S Club Mama

The Vintage Pearl: happy birthday to me. (BIG giveaway!) The Vintage Pearl is such a neat blog and shop. Click the above link to enter your chance to win a $100 gift certificate to her shop (5 winners!). Happy birthday!

*Some of these events may be out of order, but you get the idea* Over 4th of July weekend in 2004, I drove from my hometown in central Nebraska to Cheynne, Wyoming. There I met my boyfriend, Big A, and we dropped off his truck at my parents' friends' brother's house (phew!). Then we traveled to Kimmerer (this is not a misspelling either), Wyoming where I met his aunt and uncle and cousins. There, we talked for way too long, ate good food, and watched their wedding video (where Big A and his brother were the ring bearers - too cute). The following day, Big A & I went to where he had been staying in Wyoming. I apologize because I've forgotten the name of the town. That night, he made me dinner. Spaghetti and garlic bread. I'll admit this now: I had overheard my mom and him talking on the phone about this dinner. I was on the phone with her and she'd gotten another call from Big A. Let's just say she talks loud...and it sounded to me like he was going ...

Tonight I ran 3 miles in 26:16 - wow! That is so fast for me. To maintain that speed for an extended period of time was awesome. It just didn't feel super fast tonight; such a good night. Last night I did sprints - 1 mile warm up, 2 miles of sprints, and 1 mile cool down - in 40:40 and I thought that was good. I really like the sprinting I've been working on, just trying to gain a little bit of speed. I'm ready to run outside (in the next few days woo-hoo!). I'm getting so bored on the treadmill. My book, podcasts, music - nothing seems to help. Ugh. Come on spring!! Finally decided on a half marathon for this summer! Buffalo County Stampede half marathon in Kearney, NE. I'm excited because I'm from there (well, 15 minutes from there) so it'll be good. I'm hoping to have some familia and amigos there to support me! And I'm hoping my older sister will get to run with me, too.

As all of you know by now, my son, Moose, has autism. So while I was browsing Etsy one fine day, I came across this adorable watch design! I contacted Gypsie to see if she would allow me to review her store - no hesitation - she's so sweet!  This watch is so neat; I've never seen anything like it! First of all, the ribbon with the puzzle pieces and heart with puzzle pieces (which represents autism) is adorable! I don't know much about graphic designing but I just love the puzzle pieces in the background and I think that Gypsie has a good eye for designs.  My only concern with the watch is that my band has a small tear in it, but it is quality enough that it's still going to last with that. The design is neat because I can actually take it out of the watch and could potentially replace it with a picture of my kids or another pretty design; that's pretty neat! Something to fit each day's personality, if you will. The watch face itself is quite bit; if you hav...

Tonight we had a terrific speaker from Kansas City join us at our church for our Mother-Daughter Banquet. She spoke on: "what is a lady?" She used the acronym "LADY" to help us answer that question. L - listener A - affirmer D - disciplined Y - yielded to Christ picture of Mary in Nativity Story - picture of a lady We listen to our husbands, children, friends, and family members. We affirm our girl friends, our husbands, and our children. We are disciplined, organized, and self-controlled. We have yielded our lives to Christ and the Holy Spirit. I really appreciated this topic - very feminine but not fluffy matter. And the fellowship over our supper was just wonderful. I got to sit with my little sister and one of my best friends (who also happens to be one of my best affirmers). Just a beautiful night. Big A & I also attended a marriage conference that I'd love to share about later this week. Good stuff!

Big A made this cake while I was out with my gal pals last Saturday - so yummy we didn't share with the kids! My mom made me this big ol' rice krispie treat - love me some Ninja Turtles! beautiful flowers from my mom's side aunts and uncles! a sweet card and my favorite Easter "candy" - Peeps (I did share those with the boys)

Big A & Squirt: What? No way you're 25?!  Happy birthday to our S Club Mama! That's right, folks, it's my birthday! I've made it a quarter of a century! Yay!

Ladies,  Stop what you're doing. Call up a couple of friends. Go away for a day. Seriously. So worth it. Yesterday, 2 of my March birthday buddies and I went to Topeka (my first time ever) for the day. We didn't do anything fancy like mani-pedis (although we would have liked to!), but gosh, I had fun. We hit the mall, Target, Party America, The Toy Store (for real the name of the store - but great store), Olive Garden, and the movies! I haven't laughed like that in awhile. I haven't not wiped noses for that long in awhile. It felt great to not have any responsibilities for a few hours. Just be me and my friends (even if we did look through kid clothes at every store). We saw the movie Beastly. Very predictable but that doesn't mean it's not good. I enjoyed it. Except for the parents down the row from us who had their 4-ish year old son with them. Poor kid. Not a kid movie at all! A man gets shot in the movie, and the little boy asked "what happened?...

