Part 1

Running alone can get boring and monotonous. So, I have started writing stories in my head while I run. I am well aware that this story is probably terrible (and it's not finished), but I am posting it. Because I want to, because I love writing. And for you, Dad. I love you.

“Alli. Oh my gosh. Alli,” he whispered as he swept a lock of her long brown hair away from her deep blue eyes.

The lights in the room were too bright. The figures surrounding her were out of focus, as if they were wrapped in blankets of fog. The noises in the room were hushed and unfamiliar. But she recognized that voice.

“Kyle,” she whispered. Her speech was slow and unsteady.

He continued to run his fingers through her tousled hair. “Say it again,” he pleaded.

“What?”

“My name.”

“Kyle.”

Tears welled up in his soft brown eyes and he bent his head to hide them. “They told me you might not remember,” he said.

How could she forget? Since she met him in the sixth grade, Alli had known she would marry Kyle. “Mrs. Kyle Street,” she had scribbled across her papers as she snuck glances at him across the room in Mrs. Gentry’s Spanish class…and Mrs. Currick’s algebra class…and Mr. Krumpley’s chemistry class. In high school, she had been the only one of her friends to have the same boyfriend for all four years. “Aren’t you sick of him yet?” they would tease. (Six years post-college, she was the only one of them who was not divorced. Ironic.) Her Kyle. This was the Kyle who had been to every formal affair with her since middle school, been a camp counselor with her for three summers, spent many a late night studying with her in the library during college, and loved her with a love she had never known was possible. No, she could not forget him.

Her surroundings still were not making sense, but she knew this was not home. The plain white walls, upright bed, and uninviting smell told her that much. In fact, this place rather resembled a hospital. “Am I in the hospital?” she asked. The voice coming out of her did not sound like her own.

“Yes,” Kyle answered. He was not sure how much to tell her tonight, so he stopped there.

Alli closed her eyes. She was already exhausted from just a few minutes of keeping them open. “Why? What happened?” she probed with her eyes still closed.

“We had an accident. You’re going to be okay, though.”

Alli was too tired to ask anything else. She wasn’t sure she was ready for the whole story anyway. Not yet.

“I just want to sleep,” she told him.

“Okay. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

He had been there. He had been there every night for the past nine months, waiting for her to wake up. Today, she finally had.

Since the night of the accident, Kyle had not touched their bed. It was too sacred. Instead, he had spent every night here, in this impersonal hospital room, holding her hand and talking to her until he fell asleep.

“Alli. I love you,” he told her before she fell asleep.

“To the end,” she finished. This had been the secret line they had shared since high school, a constant affirmation of the way they felt toward each other. For the past nine months, Kyle had spoken these words to the near-lifeless figure in the hospital bed who was his wife. Until tonight, she had not finished the line.

Kyle had never been much of a crier. Playing varsity football had taught him that showing emotions was a sign of weakness. In spite of this knowledge, Kyle had shed many a tear beside this bed since she had been here, not knowing if he would ever see Alli’s beautiful eyes open again. They had been tears of frustration, anger, and heart-wrenching sadness. But tonight, they were tears of hope. She knew him.

Hearts Day

In my opinion, people sometimes bash Valentine's Day for no good reason. Maybe Hallmark did invent a holiday to generate more revenue, but why not run with it and celebrate that little four-letter word that means so much? Valentine's Day is certainly not my favorite holiday. I do, however, enjoy giving and receiving warm little reminders about love. A lot of people say, "We choose to love each other every day," which is great. I hope that Andrew and I do that, also! But is there anything wrong with setting aside a day especially for that reason? Maybe I just really like having an excuse to go on a date, pick out a sweet card, or get flowers... Anyway, I was sick for most of the weekend, but Andrew and I did get to go out to dinner last night for a late Valentine's date. Our new favorite place lately has been Cheddar's, and the restaurant did not disappoint last night. We both always peruse the menu with the intention of trying something new, but our choice unfailingly ends up being a bacon cheeseburger with fries for Andrew and chicken fried steak with potatoes and broccoli for me. Why mess up a good thing?

Ok, I'm going to be a nerd here and make a plug for Aldi. The highlight of every Monday (and sometimes every week) for me is shopping at Aldi. Maybe I'm just a sucker for a good deal. If you've never been, it's worth making the drive. (And if you live in the metroplex, there will be about 30 new ones coming to a neighborhood near you this year!) Many of you Wal-Mart shoppers may be hard to convince, but Aldi is actually 20-30 percent cheaper than even shopping for the Great Value label! I would encourage you to do some of your own research, but just to make a point, here was my grocery list for this week:

1 loaf wheat bread
1 package take-and-bake rolls
1 tub spreadable butter
1/2 gallon milk
honey
1 bag tortilla chips
1 roll aluminum foil
2 pound bag shredded cheddar cheese
4 pears
1 tub sour cream
1 package pepper jack cheese slices
1 can black beans
1 carton eggs
2 pounds turkey ham
2.5 pound bag chicken breasts
1 pound pork sausage
1 box cream cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can jumbo biscuits
3 boxes vanilla pudding
1 tub Cool Whip
1 box cinnamon graham crackers

My total: $42.02. Yes.

