soaring eagle

can i even say how much i love these kids? they are so precious and wonderful.
we went away this weekend and i got 5 full days pure joy and pleasure.

pre race night

i guess you can call me the snapping turtle of the family for the past few days. i can't explain it and i can't wait to shake it, but i have been on a high irritation level all week. i feel so guilty looking back over the past week and thinking about how I have treated the kids and even jim at times. i have been impatient and quite self centered. i wish i could say it's because of the race tomorrow or because of work, but it's not enough of any of those things to make me blame it. i know the hormone tide is in, so maybe it has something to do with that, but it still doesn't excuse me for my mouth. i have been so short tempered mostly with the kids and they don't deserve that.
i read earlier that there are no headphones allowed on the course tomorrow and at first i went into a mini panic... oh no! what am i going to do if i can't drown out my own thoughts for 2 hours? Then after the initial shock wore off (ok, so it was a day) i have decided (and praying about it has helped) (kind of like God saying ok nik, now really, tell me again why this is such a bad thing? have you really been spending any quality time with me lately?) that the run with out the headphones is perfect. it is the best time for me to spend alone with the lord and reflect on the week i have had and give it all to him. again, even when i don't want to follow and i am stubborn and stray, God's perfect will is right there to gently lead me and correct me in the right direction.

Bah, bah, bah. (like a sheep... gone astray...)

now it's off to bed to sleep for a few hours before it's game time! update to come on the race experience.

Thoughtful Thursdays

So since I don't regularly post and I am oh so trying to get better at it, i thought if i made a theme to at least one or two of the days during the week it would encourage me to post more often. I think I will start with... Thoughtful Thursdays. This is actually perfect since my hubby is out on Thursdays and after the kids are in bed, I have a chance to siit down and be quiet within my own thoughts. Plus, unless I am SUPER tired from getting up at 5:30 to run, I can stay up late b/c i don't have to run in the morning. (whoo hoo... shhh)

So thoughts... to start, I read this e-mail from my mom today and it was really thought provoking. I wanted to sit at the computer and think about it for a while, but I needed to get back to work.
Maybe it's a little long, and maybe it's one of those cheezy e-mails people forward around, but maybe, it will make us pause for a moment and think, maybe...

Maybe ... we were supposed to meet the wrong people before meeting the right one so that when we finally meet the right person, we will know how to be grateful for that gift.
Maybe ... When the door of happiness closes, another opens; but, often times we look so long at the closed door that we don't even see the new one which has been opened for us;
maybe ... it is true that we don't know what we have until we lose it, but it is also true that we don't know what we have been missing until it arrives.
Maybe .. The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.
Maybe ... the brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; after all, you can't go on successfully in life until you let go of your past mistakes, failures, and heartaches.
Maybe ...You should dream what you want to dream; go where you want to go, be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you dream of, and want to do.
Maybe ... There are moments in life when you miss someone -- a parent, a spouse, a friend, a child, your girlfriend/boyfriend -- so much that you just want to pick them from your dreams and hug them for real, so that once they are around you appreciate them more.
Maybe ...The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch and swing with, never say a word, and then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you've ever had.
Maybe .. You should always try to put yourself in others' shoes. If you feel that something could hurt you, it probably will hurt the other person too.
Maybe ..You should do something nice for someone every single day, even if it is simply to leave them alone.
Maybe ... Giving someone all your love is never an assurance that they will love you back. Don't expect love in return; just wait for it to grow in their heart; but if it doesn't, be content that it grew in yours.
Maybe ... Happiness waits for all those who cry, all those who hurt, all those who have searched, and all those who have tried, for only they can appreciate the importance of all the people who have touched their lives.
Maybe ... You shouldn't go for looks; they can deceive; don't go for wealth; even that fades away. Go for someone who makes you smile, because it takes only a smile to make a dark day seem bright. Find the one who makes your heart smile.
Maybe ... You should hope for enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human, and enough hope to make you happy.
Maybe ... You should try to live your life to the fullest because when you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling, but when you die, you can be the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.
Maybe ... you could send this message to those people who mean something to you, to those who have touched your life, to those who can and do make you smile when you really need it, to those who make you see the brighter side of things when you are really down, and to all those whom you want to know that you appreciate them and their friendship.


OK, so, like I said... maybe, it's a little cheezy, and I totally don't agree with some of the things said, but I do agree with the concept, of maybe, we could take the time to care about people, to share the love of God and to give out the hope that we have been blessed with.