happy sunday.

Well it has been quite a year! I cannot seem to wrap my head around the fact that it is May. May. It was literally JUST January and now it is almost half way through the year. Yikes. Time slow down!

There has been so many amazing things that have/are happening this year it has been hard to keep up with picture taking and posting and remembering to take it all in and enjoy it!

 Today is Mother's Day. I sit here overwhelmed with God's grace in giving us this spunky (yeah I can already tell...little karate master in there) little girl we can call our own. My mama who is simply the best has been an unending inspiration to me and now a whole new level has opened up as I cross into the unknowns of motherhood myself...I know my mom will become even more of a gem as a navigate this new season of life! I got to see my older sister become a mom this year. What an amazing experience that has been. She is simply a natural and an example I most definitely look to. 

 I am also embarking on another scary/exciting journey. My first full-time nursing job. I am loving it so far and it is my absolute passion, but with impending motherhood I am feeling insecure. Will I be judged for being a full time working mom? Will Piper resent me one day? Even though I will be gone from the house only 3 days a week the days will be long. I hope to have grace as I navigate this for the first time, I know it will be hard but I also know I am called to be both. And I think that is ok. 

We are working feverishly to prep the house for our new roommate. We are ready, and not ready and excited and terrified. Haha but ready or not here she comes! 

If it weren't for this guy I would be a lot less ready and more terrified. excited to navigate the unknown with him. He makes it fun. 

Look forward to blogging more and writing more. 

Will be posting soon Piper's nursery and a series I am working on that came out of a talk I did at a women's retreat a few weekends back. 

Happy Sunday & Happy Mother's Day to all the ladies in the world who have children here and in heaven, adopted, fostered, mentored, soon to come, or longed for deeply. I salute you it is not for the faint of heart! 

Girl Behind the Blog

I am crazy in love with this Girl Behind the Blog prompt! Dramatic reading of your first blog post? Ummm...hilarious! Don't mind all the booze bottles...

Ok below are the deets...head on over to Ashley or Moriah's blog and link up!

The Girl Behind The Blog- My First Post Prompt

Time limit: Vlogs should be 2-3 minutes long

Introduce yourself and your blog

Read your first blog post (the more dramatic, the better!)

*I cannot for the life of me get the first couple seconds of this video to play no matter what I do...so whatevs I give up! In the beginning I say "Hello my name is Savannah I blog over at Dutch Plum..."*

Killer screenshot no? Looks like I'm giving you all a kiss! Muah!

1/2 marathon recap

So I did it and Im still alive yay!! As I mentioned in my previous post I was insanely nervous and doubtful about my race. But I think adrenaline and determination carried me to the finish!

Rarely do I ever go away for the weekend without Greg, but all of us ladies (who have all run 1/2s before) decided to just make it a girls weekend because of kids, hubby's work schedules and just the fact that sharing a room 5 ways was going to be way more affordable!

We stayed at the Park 55 hotel so we could walk to the starting corrals in the am and not have to worry about a car and parking, etc. Wonderful view...hello! The hotel was inundated with people because of its proximity to Union Square (the race start) and with 30,000 runners plus their families, friends, etc. the place was a mad house! But good news for us, our room wasn't ready so we got a $25 voucher so we sat in the hotel restaurant when we arrived and sipped cocktails and had some appetizers. Fun start to a girls weekend!

After realizing our room was still not ready we wandered down to the Expo to pick up our race packets and get some swag!! 

Eek! It's real. Picked up my 1/2 marathon bib and lots of free chocolate, luna bars, and sunscreen!

We then wandered down to Nike Town which is kiddy corner to Union Square to be part of the absolute madness (did I mention this race is sponsored by Nike?!) haha the store was absolute chaos, but we wanted to find our names on the Nike Town wall! 

Union Square was all decked out for the race which made it even more exciting to be a part of! Also it was the 10th anniversary so they went all out!

Woke up at 4 am to prep and to grab a little pre-race breakfast. Black coffee and oatmeal. And to calm my nerves...at this point I was still so nervous.

Race morning and we are ready to go!!

I as hoping that right {here} would be some gloriously sweaty post-race pictures, but alas it is your lucky day! My phone was dead when I retrieved it from my bag check at the end of the race and wasn't fully charged in time to see me in all my racthety glory.

