My precious Sam has such an imagination! It makes me smile to look out the window and see him in play action! September 2011
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
A Little Play
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Miss Fishy
Miss Fishy did indeed pass away before a very eyes last evening. Being as big as she was, we figure she must have been a very old guppy. She was down right vertical the last few days and constantly wiggling. We couldn't find her last night when we came home from football practice, but then discovered her on the bottom of the tank. After using the net to move her, she swam rather frantically to the top but then just floated back down to. When she stopped wiggling, she could no longer float. The boys were able to see what was happening, and I'm thankful we didn't just find her dead already. They are okay. Amazingly, the other guppies hovered around her in the process. These fish are turning out much more interactive than expected.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Fall Football
Sam and Dellen both played football this fall. Dellen played on a team through the recreation center, and Sam through our Warrior league. The latter resulted in many Saturday mornings sitting in dark parking lots as our team got into a caravan to drive to away games. We finished up the season with home games played on the local high school field – very exciting!
Sam loves loves loves tackle football! This was his second year to play; he played starting defensive lineman, was the team’s kicker, and was also on the kick-off return team. He kicked several on-side kicks that our team was able to recover the ball on and drive down the field and score. As his mom, I found it stressful to have a son as a kicker. It is a very singled out position, and when he missed it was hard to hear comments in the stands. I’m going to have to toughen up or have a weekly appointment with a massage therapist to loosen up after football games. Thank goodness he isn’t the quarterback or responsible for catching the ball.
He did a fantastic job though and we are so proud of our #61. He loves a good tackle, and I recall one of his favorite moments when he had an open field tackle, just him and that poor ball carrier. Afterwards, Sam said he could see the fear in the other player’s eyes right before he tackled him. My sweet Sam? Another highlight for him this year, was hearing his name announced on the loud speakers in the stadium. When he was little he would have his daddy and I announce his name as he would run down our hallway with a ball in his hand. He would announce he was playing for Corn Bible Academy. Part of a dream came true for him every week this fall, hearing his name announced during the player introductions and then running onto the field, as well as, after plays that he was a part of. I saw him grow greatly this season. Once (and sometimes still) so shy, he was now interacting with the referees at the start of the game, getting the football from them and placing it on the tee for kick-off, and holding his arm up to signal when the kick-off team would follow his lead as he kicked off the game. His confidence and quiet leadership skills are developing and becoming second nature.
And Dellen loved playing flag football for the first time this year. The players rotated through all the positions, so he was able to play and enjoy a little of everything. He scored a few touchdowns and was also able to pull some flags from the other teams’ players. He has so much bouncy energy and was often seen jumping and smiling as he waiting for the plays to begin. He could make one tough guy face though with his mouthpiece in. We are incredibly proud of our Dellen #5!
Once again, we are so thankful for cheering fans! Thanks for sharing this part of our children’s journey with us!
Sam loves loves loves tackle football! This was his second year to play; he played starting defensive lineman, was the team’s kicker, and was also on the kick-off return team. He kicked several on-side kicks that our team was able to recover the ball on and drive down the field and score. As his mom, I found it stressful to have a son as a kicker. It is a very singled out position, and when he missed it was hard to hear comments in the stands. I’m going to have to toughen up or have a weekly appointment with a massage therapist to loosen up after football games. Thank goodness he isn’t the quarterback or responsible for catching the ball.
He did a fantastic job though and we are so proud of our #61. He loves a good tackle, and I recall one of his favorite moments when he had an open field tackle, just him and that poor ball carrier. Afterwards, Sam said he could see the fear in the other player’s eyes right before he tackled him. My sweet Sam? Another highlight for him this year, was hearing his name announced on the loud speakers in the stadium. When he was little he would have his daddy and I announce his name as he would run down our hallway with a ball in his hand. He would announce he was playing for Corn Bible Academy. Part of a dream came true for him every week this fall, hearing his name announced during the player introductions and then running onto the field, as well as, after plays that he was a part of. I saw him grow greatly this season. Once (and sometimes still) so shy, he was now interacting with the referees at the start of the game, getting the football from them and placing it on the tee for kick-off, and holding his arm up to signal when the kick-off team would follow his lead as he kicked off the game. His confidence and quiet leadership skills are developing and becoming second nature.
