House = bought!

Most exciting news ever, we bought a house! It's wonderful and we love it. The home-buying process hasn't been as terrifying as I thought it would be. Yet. We haven't had inspections or closed yet. So ask me again in about a month. We close March 3! We have purchased all of the needed appliances ---> refrigerator, microwave, washer and dryer. They are all Samsung, which was not on purpose, and they are beautiful. I am so excited. My mind swims at the thought of everything that needs to be done before we move. But I am way more excited than overwhelmed and it is SO AMAZING to know that after moving pretty much once a year since we got married that I will not have to anymore! That is the best feeling.

In other news, just had a birthday and it was a good one. Nathan let me sleep completely uninterrupted on my birthday night which is what I asked him for for my birthday. It was blissful. Especially since Roman is teething right now and doesn't sleep very well at all. I think his schedule is out of whack too, because he's in our room with us. Once we move I hope to get him back to sleeping through the night. Teething has given him cold-like symptoms and I feel terrible for him. He feels awful. He's asleep next to me on the bed and has been for about 1.5 hours. Boy needs his rest and hasn't been able to sleep without being next to me or Nathan lately. Poor baby. 

Today is a snow day. Kind of stupid considering I'm pretty sure we could have had school and now we only have one snow day left before we have to add days. I do not want to go to school in June, but I LOVE days home with my boy. And I got to take a long shower and shave both of my legs. This is the life! : ) Brought Roman in the shower with me in his bumbo to get his nasal passages steamed out. Dude loves the shower. He's so cute! 

Saturday night we went to Chili's after church for my birthday and ordered Roman his first restaurant food. Mashed potatoes. Hold the gravy. He liked them a lot and ate about 1/3 of the order. Growing up so fast. Speaking of his food. I should go make him some while he's asleep. 

Til next time...

Keeping track of myself

3.5 years is a long break from blogging. Mostly I feel like I should document thoughts I have about myself. Since having Roman, I rarely think about how I feel about things and I don't want to lose track of myself. Now that I'm writing I am struggling for things about myself to say. All I can think about is Roman, Nathan, living with in-laws, buying a house, church, and work. I guess those are good things. Other things I know that I try to suppress - like the death of my friend Michelle in December and its affect on me, my best friend moving to Arizona, and the fact that I'm not a stay-at-home mom and I wish so badly that I could be. This season of life is completely wondering and heartbreaking at the same time. Full of bittersweet moments.

One thing that has really changed an challenged me has been going to LifeChurch. I always had a preconceived notion about it like it was fake or water down church because it appeals to people that aren't like me. Dang....there you go! Probably exactly where I need to be. And it has been that. Each message is like God is writing an inscription on my heart, telling me who I am to him and why I should strive for godliness. The biggest change I would say is that I have been able to be much more generous with my time and resources. I have been a very selfish person for a very long time. Michelle's death really changed me. Through ministering to her family after she passed, God opened my eyes to a lot of things. I could talk about all the things for days, probably. But mostly that the heart of Christ was to love people, especially when they are hard to love. I am so curious and pretty nervous about how God might teach me things in the future. Having a friend die was/is one of the scariest and most painful and weird feelings ever. Made me stop and treasure things. I hope that neve goes away. It's good for a person to do that, obviously. But bittersweet when it's because of such a terrible reason. Why don't we just always do it?! Treasure things and people. We know we should. I don't want to forget to do that.

One thing that I know for sure that I want to try not to do is wish this time away. Even though it is crowded and frustrsting a lot of the time because we live with Nathan's parents (they are wonderful, by the way, it just isn't an ideal situation, and we knew that going into it, but it has been a godsend) this is special and important time in my life and the life of my family. I wouldn't trade it for 10,000 full nights of sleep, or uninterrupted layout sessions by the pool, or even a perfect body (or even my pre-baby one). It's so special and I am so grateful.

Two of my goals for 2014. Quit drinking pop forever and be present in the moment. I'm doing pretty good at both so far. I'm 2 weeks "pop sober" which I think is more than I've ever done, since I was maybe 5 or something. And if Michelle's life taught me one thing it is to be present in the moment. I'm working on living that one out every day. It's a process.

My LifeChurh word of the year is Patience. Thinking about it all the time is changing me. Patience with my family, students, living situation...you wouldn't think so, but it's staggering the difference just thinking about it has made.

Gonna put the baby in bed. This is the 3rd time he's been put back to sleep since initially putting him to bed at 8:30. Teath and Winter are mean to babies.

The end for now.

Haven't blogged in forever....

I'm gonna be honest....I completely forgot about this blog! The last couple of week have been CRAZY! We've been out of town for family (our little "family" once, and Nathan's whole extended family another) vacations! I'll just give you a quick recap on what we've been doing because I have a HUGE cupcake order due this afternoon and I need to get rollin!

Our second vacay of the summer (the first was Colorado) we went to Cassville, Missouri and hardcore camped at Roaring River State park. Nathan and I have done this before and its SUCH FUN! This time Bethany, Nathan's sister, came with us, and Nathan's brother Jason came up for a little bit too. This trip was lots of fishing, sunny/hot weather, leisure time, floating the river and great campfire meals! It was a lot of fun. We plan to go back in the fall with some couple friends of ours and it'll be cooler!

