She Runs By Faith

Let me start by setting the scene... ........... Big toddler is running around the house in his "fast shoes", taking the occasional break to jump off the couch. Little toddler chases me into the kitchen, latches on to my legs and screams the entire time I am trying to get supper finished. Finally I sat down on the floor and zoned out staring at the cupboard doors, thinking "How am I supposed to get anything done! I give up."  (while little toddler is climbing me like a mountain) Fast-forward to later that evening. Supper in the field was followed by the usual bedtime routine and then lights out for the kiddos. Big toddler went willingly and the little one took some coercing.  With likely a dramatic sigh, I sat down in bed and opened up Facebook. ( Mistake #1: Looking at Facebook while emotionally drained.)  The first post on the feed was by a new mom and it portrayed a Pinterest-worthy scene of orderliness, peace and control. Ugh! My mouth didn'...

Now that camping season is in full swing, I am sharing a few ways to "healthify" your family camping trip with Jessica , Jill and the rest of the crew on the Fit Dish link-up . We leaving for our first camping trip as a family of 4 in a few days and I am using these tactics to keep myself from eating only s'mores for the entire weekend! This post contains affiliate links. 6 Ways to Healthify Your Camping Trip Dress for the Weather Pack outfits that encourage being active - whatever the weather brings. Don't let the weather keep you inside! Bring waterproof jackets in case of rain and long-sleeve shirts or layers for the cold. To protect yourself and your family from the rays, include hats, sunglasses and sunscreen along with your regular activewear. Bring the Child-Carrying Devices To get the whole family moving, load up the baby carrier and the single or double jogging stroller. Our Boba Baby Carrier is perfect for carrying our newborn on all-terr...

How are your 2015 resolutions going so far? We're nearing two weeks into January and in the coming week I'm joining up with the Tuesday Fit Dish link-up once again! We are sharing fitness related tips and the optional topic was to make a motivation vision board. Creating a vision board was a first for me and it was a blast. Basically my "vision board" is a collage of pictures that inspire and encourage me. Someday when E has more of an attention span for crafts, I hope we can create a hands-on motivation vision board to hang on the wall! Here's my motivation for keeping those 2015 resolutions: My Fitness Motivation Vision Board(s) My Faith: We are called to be good stewards of the bodies God has given us. My focus is to put Him first in my life and glorify Him in all I do - and that includes running and exercise! Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, Who is in you, Whom you have received from God? You are not your own;...

This week on One Year and Beyond we are sharing busy toddler activities. Since the weather is cooling off in our area, now is the time to brainstorm busy toddler indoor activities to survive the winter! This summer we have been spoiled by many trips to the playground and hours upon hours spent playing outside. With October flying by fast, the dreaded winter is on it's way, whether I want to accept it or not. Now that E is a busy toddler, here are a few ways we are going to keep busy on those -20°F days that may be in our future... Busy Toddler Indoor Activities 1. Make an Art Mess Project. Let your toddler create a messy work of art with markers, finger paints, egg cartons, play dough, or whatever other toddler-safe mediums you have. Color Wonder markers are the best! 2. Create a Rec Room. Designate a room in your house as a recreation room for balls, ride-on toys, and other outdoorsy things. Our basement is the rec room and the change of environment really helps...

I'm joining up with One Year and Beyond this week and the topic is loving your post-pregnancy body. Back in April, I wrote a post on this topic called "Body Image After Baby" and this is the perfect time to revisit the discussion. As E is getting older, I'm feeling like I have my body "back". After a beautiful summer of playing outside and two half marathons, I'm in better shape than I was pre-baby. I feel great! Now here's the kicker... We want more babies. As many as God chooses to bless us with. Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from Him. PSALM 127:3 E and I chilling at the finish line of the Wild Hog Half Marathon With more babies comes more pregnancy and more body image battles. E is now 19 months old and he is gearing up to be a big brother! Yes, God has graciously blessed us with Baby #2! It's early in the pregnancy but this is something we want to share right away. Life begins at conception and this is...

This morning the Parable of the Sower took on a new meaning to me, especially in relation to thorns and weeds. Luke 8:1-15 has very important truths to share about our priorities in this life and what we are allowing to consume us. “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is God’s word. The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved. The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation. The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life . And so they never grow into maturity. And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling...

