Resolutions?

I've never been one to make New Year's Resolutions mostly because I'll forget about them a week or so into the new year. I love making lists though, so here's a breakdown of my goals for this new year (in no particular order):

1. Get into shape. This one's sort of cliche as far as resolutions go, but I do need to be a little more deliberate in my efforts to stay healthy and strong. This past spring I was playing hockey once a week, biking two to three times a week, and swimming at least once a week. I felt good. Now I play hockey twice a week...and that's about it. I need to step it up.

2. Play my guitar. I was doing well for a couple of months but I got busy over the holidays and sort of stopped.

3. Read my bible every day and journal more. I'm hoping to read through the bible again this year.

4. Complete some sort of wall hanging for our dining room. I have some ideas bouncing around in my head, but I need to make the time to actually do it.

5. Scrapbook more. I need to finish Audrey's first and second year. It's a big task, but I really want to be done with it.

6. Decorate Audrey's room. I'm planning to repaint her room purple and add some original wall art and some shelving for more storage.

7. Score at least six more goals before hockey season is over. I have four so far.

8. Teach Audrey her ABCs. She can repeat them after me and she can identify most letters but she hasn't been able to say them all in a row yet. We practice off and on, but I want to be more consistent in spending that time with her.

9. Finish working on our backyard improvements. We still want to make a raised vegetable garden, put brick edging along our side yard, and fill it in with rocks. It was amazing to see the transformation last year, and I'm excited for this year.

10. Make more art. Whatever it happens to be, I need to use that talent I've been blessed with before I lose it altogether.

11. Keep in touch with friends and family on a more regular basis. Not via facebook, but with actual phone calls, letters/cards, and visits.

12. Continue to organize and declutter our lives. I feel so much better when I get rid of all of the extra stuff we never use.

13. Run more. I know I already made a goal to get into shape, but running is a whole different category for me. I hate it, but I want to be able to do it. I have to be careful because my knees are steadily losing cartilege, but I know if I stretch adequately I can do it. I ran a two mile fun run in 20 degree weather last month and felt great, so I am pretty motivated to get out there.

14. Be an example to those around me. I've been really making an effort (okay, more like God has been working in me) to be more of a positive influence on those around me. There's so much negativity in the world that a little kindness and compassion go a long way.

"It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining in an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinately being just an ordinary decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad."

--C.S. Lewis

Silver and Gold

I've been thinking a lot about friendship recently. I have always been blessed with great friends no matter what my situation happens to be. I'm actually amazed sometimes (though I really shouldn't be at this point) at how God places just the right person in my life at just the right time, and though I may not see it at the time, they always serve some sort of purpose. I guess that may be sort of obvious, but sometimes I just don't see the big picture.

Recently I've begun to come to terms with the fact that friends, even those who are really close, eventually drift apart whether emotionally or geographically. It's an inevitable part of life, but that doesn't necessarily make it any easier. I struggled for a long time with the fact that I may never live near my best friends and that eventually we would only see each other on holidays, and then maybe once a year, and then maybe...I don't know. I didn't get that far because I didn't want to think about it.

What I've realized is that there will always be people who drift in and out of my life. Some will be around for awhile, others only a short time. Some of my closest friendships have lasted less than three years, some more than 20. Almost all of my closest friends live at least 100 miles away. Many live much farther away than that. At the end of the day, the friendships that truly count are with people who, no matter how much time has passed, can strike up the same old conversation without missing a beat. It's always comfortable, never awkward. There's no rehashing of old wrongs, or any drama. Just two (or more) people who God chose to bring together.

The reason I brought up this subject is that one of my best friends just returned from her LDS mission in Argentina. She was gone for 18 months, which seemed like a lifetime for two people who spent nearly every day together for at least four summers. It was a long time, but not as unbearable as I had imagined. The worst times were right after she left and the last few weeks before she returned. I worried that things wouldn't be the same and that maybe we wouldn't be as close as we were before. Eighteen months is a long time to go without talking to someone. It's always when I'm expecting the worst when I am pleasantly surprised by something better. As soon as she walked in the door, it was like she never left. Right now I'm having a hard time believing she was even gone except that she knows a lot of Spanish and has pictures to prove she was in Argentina!

I love how God blesses me in so many little ways. He proves to me time and time again that even the little details of my life matter to Him. I tend to have a hard time believing that sometimes, and I really shouldn't because I'm continually being proven wrong.

I'm thankful to each and every one of you out there who I am privileged enough to call my friend. You are all amazing. The end. :)

"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, "What! You too? I thought I was the only one!"

--C.S. Lewis

Anticipation

Some things I'm looking forward to:


1. Taco(less) Tuesday -Basically it's a young adults bible study. We used to have tacos, but now we have muffins and biscotti. Either way, it's a really good time. Good friends. Good music. Great fellowship. You should come. Really.


