10 on the 10th

You know when every single room in your house is a mess, and you feel so totally overwhelmed you just don't know where to start? So sometimes you just leave it all a mess for awhile.. . that is until you gear yourself up and talk yourself into tackling it just like a coach would do before a big game? That is how I feel about blogging right now. Since scrapbooking and I are no longer apart of one another's lives, this blog serves as a scrapbook for me. It is very important to me that I document our lives in the pictorial sense. So, in an effort to try and get caught up on blogging, and in honor of Meredith's 10 on the 10th, I've combined 10 blog posts into one.

It will take much dedication and tenacity to make it through this post. Just warning you. So, if you're ready. . . on your mark, get set, GO!!!


1. WHAT PART OF NO DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?

As we were helping my parents move this weekend, the girls wanted to spend the night. There was nowhere for them to sleep. Mama was trying to work it out so they'd be happy. I just kept telling them no. Finally, I'd heard enough of their whining. I looked at Hanna and in a frustrated tone said, "I said no. What part of no don't you understand?"

Her response, "The N and the O."

I laughed so hard I could hardly stand it. There went my frustration out the door.


2. SOUTH CAROLINA ZOO

A little over a month ago the kiddos and I took a trip to visit my sister, Melissa. We are all so excited that they've moved to Columbia, SC. It's so much closer than Dallas, TX. We all took a trip to the zoo.

Hanna cracked me up with this mail. You'd think she was "Dora the Explorer." That show hasn't graced our TV in years. Every time we would leave an exhibit, she'd pull out her map and look to see where we should go next.

The gorilla was really cool. Only this piece of thick plexy glass separated us from him. It was really neat to see his fingers, toes, and the kids got a good giggle out of seeing his booty.

The girls wanted to bring their purses with them. We told them THEY had to carry them. Guess who ended up with them?

Sweet cousins!

3. SO EVERYONE WOULD FEEL AT HOME

Last Monday my friend Jennifer called to say she would not be at Bible study. As we were talking I told her I had piles of laundry so high that I wouldn't have time to fold before everyone got there. She told me, "Just leave it. That way everyone would feel at home." I listened to her. Guess what? They did feel at home.

4. SPRING SPRINT

"Faithful Feet's" 2nd 5K together. Along with my family 2 other families were participating. Poor Faith, she was really looking forward to this race. She'd gotten some new shoes that I know made her super fast. Plus, I told her a creme-filled donut would be waiting for her at the finish line. The day before the race her daughter broke her arm. We had her oldest 2 kiddos with us so they could run the race. We missed Faith, Steven, KJ, and "Flash", but Jennifer, Jon, and I and all the kiddos had a GREAT race!

There are 2 kids in this picture that are not in Faithful Feet. They play soccer with us, but we didn't want to exclude them from the picture.

Me and my girls.

Alec had an awesome race. He came in 1st in his age group. I was so proud of him.

Noah did a great job too!

Here are Hanna and I coming up for a strong finish. This was her 1st 5K so I ran with her. She finished in 34:09. Bless her heart, about mile 2, she kept asking me, "Is it almost over?"

Ashley was DYNAMITE!!! She was the first overall lady to cross the finish line and won her age group.

Hanna came in 3rd in her age group

Alec is going to be a close competitor with me. He won his age group and was 4th or 5th overall crossing the finish line.

All these boys did a terrific job.

5. HOMESCHOOL BOOKSALE

It's that time of year again. . . we love the homeschool book sale. This year I sold A LOT of my curriculum. I'm revamping all of my curriculum. In order to pay for the new stuff I needed to sale the old stuff. This year was much more overwhelming for me. I really didn't buy as much as I had planned. There were just SO MANY PEOPLE and SO MANY BOOKS!!!

One cool thing I found those is amongst the thousands of books there I saw this book called, "The Mystery of the Boston Marathon." This fall my friends and I are going to try to qualify for the Boston Marathon. I took me finding this book as a sign that we'd all qualify. Ha!Ha!

During the used book sale Alec hung out with his buddies Noah and Griffin. I'm so glad these boys have one another! Their families are a big blessing to our family.

6. EASTER

Honestly, Easter was quite a blur this year. The day before we'd run our Ultra Marathon (I promise a post is coming soon). We did make it to church that Sunday. I think we actually did our egg hunt on Monday. I rationalized in my head that hunting eggs was actually a pagan tradition (this is really true) so it was no big deal that we didn't do it on Easter. I didn't even have baskets for the kids. We used plastic sacks. . .

By the looks of everyone's faces I think Hanna and Cookie enjoyed it the most.

Ash always gets mad and pouts if she doesn't get the prize egg. I think there is a pouter in every family, whether or not people chose to admit it or not.

7. DAUSET TRAILS

We headed to Dauset Trails and enjoyed a day with our friends. We looked at the animals. The kids got to hang out with their friends and the parents got to hang out with our friends. We all had a picnic together. It was such a beautiful day.

8. CHILDREN SINGING

I'm so thankful I almost always have my camera with me. One Sunday night the kids were singing, and I didn't even realize it. I always love it when I see my babies up in front of the church singing. Just warms this Mama's heart. Thank goodness they were dressed halfway decent that night.

