Consider The Lilies

My alarm went off at 7am this morning, as if on auto-pilot, I got ready, got Brin up and ready, and headed out to pick up the gymnastics carpool. On my way to the gym it suddenly dawned on me; I don't have to be at work until 1 today! It was a beautiful, overcast, and cool morning, perfect for a run. Except I had already showered and gotten "ready" for the day. So I took an impromptu ride up right hand fork instead.
I had forgotten how absolutely amazing right hand fork really is. It was the perfect setting for me to ponder the new responsibilities I had accepted/taken on. As I drove I listened to some inspiring, uplifting music. It was fairly early and I was the only person up there, so I took my time meandering up the winding road. I poured my heart out to my Heavenly Father. I told Him that I was astounded that so many people have such great faith in me, while I have so very little. I told Him I was scared, and nervous, and that I couldn't do this on my own. I was a sobbing mess by the time I reached a clearing in the trees; the perfect thinking spot. I pulled in and shut off the engine and listened. I could hear the creek flowing by, the birds singing, and the slight pitter patter of rain on my windshield. It was then that I was finally able to let out the breath that I had been holding since Sunday. I got such a calm, peaceful feeling. I suddenly remembered that I am not alone. 1Kings:12 came to my mind, .."after the fire a still small voice". I really felt like I had been tossed into the fire for the last 3 days! But all of the sudden I was hearing a still small voice; telling me that all is well, you're not alone. By now I really had the "waterworks" going, and three ladies on bikes happened by. I could see the concern on their faces. I probably looked like I was having some sort of fit or convulsion there in my thinking spot. I waved as if to say "I'm okay! Really! This is the best I have felt since my husband carried me out of the bishops office on Sunday! I'm okay!" Either they were terrified, or understood that I was fine and they went on their way. I stayed in my spot until I had composed myself, then made my way down the canyon.
What a splendid morning! I really needed that quiet, alone time to think and to pray. My heart is as full as it has ever been, but also as light as it has ever been. I am so blessed and thankful to realize that I am never alone. Ever. None of us are. If we knock, He will answer.



on STRANGER tides-

Several months ago my lovely daughter Karlee happened upon an opportunity to enter a contest. She wrote a short comment about mothers and daughters and submitted it to Justin Hackworth's 30 Strangers Project along with hundreds of other contestants. Initially, her entry was not selected as a winner, but a few days later Justin contacted her to let her know that due to a scheduling conflict one of original participants had to back out and she had been selected to take their place.
IN THE BEGINNING, I had never heard of Justin Hackworth or 30 Strangers so I had no idea what an honor it would be to be part of this awesome project.
On our scheduled day in April (day 27 to be precise) me, my mom, and Kar arrived at Justin's studio for our photo shoot (Shay tagged along to witness the spectacle we were sure to make of ourselves). I have to admit, having a camera snap away inches from your face is a wee bit intimidating. I found myself giggling like a school girl without any ability to stop myself! Like most every family, we have had professional pictures taken, but aside from that the only camera I've had that close to my face is my own. We can entertain ourselves for hours taking pictures like these!

HOLY CRAP! That is terrible...oh. my.

WOW, I can't believe I am posting that picture....I may have lost my mind temporarily.

Okay, back to Justin and 30 Strangers. What a wonderful way to raise funds and awareness for the Center For Women And Children In Crisis. I so admire Justin and the inspiration he had to start such a project.

We have always been told we are strange, but to be STRANGERS! Now THAT is truly awesome.

We had such a great time with Justin. He is a FANTABULOUS photo maker and taker. I will always remember my small part as one of the 30 Strangers. I'm so very excited to attend the opening reception on July 15th, I can't wait to see which of our portraits he selected for the exhibit. I hope everyone will come check out the exhibit at The Harold B Lee Library Auditorium Gallery at BYU. The exhibit runs through August 1st.

And again, a BIG thanks to Justin Hackworth. Dude, you rock.

Tag...I'M IT!

I have been tagged by my friend Stephanie in the Amazing Blogger Award. I'm just gonna be real here....there is nothing amazing about my blog, but I am flattered that Stephanie may have thought that :) and it gives me something to post for today. I had a terribly boring, lackluster kind of Friday and I felt very "un-inspired" in the blogging category. So here goes-

FAVORITE CARTOON CHARACTER:

The Pink Panther is one cool cat. He brings back fond memories of Saturday morning cartoons. My brother and I would race to get our cereal inhaled so we could park it in front of the console TV for a few hours of healthy brain "stimulation."

FAVORITE THING TO PHOTOGRAPH:

I'm a weirdy. I like to photograph the sky, mainly sunsets. Tonight's was a beaut.

FAVORITE THING TO COOK:

Soup. All kinds of soup. I love finding and trying new soup recipes. I think this may have something to do with my love of the Fall season and the warm, cozy feeling it evokes in me.

FAVORITE WAY TO EXERCISE:

Hmmmmmm........I'm not gonna lie, I don't really like exercise. I do it for the "health" benefits (I have some rotten high cholesterol genes) and cardio helps with that sort of thing.

