He Did It and Survived!

Coming in for the home stretch!
Heading under the arch for the finish line! They announced his name over the loud speaker as he ran through!
I need gatorade!!!
Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!
Daddy's cheering section! (They look real thrilled!)


Mark ran his first half-marathon (13.1 miles) yesterday and survived! Here's the proof! He woke up at 5:30 a.m. to eat his oatmeal and drink a certain amount of water to keep him hydrated then headed off to the race here in town for a 7:30 start time. He arrived at the finish line 2 hours and 24 minutes later, and never even walked! He definitely wasn't the first runner in, but there were at least 30 or so still behind him so he was pleased. He wanted to finish alive with an average of 10 to 11 minutes per mile and he did it! So, we are all so proud of him for finally accomplishing this goal he's had for about three years. We showed up toward the end to cheer him on in to the finish line but we were getting a little worried when he didn't show up for awhile. I asked a policeman there if he had heard of anyone collapsing along the route and thankfully he said no. Levi was at a spot where he could see better so we kept asking him do you see anyone coming with a white shirt and black shorts? And he would say yes but it's not Dad--it's another girl! We were all relieved when we finally spotted Mark jogging along and giving us the thumbs up sign! He spent the rest of the day going to church, eating a lot of food, taking ibuprofen, sitting in the hot tub and icing his knees. He said he'll run another one sometime, but definitely not tomorrow!

One Proud Mama!

My handsome little Webelo Scout!
Sorry, this one's a little blurry!
Getting ready to lead the flag ceremony...
Cheeeeeeeez!!!
Levi on safety patrol at school.

Here's the pictures I promised of Levi who is just starting in cub scouts this year for the first time. He's begged us to join every year since Kindergarten and since he's not playing any sports this fall we decided we'd let him try scouts. So this was his first night in uniform, performing the flag ceremony and getting some badges! You can tell by the pictures that he's lovin' this stuff! The last picture there is Levi on safety patrol at his school. He did NOT want me to take his picture but I managed to sneak a photo anyway. It looks like he saw me and is saying "MOOOOM!"

Caleb had a great soccer tournament last weekend in St. Louis. We're not sure if it was soccer or smackdown tho! They won all 3 games which put them into the semi-final game against a tough St. Louis team where we lost 2-0. Those boys were crazy and literally beat up our kids. Caleb took several knock-downs and came off the field at the end of the game with his white jersey stained in blood. Playing soccer with braces is sometimes not a good thing. Our boys were good sports about it though and we are looking forward to our next tournament in Nashville in a few weeks!

We also had teacher conferences for Caleb last night at Junior High. That's always a little nerve-wracking! You think it's going to go well, but there's always that slim chance that it won't! Caleb had a great report card and good remarks from all teachers so we were very relieved, thankful and hope this will continue through the year!

One last comment or prayer request....Mark is scheduled to run his first half-marathon this Sunday morning at 7:30 am. That means 13 or so miles. He is so excited and I am so nervous! So if you think about him please pray that he will arrive alive at the finish line! GOOOOOO MARK!

Sales, Scouts & Soccer

Whew! What a busy week we've had! I've spent most of the week pricing out-grown clothes and toys for the local children's sale next week so my house is a wreck--the front room looks like a garage sale is about to take place! On top of the normal weekly activities I also had Bunco this week and Mark started Men's Fraternity at church. Lydia and I literally spent from 2:30 yesterday to 6:45 in the van running kids all around to their various places. That is nuts--I could have been all the way to Nashville or somewhere fun in that length of time!

Levi had his first scout meeting last night where he performed the flag ceremony and he received his first badges. He looked so handsome in his new uniform--I'll post some pictures later when I have more time. He is so excited about scouts and all the cool things they get to do. This is right up his alley and we're happy that he has something special to be part of that's just for him and his dad!

We leave this evening for a weekend soccer tournament in St. Louis with Caleb. We're looking forward to some family time to get away and I'm looking forward to an afternoon at the outlet mall getting bargains on fall clothes for the kids! I'll let you know how we do! Gotta run get gatorade and snacks for the trip--a hungry soccer player is not a happy camper!

