Lance has been doing some present shaking and sneak peaking to figure out his Christmas present…..
A new brother or sister!
I’m thinking Santa Clause and the stork are close to the same thing…both fly around dropping of bundles of joy.
Christmas time
About two weeks ago we decorated our place for Christmas. Brian wasn’t feeling up to par that day so he lay on the couch and gave suggestions while I put things up. He did put the mantle above our fireplace – a very helpful addition for the look of things.
The manger scene is one we made last year when the girls from my family were visiting. Lance isn’t crawling yet so we can have stuff on the floor 
I do need to make Lance’s stocking though.
Here’s our tree setup. A fake tree worked out perfect because by leaving a few branches off the back we could fit it into the corner. We also put up lights outside. I love having Christmas lights on – both inside and out. I try to have them turned on before Brian gets home because it’s so much cheerier to be greeted by lights on a cold, dark night. I also love seeing presents under the tree and our Christmas cards on the mantle – it just brings back good memories and feelings. Now for a cup of cocoa…..
Lance has turned into a little elf and he and mommy scurry around doing little projects. Fortunately he’s too young to know that cookie dough tastes good (along with the pacifier for extra security). He’s very good at ripping paper so he should have fun on Christmas morning.
Lance has come up with a few new games. Daddy taught him how to turn off light switches so now he helps me save energy as we leave a room. He makes such a cute giggle every time I hold him up to one. We played ball today; I rolled it to him and he would pick it up and hand it back – it was so cute! This afternoon I gave him a cracker to start his meal and since I was still holding him he decided to share with me. He would put it in his mouth then put it to mine – the connection tickled him very much. It’s neat to see him reach out and interact with us.
A walk in the park
Long before the crack of dawn two ambitious young athletes rolled out of bed, ready for their big challenge!
Here they are with their Good Will “jackets” – looking pretty chipper after 3 days of rest and good food. The shirts served their purpose and were unceremoniously discarded before the second mile. It does help you keep up with each other in the crowd!
The race was hard, there was also a stiff wind blowing and fighting it took a lot of energy. It made us glad that we weren’t pushing Lance in the stroller, it would have been like heaving a sailboat up wind! The weather turned out warm for Dec (75º) which we enjoyed but the heat really took its toll on some of the runners. We made sure we stayed properly hydrated by making use of the aid stations along the route and now we both have an aversion to yellow gatorade.
Our run went pretty good over all. I had a rough time around mile 19 but Brian cheered me on…that and the help of some marathon goo (yuck). We walked and jogged for a few more miles while Brian tried to distract me by any means he could think of – sweet guy. When we hit the last mile I knew I had to run to the end and so we did. I quoted scripture in my mind to keep the focus off of my legs and we crossed the finish line right at our time goal! I was happy, and beat, and wanted to cry and was proud of Brian all at the same time.
Not quite so chipper but still smiling after 5:04 hours of running! The new marathon alumni pose at the finish line.
Ice packs all around!
Marathon
Tomorrow is the big day! We have everything laid out and ready…..spaghetti for dinner tonight….we’re both a little nervous.
The race starts at 8:00am and we’re estimating it will take us around 5 hours to complete. Give us a prayer of encouragement if you happen to think of us!
Near our packet pick up, there were a bunch of cow statues so we let Lance ride one. Almost looks like the ring is in Lance’s nose instead of the bull.
Okay, now to settle back and watch some Star Wars and get our mind off of what’s ahead.
Thanksgiving
I know, I know, it’s a little late for this kind of post, but I’ve got some pictures and want to show them off! Next post will be about Christmas (hopefully).
Thanksgiving was a gathering of the Jones and Cahill families. For two solid days we ate and played as much as we could! Wed. evening we kicked off the party with an intense game of roller blade hockey. Thursday was the time to try out all our new games and play disc golf. And of course, the moms cooked.
After all that practice you have to compete! Friday was tournament day and included the following:
Dominoes Shuffleboard
Backgammon
A new type of volleyball,
And bumper pool!
In case anybody wasn’t tired, we finished off with two hours of ice skating. We had a great time with our families and all the babysitters were great! I’m thankful that we could have a get together of both sides like that and enjoy good times and fellowship. We are blessed by our in-laws.