my little ballerina

Gracie loves to dance. She also loves music. Gracie really loves to dress up, turn the music up and dance her little heart out. Her latest music selection has been the soundtrack to Snow White. And then there's this little buddy. His newest thing to say to me in the mornings is "jammies off".

Happy Birthday to me!
My sweet Mama brought this cake over for my birthday celebration on Sunday! We had a great time with Marland, Betsy, Theresa, Bill, Suzanne and Grandmom (Jason's Grandmother). We ate cake and icecream and enjoyed hanging out for a bit together. James and Gracie had a blast eating cake and icecream and having all the family in our house. On Monday I celebrated my 31st birthday. Jason let me sleep in, but Gracie couldn't wait until I woke up to come give me a sweet birthday hug and kiss. I had a great day at school (about the only one this week) and then got to go out with Jason for dinner. We were very romantic, being Valentine's Day and all, and went to Sam's to buy groceries after dinner.

This was a really rough week at school for me (Tuesday I cleaned up poop, Wednesday I was with a student when he was throwing up, thankfully we were in the bathroom, and today was a horrible day with Gracie), so it's nice to look back at the beginning of the week and think of all the fun we had. I am also very thankful that it's Friday night and both kids are asleep. I am most thankful that my joy does not depend on circumstances. If it did, I would not be a very joyful person today. I have to admit that it's been hard to choose joy, but I am making every effort to have a good attitude and find all the little ways that God is showing Himself to me this week. One small example is from tonight. After dinner while I wash dishes Jason gets the guitar out and sings with the kids. Tonight Jason called for me to come in a help Gracie with some new hand motions. They were singing "The Lord Reigns". I really didn't feel like singing or doing motions, but Gracie was so excited and Jason even said "maybe this is what you need" and he was right. Singing that song, over and over again with those silly hand motions was a great reminder that our God is in control and is so very powerful. Watching Gracie and James do the hand motions and Gracie singing the words was such a sweet and tender moment. I want our children to know and love Jesus. I want them to understand that God is big and is in control. I want them both to take delight in knowing that God loves them and has a plan for their lives. Tonight, I take delight in knowing that God loves me and has a plan for my life.

Running

We're not in this picture, but it gives you a little glimpse of the large crowd that ran Sunday, over 7000 runners!I can't remember what mile this was, somewhere near the middle I think. We're on the far right. This is around mile 11 I think. I was so happy to see the fam! I'm not running ahead of Janelle like it appears in this picture. She ran around/behind me so I could be on the outside to wave at them. Janelle ran beside me, at my pace, the whole run. Great friend!Waiting for Mommy.My class at school made this sign for me. Gracie was so proud!Gracie LOVED my medal! I look pretty excited about it too, actually. Me and Janelle (aka the Best Running Partner EVER)
We got the big kids matching t-shirts.

Me and Gracie with Janelle and Logan.

This past Sunday was a big day for me. I have been running since last summer and have been training for this race for the past few months (I can't remember when we actually started our training schedule). I, along with the best running partner Janelle, ran in the Mercedes Half Marathon. The weather was perfect. It started out cold, but the sun was out and it quickly warmed up...I didn't keep my gloves for very long, but so thankful I had them (thanks Trak Shak!). My original goal was to finish the race in 2 hours or less, but about a month ago I had a little reality check with my pace and bumped up my goal to finish less than 2 hours and 10 minutes. I think I've said before that I'm not a very fast runner, but I had high hopes for myself, especially since my running partner is a fast runner. Over the past few weeks I have been able to increase my speed, but only on shorter times (like on my 30 min. runs). Running for 30 minutes is a little different than running for 2 hours =) Ok, so my time was 2:07. I was very proud of myself (and Janelle of course too)! The last two miles were brutal for me, but we finished. Finishing those 13.1 miles was amazing. I don't know how people run more than 13 miles...I am so very impressed with the full marathon runners!

We had wonderful support from family all along the course. Preston and Logan were at so many locations it was almost funny to see where they would pop up. It was great seeing them and hearing their cheers so often. Bill and Suzanne were also there and it was so special to have their support in this. Suzanne got some great pictures at different spots (all the pictures posted here are from her). Jason and the kids made a special appearance and Gracie had a sweet sign that my class made for me. Seeing all their faces around mile 11 was wonderful encouragement! My Mom made it to the finish line and congratulated Janelle and me right across the finish line! I was also impressed with the overwhelming support of the city and all the other friends and families of the other runners. We also saw some great signs. One of my favorites was "Don't stop running, people are watching!". There was also a sign that read something like "You don't know me, but I'm cheering for you too" and that was encouraging as well! The finish line food was wonderful too. I don't think I've ever had an orange that tasted so delicious!

One more thing about food: When we first started running longer distances, anywhere around 9 or more, I would feel sick and useless after my run. I soon learned that peanut butter is a great secret weapon. If we were running long runs first thing in the morning I would get up and eat a piece of peanut butter toast about 1 1/2 hours before our run. I think that really gave me the extra energy I needed to finish the run and not feel sick. I also learned that I needed to eat right after a run (and then keep eating too). At the Red Nose Run I drank the Gatorade recovery drink after the race and loved it. I stocked up on those when they were on sale at Publix and made that a part of my regular long run recovery process. The day of Mercedes I woke up early to eat a banana and a piece of peanut butter bread (it was actually part of a bagel) and get started on my water intake. After the race I had an orange, part of a banana, Powerade and water. When we got back to the car I ate a granola bar too. I think fueling our bodies before and after running is so very important.

