Thankful Thanksgiving with Family

 Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holiday's because we get nearly an entire week off from school and we get to just relax!  Edward and Nolen are not into eating thanksgiving food so I don't feel obligated to make anything special.  I do try to make Susan's cheese ball and my favorite apple pie every year.  Those are the only two things I like to eat.  

I forced my entire family and Sharla to come and run a turkey trot.  I convinced Craig and Blair to run last year but they were too sick this year to join us.  Don't worry, there is always next year! Nolen was super sick so he walked.  Sharla and Edward ran a mile together while Stephen and I ran the 5k.  This was one of my slower 5k's in a while but that is just where I am at in my life.  

After the race, we headed over to my parents house to eat dinner.  John had worked hard on making a delicious dinner.  He was so kind.  Later, we saw his aggressive side when we played a round of "jumpin uno"! HA!  We went around the room saying what each of us are thankful for this year.  Most of us were thankful for our time with family.  I just love my time with my parents.  They are incredible.  I just love them.  

Archery Tournament and Regionals!

 This weekend we had too many activities for all of us to make it to every ones sports.  I drove Nolen to El Paso to run in the regional cross country meet and Stephen took the day off work to take Edward to his archery tournament.  

Edward shot well and even got a top placing in the tournament.  He has been working hard on being a good marksman.  He loves shooting and has made great progress.  Stephen and Edward sat around all Saturday waiting for Edward's time to shoot.  It was a long wait, but he did great.  

Nolen and I left Friday morning to drive to El Paso.  If I had thought about it, we should have ridden with someone to the race as it was just the two of us.  We could have shared a hotel room with someone, but I didn't think of it until we were on the road.  As we were driving, we saw a car that had flipped over onto the median of the high way.  The police had not arrived so people were scrambling to get the passengers out of the car.  It was pretty scary.  

We made it to the walk through and it was hot! I knew it would be warm in El Paso, but I wasn't expecting to get sunburned.  We went to dinner at Jason's Deli with the team then went back to the hotel to sleep.  The hotel had over booked, so we got moved to a different hotel.  It was NOT great.  We were on the fourth floor and it was as if we were sleeping in the middle of the freeway.  Every time a truck drove by, our bed shook and trucks drove by every 5 seconds.  

We did finally sleep and then went later to the race because Nolen was running at noon.  By the time Nolen ran, it was pretty hot.  He had a pretty rough race but he was glad he finished.  He even walked a few steps!  Nolen's team luckily carried him through and they came in 5th which was just good enough to qualify for nationals in Kentucky.  

After the race, we headed to meet up with my college roommate, Stephanie Isaacson.  Her brother just died and I am so glad I took the time to see her.  She was the pick me up I needed.  She is incredibly kind and her life is beautiful.  Our time on this earth is so short and taking time to see loved ones is necessary.

Officially a Teen-ager!

Today, my sweet Nolen is officially a teenager! I just can't.  Time is a cruel thief.  Nolen is sweet and kind and funny and fast.  He still loves Roblox and playing computer games with his friends.  He has spent a lot of time making his own Roblox games so that others can play his inventions.  He still loves space and science but not as much as he used to love space.  He loves running.  If he isn't playing computer games, he is running.  He has to push himself a lot to get faster but he is willing to do the hard work.  

This sweet boy just melts my heart.  I adore him.  I love that he loves so deeply. He doesn't like conflict and avoids getting in trouble by just doing what he is told.  He is easy to parent.  He always does what he is asked.  I asked him if he wants to go back to school but he says he is still not ready.  I just love this boy with my whole heart.  I am so grateful for every day that I get to hug him and squeeze him.

For Nolen's birthday, he slept in and hung out in his pajamas until I forced him to get dressed so I could take his photos.  Then I surprised him by picking up his friend, Dylan then heading over to Menchies to get frozen yogurt.  The boys wanted to come back to our house to hang out for a while then they played games together all afternoon.   Nolen wanted Panera Bread for dinner so my parents picked him up and took him to get his favorite Chicken Noodle Soup.  I made a failed lava cake and we sang happy birthday.  Such a great day!