One of my Gold's Gym commercials

Here is one of my commercials.  I know there is another one out there, and they are going to make a longer one that tells more of my story soon.  How fitting that the first time I saw this was when I was working out at Gold's.  The guy two bikes down from me did a double-take, and then asked if that was me on tv.  Pretty funny!

Busy!

I feel like I barely have time to breathe these days, let alone blog so I admit it's been awhile.  Pictured above is our latest development.  Josh hit his face on the corner of a chair in our basement on Sunday afternoon and ended up giving himself a black eye.  Then today he scraped his face at scouts, and then tonight he fell off my chair at the studio and his face smacked the floor.  This poor kid!  I gave him a big hug after he got hurt at my work and then he said "Mom, I just keep getting hurt!"  Then I asked where he hurt and he said "ALL OVER!"

Here is our 2011 Christmas newsletter.  I'm not mailing anything out this year, so you all get to view it electronically.  Hey, I'm saving the trees!  (and I don't have the money for cards and postage, or the time to get it all out.)

Ben got his Wolf merit badge today at his scout pack meeting, so he is now working on his Bear.  I'm really proud of him and how driven he is.  He is a very responsible kid and so trustworthy.  He's a great big brother, too!

My good friend, Susi, gave us the top bed to their bunk beds when they moved 1 1/2 years ago because she said they didn't need it anymore.  Then last week when she heard we were trying to create an office in the house for Jake's new job she said we could have the other bed so we could put the bunk bed together and Josh and Ben could share a room.  The kids were really excited about the bunk bed.  After nearly SIX hours of taking beds apart, transporting them, finding out we were missing a part, going to the store to get a makeshift part, then getting them put together, the kids could finally sleep in them... and they were SO excited.  Susi is the BEST!  We love her so much.  Now Josh's old room upstairs is officially Jake's office and Josh moved into Ben's room.  I bought Josh some white 9" letters from Michaels that spell "J-O-S-H" and I put them on his wall today.  (Ben has them already up in his room and Emma has some in her room.)  Josh was SO excited to see his name on the wall and then he said "Mom, now Ben and I can share a room FOREVER!"  (Good thing Ben didn't hear him say that! ;) )

Emma participated in a cheer clinic put on by the cheerleaders at South Davis Junior High.  Emma went to 5 practices and then performed during halftime at a basketball game last week.  She had so much fun dancing with her friends Eliza, Jaycie, and Hannah.

Jake is in Dallas, Texas this week, training for his new job.  He's going to be an independent contractor for an oil and gas title firm.  He is excited about it.  He really enjoys title work and did quite a bit of it at his old firm.  The job is flexible.  He will be working from home and setting his own hours.  And the best part is it pays the bills!  We've been struggling to make ends meet the past two years and finally we will be able to get our feet under us again.  We feel really blessed.

 My friend, Polly and I invited all the women in our ward to come down to Provo and see my sister, Whitney's comedy show at BYU.  We ended up having 14 people come and we ate together at the Cougareat and then watched the 7pm show at the Joseph Smith Building on BYU's campus.  We had a blast!

 After we were done and were driving up Center Street in Provo to go home, our friend Elle pointed at the Madison bar and told us her husband was working there.  (He has his own lighting business and does the lights for fairs, dances, and bars.)  We asked if she wanted to stop and see him and she did, so we pulled into the parking lot and walked into the bar... all 6 of us Mormon ladies.  We definitely didn't feel like we belonged in there, but we did enjoy the music.  We all decided to stick around through one song and so we all busted out our "high school" moves and had a great time pretending us old mamas still had "it".

I'm busy carpooling, volunteering in Ben's class every week, going to Relief Society meetings every week, working Monday through Thursday, taking kids to dance, basketball, helping plan our ward's Christmas party that is this Saturday, working out 4-5 days/week, helping my friend get through some tough times, keeping the fridge stocked, budget balanced, just wrapped all our Christmas presents, helping the kids with homework, went through the kids old clothes and toys, sold old toys on eBay and KSL, and more.  The good news is, I sleep really well at night.  I'm out as soon as my head hits the pillow. :)  Which reminds me... my pillow is calling.  Better catch some zzz's.  Until next time...

