10 months

Our little baby is growing into a little lady ... okay, not quite. But, she is growing so fast! She turned 10 months on the 19th, so as usual I'm behind. She is so close to walking ... she has taken three or four steps on several occassions, but she always drops to her knees and crawls as fast as she can to get what ever is she wants ... usually it's something she isn't supposed to have. She is also eating a lot more table food. That is almost all she gets at daycare. She also recently began drinking her formula in a sippy cup! I haven't tried that myself ... she just does that at daycare.

Here is a bulleted run down of her milestones:

• cruising, taking steps, nearly walking
• eating table food
• feeds herself with ease
• babbling much more
• now has seven teeth!
• has the absolute best smile in the world
• pushes toys everywhere
• recently began climbing
• likes to stand up in the tub
• opens the microwave on every opportunity
• wearing 12-18 months

Did I mention how much joy she brings to our lives? She is such a good baby! I have to start planning her birthday and schedule a photoshoot for her!

Worry less, laugh harder, love more

At work, I send out a lot of email announcements to keep everyone informed. As a Christian organization, we actually get to send out prayer requests. Most of the time, these are about deaths—older individuals, people's parents, etc. Very sad, yes, but the one I sent out yesterday broke my heart. It was for a student who attended one of the external sites. His family was asleep when a tornado went through their town a few weeks ago. His wife and young son passed away fairly quickly, while the student and his young daughter survived, but were in critical condition. He passed away over the weekend leaving his little girl without her family. Every time I think about it, tears immediately form. I've been in the loop on her updates, and it sounds like she is in excellent hands with her aunt's family and doing really well. It still hurts me.

I hugged Emma extra tight last night and squeezed Denny's hand a little longer than normal and thought about all of the things that really matter in life. It's so easy, in the day to day, to get caught up with the little things that go wrong. A flat tire, slow drivers, etc. all can make a typical day seem awful. Those examples stink. I can't think right now! This tragedy has really put things into perspective for me, and at least for the time being, all of those annoyances really just seem like annoyances. Not anything that would make me lose sight of what is truly important. So, when things go wrong, I am going to try to think about all that is right.

So last night, I didn't try to accomplish too much. I made lasagna while Denny worked in the garden and then we "watched" a movie while Emma raced around the living room like a mad woman. She is such a blessing! It was the perfect evening. I think I will try making less plans and concentrating on taking advantage of every moment I have with Denny and Emma.

Sunburst 2010

Well, I did it. I finished the 2010 Sunburst Mini Marathon. It wasn’t pretty. I thought my legs and ankles were going to give out on me in the last three miles, but I kept going. I have the medal to prove it!

I’m going to back up a little to chronicle why this planned-for event turned into such an immense struggle for me. I began training several weeks ago. Right before Easter, my efforts were sidetracked because I twisted my knee. I finally started to get back into the swing of things when I became more sick than I have ever been in my life. I was knocked out for two weeks. I had pneumonia. That was four weeks before the race. I didn’t even attempt to resume my training. I did one or two workouts before the race, but my heart just wasn’t in it. I strongly considered switching to the 5k or 10k, but I had already paid for the mini. I decided to just give it a try.

I stayed with Jenny through the first nine miles! We ran a lot of the first six, which I think is what ended up killing me. She was planning on staying with me until mile 10, but I finally just told her to go! I strongly considered quitting between miles 10-12 … my ankles started to hurt. I just kept going … that seemed easier than finding a volunteer to take me to the end.

I eventually reached the part of the race where the marathoners and mini marathoners meet up. I started looking for Jeremy, but I had no idea what he was wearing. Then, I spotted him!! I waved to make sure. It was just the boost I needed. He walked with me briefly, but I was going sssllllooooow. Anyway, I ended up finishing just a couple minutes after him with a time of 3:07 … my personal worst. Oh well. I did it! And Jenny was right at the finish line waiting for me! She rocked … 2:43 or something. Three minutes off her goal, but that is so great! And Jeremy! He did the full marathon … 26.2 miles. He did awesome! I think his time was 4:16 or so.

I really hope to properly train for a mini one day and run it well. I would like to finish in 2:30 … maybe someday.