Cor Deo Walkathon 2011

This past Friday, all four of us ran/walked in our kids' school walkathon.  We ran a combined total of 32 miles, weaving around the walkers and the strollers so we'd be able to maintain a good pace. What was most impressive was Isaiah's determination to break his personal best of 10 miles at last year's walkathon. He managed to beat it by a quarter of a mile. What endurance for a little guy who's got very little meat on his bones! And what a gift to be developing such mental fortitude at a pretty young age! I ran 11 miles & my legs felt pretty stiff by the end...and I'm supposed to be a runner. Mmm-hmm.. 

Brielle managed to run/walk 4.25 miles before getting lured away from the 'track' by a huge jumping castle that was set up in the gym. Although my sources tell me it probably took major physical prowess to climb this castle more than a dozen time, Brielle still has got her work cut out for her on the mental fortitude department. She dished us and it took us a while to figure it out.  I think we'll have to sit her down and explain the ins and outs of a walkathon a little better before next year's comes around (I know, I know, she's only six, almost seven...just sayin' ;).

Watching our kids running got me thinking...I can't recall ever participating in a walkathon growing up. I have entered marathons and paid the entry fee for many races as a grown-up, but for the first time in my life, I ran to raise money for a cause. For the first time, I can say I basically got paid to run!  I would say it's about time, right?

No, but seriously, what really got me motivated to run it this year (and force a sick Andrew to run it, too ;) is the fact that
#1We love our school and want to keep it affordable by raising money to offset tuition
#2 My generous family pledged hefty per-mile amounts that made each mile count big time
#3 Getting my exercise in while raising money sounded like something I couldn't pass up

So, we ran it,  and now comes the hard part: the pledge collection. AWKWARD, right? It shouldn't be, but it is. Oh well, it's good for the pride. These things are always good for the pride. Mine could use a pretty good beating down right about now. ;)

O Canada! O Ottawa!

On Canada Day, I find it rather appropriate to be posting about our recent trip to Ottawa. It's almost been a week since our return home, yet, in some ways, I'm still living off the emotional high of seeing my family and reconnecting once again. Although the trip was short, it was very sweet!

The activities we really enjoyed: hanging out with Camelia ~ jumping on the trampoline ~ going bowling with the ENTIRE family (50+) ~ going to Calypso Water Park--woooohooo!! ~ bug hunting with cousins ~ swimming at Mimi's house ~ eating Gabriel's Pizza (the best!!) ~ finding two toads right outside the backdoor at my parents' house ~ playing board games with Mel, Sim, and Camelia ~ visiting with great nieces and great nephews (that's a mindboggling thought righ there...that I'm a great aunt!!)

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  There were also the undocumented activities, the more 'real' moments, in my opinion: the conversations at mealtime, in the parking lot, on the deck, in the hot tub ~ the much needed one-on-one time with my mom ~ the late talks with missionaries and family around my mom's kitchen table ~ the emotional rollercoaster I was riding as I got caught up on the good and the bad in my family ~ the sad goodbyes....

I think I've finally grown up enough to say that I wholeheartedly love my family...its beauty and its scars, its brokenness and its hopefulness, its passion and its resilience, its many generations. No family is perfect...but this one was perfectly chosen for me by the Great Designer of families and I thank Him for His wisdom. I pray my family, and the many generations being birthed in it, will forever be known as a family of Christ-imitators. I pray that the Gospel will grab a hold of every heart, young and old, and that there will be much reason to praise God for what He has done in the years to come.

Happy Canada Day to my ever-growing, ever-changing, ever-hopeful family!! 

The Parable of the Sower According to Lou

 Back when I was teaching 5th grade at West Hills Christian School, I asked my father-in-law Lou to come and give a gardening talk to my students. I knew he loved to garden and I had been told of his excellent teaching methods. I was not disappointed. Lou had my students 'hooked' from the get-go and held their attention all the way through! And, besides learning a thing or two about gardening, I also learned a few teaching tricks along the way.

Fastforward 10 years...and a couple of grandkids later...and Lou finds himself saying 'yes' again to his rather demanding daughter-in-law. This time, she's asked him to give a gardening talk to a little troupe of home-schooled kids ranging 2-10 years of age, and composed of his two eldest grandkids and their buddies. Oh...um...and three camera-trigger happy moms to further widen the range. 

Although I knew he'd do excellent, I didn't expect Lou to pull all the stops for us. He truly had us all engaged, no matter our age.  I am positive that none of us left his garage having learned absolutely nothing. Even Lydia, the almost-2-year-old, had her eyes glued on him for a good part of the lecture! Surely, she walked away having learned something...even if it's just that Mr. Wachsmuth Sr. can be pretty funny.

So, if you need to learn a thing or two about..oh, let's say...

...grafting...



 

 ...or scions...                

...or seeds...a.k.a. God's computer seeds...

  

 

...or fertilizers...

...or the periodic table of elements...

...or the meaning behind the weeds in the parable of the sower...

...you're in luck!

There are a few of us, big and small, who could give you pretty reasonable answers to your questions on any one of those topics, thanks to Lou.

Lou's 'greenhouse'.

Checking out the tadpoles and Lou's fly-catching contraption.





Frankenstein Tree