Praise to the Man and Round-off Backhand Springs

My kids crack me up!  They learned "Praise to the Man" in Primary this year and like to sing it around the house.  I finally caught it on video.  To set things straight, the song does not actually go "Praise to the man who confused with the cobra, Jesus annointed the Prophet of beer."  That's just Josh's interpretation.  

They like to add interpretive dance when they sing, too.  They crack me up!!

And Emma got her round off backhand spring yesterday.  I am so proud of her.  I love watching Emma dance and tumble and can't wait for comp season!

No Sugar until Thanksgiving... Who's in?!

After gorging myself Monday with plenty of mini Twix and mini Milky Ways (80 cals each... OUCH!), I figure it's time for a cleanse.  Who is with me?  3 weeks isn't THAT long, right?! ;)

Pumpkin Decorating

We were slackers this year and didn't get to decorating our pumpkins until tonight, the day before Halloween.  Oh well.  At least it got done.  We've wanted to do it as a family and last weekend Ben was gone, and I work Monday through Thursday nights, so it's been hard to find a day that worked for everyone.  Glad it finally happened, though.  Tonight Jake pulled out the laptop and showed the kids examples of jack-o-laterns, so they could all get an idea of what they wanted to do on their pumpkin.  Emma wanted a vampire pumpkin face, Josh wanted a scary face (and Jake added the soul patch).  Ben scoured the internet for an idea and finally decided on the Loch Ness Monster.  I tried to draw the thing free-hand and I think it pretty much looks like the one on the web (at least Ben's happy with it and that's all that matters.)  We had fun scooping out the pumpkin guts, and putting candles inside and lighting them.  Now the kids are asleep, I'm sure dreaming about all the candy they will be getting tomorrow.  I'm glad there is no school and we can sleep in a little.  I have a dr appt. at 9:30am but then we are pretty much free the rest of the day, until trick-or-treat time.  I was looking over my calendar tonight and couldn't believe next week is Daylight Savings (yay!), and then 3 1/2 weeks until Thanksgiving.  Time is going by way too fast.

Strengthening Our Faith Amidst Life's Trials

I was asked a few weeks ago by my Stake President if I would speak at our Saturday night session of Stake Conference on October 22nd.  I was given the topic "Strengthening Our Faith Amidst Life's Trials" and it was a talk I have definitely needed lately.  I wanted to put the talk on my blog so I can pull it up and read it, and just remind myself of why life is hard sometimes.  

Strengthening Our Faith Amidst Life’s Trials

We are told in the scriptures that it is essential to endure to the end:

“Wherefore, if you shall be obedient to the commandments, and endure to the end, ye shall be saved at the last day” (1 Nephi 22:31).

“Be patient in afflictions, for thou shalt have many; but endure them, for, lo, I am with thee, even unto the end of thy days” (D&C 24:8).

“Behold, we count them happy which endure” (James 5:11).

Do you notice that not once do the scriptures tell us the exact length of time we have to endure? When we are told we will have many afflictions, we are not told exactly how many?  What we are told is that if we endure to the end, we will be happy, we will have peace, and we will be “saved at the last day.”  So, how do we endure well?  

Elder Robert D. Hales tells us that “The basic requirements include knowing who we are, (children of God with a desire to return to His presence after mortality); understanding the purpose of life, (to endure to the end and obtain eternal life); and living obediently with a desire and a determination to endure all things, (having eternal vision).  Eternal vision allows us to overcome opposition in our temporal state and, ultimately, achieve the promised rewards and blessings of eternal life.”

Let’s be honest, though.  Sometimes we get tunnel vision, especially when trials come and life gets hard.  We don’t understand why when we do everything right, bad things still happen.  We begin to wonder, “Why hasn’t God answered my prayers?  Why doesn’t He care about me?”  We know in our hearts that yes, God really does care, but sometimes we allow ourselves to forget this.  It is when we start looking for the mini-miracles and tender mercies in our lives, that we will eventually find that they are happening every day. It is then we are reminded that we are not forgotten.

