Tough Mudder Training

 

Him: About a month ago I promised a fitness plan so here goes. Two key things will start you in the direction of success:

1.     Accountability- team up with at least one fitness partner to ensure that if you decide your pillow is more inviting than your workout, you’ll have the reminder that someone else is counting on you and won’t let you off the hook so easily. This can be a friend from the gym, a spouse, a neighbor, your kids (I occasionally run with my oldest and she is certainly not someone I want to disappoint) or any number of combinations of people who you share a fitness goal with. This brings me to the next key to success.

2.    Goals- establish a goal early. Whether you’re one of those people who like to make lists only to cross off items once they’re completed or you simply enjoy physical activity, setting goals will give you an extra boost to keep you motivated and focused on the reason that you skipped that burger last night or rolled out of bed without recruiting the snooze button for an hour.

So taking my own advice, I’ve teamed up with a friend and registered to take on the Tough Mudder about six weeks from now. (For those of you who don’t know Tough Mudder, here’s a link, the video tells all: www.toughmudder.com) This event takes many things that I’ve done before (10-12 mile run, wall climbs, monkey bars, hills, cold baths, altitude…), amps them up exponentially and slams them all together in one event.

I know I could complete this event today but I want to rock it so I’ve put together a training program that will get me to the finish line and save unnecessary embarrassment. Life’s been busy lately so I haven’t been running much and neither Allison nor I have seen the inside of a gym for a couple years. That’s about to change.

 

Memorial Day

Him: Anybody know what this holiday is all about… I mean aside from the first three day weekend that kicks-off summer every year? Retailers have a hay-day with sales through the weekend and everyone is concerned about where/how they will take advantage of the extra day off. For most people I would imagine that’s it… unless they’ve had someone close to them who has served in the military. Growing up, the closest thing I had to anyone who served this country was my grandfather who was in and out long before I was born. I’m grateful for his service but it was never made more real to me until the 21 gun salute that ushered his body into the ground and left me with chills and a great sense of pride.

Of the tens of millions who have served since the American Revolution over 200 years ago, about 1.2 million have paid the ultimate price to protect life, liberty and our ability to welcome each summer with a trip to the beach or a backyard barbeque. Because of their sacrifice we are granted the freedom to remember and celebrate them or lounge poolside with our favorite brew in hand for the roughly 70 Memorial Day weekends that we’ll spend on this earth.

If this sounds irreverent, it should. As a country we fail to honor their memory. I’ll stay out of the politics and the economics of it. The bottom line, they owed us nothing but gave us everything and most of us fail to take the time to remember them.

Memorial Day reminds me of another sacrifice made over 2000 years ago that bought us much more than a few dozen three day weekends and a lifetime of American liberty. Christ’s death on that cross paid the price for our sins. He took this wretch and made me His treasure. The freedom I have in Him on this earth and the eternity that awaits me through His resurrection is incomparable. It’s everything and it cost me nothing.

This Memorial Day I Honor our soldiers, Remember their sacrifice, Enjoy the freedoms they’ve paid for and recognize that we are eternal beings and that Christ’s sacrifice was truly the ultimate price for which we reap the ultimate reward.

Manhood: Date Your Wife

Him: I wanted to share something with all the men out there (whether you’re looking for it or not) and with all the wives (because, chances are you’ve been looking for it since you left the altar) and that is, the importance of the investment you make in her. There was most definitely a time that you put in the effort, you treated her like a prize to be won, you provided her the security to be free in herself and then you married her. If you’re like many, that’s where most of the effort stopped- maybe because you didn’t know what to do next, or life got more and more complicated with family and career growth.

No matter the reason, your wife needs you and you need to watch this:

Date Your Wife releases next month. For more from the author, Justin Buzzard, visit www.justinbuzzard.net 

Simple Flower Tutorial

Her:  I love love love to crochet!  I got the bug when I was pregnant with my last baby and furiously scoured YouTube for tutorials on how to make pretty things.  So far I’ve made sock monkeys, Christmas ornaments, headbands, baby hats, blankets, purses and a ton of stuff half finished piled in a big bin.  (Sometimes I lose inspiration halfway through a project.  Ok, not sometimes – more like a lot!) But my favorite things to crochet by far are flowers.  A tiny flower crochet with embroidery thread to a giant flower as big as a pillow. Much of my inspiration comes from the Art of Crochet by Teresa on YouTube and her blog which is http://crochet-mania.blogspot.com/.  

