Top Five Friday

Here is what's making my list on this beautiful, hot Friday!

1. Six more days of school! Next week is all fun so I'm really looking forward to spending my days with my sweet class.

2. Pampering- Chris gave me money for a pedi and I'm treating myself to a much-needed massage this afternoon. The hard work of running should be rewarded, right!?

3. Pool time- All Webb has talked about is jumping off the diving board. We'll be pool rats this weekend and next!

4. Birthdays- We're celebrating mom's birthday tomorrow night at the pool. I'm looking forward to spoiling her!

5. Home projects- Now that work is winding down, it's time to start working on picking out fabric for my chairs and draperies and rugs for the living and dining room. I hope Chris is ready for the explosion of pink and green!

My boys and 13.1!

We just got in from the beach a few hours ago. Chris and I decided to head down to Oak Island to celebrate our nine year wedding anniversary. I must say, it was one of the best weekends I've had in a long time. Webb did great in the car both ways and we didn't even use the DVD player except for about an hour on the way home. We talked and sang and watched big trucks pass. It was so nice not to have a screaming baby in the car! Our weekend consisted of grilling out, playing on the beach, watching a little t.v., eating lots of Cheese Doodles (Webb, not us), playing at the new park, and napping when we had the chance. Webb loved the beach but kept saying "Mommy, that water's not going to get me!" The ocean wasn't a hit again this year but give the boy a bucket of water, a sandy beach, and his digger, and he's in heaven! Chris and I relaxed and watched Webb play. We went on walks and drew trucks in the sand. We found a sand flea and lots of cool jellyfish. We talked about animals that live in the ocean. We built sandcastles and dug big holes. It was truly an awesome weekend.

I must say that the highlight of my weekend was completing my first half marathon. I decided that I didn't want to wait to 'sign up' for an official race- I wanted my first one to be solo. And it was. I ran on the road that runs parallel to the Intercoastal Waterway on the back side of Oak Island. That was the first leg. The second leg was back down the island Beach Drive, the main drag, of Oak Island. I mapped my run the night before just to make sure I was safe and out of traffic. That morning, it was cool and overcast. It was perfect. I felt great the whole way. I kept having these thoughts that my feet were going to go out on me or that I was going to have to call Chris to come get me. I just kept telling myself that I was ready, that I could do it. At about mile 8.5, I began to cry. I was just sobbing. I think the emotion of what I was doing along with adrenaline just kicked in. Chris and Webb were parked waiting for me with an energy drink. He thought something was wrong but I just yelled "I'm going to make it!" And make it I did. Two hours and thirty minutes later, I had completed my first half marathon. Am I ready for more? Yep. Will I keep training and running, yep. The feeling is like no other and I'll never give it up.



Wait, did I say that running was the highlight of my weekend? No, scratch that. Spending time with these two was the highlight. The run was just an added bonus.

Not much longer . . .

Until my days will be spent snuggling my sweet boy, taking trips to the pool, having play dates, and taking some day trips here and there! And did I mention there are several beach trips on the calendar!? Oh so excited!

And just so I remember, he's been saying the funniest things lately!

"Daddy/Mommy, what are you doing?"

The other night he was rubbing my eye brows and said "Those are mommy's eye bristles." 

When he sees animals in a book he says "Oh, they are so cute."

He loves to say "That's a good observation" or "Appreciate it."

His favorite words to say when reading about his trucks is "Look at that big excavator!" With a stress on the VATOR part.

 He has gotten very good at saying Please and thank you. And he'll say yes mam to both of us. :)

At night he climbs up in his rocking chair with his baby (who is calls Elias, a little boy that goes to his sitters house) and reads to him. He knows every word of "The Night is Singing." He will sit and read it to his baby doll. Oh so precious.

Did I mention that I love him to the moon and back? 

 

 

It's Not About Me

I had another blog post idea in mind but tonight I just can't bear to write about my life. Not when the lives of people around me are such a struggle. Here is what is on my mind tonight:

1. Praying for a sweet friend and his family as he underwent major surgery today to battle bone cancer. The updates sound good but the road will be long. I can't imagine how their world will be turned upside down.

2. Praying for the children and families in Oklahoma. So sad to hear about lost lives.

3. Praying for a friend who is in the adoption process. Special things are going to happen for her in this process and I can't wait to meet their little one soon, I hope!

4. Praying for the children in my room whose parents don't brush their teeth, wash their clothes, sign their notebooks, check their homework, read with them, or answer my phone calls when there's an emergency. So many children in our own backyards are neglected every day. My heart is heavy for them.

