13.1

Yes, you read that right. I ran, jogged, walked, crawled the 13.1 miles to complete the Country Music Half and Full Marathon this weekend. I really didn't train the way I should have. I would start and stop and start and stop over the last 5 months. I wasn't sure I would be able to finish. Luckily, my girlfriend and 13.1 partner hadn't exactly trained well either. We pushed each other, and it WORKED! We finished! 13.1 miles - HILLY miles. This is Tennessee, NOT Kansas. We worked out a strategy after the first several killer hills. We would jog the flat's and downhills and walk UP. That worked for a while until I thought I was going to die.

Everything was fine until mile 8 - That's when I started to cramp. That's when my feet started killing me. I suffered through the next couple miles. The crowds were GREAT, UNBELIEVABLE! I can't imagine completing the race without the encouragement from the sidelines. We saw the most hilarious signs. Signs that said, "Run like you just stole something!" and "You are awesome insert your name here!" Others had signs with beer cans attached that said, "There's beer at the finish line!" Of course that one kept me moving. ;) We were suppose to have bad weather moving in and I saw a few signs with variations of "Run...There's a tornado coming!" There were also tons of bands around every corner. Those that were planned and also the impromptu singers on music row and downtown. This is the MUSIC CITY after all.

The weather was perfect until mile 10. They were calling for awful, severe storms, but it held off and stayed cool and overcast for most of the race. I hit a wall at mile 10. The rain started, my body was numb and tingling. My feet still hurt like hell and I could feel the blisters forming with every step. My partner was AWESOME! I got crabby, she stayed happy. Thank God!

At mile 12 I heard my name "Katie, Katie..." I looked over and there stood my most favorite people in the world. Seth brought the kids out, in the rain, with signs and loud cheers. I felt my body again and the emotions started pouring.

The kids made the signs at home while I was running! :)

The kids and Seth waiting at mile 12 to see me.
Cheering on the Runners!
Here I am! Here I am! It was not pretty, but it was 12, it was raining and it wasn't suppose to be pretty! In fact. I don't think I could even form a smile on my face. Hahaaa.
I didn't stop for long. The finish line was sooo close and I just needed to see it- and it HURT to stop! I needed to cross it. As I ran off, I got tears in my eyes. Susan looked at me with her constant encouragement and said, "We're so close now!" I knew we were. I knew at the moment we WOULD make it. But all I could think about was my family.

We DID finally cross the finish line. Holding hands and smiling. I cannot begin to describe the feeling. The HIGH when you cross and still feel days later, even if your body aches.

And you better believe we got out of the rain and went to the nearest bar to celebrate WEARING our medals. Wish would would have gotten pics of that. On second thought... haha. We were looking pretty rough.

I did order all the pics from the marathon website so, I will post more later.

IT'S ADDICTING! We've already signed up to do it again in September! I think I will train a little harder this time. :)

13.1 - Here we come again!

Get your RUNNING shoes on girls!

Bunnies, Butterflys, Birthdays and Busy

So very much to tell and share.

We had a wonderful Easter with friends and family. The kids did egg hunts in our neighborhood and also at the zoo. The Easter bunny came and the kids were so excited!
The kids hunting eggs at the Zoo...





We have raised little baby caterpillars into beautiful butterfly's...Time to let them go~~~~




HAPPY BIRTHDAY LYDIA!!! Lydia turned 4 this week. She and I spent the day together baking her cake, painting pottery, and visiting the cats at the humane center.
It was a GREAT day and we ended the day with dinner at Chilis with Grandma and Grandpa and then home for cake, ice cream and presents!


I LOVE this look on her face when she saw her Big Girl Bike in the morning!


I can't believe you are FOUR!

Such concentration while painting her horse!




We love you so much LydiBug! I can't believe you are 4 Years Old!!


Whew...I'm exhausted after that post O' pics.

Here are a few other things going on...
-STILL no phone call from the state about a 13 year old AA child we were interested in getting info about adopting. I can't tell you HOW ANGRY this makes me. The state and all of you will hear about it from me. They will get it in letter form, and probably phone calls to some higher ups and some emails. You will all see it in a future post. I am just sick about it.

-I have been on spring break, although I don't feel like I have had much of a break at all. We have had so much going on!

-Lydia's birthday party at the bowling ally is tomorrow. In lieu of gifts we have asked that parents give a small donation to a special charity, Soaring Kidz. I found their link on Kelly's blog a few weeks ago when she held the special charity blog. I gave Lydia a few choices of charities and this is the one she chose. I am so excited about this. I think this is such a wonderful organization.

-Zachary is getting his 2 year molars and well...misery loves company. He likes to yell about it A LOT! :)

- Oh, and Seth went up to the lake this weekend and got the boat! Wooo Hooo... It's getting de-winterized this week and then it's BOATING SEASON! That makes this mama VERY HAPPY!

Let me start off by saying that I got the call - only to be told to expect a call. *Ahemmm. Whatever.

Anyhow, we have had the most beautiful weather lately. It's actually HOT in my house and I had to turn the air on last night for a while. We are all home together today. We ran errands all morning and now the kids are napping. Ahhhh, silence. Seth has gone back to Lowes to get a few trees that we are going to plant in the backyard. I am so excited. We desperately need some shade. We had a really nice tree back there a few years ago that dies when we had a bad drought. I was so sad. Last year we planted a crate Myrtle and now we are afraid it has died too. Lord, I hope not!

When the kids get up we are going to dye Easter eggs. When I told Lydia that this morning she asked "why we had to die?" haha. The innocence. I love it. I also told her that this was the day that Jesus died for our sins so that we could go to heaven. She just looked at me and said, "Awww, poor Jesus. Why did he have to die mom?" She cracks me up.

We have some fun things planned for the weekend. Tomorrow my Aunt Pat is coming to town. I cannot wait! I think we are going to take the kids to the zoo in the morning for an Easter egg hunt, although I hear it is mayhem. I suppose I will suffer through it for them. Sunday morning we will do a brunch with family and a friend or two. We are going to go to noon mass. Oh, and of course the Easter Bunny will have paid a visit by then. :) Sunday afternoon "The Gays" are coming over. I am sure we will play cards and just catch up. We LOVE our time with them. "The Gays" is a group of 5 guys that we have known forever. One of them is Zachary's Godfather. They are dear friends. The kind that would walk to end of a cliff, swear to jump with you, count to three and then wave goodbye from the top as you were falling. Haaaaaaaaaaaa. Only kidding. Seriously, they are some of our very best friends in the world and Lydia and Zachy think they are the BEST! We generally spend every Easter and Thanksgiving together. It's a special time. Maybe someday I will tell you all about my gays. That would be a fun post!

I will leave you with a very hard, outside - playing baby boy...



Toodles...