More picture torture!

Well, I gave it one last shot! I've been trying to get a Christmas picture of the kids for the last two years & so far I've got nothin'!! This past Sunday I dressed them all in coordinating outfits and we went out to Union Station/Crown Center to try ONE LAST TIME to get a Christmas card picture. The kids were in pretty good moods, so I was feeling very optimistic at the start.



This is what we walked away with........



Maya....yooohooo....over here!
Aww... Maya finally LOOKS at the camera! Oh...McKenna...look at mommy!! Quick, Jon...get out of the picture!
McKENNA!!!!!!!! Take the picture.....take the picture!
Chandler....get back here!!! McKenna sweetie.....

Well, at least I was looking at the camera.
I keep trying!


I'm gonna give it one last shot! Maya.....LOOK at daddy!!!

















There's always next year I guess!

Guess what I did this weekend?

Despite my vow to "be healthy" this season, I just couldn't possibly pass up my opportunity to bake Christmas cookies this year. It's something I look forward to all year long. SOOOO.... nobody tell my coach what I spent my weekend doing! I promise I'll give most of them away-LOL!

Peanut Blossoms.


Orange Drop Cookies.


Sugar Cookies (still have more of those to decorate...)

Chocolate Mint Cookies.

White Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Rods.


Cocoa Rum Balls.


Nana's Famous Chocolate Fudge!

So, who wants to help me clean my kitchen? There's free cookies in it for anyone who wants to scrub my floors-LOL!

Just For Laughs!

Yesterday I realized that I never posted pictures of the kids at Halloween. So....here you go. More than a little late, but that's the story of my life!
Sometimes they let me see their sweet side :-)

Batman and the Pumpkin! Looks likes Batman needs to go back to the bat cave for a nappy-poo!
This is what happens when you set the butter for pancakes on the breakfast table too soon.

Maya was so pleased that she could help herself to a big fistful of pure butter. What a goof!





The White Family Christmas picture 2006.

*Is it any wonder why I NEVER try to do Christmas cards!

Christmas Time Is Here!

And, I REALLY AM doing something besides training for this marathon-LOL! I've neglected sharing the "Holiday Spirit", so I thought I'd share a few cute pictures of the kids. Enjoy!
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Chandler and McKenna helping decorate the tree.


McKenna got to put the star on top of the tree this year!


(*Yes, she is in fact wearing a gymnastics suit....because that's the ONLY thing I can get her to wear when we are at home. It's so much fun to be five!).



Chandler carefully choosing which ornament he will break next-LOL!


McKenna admiring her "perfect placement" of the red snowflake.

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Just some fun pictures of ornaments

I just like this shot. Nothing really special about this particular ornament.


Can you see me in this picture? Look very carefully :-)


This is a rolling pin ornament from my friend JoEllen. She gave everyone this gift at a cookie exchange a few years ago.

I have to miss the annual cookie exchange this year, but I'll have my fun little ornament to remind me of my "girls night out" friends.

When I was a little girl my mom had a few ornaments just like this one & I always loved to look at them. I thought it was supposed to be a replica of Santa's house or something like that. I loved to daydream about how much fun it would be to go to a cute little cottage in the woods just like this one.

Because of that fun little memory this was one of the first ornaments I bought when I got married (before I even had kids!).









Hope you are enjoying this Christmas Season too!

I SURVIVED!!

Yep, I'm still alive after my 22 mile training run this past Saturday!! Actually, I'm doing great! I'm hardly even sore today & my knees are.....well, there about as good as they are going to get-LOL! I've decided that I can't get through this whole marathon experience without any knee pain, so I'll take what "relief" I can get. Overall, I'm feeling much more confident in my ability to actually pull this whole marathon thing off now (I wasn't so sure a few weeks ago).
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Saturday morning was far from ideal in terms of good running conditions, but I knew that in advance, so I just went with the flow. It was about 25 degrees when we started running, but my three "dri-fit" layers were keeping me warm enough. There was still some ice and snow on the trails, so a good part of the run was stop-n-go as we worked our way around the icy patches and over frozen bridges. At times it was comical as we clung to the sides of bridges to keep from falling on our butts.

