Never Enough Time

A friend and I were talking recently and she mentioned how she felt like the days and hours and minutes are just moving faster and faster. She said she can never find enough time for all the things she needs to do. I had to agree because our life has felt so crazy since September!

This fall we had so many things going on. We helped a family go through their things and move, we had a young man from church living with us for three months as he tried to learn how to be an adult. We taught him how to drive, how to work harder, and helped him get several jobs and study for his GED. A friend moved here and she has cancer, so we started watching her son several times a week so she can go to her doctor's appointments. Add these things to our own family's craziness, like events at the schools and church, doctor's appointments, homework and projects, training for a half marathon, our callings at church (which are busy!), a dog, and spending time with friends, new and old, going to the missionaries, serving other people and answering their cries for help and we were running faster than we had strength.

So we decided to cut back a little. The young man moved out before Thanksgiving (he knew he couldn't stay with us forever), we told our friend with cancer that we'd love to help but we can't be the only ones (she didn't want anyone else to watch her son but us 2-4 days a week), we gave our rabbits away, we made Emily and Nan start taking the bus to and from school, we didn't plant a winter garden, we haven't done any canning and we have delegated several of our church responsibilities. We had to start telling people no, because we realized we didn't have time for our family anymore.

The thing about being so busy is that while you're providing wonderful service, other things in your life suffer. I realized that I hadn't taken the kids to the park in 3 weeks because I was constantly trying to respond to other people's requests for help. I realized that I didn't have the energy to be patient and loving because I had used all of it on non-family. I was too tired to go running or cook dinner. I was constantly behind on laundry and bills and I didn't eat meals sitting down because I simply didn't have enough time. I didn't want to listen to the girls when they told me about their day at school because I'd spent the morning listening to friends who were going through trials and needed someone to talk to.

While we love to serve, we love being with our family even more. Though still few and far between, the time with our girls and each other is so precious now. Matt and I find that we want to be around each other even more because we finally have the time! We have learned that if we let other people take and use up all of our resources, then there is nothing left for us. No time, no energy, no patience, no compassion. It took a few months, but I finally was able to tell people, "You know, I'd love to help. But I really need to be with my girls today." The girls are happier, we are happier, the house is cleaner, we have actual sit-down dinners again, and we love each other more. The best part of slowing down has been enjoying each other's company, laughing with our children and having time for tickles and talks, silliness and cuddles.

 Oh how I adore my family!

October Festivities

We had an incredibly busy October but still found time to fit in fun Halloween activities here and there. Emily dressed as Esmerelda for Halloween (she's never seen the movie, but someone gave us the costume!)

Charlotte wanted to be a ballerina and refused to wear anything other than this.

Nathalie was Pocahontas and you never saw a cuter Pocahontas.

Matt and I got a chance to go to a murder mystery dinner, where I had to dress up like a woman reporter from the 1940s. Matt was an American gangster, so he shaved everything except for a small mustache and wore a nice holster. The holster looked handsome, but the 'stache was icky...

Charlotte's preschool had a field trip to a farm. Lydia was in love with feeding the goats.

Charlotte really loved the big hay bale pile. We spent the majority of our time there.

We also got to go to several Halloween parties, carved pumpkins, went on field trips and played. It was a good month.

Disney On Ice!

Disney On Ice came to Savannah in October! First night tickets only cost $12 a person and Lydia was free, so I couldn't pass up this super fun event. The girls have never been to Disneyworld or Disneyland, they don't do any activities and we try to keep all our activities free, but this was one I just really wanted to take them to, so I did!

Matt had church things that night so it was just the girls and I. Nan dressed up as Cinderella, fancy shoes and all! Emily dressed up as Mother Gothel so that she would be unique and sure enough, we didn't see any other Mother Gothels. :) Charlotte didn't want to dress up, so off we went.

The girls were absolutely enthralled. They loved every minute of it. I had been worried about it keeping Lydia entertained but she danced the whole time, and played with the people behind us.

Their favorite numbers were of course the ones with princesses, but they loved all of them. I loved the Lion King because I thought the costumes and props were so beautiful! I loved all the colors.

The best part about the whole evening was that we parked near Anna. As we were walking to our car, Anna got out of her car and said hi to the girls. They were so happy to finally meet her!

It was absolutely worth it!

Still Missing This

Fall in Ohio, the day we got there for my race. The smell of leaves, beautiful colors all around. Oh, we long for home.

The Big Run-- I'm only half crazy!

Well, since it's been almost a month I have decided to FINALLY post about my half marathon. I trained and trained and prepared as best as I could. My parents, who couldn't fly across the country to see it, bought me a new running outfit. At the beginning of October I finished my training and began winding down a little. Two weeks before the race I ran 13.5, and after that I started decreasing so as not to over train.

