End of the Year Wrap Up

This year I have not been as diligent posting on the blog.  Sheralie has done the lion's share of the posting, for which I am grateful.  This Sunday I am skipping my usual Sunday afternoon nap to record some final thoughts on my theme for the year:

No Shortcuts

One reason I have not done as many blog posts is that I have been training for a marathon most of the year.  Having set the goal for 2010 and finished the Baltimore marathon, I immediately signed up to run the Washington DC marathon in March with my three brothers.  I have come to really enjoy running.  It helps clear the mind and rejuvenates the body.  However, you can't cram for a marathon.  You have to put in some serious miles before taking on that commitment.  And serious miles means a lot of time.  Just a tip for anyone thinking about a marathon.

Learning another language is also something you can not cram for - it is just something you have to put in the hours of practice and study.  Learning Spanish is harder than running a marathon.  At least with running I have a good amount of feedback in terms of statistics - how many miles for how long.  I can measure improvement as my times improve.  There is no easy metric for Spanish.  You just have to keep studying and have faith that you are really learning something.

There are also no shortcuts for raising children.  I love my children a lot.  They are a source of happiness and joy.  However, they can be a handful.  I would venture to say that raising children is harder than both Spanish and running.  It is even harder to see signs of progress.  Sometimes you see signs of regression.  It is tempting to focus on things with more concrete results: work, hobbies, books, church callings, etc.  Sometimes you don't see the results of parenting for more than 20 years, until your own kids become parents.  Fortunately I have an amazing wife that helps us stay focused on teaching and loving our children.  It has been a big year for children.  James has been the happiest baby ever.  Jeffrey was baptized, started Cub Scouts and loves playing basketball and football.  Laird has learned to read and grown up so much.  Lucy is our three year old who changes clothes ten times a day.  Each brings something special to our family and we love them.

Beginning to Look A Lot

like Christmas!

The last two weeks have been a little better. There were no unauthorized haircuts from sibling to sibling, there were no car accidents involving our rental car #2, (which is a good thing since our van is still being repaired from the awful smashing), and the calendar was manageable. Whew. November was a rough one, but December is full of anticipation as we prepare for Christmas.

The children are trying to be helpful and good.

I love that the spoon is actually getting food on his face instead of in his mouth.

She tries so hard to be helpful, and occasionally it is truly helpful.

James tries to go along with the "little mama" even when she smears food all over his face.

It is getting cold, even bundled up. James is here watching me clear off the sidewalk.

He always smiles for the camera, even if he wasn't smiling before!

I personally think the cold is much more enjoyable when there is snow.

There is something so magical about snow.

Lucy thinks snow is synonymous with a winter wonderland:

"Mom, I have winter wonderland on my nose!"

All this snow makes us rather giddy. It is a huge change for us.

Some afternoons are so cold we cannot play outside.

We have taken to doing Tae-Bo together in the living room.

[Not pictured.]

Laird, of course has engineered more games to play in the house.

One such game is indoor hockey. Here you see his indoor hockey stick,

a.k.a. stick with a tissue taped on with masking tape (as to preserve our beautiful floors),

and his hockey puck obtained from James' stacking rings.

James can spend hours trying to remove the ornaments off of the tree.

Hope you are having fun getting ready for Christmas too!

Over the River and Through the Woods

Don't ever move. I really don't recommend it. This has been a hard move for me, for many reasons. We are halfway through our time here which is not helping my motivation to get settled in. Everything feels like a battle, finding a dentist, the Stake Center or figuring out how to handle the cold. The weather has dropped below freezing and I now wear a jacket inside the house. Lucy has taken layering to a new level, wearing multiple socks, shirts, pants, whatever seems prudent.

We didn't travel to Grandmother's house for Thanksgiving. Fortunately, they came to us.

You can see how delighted the children are to see some of their favorite people.

James didn't remember them, at first.

Laird has his first guitar lesson.

Aunt Charity and James. Charity celebrated her birthday with us, Happy Birthday little sis!

The Celebratory Birthday Dinner.

The boys' favorite part of our Capitol Tour: the State Statues.

My favorite part of the Capitol Tour: the center of town. Thank you to Michael for getting us a fantastic private Senatorial tour.

Unlike his sister, James doesn't cry at the wind, but smiles.

Lucy was pretty pleased to put Laird in the stocks at Williamsburg.

The grounds of the Governor's Mansion are better than the tour inside.

Our favorite was Jamestown, for obvious reasons: Indian Village!

Jeffrey helped load a chicken onto the ships, and here prepares a corn cake.

A boy's paradise! And yes, this little boy is a smiler.

Thanks for the fun, Grandma and Grandpa and Aunties and Mike!

I thought it was hilarious that I fell in the river; I thought it was dumb at first

The Marathon

Back in January, I announced to our blog readership that my goal for the year was to run in the Baltimore Marathon.  I firmly believe that with a goal like this you have to tell as many people as possible, so that you know you will look foolish if you back out.  I feel it was a great motivating factor.  Here is the play by play of the marathon:

5 am: Wake up with severe pain in my knee.  I can barely walk on it.  The pain does go away after a while though.  It was like my knee was asleep, but more painful than usual.  I spent the night in Baltimore, and the rest of the family came up that morning.

