we have had a FULL week with more excitement still to come.
life skills being taught....
waffle was naughty and completely dorky as usual. he got on the couch while i was still home! how is he smart enough to know not to get on when craig is home and that i won't do anything? it's crazy. he slept with his leg up in the air for a long time.
the kids tried to dress up the chickens with american girl doll clothes. but realized chickens don't have arms to make it work. it was funny to try though.
one of these days those chicks will be gone & we will know that they learned how to hot wire Barbie's car...
i like having lunch with my kids. i wish i had done it with my older kids. i didn't know that was a thing that people did. your kids would love it if you showed up too. (with no other siblings... just you... and fast food)
campfires are pretty much the best thing ever. i have tried my best to keep all s'more ingredients stocked all all times at our house.
mother's day was a very nice day. i try very hard to keep expectations VERY low and that helps to keep the day flowing well. i was treated to homemade cards by the little girls.... and cashed in that free coffee immediately.
after church i went in my bedroom and shut the door and relaxed while my family made the entire lunch. what a nice treat to come out to a completely set table AND food.
then i went straight back in my room while they cleaned it up.
best mother's day i have had in many years.
gardening this year in pots only....this is a huge relief to me. the thought of gardening was LOOMING over me and i wasn't excited about it. but this is perfect!
lauren is done with high school. forever. it's so crazy how fast that passed! we are so proud that she made it through with excellent grades and can't wait to see her future unfold.
her graduation is sunday afternoon. it's been an emotional week....
this is what happens on a daily basis here. if we don't do the dishes every 18-24 hours... it looks like this. NO JOKE. we even ate on paper plates that day!
i sported pigtails today. after a 3 week break.... i went out for a run with my friends this morning.
it was short & sweet but felt so good to remember that i did still know how to run. :)
as i drank my second cup of coffee i looked down and realized i was a rainbow of colors.
so... we have a very busy weekend filled with parties to attend & to give, basketball, shopping, cleaning, rainbow cake making, graduation cermony and grandparents coming.
well.... i did it! it is hard to believe that i actually have done 13.1 miles. but it's TRUE!!
whoop whoop!
let me recap the weekend as it went down.
on friday, mr. duerksen left with four of my kids for a bball tournament out of town. so to begin my girls weekend i got a full 24 hours ALONE. um...yeah...that rocked! then...craig accidentally took my car keys so i couldn't even leave my house and you know what? it was such a blessing. i HAD to stay home and just be alone. ahhhhhh.
i did laundry, cleaned the chicken's box and watched crazy stupid, Love. (i love that movie!)
:)
saturday morning i put on my favorite shirt to bring good vibes my way.... ha!
my friends picked me up since i had no car. and we took off for our road trip! as usual... talk talk talk all the way there.
we picked up our packets with our bib inside it and shopped the expo a little. i bought sporty sunglasses...you know i needed them after all that fashion wear all winter. i hate the way the sport sunglasses look. so much. but i can wear them with my hat so it was needed.
they had this wall with the names of all of the people who died in the OKC bombing. the people the race was honoring. the first 168 bib numbers were given to them. it was emotional.
one of the best parts of marathon training is getting "CARB LOAD" the week of the race. and believe me... i did.
we went back to our hotel and right to bed. our wake up time was 4:00 AM. oy veh. i slept terrible as expected and leaped out of bed at the alarm. my roommate was pretty surprised by that. :)
we geared up with all our running stuff...gummy energy chews, wipes, kleenex, money (? we didn't know??), body glide, hair ties, hats, sunglasses, our bib numbers, ipods, phones and layers. we waited in the cool air for 35 minutes for the "every 15 minutes" shuttle that was suppised to be there at 4:30. blah.
then headed to a sunrise service at The Survivor Tree. again... emotional.
it's hard to see but that is because it was completely dark outside...it was 5:30 AM. we sang worship songs... Bless the Lord Oh My Soul and Amazing Grace were too hard to even sing. i was too choked up. i just closed my eyes and listened.
the pastor read from Jesus Calling and it was just so appropriate.
we made a stop at gear check.
