This year, all of our kids wrote a poem to share at our Thanksgiving feast. They felt I should write one too and I willingly agreed. I'll post theirs later, when I have them in front of me and if Marian doesn't beat me to the punch. But here's what I came up with today. Happy Thanksgiving ya'll!

Thanksgiving 2009

Oh the many things I am thankful for
My Savior's love does pour, Kevin loves me more and more
and we have adorable kiddos galore!

Austin was thrown into the mix back in the year of '96
His kicks come from his basketball picks and his licks come when his mind sticks.
That's how he gets his fix.

Then in '98 we knew we weren't done when Addison became our second son
He's tons of fun, loves to run,
but his soccer team, sadly, never won.

Anna-Kate, my girl, is mine that came third in line
she's oh so fine and seldom does she whine
as long as she is first in line.

Then in 2002, who knew we'd have someone new? Son #4, Ayden, 'tis true.
Three kids in diapers means lots of poo and many extra chores to do.
Our home was looking a lot like a zoo. Whew!

And what a surprise in 2005, when Asa, our fifth child did arrive!
He and Ayden jump and jive and move about like bees in a hive.
It's fun and alive until Ace, from the bed, takes a nose dive. Oh the joys of having five!

Anna-Kate says don't forget, Sugar, Ginger and Pippen, our surviving pet.
He does lick, stink and wet, and get me upset. Oh, how I fret!
And yet, we are better with the pets we have met.

So many blessings to be thankful for, family and friends who open their door.
We share Jesus as our core, our sins that He wore, and because of the grace He does pour, our lives can mean so much more.

Dutch, Reformed

Today, I added a new blog to my bloglist. It is the blog of Brandon and Susie Dutcher. They are friends that we got to know while living in Oklahoma. They are the parents of five children: Lincoln, Lilly, Mary Margaret, Jack Henry and Anne Marie, their newest addition.

I do not have the strength or even the knowledge to divulge to you the story of Anne Marie. She is currently in a hospital in Dallas being treated for a diaphragmatic hernia with which she was born. She has been through so much in her short little lifetime. You can click on the link at the right (Dutch, Reformed) to read their story. Please keep this family in your prayers. My heart is aching for them and the decisions that they are making even today.

October 27, 2009



Today would have been Knox's 4th birthday. I'm remembering him and praying for his family today. In his honor, a 4 mile run is in store for me this afternoon. . .

I had the special privilege of loving on Knox many times in the nursery and, often, when I look at Asa (my own 4 year old), I am reminded of what he also lost on that fateful, yet providential day in April of 2007. I love you Jon and Rachel, Anne Michal, Elizabeth, Emma, Jack and Creed. I am thankful for Knox's life and so sorry for the emptiness that he left behind. Praying for you still.

Jack, Knox & Asa

My Most Embarrassing Moment

I guess God figured I needed a light-hearted moment and truly, I can't believe I'm sharing this here, but when I shared it with Marian, we laughed so hard together that well, I felt like we could all use a good laugh. . .

One night this week, we planned on cooking out at our house with the Colemans and my in-laws, who happened to be visiting. So after we finished school, we headed home to start the getting ready process. It wasn't until after I had put the chicken in the microwave to defrost, that I went to wash my hands and realized that the water had been turned off. "Hmmm," I thought "that must be why all those city trucks were on our street." I called Kevin and he in turn, called the city of Bryan and then called me back to inform me that our water would be off from 4:10 pm to 6:10 pm.

By this time, it was almost 5:00 and so I figured we could all make it another hour. I let the kids know they couldn't use the toilets and if they really had to "go", there were a few trees in the back yard they could use. ;)

About fifteen minutes later is when it hit me and I knew I wasn't going to make it until 6:10 pm. I often catch my children doing the "pee pee" dance, but I'm pretty sure they've never seen me doing it. . .until now. I had to go so bad, I walked out back around the side of my house looking for a place where I might be able to, well, you know, go. But then my next door neighbor's upstairs window was inconveniently glaring down at me so I "danced" my way back in the house and decided I could hold it afterall.

Well, another twenty minutes went by and I started thinking I hadn't fully given the back yard its due. I had to have some relief. So I headed out back again to where I had formerly been and copped a squat beside the house, next to the fence. It was the most private spot I could find under the circumstances.

And then it happened. It was in this squatted position that I heard Kevin's voice. And as I was sitting there, mid-stream, I looked out the slats of the fence and I could see and hear Kevin, introducing his dad, my father-in-law, to the elderly accountant who lives next door. I could see them shaking hands. I had a full view of all of them and I just knew that if they happened to look over, they would see me "in all my glory". I was trying so hard to hurry, but I think I had drank a gallon of water, and well, that just takes time. At some point, I was positive that Kevin and I made eye contact and I was just trying to get back in the house as fast as I could, with my dignity in tact.

As I stood up and tried to get presentable, I thought I saw them all look my way, but I didn't stick around to see for sure. When I asked Kevin about it later, he promised me he didn't see me. He did hear somebody there, but he thought it was the kids playing with Pippen, our dog. I really hope he didn't see me. More importantly, I hope my father-in-law and my neighbor didn't see me. And how thankful I would be if my most embarrassing moment was truly just a moment between me and God!

Whew!

