little black journal

My whole Sabbath resolution didn’t work out for me so well this weekend, but that’s alright – the past couple of days were filled with quality time with some of my favorite people, a couple of very satisfying checkmarks on my project list, and most importantly, a morning spent cheering on these rockstar runners at the Mercer Island Half Marathon.

Shane’s couch-to-marathon journey is the stuff of inspirational success stories – when we first got married, that guy couldn’t run a mile without doubling over in sweaty, breathless exhaustion.  Now, Shane Lightning Schnell is running half marathons at 7:15 a mile.  That’s right – he ran those whopping 13.1 miles in one hour and 35 minutes, crushing his personal record and finishing 133rd out of over 1500 runners.  All those lunchtime runs in the cold and rain, all those Saturday mornings spent pounding the pavement, all those blisters and sore muscles, they all paid off.  It felt so good to see him head toward the finish line with a smile on his face – I was so proud of him, and so happy to watch him experience the joy of meeting a hard-fought goal.

We all gathered at the 8 oz. Burger Bar post-race to toast the runners with beer and mimosas and milkshakes.  Boy, did these guys ever earn their pints.  I’m not sure what I did to earn my strawberry milkshake…we’ll call it my cheerleading award.

Shane spent the rest of the afternoon curled up in our bed, took today off to recuperate, and then hit the sack at 8:30 tonight.  Looks like the speedy Roadrunner is no Spring chicken, but whatever – he’s still 100% stud.

It’s March 22nd and Spring is in the air.  Yes, it’s still cold, gray, and rainy in Seattle, but my spirit is buoyed by the longer days, by a sense of hope, by the promise of growth and new life.  Oh, and speaking of new life…

(Seriously, how’s that for a segue?!)

Baby Schnell should be making his or her long-hoped-for appearance around September 8th.  Which means I am 15 1/2 weeks along.  Which means I’ve been waiting approximately 13 1/2 weeks to shout this news from the rooftops.  So hear me out: there’s a real, growing baby in my belly!  (S)he is the size of an orange and has a good strong heartbeat and a tiny little nose and even itty bitty fingernails!  Shane and I are going to be parents!  And damn, we feel so mind-blowingly blessed.

Since my New Year’s resolution to Sabbath more intentionally, I’ve been mulling over what this looks like for me.  I want Sabbath to be special and distinct from the rest of the week, a day set apart from the hustle and bustle of the daily grind.  Sunday used to be my last-ditch chance to cross as much as possible off my to-do list before returning to the busy-ness of work on Monday, but I’m making an effort to change that, to wrap up errands and chores and running around on Saturday, so that I can truly spend Sunday as a day set apart.  A day for pause and rest and reflection. And although it’s tempting to find this rest in the form of a lazy chick flick marathon, I’m digging deeper.  Today, Sabbath was a long walk along the waterfront, during which I prayed for dozens of friends and family members and coworkers as their names were laid upon my heart.  It was an hour spent warming up at a neighborhood cafe, reveling in the joy of coffee and books and free time.  It was a phone call to my parents to see how their week was.  It was quality time with Shane, cooking and eating and napping together (Lord knows, it just wouldn’t be Sabbath without a nap).  And in the midst of all these good, life-giving things, I’m striving for a spirit of reverence and gratitude.  That’s the crux, because in the end, Sabbath really isn’t about being rested and refreshed – it’s about handing ourselves over to God and giving Him our undivided attention.  And when I slow down to open my eyes wider and seek Him out, He can be found around every corner.

My screenprinting class continues to be all kinds of awesome – my head is spinning with ideas and colors and so much exciting potential.  I took Friday off and spent the whole day in the studio, burning screens and inking prints.  It was exhausting but so creatively fulfilling.  I fell onto the couch that evening with paint on my sweatshirt and a big ol’ smile on my face.  The latest…

Still playing around with my foggy trees, layering on text and color:

Pompidou:

Grande Arche:

This being our first weekend home in awhile, I spent the past couple of days in catch-up mode:  errand-running, house-cleaning, grocery shopping, list-checking.  But we took a moment for a deep breath this evening and headed over to Lincoln Park to watch the sun set over the Puget Sound.  Shane and I are both in the midst of busy seasons that have left us a bit drained, so we reveled in the chance to just sit on a driftwood log and listen to the sound of water lapping over the pebbly shore.  A moment to watch the ferries pass us by, to be thankful, to rest my head on my man’s shoulder and tell him how much I like him.

Oh, I really, really needed that.