9. PARENT'S WATCH WEEK

The studio where Hanna takes ballet has a couple of times a year "Parent's Watch Week". It is really a big deal to the ballerinas and their parents. Hanna was so excited and kept asking, "Is Daddy going to make it to Parent's Watch Week?" (he was working out of town a lot at the time)

Splits . . .

10. STONE MOUNTAIN HIKE

Our homeschool group went on a hike to Stone Mountain. For those of us who tend to run late we were told, "We're hiking at 10:00". Unfortunately we weren't told there was more than one parking lot. We got there at 9:38. I was so proud of us for being early. My friend Jennifer G was already there, so we hung out with her crew. Then Jennifer B. drove up. She was there before 10:00 too (I was super proud of her). It got to be almost 10:00, then I received a text from Tiffani letting us know there was a different parking lot.

Thing is, they weren't kidding. They started hiking at 10:00, so we were a little behind. My feathers were a little ruffled that we weren't told there was a separate parking lot and we were left, but I calmed down and no one (other than Jon) knew I was peeved. I was glad to be with the 2 Jennifers. We all eventually got caught up with one another.

Hanna was one serious hiker, and she was cute as a button too!

Alec was a hoot. He packed his ruck sack, making sure it weighed 25 lbs. He's really into Navy Seals right now. So I'm sure all of this had to do with all this Navy Seal stuff in his head.

A hiking we will go. . .

At the top. See how hard they worked. They're all sweaty!

The kid crew. . . minus Hanna. She was being a booger, and I wasn't up for arguing with her not being in the group picture.

Our family

The moms

After our hike we headed to the picnic area and had a picnic. Jon was jealous of Steve. Steve had white bread, non-natural peanut butter, jelly, and a soda. Jon had wheat bread, natural peanut butter, jelly, and vitamin water. It was like he was 8 years old again in the cafeteria at school wanting the other kids' lunch. They kids all played, while the grownups all talked. We had a great day with our friends. I also loved that several of the Dads made it and got to fellowship with one another.

If you made it through the longest blog post in the history of blogging, you deserve a round of applause, a cookie, a donut, and a cup of coffee!!! CONGRATULATIONS

Motherhood is. . .

. . .sitting on the soccer field getting sunburned while cheering on your favorite soccer player.

. . .being able to tell when your child is being dramatic and not really as sick as he says he is. . . noticing little clues like when he thinks you're not looking you see him getting cheese off his shirt that he spilled. . . for having "mama-dar" on knowing his stomach doesn't hurt like he is making it out.

. . . knowing when your children have been pushed to the extreme with activity. . . praying for extra grace for the day because you know tempers are going to be short and emotions are going to be high.

. . . knowing your children are not perfect and not letting them be deceived into thinking they are.

. . . sitting up WAY past your bedtime when you've helped your parents move all weekend to play a DS game with your child who said, "Mama, will you please just come and lay down with me for 5 minutes, in my room, just me and you?"

. . . letting your child sleep in your bed, who is woken up from a long car ride home at 11:30 at night. . . your bed was the one she plopped her tired little body on. . . all the while knowing that you will probably be kicked all night long.

. . . every once in a while buying white bread, the "non-natural" with the oil separated from the top, peanut butter, and jelly (rather than honey), and boxed macaroni and cheese. . . so their taste buds can have fun.

. . . not interfering in their daily squabbles. . . letting them work things out on their own.

. . . knowing when to start letting go . . .like letting your son walk around with his friends at the soccer field. . . because you know they are good boys. . . and he needs a chance to spread his wings a little bit.

. . . when you form a tunnel with the other soccer parents for the players to run through and when your daughter sees you standing there, she hugs onto you tight rather than running through the tunnel having everyone cheer her on. She missed you because she spent the night away with a friend the night before.

. . . talking nonstop to keep you and your hubby awake on a long car ride home, after being totally exhausted from a full day. . .

. . . not freaking out when your friend let your child have coffee that morning for breakfast (just kidding Suzanne).

. . . taking your kids on bike rides throughout your neighborhood.

. . . teaching your children that we are a family, and we all contribute to the workings of the household. . . giving them chores. When they don't do them correctly, showing them the right way and making them do it until it is right.

. . . praying with your children before going to bed, kissing them goodnight, kissing them goodnight again before you get into the bed, checking on all 3 of them in the wee hours of the early morning.

. . . not freaking out when your husband and his friend take their boys on a canoeing/fishing trip down the Flint River and being told the men are going to be in one canoe and the boys will be in the other canoe. . . well, I slightly freaked out. . . but being okay with your husband's decision.

. . . apologizing for ALL of my mistakes and imperfections. . . apologizing and asking their forgiveness when I've wronged them.

. . . letting friends come over and play or spend the night on a whim. . . realizing not everything has to be "planned out".

. . . going to help your child when he is frustrated or in pain . . . knowing he will be ugly to you because that is just how he responds at this point in his journey of life. . . forgiving him when he comes to you after he has calmed down and apologizes.

. . . setting boundaries and teaching my children life is not all about them.