FIVE WORDS

My friend, Rachel blogged about 5 words which someone had passed onto her. So I commented on her post and told her to send 5 words my way and I, too, would play along. The thing is, I completely forgot about it until she reminded me yesterday. Sorry Rachel. And since I'm taking the afternoon off from schooling, I thought I'd take a moment to make good on my word, or 5 words, in this case. The words are: shopping, windows, grass, rain and tv.

I wonder if it's ok to put my first two words together. . .

Window Shopping
Window shopping reminds me of when I was little and my parents would take me out on my birthday. Every year, around our birthday, dad and mom would come and pick Marian and me up from school and take us out to lunch, then a movie and then a new pair of shoes was in order. This was back in the day before malls and all the shops were lined up in a row downtown.

As we walked from shoe store to shoe store, mom would look in all the store windows and comment about whatever was on display. I never understood the point of what she called "window shopping". Most of the time when she saw something she liked, she just commented on it and moved on. I always wanted to go in, but we rarely did. I guess with 9 kids, she gave up a lot. That makes me grateful and a little sad too.

Grass
All the way through junior high and high school, I was the one in my house who was responsible for mowing our lawn. My dad told me he would pay for my cheerleading camp (approximately $100), if I kept up with the grass all summer. I think he got the better end of that deal. We had a HUGE yard, ya'll.

Also, I once heard Kevin say that he thought a woman should never have to push a mower. I'm not saying that that was the moment I knew he was the one for me, but it sure didn't hurt his chances either. Over the course of our marriage, I think I've "pushed the mower" twice. Not bad odds, I'd say.

Rain
Just the word, "rain" makes me a little melancholy. Makes me want to sleep in, read a good book, take in a sappy movie, walk with my honey, go for a run, or watch a marathon Monk, NCIS or Law and Order on USA. I love a good rain. It's good for the soul.

Oh, and I almost forgot. The word "rain" also makes me think of my friend, Kierstyn, who commented once about what she likes about going to Six Flags in the rain. I can't really repeat it here, but trust me, it is hilarious. ;)

TV
I have a love/hate relationship with television. Almost everynight, I go to sleep watching ESPN (Kev's choice) or some show on channel 23. USA is my network of choice as my favorite shows are Law and Order (doesn't matter which one), NCIS, Monk and House (I hate to admit that one).

Our kids like Full House and Phineus and Ferb. Both are relatively harmless, pretty silly and yet offer opportunities of discussion (about world views, teenage angst, etc.) that have been good for us, as parents, to have with our kids.

I hate, Hate, HATE commercials. They have become too worldly, too sexy, too suggestive, too everything. It seems like everytime we think we're watching something harmless, like a game on ESPN, or a "family" movie, we are bombarded with images, words and world views that are contrary to our own. Ya know the childhood song, "Be Careful Little Eyes What You See", well, tv makes it difficult to guard your children's eyes (and adult eyes, for that matter) from seeing more than they should.

So there ya go. If you wanna play along, just comment and I'll send 5 words your way too.

5K Training and so on. . .

OK, I know I haven't kept up with posting about my training, but that doesn't mean I've given up on the training. It's just that our lives are busy, busy, busy now and so I don't always have the time to say what I want to say. To make a long post shorter, two weeks ago I ran 3 days for 45 minutes and walked about 15 and in between those days, I walked with my daughter for about an hour.

Then last week, I upped the running to 50 minutes and then walked for the last 10. And then I walked a day or two with Anna-Kate--again for about an hour each time (I think.) So, I've been doing about 4 miles consistently and I'm feeling pretty good. I have more energy. I wish I could say I've lost 25 pounds in this whole process, but alas, I have only lost about 3. So I press on.

But I have something better I wanted to share. Marian has been posting some poems that our kids have been writing for school. Well Austin wrote a humdinger of a poem today and I just had to let ya'll have a peek. He's brilliant and funny. So here ya go:

In the forest, there are trees of green
some are broad and some are lean.

It is really spooky in the dark
I flinched to the sound of my dog's bark.

I wondered what was behind that tree.
It was really scaring me.

I didn't know what to do.
I felt the tension as it grew.

I knew something was there.
I began to wet my underwear.

I heard twigs begin to break.
I yelled, "Sick 'em!" to my dog, Jake.

I saw my dog run toward the trees.
I tried to stop my shaking knees.

I heard someone let out a scream.
I began to wish this whole thing was a dream.

I saw someone as he ran.
I noticed I held a can.

I threw it with all my might.
I hit him on the back of the head just right.

As I saw that man fall,
I noticed he was quite tall.

Then all of the sudden I became quite sad
because I realized I just hit my dad.

So then Austin read his poem to his dad and his dad had this to say, "Three things: first of all, you don't have a dog named Jake. Secondly, if you threw a can at me, you would probably miss. Thirdly, if you hit me in the back of the head, I wouldn't fall down." And then he said, "You forgot the last part of your poem. It should read, 'After my dad awoke, soon I noticed my nose was broke.'"

Oh, I love my family.

Week 3--C25K with a twist

Days 1 & 3: Walk 5 minutes. Jog 12 minutes or 1 mile. Walk 5 minutes. C25K: Jog 90 seconds/walk 90 seconds. Jog 3 minutes/walk 3 minutes. Do that twice. Walk 4 minutes. Jog 7 minutes or 1/2 mile. Walk 4 minutes.

Days 2, 4 & 6: Walk 55 minutes or some other form of cross-training i.e. biking, aerobics, etc.

Day 5--Long Run Day: Run 25 minutes or 2.5 miles.

Day 7: Always rest.