FAVORITE MOVIE:



All time classic (it was a toss up between this and Ferris Bueller) that I can watch again and again. I can only say that about maybe 5 movies.

FAVORITE ARTICLE OF CLOTHING:

Jammy pants. Hands down, no question. If it were socially acceptable I would wear them everywhere. I would never wear another pair of jeans or a skirt or a dress. I have an extra favorite pair of jammy pants that is really a pair of well worn, light blue, over sized scrub bottoms that came home on Shay after an ER visit....lets not talk about what happened to the pants she was wearing when she arrived at the ER :)

FAVORITE FLOWER:

Gerber Daisies.

FAVORITE BREAKFAST:



My daddy's omelettes and the Christmas morning tradition that makes it possible for me to eat one (and maybe that little piece that one of the kids leaves behind) every year.

FAVORITE BOOK LATELY:

I loved this book. I can get lost in a good book waaaaay to easy sometimes. Reading helps me unwind and relax. I read every night before bed. Right now I'm reading Bringing Adam Home, the story of the kidnapping of Adam Walsh and the bungled attempt at investigating that ensued. Very interesting.

FAVORITE PLACE TO BE:

I'm never there enough.

FAVORITE TREAT:

Another toss up. Chocolate Chocolates from Jakes Brookside or Joe's chips and salsa.....some days I need a sweet treat, some days I need a salt fix, and SOME days I need both!!

My turn to tag. I choose my cute little B, and Karl.

We are family

For today's post, I decided I would tell you a little bit about me and me familia. For those of you who know me, you're excused. For those of you who don't, well, you're excused too.

I am Marcie, I am married to my high school sweetheart Gregg. We have 4 beautiful daughters, one son in law, and a dog.
Gregg and I met in school, we both dated each others best friends for a time then somehow ended up together. He is short and I am tall. He is patient and I am NOT. He is easy going and I am high strung. He is messy and I am clean. I tell ya, opposites attract!
We were married quite young. I didn't even have a drivers license but I was able to get a marriage license....go figure. IN THE BEGINNING, it was just he and I. We lived in a "mobile home" without air conditioning; talk about hades, whew! Our first daughter was born on my 17th birthday, 3 months after our one year anniversary. Daughter number two came 3 years later. By then we had moved "uptown" to an apartment with a swamp cooler. Daughter number three was being stubborn (still is) and decided to hang out upstairs for 5 years before blessing us with her appearance. The year she was born, we bought our first home! Life was good but not without trials. Daughter number four caught us by surprise and arrived 2 years and 4 months after her stubborn sister.
We have had our ups and downs. We have definitely done a lot of things the hard way, but man have we learned and grown! I love my crazy little family with all of our quirks and faults and I wouldn't change a single thing about my life.
I'm pretty sure I am hearing crickets chirp as I type. So, I'm sorry if I have bored you to tears!

slug bug

I've been a lot of a slug these last few weeks. Couple that with a few sleepless nights on an air mattress (that's another post) and you get a grumpy mamma bear that doesn't want to do a thing.
So judging by the light coming through my bedroom window this morning, I was sure I had slept until 9ish. I was so heartbroken that I would not have time to get in my morning run.....NOT. See, I ALWAYS try to find a reason to not exercise. I don't know why I do that because I ALWAYS feel better when I get off my rear and go. Anyways, I couldn't tell what time it was by the alarm clock (that's another post as well) so imagine my surprise when I looked at my phone and it was only 8! As I rolled over and pulled the sheets up over my head, this little voice telling me to "get up and go running" was causing quite a racket inside my head. So, what did I do? Well, naturally I tried to shut the stupid voice up! Didn't work. So I decided I would try to be extra sporty and run a different route today to make up for all of my slackerness the last 2 weeks; and that folks, is really what this post is all about, so I will get to it straight away-
I'm not even going to try to compete with another famous "Lil mama" that runs like a mad woman, but since I am IN THE BEGINNING of my running endeavors I feel like I am making some progress. I ran/walked 1.84 miles today in 28 minutes. My Cardio Trainer app on my phone tells me I burned 279 calories and my average speed was3.9 mph. "Not too shabby" I say. I couldn't even run a block 6 months ago.
At the end of my first mile (which I ran entirely) I was feeling pretty good,(mind you I was running into a head wind on a slight incline) as I approached an intersection that I needed to cross. I was just feeling like I needed to slow my pace and catch my breath when a huge gorcerygetter Suburban throttled through the stop sign and emitted a HUGE gas cloud of fumes that caused me to hack up a piece of my right lung. I slowed my pace to a "fast walk" for about 2 blocks and when I felt that I had recovered from the lung incident I started running again. My goal was to make it all the way to the stop sign in a sprint sort of fashion. To borrow words from a popular song..."With this very unpleasin', sneezin' and wheezin, the calliope crashed to the ground" okay, I didn't REALLY crash to the ground, but felt like I was going to. I don't think I had fully recovered from losing that piece of lung at mile one.
In the end, I made it home safely, and I feel like I'm going to have a great day...as soon as I can get 32 ounces of Diet Coke into my system ;)