happy birthday, little sister.

my little sister.

the one who (along with me) stuffs her face with cotton candy 

while watching the main street electrical parade at disney.

the one who could live at disney world--seriously.

the one who thinks golf is boring.

the one who has a love for bright colors and beautiful things.

the one that can find a piece of trash and turn it into a treasure.

the one who motivated and continues to motivate me to be a runner.

the one who met a guy in fifth grade, had a secret crush on him, 

his eyes were finally opened, and married him at age 19.

(hehe!)

the one who totally ROCKS the baby bump.

the one who is going to be an a m a z i n g mom and, along with her hubby, will be the best parents ever.

the one who i want to be like when i grow up....

the one who i adore and could not imagine life without.

here's to number 20 and many more "sister moments" with you.

i. love. you.

happy birthday, big brother.

my big brother.

the one who keeps us laughing.

the one who comes to my rescue when my tires need air in them.

the one who will watch pride and prejudice and actually enjoy it.

the one who has a random turtle obsession--so much so that he'll see it, stop, and pick them up from the side of the road and then let them go when he gets home that evening.

the one who randomly calls to chat and see how my day's going.

(oh yeah, and who else has a brother who calls to wish you a happy Hump Day?)

the one who will be a daddy for the first time in july.

the one who is the spiritual leader for his family and is already planning, along with his wife, to train and nurture their children in the Lord.

the one who lives life with tons of happiness and hardly ever has a grumpy day.

the one who i couldn't be more privileged to call "brother."

here's to number 24 and many more happy and crazy years of life.

i love you more than words can say.

instagram

@purposelyathome

to run a race.

hi. it's me.

 you know, the one m.i.a. for the past month?

yeah, so i'm back and hopefully back for the long haul.

life has been busy.

life has been blessed.

and since life has been so crazy good, this little space of mine has been put on the very back burner.

so, here's to loving this little space of mine again.

today's update has to do with something that is kind of important in this household.

running.

since updating my blog, i have run in two more races:

Shamrock Shuffle 10k

mom and i jumped our of bed early on this saturday morning (3/15) and slipped in our running gear. leaving the daddy in bed sound asleep, we began the 45 minute trip to the location and prepped for the 7:30 am race. it was a very pleasant, cool morning. mom and i both placed second in our age divisions.

and i was able to beat my time from last year by 14 minutes.

Stats for Shamrock Shuffle 10k:

Time: 1:02:51

Age Division: 20-24

Place: 2nd out of the 4 in my age division

Overall Place: 60 out of 130 runners

Mustang Stampede Glow Run 5k

this run took place on april 11 at 7:00 pm. mom and i donned our neon running shirts and headed to the elementary school where the race was to be held. earlier that week, we had received an email saying that the run would not be a timed event. our competitive spirits were slightly dashed, but mom and i were thankful for the laid-back atmosphere. the race began, and mom and i both clocked one of our fastest times.
my time: 29:07

don't forget to keep running the most important race.

the race with the most important prize--heaven.


a lot of times, the "races" in life are super difficult.

our legs get tired and we become weary.

but, just like in a 5k, when you know that the clock is ticking, we have to keep pushing on and focus on the finish line ahead.

so go at it.

push on.