Lovin The Sun!

Helloooooooo Humpday;-)

Do YOU have Good Friday off? If so, you only have one more full day to get through before it's the weekend! If not...sorry :-(

We have been ballgamin' it up this week. Unfortunately neither game has resulted in a win for Zachary and his team. Bummer. They've played really well, but there's not a whole lot you can do when one team has clearly had an extra dose of their Wheaties, therefore resulting in a serious growth spurt, and our team, well, hasn't...yet;-) But it's comin! That we know. Give us another year or two and our voices will be crackin', toes comin' out the ends of our shoes every month, and jeans too short when it seems we've just bought them. Yep. Give us time.

All this busy-ness is resulting in a very tired Katie. By the time we get home around 8 and she gets a bath and a snack, it's 9 before she gets into bed. And she is SO not a morning person anyway. So this morning it was extra rough to get her out of bed. I used every trick in the book to make her happy before I sent her off to school, but she still had a scowl on her face when she got out of the car. I hope her day perked up.

Tonight's routine is still up in the air. Tyler has baseball practice but he's not sure what time (typical boy...this drives me CRAZY!) and Youth after that, and Zachary and Katie have Power Up at church. However, this is all dependent on Katie and Zachary and their need for a night at home. The next few days provide little chance for rest. Layne and the boys come in tomorrow, we have basketball games tomorrow night, and then the holiday weekend with family. So we'll just see how everybody's doing after school. Speaking of Youth, here's a pic of some of Tyler's Youth Group from church that attended Young Christians' Weekend at Silver Dollar City in Branson last weekend. They had a great time!!

This morning I took advantage of the absolutely beeea-utiful weather we are having and headed outside for a run. It was a glorious run and I'm so glad I took advantage of the opportunity.

Here's my stats:

MILE 1: 8:24

MILE 2: 8:27

MILE 3: 9:12

MILE 4: 10:20 <----- Getting winded! 2 min. run/1 min. walk intervals

MILE 5: 9:46

MILE 6: 11:19 <----- Run/walk intervals again;-)

TOTAL: 57:29

DISTANCE: 6 miles

AVG PACE: 9:34/mi

Enjoy the rest of your day! I hope it's beautiful where you are!

xoxo

Blessed and Busy!

Hey!

How's Monday treating ya? Hopefully you are coming off a fabulous weekend! Things are bright and sunny here:-) It looks we are in store for some seriously beautiful weather this week. YAY! I need some consistent sunshine! It seems like we have a day or two of pretty weather, then a day or two of clouds and rain but this week is breaking that pattern. And perfect for the week before Easter, dontcha think?!

This is an absolutely crazy week here. But good crazy, of course!

• Today is my studly hubby's birthday which, by the way, he says he's skipping;-) Well that's good because I don't know when we'd find the time to have a bash anyway! Then tonight Tyler has a baseball game away and Zachary has a basketball game away...so yep we are splitting up for the evening with Jack going to Ty's game and Katie and I will head to Zac's. I don't prefer it like this :-(


• Tomorrow is a home game for Zac, yay! I'm not sure about the rest of the week for Ty's baseball. yet.


• Wednesday Ty has an orthodontist appt right after school, then to get back home so I can get the kids to Wednesday night church.


• Thursday THE BEST DAY OF THE WEEK! My sister, Layne, and her boys are coming to visit for the Easter holiday!!!!!! Yippee!!! Layne, Jess, and I need some sister-time:-) And she will also be here for Zac's game that night! Oh, I can't wait to see what Ethan thinks of his "ZAC!" playing ball. Ethan and Zac are B-E-S-T B-U-D-D-I-E-S.


• Friday is a sleep in day, hopefully. There is no school on Friday and no ballgames, so hopefully this will be the day of hang out time for the sisters and the cousins;-) And this leads into the Easter weekend, with lots of candy, eggs, and new church clothes (this is what Katie is looking forward to most).