Somewhere around mile 3 I decided that I wanted to shed one of my insulating jacket layers because I was getting a little warm already. THAT was a big mistake as I would learn just a mile or two later. Once we hit our uphill stretch on Nall up to 135th the wind was so strong that it was ripping right through my little fleece & I remembered why I loved that "wind-stopper" jacket so much. I think that is the coldest I have been on any of my runs & running INTO the wind only made the situation worse! Thankfully the uphill-running-into-the-wind stretch wasn't that long & I was reunited with my jacket around mile 9 (I had left it in someones car at a water stop). Lesson learned...tie my jacket around my waist next time (just in case).

There really isn't much more "drama" to share about this weekends run. This was by far one of my best long training runs yet, and I'm not even too sore today. So, there you go-LOL! Less drama, less pain....I think this might be as close as I'm going to get to being a "real runner"-LOL! I won't tell you how long it took me to run those 22 miles, because I don't think that's as important as the fact that I actually FINISHED them! That's the real success story in my book-LOL!

I said I would have pictures of this training run...but sadly I do not. Once again I brought my camera with me & forgot to go back to my car to get it when we were done. It's always so dark when we start running that I tell myself "I'll take pictures once the sun comes up" and then I totally forget to do that! Maybe it's just my subconscious avoiding having to post pictures of what I really look like at 5:30 am! I assure you, it's not a lovely picture!

*Oh, and I also want to thank my mentor Jodi for sticking by my side the whole way & talking me through those 22 miles. It's so much nicer to have someone to run with :-)

Here are the answers to everyone's favorite questions:
-"How do you keep your face warm...do your feet ever get cold?" *VASELINE! you put it all over your feet, face, and even your hands if you want. It really helps keep your feet warm and protected. And, "yes" your feet, hands, and face DO get cold sometimes, but it's not as bad as you would think.

-"So, how long is your marathon" *MY marathon is the same distance as everyone else's...26.2 miles. (this is by far the funniest question I get).

-"How long is it going to take you to run those 26.2 miles"
*Good question! I'll let you know after January 7th!

-"Do you think you will ever do another marathon?"
*I'd LOVE to, but I'm not so sure Jonathan would love it if I told him I was going to do another one!

-"How many miles do you run every week?"
*You might be surprised to hear that our training schedule is very light during the week. We typically only run between 6-9 miles during the week. You cross train on your non-running days. Then, Saturday's are the longer training runs. Cross training actually takes more time & effort then the actually running during the week.

**I just want everyone to know that if you've ever wanted to do something like this, it's very do-able. Even with three little kids and a very busy schedule! I hope that by the end of this whole "journey" I can inspire one other person to do this as well. It's been a very rewarding experience, and even very healing in some ways. I would love it if I got to do this again some day with one of my friends (wink, wink).

Happy 5th Birthday McKenna!

My "baby" turned five last week! I can hardly believe I have a five year old now. In some ways it seems like McKenna is much older than five, because A LOT has happened in our family in her short lifetime. However, I can still remember the day I gave birth to her like it was yesterday. It just doesn't seem like five years have passed since I was holding my first perfect little newborn. She was my first "love" (I call my kids 'love' or 'lovey') & I was the most proud mama on the face of the earth! Even though I had a ton of experience with kids and babies NOTHING compared to MY first baby.

I remember crying over her beauty and "perfect-ness" that first night in the hospital. It was all I could do to utter a short prayer of thanks to God for giving me such a beautiful little blessing. I was in complete awe of her. I loved everything about her...her sweet little head, dark fuzzy hair (there was A LOT of it), chubby little cheeks, rosebud lips, long lean fingers, round little belly, and of course those tiny little baby toes! It was so much fun finally having a baby of my own!

Today it's still fun to be McKenna's mommy. She has grown to become quite the entertainer. She loves to put on "shows" for me while she dances around in her "fairy" costumes & leotards. She is VERY creative too! She is always "pretending" while she plays with her stuffed animals or her little brother and sister. She is also the most friendly little kid you'll ever meet. EVERYWHERE we go she asks me if she can go talk to other little children so that she can ask them if they want to be her friend. She knows no stranger that's for sure!
I also think she is going to be quite "artsy" (unlike her mommy) later on in life, as she already shows quite a bit of interest in painting, drawing, and music. Wherever you find McKenna you are sure to find a trail of paper, pens, crayons, and markers!

