So I set out early Sunday morning with no idea how I’d do. I told myself that if I needed to walk, I would. I was hoping that I would finish under 5 hours. Secretly hoping that I would come in closer to 4:30. This time was a little different, I had a running partner. My friend Diana joined me and we chatted it up the whole time. The miles flew by and I never had the urge to walk or stop. I just kept going. As we crossed the 13.1 mark, we noticed we were under a 4hour marathon pace! Amazing! That fueled my determination to get to the finish ASAP.  Diana left me on my own for 7 miles, I chugged along counting down the miles. Finally I found my family smiled, waved and ran on. Diana joined me for the last 5. I was less chatty. By mile 25 I was pretty ready for it to be over. Luckily I was almost there! Nothing ever hurt, cramped or bothered me. As we neared the finish I realized I would not make a sub 4hours, but I would blow my old record away. I finished at 4:05:38. I might have even teared up a bit as I crossed the line, so proud that my body had accomplished such a task. I joined the family to take a few photos and we discovered that the memory card had been missing the whole time! We didn’t get one photo! Oh well, Sometimes there’s events that are etched in your memory forever. No photos needed.

of course, this is the age of the iphone and nothing goes completely undocumented

today we had errands to run and activities to get to. the weather was gorgeous, and i have a strong aversion to the car, so we spent a lot of time on our scooters. exercise, vitamin d and tasks accomplished. a wonderful way to spend a day

we made the best of the extra time together with our little family. and fortunately the flu seemed to be a mild bug who didn’t stick around too long.

we spent time playing with our new gifts. daddy really enjoyed helping grow a few new friends

we had a special dinner with lanterns, candle light and “wine”

when putting away the christmas decor, we found a box with dolls we’ve had waiting to give the girls for over two years, so as a little pick-me-up we brought in a new years gift. i’d say the babies were a hit!

we all went to bed early and got some extra rest. we woke up to a beautiful day. after a morning of undecorating the house, we headed to the beach. winter days like this are why i love living in SoCal. truly a gift!

i’d say 2011 was pretty good to us. sure there were struggles, adjustments and financial strain but more than anything there was laughter, giggles, silly songs, lots of love and hugs. our biggest blessing was the arrival of baby meadow. she brought so much joy to us all, i look forward to 2012 with great anticipation of new surroundings, accomplishments and prayerfully a new job for mike. bring it

On the 26th we set out to Ice Skate. Upon our arrival we saw that the rink was closed due to “technical difficulties” I avoided relaying this message to Emmie and instead suggested that we take advantage of the awesome carnival set up in the middle of downtown. They were thrilled!

Once Emmie had her fill of rides, she asked to go ice skating. I broke the news to her that the rink was broken. Her lower lip began to quiver. I quickly gave her a hug and reminded her of the fun we had instead. she looked up at me, smiled and said “I’m hungry.” Fiasco avoided.

The next (early) morning we loaded into the car and headed to Tahoe. Unfortunately, there was not a lot of snow. But we were there for the experience and the tubing. (So were a lot of other people.) We left Meadow in loving arms and headed out to enjoy time with the big girls.

After riding the tubes, I asked Emmie what she thought- “Those were super fun mom!”

“Really Emmie, it wasn’t too fast? Wasn’t scary”.

“No mom, you’re such a scaredy cat”.                   I better toughen up if I’m going to hang with this adventurer.

Christmas Eve- Time to relax, time to play, bake a cake for Jesus, and prepare for the big day.

Christmas Day-  Wake-up early, sneak downstairs, open stockings, wait for cousins, open gifts, venture to see more family, go to church, and pass out with our bellies full and our hearts warm, full of great blessing

What I love most is that this is not your typical “manger scene” nativity. They take you on a walk through the bible, starting with creation and ending with Jesus as King who has risen from Death.

Often, when we recommend this event to friends with little kids, they ask if the crucifixion scene is too intense for little kids. The answer is probably “yes.” The scene is intense and it is uncomfortable, but I want my children growing up knowing that the cross was intense, it was horrifying, it was undeserved. The cross is not something new to our girls. It is something we discuss daily. We thank Jesus for his obedience and sacrifice. We talk of sin and our need for forgiveness. If anything this reenactment has been a great learning tool, reference and visual aide to enhance the story of the Gospel. For weeks after there is great discussion about Jesus dying on the cross, but we are quick to point out the tomb is empty… and He is Risen Indeed

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The night before thanksgiving, the girls and I realized, we would need a turkey for our dinner. We set up a little trap, in hopes of catching our bird. Emmie helped decorate the box, drawing a few turkey’s to lure him in. We were not sure if he preferred sweet or savory corn, so we left both.

In the morning we awoke to find, he had escaped our trap, but left us a little turkey poop behind as a treat

One of my favorite traditions of thanksgiving, is the Turkey Trot. In the past few years, we have not participated, as they aren’t conveniently located to us. I thought, why not make one of our own. So the “Family Fun Turkey Trot ” was born. I was pleasantly surprised, when several families came down to the park to join us. The kids did awesome!! It was a really fun start to our day.

We headed over to friends for the big meal. I neglected to get a shot of all the food, but it was delicious! There were beautiful centerpieces, lots of books read, games played and scooters ridden.

Some great dessert finished of the evening and was topped off with some homeade ice cream, and hand whipped, whipped cream. yum!

We have so much to be thankful for! Mostly I’m thankful for our great God who loves us, lavishes us with blessing upon blessing and sent his son.