Today I am showing you a flower I created for a sewing project. (More on that in another blog post!) Not much color just elegant and simple. Here’s the tutorial:

Yarn: Sugar ‘n Cream                       Color: Cream              Crochet Hook: H

 

Ch=chain, DC=double crochet, SL ST=slip stitch, TC=triple crochet

Flower Base:

Ch 4

SL ST closed

Ch 2

10 DC in Ch 4 loop. (I like to crochet in the dangling string as well so I can cut it off!)

SL ST closed

Flip over and cut off tail so it is out of your way.

Loops for Petals:

Ch 3

Skip one DC on flower base then SL ST into top of next DC. 

 Repeat until you have 5 Ch 3 loops on flower base.

These loops are what you will work into for the 5 petals.

Petals:

SL ST into first Ch 3 loop.

Ch 2, 1 DC, 3 TC, 1 DC, Ch 2

SL ST into first petal again to finish.

SL ST into next Ch 3 loop.

Repeat for all 5 petals.

Once you have finished the last petal cut about a 6 inch piece of yarn.

Pull the yarn looped on your hook until the entire string comes out.

Flip the flower over and thread the remaining yarn through the back of one petal to finish off.

Thread the back though the petal going the opposite direction and cut off.

And there you have it! A fantastically simple but beautiful flower!

Adorable Interruption

Her:  If you know me at all you know that I am always going.  And going.  And going.  And going. And I love every minute of it.  This is why I can home school, raise five kids, blog and start a new business all at the same time.  This is the way God made me and it serves me well.  But what I am not good at is stopping to smell the roses.  How would I do that?  I am always zooming by at 100 miles an hour.  I don’t even see the roses! Troy is amazing at this and I have found myself learning from his example over the years.  I am beginning to appreciate the journey more and more, not just the finished product.

The change has been slow and sometimes painful.  I have to make a conscious effort to do this and many days my flesh gets in the way.  I just want to get SOMETHING done.  I am tortured by the call of things unfinished and find life’s interruptions inconvenient to say the least.  But I have made progress!  I can see it with my kiddos: letting them finish their stuttering sentences, watching them play, interacting with them more.  This has been a struggle for me, a learned art. 

There is nothing wrong with being a doer.  Today I got up at 7:30 a.m. and accomplished the following:  got ready for the day, read my blog devotions, helped my oldest make eggs, loaded the dishwasher, started, finished, folded and put away a load of laundry, got my youngest ready for the day, received two phone calls, ate breakfast (This was a feat all of its own.  I had to reheat my breakfast burrito 3x!), all while babysitting my younger two, homeschooling the older three and correcting behavior frequently (with five there is always someone needing guidance). Now it was time to start blogging.  I sat down in front of my computer at 9:45 a.m. when my hubby dropped by unannounced.  I am usually fully annoyed by such interruption but today I just enjoyed him.  He left and I was back to work.  10:05 a.m. I was heading back to the computer when this crawled into my lap:

 And her dolly . . .

And now her dolly in her shoe . . .

  Now dolly is dancing on my computer.

 And I loved every minute of it.

I am finding so much joy in my new found peace. A little more Mary and a little less Martha. 

Luke 10:38-42 :)

Another Day of Mothering

Her: I was sitting here weeding through a mound of e-mails when one of my daughters leaned over, hugged me and said, “Mom, thank you for letting me sleep in today.” She then left my room to get ready for the day. When she was in the hall she noticed her 3 year old sister playing with the water in the bathroom sink. She gently reminded her that water is expensive and we must not play in it. She even added, “I know it’s disappointing but it is not a good game.” My heart melted. I felt tears creeping up into my eyes.

You see yesterday did not go as well. My beautiful princess who I love dearly is also stubborn. Not sorta kinda stubborn, more like you will NEVER break me kinda stubborn. I worry. I worry that she is the one that will leave me and never return. I worry that she does not see the love I have for her. That she doesn’t feel accepted. That I don’t really know her heart. I yearn for her but she does not let me in. Being a mom is painful. The rejection can be overwhelming. But I will not give up. God gave her to me. I will fight for her. I will fight for a relationship with her. I will fight for her soul.  

I talk to her. I tell her that I adore her. I tell her that God loves her and that is most valuable.

But, most importantly I pray. I pray that I would be the mom that she needs. I pray that God would fill her and make her whole. I pray that she would receive his love. And then I surrender. I know God has her in his amazing hands and I need to follow his lead.

