were still hard, but we were going to make it or I was going to die trying.

My JS, you are my best friend and the love of my life. Thank you for being caring, selfless, making me laugh and most importantly a servant of the Lord. You never cease to amaze me. You have proven that through better and worse, sickness and health that you are my man. Thank you for being my Jamaican Sprinter.

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Day 12. Write about what wears you out as a woman.

Where to start huh? I try not to think about what wears me out because it usually wears me out more. :) But I would say the one thing that wears me out is the people pleasing. I always try to make everyone around me happy and make sure their needs are met. I love doing this...I really do, but sometimes it gets overwhelming and there is a point when I feel like everything I do just isn't good enough for this person or that person.

The one thing that keeps me buoyant when I feel like I am sinking is that in all truth I have an audience of One. I have no one else I need to please but my Savior. He already knows I am broken and that is why He came to this earth to die for my sins. Jesus makes all things possible, even being a woman in this, at times, troubling world.

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Day 13. Write about something you would like to change about yourself for the better.

There are A LOT of things that I would change about myself, but because it is "love day" I have been thinking a lot about AA. The thing I would like to change is to minister better to him. I can put on a happy face and be joyful around others all day long but the minute that door shuts at home I can be an "angry monster", crying my eyes out or just down right rude. I don't want to be this. I really, really, really don't want to be like this. And I know what some of you are thinking, "thank goodness you have a man that you can do that in front of." And trust me I get it. But I want the best me to be available to him. I want to share Jesus' joy and love with him like I do with others. I have been praying through this a lot and the good news is that I can almost always realize and see when I am doing this. I am no longer doing this out of ignorance. The challenging news is that I need to fix the problem itself.

Day 11. Post a recipe. Or if you don't cook, try a new recipe and write about how it turned out (pictures please!)

No running today...nope not one step. Have you looked outside?? Well if you did, then you know that NO ONE should be outside. Well I of course had other plans. AA doesn't like Valentine's day, so I told him he had a surprise this afternoon. It was an afternoon to celebrate HIM! Not Valentine's day. So I surprised him by taking him to Red Mill Burgers and then going out and playing 9-holes at Interbay. It started off just windy but by hole 3 it was downright pouring. We kept playing though...well that is a lie. I quit on hole 8 after I couldn't feel my hands anymore. :) We still had a great time!

Okay recipe time...my favorite thing I make is called.....

COBB SALAD TURKEY BURGERS!! YUMMMYYYY!!!

I don't have exact ingredients so just go with me.

1. A pack of lean ground turkey
2. 3/4 bag of cut up sun dried tomatoes
3. a bunch of parsley, minced
4. 4 cloves of garlic, minced

Combine all of these, form four patties and cook in a Pam sprayed pan. You want the juices to run clear when you check to see if it is done.

Blue Cheese Sauce
1. Half a pack of blue cheese
2. 5 oz. of sour cream (more of less depending on how chunky you like it)
3. Hot sauce to taste

Combine....try not to inhale right there on the spot.

Other
1. 2 avocado mashed up
2. Tomato
3. Lettuce
4. Onion
5. Buns, the crustier then better

After patties are done cooking, layer them with avocado and other toppings and a lot of that blue cheese sauce. This burger is meant to be MESSY! Serve with oven fries....so yummy....so yummy I am starving right now thinking about it.

I don't have any pictures because, well, we eat them the second they are ready. There is simply no self control when it comes to these

Day 10. What is Jesus teaching you as a wife, mom, or friend? (Or just a woman in general)

Happy Friday! Last time I said that I landed in the ER...hmmm...not so happy Friday. But this Friday, I know THIS Friday will be great! :)

Good news on the running front! I ran 4 miles yesterday at a 8:57/mile pace. I stopped at the end of every song on my ipod and caught my breath for about 10 seconds and then I was back at it. I was very cautious on how my body was feeling and made sure I wasn't pushing it. But man oh man was I happy at the end of it all! Around mile 2ish I asked God to give me the power and air in my lungs to continue. He was so faithful! At the end I couldn't help but praise Him! Today is a rest day, then on either Saturday or Sunday AA and I will head out for my first outside run. Probably 5 miles or so. My hunka-hunka-burnin'-love-husband has been so amazing through all of this. Even before we knew what was wrong he would not leave me, to run by myself. He stayed right by my side. Thank you Jesus for my Jamaican Sprinter.

Okay on to today's question! WOW, where to start? Jesus has been teaching me more then I can comprehend. I will give you one of those lessons that I have been learning and still have a long way to go. This is a daily struggle for me, but the the Lord has been so faithful in not leaving my side.

