father knows best...

He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.
~Clarence Budington Kelland


when i was a teenager, my dad was soooooooo annoying (insert eye roll here...and God gave me some big ol' eyes to roll, let me tell you!) he would do the most frustrating things, like pull over to help complete strangers who were having car trouble or in a fender bender...he would help people after church when clearly, going home and posting up on the couch would have been much more suitable for a sunday afternoon...he would always ask me to go run with him when i didn't want to and push me to go farther than i thought i could go...seriously, my dad was sooooooooo annoying.

i think you catch my drift.

i wish i could have appreciated all the admirable things about my father back then but i'm grateful to be able to look back on them now and see them for what they are (lots less eye rolling these days)

i couldn't possibly sum up the life lessons i've learned from my dad in one blog post but here are some of the highlights:

1. people are important...and they should be treated that way. whether it's stopping to help a stranger, counseling a lonely old woman in a nursing home or picking a friend up from the airport without so much as a grumble...my dad has often not just told me people are important, but he's shown me.

2. there are many "-ness's" in life...happiNESS, sadNESS, joyfulNESS, nervousNESS, etc. and no matter which -ness you're feeling, it's important to recognize and appreciate where you are in life's journey at that moment

3. christmas carols should be sung loudly...and as often as possible. same goes for the battle of new orleans and any beach boys song.

4. how to fish (as well as hunt coral snakes and prairie dogs :)

5. that i am loved and significant (and really, is there anything more important that a father can teach his daughter than THAT?!)

so here's to YOU dad. thank you for EVERYTHING. and yes, i would love to go for a run!



I love my father as the stars - he's a bright shining example and a happy twinkling in my heart. ~Terri Guillemets

joie de vivire

another awesome article from kristin armstrong in runner's world.

http://milemarkers.runnersworld.com/2010/05/fireflies.html

Fireflies
05/13/2010 11:57 AM
An interesting thought occurred to me about photographs.

Have you ever noticed the way people, particularly women, look back at old photographs of themselves and are wistful? "Oh, I looked so young then!" "Look at my skin!" (*sigh*) "Good grief, I was so skinny! And here I thought I was heavy at the time!" "Awww, look at us, just gorgeous. We had no clue."

No one ever really mentions that just as we had no clue at the time, there might exist the possibility that we have no clue right now. Captured moments of today are the wistfulness of tomorrow. I guarantee that just as we can look back at a photo from ten years ago and appreciate ourselves, ten years from now we will look at a photo from today and think the same damn thing. How come nobody brings this up? Wouldn't this awareness bring us a certain measure of peace?

Can you imagine the liberation if we could just appreciate ourselves right now? Who we are, where we are, what we look like? If we could just look in the mirror long enough for a basic once-over and a smile-wink and be done with it? If we were too content and confident to critique?

I saw my daughters this weekend, growing up before my eyes. Isabelle sang in a kid rock band on Friday night, with a music school that teaches music by ear. She played keyboard, drums, and had lead vocals on two songs. I watched her up there, mic in hand, smile on her face, totally at ease and I wanted to scrape some of the confidence oozing from her pores and bottle it up, save it to dab on myself sometimes or anoint her later, if she forgets what she's made of. This was followed by my girls' First Communion on Saturday morning. Watching them, poised, pensive, and peaceful, walking down the aisle at church – my breath caught in my chest. Are these really my girls? When did they get so tall and beautiful? The contours of their faces are losing the roundness of youth. Their features are distinct. No longer kid paws, their hands have assumed the unique shape that I will recognize for the rest of my life. I know the next time I see them walking the aisle dressed in a white gown and veil I will say to myself, "Her First Communion seems like yesterday…" Where does the time go?

I am going to make a point of taking photographs in my mind, all the time. But not just to chronicle -I want to really see them now, appreciate them right now. I want a Polaroid memory. I want to seize the moment, hold it, take it all in…and then save it.

At running group this week Amy and I were following the pack. I asked her if she noticed how unbelievable the legs were, loping in front of us. Really, they looked more like a college soccer team than a group of 40 year olds. "Do you think they have any idea how lovely they are?" I asked her. "They have no clue." she laughed. I wanted to tell them, but I couldn't catch up without popping a lung, so I'm saying it now.

Savor yourself. Cut yourself some slack. Appreciate your beauty. Wink at yourself in the mirror. Tell your husband he has nice buns. Tell your wife she's hotter than she was yesterday. Tell your children how you see them. Tell your parents thank you. Remind your friends who they are.

After all, ten years from now, right now will be ten years ago. Moments are like fireflies. You are a runner, so go chase them. Cup them carefully in your hands and watch the glow seep through your fingers. Don't miss it.

