For the past few months, Matthew has been in training for an ultramarathon.  On July 16th there is a 24hour race in Philadelphia, in which runners see how many 8.5mile loops they can run in 24 hours.  Matthew has set a goal of running 100 miles in 24 hours.  As he ran and trained, the Lord laid on his heart to use this race as a platform to gain awareness for some great needs in Haiti.  This video will explain it better, so please take a look!

Run for Haiti on Vimeo on Vimeo

via Run for Haiti on Vimeo.

Pray and see how God will use you to help further His kingdom!  Thanks for supporting Matt as he runs!

On Wednesday our local Chick-fil-A was giving away a free kid’s meal to any kid who dressed up as a pirate or a princess.  We got our acts together and headed out into the insanity that was a hundred families all diving in for a receipt that totaled zero.  We had fun, though it was a bit crazy racing around the house trying to figure out how to make an eye patch.  I decided to cut  up one of the boys’ old black socks and tie a string to it.  Worked!  Then I saw the ingenuity of my sister who just painted it on her kids.  Oh, well.  We didn’t need that sock!

I love the boys’ expressions in this one.  Jack looks like he’s trying to beam Elijah the message that they are PIRATES not clowns, so to act tough.  Their personalities are so accurately portrayed here: tough guy and funny guy.

Then it was off to soccer practice for the oldest princess.  She did a lot of this:

He did a lot of that when I told him to look at the camera.

Now this girl flew like the fairy that she is and kicked the ball dozens of times.

Some more of that.  I love hearing her and the girls squeal and scream and laugh their way through practice.  And dance a little too!

Not too disappointed to watch the girls play…

Then last night, to celebrate the end of school, each kid got their very own coke bottle!

It was a pretty happy way to end our day.  School is done for the year, and we are so excited to step into the season of summer!

The roses are even in bloom!

Last Friday Matthew and I had a date!  The not-so-fun part was the fact that he had Dr’s appointments in the city.  His tear ducts have closed up again, so he’s getting surgery soon to remedy that.  So, for those of you who think he’s crying as he’s talking to you, it’s probably just overflow, since his tears have no place to go!  Anyway, I’ll save you the details of what he has to go through.  Let’s just say it makes me gag, and I had to leave the ENT room and go sit in the waiting room with a magazine. =)

Between and after Dr’s appointments we had fun in the city!  I love Philadelphia.  The first thing we did was hit Jeweler’s Row and we got my engagement ring cleaned.  I squealed just like I did when I first got it, and couldn’t stop admiring the sparkle.  Wow.  THAT was fun, and I will have to do it more frequently!

We tried a few new places to eat lunch, have coffee, and then the tried and true Reading Terminal Market to just wander… and have ice-cream.  It was so much fun.

A shout out to this amazing wafflerie called Bonté.  Wow.  The coffee was so delicious.  The sugar waffle, infused with dark chocolate… outstanding.  My favorite stop of the whole day.

This is where I got my flowers for our wedding… and these are the kind of flowers I got!

Thursday was a happy day.

We are so proud of Heidi for graduating with her Associates Degree!  Besides the ceremony being quite lengthly, we made it fun with a few fits of giggles, cell phone games, and even an occasional nod.  Yay, Heidi!

We’ll never forget to “look in the book!”  (You’ll have to ask Matt’s mom about that one…(

It’s been a few years since I regularly climbed trees.  In Africa, a tree was my second home.  I had a few particular favorites, including the frangy-pangy tree outside of our house and the huge mango tree at my friend Ruthie’s house.  We would often climb to the top of that one and throw mangoes down on unsuspecting passers-by.  There was another mango tree outside of my bedroom window that always had a never-ending supply of red ants.  I remember braving it a few times… and regretting it every time.  When I played in the trees with my friends, April & Ruthie, we would always fight over the name “Diana”… yes, after Princess Diana.  So, we would compromise:  I was Diana, April was Diane, and Ruthie was Di.  Yeah, it was probably my idea, because it sounds so much like something my own daughter would do right now.

Anyway, today I got to glimpse freshly hatched baby birds.  The kids found them first.  It was precarious climbing the tiny maple tree in our backyard and wedging myself in between the branches so that I wouldn’t fall to the ground.  My legs were literally shaking by the time I got down and I’m laughing at myself and how old I feel, and still how young I feel.  I certainly don’t live my life up in a tree anymore, but I did enjoy revisiting a homey place.

I think the mama bird who squawked at me the whole time I shakily held my camera above my head trying to get at least one decent picture, is also happy that my feet are back on the ground.

I am the type of person that can’t rest very well until what I’ve set out to do is accomplished.  This can be good and bad.  I have lost much sleep (which I don’t miss, btw) because of this mindset.  I have painted many a room with yellow stripes or my front door red until the wee hours of the morning.  I have made Matthew sleep on the couch until I finish re-arranging or painting our bedroom late at night.  I have set out to “clear the dining room table” before bed and finished with a mopped floor or newly painted chair-railing.  It is a stress-reliever for me.  I see the finished product in my head and I can’t rest until I see it in front of my eyes.  For a couple weeks now I’ve seen something in my head that I’ve been wanting to do.  Finally, one day last week, I did it.  I was a little bit at the end of my rope that day and of course the minute I shut my bedroom door someone tried to open it.  One of those days.  I couldn’t get away.  But I did anyway!  Matthew came home in the middle of it and I smiled the forced kind of smile you make when you’re upset at someone else, not necessarily that person,  and told him please not to come in our bedroom.  He sensed my need for space.  I enjoyed every minute of neck-craning work.  Here is the finished product:

In freehand across the top of our door: Grow Old With Me

I even used a ruler and math to space the lettering properly.  I have plans for more sayings and verses throughout the house, but for now I can rest… at least until the next idea pops into my head!

