The big announcement!

Blogworld....get ready....

Baby Wood will be making HIS appearance around December 6th of this year and we're thrilled!

Get ready for lots 'o updates from here on out, but just a little backstory...

We found out we were expecting on March 24. Without going into too many details, let's just say that we were both very surprised, but happy surprised. Caleb had always told me from the very beginning of our marriage that if I thought I was pregnant, take a test....and only let him know if it was positive. So, that's what I did this time after I got home from work. We had already scheduled to meet for track workout and had some other friends meeting that night as well....so, me and my I-cannot-believe-I'm-pregnant self went and ran my 'lil heart out and kept my mouth shut.

Caleb came home to a gift sack of miniature Disney frisbees on his pillow. He opened them and thought I bought him disc golf disc markers....he was a little surprised by the random gift, but when he saw my face of utter shock that read "those are not for disc golf" (I was speechless honestly) he looked at me and said "are you pregnant?" and my response was...."I think so!". I took another test that actually read "pregnant" or "not pregnant" and when it was plain and clear "pregnant" we went to Braum's for peanut butter cup ice cream to celebrate/be in gleeful shock together. Caleb's first question to me was "where is the baby going to sleep?"---haha, we have plenty of time, babe.

So, that was the big reveal between the 2 of us. We wanted to wait to tell family/friends until after the 10 week appointment. At first it was difficult, as we were so excited we wanted to shout it out to everyone. I did have to tell the speech girls at work, as I could no longer do swallow studies. I also told a random stranger, just because it was fun :). Other than that, we kept our word. We were able to tell all 3 sets of parents within a 3 day period which was fabulous. I have the reactions of all on video, tried to post them, but it's just not working tonight. I'll work on that for a later post.

We were then able to share with our family and friends, and it has taken us over a month to get to the point where we feel comfortable announcing to cyber-world. I just took the plunge and wrote it on facebook after having to delete a few birthday posts today that alluded to pregnancy.

As far as pregnancy symptoms, I had my share of nausea and all-day sickness weeks 6-10, my Dr. even prescribed me Zofran which I took occasionally so I could make it through work. This 2nd trimester has been a breeze thus far. I've had a few bloody noses and unfortunately, headaches are becoming more of a daily occurence around 2-3 pm everyday. Other than that, feeling great. I'm still attempting to run, wearing my HR monitor, and lately it's been more of a jog/walk vs run, but it's still nice to get out around the lake and "run" socially.

We had a sonogram yesterday....and we're having a boy! I don't think Caleb has stopped smiling since we heard the news! We're both thrilled. I really had it in my mind it was a girl---it wasn't really a preference, just a hunch, that I'm a-okay with being wrong about. I've had a ball looking at boy nursery bedding and all things "boy"--THRILLED.

So, folks, that's our update. I will try to keep this blog a little more up to date as things progress and we become a family of 3! We head on a mini "babymoon" a week from tomorrow for a 'lil Cozumel, Mexico getaway, ahh...can't wait.

I'll leave the blog with a few pics of the 'lil guy. I'm also taking a few belly pics, but it was a big plunge to announce on the blog/fb...not sure I'm ready for the blogworld to see my growing tummy!

This is baby boy chillin', you can see the ribs really well (head is on right)

He is active just like his Daddy....here he is tumbling around upside down:

Ready for vacation :)

I just booked us a trip to Cozumel 7/1-7/4. It was a fabulous deal, but of course there's a catch....we will find out our hotel once we board the plane. It was through applevacations.com and we know we're going to get a "5 apple" deal which narrows it down to the top 5 hotels in Cozumel. A good beach, a good read, a pool, and lots 'o sunscreen will keep this girl happy for 4 days. I'm very excited. I didn't think Caleb would go for it since he is crazy busy at work right now, but I think he just needs a break....it will be perfect, and he was all game after I told him the price. He has been gone 5 of the last 6 weeks traveling. The first 3-4 weeks weren't too bad. We all know that I cherish my "alone" time, so it was kinda nice for a while to have more time to myself. Of course I missed him, but it wasn't terrible to be home by myself either. But geez, it's getting old and I'm SO GLAD that he comes home tomorrow and should be here to stay for awhile. I make it sound bad on me, I know it has to be worse on him--I love me some hotels, but I know hotel "living" gets old fast. He also hates checking bags, so just imagine Caleb attemtping to pack 5 days worth of suits/ties + work out clothes + casual night clothes all in a carry-on. Of course he does it, then comes home with a wrinkled mess that I try to help him de-wrinkle and put back together for Monday morning and another week of it. Oh well, we are blessed that in this economy he has a job and he's actually getting great experience taking depositions and no longer being "low man" sitting at a computer doing legal research for 10 hours/day. Less complaining now....I think of friends who have husbands that deploy overseas for years, changes perspective. I admire military families so much, I just can't imagine.