And Dellen loved playing flag football for the first time this year. The players rotated through all the positions, so he was able to play and enjoy a little of everything. He scored a few touchdowns and was also able to pull some flags from the other teams’ players. He has so much bouncy energy and was often seen jumping and smiling as he waiting for the plays to begin. He could make one tough guy face though with his mouthpiece in. We are incredibly proud of our Dellen #5!
Once again, we are so thankful for cheering fans! Thanks for sharing this part of our children’s journey with us!
Friday, October 21, 2011
October Random
I take so many pictures on my cell phone of things that I pass by or in effort to quickly capture some cute things that the boys are doing. I want to share a few sights here, and I've put in some others in an effort to share what we see everyday in our lives.
Here is one of our trees out front that has become one of the favorite things about this house. The boys are in it daily and have a huge rope hanging from it in which to swing down from. Russ has hammered a couple of climbing steps to the trunk to aid Dellen in getting up it. I think it will be a Norway Maple, and am waiting to see if the leaves will indeed be yellow. We recently had a couple stop by for a quick visit. The husband had gone through youth group in Corn, and did his internship under Russ in college, and his wife actually lived in our house when she was little. She remembers when her family planted the two trees out front. I'm so thankful for the snippets of history we can uncover about our home.
I love autumn colored mums this time of year. I love pumpkin candles and all things orange and crisp and cool. Dellen's little pumpkin artwork hangs in the window right now. I had always wanted to get married in the fall, but we went with June instead. These are the colors I enjoy the most though.
We have four trees in our backyard also. All of which are much smaller than the two out front. This maple at the rear of the backyard has been changing color the quickest. I enjoy looking out the kitchen window at it. We are in the process of reseeding much of our grass, and you can see a bit of that effort on the left of the tree.
Sam and Dellen have been so happily content drawing and writing lately. Sam is working on a comic book and developing many characters.
Dellen is absolutely loving learning to read. I can tell when he is tired and just overwhelmed with trying to work at reading, but this last week, he has just taken off. More and more words are being read without any effort, and almost without him realizing it. Of course, there are several others that he is working hard to sound out, and is often confused when a word doesn't follow the rule in which he has learned to sound out by. For instance, "look" should read "luke". How frustrating! He and Sam have had two completely different reading curriculum (wish I knew the names at present, but I don't), and I must confess it was easier for Sam. I really wish I had held onto all those books he had made in class in kindergarten. Dellen just has to push through nightly "guided" reading and it has been progressing more slowly until lately. I loved this moment when he kept writing sentences himself and wanted me to sign off on them.
Here are more pieces of his school work that are happily displayed on our refrigerator. Part of his learning, is intentionally sounding out what the words are, even if the spelling is wrong. Those are my favorite pieces, like the "sgere" ghost down below. When I am in the class with the kids, we do a lot of writing and sounding out what the kids hear.
Sam brought home this piece of school work a couple of Fridays ago. Boy does he love to draw. If you can click on the picture, you can really see all the thought and detail he put into his law. He could have just drawn a gun with a circle and a line slashing through it, but that Sam of mine is always really thinking. Someone asked me if he was scared to be at school. No, not at all. Instead, he is a boy who loves to draw action and is almost always in an imaginative world all his own. He also has such a solid understanding of what happens after death. I was overwhelmed in such a positive way with his complex and confident thinking in this picture. God is telling the soul of the dead child to "come home" here. I pray pray pray for him to stay grounded in his faith and conviction of right and wrong.
And, last but not least, let me introduce Little Fishy, Zeke and Zoe to our readers. They've taken up a big part of the last week and a half. Little Fishy is a rather large guppy that we were "privileged" to bring home after Sam's parent teacher conference last week. His class had been learning all about guppies and observing them throughout the first nine weeks of school. Her immediate home was a vase, and we knew soon enough that would have to change. Next home was a fish bowl that we found at Gramps and Grams (Russ has a way of going through their garage and always taking something home). But guppies are social fish, and we feared she was dying all alone, so two more from the store came home to be with her after we were advised that they need at least three to really be happy; one male and two females. And so you can guess now what we are hoping for. Ahem. But babies can't be in the same tank as the adults, so Russ went into our garage (still a dangerous place to venture into) and salvaged our old fish tank and its supplies (which we were not wanting to commit to, and thus why taking the fish bowl from G & G's).