The next and last vacay of the summer was the annual Hearn Branson Trip! Bethany and I had to come late because I had to deliver cupcakes and she had to work, so we drove up together on Friday night and met the family! We went to Silver Dollar City and rode rides and shopped with the fam the next day, then went to the Presley's Country Jubilee that night! Always a good time. After the show, Nathan, Bethany, Jason, and I did mini-golf - my favorite part of the trip. The next morning before we left we went shopping at the outlet mall and got some great deals. Its always and fun trip - Thanks Grandma Hearn!

Since we got back last weekend, I have been up to my eyeballs in cupcakes! Business has REALLY taken off and I couldn't be more thrilled!!! I am doing my first wedding in September and I have 3 orders this week alone! I absolutely love this little side job/hobby. I can't wait to see where it goes in the future. I might have my own little shop some day - who knows?!?! That'd be cool....... : )

Well, I've got to get cracking on some boy baby shower cupcakes. Don't have time to post pics of all our adventures now, but I surely will soon! Thanks for reading!

Gracie Kate

Cupcake!

Aren't these the CUTEST cupcakes you've ever SEEN?! I did not make them. In the "Cutest Cupcakes 2008 Contest", they won the Grand Prize. I just love 'em. I'm hoping my business calls for some tea party themed cupakces soon! These would be awesome to make!
I am making all kind of things lately and in the near future. Here are some I made last weekend...

These were such fun, and I especially enjoy creating this "smasher."

One of my very favorite things...

.....lately its my nighttime routine. I'll outline it for you, then we'll talk about it. Haha.

Nice hot shower
Wonderful pajamas
Comb out my hair
Brush teeth
Myself, between cool sheets
Play "hanging with friends"
Watch Food Network w/ the boy
Sleepy time

My mom always told me that its good to have routines. She's right. Babies and children need bedtime routines, and often adults simply don't have time, or choose to for-go this luxury. But, it is probably one that I will protect with fervor. Its so calming and relaxing to get out of a hot shower, dry off, put on clean clothes, brush my teeth, and feel so fresh. I sleep much better when I follow this routine. Obviously, I often deviate from it - such is life - but man! It feels great to slip into cool sheets feeling relaxed and ready for rest after a long day. Finishing the day playing "hanging with friends" is honestly just a guilty pleasure - its fun and relaxing. Food Network is something that Nathan and I both really love. Its a calming and enjoyable way to end the day.

I've been following this routine for the last couple of nights and I've been thinking about how much I love going to bed this way. Its wonderful. If you don't have a nighttime routine, you should make one and try it for awhile. I wake up feeling so much more rested when I do. Might not be for everyone, but I quite enjoy it.

Sweet dreams and goodnight!

G

Too much time on my hands

I think that in the summer, or at least this summer in particular, I have too much time to think. Never thought I'd say this, but maybe a part-time summer job is in order for next summer? Maybe I'm not being imaginative enough. I just always seem to be riled up about something these days. Too much time to think.

Been doing lots of swimming/laying out, reading....Lets stop right there. How in the HECK, does a person get 4 books at the library with hopes that the majority will be worth reading, and get the books home and only ONE of the books is worth reading. The first book, the one I was most excited about reading, was very good. Sad thing is, it was so good I finished it in 24 hrs. No problem, right? I've got 3 more books to read. Nope! They're worthless. In the first of the 3 terrible books that I picked up, the first several chapters were set at a funeral where the narator of the book meets the person that ruined her entire life. 2nd book of the 3, the old lady has Alzheimer's. WHAT?! The 3rd book of the 3, starts with the sentence "I fell in love with my great unlce Harper..." and goes on to the girl's grandmother's dying words being, "What I know about you, little girl, would break you in two." Come on! Give me something I can feel good about getting into. I don't read novels that make me cry unless its because I'm so touched. These novels were just dumb. I'm determined to try and give at leave one of them another chance. Maybe the great uncle Harper, dead grandmother one. I'm a little intrigued.

Dear me (I like saying that, because my Grams says that, and I miss her. She's fine, she just went and got herself married and moved away), today is already July 4th. This is like the middle point of the summer and its downhill to school from here. I can think of few things more depressing than that thought. 4th of July is just my very very favorite holiday. I love what it stands for, I love the time of year, I love the kind of food, I love fireworks, I love red white and blue, I LOVE AMERICA! What a wonderful place - there will always be something to complain about, and of course it is far from perfect - but don't kid yourself, you wouldn't want to live anywhere else. Share the wealth. I could talk about this for hours. I'll spare you..... : )

I need to get back to Master Chef. Count your blessings today, hug the people you love and the ones you don't, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA - I LOVE you!

Here are some pictures to keep you interested. Haha.

Going to our friends' Kayli and Brandon's wedding - congrats guys!

Taking advantage of seasonal produce!

Stone Canyon fireworks display with some of my very favorite people!

Me and B at the SC fireworks display!

Me and Nathan going fishing!

Happy SUMMER!

CS Lewis

So I follow CSLewisDaily on Twitter and I was just reading through his quotes. I think that he must have had just such a soft heart toward God. The way he thinks and the things he says seems to me the way that God would want to be perceived. I want to cry reading some of it, because of how true and convicting his thoughts are. Here are just a few that I couldn't resist sharing:

"It is safe to tell the pure in heart that they shall see God, for only the pure in heart want to."

"Continue seeking God with seriousness. Unless He wanted you, you would not be wanting Him"


"I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn't change God, it changes me."


"God, in the end, gives people what they most want, including freedom from himself. What could be more fair?"


"Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms."


"It's a poor thing to come to Him as a last resort. If God were proud He would hardly have us on such terms: but He isn't."


