She Runs By Faith

Since the day word spread that I was going to stay home full-time to raise our son, the word "socialization" was thrown around like the name of some mythical creature. I was clueless - would my son be socially deprived because we would be forced to stay in the house forever? Do moms not count as social beings anyways? Anyone who stays at home or homeschools has probably heard comments like this, too. If you aren't sure what I'm talking about, I highly recommend you watch this short video by Tim Hawkins. It's short, sweet and Hawkins has a great way of describing "s-s-s-socialization"! What if teaching our children the skills of socialization isn't about whether we stay-at-home or send them to daycare? Or if our kids are homeschooled or public schooled? What does it even mean to have a socialized child?! "Having a social child means your son or daughter will be able to talk to people and like people. He'll be able to relate to others ...

It's Tuesday and that means we have our ultrasound for Baby #2 this afternoon! And it's time to #dishthefit with Jill and Jessica at the Fit Dish link-up. The topic for this week is to share your five all-time best health and fitness decisions. Here are my all-time best health/fitness-related decisions that I've ever made. Make sure to stop by the link-up to check out the other posts. This will be fun because everyone's list will be a little different! My 5 All-Time Best Health & Fitness Decisions 1. Waking Up! The 5:30 a.m. time slot is the best time for me to fit in time to read my Bible and run a few miles before the toddler tornado wakes up. It doesn't always feel good to wake up but I never regret starting my morning with God and a good run! 2. Just Signing Up. Having a goal race in mind keeps me focused and motivated to exercise on the days that I just don't feel like it. My love for running all started with signing up for a 5k ...

This week at One Year and Beyond we are sharing ideas for keeping in shape while caring for a toddler! Each season of life brings it's own blessings and challenges. In this season with a little one in the house, I am learning how important it is to use my time on what truly matters - God, serving my family, building relationships, taking care of my health. E is growing up so fast and he is SO busy. I hope I'm a pro at this whole time management thing before I have a 2-year-old and a newborn in the house (wishful thinking). Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom. Psalm 90:12 NLT When it comes to staying fit in this season, chasing a toddler all day burns a lot of energy but it is still very important to be intentional about working out. Wrangling E doesn't really push my heart rate up super high (except when I'm panicking) and it doesn't work each muscle group. Everyone is busy and we all have the same 24-hours. It's so e...

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...

For this week's Tuesdays on the Run , the topic is "Favorite Race Distance". Even though I've been on a little streak of running half marathons this year, I still claim the full marathon to be my favorite distance and the half marathon is a close second. My appreciation for half marathons has grown because: Training works really well for this season of life with a little one in the house. Half's are HARD. Running 13.1 miles isn't that challenging, but it's all about pace. Some runners race a half marathon at my speedwork pace!  The long runs don't need to be that long. The longest I ran this time was just over 13 miles. Post-race recovery is much quicker than the full. Three days after the race, I feel great... minus a nasty cold. The half medals are just as pretty as the full medals :) The full marathon has a special place in my heart because that's where I started off as a new distance runner. I hope to run another 26.2 in 2015 but ...

...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)   ...

It's been a little over a year since I left my job in the corporate world to stay at home full-time with little man. Life has changed so much over this past year - adjusting to my new career as a full-time mom, new hometown, "new-to-us" house and so many new experiences as our little boy is growing up. I wrote a "Day in the Life" post back in May 2013 and thought I would follow up with a life update over a year later. Being a stay-at-home mom is challenging because... It gets lonely. Some days that sweet toddler boy drives me up a wall. Sometimes I get down about being just a mom in a world where most people don't see the value of a mom being at home to raise their children. Aside from early morning hours and nap time, quiet time is hard to come by. On the more trying days, I do miss those adult lunch visits and 15-minute coffee breaks I had at my old job. Living on one income means less expendable income. But it's all worth i...

Even morning runs have been hot this week and I am praising God for it! After a winter like we recently had, I can't complain about any temps above 0°F. We put on 6.25 solid stroller-miles for this morning's tempo run and I knew today was a smoothie-making day. Now that the weather is comfortably warm, E loves to have his shoes off in the stroller and let the windy blow on his stinky little feet. At least he's staying cool while I'm a hot mess! This was my first try at making a "green smoothie" and it turned out really well - even my husband liked it! Tropical Green Smoothie 1 cup mango, fresh or frozen 6 oz. Chobani peach Greek yogurt 1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen 1 cup spinach, shredded 1/2 banana 1/2 cup cold water Place all ingredients in the blender. Blend until smooth. Stir with spoon to make sure the frozen fruit is well-blended. Serve as a smoothie OR pour into small containers to place in the freezer for frozen yogurt. Servi...

This week we are sharing tips for "Helping Your Toddler to Communicate" on the series, "One Year and Beyond" Before I write anything, let me confess that I'm not a master of this mysterious toddler stage. With E being only 16 months old, the wild times of toddler-hood have only just begun! I was hesitant to try baby signing at first, thinking maybe it was just another fad, but now have to say that signing has been a great way to connect with E. The online dictionary at Baby Sign Language.com has been a wonderful resource. Their dictionary includes easy-to-understand images and videos for everyday words. Plus, by using their online resources, we didn't have to spend money on buying books or flashcards! We started teaching E signs at around 6 months and I questioned whether he was absorbing any of the signs we were teaching. Now as he is in the early toddler months, the "hard work" is paying off! Actually, teaching him wasn't hard at all. ...

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 ...