Thanksgiving teaser

I just did a system update on my computer and the new Photos program is super annoying and I hate it. It's super finicky and takes forever to upload photos (if it lets me) and then finding the photos I want is not easy. Bug.

Oh well... happy Thanksgiving! How's that for being grateful? First world problems.

Anyhow, we had a great Thanksgiving. We celebrated first at Parker's Kindergarten feast and then at Austin's preschool party. Parker's photos are to come, but here's some of my Chief Slow Walker. 

He loved the face paint, which his teacher referred to as "tickle paint." That stuff didn't come off for DAYSSSSS!

The party began with some food. It was quite the spread. After eating, there were three activities for the kids to do. Let's just say, Austin eats as slow as he walks and he never made it to any of the other activities because he was enjoying his food so much. Cute boy.

 He ate and ate (working off his first plate of food... I'm not saying he refilled his plate... this was round one!) until he was the only one left.

 Jackson was a cutie pie bystander.

Oh I love these boys. My brother Jeff was staying with us, so he was nice enough to stay home with Parker so I could go party it up with these two. I am so thankful that Austin loves going to school and feels so comfortable with his wonderful teacher. Such a blessing indeed.

Then the next day we headed to Charlottesville for Thanksgiving with Scott's family. TBC....

Cutie pie

Just felt compelled to post a few pics of my cutie pie... who is 15 lbs 10 oz at 4 months old.

 Oh and this cutie pie turkey is Parker's thanksgiving turkey in disguise. One mom project down, 1000 more to go.

Books I've read

I'm ashamed at how few books I have read in the last few years. Granted I know I have an excuse (motherhood, babyholding= no hands to hold a book and I don't read on a Kindle), but still. For the amount of Netflix I've been able to consume, I probably could have swapped in some book reading here and there. Anyway, I'm not beating myself up about it, but I really do love reading and am striving to make more time for it (ie... reading instead of doing another time wasting activity). I have discovered a podcast a totally love called "The Happy Hour" hosted by Jamie Ivey. She interviewed an author I like, so that's how I discovered it and since then I've gone back and listened to a bunch of them. She's a Christian, Texan, who interviews her friends (who all happen to be extraordinarily accomplished and giving) and they basically just chat about life. It's so enjoyable to listen to in the car and I feel like I'm just listening in on a fun conversation. One thing she always asks her guests is, "What are you reading?" She also tells what she's reading and since listening to the podcast, I've developed quite a list of books to hit up. So I have a new goal. I'm going to read 20 books by next Sept. Since setting the goal a month ago I've already read two books, so I'm on pace. And for the sake of record keeping and putting recommendations out there, I thought I would write about what I read.

So here I go...

"The Royal We"- A fiction novel based on Princess Kate and Prince William. There are definite similarities between the royals and the book's fictional couple, but the story itself is made up. It's a fun read, and they did a lot of research about English culture and language to make it sound authentic. It was a fun, fluffy read (it's a thick book!) and would be great to take to the pool (if you aren't stressing about watching little ones).

"For the Love"- by Jen Hatmaker. This is the author that was interviewed when I originally found the Happy Hour podcast. This pastor's wife is insightful, faithful and funny. She writes with great candor about Christian perceptions and overcoming the comparison trap in this day and age. Each chapter is an unrelated essay and I especially enjoyed the one about coddling your kids through school and teaching her kids about noticing the hurting kids and being kind. She says, "You have to learn to see hurt people, because they figure out how to act invisible. Kindness needs recipients (p.72)." I love that. She also goes into detail about her Supper Club that she has with a few other couples. It sounds like so much fun to be a part of. I want in! They rotate houses and cook an elaborate meal for each other ( I don't think I have the cooking chops to be a part of it though). I would definitely recommend this book. It's a fun, thought-provoking read.

