Triathlon!

Sunday morning started bright and early, but for good reason! It was finally time, after much anticipation, for my first ever triathlon!

I convinced Jacinda (friend, college roomate, cousin) to do it with me. After talking, we decided to ask our dads to come along too, and do the race as relays. We decided it would be fun and memorable and a great dad/daughter event!

Let the pictures tell the rest of the story...

The swim: 500 meters.
This is our wave (about 20 people? There were 400 participants total).
The water was FREEZING. The air was FREEZING. We were FROZEN.
This was the most discouraging part for me, because we weren't even able to swim. It was so cold most people were just doggy paddling, some riding the rope, just trying to get there and back. About halfway back I was able to put my face in the water, and cruised right along. I kept thinking 'you should have done this earlier', but I absolutely could not.
Let me say it again, it was cold!!!

I hate this picture (obviously), but wanted to show the action. Here I am running to my dad. I strapped the timing chip around his ankle, and off he went:
Here is my dad coming back in after 16 miles. He did wonderful!! The day before he seemed intimidated and unsure, but when he rolled in on his bike he looked so proud. I had no doubt he would do amazingly well, but to see a smile across his face made me so happy. It was a great experience for him:
We switched the timing chip again, and then off to run. We didn't plan it this way, but Jacinda and I did it all together. It made it much more fun, and we were able to push each other. There we go, off on our run, 3 miles:
And here we are finishing. Our time was 1 hour:35 minutes, even better than the goal I had in mind. More than a time, it felt great to have just done it.
We did it! It was a great experience!



And some extra photos...
Jacinda and I, trying to warm up:
My loyal friend, Angela, there to cheer me on:
My sisters also part of the cheering squad:
Dallas, Maleah, Layla, my mom, Madeline, Lydia, Anna, Noah, Asher, and Canaan also were there. They braved the cold and the early hours to come. THANK YOU!

Good job, Dad! I am so glad this is something we were able to do together. It's a great memory to hold onto. You rocked it. I knew you would!!

And now I can check an item off my bucket list. It was fun (but cold)!
I will for sure do it again, but not in the frigid temperatures.
I'm glad to have it behind me, but loved every minute of it.

Alzheimer's Walk

We had such a wonderful weekend. It was jam packed of fun, memorable events!

Saturday morning, we took part in the Walk to End Alzheimer's. A lot of the family came up, and it was so fun to be with everyone and walk in honor of Grandpa Charlton:
My grandpa is so incredibly fortunate to have this beautiful lady by his side. She loves him soooo incredibly much, and the care she gives him is so selfless. She amazes me:
Besides his wife, he's got these other beauties, his daughters, in his life. He is one lucky man:
The walk:
Maleah with her flower for Grandpa:

It was a splendid morning, indeed. I love time with my family, and this weekend was no different.

Photos - Just Because...

Maleah's been drawing some really great pictures, lately. It's so fun to see:

This little man gets up that ladder in no time, then beams with pride:

I asked these goofballs what they were doing with all those bowls and cloths, and they said "washing the windows." ok?

came back into the room, and what do ya know...they got right to business.
i can handle this:

three cutest kids in grundy county:

Happy Weekend!

Happy Birthday Charlie!

Unfortunately, Charlie's birthday wasn't off the charts stellar. But, we sure tired our hardest to make it fun, despite crappy circumstances with family, no real party, and a 102+ fever.

Started the day off right with a birthday doughnut:

Then the next several hours looked like this. Everyone tried to make him happy, but absolutely not. He felt miserable and it showed:

My parents came over for supper. It was lovely. She brought flowers for all of us, because she's awesome like that, and a balloon for the birthday boy.
The other thing she brought: Scratch cupcakes. Hallelujah!
Doesn't he look like he is loving his "Oh Happy Day" cupcake:

Balls and a tractor thing from the wonderful Papa & Nana.
Cause every little boy needs these things:

And my sweet as can be 1-year-old. My goodness, how I love him so much:

Happy Birthday, Charlton! We love you!

One Year Ago...

One year ago, today, I looked like this:

That afternoon, I met my precious son.
There never are words to express the instant love you feel:

He turned us into a family of five.
We were now out-numbered by children.
Our arms were overflowing with blessings.
Our hearts were overflowing with love.
Not going to lie, we all look a little overwhelmed...
But, the gift of each other is wonderful:

We adore our Charlie-boy.