Yesterday we had our Easter program at church, performed by our choir and several others. It was absolutely amazing. They did such a great job and put on quite a production. I can't imagine how anyone could leave there yesterday morning without their heart being touched and so full of joy and thankfulness for the gift of salvation that is given to us by God who loves us so much. It was so great.

One thing our pastor has kept reminding us during this Easter season is that God is not mad AT us, He is mad ABOUT us! He is so crazy in love with us, that He sacrificed His one and only Son to pay the price for our sins so that we wouldn't have to.

From your grateful daughter, Lord, THANK YOU and I LOVE YOU!

Have a great day!

xoxo

Revelation

Hey guys;-)

It's been a bit of a busy week here. And it doesn't look like relaxation and sleeping in is in store for the weekend...it's busy too...

We were gone 2 nights this week for Zachary's basketball games, and neither one was home. We split for the week 1-1. Last night's game was a GREAT win! They played a team that was very good, and had t-e-r-r-i-b-l-e refs. I may or may not have booed them at one point;-) As a cheerleader it goes completely against my nature, but when it's bad...it's bad. Not that I'm biased or anything. Zach played great and had 8 points! He was so tired on the way home, he played the entire game. So proud of him!

Tyler has had a couple of baseball practices this week in preparation for his first game next Monday. It was supposed to be yesterday but we got rained out. So Monday we have Tyler's first baseball game, Zachary has a basketball game (away again), AND Monday is Jack's birthday...whew! Not much down time around here!

Tomorrow morning at 6am Tyler leaves with our church youth group for a Young Christians Weekend event. He will be gone until Sunday night. We had wanted to go with him, but tomorrow Zachary has a basketball tournament (thankfully here!) all day...his first game is at 945am. So no sleeping in around here! Boo.

At least Katie is still at the age where she just goes with the flow! She is happy to go to any game, anywhere, anytime, for either of her brothers. Thankfully, Power Up at church on Wednesday nights is all Katie is doing right now.

In what little downtime we've had this week, Katie and I have had some interesting discussions. Most circulating around Heaven.

Katie: "Mom, what's Heaven like?"

Me: "The most wonderful place you can imagine. Where nobody is ever sick or hurting, and we sing and worship and play all day."

Katie: "Oh. How do you die? Do you just lay down and go to sleep?"

Me: "Um, sometimes."

Katie: "Well how does God get you to Heaven when you die? Does He just pick you up and carry you there?"

Me: "Yes, Katie, that sounds perfect."

And after the week that our country has had, and all the news that circulates all around us day in and day out, doesn't that just sound PERFECT?? I don't know what prompted all the questions this week but she was completely serious, and very curious. Jack and I were just talking this morning about news-stuff and it just had me longing for the day when we who love the Lord our God and have invited Him to live in their hearts and be Lord of our lives will live in Heaven with Him. No more wars, no more accidents, no more cancer, no more anxiety and worrying, for there will be none of that in Heaven. Revelation 21:4 says that "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." How marvelous! My friends, it doesn't get any better than that.

Have a great weekend, friends!

xoxo

I Miss You!

Love this verse from my Beth Moore devotional book this morning:

"Affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope." Romans 5:3-4

On another note, can you guess who I'm missing?? It's bad...like aching. I need me some sister time desperately. Oh, and super-cute nephew cuddles too! Thank goodness Easter is coming up and I will get to spend some time with everybody!

Blessings xoxo

Pouring Out God's Spirit

What a beautiful Sunday! And NO, I'm not talking about the weather! It is completely overcast, cold, and rainy here...ick. It was seriously messin with my mood this morning when I got out of bed. I was just blah.

