My First Blog Award :)

One of me very favorite bloggers gave me the Liebster Blog Award. What is a Liebster?? It means "favorite" or "beloved" in German.

Jan is such an inspiration to me. She is pushing herself to become the best mom, wife, and Christian that she can be :)

Thanks Jan!!!

Funny!

Pictures from QC Half...

There are always professional photographers throughout the course ready to take your picture (at the worst times).

Recovery

The half was on Sunday and I could tell that my legs were going to be a little sore for a few days. Yesterday I started phase two of P90X, which worked great because day one is upper body weights. Day two, which was today, happened to be plyometrics (jump training). Skipping this workout was an option but that would have been a mistake.

After a long run when your legs are achy and recovering it can be good to push them a little. A short run or some squats can help work out the soreness. Walking down the stairs to start plyo my legs hurt; walking back up after the workout they felt really good :)

Recovery isn't always about laying around doing nothing (although that does have it's place). Sometimes you need to do a little work in order to recover well.

And the P90X recovery drink is always good!

QC Half 2011 Results

I woke up this morning and told Aaron that I felt better. I was correct, sort of. My head cold was gone; but it had moved into my chest. I waited inside the Radisson for the race to start. As I was sitting there waiting I realized something else..I was tired. I didn’t really want to run 13 miles. At mile one I was starting to despair; my legs were already achy. My chest congestion was not allowing me to get a deep breadth, which resulted in little oxygen making it to my legs. I knew at that point that I was in trouble.

I really wasn’t looking forward to the next 12 miles; but I knew I would not stop. I told myself over and over “this is what determines who you are”. It’s easy to keep going when it’s easy; much harder when it’s not. At about mile 6 I came to the conclusion that I wasn’t going to run a good race time wise, but I could still have fun. I took out my phone and took pictures as I ran.

I called Aaron around mile 9 and told him to head toward the finish line. Then the worst thing possible happened (well not the worst, but pretty close) at mile 10 my ITB started hurting-badly. At one point I was running with clenched fists. I stopped twice to stretch (didn’t help at all). My goal for the next 3 miles was to run on every piece of grass I could find and get it done.

As I turned the corner and saw the finish line a surge of excitement came over me. I was so close to being done, Aaron and the kids were waiting to cheer me on, and I was tired of everyone passing me J So I bolted down the street and passed at least 5 runners before I crossed the finish line.

My initial goal was to beat last year’s time (2 hours 15 minutes). Actually, I wanted my time to be less than 2 hour 10 minutes (that would be a 10 minute pace, and I wanted my pace to be under 10). My finishing time- 2 hours 7 minutes! I PR’ed !!!!

(PR=personal record)

Aaron took this picture as I was jetting to the finish line. I'm preparing to pass the girl in the black capri's. I ended up passing everyone that was in front of me :)

Some pictures to compare and show what healthy eating can do :)

This year-

Last year-

This year-

Last year-

Well it happened...

My oldest came down with an awful head cold for one day. He sneezed all over this house for 24 hours. You guessed it, we have now traded places.

Being sick is a fact of life this time of year. It's bound to happen at some point. However, the fact that I have been training for a half marathon for months, that happens to be tomorrow...that just stinks.

I slept ten hours last night. Got up feeling awful and started packing for our trip. An hour later I was back in bed and slept another hour. My husband, who knows me well, made me take Tylenol (I hate taking medicine). After that hour nap I'm feeling a bit better. Was it the rest? Medicine? No, I think not. Laying in bed I realized that I can't fix this; I prayed and put it in God's hands.

I owe this turn around in health to the Lord. If I'm still sick tomorrow so be it, that is not the end of the world. I will still praise God that He healed this body enough hat I could enjoy the trip to see an old friend and do what I love, run. If I'm 100% better; well then I will kick but in the QC half marathon and praise the Lord that He healed me; and I was able to completely enjoy a passion that He has put inside of me. Either way, all praise goes to God. He is in control of this feeble body and this life that longs to do His will.