...this got me thinking about my life in intervals of "tens" where was i ten years ago? what about 20 years ago?

well, let's see...20 years ago, at age nine i was rocking the completely awkard stage that we all go through(admit it).

seriously, mom and dad...the glasses? were they necessary? shheeeeesh. but nevertheless, life was GOOD (glasses and all). it was my second year at Flour Bluff after moving and i had made some great friends (who i'm blessed to stay in touch with to this very day! thank you, facebook). i was enjoying being on the swim team (goooo parker porpoises!) and, most importantly that was the year that Sara was born!

what about 10 years ago? i was a sophomore at UT & was livin' it up to the fullest with barbara (& our adopted neighbor) jana in our very first apt...westview! what great memories from my 19th year...

that's the year that we joined AXiD & made great friends

i also met this really cute guy named cody...

my favorite year in college...and still, life was GOOD.

so that brings us to today...29! the cute guy, cody turned out to be a keeper and i am blessed every day to be sharing this life with him & to be his wife :)

we also have a very handsome son, jack.

i'm the world's proudest aunt to 6-month aiden, who has already brought such joy to my family. i can't wait to watch him grow into a little man!

and i am so grateful to have the most wonderful friends to share great times with.


every once in a while (when i'm reeeeallly lucky) i even still get to see barbara & jana:


yep, as things change, one thing remains constant: life is GOOD.

joy

ah! rev. amooti's sermon is up!

http://media.uchurch.tv/contemporary/pentecost/

it's 30 min. but so worth it! my favorite part is @ min. 23 when he sings a praise song in his native tongue. if you take the time to watch this (& i really hope you do) keep in mind that this is a man that has witnessed more destruction, fear and despair that i could even begin to fathom yet he just radiates joy and faithfulness.

weekend update(s)

things have been super busy in the office with our first orientation program of the summer so i'm a bit behind! lots of fun stuff has been going on though, so here's a quick recap:

last weekend we had a great 3-day weekend thanks to memorial day. it was a karma-filled weekend thanks to volunteer opportunities, daily yoga classes & a trip to the farmer's market.

now most friday nights, you can find me curled up on the couch with my boys, watching a movie and sipping on wine. it's my absolute favorite way to unwind from the work week. but this particular friday, we were brewing some coffee and putting on ratty work clothes to go out to the Homes for Haiti event at our church. i'm not gonna lie, it was not easy. admittedly, i am a creature of habit. and my couch-movie-wine habit is a treasured one. but i also knew from past experiences that these opportunities we are given - to go beyond our comfort zone and ourselves to help others prove to be so worthwhile. when we arrived at the build site, it was a bit chaotic as the shifts were changing. for the first few minutes, we weren't sure where to go or what to help with. but as the team leaders got organized and explained the duties, we were able to get started at one of the stations. the build was only about 10 hours into the 50 hour endeavor and we learned that 25 homes had already been built! how awesome. everyone was so fired up to be working on such an exciting and worthwhile project that the pace was hard to slow down! by the end of the weekend, 70 homes were built and hundreds of lives were changed - not just for the wonderful people in haiti but here in good ol' san antonio as well. what a blessing to be part of God's good work.

other highlights from the weekend include:
-celebrating my un-birthday. hey, why not?

-delish dinner made entirely from farmers market finds: large gulf shrimp, squash and new potatoes. yum yum.

-my alarm clock (jack)... while a huge lick in the face is not the most peaceful way to wake up in the morning, i do enjoy the beautiful morning sun:

-sunday dinner date with cody. we enjoyed a plate of delicious food including wine, olive oil and balsamic vinegar brought from italy by the stantons!


this weekend we tackled the world of garage sale-ing. wow. i had NO idea we had accumulated so much...junk. it felt so good to get rid of a lot of our "things" and simplify a little. trust me, we still have sooooo much more than we need but at least it was a step in the right direction. one woman came by and bought EIGHTY pieces of clothing. EIGHTY! and it only made a dent in the piles of clothes we were selling. tell me why on earth do i have so many clothes? okay, i know the answer to that: working at clothes stores all through college. for real, it looked like i robbed an ann taylor for all the stuff i had from there! the best part was everything we didn't sell, we loaded into the back of the car and dropped off at the medina children's home. we were so glad to share with families who need it. the garage sale was a LOT of work...days of cleaning out closets and setting up and packing away but in the end i'd say it was worth it.

saturday was also awesome because we had girls night! dinner at stonewerks, complete with cosmos & then off to see Sex and the City 2 with rachelle, dawn, abby & melissa! we got all dressed up and had so much fun! pics soon...