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December, 2009

  1. Joyeux Noël

    December 25, 2009 by Katie

    …the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.   Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.   This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

    Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”  Luke 2: 10-14

    To all our family & friends—Merry Christmas from sunny Seattle!

    Needle

    Not able to go back to Kansas for Christmas this year (super sad about this), we stayed in Seattle and enjoyed a quiet and relaxing day to ourselves.  We slept in, made coffee & cocoa, read the Christmas story, exchanged our gifts to each other, and took a nice long walk all over quiet downtown.

    lil' tree

    gift

    empty market

    IMG_9383

    sunset on the Olympics

    No white Christmas for us, but we’re thinking of everyone back in the Midwest who are snowed in from the blizzard. I wish I could be there too.  Stay safe and warm.  If you’re sick of the snow (and can get a flight out), it’s gorgeous out here, and we’d love visitors. :)

    .   .   .   .   .   .   .

    Thankfully, we were able to fly over to Idaho last weekend and celebrate an early Christmas with Todd’s parents.  It’s nice to have them (somewhat) close to us so we can spend a little holiday time together.  It was good to relax, visit our favorite coffee shop, walk around Coeur d’Alene, and savor the traditional yummy prime rib & yorkshire pudding for ‘Christmas Dinner’.  There certainly wasn’t the plethora of snow like we had last year, but our stay was filled with excitement anyways.

    Thanks for hosting us Mom & Dad!

    harris house

    baby todd

    IMG_9312

    beau

    java!

    sleigh ride


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  2. Girls on the Run

    December 15, 2009 by Katie

    When you’re passionate about something, don’t you just have that urge to share your enthusiasm with others?

    tree runner

    I’m thankful that my mom took me along with her to races when I was a young girl.  A running seed was planted and has grown from being an after school activity to something that keeps me sane and healthy.

    And that’s something I want to pass along to other young girls as well.

    Earlier this fall, I discovered Girls on the Run—a program that works to educate and prepare girls for a lifetime of self-respect and healthy living.  And immediately, I knew I wanted to be a part of it in some way, so I registered to be a running buddy for 3rd-5th grade girls.

    A couple of weeks ago, I got to meet my lil’ running buddy for a practice run and this past weekend was the culmination of their program. A ‘graduation’ of sorts for the 155 girls; a 5K run they’ve been training for over the past few months.

    So on Saturday morning, Todd and I enthusiastically headed to Seward Park (okay, I pretty much dragged him along with me). Me to run, him to cheer us on in the freezing temps.  At least the views made the cold not seem so bad.

    lake washington

    After meeting up with my lil’ buddy, there was a group warmup, stretching, and then we started off on the 3.1 mile run.  girls run

    having fun

    almost done

    finish line

    My buddy Ellie ran the entire race without walking! (that was her goal I was helping her to achieve)  It was great to see all these young girls cross the finish line and feel like champions.  I loved seeing the joy and accomplishment that running gave them.

    running buddies

    I’m already excited to do it again for the spring season!

    Category Fun, Pictures | Tags: | 4 Comments

  3. Winter Chill

    December 10, 2009 by Katie

    My mom found this poem I had written nearly 14 years ago and sent it to me this morning as they’re snowed in on the farm.

    How fitting.

    WINTER DAYS
    I stare out of my window
    and look at the white blanket of snow,
    Leaving nothing to show
    The flowers,never to know.
    There are tracks from me and my fun
    The snowmobile and sledtime has just begun
    When the time must come
    I’ll cry for the season will be done.
    The stingy winter chill,
    tickles my nose and leaves me with a thrill
    The wind and its torturous kill
    Freezes the air for frost to fill.
    Behold the lovely winter day
    The snow is the only place to play
    Follow the wind it leads the way
    Blowing forever with nothing to say.
    KATIE ELIZABETH Dec. 12,1995

    I now wonder where my poetry skills have disappeared to……*sigh*.

    While I’m still anticipating our first Seattle snow of the season, we’ve been having unusually chilly temps and even more unusually sunny December days for almost a week now. ‘December’, ‘Seattle’ and ‘sun’ are rarely spoken in the same sentence.

    But, let it snow, I’m ready.

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  4. Race Day

    December 1, 2009 by Katie

    Thanksgiving weekend for me also serves as race weekend. This was the third year I ran the Seattle Half Marathon, it’s such a great way to burn off the Thanksgiving feast :)

    Todd & I both woke up early Sunday morning—I walked to the starting line and he went to cheer me on at his regular 1 mile marker spot.  The weather was perfect for running, with cool weather and a slight drizzle at the start.  I must admit that I didn’t do a very thorough job of training this fall, so my main goal was just to have fun and finish in under 2 hours.

    thumbs up

    almost done!

    Success on both of those goals! This course is painfully hilly the last 5 miles, but  having ran it before, I knew that staying slow & steady up the hills would keep me strong to the finish.

    I’m very blessed to have such a wonderful and supportive husband.  It’s like getting an extra dose of energy whenever I see his smiling face along a race course. Plus, it gives me an excuse to stop for a breather and get a kiss :)

    needle

    Category Fun, Pictures | Tags: | 1 Comment