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.)

it's a family affair :: part two.

yeah, yeah, yeah, i know. i'm sorry, but the family christmas vacation posts were just put on the back burner. so here we are again...

(see part one here.)

the next day was tuesday, december 31st.

after a good night's sleep and a yummy breakfast, we were ready to conquer our next day together.

the agenda:

ruby falls.

incline railroad.

rock city.

stop one:

ruby falls.

after receiving our tickets at the counter, we boarded the elevator that would take us 1120 feet below the surface. walking over two miles, we followed our tour guide through the tunnels--ducking and carefully watching our step as we made our way to the nation's largest and deepest waterfall.

it was incredible to be reminded of what an amazing an awesome God that we serve. the same God who created that cave and magnificent waterfall.

yup, definitely worth the second trip.

(we had been a few years previous)

after snapping a few pictures on the lookout tower, we were ready to move on to our next stop.

stop two:

incline railroad.

four words.

exciting, flat, steep, fearful... 

but so worth it.

the end.

yeahhhh, just what if those cables had snapped.....

yikes.

stop three:

rock city.

fun in the gift shop.

this place never ceases to amaze me.

God's beauty is seen all around.

fat man's squeeze and the swinging bridge are my favorites.

snapping a picture on lover's leap, our frozen bodies were ready for the heat of the vehicle.

arriving back to "the big house," dinner was prepared and the gas fireplace was a popular place.

a movie was watched and to bed we all went--

ready for our next adventure.

(to be continued...)

frozen feet.

we were going to see the sister in her neck of the woods the next morning.

the night before, mom, daddy, and i sat around the kitchen table discussing the next day's events.

mom suddenly suggests:

"you know, there's a 5k in greenville in the morning."

"are you going to run?" i ask.

"i would like to try to."

(mom has been out of the running group for a couple of months due to a leg injury. she has since started going to physical therapy and the chiropractor and has seen amazing results. so good, that she had been able to run a little the last couple of weeks.)

so, it was decided.

off to the sister's.... and to run a last-minute 5k.

that's just how we roll.

all last minute and stuff.

at 6:45 the next morning, with a fresh change of clothes in tow for after the race, we load up and begin the 1-hour long road trip.

i pop in my headphones to listen to the frozen soundtrack while the runners emotions begin to build. 

(you know, nervousness, excitement, etc.)

we arrive at the location an hour and fifteen minutes early and it is freeeeezing. 

(at least for us southern folks. ha!)

after filling out the registration form and receiving our large t-shirts (that's what happens when you sign up the day of....no more small t's), i quickly get back into the warm car.

until mom finds out that the city hall is unlocked for the runners to use the bathroom.

then, i go inside there and hang out in the heat....with mom and daddy.

about 30 minutes before the race begins the sister pulls up in her bronco.

yayyyyy!

(i have missed that girl so much.)

we all go outside and stand in the rays of the sunshine.

by this time, the weather is verrrrrry slowwwwwly getting warmer.

we get to moving and doing all that stretching your supposed to do before running 3.1 miles.

after the race being delayed for a few minutes due to the police escorts not arriving on time, we went ahead and ran after the buzzer was sounded. 

(daddy came to the rescue and directed traffic at the first intersection we crossed. THEN, there was a police just sitting there in his warm car, at the next intersection, watching daddy directing traffic. whatever.)

at the very beginning, there was a huge hill.

hilly, hilly, hilly.

it was a great, challenging course.

around mile 3, we had to run right passed where the race began and make a HUGE loop back to the finish line.

as i ran past, daddy, sister, and a few girl scouts (they were there to sell cookies to the runners) cheered me on.

i mean, how many runners can say that they've been cheered on by girl scouts?? hehe!

i could see the finish in the distance....and my amazing sister standing there waiting for me.

flailing my arms in the air just being silly, i smile and quickened my pace just a bit.

then, i see my daddy come over to stand with sister.

i start sprinting.

crossing the finish line in 31:11.

awards and door prizes were next.

mom smoked it and came in first in her age division with a time of 27-something.

i also won first in my age group.

and what do you know, i won a door prize.

you know what it was?

an hour long massage.

never in my life have i ever had a message like that.

yeah, if you need me, i'll be over there getting pampered. :)

what a great day it was.

Stats for Frozen Foot Race 5k:

Total time: 31:11

Age Division: 20-29
Place: 1st in my age group (not sure out of how many)

Overall Place: 10th out of 31 runners

Pace: 9:20