She Did.

What strange times we are living in right now.  I have a couple of blogs that I want to write about our experiences living in quarantine because of COVID-19, but I won't lie, I am struggling to write them.  I want to be sure that when I write them and make them forever part of this blog that I write not of the reality of what we have lost, but the beauty of what we have gained.  I will write them, sometime.

But today I am going to share with you about my virtual half marathon and the victory of running that distance.  My foot and health has been arduous and never ending.  I seem to gain one thing only to lose something else, and I won't lie, I am tired of feeling the next "thing" in my body.  Its been disheartening to be sure.  

6 months ago, as my foot was improving, I set out to run another half marathon.  It had been well over a year since that distance was even possible.  I was so excited.  Then came the mono diagnosis and all that changed. Thankfully the race director allowed for a virtual race option and I jumped at the opportunity to still earn the medal......just on my own time.

While getting back into running, and upping my mileage, I have had a really hard time breaking the 10 mile mark.  Be it time, or physical strength, it has been a major roadblock for me.  When I set out to run this half marathon a couple weekends ago, I still had not broken that barrier.  I had run 9, I had run a 6 and 4 mile combined day, but never had I hit that consistent 10 mile mark.  So lets face it, I wasn't really trained to run 13.1 miles let alone on the trails, but C'est La Vie.  I am so glad I did.

I needed to.  For a lot of reasons, I just needed to do something really hard that had eluded me.  So Ellie and I began with a glorious 7 mile journey out on the Hawes trail system.  

Ellie gets tired and starts to lag around the 8 mile mark so I came back home, dropped her off and picked up Bob.  I knew I was going to need some camaraderie to make it the last half of the race.

I am so glad that I had him because right at the 10 mile mark, I hit the doubting phase.  I was tired and the trails are technical and challenging.  Even going slow, its a lot of work.  But the desert is simply beautiful this time of year, and it provides energy in ways I can't quite express.  So we carried on.

The end required more effort than I am ultimately proud of, BUT the victory of finishing was truly sweet.  I did it.  I ran a half marathon again.  I CAN, I WILL, and I DID.

It felt really good to unbox my medal and hang it around my neck.  Its such a beautiful medal and it really makes me happy.

Sometimes you just gotta do hard things because you can.  Sometimes you have no idea how drastically your life will change in a minute.  Don't wait to do big things, go out, and do them.  Even if recovery lasts a little longer than you remember.  Heres to looking with hope towards the next races!

The Zoo before Quarantine

As our world has slowly become smaller and closer to home, we have truly been embracing the reality of just being together as a family.  Last weekend we managed to find ourselves at one of the only places still open (until yesterday), the ZOO!  We love our zoo, and just the simple opportunity spend a Sunday afternoon together was such a blessing.

We were amazed at how busy the zoo was.  One thing is for certain, social distancing may be required, but we as humans love to live in community.  Everyone was relishing the beautiful outdoors and sunshine.

I also had a deeply emotional and nostalgic moment when, after finding this photo below......

Took this one........Lily couldn't even stand up straight in the cave any more.  I mean......these girls are just growing up.

And Bob and I are literally just on for the ride.  Its cool.......we got this.

Spring Break Skiing!

Well, we are quarantined.  But a week ago we weren't so here's us at the top of a mountain.  

My has life changed in a week....more on that later, but a week ago we were blissfully on Spring Break enjoying the snow covered peaks of Sunrise Ski area.

This time I decided to get on a snowboard again and I HAD A BLAST.  So did my entire family and we had a truly magical time.  This was the first time since we started skiing that we were all able to go to the top and down multiple times and the weather was perfection. I am so grateful and I won't lie, I can snowboard.  Apparently I still got it!

I won't tell you that I fell off the ski lift on dismount more than 5 times........i finally figured it out by the end of the day and was getting off like a pro-ish.

Papa hung in the lodge and the 6 of us had a great time in the beautiful weather up on the mountain! Absolutely spectacular Spring Break tradition!

Books turn Muggles into Wizards.....so do Teachers!

This wizard right here just recently won herself the Most Improved student award at her school.  What makes it even better?  She got to claim her award on "Character Day" at school where she excitedly went as Hermione from the amazing Harry Potter World.

We have been immersing ourselves in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter lately through reading the amazing illustrated novels from JK Rowling and Jim Kay.  We are LOVING them and Lily is absolutely ready to go to Hogwarts.  Her love of reading has taken flight this year especially with the help of her teacher, Tina Wylie, who has devoted over half of her classroom to a library.

The world has come alive for them and when it came time for Character day, Lily went as Hermione, and Evie Bee went as Miss Ginny Weasley.  Lily had no idea she was getting an award and I won't lie, I was smiling so big sending her to school.

It made the whole thing all the more magical when Lily's teacher arrived as Minerva McGonagall a Hogwarts teacher who can transfigure into a Cat.  You all.....hug a teacher.  They seriously do something for kids that changes the way they see the world.  Mrs. Wylie is magical.  No doubts.

We are ever so proud of Lily for winning the Most Improved award this quarter.  She IS the most improved from her writing, to her reading, to her math skills.  This lady loves learning and here's to the many more awards our studious Hermione will achieve! 

50 Points to Griffindoor!

Desert in the Rain

The desert......a place that if given enough time and seasons can become one of the most breathtakingly beautiful places to call home.  It truly is our home and we love it.  Our beautiful state is the most spectacular after a rain storm.  I kid you not.  The plants burst forth with life, the colors are rich, and the landscape is silhouetted against a grey and low contrast sky.  Its beautiful and so worth being out in.

We made a big decision this year and decided to change our church home.  There were many reasons but at the top of the list was the desire for our kids to have more friends and a deeper connection to their "community."  We began attending the church in our neighborhood, and it has been the most amazing experience.  Not only do our kids have incredible events to be a part of, but many of their friends from school also attend.  Lucas and his family are one of those friends and he and Lily have become fast buddies.  A few weekends ago, we all went hiking together and it was such a beautiful time to get to know Russ, Jennifer and the whole Golding family.  We are grateful for them.

They invited us to hike the 3 mile Hieroglyph Trail down in Gold Canyon.  It was perfect and such a beautiful day.  Because of the massive amounts of rain that we had the day before the desert was alive with color and flowing water.  Such a beautiful and rare mix.

All of the kids had a fantastic time running all over the rocks and playing in the water.  I love that our families are so compatible and there was no rock to big for all of us.  It was breathtaking and all of the kids had a fantastic time.

Lucas and Lily were playing the game of chicken and in true Longmire kid form, cold wasn't an excuse to not be in the water.  They all played in the water until their appendages were frozen and all the fun was had.

Our time on the trail was wonderful, but also laced with a bit of sadness.  Life is so full of bitter and sweet, and I marvel at the timing of things sometimes.  This man below with Lucas and Lily was killed in a flash flood during the rain storm 2 days prior to our hike.  He attends our church, he leads my kids, he knows Lily, he mentored Lucas......he lived all for Jesus.  Shiloh Dorsett was only briefly in my girls lives and yet his loss has been deeply felt.  Our time hiking together reminded us just how precious and important life is.

Life is full of beauty and ashes,  and yet God is still good and the world's beauty speaks to His goodness.  We are grateful to be in community with people to fully grasp the height, the depth, and the great great love and redeeming power of Jesus.  Rest well Shiloh, we are better for knowing you.