step out of that mud puddle and look up!

today as i went on a mid-morning walk
i began by looking down as i walked.
so caught up in things that are burdening me;

my dear friend whose family received an ugly diagnosis
and who are treasuring each and every day they have together.
my knee which is causing me pain when i walk/run
making it harder for me to get out and exercise like i want to.
yesterday was our first easter without my mom in law...
and the general ugliness of the world and the news.

yes, i was thinking on these things when a took off for my walk.

and then, and then...i looked up!

the sun was shining on me!
i had a silly shadow that mimicked my every move. :)

the sky? Oh my goodness!
the sky was this brilliant blue,
the color was so intense it looked
like it had been hand-painted!
the clouds so fluffy
it was as if God had placed cotton balls
in the sky. it was so lovely!
Genesis 1:1

while i was looking UP,
i noticed an eagle soaring above me.
floating on the air & circling overhead.
when out of what seemed no where..

appeared a hawk.

he flew a few hundred yards away from the eagle...
and as i watched these two,
they began to circle in unison!
it was as if they were doing a synchronized dance
just for me!
how amazing!
Isaiah 40:31

i thought to myself...
look what i would've missed
if i would have continued to walk with my head down!?
i would have missed this wonderful dance
and this beautiful sky above me!

it is so, so easy to look down.

to crawl into that hole,
to sit in that mud puddle.
to let all the ugliness just cover you
& to wallow in it all.

but, if you will only pull yourself out.
i mean, drag yourself if you have to!
but, just get out of that mud puddle
and look UP!

see the beauty around you!

maybe it is just something little
like seeing the blue sky above you,
or feeling the sunshine on your back.

beauty is there, if you take the time
to notice.

but, if you are looking down,
you might miss that stranger
who just smiled at you.
the gorgeous snow covered mountain in the distance.
blue skies, puffy clouds and eagles floating above.
or wild flowers growing along side the road

beauty is there.

it's in the everyday and the mundane.

it is, if we will only look.

my wish for you and i both...
is that we see the good in something today!

look in that mirror and smile at yourself!
you are an amazing, beautiful person.

and above all. you are loved!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

have a shiny day my friends.
be blessed!

the day before

i am thankful.

so many blessings

in my life.

more than enough

to last a lifetime

&

i am grateful.