. . . taking time for myself whether that is reading a book, running, or having a Bible study here in my home.

. . . knowing your children so well you can read their "clues". . . when the oldest is full of anger/tears/emotions/exaggeration then normally their is a deeper issue that needs addressing and he needs your full, undivided attention AWAY from his sisters, when the middle is yapping like a little puppy . . . she needs some cuddle time AWAY from her siblings, when the little one goes to places of solitude to hide then you're going to have to take LOTS of time to talk to her, to draw things out of her because she's very nonverbal with her feelings.

. . . hugging your children even when their body language says "get away from me".

. . . knowing that if you speak with gentleness and softness in your tone, then things run so much smoother in your family.

. . . teaching your children to love one another, hoping and praying that one day they will all be the best of friends.

. . . leaning on other moms who won't judge or criticize you. . . and you not do the same as well.

. . . encouraging your children to try new things even if there is some fear and trepidation with both of you.

. . . praying with your children, praying for your children, asking them to pray.

. . . being available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

. . . reminding your hubby that the boy is tired and he will probably need extra patience today.

. . . always, always, always letting your children know you are on their side even if you don't agree with what they are doing.

. . . loving your children enough to tell them when they are wrong.

. . . loving your children enough to not make excuses for them and to not allow them to make excuses for themselves.

. . . in every and all situations, whether full of pain or full of joy, pointing them to the cross.

. . . reminding them that their gifts and abilities are things that God has given them, so they have no right to brag or boast.

. . . letting your children see you praying and in the Word.

. . . not getting into a rut of thinking you're the best mom ever or the worst mom ever, but knowing that you daily need God's grace in your life to get through the best, yet hardest calling of this life called motherhood.

Happy Mother's Day!!!!!

While I really want

to be posting about a 5K I ran this weekend with my "Faithful Feet" running club which includes my Hanna's first 5K ever. . .

to be posting about the BEST surprise party of the year. . . that I actually pulled off (with the help of MANY loved ones) without a glitch. . .

to be posting about the Ultra Marathon that was run weeks ago. . . still unable to figure out quite the right words to put it in. . .

to be preparing a post for Mer's 10 on the 10th . . . which will include 10 posts in one along with lots of pictures.

to be posting about how I made someone cry. . . who is as part of me as my right arm is . . . and I totally didn't mean too.

to be posting about how much I'm learning in my discipleship group.

I really feel led to just blog about some growing pains I've experienced lately. Growing can sometimes be tough. Sometimes we lay on our backs with our feet in the air and swing our legs and arms back and forth and act like a 2-year-old, saying "I want this. I want that." Not necessarily meaning stuff (i.e. car, house, etc.). '

Sometimes we say things we really shouldn't be saying and "drag" people into situations that's really, really unfair to bring them into. . . then, we feel really lousy and we feel the need to apologize a gazillion times.

Sometimes we fret over situations and spend endless hours being mad, angry, guarded . . . all because somehow we get this notion that life is ALL about us.

Sad to say I've been that way this week. . . ugghhh!!!! Doesn't make me shine too bright or feel very good about myself. In fact, I really realize how rotten I am. I'm wasting all of this mental time and energy into trying to change a situation that is totally out of my control. The LORD very gently reminded me that if I was in His word and focused on the things He calls me to do, then all this selfish, pitiful stuff I've been wasting my time on is foolish. . . absolutely foolish. And, quite honestly, if I was in the Word enough, I really wouldn't be worried/upset/mad about this particular situation.

I think if we all took an inventory of ALL the things that occupy our mental and emotional efforts then we would realize that probably just about ALL of it is foolish. We should be focused on Christ and so full of Him that we just ooze all over the place with His love, His ways, His word.

I was having a conversation with my sister yesterday. She said something with such truth that itjust range volumes in my ears, "Michele, we should only bear our hearts to the only one who can change our hearts. You've spent all this time venting to me about this situation, yet you still feel the same way. Vent it to the Lord. He's the only one who change you." This I know, but I SOOOOOOOO needed this reminder.

Then today I get this forwarded email. Jon actually forwarded it to me and he normally doesn't even read these things. It had a saying on it that I think I'm going to make "wall words" out of and put in my kitchen.

"Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God."

Words to live by. Words to live by.

Truth

"The truth hurts." "The truth shall set you free." These are all sayings we've heard all our lives. Today, something was said to me that was truth. . . yet it hurt. . . to the point of tears. I'm a pretty sentimental person, yet I don't easily cry at the drop of the hat. Normally when the tears start to flow it is usually a buildup of things within me. Most of the time it is the littlest of things that will set my tears in motion.

Today, that happened. I've been going through some things, dealing with all kinds of feelings. . . good, bad, and ugly. . . trying to sort through all of them . . . trying to have the attitude of Christ. . . which has been really tough. Something very little was said to me today. Thankfully Jon hadn't left yet. We were in the kitchen and I just let it loose. . . then my tears started falling.

