Tales from the NW

It’s been a while since I actually ran in my 5k, but I figured some of you might want to hear how it went and those of you who know me well might need to see some proof of actual running taking place to believe I in fact did it.

I trained pretty vigilantly from my birthday in January to the middle of March. The Shamrock Run was on Sunday, March 16th, which was a lovely, upper 40’s, slightly sunny day. Perfect. Wow, was I nervous when we pulled up to the race sight and saw over 6,000 people for one race! However, once it started, I found my groove and set off into a good pace. All was going well, until we hit the back stretch and I saw a slow but steady incline. For about a half a mile, up up up I ascended, and made it to the top. The last mile was all down hill, and I was pretty excited, until the two guys in the full Guinness -can body suits passed me!

My official time: 33:51 360th out of 593 women.

Not bad for my first run!

Now for the proof…..

This is right before the finish line

Just crossing…….

Ahhh… sweet victory. It’s over.

I plan on running another race at the end of the summer. Who’s in?

Yes, I am in fact, still alive and well. There are a few reasons this blog has been non-existent over the past few months:

1. We’ve been out of town, twice, to the other side of the country, and traveling with an infant in and out of time zones really messes up schedules.

2. Xander is 10 months old, and as many of you know, you have to watch a ten month old every second they are awake. Hence, no fun computer time.

3. Tarver and I both started school full time in March, so when the boy is sleeping, we are both studying.

Throw in all that plus trying to take care of a house, husband, and myself…. you get the picture.

Hopefully, even if its just a quick note, I will be back to blogging soon enough.

On another note, I made peach cobbler today, and I think I would take a bath in it if I could.

Yes. It was that good.

Well, Happy Valentine’s Day. Xander sent out some pretty cute cards this year with his “I stole Mommy’s heart shirt” pictures included. He gets cuter every day, and on a day that forces you to think about love, I just want to say I love my little cutie! I love my Big Cutie too, but poor Tarver is off doing the most romantic thing you can think of…….. yes…..wait for it…..

JURY DUTY! Ha! I think that is a pretty crappy place to spend Valentine’s Day, but to be honest, neither of us really wanted to celebrate it anyway. We are lucky enough to be one of those couples that surprise each other with cards, flowers, or something special on those random Tuesdays, when you least expect something. Somehow, it always means so much more when you don’t know it’s coming. I will share a sweet story though.

When Tarver had his leg amputated (he likes to refer to it as “having his leg chopped off”) I was a wreck during the surgery. Thankfully, Justin, Tarver’s brother, and our close friends Steve and Eddy were there to wait during the surgery with me. It was early in the morning, so we went to the cafeteria in the hospital, and when we sat down to breakfast, someone handed me a card from Tarver. Well, of course I started to cry as I read beautifully comforting words form the one person I wanted at that very moment. He was so reassuring and loving, and it was what I needed in that moment. Through that whole “leg ordeal” that was the one moment that might stick out to me in mind for the rest of my life. At the most difficult moment since Tarver’s accident, he was worried about how I was handling the surgery.

However, this is just one example of the selfless way in which my husband loves me. He also made sure all of the 5 days we were in the hospital, someone brought me a gift or flowers from him (funny thing is, he doesn’t really remember doing that the poor guy was so drugged up). I have never felt such love, in all my life. Every day, I get to wake up next to someone who loves me more than himself. Not a day goes by that I don’t thank my wonderful Creator, that He kept Tarver safe through his accident, all his prior surgery’s, and his crazy life before he met me. I certainly would not know the love I know now, had it not been for my lovely husband.

One of the reasons I love being married is that it’s such a wonderful picture of Christ’s love for His church. His people. The way marriage was intended to be, before it became a joke to some in our society. I feel like you can’t turn a channel on the TV today without seeing some show about the degradation of marriage. So sad. Back to what I was saying, Tarver and I strive to have a marriage that is God-honoring, treating each other with love and kindness. People always ask us, don’t you guys fight? You are with each other so much! Well, no, not really, is usually the reply. Fighting is seldom something we have to deal with, when we are mindfully trying to love each other every day, as Christ loves us.

So what is Xander loving today?

Why butternut squash, of course!

Happy Valentine’s Day To You! May you feel loved today.

Thank goodness for other bloggers’ “Best of 2007″ posts!

Why, you ask?

“Cause I’ve started my reading and movie watching list for 2008, and so far, I’m enjoying every read.

I’ve started with a book by Philip Yancey: Soul Survivor: How My Faith Survived the Church.

Yancey talks freely about his struggle to forgive the churches that shaped his young developing mind, and about the people who influenced his road to forgiveness and hope.

Yancey, speaking of G.K. Chesterton here:

“”The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult ; and left untried,”" he said. The real question is not “”Why is Christianity so bad when it claims to be so good?”" but rather “”Why are all human things so bad when they claim to be so good?” “Chesterton readily admitted that the church had badly failed the gospel. In fact, he said of one of the strongest arguments in favor of Christianity is the failure of Christians, who thereby prove what the Bible teaches about the fall and original sin. As the world goes wrong, it proves that the church is right in this basic doctrine.”

My little boy has a cold that’s working it’s way out, and I hate to see him sneeze and cough, and just be miserable. On top of all that, his two top front teeth are cutting through at the same time, so his nose is extra runny. He has been asleep since 7:30 last night, except for about 2 hours this morning, which is a sleeping record for him.

Here’s the crazy thing: He’s still just as smiley and happy as ever. I wish I could be as content as him when I am not feeling well. Hopefully all this sleeping is helping him feel better.

He’s about to turn 6 months old on Thursday (which is crazy), so I thought I’d put up some recent pictures to show of his new teeth, smile, and peach fuzz hair.

Next week Xander starts on some rice cereal, and I’m sure I’ll be snapping pictures left and right to capture his food antics. I’m looking forward to this new development for him. He’s definitely ready to eat, and already loves his high chair. Good times are ahead! Stay tuned….

Well, here I go. I decided to sign up for the Shamrock Run this year. Nothing over the edge, just the 5k (which is 3.1 miles).  Now, for some people, 3.1 miles is no big thang…. but for me, well, uggggg. The last time I ran more than 400 meters consecutively was in high school!

Tarver was kind enough to get me new asics for my birthday, so I really have no excuse now. I started to run last week, and I’m happy to report that I am actually enjoying it! I found the fitness program called couch to 5k on the internet, and so far the schedule is pretty painless. It requires me running 3 times a week for 20 to 30 minutes. According to the schedule, I’ll be jogging the 5k with no problem in less than 2 months time. This also comes at a perfect moment, as my family and I are going to Florida for a visit in late March. Feeling great about myself physically hasn’t really been possible since having Xander, and I am already noticing a difference since starting the workout.

Any of my Ptown friends in for running with me? C’mon, it will be fun!

xander is getting incredibly cute……

here you go!

This might be my favorite picture so far!

He loves reading with Daddy…

Xander told me he hopes Nebraska can get their game on next year, but he wore his jersey in support for their last game anyway.

Our Christmas card pictures:

My miniature Santa:

Okay, call me crazy, but the performances on the American Music Awards tonight are quite possibly the worst performances I’ve ever heard on an awards show. yuck! You’d think that people who are getting paid millions of dollars to sing and perform would actually know how to harmonize. Call me crazy…. then again, I’m not really a fan of this top 40 nonsense anyway. (wait, just saw lenny, he’s always good though: complete show stealer).

Fall is definitely my favorite time of the year. This season has been fun so far, and here are some pictures to prove it!