Weekend Update with Jess

Looking forward in my planner earlier last week, I knew this weekend was going to be busy. Full. The kind I like and still have to take a deep breath to get through.

So while I should be writing a letter today, I think I'll wait. Today I'll share my weekend.

f.r.i.d.a.y.

So Friday was work as usual but at the end of the day, I headed south a few miles to hang out with high school students. High school students? Yup. There's a retreat called Happening that really impacted my teenage years and helped me form a love for Jesus. When I was asked if I could help, I heartily agreed. I didn't realize at the time how packed my weekend already was. So what was meant to be a full weekend of assistance turned into an evening instead. I helped arrange things, purchased supplies, and got to know, and pray with, the staff.  As I was wrapping up my time with them, I was headed to chat with a friend before leaving.

Here's the thing about this retreat: there are some things they keep "secret" throughout the weekend until they are unpacked. In order to keep them a secret, they hang sheets in certain places in the host church to hide things going on on the other side. Harmless, right? Fun? Yes.

Unless, on the other side of that sheet, a 17 year old boy has decided to run, full speed, into the sheet without knowing what's on the other side.

And what, exactly, was on the other side?   You guessed it.

Me.

Before I knew what had happened, this kid smashed smack dab into me.  I spun, my glasses went flying, and both of us landed in sorry heaps on the floor across from each other.

When the retreat coordinator heard the smack and the groaning she came through the sheet to see what had happened and found us both in the fetal position.  She asked me how I was and all I could say (and think) was, "I can't tell you until I know where my glasses are. Where are my glasses?"  She led me to them and I placed them on my watering eyes.  We assessed the damage. Poor teenager had a bloody nose and a bruise that looked like a black eye. I had (and have) a very sore chin, along with a bruised foot and some back pain. The best I can explain it, it felt like my body was in a car crash. Only there was no car.  I iced my chin, made sure the kid (who "just so happened to be wearing a kU shirt--I am convinced he knew there was a Mizzou fan on the other side) was ok, and wrapped up my work to head home.

So that was Friday:).

s.a.t.u.r.d.a.y.

On Saturday, my one and only goal was to run 20 miles. I mean, I had other goals but I knew (because of an unsuccessful attempt three weeks ago) this 20 mile thing was going to be quite the task.  What I didn't account for was the super warm weather. So Hubs and I popped out of bed at 7:30, grabbed some breakfast, and were on the run by a little before 9. Yes, it was late. But we never sleep in so we were thankful to have a chance to do so.

I wish I could tell you I rocked that run, that all was awesome, that we finished in record time, and I went on to finish my to-do list that day. Alas, it was a little less awesome and a little more, "wow I am still alive."  See, we took in so much water that I became a little wonky. There's an official word for it, I hear. It's called hyponatremia.  Basically, my body had enough water, per se, but it for sure did not have enough electrolytes. Or food. So, while I finished 20 miles successfully (after some walking and a lot of praying and positive self talk), shortly after that finishing, I had to ask another dear friend, who happens to date my brother, to come pick us up off the trail.  That would be fine. It would have been a story but not too crazy.

No, the crazy part happened when I got home. I went to drink water and, well, there's no dainty way to say it didn't stay down. No, in fact, it stayed on the floor (I didn't tell the hubs fast enough I might need a trash can). Yeah, four hours later, I still couldn't keep anything down. So I did what any good 29 year old woman would do.  I asked my husband to get me noodle soup and gatorade and I called my mommy.  It does help that mommy is a nurse:).

Mom said this was the last try. If this didn't work I would have to get an IV to fix my fluids. This did not sound like a good plan, for so many reasons. Lucky for me, when Hubs got home with the gatorade and soup, it did the trick.  Hooray!  It worked so well, I was able to make it to Old Navy's outwear sale. Can we say Mizzou Gold trench coat? We can.

