My boys...

Dingo Piper Buddy

It's pretty hard to take a good pic while you're walking, holding the cell phone, trying to center the subjects, then press the capture button all at the right time = ) But here's the best of this evening's walk!

And here we are, almost home...moving at a pretty good clip because the boys know when we're almost there and they can get a drink of cold water!

Sure do love my boys...sure do love living right next to a big park that's perfect for walking, running, biking, picnicking and enjoying all of God's lovely creation!

Great is Thy Faithfulness

Where we used to live in North Texas, we had gorgeous sunsets a good 80% of the time. Down here in Northwest Houston, not so much. I think it has something to do with the windy, dusty conditions on the plains of North Texas...

Anyhow, every once in a while, we have a lovely sunset down here. Tonight was one of those nights = )

For some reason, whenever I see a beautiful sunset, I spontaneously start singing Great is Thy Faithfulness...

"Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father,

There is no shadow of turning with Thee;

Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not;

As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,

Sun, moon and stars in their courses above

Join with all nature in manifold witness

To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,

Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide;

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,

Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Great is Thy faithfulness, great is Thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see;

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided-

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!"

Thinking of ML and Alex...

Yesterday I planted 24 lantana plants and today I moved one of the compost bins... both projects caused me to think of my friend, ML, all day long. ML loves lantana too...and the windchime that hangs closest to the compost bin was one of ML and Alex's wedding presents that they passed along to me = )

We have never met another couple with whom we've had SO much in common and I think it's doubtful we ever will again!

Alex & Petey:

Alex is a flight physician and a private pilot

Petey is a commercial pilot and has twice a year flight physicals...but not from Alex. They both love aviation, obviously.

Alex is athletic but not necessarily a runner (although he's just recently signed up for his first marathon!) He's very supportive of his wife, who IS a runner.

Petey enjoys biking, hiking, working out, being active & athletic but doesn't consider himself a runner even though he runs with me sometimes. But he's also VERY supportive of my love of running = )

They both have a very dry, somewhat silly/intelligent sense of humor.

ML & Pony:

We both love to cook as naturally and healthfully as possible. We strive for balance in our diets and love to feed our hubbies healthy food that also tastes great.

We both love to run, especially marathons, and have recently switched our thinking from "I must qualify for Boston or I'll never be satisfied with my running" to "I want to enjoy this...have fun...savor the experience, whether I ever BQ or not".

We both love the great outdoors and would rather be outside than inside.

As couples:

We are living our lives for the glory of God.

We do not have children and will more than likely never have children...the human kind, that is.

We love to sit around the table talk, talk, talking. Then go for a walk around the neighborhood, then sit down at the table again and talk some more. Seems like we never run out of things to talk about!

Alex, ML and Petey all love to travel and have done so extensively. I'm content to travel through them = )

So having these 2 days with thoughts full of good memories of ML and Alex have been a most pleasant way to tackle hard work in nearly 100* temps!

Thanks, ML and Alex, for being one-of-a-kind AWESOME friends!!!

Houston bids farewell to one of the best!

Ok, Helen Grant isn't in this picture = ) This is K with her dog Ozzy, Barb with her dog Bob, and my sister-by-love Faithy with her dog Misha.

But we were gathered tonight to bid farewell to one of Houston's BEST runners... and maybe the NICEST one too!

Helen is amazing...it's been so much fun watching what she accomplishes on road and trail. I don't think I was ever able to cheer for her because she always finished so far ahead of me but I cheered loudly every time she collected her award...which was often!!

She will be greatly missed. Not just because of her running ability but because of her kindness. She never missed an opportunity to encourage and support her fellow runners, no matter what their level of ability.

I will remember her sweetness long after she's gone = ((

Talkin' Travis is Totally Terrific!

I had a wonderful day with Travis today! I love this little guy...he's SO intelligent. He has amazing reasoning abilities...loves to talk, ask questions, figure things out. He really listens and remembers what you say.

Travis is Heather's big brother. Since she got to spend a day with me last week, just her alone, Travis wanted his turn too. I had no objections!

I love talking to kids like Travis. I looked forward to our day together and now I have the happy memories...and some pics to scrapbook = )

My backyard view...

This is the view out the big wall of windows in the living room. Every single day... multiple times a day, I'm thankful for my pergola!

I'd planned, envisioned, dreamed about my pergola for several years. I looked at other pergolas anywhere I could find them...took pictures, collected pics from magazines, looked online...thought about what features I wanted, things I didn't like.

Petey has never claimed to be a carpenter. He can build stuff and fix stuff just fine but it might not look professional. It will work wonderfully but might just look so-so.

In dreaming of my pergola, I took this into account. Really, it was being built over my garden for practical purposes, not for looks. But I wanted to enjoy it's aesthetic value also. Just didn't get my hopes up too high in that area.

So to have this gorgeous pergola, that looks totally professional, even BETTER than I'd dreamed, envisioned...that my Sweety Petey built with his own two hands purely out of love for me...what a gift that is! A daily, visible reminder of that love.