One of the things I have really enjoyed about training is how fit I feel now. I have probably never been in better shape and I really enjoy knowing that my body can do hard things. We don't own a scale which has helped me focus on the real reason for excercise-- being healthy. I don't diet, and I don't even watch my calories, I just excercise and I feel like my body is true to how I feel and vice versa. I'm so grateful for a strong body. So many people have ailments and maladies that inhibit their physical body and I can't express how grateful I am for this body that is so capable.

So Thursday evening, the family and I got in the car and started driving to Ohio. We stopped for the night, got to Matt's parent's house around noon the next day. We got to spend a beautiful 24 hours at his parent's and then Matt and I headed up to Columbus for the race. We didn't have any children! It's our first overnight EVER without children since Emily was a baby. It was wonderful just to talk and be together! I knew I liked this guy....

We had to head to the race expo to pick up our packets. The place was a party. Loud music, lots of people, bright colors, vendors, samples, demonstrations, etc. It was fun to see, but I was also glad to get out of there with my packet because I was starting to focus. That night (Saturday) we spent at Matt's brother's house. We went to bed too late, and had to get up at 5:30 to make it to the start line in time. I was really tired and worried that it would affect my running.

Sunday began cold. I was cold and having trouble focusing because there was a seriously obnoxious team of runners next to us in our corral.There was one lady in particular who was dancing, laughing really loud, being obnoxious, taking selfies and jumping up and down. I'm a solo runner and I like to run without music, so her overly excited behavior was really irritating to me.

We finally started running and I started warming up. My toes had started to go numb, so it took about a mile for them to thaw. Once I got away from Obnoxious Runner, I was able to focus. I put on my music and just ran. It stayed cold (mid-40s) but after a few miles I was able to take off my sweatshirt and be just barely warm enough to run without it. It wasn't really warm enough, but it was too warm for a sweatshirt.

Normally when I run I don't eat or drink anything until about mile 8. However, I normally run at night when I have been eating and drinking all day, so I'm already hydrated. Because I was running in the morning, I started out less hydrated than I would have liked and was starting to get a headache, so I ended taking Gatorade cups for the first few miles. My headache went away and by mile 6 I was feeling pretty good.

I had been really worried about the hills on the course because Savannah is really flat, but the hills didn't affect me at all. I was able to run the entire half marathon without walking except for a little bit at mile 11. I wasn't going fast (12 minute miles) but I was steady for the entire time.

One of the reasons I really wanted to do this particular half-marathon is because all the profit goes to Nationwide Children's Hospital (NCH), which is where Charlotte went after her accident and where Lydia went when she was diagnosed with MCADD. I've been there many times and the hospital is incredible. Because NCH is the beneficiary, every mile of the race was a patient who had been treated at NCH. Sometimes the patient was a young child, sometimes a teenager, sometimes severely disabled, sometimes not. They stand on the side of the road and give high fives to runners. I made sure to high five every single one, because every mile was a reminder of my reason for the race. It was wonderful to see each of the patients.

At mile 10 I was starting to feel a little tired, and I didn't know how much further I had to go. Just then the song "Life In Color" by OneRepublic came on, I rounded a corner and right in front of me was part of the hospital. If you've never heard the song, here are some of the lyrics:

I do my best
To find some kind of glow
I'm giving it some heart and soul, now
From the darkest grays
The sun bursts, clouds break
Yeah, we see that fire
From the streets of Babylon
To the road that we've been on now
The kaleidoscope claims another

Oh oh oh oh
 Well this is life in color
Today feels like no other
And the darkest grays
The sun bursts, clouds break

Oh oh oh oh
Well this is life in motion
 And just when I couldn't run this race, no
The sun bursts, clouds break
This is life in color

That was a very emotional moment for me. Here I was, sun shining, running past the hospital where they took care of Charlotte, where they told us about MCADD and what it meant for our family. I felt truly blessed to be a part of the NCH marathon experience as I remembered what our family has been through the last few years. I felt uplifted and energized and blessed and amazed at how far our family has come.

