It's Not Exactly a Gift Registry or Crazy Things I Do for Fun

It's no secret to most of my friends that I enjoy running. It took me until I was an adult, trying desperately to shed pregnancy pounds, to discover this fabulous way to keep my heart healthy and my buns in check. My husband isn't so much concerned about his buns, but he loves to run too, and we like to race together. And yes, that means we PAY MONEY to wake up early, safety-pin signs to our shirts, stick in earbuds, then sweat and pant alongside a great crowd of other crazies doing the same thing.

We have friends who run too, and in fact were running long before we were, so we know we really aren't that weird. OK, at least we're not alone in our weirdness.

Last Saturday, we ran Pensacola's Double Bridge Run, which is a 15K (9.3 mile) distance that begins close to historic downtown, goes across a 3-mile bridge, over Gulf Breeze island, another bridge, and then ends at the beach. Since I was not in 15K shape this year, I opted for the 5K. See Lisa? She's well over 20 weeks pregnant! (And she's still faster than I am.) Her husband Jason chose to chauffeur us to our start lines and be on Daddy duty instead of competing. Post-race, he also did a great job of maneuvering to the nearest Krispy Kreme and buying a box of hot.

Here's Jason, getting pumped up for one last trip to the porta-potty before the gun. The poor dear looks so cold!
And here the two of us are after the finish. We had long cooled off, and had begun to freeze again, but we were happy because each of us had pulled off a new PR (personal record.)Racing is always fun, but training is not. I've had to rebuild my fitness since Quinn was born, since I was a huge slacker during the last half of the pregnancy, and the road has not always been an adrenaline-pumping success. I'm still working on endurance, but I've come a long way. One of my current challenges is fighting boredom. My body can run for a long time, but my mind can get pretty tired of it. And so.........

a tried-and-true remedy? I've started collecting! It's quite amazing what people toss out of their vehicles. Among the fast food wrappers, beer cans and at-home drug tests, there are some treasures.

My first (and most exciting) find was an aluminum 9x13 pan. At first sight I passed it up, thinking if I still remembered it at the end of my run, I would drive back to retrieve it. Then I thought better of my forgetful self, decided I really wanted that pan, and doubled back. I carried it the last mile and a quarter of my run, switching it from left to right and back again every hundred strides. It made the time fly, and I was hooked on collecting!
A few runs later, I found a companion for my pan.It's really not fit for dining use, since the tines are all bent out of shape, but what a great sandbox toy or plant poke or beginnings of a wind-chime!Wednesday I found a perfectly fine bucket to inspire some cleaning. I'll give it to Jason?
And today I found a grapefruit spoon, which is perfectly fitting since we have a huge box of grapefruit sitting in the garage and a shortage of grapefruit spoons.
Who knows what I'll find next run amid the litter? I have no desire to pick up the faux evergreen Christmas garland that has been not decomposing for over a year, nor the red camp chair that has faded to pink, but I'll certainly be keeping my eyes open for new stuff, and in the process, train for our next race!

Dreams of Cupcakes

After my earlier post about Helen wanting to see Quinn again, my sweet cousin e-mailed me.

"I just read your latest post about your sweet and precious Helen's thoughts and wanted to write you. It got me thinking... I just wonder if it would be appropriate to pray with Helen and ask Jesus for a special dream meant just for her. A dream where maybe she can give Quinn a great big hug and kiss... I don't know. I have just found in our family at least, that there have been times when -as a mom- I don't know how to respond, and sometimes Jesus can take care of things in really creative ways. Does that make sense? You might not be comfortable with that, but it may be something to consider?"

I never would have thought of asking God for something like that. As Jason and I tucked Helen into bed that night, we talked to her about it, then prayed that God would give her a special dream about Quinn.

In the morning, I asked her if she had a dream about her sister.

"Yes," she said, as if I were doubting. "There was a cake and cupcakes and butterflies and sprinkles!"

"Was Quinn still a baby or was she a little girl?"

"She was still a baby."

"What color was her hair?"

"Brown." Then, "She didn't have any hair!"

