My marathoner

Bruises, Sweat and Tears, were all involved in the completion of this race. I got to run the last 6 miles with Darrin and it was an amazing experience. By the time Darrin met up with me he had run 20 miles, and he was tired. He got leg cramps around mile 14 and so needless to say he was also in a lot of pain. I felt so much pressure to entertain and support. He did great though, he listened to me talk and even put up with my "You can do 3 more miles, you can do that in your sleep" pep talks. He did amazing, but if I hadn't run with him, I would have never known the the overwhelming feeling that a marathoner must feel. I really can't put into words the admiration I felt for him watching him push himself farther then he ever thought possible, I guess you just had to be there.

Guess what we got?

SNOW! My girls have been asking for weeks now when it was going to snow. the day Jaya got really persistent, I told her that we would have snow all winter, it didn't need to come in November. Apparently her prayers were answered, and yes she did pray it would snow, several times in fact.
Baylie was the first to discover it from her window, and ran in to tell the rest of us, I haven't seen Jaya dress so fast in the morning since school started, and then she was out, enjoying all of it.

26.2 is a VERY long way

26.2 miles is often overlooked. With vehicle transportation we think nothing of this distance. Darrin drives this distance on a daily basis to work, and doesn't think twice. Yet tomorrow 26.2 miles will be a great accomplishment for Darrin who is going to run his first marathon. It will take approximately 4 hours, and I can't even imagine how many songs you would have to download to take up that time, I am sure Darrin knows, if not, I wonder if he should keep a count.
It's a grueling race, it's up one side of the Colorado National Monument and down the other. The upside to all this is that the views are incredible.
I think he is most nervous about the amount of pain he is going to be in, I know he's going to do great.

Good luck Darrin, your AMAZING, and it's not because you are running a marathon!

Woodland Creature

I had the honor of teaching our Primary children the song "Beautiful Savior" it has become one of my absolute favorites through the process of teaching. The 2nd verse says..."fairer the woodlands" and for some reason every time I hear woodlands, I think of woodland creatures. Which then, small dwarfish elves come to mind. I know that is not the songs intent, but it has just stuck with me. I am also aware that these woodland creatures I have conjured up in my mind do not really exist, but the other day as I took Jaya to school I looked in my rear view mirror to find a small "woodland creature" in the back of my van. Doing a double take I laughed out loud and sang "fairer the woodlands". If these little people did exist I think this is how they would look. Do you agree?

This is me...

You know I have great intentions and ideas as a mother, I really do. It's just when it comes to executing those ideas the gap is much wider then I care to admit. So I have just accepted that I have good days and bad days. They say that a picture tells a story and frankly they are right, and this picture speaks volumes. So what is this picture telling you? Well, for starters, it shows that I was so excited to try a garage shoot that I didn't even bother to wipe off my kids face. How about the fact that I didn't even notice the food, the whole time I shot 35 pictures. It wasn't until I was editing the photos that I saw it. At that point, I was grateful that I neglected this fact because this picture speaks volumes about this boys mother. She has good days and bad days.

It's arrived

Fall has arrived, and I love it. I love the colors, the cooler weather, Halloween, carving pumpkins, and all that fall means.

Fun Festivities

My sister and her husband had a fun halloween party for all the kids. They had a cake walk, hay rides, and eating smores by the fire. It was a such a fun day.