You Don't See That Every Day

Most mornings begin with a little groaning and slow moving these days. But once I get out of bed, I generally enjoy mornings. Especially when the sun is shining. This morning I noticed the beauty in the mundane, everyday bits of life. Making lunches for the 3 who leave the house each day; we go through a lot of bread!  Some homemade goodness I whipped us yesterday, oatmeal zucchini bread; it's thick and yummy and chock full of good things like walnuts.  Our dog is part bovine I think. She loves to eat the grass, especially when I mow and the sweet fresh stems get dropped. As I watched the dog I saw the lilacs are in full bloom. So pretty, and they smell so good!  Breakfast and some reading awaiting me  along with grading. I like to grade the girls' books in the morning while it is still quiet and my mind is awake and working. I wonder if most people have a morning 'routine' ...

The Marathon is only about a month away. 33 days. Yesterday I ran 15 miles, the farthest I have ever gone all at once. And by then end, I was tired, and yes, I walked some of it. But I did it, by breaking it down into more manageable distances. 4 miles on my own, 2 miles with my girls on bikes, 4 miles with another daughter on a bike; and then the last 3 + 2 on my own. It was mostly a mental challenge, until the last 2 miles. By then my glutes and shins and other muscles-of-which-I-don't-know-the-names are hurting. I'm so thankful my husband and kids were able to get the laundry taken care of and the food on the table while I was out, and while I was sitting on the couch later. It was hard to go to sleep; I could not find a comfortable position because so many places hurt. But I eventually succumbed and woke bright and early and .. not so sore. Sleep is a wonderful thing! I have no idea how I am actually going to get my mileage up to where I am supposed to go on the training...

(A little past the time but, I finally got the photos on the computer...) Easter - Resurrection Sunday - Hurray! And it was sunny here in Oregon! We've had egg hunts inside the house before, but thankfully, we got to go outside this time. Trying to get these kids to actually take a decent picture - almost impossible at this age. If one settles down, another one decides to be silly. Well, I guess we won't be using these in the Christmas letter. We spent the afternoon with family, eating, enjoying the company, meeting the new nephew from out of town;

Our girl turned 11 this weekend. Hard to believe we have 3 kids in the teen/tween ages. What a ride it has been so far! For her 11th birthday, we took Dot out for dinner, without any siblings! She chose the restaurant - a local Mexican food place - and then we came home for cake!  The next day she finally got a birthday party! We don't do parties for the kids every year - and when the birthday is in April, surrounded by a lot of other activities, other birthdays, and holidays!, the poor girl has had to wait a long time for a party. But this year we made it happen. We were going to have an outdoor event, with games and a treasure hunt; but then the forecast changed our minds. So we planned a craft party. We went to the dollar store (oh what a treasure for parties!) and purchased a bunch of shirts, hats and socks to decorate. The girls arrived in the morning all giggly and wound up. Like most 10-11 year old herds. And then they started designing. It was so fun to hear them and s...

This is for our friend who is far far away ... hope you have a great birthday!!!

Birthday month has begun! We started the party Friday night, with my in-laws coming over to celebrate the Mr's birthday a little early. We had his favorite - berry pie, and sherbet and ice cream. I decided to get out some special plates that had been sitting in the cupboard collecting dust. Lots of dust. I thought it was about time to just start using them! and not waiting for that special day/party. Because, really, every time we celebrate another year, it is a special time. These plates are a 16-piece set that my parents received way back in the day for their wedding. My mom gave them to me awhile ago, knowing she wouldn't be using them to entertain anymore. Just for reference, my parents were married nearly 60 years ago! So these dishes are probably classified as antiques. Not that it matters, I just think it's cool to be using the ones my mom did. We didn't do as much celebrating on Saturday since half the family went to work out on the farm, and the other half (m...

I think spring has finally come to the northwest. What a beautiful week we are having! The girls and I headed out to the farm yesterday for our first spring-farm-day. We got to ride in the back of grandpa's truck and help plant beans. The girls brought some tools and dug in the dirt, concocting all sorts of imaginative places. We stacked wood and played in the mud; enjoyed the sunshine and then the usual lunch with grandparents at the B.King. An unexpected treat - the Mr. was in town and got to come have lunch with us also. Overall a fantastic, dusty, fun time. It's days like this that I wish the older two kids were still home-schooled.

THE Marathon is looming. I have less than 8 weeks to go! Yikes! I am not on-track with the schedule I planned out in the beginning, but I am close. This past weekend I was able to get in 15 miles, although not altogether. The mental part is almost harder than the physical. My legs are tired, sure, but running alone for that long, and not stopping, and not giving in to the little voice that says "Let's eat ice cream instead of run" -- that is hard. I am thankful for the days the Mr. runs alongside me, or the times when the kids ride their bikes with me. They help me to keep going and not think about stopping. I am also learning to eat and drink on the run, literally. Not as easy as it might sound. And I hate the taste of the energy drinks like GU and gatorade. Ugh. But I need something more than water. I wonder if pop would be a good substitute. Ha! This coming weekend we have a half marathon planned. My husband's birthday will be spent running 13 miles, part of ...

Did you wonder what had happened to the remodeling on our house? Well the 3 kids have been living upstairs for over a year now. The playroom is fully functional although the detail work hasn't been done yet (ie. trim). And now the Mr. is working on the bathroom. He got the cabinet in, and the countertop and sink installed. So we have water! This weekend he built the shelf and put up (more!) sheet rock. He's a pro at it by now. My job this weekend was to go shopping. It's a hard life. So I headed down to our lovely date spot - the orange do-it-yourself store - and checked out different tile options. We are looking at Sand Pacific if anyone wants to look it up. We (and that is a loosely used term here) are going to put tile on the backsplash and up on the shelf. Somehow we will tie it in to the shower tile and flooring. That's the hard part for me - visualizing the colors going together. If I see it in a photo, I can tell what I like and don't like. But putting ...

**Disclaimer - I wrote this past last week, and am finally posting it. So read it like you are in the past** My mom had a milestone birthday last week. but it wasn't until this past weekend that many of the siblings were able to get together and celebrate with her. 8 of the 10 of us, and our spouses and children, gathered at Mom and Dad's home for a potluck and cake. It was a great time seeing the family, and my 7 month old nephew (!) who I haven't gotten to hold since he was about a month old or so. Just not right. His baby fat and wiggles and giggles made me so happy. The kids got to see their cousins and have a grand time playing. Earlier in the day I had run 10 miles ... and didn't get a nap in. Not a good idea to jump to a party an hour after running. The killer headache I developed, along with some gut problems, had me in bed before 8 pm.