I love my flagstone path too...and even though the rock-filled ditch in front of the patio is purely practical (drainage), I really like how that looks too!

Sometimes I miss the huge yard we had when we lived in the country but this view makes up for it = )

Our champion, Ruth...

The neat thing about being a competitive athlete is that it gives you an understanding of other athletes that non-athletes just don't have. I KNOW what this medal means for Ruth!

3000 meters in 17:28...that's a 9:22 average pace!!! Hundreds of hours of training, practice, hard work, pushing yourself, being uncomfortable...

...but worth it in the end! Our Junior Olympic Race Walk Bronze Medalist!

I'm so thankful to call Ruth a friend and to have this opportunity to be a part of her life...to pray for, encourage, cheer on and witness what she accomplishes for God's glory!

A runner lives here...

This is the happy sight that greets me every morning = ) My rotation of shoes!

For your consideration:

- the liners are all sticking up because I wear custom orthotics and those are slid underneath the liner

- it's interesting to note how much accumulated dirt diminishes the effectiveness of the reflective material on the shoes...the middle pair in the bottom row are brand new, never been worn...compare the bright spots with the other shoes...

- I ONLY wear running shoes ALL the time by order of my podiatrist. If I'm invited to a function where the inviter might be embarrassed by me, the invitee, wearing running shoes, I inform them and give them the chance to dis-invite me with no hard feelings at all.

- I try to never run in the same pair of shoes on consecutive days. Us runners have been informed that it takes 24-48 hours for the cushioning in our shoes to "spring back" so it's good to have alternate pairs available...NO PROBLEMO! hahahaha

- my shoes follow this progression from new to trash: long runs - easy/other runs - every day wear/walking dogs - yard work - really messy yard work - trash. Someone asked me if I pass on my shoes to someone less fortunate when I was done with them. I told them that even the less fortunate would not want my shoes when I finished with them!

- if I get a new pair of shoes that prove to be not good for running, I designate those shoes as my Sunday-go-to-meetin' shoes...I can wear them for walking and if I limit their wear, they stay cleaner for dressier occasions = )

- what you see in the pic above is the whole timeline of shoes from brand new/never worn to a couple more lawn mowings away from the trash

- a pair of shoes was demoted just this morning. I started my run and in the first 1/2 mile I realized that the cushioning was too worn out for running. By the 2.5 mile point I'd said to myself "I'm NEVER wearing these shoes to run in again!!" I'll run those shoes through the wash to try and clean them up a bit and then use them for everyday wear until they are demoted again.

- in the picture you'll also see a half-moon stretcher for arches, heels, achilles, and calves...also a wedge stretcher thingy and a balance thingy (the blue thing to the far right)

- if you've read this whole list, please leave a comment so I can applaud you publicly = )))

- p.s. I actually have more shoes than this on a shelf...they never get run in anymore but I haven't decided where they "fit" in the rotation

See...I told you I have trouble not being able to leave out the details!!!

Loving Longaberger...

These are my Longaberger Pottery star plates that I hung on the wall with a pair of plaques I got at Wally-world. My Longaberger collection brings me happiness every single day!

I saw a new basket/purse/tote in the July flyer but it was out of reach for me... a higher level hostess choice only. But Beth, "the Longaberger Lady", had a new monthly club starting up and no hostess for July...perfect timing!

The order came in yesterday and Beth was having a sample sale/fall pre-view open house tonight so I picked up my order and enjoyed seeing some new things. The purse is WAY COOL BEANS!! The leather is very supple and I love the rose pink shade...rose leather and rose-dyed woven wood along with dark brown cloth weaving. I need to post a pic! hahahahaha

Anyhow, I truly enjoy my Longaberger stuff every day and am thankful for the opportunity to own and use it. Petey's mom, Mammie, gave me my very first basket 20 years ago...I'd never heard of them before that. So that basket is very special to me.

I've been thankful for many things today but this is the one I chose to share with ya'll...it's gonna be hard to limit myself to just one picture, one thankful thing a day!

Potty-training with Happy Heather!

My friend Amy asked if I would be willing to help potty-train her daughter Heather. Heather is a certified sweetheart...I love spending time with Amy's kids!! So, of course, I answered with an enthusiastic YES!

Amy has 3 other children at home including a nursing 5 month old so an extra pair of helping hands was warranted in this situation...even though Amy is perfectly capable of doing this on her own.

What a privilege to be part of this experience with her. To be proud of her when she is proud...to have the adrenaline rush that comes with "I have to go potty!!" and racing for the bathroom (or kitchen or wherever the potty chair happens to be at the moment...we keep it close).

Look at her smile...she loves her star stickers..."1 star for wee-wee and 2 stars for poops!" You should've seen her smile when she got to put on her big girl underwear that she picked out at Wally-world on Tuesday. Thanks, Amy, for giving me this special memory with your precious daughter!