In Christ alone,
Mary Rachel

Stockyard Station

We are Fort Worth bound. Several of our friends told us they figured we were a lost cause when we returned from our Louisville trip with exciting tales of its beauty and scholarly atmosphere. So, people have been asking, "What made you decide on Fort Worth?" Really, many things led to our decision. The main factor, though, has probably been Redeemer Church. Without a doubt, there are good churches in Louisville. But it will certainly be nice to be able to plug into a church almost immediately. I am not sure if we will ever find a church we love as much as UFC, but I think that Redeemer will begin to feel like home in no time at all. Aside from the church factor, God has been revealing several other things to us over the past few months, all of which point to us moving less that 14 hours away. We have many professional connections in this area. And in case of any surprise pregnancies in the next couple of years, it makes sense (financially and otherwise) to be near our families. And so we begin preparing for the adventure ahead.

This past weekend, Andrew's company had an end-of-year party at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine. Best thing about the weekend? We got to stay in the hotel for FREE! The hotel itself was lovely. We enjoyed getting away for the weekend with all expenses paid. The party? Honestly, kind of lame. Andrew had been bringing home year-end party stories for weeks, so I think we were both expecting not just the moon, but galaxies beyond. (We soon learned that all the hype was about the open bar, which was not a drawing factor for us.) Andrew gets along with everyone from work, but he is not exactly close friends with any of them. I did not know anyone. Okay, there were a few familiar faces. But for the most part, our evening was filled with smalltalk. For a couple who loves deep, spiritual conversations, this was not ideal. We did enjoy the food, dancing, and other activities, but smalltalk is exhausting. We both came away from the party so thankful that God has given us the friends He has.

In Christ alone,
Mary Rachel

Funny Students

I teach some great kids.

Quinten is looking at a picture of a monkey.
Me: Do you like monkeys, Quinten?
Q: Yeah! They are so funny...and cute. And you are kinda cute, too.

About five minutes after my teacher and I left the school yesterday, a small electrical fire occurred outside of our classroom. The teachers and remaining students had to evacuate. Apparently, the reporters are so bored that this story ended up on the news.
Me: Good morning, Corey!
C: Oh hey, Mrs. Fenrick. I heard your desk caught on fire yesterday.

A New Leaf

The seminary decision has been made. The application is filled out and being processed. We have started looking for apartments and/or seminary housing online. I think it would probably be alright to post our decision on here; however, I have not talked to Andrew much about this and want to wait before completely spilling the beans. Maybe by this time next week, the faithful 5 and-a-half of you who read this blog will know if we have decided to move to Fort Worth or Louisville. Until then, enjoy the suspense.

I am ready for the February 27th Cowtown Marathon to be here and be over. After another weekend of atypical snow and ice here in Norman, I went on an 18-mile run yesterday afternoon. Fortunately, my friend (Katie) went with me. Up until now, I have not had a friend who has lost her mind about running like I have, so I have been doing all of my training alone. Having someone next to me made the time pass more quickly, and she kept me motivated to finish the run in spite of the many times we had to change our route (because of ice) and slosh through huge puddles of melting snow. Nevertheless, training is getting old. There are the normal aches and pains that running forces upon one's body. (I say "normal", but I'm not sure I've ever felt like I was not going to be able to walk the next day until my training began.) And there is the drudgery of spending several hours a day on a long run. But for me, there is an added challenge. Because I am hypoglycemic, I sometimes literally feel like I am going to pass out multiple times a day. That is scary. I feel like I am eating constantly, but my body just does not seem to know what to do with a marathon. I have run 22 miles so far and feel confident that 26.2 will be okay. I just want to do it. Now.

Andrew's big work party ("Paycom Prom") is this weekend at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine. For us, this means a weekend getaway with all expenses paid. Needless to say, we are excited.

As I mentioned earlier, we did get an unusual amount of snow and ice here this week. Normally, this kind of weather happens maybe once a year in Norman. (I actually think once a year is even a stretch.) This year, we have already had two big snowstorms. There was the epic Christmas Eve blizzard, which resulted in 14 inches of snow and 3-4 foot drifts. Then this week, we had a good 3/4 inch of ice, plus about 7-8 inches of snow. I love to look at the snow. It is beautiful when it falls to the ground in huge flakes like it did on Friday. I do not, however, enjoy walking or driving in it. Tim spent the night with us on Thursday and kept me company for the entire day on Friday while Andrew was at work. (I still do not understand how his company expected him to drive 30 miles on a solid sheet of ice that day, but he was a real trooper about it.) The most productive thing Tim and I did all day was yoga. God certainly knows when we need a break, and I'm thankful that He builds little things like snowstorms into our lives so that we are forced to slow down a bit.

One thing I just found that I love about snow is Snow Ice Cream. Here is the recipe. Hopefully you Oklahomans can try some before the snow is gone. Enjoy!

*Put 8 cups of snow in a bowl. Pour 1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk over the top. Add 1 tsp. vanilla. Mix and serve immediately.*

In Christ alone,
Mary Rachel