"The virtue of courage is a prerequisite for the practice of all other virtues otherwise one is virtuous only when virtue has no cost."


"Forgive us as we Forgive-We are offered forgiveness on no other terms. To refuse it is to refuse Gods mercy for ourselves."


I could go on and on and on and on......I really believe this man had a gift for clarity about God and his character. I'm ashamed that another person has taken the time to experience and put into words the character that I know to be true of God. I need to start experiencing this for myself and stop reading about how other people were so blessed by the presence of God.


There. is. a. hunger.

Post-vacay blues

Being back from Vacation has been amazing and frustrating. I'm finding it hard to get motivated to do.....anything! I set my alarm for before 9 every day and the last few days I haven't gotten out of bed before like 10:30. This afternoon I got to watch the Weston children so their mama could go get her eyes checked. Put the (PRECIOUS) baby down for a nap and played Mario Kart and Rock Band for 2 hours with the boys. Ballin. I have missed babysitting a lot since I've been married. I guess people think newlyweds all of the sudden hate children. Not true!

After babysitting I WAS able to motivate myself to pick up and clean our whole apartment. Feels good to get some stuff done. Had to throw away my two plants that I've had since soph. year of college. That was pretty awful. I didn't think I would get so upset about that, but those plants have been with me through all kinds of incredible times in my life. I just couldn't get them nursed back to health. Its like the ending of an era. Little sad. Moving on! Tonight was church league softball. Our teams did well (1-1), but there are 2 or 57 things I am better at. I can imagine that me playing any kind of sport (besides running) would be hard to watch - but MOST of all, church league softball. Whoo-wee.

People are wanting lots of Cupcakey Cakes these days! Business is looking good. And I've got some CUTE ideas for the orders I have coming up. Butterfly baby shower, and hot pink, lime green and black bachelorette party! Should be fun. If you or your friends need cupcakes for any occasion - LET ME KNOW! I'd love to create a custom dessert for you. Comment on this blog post, or find Grace Hearn on facebook and message me!

Tonight while I was running I decided some things. 1. No pop for a week. Just to try it and see if it makes as big of a difference as everyone says it does. I'm gonna do my best to replace all the pop I drink with like twice the amount of water. We'll see how it goes! 2. I need to be running more regularly. Or doing SOME kind of very regular exercise. I need to get into that pattern again. I am still trying to be really careful with my right index toenail which keeps acting like it wants to fall off like the one on my other foot did. Super annoying - can't let that hold me back though. 3. Need to start eating a lot cleaner. I have been taking advantage of the summer season and getting seasonal fruits and vegis. Can't wait to visit the Farmer's Market this weekend and get some awesome produce - and EAT BETTER. 4. Need to stop being down on myself. Been struggling with that quite a bit lately, and some times the trick to snapping out of that is to just STOP it. Refuse to go there, and do stuff to make it better. This is going to be a great summer.

Grace

The last 3 days of our trip to Colorado!

Day 6: Happy Anniversary to US!!!!!!!!!! Its been a wonderful year. And this was our day to celebrate. For starters we got up Nathan made us wonderful breakfast burritos for breakfast. Then we went to worship with Church in the Wildwood in Green Mountain Falls. It is very different from our church, but kind of a nice change. After church we went back to the house to change and get some fishing and a nice leisurely afternoon. I was done with fishing after about an hour, so I went back to the house to watch a movie and Nathan finished up fishing. THEN, we took showers and got all fancy to go out to dinner for our big day! Red Lobster is our special place. So we went to the one in Colorado Springs and it was LOVELY. Afterwords, we came home and made s'mores and watched LOST. It was a wonderfully special, relaxing, and nice day. I love being married to Nathan and we've had a GREAT year!

Day 7: This is our Lake day! Before going to the lake, we went in to Colorado Springs and ate breakfast at King's Chef - another of our diner stops. They are famous for their huge breakfasts and Nathan has beaten their challenge before. Sad to say, this time, since it was early in the morning, he only finished half of the big breakfast. But we LOVE this place and their food (I got the french toast, and it was SO SO good). Next, we made about an hour trip to 11 Mile State Park and rented a boat for 4 hours. We thought we were going to be able to get some swimming in (something that we miss when we're in Colorado because it is not as summery there), BUT swimming is not allowed at 11 Mile. Dang it. Nathan was fully prepared for fishing though and he caught a good sized lake Trout - his first lake Trout ever! The lake was the most beautiful lake I've ever seen - so clear accompanied with some stunning scenery. We brought snacks and Dr. Pepper, so I was, of course, completely happy to soak in the scenery, read my 3rd book of the trip, and snack a little.(pictures to come in a future, "pictures only" blog post). It was just a lovely and relaxing last day in Colorado. Lots and lots of fun and good memories made. When we got home that night we went through the house like a white tornado. Washed all the linens, towels, and all our clothing so we could pack CLEAN things. Cleaned the bathrooms and kitchen, and packed up our car. Nathan went to bed early because we had a long day of driving ahead of us, and I stayed up and finished cleaning the house and packing our clean clothes while I watched, "Eat Pray Love," (I wasn't impressed, not a fan of the whole, "leave your husband for absolutely no reason and then go off and act like a 15 year old with no consequences.....)