I felt great after the race and even got a little nap in Sunday after lunch. We had the family over for cake Sunday late afternoon to celebrate my birthday and that was also a great way to end race day! Speaking of cake, I celebrated my 31st birthday Monday. Running a half marathon the day before my 31st birthday was a great accomplishment for me. We've taken this week off to rest and I have to say that I actually miss running. I don't want to go run another 13 miles today, but I do miss it and look forward to running again next week. I'm also really excited that it is light outside at 6 a.m. so that we can have some weekday outside runs. I am so thankful for the gym at Dawson, but I really love running outside.

Rainbow

So I'm not very good at the blogging thing...we'll see how long this lasts.

Last summer Gracie got a new roommate. His name is Rainbow. Gracie loves her little fish and tells people about him often. Gracie really wants a dog and last summer we decided that a fish would be a good place to start. I have nothing against dogs, I actually love dogs and look forward to having one...one day. I'm in no rush for a dog though. I know having a dog is a lot of work and I don't see the need in adding any more work to our already full lives...maybe that's why most people have dogs before children. My Mom got two Beta fish not too long ago and Gracie got to help name them also...Rojo and Azul...she was learning colors in Spanish during that time =)

Rainbow is a great first pet for Gracie. He does add a little stress to my life though...most mornings I do walk into her room and do a quick glance to make sure he's still alive...just waiting for him to be belly-up. I'm also the one that cleans his tank. It's not hard and really doesn't take that long, it's just that I don't think about it until late at night when I don't feel like being bothered with a fish or when I'm helping Gracie get ready for school and the last thing I have is extra time to clean the fish. Maybe he'll get a clean tank tomorrow.

In other news...Gracie has her five year check up tomorrow! She's excited to see how tall she is, but a little anxious about the shots she's going to get. We're taking a trip to the dollar tree after for a little treat and she's really excited about that. Maybe I'll post pictures of the big girl next.

homemade

Dress #2 So this is the second dress I made for Gracie. This was her fabric choice, even down to the heart buttons.
We couldn't decide on a second fabric to make it reversable so I had planned to just line it in the same lady bug fabric. Once I started on the dress I remembered some old fabric that I had in the basement and was thrilled that it matched. A little sidenote: The lining fabric is from our days in North Carolina when I was involved with a wonderful group of ladies that met monthly for fellowship and crafts, our very own Circle Group. I made an apron and used this fabric as the lining too.

Dress #1

Here is a better picture of the first dress I made for Gracie. I loved making this and wish I hadn't waited so long to make a second one.

Close-up of the fabric.

So here is the reverse side...the one that Gracie doesn't care for. Maybe I can get an iron-on applique to add a little something to it to please the little princess.

Either way, the dress is super cute and I'm really pleased with it!

choices

I think I mentioned in another post that the dress I made for Gracie is reversible. The only problem is that Gracie only likes one side of the dress. So, I thought that I would let her go with me to the store to pick out some fabric to make sure she liked the next dress I made her. First mistake =) The dress is super cute, but not at all fabric that I would have picked out. The most important part is that Gracie LOVES the dress. Now that it's made I think that she made an excellent choice, but my first thought was not anything close to that. I put the buttons on this morning and Gracie has already asked if she can wear it today and tomorrow! I still need to press the dress, so I'll post pictures of it later, but for now here's a picture of the fabric. I'll also post a better picture of the first dress I made. Oh, the second mistake was making this dress so long after I made the first one and also not really knowing how to read the pattern instructions very well. It took me three times to remember how to sew the side seams the correct way. That may not seem like a big deal, but after sewing and then ripping stitches out two times I was about ready to give up if I didn't get it that next time, thankfully I did. Ok, here's the little preview.

She's FIVE

On January 11th we celebrated the wonderful day that we were blessed with our sweet firstborn. Five years ago God entrusted to us a precious gift, something we did not deserve, Elizabeth Grace. Even a week later I am still having a hard time believing Gracie is five years old! Five seems like such a big deal! Gracie is such a sweet girl and loves life. I think two of her favorite things are crafts (I know that's broad, but anything involving paint, scissors, markers or tape will keep her attention for a long time) and reading. Gracie loves to read (she's not really reading) and is very interseted in the idea of reading. She is passionate about the things she loves and the girl loves her family. Gracie is such a sweet big sister and loves James. She is very protective of him and looks after him. She loves all of her grandparents and loves spending time with them. She still talks about her Papa Hayes and even spoke of him tonight at dinner. Gracie loves her Mama and Daddy too of course!

To celebrate Gracie's birthday we went to Pump It Up and had a great time! I was so thankful the snow stopped and that the ice wasn't too bad the night of the party.

Lots of pictures:Watching as Granddaddy brings in her birthday present!Talking to Aunt Julie on the phone.Playing with the new doll house from Gran and Granddaddy!Playing with Aunt Julie's old Barbies. James and his "action" figure!James was so tired by the end of the party!
Gracie is also obsessed with dogs right now. We don't have a dog and it'll be a while before we have a real dog, so her stuffed dogs will have to do for now. After much discussion of what her cake would be I found this dog cake on familyfun.com and Gracie was super excited.