The Recap

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

This weekend I ran the first-ever Purdue Half Marathon, my fourth such endeavor. It was freezing. I crossed the finish line and nearly tossed my cookies (literally, I had just stuffed a Famous Amos in my mouth!) So, as a committed citizen, I feel it necessary to give the organizers some feedback. Here's my $0.02.

Event Organizers- You nailed it. For the "first-ever" I thought most everything went splendidly. Sign-up was easy. Website was informational. Signage along the course was neat and clean. Course was AWESOME! (Okay-- running UP Northwestern for the last mile was slightly death-defying, but I understand why it went that way. And sprinting DOWN the hill to the finish line was just awesome.) Perhaps reconfigure the post-finish line arrangement for next year? A thoroughly equipped water station right away would be stellar, and having the food just a few steps past that would be ideal. But, I get that you had sponsors to recognize, and you did.

Volunteers- Y'all rock. I tried to thank as many of you as I could along the way, but I know I missed many. The fact that you'd give up several hours of your Saturday morning to hand out water (and have it thrown right back in your face), or stop traffic (and take the curses that I'm sure the citizens of Greater Lafayette were spitting out), was super. At one water station I hugged a very drunk banana.

Which leads me to my next thought...

ENGAGE THE STUDENTS! All of the volunteers were awesome, but the students were nuts, and I loved it. They were jumping, clapping, high-fiving, and generally just totally motivating. Perhaps some of the fraternities and sororities need community service hours? Why not some sort of water-station cheer-squad competition? Weaving the course through a campus community of 40,000+ undergrads, there has to be a surplus of volunteers, no?

Citizens of Greater Lafayette- I am sorry. Our course wound all around town, and I'm not sure how well prepared you were. Some of you we're stuck right in the middle. Thank you for your patience... for honking... waving from inside your windows... and even coming out to cheer while you sipped your coffee. I do have to say that The Organizers had signage out all around town several days before the event, but with this being the first time you might not have realized that 2,000+ people were committed.

Team Indianapolis- Can you even believe it? MONTHS ago an idea was born... and by God's Grace and ever-abundant provision, Neelu's needs are being met. May all the glory go to Him! What a privilege to know that there were others out there training, raising money, and Trusting Jesus!

As Our Own- Your organization is awesome. I totally believe it what you're doing, and I'm so thankful for your incredible ministry. I will be praying for you!

Neelu- You are beautiful. You are SO loved. Your dark eyes and bright smile were on the forefront of my mind as I endured some super-hot training runs this summer... and even Saturday at mile 9 when my knees said, "We're done!" I never stopped thinking about you, your mother, and the incredible journey I can imagine that God has you on. Oh the plans He has for YOU! I'm so thankful to be a little-bitty part of it. You can't imagine how much you motivated me!

Mark your calenders: October 19, 2013. Lets do it!

Good night, and good luck.

And just like that, 6:28 P.M. rolls across the clock and it's over. The day is done, the week is done, and a chapter is done...

Eight and a half years ago, The Hubby started at WSBT-TV as an intern. Tomorrow, he signs off as one of the main anchors for the evening news... a dream of his since he was in 5th grade.

If I had the technological know-how, I'd digitize and then upload the hours upon hours of VHS tapes his parents have of him doing the news from their kitchen table after school. Then again, maybe I wouldn't. (He forced his sister to volunteer to be the weather girl-- complete with a map of Indiana covered in Saran Wrap so she could draw on it-- and she might not want it made public!)

Over the years, I've always chuckled a little bit when people have uttered (without knowing The Hubby's trade) something about the "biased media" or how "the media is this or that." I tried not to let it offend me because I'm also good at stereotyping and blanket statements... but I want to tell you a different side of the news media.

I want to tell you about my Husband... the story teller...
... who agonized when he had to go interview you after your high-school aged son died on the football practice field.
... who covered the funeral of your daughter that was killed after a gun fell out of your pocket, and then sobbed with the photographer in the truck afterwards.
... who knocked on your door to tell the story of your husband that died serving our country.

My Husband, your news guy, carried those stories home with him. They changed him, and they are a large part of his decision to leave the business. As hard as they were, he loved those stories... telling the legacies of those people, those places, those moments... factual, unbiased, real. He cried. He prayed. He held our kids and me a little tighter. Your lives shaped ours, and we are thankful. I am thankful.

As he has been wrapping things up these last few weeks, the emails of encouragement, support and well-wishes have been trickling in. The few he has shared with me have been precious, beautiful, sacred.

In John 15:5, Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches.Whoever remains in me, and I in him, will bear much fruit; for you can do nothing without me.”

I'm hopeful that his viewers and co-workers will remember him this way... as his other childhood dream... a farmer... bearing Fruit, divine fruit.