"Interrupted"- by Jen Hatmaker (again). In the interview with her, she talks about how being an author is tough and when a book of hers gained some popularity, readers were shocked to find out that she has authored a total of 11 books! Bestselling authors usually aren't born overnight. But she said that if she were to tell anyone to go back and read one of her works, she would say read, "Interrupted." So I did. And it was really fascinating. Her husband worked at a big, contemporary church in Texas, when she (and he eventually) felt a pull to do something different with their lives. They felt like they were "blessing the blessed" and creating programs for people that lacked purpose in the context of what Christ has called us to do as disciples and missionaries. She felt like her life was hardly any different than her non-believer neighbor down the street who was just as nice as she was, but just spent less time doing churchy-activities. She realized to be authentic and truly live her faith, she had to become more servant-minded towards the people and become more "un-normal" in her daily life, just as Christ was. So they left the comfort of their life and started a new church focused on service and outreach in the community. She gave some startling statistics about the underprivileged:
-Of the six billion people on Earth, 1.2 billion live on 23 cents a day.
-The wealthiest one billion people average seventy dollars a day (if you make $50k you are in the top 1%)
-Someone dies of hunger every 3.6 seconds
-27 million  children and adults are trapped in a form of slavery because of economic crisis (more slaves exist today than ever before)
-143 million children in the developing world have been orphaned
-780 million people lack basic water sanitation
-57 million children worldwide work instead of go to school

It's so easy to live in our little bubble and develop our faith according to what we are already doing, but we're called to more than that. It's quite humbling to think about. She says, "When a Christian consistently treats someone with compassion or demonstrates integrity at work, the gospel wins a hearing." Our role is not just to preach to someone about Jesus Christ and the gospel, it is to exemplify it in our daily lives. "We can continue to invite unbelievers to church, but we must first invite them into our lives." I love that. She quotes another author who says, "Jesus doesn't need us to stick up for him; he needs us to represent him." I think it's sad how contentious religion can be. It's sad that the very thing that can bring about such joy and peace in one's life, is also the thing that makes others feel like outsiders or less than. And that is not God's fault... that is our fault. When we are not consistently acting in a Christ-like way (serving others, being humble, not judging, etc...), how are others to come to know what Christ is like?

It's a thought-provoking book and I admire their faithfulness in being willing to give up their comfortable life to pursue the Lord's path. No matter what church you attend, these principles are good for all of us to think about.

So that's 3/20 books and it's the end of November. Next up is "Hands Free Life" (about parenting intentionally and being present with your kids) and "Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamott (about writing).

Marathon... He DID IT!

Since the week Jackson was born, Pete has been training for a marathon. Let's get this straight... As of April 2014, Pete would go out for a "run" and come back exactly 6 minutes later after running to the end of our apartment complex in San Diego and he'd call it good. Now I'm not heckling, because I am not a runner, but I just want to give a context for this accomplishment. May 2014, he left for ODS with the Navy and trained himself to successfully run 1 1/2 miles for the PRT. Following that, he went to Naval Justice School in Rhode Island, and he met some great friends who were runners. That's when he started to truly become a runner. They helped him to train as a distance runner, and a few of them had a goal to run a marathon in November. It was a great hobby for him while he was alone at training. He learned to actually enjoy running and he lost a lot of weight which made running much easier for him. However, he sadly started suffering from knee pain and his marathon goal was put on hold. Fast forward a year, he was ready to try again. He'd kept up his shorter distance running, so when July rolled around, he was ready to start training. He sacrificed a lot of sleep to achieve this goal. He woke up between 5 and 6am 3 mornings a week to do runs, and then he'd do a long run on Saturdays. So impressive. Sometimes he would run to soccer games or practices in order to fit in his run but also be at our family events. 

One place he loved running was called the Great Dismal Swamp (desirable, huh?). It's a paved path through a forresty, swamp area, which is ideal for runners who don't want to get hit by a car. Anyway, he set out on his Saturday run and about 3 miles in he hears some dog barking. Odd, but he kept going. A few seconds later, he turns around and there is literally a black bear on all fours running towards him. His instincts kicked in and Pete started full-on sprinting to get away from this bear! Thankfully, after a short time, the bear veered off and went back into the forest on the other side of the path. He thinks the dogs spooked the bear and that's what caused him to get agitated, but regardless... Pete got chased by a bear. He reported the incident to the forest ranger, and he said it was not uncommon to see bears. Pete decided to call it good for his run that day, and ended up seeing this sign along the path. 

So sprinting wasn't the best idea, but at least it ended up well. I would probably sprint too! So glad things ended up the way they did. Definitely makes for a good story. 