So yes, I am fine. But it was rough. And we are re-working the idea of race-day nutrition. I am 3 weeks out.  If you have any suggestions, I am all ears. Seriously. The big plan right now is real food. Not beans or gel or stingers but food. Pretzels, potatoes, beef jerky, PBJ. I am going to try a snack pack and hopefully less sugar and more salt and carbs will help me finish. Because, darn it, I so badly want to finish.

If you don't have suggestions, will you just say a quick prayer that God will sustain my body through 26.2 miles on December 1? I want to finish this time. Then maybe next time we can work on the mechanics of it all.

s.u.n.d.a.y.

So Sunday. Well, Sunday is a work day. It was a beautiful work day. Lots of kids. A sermon that reminded me of the goodness of our God.  And then, my very favorite thing that happens in a church (I really think).  We had a baptism service. Sweet friends from 7 weeks to friends in their twenties were washed symbolically with the water. We celebrated God's covenant promise.  We celebrated Jesus.  And we celebrated family and community. I cried for the entire service.  Grace. Water. Overflowing. Mingled. Beautiful redemption.  It's moving, each and every time I watch it.

This time in particular, one of our dear friends who adopted from Ethiopia baptized their sweet one.  We celebrated with her family after the service and it was one of those moments where beauty and celebration and pain and longing all sit and impregnate a room.  All mixed.  I mean, a year ago, our sweet friend wasn't here in this country. And here she is, gold sparkly bows in her hair. A room full of family and friends who are celebrating her dedication to the Lord.

And yet, it made me acutely aware of the hole I try to avoid. The little man. The one I talk so much about but rarely feel with all his force, for the pain it causes.  I want him here. I wanted him to be in the room. Or at least next year. I want it to be his baptism. And still, it's very unlikely he'll be around next year, or the year after that. Maybe even the next. It's a long, hard road.

How timely that at small group that night, friends who love us well in Jesus arrived with a celebration of one year of our waiting. What a surprise as they arrived with cake and Ethiopian side dishes and a card filled with the most beautiful words about our family and our adoption. Delicious. Satisfaction for the body and the soul. I cried. And smiled. And was so thankful for friends who carry us when this journey seems like it's unending.

Here's the cake:

(it says "Congratulations Eric and Jess! Waiting for our little Man. One year DTE")

Ethiopian Sambusas

Not pictured: crepes that were a stand-in for injera, the most difficult Ethiopian food to replicate (in my opinion). The crepes were amazing!!

It was a great night. We finished off with Bible study and prayer and thankfulness for our friends.

So yes, see why I needed a weekend update? 

Bottom line: we long for that little man but our life is so full and so blessed by the Lord.

I hope your weekend was beautiful.  Off to make dinner...

Runnin Maniacs

Well, I didn't plan to have time to write this post until after work today. And then I got ready, headed to work, had to pull over on the side of the road due to snow and sliding. And got hit. Twice. By two different cars. So, I am at home, happily working on plenty of work things. And here's a little update about the weekend.

Last weekend was the event we had been training for for months: the St. Jude Memphis Half Marathon. While it was the third time for E, Dad, and I to run it (and the second time to raise money for the hospital) it was Mom's first go at it. Each year, it becomes a bigger deal for our family. This year we spent a little longer in Memphis than in years past. We also had more team members and raised more money than ever before. Here, our journey in pictures:

In the Suburban, taking the lovely journey toward Memphis. Yes, my mom is on Facebook. We also watched "Friends with Benefits." I do not recommend watching this, let alone with your parents. It's pretty vile for the first hour. You've been warned.

Once we got checked in, our first stop was the expo. We got our race numbers, turned in the last of our fundraising money, and did a little shopping. This photo is from the Heroes area (the fundraising runners). How can you see that sweet face and not want to raise money? Impossible, I say.

Some of the St. Jude staff from the expo. They were excited to be photographed. They were also super nice.

One of E's purchases. I can't really say no to shopping when it benefits the kids. Who am I kidding--I rarely say no to shopping:)

Doing a little pre-dinner running strategy discussion. Dad, E, and Ken are seriously strategizing (or something)

I did a little hydrating. With wine. Then I drank water for the rest of the night. Promise!

