18 Months today

As with any milestone, it's always hard to believe how fast they arrive and that the next one is already around the corner. My little baby is really more toddler now than ever - trying to use more words, climbing and running, following directions, asserting his strong will, etc. Our "little" Aaron continues to bring us MUCH joy, growth spurts in patience, and teaches us so much about our relationship with God. We are grateful for the opportunity to parent him, and pray that we do it with much wisdom, love, and grace! Especially if we end up having to spank him.... =) Which, if he is of any relation to Lee and I, I'm sure we will. And I'm certainly sure that when our own parents read this, they will laugh....

Mom's purse

Anytime it is within reach, my purse provides a vast array of entertainment for Aaron....

There is always a similar routine each time he opens it up -

First, gotta open up the wallet and take out all the "plastic".

Then open up the gum before Mom notices and takes it away (one time he got 3 pieces in his mouth before I intervened)....

Open up the antibacterial lotion and try a little on our hands.....

Find the car keys, point the remote in the direction of the car and hit the panic button. Run to Mom because it is a scary noise everytime....

Sometimes I'm not sure why I bother spending money on toys when the obvious COOL things are what we already have and use everyday ourselves. =)

Half Marathon

Back in November, my friend Tricia invited me to run in the PF Chang's Half Marathon with her and another group of people to help raise awareness and money for a disease called Duchenne (a form of muscular dystrophy), which both of her little sons have been diagnosed with. I was honored to do this - so since I had been at least running a little, I kicked my training into gear for another two months to attempt the 13.2 miles of a half marathon.

So yesterday was d-day..... My good friend Teri also ran - I was so glad to do this with her as we had a good time together yesterday, and she has run a half marathon before - her and her husband Ryan took good care of me throughout the day and I am so grateful for them....

Ryan is a stellar photographer and even got this action shot of me running....

I'm surprised it turned out so clear and it wasn't blurry due to my amazing running speed.... =) Ha ha - totally kidding....

So how did I do? Well, I finished in 1 hour, 53 min., 44 seconds (results) which is an average of 8:41 per mile. When I first started training, I wanted to come in before the two hour mark, so I was glad to achieve that goal and finish well. It WAS a little frustrating as I ended up with a cold this weekend in addition to having trouble keeping my sugar levels up so I didn't feel at my best health-wise and felt like I was running faster and stronger a few weeks ago. But hey, when can you really ever have perfect and ideal circumstances in life? =)

I came home to these from my wonderful husband because he loves me.....

He was such a good Coach for me the past few months - He is very knowledgeable in how to train and a wonderful encouragement and support to me!

This will most likely be the only half-marathon for me - after some hard-core back pain in November, my Doctor/Uncle Keith viewed a past MRI and saw that I have a bulging disc and a few other discs showing damage. He told me that running is just not an ideal sport for this long-term and if I want to be able to have babies and have a quality life when I am older, hopping back on the mountain bike is probably a much better alternative. I have so been so missing my mountain bike and getting a little burnt out on the running so I'm okay with this. Also, running for my friend's charity and watching what her boys deal with on a daily basis just to walk puts it all into perspective....

Thanks for reading everyone - I know this was kind of a long and not necessarily a super entertaining post. Thanks also to so many of you for your phone calls, messages, and texts yesterday as they were a great encouragement and I felt very loved!!!

Oh and one more thing that was sweet about yesterday..... =)

The wedding

We just got back from our fun and exhausting weekend of marrying off my youngest brother, Kyle...It was a wonderful blessing to be a part of Kyle and Sarah's big day. I am so proud of Kyle and the man he has become and his choice for a bride - Sarah is an awesome woman and we are so grateful to have her as part of our family. I can't tell you enough how much we love them....

Aaron got to demonstrate his skills for the first time as a ring bearer with his cousin Brynn as the flower girl. Both kids did great with all the chaos, traveling, and lack of sleep (the morning of the wedding, Aaron decided to get up for good at 3am!!!). They were super cute and made it down the aisle to Grandma who was holding M&Ms as a reward.

It was also so cool to catch up with extended family and friends that we haven't seen for a while, and I kept wishing I had more time....

On our way out of LA, we stopped by for lunch to meet up with some of my old softball teammates from Biola, Krista and Jen. I miss them so much and it was so good to have that time with them. They are such dear friends to me!

That's Krista and her awesome hubby, Mike - He kept Lee "entertained" while us girls giggled and caught up. =)

We were all dying laughing because for some reason Aaron just loved flirting with Jen. He was totally entranced by her. She IS single, but c'mon buddy - a little TOO old for you =)

I realized as I downloaded pictures that I didn't get any with Lee in them! AHHH! But I promise he was there - I so appreciated him this weekend as he took care and helped with Aaron and lovingly put up with all my crazy family. We are so tired, but it was a great time.

Running the Race

Both my dear Aunt Nancy and my cousin Julie sent me a link to this article that I really appreciated and thought many of you would as well.... Something I have been convicted of is how much time and discipline I have invested in these past few months preparing for an upcoming half marathon, and wishing that I would devote this same intensity and fervor in my ongoing "spiritual" race. The article put it into good words and really challenged me in the importance of investing in my relationship with God so I can run this race of life well....

Time Out

Proverbs 28:15 and 17 says:

"The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother.... Correct your son, and he will give you comfort; he will also delight your soul."

Coming across these verses this past week means so much more now to us as parents having to incorporate discipline into our daily routine. Though usually only lasting less than a minute, time outs are unpleasant for all of us. But they have proven to be very effective for the outbursts of anger and temper tantrums that occasionally arise, and Aaron never challenges us by attempting to get up or run away. I can barely stand it and he hangs his head and cries in his "spot" until I go get him. So pitiful - the moment never seems to come fast enough where we can hug, cuddle, and move on from the incident. But we know that these time out moments are so very necessary as we see the nasty sin nature within begin to rear its ugly head...

It has also given us a new perspective in our relationship with the Lord and His own discipline for us. As uncomfortable and painful as it might be to receive God's discipline, we can be assured that "for those whom the Lord loves, He disciplines" (Hebrews 12:6a).

We know also that the discipline ultimately leads to more happy moments and getting along together, of which I will focus on for a picture for this post... =)

So... Happy disciplining to my fellow parenting friends.... =) We know the outcome is worth it and the fruit yielded by it will be sweet.