Life Goal

I met one of my life goals today by completing a half-marathon. I'm not ambitious enough for a full marathon (yet), but I thought a half-marathon would be possible. I started training in December, and it was a long haul through our COLD, COLD winter. (It's not like I was actually out IN the cold - I was on my treadmill.) I casually invited my blog-world friend Corey to run it with me since she's a runner, too. But I think she heard the desperation in my email - "Please run it with me? Won't it be fun? Please come because I don't think I'll be brave enough without someone else for accountability?" :) She agreed to come because she was looking for a goal to meet after running the Disneyworld marathon in January. As her t-shirt says, she believes that "running is better than therapy." As I began to rethink this whole madness two days before the race, she wrote and said, "Dude, relax. We only have to do two things. Start at the start line and stop when we reach the finish line." Okay, easy enough. May I just say that the race today was AWESOME? As in, it could not have been better unless I had beaten a Kenyan? (Which, by the way, is nearly impossible in these races. Corey and I made a lot of jokes about the Kenyans while we waited in the LONG line for the port-a-potties. We were pretty sure the Kenyans had their own port-a-potties that flushed.)

ANYWAY, the course was beautiful (we ran past Mr. Jefferson at UVa and past horse farms), the weather was perfect (overcast and cool), and the company was wonderful. We were not fast, but we were having fun (well, I was having fun and being annoyingly chipper to Corey). My knee did not give out on me, there was no crying involved, and we were not picked up by the sweep vehicle because we took too much time on the course. In short, I was grateful to be there, to be able to do a race like this, and to have a friend who was willing to run it with me. Thanks, Corey! I hope you had a Whopper on the way home like I did. My stomach was not happy with me later, but it was totally worth it. :)


p.s. Daniel, I know I said I was done with half-marathons, but wow! that was fun. I might have to rethink that decision. :)

Who's in the Bed?

I've been taking turns keeping the kids up 30 minutes later for some one-on-one time while Daniel's gone. Tonight was Nathaniel's turn. We were reading books and then talking silly stuff. We were talking about what could sleep in Mommy's bed since Daddy is gone. I mentioned, "An elephant?" "NO, Mommy!" "A...chicken?" "No, Mommy!" And he giggles wildly.

Then he says, "How 'bout....a Nafaniel?" with a sly grin.

I would say "yes" except Adah and Abigail are already in there. :)

A Post for Daddy

Look, Daddy! No front teeth! Abigail lost her tooth last week at the Riddles' house. One minute she was screaming, "Don't take it out! Don't take it out!" (It was hanging by a thread) The next minute she was saying, "That didn't hurt at all, Mommy!" :) Then she was convinced that she hadn't panicked at all in the first place. "I wasn't SCREAMING, Mommy - really." Uh-huh. The funny thing is that her speech is not all that different without front teeth. :)

Nathaniel wanted to be a cheeseball one day. Although we've had ISSUES since Daniel left (think loads of laundry with pee-soaked clothes), he has also been delightful. Yes, I realize that's a complete contradiction. That's Nathaniel. He's been really sweet and easy to love on, and that's been a blessing.

Here are Adah and Abigail with Flat Natalie, their cousin's school project. This was taken at Pen Park in town when we met friends there for lunch. What an absolutely beautiful spring day!

Shiloh took the following pictures for you, Daniel. We wanted you to see a bit of a Virginia spring.

Shiloh took a picture of a kite flying through the trees.

Okay - soccer day!!! I apologize for the plethora of pictures. I wanted to document everything for Daniel. It was such a beautiful day, and the kids had a fabulous time. It was a little difficult running from Jackson's field to the girls' field, but I managed to see both Jackson's and Abigail's goals. I was hoarse from yelling by the end of the day. I think one of my favorite parts of the day was running back to Jackson's field and hearing him yell, "Mommy! Look at this! (pointing to his skinned and grass-stained knee proudly) I fell down and got this!"

So - pictures. These first few were taken when we were waiting for their coaches to arrive and for other games to finish.

Getting shin guards (shinguards?), cleats, and socks on. Here is where I REALLY could have used Daniel's expertise. How do these things go on again? :)

Abigail thinks her leg looks funny. :)

The girls were waiting on their jerseys - Carolina blue. They're supposed to choose a name for their team to vote on at the next practice/game. What's scary and blue? My mom suggested the Mighty Bluebonnets. What do you think? :)

Here's Jackson starting his practice. He was quite offended that his jersey was purple, but then he put it on and thought he looked cool. :)

Shiloh and I could not get over just how adorable Jackson looked and how much fun he was having. (Yes, honey, I know he needs a haircut. I'll get right on that.)