My sweet husband very gently came to me, put his arms around me, and gave me his shoulder to cry on . . . and let me cry, and talk, and cry until I got out everything I needed too. I even had my dramatic attitude of, "I just need to go to St. Simons. I say we stay the whole summer!!! I really mean it! I'm not just saying that." Knowing I didn't really mean it. Then. . . we talked. I had a mix of emotions and so did he (cause he's my knight in shining armor and all). Some anger, mostly hurt feelings. But, in all honestly, this person was right. O-U-C-H!!! Don't you just hate when someone hurts your feelings and they're right?!?

It mainly revolves around my attitude. Jon then told me there is no way I can change my attitude. I can't will myself to do it. I can try, and then I will fail. I just needed to pray over this situation everyday, pray for all the people involved, give it over to God and be in His word. Then He would change my attitude (that is Christ, not Jon . . .hee!hee!)

So, needless to say I was a bit of a "Debbie Downer" today. Just a little mopey. . . until I got in the Word. God had a word of encouragement for me. . . in Psalm 34. Then, this afternoon I received a card in the mail.

It was actually a "belated thank you note" (in her own words). But I truly believe God knew I needed the truth of her words also. Her encouraging words, words that lifted my spirited and put a smile on my face. I believe although she thought this note to be "belated", God knew I would need her words on this day. . . because also I had some harder words that were tough to swallow earlier in my day.

Isn't it wonderful how God uses the people in our life? Some bring us hard truth that we don't like, but needs to be said. Some bring us encouraging words that lift our spirits. We need BOTH!!!

The truth does hurt, but the Truth (the truth of God's word) also sets us free!!!

90 to Nothing

would be a really good way to describe my week. I'm typically a pretty busy bee, but this week has been very busy. . . all very good busy. . . but busy to say the least.

Today was my busiest day by far. I am JUST NOW . . . way past my bedtime here 10:32 p.m. . . . sitting down.

There has been so very much to do this week, so much to get ready for.

Today went a little like this:

**Woke up and work (same song, different day).

** Jon went and picked up our co-op. I separated it with the girls.

** Went back to work.

**Did the kids eat breakfast? Oh yeah, Ash made everyone cheese toast.

**Cleaned up the school room which was a horocious MESS!!!

**Called and ordered Alec's contacts.

** Mailed pool membership money.

**Lisa popped in to drop off my ice box and get some chicken. Showed her my new blue bedroom.

**Loaded up car with co-op stuff to take to Candace's house.

**Gigi and Grandaddy popped in from being out of town the last few weeks.

**Went to Wal-mart and bought 2 ferns, picked up some other things.

**Went to Candace's to drop off co-op stuff. Admired their new deck that is as big as a backyard.

**Got home cleaned up kitchen.

** Finished my last 3 meals for once-a-month cooking.

**Got Hanna ready for ballet.

**Ballet.

**Sat down and made my list for tomorrow's homeschool conference.

**Sent Jon a flirty text.

**Loaded Tiffani's used books in my car to sell at the homeschool conference.

**Cleaned kitchen

**Mopped the entire downstairs.

**Worked for a little bit

I'm a daily exerciser. . .I cancelled both my morning run with Angela and Zumba with Tiffani today because of the busyness. . . too much to do and too little time to do it. You know I am really, really busy if I don't exercise.

Now, it is off to bed, off to bed I said. When my feet hit the floor in the morning it will be GO, GO, GO until Sunday. . .

Guest Post - Alec

Since the kids were gone this weekend, I thought it would be fun to have each of them do a "guest post" on my blog and tell about their weekends.

Please note: I did not correct anything. Don't judge my homeschool teacher abilities or lack there of. . . There may be misspelled words, incorrect grammar, run-on sentences. . . etc. . . but I wanted Alec's version of his weekend in the truest sense.


Sup, peeps its Alec the Michele's son.For those of you that don't know me I'm a handsome,cool ,almost 13 year-old. I play guitar,run,make videos,play paintball,and whatever else.OK now to the camping trip, I packed my ruck sack (the back pack in the picture its called a ruck sack in the U.S. military) the night before. Then we left about 2:30 the next day. It took about an hour and a half to get there. So about 4:00 we were pitching tent. Then,we ate dinner, did s'mores,and went night fishing didn't catch anything,but this lady kept telling us to go to Wal-mart and get more lanterns. I think she was a Wal-mart secret sales woman LOL :). Well anyway we fell asleep about 12:30 and were woken up at 1:56 A.M. in the rain. We packed up got in the truck and left. I was a bit tired but once I compared my predicament to a Navy Seals in h--- week I was able to deal with it. We got to my friend's house at about 3:30 A.M. and went to bed immediately. So that's it Alec out.

Can you tell he is not wordy like his Mom? Very to the point :) Funny thing is, is about 2:00 AM I woke up. I normally do not wake up in the middle of the night. When I'm asleep, I'm gone until the alarm clock goes off. Alec was heavy on my heart. So I just started praying for him. I didn't feel fearful for him or anything like that. I just felt very prompted to pray for him. So I did. . . until I fell back asleep.

Looking forward to tomorrow's post. Ash is going to tell about she and Hanna's weekend at Nanna and Papa's house.