Day 8: We got up at about 4:30 and left our home away from home around 5:30. We stopped and got McDonalds breakfast before hitting the road. Instead of heading straight home, this day we were excited to head to Kansas City to watch 2 international Soccer matches! I slept for quite awhile on the way to KC, and when I wasn't sleeping I read and talked to my man. I absolutely love road trips. I just LOVE them. We ate some dinner, our first Chipotle experience (we're Qdoba people) and were not pleased. Its just not as good. That was in Lawrence, Kansas. After we ate dinner we headed to KC to the KC Sporting Livestrong Complex to watch some soccer! The complex opened just 5 DAYS before the game and it was unreal! So much fun, and definintely one of my favorite things that we did on our trip. The games were over around 10:30 and around 11 we were rolling out to head for Owasso, OK! With about a 4 hour trip ahead of us, I tried to stay awake so that Nathan would stay alert for the drive. I ended up failing at that, but Nathan was fine of course. We ended up getting home as planned right before 3 AM. We unloaded and officially CRASHED.

This was a phenominal trip and such a wonderful way to celebrate our first year as a married couple. Hope you have enjoyed hearing about our adventures. Its back to normal life for awhile now. Our next adventure isn't too far off. Our first "just us" camping trip next weekend to Roaring River in Missouri. It will feel like a drive across town compared to our 14 hours in the car on the way back from CO. Thanks for reading!

Grace

Days 3, 4, 5 of Colo!

Colorado has been AWESOME!!! Last full day tomorrow....Here is a recap of the last 3 days!

Day 3: This was Denver day! We had an absolute blast in Denver. Its about an hour and 20 minutes away from where we are staying. We started our day there eating lunch at Jack -n- Grill. They are famous for the 7lb. Burrito which I have a picture of. No, we did not order it. It is probably enough food for about 5 or 6 people. The things that we did get were super delicious though. Goooooood eats. Next we went to a national park called Red Rocks. They have an amazing amphitheater that seats almost 10,000 people. Loads of way famous people have done concerts there and the scenery of the Red Rock formations and mountain views just blew us away. Very very cool. After Red Rocks, we went to see movies. The reason I say movies? Well we couldn't settle on one so I went to see Bridesmaids and Nathan went to see the new X-men. Haha, it was fun. Bridesmaids is hilarious. For dinner we went to Denver's Cherry Cricket. It was amazing too. I ordered a martini (bad idea) and it was so expensive that I felt terrible not finishing it, so I choked it down. I am not a drinker. : ) So that was basically it. After dinner we listened to some live music and then we went home. Lovely day.

Day 4: This day we didn't really have much planned so it was just kind of a chill day. We did go into Manitou Springs to do some shopping. I got a hot pink feather in my hair. Its pretty awesome. Nathan also went to this legit fly shop and got some fishing supplies. When we got home, Nathan went fishing and I spent the afternoon reading and watching Million Dollar Match Maker, and House Hunters. Pretty decent day.

Day 5: Probably my favorite day so far! We started the day off by going to Garden of the Gods and going mountain biking! It was exhilerating and so much FUN! Lots of insane hills (of course, we expected this) and some amazing downhill stretches. It was incredible - probably the fastest I've ever gone on a bike. Garden of the Gods has pretty stinkin awesome bike lanes, so going down hills was awesome because we were going so fast down hills that we were going the same speed as cars. Ah! We got some water and refreshments at the Trading Post at GOTG, then..................we headed out to Pikes Peak Highway! This might have been my favorite thing of our time in Colo this year. Its hard to describe how amazing driving that highway was. We rode the Cog Railroad train last year and it was cool, but THIS was so much better (and much cheaper). Lots of awesome sights to be seen and amazing views from the top. On the way down it started SNOWING! Like real snow, on June 11th! Crazy. And Awesome. We both went fishing when we got back to Green Mountain Falls and I caught my first ever Colorado trout (or any fish period). For dinner we went to this really awesome pizza place in Manitou Springs. Favorite day. Ah, I miss it already!

Look forward to THE anniversary post. Thats next! We love Colorado. But I, I won't speak for Nathan, miss home, family and friends too. Guess I'm a home-body. Stay tuned for the wrap-up edition of the Colo posts! Next time I post it will probably be from home!

Grace

Colorado - the first 2 days!

Sometimes I feel like there is too much going on to construct a blog post that will do it all justice. Well...here's to doing my best...

As I'm writing this post I'm sitting in beautiful Green Mountain Falls, Colorado!

Day 1: We spent the day yesterday making the drive from Owasso, Oklahoma to here - right outside Colorado Springs/Manitou Springs in picturesque GMF. It was a lovely drive, with lots of beautiful farmland for scenery and conversation for entertainment. We made the journey with relatively no mishaps. Stopped in Wichita to eat at Brint's Diver - BEST REUBEN I HAVE EVER HAD. Holy canoli. En route we also saw some amazing wildlife. Antelope - yes - indigenous to Colorado. And a FOX with something for lunch in his/her mouth. Pretty neat. So we made it to Colorado - and we couldn't be more excited about our vacation and all the awesome stuff we have planned!

