Joyful Day; Gift of Life

Joyful Day,
Glorious Life.
Waking up at 2 a.m,
Expecting it, embracing it,
       knowing that they grow up 
In the blink of an eye. 
Excited Child,
    shaking with anticipation, wonder, 
and the 
       magic of it all.
Led back to bed,
     but first, with a shared and knowing wink,
     a quick check outside 
            to see that the reindeer had eaten their veggie snack,
only a bit of carrot left behind
As proof
That they were there.


Tired parents.  Eyes Heavy from missing sleep.
But smiles on our faces
        From ear to ear.
Remembering. Understanding.  Experiencing again.
The joy of giving.
    And Receiving too.
Celebration of a child being born to us, our Savior and Lord.  


Family.
Gifts given from the heart,
Most adored.
    Made with their hands,
Treasured forever. 
Irreplaceable gifts,
    Only one of their kind.  
Made
Especially
For
You and Me.


Thankful for Blessings. 
A Family,
    Love,
Home.


Knowing that tomorrow
Is a New Day.  
Fresh Start.
New Opportunities for Growth,
And
      Goals
To be a better You
   and Me.
A Gift we have 
Especially
Because of Love and Grace
From
God.  


Hope your day was blessed with love and joy!  


Who did you spend your Christmas with ?
We spent our morning with just our family of 5!  We had little sleep since my 5 year old couldn't help but wake up at 2a.m.  She was so excited!  My husband handled it so much better than I would have since I do not do well without my sleep!  At 2 we drove over to my in-law's house with my mom, sister-in-law and family.  Lots of love!  And many hand made gifts.  Treasures.


Did you get any running related gifts this year?
I got my Garmin 205 that I was hoping for!  I didn't have time for a real run today so I just went on a short and easy mile before we left for our family dinner.  Just enough to play around with it for 8 min and 2 seconds.  Enough to let me know that I. LOVE. IT!  


Oh, and of course, I also got my cool running necklace from Meg, my Secret Santa.  You can check that out HERE.

Amanda

Tree, Holiday Cards, Art, Thanksgiving and Other Randomness



1.  Okay, so is it too early to put our Christmas Tree up?  We usually wait until after Thanksgiving but  I really have the itch to do it today!  My husband says absolutely not!  But I say Why Not?! 

2.  This Tree topic makes me excited to tell you about my first giveaway that I have in the works for Monday!  I'm so excited because I wanted it to be a giveaway that isn't just for runners but something that will reach the interests of all kinds of people!  I know not everyone celebrates Christmas, but most people either know of someone or they themselves have a use for some kind of announcement, invitation or Holiday Card! And what's better than getting a set of custom made cards, invitations, or announcements for free?! All you'll have to do is send in a picture that you want to use.  I have not ironed out the details yet but I'll have more to say about this giveaway soon! 

3.  Thank you for all your comments and feedback about the Cher Odum art I wrote about in The Beauty of Art, The Essence of a Runner.  She is definitely working on coming up with something new.  I know art is such a personal preference and what one person loves, another might take no interest in.  Such is the beauty of art!

 

4.  I ran 4 miles on the treadmill last night and reached another new level in my recovery!  Today I think I'm going to try to get in 6 at an easy pace. Good news is that I don't feel any pain in my hamstring!  I've been using my kinesio tape and stretching really good so this is helping.   Thinking of all you that are coming back from an injury...I know how hard it can be to not run!  Just keep focusing on the your goal and visualizing yourself running free and strong.  Visualizing and remaining focused on healing and strength help speed up the recovery process!

A shout out to several NW blogger runners who are running in the EWEB Run To Stay Warm .  Good luck ladies:   Elkton Runner, Little Fruit Fly, Laurie, and Kim!

5.  Holiday Traditions.  I'm so excited for Thanksgiving.  It is my favorite holiday.  I love getting out my nice table cloths, dishes, decorations and music and making it a really nice dinner.  I know for some it is a more relaxed day with football and eating on the couch all day but for me it more of a fancy occasion.  I usually have everyone write down what they are thankful for (with some twist) and then we include them in our gratitude album where we can look back to all the past years and see how far we've all come in life. Everyone is so good about humoring me.  They even agree to share their gratitude cards at the table before we eat.  And the only thing that would make it more festive is a decorated TREE!  ;)

What are your Thanksgiving Traditions?

Amanda