Half Marathon

Earlier this month, Dad, Ben, and I ran a half marathon! We have been training for this race since April, so we had built up lots of anticipation!

The race morning dawned REALLY early! We left the house at 5 a.m., because the race was being held a good distance from our house. Thankfully, we arrived on time, picked up our packets, hit the restrooms, and had ample time to stretch out.

Photo Credit: Roma.

The guy that talked us into running the race is a friend of ours who works with my Dad. Mr. P has become quite the seasoned half-marathoner this past year. This was his 8^th one!

Photo Credit: Betsy

While we raced, the rest of the family enjoyed the park and fed the ducks at the lake.

Photo Credit: Roma.

The race course was a lot harder than I expected. The four of us stayed together until about the 3 mile point. Ben and I pulled ahead of the guys, and the two of us leap-frogged for awhile (he’d pull ahead, then I’d pull ahead, etc.) At mile 4, we switched from running through neighborhoods to running on a gravel path through the wetlands surrounding the lake. This was when things got hard!

Around mile 6, I was in the lead by myself. At mile 8, we ran in neighborhoods again for about a mile and a half before returning to the dirt track. I had done the first few miles of the race too fast, and then started to burn out towards the middle. It was extremely humid, and quite warm for this time of year. And running on gravel versus pavement tires your body out much faster because it’s working harder.

At mile 9, I was still hoping I’d get my goal time of 2:05 to 2:07. When I hit mile 12 at 2:05, I almost started crying. I was running as hard as I could, and having a hard time breathing.

I crossed the finish line in 2:12 and promptly collapsed, stomach churning with cramps from the lack of oxygen. Even though I hadn’t finished in the time I wanted, I was grateful that 1) I finished, 2) I didn’t get injured, and 3) I beat all the guys. J



Ben, Dad, and Mr. P crossed the finish line and we all reunited with the families for some photos.

Photo Credit: Betsy.

We cooled down, stretched out, and grabbed some food. We decided to hang around for the awards ceremony. When they posted the times, Ben and I were pleasantly surprised to find out we had both placed second in our age groups! So we both got medals!

Photo Credit: Betsy.

On our way home, we stopped at Wendy’s for a post-race meal. Even though none of us did as well as we had hoped, we had lots of fun doing it together! And now we have a good reason to train for another half marathon . . . J

Every Living Thing

“So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds…And God saw that it was good.”

 

(Genesis 1:21)

 

~ posted by Betsy ~

Recipe--Baked Oatmeal

Over the years, I’ve had a bit of a love-hate relationship with oatmeal. I’ve gone through periods when I’ve enjoyed it, and others when I just don’t. I know it’s a wonderful, hearty, fiber-filled breakfast and that it’s good for me!

I had tried a baked oatmeal recipe awhile ago, and didn’t care for the gummy texture that much. But recently Mom made this version from “The Homestead Blessings Cookbook” and I loved it! Not only was it tasty, it was also naturally sweetened, and I could make a dairy-free version for myself using coconut milk. I think we’ve found a new favorite!

Baked Oatmeal

½ cup melted butter

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ cup honey

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

3 cups oats

1 to 1 ½ cups fruit (we use raisins)

Mix all ingredients and pour into 10x10” pan (we used a 9x13” pan) and bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes. Serves 9. Optional: top with warm cream, milk, maple syrup, honey, or applesauce. Enjoy!

Flashback Memories

~Posted by Roma~

I was surprised when Bianca told me recently that I had run out of room on the computer to store the rest of my Puerto Rico pictures and videos into my folder. I decided that now was the time to get into my folder and delete unnecessary pictures!! I bought my camera in the spring of 2011. It was amazing to go through all the pictures I’ve taken since then and see all that we’ve done! (And yes—I deleted quite a few…3 pictures of the same object, blurry photos…you know, those kind of things-.)J I wanted to share today some of the precious memories we have saved—many of which you may recognize from older blog posts—plus squeeze in some old Michigan nature photos. I never realized how much I love Michigan until I left it. J And we miss it.

Oh, those days in 2011, when our house flooded from 2^nd to 1^st floor and we had to stay in hotels all the time!

Making Violet and Dandelion jelly is something we miss. I miss this pink shirted girl, as well!

I’m never going to let y’all forget this blog post! J (More than one blog post, to be more exact.)

This mountain, and my Haitian brothers and sisters I will Never. Forget.

Worship Dance…

Michigan fall time and babysitting this girl…

Sittin’ round Grandma and Grandpa’s house…

Back of our old house.

Birthday fun…J

A special gathering. These friends are precious to us!

I had. to put this adorable picture. The shirt Bianca is wearing is a shirt Ruby and I have now. It’s amazing how much you change in a few short years. (My teeth…so different!) J

I could seriously post so much more, but should probably stop for now. Enjoy every moment, of every day, and rejoice in the LORD every day for the day He has given! I will have to do a whole other post on nature pictures some other time—I have lots of those too! Until then….God Bless!

Visit from Family, Part 3

~Wednesday (October 9)

Wednesday was a bittersweet day for us. We knew it was our last full day together! Since we had done so much running around earlier in the week, we decided just to stay at home and enjoy a day together. The kids played, and the adults talked and visited.

