What's In A Name...

The name Heather is of Middle English origin...an evergreen flowering plant that thrives on peaty barren lands. Has an upper-class aura. A variety of small shrubs with pink or white flowers which commonly grow in rocky areas.

Have you ever really looked into the meaning of your name? I have really only read the quick description given in random baby name books, and that usually say "flowering herb." I know, be jealous. I never really thought much about it. I decided to breakdown some of the words in the description.

"Evergreen" - Having foliage that persists and remains green throughout the year. Perenially fresh or interesting; enduring.

Not only remains green through different seasons, but actually "thrives on peaty barren lands"...

"Barren" - Incapable of producing, not producing, lacking

Doesn't that seem like a bit of an oxymoron? Thriving on barren lands? Sounds nice, but a bit ironic. Barren is incapable of producing, and yet the heather plant thrives in those exact conditions. It's the "peaty" part of the lands that make the thriving possible. As much as peat is good for growth, it's equally as dangerous.

And I'm sure it's more of a coincidence in timing, but I can't help but "feel" the similarities of the above description and my current state in life. Although, I'm not really feeling the whole "thriving" part as of late (as of late meaning the last 9 months) I definitely feel the peaty, barren lands. It's a fine balance of good and bad...life-giving and life-ending.

Maybe I'm in the wrong barren land...not enough "peat." I haven't really been having the "fresh green feeling" the last year...

BUT then again, maybe I'm just reading to much into it. You can also find Heather defined as "a shrub." Maybe I'll just go with that one.

2008

I think this might have been my favorite New Years ever. Yes, I had great company. Yes, I was surrounded by the beautiful mountains of Colorado. Most importantly, what made this year the best ever was the fact I got to spend New Year's day skiing...all day. I didn't really take the time to look back and reflect until I got on the bus and headed home. I made sure to soak up as much of my surroundings as possible. I didn't want to waste a moment looking back, when my present was so perfect.

But now I'm ready to look back and ponder on 2008...It's ups and downs, joys and sadness, firsts and lasts...I've decided to go month by month, briefly highlighting the important (or not so important) happenings.

January: Hungary. AIA Conference.

February: 27. Roadtrip. Katie. Vienna. Salzburg. Liechtenstein. Zurich. Munich.

March: Poland. Auschwitz. Intense.

April: Uneventful.

May: Praha Goodbyes. Marathon training begin...

June: Philly hellos. World Harvest newest member. Katie's married!

July: QT with the fam. Texas Peach Festival

August: Still running...

September: Ran the half. Became "Miss Heather" to some cutie 4 year olds.

October: Roadtrip with fam to Tennessee. Biggest black eye ever.

November: Saw the beautiful CA-Nada. Jax and Michael! Become "Coach Heather."

December: Ran a marathon. And ended the year in the beautiful state of Colorado.


What a year! It was one of the most challenging, interesting, and blessed years of my life. I'm thankful the Lord has graced me with another year to grow and be refined into His image. I'm thankful for the people He has in my life at this exact moment in time. Here's to 2008, and to the great moments to come in 2009!

Home is where your heart is...

And my heart is most certainly found in the mountains of Colorado. There's just something so incredibly amazing about the endless trees, perfect white, and stillness of the mountains. My soul is at rest, my world is in perfect peace...I just freakin love it! (And I have to give the above pic credit to Mr. Mac. Thanks Mac!)

I had the great honor of being a leader on our high school ski trip. I had a fabulous room (handicap room forever!!), great ski buddies, and fun memories to keep forever. Here are some pics from the trip.

For Unto Us...

A Child is born...MERRY CHRISTMAS Y'ALL!!!

Marathon Madness

So, I did it. I ran 26.2 miles. I didn't exactly get the time I wanted, but considering the conditions I'm learning to be content with the results. I heard the White Rock Marathon had a reputation for brutally cold weather, but this year brought ridiculously warm weather and 30-40 mph winds. And let me tell you, after 15 miles of running, 30 mph might as well be 100 mph.

