a walk with my favorite

a simple walk after church.

we took advantage of the sunshine

before the thunder storm...

to take a walk 

and enjoy the crisp air and pretty fall trees.

life is good

finding my way-

years and years ago

when i was in junior high...

i discovered the joy of

hiking solo;

i would get home from school

throw on a backpack 

stuffed with my journal and a pen---

and off i would go,

stopping along the way

to jot some poetry 

in my journal.

usually i didn't get home

until dinner time!

being up around the

trees and fresh air

always cleared my head,

helping me cope

with the social anxieties

that every junior high kid

experiences!

hiking 

comes

 natural for me;

growing up in a home

where my dad thought 

camping meant

''backpacking' 

with all our own gear---

and heading somewhere

 no one else

would ever, ever

 imagine going!! :)

(thank-you, Dad!)

my husband and i 

hiked when we were

dating-

and then later

we hiked as a 

young growing family;

we

took our daughters

 on many, many hikes

as they were growing up.

we continue this tradition

with at least one

hike a year as

a family.

this year,
so far

i have been lucky enough

to go on four hikes...

two hikes with family

and two hikes with friends.

the last couple hikes i did,

were so crazy beautiful...

it was easy to see why 

my dad 

used to say, 

hiking was where he

 felt the closest to

God.

it was impossible

 to look at the beauty around me

and not

thank our Maker for it

all!

God's handiwork was

 evident everywhere

i looked!

in the trees that sloped on the hills,

puffy clouds floating above me,

clear blue skies,

the sunshine glistening off the 

icy lake,

the meadow bursting with flowers,

a bubbling brook,

rock formations that just begged

 to be climbed.

in it all,

everywhere i looked...

abundant beauty

surrounded

me.

thankful. blessed. grateful.

always.

a sweet little swap

i am having fun with the swaps
i have been joining.

this one was a ton of fun.
we had a limit of fifteen dollars
and a few ideas of what the
swap partner liked.

it was fun shopping for
someone else and exciting
to see how well it was received!

i happened to get my friend laura
as my partner
and was happy to know she
liked all the things i picked out
for her! :)

jenni got me as a partner
and she did an awesome job
getting me things i wanted/needed!

i walk usually six days a week-
and i live in the pnw
where it gets chilly this time of year.
i have always been a fair weather walker;
in fact, i have been saying that as the
weather gets colder and wetter
i am not sure how consistent my walks
will be. :) haha

so, with that info in mind...
jenni sent me some 
fleece gloves and matching ear warmers
along with a sweet journal!

i love them! thank you, jenni!

each gift was wrapped individually

and had a sweet little note stuck inside them. :)

fun times. fun times.

wear wednesday

this past saturday
my husband, our daughter and grandson and i
all hiked up to table mountain up at mt. baker
here in the PNW.

it was an absolutely gorgeous day
for a hike!

i am still training for my first 1/2 marathon
remember; i am WALKING it. :)
still i get out everyday and walk,
most days it is around 4 miles
at a pretty fast pace...
i have done a few leisure walks
but, i am trying to get the endurance up to par...
this weekend my hubs and i will be doing ten miles
and then next sunday the 29th will be the big day!
whoo- hoo...so excited for it.

tonight i walked almost 5 miles
but the photo above is an average walk for me. :)



and last but, not least...
i went on a coffee date today
and did my hair differently than usual
although half way thru the coffee visit
my hair was bugging me and the bun was
falling out. :(
oh, sad face.

my wednesday wear;

i still love my thrifted old ankle boots.
one of my all time favorite finds!!

the denim top is from nordstrom
boots are thrifted
and black dress is from H&M.

have a most loveliest of hump days!!

blessings,