2. Megan's Return - She's coming home from her mission in Argentina in less than a month. I'm so excited...and I just can't hide it... It seems like it's been FOR-EV-VER since I saw her last! I mean, Audrey wasn't even walking when she left and now she can say her name (well, mostly she says "Bacon" or something, but still). I know things will be a little different (how could they not be?), but I'm excited to see how we've each grown in our lives.

3. Fall - I love fall. I love the way the leaves crunch, the smell of frost, pumpkins, apples, cinnamon, wearing scarves and mittens, crocheting (why yes, I am an old lady), the colors...mmm. Oh, and caramel chocolate apples. With macadamia nuts sprinkled on top...

4. Hockey Season - Justin and I are joining the Moses Lake Coyotes this year! Last year we played drop-in and went to clinics, so now we're ready to play in actual games...maybe...he is at least. Anyway, I'm really excited to get back on the ice. It's so fun and it's a great workout! Seriously, if you ever want to burn like 1400 calories in two hours, come play hockey. I never thought I could break a sweat when it was below zero, but it is possible. Plus, it's really fun to put on all the ridiculous gear and run into people.

5. Snowboarding - That's sort of a given. I'm just hoping that we can go more than twice this year. Also, it would be nice not to get stuck on the lift when it's -22 degrees with wind chill. At night. Seriously. I thought I was going to lose an appendage. My friend and I actually started to cry our toes hurt so bad. Good times.

Audrey...

Today she is two, and although it feels impossible that two whole years have passed, sometimes it seems as though a decade has gone by. I still have not figured out how time can go by so quickly while simultaneously standing still. She is no longer a baby, and hasn't been for some time, but I've only just begun to notice all of the changes in her small body. Where she once had creases and rolls from baby fat, she now possesses ankles and elbows and knees. Her face looks the same but completely different at the same time. The thick, black hair that covered her head is now nearly blond and falls to the middle of her back. Her blue eyes are the only feature that has remained the same.

The past two years have been much, much harder than they have been easy. I won't sugarcoat anything and pretend that her and I have not had struggles Every. Single. Day. From the moment I first realized that there was something more to the nausea I had been feeling every day for a week, I knew I was in for a challenge. Even her entrance into the world, though without complication, was like a power struggle. From her unwillingness to make her appearance until the last possible second before surgical intervention, and my unwillingness to back down or give up, I knew that we would always challenge each other.

When I truly think about it, I know I wouldn't have it any other way. There are things I would possibly change given the chance, but the experience I've had in this adventure called parenting has forced me to grow and change. God knew that I needed a challenge. That I wouldn't rise to my full potential unless I was driven nearly to my breaking point. I'm never truly satisfied with myself unless I am forced to push my limits, and I hadn't fully realized that about myself until Audrey came along.

All of the struggles and challenges have made the accomplishments that much better. When she has a good day or is particularly cute or sweet, I am able to really and truly appreciate it and not take it for granted.

She is amazingly sweet when she wants to be, and I think that she will grow to be someone who genuinely cares about others. She gets upset if she sees another child crying in the store and often tries to offer them her blankie (even if the kid is four aisles down). She never fails to wave or smile at little old ladies in the store, and she seems to know which ones need just a little extra lift that day. The amazing thing about that is the fact that she really doesn't give up smiles easily to strangers. She is very cautious in new situations and she likes to sit back and take everything in before fully engaging herself.

From the moment she was born, she has been a very active baby. She hit many of the physical milestones like rolling over, crawling, and walking much earlier than most babies her age, and she has continued that trend as a toddler. She runs, jumps, and climbs all over anything that will stay still enough, and she does it with ease. She can somersault, jump nearly a foot in the air with both feet together, and basically anything else that could make a mother cringe. I am amazed daily at the things that she is able to do with her little body.

Her vocabulary increases every day and she is really starting to understand what we say to her and communicate her needs to us. She loves to talk on her toy cellphone and will have a whole conversation with her cousin Toby or Grandma. Her favorite color right now is purple and she goes around pointing at all the "puhple" things. If I go through each letter of the alphabet, she is able to repeat them, and she can "count" to ten ("one, tooos, fiiive, nine, ten!").

I would have never guessed how much things could change after having a baby, but now I can't imagine my life any other way.

So, happy 2nd birthday Audrey Suzanne!

I plan to put links to my pregnancy and birth stories to this post mostly so that I can remember, but also for anyone who would like to read them. I will hopefully finish them soon.

Summertime and the Livin' is...Busy

Well, apparently blogging is not my forte (but really, did anyone say it was?).


