Check out the bling

We did it! Praise God for giving us the endurance and energy to finish. It was a great race. I had such a fun time listening to my tunes and chatting with Ian. There were times during the race that we would just sing aloud. The people around us were like "what is wrong with them." We didn't care. It kept us moving. It took us right at 2.5 hours to finish. I know the hubbie could have finished much faster, but he stuck with me and I needed it. During the race we talked about a marathon....talked about, just talked about. I can, however, understand the thrill of finishing something like that. When I was done with the 13.1 I really wanted to cry out of excitement and accomplishment. Overall, it was fantastic and I hope to be able to do another one and improve on my time. Here are my top 5 memories and some pictures of the running duo. 

Top 5 memories from the race:

5. It was cold! When we started it was right at 34 degrees. About 5 miles in we started to really warm up. 

4. Hills, Hills and a little mountain: The race had quite a bit of elevation to it. Every time we thought we were done, there came another one. 

3. Singing "Dream On" aloud while running a ginormous hill.

2. Hearing Ian go "Uh...Uh...and do the air drums while singing his music.

1. Crossing the finish line and feeling so much joy with what we had accomplished.  

Ready or Not

Tomorrow morning is the big race. I have so many emotions. I'm honestly mad at myself because I'm not as prepared as I should be. None the less, there is something to be said for finishing....I hope. I'm looking forward to lacing up early in the morning and joining thousands of other folks who are running too. As I go into the race, I really just want to finish. If I finish it in under 2:40 that will be a great bonus too. I'm off now to get some sleep. 5:30 is going to come early.

PS- I'm really looking forward to tomorrow night's post when the race is all said and done.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Advent Conspiracy

Check this out. 

www.adventconspiracy.org

Icing My Foot

On Thursday I ran 10 miles! Man I was so proud of myself. That was some tough stuff but now my foot is really hurting. My husband assures me that it's just muscle pain and he has me on intense icing :-). It involves me putting my foot in a bath of the coldest water and ice you've ever felt in your life. Last night we got into an argument over it but tonight I'm like whatever it takes, bring it on. Anyways I'm just sitting here icing my foot and obeying my trainer. 

Ellison's turning 4

People say all the time that time flies by, but when I look at our little girl it's not a saying anymore. I've lived it. It is hard to believe that 4 years ago today I was huge pregnant and wondering what we were having. Here I am four years later reflecting on the years since then. 

With birthdays come celebrations! This is the first year that Ellison has been really asking about her birthday. We have had countless conversations that go something like this "First is daddy's birthday, then comes Jude's then Mommy's and then Ellison's." So in March she was asking when daddy's birthday was coming (July!!!)? We knew that this year had to be a fun one for her. We had a bit of a challenge however. All of our Saturdays are booked for the month and Sundays(normal Chadwick party days) for her school friends is a work day for many of their parents. The solution-2 parties of course! 

Today we started the birthday celebrating with a playdate with Ellison's friends from school. She has been with most of these kids since she was 8 months old. Many of their names have become such household names that it feels like they are a part of our family. Because the kids see each other all the time, it's not as often for us to get together for a playtime outside of school. Ellison also asks for play dates all the time so we thought it would be fun to do a playdate birthday party. I really wanted to keep it simple and a chick fil a party was just the right thing!  We got there at around 10 and by 11 everyone was ready to eat. They played some more and then I got to come home to a clean house (well semi-clean)! Chick-fil-a did all the rest. 

On Monday, her actual birthday, she will get to pick all the meals(a great tradition that I got from my sister-in-law) and they will sing happy birthday to her at school. That night we will open some gifts from SC and have dinner with her surrogate Aunt and Uncle-J anc C.  Next weekend she will get to celebrate Chadwick style with her Atlanta cousins and Nina and Papa to wrap up a true celebration fit for a princess! 

I just love watching her soak it all in. It makes me want to be a kid again. This year has been tough in a lot of ways. She is very very determined and challenges me in so many ways. She has really helped me see what an important responsibility parenting really is. 

I really am so thankful for all that she's taught me. It is a blessing to be her mom. I pray that my parenting would only improve this year and God would continue to use me to shape her into the child and ultimately woman that He wants her to be. 

 

Clean Bill of Health...Half Marathon Here I come

Over the past couple of weeks we have had to get physicals for a number of things. Just getting to the doctor and making all the arrangements for 2 preschoolers is work enough. Much less getting there and being poked at, stuck, and questioned to death. 

After all of the tests, I found out that all of my levels are good. I had a slightly higher LDL level which means I need to back away from all the greasy stuff and eat what God made :-). (Why is that so hard!!!) One of the concerns that I talked about with my doctor is my knees. Since the age of 16 they have cracked very loudly but haven't been painful. As I've started running more this year I have noticed some pain as well. This morning I went to have my knees x-rayed and everything looks great. The doctor told me that I have runners knees and gave me some exercises to strenghten my legs. So in 3 weeks I will be running 13 miles in the Atlanta cold to accomplish a goal that I set after completing the peachtree.  He did say that the pain I'm feeling is my body's way of saying something so I should look into other options of exercise. So for now, I'm still running on Thanksgiving day. It may take me forever to finish, but I'm looking forward to the challenge with Ian at my side and I'm so thankful for being declared healthy! 

10 Years Ago Today

Ian and I had our first date 10 years ago today! That is hard to believe. We've come a very long way in those 10 years. Here are a couple of pictures showing the then and now. I'm so grateful for what God has done in our lives. It is such a blessing to share life with him!

Election Day

http://theologica.blogspot.com/2008/11/eric-redmond-living-soli-deo-gloria.html

Very Interesting.