Katie and I were the only two up at 730am, so I got her some breakfast [at our house breakfast = cereal], made coffee for Jack, green tea for me, and settled in my recliner for my quiet time. It wasn't long before Katie ventured into the living room to see what I was doing. I told her I was reading my Bible and having some quiet time with God. Her eyes lit up and she ran up to her room and got HER Bible. She proceeded to crawl up into my lap and opened her Bible and began to read. Well, at least the words she CAN read:

"To...of...the...and...God...it...going...get..." You understand;-)

As I was sitting there wondering how on earth I was going to have any "quiet" time in my quiet time, God laid this verse full on my heart :

"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." Proverbs 22:6

So I embraced the moment and enjoyed our morning time, and prayed for many more just like it.

While we were at church, it was pouring down rain outside, but inside the only thing pouring was the Spirit of the Lord. I love it when you can tell at the first praise and worship song that God is present and even if you came in "blah" you certainly won't leave that way. I love our opening song so much, I just had to share it with you:



Have a blessed day, friends:-)

xoxo

Back Into The Swing Of Things

Hey guys!  Sorry for going MIA this week, but it seriously has taken me all week to get back into some sort of normal mode post-vacay.  While it is great to be home, it just takes awhile to get back into a normal groove!

We hit the ground running pretty much and haven’t stopped yet.  On Sunday, we went to church and then had plans to go to Jack’s mom and dad’s for dinner on Sunday evening.  Turns out that this was a post-race/congratulations surprise party they had arranged and there was quite the crowd of family there!  I WAS SO SURPRISED!!  And check out this CAKE!  It is SO AWESOME!  And check out the little pink and white running shoes on the top, so cute…and Katie said they were delicious;-)       

  

This week started Zachary’s basketball season and his first game was Tuesday night.  They lost pretty bad, but they are a good little team and I think they will do better as their nerves calm down.  I’ll be a good mom and take pics next time;-)

Tyler’s baseball practice has started and his first game is next week.  In fact, his first game is next Thursday night at home, also the same night Zachary has a basketball game in another town.  Hmmmmm…and my parents say it’s only going to get worse.  Sheesh! 

Jack is work this week on 4 new houses all in the same location.  Which is fabulous when you’re talking about moving equipment and such, but it’s isn’t very convenient that there is no cell phone signal there and it’s in the middle of nowhere.  So much so that anything you even THINK you may need during the course of the day had better be brought with you that morning, because it takes so long to drive out.  He’s been leaving here by 6am with breakfast, lunch, and mucho coffee in hand.  But I am so thankful that God continues to provide us with work, no matter where it is.   He looked so cute when he came home from work yesterday because they had been pouring concrete all day and he looked like he had been playing in the dirt.  His face had dirt smudges all over it, and he looked just like he and the kids just came in from a good day!  Because you know that when you’re a kid, a good day could always be defined by how dirty you were!  He had a GOOD day yesterday;-)

I made a grocery run yesterday and re-stocked our cabinets and refrigerator since being gone last week.  The kids were complaining how there was nothing in the world to eat and they were going to starve, so I bit the bullet and headed to Wal-Mart.  Ugh, I hate Wal-Mart.  I swear, it just sucks the life right out of me.  Along with a couple hundred dollars every time I walk through the door.  Ick.

BUT I made up for the day by having a fun evening (at least for me)!  I got all registered for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in St. Louis in June!!!  Wheeeeeee!!!  So excited!  Our whole family and much of Jack’s family is going for what is sure to be a fabulous weekend.  I got all my donation emails sent out last night, and was so surprised and elated to already have responses back last night!  [Thanks, M!]  This year I am embracing my title of SURVIVOR wholeheartedly and with a whole new vision.  I.AM.PROUD. 

Speaking of survivor, check out the new “Survivor” shirts for Race for the Cure this year:

Cute, huh?!  Can’t wait to wear it!

So I am now in fundraising mode for Komen!  If anyone is interested in donating to a wonderful cause, you can visit my personal race page!  Only 85 days left til race day!

