Sweet Blessings...

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! We are very grateful for both our mother's. I know both of us miss our mother's very much. They are the rocks in our life and we owe everything to them.

My mom is one of the hardest workers I know. She is always busy creating things and will drop whatever she is doing to help her children. She is the best Internet babysitter that Nash has. :) She also has a good sense of humor and Darin enjoys patronizing her.

Darin's mother is a blessing in our lives too. She has a very kind heart and I have always found it very easy to talk with her. We both think of her as a spiritual giant, I ALWAYS seem to learn something spiritual from our talks.

We want to be our best for both our moms and we are grateful for the blessing they are in our lives. Thank you both for all that you have done for us...WE LOVE AND MISS YOU SO MUCH! Today I am home from church sick with Bronchitis. Hopefully on the tail end of this awful bug. Darin took Nash to church so the house is quiet and I have uninterrupted time to think and reflect on all the many blessings I have been given. Yesterday, Darin took Nash to Sam's Club for some shopping. He came home with a carpet cleaner for me for mother's day. To many of you this may seem like a ridiculous Mother's Day gift. The truth is, it is exactly what I wanted! I am not one who has ever wanted flowers, chocolates or jewelry. I like practical, useful things. Thank-you sweetheart for the AWESOME Mother's Day gift!

Yesterday he also gave me a gift of watching Nash and the Ockerman kids so I could go to dinner with some church friends. He was so good, he bought the kids pizza, and ice-cream. They flew kites, played with toys, and watched Shrek in 3D. Nash was so happy to have the Ockerman's over he wanted to go home with them. :)

The girls night out was fun, it was to celebrate Maria and Brook's birthday's. Neither one of them knew we were taking them out. Thank you Kristina for organizing the night for us.

She also made these WAY cute presents for Maria and Brook.

We had a hard time deciding where we wanted to eat and drove around for a while until we finally decided on an Italian restaurant which I can't remember the name of. My brain was a little cloudy at the time. BUT it was yummy!

(L to R Christina, Maria, Brook, Kristen and Kristina)

I am super thankful for these "sisters".

Kristina (orginally from Orem, UT) has been so sweet in calling me almost everyday this week to make sure I am okay with packing, taking care of Nash and feeling well. It is amazing how a little kindness can lift your spirits in so many ways.

Kristen (orginally from Las Vegas, NV) is a "resident wife" and thus understands when I complain about how hard it is not having a husband around. She is always willing to help out with Nash when I need a last minute babysitter. AND she is always up for ice-cream...YUM!

Maria (originally from Indiana) is my photography buddy. I love getting together with Maria and playing with PS and our cameras. She is an awesome mother who is pregnant with her 5th child AND home schools! She is always reminding me how important teaching our children is, but to also follow our own dreams as well.

Brook (originally from Idaho) is a genuine person through and through. She is the type of person that I would love to be. She is quiet and a bit mysterious ;) but someone that I find to be my true friend and that I LOVE being around. Plus she enjoys exercising like me. :)

One thing I have learned from moving around is there is always one consistent thing we can always count on: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Moving to Pennsylvania I was a little apprehensive because we wouldn't be just a day drive from our families anymore. We REALLY were on our own. I found peace in my heart knowing that we wouldn't be completely alone. Because we are members of the church we are not forgotten. It is easy to make friends with people that believe the same as you. I love all my friends here in PA but these ladies (and others not present) hold a dear place in my heart. I don't have to worry about fitting in, alcohol, vulgar language, or off colored jokes, or explaining my every action. It is easy to be ME when I am around them and that is what makes them special. We have a common bond of having a testimony of Jesus Christ and it is evident in our conversations that there is a level of respect for each other and the covenants we have made with our Heavenly Father. I am grateful for this SWEET BLESSING in my life. Thank you girls for being my "sister" in a crazy world.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Race for a Cure!

On Saturday, May 1st I was able to run my 3rd race of this year. It was a 5k run that benefited the cure for childhood Alzheimer's disease. The race was at the Little Lehigh Parkway which is one of my very favorite places to run, and it isn't far from our house. Darin was very sweet in letting me run this race. He worked call Friday night and got home just in time for me to hand Nash over to him, give him a kiss and run out the door. It was hard for Darin to stay awake at home to be attentive to Nash so he decided to pack him up and come watch the race. I didn't know Darin and Nash were there until about the half way point when I heard him calling my name. The funny thing about that is there was a girl I ran next to the whole race named "Christina" as well. She had friends and family through out the course cheering her on. So in my mentally focused mind (ha) I was imagining they were cheering for ME! So when I really did have two fans it caught me off guard. This next picture is of me realizing who they were and about stumbling over myself as I came back to reality! :)

It was also my strategy to have the whitest legs possible to try and blind all the competition!

This is myself passing the other "Christina." :)

I finished at 26:28. I was a little disappointed in this time since the whole week I had been running a 5k between 23 and 26 minutes. The course didn't have any mile markers and I didn't wear a watch. :( AND... I tend to talk a lot to the people around me on the course. Although this time around it was very helpful and I learned a BIG lesson. I like to uplift and encourage the people around me, so I say nice things to them as we run side by side. Sometimes I pass them, sometimes they pass me. This time around I was in the same group of people for most of the race. One girl I had been following until the last 1 mile and she started to hit her wall. So I started encouraging her to keep going. She looked at me and smiled and said "You seriously are my best friend right now!" haha, soon after I passed her (oops!) it was time to kick it in for the final stretch. As I broke away from the group I heard voices behind me saying "Do it girl!" and "Finish strong!" It was nice to have my own little cheering squad. After the race several people came up to me and said "Thank-you" for helping them out during the course. What an awesome feeling!

I ended up placing 61 over all, 9th in the 19-29 age range (male and female) and 4th female in my age range. Not to shabby!

My friend Jessica from Club Mom also ran the race. She had a baby 8 months ago and hasn't ran a race in 10 years. She is part of the weight-loss challenge I am doing and has lost over 20lbs! (I sound like a weight-loss commercial!)

Her time was 33:45. Way to go Jess!

Nash was loving all the characters walking around. This is the mascot for the "Iron Pigs" baseball team.

He decided to try out the trail as well. He currently only has one speed right now and it isn't always in the same direction you are going!

Congratulating mama after the race! It was so fun to have Darin and Nash there to cheer me on. Thank-you Darin for watching Nash so I could have a bit of "me" time! :)