Happy New Beginnings.....

thanking the Lord tonight that HE has brought us through ANOTHER year.
we are healthy.
we are employed.
we are happy.
we are warm in our home.
our cars run.

our children attend an amazing school.

we are part of a phenomenal community.
we have a church family.
our blessings abound.
really, really ABOUND!!

more often, I catch myself wondering: why me?
why have I been blessed with THIS life?
it was NOTHING I have done. NOTHING I deserve.
it's grace,
sheer grace.
this year, my 'resolutions' are no different than they are EVERY. OTHER. YEAR.
so, instead of writing it all down, I'm copying and pasting from January 2011.
Happy New Year Friends.....
be aware of YOUR good, GRACE blessings this year!

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once again i will talk about resolutions that i will never keep.
we all do it.
we all have great intentions.
so this year, i've resolved to NOT make any resolutions.
wait, is that a resolution to NOT make a resolution??
since i'm resolving to NOT do something, isn't that the same thing as resolving to do something and then doing something different?
whatever, i'm so confused.

what i'm saying is that EVERY year i make a promise, to myself to DO something.
lose weight.
be more patient.
read more.
read the bible more.
keep my car cleaner. (i've never actually resolved to do that but....IF i were going to resolve to do something, that would probably be on the 'list'.)
blah. blah.
for the list of a million things i have, i'm sure you could add a million more.
instead of resolutions, which sounds so daunting, i'm going to call it 'attempting/striving' to do better.
so, that being said...i'm going to 'attempt' to....
blog more.
exercise more.
be more of a 'yes' mom.
talk less.
listen more.
blog more faithfully.
take more pictures.
send out birthday cards to everyone on my calendar.
and to the IMPORTANT things....
pray more, MUCH more.
listen for God more.
look for Him more.
let others SEE  more of Jesus in my life.
dig into the WORD more.

what are some things you're 'attempting' to change in your life this year?

why do i do it?

just for the record.
exercising is NOT my idea of fun.
i don't like the sweating.
i'm not competitive.
if you want to 'win' the race, the game, go for it. i don't really mind coming in last.
so, i guess i've picked a good 'hobby'.
what i've learned is that i'm competitive.
with myself.

i was in a store yesterday looking for a windbreaker to run in and the saleslady asked me if i was a runner.
i paused and said, "yes, yes i am a runner'.
3 weeks from TODAY, i'm going to do my second 1/2 marathon.
and THAT my friend, makes me a runner.

YES. IT. DOES.

why do i do it?
is it because i want to look like this in my bathing suit?.....

why yes, it is.

is it because i dream of looking like this?......

yup, that's part of the reason.
the other reason, peer pressure.

 i signed up in a weak moment and there was no going back. 
and truth be told, i'm SOOOOO glad i did.
i admit, every single time i lace up my shoes, it's a mental battle.
it's not always fun.

here's what happens....
at about mile 2, i can hardly breathe.
by mile 4, i'm kinda glad i came.
by mile 6, i'm enjoying this.
by mile 8, i'm wondering what in the sam hill was i thinking agreeing to all this running business.
by mile 10, i'm SOOO happy it's done and i'm thrilled that i finished.
something i thought i would NEVER be able to do, i'm doing.

i can do it.
and then there's my cheerleaders......

i'm thankful to my posse of girls that encourage me every single time i get out to run.

a special shout out to my bff, kath & her sista, sharla. (and today, my bud emily, who was the sole (hahahahah get it, running/sole!) reason for finishing my first half. she stuck with me thru the WHOLE thing!)
they cheer me on when i think i can't go another step.
they keep me accountable and MAKE me go when all i want to do is sit at home, on Pinterst.
they actually make this crazy, whacked out plan to run a half marathon; fun.

you are the reason i do this.
oh, i'm SLLLLOOOOOWWWWW alright but at the end of the day,

i'm a runner.

my fav running quotes!!!!



intentions.....

hi.
i'm traci.

i used to blog. then i didn't. then i did. then i had great intentions but didn't.

and now i'm here.

my mama and i were chatting yesterday about my blog/project 365 dilemma.

she, being the wise woman she is, suggested that i really NEED to be blogging.

 pictures are important too but the words are what they'll want to hear. (although, i KNOW that sometimes they wish i had a mute button)

"what fun for your boys to have a journal of their lives. i wish i would've done that when i had young kids".
agreed mama. i would've loved to read, and re-read about what a (ahem) perfect child i was, the parties we had, the adventures we had with our cousins. the mischief we got into with the neighborhood kids, the lessons she learned from us kids. her observations of what we'd be when we were grown.

(thankfully, i have a good memory. :))
anywho. point being, documenting our lives is important.

sometimes mundane but important just the same.

i always feel like i have to write a 30 paragraph essay for a daily blog post, thus the reason i don't do anything. uhg.

new day.

new bigger (and yet, simpler) intentions.

i want this blog to be a place where we can grow together.

a place where my boys can turn back to when they wonder what happened in their childhood.

i want them to see that mom really, really loved them to the core of my being, even when, some days i feel like i just got off the tilt-a-whirl at the fair.
crabby, dizzy and disoriented.
yup, even then.

a place where i can get a little reprieve from Facebook and the drama that entails.
i want this to be a place we can encourage. (that includes YOU, blogging friends, to actually comment when you have a thought!)

a place to feel 'normal'.

a place that honors Jesus in every word.

hold on....we're going to get blogging.