For the last couple months I have been reminded more and more each day that the future is bright, when you follow God's path, instead of your own. I am woman who loves to have control over things, and so to open my hands faithfully everyday to the things God wants for us and our future is difficult sometimes. Especially when these things are not things we had planned or things that look not so good. Pastor Richard spoke on this a couple weeks ago. He ended the sermon by giving examples of situations where people thought they were going to be or do somethin and God had a totally different story. As he continued to list these things, tears came to my eyes. Then he got to the very last one, and I pretty much lost it. I won't say what it is, because I am still praying through all of it, but I will say that the Lord is making Himself more and more visible through this experience. In this chapter of my life I feel as though there are some big decisions that will have to be made sooner then later. My brain wants to FREAK OUT but my faith calms me. My continual prayer for myself is that I continue to walk in His story and not get caught up in my own. As Ulla said in the email below, it is better to be in God's story, healthy and full of love, then in our own story, sick and destroyed.

So Jesus...I am walkin'...walkin' with You in Your story! But hey Jesus...can we start running soon? Thanks!

Day 9. What virtues do you value in yourself?

I was NOT looking forward to this question at all. But I guess there is no "not answering" it. So I guess one of the virtues that I value in myself is my ability to remain positive. I can put on a happy face in almost all situations and be able to find the glass half full. My hunk-a-hunk-a-burnin' love hubby might disagree with him, which is fair. But around most people I can laugh and find a positive to most situations. I know this can also be a negative so I am trying to find the right balance.

I ran yesterday, 2 miles, had to stop twice just for a couple seconds though. This is going to be a LONG haul to recovery but I am on it ready to fight. Today I will attempt to run 4 miles. More like run/break/walk it. I wonder what people think at the gym? It is pretty much all the same people in there and they are probably what in the wild-wild-world of sports is going on with me right now. :)

Happy Thursday!

Love from around the world

I have to run to a meeting and have more emails to send before I do, but I wanted to post these two email's I received from around the world! Our brother-in-law Alex is from Germany. He moved here when Aaron's sister, Sara, and him got married. Well not only have we fallen in love with Alex but also Alex's family. They are amazing people and radiate God's love. So when they found out about this little misshap here are the email's they sent. Remember, from Germany, Eniglish is great, but not their first language, I have litterally copied and pasted these emails...haven't changed a thing, and Ulla, Alex's mom is HALIRIOUS! Enjoy!

From Ulla:
Subject line: Rebirth-day

My Dear, what have you gone through. Unbelievable! Peter and I tried together to understand, what happened and I think, now we got it.Alex had given some words in German and we understand.

You live! That is the message. It was rebirth! Your "Rebirth-day" . Never heard something like this. We know that the Anti-baby-pill can cause some problems and we know that it can cause blood-clots, but I never heard from somebody , that it happened and you had 4 of this! Nevertheless dangerous.

Now I looked at google and they say, that especially the new pills can make this.Some women died already from bloodclots which were caused through the pills of the "third generation", that means the new ones. One is named Cilestand it is famous in US. But others are too dangerous - the new ones. My dear Shelby, you live. God had His protection over you. You will be healthy in some month and fat !!! Fat enough that Aaron can find enough for the injection, but then you need no more!! We will pray for you and your health.You must have been so terrified from that all. I hope that these clots will dissapear like snow in the sun. They will! Your lung will be fine once and have enough power for all you want to do. Shelby, look, it was a unbelievable frightening experience and it is not just on the end, but the Lord protected your life and He will give your health back. How mighty He is. We hope that you gain power again week by week. As you are a person who likes to be perfect, this may cause some changing in your life.

Reduced own plans - but this is good, believe me. The Lord has shorten our plans so often to HIS plans. His plans are sometimes just the opposite of what we wanted. But better be in His plans and protected and healthy, than in our plans and in deep trouble. He told me, when I was 42 to give my jobto HIM and stay at home and look for my family. (It was a very dangerous day too and frightened me to my last bone , believe this. ) It was not directly what I had thought of my life , but it was HIS idea and I follow in one minute and said :"Yes Lord, I will obey", please protect the children and us. And He gave grace - now there are Winnie and Sara, who came to our family and little Lena and Julia - that is more than every career or money can give.We pray for you - you can know this. We do anyway every day for the whole family, each day. But now especially for you an extra-good-blood-prayer.

I will look at the blog, what is going one. Eat, eat, my Dear, you need FAT!!! Big grin, I know, you hate fat! Me too, but the fat loves me! It comes "from alone". LOOKING on a big Mac or an icecream ist enough and the fat-molecules find me. :-D

Big hug for both of you Deine Ulla und Peter

From: Peter
Subject line: PRAISE the LORD for this MIRACLE

Dear, dearest Shelby,let us PRAISE, PRAISE, PRAISE our LORD ALMIGHTY for HIS GRACE - for your miraculous rescue! It is a real miracle!

