For the Love

Daughter got to go to Bubba's school for his Valentine's Party. And love was in the air because son acted like he adored his little sister. It was all for show but I was glad they along in front of crowded room of kids and parents.
Mommy got a silicone heart cake pan at Target for $1 and made the kids a Valentine's cake with sprinkles! Gross but cute for them!
And here is me when I got home from my run this morning. Karen and I were the two member Team Roach. Funniest story: Karen still has my address on her driver's license. So I took her driver's license t0 pick up our Running chips and bibs on Friday. The man said, "I am sorry you can only pick up yours." I said, "even if I have her ID?" He looked at it a long time and then looked at me and said, "Oh, so you are picking up your partner's?" I did not think anything about it because Karen had registered TEAM ROACH and I did not know and I registered individual. So I thought he was talking about my team partner. But then it hit me, he was thinking we lived together. NICE.
I got two shots on Friday and was told probably I should not run. But I did! My sweet husband even got up at 5:30 this morning to give me a hug and tell me how proud of me he was. I ran the whole time this time without walking an inch. It was raining but not cold. It was a pretty level coarse and I felt okay until mile 3. Karen would run up to me and say are you OK? I would just nod. I was in a zone and I took in my IPOD illegally, so I was jamming. I knew I was wheezing a little bit but Karen could hear it from behind me. The last 1/4 of a mile my hands were tingling and I knew I needed to finish. And as all good races it ended uphill. With all that being said, rain, shots, sick, hills and wheezing I finished 2 minutes under my last race time. I was disappointed because I can do it 4 minutes under that but I was proud of myself for not walking.
Sweet part of the race, I have written and said, it is my race no one can do it for me. And I have really felt like I have been running this race since July. I have lost 32 pounds and have taken full credit for it when I should not have. Today I learned a lesson. On mile three it was not just me running that race, it was me and God. I prayed he would carry me across that finish line and help me finish. As soon as I started praying my IPOD skipped the next song and went to Bring the Rain by Mercy Me. He carried me.

The race of life

There are many races in your life. You run them everyday. I picked another race to run..I am running again in a 5k on Saturday. My goal is a 10k. But for now, I am running Saturday in the BE&K 5K. That is great and all but I came down with a yuck cold this past Friday. I feel awful. I went to run today and got my mile down to a little over 10 min. You should no that I started at 14 min. a mile. Pitiful I know but I started. I was so excited with my time today but I could not breathe and have lost my voice. (Husband is stoked!) And I think I might have over done it...I have a fever. Pray I can get a shot in the am before I have to put on a Valentine's party at son's school. How fast will I run with a steroid shot? My friend April is running in the half marathon...oh to dream. Maybe one day... (I think I use "..." too much. I blame fb) But my AWANA girls told me they would pray for me Saturday, so I have to run regardless if I can talk or breathe.
That face up above is running his own race and is in the midst of TBall draft. We still don't have a team and draft was Tuesday night. It is quite the controversy. We are not those crazy parents. We believe God decided this a long time ago. And that face that people are busy trading for could careless. In fact while it was all going on, he was in his room teaching his sister how to poot the loudest. HE IS 6. His aunt thinks he will make her some money. Husband wants a sign on bonus. I just want him to be 6 and me to get to cheer for him. Look at that face, he is still my little boy. Despite it all, we do it all for him!
Sister is also running a race in her own life. I pray for her and her family. The enemy is always near. He got even nearer for her this week. He was watching her and her boys. And even though she feels alone, evil is all around all of us. She is not alone. Once again, I am learning that only you can run your race. No one can do it for you. When I get to a hard part in the run, I say to myself, "NO EXCUSES," and I take a deep breathe and run. I pray all my friends run their race.

Put me on TLC

It is a known fact daughter does not like her hair brushed. She does not like bows anymore, ponytails, etc. So I cut it off. She loves it and it fits her personality. But today was dance pictures and I talked it up to her all day. I told her Cinderella rolls her hair. I guess mother finally rubbed off on me! Mother told my sister and I that rolling your hair made everything better. If a boy broke up with us, she would say, "You just need to roll your hair." If ever I do roll my hair, I call her and tell her I rolled it in her honor. If I die first, she will make sure my hair is rolled. So today, I passed this trait onto my daughter and she let me! God found favor on me today. She even let me put makeup on her. Oh my, did I get into it. I felt like one of those mommies on TLC that puts her daughter in pageants. I could so see me going over the top. It was so much fun. And the results were amazing...my little black feet girl turned into this!