Fair Fun!

You may be wondering how come I didn't post last week. That's because we literally were not home much except to sleep in our beds. The fair was in town last week and some or all of us were there almost every day! Our church has a tent there where we hand out balloons, glow sticks and church info to people and Mark is sort of in charge of it so we feel like "carnies" when the fair comes to town. A huge thanks to Mom and Dad and all the other LBC volunteers who spent many hours there, too! It is alot of fun and my kids love it! There's no telling how much money we spent on taffy, fried oreos, sweet tea, lemon shake-ups and king taters! We will not be stepping on any scales this week that's for sure! Don't want to see those numbers!

We had a great weekend with Kip, Gina, Ellie and Macie coming home for a visit to the fair! Sunday we woke up to 56 mph winds and rain as Hurricane Ike passed through--that was weird! Power was out all over including the church so it was cancelled for the day. We had a fun, lazy day with family then spent the evening pulling out boy toys to sell in our children's consignment sale coming up next week. We are trying to make room for all the girl stuff now! The problem is the toys have too many memories and nobody wants to sell anything so our playroom still looks about the same as when we started. Everybody's gone to school today tho so I'm going down to box it all up and they'll never know it's missing! Mean mama!

Speaking of mamas...if you haven't seen the movie "Baby Mama" yet, go rent it right now. It is hilarious! We even watched it twice this weekend and I hardly ever watch a movie more than once! I'm off to the playroom now--wish me luck!

TGIF!

Thank Goodness It's Friday! I think I need my "mom pay" doubled this week! I've been taking care of one itchy, irritable kid, poor thing. Caleb's case of poison ivy went from bad to worse and he has been MISERABLE! He's been home from school for three days and doped up on steroids, benadryl, hydrocortisone cream and oatmeal baths! On top of it all he's had a bunch of homework to make up and the blisters on his fingers are so huge he can barely write! He has missed soccer practice, PE and his first youth lock-in tonight so he is pretty mad. I think he's learned his lesson tho and will never return to the woods again!

Happy little Levi's had a great week at school tho! He got the Good Citizen award for his class and is starting Cub Scouts for the first time ever and an after-school marathon club and book club! And, next week he gets to take a turn on the Safety Patrol. He's so happy to be back in school again! He's one of those kids that jumps up out of bed every morning and can't wait to be the first one at the school door! Thank the Lord!

It feels a little like Fall here today with a bit cooler temps. I put jeans on today for the first time this season and it's such a relief when you can still button them from last year! Know what I mean? If Caleb feels OK after school I think we'll go watch our high school football team lose, I mean, play their first home game tonight! School, blue jeans, cooler weather, football....Fall is in the air!

Labor Day Weekend Fun...

What a busy weekend! Here are the highlights. Friday night Caleb had his first dance of junior high. And of course, his Mom made him pose for a picture before he left! We wouldn't let him ask a girl, although many of his friends did--isn't that crazy for 12 and 13 year olds?! So he went with his friend Matt! He had fun, just not sure how much dancin' he did!

That same night kicked off my 20-year high school class reunion! Unbelievable that it's been that long. We also had a dinner Saturday night and a family picnic on Sunday for that. I didn't make it to our 10-year reunion so it was pretty interesting to see people. Some looked exactly the same, others I had no idea who they were. My little circle of friends wasn't able to make it, but it was alot of fun to introduce my husband and kids to them and catch up! I can't believe I didn't take a single picture!

Sunday evening we had a family party at Mark's parents' house to celebrate the first birthday of our nephew Josiah! And then we spent Labor Day doctoring up Caleb who is completely covered in poison ivy! It's in his eyes, mouth, nose, everywhere! He is absolutely miserable and even missed school today. We are hoping the steroids kick in soon! I tried to take his picture for the blog but he wouldn't let me. Poor thing!

My Grandma J is still in the hospital and having a good day, then a bad one. She has congestive heart failure and we are still praying for peace and comfort for her. Thank you for thinking of her.