On the medical front, I started back on my blood pressure medicine this week.  The cardiologist said I could quit taking it, but I felt so much better when I was on it that I am went back on it.  I was getting sleepy in the afternoons and my runs were sluggish, and there were times when I felt my eyes might pop out of my head…uh yeah not good.  Since Monday (when I re-started it) I have felt much better already.  Another new development is a couple of bruises on my legs.  After showing them to Michelle, she has determined that it is from the aspirin I started taking about 3 weeks ago because of new research that shows that taking a low-dose aspirin a day can lessen chances of breast cancer recurrence.  After asking my dr about it, he said the aspirin was fine to take.  So the bruises are probably from me bumping my leg or something minor, but being on the aspirin will make me more easy to bruise.  Hmmm, ok.  I’ll take easier bruising for a less chance of recurrence or death, yep. 

OK, so I think I am caught up on the week.  You know, if I would write a little each day I wouldn’t end up with monster posts like this one!  Have a great day, everyone!  Be glad it’s Friday!  Love ya!

xoxo

Where Dreams Comes True

Don’t you know I’m talking about Walt Disney World?!  Of course you do.  It’s the theme park of all theme parks.  It’s where every kid dreams of going one day to have countless thrills and chills, choice encounters with their favorite characters, and more giggling and smiling that makes the whole trip so worth it.

Disney World did not disappoint our 3 children at all.  The boys had been once already; I was pregnant with Katie so it was June of 2003.  But for Katie, it was her first time (since she was in the womb, anyway!) and it was so special.

The kids were so excited on our way to Florida:

Um yeah, I promise the excitement will come;-)  And may I just also pray special blessings for the person who invented the DVD player in cars?  I love that person…truly.

I could show about a million pictures here right now, in fact I’m having a hard time choosing which ones to use!  But I will try to limit myself here…I said try;-)      

          

~YOU ARE ABOUT THE ENTER THE PRINCESS SECTION~

It was the most magical part of Katie’s trip.  My mom and I found a line to in Mickey’s Toontown to “Meet the Princesses” and we immediately hopped in despite the 60 minute wait.  Katie moaned and groaned about the wait…after all she was t i r e d of waiting…  But I knew that she would devastated if we went home without her seeing one single princess and here we had the opportunity to see 3!  So I did what any good mother would do and made my daughter stand in line “because we drove 15 hours to come here, you are GOING to see a princess!”

As soon as we were at the front of the line to move into the princess room, she was ecstatic!  There was no containing her excitement.  She got her autograph book all ready, and was poised to go meet her idols.  First up was Cinderella:

Next was Belle.  I love this picture of Katie, looking like she is just gushing over whatever it is Belle is saying;-)

     

Then came Katie’s favorite, Sleeping Beauty.  Sleeping Beauty is very special to us because every time I would have to leave early in the morning for STL for treatment, Katie was ok with me not waking her up as long as I promised to kiss her and whisper that she looked just like Sleeping Beauty.  And she would ask me as soon as I got home from chemo if I had told her that morning.  So Sleeping Beauty is a special girl;-)  I told her this story and she was so wonderful with Katie.  She took so much time with her and they told stories and hugged.  And before we left, she gave Katie the sweetest kiss on her cheek, and Katie wore the lipstick mark around so proudly all afternoon.  It was worth the entire trip for this moment.

At Animal Kingdom, we went on Safari:

  

  

Oh, and if you’re wondering why there is an overabundance of Katie-pictures, it’s because the boys were moving too fast for the cameras to keep up!  They hit every fast moving roller coaster, water ride, and thrill ride they could find…most of the time with Jack and my dad, while my mom and I took Katie to the slower-paced rides where she would pose and pose and pose for pictures.  So naturally there are more pics of her.  I guess the men just don’t think about taking pictures when they are being dropped down the Tower of Terror or backwards on Expedition Everest;-)  Go figure...

And like I said, there are so many other things I could show you, but I will spare you the “Look at our family vacation pictures!” spiel.  But it was a truly amazing time.  Our family has not had a moment to relax and enjoy ourselves for the last year and a half since the moment we heard the words “breast cancer” so we soaked up every single moment of family togetherness and relaxation.  It was a blessed week for sure.  I am so thankful beyond words.

