Life Lately

• Scott and I spent the week of the 4th of July in Seagrove, Florida on the beach.  It was a much needed vacation.  The weather was awesome, in the 80's everyday.  It rained a few days we were there, but we were able to always get a least a half day in on the beach.  We spent one rainy afternoon at the outlet mall in Destin.  We didn't take many pictures, but I will try to eventually post a few that we took.


• My new shoes finally came in and I got to try them out on Monday at Crossfit.  I LOVE them!  I hope this solves all of my ankle rolling problems. 



• To show you that I am a clutz, we were packing for our trip to Florida and I had laid the suitcase in the floor in the bathroom.  On one of my trips through the bathroom to get clothes, I ran straight into the wheel of the suitcase.  Needless to say, my little toe turned blue/purple.  And to top it off, it was the same foot that already had a bum ankle.


• Since we took our vacation seriously, we didn't work out once while we were there.  So after 11 days off, Monday was our first day back at Crossfit.  It was brutal!  My calves are still soo sore 2 days later.
• Here is a rundown of the WOD:
• 1 mile run
• 150 double under's
• 800 m run
• 100 double under's
• 400 m run
• 50 double under's
• Finish time: 30:43 rx!


• While at the beach, I started readying Fifty Shades of Grey.  I didn't know much about the books going into it except that they were racy.  I had several blog friends and friends on Facebook talk about how great they were, so I thought I would give it a shot.  I'm about 60 pages into the 3rd book now and all I can say is WOW.  These books are good, but I'm not sure I will ever read something like this again.  Luckily, the 2nd and 3rd books don't seem to be as explicit as the 1st book.


• The first week back to work after vacation is never fun.  I am counting down the days until Friday!!  Happy Wednesday!

Weekend Recap Randomness

• Friday afternoon, I left work early to go to crossfit early since Scott's family was coming Friday night.  It was 1st Friday meaning you get to pick the HERO/GIRL WOD you want to do that day.  Because I had missed this workout twice b/c I was sick both times they did it, I decided to do "Barbara" (5 rounds - 20 pullups, 30 pushups, 40 situps, 50 squats, 3 min rest between rounds).  It was a pretty big class but most everyone else picked a workout that took a lot less time.  It is NO FUN working out by your self for the last 20 minutes b/c everyone has finished.  I finished in 46:18 and my body is still sore 2 days later.  

• Saturday morning we went to Scott's cousins wedding at the Clinton Library.  Between the wedding and the reception we were able to tour the library which was pretty cool.  I had never been there and they had just opened the Play Ball exhibit with memorabilia from the St. Louis Cardinals.

• Saturday afternoon was spent hanging out and running errands.  I have been talking into reading the Hunger Games books, so Saturday night was spent finishing up book 1.  I am about 1/2 way through book 2 and I admit.....I can't wait to see the movies.  

• Sunday was a low key day.  We ended up not doing anything other than going to church and out to eat with a group afterwards.  We kept talking about going to see Act of Valor all weekend, but we never made it.

• Sunday was the 10th Annual Little Rock Marathon.  Yesterday morning, I was wishing pretty bad that I had signed up to run the 10K.  It was perfect race weather and after seeing my Facebook news feed blow up with all these people running the race yesterday, I was a little jealous I wasn't down there running.  Maybe next year....

• This weekend we are headed to see Zac Brown Band.  I can't wait!!  

• In 2 weeks and a day, Scott and I are headed to New Orleans.  I have never been and always wanted to go.  Scott, on the other hand, has been more than once but he was willing to go again.  We are trying to plan out all the best places to eat and other things to do while we are there so we don't end up hanging out on Bourbon the entire time we are there.

Happy Monday!!   

Have you met Hannah?