Having just read your dramatic blog, having shared your fear, your pain, your shock we just want to embrace you, to tell you how much we love your (and your "Jamaican sprinter" !), how we feel with you and how much more we do believe in HIS grace. How much more we have been reassured that all our life is in HIS hands and that HE has a plan for all of us - and definitely for YOU!Dear Shelby, we have been praying for you and all yours ever since we have met you and we will continue to do so even more from now on. Doubling, tripling - nay! - multiplying our praises to our gracious Lord who has shown HIS love to you, to all yours, to us by saving your life - by bringing you back to life!What a MIRACLE!The more we read in the internet about what has happend to other young women suffering from the same side affects of BC pills the more we did and do understand what a real miracle it is. Why your doc and the nurse were so shocked, so astounded to see you alive after all you had gone thru...When I read your blog my first thought was how tactless, how brute they were, your doc and the nurse, to tell you bluntly that they could not belive that you were still alive! Slowly, slowly we understand that they were shocked themselves witnessing such a medical MIRACLE. Hopefully realising that you have been saved by our SAVIOUR Himself by praying to HIM for help!Dear Shelby, do NOT be afraid! You will come back to real life - you will have a wonderful family life, surely surrounded by kids, your own kids. Simply because the LORD ALMIGHTY has a plan - HE wants you to go and tell the people how you have been saved by HIM. To make others understand that ALL we have is from HIM - our body, our brain, our soul, our talents, our "genius", our gold medals, honors and decorations.Dear Sheby, we will be your torch-bearers here to tell, tell others who are in pain or fear, in panic or frustration, without hope or a silver lining at the horizon - we will tell them that there IS hope. And that is a gracious GOD who cares for HIS children, who takes their prayers seriously, who always will stretch out his mighty hand to rescue them if they fall.May your (and our) praises to our Lord outweigh - nay - OVERCOME, overwhelm your daily and nightly pains which will still harass yoru body (or even your mind) for some days or weeks to come!

Let us take you into our arms,l et us embrace you gently to make you understand how happy we are that our gracious LORD has saved you!WWJS ? Jesus would definitely say with His soft and gentle voice: "Shelby, my child, I love you!"And HE has proven it!PRAISE The LORD! Again and again! Love to you and Aaron and the best of best wishes we can think of: GOD BLESS YOU!

Peter + Ulla in Hamburg

WOW...how amazing are Peter and Ulla! I love them. They have given me such a good outlook on all of this.

Danke Peter und Ulla. Ich liebe dich! Danke für die Erinnerung an Gottes Gnade und Liebe.

Day 8. Have a beauty secret (e.g. hair tip, make up tip)? Share, please!

Has anyone looked outside? If you are anywhere near Seattle you knwo it is absoutly FAB outside. Thank you Jesus for the sun, we were forgetting what it looked like!

I am back to work and things are starting to feel a little more normal. Still giving myself shots two times a day and not being able to breathe quite yet is making this all seem very very weird. Well I guess, because it is! I "ran" yesterday. I want to make sure that when I am feeling back to 100% that I haven't lost all my fitness and have to start at step one again with half marathon training. We just don't have the time for that people! But I also understand I need to not be dumb and pass out on the treadmill. So yesterday I hopped on and decided to go for 36 minutes. I was supposed to run 4 miles that day and at a 9min mile it would have taken me right around 36 minutes. The plan was to run every other song until 36 minutes was up. I did just that, and at the end of most songs I felt like I could keep going. So I feel like I am moving in the right direction! Today I am going to try to run 2 miles..no matter how slow, without stopping but we will see. Please pray that these meds are working.

Scare of the night last night....I was doing my hair before we went to small group leader training and the ID.IO.OT that I am, I hit my head with my brush. It hurt a little bit, but my first thought was the nurse telling me, "if you hit your head, even what you think might be trivial, you need to go in to the ER." Can you just imagine me going into the ER and them asking what's wrong and me having to tell them I hit my head with a brush! Ugh! After AA and I talked about, a quick call to the nurse and some research on line we decided to not go into the ER. Who knew I had to be so careful with my brush!

Okay on to the question....beauty secrets!

I got nothin'....I mean absolutely NOTHING! I guess the one thing that I would say that gives me confidence and helps "clean" me out, would be exercise. I feel like I look better and have more confidence when I exercise daily. I am not sure how big of a secret that is but I do have some things I cannot live without:

1. MAC anything...but most importantly mascara. You will RARELY see me without mascara on.
2. Tresmeme Hairspray....I have the thinnest, do-nothing hair, so I need a little somein' somein' to help it be "alive"!
3. Ponytail holders...my hair goes up almost everyday at the end of the work day.
4. Coffee...my eyes are just a little but more open and beautiful with a cup of coffee in me. :)

So as you can see I got nothin'. What are your beauty secrets. Please share!

Day 7. Write a blog to encourage another beautiful woman. And an UPDATE!