...our "big guy" was born! His onesie in the picture below was my favorite because he weighed in at just under 5 lbs at birth. E was definitely mommy's big guy and my busy guy, too, as he was born 5 weeks early. He just couldn't wait for that due date! Now E is a bigger guy and still very busy. He is such a blessing to our family and we are really loving this toddler stage. So much of his personality is coming out! As parents, Leo and I are much more relaxed about things than we were 18 months ago and parenting is so much more enjoyable now! The newborn months were precious but we were so exhausted and stressed out (like most first-timers!). Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. JAMES 1:17 E's Favorites His puppy, Sully Hugs for Sully Fruit snacks and rice cakes   Playing the little guitar   Throwing the ball (or anything, for that matter)   ...

Happy Friday! I'm joining up with Fitness Friday at Jill Conyers.com and am jumping on the "Friday 5" bandwagon. Her post was full of so many random fun things, I just couldn't help myself. Thanks, Jill, for this awesomely random Friday idea! 5 Faith Pins View Image Source View Image Source View Image Source View Image Source View Image Source 5 Running-Related Things Training starts for the Bemidji Blue Ox Half Marathon next week! I'm setting race goals similar to my Fargo Half Marathon goals from this spring: A-Goal, B-Goal, and P-Goal (P = preggo). If we aren't expecting, I am shooting to break 1:30. Dailymile.com is my favorite online training resource! It tracks my weekly mileage and keeps runners (and walkers, cyclists, etc.) in touch with each other. Strength training workouts from CTolleRun.com  are awesome. Carrie has awesome training tips and workout videos all online and free. Rollerblading with the jo...

This week, I am linking up with the toddler series, "One Year and Beyond" and we are sharing our favorite summer toddler activities. This summer has been eventful one and I am so thankful for the beautiful weather! Though I am not a huge fan of 5k's , E and I ran one together last weekend. The 5k course went right by our house and was on my usual running route. Can't beat that! Also, running a local race is a great way to meet the other runners in our new hometown. Daddy was gone this weekend for his other job so E and I took on this race together. It actually went very well and we maintained an average pace of 7:01/mile to finish in 22:04 . That was a new 5k PR for me with and without a stroller! My prayer during the race was "Lord, please don't let me fall on my face." That prayer may sound a bit trivial and shallow, but God truly cares about even the little things on our heart and I was seriously nervous about falling! Racing with a jogging ...

There is just something about running and racing that I love. Maybe it's the energy/nerves combo or the large amount of bananas present at most races or the herds of sweaty people that love to run too. Really, what's not to love? Racing as a family makes it 110 times even more special! Leo, E, and I ran the June Bug 10k together on June 14th. Leo even held my hand crossing the finish; it pretty much made my month :) E worked his little diapered rear off as he slept for most of the 6.2 miles in the stroller. I will be taking it easy on the running for a while as the next race isn't 'til October. I suppose I still run more than the average American though now it is an every-other-day-or-so sort of thing. To switch things up a bit I have been rollerblading with the jogging stroller and biking with the trailer. E really wants his own pair of roller-blades someday. He keeps trying to run away with mine... Rollerblading with the jogging stroller is the next best thing...

Leo and I are celebrating 730 days of marriage today! 730 days or 2 years - call it want you want to, this is the sequel to the "365 Days of Marriage" post. We dug out our marriage vows today and reread them. The weather is rainy today, which is not good for farming but, on the bright side, Leo gets to spend some extra time with E and I! Marriage hasn't been easy, but it is character-shaping and it is a wonderful blessing. Marriage belongs to God - always has, always will. “God created marriage. No government subcommittee envisioned it. No social organization developed it. Marriage was conceived and born in the mind of God.” Max Lucado This was us then: We took a ton of pictures on our wedding day and it was a blast!  This is us now (+1): Now we attempt one family photo and it turns out like this :) “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, ...

This weekend reminded me why the Fargo Marathon is my favorite race ever. The course is great (and flat), but the race environment and spectators are what make this race so special. The race course was lined with spectators from start to finish. Music, cheering fans, and runners everywhere! And we only had to travel 2 hours to get there. It doesn't get much better than that! The Fargo Marathon Finish Image Source: Fargo Marathon Facebook Page Quick Sidenote: Looking for an easy way to keep track of your race results? Athlinks.com is a great site that keeps a record of your race times and placings! Before I start off on another random tangent, here is the race report: --- Fargo Half Marathon Results: Finish Time - 01:34:08 Average Pace - 7:12/mile Placing - Overall: 166 th out of 5173. Females: 35 th out of 3303. Weather: We couldn't have asked for better weather on race day! The sun was shining and the temp was in the mid-60's - perfect running...