We looked so forward to celebrating Resurrection Sunday with each other. We had plans for an “Easter Egg Hunt” at our church on Saturday and Sunday service with a visit to my in-laws Sunday afternoon. We still did go through with all of these plans even though this particular Easter was bittersweet. My husband’s Aunt Donna passed away Saturday morning. I lost my grandfather on the same day just 4 years previous. It was sad and yet we rejoice. Donna had been ill for some time. She suffered from Alzheimer’s and degraded rapidly and she was VERY young. I did not have the pleasure of knowing Donna but briefly before she fell ill. I only have the stories my husband has told me of her. She sounded like an amazing woman with a heart that loved deeply. She had spirit and loved life. I also believe that she loved our Lord Jesus Christ and is with Him now in Heaven. It was rather fitting to be celebrating our Savior’s resurrection and also celebrating Donna’s journey to Heaven. Because of our Hope in Jesus, we know that she is fully healed and in need of nothing. She is in the most wonderful place. Even though our pain on Earth is great, she is with Jesus and we should rejoice in that.
“And God will raise us from the dead by his power, just as he raised our Lord from the dead.” 1 Corinthians 6:14
A quick history. I am not trying to come off as a braggart by posting my race results. I merely want to share the amazing restoration of my health and strength with the hope that this story may act as a means of inspiration to one of you readers, or perhaps someone you know that you tell this story to. I am not the best runner in the world, but my comeback surprises even me regularly.
I praise the Lord for granting me the strength and health to be able to continue to improve without serious injury. The miracle in my eyes is that not 5 years ago I was 51 pounds overweight and diagnosed as having adult onset asthma by two different Drs and a respiratory therapist. I was weak, felt terrible much of the time, and couldn’t run to save my life. Today I am only 9lbs overweight by BMI standards (and still falling), and if I did in fact have asthma it is long gone and I am completely restored. In my opinion the rebuilding of my body is nothing short of a miracle and there is still more to come. I grant the glory to my Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, onto the 10K results….
A tired smile of saitsfaction!
I am honestly stunned right now. I ran the 10K race (6.215 miles) this past Saturday morning and finished @ 7:42/mi pace (47:48 total). What this means, is that my time qualified over one year ahead of my plan for Level 3 seeding for the Mini Marathon!!! Level 3 required 48:00, and recently my best 10K at home was around 51:00. I had no intentions in my training to be able to achieve L3 this year, and yet I did it! What is so great about L3 seeding is in theory it places you in a certified group of people that are your speed and only faster people will be in front of you, which means less meandering through the crowd to pass people; it is safer and more enjoyable.
My darling wife and sons wanted to be at the race, but it was windy, raining and in the 40F range outside on Saturday morning so they stayed home since Abel was mildly sick. Immediately upon finishing the race I rehydrated, bought a t-shirt, and then jogged back to the parking garage to retrieve my cell phone from the Jeep and call in the results to the family back home. I had told Anna before I left that I was going to try and push it a little bit, within reason, in order to make L3 seeding, but that I would be happy if I didn’t get L3. So when I called home with the news, Anna and the boys, unbeknownst to me, began decorating the house for a congratulation party since they missed me at the race finish line. It was a great surprise!
Little Abel is well…not so little but he is 8 months old today!
I am HOW old?
But I think I am soooo cute!
Hi!
And I am such a good baby too!
See, I am a happy boy!
At 8 months Abel is a monster. He weighs about 24 1/2 pounds and is 30 inches or so (not 100% sure but this is a good guess). He is wearing 18 month clothing and eats 5-8 oz every 5 hours:) He hasn’t really gotten into food until TODAY. He still has trouble with smaller bits like puffs and cheerios but LOVES graham crackers and baby rice husks. Although today, he did really well with getting some puffs actually into his mouth and loves these little cheese snacker things for babies. But the coolest thing is that Abel REALLY got into his food! He is eating it up like crazy! Usually we have a tough time getting him to finish a jar but not last night or today! He gobbled them up! It was so cute to see him enjoying the food.
So today I had my 3-month followup appointment for my lump. I was NOT looking forward to driving in all that snow but made it worth my while. I scheduled my first pedicure at the most FABULOUS day spa (Woodhouse) in Carmel.
I got a clean bill of health from the doc and was SUPER happy! My appt went super fast and I was WAY ahead of schedule. I was able to go tanning and have some Mommy time driving in the snow listening to KLOVE. I was also able to get my pedicure moved up so as to get home sooner:) Life was grand minus the idiot drivers but I dealt with it.
