critter crawl.

last weekend i donned my running shoes and mom and i set off for the trail run.

she was my choffer and cheerleader for this trip.

the 10k began and the trails were well marked.

as i began the last three miles, i began to dig into my reservoir of energy.

later, my running app lady told me i had just clocked 6 miles.

"whew, i'm almost done."

a few feet ahead she started talking to me again and said that i had just clocked 11 miles.

yeah, even she was going bonkers.

approaching the next person directing the runners, i ask,

"are we almost there?"

"almost," he replies.

the runner-guy that was just ahead of me turned around, while still running, and also made the observation that this 6.2-mile-run seemed just a tad longer than it was supposed to be.

(it was around 6.4 miles--just really hard to get exactly 6.2 when you're marking for a trail run. :)

coming into the clearing and seeing the cars of the runners that were parked in the field at lanark up ahead was a very welcomed sight.

the finish line was crossed.

i did it.

being able to run with God's beauty and majesty all around was a blessing.

having the health and strength to carry through was a blessing.

the coolness and warm sun made for such amazing running weather....that was a huge blessing

the crossing the creek, woods, gravel, mud and wood mulch all made for an adventurous run that everybody needs to run at least once in their life.

oh, and winning third in your age group isn't so bad either.

Stats for Critter Crawl 10k:
Chip Time: 1:13:21
Gun Time: 1:13:24
Age Division: 19-24
Place: 3rd out of the 4 in my age division
Overall Place: 43 out of 61 runners
Pace: 11:48

it's a family affair :: part four.

the last day of our vacation was relaxing and pretty slow-paced.

after our next-to-the-last-breakfast in our house away from home, we set out to explore downtown.

oh yeah, and not to forget the matching shirts...

sis-in-law, mom, me, and sister.

stop one:

the wildflower cafe.

the evening before, we had come across this amazingly adorable restaurant. we had a small tour of the quaint place and decided that it was mandatory we come back to the restaurant that was famous for its tomato pies. 

so, the next day for lunch we feasted in the "twinkle light room"

(lovingly dubbed the "twinkle light room" by mom).

stop two: 

cloudmont ski resort.

the brother was ready.

he had bought his "snowboarding getup" the week before and was ready to hit the slopes.

when we arrived, his hopes were bashed when we found out that the slopes were closed due to all the rain that had fallen the night before. the ski lift was stuck and the skis and boards stayed in their place.

oh well.
maybe next time, bro.

at least i got a picture with the cool dude out of it.

stop three:

thrift shopping.

after finding out the devastating news about the ski resort, we decided to go visit some thrift stores/flea markets to boost our spirits.

a chair was bought for the sister and matching shoes were bought for the sisters.

after the preggo ladies had reached the point of exhaustion, it was back to the house we went.

getting into our pj's and curling up in front of the gas log fireplace, we talked about the adventures that were had that day and had family devotions.

then, some of us went upstairs to pack for the journey home the next day....

(to be continued.)

a snow day.

last week, after not seeing the beautiful white dust for four years, we southern people were quite excited to receive our winter wonderland.


day one:

brother and sis-in-law came over and played in the snow with me.

day two:

kicked it in 4x4, and headed out to perform county commissioner duties--checking on a house that had burned the night before and also pulling a guy's truck out of the ditch with ratchet straps
(that's all that was available in the truck to work with--we had no rope).

the deepest snow drift i have seen in my whole life.

church at the house since wednesday night Bible class was canceled due to the dangerous, icy roads.

day three:

the ice i was able to break and dig out of the water trough on the last snow day.

instagram:
@purposelyathome

it's a family affair :: part three.

day three.

(days one & two)

january first.

the new year.

we had all tried our best to hold our eyes open to ring in the new year.

the sparkling grape juice was on the counter waiting to be opened.

but we just couldn't do it.

we were overly tired and decided to hit the beds.

so, the grape juice was put in the fridge to be opened in celebration the next day.

the next day we were ready for another adventure.

stop one:

desoto falls.

anticipating a great hike to the falls, we were a tad disappointed to see just a few stairs leading down to the grand falls overlook. climbing on the rocks and taking pictures with the falls in the background made up for the disillusioned hikers.

bro-in-law and sister.

i've never seen a guy who likes to skip rocks as much as my brother does.

daddy and mom.

after running back by the house for a potty break and a snack for the preggo ladies, we were off on our geo-caching adventure....to desoto state park.

(the park was actually a few miles away from the falls.)

stop two:

desoto park.

keeping the preggo women company while the others continued caching.

and then, mom, daddy, brother, me, sister, and bro-in-law (sis-in-law stayed in the vehicle because she wasn't feeling well) went on a hike through the woods trying to find a cache....to no avail. and then we sort of took a short cut back to the car....walking on the road.

i spy a hitch-hiking brother. ha!

after we were "cached out," (see what i did there? hehe!) we loaded up and headed back to our house away from home.

stop three:

desoto church of Christ.

freshening up, we headed out to the little country church that we came across while we were out and about earlier that day. we almost doubled their attendance with our group of seven adding to their group of eight members that were there. 

worshiping with that little group of fellow Christians was definitely the highlight to the week. 

(to be continued.)