Some of My Favorites :)

One year ago (on this coming Sunday) I was told that I was prediabetic and needed to drastically change my diet. I knew what I needed to eliminate and I did so immediately (I am not that great at moderation). I have been soda and cookie free for one year! WooHoo!

Those were two categories that I just took off the table. I also kept track of the sugar and carb content of all the foods that I did eat. Over the past year I have found lots of different foods that I love. I thought I would share a few of my favorites.

For breakfast I enjoy a whole wheat English muffin with cheddar cheese and a piece of sausage (i gram of sugar/1 serving carbs). This has been my breakfast for the last year. I also add a piece of 15 grain toast with 1 Tb peanut butter and 1 1/2 teaspoons honey (14 1/2 grams sugar/ 2 servings carb).

I also love V8 fusion blueberry/pomegranate juice. Juice in general is a no no (high sugar content). I add a little of this juice to a glass of water. Makes it taste so good and is lower in sugar.

Some of my other favorite foods are..

• Soy Crisp's -Sea Salt & Cheddar (low sugar/low carbs, contains soy protein)
• Salad with turkey bacon and pepper jack cheese (no sugar/no carbs)
• Ghirardelli 60% Chocolate- an awesome treat :) One or two squares at a time.
• Annie's southern vegetable soup

I am running the 13.1 Chicago Half Marathon for Avishi. She lived in the basement of a seven-story brothel—until As Our Own stepped in.

Her story gives reason to my running . . .

The heartbreaking reality is that 95% of the girls born in the red-light districts of India will become enslaved there for life. They will live there and die there after a lifetime of neglect, abuse, exploitation, and enslavement. That is, unless someone rescues that little girl before she is sold.

For the first five years of Avishi’s life, it looked like she would follow this tragic pattern. She was born in the red-light district because her mom is enslaved there. They made their home in the basement of a seven-story brothel. It was dark and dreary and lifeless. This is no place for a child to grow up.

At 5 years old, Avishi was already approaching the age of sale into the trade. Children as young as 6 and 7 years old are being sought because of the myth that sex with child-virgins are a cure for AIDS. Avishi needed to get out of this treacherous situation before it was too late.

As Our Own staff connected with Avishi’s mom and shared how Avishi could grow up in a secure and safe environment. Recently, As Our Own staff orchestrated the rescue and brought Avishi out of the horrors in the red-light district. Since becoming part of the As Our Own family, her aptitude for learning has been nurtured and encouraged; she loves school and has become a top student earning high honors. She dreams of becoming a doctor—a dream that would have never been possible had she not been rescued from that brothel basement.

Never to be Left Out!

Our school day runs from 8 am until 4 pm. Rarely do we ever finish before 4 (if we do stop before 4 it's because it was planned). If we finish all of our required work before four we use the additional time to explore other areas or review what we have learned.

We could stop at lunch, but that would be throwing away hours of learning. If I sent my kids away to school and the teacher stopped at noon I would be angry. Why would I think differently about myself? I am their teacher. It is my job to educate them to the fullest extent possible. They have plenty of time to play and be imaginative in the evenings. (Alright I will jump off my soap box...)

This week we have been using this extra time to study Turkey using Ann Voskamp's book "Geography of the Holy Land." (It is an awesome resource and I highly recommend it.) We enjoy using Joshua's I pod touch to explore this country on Google earth while we are reading about each city and geographical location. We read about a suspension bridge in Istanbul. Joshua found it on Google earth and we could actually see it! It's really neat to use this new technology to enhance our learning

We have also been using this gift of extra time to study birds using Aplogia's book 1: Flying Creatures. This week we have been focusing on all the different types of nests birds build (cup, mound, cavity, weavers, earth-hole, platform...)

What does Elliana do during our school day? Hmm. Well these pictures will give you a glimpse...

Working on Rosetta Stone Spanish-

Practicing her letters-

Her desk is full of educational materials for her to explore (Wedgits, stickers, puzzles, flashcards, sewing manipulatives, coloring books..). She makes a mess daily :)

She also has her own school time. She is using My Fathers World Kindergarten this year (very easy curriculum- I use it for second year preschool)

Love it!