Weekend Recap

Friday the girls headed to Nanna's and Alec went camping with his friend. . .Mom over here was a little reluctant, but then when I decided to step back away from the control freak in me and realizing the family he was going with is a good family . . . they are the family that I'm always so grateful is going on the Route 56 church trips. . . so I relaxed then. . . putting to death the control freak in me is quite the task.

Meanwhile, Jon and I decided to have a night at home. He'd been out of town all week working on a house. . . I made turkey burgers stuffed with feta cheese (so yummy) and a salad. We sat down on (what my friend Faith refers to as) "The Big Comfy Couch" and watched a movie.

Saturday morning you'd think a monsoon had hit our area. Tiffani and I had planned on running in a race. That morning I got a text from her. Honestly I thought it was going to say something like "I love you, but I'm not running in this rain. Have fun without me." It didn't though, it said, "I'm in your driveway". That girl is quite the trooper. I do believe she is becoming a real runner **wink**wink**.

We actually were going to meet some of our old Dayspring friends there. Later we found out they did show up only to pick up their T-shirts and then go eat breakfast at Truitts. . . I informed them on Sunday that "real runners run in the rain". They didn't care what I had to say.

Despite the cold and rain. . .

Tiffani got her best race time yet. In this race there was no flat land. You were either going up hill or down hill.

I ran strong with this little kid. I kept telling him "Don't let me pass you." As I'd get up on his heels I could hear him speeding up. We would go back and forth passing one another. Then, finally, at the end, the crowd was cheering for him. I told him,"Little man, I'm not going to let you beat me. If you beat me, it'll be fair and square. You better run hard, 'cause I'm running hard". Sweet little thing beat me by 3 seconds. My time was 23:03.

Y'all the rain was awful. A friend of mine (a runner who wasn't running the race) let Tiffani and I use his umbrella. Tiffani was so sweet to wait around for me to get my age group award.

I won 1st place in my age group . . . I got a medal and a $20 gift certificate to Dick's Sporting Goods. Cha-Ching!!!

Man, if only I'd been a minute and a half faster and been the 1st woman to cross the finish line rather than the 3rd woman. . . I'd won a pair of tennis shoes and a $50 gift certificate to Dick's. A minute and a half doesn't sound like much. . . but in a 5K IT IS!!! It just gives me some motivation for next year, 'cause I'll definitely be running this race again!

I got home, dried off. Jon and I went and got a sub from the new "Firehouse Subs" in town (Yummy). When I got home I started to separate these. . .

These are all the homeschool books I needed to be pricing for the upcoming Homeschool Book Sale this Friday. . . however, instead of pricing, I plopped on "The Big Comfy Couch" next to Jon, took a nap, woke up. We watched a couple of movies. It was so nice to be at home and DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!

Sunday morning we got up and headed to Sunday School. We didn't stay for church because we had to meet my parents and get the girls (we got Alec at church) and head to celebrate . . .

This precious lady's 81st birthday. It was Grandmama's birthday.

When she blew out her candles she said, "I just wish your Papa was here. I really miss him." Just imagine he has celebrated her last 60 birthdays with her. This was her first birthday without him. I asked her what she missed most about him. . . his talking. He was a talker (see where I get it from?). She said sometimes he'd talk so much it would just drive her crazy (Grandmama is very quiet and reserved. Papa was quite the life of the party). She missed hearing him talk ALL THE TIME!!! I reminded her of how just about every time he'd see me he's say, "Shuggaah, the LORD gave you 2 ears and 1 mouth because you are to do twice as much listening as you do talking."

Everyone was there but my sister and her family and my cousin and his family. The girls played with my aunt's dog. My Aunt Wanda gets such a kick out of Ashley. She's always saying, "Michele, she is you made over!!!"

Gee whiz, when I saw this picture of me and Grandmama I felt like an Amazon woman.

I wanted to let my Grandmama know that her life still mattered and that God still has her here for a purpose. I don't want her to quit living because Papa is no longer here. We all miss him . My Dad still visits his grave ALL the time!!! I go through periods of missing him. Sometimes just little things will remind me of him. I'm just so very grateful he was here and he was mine!!!! I'm so grateful God blessed my life with a Papa like him. I'm so glad I have all the memories I do of him. I'm so glad he loved me and taught me about Jesus. I'm so glad he provided all of us with so much laughter.

Does Daddy Have a Good Memory?

Hanna has been wigging out about going to Awana. There was this big mix up in her book, and all her teacher told her was "Now you need to get the blue book". Ever since then Hanna has not be on fire for Awana. She was actually one of the first kids in her class to complete her Awana book. . . but when the attention was drawn to here. . . she's been wigging out slowly ever since.

Needless to say for the last 4 weeks in a row, she's been to Theology class with me. She's good as gold. Doesn't act up. Cries and cries about going to Awana. One of her very best friends is in the class. . . doesn't matter.

Jon has missed the last 2 Wednesday nights (out of town working). He was telling her one night that she WOULD go to Awana the next Wednesday night. She needed to get over this. Ms. Renee told her everything was fine. . . blah, blah, blah.

Hanna cusps her hands over my ears and whispers very softly, "Does Daddy have a good memory?"

