Well, I did it!

Monica and me after the race!

She is the best, and could have EASILY smoked me if she wanted to......but she didn't!!!!
I think my HUGE smile says it all!
13.1 miles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have to say, that was EASILY the hardest thing I have ever done. About 5 miles into it, I was thinking......I don't know if this is all I thought it was going to be.......I just don't know about this.......when is nap time????? Granted, I have only been training for less than 3 months and I probably shouldn't have ignored the days on my schedule that said 'cross train'. Also, I should have eaten something before the race! Yeah, I know that was silly!!!! All of that might have helped! And I KNOW could have been better on my diet! I guess I can call myself a runner now, and therefore I need to eat more like one!!! My official time was 2:17! If I continue to be blessed with good health I will be looking forward to more races and better times in the future!!! My marathon is in 8 weeks and I am going to do another half before then!!! I will keep you posted!!!

It is just amazing!

Look how tiny it is!

Anna has now been taking violin lessons for 1 month. She just loves it! You know how you hope and pray that your child will find that one thing or talent that he/she was just meant for. Well, I think that Anna has found hers! Playing the violin just comes naturally to her. What a blessing! (and I am only a TAD bit jealous!)

What a blessed year!!!

I already stated that I was training for a marathon, but I didn't say why. Well, I am turning the big 30 this year and I feel like I am at such a great place in life. I needed to do something that made me feel good about myself. I have always had great admiration for runners. Their endurance, hard work, discipline and even their nutritional values have always impressed me, so I thought I would try a 1/2 marathon. Well, when I told my great friend Monica about it........she convinced me that I could do a FULL MARATHON!!! Of course, I couldn't say, 'I can't do that!!!!!!' (After all, this is my year!) So, I started to train in November and with Monica's help I am getting there! I ran 10 miles on Saturday! It was the longest I have ever gone, and without even walking once!!! My 1/2 marathon is in two weeks and I am so excited. God has blessed me through my training. I am still feeling great and my children see what hard work and discipline looks like!

This is so sad...

Christmas Day!!! Anna and her new bike. She didn't think she would be able to ride such a big bike, but she mastered it in a few minutes....like she does with everything!
We went for a family Christmas bike ride. He made it all the way to the park.....but not quite all the way home! He worked really hard!!!

Christmas morning!

Look how big he is! He loves FINALLY having a good bike!!! He is such an athlete!

Anna with her 'Old Papa'

My precious ones!!!

Well, here we are at the very end on January, and I just TODAY downloaded my Christmas pictures!!! Wow! I guess that is a testament to how busy I am....or how lazy, I am not sure which one! Well, we were very blessed this Christmas! We had a great trip down to FL and then came home Christmas Eve to wake up in our own home Christmas morning! Here are some pictures of our 'good times'!

An update on our fam!!!

I know it has been a while, but here is where we are right now....
Brian- 1)Being a great youth minister 2)working hard on school

James- 1)very eagerly awaiting baseball sign-ups 2) after watching faulkner basketball games, he is now eagerly awaiting next year's sign-ups for basketball too!!!

Anna- 1)has just started violin lessons and it is PRECIOUS!!!

Luke- 1) working hard at his one goal in life....making us all laugh!!!

Me- 1) I am enjoying school with my kids 2) spending most of my spare time training for a marathon!!! I am up to 8.5 miles. I never thought that would be possible. 3) making a resolution to be better at keeping up with my blog.....really.

So proud of my hubby!!!!

Last Saturday, Brian graduated with a Masters in Biblical Studies and I am so proud of him.

I have no idea how he does it. He has so much going on in his crazy, busy schedule, but somehow he still puts so much care and concetration into every bit of it. 4.0, way to go!!! He is so blessed and I am too...and proud that he is mine!!!

Thank you so much for making the long trip up Granny and Granddad! We love you so much!

We had such a great visit with Mimi and Papa, and Leslie and Erin! We love you all and can't wait to see you this weekend!!!

Here we are with our good friends Michael and Amelia!

We love you!!!

Dr. Hilyer, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Two down.....how many more to go????

Something funny?...or are you just happy to be done???

Luke's Performance!

Luke had a little Christmas party at his school and he was so proud!
He made me a present. Isn't is precious?!!!

His class sang songs and I was so impressed. They had to have worked really hard to get all of those 3-year-olds to learn all of that. After every song, Luke would look at me and clap real quietly. He was so serious about singing and loved every second of it!!!