We tried not to suggest anything with our questions, but since it wasn't our experience, we didn't really know what to ask or think. She is not characterized by lying, and furthermore, her details stayed the same all day.

She was very happy about her dream, and we reasoned that cupcakes and sparkles are the happiest things that Helen can think of. Maybe God used Helen's own personal symbols of happiness to communicate to her the excitement of Heaven, and that Quinn is having a great time there.

More Freezer Paper Stencils to the Rescue

This fall I snatched up some long-sleeved shirts for Helen at a discount store in town. They were brand new, only fifty cents, or maybe a dollar. Either way, I was glad to pay the puny sum, and thoroughly delighted that they were plain. I over-bought, thinking either of my gift stash, or the way little girls attract stains on their clothing.

When I asked Helen what she wanted me to paint on her shirt, she landed on a strawberry. I tried to influence her toward something more winterish, but her choice was solid. It got complicated when she wanted a letter H too. I sketched some designs, and she chose her favorite.

She was a satisfied customer, especially delighting in the tiny strawberry seeds carved into the stencil and the paint with sparkles.

I didn't make too many Christmas gifts this year, but when my sister-in-law mentioned what she wanted in a new bag for my 2-year-old niece, I got to work right away the night before our gift exchange. I found a plain denim bag at JoAnn and embellished it with a big bow and a monogram. Is that Southern or what?
I also lined it with some of her leftover quilt fabric.
I loved it almost enough to make one for myself.

Four-Year-Old's Thoughts

Tonight after supper, I sent Helen to the bathtub. I let her soak while I was cleaning the kitchen. Several minutes passed until I checked on her, letting her know I was ready to wash her.

She said, "Mom, I just want to die."

I wasn't sure I heard her correctly, so I asked her to repeat herself.

"Mom, I want to see Quinn again."

Sweetheart.

I explained that Jesus had a different plan for Quinn than He has for her, that He has something special for her to do here on earth while she is alive, something special for her to learn. "And besides," I told her, "Daddy and I would miss you so much, and we would be so sad if you died."

Her solution? "Then our whole family should die together."

Late Christmas Projects

This Christmas, we filled stockings for the kids. As usual, I wanted to make my own version.

I found the perfect fabric at JoAnn, so perfect in fact that I bought more to make myself a blanket. I drafted a pattern for the stockings, and cut out and sewed one late at night while watching the latest Bond movie. Neither turned out well. I gave up for several days, then finished the other two later. Of course, each stocking needed to be marked with its owner's initial. And once again, no crafting supplies have my heart as much as felt and embroidery floss. Since I've learned to move when inspiration strikes, I scissored up the initials in between adding product to and blow-drying my hair one morning. I used a diamond-shaped cookie cutter as a pattern for the ornament, and frantically sewed them the day the kids opened their stockings.
The cookie cutter pattern gave me an idea:


A gingerbread man in the hand is worth two in the....cookie jar? This poor guy will have to wait a whole year to join the ornaments on my tree, since I made him in January during our Life Group's getaway to Pine Mountain, Georgia.

On our way home from Pine Mountain, we stopped in Auburn for lunch and some shopping. Do you think the kids love their new shirts?

Thinking about...

...dead babies and crooked landlords.

One gracious hand of God holds us tightly. The other is hidden, for the time being.

"Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
my hope comes from him.
Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
My salvation and my honor depend on God;
he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
Trust in him at all times, you people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge."

Psalm 62:5-8

Dress for Bella

Here's a little dress I made for a friend whose baby girl is due in February.
In my typical last-minute fashion, I was sewing on the buttons as Jason drove to the party. (The little Swiss Army knife scissors in my truck's console has been a lifesaver on more than one occasion.) I've made this pattern before, but it has a few problems. I was extremely satisfied with myself for figuring out some of the kinks, one being that the collar always stuck up funny, and another that the sleeve hems looked frumpy.

Sometimes I am timid to give handmade gifts because I'm afraid they won't be liked. Hit or miss, I still love to make things, and when I make a gift, I'm thinking of and praying for that person. At any rate, I look forward to meeting little Bella some time next month!