Team Spears

"You can always tell a Spears, but you can't tell 'em much." "There's no I in Spears!", and "Give me an S, give me a P, give me an E..." were just a few of the cheers motivating Team Spears this past week on the family vacation to Oregon, where six or us competed in and narrowly completed the Crater Lake Rim Run. The devastatingly hilly course unified us through pre-race trepidations, post-race horror stories, and the common bond of pain.

Similar to the farewell tour through Colorado with the Scott side of the family last month, this trip was a gorgeous, fun-filled, memorable time with loved ones I see far too little of. Four Spearses traveled from KY to meet my sister from NM and join two cousins, an aunt, an uncle, and a few old friends for some racing, rafting, hiking, bouldering, swimming, and good old-fashioned togetherness, (which ten people in a one bathroom cabin is very good for.)

I also met, and fell in love with, the most adorable two-year-old boy, Soren Brumbach. (I can use this superlative, because all the two year olds I currently dote on are girls.) The watermelon hat he is modeling (left) was intended for his three-month-old sister, but I think he looks dashing!

As the day of my departure creeps closer, the people around me show ever-increasing grace with my fanatical photography and growing sentimentality. I sense that God is filling me up before sending me out. I'm absolutely loving the intimacy with friends and family this time has allowed me, but I hope I can do it justice by allowing God to pour me out like a drink offering once I'm overflowing with love from all these wonderful people.