If she doesn't grow up to be a greeting card designer (all of her pictures end up being 'cards' for someone), then my second guess would be something along the lines of "retail design analyst". "What's that?"... you might ask. Let me explain. Whenever we go out McKenna has a sharp eye for things that are "out of place". Taking her to Bath and Body Works is a nightmare because she cannot stand to see things not in their rightful spot...heaven forbid if the "Sweetpea" lotion should end up in the "Raspberry-Vanilla" section on the shelf!! She also insists that certain things belong somewhere else & it really upsets her when she can't rearrange things the way she would have it. Oh, and whatever you do...DO NOT venture into the makeup section at any store (WAY too many things to be tempted to "fix" there!). I secretly fear for her husband-to-be one day, because I'm pretty sure she will have him color coordinating his underwear drawer-or else! LOL!



I love that I have such a creative, organizationally-minded, fun, and energetic little girl. There is really no one like my girly....she's a "one of a kind"!



*Her birthday was on the 27th of November & we took her to the new "T-REX" restaurant. For those of you that don't already know, McKenna has a major obsession with dinosaurs. This restaurant was her dream come true! The look on her face when she saw the front of the T-REX was unforgettable-it took her breath away!




OHHHH, AHHHHH! Seeing the front of the T-REX for the first time.


She got to take her two favorite cousins with her to help celebrate. They all had SO MUCH fun!

McKenna doing one of her big cheesy smiles :-)

Inside the restaurant gift shop they had a special "Build-A-Dino" workshop where you get to build your own dinosaur. So guess what McKenna got to do as her gift from Mommy and Daddy? This was the big highlight of her whole evening!


McKenna and "Ellie the Dinosaur" on the car ride home. What a fun 5th birthday!

18 miles later...

...and I'm one sore mama! I wish I could say this weeks long training run was "invigorating" or at least "exciting", but sadly it was neither. I knew I was in trouble when my knees hurt during my short 3 and 4 mile training runs during the week. Trouble is exactly what I found myself in out on the trails this week. One near asthma attack (no, I've never had asthma EVER in my entire life) & a limping left knee is what I ended up with by mile 17! Mile 18 was down right UGLY...but I finished (many thanks go out to my mentor Jodi for that)!

The Friday night before my long run I was in a bad mood because NOTHING in me wanted to get up at 4:30 a.m. Saturday morning and subject myself to such cruel and unusual torture. Yet, there was this deep sense of duty I was struggling with that just wouldn't let me entertain thoughts of sleeping in, and skipping the torture that awaited me on the trails. I knew I would have to get up at the insane hour of 4:30, even though the rest of the world lay sleeping in their cozy beds. With the call of "duty" weighing heavy on my shoulders, I finally rolled out of bed at 4:45 (no, those extra 15 minutes didn't help me any) & stumbled to the kitchen to begin my Saturday morning "routine". Oh, how I wish that "routine" involved coffee...but sadly it does NOT!

The run started off good, I kept doing a mental body check... "knees...good - breathing...good - no cramping - no weird aches - no unusual pains" & I was pleasantly surprised to find that all systems seemed to be in good working order (the 2 ALEVE I took at 5:00 a.m. were probably playing a significant role here). I'm even happy to announce that everything was even looking good around miles 6, 7, and 8! I think it was around mile 10 that I began feeling my knees say "NO MORE"! What! "They CAN'T be doing this to me now...I still have a LONG way to go"...(I'm pretty sure I said that out loud). I think you get the picture from here. I tried adding a few more walking intervals to "rest" my knees a little more, but that didn't really do jack-squat to relieve the pain.

Oh, and the weird breathing thing hit me around mile 17, just before I was finished. Out of NO WHERE I started wheezing and gasping for air! This was something completely new to me, as this has never happened to me before & it took me completely off-guard. Luckily, it only lasted a couple of seconds & I was able to just "walk it off" & finish the run, but man that was scary!

So, there you have it! My not-so-heroic 18 mile story. Oh, and for those of you "Nosy-Nelly's"...it took me every bit of 4 hours to finish that run. Although, A LOT of time was spent lingering at water stops & looking for Porta-Potty's along the way. For the most part, the actual running times were pretty average. SO... the lesson I learned from this weeks torture...er, I mean training run - "Sometimes finishing doesn't look pretty...but it always feels good".


*Does anyone want to offer me a free massage? LOL!

"Big People" Halloween Fun.

Jon and I had the RARE opportunity to attend an "adult only" costume party last Saturday. While the outdoor party was a bit chilly for my taste, it was still a ton of fun! Naturally, we went dressed as 80's "rockers". Not that I remember that much of the 80's....but apparently the 80's look is back (God help me), so the costume was pretty easy to put together from the choices on the clearance rack at our local Target.



Of course, my husband spent most of the evening playing the guitar....


