Bringing Hope via Clean Water

Bringing hope through providing clean water.  So necessary.  So scarce for many.  And fortunately for you and I, so easy!  This month, I am supporting my favorite via her fundraising efforts as she gears up for a fall marathon!  She is running for World Vision in order to raise money to provide clean water to communities in Africa.  

A couple of interesting facts Tarra included in a recent email:

1 - Just $50 can provide clean water for one person in these villages.  You can easily help one of these precious people access something we take for granted every single day.

2 - Only 0.5% of the US population completes a marathon.  Since I am also on the heels of my first marathon, this fact forces me to truly realize HOW crazy impressive it really is to complete the task.  Best of luck to Tarra (and Evan) as they continue to journey toward their goal of running 26.2!  

Tarra and I after the Diva Half back in the fall of 2010.

Please take a moment to check out Tarra's donation page here.  All donations are much appreciated by not only her, but also the individuals in these less fortunate communities.

How are YOU making a difference in the world?

Andrea :)

Book #11 - A Friend Like Henry

Happy Friday!!  Hope everyone had a great week!  Mine was fabulous because I turned 30 smack dab in the middle of it!  Looking forward to more celebrations this weekend before I recap all the fun for you!  But today, I want to tell you about a book that is one of the most insightful and moving I have read in quite some time!

I love autobiographies...and this one is certainly no exception!  The author, Nuala Gardner, chronicles her efforts and exhaustion with raising an autistic son.  The book is mostly centered on her son, Dale, and how the friendship of a golden retriever, Henry, at a very young age had a profound impact on his development, but the book also focuses on Nuala's personal struggles and victories as well.  Not only does she and her husband, Jaime, have an autistic son, but they are trying to overcome secondary infertility for much of the book as well.  That being said, this wasn't an easy read, but it was a remarkable story particularly if you have exposure to people in your own life in similar situations.

I enjoyed so many things about this book, but particularly her writing style.  She gave so many details and examples that you thought you were right there with her trying to teach Dale the lessons yourself.  I also loved that it chronicled multiple struggles - Dale's autism, infertility issues, and the difficulties of aging parents as well.  It really provided a true picture of the whole spectrum of her adult life...and it wasn't all upbeat and happy either.  It was very honest and insightful.  I also enjoyed the section in the back of the book with Dale's adult reflections on the various stories that his mom wrote about from his childhood and youth throughout the book.  Those reflections along with a reading group guide with questions proved to be a perfect way to end the book.

I would suggest reading this book to anyone...especially if you have an interest in psychology or autism.  It is one of the best I have read!  Let me know your thoughts if you check it out!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!

Andrea :)

30 before 30 - Month Twelve Recap

Yay for being 30!!

write letter to family or friend

This month I decided to write a letter to each member of my immediate family.  The four of them are such very special people to me!  I just wanted to let them know how much I love them and how happy I am that we are a family!

3 monthly goals

1) Execute the National 7-on-7 Tournament and Lineman Challenge.

Done.  And done extremely well.  Quite proud of how smooth and efficiently things ran this year!  YAY!

2) Have fun celebrating my birthday in Kentucky with my best friend and family!
Done.  Birthdays in Kentucky are always great :)  Recap to come soon!!

3) Start my marathon training program.

Done.  And realizing everyday just how difficult this whole running a marathon thing is going to be, but I'm gonna keep on truckin along.

facetimes with Brinley

We had a short facetime in the airport on July 4th before Chris and I headed off to Chicago.  Mom and Dad were up at Jordan and Jen's house so they were chasing her around.  It was pretty brief, but she was showing me her toys and taking things off her shelf to show me.  She is getting to be such a big girl now!!

Since we spent a handful of days together in mid-July, we didn't end up doing a second facetime.  But I did get to have a fun facetime with little Landon when he was still in the hospital and right after I got back from being home for a few days.  He's so little that he didn't really do much besides sleep and squirm around, but it was still fun to see him.  He's a little doll!

Date NightChris and I had a fun date night in Chicago when we went to see The Second City improv show.  You can read about our trip to Chicago here.  