The boys are loving their new pets and it has stopped them asking for kittens, and puppies, and hamsters for the time being. Being able to not invest in more than the $4.00 to buy the two other fish has been very affirming. If we wouldn't have moved with all our "stuff" we would have spent a whole lot more money this last week. It pays to be frugal and hold onto things for twenty years. Russ originally had the fish tank, etc., back in 1994. We used it for a little while when Sam was 2 , and so it is like new again to us now. We won't look much at the fact that there must be a reason that we don't use it longer at a time. We really hope our efforts this time are more beneficial.
Little Fishy is an odd fish. At any given moment we think we'll find her floating belly up. She is at the top in the more vertical position. That is all she does really. Zoe and Zeke are fun and energetic enough. Zeke even follows our fingers across the front of the tank. They are most welcome little guests at present, and much to our surprise, we are enjoying discovering their personalities
Here is one of our trees out front that has become one of the favorite things about this house. The boys are in it daily and have a huge rope hanging from it in which to swing down from. Russ has hammered a couple of climbing steps to the trunk to aid Dellen in getting up it. I think it will be a Norway Maple, and am waiting to see if the leaves will indeed be yellow. We recently had a couple stop by for a quick visit. The husband had gone through youth group in Corn, and did his internship under Russ in college, and his wife actually lived in our house when she was little. She remembers when her family planted the two trees out front. I'm so thankful for the snippets of history we can uncover about our home.
I love autumn colored mums this time of year. I love pumpkin candles and all things orange and crisp and cool. Dellen's little pumpkin artwork hangs in the window right now. I had always wanted to get married in the fall, but we went with June instead. These are the colors I enjoy the most though.
We have four trees in our backyard also. All of which are much smaller than the two out front. This maple at the rear of the backyard has been changing color the quickest. I enjoy looking out the kitchen window at it. We are in the process of reseeding much of our grass, and you can see a bit of that effort on the left of the tree.
Sam and Dellen have been so happily content drawing and writing lately. Sam is working on a comic book and developing many characters.
Dellen is absolutely loving learning to read. I can tell when he is tired and just overwhelmed with trying to work at reading, but this last week, he has just taken off. More and more words are being read without any effort, and almost without him realizing it. Of course, there are several others that he is working hard to sound out, and is often confused when a word doesn't follow the rule in which he has learned to sound out by. For instance, "look" should read "luke". How frustrating! He and Sam have had two completely different reading curriculum (wish I knew the names at present, but I don't), and I must confess it was easier for Sam. I really wish I had held onto all those books he had made in class in kindergarten. Dellen just has to push through nightly "guided" reading and it has been progressing more slowly until lately. I loved this moment when he kept writing sentences himself and wanted me to sign off on them.
Here are more pieces of his school work that are happily displayed on our refrigerator. Part of his learning, is intentionally sounding out what the words are, even if the spelling is wrong. Those are my favorite pieces, like the "sgere" ghost down below. When I am in the class with the kids, we do a lot of writing and sounding out what the kids hear.
Sam brought home this piece of school work a couple of Fridays ago. Boy does he love to draw. If you can click on the picture, you can really see all the thought and detail he put into his law. He could have just drawn a gun with a circle and a line slashing through it, but that Sam of mine is always really thinking. Someone asked me if he was scared to be at school. No, not at all. Instead, he is a boy who loves to draw action and is almost always in an imaginative world all his own. He also has such a solid understanding of what happens after death. I was overwhelmed in such a positive way with his complex and confident thinking in this picture. God is telling the soul of the dead child to "come home" here. I pray pray pray for him to stay grounded in his faith and conviction of right and wrong.
And, last but not least, let me introduce Little Fishy, Zeke and Zoe to our readers. They've taken up a big part of the last week and a half. Little Fishy is a rather large guppy that we were "privileged" to bring home after Sam's parent teacher conference last week. His class had been learning all about guppies and observing them throughout the first nine weeks of school. Her immediate home was a vase, and we knew soon enough that would have to change. Next home was a fish bowl that we found at Gramps and Grams (Russ has a way of going through their garage and always taking something home). But guppies are social fish, and we feared she was dying all alone, so two more from the store came home to be with her after we were advised that they need at least three to really be happy; one male and two females. And so you can guess now what we are hoping for. Ahem. But babies can't be in the same tank as the adults, so Russ went into our garage (still a dangerous place to venture into) and salvaged our old fish tank and its supplies (which we were not wanting to commit to, and thus why taking the fish bowl from G & G's).The boys are loving their new pets and it has stopped them asking for kittens, and puppies, and hamsters for the time being. Being able to not invest in more than the $4.00 to buy the two other fish has been very affirming. If we wouldn't have moved with all our "stuff" we would have spent a whole lot more money this last week. It pays to be frugal and hold onto things for twenty years. Russ originally had the fish tank, etc., back in 1994. We used it for a little while when Sam was 2 , and so it is like new again to us now. We won't look much at the fact that there must be a reason that we don't use it longer at a time. We really hope our efforts this time are more beneficial.