In other news...

The hospital has picked up and it's been nice. I am supervising a graduate student intern this summer, so far so good. It's crazy to read back on this blog to my student intern days and now I'm supervising, makes me feel old. It's good for me though, keeps me on my toes. I'm back with the cardiac babies whom I adore---the cardiac rotation is by far my favorite. We should be switching in the next month, and for my student's sake I'm going to request trauma/ICU so she can see some teenage cognitive language and swallowing stuff. Not my fave, but know it will be good for me to brush up on those skills as well.

We're both still running, Caleb a little more than me. He's actually signed up for marathon training and will likely be running a 2nd marathon in November or December, I will happily cheer him on from the crowd! This heat is already brutal, I've been sticking to 6 am lake runs or the treadmill, not pushing it too much.

Not sure if I'll update before Mexico.....if not, be ready for some fun photos up next :). Adios amigos!

Proud to be a Longhorn

A couple of weeks ago we may the trip down to Austin for my cousin Ali's graduation from UT. I was excited to be back in Austin and hang out with family and friends, but wasn't thinking the graduation would be much of a highlight....we all know, graduations are notoriously boring. However, UT does it right and makes the Saturday night university-wide graduation quite entertaining. So, sitting in the audience with thousands of other people, listening to graduating students, faculty, and alumni speak about what is going on around the University and the impact it's making world-wide made me proud to be a longhorn. And yes, I did get a little teary as I stood up that night to sing the Eyes of Texas to this in the background.....

Running Stud

This post is 100% dedicated to my awesome husband. He has taken to the sport of running and I couldn't be more proud! A couple of weeks ago we did the Butterfly Boogie 5K and he finished in 19:59 (sub 20 mins, what?what?). This Saturday he ran the "Jog with the Frog" 5K in Fair Park and I was there 100% to be his fan and not a participant. Although I forgot my camera (I know, lame fan) you better believe I was running and screaming and clapping as he finished SECOND overall with the time of 19:38. That's about a 6:10 minute mile. I did get home and take some pics of him with his FIRST PLACE age group medal. And yes, it is proudly donning the mantel.


Look at that smile, I think he was happy with his time as well :)

And friends, let me tell you....track workouts are what helped him get to sub 20 minutes, but these are the new secret. Racing shoes. That's right, he's very excited and will be wearing them this weekend as he prepares for the much anticipated Lake Highlands 5K.

Purple and frogs go perfect in our house. Atleast for this week :)!

Now, if I could just get him to train past the 5K distance....I'm thinking Boston next Patriot's Day?

Happy Running!

March Madness

1) It really is madness....SNOW on this first day of spring. Just last weekend I planted flowers (shocker, I know) in my excitement of the spring weather and I think they are just about dead. Grrr.

2) We're both really getting into our brackets. Caleb is still 1st in his work bracket by quite a bit but the Kansas loss tonight really hit hard. We shall see, he's already talking about how he wants to spend his $200 prize. I suggested a nice dinner at Ocean Prime. He immediately let me know that this is HIS prize money. Hmm....
We also have a bet going on here at home, I think I might win a lot of massages :).

3) Amigo's last night was fabulous. Love the Friday tradition getting back into gear and catching up with old/adding new friends!

4) Since the weather is so nasty, Caleb and I are going to the gym after church tomorrow. This isn't "madness" I know, but typically when we go to the gym together I do my thing and he does his. Not this time, he has decided he wants to "push me" so he's compiled a 45 minute weight lifting session followed by 30 minutes of cardio. That's madness.

