so much more

i fell off the running bandwagon for a bit.
it was maybe for a few weeks, but it felt like years. {indoor running really bites.}
i'm happy the weather is somewhat decent again.
we went to my parents' friday-saturday and i brought my running gear and actually psyched myself up to go for a run.
my brother convinced me to go on a trail i was pretty familiar with so i mapped out just over 5km and went for it.
it was drizzly. and kinda cool {weather-wise}, but running on a trail? beside a river? with the birds chirping?
so good.

as i ran i sang in my head a few verses of "nothing but the blood" in time with the pounding of my shoes on the path,

what can wash away my sin?
nothing but the blood of Jesus;
what can make me whole again?
nothing but the blood of Jesus.


oh! precious is the flow
that makes me white as snow;
no other fount i know,
nothing but the blood of Jesus.


it was good to run and clear my head; to sing {in my head} and pray and talk with Jesus and think about Him and what He gave for me.
i thought about what amazing grace it was that i could even just breathe in and out as i pushed my body to run a little bit faster.

it was good.
the boys had just had an egg hunt at my parents' and it was fun to watch noah hop along and scoop up some eggs and find the little presents my dad had stashed for them.
we had brunch and later on went on to jamie's side of the family where we were inundated with candy, chocolate and more candy.
i'm still struggling to figure out how to live in this world and yet to teach my boys that there is so much more to easter {and christmas and life!} than chocolate and candy and food and presents. there is so much more to be gained by knowing Jesus.
and yet
there are sweet memories to be gained by redeeming and enjoying some of our culture's traditions and teaching our children that yes, we do fun things like open presents on christmas and search for chocolate eggs at easter. but without Jesus it's all meaningless.

For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.


For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.


In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

ps i'm totally doing an egg hunt for the boys tomorrow morning. and because we brought home at least 10lbs of candy/chocolate yesterday the only thing that will be edible is pocky. {i'm not a meanie, i promise. my kids go ape-shit crazy for it!} i put pennies, nickels and dimes in plastic eggs and little veggietales characters will be their little gift. i think it's going to be a winner, folks.

share the love

recently i've come across a few things that i just really love. and i can't stop raving about them. and so i wanted to add this (hopefully) regular edition to my blog:
share the love
in which i share the things i love. or really, really like.
we all have different tastes and preferences so there's no guarantee that what i love (or really, really like) is going to be what you love, but someone out there might, so i'm just going to share the love.
and please feel free to blog about things you love or add them in the comments if you don't blog (or if you don't want to blog about it or that it's likely you'll forget the moment you walk away from your computer like me).

okay.
share the love: first edition

the beco gemini

people! this thing is a beauty! i've never before been into wearing my babies. i attribute this mostly to the baby bjorn which did nothing to properly distribute the weight of my gigantic babies and therefore was more painful than to just carry them in my arms.
then my sweet, thoughtful, generous friend gave me her spare beco gemini. i can carry jude (weight approx 27lbs. age: 18 months) on my back and he.loves.it. LOVES IT! and so do i. it's going to be so great (i think/hope) for africa. and it can also do front carries and side carries and carry newborns without having to add in an infant insert (should the need arise for me to have an infant to carry...). sweet sassy! (you can buy it here.)

the gap tee

i have found my go-to tee shirt. i'm not sure if i'm the only one with this problem but usually by the end of the day my t-shirt is not as fitted as it was when i put it on in the morning. sure it regains this shape after a wash and dry, but again, by the end of the day i look frumpalicious. not good. and then i realized that i had one shirt that was 95% cotton and 5% spandex instead of 100% cotton and it held its shape throughout the entire day. ah the magic of spandex. (too much = not good.) so i went on a hunt for t-shirts with this ratio (or close to it) and i found it at the gap. i went to the gap outlet and bought a bunch for around $13 in some fantastic colours. i tested one out yesterday and it held up. brilliant. (you can buy it here.)


pc salted dark chocolate covered caramels

divine. 

i splurged on a box of these ($5.99 at zehrs) a few weeks ago and i just about died when i ate one. (and then another. and another.) these are amazing. if you like your salty with your sweet and your caramel with your dark chocolate then these are for you. i loved these. i hope zehrs continues to carry them because oh! delish.

now it's your turn! what are some things/artists/songs/places/people you love?

*disclaimer: i was not sent any form of compensation for this review. these companies have no idea i even exist. i'm simply sharing the love.