Summer Time Update

In both expected and unexpected ways our summer has so far been very chaotic and full. Everything that has happened or we have done falls into a least one of the following 4 categories:

1. Seeing family and friends
2. Leading trips
3. Working + running
4. Seeing fireworks

We have been really blessed to have opportunities to connect with many family and friends over the past few summer months. A girlfriend of mine got married over Memorial Day weekend - which was a great way to start! Celebrating the starting of a dear friend's marriage was so great, always an honor to stand up next to friends on their big days. The added plus to all of this was that one of my best friends [Jamie] and her new fiancé [Scott] came up for the wedding AND had time to come back and visit with Adam and I in Wisconsin for a few days - winning all around!

3 days after Jamie and Scott flew back south, Adam and I were off to Chicago to chaperone the 8th Grade Class trip for his church's school. We love showing people around Chicago and had a lot of fun taking the whole group around - including using public transportation all day Saturday. They were all troopers and covered a lot of ground (Medieval Times, Wrigley Field, Blue Man Group, Giordano's Pizza, Millennium Park, Navy Pier, Museum of Science and Industry, and the John Hancock 360 Observatory!) The coolest part was getting to experience a new part of the John Hancock Observatory called Tilt. We all got a chance to lean out over the side of the top of the building, SUCH a cool view of the city!!!! There were also many dance parties during our van ride to and from Chicago, which was an added bonus. 

2 days after we got back from the 8th Grade Class Trip to Chicago - more visitor's arrived - my parents and 3 of my younger brothers came to town! All throughout college I worked summer jobs away from home, so this was the first year I have celebrated the actual day of my birthday with my parents and brothers in years. We had a fun week exploring the area with my family. They are all big Packers fans so a tour of Lambeau Field was a hit! We also checked out the local wildlife sanctuary, a cute local amusement park - it was the first time the 2 youngest of my brothers had ever been on a roller coaster - did some hiking at a state park, and shared lots of meals and time together. It was a great week!

A few days after my family left and drove back to Maryland, we got the news that Adam's Granddaddy had passed away. This was not completely unexpected, he had had Parkinson's for over 2 decades and had really been struggling health wise for the better part of this year. Adam's words from Facebook really say it all I think:

"Death was Satan's idea. The greatest irony; Christ's greatest victory comes from Satan's idea, death, when He welcomes believers into heaven. Grandaddy is now living a life without Parkinson's, without bed sores, without pain, weighing more than 60 pounds, and he can finally communicate again. I know you are too busy worshipping God to read this Facebook post, but one day I will join you Grandaddy"

We were blessed to be able to make the trip down to Alabama to be with his family and attend Granddaddy's memorial service. A few long days in the car were more than worth it so that we could all be together. We even got a little bonus time in on his grandparent's boat one morning!

Literally as we got back and walked in the door to our apartment from our trip to Alabama, we got super amazing bonus news that Adam's sister and her husband were going to have a BABY - Read: WE ARE GOING TO BE AN AUNT AND UNCLE FOR THE FIRST TIME!!!! They move back to the US this summer and we just couldn't be happier for them. We also can't wait to meet our niece/nephew in a handful of months!!!! Look how cute their announcement pictures are >>>

2 days after we got back from Alabama it was time for Vacation Bible School at my church. Talk about one thing after the other! For VBS I was the Bible Adventure leader which meant that each day I taught the bible lesson to all of the students - from 3 year olds through 6th graders. I love getting to share about Jesus to everyone, so despite some long days, it was always worth it to see all of the students at VBS have a chance to experience a Bible story in a meaningful way each day. My two favorite days were (1) when we re-enacted Jesus washing His disciples feet (yes I did foot washing with 40 preschoolers!) and (2) When I got to share about Jesus dying on the cross for all of us so we could always have forgiveness from our sins and students had to opportunity to write their own names on the cross and remember what Jesus did for them - really powerful to see students of all ages experiencing God's love. 

You might think that perhaps there would be break somewhere in the timeline of all of these things...but that has not been the case. VBS ended on Friday and then early Sunday morning of that same weekend it was time to get on the road to Michigan for a mission trip with Adam's youth group.   We traveled to Grand Rapids, MI and spent one week there doing community service projects. Our projects included everything from  working at local food banks and nursing homes to cleaning up people's yards.

