Ragnar Zion

I have a lovely group of ladies I run with. R is the one I have stuck with for almost ten years. L is another long standing runner buddy.
In January L sent us an email about the Ragnar trail relay in Zion. She wanted to see if we were interested in getting a team together. It sounded fun but I figured it wound not happen. Not enough time to train, not enough people, kind of far away, R does NOT race, it would be expensive. Lots of reasons.
I let it go and figured thee dream would die. Then on a run with a friend who was also not considering joining I found out that R was indeed going to join the team. What? I should have known then that I would be on her list. The next day R picked me up to go for a run and before we got to the trail head she had convinced me to be member #8 of their team.
We have run up and down a lot of mountains in the wind, rain, sleet and snow. I have learned a lot from P (who runs with us but is not on our team). She has followed behind me to check my form (which was good). She has counselled me regarding nutrition (it needed help). She taught me tons about being in control of my breathing and pace. I am so grateful to my teammates for all of their encouragement.
We leave in one week for this awesome adventure. I feel ready face this challenge with my team the Bellingham Sole Sisters (L, R, M, J, S, K and B)

Trying really hard

So my last post was full of excitement at the prospect of a new plan. A plan I thought was great. It probably was, until I took Chemistry 121. I have not gotten a grade lower than a B since I started college. Until I took Chemistry. I needed a B+ at the least to apply for the Physical Therapist Assistant program.
I tried really hard to understand the words the instructor said but from day one I was LOST. I watched countless chemistry videos, spent many hours with a great study group, I begged Sebastian to tutor me (he tried very hard to help me) and I prayed until I cried. I know I am a smart lady but chemistry is not something I will ever be good at.
I am not taking this failure well.
Fortunately I have great friends who have said all the right things. I know in the end this is just one door shutting. I am just trying really hard not to give in to the voices in my head that are ruthlessly trying to convince me I am stupid.

Change in Plans

In my plan I would be working part time as a Phlebotomist and training for a half-marathon in February. Apparently God has a totally different plan.
After six months of applying for jobs and being rejected for every one of them I just gave up. Actually I gave up when I could not even get a job at a coffee shop.
I have not worked full time for 16 years so I could be home with our boys. I have no regrets about this decision. I have worked a bit here and there off the books but nothing official. All this to say I had nothing to put on a resume. I know people say all the life experience I have from volunteer work and little jobs count. They are wrong.
When I gave up the job hunt I started praying for a new plan. I started hearing form multiple sources (some solicited, some not) that the students graduating from the Radiological Technologist program were not able to find jobs within 80miles of where we live. I have been waiting to get in to that program for over a year and had hoped to start it in September 2013. With that information I started looking at my other options.
 One option that sounded good was the Physical Therapist Assistant program at WCC.This option sounded good because the people graduating are getting jobs in our area. I have taken all the classes needed except Chemistry as part of my prerequisites for the Rad. Tech. course. I was able to get into a Chemistry class for this quarter. (now if I can just get a good grade)  One of the requirements to apply for the program is 50+ hours observing a PT or PTA. That sounded easy to me since I am not working and only have class for an hour a day. I have until April 18 to finish these hours and apply. Clearly I had no idea what I was up against. The first PT clinic I called said the soonest I could get in was summer. Seriously, I just want to come watch and have them sign a form. I guess there are a ton of people who want to watch PT's work. I spent an hour calling clinics and another hour stopping by some clinics. From that much effort I have one clinic that will allow me to come one day a week for three hours. I feel a bit discouraged.
I will keep calling and praying. This is such a humbling thing for me. It is probably something that "builds character" or some other important life thing I would try to teach my boys about.

Mud Run

I like to run and I love my husband. These two thing together prompted me to do a mud run with Eric this past weekend. That and the free entry I won at the street fair. I always say "if it's free, it's for me".
Eric does not like to run but loves a challenge and I think secretly wanted to share a "run" with me. The course was 2.8 miles and 17 obstacles. I will not give a play by play but suffice it to say you get VERY muddy in the first quarter mile and stay that way.
Sebastian came along and took pictures of us. He ended up following us for most of the run.  Sebastian's real reason for coming out was to watch his youth group leaders run in the mud but since we were first he had to stay for both waves of the race.
When we finished Eric gave him a very muddy hug. After Sebastian was good and muddy his small group leader suggested he run along with them for fun. He said he did not have the proper shoes so Eric took his off and took that excuse. (We had paid for Sawyer to run the race but he decided to go paint balling instead so we did not feel bad allowing Sebastian to run without officially registering) He ran and had a great time. Other than the cut he got on one of the obstacles he dove into.

I am not sure I will do this again as I had mud crusted in places I will not mention. Maybe the boys will all do it next year. (and maybe they will talk me into it)

With Edwin

After saying goodbye to Luke this summer it was difficult to imagine starting over with a new student in our home. Fortunately we had already commited to hosting again. The process of praying for our student before they come is very important for us as a family. This time it was a bit easier because he sent us information about himself and asked lots of questions about us. We felt like we knew him a bit before we got to meet him and had time to get an idea of where he was coming from. Literally and figuratively.
Edwin is in the same grade Sebastian is so that great. He is very willing to try any thing we suggest. (except American football) He is from Guangzhou China. His english is amazing and he is very willing to try to communicate even if he fumbles a bit. This past week has been fun trying to get to know him and watching him try lots of new things.

We are looking forward to this new adventure with Edwin.

Why I run

I have come up with a lot of different reasons for running over the past few years.

• That's what all the cool moms at my kids school do
• To stay sane
• My dog needs the exercise
• My cardiologist said it would greatly reduce the chance of my needing valve replacement
• I need to lose a few pounds
• I am running from my family history of diabetes
• It makes me feel strong

These are all good reasons but none of the are the real reason I run. I run so I can eat what I want and not have to feel guilty or buy new clothes. I hate feeling guilty and I really don't like shopping for new clothes.

Goodbye Luke

Our boys October 2008

Our boys 2012

I have so many things I would like to say about our time with Luke, but my heart is still very raw. When he arrived here he was just a boy. When he left here he was a man. I pray that he will not forget the God he met while he lived with us. Luke, you will always be my Taiwanese son. You are always welcome in our home. We will never forget you.