I am definitely an ipod runner, without question. Never did I ever go on a run without it. I know some of you expert runners out there get pretty bent out of shape over this topic, but I have never and will never claim to be mentally tough enough to run those kinds of distances without serious distractions. That just seems painful to me. My ipod is my best friend. BUT, I must admit, I think I only listened to it maybe an hour or so on the entire run. You're trying so hard to keep track of your mile pace, when you last took in calories, how you're doing hydration wise, and, honestly, simply trying to convince your body to keep going that I could hardly enjoy even one glorious note.

One song that I did listen to over and over was Robbie Seay's Song of Hope. Here's the chorus:

"I will sing a song of hope
Sing along
God of heaven come down
Heaven come down
Just to know that You are near is enough
God of heaven come down, heaven come down"

You have no idea how much I was screaming out in my head, "Lord, that Heaven would come down right now!" By mile 20 my body was definitely screaming, "Why in the world aren't you stopping!!" I'm forever grateful for my two friends that came along side of me the last few 6 miles to finish. Adrianne, a good family friend, and one of my high school bible study girls, Kathryn, came in the last 6 miles or so to help get me to that finish line. I definitely recommend this to anyone about to run a marathon. It is such a HUGE blessing! Thanks girls!!!

And now for some more thank you's... Billy, how much I miss you!! You were the reason this whole thing started. You equipped me with everything I would need to accomplish the race. Thanks for the prayers, support, and encouragement...you're the best!! Thanks to Chris who gave me all my nutritional information. And for kicking my butt when I wasn't eating what I was suppose to. Thanks to Kim, Mike, and Alex for cheering me on. It was so nice having familiar faces along the way. And a great, big, giant thank you to my mom and Joe. Knowing I would be unable to walk after, they drove me there bright and early. They met me every 6 miles or so with goos and other much needed goodies. And most importantly, were waiting at the finish line screaming my name. And thanks to all of you who encouraged and prayed along the way. It was great having so much wonderful support!!

People kept telling me before the race marathons are addicting, but I'm pretty sure no addiction was started. BUT who knows...you might see me signing up for marathon #2 here pretty soon...

My Favorites

Here's a few of my favorite things this time of year. I must admit I've found it a bit hard getting into the "Christmas spirit" when we're still having 70 degree days, but I am in Texas, what else should I expect?

On to my favorites...First and foremost I want to make sure and state the amazing gift given to each of us that makes this time of year so incredibly personal and special: The birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. How incredibly undeserving and hard to comprehend the magnitude of this gift...

Now, the following are other things that make this time of year oh so special and fun!

1. The smell of Christmas trees
2. Listening to Christmas music...all the time
3. Stockings hanging from the mantle
4. Making Christmas cookies
5. Christmas movies, especially Burl Ives Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer!

My top favorite Christmas songs:

1. Kelly Clarkson- Oh Holy Night (my all time favorite! especially sung acappella)
2. Amy Grant- Breath of Heaven
3. Mariah Carey - All I Want For Christmas Is You
4. Joy Williams- Here With Us
5. Andrea Bocelli&Celine Dion- The Prayer

New additions to this year's Christmas song list:

1. Harry Connick Jr- It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas
2. Lenka- All My Bells Are Ringing
3. Zach Gill- Silent Night
4. KT Tunstall- Sleigh Ride
5. Zee Avi- No Christmas For Me


I'll leave you with one of the best Christmas movie scenes ever...

I Am Second

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Go to it. It's pretty cool.

Thanksgiving Derby

Love the tradition of homerun derby in my family. Thanksgiving day we load up the bats, balls, and gloves and head out to the fields. This year we had 2 people join us that don't always participate. My mom and my brother's girlfriend, Kari. (Kari was kinda out their proving herself and passing a very big test to entering our family) The girls get to dominate the little league field (a 200 respectable feet) and the boys take on the "big boy" field (285 ft). We have a strict scoring system with just a few rules. You get 10 outs with your choice of pitches (meaning good pitches don't count against you). We decided to add a new category for the girls to our scoring this year. This year you got 6 points if you were able to hit it out of the field and into the adjacent field.

