Tacoma St. Paddy's Day Run

Paid $25 to run a 10K this morning and get soaking wet, but guess what....it was all worth it because i got to spend time with some of my besties...again!  Yes, two races in two weeks!  What's gotten into you Jenny Stewart?  Love it!  Wish i would've had a video camera on my head today.  What is it about a holiday run that makes people dress up like crazy dorks?  Hey...wait a minute...i was one of those crazy dorks!  Too bad you can't see my $5 knee high argyle 'compression' socks that i could barely fit over my calves. :-)  Friends, if you've worn compression, you know what i am talking about here. 

And wouldn't you know it.....i am writing this blog and the sun is shining.  Maybe we'll see a rainbow?  How fitting would that be?
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Andrea, Annie, Janelle, Anne, Jenny and Me
heading out!

Our pot of gold at the end of the rainbow....thank you Starbucks!

Thank you Aaron Stewart!!!!
Jeff has been out of town all week and Aaron graciously watched my children, along with his...total of 7 children (Ben
was still sleeping) for 4 hours, 7 am - 11 am and then made me the yummiest crepes upon our return.  He's the man!

No fun green eggs this morning.  We had to get up way too early for my race, but i had a ton of left over
gummie Lifesavers from the Dr. Seuss cookies i made a couple weeks back and treated
Bella and Lily's class to Leprechaun Cookies yesterday.

Witnessed a miracle from God yesterday!

I ran my first race of 2012, the Lake Sammamish Half Marathon yesterday.  I have to give credit to my bestie Jenny for finding this wonderful course for us.  Jenny decided after running her first 5K in December she was going to do a half marathon.  Go big or go home! :-)  She Googled, flat half marathon in Washington and this is the race she came up with.  Friends, if you have the desire to try a half marathon, this would be a fabulous first race to do.  Completely flat, very small, only 1200 racers and most of it is along a trail on Lake Sammamish, which is lovely.  Jenny is not the miracle i am referring to, but i am so incredibly proud of her for pushing herself to do something she never ever thought she would do.  She ran the entire race and came in, not looking fatigued, with a huge smile on her face.  LOVE it!  Way to go friend!

Onto the miracle.....
I finished the race and my sweet race partner in crime, Amy, was waiting near the finish line because she smoked this half  (1:40 ish)....yah, i am slowing her down (1:47 ish)....cheering me on as always.  We head back to the car to get jackets to put on so we can stay warm while we are waiting for our buddies to finish.  I was parked very close to the finish line, about, .05 miles.  All of a sudden out of the corner of my eye, i see someone falling and within a matter of seconds he is flat on his face....as in face down on the pavement.  WHAT?  He is not moving at all.  People go to his aid immediately.  The man then starts convulsing and Amy calls 911, along with several others.  All of a sudden the bystanders who've come to his aid are turning him over and he is foaming at the mouth.  I start to cry and pray.  He is not moving...no pulse.  They were all cool as cucumbers and start doing chest compressions.  It seemed like an eternity.......he moans.  Praise God!  Oh my, it was like a newborn babies cry to your ears when it comes out of the womb.  More tears...more prayers.  Then he opened his eyes.  More tears...prayers.  Paramedics arrived 7 minutes later.....7 minutes too late.  Those bystanders....those racers.....those amazing angels.....saved that man's life!  Granted it was not his time to go, but he was gone for a few brief minutes and because of their persistence and quick thinking, Nicolaus is alive today.  If you are on Facebook, 'Like' Evergreen Trail Runs.  You can read about what happened through all of the posts and see that the survivor himself posts a thank you to everyone.  Oh my, it still makes me cry just thinking about it. 

Insert infomercial:
This was a good reminder that i need to wear my Road ID all the time, even during races.  It has your contact information on there for emergencies.  Everyone was wondering who this runner was there with.  Fortunately when he woke up, he could tell the people the security code to his phone.  They were able to call the friend who was at the race with him.  But what if he did not have the phone?  I don't carry my phone when i run. What if.....???
So please, buy a Road ID for $20.  It comes in cool cute colors and will be one of the best investments you've ever made.

It was an amazing day.  I was with amazing women in my life.  I was able to witness an amazing miracle.  Something i will never forget.......

Jenny and I before the race.

Me, Amy. Jodi (Amy's sister). McKenna and Jenny
4 Mommies and 11 kids.....hot Mommies!

First race since we officially became Maniacs.
Aren't we the cutest dorks you've ever seen? :-)
Love you Amy!

My little infomercial......

So, we've lived in our house 9+ years and we are the first owners of our home.
Our toilets always had this faint ring around the top of where the water sits.  It has always bugged the crap out of me....literally. :-)  Tried lots of different things and ring would slightly diminish but would never fully disappear, until now!  I was in Fred Meyer....Oh my, have you been to Fred Meyer in U.P. lately?  It is a huge disaster because they are going through a remodel.  Anyways, found this nifty little cleaning block along with a new cleanser.  Guess what friends, this cleaning block is magic!  No more rings in any of my toilets.  I should've done a before and after shot.  I am going to do my shower next doors next.  All for a little under $6 too!

I have to admit, i am not a 'green' cleaner but would really like to be.
I've also found another new like for cleaning and it is Norwex.  Their kitchen towels are astounding and i recently borrowed my friend's window cloth to clean the inside of my windows....all with only WATER!  My windows look fabulous on the inside. 
Come on friends, who have this product....help endorse what i am saying! :-)  I am hosting a party on March 8th at 7 pm.  Stop by and be amazed!

P.S.  Lily funny:  She was with my while i was cleaning and she asked if the cleanser was made out of chickens. :-) 

And a baby would make three......