Yep, He's Funny..

We have been on the road a lot the last two weeks. It's been a lot of fun making memories as a family.

We spent the day in Chicago. We really like hanging out in the city. We visited the Museum of Science and Industry, the Lego store, the American Girl store, and Sprinkles (of course!). We even had dinner at Chick-fil-A (one of our favorite places to eat). And when we got there we discovered it was free chocolate shake day, bonus!!

Asher loves this Lego model...it only costs 500 dollars.
Elliana and I LOVED our visit to the American Girl Store. She kept saying "I saw this in the book!"- the catalog they send in the mail. She couldn't believe it was all right there in front of her.

An awesome submarine ride at the Museum of Science and Industry.
Pretending to cook on a submarine...
We were so excited to go and visit two of our favorite people. Jared and Joshua discussed Ipods. Joshua was really looking forward to this bonding time with his Uncle. Elliana could not wait to see Aunt Michelle. Michelle is very special to her. I love sharing my beauty with someone I like so much :) I hope that they will always be close.

During our visit we went to the Magic House. The kids had a blast!


Elliana is never far from Michelle.
The future president and vice president.

Really??

I get to wake up to this beautiful face???

A good read! Homeschooling Magnifies Problems.

Can I have a verb?

Yesterday I was teaching Asher about verbs. I was being a little silly and told him that kissing and hugging were examples of verbs. Elliana hangs out in the school room with us waiting for her turn to do school. I have a large collection of toys and educational items she can play with while I do school with the boys. She is definitely listening while she plays. She keeps asking me for some "verbs" (hugs and kisses).

Kids are NOT an excuse!

One big excuse that a lot of moms use for not working out is "the kids". I don't buy it for a minute. There has got to be a little bit of time each day that you can step out of the "mom" role and take care of your health. And when you just can't get away, you work out with your kids.

My half marathon training plan had me scheduled for an eight mile run. Aaron and the boys had somewhere they had to be so that left the girls alone for the evening. Did I say "Oh well, not gonna happen. Might as well lounge around for the evening."? NOPE! I packed a snack for my little doll and we hit the trail with our old rickety stroller.

Was it a hard run, you bet! Was it worth it? Oh yeah!!! It was fun to spend time with my beauty. She had a blast watching all the dogs, bikers, and skateboarders. And to make it even more fun for her I let her use our digital camera. That girl took 182 pictures, in the first ten minutes!

The Gals of the house heading out for a run :) We are an awesome team! (man she is just so pretty!)

A few of the pictures she took on our run...

Yes, I am running (up hill) during this photo moment.

Love our shadow in this one :) Although, I am assuming she was taking a picture of the road kill, which smelled as good as it looked...

Proof that you don't need a fancy jogging stroller. This stroller is over 10 years old, rickety and doesn't turn very well. And it worked just fine for our run. No excuses people!!!

Oh Yeah!!!

This is day 12 of P90X. My goal was to be able to do 1 pull-up by the end of the 90 days. This morning I did 5!!!! Not consecutively, I did stop between each one and do a little girly scream of joy :)

Asher grabbed the camera and took a couple pictures...

Here is the proof (no chair people!!)

... doing the happy dance!

Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Muffins (super healthy!)

With four bananas sitting on my counter that no longer looked yellow, I needed to bake! I decided to experiment with my banana chocolate chip bread recipe and fill it with healthy goodness!

The results were so yummy! Thumbs up even from my pickiest eater :)

Banana Chocolate Oat Muffins

Ingredients

1 cup sugar (could substitute honey)

1 egg

½ cup butter

3 ripe bananas

Slightly more than 4 tablespoons milk

2 cups flour blend

1 cup oats

1/3 cup ground oats

3 tablespoons flax seed

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Cream sugar, butter, and egg until fluffy; set aside.

Combine bananas and milk; set aside.

Combine all dry ingredients.

Add banana mixture and butter mixture together.

Add dry ingredients mixture.

Stir in chocolate chips.

Bake in muffin pan at 350 degrees for 16 minutes.

Check with toothpick.