Today I saw her heart soften a bit. And I can see God working. I know His time is perfect. His love is perfect. His plan is perfect. Today I will walk in that truth.

Why Homeschool?

Her: Homeschooling was NEVER something I thought I would be doing.  Why keep your kids at home when you can send them off to be educated elsewhere while I am at the gym and Starbucks?  Troy and I lived in Texas before our kids were school age and many of my friends there homeschooled.  I thought they were nuts and probably told them so (Sorry about that ladies!).   As the time to put my eldest in school approached, putting her in school became impossible.  We were moving around a lot at the time and I didn’t have a definite school district to put her in.  Besides, Troy and I always went to private school so it was a big move for us to even consider public school.  There was no way we could afford private school so homeschooling it was.  “Just one year, I can survive just one year.” Five years later we are still homeschooling. 

I am truly grateful that I was forced into the idea.  Otherwise, I never would have given it a chance. Now, I wouldn’t have it any other way.  And, here’s why it has blessed our family:

1)    Learning is much more of a fluid process than I realized it was.  There have been so many times over the years that I have introduced a concept: reading, math, etc. that the kiddos were not ready for.  They became confused and frustrated.  So I put that concept on the shelf for a few months then reintroduced it.  This time it was a breeze.  They got it instantly because their brains were ready. 

2)   The kids have no one to measure their intelligence with.  They have no idea if they are behind or ahead of their classmates.  They get to learn without the insecurity of comparison. 

3)   They have so much more time in their day.  They don’t have to get up early and rush out the door.  They have enough time to do school, chores and play endlessly.  They can escape outside and make a huge fort for 3 hours in the afternoon instead of doing homework. 

4)   Our family schedule is not controlled by the school schedule.  We can take off for vacation in the middle of the year.  We can stay out late on a weekday.  We can sleep in when needed.  We can school in the evening or on the weekend if it works better. 

5)   Because the kids are home more, I can incorporate learning life skills such as cooking, cleaning and organization that we would otherwise not have time for.

6)   And, my favorite, we can incorporate God into each and every part of our day.  I get to instruct them on much more valuable things than just math and reading.  We get to discuss their attitudes about their schoolwork, their siblings, and me while learning.  If they were in school I would miss out on these opportunities or at least have fewer of them.

You may consider all of this sheltering and I understand where you are coming from.  I agree children need to be socialized.  The real world is a place full of competition and mean people that they need to be ready for and they need to learn how to make choices and traverse the ins and outs of life successfully. But, why throw them into life before they have the tools to cope with it?  You wouldn’t hire an employee and then throw them into the position without training.  You would specifically guide and prepare them and would not send them out until you were sure they would be successful.  Of course they will still make mistakes and will continue to learn but at least they’ll be equipped with the basic tools. Should we shelter them? No.  Should we prepare them? Yes! 

Ok, off my soapbox!  Is homeschooling for everyone?  Definitely not.  But, it has been absolutely fabulous for our family and I would recommend it to everyone!

Push Your Limits, Explore His Playground

Him: So God created some pretty amazing things in those first six days and I’m struck by the beauty of many of them all around me every day. I recognize that I’m not the most well-traveled individual around (although I’ve seen a ton of California and this is a pretty awesome place- beaches, deserts, rivers, lakes, waterfalls, redwoods, the Sierras, Yosemite, Tahoe, Joshua Tree…) but I have to admit that mankind, even with our dark side – our propensity to sin against each other, ourselves, this world, our Creator… - we are the crown jewel of His creation. All the beauty of a sunset lit shoreline, the power of a raging river, the vastness of the views from the highest peaks… they’re all impressive. But nothing impresses me more than the feat of the sixth day.

We’ve built empires and trashed them. We’ve built skyscrapers and toppled them. We’ve explored the moon. We’re headed to Mars. We’ve joined man and machine to restore function to damaged parts. We’ve been to the bottom of the oceans and daily about 16% of the world population defy gravity in flight. We’ve launched into a technical era that has brought us together in ways unimaginable until recent years. And our capacity to care, to love, to serve, to persevere, demonstrate glimpses of His likeness. While these are all extraordinary feats what amazes me most is watching the human body push beyond expectations, exceeding what was thought to be our limit, performing with dynamic magnificence and toeing the line of impossible. Here is a compilation of some of God’s greatest work in His hand-crafted playground:

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=EEu42L0ufBY

Genesis 1:31

“God saw all that He had made, and it was very good”