Two and a half years ago my husband lost his job.  It was a very scary time for us and our family and I remember one day falling to my knees and crying to the Lord.  We had sent out hundreds of resumes and applied to jobs all over the country... and still nothing came.  I didn’t understand how this could happen to us.  We had been married in the temple, had three beautiful children, paid our tithing, went to church every Sunday.  Why did this hard thing have to happen to our family?  Eventually my husband did get a new job, making significantly less than he did at his previous job.  We knew we wouldn’t be able to pay all our bills on our new salary, but thankfully with savings and his severance we were able to make ends meet for awhile.  Because of this situation, my husband and I thought it might be a good time in our lives to try a different career path and go into the Foreign Service with the Department of State, living abroad and experiencing different cultures.  My husband passed rigorous exams and made it to the point where our entire family needed extensive medical tests done to make sure we were all well enough to travel internationally.  I was just recovering from a bout with pneumonia when I needed this physical, which included an x-ray.  My x-ray showed a mass in my right lung, which I was told was the pneumonia.  The State Department was not satisfied with these results and ordered another x-ray done a few months later.  So I had another x-ray, and again, the same mass showed up on the film.  And again, 3 months later I had to come back.  At this 3rd x-ray the dr saw the mass was still there and so ordered a CT scan.  An hour after I left the hospital I received a call from my dr, asking to meet me in his office as soon as possible.  I was told I had a cancerous tumor in my lung and on June 23, 2010, 13 days later I was in the hospital, undergoing surgery to have 70% of my right lung removed.  Thankfully, labs came back after the surgery saying the tumor was gone and I was cancer-free. 

I learned a lot about perspective through this experience.  If my husband had not lost his job we would not have pursued the Foreign Service.  If we had not pursued Foreign Service we would not have been ordered to have extensive medical exams, the same exams that found my cancer.  My husband ended up expiring off the Foreign Service register before being offered a position, and so that experience never was realized.  But because of our new perspective, we knew we learned what Heavenly Father needed us to learn by going through the process, these trials... and this process saved my life.  Sometimes we cannot grasp all the reasons for our challenges, but when we do what is right and show our faith, He may reveal to us greater understanding about our trials and the purpose of them in our lives.

Apostle Orson F. Whitney explained: “No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted.  It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility.  All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God... and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire.”

Trials give us opportunities to show Heavenly Father and ourselves that we will be faithful.  We can choose to feel sorry for ourselves and ask “Why me?” or we can grow from our trials, increase our faith in the Lord, and ask “How can I be faithful in the midst of this trial?”  We can let the hard times drag us down or we can let it refine us and make us stronger.

So, how do we strengthen our faith during these hard times?  Here are 5 ideas to help us do this:  

1. We turn toward Christ.  Elder Robert D. Hales taught that “our older brother is our greatest example of faithfully enduring to the end.  When suffering on the cross at Calvary, Jesus felt the loneliness of agency when He pled to His Father in Heaven, “Why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46).  The Savior was left alone by His Father to experience, of His own free will and choice, an act of agency which allowed Him to complete His mission of the Atonement.  The Lord could have called on legions of angels to take Him down from the cross, but He faithfully endured to the end and completed the very purpose for which He had been sent to earth, thus granting eternal blessings to all who will ever experience mortality.”  Christ has felt our pains, our heavy burdens, our sorrows.  He knows what we are going through.  There is nothing we are enduring that Jesus does not understand.  I often think of Nephi when he was told to go back to Jerusalem to get the plates and he is having a hard time doing it.  He says to his brothers “I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save He shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which He commandeth them.”  Sometimes the trials we are faced with really are too much to bear alone, and it is when we rely on Him that a way is prepared for us to endure.  We hear often “God will never give us more than we can bear” but I think the truth is, “God will never give us more than He can bear.”  And He can bear it all, if we will let Him.   

2.  We live with integrity.  Keeping the commandments-- no matter how trying-- makes us stronger and helps us overcome every challenge in life. Through faith and obedience, we qualify for the divine spiritual guidance we need to guide us along unknown paths.