God Bless, friends

xoxo

Disney Princess Half Marathon RECAP!!

OMGoodness!  Hey guys!!!  I know it’s been, um, awhile but if it makes you feel any better I totally intended to blog while I was on vacation.  BUT, as luck would have it, the wifi we were supposed to have at the house we stayed at was not working or something and so my laptop didn’t even leave it’s bag after the first frustrating evening.  But honestly, I don’t know if I would have had the time or the energy to blog anyway;-)

I have SOOOOOO MUCH to talk about that it’s hard to know which to talk about first!  In order to avoid a mile-long post, I am going to break my trip and pictures into different posts.  Saves all our sanity that way *wink wink* 

You’re welcome.

RACE MORNING----> TOTALLY EXCITED!!!!!!  And totally FREEZING!!!  I had no idea how cold it had been in Florida, obviously, because I tossed my UnderArmour out of the suitcase as I was packing it.  I mean, who needs ColdGear in Florida?!  But after heading to the Nike outlet to buy a hooded sweatshirt, I was fine.

The kids were up and ready to go!  Well, kinda…  Zachary, bless his heart, was up for his Mama, tired eyes and all.     Katie is NOT, let me repeat NOT, a morning person at all, as you can see by this photo.  And Tyler managed to avoid the camera’s eye altogether.

Breakfast of champions [running champions, that is]: a banana and peanut butter sandwich.

We got to the Epcot parking lot around 345am.  In order to beat the traffic and all the road closures, the race officials recommended that everybody who was driving in for the race be on Disney property no later than 4-430am.  It was so cold out so we parked our car and I waited until 445am before I had Jack walk me to the tent leading to the start area. 

After a wait for a portapotty, with 14,000 other princesses (yes, it was as crazy as you can imagine!), I headed to the start line which was a good 20 minute walk from the parking lot.  It was so cold out that people were huddling around the giant floodlights that were lining the walking path because they were blowing out warm air along the sides. 

I got to the corrals, where I went directly to my corral, E.  It was also the LAST corral which abled me to take THIS awesome pic:

FINALLY at 600am, the fireworks went off signaling the first corral to start…corrals were then started every 7 minutes so I started at 628am.  It felt SO GOOD to get moving.  But it was difficult to move for quite a while.  Imagine running with 14,000 other runners and walkers, everybody with a different pace and fitness level…I felt myself getting frustrated at first because I couldn’t move.  But after a little bit things started to open up and I figured out that I could run in the grass and off to the sides in order to avoid some of the people.

Here are my mile splits:

MILE 1: 10:54

MILE 2: 9:49

MILE 3: 9:00

MILE 4: 8:36

MILE 5: 9:18

MILE 6: 8:38

MILE 7: 9:14

MILE 8: 9:18

MILE 9: 8:54

MILE 10: 9:00

MILE 11: 8:56

MILE 12: 9:59

MILE 13: 9:51

MILE .34: 2:54

TOTAL MILES: 13.34

GARMIN TIME: 2:04:29

CHIP TIME: 2:07:41 <----I had to stop and pee at mile 7.5 so I paused my watch;-)

I finished 1,659th of the total, and 321st in my division (women 30-34).  I could not be happier with my results!  It was the most fun race to run and I was stoked the whole time.  Running through Epcot, Magic Kingdom, and countless outer roads around Disney there is never a shortage of things to look at and think about.  I remember in the second half of the race being a little sad that it was almost over because I loved it so much.  It was an experience I wouldn’t trade for anything.

I am so thankful for my wonderful hubby, kids, and parents for getting up before the butt-crack of dawn to come and support me.  They were such troopers and it meant the world to me that they were there.  It was also such motivation to know that they would be waiting at the finish line for me. 

I am thankful that God has given me the strength, desire, and ability to run.  I pray before each run that He will guide and direct my path, keep me safe, and be my pace and my breath.  He has never failed me;-)      

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 

xoxo