And the training begins...

So for my birthday this year, Liz signed me up for the Sprint Triathalon this fall down at Wrightsville Beach. I went last year and had said that it was something I wanted to do. She knew that if I left it up to me, I would probably push back signing up until it was full and then been like, "well, I was going to..." So I know nothing about training for these thigs, so I just started running about 2 weeks ago. I added the bike last week. Let me say this, if you've never tried to run after a long bike ride, please do, its quite amusing. The first time I tried was like this...remember that game you played as a kid when you spun around on the baseball bat and then tried to run in a straight line? I got off the bike and made it about 20 strides before my body stopped cooperating. How the HECK do these people run MARATHONS after biking as far as they do? I made it about .5 mile the second time I tried. I have a new respect for triathletes. I've gotten the bike up to around 12 miles (30/40 min) and I'm running around 5 miles (40 min). I want to get a good handle on this before jumping in the water late May. The race is a 1 mile swim, 13 mile bike and 3.2 mile run. I'm shooting for under an 1:30 finishing time. 30min swim, 30min bike and 25min run would be ideal. The cool thing about all of this, well, there's a couple of cool things. First, my dad (potentially a few others...achem...time to sign up Jaunt) is doing it with me. We're training seperate though and I'm sure the smell of competition is enough to drive us. Dad's turning 55 this year, so I'm super proud of him and pumped for him that he's in the shape to do this thing. Definately a blessing. Secondly, I'm going to have Liz and our little boy (along with many others) cheering me on. I will definately speed up when I see them. Thirdly, I do have some buddies that are participating as well, so we'll start riding together here soon. Lastly, I've dropped about 10 lbs which is nice as well - hate to admit it, but I was up around 235 for the first time EVER! I'd love to drop down to 215/210 range - haven't been there since high school. I think I was around 210 when I graduated high school and 215/220 when we got married, so I need to creep back to "fighting weight". Anyway, off to beat the concrete early this morning. Any tips, tricks, etc. feel free to share.

My superstar!

This is long overdue, but I wanted to give Matt a shout out for finishing 6th in the State among all rookies in his company, North Carolina Farm Bureau. He was in the top 3 in home and auto insurance sales and won an award for his life insurance sales in the 4th quarter of last year. Matt feels very fortunate to work for such a great company and he hopes that business will continue to go well.
Matt never seizes to amaze me as he juggles- work, family and most importantly his faith in God. He is a busy busy man, but he never complains about being tired or stressed. I am so thankful for his joyful spirit! I had to brag on him- Keep it up Matt!!!

Welcome to Spring!

We had a really fun week welcoming in Spring! We hit our halfway point, at 20 weeks and I'm feeling much better. Although, I still get this nauseous feeling when I don't eat for a couple of hours, which might explain the bojangles run saturday morning so I could down a bacon, egg and cheese biscuit! I am anxious to see how much weight I have gained this month, because my appetite feels like it has been out of control the last 4 weeks. We are still walking 2 miles a day, which is keeping us all healthy hopefully. Matt has started his training for the September triathalon which he will be swimming, biking and running. Typical male, he has not been on a bike since last summer and decides to go for a ride on Saturday morning. He went for 9 miles and tried to get off and run around the block only to find his legs not cooperating:) I'm still so proud of him.
We had a fun week with our friends as well. Heather and Josh, who have been in rehab at Walter Reed, came home for the first time. For Josh, it had been an entire year. We threw them a mini-welcome home party on Thursday night and it was so much fun. We have been keeping their dog Emma, so Stella seems a bit lost without her this week. Josh has already moved from a wheelchair to crutches(4 months), which they say most guys don't do for 6-8 months. His will and determination is encouraging and respectable. He still has a few more months of rehab in DC and then hopefully back to Wilmington to start with the medical board to determine his disability.
All of my girlfriends got to celebrate Lyndsey and baby Jones, at her first baby shower in Wilmington. It was really exciting for me and a bit overwhelming, seeing all the things that I need to register for!
Our other good friends, Cathy and Jimmy, got engaged about two weeks ago. We celebrated with them this weekend at an engagement party. Their wedding will be next fall in Ohio and we are looking forward to it.
We are so thankful for the great friends that God has put into our lives. Spring and summer are my two favorite seasons and we look forward to many more fun days in the sun!

It's a Boy!

Last Friday, we found out that we are going to have a little boy! It was very special because the day we went in, March 5th, was my dad's birthday. As most of you know, we had a strong feeling that it was a girl so you can imagine how shocked we were when the nurse told us. We got to see his precious face and body on the ultrasound screen. The nurse said everything looked healthy and we are so blessed. We are going to keep the name a secret, but we are open to fun suggestions. He is growing very fast and my belly is definitely showing it now. Thank you for all your prayers and we will continue to keep you posted!