Man's Best Friend

Belle is our *chocolate dog. She is a Labrador retriever and too smart for her own good. I always said I would NEVER have an inside dog but please remember that I also said I would NEVER live in Austin, date or marry a Marine, be in a network marketing company, or *weigh over 200 pounds. It seems to me that all things that I nevered have worked out pretty well for me.

Belle's full name is Jingle Belle because she was born on Christmas day. She will be 2 this Christmas.
She takes wonderful care of her sister KK and runs up and down the stairs if I don't go "fetch" our crying baby fast enough for her.
She's always smiling
and gentle if I get sad and need a friend
She's always ready for a run.

and I know she will be loyal to the end:

*chocolate dog- our nephew Landon calls her a chocolate dog and thinks it is so funny

*200- I weighed in at 212 the day that I was checked into the hospital to have Kennedy Kate :)

A Call to Action

I had to reschedule my Saturday hair appointment due to training so yesterday AM I looked like this.

And while I was sitting there they brought me this. And said, "would you like a complimentary hand massage?" YES!!!!!! Can I have seconds? On both? Did I mention that Toni at Prodedgy is AMAZING!
I then Totally fell in love with this wall at a home meeting. Love it! Want it!
Not 100% on these statistics but I read this and felt so so so blessed and wanting to be even more intentional about giving of my time, money, and resources.

Soon after reading this I found out some information that hit me like a ton of bricks. It stopped my consuming day right in it's tracks. I don't need a plate wall anymore and my highlights could have waited Has that ever happened to you? A friend (who is very very near and dear to our hearts) called me crying and told me that her family has lost almost everything (the church they started, their home, business, ect) due to the economy. If you are wanting to give monetarily or foodly Please Please email me at jennychildress@gmail.com and I will let you know what specifically they need. *she didn't ask me for anything but prayer but I can't just sit here and pray*

Hearing things like this makes me so grateful for what we have and willing to sacrifice any of my needs or think I needs to help someone out. Are you moved to help today?

9 Days

My sister-in-law Kelly Paige is getting married on August 27th and I am getting so excited! There is so much to be done and I'm just talking about for my family and me:

Tomorrow: eye doctor appointment that I dread every single year. I need lasik. now. bad. #sickofmessingwithit & on the hunt for the perfect pair of not too tall silver wedge shoes for wedding party & a rehearsal dinner dress (have I mentioned that I am almost as excited about the rehearsal dinner as I am this wedding? It's going to be grand y'all)

Saturday: highlights/hair trim/pedicure YES! & helping KP & RP move into their house if they want my help. PS: have to work a 3.5 mile run in at some point this day

Sunday-Wednesday: some major working for this momma. Have I mentioned that this shouldn't make you feel bad for me because I absolutely L.O.V.E. what I do for a living?

Thursday & Friday: I'm at the bride's side if she needs me. I am making myself available for any task, errand, etc. and of course the rehearsal dinner on Friday :)

Saturday: THE BIG DAY. Hair & Make up HERE and then HERE for the celebration of my favorite couple to ever marry (sorry folks..I'm bias). I am SO SO SO blessed to be KP's sister-in-law AND Russell is so So SO blessed to be marrying into the Childress family. They are the best people around. No really. It's true.

Can you tell I've had coffee, and a run, and am unstoppable? Angel girl is napping so now I will go on with my plans to conquer today!

Thank you Lord for times of celebration and joy and love and just YOU. You rock my world & are the rock of my world.

Gotta Run

Wordless Wednesday

Why Do Something?

I got a text today from a friend that said, "wow, why do you want to run another marathon?" ANSWER: Because running makes me feel alive and I'll get lazy if I don't have a goal and it has to be a big goal so I'll push myself a little harder than I think I can do if the goal is big and I feel/am closer to the Lord when I run" yes yes I know RUN ON sentence. This goal got me thinking:

Why do anything in life? People don't ask me all the time but I know they think it: Why in the world are you building a business with FHTM? My answer to that question is simple: Because I want to. Because I love people. Because I love being a part of something bigger than me. Because teaching at a high school in Austin was never going to get us out of the debt hole we were in. Because I still get to teach and coach every day of my life. Because it's worth it. But more than all of those things: I am forced to trust the Lord every day in every moment of working our business. He doesn't promise me success, health, or even ease in life but He does promise to make me loving, pure, and humble like Christ. Kyle and I have been with FHTM for 4 years next month and I can't imagine doing anything else with my life. In the book Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung, he states: "If you are seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, you will be in God's will, so just go out and do something" (61.)

I will leave you with this video from John Piper:

Austin Distance Challenge: Take 3

I began my first Austin Distance Challenge (ADC) in October of 2008. You can read that post here . In October 2009 I began another ADC only to find that we had missed the first race in the sequence :( post here. Last October I was busy doing this . So, you can imagine my excitement when I registered for this years series of races:
I ran my first 5K on my own this Saturday and I felt great. I am excited about running 4 days a week consistently over the next 6 months. It feels great to set a goal and go after it!
I'm adding pictures of my Kennedy Kate because...well because she's just cute huh?

Such a little ham.

It's Real

Runner's High is real and defined as, "a feeling of euphoria that is experienced by some individuals engaged in strenuous running and that is held to be associated with a release of endorphins by the brain"

I absolutely LOVE running and I am back. On Saturday I had my first official long run since February 2009. I ran a 5k in my neighborhood without stopping and I feel renewed. I am looking forward to this weeks running schedule and I haven't felt like that is so so so long. *insert the sound you make when you take off your shoes after a long day

...Gotta Run

Wordless Wednesday