7:30 am: Line up at the starting line.  It is cold and windy.  Fortunately they have included gloves in the goodie bag for the race, as I will wear them almost the entire race.

8:00 am: Start of the race.  It is pretty crowded for the first several miles.  I am running with the 4:00 pace group.  I notice a runner with a serious mullet.

8:30 am: Feeling good.  I decide to leave the 4:00 pace group behind and try to find some running room.  It is nice and cool.

9:00 am: Feeling very good.  This marathon running thing is a breeze.  I spot a juggler on the course.  Fortunately, I see him running the opposite way on the course (meaning he is a couple miles behind me).

10:00 am: Pass the halfway mark at 1:57:26, just under a 9-minute pace, which is where I want to be.  Several years ago, I ran a half-marathon and was woefully under-prepared and finished in 2:31, so this is a big improvement.  Feeling good, though the wind is picking up.  The runners have started to spread out more.

10:45 am: Not feeling good.  Just after the halfway point, the elevation started a slow and steady rise (from mile 16 to 22), which is painful.  The wind is now a beast (or do I just notice it more now because I am slowing down?).  Also, at mile 16 we join up with the half-marathon, which makes the road thick again with runners.  Psychologically, I am not happy to be with these runners who have only been running a few miles after I have already knocked out so many.

11:15 am: Coming to the end of the rise in elevation (mercifully!) I can see runners running on a street perpendicular to ours and heading back in the direction of Camden Yards (the end of the race).  However, upon reaching these runners, we turn to the right (they are running to my left) and find that before I can join the runners on the road home, I have to circle a 2-mile lake!  At least the lake is level and it kind of feels like a track since it goes in a circle.

12:00 pm: What am I still doing running after four hours?!  Legs are aching.  I am starting to hear several songs on my playlist for the second time.

12:20 pm:  Slow and steady to the finish line.  Just keep running.  I pass my fantastic cheering squad on the last half mile.  Kudos to Sheralie for hauling four kids all the way out there.  They snapped a picture of me running away:

12:30 pm:  It was great to finish running through Camden Yards.  I was also motivated to keep my legs moving to get under 4 1/2 hours, which I did with a time of 4:29:03.  Very happy to finish!  And very hungry  as well.

Overall, it was a great experience, and a great motivation to keep training all year.  It was definitely long.  I will probably do another one, though I will take a little break before I start thinking about it again.  Thanks for all the well wishers and encouragement.

After the race next to Camden Yards

Relaxing with the finisher's medal.

Note: You may not be able to see it, but it is a number "10" to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Baltimore Marathon.  Jeffrey saw a different runner with it and thought it meant that he got 10th place in the marathon.  

Final stats: overall #1892 out of 3359, for men: #1317 out of 2124, and for M 30-34, #201 out of 328

What We Missed

America is absolutely beautiful, we have come to love her more than ever. Who would have thought living abroad would make us more patriotic than ever? The abundance and prosperity and order we enjoy in this country is without compare. Just look at the modern marvels of plumbing, street planning, city services and parks. Oh, the glorious parks.

Some things we feel simply starving for and we have tried to consume in large amounts, to make up for the loss these last two years. And what have we missed, you ask? Well, there is so much. But most especially,

THE FOOD.

Sweet potatoes, avocados, frozen green peas, most especially. And berries, peaches, nectarines, fresh baby spinach, store bought hummus, fresh sprouts, and great potatoes. Hooray for vegetables that I know how to prepare and that my children love to eat. James has taken to avocados and demonstrates that the vitamins benefit not only your internal organs, but especially the skin and hair :)

And what would America be like without

FOOTBALL??

Our Saturdays now consist of large amounts of college football. I shall not divulge the amount. We have two years to make up for, you see. Since this makes a rather lousy photo, us sitting in front of the television, you can see for yourself the influence this has had on our children.

Gone are the days of basketball. Almost every spare minute outside, Jeffrey is throwing the football, passing, tackling, trying to drum up players for a game. The fever has spread to Lucy and Laird, and even James who has a mini football he will crawl to.

As any father knows, at least one play will result in injury :)

America means more FRIENDS.

Of course we have had friends every place we live. But I am personally reveling in spending time with other mothers, rather than nannies and maids. And my children are finding it easier to make friends with children who speak the same language. Imagine that.

Above is Laird's new best friend. Honestly, his first close friend since Sarah.

These boys were born only three days apart. These two are hilarious together and speak the same language of legos, imaginary shooting matches, and an intense love for a movie neither has ever seen . . . Star Wars! Even though Laird's best buddy goes to kindergarten, it means we see him at least once a day for updates on their lego guys, weaponry and silly ideas.

Jeffrey has just joined scouts. With their recent activities of basketball, bowling, and more basketball, Jeffrey is completely convinced that Scouting is the BEST. Take that, Harry Potter.

And best for last, we have missed

FAMILY.

My brother lives in the city. When his working and social calendar permits, he stops by for food - football - fun - family home evening - or just some friendly debates about politics, economics, or international development. I love this opportunity to be around him more.

Stay Tuned: This Saturday, Pete will run his first marathon. With all his hard work and preparation, he is sure to do well.

First Day of School and Maggie

Ready.

Set. Cute Cousin Maggie.

Go. We Love walking to school again.

Pause for more photos. I love my sister.

Jeffrey and his very kind teacher.

Fun at home too.