Team In Training Kick Off Party

And so the adventure begins. Last night I attended the official Team In Training Kick Off Party. It was full of all sorts of inspiration, ideas, yummy treats and really great people!

We are all assigned a Mentor as we start this journey. Our mentor is someone who has gone before us and completed a season (or more) with T.I.T. They are there to help us with our fundraising and to be a general support and encouragement. My mentor is Susanne and she is also our Honored Teammate. She suffered from leukemia as a teenager but has now been cancer free for many years and is expecting her first child in March. She is really an inspiration that people can survive these cancers and go on to lead wonderful lives. She joined T.I.T. just last year and completed her first 1/2 marathon on the ten year anniversary of either her cancer diagnosis or recovery. Not sure on which but I am honored to get to be on this journey with her. She is really an inspiration to me!

We have our first group training day on Saturday morning. Every week we follow their training schedule on our own but every Saturday we meet as a group for runs. We will get a lot of tips and instruction and also attend a few different clinics on things like fundraising, buying proper shoes and running gear, how to prevent injuries, and the like. I am really excited for all of this. I know pretty much nothing about everything when it comes to this type of thing.

I hope to post to this blog weekly and let all of you know my training progress! (I can't wait until I make progress!) Thanks for all of the encouragement and support I have received from so many people!

And this one is all about the baby...

I figured it had been awhile since I plastered my blog with pictures of my youngest so here you go...eat your heart out!

Plus as the consistently most well behaved person living in our house I thought he deserved a post all about him! (Look how mature he has become - he has five teeth!)

He really loves his Papa...as do ALL the other grandchildren. I think he spikes their milk with sugar.

He sure knows what to do with those Barbies...

And why does my Mother have dismembered Barbies at her house...?

And here he is in all of his yummy pretzel baby glory...

So he is fast approaching the nine month mark...sits up like a champ with the posture of a wall (didn't get that from Mommy), has sprouted five teeth and gives the most glorious toothy smiles, has started waving (as in just last night), still is not crawling but will move around on the floor pretty well, in fact just last night he flung himself onto his face from a sitting position so crawling can't be too far off, right? He growls on occasion, laughs often (the most at his brother), and has even been know to cry!

This baby year is going by much too quickly as I well know they do. We seem to be on a downward slide to his first birthday in May!

It's Official!

So remember how I recently shared about a few of the things I wanted to accomplish this year?

Remember this one?

I want to run a 1/2 marathon.

What?

I want to run a 1/2 marathon!

Now that you remember....

Last night I signed up with Team In Training.

What's that you say?

Well, you are welcome to click on the link and read all about it and I encourage you to do so...

however,

it is a really inspirational organization that benefits The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

"Team In Training is the largest endurance training program in the world.
Last year over 39,000 participants completed a Triathlon, Marathon,
Half Marathon, Hike or Century (100 mile) bicycle ride.
Since our inception in 1988, 420,000 participants have
raised over a billion dollars for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Training for and participating in a Team In Training event is a celebration
of the human spirit, physical ability, and mental endurance. It is also a
celebration of life. The mission of Team In Training is to use endurance
event training as a symbol of hope, to raise money for research and
services, to honor patients and their families and to weave
connections between all of us."

(Taken from Team In Training literature)

I am officially signed up to run the Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Half Marathon on June 26th!

For those of you that know me at all you are by no doubt thinking...

who? what? Am I on the wrong blog?

Yes, yes...I have never done anything like this in my ENTIRE life. Never been
the athletic sort. My one mistake in life was playing summer softball in junior high. That was my first and last involvement in team sports or anything involving physical effort aside from gym class.

Why this? Why now?

Well, I am at a point in my life that I am really close to owning my body again. After six years of pregnancies, weight gain, weight loss, and nursing I am so very close to being done with it all...my little Quinn is our last baby and he is so quickly approaching his first birthday. In fact, by the time I cross the finish line of the half marathon Quinn will likely be walking as well.

I am at a point emotionally and physically that I am ready to challenge myself. I want to do something new and have the physical strength and fitness that I have always admired in others but didn't think I could have myself.

These pursuits are healthy and good for me yes but can seem a little selfish. I mean I do have three children under the age of five to care for, a pretty sweet husband and a dog that likes to run away an awful lot. My life is full of responsibilities. The reason I am so excited to do this through Team In Training is that I get to do this kind of selfish thing that really benefits me at the same time as benefiting countless other people that are affected by leukemia and lymphoma. How amazing is that?

Oh yeah, another amazing part of this is that I have some incredible friends that may be joining me! Like her, she's in already (she is the one who got me involved in this in the first place)...and her, she is thinking about it along with her, and my sister is even considering training with her local Team In Training group across the state!

So yes, yes I do have to fund raise for this. That does mean that I will be hitting up everyone I know for a donation. Whether you donate because you just can't believe I am doing something like this or because you would love to support an amazing organization or because you have been personally touched by cancer - I am thankful for every bit of support.

