Summer Fun

We went to an amusement last week with out of town family and it was a BLAST. I could not believe how much Kman loved the rides. He could ride a lot of the adult rides as long as he rode with an adult. He rode the "popcorn" and the "sleigh-ride" and many more. HE LOVED IT. He even rode on the "Ferris Wheel" and "Pirate Ship" ( I thought he may be afraid, but he wasn't...he couldn't get enough). He had so much fun with his cousin E and he especially liked the water park! Anyways, I know there are a lot of pics but I had to share how much fun he has had this summer so far!


He thought this ride was too slow! Especially after riding some of the bigger rides!
My little niece is such a sweetie, and I love the way she is looking at Kman.


There were a lot of kiddie rides too...these rides were perfect for M (he is not much of a ride person);)

Fun in our back yard on the slip and slide.

We hope to do a lot more this summer...I am taking full advantage of not working. Fall comes all too quickly...and hopefully I will have some sort of job in a school come September!

Happy after a LONG run!

Well, I ran my longest run thus far...14 miles. It actually felt pretty good....although I am not a fan of roosters pecking my ankles as I run....or dogs chasing me through the road (both of which happened today!). Anyways, 14 miles is more than half way there....YAY!!!! Next week 16 miles.

Random

I haven't posted about running in awhile, but I am running a lot. I am finished with school for the summer, yeah! Kman said the other day "It summer time Mommy, that means I get to stay home all day with you!!" I am so happy to be home and have NO work this summer!

It has been hard finding time to get my runs in. I wish I could just get up early in the morning and run, but it is so hard for me to get up! I set my alarm every morning but then press snooze so many times that I don' t have time for a run! I know if I just made myself do it for a while it would be second nature to get up early.....anyone have any motivation tactics to run in the morning??

Last week as an "easy" week of running, which I really needed. I had run 12 miles the week before and it kicked my butt. I was so dehydrated (i forgot my water pack) and my body did not cooperate at all. For the first time I thought, oh man, am I gonna be able to do this?? So, I don't know, but I am gonna keep trying!! I am going to run 12 again tomorrow....hopefully it will go better. I researched the importance of nutrition when running so much, so hopefully that will help!

I have two races coming up. I am running the a five mile on the 4th of July and then I am running a 15K July 12th. So, it is good to have races to look forward to and to help motivate!

I have family in town this week and it is great....but, it is also bittersweet. It is so different without Ben here. He always brought so many laughs and he played with the kids a lot and loved to play games and be crazy. I think we all are feeling the loss a lot now, especially when we are together.

I watched his testimony last night. He gave it at a church several years ago. He spoke about GRACE and about his addictions too....it was a powerful testimony. I cried the whole time watching it and have such a headache this morning. Watching it made me realize how hard it is for some people-dealing with addictions. Ben love the LORD so much, which was so evident in his testimony. Watching it also made me sooo mad at the enemy....the way he torments people....and destroys their lives. I know God is Good and in the end...Ben had/has victory in Christ.

3 months

Today, 3 months ago my life changed forever. It has been a rough weekend....grief is just so unpredictable. Honestly, I haven't had much time to grieve...I feel like I am like a chicken with my head cut off. It has been so busy. I have been working full time (teaching and daycare), running like crazy, training/disciplining Kman, going to all Mark's baseball games....etc. I think grief catches up to you though....and it has this weekend. I just really miss Ben, plain and simple. At times, it seems so hard...I am a twin and it seems so unfair that I am here without him. I understand the reality that he is in a better place and someday I will be there too....but, sometimes in the day to day it seems unfair.
Three months ago he was still alive (he passed on the 6th a little before 9pm)....being kept alive I should say. My mom and I were talking today and saying that he could potentially still be alive....it was the hardest and yet the easiest decision of our lives. Hard to be selfless and say goodbye and make the choice to take him off life suport but easy in the sense that we knew we would be delaying his encounter with our Saviour if we kept him on life support. I replay that moment over and over, and at times I hear myself saying "did i really watch my brother die?" "did it really happen?". I don't want to go back and relive those times, however, I often replay it in my head....I don't know why, I just do. I think partly because it keeps me connected to Ben in a way....
I can't remember if I already posted about the last moments of Ben's life....but, when we knew he wasn't with us anymore all I could do was picture his passionate self running arms open to the Lord....and his struggles were/are over....I repeated to him "you made it Ben, I am so proud of you". I am so proud of my brother-he has taught me so much...and I am sorry it took his death for me to realize the impact he had on my life. Ben was so loved, and he loved so. I want to remember all the good times I had with him...and that is what I am doing today....and I miss him.

Long Run

Yesterday was my 10 mile run. It was amazing. There were times it felt really difficult, but then there were times it felt amazing. I was able to just run, think, pray and enjoy God's nature. It took me an 1 hour and 40 minutes (which was my goal time). My neighbor let me borrow her forerunner 405 sports watch...oh my goodness, never knew they made something like that. It is a GPS for runners...it tracks your miles, pace, time, calories and more. It was amazing....till I looked online and saw that they cost $300!! Oh well, she said I could borrow it for my long runs on Sundays. I don't even feel that sore today, and feel like running. Although, I won't because I know my body needs a break. Can anyone guess how many calories I burned running 10 miles??






Ok, I burned 1,300 calories! Oh my goodness, I was soo hungry all day!!

So, this weeks running is intense and I hope I can get it all in. It is gonna be a busy week. Mark has the EF leadership conference and it is also his last week coaching baseball so we will see how much I can get in.

This is my schedule:
Tuesday 6 miles
Wednesday 8 miles
Thursday 6 miles
Saturday 4 miles
Sunday 10 miles

I have pictures of some of me runs....but I can't get them to download...maybe next post I will have figured it out.

I did it.

(after the race, back home)

Well, I ran the 10K....it wasn't pretty but I did it! I had/have a chest cold and so every time I tried to speed up I would start coughing so I was limited in my speed. But, I did it and it felt good. I tell you running is such a outlet for me and with all that is going on in my life running has become a peaceful, motivating-God time for me. It felt great to cross the finish line and see Mark and Kyle cheering for me!
There is definitely a lot of room for improvement as I ran it in 58 minutes...I'd like to run it about 8-10 minutes faster! Now, I have another 5K and 10K in June and then a 5 mile run, and a 15K in July and few others in August and the finale....the marathon in September. I have a lot of work to do. This week I plan on running:
5 Miles today
8 Miles tomorrow
5 Miles on Thursday
4 Miles on Saturday
10 Miles on Sunday
(my biggest fan...and soon to be runner!)
It has been busy as Mark is gone most nights coaching baseball....so I will do my best to get all the training in!

Getting ready for the Lilac Festival 10K

So, I haven't ran quite as much as I planned this week....Kman got sick and I had a crazy week at work. But, I did get most of if done. I am trying not to be hard myself as life is unpredictable and I am trying to get all my runs in...but it doesn't always work. I have run everyday I have needed to....just cut one of the 5 miles down to 4 and the 6 mile to 4.5.
Here is a before the race picture....I love all the T's I get for running in the races!
I'll post pics of the race tomorrow.

Oh, and here is my handsome little man. I love him so much.