Little Fishy is an odd fish. At any given moment we think we'll find her floating belly up. She is at the top in the more vertical position. That is all she does really. Zoe and Zeke are fun and energetic enough. Zeke even follows our fingers across the front of the tank. They are most welcome little guests at present, and much to our surprise, we are enjoying discovering their personalities
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Love to Hear From You
I would love to hear from you if you are reading my blog. It has been such a great way to share some of what is going on in our lives with our family and friends, and stay connected. I know several of you read but don't like to leave comments here, but please know they sure are welcome. If you don't have a google account, you can click on comments, and then click on the "Name/URL" option and just post right there. Or feel free to follow up via e-mail or facebook.
Monday, October 17, 2011
13.1
I just went out for my post "big race" run, realizing that it was the very first time ever I went out just for the sake of running. When I started back in March, it was already in an effort of training for the decision made in February to run the Long Island Diva Half Marathon. Lori, my sister-in-law, and I completed the half two weeks ago. I'm going to share several pictures below from that trip in a moment.
I'm still processing this crazy journey; one that has been a love-hate kind of relationship. After returning home, I was so relieved that I didn't have a schedule to try and maintain in order to survive 13.1 miles without utter humiliation. My muscles recovered sooner than usual after the race. I think training, while very discouraging at times, had paid off and I really felt great the day of the race. So much so, that the day after I wished I had pushed myself even harder. It was a day that hadn't been duplicated during the training runs. Perhaps there is that much more excitement during a "race" and that much more enjoyment having a partner to run with. Thank you for those that prayed for me. I felt it in massive ways and really appreciated knowing I had caring family and friends praying over me, and helping at home to make the trip possible.
As for this morning, I had been longing for over a week to get back out there. The weather has been gorgeous, and after walking on the trail yesterday with my family, I just longed to be jogging on it. And so, after getting the boys to school this morning, I went out. No pressure. No mileage requirement. No pace to push for. Not that I ever really had that drive; its been more survival.
It was a cool morning, maybe 50 degrees when I got back home. Crunchy fallen leaves are on the trail. A golden hue starting to come onto trees. Our weather is going to take a nose dive this week, with the first freeze of the season looming just a couple days out. I'm excited for what that will do to the trees in our yard and around the area, but for the first time find myself really dreading the colder season coming. I've never felt that way before. The summer drought and record breaking temperatures have stolen a season from us. I experienced more of a winter last year for the first time in years. We enjoyed it, but perhaps I dread repeating it so soon. I think some of my lack of enthusiasm is due to our transitions. I missed seasons; really a year from the move. There have been great things that have happened this year, but I've also felt like I've been just keeping up and doing what has to be done, rather than enjoying a wonderful year of life in our family. I continue to strive to regain some identity that the move has changed in me. I've been trying to regain some identity that vocational ministry suppresses in me. I've been trying to regain and maybe develop for the first time, some confidence that my insecurities take from me.
Perhaps that is why God called me to run; placing that small desire in my heart well over a year ago. How encouraging to know that life will be a spectacular (and often a hard journey) of new and exciting moments and achievements. I would never had imagined running even a decade ago. A year ago, I wouldn't have believed anyone telling me I'd complete a half marathon. But now, I can share witness to being 37 and running for the first time and growing because of it. I wonder what else the future holds for me? What seasons of growth and accomplishment and adventures I'll experience? The possibilities bring a smile to my face.
I'll now bombard you with several pictures from my trip. And apparently, Lori and I were in the mood to document every step of the way. ha!
A floral centerpiece at a park in Warwick, NY, that I've now seen in three different seasons! Lori and I always enjoy having a coffee and a chat in this quaint town.
Lori, Elliot, Sophie and I enjoyed some apple picking at a nearby orchard on a beautiful Friday afternoon. Otherwise, most of the time there was rather cool and rainy. I sure missed having my family with us running through the orchards.