for them all.

~~~~

i sit today....

the day before

 thanksgiving.

and think of the

families that are getting their 

homes ready;

cooking and cleaning

 and so much

 excitement filling the air!

some families will be

reunited with loved ones

they haven't seen all year!

some will be hosting small

intimate gatherings

with their closest of friends...

but, let us not forget the families

who will be missing loved ones.

empty places at the table.

families

who have loved ones

 who are gone

and those who have family

that live far away...

for a hole is there.

laughter is missing.

the emptiness is real.

many families

with an ache

this time of year

i pray for them.

these families

who are missing someone

this thanksgiving.

i lift you up

as i remember

 my own family

who live so far away...

and also families

 whom have family members

celebrating thanksgiving in the

presence of our heavenly

Father.

blessings

be upon you all

this year.

there is much to be thankful for.

even in the smallest of moments

there is beauty and wonder.

thankful.
grateful.
yes, indeed.

may your home be filled with love

this thankgiving.

Sweet Saturdays (a link-up!)

hello my sweet friends!

today i am announcing a link-up 

that i am going to co-host 

with my daughter!

she has aptly named the link-up

'Sweet Saturdays'

you can read about her heart

& 

more about the link-up

here!

and of course the link-up

which starts THIS friday!

here!

up near the top of my blog
i have a new page
with the link to

sweet saturdays!

and on my sidebar
i have a
sweet saturday button
that you can also click on!

i myself will be sharing

things that i find

that bring me joy.

the little things.

maybe a photo or a verse.

something that reminds me

each and every day to find beauty.

because, i truly believe

there is something

 beautiful

in each and every day!

something that brings you 

joy.

that makes you

smile.

it's the little things

my friends.

join me this friday

will you?

oh, and please use the hashtags #sweetsaturdays and #sweetmoments
if you post on instagram or twitter!

goals

this past sunday i competed in my third 1/2 marathon!
oh yes, i did!!!

i actually did this same 1/2 marathon last year and couldn't wait
to do it again!
it is 13.1 miles of lovely scenery; older homes and a stint along the waterfront!
a beautiful course and i did it!

this year, my daughter and my niece walked along side me
and my daughter and i actually went through the finish line together.

i loved sharing this whole experience with her too!

i also, bettered my time from last year too.
which always is a good thing!

i feel great-
setting a goal
and tackling it head on!

all the training paid off.
i finished and still had energy to walk
the 3 blocks back to my car! ha.

now, what's next?
i think i've been bit by the 1/2 marathon bug! ;)
i do know, i am competing in another 5k
in ten days! :) :)

nothing feels as good as completing a task
that once seemed so big and scary!

as a two time survivor to breast cancer
i felt like i didn't have any control of that part of my life.

but, this...this i have control of.
i choose to get up and exercise.
i choose to stay fit and healthy.
i choose to find joy in it all!

yep, bring it on!

packet pickup day.

shirt. number bib and socks!

my daughter, myself and my niece

and my daughter and i

before the race.

finding my way-

years and years ago

when i was in junior high...

i discovered the joy of

hiking solo;

i would get home from school

throw on a backpack 

stuffed with my journal and a pen---

and off i would go,

stopping along the way

to jot some poetry 

in my journal.

usually i didn't get home

until dinner time!

being up around the

trees and fresh air

always cleared my head,

helping me cope

with the social anxieties

that every junior high kid

experiences!

hiking 

comes

 natural for me;

growing up in a home

where my dad thought 

camping meant

''backpacking' 

with all our own gear---

and heading somewhere

 no one else

would ever, ever

 imagine going!! :)

(thank-you, Dad!)

my husband and i 

hiked when we were

dating-

and then later

we hiked as a 

young growing family;

we

took our daughters

 on many, many hikes

as they were growing up.

we continue this tradition

with at least one

hike a year as

a family.

this year,
so far

i have been lucky enough

to go on four hikes...

two hikes with family

and two hikes with friends.

the last couple hikes i did,

were so crazy beautiful...

it was easy to see why 

my dad 

used to say, 

hiking was where he

 felt the closest to

God.

it was impossible

 to look at the beauty around me

and not

thank our Maker for it

all!

God's handiwork was

 evident everywhere

i looked!

in the trees that sloped on the hills,

puffy clouds floating above me,

clear blue skies,

the sunshine glistening off the 

icy lake,

the meadow bursting with flowers,

a bubbling brook,

rock formations that just begged

 to be climbed.

in it all,

everywhere i looked...

abundant beauty

surrounded

me.

thankful. blessed. grateful.

always.

seeing beauty

may i never forget

to find something beautiful 

in each and every 

single

 day!!

happy spring!

we went for a walk

a week ago,

taking advantage of the sunshine.

around here

in the pacific northwest

you need to 

learn to take advantage of the

sunshine 

when you can

because,

tomorrow it could

rain! :)

we went to one of our 

favorite coffee shops;

it is near the

 boardwalk

and walked along the ocean.

the sailboats

the ocean

and a cup of coffee

with the one you love?

does it get much better

 than that!?

my wish for you?

that you too,

 have

a wonderful spring,

that you would be able

to look

and

truly see;

the lovely and the beauty

in each and every

single day!

the beauty 

is there.

sometimes

it is in the simplest of

moments.

but, it is there.

we just need to 

Be Still.

it is there.

