You Don't See That Every Day

It's officially the start of training season for me. Which means I have 17 weeks to go until the marathon. Yikes. It wasn't so big a deal when I knew I was 19+ but now, having a week done and looking at the calendar, I am feeling a minor twinge of apprehension. Yesterday was day 3 of my 3 in a row run. And by last night I was Tired. I'll be finding a nap today at some point. So I can be ready for the long run this weekend! We're also volunteering at a local race this weekend. It will be my first time on the other side of a road race. Ive helped at cross country meets some, but this is like a real road race with grown-ups and serious runners and everything. I am pretty excited about it! In other sports news. ... basketball season is nearly at an end! How can that be?! It seems like the Boy just started! It has been fun to watch him progress and really improve on his game. I just love watching basketball whether he is in the game or not! He was named captain of the

It's that time again! This year it's my daughter who is collecting Box Tops to turn in at school. And because it's a competition, we are trying to get all we can. When it was The Boy's turn - the past two years - I do believe he handily won. Or at least I thought he should have! So this morning Little K and I spent some time sorting. Next we - well, I - am going to do some trimming and making sure they are not expired. The contest is usually in February. so if you have any box tops you want to send us, we will take them!!!

19 weeks. That's just just a little bit over 4 months! I have 4 months to get up to 26.2 miles. I've got a looooong ways to go. My last long run, on Sunday, was 6 miles; and then because I felt so good, I took the dog out for another mile, to make 7. It was beautiful. I thought I would start my 'real' training this week, following a book I am using as a guide. It called for three days in a row of 3 miles. Easy peasy, right? Yeah, unless you don't feel well, and then, 3 miles on any day looks daunting to me. So I finally got out the door today and did the first day of 3 miles. Maybe I will do it again tomorrow. Or maybe I won't. I mean, I have 19 whole weeks to go .. which is nearly 5 months.

Perhaps you have heard of date-night. Perhaps you regularly practice date night with your spouse. For us, it seems like these are few and far between; mainly because when we have a free night, we usually just want to be at home for once. But Saturday the opportunity presented itself for G. and I to go to town together, without children, for nearly 4 hours. I would call that a daytime date-night. Or maybe just a date-time. The ultimate goal was Home Depot - like so many of our dates - but we managed to visit the "other" home improvement store, along with a second-hand furniture store. We were looking for the bathroom countertop to put in the bath of the addition. Oh, yeah, remember that remodel/addition that we started way back in 2011? Yeah, we are still working on it. It is mainly just finish work to be done in the main rooms, but the bathroom has a long way to go. We had a price in mind when we walked in the store, and we looked at the options for size that we had. And th

In my corner of the world this week: I have seen a number of ballerinas in the house. The girls have unearthed their tutus and leotards, and have been dancing to George Winston's "December" album. Although wearing a tutu to the store, or anywhere, is normal for my year old, it has been an exercise in exercising for my older girls -ie. keeping warm in the winter while wearing tutus. We also managed to have picnic this week. My Little K asks nearly every day to eat lunch outside. As she puts it, "I really like to be outside!" Unfortunately Oregon winters are not so conducive to outdoor picnics. We had to improvise. Basketball is in full swing for my son - and so is the laundry that comes with it. Her my little helper is trying on her big brother's shorts.

Well the new year has begun, and we're back to the same old daily schedule, which is never the same because if you have kids and if you home school, no day is the same as the any other. The beginning of the week was brutal. Tired kids, tired parents, weepy kids, teeth-gritting parents. Over the break we all stayed up late nearly every night and didn't get up early. So when the first day of school came, and the 'regular' get-up-time came around, the no-sleep fog inhibited our brains. My daughter, during math class that morning, said she forgot how to do long division. Pull.My.Hair.Out. How do you forget this?! Well, when sleep-deprived I guess anything happens. Today, Thursday, I let them sleep in. Wednesday nights are pretty crazy with church activities, so we take the next morning really easy. I even went back to bed to cuddle with my youngest, and ended up snoozing some more. So far all I have heard are giggles instead of fussiness. What a beautiful sound. Two o

I've finally dug out from under the mountain of laundry and found time to tell our tale The mountain, minus one load 4 states in 1 day of a two day road trip. 2100 miles. 5 children, 2 adults, and only 1 minor meltdown. Burger King and Denny's - more than once. Lots of snow, lots of love and cousins. It was a beautiful Christmas vacation. sledding! And yet, there is so much more to say. We saw God's hand on us in many ways. We originally rented a van to haul all of us and our gear to Wyoming. When we went to pick up the van, the rental agency said they didn't have one... but had a Ford Expedition instead. I thought at first, it would be too small. And yes, it was a little tight. But that just meant we had to pack lighter and that meant less to lose along the way. It also meant 4 wheel drive. Which we needed the first night, and the second night of traveling. We hit snow in Spokane and again in Billings. Driving in blowing snow, when the temps ou