Heading into NYC to go to the 9/11 Memorial in Lower Manhattan (here). Rob was a blessing to us this weekend, and cared for Elliot and Sophie a lot. As a result, Lori and I to had such a fantastic girl time together. Thanks Rob!
The Memorial was spectacular. There is still much construction in the area, but everything is being done with such beauty. Our time there was very moving. There were several families finding the names of loved ones that had perished that September day.
We realized, walking back to where the car was parked, that the Wall Street protesters were in the area. There was so much going on down there, that it took us forever to get out of the area and were entirely unable to cross the Brooklyn Bridge onto Long Island. All in all, I believe it took us two hours from leaving the Memorial to get to the site to pick up our race packets. We just barely managed to do that within the last ten minutes of the Expo being opened.
Here we come!
Saturday night, the host hotel had a pasta buffet for all the running divas. Perfect! After a good meal, Lori and I headed back to our hotel and were lights out by 9:30! I hardly slept that night though. We woke up and left the hotel in the dark and in the last of the rain from the night. But by race time, it was gorgeous. Cool, but the sun was shining and we were very thankful!
We lined up in our starting corrals.
Here is a last minute photo of the crowd in front of us right before the start. There were so many people that even when the start sounded, we stood still for a long time and then slowly moved towards the start line. I think our time chips began clocking our race sometime between three and four minutes after the start.
We did it!! 13.1 miles! We are definitely on a high at this point. The moment was surreal, and even recalling it now is impossible. Did I really do it? I still feel like I wouldn't be able to.
The medal is awesome! And very heavy!
Being a diva marathon, it was filled with such crazy and fun details that us divas could appreciate. ...I'm so not categorically a diva, but lived it up for one day at least.
We wore our tiaras, hot pink feather boas, our diva race shirts, and those incredibly heavy medals all day long.
And after realizing we were only about thirty minutes away from a beach, we wanted to go. Burr! It was beautiful, chilly and deserted.
We were welcomed home by the crew and remained ecstatic the rest of the day! The children loved our attire. Elliot asked his mommy if she won first? In reality, we placed at 2059th and 2060th out of 2641 runners.
Sophie really loved the tiaras. There is a true diva in her pink!
As for the next day, Lori and I could hardly move. Coming down there stairs in the morning was slow. In the afternoon, we decided we needed to go out for a recovery walk at a nearby state park. It was cool and damp again, but nonetheless pretty.
Enjoying a little stop on the way home.
I love this picture!
I had a fabulous time in New Jersey and New York! It was so much fun to complete this journey with Lori. Thanks for your willingness to push yourself and grow alongside me, Lori.
And while I had such a great weekend, and really benefited from the personal time, I sure ached for my family. Life isn't quite the same without them anymore. Gramps and Grams did our Tuesday evening football run (thank you!), while Russ picked me up from the airport. When I arrived home and opened our front door, I was greeted by this fanfare! I loved it! I should have an audio of the excitement from wet little boys getting out of the shower to love on their momma. I couldn't have asked for anything more.
I'm still processing this crazy journey; one that has been a love-hate kind of relationship. After returning home, I was so relieved that I didn't have a schedule to try and maintain in order to survive 13.1 miles without utter humiliation. My muscles recovered sooner than usual after the race. I think training, while very discouraging at times, had paid off and I really felt great the day of the race. So much so, that the day after I wished I had pushed myself even harder. It was a day that hadn't been duplicated during the training runs. Perhaps there is that much more excitement during a "race" and that much more enjoyment having a partner to run with. Thank you for those that prayed for me. I felt it in massive ways and really appreciated knowing I had caring family and friends praying over me, and helping at home to make the trip possible.
As for this morning, I had been longing for over a week to get back out there. The weather has been gorgeous, and after walking on the trail yesterday with my family, I just longed to be jogging on it. And so, after getting the boys to school this morning, I went out. No pressure. No mileage requirement. No pace to push for. Not that I ever really had that drive; its been more survival.
It was a cool morning, maybe 50 degrees when I got back home. Crunchy fallen leaves are on the trail. A golden hue starting to come onto trees. Our weather is going to take a nose dive this week, with the first freeze of the season looming just a couple days out. I'm excited for what that will do to the trees in our yard and around the area, but for the first time find myself really dreading the colder season coming. I've never felt that way before. The summer drought and record breaking temperatures have stolen a season from us. I experienced more of a winter last year for the first time in years. We enjoyed it, but perhaps I dread repeating it so soon. I think some of my lack of enthusiasm is due to our transitions. I missed seasons; really a year from the move. There have been great things that have happened this year, but I've also felt like I've been just keeping up and doing what has to be done, rather than enjoying a wonderful year of life in our family. I continue to strive to regain some identity that the move has changed in me. I've been trying to regain some identity that vocational ministry suppresses in me. I've been trying to regain and maybe develop for the first time, some confidence that my insecurities take from me.