That evening, we had a fine meal! Roma made her famous tomato basil pie, Ruby made a tossed salad, and I made hummus.

And Mommy made virgin Pina Coladas! It was a tasty throwback to our time in Puerto Rico. J

For dessert, I made a big chocolate chip skillet cookie which we served with a variety of ice creams (hot chocolate, pumpkin pie, and vanilla.)

We pretty much had to roll ourselves away from the table after that. J Our guests started to pack up, and we all went to bed.

~Thursday (October 10)

Everyone was pretty quiet and sober Thursday morning. We had spent the last two weeks with my Mom’s brother and his family, and we weren’t ready to part ways! (I think that’s actually the longest amount of time we’ve been with each other non-stop!) It was beginning to feel normal having a house of 11 instead of just 7. J

But, it was time for them to return to Ohio. We packed up the minivan to the gills, managed to cram a few people in too, and then left for the airport.

Nobody move an inch! J

We parked, lugged all the suitcases to the terminal, and they checked in. Then it was time to say goodbyes. L

We had such a wonderful time with them, and we’re counting down the weeks until we get to visit again!

Visit From Family, Part 2

~Monday (October 7)

On Monday we went in a couple of different directions. Ben, Uncle J and I left early that morning. My Uncle had several appointments scheduled with people in town, and Ben and I got to be his chauffer for the morning! It turned out to be quite an adventure, which you can read about here.

Meanwhile, the rest of them enjoyed a quiet day at home. They went on a long walk together, and came home and enjoyed popsicles to cool off.

Photo Credit: Betsy.

That evening we ate a delicious meal of garlic chicken, salad, and rolls.

Then we celebrated my Uncle’s birthday! Again! J Mom made him a turtle cake with the delicious frosting we make for Texas sheet cake. It was a hit!

The younger kids announced they had a skit to perform. It was pretty funny! These kids are great with one-liners. J

~Tuesday (October 8)

Tuesday was a fun and full day for us! After an early breakfast, we piled into our cars and headed out.

Our first stop was a little zoo in a neighboring town. This zoo is just perfect because it boasts enough variety to make it interesting, but it’s small enough that little kids don’t get too tired. J Our visiting cousins thought it was especially cool that they got to feed the giraffe!

Ruby feeding the goats.

Photo Credit: Betsy.

One of the highlights of the zoo was when the coyote started howling! That drew everyone’s attention!

All of us cousins together.

Photo Credit: Betsy.

We drove back over to our town and went to a little park downtown to enjoy a picnic lunch. The kids had lots of fun burning off some steam.

Adorable JJ.

Photo Credit: Roma.

Then we headed over to the old-fashioned soda fountain for a cool treat! This was a big hit with our visitors. J It’s hard to go wrong with malts, sundaes, and floats!

Next we went next door to the antiques and firearms store. We enjoyed browsing for awhile, and then took them to a western outfitters store where they did a little souvenir shopping.

We went home, rested a bit, freshened up, and then piled back into the cars for dinner. We took them to our favorite catfish restaurant.

My meal: steamed catfish, black-eyed-peas, hushpuppies, and baked potato.

We had such a fun day! It was hard for us to believe that our time together was coming to an end. But we were sure soaking up every minute of it!

To be continued . . .

Visit From Family, Part 1

~Saturday (October 5)

Most everyone enjoyed sleeping in on Saturday morning after arriving in Texas late the night before (coming back from Puerto Rico.) But we didn’t sleep in too late, because we were so excited to introduce my Uncle, Aunt, and cousins to the great state of Texas! J

They actually left late morning to go visit some friends in another town. The rest of us unpacked, settled in, and started catching up on the vacation laundry.

That evening, we took them out to our favorite BBQ place (just 2.5 miles down the road.) They loved it as much as we do. J

~Sunday (October 6)

Sunday morning, we all carpooled to church together. We went to first service, introduced them to a few people, and then left when the second service started. We drove home, grabbed some lunch, and headed out the door.

We were headed to the aquarium! Our family had never been, and obviously our relatives hadn’t either. So we had fun exploring it together!

It was almost like a combination of zoo, rainforest, and aquarium! We got to see all kinds of trees and wildlife.

The manatee was HUGE!!

I loved all the tanks of tropical fish.

A beautiful, almost glow-in-the-dark anemone.

The shark tank was probably the highlight for all of us. It was so cool to look up and around and see sharks everywhere!

We went up above and watched them feed the sharks. Don’t worry, no children were involved. J

By that time, we were getting hungry. So we took them out to our favorite Mexican restaurant: Pappasitos!

I had the chicken fajitas for dinner. Our relatives loved this place so much, they’re STILL talking about it! J

We also celebrated my Uncle’s birthday (for the second time.) They brought dessert out and sang for him.

After that, we headed home. It had been a wonderful day, and we were looking forward to more fun on Monday!

To be continued . . .

Texas Picture: October

We have so many gorgeous sunsets here in Texas! I love the beauty God has created, and the view He has given us to His display!