Before I answer today's question I wanted to give to you all a little health update. I went and saw my doctor today to have my first, of many, INR checks (INR is the ratio they use to see if your blood is too thin or too thick. It should be between 2.0-3.0, on Friday mine was 1.0. Not good) and to come up with a plan from here on out. So first was a blood draw then I went and saw Dr. Rise. I thanked her profusely for not giving up on me and helping me figure out what was wrong. She said it was the right side of her brain that told her that something was wrong. Gotta love those right sides of the brain!? She also thanked me, because she said she felt like a real doctor that day, by making an actual diagnosis, instead of just a cold or bladder infection. Well at least I helped someone that day! :)

She told me that my INR is still way too low, at 1.2. She bumped up my meds to 10mg a day instead of 5mg. I need to continue to take my shots until we get the right level. This can take a week or so to get the right med to blood ratio. I am getting really good at giving myself shots. This morning I only stared and counted to 3 twice before I finally jammed it in there (gross I know, I'm sorry!). We then discussed how long I have to be on the oral meds. She said 3 months, but then went to confirm with another doctor. That doctor, my new again doctor Dr. Hyde, said 6-9 months. I don't mind being on this med, but I also don't want to be paranoid for 6-9 months that I am going to have internal bleeding. So prayer request time!!!! Please pray that I do not have to be on the meds for more then 3 months and that my body responds well to this new dosage of meds.

The best news I got was that I can run again once I can breath normally (hopefully in a week or so). I just have to be careful and watch my step. She said that it was important that I keep exercising so I know if something happens again. She told me that I was not able to breathe because these clots were taking up 60% of my lung capacity. 6o frick fracken percent! HOLY MOLY! Scary. God has been so good in all of this. There have been scary news, news that I don't like, news that I do like, ect ect ect but I have had an overall peace about all of this. Some things still make me sad, but as our pastor says, "you are either walking in God's story or you aren't." So people, I have my walking shoes on and I am truckin' it in God's story. He has a plan for all of this and I know He is going to be glorified through this.

Okay on to today's question! Write a blog to encourage another beautiful woman. Well this is really hard. I mean really really really hard. If I could list the number of beautiful women in my life you would be reading for awhile. And if you are reading this you probably are a beautiful woman in my life. So let me take a minute and say thank you. Thank you for being uniquely beautiful in my life. I don't know where I would be without you.

But let me introduce you to the woman I chose to write about today. Meet Linda. I call her Linda Lou Who (LLW). She came into my life almost 6 years ago, when another beautiful person came into my life, her son. You all know him as AA or my Jamaican Sprinter. As AA and I got more serious, I guess you could say LLW and my relationship got more serious too. I started to fall in love with the God fearing woman that she was. I admired her prayer life, her sense of humor, the mom and wife she was and how she exemplified Proverbs 31. As I fell more and more in love with her son, she treated me more and more like a daughter, something I never expected. She always had a welcoming and loving hug at the door when we would come and an interest in what we were doing with our life.

LLW never ceases to amaze me with her beauty. She has helped remind me what motherhood looks like, how to respect your husband and how to have the most beautiful relationship with the Lord.

Thanks LLW for who you are to me. You are beautiful, absolutely FABULOUS, and I love ya' more then my luggage. :)

Day 6. Jaded beauty. Has the world's definition of beauty ever jaded you?

Today, one of the first things I read was this. It made me think about this weekend and how much complaining I did. Ugh...so much complaining, when I should have been so thankful. After I read the post I looked up Phil 2: 14-15:

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe. (NIV).

Wow, what a great reminder and what I call...."Jesus slap in the face." So today NO COMPLAINING! No matter what...NO MATTER WHAT I tell ya! Pick up the challenge, and if you are like me, it will be harder then you think. I actually think I already complained today, so I am starting over. I love do-overs!

Okay, on to today's question... Has the world's definition of beauty jaded you?

Without question or doubt in my mind the answer is YES! Without complaining I am going to try to explain why. As a woman, or man, for that matter, you cannot go anywhere without there being an on slot of women everywhere. These women are what the wold calls "attractive", thin (too thin probably), long blowing hair, perfect face, not one inch of fat, perfect teeth and always without clothes on. Hmmm....day after day of seeing that I am not sure how any one's view of beauty could not be jaded. The world makes us scared to get old or gosh forbid have the freaking piece of cake that could OH NO put a pound on the scale (by the way...if you eat one piece of cake it will NOT add one pound to the scale...so eat the cake!). The world's view makes me want to be 10 pounds thinner, for my love handles to go away, to have thicker hair, for my right tooth to not be crooked and to not feel like I have to makeup on. I have struggled with my height, weight and many other things. But within the last couple years, God has opened my eyes to see how He made my body. I have knees that can bend to pray, I have legs that can run a marathon, I have a heart for the world, I have long arms that can reach almost anything and I am tall enough to not lose any of my friends when we are out. My struggle with jaded beauty happens everyday and I suspect it won't ever completely go away.

But what I do know is that beauty is so much bigger then what the world says is beautiful. I am so thankful for Proverbs 31. It reminds me what true, God thought out and thoughtful beauty is. Thank you Jesus.

Day 5. Write a blog thanking someone who has made your heart come alive. And an update...

I will get to who has made my heart come alive....but first let me let you in on what my birthday looked like. I like plans, schedules...and lots of them. I like these so much, that it is a fault of mine, sometimes an idol. What I can say is that my perfectly planned birthday went all crazy haywire and proved to me yet again, just like many times in my life, that I have to trust in Jesus' plan. Here is what Friday and Saturday looked like:

7am: Alarm goes off, meet Aunt Jenny outside to walk to the bakery for a birthday treat!