5) Last time I talked about Edil being back and Caleb playing with the idea of a new master bath....and now, we're talking about HEATED tile for the bathroom floors(apparently, it's not too $$, but oh, such a luxury). Okay, that's madness I don't know if I could justify.

6) 2128 4-ever. Love you girls. Lindie, love all the fabulous "madness" in your life. Chelsea, it was great seeing you tonight and your belly is cute madness :). Katya, I think you training for a marathon is awesome madness. I'm so proud of your Paris half finish.

That's it, short and sweet. I feel like if I'm going to update more (which I want to) I need to be okay with brief posts :)

Loving this weather!

I cannot get enough of this sunshine. I think working in the cave of the Children's Hospital really makes me appreciate the sunshine. I'm even sitting on the patio right now with a pink lemonade and my laptop. Ahh...what a marvelous Sunday afternoon.

So, one of the major goals of this blog is to document our everyday life. I've realized lately we're extremely structured people, especially Sun-Thurs. We have our schedule and although there's the occasional out of town or meeting up with peeps, it's typically the same thing every week. I think it works well for us. So, in this season of our life, here's how our week typically looks:

Sunday:
-leave the house by 8:55 for Einstein's bagels (we bring our own cream cheese in my purse, is that tacky?!)
-church
-yummy lunch, this is typically the one day a week where I cook a big meal for us.
*Side note: Many people find it very interesting that we don't really eat dinner, and therefore, I don't really cook very often. So, Sunday is my day to experiment with recipes, etc.
-nap
-laundry/house stuff/hang out/Rock Band
-community group at our house from 5:30-7:30

Monday:
-5:30: Caleb leaves for Spin Class
-6:37-6:55: Breakfast together (most couples have dinner together, we have breakfast together, it just works for us in this stage of life).
-7: Julie leaves for work/Caleb showers and watches ESPN before heading to work
-12: Caleb goes and eats a big yummy lunch, most likely with Chris and Brent. One of the highlights of my day is asking Caleb what he ate for lunch and if there was any interesting convo. I typically bring my lunch which lately is a Lean Cuisine with yogurt, some sort of chocolate treat, and a Diet DP.
-4: I'm off work! Caleb knows I will be calling between 3:54-4:07. It's clockwork.
-4:30: home, quiet time, snack
-5:45: step class (mon only)
-7: Caleb's home and we hang out, may go on a walk or watch TV. Lately he's been heating up vegetables for his "night snack". Remember, peeps, we don't really do dinner :).
-9:30: Bedtime :). Yes, we're old and go to bed before the news, and I LOVE it.

Tuesday: daytime is same as Monday, except Caleb plays basketball instead of spin class.
6:30: Meet at the SMU La Madeline parking lot, give Caleb his half of a sandwich snack, and head to track practice at SMU track. We always wonder why we choose track workout over the yummy goodness of pesto pasta,but track practice always makes us push ourselves harder than we would on our own. So, we keep going.....and are glad we did when it's over. Even though Caleb is way faster than me, it's fun to work out "together".

Wednesday: morning spin for C, breakfast, work
I always have lunch meetings, so I get off work at 3:30 these days :). One of my 2010 goals was to learn to lap swim efficiently, so Wednesdays are the days "marked" for that, but lately I've been enjoying my garmin watch and running outside in this sunshine.
Caleb b-study at 6:30
Julie b-study at 7

Thursday: morning bball for C, breakfast, work
no scheduled nighttime activities! Caleb will usually watch The Office, I'll play on the computer while 1/2way watching the office, read magazines,chillax at home

Friday: spin for C, breakast, work
6: Amigo's happy hour is our ideal Friday post-work activity
Fridays are fun nights, there's no structure, just whatever we feel like doing--sometimes it's hanging out with friends, going to a movie, or just crashing at home after a long week with a Netflix movie and popcorn. I love friday nights.

Saturday:
No structure again. Really depends on the time of the year, it almost always involves a run for J and some sort of outdoor exercise for C--I would say 6 months/year it's ultimate, the other 6 mos biking or running or disc golf....just whatever he feels like :). In the fall it's football. In the winter/spring/summer, again, whatever :).