Yesterday morning I barely choked down my peanut butter bagel and hot cup of tea while I nursed Betty.  The butterflies woke up in full force and I tried to keep my mind clear for the race ahead.  How could it really be a year ago that we ran the Broad Street Run?  That day last year it was 90 degrees, humid, and I was pregnant and didn’t even know it!  Now my sweet Betty had no idea I was about to leave her for half of the day to do the same thing over again.

What a gorgeous day it turned out to be!  Perfect skies, perfect temperatures, perfect everything!  Matthew signed me up the day the race opened… Betty was less than a week old, and I thought, “This is nuts!”  The person I am proud of the most is my sister-in-law Heidi, who told us to sign her up and she would do it.  So, we both started the journey of training for May 1st.  Matt really is a great coach.  We tease him, but when it comes down to it, I think we would agree that neither of us could have or would have done this without him.  He made training schedules for us (which I didn’t stick to terribly well) and he made it possible for me to run as much as possible.  He also led by example.

The day before the run my friend Ashley called me and it worked out that she met us and ended up running with me the whole way.  Then Matthew, Heidi, Will & Rebecca ran together.  I honestly just wanted to finish.  I thought it would be cool if I didn’t stop running, but wasn’t counting on being able to do that.  It was so encouraging to have a friend to run with, and we talked for the first 7 miles.  At mile 4 we swung into a McDonalds to use the bathroom (since the porta-potty situation at the start line is pretty insane).  Other than that stop, I ran the whole way.  Around the 6 mile mark there are crowds and crowds of people cheering you on, and lots of kids saying, “Go, Mom!”  Former Governor and Mayor, Ed Rendell, was there on the side of the street and I gave him a high five.  My first brush with fame.  Then, after 7 miles I told Ashely I wanted to quit.  My legs were feeling cramped up and I was tired of hitting the pavement.  There’s a stretch between 7 and 9 miles that is really hard.  I put my music on and tried to think enduring thoughts.

My mind has a circle of friends and family that I think about and pray for while I run.  It’s as if my brain shoots their faces to my minds’ eye the second my feet hit the ground.  I think of our friends Scott & Stephanie who would probably be running this race if they could.  I think of Matthew and how badly I want to tell him that I finished without stopping, even though every fiber in my legs is telling me to do just that.  I think of my family, each one of them, and the encouraging words I’ve received from them.  I imagine different faces in the crowd are cheering ME on so I keep going.  I’m wearing a pink shirt and I don’t have to hear my name to know that “Go pink!” is aimed at me, so I keep going.  I think of each of my kids and I know they’ll ask if I won.  A win is to finish, so I have to win.  I keep going.  Then mile 9 comes into view and I know I’ll kick myself now if I start to walk.  The crowd starts getting thicker along the sidelines as the finish is near.  At a quarter mile we pass underneath the Naval Yard gates and I hear the song in my ipod playing, Viva la Vida, “Live the Life”.  “I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing…” and I think of my friend Amy.  I make eye contact with the individuals in the crowd and am overwhelmed by the realization that so many came out to live life together today.  I’m grinning ear to ear and crying at the same time.  I see the finish line and all of a sudden nothing hurts anymore and I finish WELL.  It is exhilarating.

Ashley sprinted on ahead the last mile but she waited for me at the end and we rejoiced in eachother’s accomplishment.  After stretching and refueling, we made our way to the finish line to watch the rest of our team cross.  It was just as exhilarating to see Matthew sprint across the finish, turn around with the camera and shoot some pictures of  Heidi, Will & Rebecca (and Ava in the stroller) holding hands as they too finished WELL.  We screamed, we cheered, we celebrated life.  Today we’re alive, so let’s live!

Yesterday my dear Jack Taylor turned five years old.  His five years have been packed with adventure, battle, and lots of treasure.  When I think of Jack, I sometimes think how well he would have fit into the medieval days.  Fighting dragons with swords, never leaving home without a shield, and taking a bath only once a month.   When I think of Jack I think of the color orange.  It is the first color he learned, and the color he has consistently said is his favorite, ever since he has been “little” (like 3 years old).  I think of green eyes that sparkle and big hands that are strong.  I think of how much fun he would have had digging in his Great-great-uncle Jack’s garden, after whom he was named.

Jack & Elijah got to spend two nights at Grandma Weldon’s house as a special birthday treat.  Then yesterday the rest of us drove there to celebrate the day together.  They had a blast playing spy/soldier outside.

Notice the sniper?

    

We also enjoyed fun cousin time!

There’s nothing cuter than dandelion dust on a three year old nose.

These tulips are extra special to me.  The first year we moved to our old house Matt’s mom gave me six tulip bulbs.  Two years ago I divided them and they had become at least a dozen.  When we moved this time, I knew I had to rescue them from the ground and keep them where they would be appreciated.  They had turned into at least 30 bulbs!  This is the first one that bloomed.  Just as gorgeous as I remember.  The color really washes away the winter grey.  It actually floods my heart with thoughts of hope and beauty.

   

Spring has finally sprung in our backyard!

     

The past few months have been nap-less.  The grumpies have also been growing in the 3-year old department.  So, yesterday it was back to bed we went.  It took about as much time to reinforce the rule of staying in bed as the actual staying in bed time lasted… but it was worth it.  I only had my cellphone camera to take this precious shot just now.  Elsie fell asleep with me playing with her hair and holding her bunny’s pink bow.  I treasure the quiet and I treasure my little girl… even a bit more when she visits sleepy-land for a couple hours!