8am: Return from bakery, chat with AA (who has taken the day off) and get ready to head to the doctors.
Let's take a break here and explain why I was going to the doctors...especially on my birthday. For the last three weeks I have been having chest pain, but more I couldn't run without being completely winded, I couldn't walk up stairs without feeling like I was going to pass out, and I couldn't ramble very quickly, like I often do, without feeling lightheaded. So what was first diagnosed as a chest cold (given antibiotics) turned out to not be when after taking the meds, they didn't work. So I figured I would go to the doctor...they would tell me what was actually wrong, prescribe me some new meds and I would be on my way in 20 minutes. So with that let the schedule continue

845am: Arrive at doctor, meet new doctor, Dr. Hope Rise.

855am: After joking that no one should be at the doc on their birthday and a battery of questions about my health, how I was feeling, ect I saw the doctor get more and more puzzled.

9am: Doctor has me run the stairs so she can check my oxygen level...maybe that is the problem she says.

902am: Get done running the stairs...want to pass out, but oxygen level comes back a-okay. Hmm still stumped.

920am: Chest xray time.

930am: Look at xray with doctor to see if I have a collapsed lung...maybe that could be the problem. Look at xray...no collapsed lung. Hmmm...still confused.

935am: Blood work time

955am: Sent home with the doc calling me if something is wrong.

1030am: Have a gift certificate to get a mani/pedi....it's nail time!

1130am: Come home to a clean bathroom, new lights and a fixed toilet...thanks AA!!

12pm: Lunch time at our fav sushi place downtown...yum yum!! Tell AA how excited I am to go to Ikea with Meg and SJ later that day...love IKEA!

2pm: Pulling into our parking spot at home to drop off AA so I can go pick up Meg and SJ when my phone rings. Its the nurse telling us to go straight to First Hill to get a CT scan. AA starts driving there before we even get the directions.

215pm: Call Meg, crying telling her we don't know what's wrong and I don't think we can go to Ikea anymore...but that I would see her that night for din and bowling!

245pm: Get checked in at scan place

3pm: Get all changed and ready to scan. They have to put in an IV to pump me full of dye for the scan. This would now be the second time of the day I have been stuck. The scan guy is really nice and funny. He let's AA come back with me and let's him see the scans.

330pm: All done, get dressed and in waiting room waiting to hear that I am all good to go. Then some lady comes out and says the doctor will be calling me shortly, I look at my phone, she is calling me right then. Answer, hear her say something about the Emergency Room, look to find AA, but he is already be rushed to go get the car.

332pm: Sit down in the first chair I can find, try to listen, but I have already started crying, I don't hear anything she says. Give the phone to AA once he gets back. He talks to the doctor, who tells him she is calling the ER doctor right now and to get their quickly.

345pm: Arrive at Emergency Room, still crying, not knowing exactly what's going on.

4pm: Get officially checked in, AA calls my dad, cancels the party for that night and let's other fam know what's going on. The nurse who checked me in was one of the nicest people I have ever met. She says they are putting me to the top of the list.

402pm: Taken back, changed into hospital gown and finally a nurse tells me what's going on, in words I can understand "You have four blood clots in your lungs...this could have been really really bad."

405pm: Third poke of the day...an IV again. She tries to get it anywhere but the crock of my arm. She spends a while on it...hurts like no other! Finally decides she has to do it in the crock...AWESOME...poke number 4!

430pm: Taken to different room, given new nurses. All very very nice. The come in, do some vitals and other things I can't remember. I just remember thinking...don't cry, be as nice as you can...maybe even try to crack a joke.

445pm: Doctor comes in. He is young, serious, but sweet. He finally starts to explain in more detail what is going on and the likely culprit of all of this....birth control pills.
Let me take another break here and say this: the choice to take BC pills is up the person and what they feel like God is telling them to do. We never felt like God was telling us to not take BC pills, but knowing what we know now and after much prayer we have decided that we will no longer be taking BC pills. It is just not worth it and there are other options. Hopefully, we will find out that that was the problem and now that we are not taking it, I will be fine for the rest of my life. Okay now I will step off my soap box and continue the story...

5pm: After doc tells me I will be on blood thinners for the next 3-6 month and that for the first 10 days I will be on twice daily shots to bridge the gap between taking the oral medications, the nurse comes in to give me my first shot...in the stomach. Sweet. So freaking awesome. She is nice though and after pulling up my shirt, says something about no fat on my belly to be able to pinch (okay...she is awesome! She is a keeper I think to myself!) she pulls up my fat and JAM, sticks me again...what is this the 5th time now?? Oh and it burns...that one hurt!

6pm: After secretly making some calls and texts (weren't supposed to use our phones) AA has officially become my PR master and let people know and I can feel the prayers they are sending. Finally get moved up to my "room" where I would stay the night so they can monitor me.

610pm: I have to share a room with a VERY elderly lady, who isn't doing very well. We found found she fractured her hip...OUCH! We were blessed with the window side though, and let me tell you...we had a great view.

