Running Our Race

Here is what our front door area looked like.... Basically a really old (heavy solid wood!) door that had not been touched for over 20 years.  We decided that our home needed some more "curb appeal".  We decided to keep the door since it was solid wood and still in decent condition, but just sand and paint it for a fresh look. Here we were in "mid sand"...then we filled in some ridges with putty ( i mean brett did.  ha!) This is what Caroline and I were doing in this stage of the game.  Giving Dad some great encouragement while cooling off. This is what our house looked like for most of the day on Saturday.  Needless to say our AC ran all day! And here is the after.....TA DA!  (I blurred the street numbers just for safety's sake.  But they are these really cool black "floating" street numbers to the left of the door) We put a new kick plate on, new hardware, painted the old brass light fixture, new door knocker, street numbers, and got some new...

Starting probably about a year or two ago, I have been trying to get all the kids to "learn to run".  It has been a mission of mine!  I remember when Brett and I were first married, and I suggested a "family 1 mile run"....well lets just say it wasn't well received...Fast forward a bit, and all 3 have run more than I ever thought.  Kate and Christopher are still a bit lukewarm, but will indulge me on some shorter runs.  Emma Grace, on the other hand, told Brett and I this past spring that she wanted to be "a runner for life" melt my heart And she has held true to that.  Brett and I have helped her increase her distance, and basically just "learn how to run effectively".  She has done all the hard work herself, and has impressed us both!  She decided that she wanted to be on the Opelika Middle School Cross Country team (the bulldogs!).  This meant that she went to practice this summer, 3 times/week, at 6am .  If that is not some determinat...

I took a vacation day at work today....get this....just BECAUSE!!!!!!  I haven't had a "Staycation" in sooo long.  Usually I just take off because we will be out of town or there is something we HAVE to do.  BUT...today I took a day for me.  It is hard to get stuff done while working 5 days a week, and so today is just what I needed. I started the day off with a great run.  Even though it is hot and soooo humid, it feels good to be putting a priority on something that I love to do again.  This summer, it got put on the back burner and I am ready to recommitt.    We have the kids every Tuesday, so I got to wake them up, fix breakfasts, help with clothes/hair, and just see them off.  I am usually out the door for work before they are up, so this was such a fun treat! Third day of the school year!  Brett didn't have to leave for Atlanta until later, so he took them to school and then just went on. I got ready for the day with...

I was going through my phone camera and found some pictures from the summer that I just wanted to share... Here are some from Mother/Daughter trip back in June. I miss all my girlfriends sooooo much. I still can't believe we all had babies within 4 months of each other. Here is one of my bestie's Claire holding Caroline, and her mom Chris holding Claire's baby, Evelyn... Here is Caroline (left), Evelyn (right), and my other bestie, Holly's, baby Weber. Of course not a single picture with everyone looking. Ha! Caroline strutting her stuff at the pool. It was so hot in Texas, we were basically in the water all day. She looks like our swimming teacher (with the hat and sunglasses) from when we all met (age 2!!!). Cracks me up! Love the sunscreen face! I put ice cubs in the mesh holder and she loved it. Her first popsicle! Here is a fun video of my mom and caroline swimming after dinner one night. She loves it! At The Scullen House We Have A Big A...

"Fresh Air"....It was the title to the sermon at Church of the Highlands The message we heard in church today was perfect. It was necessary at the start of our new season. Period. God placed us there and fed us what we all needed to hear. How amazing is that?? (After I re-watched it online. Caroline was not having it in the nursery. Ha!) Prayer is something our family is trying to recommit itself to. We pray at meals and bedtime....but praying on our own, and at the non-expected times is so important. We want to get better at that. As a family, we felt like we had been in the "doldrums" during and after baseball. Christopher wrapped up an amazing All-Stars baseball season winning runner up in the STATE baseball tournament. It was fantastic to watch and utterly amazing to see Christopher be a significant part of something so special. He will never forget these moments in his life. It was a long hard road to get there. His team had to win sub-dis...