I enjoyed the most wonderfully relaxing pedicure and had a great chat with Stephanie (my tech) who is a believer. It was so neat to see God working in her life as a young person (not that I am THAT old). One thing about pedicures…I had NO clue that you couldn’t wear socks or shoes for about 2 HOURS after! I was given disposable flip-flops but there was about 5 inches of snow on the ground! Stephanie was great – she really went above and beyond – she went out, started my car and pulled it up to the door for me! Plus she made sure there was a path shoveled for me to walk in! I was floored by the service I received. I was wonderfully relaxed and my feet were so soft!
Don't go out like this in snow
So, I was getting ready to leave the spa and saying my good-byes and my phone rings. Aaron was calling. Hmmm. I answer and he is curt but tells me to call him right back when I got in the car. I could tell something was wrong. There went my 80-minutes of relaxation. I immediately call him back and hear the news. Abraham has split his eye open and would most likely need stitches. Of course I had the car with the car seats. So they needed me to get home as quickly as possible but of course safely. That was a very nerve-wracking drive home. I wanted to go super fast but had to fight the snow and crazy drivers. Aaron prepared me well for what I would see. He handled the situation wonderfully and I am so thankful he was there to be with our boys. We went to the emergency room and Abraham was given 7 stitches and has a nasty black eye. Abraham was FANTASTIC through the whole thing. I was very proud of his bravery. This will take some time to heal but we thank God this wasn’t worse. He hopefully learned a lesson with this – START LISTENING!!! Had he heeded his father’s words to wait this wouldn’t have happened. I know that his independence is growing by leaps and bounds but we only tell him things to keep him safe. I hope he realizes this sooner rather than later. Here are the pictures that tell the story.
At the ER
His version of a smile during this ordeal
Mommy the entertainer
Getting stitches
7 stitches in all
All done
So brave
Drinking his first chocolate malt after getting stitches
Daddy showed me this after we got home from the hospital..YIKES!
Not too happy at bath time
This was our day…and what a day it was! Geez! Abraham was truly a trooper and so was Abel. Abel was an absolute angel through the whole ordeal and that was such a blessing! I had to hold Abraham down during the procedure that was probably the worst for me. I comforted him and practiced relaxation techniques to help with his sobs and he did very well. I was so proud of him. He was back to his old self rather quickly. He was excited to taste his first malt which he loved! He wanted to go to Speedway to enjoy time with Mommy and he also wanted to go to Meijer for a couple things all right after his stitches! What a big boy!
Thank you all for the prayers! God is AWESOME! I am fine. All tests came back completely clear of any abnormality. The mass that has been detected is extremely dense breast tissue with a prominent milk duct running through it. This causes the “mass” to grow and shrink. Of course my doc only feels it growing since my nursings have been spacing out and the milk fills in. Plus with my weight loss, the fatty tissue is lessening making the dense breast tissue more prominent. Whew. I am so thankful this is over. I still have to have a follow up to be SURE there really is nothing but not for 3 months. Yeah!
Anyway, having the remote chance of cancer really got me thinking. I obsess over my lack of time for everything. I guess I need to really re-examine WHERE I am spending my time and look at some better management techniques. I love my family and they come first – my daily chores can take a back seat every once in a while.
Just so you all know, I have updated the “comments” section on my blog. You can now leave comments without having to sign in. You just have to provide your email address and name (screen). I will be approving all comments so yours won’t show right away. And your email address will NOT be shared. Thanks again for all of the support! I know God works miracles and should I need ANY help, I can already tell that we will be well taken care of. Thank you again!
I know no other way than to just bluntly state what I must state. My doctor found a mass in my left breast today. I am sure it is probably nothing but what if it is something. I ask for prayers now that it would be nothing but should that not be the will of God, I ask for prayers for my ability to handle whatever is coming our way. Thank you much and I will keep you updated.
Phil 4:13 – I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.
I should be in bed sleeping but my heart is heavy with sadness. I received news today that a family member died. Death is a natural part of life but it is never easy to handle especially when this person was a miracle to begin with…
Morgan was born January 15, 2010. He was 1 of naturally conceived triplets! Highly rare and the parents weren’t trying to have any children. These boys were definitely a gift from God! They were delivered unexpectedly at just about 26 weeks. That is an ENTIRE trimester early. We all prayed and fervently asked for God’s intervention. He answered. The 3 boys survived and thrived. They did finally get to go home I believe in April (just about the time they were “due”). Morgan did suffer much trouble with surgery after surgery. I was not super close to this part of the family so I do not know all of the details but I know that Morgan has spent most of his life in the hospital. But I always prayed for those 3 boys every night. Actually, they were the first entry in my prayer journal that I started this year. These boys are so special. I cannot believe that now one of them is gone. I rejoice knowing he is with Jesus and his body is no longer suffering but the loss is still hard to handle especially when I think that Morgan was just about where Abel is now. Due to Morgan’s immaturity at birth, he would only be just now considered around 4 to 5 months old instead of nearly 9 months. I thank Jesus for the time he was here with his family and how many lives he touched and will continue to touch even in death. I cannot begin to understand the pain the parents must feel; I would be devastated and lost. I know my children are on loan but I must admit, I wouldn’t give them back easily. Plus, his 2 brothers…what a constant reminder. I guess that is actually good. Morgan will never be forgotten. I have heard from another grieving parent that the idea their child will be forgotten is the worst. Sharing memories about the lost loved one is a wonderful way to honor them. I hope I am doing my small part by writing up this blog post about a very special little boy who is now with Jesus and fighting no more. He is in Heaven looking down at all of us with his new body. I rejoice knowing I will get to meet him some day!