3. We keep an eternal perspective and don’t give up.  I took up running a couple years ago and it’s something I really enjoy.  I’ve ran a handful of 5Ks, 10Ks, and half marathons.  I know when I race that I will never take 1st place, or even 2nd or 3rd.  That’s not why I do it.  I run so I can push myself to do something hard, and ultimately cross that finish line and be proud of my accomplishment.  This summer I ran my first half marathon since losing much of my right lung.  I knew this race would probably be the hardest race of my life, and I was right.  Mile 11 and 12 were extremely difficult.  I fought hard to keep my breathing regulated, but I never gave up.  I crossed the finish line with a time 24 minutes slower than my personal best.  But it didn’t matter.  I did it.  Just like in life, we need to pace ourselves, push even when it gets hard, focus on the end goal, and we need to finish.  Our trials can often give us a deeper and more expansive perspective, a more eternal perspective.  And it is this eternal perspective that motivates us to endure well to the end.

4. We be patient and understand that it’s “Not as I will, but as thou wilt.”  In a devotional address given at BYU-Idaho by Larry Richman 4 years ago, he explained that “We live in a world of instant gratification.  We want fast food, quick loans, and instant solutions to our problems.  However, the Lord may ask us to show our faith by enduring some problems patiently.  And even if we exercise our strongest faith, God will not always reward us immediately according to our desires.  Sincere faith gives understanding and strength to accept the will of our Heavenly Father when it differs from our own.  And God will respond with what is best for us in His eternal plan.”

5.  And lastly, we don’t doubt what we already know.  My dad told me a story that happened years ago.  A sister in his ward was teaching a class where she handed out a little slip of paper to everyone.  On it were written the words, “Don’t doubt in the dark what you can see in the light.”  He decided to take that counsel to heart.  He went on to tell me that during those times in his life where he felt sure of his Heavenly Father’s love and of his testimony, he told himself that there would come other times when he would not be as sure, times when the light in the room would be turned off.  And then he promised himself right then that no matter what happened, no matter how he felt, no matter what other reasons he might find to believe otherwise, he would hold on to that fact.  He has done this, and he has always found that sooner or later the light is turned back on and all is right again.  He has also found that even while the light is off, knowing and even believing this, having unwavering faith, gives him the ability to deal with all the problems that come his way.

It is my prayer that we keep an eternal perspective, an eternal ‘vision’, that we rely on our Savior and His Atonement, and that we remember to hold onto what we know in our hearts.  If we do these things, we will be able to weather whatever storms may come our way, and endure well to the end.

80s Rockstar and Mohawk Hipster

Emma got to wear her Halloween costume to her friend's birthday party on Friday.  She LOVES this outfit and it fits her personality perfectly.  She loves makeup and jewelry.  She loves leggings, slap bracelets, and anything that looks like dance clothes.  She even loves her side ponytail and says she wants to wear her hair like that now.  Oh my.  If you want to know what I loved 20 years ago, just look at Emma.  I loved bright neon colors, big hair, jewelry.  Pretty funny.

Yesterday morning Emma and Josh were quietly working in their bathroom, door closed.  I knew something was up.  When the door opened, Josh emerged with a huge mohawk and the biggest smile on his face.  "Look what Emma did to me!  She gave me a mohawk!"  Emma was proud of her creation.  Those two crack me up!  Ben could have gotten in on the action but missed out because he spent the weekend at his cousins' house in Lehi.  I'm sure Emma will try to get him next time!  (Emma didn't want her hair down or makeup off from her party the night before, so she looked like this all day long, even to our trip to Costco.  Yes, I am that parent who lets my kid do that.  We have to pick our battles right?)

My Hip Hop Boys

We didn't have very many kids sign up for our all boys 4-8 year old hip hop class so I told my boss I would bring my kids if she wanted.  She was all for it so they have been in the class for about 3 weeks.  Last week they started learning a routine to the song "Dynamite".  They both love that song and I recorded them this afternoon, practicing the little bit that they learned last week.  They are free-stylin' it the last 20 seconds.  My little guys are adorable.  Can't wait to watch them perform in the recital next year. ;)

Josh's turn

Josh has had a hard time watching his older siblings go to school the past two weeks while he had to wait.  But then Tuesday his big day came... his first day at The Canyon Preschool.

He picked out his backpack a few weeks ago.  I told him he could pick whatever he wanted.  I wasn't surprised when he threw a Super Mario Bros backpack into the cart, and figured older brother might have helped persuade him a little, too.  He wore it quite a few times around the house, trying to break it in before his big day.