625pm: New nurse comes in. She is one of the nurses who is seemingly jacked up on coffee...ALL THE TIME. But she is nice and very smiley. She comes in and looks surprised that I am smiling and joking with AA. She then proceeds to tell me that I should be lucky to be alive and that she has never seen a case this bad. You always hear that on TV but when it is actually said to you it is very surreal. I start to cry...of course. More vitals taken, more introduction of more nurses, more bags of hydration hooked up to me.

725pm: AA tells me Chris and Meg are coming. Probably the best news I had heard all day. I felt horrible they were using their babysitting night to visit me in the hospital but it was so nice to have the four of us together...just to maybe seem normal.

755pm: Meg and Chris get to the hospital with PITA PIT!!!!! Thank you Jesus for Pita Pit...it reminds me of simpler times in college when all we had to worry about was passing a class and making sure we woke up in time to get to Tuesday prayer.

8pm: I hear someone come into the room...a nurse probably....the guy turns the corner....MY DAD! With a birthday balloon and Green Bay Packer cupcakes...something about being out of birthday and valentines day cupcakes. Sweet dad.

10pm: Everyone heads home and I silently thank God for them. They made me, for two hours feel normal again. They loved me when I needed it most. Thank you Jesus for those people. I also thank God for all the people who who were praying for us and who had called and texted.

11pm: AA decided to head home, we had both made the decision that we needed at least one of us to be in working order the next day.

1130pm: After watching the news for a little I decided to try to hit the hay. My arm is hurting so bad because of the IV but I try.

1210am: Still not asleep, arm killing me. Take out my pony tail (A HORRIBLE MISTAKE!) close my eyes again.

105: Still not asleep and my IV thing is beeping. Call nurse, she recharges it, try to go asleep again.

2am: Wake up

3am: Wake up, look at my IV bag...it's full. When did that happen? It was almost empty. Ugh.

4am: Wake up

5am: Wake up and say to myself, "screw it!" Move my bed to an upright position, making sure my arm stays straight, head to the potty, with my IV stand thingy. Feel like I am 90.

502am: Get done with the potty, washing my hands, look in the mirror...AKKKK! I look horrible. I mean the nastiest of the nasty. My hair is so oily ( I hadn't taken a shower yet on Friday...I had planned on taking it before din), my face a mess, and my breath RANK! I guess that's what happens with no face wash and toothbrush. I try to put my hair in a pony, but when you can't bend your arm it is pretty much impossible.

6am: Nurse comes in, say good morning, check vitals and I hope AA gets there soon.

710am: AA comes! With Starbucks! And a birthday present! First thing I ask him to do is put my hair in a pony. "for better or worse" I think to myself. He explains the oatmeal is nasty and that I should just order it from the hospital. So I do, as I suck down my coffee. I open the birthday present...a subscription to Runnersworld. I start to cry. I should have been excited but running the Rock in Roll Dallas is still up for question, with many different nurses and doctors saying a lot of different things. But I am so glad that AA is there I wipe those tears away and thank him. We decide if we get out of there anytime before 10am we will still go to Portland and the game.

845am: Doc finally comes in. Scares the crap out of me and tells me no running Rock n Roll, but that I should talk to my primary care doc (Dr. Rise). He explains all the medication, the effects and again says I should be happy this didn't turn out fatally.

855am: Doc leaves and I start to cry again. AA knows why I am crying and makes sure I know it is okay and talks about God's plan. It makes me feel better. Doc comes in again and see's me crying. He says he is sorry.

1015am: No discharge nurse yet. We make the final call...no PDX and that we would be watching the Cougs from home that night. I start to cry again. Now I am so tired I could cry at anything.

11am: Discharge nurse comes in. Her name is Sara. She is soooo sweet. We chat about everything and teaches AA how to give my shots. So with the shot in AA's hands I lift up my shirt and have my husband squeeze my fat (awesome) to get poked yet again. I feel the poke, Ouch! Then all of a sudden AA is saying sorry and the nurse is laughing....huh? What is going on? The I look down and AA hadn't stuck me hard enough! UGH! We all laugh, because it really is funny. AA tries again...SUCCESS! It burns...like a lot.

1130am: They discharge me, I get dressed in sweats AA brought and we are headed to the pharmacy to get my meds and get the heck out of dodge!

1135am: In the elevator I tell AA I am hungry. "Me too," he responds.

1136am: Get to the pharmacy. They tell us it will be 30-40 minutes until the meds are ready. All of a sudden I can barely breathe and I am light headed. My stomach feels like it is eating my whole body. AA sits me down, and runs to the vending machine. Snickers and water. Shaking I shovel it down, willing myself to feel better so I don't have to go back up there. AA runs again to get trail mix. After 20 minutes I start to feel better. Thank you Jesus.

12am: In the car...headed home. The afternoon was full of nothing, other then a much needed shower, a couple more bday presents, watching the huskies lose, a quick nap and watching the Cougs pull one out.