Yes, it's kind of a rut and doesn't leave a whole lotta room for spontaneity, but I sure do love our life right now. Random people have asked me lately if I miss Austin. Don't get me wrong, I love Austin, we have family there, it's gorgeous, and of course home of THE university in texas, but we really love the life we have in Dallas. Our church family. Our friends. Our community group. Our neighborhood. Our little ruts of places we eat and things that we do. Dallas is home now, and I wouldn't trade it for anything....unless, of course, the Lord calls us somewhere else. And that's where we'll go.

In other news of the week:
-I registered for the NYC marathon lottery this week. Should find out late March if I get in, and training would start in May. I have mixed feelings about running/training for another marathon, but if I were to do another, it would have to be a BIG one. So, why not New York? I also convinced my friends Shannon and Danna to register; we've trained the past 2 years for White Rock, so we'll just see what happens!
-we found out Edil is back from Honduras and we're thrilled for him and Sofia (not to mention Caleb's running ideas in his head of remodeling the master bath)
-our slate roof is completed
-we're refinancing our house, closing this Thursday!

I'm hoping to get the spring cleaning bug soon, but until then....I think I'll rest my eyes here in this sunshine outside :).

The past few months in pics

The winter olympics and huge snowfall in Dallas this week got me in the mood for a winter-y post. I then realized I haven't posted pics in a while, so here are the past few months in pics. As always, it's in reverse order, as that's how it posts and I just can't figure out how to change it!

Note in this pic how this Live Oak is bent completely over our sidewalk. Caleb is examing the damage before work on Friday morning....



Looking down our street....

The above brings us to today, Valentine's Day. Our romantic activity for the day was cutting down the tree, as the snow did lots of damage to that Live Oak you saw above. And when I say OUR activity, it was all Caleb...I just took these snapshots after he finished.

Up in the tree, exhausted!

Again, I can't move these pics around so a 'lil reverse back to our house on Friday morning:

A couple of weeks ago we got to see our sweet friends the Powell's and help celebrate Elise's 1st birthday. Mike has been in Iraq the past 9 months and came back for his 2 week R&R for the birthday. They are such a sweet family, only 3 more months and they'll be all together again!

Our friends the Kemp's had their 2nd baby, Moses, a couple of weeks ago as well. We kept the celebration going after the hospital visit with some yummy pizza and good friends!

Here's the big group at the hospital. I love the Kemp's, they are so carefree and welcomed us all into their little hospital room to visit and hang out with little Moses.

And here he is, right at 24 hours old. Looking forward to watching this little guy grow up!

Hanging out with Harrison is never boring....he's sporting his "crazy hair":

The boys love taking turns "riding" uncle Caleb. They actually don't love taking turns, they say "my turn! my turn!" till he can barely walk! Here he is with Hudson, both in Longhorn attire :).

Moses' big brother Joel (this is before Moses was born, remember reverse order folks) rockin' out to Rockband!

Community group baby shower for our babysitter Alex. Love these gals.

We traded the Wii for a PS3 are lovin' the Rockband. Here's some friends partaking in the fun with us. Unfortunately, I still can't convince my lovely next door neighbor to come play with his sister!

Sweet sweet cousins Noah and Joel as Shannon coerced them to kiss for the camera! This is at Moses' surpise baby shower.

Turning back time to Christmas and our ski trip......what's Christmas without Santa on a snowboard?!

Going up the ski lift, we were very very cold! I think this picture is right after I dropped the camera case OFF the lift (right after Caleb verbalized his opinion that we shouldn't try to take a picture on the lift). Hey, atleast it was just the case and not the camera....and, the nice fella who found it skiing under the lift took it back to base for us. Gotta love the Good Samaritans at Wolf Creek!

Just included this pic, as it really characterized what December was to us....marathon (medals around the stockings), Christmas, snow (skiing), and of course Jesus watching over us as we did the above.

After skiing, we went to Austin to celebrate Christmas with Caleb's parents, sister Beth, and niece Sofia. One day Sofia brought her cat over....and Caleb LOVED it. I didn't touch it. Shows you that a cat would not work in our house.

So, folks that's the past few months in pics. Caleb is playing winter league ultimate on Saturdays, I'm attempting to run the lake loop once a week, and we've started attending track workouts together once a week. I'm back on gen peds at work and it keeps me on my feet, as I see something different every day. We're enjoying the balance of hanging out at home with being active and hanging out with family and friends. I'm reading a book for Bible study right now called "The Grace Awakening" by Charles Swindoll and it's amazing, would highly recommend it.

Other than that, we're staying warm, playing RockBand, watching the Olympics, and living a very blessed life.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Winter Wonders

The above was taken on Christmas Day 2009. It was a fabulous way to spend Christmas. We went out to Roscoe to spend some quality time with Mamie and Grandaddy then made the road trip up to Pagosa Springs, Co. We spent 6 nights at our family condo just the 2 of us. The days went like this:
5:45: wide awake, can't sleep...sneak into the kitchen, get a cup of coffee, and sit by the window to watch the sun rise, read my Bible, be quiet, be still, reflect...
6:45: wake Caleb up with breakfast, lay in bed and watch the Today show with coffee in hand
7:30: get on our ski clothes, Caleb de-ices the car
7:45: on the road to the mountain!
8:15-10:30: SKI
10:30-11:00: hot chocolate break
12:30: Burger, chips, and gatorade at Raven's Nest (on the mountain=genius idea, you have to have a lift ticket so those Moms that don't ski can't hog tables all day!)
1-2:30: SKI
2:30: hot chocolate/beer/tea/reeses/oatmeal creme pie=take your pick for this break!
3-4:30: SKI (Julie actually never made it past 3:45 or so!)
5-back to the condo, get in the jacuzzi tub
6-scrounge up something for dinner
7:30-I'm exhausted and can't stay awake.....

Of course there were a few changes, but the above was pretty accurate day after day. It was fabulous. We went to a cozy 'lil Christmas Eve service to remember the reason for the season. I cried when the little brothers that were 3 and 5 sang "Away in a Manger"in cute little suits--I told Caleb I now have a new goal for our children :). We also took Wednesday off (skiied 4 of 5 days) and laid around the condo, played 4 games of Monopoly, 2 games of Scrabble, and ate lots of bad food including a quick store run for jalepeno poppers! That night we went on a REAL sleigh ride and you betcha all day long I was singing "just hear those sleigh bells jinglin' ring ting tinglin' too, come on it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you...giddy up! giddy up! giddy up let's go...let's look at the snow..", okay, you get the picture. The sleigh took us up to a cabin for a prime rib dinner (on paper plates, there was no running water up there...good thing I didn't need to find a potty!). One of the sleigh ride drivers was cracking us up during dinner, he had no idea how loud he was talking and was very socially awkward! So, that was fun. Ahhh...what a fun vacation. We did wake up on Christmas Eve to realize that our heater wasn't working--and just remember, it did not get above ZERO the last 4 days we were there. Caleb ended up calling maintenance at 2 am and he got it working! Our own 'lil Christmas miracle!

We drove back through Roscoe on our way home and got to have a cozy Ratliff Christmas. I grew up making pallets (sp?) on the floor with all my cousins and I LOVE it...Caleb's still transitioning to having 12 people in 1200 square feet :). We had a great time playing games and catching up. I LOVE Roscoe at Christmas, it's just never really Christmas to me without time in Roscoe. So, Caleb indulges and is slowly starting to love it as well :).

Then it was back to the grind of work......

But, it was still BOWL SEASON which means to me, it's still the holidays until the BCS championship is over.

I won't go into details of the game, as we all know how it ended. However, I am so proud to be a Longhorn. Even though we lost, look at the example of Colt McCoy in his post game interview:

"I love this game, I have a passion for this game, I’ve done everything I can to contribute to my team and we made it this far and it’s unfortunate that I didn’t get to play. I would have given everything I had to be out there with my team. Congratulations to Alabama, I love the way our team fought…Garrett Gilbert played as well as he could play, he did a tremendous job. I always give God the glory, I’d never question why things happen the way they do. God is in control of my life and if nothing else I know I’m standing on The Rock"

What a great example of the sovereignty of God right after your dreams fell through your hands. Giving God the glory. Thank you Colt, I will name my firstborn son after you and your predecessor....Colton Vince Wood. What a ring! Haha...just kidding :).

The decorations are now put up, we're getting back into the swing of working out and eating healthy, etc etc--those "new year" things! We also have discovered rock band. And we have our own band called The Woodpeckers with our own hand gesture and everything.

And on that note...

Rock On. Hook 'Em Horns!

Chronicles of Marathon #2!

I went back and read last years marathon of a post after I became a "marathoner". Although it probably bores my readers, I really enjoy remembering the details of the day. Now, will I do another one? Probably not. 26.2 miles is brutal on the body and that last 10K is by far the most painful experience I've ever felt in my life (reminder: I have not endured labor). I would consider New York or Chicago...but I think my time at White Rock Marathon is complete. Onto the day...

Caleb decided about a month ago that he, too, would run the marathon. Not too much training, but to his credit, he did bust out the 18 miler and 22 miler in training and did really well. It was fun to anticipate the day together, go to the expo, rest the legs, set out our clothes, etc and discuss expectations and strategies as we lay in bed not able to sleep on Saturday night. When he decided to run the marathon, I told him I did not want to run together, as he really messed with my mental psyche (and running a marathon is so mental). He then decided instead of a goal of finishing, he would have a goal of a sub 4 hour marathon (he made it, by the way!). He went with some other friends the morning of and I picked up Shannon.

Here's what the floor of our room looked like when we went to bed Sat night:

Morning of the marathon around the AAC brought back many memories. We did use the inside bathrooms this year which went really fast and eliminated the stress of missing the start from waiting in line for the outside johns. Went to the Luke's tent, sat and rested the legs as I ate my cereal and banana. Then over the speaker "runners, get in your corrals, the gun will go off in 15 minutes". The knots started in the stomach....but completed relaxed when I saw Caleb amongst the 20,000 runners in his mustard fleece he bought specifically for race day for shedding. Big hug. "Good luck". And he went back to his start..and I went to mine. I do remember thinking "I sure hope that's not our last goodbye"! Looking back, that's so morbid, but I've heard of too many marathon "death" stories the past few months!

Here's our starting line picture, I was so glad to see him before the race (and made him shed that ugly fleece off so it would be a cute pic!):

The gun goes off....we see it on the big screen and the Kenyans take off. We don't move for atleast 3-4 minutes, then start walking to the start. Cross the start line at 8:08 gun time , start my watch, and it's here. I'm no longer nervous, but excited. About 2 minutes into the race, I feel a familiar pat on my back and "see you in 5 hours". Caleb's passing me and running his race. I'm running mine. See you in 4 and a HALF!

I start the ipod early this year. Focused. Manage the water stops well. Only take Gu when I need it. My favorite sign I see about mile 7 and then again at 23 when it was really needed "You all have Kenyan legs. Find yours". Go through Highland Park, Turtle Creek, run the tangents. Hit the lake at mile 9 and still feel strong and focused. My running buddies Shannon, Danna, and Brian--we're all still together. Hit the half marathon marker at 2:17. Rockin' it. Feeling strong. The lake is familiar territory, pass the bath house, I own this route. Finish the lake about mile 18. Go around the curve, look to my left and see Stephen, Diana, and my Mom cheering. Boost of energy! See the 19 mile Cliff waterstop and see the Latimer's to my left. Perfect timing, another boost when I need it, don't even stop at the waterstop. Up the Dolly Parton's, still rockin' it. Up Tokalon, tired but strong. Realized we lost Danna and Brian, but Shannon and I are still together!

Around mile 18, still smiling :)!

Then...it hits. I was thinking up to this point I was not going to hit a wall. The infamous 18 mile wall was over and I'm strong. Wrong. I hit the wall and I can't climb it. Thankfully, Kimberly comes at just the right point around mile 20 and runs with me for 5 MILES. I can't talk to her. Can't say thank you. Just nod as she encourages me all along the way. Reminding me of the course. Swiss is downhill, then downtown and the finish. I lose Shannon somewhere around mile 21. Kimberly goes back and forth between us, encouraging us both (we end up finishing about 30 seconds apart). When she's with me, she tells the supporters "cheer for Julie!" and they start cheering "Go Julie!". I wish I could say it helped, it didn't. I was in pain--not leg pain, but just my body saying "please stop, I can't get oxygen and I don't want to move any more". This was my BIG mistake this year: from mile 22 to finish, I never stopped for water or gatorade. I ran through the water stops, as I felt like if I slowed down or stopped, I could not start back up. Now, I did this in training...but only for the last 3 miles. Marathon day was different. The sun was coming out, temps were heating up. I didn't listen to my body, but tried to mentally get through it.

