Dream list #70

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Philippians 4:13

13.1 miles. 
I seriously doubted that I'd ever be able to do it.... but I did!

I did a 10 week training schedule.
When I came up to week 5, I got to mile 10 and decided to push myself and run the extra 3.1 miles..... and be done instead of going on for 5 more weeks.
I had been trying to do this for so long but it seemed like there were so many things that came up, trying to stop me from this goal. I was sick for a week in the middle of training so I had to start over. And during harvest there was simply not enough time to get the amount of miles in that I needed, so I had to start over then as well.
It didn't help that every time I had to stop, I would procrastinate in getting started again.
But I did it, and it is DONE!!

Was it worth it??
YES! There is something special about setting a goal for yourself and then meeting that goal. It is a feeling that can't be described and one that everyone should experience!

Was if fun??

Every time I would get near the middle of a run I would wonder why on EARTH I was doing this, And I would complain to myself the entire way. But as soon as I was done, I would say to myself "That wasn't so bad! I can't wait to do it again!" 

So it was fun.... afterwards.

(Ya... I know I'm weird :)

Will I do it again??
I may in the future. Right now we are working on flooding our rink, and I can't see myself playing hockey AND running AND finding enough hours in the day to do everything else that needs to be done in one day. But once hockey season is done, I hope to get back into running again.

As I told you before that there is a story behind all of these miles. And I believe that I'm about ready to start telling you all that story.
Not just for entertainment sake, but rather in the hopes that God will use it to make an impact in someone else's life.
So be watching for upcoming posts!

(Installment 11) Dear Mom and Dad,

We are glad

You are home.

(Installment 10) Dear Mom and Dad,

I can feel the excitement rising in the air as we all realize that our days with you away from home are about to come to an end.
WE ARE EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today was a nice relaxing day, in which we didn't do much. Therefore, I don't have much to write about :)
So this may more or less be a very boring post. But that's ok... right?!?!?! :)

We had church at home, did some reading while the kids played outside and played Wii, aaaaand Ker made icecream and popcorn treats for the kiddoes this evening.

Ya, anyhooooo. I hope that you are having a good trip home!!!
Love you and miss you MORE!!!!
Jennifer

Caleb says:
Yes, my headache is better. I can't wait until you get home!!! Love you!

Zachary says:
This morning we had muffins for breakfast. And then we cleaned up and went outside. After that we watched a video of Lindell Cooley. Then ate lunch, went outside and played sled races, and came in to play Wii. We ate chocolate covered popcorn, and went back outside. Now I'm writing. I love you very much! xoxoxoxox Love Zach

Jesse says:
Yes, singing Christmas carols was a lot of fun! Thats good that you are having a safe drive! I have 133 eggs. Second place has 39. Third place has 2. Fourth and Fifth place have 1. We can't wait until you come home!! Today some snow melted. xoxoxoxo Love Jesse

Nathan says:
The chickens are doing well. Yes, it was the chicken that was laying under the box most of the time.
Watch out for school buses! Travel safe! I hope you are having a good time on the road. Love you! Looking forward for you to come home! xoxoxoxo Love Nate

Brooke says:
I didn't know that it wasn't slippy, thats good, I don't you to crash or anything like that. I hope you are traveling safely. We had popcorn with chocolate chips and smarties and chocolate and whatever sauce. It was good! I hope you are having fun. I love you. For lunch we had an apple and a piece of bread with peanut butter and honey on it. It was yummy! I like my brothers and my sisters. We went out once in the morning and then we went out tonight, we just came in. We had a good day today. It is fun when you have brothers and sisters. I hope you are having fun. xoxoxox Love Brooke

Mikaya says:
I HOPE the weather is not bad. I REALLY miss you! We got some popcorn and some stuff in the popcorn. Smarties and chocolates, they were sticky! Did you have anything that looks like dessert for supper? I got 3 eggs. I wish I was on a team with Jes because he got the most eggs. Joey had been really good at Megan and Henry's and so did I. Today Joey was sitting by me and kept hugging me and kissing me. I'm glad soon your coming back home. You keep asking on the phone for Jen and Kerri. Jen and Kerri are my best big sisters. I like all of the other kids. I hope your having a good time! I almost have 4 eggs. I hope someday I win it! (egg contest). I love you!

Josiah says:
We go outside. We played outside. I hope you are having a good day! Your having fun outside? Your having a good day at Henry and Megans? Are you watching froggy? We like snow! We go and play with snow. I eat snow. We make supper. We make supper at Henry and Megan's. I love you!