I kept running, At mile 11 was the Angel Mile, honoring the patients of NCH who have passed away. It was a beautiful mile and I thought about my friend's daughter Katiebug, who was also a patient of NCH and passed away a few years ago. I started getting really tired at this point. I hadn't eaten much breakfast, preferring to run on a light stomach, I was feeling cold again, and I lost track of how much farther I had to go. My dad, who had been occasionally texting me and checking in, texted me and said I was doing great and to keep going. And not to text him anymore. :)

Suddenly I realized that I was only 1/2 mile from the finish line. Hooray! In just a few minutes I crossed the finish line and got my medal! Then I grabbed a blanket, some chocolate milk cartons and a banana, and went back to the finish line to wait for Matt. I kept walking and standing so I wouldn't freeze, and by the time Matt crossed the finish line I was cooled down enough I put my sweatshirt back on and a blanket over that. Matt, who hadn't trained as much and hadn't had any Gatorade, was in really bad shape and ended up bonking for several hours. (Bonking is where your muscles freeze up because you're low on sugar and dehydrated).

We walked back to the car and Matt took this picture of me. I did it! My first half marathon! Someday I hope to run a marathon. In the meantime, Matt and I have already signed up for a race in December. I'm doing a 15k and he's doing a 10k. I had a great experience and wanted to keep up my fitness. I loved feeling part of this cause. The race we're doing next month benefits one of the hospitals here. The girls are going to do the kids race too, and they're very excited.

This was a great experience for me. I love running and running has helped me in many ways, the least of which is getting in shape. Running helped me stay sane through those long early months with Lydia, through the adjustment to Georgia, and gave me chances to think and ponder for hours every week. Here's to many more races!

The Best Examples

Some good friends of ours recently left for their mission in Texas. Matt and I helped them move, said goodbye and finished a few things up for them after they left. They are both incredible examples of dedication, overcoming obstacles, and sacrificing all to God.

One of the projects I finished for them was this quilt. The wife made the quilt top and quilted all the layers together but she didn't have time to bind it. She had the fabric and everything, I just cut it and bind it. I was definitely nervous to work on such a beautiful, big (king-size) quilt. The wife is a professional embroiderer and a very accomplished quilter. I hoped to live up to her standard!

The binding turned out beautiful. And while I was binding this beautiful quilt, I had the chance to think about what amazing examples these people are. I thought about their service, their temple and family history work, their love for so many people.

As I contemplated them I was overwhelmed by the feeling of inadequacy compared to them. I have so much farther to go to be only half as selfless, half as faithful, and half as hard working! They truly are amazing.

It was a blessing to finish this quilt and give it to her granddaughter.

Georgia Snow

No, we didn't get snow....but this cotton field reminded me of it!

I haven't touched cotton yet, but I want to. Does it feel like a cottonball? I want to know!

Welcome to Georgia.

The big girls

My girls are getting so big. Emily is 7 and Nan is 5 1/2. I can't believe how the time has flown by! Here's a little about my big ones.

Emily is an absolute book worm and frequently gets annoyed when we ask her to put her book down at the dinner table. She is responsible and usually does all her week's homework in one day. She keeps track of her siblings, especially Lydia. She helps cook things, helps with household chores and is now old enough that I allow her to ride around on our street with friends unsupervised. We don't live on a big road, but for her it's a big deal! She also convinced me to let her and Nan take the bus to and from school. She is very dependable, just like me. She is very creative and wants to be an astronaut artist.

Emily loves these cowboy boots and wears them everywhere. She has her own sense of style and has become more concerned about her clothes. Comfort still trumps over style every time though! She absolutely adores being outdoors and spends a few hours outside every day playing with friends. Emily is very smart and her lowest grade for the first quarter was a 96. She is very creative and loves to write stories, draw pictures, etc. She is getting older and prefers more alone time now, as well as more complicated games. She loves her sisters but she also likes older things.

Emily has a very determined personality. I frequently remind her that I am in charge, and that she needs to talk to me respectfully, just like I talk to her. She is picking up on more complicated concepts, like what a vaccine really is and the ideas behind space and solar systems. It is fun seeing her blossom into such a smart, responsible girl.

Nathalie is vivacious! She is 150% about everything. Whether it be tantrum-throwing from homework, or excitement about playing after school, or running as fast as she can, Nan never does anything halfway. She wants to be older so badly, but is still little at heart. She loves to sing as loudly as she can, run as fast as she can, jump as far as she can, play as hard as she can, and so on. Nathalie has an absolute zest for life.

Nan is a social butterfly as well. Every day she comes home from school and tells me who did what, who is her friend (or not!) that day, who said this and that. She already wants to be very fashionable. She loves bright colors and pants. Nathalie loves clothes and always asks for more clothes or shoes. She loves to dress up and accessorize. She especially loves to wear Emily's things, which drives Emily crazy.

Nathalie is so smart. She catches onto things very quickly. She is a good reader now and tonight read me the first page of a Magic Tree House book. Nathalie has a great sense of humor and is so even keeled. She bounces back quickly from hurts and setbacks. She has such a great joy in her and it's so hard to contain in her little body.

Where has the time gone?!