My 3 cuties

Walking down the path to preschool.  My baby looks so big. *tear*

The best preschool teacher, Miss Kari!

On Thursday Josh was supposed to wear his favorite color to preschool.  Emma knew right away his favorite color is blue, and she couldn't wait to help pick out his blue outfit.  She ran upstairs, picked it out, and helped him put it on.  Josh had the biggest smile when he came downstairs and Emma, my mini-mom, was smiling big, too.  I'm lucky I have such sweet and adorable kids.

Back to it

Hard to believe we're back to it.  Summer is over and school has started.  Ben and Emma were really excited about today.  When I came downstairs to make sure the kids were getting ready, they were already dressed, backpacks on, and nearly done with their breakfast.  We came outside and took our traditional "First day of school" pics in our front yard, said our family prayer, then headed out the door.  Jake came with us, like he has done every year, and I love that he does that.  The kids love it, too.  As we pulled up to the school Ben jumped out of the car and said, "Mom, I'm just going to go to where I think the 3rd graders will be."  Of course I told him to hold on so we could go together on his first day, but it made me slightly sad, knowing he is getting so big and independent and doesn't really need mom and dad to hold his hand anymore.  We walked into the school and were told where Ben's teacher, Mrs. Lewis, was, and Emma's teacher, Mrs. Gleed.  Ben was walking a couple steps ahead of us, anxious to get to his classroom.  There was a class list posted on the wall outside his door and he saw he had 2 or 3 good friends in there.  His teacher introduced herself to him, he hung his backpack up, found his seat, and then was ready for us to leave.  (I'm sure part of it was nerves, and the other part embarrassment. ;) ) Next we walked Emma to her classroom.  It's crazy to me that she is in 1st grade now, which means she's gone from 8:45am-3:30pm every day.  She is really excited that she gets to eat lunch in the cafeteria now.  Her friends Eliza and Hannah are in her class, and Hannah sits right across from her so she was happy about that.  She met her teacher, I gave her a hug, we said goodbye and then it was done.  Jake, Josh, and I walked back to our cars.  Jake left for work and Josh and I went home.  I don't know how Josh is going to survive without Emma around.  She is his buddy and they play together all day long.  It helps that Josh is going to preschool so he feels he's not missing out too much, although he doesn't start for 2 weeks so he's a little bummed.  He loves telling everyone his teacher is "Miss Kari".  He has his friends, Drew and Max in his class too which he is really excited about.  He will be gone Tuesdays through Thursdays from 9-11am.  I can't believe I will have no kids at home those couple hours a week.  My babies are growing up.  Wish they would slow it down a little. ;)

My silly kids

 Our 3rd grader

 Our 1st grader

 And of course little miss diva had to pose for another picture.  She cracks me up!  (Also, she chose this outfit last night to wear for her first day.  She got three new school outfits, and this one from Target is her fave.  She loves the shirt and says she feels so pretty wearing it.)