Jaden......... is sleeping :)

(Installment 9) Dear Mom and Dad,

We got a laaaaate start to our day... partly because we slept in, but mostly because we were helping you decided whether you wanted to go to Cadiz or Marion Kentucky (lol, JK!).
We had brunch at lunch and spent the rest of the day cleaning. Ker started fall cleaning in the family room while I cleaned out the fridge and tidied the house.

Today was filled with lots of little memories, memories like these....

• Listening to Josiah and Jaden singing "Open the flood doors of heaven, let it rain, let it rain!" at the top of their lungs.
• Watching Elijah crawl across the floor until he decided that he needed to go faster, and would switch back to scooting.
• Having all the kids (including Elijah) surround me at the piano all the while singing "O come all ye faithful" and other Christmas songs at the top of their lungs. If my ear drums have ever hurt.... they were hurting then :)
• Watching the kiddoes play "Bananagrams". The words and spelling that they came up with was pretty hilarious!!
• Watching my not-so-little little brother take care of and play with his little siblings. 
• Taking pictures of Elijah while he smiles at the camera (makes my heart smile :)

And there were many more like these.

It is exciting to know that you are on your way home!!! Not to many more days before we get to see the both of you again!!!!! (YEEEEHAWW!!!!!)

Wellozies, I need to go and make some popcorn with Bob :)

Love you and miss you like CRAZYNESSES!!!!!!
Jennifer

Caleb says:
I moved the bed back to the old way. Started 1 fire today. Washed 2 blinds today. Went outside 2 times today. I had 1 headache today. Love you and hope you have the rest of a good trip back!

Zachary says:
Nope, I haven't made any more lego things. Today we didn't do school. Of course we didn't do school!!! So we went outside this morning. We had a lot of fun. We played in the drifts today and we had a lot of fun outside. Then we went inside and watched a video. We then ate waffles at 12 o'clock. Then we played a little bit and went back outside. While we were outside I worked on a broken sled that I found out in the bushes and we did sled races. After that we ate suppers (leftovers). I hope you are having fun! And I hope the hotels are good. And I hope that your car doesn't break down. And I hope that you are all safe. xoxoxoxo Love Zachary

Jesse says:
I hope you are having a safe drive. We had a lot, lot, lot of fun today. We played with the sleds mostly outside. And we watched a video and ate supper and lunch. I can't wait until you get home! I have 128 eggs this week. We sang Christmas carols. xoxoxoxo Love Jesse

Nathan says:
I don't know if the chicken was sick or not. Today we got 19 eggs. Today we went on the sleds. We were outside a lot today! I hope you are having fun. Make sure you have your drivers licence. May God keep you safe. I love you!! xoxoxox Love Nathan

Brooke says:
No, I haven't baked anything lately. We played outside once today. We had fun. We slided down the hill with the GP again today. It was so fun! Jaden was not outside. He was sleeping, so he could not come out. Zachary, Nathan and Jesse slided down the hill with it too. Me and Kaya played outside too. It was fun!
I hope you are having fun traveling back home. I hope it is no trouble for you to travel back home. I know how much you love the Munck's place. I love it too! It is so much fun there! It would be so fun if you were here. I hope you get here safely. I hope you get here soon. It is so fun when you are here.
I love you! I'm SO glad that Mikaya is back. It is SO nice to see my sister back again. It is nice if you were here. We aren't having to much trouble here. I hope the roads aren't very slippy.
God is in charge!
It is fun to have brothers and sisters in your family. I hope you aren't having to much trouble without a kid!
xoxoxoxox Love Brooke

Mikaya says:
I hope your having a good time. I love you!! I hope your coming back soon.

Josiah says:
We goed outside. We played outside. I love God. I love you!

Jaden says:
Uhuh I had cake and I had fun in the snow! I had marshmallows. I had some marshmallows and ice cream. Can I have a drink please? I had cookie and marshmallows. I'm done.

(Installment 8) Dear Mom and Dad,

After blogging last night we decided to roast marshmallows in the wood stove. The kids had LOTS of fun doing that! (thanks for the idea :)

We got ourselves and the house organized this morning instead of doing school.
I made soup for lunch as Grandma, Grandpa, Josh and Rebecca were coming over.
We had SO much fun with Gramps and Grams! We played games, laughed, ate and talked.