Do you know the story of Hannah?  I had always heard the story of Hannah and never really given it much thought.  The full story can be found in 1 Samuel 1.  Below is my summary of the story.
Hannah was the wife of Elkanah and eventually the mother of Samuel.  Hannah was barren.  I envision Hannah experiencing every emotion during this time of trial.....bitterness, hurt, anger, sorrow, anguish, humility, and eventually joy.  Elkanah had 2 wives....Hannah (who had no children) and Peninnah (who had children).  Hannah's bareness lasted year after year.  During a trip to Shiloh Hannah couldn't take it any more, she stood and went to the Lord's temple and poured out her soul to the Lord.  There she was mistaken by Eli as being drunk as his lips were moving but there were no words being spoken from her mouth.  Once she explained to him that was not drunk but deeply troubled, Eli told her to go in peace and may the Lord God of Israel grant what she had asked for.  Sometime after that (we don't really know how long) Hannah become pregnant and eventually gave birth to Samuel.

I recently finished the book Hannah's Hope (Seeking God's Heart in the Midst of Infertility, Miscarriage, and Adoption Loss) by Jennifer Saake.  It really opened my eyes to the story of Hannah.  In the book, the author talks about her struggles to have a baby.  Many of the things she said, I thought "WOW" I have thought or felt the same way before.  What I love about this book is that it is not only for people struggling with infertility, but also for anyone who knows someone struggling with infertility.  At the end of each chapter is a section called "Burden Bearers" which is specifically for friends and family. 

Below are a few of my favorite lines from the book:

"Knowing God is in control doesn't keep the pain at bay.  As you find yourself in uncomfortable places or conversations, ask God to give you grace to survive the moment, along with an understanding heart to hear the intended meaning behind your friend's words."

"If my miscarriage was "early," don't think my baby was any less a person, any less my child, any less significant, than if he had died later in life."

"However, I think one of the most important lessons I learned is that there are times when attending church is more harmful than helpful."

"Scripture is clear that we may come directly to the Lord with our needs."

"Popular Bible study author Beth Moore writes, "God's word never said we were not to grieve our losses.  It says we are not to grieve as those who have no hope." (1 Thess 4:13) Big difference."

Patience and Waiting

Patience....something I have little of, but have wanted more of it for years.  I am one of the most impatient people I know.  When it comes to several things in life I hate to wait.  I don't have the patience to wait.  This is something I have struggled with my entire life.  I remember praying several times for God to help me with my patience.  I recently finished the book A Graceful Waiting by Jan Frank.  It talks about all of the stages of waiting and how God is transforming you as in this waiting season.

What is the point of worrying during a waiting season?  What is the point of complaining about it?  God already knows when your waiting will be over.  He knows what the outcome will be.  While in a season of waiting (no matter how long or short), I am trying to teach myself to thank God for all that He has already done for me and all that He has already given me, rather than be upset over something that is currently out of reach. This is much harder said than done, but I am trying to move towards this.

This book opened my mind to waiting.  It made me rethink the way I react when I am in the midst of a season of waiting.  God is always in control, even when I can't control the situation.  Here is a quote from A Graceful Waiting.  "He (God) wants your waiting times to be growing times...  He wants you to be still and know the his in control.  He is never late." Wow....when in a season of waiting it is soo easy to make my prayers about what I want and how I want it now.  Being reminded that God knows what He is doing and that He is NEVER late is refreshing.  It doesn't mean that I am not going to be frustrated by the season of waiting I am in, but it helps to remind myself of this when I feel down or upset about having to wait.

A few more quotes from A Graceful Waiting:

"I love you both by the things I give and the things I withold."

"Waiting means hoping: not taking up a vaguely hopeful optimistic approach to life, but looking expectantly for specific events which there is reason for believing will materialize."

Isaiah 40:31 says:
but those who hope in the LORD
   will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
   they will run and not grow weary,
   they will walk and not be faint.

 Lamentations 3:25 says:
he LORD is good to those who wait for Him,
To the person who seeks Him


This book is a must read, even if you are not currently in a season of waiting.  It is a great reminder to how God loves us and how He is working in our lives even when we can't see it.

Good Books

I love to read as I have mentioned before.  I recently finished 2 books that I thought I would share.