My big kids

Hobble Creek Half Marathon- 2011

I made it!  I survived my first half marathon since the cancer and surgery a year ago.  I was very worried about this race.  I was not as prepared as I should have been, the farthest run so far being 8 miles (and it was rough!)  A few weeks ago I ran 6 miles and it was torture.  I felt like I was going to throw up around 3 miles and ended up walking nearly 2.  Then the next week I ran 8 and I had horrible hip and knee pain and wondered how I would even survive 13.1.  Then, to make matters worse, I woke up at 3am Thursday morning with major congestion and sore throat.  Perfect timing.  I get one cold in 6 months and of course it had to be 2 days before my race.  My body was achy all day Thursday and Friday.  I slept with kleenex plugged up in my nose so I didn't drip all over (cute, I know.)  I thought a couple times that maybe I should pull out of the race.  But then I kicked myself in the butt and said I would run this race no matter what.  I knew this wouldn't be the best run of my life, but it would be the most meaningful.  This race signified so much for me.  It's my favorite race (PR 2:05 in 2009), and then last year my friend took my place since I was still recovering from my surgery and couldn't run.  I felt like this race was my comeback.  My comeback from cancer and then acclimating to my new lung capacity.  It was my way of saying "You suck, cancer.  And I BEAT you!"  It was also my way to give back to all those who have encouraged and supported me this last year, telling me they knew I could do it, even when at times I wasn't so sure.  So for two days I downed lots of Airborne, Cold-Eze, vitamin C, green tea.  You name it, I was taking it.  I noticed yesterday afternoon my cold was lightening up a little and I became hopeful.  Last night I stayed at the Days Inn in Springville with my friend, Susi Mabey, her daughter Malissa, her brother Kevan, and her nephew Kaleb.  I was the first one to get to the hotel and had about 2 hours before anyone else came.  I stretched, watched some forensics stuff on tv, surfed the internet with my phone, and then said a prayer.  I asked God to help me get through the race, to help me push my body, that my cold wouldn't affect me, and to make sure I didn't die on the side of the road. ;)  Susi, Kevan, and Kaleb got there around 11pm and Malissa showed up around 11:30pm.  We all got to bed around 12:30am and were up at 4:30am getting ready.  We left the hotel at 5am, got our bib numbers by 5:30am, and then lined up for the busses.  Turns out 25 busses were ordered and only 15 showed up so it took awhile to load, drop off, come back, and load again.  We got on the bus around 6:30am, made it up to the starting line by 7:05am.  The race was supposed to start at 7:15am but we figured that wouldn't be happening because we knew there were at least 6 busses behind us.  The porta-potties had huge lines that we didn't want to wait in (and Susi has a small fear of them anyway) so Susi, Malissa and I hiked up a ways and did our business in the bushes. Very lady-like, I know.  I downed 2 aleve and 2 endurolyte pills, turned my Garmin on, and I was ready to go.  The race started at 7:30am (so not too late), and we were finally on our way.  I ran the first 3 miles in 29:47.  Made it to 6 miles in exactly 1 hour.  I couldn't believe how great I felt those 6 miles.  I only stopped at the mile 3 and mile 6 water stations and that was it.  My hip and knee felt great (I was wearing my IT band strap and I think that made a difference.)  The run was beautiful.  I didn't take it for granted this time, like I did 2 years ago.  I listened to the river, watched the trees sway back and forth, and enjoyed the cool breeze on my face.  It was amazing.  I knew, though, that the hardest part of the race was coming.  Weirdly, at mile 7 out of no where I felt the spot behind my left ankle tighten up and then it made my big toe cramp up.  I stopped running and tried to stretch my foot and toe out.  After a minute or so the cramp went away and I continued with the race.  Another 1/4 mile it happened AGAIN.  It happened probably 15 times within mile 7 and 11, and it seemed to happen more when I was running uphill.  Very odd.  This has never happened to me during a run.  Those walking breaks to stretch my foot out slowed me down quite a bit, but it still didn't take away from the race.  I knew I was running the race just to finish.  I really had no expectations and just hoped I could push myself and do the best I could do.  My lungs felt pretty good the entire run.  There were spots here and there where I was sucking air more than I normally would, but with the lung capacity I have and just getting over a cold, I felt pretty good about my breathing.  Around 10 1/4 mile there was a nice little hill and I remember thinking I had less than a 5K to go.  When I hit mile 11, it started getting pretty rough.  My brain wanted me to move faster but my body wasn't listening.  I felt my quads tightening up but thankfully no more cramps.  We wove through a neighborhood there in Mapleton and then turned onto the main road, the last mile.  Wish I could say it was my best mile.  It wasn't.  I knew it would be hard.  I walked a couple times.  But the thing that put the biggest smile on my face was hearing my name around 12 3/4 mile.  I looked ahead of me and saw Jake and the kids, waving and cheering for me.  My heart was so happy.  I didn't know if Jake would come and wouldn't hold it against him if he didn't.  I knew it would be a pain to haul the kids the hour and a half down there, wait in the hot sun for me to finish, then turn around and go home.  It meant so much to me, though, that they came.  I gave Ben and Emma little high fives as I passed them, then they hurried to the end of the race so they could see me finish.  As I stepped on the mat and crossed the finish line at 2:29, this huge wave of relief and joy washed over me.  I just ran a HALF MARATHON.  13.1 miles.  I grabbed my flower and t-shirt, drank a bunch of water and took 2 extra strength tylenol, ate some fruit, a few bites of a bagel, and drank some yummy cold chocolate milk.  I felt good.  Jake, the kids, and I went back to the finish line to watch Kevan, Susi, and Malissa cross, and then we all took pictures before saying good-bye to the Mabey clan.  The race was a great reminder that I am strong and I can do hard things.  It reminded me to be thankful for my able body.  It reminded me of the love and support I have at home, which means so much to me.  It also reminded me that there is a God who listens and cares about my needs.  I needed this... and He knew that.  I feel on top of the world right now, such a difference from last year's race.  Contemplating a marathon next year.  It's going to be a lot of hard work, but I know I can do it.  Stay tuned...

