thoughts from the deep recesses

We finished up Kyler's cross country season. He got 12th place at the final all-city meet... which is pretty cool considering there were over 100 runners in his race. Top 16 get ribbons... so he's got a new one to add to his wall. We also noticed that Kyler has grown... so much so that he's pushing to be taller than Asia any minute . I measured him the other day and he's grown an inch since school started. That's a half inch a month. At this rate, he'll be 6'3" by June. Hope that slows down just a tad or he's going to be a GIANT. I've been on a mission to find cute, comfortable shoes for my trip to Africa. I have to wear skirts almost exclusively while I'm there, so I need something that works with skirts... but obviously, they need to be comfortable and have closed toes and heels to meet the dress code for the team. Asia wants me to wear combat boots, but obviously, being a girl, I'd like them to be a little more feminine. It's a di...

I just can't seem to find it. The blog groove. There's lots happening. But I'm low on words. It's a season, I guess. Perhaps the words will come after my trip. Right now, I think maybe I'm gearing up, hunkering down, saving my energy, preparing my heart - call it what you will. All I know, is right now, I'm quiet. But I don't want to stop the blog. So it's just going to sit and wait. Hope you'll wait with me. Smooches, friends.

Do you like coffee? Do you like free coffee? Do you like books? Do you like to drink coffee whilst you read books? Go here. You can thank me later. Enjoy yourself.

I once forgot about a baby shower. That's sort of bad. But not nearly as bad as forgetting it when it's supposed to be at your house. Yes. I did. We went out to dinner as a family and when we got home, there were all sorts of cars out front... waiting and wondering why no one was answering the door. The house wasn't clean. I had no tasty treats prepared to serve to the guests. I was a loser of the worst kind. Seriously. Who felt terrible? Me. There's just no making up for something like that. I was reminded of this today because I got stood up by a friend for coffee this morning. When I finally connected with her after several phone messages back and forth, she was simply dying of embarrassment for forgetting me. I set her mind at ease with my baby shower story. So far, it's about the worst social faux pas I've heard of . How about you? Can you top my Wednesday confession? I dare you to try.

Here's the full slide show from our photo shoot. I'm in awe. If anyone is local and you need a photographer, I cannot recommend Ashley highly enough. She totally captured us . I'm in love. I heart Ashley. Ashley is now officially our family photographer. In case you're wondering, we requested the funky warehouse-y background and the 'urban' look. But Ashley was more than willing to do more traditional backgrounds with us. So whatever your needs, I think she could meet them. I realize it takes a minute or two to watch the whole slide show - but she picked Jack Johnson to play while you watch. Again, I LOVE her. ENJOY! {The Goins family photo shoot}

Rainy, windy and cool here. And the leaves, they are a turnin'. It's most definitely fall out there. Three more cross country events before the end of the season. Guess that means we get to stand out in the rain, wind and cold... The coach of the high school team was at Kyler's last meet - and approached him about running with them next year. Kyler was pretty pleased to have caught his eye... Reached my Lifetime membership at Weight Watchers last week. Which means as long as I stay within 2 pounds of my goal weight, I never have to pay again. This is why I joined - so I have built in accountability to stay at this weight... Speaking of weight, I figured out my starting and ending BMI the other day. I went from 25 (the bottom of the unhealthy standard) to 21.9, which is smack dab in the middle of the healthy weight range. Proud of me. Ethan got his retainer yesterday... his mouth is a little sore this morning, but the biggest challenge is getting him to just leave it alone. ...

Our photographer has the sneak peek of our family photo shoot up: Check them out and tell me what you think! (If you click on them, they'll go to a larger version so you can see them better.)

First of all, what is wrong with us? Look at our pants! Notice the girl second from the left (whose name I miraculously remember almost 30 years later was Bonnie) and her cool little 'Jesus with children on his lap' viewfinder hanging proudly from her belt loop... It's a good thing her pants are almost up to her armpits or she'd never be able to view Jesus without taking the viewfinder off the beltloop. That Bonnie was a smart one. This is roughly 1979... summer before 5th grade. I'm the bombshell on the right of the counselor, third from the right. Please do notice the awesome green see-through vinyl visor in my left hand. What I remember most about this year at summer camp is that I was worried about how I was going to take care of my hair all by myself so I asked my mom to put it into pigtails before we went. Each morning, I would get up and take out one side of those piggy pig-pig tails and brush it out, then put the ponytail holder right back in, lickety sp...

Been thinking lots lately about life. And where I sit in it. I come from a long line of stability. Good people who were content to live simple lives and who settled in for the long haul. People who basically did the same thing year in and year out. I grew up watching them. And assuming that my life would look similar to that. Get married - have kids - watch them grow - love on your grandbabies - cook lots of Thanksgiving meals and celebrate lots of Christmases surrounded by loved ones. And here I am on the precipice of my 40's and I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm leaving for Africa in six weeks, and I know I cannot come back and settle in for the long haul. The long haul isn't going to be in my future, I don't think. I think my heart has been awakened to other possibilities. Does that mean my family is going to up and move to Africa? I don't think so. But I know this: I know that for the rest of my life I'm going to be torn between two places. And I hope t...

All my life, I thought the Neil Diamond song was "Reverend in Blue Jeans." I always liked the thought of a nice pastor-y type who always wore his 501's. How relate-able he must be... that's the kind of pastor I want... Until last year during American Idol when Jason Castro sang it "Forever in Blue Jeans." I asked Asia "Why do you think he changed the lyrics?" Turns out he didn't. No reverend to be seen in the correct lyrics . But my pastor does wear blue jeans almost every week, so I'm feeling okay about the whole thing.