(use gear check if you do a race... super easy and convenient)
we made one last pit stop... porta potties....gross.
then we found our pace group and waited. with 10,000 other people. they had 168 seconds of silence for those who died in OKC. i cried. and prayed. i was getting VERY nervous with all the unknowns... can i do this? am i safe? what if i get hurt? what if i fall? you know... all that stuff that Satan loves to put in your mind when big things are happening. i texted craig and kimberlee. i needed one last boost of love before i took off. they gave it to me. :)
some of my friends are conscience of their time when they run. these were free tattoos you could put on to know your pace. i was not remotely interested. i can only do what i can do at that moment. not anyone else's time.
the gun went off and we stood still for a looooong time because we were SO far back in the line 14 minutes after the gun went off we crossed the start line and began our first half marathon!
and it was fun!
there was loud music. people in their driveways all along the way. some had water... some had beer.... donuts... signs... all SO SWEET!
then the hills began. geez louise. there were so many hills on this course. we didn't train for that. but we did it. i mean come on....LOOK AT THAT HILL!!!
and that wasn't even the bad hill that everyone told us about.
the sun was coming up as we came through this tunnel. it was beautiful light... i wished i had my big camera. (and that i was not running... ha)
firefighters were all through the race. which made me tear up every time we came up on them. they were sweating like crazy walking with all that gear on... what amazing men!
we ran right past the capital building. that was really cool. and the sun was just behind it... GORGEOUS.
we hit the halfway mark and decided on taking a picture. try # 1 try #2 we were honestly smiling.
i repeated to myself so many times "God's spirit is with you" "present your body as worship" and "Glorify God with your body"
i made it 9.5 miles before walking!! that is AMAZING. i had never run more than 8 miles before that... so i had my personal best that day.
around mile 11 i was feeling a little delirious. and i said to my friend "have you seen Taledega Nights?" and i quoted this line.
i know i know. ricky bobby and carl naughton jr. are complete blasphermors through that entire movie. but... i quoted it because as i was dragging and weak..
i said "well....i am picturing my jesus in running shorts and nike frees...running beside me"
we giggled a bit and decided Jesus probably would have been way faster than me.
i walked a bit, ran a bit, walked a bit and then at mile 12 an older man on the sides controlling traffic, looking like morgan freeman, leaned in towards me and did a quiet clapping and said quietly
"let's go. let's go. run. you can do it. let's go"
and it was so quiet that i just listened to him.
i ran.
and suddenly there was the finish line way up ahead!!
i turned to my friend and said "i am so glad you made me do this! THANK YOU so much!"
i meant it. it was such an awesome morning!
i took out my headphones and took it all in. people were all cheering and screaming for the runners. it was so cool. big races are such a positive atmosphere! every runner feels like a rockstar.
and there i was. done. THIRTEEN MILES. 2:46:48 it's not fast but i don't care one single bit. i did it. (nice glasses.....)
after we caught our breath, regrouped, ate oranges, bagels and bananas to refuel, we headed to the memorial again.
MANY people ran for those they lost in the OKC bombing. the memorial had all kinds of sites like this.
we made it to the shuttles.
i was beginning to feel sick.
then i got sick.
and i was miserable.
my body was in full-on-freak-out mode.
it was not pretty.
my friends let me sleep for awhile and after an hour and a half i was better.
i rallied.
i ate a quick lunch and then it was time for massage.
it's what we do. we run hard and then we go to the spa. the best way to run a race. period.
then dinner and a DELICIOUS drink to celebrate! i am so proud of all of us!!
we trained hard for months. with 15 kids between the four of us...and all of our jobs...and busy lives...
i knew i had to run this morning and the first thing i thought when i opened my eyes was "NO."
but i did it. two of my buddies were there and we ran five miles. the middle felt good and then suddenly i said "HOW ARE WE NOT DONE YET!?!" i just wanted to be finished!
but i feel so good now!
we are still running in 20 degrees. we have every bit of us covered except little bits of our faces that our masks don't cover. we wear two or three layers on top, pants, heavy socks, gloves, a neck guard, a hat and sunglasses. and we are freezing!
i can't wait for warm weather!!
this summer i would LOVE to be MEG'S SUMMER OF SHORTS.
it's been a long time since i have worn shorts. i owned one pair last year. and i didn't like wearing them. so if i want to WEAR them then i will have to DO SOMETHING about this... like more exercise. but all this fun workout gear makes the thought of that more bearable.
someone asked the question back on that question post....