My ticket to the Heroes pasta party. The best, most inspiring, emotionally exhausting dinner I attend each year.

The Mizzou Maniacs in full force. We're only missing E. We managed to meet our team goal of $4,000. I also met my goal of $600. Woo hoo. All for the kids! The dinner included speeches from the president of the fundraising portion of St. Jude, Hal Higdon (one of racing's biggest coaching names), and a family whose son is currently in treatment at St. Jude. What an amazing night. This was promptly followed by sleep. Or it would have been. But it took hours to get sheets for our pull out. So, basically, sleep followed as promptly as we got our sheets. 

Up and at em early! Hubs shows off his excitement for the run. And his new shirt:).

Here I am at the start of the race. Perfect weather!! It started at about 45 degrees. I'm excited. And a little nervous.

I would love to show you pictures of me running. Unfortunately, I was busy running. You can check the website and put my name in if you really want to see me in action. Instead, here we are at the finish. We had our fastest race time ever: 1:52:00, beating last year's time by 8 1/2 minutes. Yes, E ran with me the whole time. He's awesome like that.

Mom and Dad finished together as well. Nice job, you two!! They finished faster than expected and were still madly in love at the end. I'd call it a win.

Naturally, the first thing you want to do when you finish a run is replenish and rehydrate. Two-in-one with a nice glass of Coors Light. But really, the metabolism is going so fast at that point, it's mostly just a big glass of carbs. 

I don't even like beer. But seriously, friends, the carbs. I tell you. The Carbs.  In total before we left the arena I had a banana, a piece of pizza, a cup of soup, a gogurt, beer, a chocolate milk, and a water. And then we went to eat lunch:).

I saw these two ladies and their tutus and had to take a picture. My challenge to my mom was to wear a similar costume next year. She promises to comply.

Once we got cleaned up, we headed to our favorite celebration spot: Rendezvous. If you have not been to BBQ at Rendezvous, you need to go. No really. Go now. And ask for Robert Jr.'s section. He's awesome. And he's Justin Timberlake's favorite so how could you go wrong? He promised me I was just as good as Justin Timberlake. I thanked him for his honesty.

Mom and I celebrated her first half marathon with a miniature bottle of champagne. Because there is no better place to drink champagne than a BBQ spot with checkered table cloth.

A half slab of ribs. Dry rub. So. Very. Tasty. MMmmmmmmm. I dream about them all year and get them every December!!

When we finished, we ran around and looked at the sights in Memphis. Like the Christmas tree at the Peabody Hotel. 

And the Peabody ducks. If you haven't heard about the Peabody ducks, you can read about them here.

Famous Beale Street. We run down it but don't have time to see much. So we took a closer look.

Here's the Hard Rock.

And some Hard Rockin' Men. Or Hard Running ones.

When it was all over, we took the first train back home. And by train I mean Suburban. It's such a hard weekend emotionally. I high fived lots of kids. And cried at the pictures of those we're fighting for. And those we're fighting in memory of, whose fight is over. I met amazing people and heard the stories of kids wise and brave beyond their years. I can't wait to do it again next year. Next year's personal goal: $750. All of it for an amazing organization.

Weekend Past, Weekend Present

  I planned to post a recap of last weekend but I ended up having a ton of great, adoption-related stuff to post about instead.  So, you're getting a twofer. First up...the weekend of celebrations.

Last weekend everyone we knew was celebrating a baby or a wedding. I am learning to set boundaries in life (thank you Drs. Cloud and Townsend) so instead of trying to attend four events, Hubs and I decided to go for two out of four.  