He looks nervous for the start of the game. :)

The girls are ready! I actually got to see all of their game, because Jackson's game finished before their practice was over. Unfortunately, the camera died before their game started!! ARGH.

Adah was introducing Nathaniel to her teammates, and I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but they were holding hands. Precious.

Nathaniel was my sidekick that day...running back and forth with me from field to field and laughing all the way. Shiloh stayed at Jackson's field, and Cora stayed at the girls' field. Cora came back to Jackson's field at the end of the game, and I hadn't made it back yet from checking on the girls, so Shiloh and Cora helped to form the gauntlet for the players to go under. :) I did make it in time to join in, but it made my heart happy to see his big sisters willing to do that for him.

Abigail Emma - soccer star. :)

Jackson thought he looked even cooler in his Spiderman sunglasses.

Jackson looks a little aloof from this team meeting.

Now he joins in - "Go Sharks!"

The girls warm up and get ready for the game. You can see Abigail in the background.

This is a terrible picture, but this was the drive that led to Jackson's goal. Go, Jackson!! I was running and taking pictures at the same time. The other little boy fell down, so Jackson took the ball from there. :)

Drills for the girls:

Look at that form! Adah had some AWESOME footwork, and for a girl who really doesn't care to run, she really attacked on the field and gave it her all. She had a good time doing it, too, and I was so proud of her. One of the parents who was watching yelled at her as he was driving away, "Good job, Adah! See you next week!"

Throw it in, Abigail! :)

What a great first experience for them. They like their coaches, the weather was perfect, and their teams were successful (Jackson's team won, the girls' team tied 2-2). Aside: What is UP with the no score-keeping rule? I mean, I knew it was going to be in place, I just don't understand it. I personally think the kids care more if they know the score, and it helps us as parents to help THEM deal with losing. 'Cause it's gonna happen - they can't win all the time.

Anyway, the only thing that would have made it better would have been to have you there, Daddy. We love you!

Big Boy Nathaniel

Cora decided to try teaching Nathaniel how to ride a bike without training wheels yesterday (she loves a good project). And I thought, "Why not let him skip straight to the two wheels when someone else is doing the pushing and holding and bending down?" :) By the end of the session, Nathaniel nearly had it. He does anticipate the fall, though, so he makes it come down on purpose. (They're in the grass, so he's not highly motivated to stay upright). I may soon have SIX riders in the family. That would be awesome for walks in the neighborhood.

Shiloh's track practice went well last night. The coach timed the races they thought they'd like to run in the meet, so that when I enter her, I can have some approximate times for heats. She decided to run the 200 last night just to round out the field, but she regretted it when it came time for the 800. :) The other kiddos had a blast as well, rollerskating on the track, jumping rope on the infield, practicing the long jump (BONUS! SAND!), kicking the soccer ball in the infield, practicing baseball, and making new friends. Although the practice makes for a late Friday night, it's a nice way to spend a Friday night.

And now we're off to an Easter egg hunt at Daniel's work on this lovely morning. We don't actually celebrate Easter per se (we celebrate the resurrection every Sunday, not a specific day of the year) but this is all about the hunt and the candy, of course. After the egg hunt, we'll bring lunch to the people hard at work painting the space for our new church. It should be lovely! I thought I'd like to help paint, but that's a little difficult with six people tagging along who might or might not be helpful (might not in actuality).

Cora is doing really well. She has her sad moments, but we are thankful for everyone's love and support. Our vet even sent us a card. :) Being able to get outside in the spring weather has helped tremendously to take her mind off of Cuddles, and a sweet friend is taking her to the movies today as well.

Well, I better go have another cup of coffee to prepare for the day ahead. I got a french press coffeemaker with a birthday gift certificate (thanks, Paula!!) and I am loving the coffee in the morning.

Go enjoy your Saturday, everyone! Enjoy SPRING!

Cora Dora

Cora's email to Daniel this morning included the line: "I wish you could see me typing. I am very good, you know." :)
Happy Friday, everyone!

Jackson is Adorable

Yes, the title says it all. Jackson was finished with school and wanted to play in his room by himself for awhile. I went up to check on him, and he was happily building a Lincoln Log fort for his soldiers and listening to Jonathan Park. He figured out how to turn on the CD player, put a CD in, and get it to the right episode he wanted (he's picky about the episodes).

He gave me a smile and said, "Hi, Mommy! Whatcha doing?"

What a cutie pie.

I know I only have a couple more years before I can't call him a cutie pie, so I'm taking every chance I can get.