Day 2: We got up this morning and headed for Cheyenne Mountain Zoo! This zoo is literally nestled into the side of a mountain in Colorado Springs. One of the neatest places (not just zoos) I've ever been. There was a skyride (a ski lift) that took us all the way up the side of the mountain and on the way up you could see a ton of the exhibits and animals from the air! So awesome! The zoo itself was so neat - it is famous for it's giraffe feeding exhibit. I'll upload pictures of all of this when we get home. The whole time we've been here (yesterday and today) we've seen deer just roaming around in the middle of the day like they own the place. We stopped at a stop sign on the way back from the zoo and saw a young buck just casually walking along the side of the road...his girlfriend (or possibly chick on the side) was right behind him. Neat! We ate lunch in Woodland Park at a wings place. It was really good. This afternoon we hopped on our bikes and rode down the mountain to explore the town. Nathan wanted to get some trout fishing in. I also got a chance to go for a run and let me tell you the air up here is THIN! GMF is at 7,800 FT elevation. The greatest thing is that there is virtually no humidity and its a lot cooler here - hardly broke a sweat, still struggling for air though! While Nathan finished fishing I finished the book I started reading on the drive up. I LOVE TO READ - I have missed it. I took a long and restful nap, then made dinner for us. We had s'mores too. It was a wonderful day. Can't wait for tomorrow - we're headed to Denver!

P.S. Whilst we were eating our s'mores we heard the unmistakable sound of a BEAR roaring outside the kitchen window!!!! We went to look but never actually saw the bear. Dang. Maybe tomorrow. Colorado is such a fun and exciting place! Love seeing all the wildlife that we normally see/experience back in good ole OK!

I'll try to blog again soon. Thanks for reading - lots of awesome pictures to come!

G

A thing of beauty is a joy forever

Summer is HERE! Finally!

Lots going on lately. Nathan and I both got to watch our youngest siblings graduate from high school in the last couple of weeks. A new season of life for both of our families - that'll take some getting used to, but it'll be fun! The Joplin/Oklahoma tornadoes happened. Such heartbreaking incidents serve to remind us that the world is a terribly broken place in need of redemption. School is out for St. Mary's now and I am getting used to being a stay at home wife for the summer (so completely wonderful). The last week of school felt forever long....I hope the summer feels that way too. Nathan and I (and some of our siblings) played our first indoor soccer game Sunday night - it was so much fun and I actually played a pretty good game! Thats gonna be great fun. Unfortunately the we also got robbed Sunday night. Nathan's driver's side window got bashed in at Soccer City and my purse was stolen. Pretty frustrating/costly/sad/unfair experiece. The biggest inconvenience of that deal is that my car keys were in my purse so I am un-mobile until we can procure a new key for my car ($$$). My camera was also in the purse, and it was a very nice camera ($$$). I'm getting hot just thinking about it.....

Whats in the near future? Well this coming Monday Nathan and I, along with some of our siblings are playing our first church league softball game! We're "The Peppers" because we're sponsored by Dr. Pepper. I'm so stinkin excited about this! The very next day we leave for Colorado early in the morning. I am SO SO SO excited. We'll have to borrow a camera to get some snazzy pics while we're there and I'll definitely write a whole blog about it - might even post some highlights a few days. We have great and exciting plans for our time there. Can't wait to get away for a little while.

The rest of this week will go into preparation for that and getting our apartment put back together after that crazy last couple of weeks of school. Hopefully now I'll be able to blog more than 3 times a month.

I'm looking forward to lots of things (as previously mentioned), but some of the small things are: running recreationally (took all of last week off, easing back into it this week), reading recreationally (I am currently reading 4 books: The Necklace, Necessary Arrangements, Born to Run, and of course Hal Higdon's Marathon the Ultimate Training Guide (as always)), having time to do housework the way it should be done (yes, I actually enjoy housework when I have time to do it), LAYING OUT BY THE POOL/SWIMMING! (possibly one of my very favorite things in the world to do), riding my bike and doing other workouts that aren't running (I also enjoy these things immensely - good for the soul), and just some good old fashioned R&R.

A Nikon commercial just came on TV and I whimpered a little because I was hurting from the lost of my precious camera. Nathan looked at me, gave me a hug, kissed my chest (not my boob, my actual chest, haha) and said, "I'm sorry about your camera baby, I can tell your heart is hurting..."

I love that boy. He knows me well. It is hurting.

Here's to summer - Cheers, friends! Thanks for reading!



Grace Hearn

Half Marathon: DONE!

Yesterday I officially became a half marathon finisher! 13.1 miles in 2 hours, 28 minutes, and 4 seconds. It was absolutely incredible.

Two years ago, in January of 2009, I challenged myself to do something that I thought was an impossibility for me. So I trained for, and ran my very first 5K on May 8, 2009 - didn't walk a step - first big goal completed. Since then I have run 13 5Ks. Two years later I'm still challenging myself to do the impossible - and the next step (and a very optimistic one at that) was the Half Marathon. Here is my run-down of the whole experience, start to finish...

First of all, I started training for this race 5 months ago. My first training run for this race was actually January 7th of this year, so its been a long journey. There were definitely times during training that I seriously doubted my body's ability to run this far. More times than not I felt incapable. The cool thing is, with every milestone I passed (5 miles, 8 miles, 10 miles...) I ran farther than I ever had, and my body was able to do more than I ever thought possible. That is, quite possibly, my favorite thing about this experience and running in general.

The hardest thing about the half marathon, for me, was the training - not the actual race! There were definitey days that I felt like giving up - for sure. Getting out there 4 days a week was a challenge. I went into the training knowing it would be difficult and tried not to be a baby about soreness, long mileage, early mornings and injuries. These things are all inevitable for the distance runner. Coming to grips with that made all the difference. One of the things that I kept telling myself on particularly hard days was, "No one ever told me this would be easy. If it were, everyone would do it." That took away my reason to complain about pretty much everything. The great things in life usually take lots of work and sweat and preparation - but they also bring the most gratification, reward, and accomplishment.