Hello! I feel I've been MIA even though I've been posting posts. Life is good, really good, lately. Moose is doing so well in preschool. I have seen many improvements in speech ("can I go outside" vs. "go outside?") and he's getting more independent (like at the park). He loves going to school! Still doesn't tell me anything but Miss Donna writes down some notes in a planner so I can ask him questions about his day. He ends up telling me some things throughout the day ("so-and-so is back" meaning they were sick or gone the day before). It's neat. I don't miss him like crazy like I thought I would either, Squirt keeps me too much on my toes. Squirt and I do playdates or visit the library. We may go grocery shopping or just hang out at home and read books. It just depends on the day. It's nice to still have that flexibility with him. Most days we have fun together...some days I'm ready for Moose to be home so he can diffus...

cute pot of gold from Naptime Journal Happy birthday to my Aunt Sam Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone!

Monday was Hair Day at Moose's elementary school. The girls got up-dos and the boys got spiked-dos. Unfortunately, Moose prefers his hair down instead of up. So he got a slicked-do. I thought Squirt needed some fun hair too.

Over the weekend, Japan was wrecked by an earthquake and a tsunami . So many are lost. Most are searching for dead, burying dead, or trying to avoid death. Something so many of us won't ever have to think about for ourselves. However, something that I've been thinking about is that on a normal day, 55,000 people die without hearing the gospel . Now, factor in all the natural disasters in the past month, year, decade. How many of those people died without hearing the Good News of Jesus Christ? I realize there isn't a lot that many of us can do about reaching people outside of our hometown, home state, home country (besides, of course, financial aid which is always a huge missionary outreach - don't underestimate the power of your dollars at work, especially if your heart is in the right place reaching out). So focus inward. Does your family know that Jesus died for them? Do your neighbors know that Jesus paid the price for their sins? What about your church? Is the...

Once upon a time,  there was a little boy named Moose. Moose was in love... with marbles. It all started with an Ok Go music video. Then it expanded to marble runs. They.were.everywhere. A friend's house, play group, and preschool. I looked online from Etsy to Amazon. I couldn't find what I wanted or they were too much moolah! Then something amazing happened. At pre-school dropoff, Miss Jane had something for Moose. His very own marble run!

Yes, I realize it's Thursday and this is Monday Meanderings. However, I'm feeling less than organized today and need some help figuring out what NEEDS to get done this week.     Bible Study... I need to finish up notes on Mission of Motherhood, but I'm actually done with the book itself. I started going to a Bible study-thing with my friends Jackie and Melanie this Wednesday. They basically meet and talk about a book (that I don't have) or just talk. Memory Verse... Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" - we're trying to teach Moose memory verses (yes, I know I tried this awhile back...try and try again). Husband Encouragement... I honestly have nothing for this right now. Maybe get dishes done so he doesn't have to (he has a few times in this past week). Train Them Up... Focus on using Moose's big boy voice and listening to me. Personal Goals... I am running tonight and Saturday yet (already worked out...

My parents love to talk to my boys on Skype. The other day we caught up with Grandma F before lunch. Moose had made a pretend s'more in class (theme: camping) and was "feeding" it to his grandma. So funny. She'd act like she was taking a bite...both boys were just giggles.

I FOUND my bucket list! Randi's (revised) Bucket List in no particular order * see my previous bucket list * -stand by a redwood tree -learn to play the piano -join a MOPS leadership team -homeschool -own an Etsy shop with something really cool to sell -be a free-lance writer -not eat meat for 2 weeks -invent a recipe -learn 2 signature hair styles (not ponytail) -1 new recipe for 30 days -learn to sew well (hand & machine) -learn to quilt -learn to cross stitch -take boys to do crafts at a nursing home -caroling at Christmas with friends -find an accountability partner -get a running partner -go on a missions trip (short or long-term)

 I think about my prayer life often. Am I praying enough? Am I praying the right way? Is God listening? So much prayer (of my own and in general) seems to be out of want. "Lord bless Person A," "Lord, grant me patience," "Lord, please help me with XYZ," etc. If prayer is also a form a worship, shouldn't there be praise in there, too? Not saying that there isn't, but how much is enough? I've read a few other books on prayer; nothing spectacular. In one book, they suggested to pray for specific things on specific days: presidents and world leaders on Monday, schools and churches on Tuesday, or something to that extent. I like the idea of this but I often forget today's date. I also like to write my prayers in a journal, but too often I just don't feel like writing them down. So I pray to God out loud or in my head. Sometimes in the morning, sometimes in the evening, sometimes whenever I can fit them in. I often talk out loud to the Lo...

Link up with Erin at Home with the Boys for this week's Boys in Motion!