TITUS!!!

Titus, what a cute boy!


Hiding out under our kitchen table!
I just had to throw this picture in because it is so sad! His poor head. Jafe had a "scuffle" with Sloan yesterday which resulted in this and Sloan getting very busted. Cami and I both about cried just looking at him. Jafe was fine after about 2 minutes though, boys!

We finally got a dog! He is a rottweiler labrador, his mom is a purebred black lab and his dad is a purebred rottweiler. I grew up by the people we got him from, they used to breed rottweilers when I was a kid. He is a good puppy and the boys are already in love! I can't wait until he is big enough to go on the trails with us, from the looks of him, that won't be long. He is huge already and he just turned 8 weeks. Well, we named him Titus, which means "of the giants" and we figure he is going to be a giant someday. The boys, especially Sloan, really wanted to name him Jack like the Nelsons dog, we kicked around a few other names too but Titus won. Well for all you rottweiler naysayers out there, he is a good boy! I love doberman pinschers and rottweilers, they are my favorite breed of dog, I WANT my dog to look scary and be protective of our family, Zach seconds that one, he wants me to have a safe running companion too!

On the Trail Again...

I love autumn! It is the most beautiful season, especially out on the trails. This is the cedar river trail yesterday during the big wind storm!

Psalm 136

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His Love Endures Forever.

Give thanks to the God of Gods. His Love Endures Forever.

Give thanks to the Lord of Lords
His Love Endures Forever.

To Him alone who does great wonders. His Love Endures Forever.

...

With a Mighty Hand and an Outstretched Arm. His Love Endures Forever.

...

Give Thanks to the God of heaven. His Love Endures Forever.

Psalm 117

Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol Him, all you peoples. For great is His love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.

Praise the Lord.

"The gang" having a great time out on the trail like always!

This is a tunnel along the lake wilderness trail, isn't it absolutely beautiful?? I would rather be out here with my boys than just about anywhere...
The Cedar River - gorgeous!!

Psalm 118:1-4

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; his love endures forever. Let Israel say; His love endures forever. Let the house of Aaron say; His love endures forever. Let those who fear the Lord say; His love endures forever.

PORTLAND

In our hotel in Portland...
Papa Randy and Grandma Eilene stopped by our hotel for a visit after the marathon!
Jafeth found a fun place to hang out in our hotel room!

After Jafeth ran the marathon???? :-) Celebrating our finish with our fams...

Race morning, while we were still fresh...

On the trip down there...
Mama, hold me:-)
Caravaning down with the McClees's!

Keri and Kim, We Did It!!!!!

Hey, we did it! We came, we ran 26.2, we finished. I knew I could do the miles, the 12+ bathroom stops killed our time, but all we wanted to do was finish and we did. Saw a lot of crazy things out there. A lot of blood, puke, tears, pulled muscles and people crying on the sides of the road because they could no longer go on, literally. Saw a lot of people running that made you wonder... my favorite shirt said "the victory isn't that I finished, the victory is that I ever started" also an old lady had on a shirt that said "this is my 39th marathon, how about you?" Awesome. Watched someone puke up a red bull at mile 20... saw the cops pull someone out from under a train/bus at mile 22, I guess you are bound to see a lot of things on a run like that. Unless you have run a marathon the pain is undescribable. I could not get my mind past how much my muscles were hurting, I could not get my mind to grasp that soon I would be finished and the pounding would stop. Mile 22-to the finish were incredibly hard both physically and mentally, and I would say that I had a good run and felt strong the whole time. I can't imagine how a "bad" marathon run would have felt. I will say that I have no regrets although I could have run it harder and considerably faster, the real victory was in the journey...

Thank you Zach and boys and mom, I love you all. Thank you Andrea for sacrificing your weekend to be with me, you are my biggest support and strength, thanks to your family too. Thank you all my friends who have encouraged me, thank you family who came, especially Uncle Butch and Papa Randy and Grandma Eilene, the highlight was seeing you both that evening. Thank you Gabbie and Breanna and Brettney, you ladies are awesome! Thank you all my inspirations, Olivia-my own personal running hero and Patti L. I hope I am as strong as you one day. Thank you Nelson clan, you all rock! Thank you Keri for putting in the miles and running this with me, I love you so much. Thank you God that it is over!:-)

The Joy of the Lord is your Strength.
Nehemiah 8:10

Huh. Have you ever really thought about that verse in the Bible? I have a gift bag that says that up on top of the armoire in our bedroom so every morning and every night I stare at it and the more I read it the more I think...huh. If the joy of the Lord is my strength then I am going about this all wrong, you know what I mean?? Think about it. Think about this too...Proverbs 3:5 says "Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all of your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight." Huh. So basically everything you know and understand...don't lean on it, it won't hold you up. Trusting in the Lord with all of your heart...that will hold you up.