The other part of my OKC trip

So the marathon was only one of the reasons I went to OKC last weekend. The other reason was to spend time with Tomy & Mendy and to attend Mendy's bridal shower!


Mendy's bridesmaids did such a great job at putting together a lovely shower. We really enjoyed meeting Mendy's friends, eating wonderful food and watching her open lots of special gifts.






The weekend was also full of great laughs, eating at our favorite local restaurants and doing some sight-seeing. We went to this fun placed called "Pops" that Tomy introduced me to a couple years ago. It's on Route 66 and they have hundreds of bottled beverages to choose from (hence the name). The sculpture out front is pretty cool as well as the building itself.

A running experience like no other!

I had the most amazing weekend in Oklahoma City! Tomorrow I will fill you in all the fun we had with my brother and future sister-in-law, but today I want to share my marathon experience with you.

Five of us gals got up at 4:30 am and headed to downtown Oklahoma City for the tenth annual OKC Memorial Marathon. It was a cold morning, much colder than I anticipated for OKC in April. So we spent a lot of time huddling together trying to stay warm.



Me at the end of my leg, getting ready to hand off to Mendy.


Exchange point from leg 4 to leg 5.


The Forward Motion Team ~ Meghan, Mendy, Cristina, Amber and Amy.


This run was so much fun, and my best run to date! I attribute it all to the lower elevation. Right off the bat, my leg started with a run up a bridge. When I first saw it, I wasn't too thrilled. But I breezed up and the rest of the run was fairly flat. I got to run through a beautiful historic neighborhood with sprawling estates and large trees lining the road. It was gorgeous and I enjoyed the scenery as I ran. I also enjoyed interacting with the crowd that lined the streets. There were tons of supporters clapping and shouting and holding funny signs. My favorite: Please don't die. I know that was for the full marathoners, but I enjoyed a quick laugh.

My leg was a 5K but turned out to be an actual 3.5 mile run. I was surprised when I came to the end of my leg because I thought I had about a half mile to go, and I still had steam in me! That was a good feeling because I never did hit a wall. I ran in the moment and enjoyed everything and everyone around me. It was truly a fun and easy run.

I think next year it would be great to have two teams so we each have a partner to run with. The camaraderie with friends was really fun, but it could have been even better if we were running side by side. It was an amazing experience to run with 23,000 other runners for a cause that is so close to my heart. Thanks girls for making this a memorable experience! I can't wait to do it again next year.

It was all for this!

Well...this weekend is the culmination of my running and training since January! I can't believe this day is here. I never would have thought, when I set out for my first run in a small Texas town, that I would be running a marathon relay 7 months later. But here am I.

This journey has been every bit as spiritual as it has been physical. It's been a challenge to not let the physical become a higher priority, but I have been committed to living as 1 Timothy 4:7-8 instructs..."Train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things."

As I reflect on my life for the past 3 years, I realize how much of a theme song "Forward Motion" has been for me. (Click here to read the original influence of this song.) There have been days...even weeks...when my sorrow over difficult circumstances had me crumpled on the floor. It was all I could do to get through a day without being overcome with total despair. And then there were days when I could clearly see God working and my praise was my portion for the day. The thing I've realized is this...there has been forward motion in my life and my journey with Christ because He never leaves me. He has walked with me, led me and even carried me through the good and the bad. He is my portion every single day. And He has already made a provision for all my days to come. His portion greets me with each new day. What peace we can have when we trust our days to God.

I hope you will reflect on the "forward motion" of your own life. Philippians 4:13 is a great place to start. On our own, we are weak an uneffective and prone to wander, but with God's strength anything is possible! Let's keep it moving in a forward motion!

9:02 AM

I should have posted this yesterday, but my mind is all over the place these days. I figured better late than never. Just like most people remember where they were when Kennedy was shot, so many people remember their whereabouts when the OKC bombing occurred.

Fifteen years ago (on April 19) at 9:02 AM, I was living in Oklahoma City attending college at SNU. It was my junior year, and I was just getting ready for my first class of the day. All of a sudden I heard a loud explosion and felt a shake of the building. Unusual, but I didn't think much of it. It wasn't until I walked down to the lobby of the dorms that I realized something serious had happened. People were huddled around the TV watching in horror the unfolding nightmare of the Oklahoma City bombing.

Numerous friends and classmates remained glued to the TV, knowing they had loved ones in the building when it was bombed. Knowing my family back in CO would be worried, I tried to call them; but the phone lines were jammed and we were unable to communicate for several hours. (This was prior to everyone having internet and email access or even cell phones.)

In the days that followed I was in awe of how the people of OK came together and supported each other. I, along with several classmates, volunteered in the afternoons at the Redcross and Feed The Children. Anything I could do to help gave me a sense of purpose in such a tragic time. I'll never forget walking downtown, standing near the bombed federal building - with its contents dangling in the wind, unable to process such a horrific act. Or driving down the interstate and seeing every single car with its headlights on in support of the rescue effort.

It's a weird thing to realize you've been closely involved with a major event in our history. We were all affected that day...us Americans...because it was a random act of violence that could have happened anywhere. So many lives were impacted with the loss of their loved ones (one of my classmates lost her mother that day); and yet so many lives were touched by the rescue effort of hundreds of people from around the country.

