She Runs By Faith

I finally found a granola bar recipe I like! These are great to send with Leo to work for the day and I LOVE granola bars, too. This recipe is healthier and more budget-friendly than buying the store-bought bars. After I cut the bars, I store them in sandwich bags, 2 bars per bag, and pack with lunches... or just eat myself :) I'm going to store a couple in my Camelbak on Saturday's long run! Homemade & Healthy Granola Bars 4 cups quick oats 1/3 cup canola oil 2/3 cup honey 1 tsp. vanilla 1 cup chopped nuts 1/2 cup raisins Optional: add shredded coconut and a dash of cinnamon Preheat oven to 350°F and spread oats on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake oats for 15 minutes, stir, and allow to cool to room temperature. Combine remaining ingredients in large bowl and add cooled oats. Spread the mixture into greased 9x13" baking sheet and press down to compact. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool and cut into bars. There are probably a million g...

Everyone has regrets and usually our regrets are what get all of the attention. On this week, I was thinking of turning the tables on that thought - what do you never regret? Life can get so busy if we don't stop and just live in the moment and savor each second God has blessed us with. A lot of things have been going on lately and I'm trying to enjoy it all, yet not be overwhelmed. Check out the photo party below to see a few highlights! My Never Regrets 1. Starting out the day with God's Word and prayer. I'm not always the champion of starting out my day with God, but I definitely notice a difference when I DO! Now that I'm staying at home, Eli and I have a chance to not hurry-scurry in the mornings. He sits with me (or naps) while I read the Bible to him and we pray together. 2. Spending time with family. I love spending time with both of my guys! Time together as a family can be hard to come by at times, so we try to make the best of the time we do...

Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children , to be self-controlled and pure ., to be busy at home , to be kind , and to be subject to their husbands , so that no one will malign the word of God. Titus 2:3-5 I was reading in Titus this morning and the verses really spoke to me about my purpose and priorities as a wife and mother. God is so awesome because His truth isn't sugar-coated, like our society would like it to be. Living a godly lifestyle is counter-cultural and it will rub people the wrong way, but who would you rather offend, man or God? God's purpose for a woman is so completely different than the world's. As a new stay-at-home mom, I'm learning how much I actually valued having my career . This life change has taught me so much about the world's influence on me and I'm very th...

We had a great weekend up north and I even had my dancing partner for the wedding on Saturday night! Leo's boss let him off early and I looooove dancing with him. Mr. E had plenty of people oogling over him and grandma and grandpa were more than happy to cuddle him while Leo and I danced. My siblings and sibling-in-laws are dancing machines, so it was a great time and definitely a workout! We were all exhausted and sweaty by the end of the night... Mr. E trying to sneak some of mom's food. It's a wedding, of course, they played the "Cupid Shuffle"! After a night of dancing with my best friend :) House Painting & Color Swatches Master Bedroom Colors I mentioned that I would share our paint color swatches, so are couple to start! The colors are a bit bold, but I wanted to try something fun. Who knows, maybe in 10 years I'll wonder what on earth I was thinking. My mom, E, and I are going back for more painting tomorrow. A new paint job...

It's been a great week of being home with Eli and spending time with Leo as much as possible. My mom has been helping immensely with painting and clean-up at our soon-to-be new home. I can't write much for now, but will finish up when the weekend is over. Eli and I are off to my homeland for my cousin's wedding. Leo won't be joining us because harvest is now up and running. I do miss him when the army and farming both take him away so often, but it could be worse and I do appreciate him working so hard to support little man and me! Painting our "new" house is going really well and I LOVE color swatches. I will share the color swatches next week! New Read One of my sister-in-laws sent me the book "1/2 Price Living" by Ellie Kay. I read only a paragraph today, but am hoping to get through this book soon! It's full of great information for living on one income. I'll fill you in on the tips I learn in this book! Have you heard of thi...

Today is my first official day working for the new corporation! I’m now a full-time mom working for the most important corporation on earth: the family. I'm feeling a whole mix of emotions - excited, nervous to begin this new season of life, and saddened with society’s view of the importance of motherhood. When asked about the decision to leave my office job, I have felt like I needed to justify why I would leave my career to raise our baby (and hopefully future babies). In my response to questions and comments about staying at home, I can't be defensive or prideful but I do need to be honest and unapologetic. I left my career to raise our baby and I'm definitely not ashamed of that! Time for a Heart Check Becoming a stay-at-home mom has been a heart check for me. When my husband first brought up the idea of me staying at home, I wasn't really interested. I had been at my job for a little over 3 years and I was comfortable. Leo prayed for my heart to change and, ...

Today, a post I wrote called "Mommy Guilt" is featured on the blog "Beauty Through Imperfection" . Here's a snippet from the post:  Mommy Guilt – Confessions of an Imperfect Mother #31   "When my husband and I found out we were expecting our first baby, we were ecstatic and nervous about becoming new parents. Pregnancy is such a blessing and is something to be celebrated; it’s a miracle that God blessed women with a body that can grow babies! Like many new moms-to-be, I dreamt of the perfect pregnancy, the smooth delivery of our sweet baby into this world, and a normal birth story. The thought of our baby making an early arrival hadn’t even crossed my mind." ...  Click here to read the entire post! Thank you for including me in your "Confessions of an Imperfect Mother" series, Paula!

I can’t believe it’s been five months since our little man was born. Now I know why parents always make statements like, “It seems like just yesterday…” I’m turning into one of those parents! Trying out the jumper Eli is full of smiles and giggles these days. He's crazy ticklish just like his daddy! He's teething now and has been a bit cranky and is usually covered in drool or snot. Each month, Eli continues to reveal more of his personality and I love it! Baby Thoughts My friend Elizabeth recommended that I watch “The Business of Being Born” before our baby was born. It shows a different perspective from the typical “childbirth class” that my husband and I attended. If you have a chance, give it a watch! Eli’s birth went really well, but I wish I would have done more research on medical procedures beforehand. When I asked the doctor during the delivery if I really needed an episiotomy and if I really needed to have the post-delivery Pitocin, I was told I did beca...

I have had some major ammonia going on during and after my long runs lately (TMI?). Leo informed me that it is NOT a pleasant smell and I guess I would agree. Have you ever noticed a nasty ammonia smell after a hard run? Here’s a little geek-out session on metabolism by-products: Ammonia is actually a by-product of protein metabolism. When you run hard and long and your body lacks adequate carbohydrates, your body burns protein for fuel. When this is burned, the distinctive ammonia smell presents itself afterward. The fact that ammonia is produced on every run doesn’t mean the smell is always noticeable afterward. Usually, the smell is only present when there is the carb deficit. This increases the ammonia levels in your muscles and then the ammonia is picked up by your blood and carried to your respiratory system. When this occurs, you can usually smell it. In addition, some of the ammonia will show up in your sweat. Normally, the smell isn’t anything to worry about. B...