One of the things I noticed about training for distance is that what I wore to run was very important. Comfort, for me, is key while I'm running. My outfit of choice for most training days and for the actual race, was a baggy cotton t-shirt, and fitted spandex running shorts (they come to just below my knee), socks made from synthetic fabric, and my Brooks running shoes. I tried several ensembles, but I ran into some of the following problems: Most tank tops rubbed under my arms and left painful chaffing. Also, loose fitting running shorts ride up and cause rubbing between my legs - they're alright for short runs, but not for long distance. Cotton socks don't allow your feet to breathe on long runs and almost always cause blisters. I did purchase a running skirt which is AWESOME, but I got it late in the process and felt like I hadn't trained enough in it to wear it for the race.

For the first time since I started running in January of 2009, I started running without music. I tried it for a few days and found that I run more efficiently and with more concentration without it. I got through the first couple of runs by praying, thinking about the big race and concentrating on my form. I also don't like to carry anything with me on my runs, so not bringing music allowed me to be completely free when I'm running. May not be for everyone, but it has made a huge diference for me.

As far as supplements go, I used GU (for glucose replenishment on runs longer than 5 miles). Its also important to drink LOTS of water - not just during runs - but during your every day life. I did not do as well as I should have with drinking water. This probably contributed to unnecessary soreness and fatigue during runs.

Over the course of training I sustained few injuries and only 1 major period of illness. During the Snow Storm of 2011 I came down with a terrible case of the flu as well as severe sinus infection - at the same time. This took me away from training for about 10 days. If it hadn't been so far away from the actual race date, this sickness could have prevented me from racing. It was absolutely horrible. The only injury I sustained that affected my running was the loss of my index toenail on my left foot. This was a result of cotton socks and the blisters they gave me. This blister just happened to be under my entire toenail - and the toenail had no chance. This was kind of traumatic, but I think I only miss one training due to this, and that was because of the pain in the beginning of the toe-falling-off process.

One thing that I was so very blessed to have for the journey was some AMAZING running buddies - Liz Reed, and Lindsay Bippus. There girls started with me in January and we trained together the whole time - all the way up to last Thursday when we ran out last training run together. I was usually able to run one race with them during the week (the others I ran by myself) and a lot of the times we ran our long runs together on the weekends. We ran the actual race together as well - from start to finish. I am so glad to have these amazing friends to share this experience and the memories with!

The actual race day was like a dream for me. Just a culmination of all that hard work. In the days leading up to the race (the taper time - where you drastically decrease mileage to give your body a chance to rebuild and get into optimal running shape) I still doubted whether or not I could TRULY finish the race without walking a large portion of it. Well, I am thrilled to report to you that we only walked through water stations and limited that time to about 30 seconds each time. Our walking distance for the whole thing was probably less than a 10th of a mile. We ran that whole thing. I'm not sure I can really express the feeling I got when I crossed that finish line - knowing that I had finished, VERY strong, and under our estimated time (which was 2:30:00).

The thing that we most concentrated on during the race was keeping a steady pace that we knew we would be able to sustain for the whole 13.1 miles - which means going much slower than you feel you need to at the beginning. At the end of the race - especially in the last 2 miles - I had to constantly keep telling myself to put one foot in front of the other, and just keep running. Thats all you have to do. (But trust me, its much harder than it sounds)

Every new goal I set for running ends up being one of the most rewarding and character building experiences of my life - and this one was no exception. Throughout this training season, I set 2 new personal records for my 5K. Before this season my 5K PR was 32:04. My current personal best for the 5K is now 29:24. Never ever thought I'd get under 30 minutes! My beautiful family is always there at the finish line to give me a huge hug and take my picture, no matter how sweaty I am, no matter how long the race. I treasure that.

What's next? Still thinking and planning, but right now it looks like the Full Marathon this November. Right now this seems impossible, but thats kind of what I love about it. I will definitely keep you posted on what I decide when I have a more definite plan.

Thanks for sticking in here for this long read. I hope it inspires you to do things you think are impossibilities for you. I have proven myself wrong so very many times through this process.


Commit to doing something you think you can't. It'll change your entire life.

Grace K. Hearn - Half Marathon Finisher!!!!!!! WOW!

Lindsay Bippus, Liz Reed, and Grace Hearn before the race - running buddies for the long haul!

I DID IT! This was taken right after I finished.

My fan club!

Best running buddies around....

I earned that sticker, baby!

Done, and done.

13.1-er

Never been more ready to FINALLY be a 13.1-er. Lots of hard work. Lots of miles. Lets do this. 5 days....

School is winding down. Its nice. Yearbooks were delivered today, and I probably won't do this every year, but I'm having my students sign mine. It'll be a nice way to commemorate my first year of teaching. Sometimes it seems like the year went by in the blink of an eye, and other times it feels like this 9 months has been about 8 years. Maybe I'll miss the 8th graders.....maybe not. : )

I know I've blogged about this before...but in the month of June alone, The Hearns (Nathan and I) are going on not one, not two, but THREE vacations. As each day passes I am becoming increasingly more excited about each one. The whole concept of summer has always, but more so since college, been a thrilling one to me. This summer will be especially relaxing, and I can almost literally not wait. Just 11 more days. Mmmmm. The anticipation of summer is strangely akin to the anticipation of a day off work. Its absolutely amazing until you get there, and then on the day (or in the season) its almost tainted a bit because you know its only a matter of time until its over. Dang....thats quite pessimistic. On to the next!