My cute family coming to cheer me on 

The picture Jake took when I was about 1/4 mile from the finish line

High-five'ing the kids

Us with our dear friend, Susi (love her!)

Me, Malissa, and Susi

The crew: Kevan Kjar, Susi Mabey, me, Malissa Mabey, and Kaleb Kjar

Susi is almost done!  The second pic she is doing a little jig for me.

Malissa about to cross the finish line

Don't go summer. Don't go!

Hard to believe that summer is coming to a close.  6 days and the kids are back to school.  Wish we had another month.  It's been nice having reduced hours at work and being able to spend more time with Jake and the kiddos.  Here is a quick rundown of our summer:

JUNE
3- Last day of school
4- Ran the Fight for Air 10K
6-11- Worked at the dance studio, had competition team auditions on the 11th
8- My 30th
11- Grandpa Carling died
13- Ben's scout camp
14- Grandpa Carling's funeral
15-19- St. George vacation with Jake's family
25- Taylorsville Days with Jake's family

JULY
2- NSL 5K with friends Abby, Kim, and Meighan, and NSL fireworks that night
4- Rainy BBQ in City Creek Canyon with Jake's family
4-15- Kids took swim lessons
6-12- My parents came to visit
9- BBQ with my mom's side of the family
11-15- Jake's scout camp
12-28- Back to work
15-16- Ward Campout
18- Bee's Game with friends (Smith's, Berg's, and Bett's)
19-24- Sister, Ashleigh, and her 3 girls came to visit
20-24- My parents came back to visit
21- Cousin, Hillary's wedding, and Ash took our family pics
22- Cousin, Logan's wedding
23- 4th birthday party for Josh at Seven Peaks Salt Lake with Grandma and Grandpa Call, Aunt Ash, Aunt Whit, and cousins Jayden, Ryleigh, and Baleigh
24- Cousin, Hadlee's birthday party
26- Josh's 4th birthday

AUGUST
3- Fox News interview
3-5- Cousin, Kimball stayed with us
6- SL Running Co 5K with friends Abby, Emily, and Kim
8- Sold some of our old stuff on KSL and made $90 (woo hoo!)
9- Gordy Mabey's Eagle Court of Honor
11- Saw a car accident, called 911, helped the girl who got hit (she ended up fracturing her hip and needing her chin stitched up, but thankfully she survived the crash!)
11- RS meeting at Kathy Hatton's house
11-15- Josh was sick
12- Worked the fall registration at the studio
12- Cousin, Adam's jazz concert in Park City
13- Lagoon
16- Back to work & Ben has an ear infection... :(

This Saturday is the Hobble Creek half marathon, my first half marathon since the cancer and surgery.  It's going to be rough.  I'm not going to lie.  I've ran 3-5 miles twice a week for the past couple months.  I ran 8 miles last Saturday and my left hip was bugging me.  Let's just say, this won't be the best race I've ever ran but I just keep telling myself I need to be happy with the fact I can even RUN.  I debated for a second on pulling out of the race because I knew it would be hard and I wouldn't PR, but of course I gave myself a little kick in the butt and reminded myself it's not about my time or how well I run it, it's just the fact that I cross the finish line.  That really is what matters.  And so... I will push myself and run 13.1 miles on Saturday.  I know a lot of people are rooting for me and it means so much.  I'm reminded of this race last year.  I was planning on running it, then found out about the cancer and had surgery.  My sweet friend, Heidi, stepped up and ran in my place, getting me my goal of under 2 hours.  I'm running on Saturday for all those who have helped my family and inspired us to be strong and push through the tough times these past couple years.  Love you all!

Below are some pics from our summer festivities: