Running in 2013

Since this is the last day in 2013, I wanted to be 'on the record' for my one major accomplishment this year.  In August, I decided to start running and figured I could get in 100 miles by the end of the year.  It seemed like a reachable goal to run 20 miles/month since there are many people that run 20+ miles in a week.  With a busy schedule and two young kids, running was harder than I thought.  But after waking at 5:30am a couple time a week, taking my running shoes with me on business trips (I even ran in London and Rotterdam), and staying committed regardless of the weather (I did run in the rain, the Arizona sun, and temperatures down to 29F) I was able to achieve my goal!!

I used the Nike+ running app on my phone to track progress.  It has some good features both via the app and on the website.  One of those features includes progress badges and fun badges.  I've attached a few screen shots.

     

My goal for 2014 will be to double that distance.  If anyone wants to run with me or keep up with my progress, just shoot me a text, download the Nike+ app, and I'll add you as a friend.

Yearly Book List - 2013

I love keeping track of the books we read. It's fun to go back over them, and see what the reading time was spent on. I end up doing much more reading than Richard does, based on this list, but that's because we don't count articles, blogs, etc. I know Richard reads a lot of Life Hacker and ESPN posts among other things. We had to stop tracking children's books last year, because there were way too many to keep track of. So once the kids start reading on their own, we will keep track of the books they've read.

Books read in 2013:
Richard
The Trial of Alex Lord
The Black Box
Shepherding A Child's Heart

The Bible

Sarah 
Nourishing Traditions
Potty Train Your Child In Just One Day
In Defense Of Food
Food Rules
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year Of Food Life
Skinny Chicks Eat Real Food
City Chicks
The Eczema Cure
Real Food 101
Your Custom Homestead
The Nourished Metabolism
Shepherding A Child's Heart
Paradise Valley (The Daughters of Caleb Bender)
Unglued
The Captive Heart (The Daughters of Caleb Bender)
The Well-Trained Mind {Referenced}
Passionate Housewives Desperate for God
For the Children's Sake
The Bible

And here is a list of books we plan to read in 2014. If you have a good book to share, please pass it along!

Book List for 2014:

Richard
The Bible
Ender's Game
Bringing Up Girls
 
Sarah
The Bible
Just Do Something
Give Them Grace
Teach Them Diligently
God's Big Picture
The Shorter Catechism
Slow and Steady Get Me Ready
Cure Tooth Decay
The Omnivore's Dilemma
French Kids Eat Everything
Bringing Up Girls
Bossypants
What Alice Forgot
Age of Miracles

Merry Christmas 2013

 

Our 2013 Christmas was spent with Grandpa and Gram Gram. We had fun shopping, watching movies, playing games, and took a trip to DC to visit the model train display at the US Botanic Garden.

On Christmas Eve, we held an "Orphan's Dinner", where we invited people in the area who didn't have family nearby. It was a wonderful evening spent chatting and eating good food. I just wish I got some pictures!

Here are some highlights from our Christmas.

 

Merry Christmas everyone!

2013 Ornament

Each year we add a new ornament to our tree which represents something from that year. This year, I made an ornament for Hope's birth. I even made an evening out of it. I invited some of my neighborhood friends over and we each made ornaments for our kids. It was a fun, easy night and we all walked away with some nice keep sakes.

Thanksgiving in Mobile

I love going to Mobile for Thanksgiving. We have a lot of family there, and there are lots of kids when we all get together. I love all the energy and noise! I only wish we lived closer so all the cousins could see more of each other. This trip, Paw was there too, and Hope got to meet him for the first time.

Ella, the oldest cousin, loves every baby she sees. Hope loved her too!

Cousin Andrew taught Gabriel the joys of video games.

And here are the boys (most of them) dressed up for the professional pictures. So dashing!

We squeezed in a walk down the road to feed the neighbor's horse. I think this is becoming a tradition.

Here are some of the shots from our photographer...
The whole gang. Paw in the middle. The four siblings with their families. All nine grand-kids are actually looking at the camera! Oh, except Hope. Way to mess up the picture, Hope! Ok, ok, you look cute anyway.

The youngest two grand-kids, Hope and Faith.

Hope had enough pictures by the time we took this shot. But I love it because you can see Gabriel trying to comfort her. He was saying "It's ok Hope. I'm right here. It's ok...."

And this is a great shot showing Gabriel's personality.

What a handsome little guy!

Sorry, but the good Sanders family shot is going out in our Christmas cards. So that's a surprise :)
Sorry,

Arizona in November

We traveled to Arizona in November to visit family. The weather was sunny and warm. The kids really enjoyed seeing their grandparents and great grandma. Many of the family members got to meet Hope for the first time.

Hope, still in her "No one better hold me except mommy" phase, greeted Gigi like this.

Papa and Gabriel had a blast in the pool. This is what Gabriel was looking forward to! And Papa didn't disappoint. It took a little coaxing, but Gabriel finally let Papa take him into the deeper end.

We went to the zoo, where I fed some manta rays.

We saw an albino crocodile.

Took a train ride to see ostrich and many other animals up close.

 Hope finally warmed up to Gigi.

We also went to the Children's Museum. Wow, was that place amazing! I was too busy having fun to take many good pictures, but here is Gabriel cooking up something yummy in the kitchen that is tiddler size.

My favorite picture from our trip. Here is four generations of women. Hope, myself, my mom (Kathryn) and my grandma (Bernice). Oh, and this is a great example of what Hope does constantly. She sucks on her middle two fingers, and holds her ear.

And lastly, this is what Gabriel did whenever we weren't out and about. Anyone remember Lincoln Logs? He loved them! Shhh, don't tell him he's getting some for Christmas!