Jon was trying to look cool...but I think he missed it by a long shot!




Jeremiah the retro 70's dude & Darcy the tiger.

"The Man In The Yellow Hat"



Watch out...Martha's got a gun!


Wait....is that a costume?

"Berlin The Blizzard" ??
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As soon as I find my USB cable, I'll download the kids halloween pics. I guess I better go check Maya's crib-LOL!

Pumpkin Patch Fun!

McKenna's preschool went to the pumpkin patch a couple of weeks ago (shame on me for being so late on this post) & it was a lot of fun. In September I went to the apple orchard with Chandler's preschool, so I wanted to make sure McKenna and I had some special time together also.


*This is McKenna and her best friends Taylor.


The corn maze was a lot of fun to "get lost" in.


My sweet girly!



The hayride was one of the best parts of the day.


McKenna LOVED feeding all the farm animals.



"Milking" the cow...what a hoot!


Seriously....what's more fun than sliding out the butt of a giant caterpillar?

1/2 Way There!

So, who is going to be the first to check out my fundraising page?

Now....on to round 2!!

*A special thanks to my wonderful friends and family for helping me every step of the way & giving so sacrificially so that I could make my recommitment goal! You all are such a blessing to me!

So, here is the deal....

I'm 7 days from my marathon recommitment. The place in time where I am supposed to have $1,850 raised in order to continue my training. Right now I have about $1,200 raised, so I'm getting closer. IF I don't have $1,850 raised by the 26th.....then things don't look so great :-( Most likely I will have to quit training, turn in all my money to the society & tell them I "tried my best". BUT, I'm determined NOT to have to do that!! I've made it this far, and I'm going to do everything in my power to make it all the way to January 7th! I personally have raised nearly $600 on my own (working for it), and I'll continue that trend all the way through my fundraising. My letter writing campaign has been slow on the responses, but I'm patient :-). I keep sending out more letters & watching and waiting....and waiting-LOL!

You know, this whole marathon training has been such a learning experience for me. On so many levels. I started off HATING every training run & I've made it to the point where I can say I'm starting to enjoy running! I look forward to running (wow, did I just say that?).It's just as much a mental "game" as much as a physical one & I've learned that I'm a much stronger person than I give myself credit for. I've made it this far on one pair of running shoes, two pairs of socks, two pairs of shorts, no cold weather gear, no gym membership, and NO previous running experience. I've had to run at 10 p.m.(because that was the first "kid free" moment in my day), I've forced myself out of bed at 4:15 on a Saturday morning to go to a long training run in the rain, I've done ALL of my mid-week training at home...running on my neighborhood streets with no sidewalks, I've hurt my knee to the point where I had to walk all my miles instead of run them, and I've had to beg, borrow, and steal babysitting just so I wouldn't miss a day of training. I've completed a 1/2 marathon already & I've dedicated myself to raising money and awareness to a cause that is beginning to become a passion of mine. THIS is why I can't give up!

So here's my wink and nudge :-) IF, you wanted to give to this cause & you just forgot about it (we all get busy), or you can't remember what in the world my long letter was all about, or when I needed to have all my donations in by...then this is your friendly reminder-LOL! I really, really want to continue training. This means so much to me & for some unknown reason I feel like this is something I'm supposed to be doing right now. I totally understand if you are not able to give to me at this time (I have SO been there before) & if that's the case I DO NOT want to make you feel guilty. But, if you were wondering "how things are going"....this is just an update on my progress :-).

*I'll be running 16 miles this Saturday & hopefully selling beads again at Arrowhead on Sunday...so keep watching for more updates.

*Oh, and HERE is a link to my official fundraising website. ;-)

To all my friends and family that have helped me make it this far...."Thank You"!

My little monkey girl.

Maya has a new talent.....


...and I can't say I love it :-(

Yep, she's a "climber" now.
YUM...pizza crust!

Oh, and did I mention that she like to THROW things off the table once she gets up there.


This time it was just my camera case. But the time before that it was 2 glasses, two salad plates, and a dinner plate....all broken! (Sigh....) I'm not going to have many dishes left by the time this little girl turns two.

We all know that "what goes up...
must come DOWN".

The really bad part of her new "talent" is that she's only 14 months old and cannot predict a dangerous outcome from her risky behavior. Yep, she has taken 3 flying leaps off that table, all with the same outcome....a big bump or bruise! I swear that this little one is going to be the end of me! If I could only find a baby gate big enough to enclose the whole kitchen table....