We even make it supremely easy to donate. All you need to do is go to
My Fundraising Page
and donate! Anything is appreciated and will go toward making a difference!

(I have also added a link to the top right of my blog!)

Thanks in advance for all of your support - both for me personally as I work to achieve a dream and for the support of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society!

Calling all friends.....

So blog readers of mine....

in the market for some cute onesies? A darling banner? Or maybe some hair bows for that little princess at home?

Please consider

The Gumdrop Shoppe!

(The link is just over there to the right....)

You see this little bloggy thing that I've been doing, well it's led to me meeting some pretty fantastic women. Like minded women....trying to follow God, raise little ones, love on their hubbies and pursue their creative passions.

I have been so so blessed to get to meet and become real life friends with a few of these lovely ladies already however there are so many more that we want to meet!

Sooooo, come March we are all meeting up on the coast for some girlfriend fun!

This little etsy shop is our attempt to flex those creative muscles of ours and raise some funds for our fun!

More goodies are coming - I promise!- so keep on checking the shoppe!

P.S. This shop is a group effort! Everyone going on our little get away is contributing! I didn't mean to make it sound like this was my stuff ---I haven't even listed anything that I have made yet!

Really?

So I've been really good about going to the gym lately....I figure I've publicly proclaimed my fitness intentions for the next six months I'd better put some weight behind it.

So last night as I was dutifully checking in at the Y it happened.

You know. You hear stories about this all of the time.

It has just never happened to me.

"And when are you due?"

"Ummm...excuse me?"

Really?

This lady really is good at her job...

I was really motivated when I jumped on that treadmill.

Seriously...no, seriously.

So as we are already into the first week of the new year I thought I'd join the rest of the world and start talking about what I wanted to accomplish this year.

What do I want to do in 2010?

Well, to explain a little....I have lived most of my life under the banner

"I can't do that...."

I have put limits on myself, given in to low expectations, let the rest of the world dream big.

Lately I have been thinking more along these lines.....

"Why can't I do that...?"

I am tired of missing out on joy in life.

I am tired of the status quo.

I know life isn't meant to be all about me....

I do have three little blessings from God to focus on.

And one really sweet husband to spoil.

But...

I don't think .....no, I know I am not living my life as God has intended it to be lived.

God has not given me a spirit of fear....

He wants me to know His PEACE, He wants me to know His JOY.

He has given me a body to LIVE in, to fully ENJOY & experience LIFE in.

So.....

* I am going to run a 1/2 marathon

* I am going to have a booth at an antique show

* I am going to have a renewed relationship with the word of God

* I am going to go to Maui

* I am going to have regular dates with my kids

*I am going to date my husband again.

* I am going to plant a garden.

This is just the start of my list...by no means is this all the LIVING I'm going to do this year.

I'm going to enjoy each and every day and recognize it as the gift from God that it is.

The Best Days...

It was cold baby....we jumped head first and eyes closed into buying a mini van...and we LOVE it....Greg fixed our death trap stairs and our kitchen window got a mini- lift...we were surviving the record breaking winter...

• Very pregnant....made loads of Grandma's pink cookies...celebrated Addison's 2nd birthday...the year of dress up.....

The month I learned to sew...made quilts, burp cloths, washcloths, nursing covers...

Eli turned five - got a party and an overnight at Triple Play fun park....celebrated Easter with a big egg hunt and lots of family...finalized Quinn's corner nursery...visited the cousins...

All about Quinn...welcomed him the day before Cinco de Mayo...visited with lots of family and cousins...enjoyed our newly finished deck and fire pit...loving the smores...lovin the squishy baby more...

Planting, weeding, mulching....swinging, cuddling....Farm Chicks!!!

Fourth of July on the West Side...weekends at the lake...the zoo and budgie
birds...T-ball for Eli....Amusement park....camping in the backyard...updates to the cabin...more sewing..Eli's first day of kindergarten...

Happy Birthday to Greg and I and lots of family birthdays...fixin up the house...furniture projects, visits to my fave store and happy days...

Quinn's first airplane trip to Denver...house on the market...feeding baby first foods...dinos, princesses and bears, oh my!...mums and more mums and really fun boots...

Snow! Cold! Yummy turkey...and Quinn's sitting up...and biting a lot!

West side for Christmas...cousins...gingerbread houses with dear friends...decorating...cookie baking...the month flying by...

This has been a sweet year and I don't mean a saweeeet year...I mean a sweet year...I fell in love with a new little man, fell more in love with my precious and funny girl and even harder in love (you get it...) with my big boy that I can't get to stop growing...and my honey...well, he just puts up with a lot from me and keeps on lovin me. What can I say...God has blessed me this year. Not to mention my awesome family...you know I used that adjective special just for you guys! And this was a year that blogging really gave back...I have been able to meet so many of you dear blogging friends in real life these past few months.....see Greg - it's not just a fantasy world! Geesh, I feel like I'm giving an acceptance speech here and I need to thank someone...

2009 has been a year of happy and sweet moments.......so I must thank my God for all He has blessed me with for He is truly the author of our lives...