Did he get angry and lose his temper? Sure! And then he came home and re-thought his actions and words... and how he would or should "right" them.
He wrote cards to so many of the people he interviewed... who let him into their homes, their pain, their joy.
He even stopped by and prayed with interviewees, long after the story was over and the media stopped talking about it.

Dustin- You are nothing short of incredible. You have given it your all for 8 years, and I'm so proud of what you've done. You are so good at telling great stories, and equally humble in accepting accolades. You have enjoyed your co-workers, but never let them settle for being "okay" at what they do... always trying to push the "product" to the next level. You have been in more homes in Michiana than your Realtor wife, and have more loyal followers than you or I will ever really know. I have loved rehashing stories with you... rewriting them, reliving them. You have always been way too hard on yourself. So, sign off tomorrow night, Love, with confidence and joy knowing you've been a very Fruitful Branch.

And, just as Edward R. Murrow said at the end of a broadcast in 1940, "Good night, and good luck."

Running for HER life

I've said it once, and I'll say it again: I'm a wanna-be runner. I look a fool when I run. I feel like I could die due to a lack of oxygen. I begrudgingly strap on my shoes and dream up any excuse I can to get out of it. I am not a runner, and though my Dad won a state championship that involved running while he was in high school, those genes skipped my body.

Luckily, for me, The Hubby is a runner. To him, it's a stress reliever. And, his "hobby running" is straight up motivation for my two-kids-have-been-carried-full-term-on-these-hips figure.

I ran my first half marathon when The Girl was 9 months old. I sort-of trained. My second half-marathon... well, I had no business running that one. I think I ran about 10 miles total in "training." My third half-marathon was fun. I did it with my sister. Enough said.

A few months ago some friends and I were talking about running a half-marathon together. We decided on the first-ever Purdue Half Marathon and then discovered an organization called As Our Own. In a nutshell, they rescue little girls born to women working in brothels in India... and raise them "as their own." We worked to get the Purdue Half Marathon on the list of sponsor races this year for As Our Own, and it now is! WOOT WOOT! And, we just met our girl.

We're running for Neelu.

"Neelu is 15 years old and is in the 9th grade. She has a knack for keeping things neat and organized. Neelu loves to spend time with her sisters. Here tender heart is hungry to know God through worship and the Bible, and she would like to attend seminary for a future in serving others. She is passionate to go wherever God leads her!

Once a child is rescued into our family, she becomes an irreplaceable member. She is not up for adoption, because she has a permanent place of belonging, right here with us. She's ours to love, nurture, teach, and enjoy. For life."


Neelu is a real girl. She is living a life that I cannot fathom right now, and I certainly couldn't have imagined when I was her age... headed into my freshman year at Harrison High School in West Lafayette.

I am still a wanna-be. I still look funny when I run. I still can't breathe, and I still run a 12 minute mile. But I no longer do it for me. It's not about my figure, my weight, or fitting into my "skinny jeans." Every time I put on my shoes, I think of a sweet girl on the other side of the world who needs to escape her current reality. I think of Neelu, a 15-year-old girl, whom I will likely never meet while on this earth.

She is real. I'm running for HER life.

Will you support Team Indianapolis? https://iwillrun.myetap.org/fundraiser/teamindianapolis/

Birthday Banner

There's a birthday coming, and with it comes my incessant need to create a tradition. I know. That's the dumbest thing ever. But it's true. With every event, or holiday, or moment, I find myself losing sleep over how to either a) capture the "moment" or b) to be able to recreate it. And, lets be honest, the best, most long-standing traditions are not ones that have been conjured up in someones head, or read on someones Pinterest board. They're sudden, spur-of-the-moment, not-intended-to-be-sacred, pauses in time. (Like my family's tradition to watch the very wholesome, family movie "Christmas Vacation" on the eve of the birth of our Savior every year. Don't judge.)

Anywho, as I was perusing FB a few months ago, I saw a photo of a girlfriend's daughter on her b-day, sitting in her highchair with a subtly decorated kitchen in the background. This stuck out to me because said girlfriend was preparing for the big b-day shindig... which was to be over the upcoming weekend. And then I realized, she decorated her kitchen (nothing over-the-top) for THE birthday. The actual day this precious girl left the womb was being celebrated by her Mama, her Daddy and her little sister. Oh yes, the party was to follow, but they didn't miss The Day.

Duh.

It sounds so simple. It is so simple. But I've missed it. Don't get me wrong, we have b-day morning photos, and make a huge deal out of the entire day that the b-day party is taking place, but the D-A-T-E has been overlooked. Drat.

And then came the light bulb!

As I looked back through old photos of The Girl, I realized I have a great "cake" photo of her from all 3 previous birthdays. What fun! A birthday banner!