treasure it.

hold on to it.

savor it.

be thankful for

all.

be blessed

smile

and shine!

bucket list

i am officially signed up!

yes, our friend asked my hubbie & i
if we would be interested in
walking a half marathon
with him.

i immediately jumped at the chance!
but, let's be clear here- we are WALKING it.

still, it is a pretty big deal for me. :)

that means we will be walking thirteen miles!

i have been hitting the roads.
averaging between five and seven miles on most days :)

i am super excited to do this!
it will be my first half marathon
and something i can check off my
bucket list! :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



may you have a blessed day!
my wish for you is that you take a
few minutes each and every day-
to see some beauty around you;
because my dear friends,
it is there, if you only take the time

to look!

like a dream

europe

we went to:

vienna.

 dachstein glacier.

 salzburg.

luxembourg

 and frankfurt.

we saw so many sights:

too many to even mention...

we have been back for a week now.

it seems like a dream.

i mean really

it does.

everywhere you looked

there was an old building

and beauty.

it was a bit surreal.

in fact there was so much 

beauty

to take in and see 

that it was 

hard to keep it 'real'.

looking back now

i think i could have sat in my daughter's 

living room with

my daughter, son in law and

grandson

and done absolutely nothing

but, visit and been 

just as happy!

really. the truth is

i loved having

the privilege 

of singing and praying 

each and every night with my 

four year old grandson...

nothing can compare to that!

no museum, castle or beautiful old building

can compare to having your grandson sing along

with you as you teach him:

'i love you a bushel and a peck'

i took so many amazing pictures.

hundreds and hundreds of photos

of the beautiful places we went.

i will not over flood

this post with all the photos

 but,

i feel like a should post a few of my favorites? ;)

if you are my friend on facebook

some of these photos will be repeats.

if you are not my friend on facebook;

you should be! :)

enjoy.

be blessed

and 

continue to

see beauty each and every day!!

 

keep looking UP

i am not sure how many of you have heard
about the young talia castellano

http://angelsfortalia.com/

i had heard tidbits about her
and her youtube tutorials
over these last few months

and on tuesday she past away
from cancer.

i have watched many of her youtube videos.
she was beautiful and a talented makeup artist

but, what really had me?
her amazing and upbeat personality!

she showed so many people
what it was like to have spirit.

she just oozed happiness and spunk.

when she was interviewed on the ellen show
ellen asked her how she stayed so upbeat;
she said, "a little fishy told me, to just keep swimming" :)

watching her and listening to her
reminded me:
no matter what my problems are,
there is always someone who has it worse!

when our backs are against a wall
and it feels like we can't go on
i want to remember to:

keep swimming.
keep putting one foot in front of the other.
keep looking for something beautiful in each day.
keep smiling; even when it hurts.
keep looking UP. ^
keep on keeping on.
keep having faith.
keep having hope.
keep being happy.
keep being thankful.
keep shining my light.

because, at the end of the day;
what i want to be remembered by
isn't the money i had.
the things i owned.
the house i lived in.
the car i drove.
the clothes i wore.
the places i traveled.

what i want to be remembered by is:
my heart. my love.
how did i make others feel?
& that i chose to see beauty every day
and i kept on smiling!

i want that dash in between my birthdate and my death
to mean something. :)


so will you keep smiling, keep looking up and will you see beauty
today, with me?

beauty. thankful. blessed.

sunday after church
my daughter and her new fiance'
kidnapped me and took me to seattle!

we went wedding dress shopping
and believe or not
we found her dream dress!

she looked like an angel
and i told her that her fiance'
was going to cry when he sees
her walking down the aisle.
yep, she was that angelic looking.
(of course, it may be the mom talking. ahem.)

after finding her dress;
we hopped in the car
and drove to the seattle center
to show him the space needle
and ride the monorail.
we then went down to pike street market
where the first starbucks is!

we stood in line to order our coffee
listen to some cool bluegrass performers
and strolled around the open market.

the kids were here visiting
for  almost a week;
& we had a lovely visit!

they even wound up extending their trip
two days!!

pure. joy!

on early tuesday morning i was
off to the train station to bring them back.

the day before, i had a convo with the two of them
about seeing beauty every day;
how sometimes in life
it is so easy to become complacent.
with family. with our surroundings. with the people we love
with everything around us.
and how sometimes we need to see things with fresh eyes.
sometimes i see mt. baker and i have to pull over
and take a picture, and take time to just 'see' it,
because it is so beautiful and i am overwhelmed.
i shared with them also, about how one day
i was up on stage at church while having worship practice
and my husband was down getting the communion table ready
i saw him walking by, and thought:
wow. he is handsome!
i shared how i had told my husband, and it had made him feel loved and special.

on my way home from dropping them off at the train station
i looked up and saw mt. baker
and let out an sigh and a laugh
because i remembered sharing about this, with tessa & eddie
and i had taken the time to notice
the beauty!

there is beauty in our life.
sometimes it is hard to see
because of the 'clouds' that are in the way
and sometimes we just need
to take the time to notice it.
to look and see it!



may you take a moment to sit and just enjoy the beauty around you.


be blessed.