Lord, I ask for you to give us all peace during this time of sorrow. I ask that you will help us to rejoice in knowing that Morgan is safe in your arms and that we will see him again. I ask that while we hurt now that you would send a veil of peace to help us to look forward to our reunion and not dwell on the loss. Lord, you are ever powerful as you are the Creator. You knew when he would be born and when he would go home. I humbly ask that you carry us all through this time. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Hi there. Just a quick post to show off something I came up with recently. I was reading a blog post of Blaine Moore’s about the dangers of running on the road. Should you be injured so badly that you lose consciousness or become delirious, if you’re like me and don’t carry a phone or any form of ID when you’re running, it is possible you could become another John Doe at the hospital. Blaine recommends RoadID, which is really neat, but out of the price range I’m looking to spend on an easy, unobtrusive, lightweight form of ID for exercising.
So here’s my solution: military dog tags, modified in a way that is meaningful for me as a runner. I found a place called DogTagsOnline that will make you a pair of custom dogs tags complete with silicone silencers for $6.99 + shipping. They can stamp up to fifteen characters per line, up to five lines per tag. You can choose from eight colors of silencers. I opted for high visibility colors to make it easier for an EMT or Paramedic to find them. Here is a photo of the tag up close:
I blacked out most of the info from you guys for privacy concerns, this being on the InterWeb and all.You could of course customize such a tag in anyway you see fit. For starters here is what I put and still made the fifteen character limit per line:
First Name M.I. Last Name
City, ST, USA
Wife: 10-digit phone #
Dad: 10-digit phone #
Blood type, NO PEN, DOB
That is a ton of information on such a small tag in my opinion. And the price is right. After the blood type, I put my drug allergy information. Should you not have any I still suggest you could put “NKA” if you have none as it would help them know that you have none instead of being a mystery. This tag provides first responders two means of contacting people I know well, and critical, personal-identifying information that is unique to me when combined such as my name, date of birth, blood type, city/st so that no matter where I am in the world people should be able to locate my loved ones and let them know to come get me if I am injured or God forbid dead. I know it is morbid but it happens every day; someone dies naturally while running or is killed by a vehicular accident. Notice I left out an exact address. That is not important really, first responders would have enough to go off of to get the word out and yet I am still able to maintain some privacy.
Moving on, the installation was easy with only a small modification needed. When I went to lace the dog tags through my laces, the hole in the tag was too small. Out came the power drill, and I opened it up one bit size at a time until the laces snugly fit through. Snug was important to me as I didn’t want them to slide around. I used a file on a set of nail clippers to remove the few barbs of metal left by the drill bit so my shoe laces don’t get shredded over time.
Last but not least, here is the finished product. I’ve been using them for the last 50 miles or so and don’t even know that they are there. They are not going to rust, break, or blow away and I can keep them until the info on them changes. Notice I put one on each shoe…you never know. I could get hit by a Mack truck so hard that only one foot is found or still attached. The old adage applies: “two is one, and one is none.” I interwove them as you can see so they don’t flop around. I thought this might also be good for those of you who go hiking/backpacking too. Happy trails!
From this year forward, I am making a point to not refer to Independence Day as merely the “Fourth of July” as that takes away the special occasion of the day. I could call it the Third of June, or Tenth of April and that implies nothing more than a simple date. The act of referring to the day as “Independence Day” is a conscious one that remembers the day for what it is, as it is much more than just a day on a calendar!
So, on this Independence Day, have fun, be safe, and in the Spirit of ‘76, celebrate tomorrow as per John Adams:
“John Adams’ famous letter of July 3, 1776, in which he wrote to his wife Abigail what his thoughts were about celebrating the Fourth of July is found on various web sites but is usually incorrectly quoted. Following is the exact text from his letter with his original spellings:
The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more. You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will tryumph in that Days Transaction, even altho We should rue it, which I trust in God We shall not. (The Book of Abigail and John: Selected Letters of the Adams Family, 1762-1784, Harvard University Press, 1975, 142).
Writing that letter was an act of celebration.”
Amen. THAT is how Independence Day is meant to be celebrated and remembered.
