Wonderful Poem

This is a poem I found from one of those forwarded emails. I usually try not to re-send those things, because if they drive me crazy, then I am sure that they drive other people crazy as well. However, being a Christian, and trying to live a good life, and trying to earn my way to heaven, I found this poem that really reflects some thoughts I have been having.

When I say...
"I am a Christian"
I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin."
I'm whispering "I was lost,"
Now I'm found and forgiven
When I say...
"I am a Christian"
I'm not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible but,
God believes I am worth it.
When I say...
"I am a Christian"
I'm not holier than thou,
I'm just a simple sinner
who received God's good grace, somehow.
- Maya Angelou

Me - The Photographer

Not only have I been running, biking and working the flower beds, I too have found time to practice photography. I took the camera up to the lake at the front of our neighborhood this afternoon and took 100 or so pictures. Here are some of my favorites. Enjoy!!

My Husband-The Photographer

Brad did not take all of these pictures. Our friend Scott took some of them. Enjoy!!

::Random::

I have been busy doing new things, and having a blast while doing them. First, Brad talked me into going mountain biking through Shelby Farms one day. It just so happened to be a day just after a pretty hard rain. I had absolutely NO problem riding straight through the mud. It was so much fun, and also cooled me off some. You can't see in the pictures, but I was covered in mud.
I have also been doing some yardwork. Back in November, I planted some Tulip bulbs. They bloomed for about 2-3 weeks in March. Sadly, tulips don't last very long, but they sure are beautiful while in bloom. Check out the ones I planted around my mailbox:

Enduring the 5-K

This morning was my first race ever. I joined my friend Jennifer and ran the Youth Villages 5-K. I didn't register until yesterday (Friday) but had been running all week at Shelby Farms. I ran the Chickasaw Trail,a paved trail that is 2.75 miles long. I only ran on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, and it took me nearly an hour to run the trail.

I did not have high hopes for the race since I hadn't run 3 miles yet and it was taking me an hour to complete the Chickasaw Trail. My goal was not only to finish, but to not finish last. I did everything right yesterday: rested, ate carbs and went to bed early. I got up this morning ate ate a small breakfast and went to Jennifer's house. She drove us to the Ridgeway Center, which is where the race took place.

We had a good warm up, and got started at exactly 9:00. I ran for the entire first mile and a half then I had to start walking, but only for a few seconds. I did have to stop periodically throughout the race and walk, but tried not to walk for very long. Jen ended up getting well ahead of me, and I didn't want to hold her back. (She is running a half marathon next weekend).

As I rounded the last two turns, I ran pretty hard. At the last turn, which was also the three mile mark, I saw my husband walking across the street with camera in hand. I then saw Jenn on the sidelines cheering me on. I finished at the 35 minute mark. Jenn then informed me that we were about a minute behind the clock, so I really finished at about 34 minutes.

Not only did I finish with my goal of not being last, but I finished pretty well. I am very proud of myself, and will definitely continue to run. I am entering a 4 mile race next month at the Memphis Zoo. I am hoping to get my endurance up and pick up my pace a little bit by then.


Here is the picture Brad took of me just after the 3 mile mark. He didn't think I would be finishing that quickly, so he didn't see me until after I had passed, so the only shot was one of my backside. (I am the one in the white shirt and black skirt).

::Prayers::

I am feeling the need to ask for prayers. I just found out in an email from Brad that he will not be graduating this summer. He will need to take two classes this fall. The reason we need prayers is that we were both super excited about him finishing school, and starting his career as a high school football coach and a teacher. This was also going to give us the opportunity to start trying for a family. Looks like those plans are on hold for the time being.

For those of you who know me, know how excited I was to be able to start trying for a baby. I am very disappointed and mad (Not at Brad, of course) that this will take even longer than we had thought. I am mad at the University of Memphis who feels that it is necessary to drag out school for people just to squeeze every bit of money out of them.

Please pray that I find the patience that I need to get through the rest of the year, and for Brad to be able to get done with school then.

New Laptop

Friday afternoon, our laptop crashed. This was the same laptop that the internet went out about a month ago. With Brad being almost finished with the semester, he really could not be without a computer, especially since two of his classes are online. So I finally broke down and said that we could go get one. We used part of our income tax return to buy it. I was hoping to use that money to pay down some bills, but I guess we needed this laptop. It is a Dell Studio with a "Midnight Blue" top. It's quite pretty. (Brad said no to a pink laptop).

Since this is a new computer I am on, I don't have any pictures loaded on it yet. I was hoping to add some pictures of Polo and of the tulips that have come up in our front yard by the mailbox.

We have been pretty busy lately, which is part of the reason I haven't been blogging too much. However, I do have a request for you. If you feel so compelled, please pray for a little baby named Stellan. He is the youngest of four children to a lady who's blog I keep up with. I do not know him, or their family, but his story has touched my life. He has been in the hospital going on for three weeks now. He has a life threatening heart condition called SVT, and he is not responding to medicine. You can check out their blog here.

Facebook Frenzy

I haven't been updating my blog as often as I was, and I will tell you who you can blame...Facebook. A couple of weekends ago, Brad was on his Facebook account and I told him to go on and create an account for me. And so begins the frenzy. I have officially become addicted! Logging onto that website is the first thing I do when I get home from work. I am on it off and on all evening every evening. If I could get up earlier, I would probably get on Facebook before work.

It's a good thing that my job blocks Facebook from their server, because I know I would be one of many people getting fired for Facebooking all day instead of teaching these wonderful children. :)

Till next time,