Lessons learned:
1. Jesus is good...so good. So good that there are no words for how good He is.
2. I have the best fam, husband and friends.
3. Know what is going in my body and the side effects
4. Go to the doc when you know something is wrong.
5. God is good...oh wait I already said that....it just deserve another one.

Well I just wrote you a novel. I will keep you posted on how I am feeling and what lies ahead in my future. But for the most part, it is back to "normal" life.

So the answer to the question of who has made my heart come alive (or stay alive) is no question at all for me. God. He has again reminded me that He has a plan for my life, that He loves me and to trust Him. Everyday He teaches me something knew and I love him more and more. He makes my heart come alive everyday. Thank you Jesus.

Day 4. Style 31. Post a pic of you in your favorite outfit.

Well well well....the last two days have been some of the scariest, weirdest, eye opening but blessed days of my life. My birthday wasn't exactly what I had planned but let's just say I am really thankful to just be alive. More on this later, when I have energy to write (let me tell you...it's a dozy) but what I can say right now is Jesus is good, and we know now why I wasn't able to breathe while running.

But for today's post...my fav. outfit! That was hard, I feel like my fav. outfit changes with what my mood is and what it looks like outside. So I am giving you two of my fav. outfits...one normal and one running!

Normal outfit: H&M tights, Nord Rack leggings, Jessica Simpson boots, Target white tank, Nord boyfriend tee, Nord black cardi thingy (technical term), black scarf from Siena, new necklace from Nord and my famous $8 watch (pretend it is actually on in this picture)!

I love, love, love this outfit right now because the boots keep me warm, you don't see skin, but I still feel put together and I can pretty much wear it anywhere.

Running outfit: Nike tempo running shorts, black Target running tank, KB socks, OLD Nike runners (this pic was taken two summers ago...yes I still wear the shorts, tank and hat!) and Super Jock n Jill hat.

I love this outfit almost solely because when I wear it I know it is HOT HOT HOT outside! So basically I get to wear this running outfit once a year. I can't wear the tank for longer then 5 miles though...underarm chaffing...no good.

Thank you Jesus for the doctors, nurses and people that took care of me for the last couple days. Thank you Jesus for making your presence known and controlling the situation. Thank you for our dear visitors last night, they made it all bearable. Lord as I continue on this journey I pray you make your plan known and that I have a content heart with the path I am following you on. I love you Jesus!

Day 3. Who is someone you know who inspires beauty?

Happy Friday! Thank you Jesus for Friday! My Jamaican Sprinter and I took the day off today, it's only 8:30am and I know it is going to be a great day!

I ran yesterday on the dreadmill, I mean treadmill and only had to stop a couple times to catch my breathe. This whole breathing things is really wigging me out. I am praying that by the time we get back from PDX this weekend I will be a whole new woman...or a whole woman I used to be.

Back to the project! This question was an easy one. The minute I saw it I knew who I would say. So without further a due, the person that inspires my beauty is... (drum roll please....) THE AUNTS!

So many of you know about the aunts. They have been a critical part of my childhood, young adult life and now adult life. When my mom died these women rallied around Katie and I and made sure we knew we were loved and taken care of.

These women are moms, marathoners, triathletes, bicyclists, expert travelers, funny, smart, kind hearted, sympathetic, loving, lover's of Jesus and most of all beautiful. Every time I am with them, they show me a a different view of beauty and I am forever greatful for that. They are each uniquely different and love me each differently which I love!

Thank you aunts for inspiring all types of beauty and reminding me that the most important beauty is not what is on the outside by from the heart! I love you!

Day 2. What makes you uniquely you?

I was thinking about this question since I started this challenge. I wasn't sure what about me, made me uniquely me? When I first started thinking, I was bringing up all of the flaws I see in my personality and body, but then I realized this project is not about flaws but about beauty. So I started over...started thinking how I was different then others around me. Then this morning, somewhere between visiting with the Starbs girl and almost getting run over my a semi truck on the bridge (a daily occurrence) it came to me!

What makes me uniquely me is my passion for sports. I am, and have been since a very young age, fascinated by how sports imitates life. I love how people can rise from the depths of their life through sports. I love how people come to Jesus and follow Jesus through sports. I love the unique feeling of being in a group of people, whether it be running with people or cheering for the same team that you get. I am girl to the core. I love to dress up, I wear makeup, I watch Grey's Anatomy, I read Self, I don't really like to get dirty and I LOVE to bake. So for people who are going to make a snap judgement about me, probably wouldn't guess that I wake up every Saturday morning at 7am in the fall to watch ESPN Gameday, or how the perfect birthday is watching the Cougs, or that I love to salt when I run. I like that my husband and I have this in common. Jesus has used sports in my life in more ways then one, and I thank Him so much for that.

Thank you Lord, for making me uniquely me. You have clearly designed me to be a part of your story and have loved me everyday, every hour and every minute. Thank you Jesus!

