Me vs. pollen

That's what today felt like. For whatever reason, all of Philadelphia's trees, grass, molds, spores, dust mites, animal dander, and other allergetic forms of Satan invaded my entire sinus system today. It was rough. I had taken an Allegra D in the morning, but it was no match for the devil's demoralizing attacks. Fortunately, my nose was mostly cleared up for the afternoon, which included a 4 mile run with my kids that felt like 8 miles (all in 88 degree weather...it's amazing what a harming effect heat can have on a runner!).

Despite today's pollen ambush, Philly has TONS of beautiful blooming trees all over the city. Here's a picture of a few of us pretending the petals are pink snow:




This past week was filled with runs. I ran 5 miles Mon, Tues, Wed, and Thurs. Then to top it off, my kids and I ran down to the Skuykill River from school and back--my approximate distance: 7-8 miles. For those of you who are counting, that's the longest I've ever ran in my life! The most encouraging part was seeing my students go so far and be excited about their accomplishments. We needed to go pretty far since our 10 miles race (Philly's finest Broad Street Run) is this coming Sunday morning.

My roommate Seth was asked to give his testimony in church Sunday. He did an awesome job of glorifying God and humbly sharing how God has moved in his life. God really has been at work in Seth, and I've felt tremendously blessed to have been privileged to observe so much as his roommate.

Yesterday some Liberti folk and I spent another GORGEOUS Sunday afternoon in a park. We grabbed lunch to go and headed to Liberty's Lands, a nice green playground/park a mile from Fishtown. What a blast! We played a frisbee game called hot box that one of our church's pastors taught us. I even indulged in the ice cream truck's wares for the first time. Not exactly Franklin Fountain quality, but it sure hit the spot.

God has recently brought some really neat people into my life here in Fishtown. John, Kallie, Nate, Melanie, Kristin, Jeremy, Seth, Sarah, and I have had some really fun times together. I feel so comfortable hanging out with each one of them, and I enjoy life so much with them, too!

Here are a few pictures from last week's adventures: