Coincidence?

Maybe.  But I don't think so. 

I needed to get out of the house to pray today.  Too, too many distractions at home.  And Mandy needed a walk, too.  So we headed out this morning and as soon as we hit our stride walking down the sidewalk, I was overwhelmed by what a gorgeous day it was outside.  It was the perfect inspiration for praising God for how magnificent He truly is. 

So we walked and prayed - well, I prayed - I'm not quite sure where Mandy's head was at.  :)   And at one point I was talking to God about how thankful I was for His Spirit and presence in me.  I know that I often wander and stray from my own faithfulness to God, but He is always faithful to me.  And I was asking Him at that point simply to keep me constantly aware of His faithfulness and presence and to help me desire and do my part to stay near to Him...

And this is where the coincidence comes in.  ;-)

I had been noticing all the beautiful leaves on the ground as I walked the neighborhood.  But then I came upon some coins that were scattered on the sidewalk.  I almost passed them by but I was curious... at first glance it looked like it might be about 28cents on the ground.  My birthday is coming up on the 28th and this fleeting thought of "wouldn't it be funny if that was 28cents" flashed thru my silly mind.  I'm ridiculously sentimental about things and little weird things like that pop into my head when it comes to birthdays, anniversaries, holidays and the like... 

anyways...

I stopped and began to pick up the coins and quickly realized it wasn't going to be 28cents...  but you know what it was?  48cents!  And well, I will be 48 on my birthday.  :)   You may think I'm crazy, but given what I had just been praying, that put a smile on my face and made me feel like God was giving me a tangible sign that He was hearing what I was saying.  He is always near and even willing to use my silly sentimentality to let me know He's there.

I was looking back at some posts from this time last year and it was interesting to find that what I was doing a year ago looks almost exactly like what I am doing right now.  Liz Hurley run...  Getting ready for Huntsville vs. Grissom game...  although with both, the players have changed.  I ran with "Team Teri" last year and this year it was with Huntsville Gymnastics...  and last year I was getting ready for "Senior Night" with Mackenzie and today I am waiting for her and a friend to come home from college and Huntsville High is now Anna's school...   I guess a lot does change from year to year.

Speaking of change, I ran into an old college friend the other day that I hadn’t seen in quite a while.  We bump into each other every now and then around town.  We exchanged a quick hug, talked for a little while about our kids and what they are up to, and about what was going on in life.  At one point I was talking about Mackenzie and college and said, “I’m envious of Mackenzie…  I miss the old college days – wish I could go back…”   At this point she and I exchanged a little hint of an uncomfortable look between us because ‘back in the day’ we were really close friends and were an integral part of each other’s lives.  Today we are very far removed from that…  and it’s sad, partly because I know that a lot of the distance that exists between us is because I wasn't there for her when she needed me and I hurt her and we’ve never really gotten past it.  That’s a tough pill to swallow.  :(

I guess you can never really go back in time...  sometimes I get stuck thinking about what I'd like to 'do over' ... mostly these thoughts come in the form of 'doing things better' if I got the chance to and had the wisdom of hindsight on my side.  Sometimes the thoughts are kinda like what I was saying about going back to college and just enjoying times where life felt really good. 

Anyways, I am anticipating that this will be a weekend of good times and making good memories to draw on...  Mackenzie is bringing her friend Meleia home (who lives in Colorado, so it's a little far for her to go home for 'fall break' that is really only a long weekend!) and Anna has her friend Battle spending the weekend with us... so it will go from being very quiet around here to having a house full of girls for the weekend.  I'm definitely in need of the fun that will come along with having them all here...  yay!  :)

Hmmm... I wonder what this post will look like next year...  ?

Liz Hurley Ribbon Run for Breast Cancer

 Just wanted to post a few pictures here from the race last Saturday.  It was such a beautiful day - perfect for the run.  And it was a lot of fun to be part of the Huntsville Gymnastics Team.  Mostly thanks to our Team Leaders, the Kane family, we were able to raise $3745.00 !!  

Go Team!! :)

I always seem to look exacly like this every time there's a picture of me running...goofy.   And I'm only smiling at this point because I'm at the top of the last hill on the course! ha

Anna and Sadie rounding the last turn.

The aftermath...  :)

What gymnasts do when they're bored...  ;-)

Anna tells me that James used to do this with her when she was about half the size she is now! :)

There were so many 'creative' uses of the color pink EVERYWHERE!!

Another goofy picture...

Probably my favorite picture of the day...  Anna and Meggie watching the survivor's walk.  This was, after all, the whole reason we were there!!

Another Day on Green Mountain

Hills to be climbed

Valleys to traverse

Forks in the road

Obstacles to disperse

Empty, quiet chairs

Old covered bridge

Solitary leaf

View from the ridge

Beauty on the path

Sunlight through the trees

Peace across the pond

God in the breeze

In the spirit of Breast Cancer Awareness month and women's health in general, I thought I'd share what I've been reading lately that has been a big help to me. Hopefully this doesn't break the bounds of "TMI," but I've been struggling through several unpleasant symptoms of menopause. I hate to think that I'm already at this stage of life, but some tests from this past summer seem to confirm it and when you can go down and check "YES" to every symptom on the menopause list, well, I guess that's where I'm at.

Anyways, I thought that since I haven't really ever had any bad problems with 'female issues' that perhaps I would escape the wrath of menopause.... hmmm.... apprarently not. And what finally kicked me over into the "I have GOT to figure out something to do about this!" phase of things was the hot flashes that were happening about 10 times a day and then waking me up 2 or 3 times a night and making life miserable. Then I started forgetting everything, and I couldn't concentrate on anything, and I was tirerd, and getting depressed, and you name it... SO... about the time I was getting frustrated with all that, I had a couple of conversations that led me to this book, "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause" by Dr. John Lee. And I'm just telling you, if you are a woman in your 40s (or even younger), whether you are having any symptoms of menopause or not, you owe it to yourself to read this book. I have learned SO much about hormones and how they effect EVERY system in your body. It's crazy...

The good news for me is that since putting into practice what I'm reading, particularly in regards to the use of progesterone, after 3 weeks my hot flashes are gone and I'm beginning to feel MUCH better all around! :) And beyond the menopause issues, I hope that the progesterone, along with some vitamin and mineral supplements, will help my issuses with the onset of osteoporosis. I honestly thought it was too late for me to really do anything about that, but I'm finding out that it's not - and if there is anything I can do to avoid this crippling disease that I've watched my grandmother, my mom and my aunt suffer through, I'm going to give it a try.

So that is my 'health update' for now. I hope to continue to report good things with more time... and don't be surprised, if you're a woman and friends with me, if your next Christmas or Birthday present is a copy of this book! :)