I am always excited to have the opportunity to take photos of my friends, but today was extra special for me.  Today i was given the honor of taking pre-adoption photos for my friends Tim and Taeler, who are currently trying to grow their family through the miracle of adoption.

As you will witness in their photos, they are a lovely couple who have so much to offer a child.
I am praying expectantly for their heart's desire to be answered soon!

Love you Tim and Taeler!
xoxo

This says it all!

Little shoes waiting to be filled....

They really don't like each other much. :-)

Their furry child, Whisper.

Born in my heart.....

We're waiting impatiently patiently for you little one....

And my friend said she was not photogenic! Ha!!!
Taeler you are beautiful!

Pinteresty......

I've lurked but haven't totally gotten the bug yet.  I do have to force myself to stay away though because i am certain it could become a new addiction for me.  I am in awe of how creative others are.
So here are a few of my inspirations from the site.  And i will apologize now if you i follow me.  I am pretty boring to follow.......for the moment. :-)

First inspiration was for a niche that has sat empty for almost 10 years.  It it huge, like 70 X 90.  I wanted something i would love, not just like.  While searching for ideas on how to start my own 'family gallery wall' because of my new love for photography, i came across this.  I finally found the tree on Etsy and then ordered it on Ebay for a better deal. :-)  It came with beautiful white cherry blossoms that disappeared on my light creamy taupe walls.  I did keep them up for a few weeks and even changed the photos three times before deciding to switch over to leaves.  Jeff never knows what he is going to come home to and was very cute when he noticed the blossoms were down and leaves were magically appearing.  His response:  Does our family tree change with seasons?  I am extremely happy with the end product and excited that i can interchange the photos any time.

Before

After

My bestie Rachel made this for me.  It's everyone's birthdays
and our anniversary is in white.  LOVE it!

We don't wear shoes in our house.  This is one Asian custom i converted my sweet husband to.  We always come through the garage and take our shoes on and off there.  Well as you can imagine, with three girlies and a Mamma that loves shoes....we have too many lots of shoes!  Looked at lots of options and even came across some ideas on Pinterest.  The solution that worked best for us were these two units from Fred Meyer for $29.99 each.  Best invest i've made in a long time!

Before...
Each person had their own shelves and boots were scattered on the ground.

Jeff's mess!

After!
This will work if your shoes are about size 1 or larger and holds 30 pairs of
women and children's shoes.  As you can see, Jeff's shoes take up more room.
The other shelves we used to use, now house the boots that were over the floor.

Flip flop holder.

Last but not least....Valentine's Day!
Made the girlies 3-D Valentine cards with this inspiration from Pinterest.  The picture does not do them justice.  The reason i knew they were awesome was because my husband actually made a comment about how 'great' they were. :-)

My next inspiration actually came from Pottery Barn.  Love everything they have to offer but don't love their prices.  I thought these envelope chair-backers would be a fun way to give the girlies their Valentine goodies.  They were super easy.  I don't own a sewing machine and did these all by hand.  I know....can you believe i don't own a sewing machine?  I would love to learn how to sew but afraid if i get a machine, i will never leave it's side. :-)

Pottery Barn's version for around $30.



My version for under $5.
I think i'll add their names next year.

Come meet my friend Kate.....

Snuck out yesterday for a quick little photo shoot of this lovely lady. 
And if you are wondering.....yes she available too! :-)

8 is Great!

Really....you too?  We too can hardly believe our Bel-Bel is 8!

She started celebrating her birthday a little prematurely by having a date with her Daddy early in the week to go get a new bike.  Wait until you see what our cute pretty petite little princess came home with.  Thank goodness her Daddy took her because this priss of a Mom would've tried to sway her wishes. :-)   Our little middle has turned into quite the tom-boy.  No pink...no purple...no girly :-(  Helloooooo......has she forgotten who God has chosen as her Mommy?  Our soft spoken beauty can trade Poke-Mon cards like no other and is always up for a Bay Blade whipping challenge.  Please tell me this is just a phase. :-)  Stay tuned for her Tae Kwon Do friend party!

We let the girls choose, within reason, what they would like to do on their 'actual' birthday day.  Our little cutie chose the finer things in life yesterday.  We dined at the Old Country Buffet and then headed over to Chuck E Cheese.  Please do not judge, she is only 8....nor her parents.....it's her birthday for cryin' out loud and have you seen that face?  You cannot tell it NO.

Bella, i am so beyond blessed to have you in my life.  You are kind, sweet and so thoughtful of others.  You are a little OCD and i think i might almost love that character trait of yours the most, because i get it and i think it's 100% okay. :-)  You are a joy and have a heart of gold.  Love you sweet girl!

If for some reason you missed Bella's birth story last year, you can read about it here.

Birthday breakfast of champions....big ole' sugared up donut!

Look at her rockin' the black and orange 'boy' bike, not to mention
the new helmet with flames on it!
Seriously i think her dowry just went up ten fold.  Start saving up Daddies,
your boy is going to want to marry this girl!

Chicken thigh, white roll with fake butter and multi colored slurpee....Life is Good!

"Da Man" showed up for her big day!

Birthday sleepover in Grace's bed.  This is how i found them this morning.

Here are a few extra photos for good measure because she is just so darned cute!

She was in her first performance at school on Thursday called,
How Does Your Garden Grow?
 She had a teeny little speaking part as one of the chrysanthemums.

Best Bud Luke....i mean farmer Herb, the 'h' is silent you know.

Those big chocolate eyes get me every time!

That smile does too!

She's pretty kissable too! :-)