Each year, I'm going to take that sacred "cake photo" and add it on to this simple, I'm-not-a-scrapbooker banner. And, just to kick it up a notch, a few things will be included on the backside: How we celebrated; What she asked for; and Her own signature (or an outline of her hand if she's too young to write.)

This is a great, simple way for me to catch a moment, without having to maintain a scrapbook. It will also store easily, and make for great decorations (and conversation starters?) in years to follow. To make it extra-suspenseful, I'm going to bring out each "pendant" that many days before her birthday each year. (ie. 3 days before her b-day I'll hang up her 3rd Birthday Pendant, and so on...)

Time to go and make #1 for The Boy.

Nothing spells LOVE like B-B-Q

Since about mid-May, I've had the pleasure of putting many "Pins" to use as my sister-in-law and I planned a couples BBQ wedding shower for her brother/my brother-in-law and our new (almost) sister! The trickiest part of this whole deal was finding adorable things on Pinterest and attempting to  find sneaky ways to get them to one another to read/check-out-- without the Bride seeing what we were up to!

Anyway, here's how things ended up. It was a great evening with friends and family. And, as much as I wanted to pray against rain, I took one for the farmers and told the Lord we could squeeze the tables inside if need be. However, as you all know, that was not an issue... and we continue to wait for the rain.

As our guests arrived, we had each couple fill out a hilarious Mad-libs pertaining to wedding advice for the couple. They were read aloud as the couple-of-honor opened their gifts.

Apparently a few shower guests thought these were real "sliders." They're actually a yellow cupcake cut in half, with half of a chocolate cupcake stacked inside as the "burger." A little yellow icing (mustard)... a little red icing (ketchup) and a toothpick... and voila! (Props to my friend Mrs. R who made these for The Girl's 1st b-day and coached me along as I attempted to remake her art.)

This simple/inexpensive piece of decor was not a Pinterest find thankyouverymuch! I hijacked the Bride & Groom's Facebook photos. Then, I printed them at Sam's Club. Finally, with some hemp and clothespins I had in my crafting "stash," we hung them as a backdrop.

One of the main reasons we chose to do a BBQ (besides having an awesome park-like backyard) was because of this... S'MORES BAR for dessert! We hunted around our local grocers to find out what sorts of marshmallow flavorings they offered (strawberry, toasted coconut and jumbo) and then came up with the menu (see next photo.)

Thankfully, my FIL was thinking ahead and thought to call the police department who Embrace the Pace to see how the burn ban would affect this main-piece of our party. Luckily, we got the go-ahead. Phew!

I've decided when having a buffet, either a menu or placards in front of each "dish" are helpful to guests. We went with a menu. Pre-wrapped silverware with a "dig-in" tag was a fun, whimsical touch, too.

And, to keep with our theme, we labeled mason jars and encouraged guests to write their name on their jar and keep it "in sight."

The other hostess helped with putting pens in all the centerpieces so we wouldn't have to go on a mad-hunt when game time came around.

Centerpieces were: mason jars spray-painted with stained glass paint, aluminum cans wrapped in scrapbook paper, and sitting on a round piece of scrapbook paper. All were placed on a tablecloth of "butcher-block" paper, purchased by the roll at Dollar Tree.

And there you have it. Behind me (as I was taking this photo) were yard games: corn hole, ladder ball and horseshoes.

This was so much fun to plan. It was especially fun because: 1) I live with my in-laws and don't currently have a home/yard to manage. 2) I live with my in-laws and have help with my children. and 3) I live with my in-laws and am not presently working. So, what I'm saying is, I'll likely never in my life have the time I presently do to devote to an event like this. It was fun ;)

Marinated Green Beans

1 1/2 lbs fresh green beans, trimmed
3/4 C white vinegar
1/4 C sugar
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 small red onion, thinly sliced

1. Cook beans in boiling water to cover 4 to 5 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain. Plunge into ice water to stop the cooking process, drain.
2. Whisk together vinegar and next 5 ingredients in a large bowl; add beans and onion, tossing to coat. Cover and chill 4 hours. Serve with a slotted spoon.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Corn/Tomato/Avocado Salad

My sister-in-laws sister gave me this recipe about 8 years ago, and it has been a crowd pleaser ever since.

4 ears of corn, cooked & taken off cob (or 3 cans corn "nibblets", drained)
1 pt. cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4C red onion, chopped
4 oz. Monterrey jack cheese, cubed
1 avocado, cut into chunks

Place above ingredients in a bowl together.

In a separate bowl, combine:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp lime juice
2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin
1 clove garlic

Whisk or shake together until well mixed. Pour over corn mixture and stir until covered. Chill about an hour before serving. Can be made the night before.