new york minute

wow how things can change in a few minutes.

eric arrived safely and we are all adjusting to having him home. feeling a bit spoiled to say the least! the kids are having a blast and loving having their daddy back home - as am i! we enjoyed a quiet thanksgiving here at home with a few close friends and family members - it was perfect! we are so thankful for our family and to be together this year for thanksgiving.

the kids are doing wonderful. they are starting to get into the holiday spirit and counting down the days for santa to arrive. i recently started a chore chart where they get paid $.25 for each chore they do. the chart only has 4 chores, things above and beyond what they normally do (dirty clothes up, make beds, keep toys up, dishes up). they are loving it. so am i!! they have a pay day too. i have to remember to keep cash on hand - they wont take a debit card!

running. well. has been put on hold. yep that's right. 3 weeks before the marathon, weeks and weeks of training, miles and miles of running, coordinating for childcare, everything - has to be done again! what?!?! i have injured my feet by running in the 'wrong' shoes, i guess. i was able to get a doctor's appointment, thinking that i had morton's neuroma (previously posted), but every test they did pointed to something else. more like nerve damage in my toes - thus the numbness while running. ever since i completed the half marathon, when my running reached the 6 mile mark, i had so much pain in my feet it was impossible to keep running. after telling the doc this, he strongly advised me not to run the marathon. in fact out of all the doctor's i could have gotten on post, i got a marathon runner! he has ran 6 marathon's and was training for his 7th. God's hand was there, let me tell you! so with his advice (correct my shoes and my running style), take the next few weeks easy, and aim for the next marathon - i am doing just that. i will start training again in january for the nashville music city marathon. i can't just stop and give up on my goal of running a marathon. yes it sucks. yes it is hard to think i have to do it all again. yes it sucks that eric wont be there to see me finish, but yes i can do this. yes i WILL do this! so here's to the next training season!

y'all will have to stay up to date on my new training schedule!

....and counting.

5 and 1/2 hours and counting! yay! i can't wait... feeling like that kid on christmas eve once again... eric's flight arrives around 5:30p in nashville. we are heading out around 4ish, grabbing a bite and driving the 45-50 there. kadence has been home from school the past 2 days. yesterday she woke with a fever (102.6) and a slight one this morning. the fever finally broke, she is eating well and no one else is sick - yet! never fails! OMG I AM SO EXCITED!!

just wanted to post and make sure that everyone knows that i really do have a husband and it isn't all a joke, he will be home this evening! ;)

13/16 - morton's neuroma

during the half marathon around mile 6, i began to experience shooting pain in the bottom side of my middle toes (not the big toe and not the last toe). i just thought it was my new shoes being a bit tight or not quite broken in yet. regardless i finished the race and worked thru the pain, but now, my middle three toes on each foot are still numb (some nine days later). i have completed a few short runs, and the numbness is still there. my research has led me to morton's neuroma, which is just swelling of nerves between the foot bones directly above the padding of your foot. this stinks. i am going to do my best to get into a doctor and possibly get a cortisone shot... i have to get in a 18-20 miler in the next few days in order to feel completely comfortable running the full on december 5. ouch. it is not a comfortable feeling. the numbness really makes running difficult!! i can't believe this.

sunday: rest
monday: 3m
tuesday: spin
wednesday: rest
thursday: 6m
friday: rest
saturday: 7m

12/16 - HALF MARATHON

would have to say that this week was the most eventful! i completed my first half marathon with a time of 2:03:09. not too shabby. i had a goal of 2 hours, but got it pretty close. i have so much to learn! pacing is rather hard, not getting caught up in the competition of the race is hard, and just enjoying it is hard! i have to admit i was cursing the full marathon the entire race. thoughts of how easy it would be to stop training and just be happy with what i have done were running wild. the training isn't difficult at this point, just time consuming, for me it is now a mental war. i have to stay motivated. i have four weeks left until the marathon. i have one more long run in my training. i will run this marathon.

sunday: rest
monday: 3m
tuesday: cross train
wednesday: stretch, foam roll
thursday: 4m
friday: rest
saturday: 13.1 - half marathon

let's talk numbers

a little brain storming led to this entry. listen to these numbers...

in december 2006, me and the girls left georgia to live with my dad while our home here in tennessee was being completed. we stayed there until march 2007 without eric. we were all united by may 2007, where we lived together from may to september 2007. he then deployed to iraq until february 2008. met ty the first time in february, then left april 2008 until october 2008. we were all together again for a month before he left to korea in november 2008. he was able to come home for a month, july 2009, and will be home in 8 days. for 4 months.

if we add this time up from december 2006 until november 2009 - we have been a 'together' family for 8 months. not 8 in a row either. how hard has this been!!! i can't wait to have a somewhat 'normal' life for awhile. meeting him for lunch. taking the kids to the park together. watching tv together at night. going to church as a family. playing with the kids in the evenings.

i am aware this is the military way of life, but it doesn't make it easy! but it does make me proud!! we are doing it, we are living life, and we are deeply missing our hero. only 8 more days! hurry up eric. we haven't spent 4 months in a row together in two and a half years. this should be interesting!!

frozen in time

found this old chair at a antique store in town... looking forward to refinishing it. got most of the dirty work done and had a little fun taking pictures. enjoy

11/16 - good bye to old friends

this was my last long run on my friendly route here close to home. can't say i am gonna miss it! this week was uneventful, a 'normal' week. pushing time to get a new pair of shoes, my feet were throbbing on the 16 miler. 5 more weeks!!

sunday: rest
monday: 3m
tueday: stretch/foam roller
wednesday: rest
thursday: 9m
friday: rest
saturday: 16miles

trick or treat

a butterfly, dragon and ballerina

we dressed up for our bible study group as witches for a volunteer project at the zoo

pumpkins galore