Now, we each have gained our own reputation in the game. My step dad, Joe, is the one who throws pitches to us and usually has a respectable showing in his at bat.

Cam has really moved up in the last few years. It seems like only yesterday he was competing with me on the little league fields...

Mom doesn't always participate, but she's usually always there for "support" and "encouragement." And don't let Mom fool you...she's got quite a swing!

Matt kinda has a hard time...mainly because he's just too much of a golfer. He just can't break that golf swing!

Kari was new to us this year. She has a long background in softball, so we were eager to see what she could do. She definitely proved herself a good leadoff hitter. She had a solid showing that was sure to give the guys a run for their money. We're glad you came Kari!

Now, Caleb and I kinda have similar philosophies when it comes to this game...we swing for the fences...everytime. We don't mess around with the measly one and two pointers, we go straight for the five pointers. Caleb definitely has some power, and can knock them out. He was second to last, and up until then I had the prize for hit of the day...he came in and kinda took that away from me. He was a worthy opponent, and a great hit. BUT, I will say that I did get the 6 pointer and hit one into the adjacent field...we guesstimated it about 250 ft out. Very proud of that one!



HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

Ca-Nada

I had an amazing time in the Great White North. My number of Canadian friends continues to grow and grow, so I figured I'd make my way up to visit. Honestly, I was really just getting tired of hearing them tell me how much better Canada is than the US. I will admit it is quite gorgeous up there. Now, I only saw the western coast, but it was amazing.

I have two good, good friends, Michael and Jacqueline, I met overseas in Prague that are from Vancouver Island. For the last two years they have been a great source of encouragement, support, and tons of fun and laughter. No matter distance or time, they have remained close and a great blessing. I am incredibly blessed to have them in my life, and was just waiting for the opportunity to go up and see where they are from and meet their friends and family.

It was fun-filled days of seeing the beautiful sites, playing endless games of dominoes, listening to tons of great music, and lots and lots of laughs and memories. Here are some pictures from the trip.

Michael and Jacqueline- THANK YOU so much for opening up your home (and stepping out on a limb) and introducing me to your families and friends. I had SOOOO much fun, and look forward to having y'all in the great(big) state of Texas!! Really, you both were more than generous! Love y'all tons!!

A Carrot and A Horse

Here's a short excerpt from The Prodigal God. DEFINITELY recommend it. Tim Keller does a really great job of bringing you back to the simplicity of the Gospel. The parable known as the prodigal son is one most of us are familiar with, but in this last year God has been using it to challenge and open my eyes in such big ways. I never realized how much I missed from this one parable. There's just so much more to it than a story of one lost younger brother searching and squandering away all he owns.

I'll stop there. Again, definitely recommend The Prodigal God by Tim Keller. Good stuff.


"Once upon a time there was a gardener who grew an enormous carrot. So he took it to his king and said, "My Lord, this is the greatest carrot I've ever grown or ever will grow. Therefore I want to present it to you as a token of my love and respect for you." The king was touched and discerned the man's heart, so as he turned to go the king said, "Wait! You are clearly a good steward of the earth. I own a plot of land right next to yours. I want to give it to you freely as a gift so you can garden it all."...But there was a nobleman at the king's court who overheard all this. And he said, "My! If that is what you get for a carrot what if you gave the king something better?" So the next day the nobleman came before the king and he was leading a handsome black stallion. He bowed low and said, "My lord, I breed horses and this is the greatest horse I've ever bread or ever will. Therefore I want to present it to you as a token of my love and respect for you." But the king discerned his heart and said thank you, and took the horse and merely dismissed him. The nobleman was perplexed. So the king said, "Let me explain. The gardener was giving me the carrot, but you were giving yourself the horse."