Girls' Night
For girls' night this month, we were supposed to go see one of the Bryant Park movies - for free - but it rained.  So we met at my apartment for a catch up session instead.  Reba even made some yummy pre-birthday fudge for us!  Strawberry Shortcake flavored, too!  DELCIOUS!  She shared the recipe over on her blog which you can find here.

I marked 3 items off the list.

Full 30 Before 30 Review to Come SOON!

1 - read 12 books: 1) The Water Giver 2) Breaking Back 3) Four Perfect Pebbles 4) Gone Girl 5) Eat, Pray, Love 6) The Time Keeper 7) Semi-Sweet 8) Mind Gym 9) Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead 10) Before Ever After 11) A Friend Like Henry 12) 102 Minutes

4 - prepare (at least) 10 new dinner meals: 1) sliders and tator tots 2) ham and sweet potatoes 3) grilled cheese and soup 4) loaded baked potatoes 5) cheeseburger pasta 6) penne alla vodka with chicken and broccoli 7) roast beef and carrots in crock pot 8) turkey bacon pizza 9) french toast 10) pumpkin alfredo ravioli

22 - sign up for improv classes (one day class in August...still planning to do a 6-8 week classes sometime)

Andrea :)

Happy 30th Birthday...to ME!!!!

I can't believe it is finally here - my BIRTHDAY!!  I've been waiting ALL year for this day!!  It is pretty surreal to be turning the big 3-0, but I am way too excited about all of the fun I have planned to really have given the thought much time to sink in quite yet!  I'm sure it will hit me at some point today!  I'll be sure to recap all my fun celebrations in the next few days!  For now, I'm just going to have fun being the birthday girl!!   

Andrea :)

My Lifelong Dream

I have loved linking up every Tuesday with Lauren and Tiffany.  It's sad that today is the last day, but hopefully fingers crossed they have another set of ten fun topics for us next!!  But first, today's topic...

I have lots of lifelong dreams, but the one at the forefront of my mind recently is getting married.  Not just getting married to anyone, but to the love of my life :)

I absolutely can't wait to be married to my best friend.  To be able to relax together on the weekends.  To be able to overcome life's challenges together.  To be able to create a home together.  To turn two into three and then four...eventually (but that's a whole different lifelong dream).  To wake up next to one another and say goodnight in person each evening.  To continue to figure it out together.  I can't wait for this lifelong dream to become a reality!!

Andrea :)

Oh, The Places You'll Go!

This is a bit late, but I did want to squeeze it in there since traveling is one of my favorite things to do!  It is very difficult for me to narrow it down to just two places that I have traveled since I have been to all 50 states and many different cities in Europe.  If you want to check out some of my travel adventures, please be sure to look here on my travel page!

I'll pick one American city and one European city...

LONDON

This is one of my favorite cities (and one I'll be returning to later this summer).  You can check out the recaps of my trip there with my parents two years ago here and here.

SAN ANTONIO

This is easily in my top five US cities list.  Without a doubt.  It is such a lovely city and so very relaxing!  Definitely want to visit there with Chris someday!  Check out my recap here from my last visit there!

Andrea :)

I'm an Aunt...again!!

Landon Michael Heflin - my little nephew - was finally born this morning at 8:55am!  He weighed 7 pounds 7 ounces and was 19 inches long.  We waited and waited and waited for him to decide to come and then when he did, he really got here in a hurry!!  There was a lot of commotion surrounding the birth, but I'll just say that both he and his mommy are doing fine now!  So thankful that all is well and this little blessing is the newest addition to the Heflin bunch :)

Dear Landon -

I am so happy you are finally here!!  We thought you never were going to arrive, but I am so glad it worked out for me to be able to meet you in just a couple of days!  (I had to wait a few weeks to visit your sister when she was born - I didn't like that at all.)  I'm excited to share our birth month - trust me, July birthdays are the best!  You are almost exactly 30 years younger than me little buddy. I just want you to know that even though I don't live nearby, I look forward to being involved in your life.  I'll set up a FaceTime schedule with your parents so I can keep track of you!  Look forward to watching you grow and learn.  I love you so much already my handsome little nephew :)

Love,
Aunt Andrea