I hate to be so solemn tonight but I needed to stop for a minute and think about the people around me who are hurting. This world spins too fast and we need to slow down and think about others more often. The world would be a better place if we did.

Mother's Day

When I think about being a mother, this scripture comes to mind every single time.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above." James 1:17. To me it basically sums up what being a mother is all about. It's about being blessed with a sweet little one to raise, love, and cherish no matter what obstacles come your way. God has created this gift for a mother and we are to hold it close, guard it, and savor it. I certainly believe without a doubt that my Webb is a good and perfect gift and believe me, I thank God every single day that I've been entrusted to be his mother.

I spent the day with my boys. We skipped church because Webb wasn't feeling the best. (Thanks allergies!) We knew we needed to get out for a bit and since it was nice out, we took him to Finch Park. We walked the trails and sat and threw rocks in the water. I was thinking as we were sitting there that being his mom is the greatest gift . . . just like the scripture says. There, sitting in the dirt, with rocks and sand every where was where I felt so close to God and to my Webb. Later that day we went to Winston where my sister was hosting a dinner for our mom and Chris' mom. We had a wonderful time eating on her back porch, playing with Webb, and eating yummy pink lemonade cake from Dewey's Bakery. Webb saw cake and ice cream and said we should sing "Happy Birthday." So we did. And it was perfect.

I did stop and think about one of my students on Mother's Day. She has no mother and is being raised by her father. They were recently kicked out of their home and are now living at the homeless shelter. My heart breaks for this sweet girl who will probably never know a mother's love. That my friends, is far from perfect.

It was a simply wonderful day spent with the ones I love the most. My sweet Chris let me sleep in, cleaned the house from top to bottom, and washed and waxed my car while I napped. Oh so blessed.

My mom and Chris' mom. Two amazing women. We love you Mimi and Harry Hat!

 

 

 

 

 

My Perfect Gift and Me. I could absolutely eat him up.

Running

My computer finally blitzed out so I've got Chris' hand-me-down while he got a new one for work. I was looking through old pictures the other night that he had downloaded from his phone. This one about took my breath away:

I looked at it, zoomed in on it, and had to blink my eyes a few times. God, that was me. Yes, Webb was still a baby and I was definitely still carrying baby weight but my gosh, I couldn't believe that I was staring at myself.  I've been thinking a lot about running (which is what I think about a lot) and how it's truly transformed my life. It's made me more confident about myself, stronger on the inside. I never ever thought that I could accomplish long runs of up to 11 miles. I never thought I had the perseverance to stick with it long enough to see real results. I never thought I'd push myself one more mile or a little faster. I never thought I'd be addicted to exercise (in a good, healthy way) or look forward to a trip to the Y. Running has giving me something that no one can ever take from me and I will always, always be grateful to my best friend and running buddy Carrie for inviting me for that first run back on December 15th. Here I am almost five months later ready for a half marathon (I've got something up my sleeve but it's a secret!) I am thankful that I will hopefully never be as unhealthy as I was in the above picture. For the sake of my own health and for the sake of my family who needs me around for a long time!


And just because a before picture is no fun without an after:

 

I don't guess it's a true "after" because I'm not done yet. This journey is far from finished.

 

 

 

"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start."

-John Bingham

 

 

 



You are my Sunshine

You are my Sunshine

My only Sunshine

 

 

You make me happy

When skies are gray . . .

 

 

You'll never know, dear,

How much I love you . . .

 

Please don't take my sunshine away.

 

 

 

 It's been a fun weekend around here. Friday night we grilled out and I made (yes, you read that right!) a yummy black bean hummus that even Webb liked! Yesterday we both worked out, took Webb to the Multi-Cultural Festival, and then took long naps. Last night, we rode over to Salisbury to shop. We stopped for Fro Yo first at Sweet Frogs. Remind me to stay far away from that place! Then we came home and ate dinner.

 

The three of us took this to the face. It's Pizza Hut's Crazy Cheesy Crust Pizza. It was so good. What was even better was that it was Chris' idea so I felt great going along with it. I know we'll work it off in the gym this week. Got to treat yourself once in a while!

 

This week, I'm prepping for my first 10k race. My feet are in pretty bad shape from my increased mileage so I'm going to cross train this week and save my feet and legs for Saturday's Davidson Doozie. From what I've heard, it's uphill all the way! Fabulous!

 

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

 

:)