The first was Plan B by Pete Wilson.  It is about going through a Plan B situation in your life and how to deal with it.  Life doesn't always turn out the way you imagined it would when you were young.  Life throws your curves and you have to figure out a way to adjust and move on with life.  This book talks about several Plan B experiences with people and how the coped.  It also made me realize that no matter how bad I sometimes think my problems are, there are always people worse off than I.  Whether you don't think you have ever experienced a plan b situation or you feel that you have experienced more of them that is fair, this book is a great read for everyone. 

The second book is Flight to Heaven by Dale Black.  It is a book about a guy who was the only survivor of a plane crash that was thought to be unsurvivable.  After the crash as he is trying to recover, he struggles to figure out why God chose to save him.  He overcame so many obstacles and his faith grew so much in the years after the crash.

While I love to read all kinds of books, I have discovered a couple of Christian fiction authors that I have fallen in love with over the past couple of years.  They are Denise Hunter and Tamara Leigh.

Heaven Is For Real

I love to read.  Just ask Scott.  I almost always have a book checked out from the library.

Well a couple of weeks ago, my mom called to tell me about a story that was on TV.  After digging a little on the internet I was able to find the video clip.  It was about a 4 yr old boy who had seen Heaven.  Turns out his dad has written a book about the events that led up to and what happened after their son's trip to Heaven.  My mom mailed me the book a coupe of days later and I had it read it about 2 days.  Had I had the time to I would have read the entire book in one sitting in about 2 1/2 hours.  I can't even begin to explain how great this book is.  It is truly amazing the things Colton (the son) eventually tells his parents.  Colton talks bout meeting his great-grandpa who he had never met before.  He also talks about meeting his other sister, which turned out to be the child his parents had lost about 8 weeks into pregnancy and they had never told Colton about the miscarriage.  Even his parents didn't know the baby was a girl. 

 I am pretty sure I cried almost the entire way through the book.  I highly recommend this book. 

Reading List

So I love to read. I have always loved to read...well as long as it wasn't a book for school anyway. I read mostly fiction. I am a huge fan of Jane Green, Nicholas Sparks, Sophie Kinsella, Stephanie Meyer and many more. Once I start reading a book, I can't put it down and this often makes Scott aggravated. It gets pretty bad over Christmas break when I am off work for two weeks and have nothing better to do. I keep a list of books I want to read in an excel spreadsheet, which is no surprise due to my love of excel spreadsheets (but that's a whole other story). I have turned to the library to help fund my reading habit as it can get pretty expensive after a while. It has also caused me to read even more books, which as previously stated gets under Scott's skin after a while. So when I decided it was time to read the Bible in a year back in January, I also decided it would have to be time to take a break from my fiction books. I figured that if I would be more likely to fail at reading the Bible in a year if I was always tempted with another book laying around that I had gotten caught up with. I think I have actually only read one book other than my Bible this year, but that doesn't stop my reading list from growing.

One of my co-workers knows my love for the Twilight Saga and gave me "Dead Until Dark" for my birthday. I believe it is the 1st of the series of vampire books that True Blood is based off of. I have never seen True Blood as I am too much of a tight wad to pay for HBO, but I hear it is great.

My sister-in-law gave me 2 books for my birthday. This is our usual gift to one another since we both like to read and she said she only read one of the books this time before giving it to me. I can't blame her. I started the trend when I bought a book for her birthday while in Las Vegas a few years ago and read it on the plane ride home. Then leaving it wrapped up in the Mandalay Bay Bookstore bag, gave it to her for her birthday. I can't remember exactly how she found out I had read it, but needless to say it started a trend.

Lauren also brought 2 more books this past weekend. One was the book I gave her for her birthday last year. I bought it just before her birthday or I would have read it. The other was a book I gave her for Christmas a few years ago...Eat, Pray, Love. At the time, I didn't think I'd ever want to read it, but now that the movie is coming out, I thought I would read it before I eventually watch the movie on DVD. We don't go to the movies much...why when u can rent it for $1 a night on DVD.

Happy Reading! I have made it to November 11th on my journey of reading the Bible in a year! Not much longer to go!