Mini Marathon

Daniel ran in the Indianapolis 500 Festival Mini-Marathon last Saturday. He has been training since Christmas I guess. I am so very proud of him for not only running the whole thing on Saturday, finishing in under 2 hours (he finished in 1 hour 53 minutes), and actually making it through the last several months of getting up at 5:00 every morning to run (so he could be home in the evenings with Sadie and I), but I'm especially proud of him for enjoying the whole process and being so positive the entire time. He was determined to run this year, and I'm so proud he did it! Who knows if he'll ever run in another one, but at least he enjoyed running this year and did so well!

The race started at 7:30 a.m. He met a few friends up here close to our house at 5:45 and rode down there with them. The race started in downtown Indy and snaked its way through some less desirable parts of the city to get to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. They ran a lap on the speedway (which is 2.5 miles long itself) and then were routed back to downtown Indy to finish the race. There were live musicians and bands playing at every 1/2 mile marker plus people cheering them on almost the entire way. I was so amazed at how many people were just standing out there cheering for everyone that was running. So fun! The mini is a total of 13.1 miles. There are corrals that are lettered A through Z. Daniel was in corral K. He said he got a little frustrated with the fact that some people actually started the race off walking. So his first mile went a little slower than planned, but who's timing when you run 13 miles?!!! :) It is the nation's largest half marathon with around 35,000 participants. So there is definitely a crowd of runners!

Sadie and I got down there around 8:30, anticipating that Daniel would finish somewhere around 9:45 (that's where he was shooting for since his corral probably wouldn't cross the start line until 7:45). By the time we parked and walked over to the street where the finish line was, it was almost 9:00. So we got to see some of the more avid runners coming in. I have to admit that I teared up alot while I was waiting for Daniel. Pregnancy is making me a little more emotional than usual, but I was so proud of him. What a great accomplishment!

Sadie had a great time as well. She thought she was part of the race and kept running along the sidewalk saying, "Sadie running". She ran up and down, finally making her way all the way down to the last 1/2 mile marker. That's when we looked up and saw Daniel. I was so scared we were going to miss seeing him with me chasing Sadie around. Luckily we didn't, and I yelled and got his attention. I'm sure that was the highlight of his day!!! ;) Just kidding, but he did say that it was a nice treat to actually get to see us and yell back to us. We then speed-walked our way back to the finish line to find him. There were also bands playing in the park next to the finish line. So we hung out for a while and let Sadie dance and play and hang out with a new friend she made. The only other thing Daniel wanted me to include in this post, for memory's sake, was that he was glad Sadie and I went and was glad that Sadie got to have such a fun time. Here are some pictures from the day.

Thoughts on Mother's Day

I have had an absolutely beautiful Mother's Day weekend. Not because the weather was perfect, it was not. Not because I got to see my own mother, I did not. Not because I didn't have to do any motherly duties or work all day today, because I did.

It was a beautiful Mother's Day weekend mostly because I have Sadie and Daniel in my life, and they just put the cherry on top of any special day for me, but it was beautiful also because I enjoyed watching all those around me taking part in this wonderful holiday and reflecting on the significance of mothers in our lives.

I honestly LOVE Mother's Day, and it's not just because I'm a mother, though that helps put things in perspective! I love seeing fathers shopping by themselves with young kids for something special. I love seeing mothers out enjoying some peaceful time to themselves. I love seeing all the people out at restaurants, obviously treating grandmothers and great grandmothers to special dinners. I love hearing the wonderful reflections during church concerning the importance of mothers. I love all the wonderful people telling other women (who are not their mothers) "Happy Mother's Day!", and I love hearing it myself from family, friends, and even strangers. What a wonderful reminder of the incredible job God has entrusted us with.

I went to get my nails done yesterday (courtesy of a very wonderful guy and very sweet little girl!), and as I sat waiting for my appointment, I watched one man after another come into the salon and buy gift cards. Some were older men, some were men carrying babies or guiding toddlers, and there was even one that had four very cute girls with him (whom I assume to be daughters because the whole family looked identical and all had an opinion on some extras they were wanting to get Mom from the salon). At some point, I heard one of the ladies working the front desk say that they had actually run out of gift certificates to write on and were just printing up receipts and wrapping them in gift bags. While yes, you can do so many other things for a mother, it was just fun to watch the parade of men in the door, all basically on the same mission....a present for a mother.

To me Mother's Day is so unlike any other holiday, and TOTALLY different from Father's Day. It is one of the few holidays everyone seems to really enjoy themselves. Have you noticed that? Not as many people are concerned with entertaining a slew of guests. Everyone seems to be intent on showing some type of appreciation to their mothers or wives. In return, it is probably the one day of the year you can actually sense relaxation in the air and can notice mothers' minds clearing. Like I said before, I did have motherly duties to do today....of course I did....like most moms, but there is something I noticed today in some of my friends. It seems like mothers actually emotionally relax on Mother's Day. Am I the only one who has witnessed this? I guess it's the thought that you don't have to do everything around the house and take care of the baby and kids and husband that day...you can if you want to, but you don't have to do it all. On top of that, you feel a sense of appreciation and admiration from your spouses, kids, and others in your life. And really what greater job is there in this world than being a mother? That realization alone can make one have a pretty darn beautiful day!

So happy Mother's Day from Daniel, Sadie, and I to my mom, Daniel's mom,

and all the other wonderful and strong mothers out there! We love you and respect all that you have done for us and for your own children and all that you continue to do! May God bless you abundantly as you do HIS work.

Our very own bag lady

This is one of Sadie's favorite past times.....

She loads up her shopping cart (overflowing might I add) and pushes it around the house, making stops and having pretend conversations.

I had to get a close-up. It reminds me of a birds nest....you can find a little bit of everything in there (balls, a bag of crayons, a flashcard, her Bible, a few stuffed animals, a maraca). There doesn't appear to be a reason any of it is ever in there, but I guarantee she has some story going on in her mind that supports what she puts in that cart.