Anyway. I got incredibly busy towards the middle of May (it's the end of July already! Wha!??)and things have just started slowing down. I am working at the pool yet again this year, mostly because it's convenient and I can pretty much make my own hours. Since I have decided to stay home with Audrey as much as possible until she's old enough to go to preschool/school, it works out perfectly. Plus, there's a little part inside of me that, as much as I hate to admit it, still loves that place. We've always been blessed with a core group of returning lifeguards who make it a fun place to work. Some of us have been there since the beginning (seven years!?) and have experienced things together that no 16-18 year old should ever have to go though. We'll be forever bonded in some way by those experiences, as sappy as that sounds.


So here's the part where I make a long boring list of things I've been up to because I'm too lazy to actually write about them...Ahem...here we go...

• Toward the middle of May I was getting ready to teach the annual week-long Lifeguarding class at the pool. I was completely in charge this year, so I had to come up with a lesson plan, find other lifeguards to help teach, and supervise the lifeguards who were gaining instructor certification. It was a lot of work, but I had a ton of fun teaching.



• I was a bridesmaid in my best friend's wedding on June 13. It was an evening ceremony right near the bank of the Columbia river. We stayed in a huge condo, played volleyball with the rest of the wedding party, danced the night away, and best of all, Justin and I had a whole weekend away from Audrey. It was nice. We've only been away from her overnight three times since she was born. It was due time.


• On Sunday, Justin and I participated in our first triathlon. It was a lot harder than I had expected, but it was totally worth it. The swim was harder than I thought it would be, especially since I'd been swimming at least 1000 yards a day leading up to the race. I ended up making pretty decent time though, and I didn't need to hail a lifeguard, which was a plus. The bike was hard mostly because there was no time to catch my breath between swimming and pedaling up the first hill. The run was the one thing that didn't surprise me. I knew it would be hard because I hate running, and it was. I felt pretty good though because I beat Justin on the swim and bike by about three minutes each. He caught up with me on the run and ended up beating me by about five minutes, but I expected that. My final time was one hour and 49 minutes, which isn't bad, but I can definately improve. The most humbling part of the whole thing was watching people finish the entire race while I was just finishing the bike ride. I'm definately considering doing it again. Maybe next time I'll actually train for more than a month...
• Audrey is turning two in exactly a week (how is that possible??) and I've been busy planning her party. I'm planning to make a layered "Mad Hatter" cake. I've never made a layer cake in my life, let alone a fancy one, but hopefully it works out. I've been a little stressed out because we're expected about 20 people and we've never really entertained for that many at once. I know it will be fun for Audrey though.
• We're also getting ready to go camping next month in Idaho. This will be Audrey's first camping trip and I'm getting a little nervous about her sleeping habits. I have a feeling we won't be getting much sleep that week. We're pretty excited to finally use all of the camping stuff we got for our wedding though. Now that it's been four years....

Well, my attention span is waning...until next time...

Hockey, Triathlons, Seattle...Oh MY!

Well folks, time for another list...I've been away too long, so I'll just recap what has been going on for the past few weeks...

• I'm playing hockey in a co-ed Spring League in Wenatchee. There is one other female besides me on the team, which makes it interesting. So far I've score two goals and had one (really awesome) assist. We've won three out of the four games that we've played so far.


• Justin and I have been biking and running a lot lately in preparation for the triathlon we are participating in this July. We've ridden up Beezely hill about three times so far, which is a record for me. Usually I get up there about once a season. I had a pretty good crash last week on the way down and another small crash last night, but all of my body parts seem to be in working order, so I think I'll live.


• My birthday was on the 27th of April (I'm a quarter of a century old!) and Justin, Audrey, and I took a trip to Seattle for a few days to celebrate. We went to Woodland Park Zoo, Carkeek Park, Seattle Center, rode the Monorail (for the first time), Pike Place Market, the Pier, and the Northgate Mall. I really miss living in Seattle, but I really don't miss the traffic. I've gotten used to the slow pace of Eastern Washington again and I forgot how long it takes to get anywhere in Seattle.


• Justin got me a Spokane Chiefs hockey jersey for my birthday! I'm so excited! Too bad hockey season is over, because now I have to think of ridiculous excuses to wear a jersey in the middle of summer...


• Justin and I (along with his mom and two other ladies) have entered ourselves in the Eagles Ironman Challenge. Basically, it's an Ironman triathlon spread out over three weeks. Our team must complete 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of biking, and 26.2 miles of running/walking. It should be a great motivator to get out and train, but it seems a little daunting at this point. The competition officially starts tomorrow (it coincides with Bloomsday) and ends on May 22.


• I got offered a job recently, and I really don't want to go into detail right now, but I'm pretty excited. It would be a full time position, but with flexible hours. Oh, and fairly decent pay too. Anyway, keep me in your prayers.

And that's about all I have to say about that. Until next time...

Happy Easter!

Audrey last Easter (8 months old)

This Easter (19 months old)

"Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is RISEN!"

--Luke 24:5