I was laughing so hard I could hardly control myself. Poor thing's hopin' Daddy will forget. . .

Happy Birthday Jen!!

You know you are a Mom when you get excited about going to the Farmer's Market with your girlfriends. My sweet and dear friends, Faith, Lisa, and Jennifer had a birthday to celebrate. . . sweet, sweet Jennifer!!! Y'all to say Jennifer is precious is an understatement. She is one of the most Godly women I know, and she has such a heart for sharing the Gospel. I am delighted to be apart of her life and to call her a dear, dear friend!!!

Lisa, Jennifer, and Faith had been wanting to go to the Farmer's Market for awhile. We decided do that and head to IKEA, then out to dinner. It was going to be a day of celebrating!!

We actually never made it to IKEA. Unfortunately Jennifer and I get easily distracted by all things healthy. . . so we stayed a little long. Good thing Lisa and Faith are the "easygoing ones". Otherwise, they might have left us and never spoken to us again .. . ha!ha! Just kidding!

We took Jennifer out to Olive Garden for lunch. . . She got a birthday song. . .

Of course there was LOTS of laughter and LOTS of girl talk!!!

I just always love being with these girls!!! Y'all make life so much fun! To have like-minded friends is truly God sent!! And to make it even better we all got to celebrate one of our favorite people!!!

Our First 5K as "Faithful Feet"

We got such great participation with our first 5K of the season. There was a kids' race then a 5K. Honestly I was kinda mad about the kids' race. I understood it to be a 1 mile fun run. However, it was much more like a 50-yard dash.

The kids all got in their places. . . remembering all that Ms. Michele had told them.


Stretching. . . plenty of water. . . you're only competing against yourself (do what I say, not what I do. . . this race I was running competitively and I had my eye on someone to beat). . .

Someone must've thought in the spewing of all things running I'd said "Don't forget your blankie". Just Kidding. It was really cool. . . and this cutie pie was just all the cuter running with her blanket wrapped around her.

It was also so very cold. Jon looked extremely cold and he's NEVER cold. He wasn't running the 5K. He was just there for support. I think he'd run 8 miles that morning with his friend, Doug.

During the kids' races poor little Hanna fell. Bless her heart, as she ran to the finish line I saw her sweet bottom lip quivering like crazy. She had drawn attention to herself (which she avoids like the plague). Poor little thing wouldn't even accept her medal. She just wanted to go to the car. I took her ot the car and she released her pool of tears like a tsunami.


Meanwhile, our older boys and some of the mom's (and dear friends, I might add) were getting ready to gear up for their first 5K. . .


Hanna eventually calmed down and accepted her medal and was proud to show it off.


All to boot, she had her sweet friends to encourage her also.



Okay, so I had my sights set on beating someone. She is actually a friend of mine. However, she doesn't know that I'm always trying to secretly beat her. She was ahead of me the first mile. I knew she was battling an injury. I passed her and from that point on I stayed ahead. Actually I was the 2nd woman to cross the finish line and I had my best 5K time yet . . . 22:40. Whoo to the hoo to the hoodie hoo hoo!!! My favorite part? Jon at the finish line yelling for me!!!


The boys really, really surprised me. I was so very proud of them!!! Alec came in at 27:52.


Here are Ash and a few friends she ran with. Her time was 33:36.

I was so very proud of everyone who participated. My camera ran out of batteries. The moms all did such a great job. After I finished I actually went back on the course to encourage my "Faithful Feet". I walked, not ran. I always hate when I'm running a race and other runners finish, then they come back to run the course again. To me it just speaks of arrogance and bragging. . . so I walked fast to find my kids/moms running.

It was really so delightful afterwards to see how happy everyone was. .. even despite not having a cream-filled donut (Ha!Ha! Faith). They all had such sweet words for me that just delighted my soul (remember I'm a words of affirmation girl?!?).

In just a few weeks we have our 2nd one coming up. I can't wait. Hopefully this time it won't take me so long to blog about it.

Faithful Feet

Several months ago, Tiffani approached me with the idea of a homeschool running club. Her niece (who goes to school) was involved in a running club. She loved the idea and she knew I loved running. She gave me several websites and emailed back and forth with the director of her niece's running club.

I really wanted not just the kids to be involved, but the moms too. Tiff and I got the word out and we had such a great turnout. Tiff came up with our name, "Faithful Feet". At the first few meetings we talked about how running was a lot like life, relating scripture to all of it.

Here's the jist of it. . .

. . . K-2nd for every 1-1/2 miles ran they get a toe token (these cool little feet that go on your shoeshring).. . 3rd-mom. . . for every 3 miles ran they get a toe token. It is just a little motivator to get people running.

.. . each week I'd give everyone tips and their "assignments". For example, the first week they were to run 2 minutes, walk 1 minute for 20 minutes 3 days a week.


We all meet out on the track on Friday and run with our friends. It has really been such a blessing.. . and quite frankly, people who never thought in a million years they'd be a runner. . . now enjoy running.

We all decided we'd run the first 5K of the "running season" together. . . stay tuned. . . coming soon to this afternoon near you. . . I'll let you know how it went . . . this will be a 2 posts in one day since I'm so far behind.