Colorado is up first, and I'm thinking that this vacay will be my favorite. I love this place. We leave June 6th! Just a few more weary days and then, we'll drive away.

So for a random change of subject, I have some STATE CHAMPION cupcakes to make! Thats right, my little sisters graduated AND won a 4A Soccer championship all in 24 hours. They're beastly. So SO proud of them. I better stop! Every time I start to think about those girls growing up I get weepy. Happy for them, happy for my parents who are officially "empty nesters," come August. Well, besides little brother Joel. The winds of change are blowing, thats for sure. Nathan's little brother, Blake, is graduating this Friday. When did we all get to grown up?!?!

Now its time to watch last week's Biggest Loser episode then hit the hay. Love you all - happy early summer!

Grace

When you're happy like a fool, you let it take you over...

So so much to happy about and grateful for. 17 school days left until summer. Lots to do between now and then. Happy to be doing what I love with people I love.

Well the half marathon is less than 3 weeks away. Last week was awesome. 23.38 miles - but in only 3 runs. I did a 9 miler, and a 10 miler, with a 4.38 in the middle. I really feel like I am going to do this! Lots of discipline required, for sure. This week I'm struggling for motivation for some reason. Ebbs and flows.

I had my first real heartbreaker today at school. Its solo tryout time for our Patriotic Tribute and little Amelia wanted that xylophone solo SO BAD. Tears tears tears. I felt so terrible I wanted to cry right a long with her. The fact that she begged me to change my mind nearly did me in. I'm in love with the fact that my little program means a lot to these kids. They are all so talented and precious. I love all of them...even the naughty ones.

Nathan and I are getting super super SUPER excited about this summer. We're saving up all of our extra money for our anniversary trip to Colorado. Also getting VERY excited about 2 camping trips - one thats just the two of us (our first ever, just us), and the 2nd annual Hahn/Hearn sibling camping trip! Both to Roaring River State Park in Missouri. We LOVE this place. So much fun.

Besides our vacation and camping trips - I am just so ready for a relaxing summer. I haven't had a summer without an actual job since I was 16 years old. It'll be nice to just do cupcakes. Nathan got me signed up with his family's plan at the YMCA so I can do classes and work out there this summer. Thats awesome considering TU's fitness center is way out of the way for summer time. I can hardly wait.

Time to go finish some solo tryouts....I will be relieved when this year is over. First year of teaching under my belt in a little over 2 weeks - CRAZY!

G

How far do I have to go to get to you....many the miles....

Sorry for being a slacker with this blogging thing... These days have been suuuuper busy. I'm running, AND making cupcakes like no one's business. Last night, for example, I ran the farthest I have ever run in my life (at one time) - 9 miles!!! I also made 3 dozen A+ apple cupcakes for office lady appreciation day at school. The run was exhilerating - I got rained AND hailed on. But I think if it were raining during the half marathon, I could probably do it...twice. I just adore running in the rain. The lightning and hail I could do without. But hey, no one ever said that this would be a painless process. It actually makes it just a little more meaningful - because it is not easy!

The cupcake-making/being on my feet for 3 hrs after the 9 mile run wasn't as much fun. I'm super happy with the cupcakes though. They're pretty presh. Here are some pictures of the ones I made last night (the apple ones) and some I made over the weekend....(the owl ones):

I'm having such a great time making cupcakes! I'm so excited that I get to do this for my summer job! I'm making graduation cupcakes for my sisters' graduation party this weekend, stay tuned.... 
We're about a month away from school being over here at St. Mary's. Nathan's last day of classes at TU was Monday. He's still got some finals to knock out, and I still have my patriotic assembly to pull off. Its gonna be pretty cute. These childern are just absolutely precious. I'll miss them over the summer...but not too much. : )

Countdowns:

My baby sisters graduate - 16 days
Half Marathon - 24 days
Last day of school - 30 days
Colorado - 38 days
One year anniversary - 45 days

Fun times, people!

G

Six days and counting until I can have a Mountain Dew...

Mountain Dew is calling my NAAAAAAAME! 6 more days and I can have all I want. Giving it up for Lent has been good for me. If for no other reason than the fact that sometimes it is good to deprive yourself of things. We don't always get what we want. Thats just the way it is. I also feel like I can empathize with all of my Catholic co-workers - even though I can eat whatever kind of meat I want to on Fridays. Haha. Also, the suffering that Jesus endured was, obviously, way worse than my nostalgia over Mt. Dew. Puts things in perspective white a bit.

This really is quite a lovely time of year. This morning Liz and I went for a 6 mile run at 5 AM. Sounds disgusting, but I love starting my day this way. It an awesome way to wake up and get the juices flowing. It makes for pretty full days though. I haven't gotten up at 4:45 in years. Liz and I are both getting pretty excited about the Half-Marathon in 5 weeks!!! Hard to believe it is coming up that quick, but we're right on track (pun intended, or not).

I have 3 orders of cupcakes this week. Wedesday I'm making an order for Nathan's Junior Voice recital at TU. Should be pretty awesome. Friday is my day to bring dessert at school and everyone is requesting cupcakes so I'll probably make some for that. And Saturday I have an order of owl cupcakes to do for a birthday party. Busy week in cupcakes, should be fun! Too bad I'm only getting paid for 1 order out of the 3. I'm alright with it.

