Running, Giving, and Living

(Lame title brought to you by lack of creativity and time.)

Well, it has happened again. Every place we end up, I inevitably make a friend that doesn't have a job like me and we are free to hangout most of the day. No plans are involved- just a daily "Hey, wanna go for a walk? or grab some coffee? or watch LMN all day long?" Ok, so maybe I'm just dreaming on the last one. The point is that all good things come to an end. My sister has been walking to my house in the mornings and having a cup of coffee or two after everyone in the house leaves for work since I've moved back here. It has been lovely! But she has always been a working woman at heart, one who wants to work outside the home, one who thrives in that atmosphere. She goes back to work today and I'm just sitting here with my coffee and computer wondering how I'll start my day now. I guess the laundry calls.

I suppose I can start the day off by telling you of a way you can financially help a friend in need. I don't actually know this couple, but I do know the woman who set up the fundraiser. She's one of the strongest people I know. Her husband, Brice, is a veteran. They've been through a lot together over the course of his service and now his family is in need. Nicole is raising money for his aunt and uncle who have dealt with endless medical bills and now have lost their hot water heater. Every little bit helps! If you do choose to donate and donate at least $15, she'll throw your hat in the ring to win a diamond candle (every additional $5 will get you another entry). Go check out that opportunity to spread the love here. If you donate, be sure to let me know and I'll advertise for your small business or throw your blog button up on my side bar for a month or two!

Tuesdays are the days when I update you on my fitness goals/progress, right? I wish I had great news to report. I'm struggling getting into a good routine here. I know that will change when we get into a home of our own. I made several goals this month. Honestly, I don't know that I'll accomplish a single one. The main goal was to do fifty miles in September. After 100 in May, I though that is should be easy but between getting sick and house hunting, I have had little time to get away to run. No excuses, though. I'm at 31 now and it is still a reachable goal. The Marine Mud Run was this past weekend. I got up bright and early with my husband, my bro, and step-mom and went for a run in the pouring down rain. The obstacle course ended up being a lot of fun and I did better than I thought I would. I wish we had pictures to show for it, but the rain and mud would have ruined my camera and no one in their right mind would have come to watch us that day. The rain was awful.

Later that day, we went house hunting again after the second house we made an offer on fell through. I'm hoping third time is the charm, though. We are in negotiations with another house that we love. It's the opposite of everything we initially said we wanted, but it just feels like home. Regardless, we need to find something soon or Mama is gonna go crazy. Maybe I already have.

What else is new? Not a lot. I apologize for not keeping up with all of your blogs right now. Being unsettled means not having a lot of me time in my schedule. I try to read from my phone/ipad but I rarely comment.

These photos have nothing to do with this post.

No one likes a post without a picture, ya know.

That's what has been going on around these parts. 

What's happening in your neck of the woods?

House Blues and Happy News (Vlog)

Sometimes I should ask myself, "Does this matter?" or "Does anyone care?" before I post these things, but today is not that day. 

9 Months

Dear Baby A,

What a month it has been for you. You're a whopping 19 lbs and you're in the 25th percentile for height. Your head is lookin' good, too, my man. No more specialists for you. I'm happy that you are healthy and thriving. Any day now, it looks like you might start crawling. You get in position and rock back and forth. You plank, too! Then you get so incredibly angry that you aren't moving that you end up crying and plopping down so you can roll. You're ready to start chasing after your brother, but you're just not quite there yet. I think you'll be mobile within a week.

Your personality is developing and it's so sweet. In the mornings you grace us with your gummy smile and shriek with excitement after your morning milk. You play nicely with your toys until your brother wakes up and I'm thankful for that time in the a.m. when I can guzzle coffee in a quiet peace.

You look a lot like my baby photos and that makes me smile. You also are addicted to your mama. If I'm in the room, no one else will do. If you can see me, you want to be right up on me, on my hip, in my face, whatever gets you close to me. I know I'll miss these times!

My favorite times are when you are sleepy and cuddly. Those times are rare, but I yearn for them weekly. Sometimes I want nothing more than to curl up with you in bed and look at how beautifully perfect God made you. I wonder what sort of man you will become.

I love you so so much.

-Mama

The Scoop

Thanks for the well wishes on our house hunt. There was such a heavy load lifted from my shoulders when we signed the papers for our new house. It was everything we wanted and we had our move-in date and everything! Two weeks before closing, we got word that the appraisal came back $14,500 less than what we agreed to pay. Trouble was- the owner had gotten an appraisal months before that was much, much higher and so that's what he believes the house is worth. Obviously, we decided not to pay that much money for a house that isn't worth that right now. The owner declined our appraisal offer (with much sass, by the way) and so we walked. Bye, bye beautiful house on five acres. Hello, house hunt. What did we learn? Well, house buying is frustrating. We also learned that maybe we don't want a lot of land right now. Maybe we want the convenience of being closer to the interstate. That house was about 15-20 outside of Cleveland and we were beginning to worry that we had made a mistake although I know we would have been happy there. Everything works out the way it is supposed to, doesn't it? Still, I have an urge to bust into the toddler's room as he naps and grab the countdown-to-closing chain we made and set it on fire since it no longer applies.

I'm pretty discouraged today. For weeks now, I've been telling Holly (our dog) that it won't be much longer and things will be back to normal for her. She went from living inside with us to staying in a pen on the back of the property here. She's lonely. Furthermore, we are still in my parents' hair and I don't know what our next step is. Saturday we are going to look at 8 more houses and if we don't find anything interesting then I think it will be time to look for rental homes as bad as that sucks.

