Good News.

Thanksgiving at home was wonderful.

It was so nice to be in the US this year.

And sit on my couch and attempt to watch football and eat apple pie.

So American.

One of the best parts of this break was playing this game with my family::

It's a game that was made in 1972!

My dad played it when he was a kid. He found it on Ebay a few years ago.

We sit around the table with pencils and paper and blue books

...and we lie to each other.

Lying is the only way to win...

You know the scene in How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days where Kate Hudson wins over the boyfriends family because she's so good at the BS game? Well that's how game goes in our family.

Except for one thing...

(Confession) I'm awful at lying.

I lost every round.

Best of all, we had barbeque along with the turkey.

Confessions...

...I keep thinking about last year's thanksgiving (the one I spent in Edinburgh, Scotland)...and I'm glad I'm not back there.

...Thanksgiving is my least favorite Holiday. I don't like the dry turkey or stuffing or anything besides bread, really. Give me salmon or an enchilada any day.

...I can't cook. I'm awful at it. I don't like following directions,

especially in a certain order, or measuring things (numbers---gross), or being patient enough to let things cook all the way. So, it's going to be interesting this year. Me and my little cousin are in charge of cooking everything.

...I am scared to death of turkeys. This is probably because when I was 9 we had Thanksgiving at my Aunt's farm and they owned two turkey's that they let roam the farm. Those turkeys would chase at peck at me and my brother. We were afraid to go outside, and would stake out in the foyer of the house, peeking out the blinds and shrieking if we saw them. They are ugly unfortunate creatures...and they don't even taste good.

Oh, Happy Thanksgiving.

Currently.

Idea from yourwishcake (seriously, click it. her blog is amazing).

This is me:

And right now I am...

...trying to force myself to write (on a Friday) a 12 page paper about Augustine, the Christian faith, love, and purity. It should be interesting, right?

...looking forward to making some of these pumpkin-chocolate chip cookies in just five short days when I'm home and have baking soda within reach.

...enjoying wearing scarves and my North Face. Bring on the wind and cold weather!

...embarrasingly sore from doing half of a Jillian Michaels video.

...drinking peppermint mocha and gingerbread chai drinks on a daily basis. One of my favorite things about the holidays is the flavors! Hold the whipcream, please.

...loving the song "So Good to Me" by Cory Asbury. Listen here. Beauty for ashes and solid ground, my friend. Alleluia!

...reading "The Cost of Discipleship" by Bonhoeffer, and realizing in a brand new way that grace is far from cheap. I'm also realizing, as a result, that I need to take that baby step of faith...just take it...and see what happens.

...getting excited about all the possibilities.

Memorize.

Memories,

Unchanging

Like evergreen trees,

They hang on,

Relentless and Stubborn

Uncompromising,

Unwilling to let go.

I'll use lights

and stars

and angels.

I'll try to disguise

The evergreen.

"Life gets so confusing, When you know what you're losing."

-Emerson Hart

PS

We finished 4th at Conference.

I ran my best time for the season without any sickness.

And I haven't run (unless I wanted to) since.

Finishing::so much more than crossing a line.

Oh, Joy

God's Joy

moves from unmarked box to unmarked box

from cell to cell

As rainwater, down into flower bed

As roses, up from ground

Now it looks like a plate of rice and fish

Now a cliff covered with vines

Now a horse being saddled

It hides within these till one day it cracks them open.

--Unknown

I think God's Joy is found

today in orange leaves

and bananas dipped in sugar/cinnamon

and snickerdoodle coffee

and pumpkin muffins

and a singer named Buble

and sealed love letters.

Yes, I think so.

Happy November

Sport.

photo cred: Josh Adams, http://purchase.joshadamsphotography.com

/jbu-athletics.

Running Cross Country this year has been....really hard. I started out so excited and competitive, but it seems like sickness after sickness have sucked the life out of my love for running. I can count the days when I didn't feel sick while running on one hand. Each day is harder and harder as I try to suck up enough energy and ignore the pain for however long we'll be running that day. First I found out that I was anemic--which is why I sat down in the middle of our first 5K race and almost quit because I didn't have enough whatever it is in my blood to keep going. Then, after that only helped a little bit, I went back to the doctor and had a sonogram, only to find out that not only do I have an ovarian cyst but I also have a POCS, a syndrome that will probably make it so I can't have children.

Our girls team started out with 11 girls, but because of sicknesses and hurts and other such circumstances, we are now down to 7 girls, exactly enough for a team. It's funny to think that God could teach me something through a sport...but maybe he has. I haven't quit yet. And I have had to find contentment through something besides success, because I have been anything but successful this season.

This is the last week. Today is the last speedwork day. Saturday is the last race.

And all I want is to do my best...to push myself to my own limit, which might not be very far, and know that I gave as much as I could.

And then I can take a week off and then start running again---and not worry about time or distance or speed. If I start to feel sick, I'll stop. And hopefully I can start feeling healthy again, and I can start running with friends, and maybe the love for running will come back.

"In a sport that's ruled by the clock, freeing myself from the minutes and seconds that define success was liberating. I was now free to run when I wanted, without the gnawing obligation that comes with a competitive pursuit. I no longer have an interest in running "against" anyone. Rather, I'm often looking for someone to run "with," and it's the camaraderie, rhythm and ritual that continue to hold my interest."