My first year of teaching is coming to a close and it has been a successful one! I have made great friends in the teachers I teach with and have gotten to know some really precious children and parents. I can't wait for what next year holds for me at School of St. Mary! First things first, though, is my patriotic assembly on May 10th! Also coming up incredibly fast. Should be fun and entertaining for all. The kids are excited about it, and I've actually be able to teach them some pretty impressive stuff! Its such a cool experience to be able to teach children to be musically literate. I can't imagine not being able to read music - it is definitely quite the gift to be given. I absolutely love that I get to be the person to give that gift to children. It really is pretty special. Of course that is not all I do, but it is a wonderful part of the job. Its also amazing to see students who struggle with classroom work completely blow their classmates out of the water on a musical instrument. I love being a part of that child getting his/her chance to shine - there's just nothing sweeter as a music teacher. I can't figure out how to not make that rhyme. In other words, I love my job - and I'm grateful that I get to do this for a living - talk to sweet kids all day and share the most precious of gifts.

Need to get off of here and go get the remainder of my cupcake supplies so I can start on those bad boys. I'll be sure to post pictures of all of them soon. Hope you're reading this in good health and peace of mind. Have a lovely and blessed week, friends.

Gracie

LOVE this time of year!

Everything seems to have turned green over night! I adore it!!!

So last week was a big week for the Hearns. Nathan had rehearsal every night, a recital jury, NATS (college solo singing competition), and a concert on Saturday night to perform in. It was lonely without him, but good for me in some ways. I thought I would be miserable all week without him, but I was able to work on being a little more independant - something I struggle with, so it was good! I also got a lot done and was even able to enjoy some alone time. Thats a big deal for me! Nathan's concert was absolutely sensational, and I got to go with his mom, sister Bethany, and both of my parents. He also passed his recital jury with flying colors - made one of the judges cry. Thats how you know you did great. I'm so SO proud of him.

I had work all week, and 2 cupcake orders due in the same weekend (first time that has happened...) and I spent a lot of my time in the evenings either running, cleaning house, or making cupcake decorations. I made 96 tiny flowers last week and the cupcakes turned out beautifully! I also ran a total of 22.11 miles last week, and 15 of those miles were within 3 days! Because of all that, I won King of the Road for my third time! SO proud of that. I had a great running week, and I am super encouraged and hopeful for the half marathon in just 6 short weeks. My heart races just thinking about it!

Here is my weekend in cupcakes - the flower cupcakes were for a bridal shower on Saturday afternoon, and the "R" cupcakes were for a baby shower on Sunday afternoon. Had a lot of fun with them, and was also able to make some Eastery sprinkled cupcakes with extra supplies!

Hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful Spring season. I'm treasuring every day. Oh yes, Nathan and I are officially going to Colorado the first week in June for our 1st anniversary! Can't wait for that - we're going to re-live our honeymoon on a smaller scale. Gonna be a blast.

Thats all for now - have a blessed and safe week, friends!

Grace

These are the days of our lives

What a busy time. I've started this cupcake thing, and I love it, its just a lot of work. Also, I've started this half-marathon thing. I've put a lot of hard work into it - quitting isn't an option. Also, I have a full-time job, and an apartment to keep clean, and dishes to wash and clothes to fold. Oh yes, and I'm also married. Haven't seen my husband since Monday. This might not seem very long to most people, but it feels like forever to me. There are the times I have told him goodbye in the morning while he's still asleep, and the times he has told me goodnight when he comes home and I'm already in bed - but I don't really think that counts. Trying really hard to keep everything in perspective..."This isn't permanent, its just for a little while..." Not the easiest time in the world, but it'll be over soon.

I've been lacking motivation to run lately. That's kind of putting it nicely - I've actually been dreading my runs. So yesterday I took off for a 3.5 miler and decided not to take anything but my apartment key - no phone, no iPod, no running belt. I didn't actually have a purpose for doing this, I just felt bogged down and terrible about the run even before I had started. Well once I started running, I didn't miss my music, I didn't even really think about it much - I just started praying.

I prayed for all of the people in the apartment buildings I was running by. I prayed for kids on school buses, for the people in the cars that drove by. When I ran by a school I prayed for all the people that attend/work there. Anything I saw, I prayed for. What did I pray? I prayed that God would bring healing to broken families and anyone affected by them, that He would restore hope to people who have given up, that He would draw children to Himself at a young age so that they wouldn't have to go through the heartache that bad decisions bring to so many. I prayed for parents to be godly examples to their children by making God a priority, and having an authentic relationship with him that makes their lives different from other people. I prayed that young families would choose to put God first in their homes. I prayed most of all that he would reveal to the people of Owasso who do not know Him their need for a Savior.

I can't really explain it, but this was such a special time to me. God has laid on my heart to dedicate the time that I spend running to prayer for the people of Owasso and the people in my life. God revealed a lot to me through my running/prayer time yesterday - and I am so grateful because now I'm looking forward to my run today! How amazing God is, that He could help me to have motivation, and that He would reveal Himself to me in spite of myself.

"Everyone should be both conservative and radical. Conservative in preserving our faith, and radical in applying it." (Don't know who said it, I think it was from a sermon at church, but I love it!)

Have an awesome day.

Grace

Ladybug Cupakes!!!

I made 2 dozen cupcakes and a "smasher" cake for little Brooke Weston's 1st birthday party! I am so excited about these! I had a lot of fun with 'em.

I love these cupcakes - hope you enjoy the pictures!
Grace