I had the awesome opportunity to serve as a volunteer staff member for the camp week. In college I worked as permanent summer staff for Group Mission Trips Week of Hope so to say I was excited to serve this awesome organization again was an understatement. I very happily pulled my Red Shirts out for the week! Huge surprise bonus of the summer #2 (The first being the news of our niece/nephew!) - one of my best friends (Valerie) showed up at camp and surprised me! We had 24 hours together in the same place which was such a blessing, even though our visits are never long enough! Valerie works full time for Group Mission Trips and I knew she was traveling around to many camp locations this summer for her job, so naturally I was really hoping she was planning on showing up in Michigan...Adam told me not to get my hopes up! I hadn't asked her what her specific travel plans were specifically in hopes of a surprise and I was not disappointed :) 

On the way back to Wisconsin from our mission trip, we stopped through Chicago for a night/day. (Do you see a theme yet?!) We got to stay on campus at our college, show more people around Chicago, enjoy deep dish pizza, visit a Dragon Boat Racing Festival in Chinatown, spend some time at the Zoo downtown and finished our day at beach.

After getting back from the Michigan mission trip a few weeks ago, we have actually stayed put and have not entertained any visitors lately. For the 4th of July we finally got some relaxing time in, we were able to spend the day with friends on a boat which was so nice! Followed by grilling dinner together and heading back out to the boat to watch the fireworks downtown Green Bay. Otherwise, we have just been working and running in full force. 

Over this past weekend, we took some of Adam's students to a local Christian music festival called Lifest. It ended up pouring down rain from 6pm on that day. Thankfully one of our student's had an awesome mom who packed stylish rain ponchos for everyone - which pretty much saved our concert experience. The Newsboys were the headlining concert that night and they put on a great show. 

I leave this upcoming weekend to take my youth group on a mission trip to the Week of Hope site in Indianapolis, IN. Now that this update is finally posted, I am excited to start sharing some new series of posts I have been working on! Later this weekend, I will start sharing some of my reflections on moving and making our apartment our home because the crazy thing is - we have officially lived here for 1 year. Time is weird.  

Thankful for and love you all dear readers. 

Kyla

All of the love.

As promised yesterday, lots of picture updates on what I was up to the end of last month + so far this month! Lots of pictures of course, so enjoy sharing life with me :)

Since today is Valentine's Day, I also couldn't help but share this adorable video!

Love,

Kyla

Picture + Update Time

 End of January = Youth trips like crazy! Took high schoolers on a Ski Trip up to Wisconsin - SO COLD - see picture below. Also got to take 8th Graders on a retreat to talk about our sexuality, great kids, AWESOME weekend!

Sr. Youth Ski Trip

After the 8th Grade Retreat, I drove straight up to Chicago for our Mid-Year Intern Gathering! This meant getting to see Adam again (3 times in one month was just amazing.). Bummer is that he came down with the flu the first day were there...He has since recovered, but it was a rough end of January for him!

Our date to Urgent Care

After Mid-Year was over, there was some down time, Adam was feeling a little better, so we spent time with one of our close friends - Ryan, who is also an intern. My last Thursday of January started with the two of them making me breakfast and only went up from there! Went on a Brewery tour and a Distillery tour. Fun stuff!

Brewery Tour

Distillery Tour

Very end of January into the beginning of February

WEDDING ADVENTURES!!!!!!! 

*If you're a guy reading this, I won't be offended if you skip reading this part

While up in Chicago, I worked to make the most of being back in a city I love + where almost all of our wedding vendors are located. Visited our caterer, interviewed a handful of DJs, stopped by our reception site to go over a few decorating details in person, went to the hotel for our guests to talk through details again in person not over the phone which was so nice, finalized our ceremony location, and met with a florist. (I also got to spend quality time at 2 favorite coffee places - Caribou & Blue Max!). WHEW. Spent Wednesday afternoon/evening, all of Friday, and Saturday morning on Wedding related everything, I LOVED IT. 

Seriously. Being a bride is so much fun and planning big party for all our family & friends to celebrate Adam & I getting married is just exciting beyond words. :)

I. love. wedding. planning.

Back to the real world.

After being gone and out of town for most of January, it is nice to settle back into some normal routine and not have to live out of a suitcase for a while! January did bring about the death of my last fish AND a plant I got last fall, so that was a little rough...but life goes on!

February living.

February St. Louis Adventures...so far

Found a fun Mexican place downtown that serves delicious Margaritas! Had a lovely girl's night last week that was MUCH needed - it seemed like I hadn't seen any St. Louis friends in forever!

Most recently, last weekend Kevin, Jordan, and I spent the better part of Saturday at St. Louis Mardi Gras. We did lots of walking, watched some of the parade, and even managed to run into some of our other friends who were downtown too! Fun day! I am thankful that I have great friends to explore with :)

Newest life event coming up - another Half Marathon!