"what is in your purse?"
i was shopping yesterday and thought "dang this is so heavy..."
now i know why.
i think it's time to clean it out just a bit. ha ha ha
so... craft weekend is today. again. :) i just LOVE when it comes around each month. we have such a lovely time...making stuff...eating stuff...making new friends. i heard that there are TWO cheesecakes this month. its official...diet starts monday!
these are some of my instagrams from this week.
for our run on monday it was 38 degrees! stinkin' cold!!
your job is to bless. BE a BLESSING. ok God...i will try my best. (1 Peter in The Message)
talby and annie made a double batch of cookies. i was so glad. for the cookies....and also the dough.
i am considering switching to cheer...purely for the label. they know me. they know my needs.
i was in charge (self appointed) of getting the pb m&ms for craft weekend. guess what kimberlee had to buy more of today?
ha!
it was senior night at lauren's volleyball game. the parents went out on the court and everything. they won their games that night with POWER and confidence....so fun to watch.
there is a new happy wall at the craft house this week! the house and the rooster were from the sparrow mercantile. and the print too...she made it for me special. :) but i hear she may be making them for her shop too. lucky you.
a closer-upper. i love wrapping the hoop with scrap fabrics...adds a lovely touch. and doilies. they are so granny chic.
i got the best gift ever today. i felt so loved. i felt completely understood and my heart was full...i cried a lot.
and now i think the chickens are SO totally happening.
:)
have you heard this song Home by Phillip Phillips? i am loving it.
the swag is all in it's place waiting for all the crafty girls to arrive. we have so many grrrrrrreat sponsors! dayspring, crysatl b, paris print ship, broward patch, stampin' up, amy butler, kari machal designs, limeade designs, matthew mead, pam garrison, knitty bitties, bake it pretty and 31gifts! amazing.
and this picture had to be big...because it's SOOOOOO happy!! this is my car on my way over to the craft house this morning. i love fridays of craft weekend! because i get to buy lots of flowers with no guilt whatsoever!
hope you have a wonderful friday. follow me on instagram and you can see craft weekend on IG firsrt!
a few months ago my running buddies and i decided we'd sign up for a 10K to keep us motivated.
it was hard to keep running some mornings but most of the time we made the effort.
this weekend....we did it!
i am sure you know how hard it is to have time with girlfriends. so instead of just never seeing them....we meet up to run.
and to distract us from the running we talk about what is going on in our lives.
we each ran the whole 6.2 miles....no walking.
woo-hoo!!!
these are positive, encouraging, Godly women that i love. we support each other. we lift each other up. we are happy for each other when good things come. we pray for each other. we want to see the best for each other! they are so special to me.
i am so proud of all us for sticking with it and working hard.
when we were done...we weren't even exhausted. we all agreed we could've kept going.
sweet.
our post race tradition is starbucks and the spa.
this time we could only do starbucks because we had to get back home for our kids' swim meet. but next time...
we are going to the spa.
and there IS a next time.
10 miles.
in the fall....it's ON!
and there is talk about a half marathon but that scares the heck outta me right now.
some of you have asked me about specifics on my personal running gear....
let me tell you that this sports bra has been A W E S O M E!!!
i used to have to wear two sports bras to run...until i found this. it's my fave. it's available on amazon even....i got mine at Dicks Sporting Goods.
it's not cheap...but it's about the same as having to wear two before....and it's totally worth it.
they are super bright and happy. Nike Free Run +2 they are so comfy. today we did another 6 but only ran a little over half...but 6 miles is 6 miles. period.
kimberlee and i went to the world's best barn for some craft weekend neccessities. since i have moved out of the my house in town i had to replace a few of the things we took with us. and add some more really fun things!
i almost got this.
check out this table kimberlee is sunning herself near. it's giant. it's covered in the perfect amount of rust...from sitting outside somewhere forever. it weighs a ton. it's the perfect height.
it came home with me....delivered on a trailer.
it had to....if i didn't get it i knew Anthro would have come by and snatched it away. i had NO choice. ha ha ha
craft weekend SWAG is pouring in my mail box everyday. sunshine by sara there is another one coming up in just two weeks! it's such fun to prepare for!
so now these are all in my kitchen at the old house. how fun is this? and messy i know. i had the tables built for this room by the guys at the Barn from old barn wood & old porch posts (turquoise!!!) i am IN love with these huge tables.
:)
rust AND bright yellow? yes please.
oh Ree. you are super woman. this cookbook is so beautiful. i hope to make every recipe. you make it look so easy.
check out this happy table! this is not where things go....it's things that are stacked waiting for places to land. but it is one happy corner for sure! do you see my awesome canvas from MPIX.com? i absolutely adore it. crystal clear....BRIGHT perfect colors....amazing quality....i could not love it any more than i already do!
and lastly....do you know what this means?
my etsy shop is making it's way to a comeback. slowly but surely. :)
ok...gotta get dinner made. and i think tonight deserves a dessert. something super yummy. hmm....maybe from Ree's cookbook?! yes.