Running note....ran yesterday on the treadmill, only had to stop once because I felt like my legs were 5 inches long, and that my arms were disconnected from my body. Weird....very weird. I stopped took a couple big breaths and then was fine. Does this happen to anyone else? If it doesn't will you just lie and tell me it does so I don't feel WEIRD! :) Thanks! Running outside today...please rain go away!

Day 1. What does beauty mean to you?

So here we go! Day one! I am pumped...I am ready....I am scared! Gosh, I should be a motivational speaker. :) What I am most scared of is that I don't know if I am going to do this right, but I guess there is no doing this "right." Right?

What does beauty mean to me? The first thing that comes to mind, is that beauty to me is anything the Lord has made. It is clear the things, people and places that He has designed, He has designed in His beauty. And to me, there is nothing more beautiful then that. There are also things, that when I get to experience them, I am overcome with their beauty:

-fresh cut hot pink Gerber daisies
-a bald head on a fighting cancer patient
-Starbucks. Period.
-SJ, Julia Grace, Oli and the mommas they belong to
-hand written notes from my Jamaican Sprinter
-watching someone finish a race for the first time
-the Coug symbol
-my sister
-Alki beach on a HOT day
-someone right after they have accepted Jesus
-freshly vacuumed floors (I know, stupid)
-a new running blister (I know, gross)

And really as I sit here the list could go on and on. I pray that beauty doesn't mean to me what the world thinks of as beauty, but what our King thinks of as beauty. It is something I struggle with everyday. What does beauty mean to you?

On a running note...half marathon training is still plugging along. I am still freaking out on the treadmill which is really annoying because if you haven't noticed, it is FREEZING out and I just can't get myself out there by myself. I will hop on my old friend the treadmill yet again today, I will let you know how it goes.

On another note...thanks to Megs, I finally know how to use Google Reader. Thank you Meg for helping me be a part of this century. :)

One more...you know what I don't think is beautiful? If you watched Oprah yesterday, you know what I am thinking. If you didn't, DON'T!

New Project!

So I have been very, I mean VERY reluctant to do this project. The topic makes me squirm when I think about having to talk about myself and the topic. Well, let me give you a little background before I go off ranting. I have made a new friend this year and I love reading her blog! She started doing this project a little over a week ago and I have been awestruck with her writing and how she has approached this topic. I asked for her permission to "copy" her and of course, because she is so sweet, she said yes. I asked her, though I was secretly hoping she would say no so I wouldn't have to do it. The project is called "Project 31" and it is for celebrating our God given beauty and the God given beauty of others around us. It is all based off of the Proverbs 31 Woman, which is a passage that is so very close to my heart. Often when I feel like I am lost in this world I turn to that passage to see the woman God created all of us women to be. So after much consideration and prayer I have decided to take this thing and run with it. I am excited to see what God will teach me about the beauty He has designed and not the beauty the world has for us. This is in no means replacing my lessons learned while running, but merely adding to it, which means you still get the pleasure of hearing all about sweat, snot, muscle cramps, the highs and the lows of running and of course my personal favorite running wedgies. Without further adu here is the list! OH PS....is you are reading this and I read your blog please take part!! :)

THE LIST:
Day 1. What does beauty mean to you?
Day 2. What makes you uniquely you?
Day 3. Who is someone you know who inspires beauty?
Day 4. Style 31. Post a pic of you in your favorite outfit.
Day 5. Write a blog thanking someone who has made your heart come alive.
Day 6. Jaded beauty. Has the world's definition of beauty ever jaded you?
Day 7. Write a blog to encourage another beautiful woman.
Day 8. Have a beauty secret (e.g. hair tip, make up tip)? Share, please!
Day 9. What virtues do you value in yourself?
Day 10. What is Jesus teaching you as a wife, mom, or friend? (Or just woman in general?)
Day 11. Post a recipe. Or if you don't cook, try a new recipe and write about how it turned out (pictures please!).
Day 12. Write about what wears you out as a woman.
Day 13. Write about something you would like to change about yourself for the better.
Day 14. Style 31. Post an outfit pic!
Day 15. Write to encourage a friend. Inspire her beauty.
Day 16. Write a letter to your daughter, or a young girl in your life. Tell her what beauty means.
Day 17. Write about 3 things that make you happy.
Day 18. Describe your personality.
Day 19. Write about your favorite comfort food (we are women- we ALL have comfort food!)
Day 20. Write about your job and why you love it or hate it.
Day 21. Write a letter to your husband to encourage him (or if you are single- your future husband.)
Day 22. What are some needs that need to be met in your community? Blog about how to extend your hand to those who need you.
Day 23. What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses?
Day 24. What is Jesus teaching you presently?
Day 25. Style 31. Post a pic of your favorite comfy clothes.
Day 26. What do you hope your grandchildren will say about you someday when you are gone?Day 27. Write a blog to encourage someone and build their confidence!
Day 28. Write about your insecurities as a woman.
Day 29. Write about "a day in the life of me." (Pics are great!)
Day 30. Who is your role model as a woman?
Day 31. Write about your dreams and goals as a beautiful woman!