I signed up for this race at the end of last year, but with everything going since Christmas, it has kinda been on the back of my radar. But needless to say, I am REALLY excited to run another Half Marathon. I had such a great time running my first one in October. This time, Kevin is going to run too, so I am excited to get to run with him for his first half!!! April 7th is the official race date, so if you are around St. Louis that day, I appreciate fans :)

Twas the night before race day...

It's here! It's here! It's here!!! Very shortly after moving here to the St. Louis area I was SO excited to learn that the Rock N' Roll racing series had a St. Louis stop. I signed up ASAP for the 1/2 Marathon and now, several months later, its hard to believe race day is almost here!! 

Went to the expo today (with some good friends for support) to pick up my bib number, racing shirt, and swag bag - made everything that much more real. 

*Bonus adventure* after the race expo we decided spontaneously to check out the Anheuser-Busch Brewery tour for the afternoon, finished with some yummy carbs at Olive Garden for dinner after. Scroll to the bottom of this post to see pictures from our tour adventure!

Can't wait to share stories with everyone after tomorrow. Thank you to everyone for encouragement and tips along the way!! The official start time for the race tomorrow is 7am CST. I am runner #7293 (woohoo!) Check out the course I'll be running tomorrow here: Course Map (the 1/2 marathon course is the purple line)

Found this fun parody below on a running blog I enjoy: One Run At A Time and decided it was very appropriate to share on such as night as this for me! Happy reading to you all. Happy running to me. Can't wait to Rock N' Roll bright and early tomorrow!

Twas the Night Before Race Day...

from One Run At A Time

Twas the night before race day, one could hear not a peep

It’s race day tomorrow, I needs me some sleep!

Shoes, stockings, and water, all laid out with care

With hopes of the PR I was hoping to snare


The tempos have been run, the hills been repeated,

And memories of bonks have all but receded.


With my camelback stocked and the bib on my shirt

It’s all ready – with danger I’d rather not flirt.

When there in my thoughts there arose such a clatter,

I sprang out of bed to take care of the matter!


Away to my gym bag I flew like a flash,

I grabbed at spare undies, the rest of my stash. 

The device at the bottom I had rudely ignored

Beeped silently, “Charge me!” it all but implored.

I grabbed at the iPod, batteries dead

When a thought so sublime popped into my head 

You’ve worked hard for this, chica, enjoy every minute

Give high 5s and smiles, keep your mind in it!

So, I tucked away tunes for another run

And thought, maybe I should have one run more done. 

The nagging in my head, said “What if, what if?”

But I pushed it away, with not one more sniff

Now’s not the time for pains, doubts, and straining

You logged the hard miles, now trust in your training 

After all, a race is not a culminating event

It’s a celebration of hours well spent

So, head back to sleep, think not one thought more

Tomorrow is nearing, so go catch a snore 

And when you wake up, RACE DAY is HERE!

So, soak it up, choke it up, share that good cheer!

With every step taken, each mile on par

Be thankful for legs that have carried you so far 

And when the final mile peaks, the finish line roars

The medal around your neck is no ones but yours!

With a calm, happy heart, I headed back to bed

When one last idea flashed through my head. 

And so I exclaimed, as I turned off the light,

“HAPPY RACE DAY TO ALL – AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!”

Bonus Brewery tour adventure from today...

[Insert clever post title here]

Well, today is Thursday, but my brain has been operating all week like every day is a Monday. So when I titled this post [insert clever post title here] that is seriously as far as my general creativity has gotten this week. This is not all necessarily bad, mostly my repeat Monday feeling has come from the fact that I got to fly up to Wisconsin to visit Adam this past weekend [WOOHOO!]. 

Basically, the whole weekend can be summoned up with 2 words: Blessed & Excited. Blessed & excited to have a fiancé who is doing awesome work serving the church he is at. Blessed & excited to spend time together. Blessed & excited that it is getting closer to our wedding. [you get the idea]

In case any of you are truly curious as to what all a weekend in Wayside consisted of, you're in luck because of course I would love to share :) Took advantage of time together and did a little wedding planning. Adam is incredibly supportive and encouraging with wedding stuff, in the most manly way possibly of course! (Blessed & excited).

Command central for wedding planning. Wayside edition. 

Friday and Saturday night we spent time with another couple - Adam's friends Tim and Marissa. Love them! We had a lot of fun together and it was nice to get to put faces to names I have been hearing about :)

Saturday during the day we went out to a town called Two Rivers which is right on Lake Michigan - very beautiful! We borrowed bikes from congregation members and Adam's church and enjoyed the awesome weather.

