River Trail 15K
I ran the River Trail 15K on Saturday. It was an out-and-back by the Arkansas River. It was cold. But it was fun! I ran most of the race with my friend, Shelley. She was a great pacer for me. I completed the 9.3 miles in 1:34:12. I'm hoping to run a little faster pace for my upcoming 1/2 marathon in March.
"When I'm out on a long run the only thing in life that matters is finishing the run. For once, my brain isn't going blehblehbleh all the time. Everything quiets down, and the only thing going is pure flow. It's just me and the movement and the motion. That's what I love - just being a barbarian, running through the woods." - from Born to Run by Christopher McDougall
Posted by
marria on 02/08/10 at
21:41
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Second snow day... 2.8.10
The snow was thick and wet... perfect for snowballs and snowmen!
Posted by
marria on 02/08/10 at
19:28
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First snow day... 1.29.10
The "snow" was mostly sleet. It made the hill in front of our house a great sledding hill!
Posted by
marria on 02/08/10 at
19:26
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I love books... I do.
Found this quote... from the 12th century...
"My son, make books your companions and make your bookcases and shelves your groves and pleasure gardens. Graze in their beds and cull their flowers... and if your soul grows weary and exhausted, move from garden to garden and from flower bed to flower bed... For then your will shall be restored and your spirit will become beautiful."
Posted by
marria on 02/02/10 at
23:26
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7th Birthday!
My sweet Lil begins her 7th year today.
Of course, birthdays are always bittersweet to a mama. I want my children to grow up yet I can't help missing some of the times gone by.
Lillian entered this world a little earlier than expected (10 days) and seemed to grant us all with an immediate sense of her femininity. She has always been a delicate soul. So soft. So sweet. So girly! She was our first girl... and we noticed the difference between her and Asher IMMEDIATELY! She was (and is) so purely feminine.
This past year we dealt with Lillian having pneumonia three times in nine months. This was extremely troubling to me. Finally, on the third go-round I changed doctors and felt like I received some good advice as to the prevention and cure of her illness. Her reoccurring pneumonia only added to the sense of delicateness surrounding Lil.
She is currently taking ballet and is quite graceful. She is Eden's "teacher" and loves all things related to school. Of course, she is in love with her own teacher - Ms. Sweet. She is quite comfortable in the social arena and has a lot of friends. I occasionally remind her of the importance of being nice when she has the privilege of others looking up to her. Her teacher says she is the "perfect student." I love listening to her read and encourage her to read to Eden. She has really progressed in piano this year. This is her second year of taking lessons and she seems to really enjoy it. She regularly sits down at the piano to just play for fun!
Lil tends to be bossy to Eden... but I know it must be hard to resist because they are so close in age. I try to explain to her the qualities of a good leader but I don't know if any of my "lectures" are getting through to her! She has learned how to tease Asher and pushes his buttons on an almost hourly basis. This drives him crazy. (And she definitely knows it!)
With Lilli being an extremely emotional creature, D and I wonder what the teen years have in store for us! She usually cries at some point during the day. (We thought it was par for the course for girls but Eden doesn't cry as much - only if she gets hurt.) Crying tends to be how she "copes" with small crises in her life. So, as parents, we try to be empathetic balanced with sensibility during these crying episodes.
Lillian is growing so fast. She is turning into a young woman so quickly.
My prayer is for her to continue to grow in the grace of God. I hope she is learning to turn to him for constant reassurance and guidance through my example. I firmly believe I am to be "God" for my children... showing them who he is through my actions. I fail at this miserably every day but hope they are seeing bits and pieces of his love, forgiveness, tenderness, compassion, mercy, discipline, etc through the way I conduct my life.
Happy Birthday, dearest Lillian! I am so thankful you are my daughter.
Posted by
marria on 02/01/10 at
14:12
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Used to be...
As I was putting Eden to bed tonight she asked me to get her "horsey" for her.
"Where is it?" I asked.
"It's where we used to watch t.v.," she replied.
We have not had television since last January when the digital switch-over occurred. It was not a big adjustment for me because we hadn't had cable for 13 years. We had cable the first year we were married but got rid of it when we bought our first home. We wanted to spend our "excess" on going out instead of paying for cable. We spent 13 years fighting with the "rabbit ears" and then decided what the networks where putting out wasn't worth the fight anymore.
We have never purchased a television set. There was always someone who was tired of their "old t.v." and we always found a set to inherit. Our television set was mostly used for the kids to watch a DVD or for all of us to watch a movie.
D and I recently went to Best Buy because we were considering purchasing a television for movies. We looked into a projector and screen... but found it a bit much for the space we had available. I must admit... standing there staring at the 55 inch... then the 48 inch... then the 42 inch... we were overwhelmed.
That was over a month ago and we haven't been back. When we mention a possible television purchase, we ending up saying... "Oh. What's the rush?" We just keep watching a DVD here and there on our laptops or home computer screen. (And that's usually a maximum of 5 hours total in a week.)
I guess it's just what you get used to...
Posted by
marria on 02/01/10 at
02:07
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Divide and Conquer
Tonight I found myself accompanying Asher and Lillian to their school for a "Math and Literacy" family event while D took Eden swimming at the YMCA. This "divide and conquer" as a parenting skill is fairly new in our family. D and I used to have to go our separate ways but it usually involved me staying home to put a baby to bed.
Both of us being out somewhere but not together is new to us. And, quite frankly, it's weird. It's like part of my family is missing...
I know it's a part of parenting older children I'm going to have to get used to... there are going to be more and more conflicting games, school events, recitals, etc. "Divide and conquer" will probably become the norm in the not-so-distant future.
This will be hard for me. I enjoy the company of my husband. I enjoy the company of all three of my children. It's our family. All of them are a part of me. When one or more is missing from a special occasion, something's not quite right.
Posted by
marria on 01/27/10 at
01:04
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