Lent Day 4 (weekend)

Exercise:  Housework.  

Reading of the Day:

Romans 8:35

New International Version (NIV)

³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

Thoughts:

We've had company at the house off and on since Thursday, so our routines have been a little out of normal.  It's been nice to visit, though.  What was especially nice was the SNOW that the kids got to see for the first time yesterday.  It was a nice dusting that's been slowly melting back off, but not enough to cause any long-term issues in the area.  What was amazing what the volume of snow while it was falling, though.  It went from clear to a good half inch of snow in 15 minutes.  We got the kids some snow coasters so they could slide down the berm in the back yard, and everyone had a good time.  Even the dog enjoyed the snow.  We also managed to get the garbage disposer replaced in the kitchen, which was a bit of an adventure.

Run, Bike. Zipline?!?

Yes, I think that would be the strangest triathlon ever.  It would also sum up one of the busiest weekends that I have been through in a VERY long time.

It started Friday evening with the 2012 Swamp Rabbit 5k. This would be the rest of the family's first 5k that they participated in, along with over 4,000 other people.  To say it was crowded would be an understatement.

Yes, that's the starting line way up there!

Even with the massive crowds, we had a good walk through Traveler's Rest and on the Swamp Rabbit Trail.  We ended up walking at the back of the pack, and had times near the 1 hour mark, but the goal was to enjoy the event instead of posting up record speeds.  I found out later that this is one of the biggest running events in the state, as well.  It also was interesting because of the climb that you have to do about 1/3 of the way through the course, as well as the hairpin turn around mile 2.  Afterwards I treated the girls to an ice cream cone and dinner at the cafe inside the hardware store.  It made for a late night for everyone, and I had an early day 2 the next morning!

What was day 2, you may ask?  It was a 30-mile charity cycling event for LLS that Ride-On Bicycles hosted!  I spend a lot of time in Matt's shop, and I feel that they are one of the best places in Greenville to get a bike, as well as get it serviced.  When they posted up that they were hosting a charity event, I knew that I wanted to support them.  Even if that meant that I would have an event packed weekend.  The ride was spectacular, as it was only my second time through the vineyards over in Laurens County, and I put forth several very good efforts.  I was glad to participate and help out a great shop and a great cause.



After the ride we ended up going to Free Comic Book day and just having a little more relaxing time at the house.  I really needed that because Day 3 of the weekend was another big event for us:  YMCA Camp Greenville Family Fun on the Mountain Day!  This year marks Camp Greenville's 100th anniversary (a Centennial, even), and I was very grateful to be able to spend the time up there.  They had so many activities going on that we couldn't even remotely do them all, but we managed to go to the horseback riding, zipline, birthday party for the park (with candy drop!) as well as Archery and spending some time at Pretty Place Chapel.  My only regret from yesterday was that we didn't get to do more in the day.  I found out that the Y has 6 volunteer days throughout the year to help with Camp Greenville.  I will definitely be putting as many of those as I can onto the calendar to help out whenever we can.  Hopefully we can send the girls to summer camp up there soon, although the price is rather prohibitive to us this year :(

FFotMD photos!

By the time we got home we were exhausted.  That said, there isn't a single event of the weekend that I would have not done.

Moment of Praise, well overdue.

Sitting at my desk this morning, I got an occassion to think and reflect a bit.   Since about mid-December I've been using SparkPeople.com to log my food on an on-again, off-again basis.  I also take a moment when I can to read an article or two that they present me, to read and reflect.  The one today was about consistency.  There was a line in it about not wanting to cook dinner, because of the effort put into it.  I know this feeling, it's a feeling that we've struggled with as a family for years.  By years I mean over a decade.  I get home from work, my wife is frustrated and dinner isn't started (let alone ready), and we're off to some place with a drive thru (they don't even take the time to spell "through" properly they are so fast!) where we can get a slab of grease on a bun slathered in butter and a bunch of starch sticks.  We knew we needed to eat, and we wanted to provide a level of consistency for the kids with bedtime and structure, so we gave on nutrition.

Fast forward to 2012.  We're in a new home, in a new state, and building a new state of mind.  I'm coming home later than I used to because of work as well as my new biking habit. Even through the first 3 weeks, I can remember a couple of times that we resulted in a quick trip to Belly King or something.  Even the first week of Rob's Big Losers we ended up taking the kids to Chick-Fil-A because of time constraints.  Now, what we did was not order off the "number plan" that all of these places have set up, but we created our own meals from their healthier options, and just had water to drink.  It's been almost 5 weeks since that trip, and our time eating out has drastically changed.  We go out to eat as a family about once a week, and what I find absolutely amazing is that we do not react to a bad situation with another bad situation.  My wife has taken on the challenge of creating a new meal plan and cooking new recipes every night, and working out how to incorporate better decisions even in our breakfast choices each morning.

Last night is a perfect example of the changes that have happened for us.  I went out riding last night, and it was a longish ride.  I didn't get home until after 6:30pm.  The plan was for us to make up a healthy meal using spaghetti squash with some sauce and some left over veggies from a meal over the weekend.  When I got home instead of being in the old routine of her being exhausted and upset and trying wildly to figure out what to do, concerned with the clock, she told me that dinner wasn't ready yet because she couldn't get the squash opened up.  I changed clothes (since cycling clothes really aren't comfortable to cook in), and went downstairs to help before I iced my knee.  I got the squash cut and arranged on in the pan, and got it into microwave to help speed along the cooking.  We worked out the final details of the meal, and kept moving towards getting dinner on the table.  We ended up eating very late, which in turn really impacted the girl's ability to get to bed "on time", but everything worked out.