Snickers Marathon

In preparation for our Ultra Marathon, we needed to do a long run. What better way to get a long run in than just run a marathon.

I'd heard lots of good things about the Snicker's Marathon. It didn't disappoint at all. . . other than the little fact we were told it was a flat course. Angela and I decided in our postmodern society where words no longer have meaning and everyone defines words according to what is relative to them. . . that flat was one of these words. The course wasn't flat. When I hear flat, I think . . . literally . . . flat, meaning no hills. This course had a few hills here there, but it really was a great race.



We headed down to Albany Friday afternoon. We rode with 2 new friends (new to me, old to Whitney and Angela). We had great conversation on the way down.

We met Chuck and April at the Expo then all headed to dinner at Johnny Carinos. Loved the fellowship. Didn't so much love the food.

After dinner Angela, Whitney, and I headed out to shop. Angela needed some new shorts. Then, we hear it is going to be low 30s starting the race. . . GREAT, I packed for a much warmer race.


Thankfully Lindy had a hat I could borrow and I managed to scrape up enough layers to keep me warm. The "l" on Lindy's hat we decided stood for "Loser" (gotten hold up to my given name by my neighbor). I took a pair of Angela's socks and put them on my hands for mittens.

This was going to be Ashley's first marathon. Although I was really excited for her, I certainly didn't want her to beat Angela and I. The first 6 miles we all ran together. Then, Angela and I had to take a potty break and do "#2", if you know what I mean. Sheesh, I know we waited at the port-a-potty 5 or so minutes. Then it took a little longer to use the bathroom. . . needless to say we were way behind Chuck and Ashley.

I started running much faster than our normal pace. After about 4 miles Angela told me we couldn't keep this pace up. . . we were going to hit a wall if we did. Angela leads my core group. I told her, "Angela, I know this is pride, and I know it is a respectable sin. . . but I have got to beat her. I have to go."

As I ran head of Angela, she started yelling at me "Get back here you sinner. Come back! Repent!". I was laughing so hard I was literally barreled over. I yelled back to her to stop making me laugh, she was slowing me down.

She eventually caught up to me (which I knew she would). We ran just about the rest of the race together. We met this really cool guy. . Jay. . . he currently had both brain and kidney cancer. He'd already lost one of his eyes to cancer (he had sunglasses on). He was a Christian. We shared with him some things we'd been learning in Bibliogoly/Hermaneutics. He is retired from the Marines. A really great guy.

I also saw another familiar face. I saw this guy and said,"Do I know you? Where do you live?" He told me he'd run Chickamauga. I then asked him if he was in the discussion about Creation versus Evolution. YEP!!! So.very.cool.

About

mile 23 I spotted Ashely and her brightly colored outfit. I started going ahead. I had my sights on her. I caught up with her and asked her how she was doing. Bless her heart. . . even the competerito in me felt sorry for her. Her poor knees were killing her. I encouraged her and told her it was all mental.. . . she could do it.





Then, I took off. . . I am a competitor, you know?

I was so excited. My best marathon time yet 4 hours 12 minutes. As far as the next marathon on our agenda, Chickamauga again. This time we will step up the training much harder. . . we are all going to try to qualify for Boston. Here's to hoping. . .

An Interview with Mom . . . a year later

I did this interview with my kids a year ago. I thought it would be fun to see if their answers remain the same or have changed very much. Go here to see last year's interview.

Alec's answers are first.
Ashley's answers are second.
Hanna's answers are third.

1. What is something your mom always says to you?
Be quiet.
Clean your room.
Do your Math.

2. What makes your mom happy?
Me loving her.
For her not to have to do work.
A clean house

3. What makes your mom sad?
When someone dies.
When me and Alec argue.
When people die.

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
She thinks something is not what it is.
Plays around with me.
By tickling me

5. What was your mom like as a child?
I do not know. . . into trouble, I guess.
Spunky, funky, and picky.
A sister, the oldest.

6. How old is your mom?
33
33
33

7. How tall is your mom?
5 foot 8. (Alec got it)
6 foot 4.
7 foot 8.

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Read.
Read.
To read the Bible.

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
I don't know. I'm not around. How would I know?
Clean, read, and love on Daddy.
Run races.

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
A runner.
Homeschooling, working, and being someone who I love.
Being a Mom.

11. What is your mom really good at?
Crafty things.
Cleaning.
Working.

12. What is your mom not very good at?
Cooking soup.
Stress.
Picking up Cookie's poop.

13. What does your mom do for a job?
Transcriptionist.
Prescribes for doctors.
Work as a medical transcriptionist.

14. What is your mom's favorite food?
Salad (Alec got it)
Cookie dough.
Asparagus.

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
She takes us places and cooks for us.
That she works, homeschools, takes us to all of our sports. She buys us Christmas presents and takes us out to eat.
When she ran the 30 miles.

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Elmer Fudd
Donald Duck
Cat woman.

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Drink coffee
Read books, do school, love each other
Cuddle.