This Sunday, April 25, I will run to remember in the Oklahoma City Marathon. Along with 4 friends I will run the marathon relay and honor those lives who passed before on us April 19, 1995.

God cares about pianos

We've been looking to buy Emma a piano now for about a year. She had been playing on a keyboard for the past three years, and her lessons were getting more involved to where she needed an actual piano.

So we started looking on Craig's List and found two that we were interested in. After debating for a week, I decided to call on the first one - the one we really liked. When I clicked the link, it said the listing had been removed by owner. I was so disappointed! So I decided to call on the second one. The seller answered but said it was a bad time to talk and that he would call me back later.

So while I was waiting, I decided to check Craig's List again to see if anything new had been listed. The first piano I clicked on was the original one I wanted to call on but thought had sold. And the price had been reduced by $100!

I called about it right away, and got a hold of Jeff. The more we talked the more I thought Jeff's voice sounded familiar. As he described their situation, I realized who I was talking to. Jeff - one of our former Sunday School teachers. He and his wife Kathy had been our SS teachers for 6 years...the first 6 years of our marriage!

We were all so excited to realize the connection! So the next morning we went and picked up Emma's new piano. Kathy explained to me how this was their first major purchase on credit after getting married some 30 years ago! They were excited to see their piano go to a good home, and we were excited to get a piano from the original owner that we know took really good care of it.

God answered both our prayers in funny little ways! I love when HE does that. Here is Emma playing for the first time on her new piano.

Date Night for Pennies!

Last weekend Tim and I got to go on a rare date night. We decided to have dinner at a Mexican food place called The Loop. Oh man, was it good!!! I thought there was nothing in Colorado to rival my favorite Mexican food at Abuelo's, that is until I ate at The Loop. It was outstanding! I'm already trying to figure out when we can go back.

After dinner we walked down to another local {great} find...The Custard Company. Best I've had in CO! And they give discounts to Christians! Love it!


Then we headed to the Penny Arcade (a place Tim first took me to when we were dating). It is such a fun place and it doesn't cost more than a handful of change. Most of the arcade games are from the 30s and 40s and cost a penny, a nickle or a dime. There are only a few that actually take a quarter.

This shooting game cost 10 cents.



This game we won tickets at, so we headed to Skee Ball to win more tickets. (Oldest Skee Ball I've ever seen, of course.) With our 31 tickets for the evening, we bought Emma and Nate each a pack of Smarties.



I took a picture of this wooden pinball machine to show you how old the games are. See the sign at the top that reads "Five Cents."


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This is pre-date night but I wanted to share this, too. Outside the Penny Arcade they have tons of these old rides. We took Nate there the day before our date.




That night we ate a place called the Stagecoach Inn...best buffalo pot roast ever!


So if you ever come to Colorado for a visit, make sure to stop in Manitou Springs. They are a small mountain town on the edge of the city with great local finds!

Running Ready

In two weeks from today I'll be running the Oklahoma City marathon with some good friends and some new friends. I'm feeling ready and can't wait for a girl's weekend! It will be my first night away from Nate, and my first night away from my family in over two years.

Although I know I will greatly miss my BLESSINGS, I know it will be a refreshing weekend away. Can't wait to see my brother Tomy and Mendy and Amy...cant wait to eat at Abuelos...cant wait to sleep in...cant wait to celebrate at Mendy's bridal shower...cant wait to eat dinner without having to feed someone else.

Yep, I'm ready!

Nate's first haircut

I decided it was time for Nate's first haircut, so I took him to one of those overpriced kiddie places where they charge you $17 but you get a baggie of cut hair taped to a certificate announcing the big day. Plus the ride in a car-shaped chair, which in my opinion makes it all worth it.

Nate loved the car-chair combo, that is until the stylist raised it up in the air and tried to put a cape on him. He would have none of it! I spotted a bucket of suckers by the cash register, so I suggested she give him one before the cut to keep him still. Brilliant! I think the stylist could have done anything she wanted to him at that point. Nate was so thrilled with his sucker that he didn't move at all!




As with all little boy first cuts, Nate doesn't look like a baby anymore. This is our big boy now!

Easter Highlights

He is risen! He is risen, indeed!

We had two family get togethers this weekend...my side on Saturday and Tim's side on Sunday. It was fun watching Nate hunt eggs for the first time. He caught on immediately with picking up eggs and putting them in his basket and with the fact that there was candy inside some of them.

On Saturday morning, we made Easter basket cupcakes.




Then my family came over for burgers and an Easter egg hunt.





Sunday morning the kids got their Easter baskets...



Then we headed to church and had an amazing morning of worship. One of the highlights of the service was a guy doing sand art. It was awesome! Oh, and we actually got to wear our Easter dresses this year because it was a rare Colorado Easter when it didn't snow!


After church we went to my inlaw's house for dinner. This is all the grandkids with Grandma & Grandpa.





Emma got a basketball for Easter, so all the cousins and Tim had fun playing.



As we celebrated Easter this year, I was acutely aware of how blessed we are...in family, faith & friends. God has been so gracious in our lives. We can have fun with coloring eggs, making cupcakes and hunting for candy, but the thing that matters most is that at the end of day we recognize Jesus' sacrifice for our lives. It blesses my heart to hear Emma retell the Easter story from Scripture, and I look forward to the day when Nate will be able to do the same.