I think I became a little delirious. I was literally moaning with breathing. Closing my eyes. Get into downtown thinking I'm almost there. Those last 2 miles were the longest 2 miles of my life. My 4:40 prize is a night at the Ritz. I never thought I would get it, but now I know I'm close and visualize in my mind what I think the beds at the Ritz look like...fluffy, comfy, me in a soft robe---if I can make it 20 more minutes, I can spend 20 hours in that bed. It gets me through. I thought they forgot to put out the 25 mile marker, insistent I had run over a mile from 24...and the flag came what felt like an hour later (it wasn't really, I actually maintained my pace that last stretch). Every turn downtown I expect to see balloons, the finish...nope, just people running in front and turning again. And again. And again. Hit 26 and those last .2 are also brutal. Just have to finish.

See the ballooons. The gates with the cheering. Think I hear Caleb to my left, some lady voice to my right yelling "Go Julie!". I just want to finish. I cross the mat. Stop. Cross the 2nd mat. Faint I just remember people in red shirts catching me and saying "stay with us". I can't talk. They put me in a wheelchair. I have no head control, remember thinking...if I lean forward, I'm going to fall out,but I can't keep my head up. Lean back. They pick me up to put me in another wheelchair and I have no control of my legs, my head, my body, I'm literally a limp noodle totally dependent on them. The weirdest feeling of my life. They place me in a wheelchair and wheel me around what feels like forever. I can't talk, they're trying to get me to say my name and count. I'm gesturing for water. I know all I need is water. They finally get me to a tent and give me water. I'm getting better. See Shannon, but can't talk--feel like a 1 year old communicating with gestures, wanting someone to get Shannon (I can tell she's looking for me) and I'm pointing, nobody gets her. She walks away. Someone will come get me. I wait. Drink my water.

Finally feel like I can walk, the man with me holds my arm to make sure and I'm okay. I walk, get my finisher shirt, then see Caleb. Grab his arm and he takes me to the curb. My first words: "I got all my prizes". Ask him how his race was, he says "good" and looks GREAT! My Mom, Stephen, and Diana see us and my Mom was a little freaked as she saw all the finish line drama, but relieved I'm okay. We attempt to get food, I feel nauseous the whole time, just want to go home.

Here's us on the curb, the official "finisher" picture. I really wanted one that showed us holding our medals and standing UP, but that just didn't happen! This is more realistic, and ended up being our Christmas card pic this year!

Made it home and I've felt great since! Just a little dehydration and body shock I think :). We showered and then watched the 2.5 hour marathon special we had recorded while we sipped gatorade and laid on the couches. Caleb and I were both hobbling around on Monday but getting less sore each day. I'm so proud of him, I hung our medals with our stockings :). I do hope our children get his athleticism! It takes me 26 weeks and him 4, but like I always say, I do the marathon for the training. I still stick by it, I love the training, the marathon itself...it's okay. We're recovering this week...so we can go skiing next week! Woo hoo!

Official times:

Caleb: 3:58:25 : I love this pic of him finishing. Doesn't he look awesome!! So proud!

Julie: 4:36:21 (a good 29 minutes faster than last year!)
No finish line picture yet. I'm curious to see what the professional pic looks like this year!

We're both MARATHONERS!

Here's us the night of the marathon at a celebration party with our fabulous sign the Basden's made for us:

Marathon #2

Tomorrow is the big day. Marathon #2 for me, #1 for Caleb. We've spent the day carb loading and resting. Caleb cannot stand being lazy, so he's opted to go to the movies this afternoon to "rest his legs". I'm enjoying a little quiet time by the fire with the Christmas tree lights brightening the room :). The ipod mix is complete. The clothes are set out. Advil is in it's baggy. Prizes are complete. I think we're ready, we shall see what tomorrow brings....