Even Yet, God is Good.

This morning, my Bible reading was:

2 Corinthians 4:7-10
We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

Psalm 43:4-5
There I will go to the altar of God, to God - the source of all my joy,
I will praise you with my harp, O God, my God!
Why am I discouraged?
Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
I will praise him again -
my Savior and my God!

Rewind to January...
Rod has surgery to reconstruct the rotator cuff in his shoulder.
Grandpa Ralph finds out he has cancer, and passes away one week later.
Bonnie is diagnosed with breast cancer, has surgery, and begins yucky treatments.
Rod is diagnosed with diabetes.
Then Saturday...

...Rod was working on a fertilizer tank (wagon looking thing). It was up on a forklift, with Rod underneath/to the side on his knees, when the tank began to slip and fell onto Rod, crushing him down and forward.

We knew right away he could feel and move his legs. There were so many ways the Lord protected him. Still, we all immediate felt fear of what could come of this, as well as the discouragement of "another kick in the pants."

You do what you got to do, so we dealt with children, waited for phone calls, then spent time together at the hospital. It's such a helpless feeling just staring at someone in an incredible amount of pain. The support of being there was all we could offer.

A compressed vertebrae (as in, 50% of what it used to be) and cracked vertebrae will have him laid up for a good while. The pain he felt, as he would yell out and grab his hospital bed, was horrible to see. Watching my husband's face, as he watched his father crying out, broke my heart. But seeing Dallas care for his dad, help him try to sit up, put his back brace on, sitting beside him helping him relax during spasms, etc.? That makes a wife proud.

Yesterday Bonnie was due for a treatment. The logistics of him at the hospital, her going to the cancer center, and the care for the two in the days to come, were a worry. Saturday night, Dallas and I decided that this is our season of life right now. They cared for my husband for 18 years. How could I be anywhere but with them now. In one year, this will all be a memory. A bone will heal and chemo will kill the cancer. We still have our parents, our children still have our grandchildren, and life is not to be taken granted of. In the meantime, we have the privilege of sitting with Bonnie during chemo, helping Rod walk, and offering our support and help over the next several months.

I worry about the added stress Dallas will feel. I worry about the protection and peace of my children, as this is the first day I have been with them since Saturday morning. I feel exhausted. Then I open my Bible, and read God's promises. Like this morning, He knows just what I need to hear.

What I have learned:
1. I am so thankful for the opportunity to be home. It allows me the freedom and flexibility to help where help is needed.
2. If this were my parents, I would not leave their side. It's not my parents, but it is the love of my life's. Seeing the tears in Dallas's eyes Saturday morning as he worried about his dad showed me how much he loves him. I will do my part to be Dallas's partner however best I can. Right now, it's caring for his mom and dad.
3. People are so generous and gracious. The help I've had with the kids, meals, offers, prayers, encouragement. It all means so much.
4. Life is but a vapor. This is earth. I yearn for the perfect heavenly world. Sitting in the cancer center with Bonnie for 3+ hours yesterday was a good reminder of how good our bad really is.
5. God is good, all the time. Even if cancer takes Bonnie's life and even if Rod's accident would have killed him, God would still be good. There are sure to be weak moments. But through it all, God remains faithful.

Would you please pray for them? Even send them a card of encouragement if you think of it? The next two weeks are going to be really rough for Bonnie, and Rod has some long days ahead of him. Still, their attitudes are amazing. Rod said Saturday night, "There's good in everything. You just have to find it." They could be feeling pretty lousy for themselves, but they're not. Please pray that this keeps up in the coming months. And pray for complete healing for both of them. We are certain that months from now, we are going to be celebrating good health. And what a celebration that will be!

Ready!!

Can I just say: We are more than ready for all our activities to start up!

We have had nothing, really, on the calendar last week, this week, and next week. The pools have closed. We have loved being outside with the beautiful weather, but ready for a little routine in our life!

What we have going this fall: MOPS, the Grove, AWANA, Maleah's dance class, Kindermusik, and story hour. And it all begins the same week! So, remember this post about me complaining of boredom, because I'm sure come the middle of September I'll be overwhelmed with busyness! :)

We're off to the Arboreteum today for the second time this week. And we're probably going tomorrow night too. It's my new found treasure, and the only place Charlie stays in one place for hours.

Cabin fever = fighting, annoyed with each other, children.
Oh happy day!