Anyway, training required Pete to run up to 20 miles, but he only got up to 18, because my surgery made him miss his 20-miler. Whoops. But he still felt good and ready for the race. So on Saturday, Nov 14, Pete ran the Richmond Marathon! We went up the night before to stay in a hotel, which was a great choice, because go-time on Saturday morning came early enough as it was. We left for the race at 6:15am, got Pete his ritual bagel, and dropped him off at the start downtown. THere was so much traffic, but we got him as close as we could. He took a fleece blanket we had in the car because it was VERY cold, and he left it somewhere down there. Hopefully some homeless person can put it to  use. Our plan was to see him at mile 7. It worked out perfectly and he got there within minutes of our arrival. I was nervous about all the stops with the three kids by myself, but I used the double stroller and the front-pack for Jackson, and it was perfect. But in all honesty, no matter how much hoopla and jumping around I did each time we saw Pete run by, they didn't really care. They got to see dad for .3 seconds and then we had to load back up and move on to do it again. But still, it's such a fun atmosphere and everyone is so positive. I was telling Pete that marathon events are so great because everyone is cheering for everyone. There aren't winners and losers... everyone wants everyone else to succeed and just make it to the end. There are few events in life that are like that, so even though the boys didn't fully "get it", I'm glad they were exposed to this event of positivity. 

Anyway, here's me and the babe. 

Mile 7...

 The worst part of having three kids, one of which is a baby strapped to you, is the potty situation. I'm ashamed to say that they peed off the beaten path once or twice that day, but it made my life WAYYY easier, so be it. Except that at the finish line, I look over and there is Austin with his pants around his ankles peeing. So embarrassing. Where is that kid's mom?

 We stopped at Sugar Shack for donuts. The best!

 We tried to see Pete at mile 12.9, but we missed him. Darn it. It's so hard to time out these things. Loved seeing my kids cheering on complete strangers.

 At mile 20 we met up with Scott, Abbey, Lance, and Madison. They were nice enough to drive down to cheer Pete on. At this point, you started to see the wear and tear on the runners' faces. Oh man.

How cute is this little family????

 Pete said that after mile 20, every mile felt like 1,000 miles. He slowed way down and he said that it hurt worse to walk, so he just kept running, but walkers were passing him. haha.

 We made it to the finish line and waited for Pete's arrival. 26.2 miles is a LONGGGG way, so we just wanted to see him alive! Scott was at the top of the hill, so he texted me when he saw Pete. I was never so glad to see that yellow shirt.

 The boys were getting antsy, but they were excited to hear dad was approaching.

 It was so emotional... he did it. 26.2 miles. 4 months of committed training. A year and a half ago, he could run 1/2 a mile. Look at this guy go!

 I was so nervous about being able to get to him afterward, because he didn't have a cell phone, but it all worked out perfectly. He got an awesome medal and a celebratory Cafe Rio lunch. So awesome.

 Don't take it personally, Pete... Jackson was super proud of you.

No matter if he ever runs another marathon, he can say he did it. He ran a marathon! I asked if it was fun, and he said, "No... it was rewarding though." I see that. Such an accomplishment, both physically and mentally. Majorly proud of this guy!

Kids work

While I save the most precious and important creations of my kids, there is plenty that just has to get thrown away because the accumulation of paper can get out of control. So I've taken to photographing the work so that the memory can be saved for all time, but the paper doesn't have to be:)

Don't worry, Mom. This self-portrait by Austin is a keeper (even though I also photographed it). 

Austin's self-portrait at age 3 1/2

 Parker has been writing his feelings more lately. It's cool to see him progress in his written communication. Sometimes he will write Austin's name and this "x" it out when he's mad. This is a heart communicating that he made him sad.

 I found these papers the other day that the boys made for Father's Day. Not sure if they were previously documented.

 Parker's treasure map... "Not there", "Almost there", "There." haha.

Mostly Jackson

Most of these pics are of Jackson because he's the easiest subject right now, but here's a cute moment. Austin has been a good sport about attending Parker's soccer games. This was right after daylight savings so a 6pm game just felt too late for this little buy. He fell asleep on the sidelines. 

Aunt Chloe tied fleece blankets for the boys and sent them to us this week. They love the superhero theme and even though they are quite big and heavy, they drag them around the house at all times! So cute. Thanks, Chloe!

I love laying with Jackson and just taking in his baby-ness. Baby #3 is seriously the best. I have settled into more reasonable expectations as a mom and I am just enjoying my daily moments with my kids. While I may wish for some phases to be over sooner than others, every moment is a gift.

Baby gaze.

He's discovered his hands and has become a drooling machine. I think teeth are on the horizon.