so proud.

ashlynn did a walk.a.thon to raise money for her school. it is the only fundraiser that they do every year. i must admit i was proud of her. she ran the whole 20 minutes (except when she had water... it was so hot). here are a few pictures of the time she spent running. 1. stretching. 2. running. 3. cooling down. it was so adorable.

ash.

ok... don't you think she needs to make me some money? (don't worry i am kidding).

just a thought.

we have this beautiful gift called life. constantly taking it for granted in ways that often do not make sense. wasting it on trivial things. we walk around as if we are guranteed tomorrow, when in reality we are not granted another second without the LORD giving it to us. so then, why is that we cannot see our life as the beautiful gift that it is? why can we not take these moments that we are honored to have and use it to glorify the LORD... not ourselves? why is it often difficult to simply say i love the God because He is the LORD and not because of what He is able to do for us? life should only have one goal in mind... the LORD himself. be honest with yourself... is that your goal?

ash's birthday toy.

for her birthday she got a wetsuit && a body board. she gets out there & goes. she even asked to go after school on monday. of course i took her. all i could think about was how i am a big girl mom now. taking ash to do the things she wants... just because she wants too... because it is now her thing... not just because, but because with a purpose.

what we've been doing.

so much happened as our summer came to a close. we went crazy having just too much fun! here are a few pictures to tell our story that closed out our summer.


first... ashlynn started first grade. i could hardly believe it. i cried when she left to line up for her first day. she loves her teacher & has been making some great friends. next... we took some leadership students to magic mountain. can you believe it? they still have the swings. then... we did a lot of swimming. last pic... we celebrated jeremy's 5 th birthday. it was a huge change for me. my little guy turned 5. i seriously can remember the day he was born. 4 weeks early... 8 lbs 5 oz. he is still my little cuddler. he loves that he is 5!

in this row... first we have 'fall forward'. 101 students went up to camp hammer in santa cruz to enjoy a weekend of craziness. a.ma.zing time. second... ashlynn turned 7. yes... i am hit with my kiddos growing up all at once. she turned 7 & it has been one of the hardest days since my pops died (for a lot of reasons). it is funny how i am able to recall everything about the day she was born. i can tell you what i did, what i ate, what time i went to the hospital. after an emergency c-section, i got to hold a 1olb 4 oz baby who was a content as can be. she has this passion for others knowing jesus that amazes me. just the other day she asked one of her teachers (who she knows goes to our church) if he was coming this weeked... oh wait i forgot she yelled it from across the playground. she's a sweetie. next... jt started preschool. watch out world. he is there in full craziness. & last we went camping and did a little body boarding (it was ashlynn's birthday present).

well that about does it! we have had a great summer.

realization.

so why am i up at 3: 30 in the middle of the night? obvious reasons... i can't sleep and my thoughts have consumed my mind. it is a process i have become accustomed to as of late. yesterday afternoon i walked into the salon to get my hair colored. wanting to go a little bit darker. shooting for ashlynn's color. still considered blonde i suppose. yesterday i walked out with DARK hair. not just dark for me. DARK HAIR! i have NEVER had dark hair before. (picture will have to follow because well... its late). so i was just sitting on the computer & looked at a picture, (my favorite picture of todd & i) where my hair is extremely blonde. my stomach flipped. what the heck have i done. i wanted to go a little darker, not so dark that i thought i was a completely different person. then i realized... its just hair. wow i really did get a lot of my identity from my hair. still not sure.

something borrowed.

(this picture was taken at the top of a ride called the triple bypass. we laugh because he is always smiling at the top of the climbs. look at the right of photo. you can see part of the road that he came up.)

yesterday i got new handlebars for my bike. well they weren't entirely new. i got my dad's handle bars off his bike that he gave todd. so i rode. 20 miles yesterday. placing my hand where my dad had his hands for SO many countless hours. it was so emotional for me. i thought of all the wonderful times my dad had while he had his hands there. all the fun times he had with his friends. all the prayers he said for all of us. i prayed & thank the Lord for the life of my pops. missing him a lot. it was such an euphoric experience. here's to you pops.