13.1...

Is how many miles I walked on Saturday with around 18,000 of my closest friends. Well, actually some of those people went the full marathon which is 26.2 miles. One of my goals this year was to participate in the mini. I didn't even care how long it would take. The time limit was 6 hours. So I thought surely I could finish before 6 hrs!

Here I am before the race started. We were about .3 mile away from the start line. It took us about 20 minutes to even cross the start line after they started the race.

I was excited, but also super nervous. I was laughing in that picture, too, because the lady taking our picture was holding the phone the wrong way. I was expecting to see a nice picture of the kind lady from the race trying to take our picture. Bless her heart. :)

I started off really well. I was feeling great. I tried to jog every now and then for short bursts. At some point there was a White Castle where we went to the bathroom. They had port-a-pots on the route but the lines were so long! And at some point, after halfway, I got a cramp in my butt the upper part of my leg. I would try to jog a bit after that but it didn't make it better. So, I decided to slow down and just walk. Just focus on finishing. I saw some really fun characters during the race; a pirate, some vampires, people in tutus, young, old and here are three of my favorites...

They were around mile 10. It was so awesome to see their smiling faces! Along the way I also saw my hubby, my sister-in-law's family and a few friends. I was with my sis-in-law for most of the way. But she is faster than me. So, I was by myself for the last bit. It got really hard at the end. I was starting to get a little teary. My bum was really hurting. I was tired. Then a lady started walking with me the last couple of miles. She was very encouraging. It was great to have some conversation to take my mind off of my aching body that was not too happy with me.

A very happy sight was this sign.

I just know if I was still with Jill I would have cried when I finally crossed that line. But instead, I was not sure where to head after I crossed. I was very concerned to find where they had the food I was told would be waiting for me after the race. (I didn't really think about how hungry I would be after 13.1 miles.)  Oh and to meet back up with the family. I wandered straight ahead where people were handing out the medals. Then I found the food table. I grabbed a bagel, banana and a drink. Finally, I found this pink banner and went to sit near it. Soon everyone came to where I was. I couldn't believe how great I felt after it was over. My official time was 4:00:26. I was still hurting, but I was so proud of myself and Jill. I couldn't stop smiling. We have already started talking about next year. I even think some more of our family will be joining us, too. Thanks to everyone who offered encouragement and prayers for us. :)

365 Day Photo Challenge: Week 15

April 8-14, 2012

Easter

Toothless! :)

Beautiful spring

Fun at the zoo

He Is Risen

This Easter weekend we were able to witness a baptism at church. It brought tears to my eyes, baptisms usually do, but I thought it was extra special on Easter. We also had a wonderful lunch planned for Sunday afternoon with some of our family.

We did some group pictures before we got the food going. We had so much great food I was almost sick from eating so much.

After food, we colored some eggs with the kids. We tried to do them in shifts. First the boys.



Then the girls

We ended up coloring 28 eggs. They turned out pretty.

After the eggs dried we took them outside, with 72 plastic eggs, for an egg hunt.

We made the older ones skip the really easy ones for the three younger kids. They did such a good job the younger ones had theirs really fast.

This is what you do when you are too old for an egg hunt. You supervise from a good chair!

I was totally exhausted when we left to go home, but it was a good tired. It was a great way to celebrate Easter.

365 Day Photo Challenge:Wk10-14

Trying to play catch up :) So here are some pics of March and the first of  April. Enjoy!

Girl Scout Badges

Cake from the girls' party

Tri-State Champion

New baby

My sis-in-law's flight back to Philly

I got gas for $3.79 while in TN and before I left I got gas for $3.63. It was over $4 back home.

Pen busted in my purse. :(

Lemon meringue pie :)

Black icing = black tongue

Spring Break 2012

I have been super busy again! The kids and I went to TN for spring break. We were able to meet my newest niece. She is absolutely beautiful! She has the softest hair. :) We also had lots of time to play with our other cousins, too.

We went to my aunt's house and took a hike. Two of the kids actually spent the night with her, too.

The girls and I got a haircut. We saw my brother's bees. (Did I ever tell you I am afraid of bees?) We also saw my mom a little bit. She was in Philly with my nephew while my sister-in-law was in TN. After she returned to Philly, my mom came back to TN. We went to the local kid's museum and ate at some great local places. It was a great trip.

Medicine

It has been over 3 years since I was diagnosed with MS. I have been taking injections that long, too. I haven't had any skin reactions so far. Except the other day, when I tried to push in the medicine it wouldn't work. I just couldn't make it go in. It was weird. I have also been having trouble remembering if I took my medicine or not. So, I am starting something new. I am going to try and mark on the medicine the date I am supposed to take it. That way if I cannot remember I can look at the date. Hopefully that will work. My other medicine that I take to help with my fatigue, I am still thinking of how I can remember that better. I have tried little pill reminders. Maybe I just need to find a good spot to put them... Still working on it. They have introduced a pill you can take for MS but I haven't asked the doctor about it yet. It is very new. I think I will wait a bit and do more research on it first. What I am on is working so I'll probably stick with it for as long as I can.

Mom

I had a great visit with my mom. We played lots of cards. Games like trashcan, kings in the corner, 21 and war. We went to the mall and the kids got in these big gerbil like balls. It was pretty funny watching them. Mom's camera has some pretty good pictures. I was able to take her to see where I work and to the church we have been visiting. She was able to go to a winter guard competition, too. She usually sleeps in my daughter's bed, but now that it is a loft bed she opted for the couch. Buddy, our dog, really enjoyed the extra attention, too. I am so glad that she was able come stay with us. Hopefully, I will figure out how to get some of mom's pictures on here later.