Picture Postcard from Bentley Farm

"I'm A Runner"

Check out this hilarious video called "I'm a Runner".  It pretty much says it all. Yep, I'm a runner.

December

The month of December has been consumed with preparations for the Friends Summit 2010. It is going to be one awesome conference, gathering national Evangelical Friends Church young adults. Check it out: http://www.friendssummit.com/.

We've also been having lots of fun serving Crossroads Friends Church. Check out some of the most recent happenings and upcoming events here: http://www.crossroadswichita.com/.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas on Nims Street

Well, my ever-efficient and very practical husband long ago decided that Christmas is not precisely his favorite holiday. So it was certainly perplexing that last night he became quite intent upon decorating for the occasion. Given my love all things festive, I was happy to oblige when he asked me to find his two Christmas shoe boxes in storage.

With lightning speed that only Santa could muster on the eve of Christmas itself, Adam opened the boxes and whipped out chains of beads, snow flakes on string, gold garland, silver garland, white lights, icicle lights, colored lights, snow globes, and, (oh my!) an armadillo Santa.

In five minutes flat, half of the decorations were up - strings of bead were across the kitchen door (Yes, I had to do the limbo to get in and out of the kitchen), lights were wrapped around the linen hamper, the lamppost, the bookshelf, draped from the bookshelf to the balcony door, and run across the carpet on the couch beneath the floor!

Four more minutes, and the stockings were hung on the shutter doors, the snowflakes on string were woven with the maroon beads around the small kitchen window. The kitchen stand had lights wrapped around its legs and my (I mean, our) bedroom window had bright icicle lights resting on the curtain rod.

For the last two minutes Adam sang, really quickly - as quickly as he poked lights under and over the furniture appendages, as quickly as he wrapped beads around the kitchen shutter windows, "The first noel...the angel did say..."

And then it was done. In nine minutes flat, the Monaghan home was ready for its first Christmas.

Thanksgiving

White crescent rolls!

Jill, Kenny, Bill and Reagan joined us for Thanksgiving!

After our feast, Adam and I went to Lake Wabaunsee, "The Gem of the Flint Hills."

We stayed for three days and rested, restored, biked, ran, relaxed, talked, graded and lesson planned!

Kansas is very open and spacious!

Failure

Failure is one of God's primary tools in making you the kind of person—and leader—He wants you to be. He'll use failure to mold you, shape you, and develop your character. The truth is, we rarely learn anything from success. - Rick Warren

Dancing in the Minefields, Andrew Peterson

Well 'I do' are the two most famous last words
The beginning of the end
But to lose your life for another I've heard is a good place to begin
Cause the only way to find your life is to lay your own life down
And I believe it's an easy price for the life that we have found

2010 Run for Missions Official Report

Check it out here!

Kansas Countryside

I'm not quite sure what town I took these pictures in! It was somewhere in the Kansas prairie, probably about 70 miles west of Wichita.

2010 Run for Missions 5K & 10K Picture Tour

Adam worked very diligently for almost an entire year to organize, plan and orchestrate the first ever "Run for Missions" 5K & 10K. The event attracted 114 registrants, a huge number of awesome volunteers and many other cheerers. The day (October 31st) was beautiful and we all had true fun!

2010 Run for Missions 100-Mile Picture Tour

Oasis Ranch & Retreat Center

2010 Kansas City Marathon

Roughly 11,000 people were running!

Mom and I went to mile 21 to cheer for Adam!

After running 100 miles last weekend, Adam had an astounding finishing time at the Kansas City Marathon - 3:27! This is another PR for Adam which is wild because the Kansas City course is so hilly and he even had to stop to use the restroom twice! Great job, Adam!

Mom and I loved Kansas City - it was quite picturesque and the weather was beautiful for walking and for cheering! We all enjoyed a lunch at a mongolian grill after the race was done. The drive home through the Flint Hills was quite beautiful as well.

Run for Missions 5K/10K

Adam has been planning the Run for Missions 5K/10K for the past year and the results of his work are going to pay off very soon! On Sunday, October 31, 2010, the first Run for Missions 5K/10K event will be hosted in Haviland, KS. For more information check out the following link: www.runformissions.org!

(The annual 100-mile Run for Missions is slated for November 1, 2010.)

Our Backyard! (Riverside, Wichita)

My Mom!

My mom really just made me so happy with her visit! She was the most gracious guest ever and brought so much yummy food! On Saturday, we went to Kansas City to cheer for Adam while he ran a marathon, and on Sunday after church we went to Lake Cheney and it was so beautiful and I almost felt like there was an ocean in Kansas!