and she's finally here...

welcome to the world nora cecilia - love you & your cute little face

you are making this world more wonderful just by being you!

so glad you are here

i'm one proud & doting auntie

great job mary - she is perfect

xoxo

rae

that was quite the hiatus...

my apologies blog readers (if there any of you actually left)! this little blog of mine has been pushed to the back burner these past months - and to put it simply - i've been BU-S-Y!

i will spare you a long & drawn out "update" on what's been happening since september (i really cannot believe that was my last post! oops)

but for right now...

• i'm on a one-week semester break from school - summer classes start next monday
• i'm training to run the dam-to-dam race on june 2
• i'm about to be an auntie again - any day now my sissy is going to have a baby girl! tick tock....

and sheesh...that's about it

i am just enjoying every. single. second. of my down time right now

have a lovely week and i will introduce you to newest angel in my life when she gets here SOOON!

in the meantime...enjoy a little instagram collage

xoxo

rae

ps...i promise to do my best at keeping things a little more current over here on dot.dot.dot.

full of gratitude...

well first of all, apparently i haven't been on blogger for a loooooooooooooong time, because the whole darn thing has changed!! wow - it's gonna take a while to get used to this.

anyways...
every day i try and take some time to recognize all of the wonderfulness in my life and feel grateful in my heart for those things. it always makes the hard things and the craziness a little easier to handle when i can remember all the great and unique ways that i am blessed.

so much has been going on lately - and it would take me ages to run through it all. so instead, here are some of the things that put a smile on my face today...

my new yoga class at harmony

and grateful it wasn't me that tooted super loud at the end of class :)

the great country music that is on the radio lately - i've been jamming all summer long!

getting to babysit this nugget in a few days

looking back on this photo i got from my sissy of my nephew playing with his bday present

a lighter load on homework this week

unanswered prayers

catching up on the bachelorette

opening the windows in the house with a cool breeze sweeping in!

smiling when God throws me a curveball

finally eating my cookie monster cupcake - uh YUM

well, friends - hope you all had a day full of all the things that make you smile too

xoxo

rae

resisting...

a week ago saturday i attended the women of faith retreat with my older sister mary. this was a two day event where Christian women came to gather to hear authors, speakers and singers celebrate the Lord. we only attended the second day, and although, there were a few moments things felt a little hokey and commercialized, the overall experience was very enlightening.

i will have to say that lately i have been feeling very lost and confused and even broken at times - and questioning these feelings to their core because i can't understand why i seem to feel so unsure. i have so many wonderful things in my life & i appreciate every single one of them. nor have i ever really had to experience anything truly awful in my 31 years. i am completely and 100% blessed to the bone. yet, these overwhelming feelings still remain.

so after getting a little "reminder" this weekend - i believe the reason i have been feeling so lost - is that i have been trying to lead myself through the past several years. trying to come up with all the answers all on my own. i have been resisting.

resisting the truth that i know is within me

resisting the unknown

resisting being true to myself

and most of all - resisting to trust in and surrender it all to God

so i pray:

dear Lord - please forgive me for believing that i have all of the answers and that i have to have all of the answers. i surrender and place at your feet all of my brokenness and all of my questions. i trust in You to lead me to the right path and walk beside me down whatever road you bring me to. and when i am scared, i will be brave - knowing that You will be faithful.

{side note, i actually prayed this prayer last sunday, and all week long, i have felt an immense sense of relief. not gonna say that i don't still feel a bit overwhelmed at times, but knowing that i can just hand it over, has allowed me to start my day with a smile, instead of worry. AND i realized todd did not ask me "what's wrong" or call me grumpy pants once all week. :) oh the power of a prayer!!!}

hope all you lovlies had an amazing amazing weekend. we had power cleaning the house and a wedding on our agenda. much fun!!

hugs,
Rachie

getting things back on track...

after a season full of sitting on my bum - i've gained 8 lbs! ick

now here's the plan to get things back on track...

the goal: run the bix this summer in an hour {or less}

the plan: maintain the following running/workout schedule (developed here):

short runs will be completed in the morning before work, tempo/speework completed in the afternoons after work, long runs on saturday mornings.

the action:

lace up the sneakers

...and go!

and at the request of my younger sister, i will update all of you on my recent trip to minneapolis! two weekends ago, my girlfriends and i went on our annual shopping trip, and chose the twin cities as our destination.

we all made out with some amazing goodies from ikea {here is what i picked up}

two new flower pots

three candles

jewelry dish, jewelry box, and jewelry tree {which is actually from urban outfitters}

ate the most a-may-zing meal of my whole life at stella's.

{if you ever get the chance to eat there, you have to try the champagne mussels - to die}

getting ready to down some raw oysters



the best red velvet cake eva!

and then we spent twelve delirious hours at the moa on saturday, where i snagged a few necessities:

a shirt and a dress from h&m and makeup from bare essentials, too

when i arrived home to my cozy house on sunday - i found this!

new pretty flowers on our doorstep

cabinets installed for additional storage in the garage

LOVE - and thanks todd, greg and rita for all your hard work :)

hugs,

rachie