Notice the leotard was itching...so we ended up like this in between pictures. Whatever works!
Look at her ballerina friends. They were all just as beautiful.
I said nothing was cuter then a little boy in a baseball uniform. I now know a little in a dance costume...just as cute.

Our Getaway

Well where do I start. Every mommy and daddy dreams of short getaways without having to be called mommy and daddy. Thanks to Papa Roach and Meme Roach we got to escape. But the night before we left, I began feeling under the weather. I ingested some cold medicine and Motrin and off we went. This is us at the basketball game sitting with all the Tennessee fans and way up high! But we were in Auburn and I was feeling at home.We watched Auburn beat Tennessee which was very unexpected. I got to visit with my birthday twin and ALL her family! EK too cute. Amy is my birthday twin. We have way too much in common. Same birthday. Same middle name. We can still finish each others thoughts and I always get excited to see her. We need some more quality time! I mean there is a lot more we need to catch up on! And I love when I see her, it is like we just pick up where we left off! We were also pleasantly surprised that we got two free basketballs for the kids and lots of Cheese Curls.
We even spotted the old S10. This was what husband cruised when we met. It was this exact color and even sported the same rims! (that was for you Bre)

We got to walk around all those familiar places and eat a nice quiet lunch together. We saw some of our favorite places. We saw some places that are etched in our hearts and memories forever.
1344 Kurt Circle! Where I said Yes when husband asked me to marry him. I moved here in this 3 bedroom duplex after graduating college. And the memories come flooding back. When we were driving around I was just flooded with the girl that grew up there in that city. I was so young when I was dropped off at BOYD hall. And the last day I left this duplex, I was a young bride moving to Montgomery to start a whole new chapter of my life.
We finally found our hotel and I was sick and in need of a good nap. Exciting, I know! This is our view from our balcony. We stayed at the Robert Trent Jones Grand National thanks to sister-in-law. It was beautiful and I was so excited to get to stay there. Well as fate would have it things weren't as perfect as it appeared. The first sign was the elevator was broken. After a nice nap we left for a night out on the town. Due to the sensitivity of this topic, husband will not let me give all the details. There was smoke bellowing out of the exhaust of my car which lead to a trip to Wal-Mart where oil was put in my car...problem solved. Dinner...8 o'clock. At this point we were laughing. It was really amusing. We returned to the hotel only to find no hot water. Next morning, no hot water. So we decide to go run on the treadmills. Treadmill broken. Elliptical broken. Bicycle broken. So we ate breakfast. Then we got a tip from the front desk saying to turn on the bath tub and then the shower would get hot. It worked...we showered and left. It was kinda like the twilight zone. We didn't dare say what next? We were scared!
But we had a great time. It would have been 10 times worse with kids! I thought of Macee often while we were there. I saw places I used to take her and I missed her. If I had college and those years to do over and I knew it would end the same way...I would do it all over again. I still secretly hope one day we will end up there.
After picking up the kids we drove back home. The kids and I were asleep in the car. I awoke to what sounded like a gun. I look at husband and he is laughing. I was scared to ask what now? He just pointed to the windshield. A ROCK HIT AND CRACKED MY WINDSHIELD. The end. And I quote my friend Summer, "I'm over it!"