Perhaps that is why God called me to run; placing that small desire in my heart well over a year ago. How encouraging to know that life will be a spectacular (and often a hard journey) of new and exciting moments and achievements. I would never had imagined running even a decade ago. A year ago, I wouldn't have believed anyone telling me I'd complete a half marathon. But now, I can share witness to being 37 and running for the first time and growing because of it. I wonder what else the future holds for me? What seasons of growth and accomplishment and adventures I'll experience? The possibilities bring a smile to my face.
I'll now bombard you with several pictures from my trip. And apparently, Lori and I were in the mood to document every step of the way. ha!
A floral centerpiece at a park in Warwick, NY, that I've now seen in three different seasons! Lori and I always enjoy having a coffee and a chat in this quaint town.
Lori, Elliot, Sophie and I enjoyed some apple picking at a nearby orchard on a beautiful Friday afternoon. Otherwise, most of the time there was rather cool and rainy. I sure missed having my family with us running through the orchards.
Heading into NYC to go to the 9/11 Memorial in Lower Manhattan (here). Rob was a blessing to us this weekend, and cared for Elliot and Sophie a lot. As a result, Lori and I to had such a fantastic girl time together. Thanks Rob! 
The Memorial was spectacular. There is still much construction in the area, but everything is being done with such beauty. Our time there was very moving. There were several families finding the names of loved ones that had perished that September day.
We realized, walking back to where the car was parked, that the Wall Street protesters were in the area. There was so much going on down there, that it took us forever to get out of the area and were entirely unable to cross the Brooklyn Bridge onto Long Island. All in all, I believe it took us two hours from leaving the Memorial to get to the site to pick up our race packets. We just barely managed to do that within the last ten minutes of the Expo being opened. 
Here we come!
Saturday night, the host hotel had a pasta buffet for all the running divas. Perfect! After a good meal, Lori and I headed back to our hotel and were lights out by 9:30! I hardly slept that night though. We woke up and left the hotel in the dark and in the last of the rain from the night. But by race time, it was gorgeous. Cool, but the sun was shining and we were very thankful!
We lined up in our starting corrals. 
Here is a last minute photo of the crowd in front of us right before the start. There were so many people that even when the start sounded, we stood still for a long time and then slowly moved towards the start line. I think our time chips began clocking our race sometime between three and four minutes after the start. 
We did it!! 13.1 miles! We are definitely on a high at this point. The moment was surreal, and even recalling it now is impossible. Did I really do it? I still feel like I wouldn't be able to. 
The medal is awesome! And very heavy!
Being a diva marathon, it was filled with such crazy and fun details that us divas could appreciate. ...I'm so not categorically a diva, but lived it up for one day at least. 
We wore our tiaras, hot pink feather boas, our diva race shirts, and those incredibly heavy medals all day long. 
And after realizing we were only about thirty minutes away from a beach, we wanted to go. Burr! It was beautiful, chilly and deserted.
We were welcomed home by the crew and remained ecstatic the rest of the day! The children loved our attire. Elliot asked his mommy if she won first? In reality, we placed at 2059th and 2060th out of 2641 runners. 
Sophie really loved the tiaras. There is a true diva in her pink!
As for the next day, Lori and I could hardly move. Coming down there stairs in the morning was slow. In the afternoon, we decided we needed to go out for a recovery walk at a nearby state park. It was cool and damp again, but nonetheless pretty. 
Enjoying a little stop on the way home.
I love this picture! 
I had a fabulous time in New Jersey and New York! It was so much fun to complete this journey with Lori. Thanks for your willingness to push yourself and grow alongside me, Lori.And while I had such a great weekend, and really benefited from the personal time, I sure ached for my family. Life isn't quite the same without them anymore. Gramps and Grams did our Tuesday evening football run (thank you!), while Russ picked me up from the airport. When I arrived home and opened our front door, I was greeted by this fanfare! I loved it! I should have an audio of the excitement from wet little boys getting out of the shower to love on their momma. I couldn't have asked for anything more.
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