18. How are you and your mom the same?
We are both firstborns.
We look alike.
We both love Cookie.

19. How are you and your mom different?
She's a girl. I'm a boy.
We like different things.
I am the youngest in my family, and she is the oldest in her family.

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
She verbally and physically expresses it.
She does so much stuff for me and she always says she loves me.
She lets me do ballet.

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
He's funny.
He is the love of her life.
Because he is funny.

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Home.
Buffalos.
Home.

The Eve of SweetH20

Here it is the eve of my first Ultra Marathon. An ultra marathon is defined as anything over 26.2 miles. I'm good with 26.3 and calling it an ultra. Unfortunately, that's not the way this one is working. It is 31.07 miles to be exact. Also to make it a little more thrilling . . . it's all trails baby. . . which is a ton harder than pounding the pavement. It is the difference b/t running on the treadmill and running on the road. . . night and day difference.

I'll never forget the Wednesday night during dinner at church. I was flitting around getting the kids settled, speaking to everyone. . . I saw Angela, and she said, "I don't want to do "Twisted Ankle". It is in May, and I can't stand the heat. I'm going to do this ultra marathon called Sweet H20." She started describing the course to me (our friend Chuck ran it last year). "Do you want me to do it to?" I said somewhat sheepishly . . . a little afraid of her answer. . . "YES!" Most of me was really excited. This was going to be like an adventure race.. . . through trails, crossing a river, going up something crazy called "Top of the World".

Game on baby!!!

Then, Doug (ran Chickamauga with us) is a good friend of Jon's. He roped Jon into it. The training started immediately.

So, here I am wondering what in the world have I gotten myself into. I've been reading race reports all morning . . . that scare the mess out of me. . . don't believe me? Read here.

I'm so scared of seeing a snake, or worse, an alligator. I even emailed Meredith (she's hiked Pike's Peak and a big nature girl). . I wanted to know if she was as scared as I am.

We've all been texting back and forth all day. The morning started with Jon and Doug texting. Jon told Doug he thinks I'm sandbagging everyone. I keep telling all of them that mentally I am the weakest link. I know these people. Mentally they are all so much stronger than I am. I'm the baby of the group. Here's a rundown of our text messages.

Doug at 6:54 a.m.: 24 hours and counting! This is the day that the Lord has made!

Doug at 8:59 a.m.: T minus 22 hours. . . carbs, water. . . And don't be too shy with the salt on your food today. . . Am I the only one considering turning off my alarm AND phone tonight?

Me: I AM SCARED TO DEATH!!! The more i read about it the more afraid I am. . . mostly about snakes and alligators and "top of the world". We are all nuts for signing up for this thing!
a
Doug: You're meaner than any snake, faster than any alligator and just think ALL of the INCREDIBLE things our Lord did on top of those mountains. Let's go see!!!

I text Angela: I AM SCARED TO DEATH ABOUT TOMORROW! Are we all just totally nuts for doing this?

Angela: This is the most excited I have ever been. Drink plenty of water today. See you tonight. Whit (her DIL, also ran Snickers with us) wants us to wear floaties.

I call Jon and whine to him about how afraid I am. . .

Ang then calls me. I missed her call. I call her back. She is pure giddy I tell you. I told her I needed her excitement to rub off on me. She tells me to go by the health food store and get some magnesium citrate. . . to clear out my bowels.. . b/c she didn't know what the port-a-potty situation would be. . . Can you imagine if you have to go poop in the woods? I'm a nervous wreck. She's so excitement she had to do something to contain her excitment so she was making homemade soap with her best friend.

Meanwhile I take the kids to town. . . we go get a pizza, go to First ASsembly to feed the geese. It was great. We all had a great time on this beautiful day.

The texting continues. . .

Doug at 12:16 p.m.: 19 and counting!!!

Doug 2:59 p.m.: Times keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin' into the future (I think he must be singing). . . 16 to go! TOTW (top of the world) aint' nuthin'!!!!

Me: I want to hear you say that the second time we tackle it!

Doug: Tackle is the key word. .. You're a machine! You're an animal! You're unstoppable! You're a lunatic (lunatic is right my words)! I just hope I'm close enough behind so I can see you kill that puny little mole hill.

This tiny mole hill that he is referring to is at 1200 feet elevation!!!

Me: You're nuts! You're the one with those gigantic legs and the plyometrics pro!

Doug at 5:28 p.m.: 14

Doug at 6:18 p.m.: 13. . .Tired of hearing from me yet? . . Tough! Get pumped! You may need to carry me the last 10 miles or so.

And so.. . the texting continued only for a bit. . because then we were all together. . . at church for a Good Friday Communion service (which was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!). Then, Doug's sweet wife, Angela, had all of us over for a spaghetti dinner. Before leaving the table, we all held hands and she prayed over each one of us. . . touched my heart.

Well, it's 3:52 a.m. . .. I'm off to brush my teeth and put on my running clothes. I've got my essentials packed. I'm really excited this morning. The nerves are gone. . .I'm a little mad though that I've got to wear tennis shoes rather than my 5 fingers.. . . but there's no way I could do this trail run with my 5 fingers on. Please pray for Jon, myself, Angela, Doug, and Chuck. Thank you so much.