thanksgiving

thanksgiving. time to give thanks. i give thanks for my dad still being here this year. i love that god has given him another shot, more time, more health, more life to live with his family. i love that i just spent thanksgiving with my parents, eating the foods i grew up on, saying the prayers that comfort me. looking across the table and seeing my four beautiful children, parents and husband. its a tradition i hope my children take to heart and continue forever.
we will go to my husband's family tomorrow and eat the foods he grew up on, see the cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents that make his holidays so special.
i have family in town. i have two brothers that live within 30 minutes of me and one that is a couple hours away, but i won't share turkey with them this year. why? i don't know. i just think family is a funny thing. family describes those people who would lay their life down for you without hesitation. those that through squabble, pride, love and laughs you would do anything for. that is my family. that is my brothers. why aren't we together? i don't know. we say things like, we are busy, gotta work, tired, etc... i don't know.
i know that i love them. i respect them. i admire them. love their families.
want to be close to them. my brother closest to me in age has been my hero my whole lifetime. i have always had him on the highest pedestal. to me, he will always be the strongest, smartest, most fun person i know.
i don't believe any of them read my blog, or even know i have one. these things i say, i don't say to them. there are reasons we don't see each other. reasons that mean nothing in the grand picture of life.
i ran a half marathon this week and saw a man younger than all three of my brothers lying in the grass, half naked, blue and getting compressions. no heart beat. his family had to be informed of this news while waiting with signs for their husband/father to cross the finish line. he made it to mile 12. it just put things in perspective.
i give thanks that i have a big loving family. i pray that i have them a little closer next thanksgiving.

running

two weeks until my half marathon. im not embarrassed to admit that i am pretty proud of myself for coming so far. i remember when i started running a couple years ago, i headed out of my cul de sac and felt my chest tighten in the first block. my pants were tight and my fat roll was hanging over them. i could barely make it one song without feeling like my heart was exploding. i was mortified every time a car drove by me, hoping they weren't shaking their head in pity. then i could run two songs, and three. then i could run a mile. a few months later i ran three miles for the first time. i wasn't until a couple of months ago that i could run four. then my friend talked me into training for the half marathon in november. i laughed. then i started. i ran five, then six, seven, eight, nine and today - ten. ten miles in just under two hours. im so amazed at what your body can do, when your mind is set to it. i now know that the half will be tough, but totally something this girl can do.
its one thing i do every day, i stick to it, even when i dont want to. my ipod told me the other day i just crossed the 750 mile mark. i ran 750 miles in the past two years. i have lost about 10 lbs, not a lot, but enough to put me where i am happy, healthy and no longer stressing over everything that goes into my mouth. i think it has been since junior high since i felt that way.
i haven't registered for the race yet, because even up until today, i wasn't sure if it was something i could do. now im sure, and im off to register.

conversation.

on the way home from the pumpkin patch, this was a conversation overheard from the back seat.
ashton "mommy, maggie is eating her boogers."
maggie "no i isn't."
ashton "yes you are. that's so gross maggie."
maggie "mmmm, mmmmm MMMMMM. i just had the most delicious one ashton."
ashton "MAGGIE stop it."
maggie "hey ashton, im going to the booger patch to pick you a good one."
ashton "maggie if you do that in kindergarten they are going to make fun of you."
maggie "what's funobyou?"
ashton "NO make fun of YOU."
maggie "whats funobyou?"
ashton "no maggie, its FUN OF YOU. never mind."
maggie "hey buddy did you want me to pick you a good one? i got a delicious one from the booger patch."

me "maggie that is not very lady like, please don't talk like that."
maggie "not berry what mom?"
me "lady like."
maggie "well im not a lady, im just a wittle girl mom."

can i get an AMEN?

those of you who know me will get a kick out of this. if you know me, you are aware of the fact that i have a problem with inappropriate laughter when i am tired. it just bubbles over me and i can't stop. nothing will stop. i laugh until i am full out crying, head down, tears rolling, just can't control it. the weirdest things will set it off. it most often happens at 3 or 4 in the morning, while at work.
today, it happened at church. i chose to stay up for the service after working all night.
in the middle of worship sitting next to my unsuspecting husband, i got overcome with the giggles. i guess he has never seen me do it before.
we were singing "our god is greater, our god is stronger" and so on. then it happened.
this little old lady behind us starts to sing. i mean she really sang it out. she had this vibrato that i couldn't replicate if i tried, almost like a cartoon character. she was really loud. the first note and i started to giggle. then she kept going, and so did i. jeff just shook his head and held my arm. he may of said something about this not being junior high, but i couldn't hear over my giggling and her singing.
then the sermon started. it was quiet and i had composed myself.
the pastor said a couple of things and she belts out - "AMEN. MMMHMMM." again, really loud and in that crazy voice. every ten to twenty seconds she repeated herself. it was just too much. i prayed, i thought about other things. i tucked my head in my shirt and covered my face with my hair. and then she would say it again. "MMMMHHHHMMMM, AMEN" oh please. please stop. i couldn't even leave because we were blocked in.
then he was telling a story and he says, i told you last week about the tree falling on my head, and she interrupts and says "OH YES YOU DID. MMMHHHMMM. AMEN."
in my defense, i noticed another couple smiling in front of us, and the little boy directly in front of me turned around once. im not sure if it was to see me or the lady, we were both probably causing a stir.
better luck next week.

opposites

total opposites.

what is new

what is new in my world as of today. i have started grad school, began teaching nursing clinicals two days a week, started training for a half marathon and adopted two giant puppies in addition to my current full time job at the hospital!
i think i might be a touch crazy, but i am already three weeks in and seem to be handling it okay.


the dogs, which came already named penny and coco, are terrible and wonderful all at once. they have chewed up a shoe, my kindle case, carson's football mouthpiece, various barbies and toys, and this morning's paper. i want to hate them, but as i am typing maggie is on top of penny kissing her and penny is hugging her with both paws... they kind of just fit right in from day one.

my 1/2 marathon is in november and then i am hopefully going to just back off a little on the working out. i would really like to be one of those happy ladies who just go for a simple walk once a day and call it good. i hope my aging metabolism likes that idea too.

the grad school thing was a no brainer. its one class a week for 15 months, totally paid for by my hospital. i am hoping someday this will open doors for me to work something with more normal hours in the future.

off to walk these mutts.

i scream you scream

for his family birthday, carson chose to go to this little ice cream shop downtown and attempt the banana split challenge. it is made with eight large scoops of ice cream, two bananas and mounds of candy, syrup, fruit and whipped cream. the rule is you have to finish it alone in 15 minutes.



he started strong.


got very cold and had the shivers.



moved outside and warmed up, 5 minutes left.



finished with 1/2 scoop left and the bananas.


gagged, paused and decided he was done.


i was in shock at the amount of sugar that boy put away. he had to sit for a minute, but then we went to a playground and he ran and ran, like nothing had happened. amazing.

it did tucker maggie out - this is a glimpse at how sugary sweet she was on the way home.