Want some good news, though? My husband is coming home in about an hour from his business trip. Yay! We've missed him.

Uncomfortable Grace

I'm pretty sure we lost the house. It sucks, it does, but that's not what I want to talk about today. My initial reaction is, of course, to feel a little sad and disappointed. When I got the news via text earlier today, I got out my iPhone to listen to a sermon. I needed something else to think about. I needed my quiet time with God. What I heard was an invaluable lesson and it is the sole reason I haven't completely flipped my lid in this new development.

Dr. Paul Tripp started out by saying that faith isn't natural to us. It is fear or worry we typically turn toward when times get rough. He gave the example found in the book of Matthew when Jesus sent his disciples ahead of him on a boat so they could cross the sea of Galilee. In the night, the disciples encountered a fierce storm. If the wheels are churning in your mind now you might know where I'm headed with this. Sometimes God puts us in less than desirable situations in order to produce in us a true faith in Him that we could never arrive at on our own. Dr. Tripp called this "uncomfortable grace." The potential loss of this house does not signify that my Heavenly father has forgotten me; He hasn't forsaken my family. On the contrary, we're being loved through this. He's developing me, moving in me. I truly don't want this house if it's not where God wants us. I do have faith that God is in control and He works for the good of those (me!) who love Him. This situation isn't ideal. It's uncomfortable. But God is working here.

Jesus could have calmed the waters without the big to-do of walking out to the boat. Instead, he walked on water, looping around so that all the disciples could see Him. They saw Him but did not recognize Jesus. The disciples believed it was a ghost and were very frightened. Jesus says, "Take heart- it is I. Do not be afraid." That storm was crucial for the disciples to see the glory of God. How many times would it take? They had heard Jesus speak and witnessed miracles at his hands. But there's a big difference between being amazed by God and truly walking in faith with Him.

I'm amazed by God a lot. When I walk in the woods, I see the beauty He threw together so perfectly. When I look in the smiling faces of my children, I'm amazed that He has chosen me to be their mama. I'm amazed by how much he loves me despite how despicable I can be. Have I trusted wholly in Him over the last few months? No, I haven't. I've questioned timing. I've questioned purpose. 

Maybe my storm today is devoloping my faith. Although it might feel like it sometimes, I'm not alone in this-

 the Great I AM is here with me. I shouldn't be afraid. I'm not. Not really. It'll work out, right? ;)

I'll keep you posted.

(Go download Mars Hill app. It's free and full of lots of sermons you can listen to on the go!)

Hiking the Cumberland Trail

The last few years, we've lived in very flat places: Louisiana, Florida. My biggest complaint was always how flat it was. I love the mountains. There's just something about climbing up to an overlook with fresh air in my lungs. I feel healthy. I feel alive. I feel nearer to my Creator. When we got the good news we were moving back to Tennessee, one of the million thoughts that floated through my head was- We'll get to go hiking in some elevation! What better way to spend our Labor Day weekend than getting our kids out and introducing them to the good ole hills of Tennessee.

We packed a picnic (and by packed I mean we stopped at Subway) lunch and headed over to the Cumberland Trail for a little hiketherapy. I just made that word up just now. I like it. Anyway, we ended up eating on Black Mountain. It was lovely; I had never been.

The trail was great for kids until the very top, of course. There were cracks in the rocks that had to be crossed and obviously a very tall ledge, but it was definitely manageable. I could even relax and have a little fun. Here's our attempt at a family photo:

We try.

All in all, it was a great day and it left us with an itch to get out in nature again soon.

That's exactly what we did two days later at Ozone Falls.

My sister and her husband joined us and thank God they did! J and I had forgotten how steep the "trail" is to get down to the falls. I forgot the wrap or hiking backpack for the babe so we carried him. It was a joint effort. Paige took him on the way down and I hauled him back up. Despite me nearly having a panic attack (afraid one of the kids might get hurt), we had a good time...until the car troubles. That's another blog post, though.

It's so great to be back!

Waiting, waiting

We've been home for a month now and I'm sure you're wondering how the process is going with the house. I'm wondering, too. We haven't heard anything since we got all the paperwork turned in. It's a waiting game. As a former military spouse, I've played this game before. It's not really my favorite. Still, we might as well make the best of it and so we lovingly tear off another ring on our paper chain every morning when we wake up. Closing is still set for late September.

I think September is going to go by fast, though. There's a lot going on. I mentioned my fitness goals for this month. Those will keep me busy! In related news, I signed up for a mud run with my husband, dad, step-mom, sister, and brother in law. I'm excited! I feel ill prepared, though. I haven't been running and working out as much as I hoped I would during this move.

We are also hoping to catch a football game this month. J has never experienced game day at Neyland Stadium! My brother was blessed with the opportunity to be a team manager this year. He's loving it! Saturday, he ran through the Power T with roughly 90,000 people cheering. His faced graced the tv several times as he was "working." I got a lot of texts- I saw Jake on TV! What an opportunity of a lifetime. I hope he soaks up every bit of it. Anyway, it would be nice to go watch him in action...and see the Vols play. I haven't been in about three years.

Anyway, there is A LOT going on here, but some things are slowing down, too. Baby A has finally started sleeping more. Praise the Lord!

It makes me appreciate slow moments on the porch like this one-

Over-n-out,