In reviewing the past 2 months, I'm so excited to see that we are seriously building a new normal around the house.  Even when things aren't ideal we are able to keep with important details (like making sure everyone has a healthy meal) and we're slowly rebuilding how we do things.  I'm so proud of my wife and how she manages to keep things together right now, and how she's really putting forth the effort on the home front to make things not be what they were before.  When I think to what our life was like just 6 months ago versus what it is now I feel completely blessed, and I can see the changes that God has walked us through.  My RBL journey may have started in January, but without the faithfulness and obidience that we had in August of last year, I do not believe any of this would be possible.

10 years

I can't believe it's taken me almost a week to post this up. Last Thursday was our 10th wedding anniversary. Definitely a milestone. 17 Jan, 1998 was one of the most stressful and delightful days in my life. I can hardly believe it's been 10 years since that day. It was the eye in the storm for me, in the middle of a job where I was working entirely too hard, trying to figure out how to manage, and then how to be a good husband.

Things haven't been smooth, nothing gone "according to plan", but we manage to survive and to love each other. And that's what it all about.

Christmas at "the World"

Now, while I don't necissarily have memories of it fully, I've been going to Walt Disney World since I was 13 months old. Over the course of that time I have many memories, from traveling on the Monorail to see EPCOT Center before it opened (the Monorail didn't even stop at the station, just slowed down a bit), to seeing President Regan's innagural parade. I spent days on end inside of "the Living Seas" when it first opened on a miriad of various school field trips. I snuck over to Disney/MGM to see the new "Star Tours" ride when on one of said field trips with friends. The year Christy and I were married we went to opening day of "Animal Kingdom", heck we spent our honeymoon at Disney's Boardwalk resort! I remember at Grad Nite '92 when Splash Mountain wasn't open just yet.. and having to wait to experience the ride until years later. Some of my favorite, and most cherished memories have revolved around Disney World, and I feel they will continue to do so for years to come despite the move.

Because of said move, which is immenant, we are no longer going to be annual passholders. Christy has been a passholder since they started doing passes back in the early 80's. She's a charter member, and not having them I know is affecting her. I had passes back as a child, but I didn't start having full annual passes until we were married. This is the second time we've come up to the fact that we cannot justify the passes, and each time it seems to get more difficult. I promised myself, and in all realities the kids, that I would continue to provide for us to go to Disney as long as we lived so close. Well, now we are moving, and the money we'd spend on this year's passes would be a big chunk of what we'll need to spend on things for them at the new house. The passes really aren't a good option for us, again. Since they expire on the 6th, I decided that we should do something I have never dared to do: go to the Magic Kingdom on Christmas Day.

It's the busiest day of the Disney Year. They supposedly close the park by 10am, because it's at (or possibly over) capacity by that time. We get told by employees to be there no later than 7:30, to insure we can get in. Thus Christmas Eve we have our day to open presents and have family time, and we set the alarms for 5:30am, setting out our clothes for the next morning. The alarm goes off all too early, and the kids are up like a shot. We manage to get there a little after 7, and I'm expecting huge lines of cars and massive lines just to get in the park.. but amazingly they don't appear. We parked as close as I've ever been without being with a Disney employee, and we had the time of our lives. We went on more rides than I think we have in the last 3 trips this year, and went to have dinner at 3:15 at the Wispering Canyon Cafe at the Wilderness Lodge. By 6pm we're on our way home, and while exhausted, filled with memories that all of us with cherish for years to come.

Rain...

It was one of those weekends, more planned than we really thought we could manage.

We had planned on going down to EPCOT to watch the Nelson Brothers do a set at the Flower and Garden festival, but we were tired. It had started to rain, and the kids were not in the best of moods. Somehow we got everything together, the rain had stopped, piled us and the kids into the car, and headed out. For those that haven't (or will never) experience Orlando traffic... it's an adventure. We get down to EPCOT and park, and praise God, we get a spot 4 rows from the front gate. Pretty amazing for 4pm on a Sunday at the parks, really.

We get inside, and the park is busy (like you would expect from Disney) but a fair number of people are heading out. We make it around to the World Showcase, and it starts to rain again. Again, for those not familiar with Florida showers, they are usually fast - lasting only 20-30 minutes on average - but they are wet. So we duck into the shops over in the Norway pavillion to stay somewhat dry, of course by now we are all soaking wet, but it's what is done. The kids gravitate to the "Kidcot" kids corner, where they can color a mask, and Christy and myself poke around a little bit in the shop. After 20 minutes or so I look outside, and the rain looks like it is letting up. The kids are all but finished with their masks, and I know it's going to be relatively crowded at the show.. so we head out. Now, it's still raining when we head out but we are wet already so I figured it wouldn't make that much of a difference. Christy decides to encourage the kids to jump in puddles and dance around in the rain. And watching them experience dancing around and playing in the rain brought back memories, and feelings. We both recognized that we were experiencing, through them, what it was like to be kids again. We both grew up around Disney, the parks were special experiences.

And we got to share those memories - not the ones of "Mission Space" or "Journey into Imagination" that make the Disney experience special, but rather the little things like running around in the end of rain, jumping in puddles while the tourists are spending $5 (or whatever crazy amount they are now) for plastic ponchos and attempting for all their life to stay dry. It cost us nothing to get up the energy to take them down to the parks, but what we got in return was priceless.