But I WAS able to capture our post race splurge! Artichoke dip! Hello!
And you guys - I ate an entire 6 slice "personal" pizza. What?! Like, by myself.
And afterwards I wasn't even full. Oh the joys of burning 1,350 calories during a race!

RACE SWAG! Luna bars out the yang, awesome finishers Tee, whole foods water bottle and why yes that is a Tiffany & Co. Necklace! Given to us on silver platters by firemen after the race (which always  weirds me out, because my dad is a fireman so the whole sexy fireman thing just doesn't do it for me!!) 

Close up of the necklace because why not! X for the 10th anniversary and of course the nike swoosh.

I did not run fast, I did not cross the finish line with a very good time, but I had an absolute blast of a girls weekend and I conquered those SF hills! 

we run SF. half-marathon jitters

Tomorrow I am running a half-marathon.

yikes! 

I am full of doubt and I'm not a fast runner (like AT ALL) and weird random injuries and laziness led me to not train as hard as I did 3 years ago when I ran it before.

But. I am going to do it. I am going to run and walk to the finish line if I have to! I am excited.

Excited to be in a sea of 30,000 women running their hearts out across the nearly desolate San Francisco landscape. SF here I come and I'm bringing my game face. (And my doubting heart so bear with me!)

Girl behind the blog link up - Travel!!

Ashley from Written on her Heart & Annie from what she saw teamed up to bring us this fabulous Girl Behind the Blog prompt about Traveling.

Here are the rules/prompts:

1. Introduce yourself & your blog
2. Briefly tell us where you've traveled (domestically and/or internationally) and what you were doing there.
3. What do you most look forward to when going on a trip?
4. If you could hop on a plane this second, where would you go and why?
5. keep it to 2-3 minutes!

I absolutely loved this prompt! I love, love, love to travel!

My love for my webcam has yet to be discovered. I did like 15 takes! Ha!

Enjoy!
Also...enjoy these sweaty pictures from my travels! Haha

 Medical clinic in Oaxaca, Mexico

Thoughts on Hospitality & Opening up your home

It has always been a dream of mine to have a house that was big enough to host. To host parties and get togethers, bible studies and dinners. I have always wanted to host friends from out of town and missionaries home on furlough. It makes me feel full and happy to have people in my home.
But there is another part of it that is raw and difficult to talk about.

Sometimes it is really, really hard!

We have been blessed to be able to host two young married couples in our home for two consecutive summers while they were in that awkward waiting period between the wedding and their new adventure. We have hosted my brother-in-law many times and other couples in our home ever since we got married 2 years ago. When the opportunities came up, I was so excited...it was exactly what I had always wanted right? It was my chance to open my home and live in community and live life together with people that we loved!
And it was everything I had dreamed of ...most of the time.

It also brought up ugly things in me. Things that weren't part of my dream...selfishness, impatience, crazy expectations, resentment, entitlement, and so many more unpleasant things.
There was a disconnect between the perfectly made bed with the welcome basket perfectly placed with a mint on the pillow and a rustic homemade breakfast each morning and reality. The reality that it isn't about the appearance of the home or the picture perfect idea you try so hard (and so futility) to portray. The reality that living with other people can sometimes bring out the worst in you instead of the best. The reality that it isn't all about me and my plan.
Living with other people means compromise and genuinely being able to give up the things most selfishly precious to us - our space, our time, our way, our "bubble".

Why is it when I dreamed of opening my home I thought only of the joy it would bring ME and none of the compromise I would have to make or the way it was challenging and growing me in ways only The Lord knew. How it was molding me to be more humble and forgiving, to be more flexible and okay with double the dishes, half as much fridge space and sharing a washing machine!

It has shown me such beautiful things, and has created some remarkable times of fellowship and support and real, raw community. It has also stretched me so far I feared I might break. I have learned so much about myself, so much about our friends who have graced our home with their presence and so much about our God who strips away all the walls we build and all the unwillingness we have to open not only our homes but our hearts.

With this new perspective in my heart, and new lessons under my belt I am excited to move forward and open our home again when the opportunity arises, knowing we will not always be in a season where it is possible to have people in our home. I wouldn't have traded that awkward feeling or being stretched too thin for the joy that comes with living life together...no matter how uncomfortable or unnatural it felt at first. I will cherish this time in our life and the lessons it has taught me and continues to teach me as people that we love come and go through our doors.