Wasn't kidding, super pretty!

Biking professional. Clearly.

This was more challenging than it needed to be :)

While I was there we also had time to go running together, cook a few meals, worship together, skype some of our family and friends, and I even got to tag along to youth group with him on Sunday night! I had safe travel to and from Wisconsin (blessed). Returned home Monday night - shout out to the Thomson's for picking me up from the airport! - and Tuesday was then the start of my recurring Mondays. Seriously, this week has not been bad or anything, my brain just keeps restarting to Monday. Awesome. 

Normal intern life here is still going along smoothly. Prayers are of course always appreciated. (As is mail). Its about 5 weeks until my first 1/2 marathon - so that is kinda crazy to wrap my brain around as well!!! Other wedding update: Mom is coming to visit the end of this month so we can go shopping for my wedding dress - WOOHOO!

 >> Kyla

Normal =  Pancake breakfasts, letters and wedding invites from friends!

Free running music, what??!

Yesterday, I shared about little moments that I think are kinda important to focus on. Well today, had an AWESOME moment when these 3 things happened: (And by awesome moment, I mean awesome run)

1. The weather here is 76 degrees (also overcast)
2. Realized one of my favorite pairs of running shorts were now clean (woohoo for laundry)
3. Found a FREE downloadable running playlist (Thank you SHAPE magazine)

I really enjoy running with music, and it having someone else make a playlist for my run - that is just making my day right now!

Wanted to share this fun find with all of you (runners or not):

http://shape.workoutmusic.com

Happy Tuesday all. :)

I love weekends!

I must say that I LOVE weekends, and more than that, I love weekends more when Sunday night shows up and I feel both rested and prepared for my week ahead (This was last night for me, woohoo!!). While lots of life events are already behind me this semester, there are many more right around the corner - (Easter, finding out where my internship for the next year will be, a retreat, orientation for my internship, Big Day of Serving in Chicago...the whole school/classes/homework piece) - you guys get the idea! This weekend in particular was my last weekend of calm before the storm, so I tried my best to focus on relaxing - lucky me a few good movies were on tv to help!


Since my last post caught you all up (somewhat) on big life stuff that has been happening for me, now I can share some tools I have found and enjoy using to grow in my healthier lifestyle. Spiritual, emotional/mental, and physical health are all super important parts of any person's life so I divided my favorites up into those categories!

Spiritual

My favorite devotional tool is you version which is a great Bible resource! Best part about it that I LOVE are all of the reading plans and devo ideas they already have set-up for you to choose & they will even email them to you every day. I just started a new series on wisdom today.

Physical

To help keep up with what foods I am eating each day and making sure that I am consuming a healthy balance of calories/fats/carbs/proteins...etc, I find myfitnesspal to be very helpful, mostly because you can download it as an app for blackberry or iphone/ipod (in addition to using it online). Super user friendly, they have most foods you would ever eat already in their database AND a super fun barcode scanner built into their app to add foods that they don't have! EASY.

Workout/fitness wise, for the last couple of months myself (along with my awesome & encouraging boyfriend Adam, and our friend Kevin) have been doing the beach body Insanity workout series. We are currently on Day 40 out of 60. Every day these workouts find a new way to kick my butt, however its all cardio paced so the variety keeps me focused/motivated.


Now that the weather is nice (shocking for spring in Chicago!), I have also been able to start fitting running back in, and since there is a website/app for everything, I currently enjoy using dailymile to keep track of my runs! Best feature: in addition to keeping track of how far I ran/pace, it also lets me add details like how the weather was, how I felt, how much effort I put into the run...and some other fun ones!

Emotional/Mental

I find (and this is not really profound, just true), but I find that when I am in God's Word, eating well and working out consistently those together have the biggest influence on the stability of my emotional state! (Talk to me on a day when all 3 are out of whack, and its a BAD day!) So besides those 3, some other basics of this for me involve: calling my mom almost everyday, finding time to read, cooking and trying new recipes, and my girly and guilty pleasure - Pinterest. Ladies, you understand this! :) While I don't have any fun apps or websites (besides my pinterest) to share for this category of emotional health, and my mom probably wouldn't appreciate me handing her cell phone number out to the world, I WILL share a picture of my most recent recipe adventure (and link to the blog I found it from!)

Most recent! This was dinner Saturday night! (WORTH IT to make the pizza dough from the recipe if you have the time!) Here is the recipe link: YUMMY.

Any other fun tools you all use whether for growing spiritually, physically, or emotionally - please share!!! 

Blessings on everyone's Mondays (and week ahead!!!) Love, Kyla.