Sam on the Beach

Quick update!

Here's some pictures of Sam and family on the beach last week. We went to Hilton Head and stayed at a beautiful house that his family rented for the week.

We had a great time relaxing, eating, biking, eating, hot-tubbing, eating, pooling, eating, reading, eating, shopping, eating...

Can't wait to go again!

By the way, I am ABSOLUTELY going to keep that little bear cub.

Now these?

Matt recently went on a trip where he was able to score a free pair of Crocs. He excitedly called me on the phone and asked what size I would wear...

Hmm. "I don't think that I would wear a pair of Crocs, but do they have them in Sam's size?", was my response. Yes - they did! And boy do I love the way my baby looks in those little navy shoes.

But wait! I saw an ad in my new InStyle magazine and look what they have now! Yes, I would wear these Crocs...now I want to try them on. ;)

Anyone out there love their Crocs?

A Quilt for My Boy

I have been moving along with projects, but sometimes I forget to share them!

One of the projects that I didn't post was Samuel's Zig Zag quilt. I was so excited to finish this project since

1. It was on the back burner
2. It was my first quilt ever

Here is what I showed you in January - I am so excited to have it done and I love the finished product. There are a few areas of structural weakness, but overall we did well.

I might have to make him another one for his bed when we switch to his little bed.

By the way - if I can do this, so can you! Try it out, you just might like it.

Creative Time

It's been a while since I have shared some creative things and so here's some recent creations.

The first is the baby shower invitation that I made for Christy's shower (if you click on her link there's some photos of Sam on her blog).

The second is the nursing blanket and diaper holder I made for Baby Reese - just in time. :)

Happy Friday and Love,
ariana

Knoxville Marathon

What a weekend!

As I mentioned before, last weekend was Knoxville Marathon weekend. Before the actual running started, though, my friends and I threw a Baby Shower for Paige. Paige's due date was April 29th and we all got together at Kristie's house for cake, food and presents. We had a lot of fun talking about babies and labor and delivery that night - interesting topics for moms only. ;) I know. I was not so interested before I had Sam...

Paige planned to come to my place and pick up some more baby gear on Sunday afternoon after my race. Saturday was a day of errands and getting ready for the race. I got into bed at 9:30 p.m. and planned to get up at 5:30 a.m. The race started at 7 a.m.

At about 10:30 pm. my phone rang and I groggily noticed that Paige was calling me. I figured she was calling to wish me luck and put my head back down on the pillow. My phone rang again. Uh oh. Something is wrong. She wouldn't just call me over again like that.

Paige was in labor and on her way to the hospital! I couldn't believe it!! It was like a movie or something. I told her to call me no matter what time it was...

When my alarm went of at 5:30, I had no word. I was so worried and wanted everything to be OK with the baby! I called her on the way to the race and by then she had a baby girl in her arms.

Reese Olivia Law was born at about 3:30 a.m. and for those keeping track, it was the morning of the Knoxville Marathon that took place on March 30, 2008. The same Knoxville Marathon that her mom ran a year earlier (while I jealously watched in my pregnant state)!

Of course I visited after I ran my race. And OF COURSE, Reese received the medal I got at the race - for her scrapbook.

My results? I ran the race in 2:11:18. Nowhere near my goal of 2:07, but I am happy, nonetheless. I am ALWAYS thankful for 2 legs that move me forward through the day and through a run. And really. The best thing that happened that day was a healthy baby girl who was just itching to take off in the race we call life.

P.S. If you would like to see some hideous photos of me at the race, click here. Now you know that I don't take myself too seriously because they are pretty bad. I will say this: I was sprinting and trying to beat the clock for my time. ;)

love this guy

Have I ever told you how much I just love this guy?!?

More to come...

Running along...

Hi All!

Gosh it has been a while! I have been quite busy with family and life, I guess.

One of the things that I have been meaning to share is my recent half marathon! I ran the Strawberry Plains Half Marathon in Strawberry Plains, TN on February 16, 2008.

That date happens to be my dad's birthday and it ends up that his birthday this year was pretty special too. You see, my dad got into a pretty bad accident on January 11, 2008. We weren't sure if Dad was going to make it and we drove all night from Knoxville to Chicago (picking up my sis, Maris on the way) to join the family.

It was quite the emotional roller coaster, but in the end, only by the Grace of God did he not only survive, he is thriving! *Disclaimer: there are some aches and pains. :)

So speaking of aches and pains, when I was considering the race that day and what aches I may have during the race, I realized that this one's for Pop. It was his birthday, after all...

I dedicated my race that day to Dad and ran it in 2:09:18. It was a great race and it was definitely more challenging towards the end - lots of hills and no straight finish for quite a number of turns.

Dad was really excited for me and touched by my dedication. I couldn't think of a better person to run for that day.

Now the Knoxville Marathon is on Sunday and I am up for another Half. Can't wait to share the news of my results!

Oh, and thanks for listening to me babble about running. I have really grown to love the challenge and the achievement that comes from running a race - no matter what my time is at the end.

And I must say, you ought to try it out! You just might like it...