I made it!

Yep - it's over. I am glad, but kind of sad too. It was a hard race - it rained the whole time and I ran the last 16 miles by myself. After mile 12-13, I felt pretty great the rest of the race. My time was 4hours 9minutes. I was really happy with that time since I beat my PR by almost 22 minutes. Will I run another marathon? I thought I wouldn't and this was my last, but I am considering another. Why would I put myself through that torture again? I don't know, but maybe the look on my face after completing the race says it all -- it is the look of accomplishment and relief. How many times do you get to see that with 3 kids under 5, a hubby who works a lot, and sometimes too many responsibilities? A marathon isn't just about the run, it is about all the things you have accomplished in your life up until that point . . .

Marathon Jitters

Yep, the marathon is in 3 days. I still can't believe I am doing it. I also can't believe that my prayers were answered and I think my knee will be fine. I am also thankful that I got mastitis a few weeks ago because even though it was horrible, it made me stop running for a week - which saved my knee. I am happy when Heavenly Father answers my prayers, even when the answers come in strange ways. It reminded me of when I prayed that Elijah wouldn't be born early like Henry because I didn't want to bring a new baby home while living at the in-laws. And my prayer was answered because that day he turned breech and I had to have a c-section. But I really think he would have come early had he not been breech - so I get my answers in crazy ways!

Anyway, back to the marathon, I am documenting this now so that I can't give up while running. I want to finish the race and run the whole thing. That is goal #1. Goal #2 is to finish in under 4 hours. I know for some people this would be a sinch, but I know it will be hard for me. I know I can do it. I keep picturing in my head that female gold medalist marathon runner and how she looked as she ran that race. I remember seeing her at mile 18 and I had to keep watching. Anyone who can run that fast and make it look so easy should get more than a gold medal. So I cheered for her. I even was almost at tears as she reached mile 23 and I started yelling for her. She was so close. As she got so you could see the finish line, I couldn't take my eyes off of her. So she will be my inspiration during the race. When things get hard, I will picture her with her 0% body fat and her ab muscles moving in sync with her swinging arms. ANd when that isn't enough, I will think of my 4 boys waiting for me at the finish line - I know that will get me through this. . .

Henry's Day at School

Yep - he is old now. Henry just went to his first day of kindergarten. I didn't think it was a big deal until I took him to the bus stop with Jeff. Then I saw him get on the bus and sit down. He acted like he owned the place and it hit me. I seriously had to hold back the tears. My baby isn't a baby anymore . . .

Since I had a few minutes to update the blog, I thought I should finally add the family reunion pics from last month. I spent many hours on these. And if I did it right, you really shouldn't be bale to tell (well, except for the photos where I had to add in Devin & Heather - that was super hard!)

LuBean Family Reunion 2008

I know I don't have time for a blog and I have even admitted to several people I would never do one. But here I am! I am in the process of quitting my writing job for www.scrapbookfinds.com, so I thought I needed a little of an outlet for expressing myself - so here goes . . . .

We just got back from the LuBean family reunion. It was so good to see all the family together. From going to Slide Waters and Lake Chelan to the talent show and biking the loop, I have to admit my two favorite parts of the reunion were sitting around the living room and just chatting with the fam and also the family protrait day (I know that everyone else probably dreaded it, but I just love capturing people in a photo!). I sure wished my brother Devin and his wife Heather (due to have a baby in the next month) could have been there. So we had 37 people at the reunion and for posterity sakes, I am going to list them all here:

Mom, Dad & Shae
Jason & Devera (Kids: Sheralyn, Madelyn, Savanah, Melody)
Whitney & Adri (Bailey, Kiara, Jenna, Cole, Noah)
Wendy & James (Hannah, Courtney, Gabby, and Kennedy)
Aaron & Sara (Ethan, Caleb, Abigail, Madison)
David
Jeff & Me (Henry, Elijah, and Trevor)
Jared & Lilly

We also had Sara's niece there too - Tana (short for Montana).

The last day of the family reunion just happened to be my 10 year high school reunion. I have to admit that I was expecting more from it all. But there were only a handful of people that I wanted to see. I was surprised at how much the same everyone seemed. Not that I have changed that much - although I did get rid of my bangs! Some people have gained a few pounds, some have lost some weight, and other have dyed their hair, but as a whole it kind of all seemed the same. I haven't felt really awkward for many years, but going back to the high school scene reminded me that I am glad I am not there anymore. I guess I never really fit in with any crowd back then, so I didn't really have a place - I was a jock, a nerd, a singer, an actor, a teacher's pet, and sometimes cool. Will I go to the next reunion? Yes, probably. The people I like to stay in touch with will hopefully be there. Stacia, Morgan, Sam, Katy, Melinda, Nick, Scott, Nichole, Rachel, and Clayton -- here's to you, thanks for being there through high school (and I hope those that weren't at the reunion will be at the next one!)