A U B U R N

If you know me at all you know I love Auburn. It is not just football and after this year, that is a good thing. I had the blessing of living in Auburn for 6 years. I have recently been tagged and emailed top 25 list from everyone I know. So I thought I would give my 25 favorite things about AUBURN!
1. I met husband there at the end of my sophomore year in college.
2. Some of the coolest people I met in Auburn lived in trailers.
3. I too got to be trailer trash for a year and wire road was home to me.
4. You can take your dog anywhere. My favorite memories of Macee are taking her to Kiesel park and Chewacla.
5. Chewacla...Yes I swam in the lake and did not get a disease. Husband and I took many hikes, countless picnics and canoes in Chewacla.
6.The people in Auburn love the university and its students. There are several colleges that don't have that relationship with city they occupy.
7. I love downtown Auburn and when they put Christmas lights on all the trees downtown, it feels like home!
8. Niffers.
9. Momma Goldbergs.
10.Hickory Dickory Park...I helped build it!
11. Lee County Public Fishing Lake.
12. Plainsman park, Jordan Hare Stadium, and Beard-Eves Memorial Coliseum because you know why!
13. Everything you could want to eat can and will be delivered.
14. Country's barbecue because I waited tables there...I will never eat a sweet potato because of working there.
15. Toomer's leomonade.
16. J&M.
17. Samford lawn, I have pictures of son crawling here at 10 months.
18. You can walk everywhere.
19. Spring in Auburn is beautiful...I mean James Brown works there!
20. Haley Center, the most confusing building known to mankind and the reason AU graduates will never get stuck in a maze.
21. Live music, outside, amphitheater!
22. Mark at the Guitar Shoppe, he helped me find husband many a presents!
23. Wild Man Steve.
24. Nova, the current eagle that flies at football games. I am convinced that how long he hovers over the opposing team determines if we win!
25. "I believe in Auburn and love it."

With all that being said, husband and I are enjoying a weekend in Auburn with no kids.
War Eagle!

Memory Verse #3

I am in the process of deciding do I go back to social work land or do something different. I am even considering going back to school. I am trusting and praying for God's guidance. The preacher talked about MAKING IT PERSONAL yesterday. I wanted a verse this time that I could claim. I have been letting people pick my verses for me and my dear friend gave me one of her favorites.

Isaiah 30:21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

So I will walk where HE shows me and I will go where HE leads me and I will trust where HE wants me. My favorite . . . HE doesn't need me but HE wants me. So here I go, I am going to walk in it.

Zing, Zang, Zoom and switch-a-roo!

The Kids at ZING ZANG ZOOM

A vendor from husband's work gave us tickets to The Greatest Show on Earth. We got to go with families from husband's work. We missed the Davis clan and Cone clan. We should really plan a cookout with kids...I'll host. (Don't tell Joey) Anyway, the circus came through and provided lots of entertainment. The kids loved it. Son loved the animals and the guys flipping on the "swing" things. Daughter loved the women getting shot out of the cannons.
We got out of there only spending $100. JK The cotton candy came with this cool hat, that daughter loved to wear. I think it was an excuse to take the bow out of her hair but she looked cute and would not let me take the tag off.
Son got this elephant. He tried to make it do all the things the live elephants were doing. He kept holding it up trying to show the elephants. Sometimes he can seem so grown up to me and then it is moments like that when I realize he is still my little boy and I could squeeze him.
The tigers rock! I get scared for the guy in the cage. I kept thinking, Lord do not let them eat him. I did not want my kids to witness another Siegfried and Roy moment. And then there is this other part of me that sees a tiger and wants to yell WAR EAGLE. That same part of me teared up when they showed Karlos Dansby on the Super Bowl. I miss him wearing the orange and blue.
For those that need a good laugh...
1. My baby at school that threw up on me and caused me to throw away some undergarments brought me a present. A 25 dollar gift card to Victoria's Secret. I laughed out loud when this sweet baby came bringing me that pink bag!
2. Huband and I have weird sleeping habits. Most people have a SIDE of the bed. Their SIDE never changes. Husband and I switch every couple of months. We get tired of sleeping on that side and switch. I know it is weird to some but it is weird to us to claim a side. But the switch thing in the bed has taken on a whole new meaning. Husband gave me an electric blanket for Christmas. He could sleep under one sheet and be fine. I,however, grew up with an electric blanket and love to climb into a warm bed. He bought one with dual controls so his side would be cold. Well we set it up wrong, so the first night he was burning up and I was thinking it didn't work very well. Another day during Christmas break he wouldn't get out of the bed. So I went in and turned his side on 8 and he immediately was up. Then about a week ago I fixed the controls. I now have my side and he has his. I did not tell him that I fixed the controls so the other night, I was brushing my teeth getting ready for bed and asked him to turn on my side. He switched the controls back to the way they were and turned on HIS side. So another night of me cold, him hot. It really makes me laugh because he hates being hot and he only bought it for me. Now he is wishing he did not. AH, the good ole switch-a-roo.