Elijah slept LOTS today! He slept for more then 3 hours in the morning and then 3 1/2 hours this afternoon. When he was awake he was SOOO happy. He was did not make strange at Grandma at all, and only for a little bit with Grandpa. As I'm writing this he just climbed up the porch stairs and turned around to climb down them again.... all the while CRAWLING :)

This morning Brooke came milking with me. I asked her if she was excited that you both were coming home soon... she said "Yes!! Are they coming home today? Tomorrow? The next day?" She said it with such hope in her voice that it was hard to say no!
We are all happy that you are starting home tomorrow.... we MISSSSSSS you both SOOOO much!!!!

Grandma and Grandpa just left. The boys are making hot chocolate and popcorn.
And I'm gonna go join them.... Love you MUCHLY!!!

Love Jennifer


Caleb says:
Yes, I am feeling better today. Grandma and Grandpa came over today for supper and lunch. We re-arranged our beds today. Josh and Becka were here for lunch, but not for supper. I helped Josh with some chores. Love you and hope you have a good rest of the trip back!

Zachary says:
This morning we didn't do school. We went outside, ate lunch with Josh and Becka, Grandma and Grandpa came over, went back outside, watched a video, peeled some potatoes, ate supper, and watched Gaithers. We had a lot of fun today! I hope you are having fun! xoxoxoxox Love you very much!!! Love Zach

Jesse says:
The combine and tractor are in my box waiting to get fixed. Now I have 112 eggs. I can't wait until you come home! It blew and it snowed, so it wasn't really very much warmer here today. Grandma and Grandpa are here and we are watching Gaither Vocal Band. We had "Beef Barley Soup" for lunch and meatballs and potatoes and corn for supper. We went outside 2 times today. I love you so much and I hope you are having fun! oxoxoxoxox Love Jesse

Nathan says:
Today we got 23 eggs. We got 13 dozen in the fridge! I hope you are having fun. Don't forget to be on time for breakfast! Hope you come home soon! We are having fun. Grandma and Grandpa came over today and we had a lot of fun, we watched a video. I love you so much!! Another chicken died, like a week ago. xoxoxoxoxo Love Nate

Brooke says:
We had marshmallows last night. They were huge and big! Jaden said "Yeah! Marshmallows! I like them!". We baked them in the fire. They were good.
We had lots of fun today! Grandma and Grandpa were here before lunch. They ate lunch and supper with us, and they are still here watching Gaithers with us. It is so much fun when they are here. I miss you! I hope we can see you soon! When are you coming home? We are watching "Tent Revival". I like that kind of Gaither video, it is so nice to watch. We went outside 2 times today. Me and Mikaya and Joey and Jaden went down the hill with the GP. Jaden got squished in the middle. We had lots of fun. Mikaya and Joey had turns going on with me and Jaden. Jaden went in the middle, Joey went in the back, and Mikaya went in the back after Joey. We bonked into the trees, it was very fun! Every single time we bonked into a tree, Jaden would start laughing and Joey and Mikaya. Jaden was so silly! Sometimes when we went, we turned the wrong way. We fell off because the other snow was deep, so we had to fall off because Jaden pushed us off every time we went into deep snow. He laughed every time he pushed us off. We had lots of fun!
I love you! I hope you are having fun. It will be SO fun if you didn't have to leave to the Muncks. I miss you!
I had fun today. And every single time there is a picture of Jaden, he has red eyes! But he doesn't have red eyes when he doesn't have a picture taken. I wonder why it does that? It is so fun to be with you. I wish you were here! I think I have only 13 eggs all this week because every time I go pick, Jesse gets there before me. Sometimes we have to race each other to the barn. Whoever gets there first gets the eggs. I love it when Mikaya is home. Elijah closes his eyes when Jen takes a picture of him.
God is in charge!
We had soup for lunch. And we had meatballs and mashed potatoes and corn for supper. It was so good! I looked at some books and Jaden took out the animal thingy puzzles.
oxoxoxoxo Love Brooke

Mikaya says:
I saw the picture when you were at that christmas thing. We had very fun at Megan and Henry's. I like the decorates in that house. I'm being good to Kerri and Jen. I hope your having a good time! I hope you are safet! I'm glad you are coming back soon! I'm going to bed as fast as I can, because I'm trying to be good to Jen and Ker. We are having a great time! I'm helping Joey whenever he needs me. Grama and Grampa came over. I love you! Goodnight!!!

Josiah says:
We played outside. We played with the sleds. We love you!

Jaden says:
I have yogurt. I wanna have cake. I go to bed. I go outside.