But first, because we are both crazy and the St. Jude half marathon is coming up and we're raising money for the second year, we went for an 8.5 mile run.  By the time we got to my BFF's engagement announcement brunch, the day had already been in full force for several hours. I also thought it might be possible for me to eat ALL EDIBLE THINGS at the brunch. Still, it was lovely and kicked off what is sure to be an exciting and busy engagement time for my friend.  We're already scheming all things bachelorette and I am looking forward to being the co MOH for the first time in my life.  I would love to show you pictures of this blessed event but I was too busy chatting it up and eating, eating, and more eating to take pics.

Just as things were slowing down, Hubs and I headed off to the next event...I actually did take pictures of this one.  Hubs' coworker and our neighbors wed.  Here, the ceremony.

And then, the reception. It was incredibly beautiful but a little cold.  Thus, I had to put on my stocking cap. And then, as ladies know, I couldn't take it off the rest of the evening. I mean, the hair had officially been ruined.  Here is the evidence that I wore a stocking cap for the entirety of the wedding and reception.

Hubs didn't have a hat but he did look quite dashing in his coat. 

We were thoroughly exhausted when we decided to stop by Miss M's (the engagement chica, remember her from two paragraphs ago) to watch the Mizzou game. We quickly gave up on that when we realized we were losing to the Baylor Bears. Yes, sic em indeed. Ugh.

Sunday was officially Orphan Sunday, celebrated around the world.  We celebrated at church, wearing our 147 Million Orphan shirts, beads (just me, not Hubs), and attending the Orphan Sunday Simulcast at church.  Here are some photos of Orphan Sunday, where we prayed for orphans around the world and  was focused on the importance of the church seeking to help orphans around the world and in our own community.

When the simulcast was complete, we ate the most delicious cake EVER (no really! and beautiful!

Then while I cleaned up the cake, Hubs became the jungle gym for all children at the event. I apologize for the blurriness of the photos but the children and the man child were just too fast for me to get good shots of them.  But look at my cute hubs. Isn't he going to be a great dad? Also, I am going to need to get rid of all things breakable in our home.

Yes, I have a feeling in a couple of years, there will never be a calm moment in our home.  Also, I think we will sleep soundly at night. The sleep of exhausted parents.  When we get to sleep, that is.

So moving on to this weekend.  First, it was 11.11.11 on Friday (you probably knew that). The University Bookstore decided to drop 11,111 ping pong balls from the roof of their building. And some of them had prizes on them. It resulted in thousands of people watching and about six people actually getting to touch any ping pong balls. It happened quickly.  And it was kind of anticlimactic.  Here, the best shot:

Friday night we went to trivia night with E's work. We got 4th out of 24 teams.  Hubs proved his knowledge of science fiction and James Bond (although his boss is the true Bond pro. She owns every book). I, in turn, proved my knowledge in musical movies and historical period movies. I am clearly the fun one here. OK maybe not.  We both had the 90s TV in the bag.

Saturday, we went to what may have been the best game of the season. Mizzou had never beat Texas (the #16 team) under our current coach, Coach Pinkel. That all ended Saturday. Good thing, too, because it was our last time to play them. We announced last Sunday we're moving to the SEC.  Lots of opinions on that one but I will say, it will be really fun to play the teams of some of my favorite bloggers. Yeah, it's all about the blogs, baby. But seriously. The SEC contains BooMama, Big Mama, Kelly from Kelly's Korner, and Amanda from Baby Bangs. What more could a girl want? OK that's really odd, I know, since they don't know I am a person. But still. I think it's fun!

The game made me sick at my stomach and it is truly a tragedy that Poor Henry Josey hurt himself so detrimentally. Side note--Mack Brown, you are a class act. What an impressive thing to come pat our hurt hero on the back before the Gator took him off to the training facililty. Anyway, we had to capture the win. So here we are...

 Finally, today was our baptism service at our church. I had never been to a baptism service at our church (aside from baby-sitting during it in college) so it was so fun. Plus, two of my favorite babies (the only two babies in our small group) were dedicated to the Lord through baptism today. I cried at the beauty of so many individuals, families, and children being committed to the Lord. I took a picture of each family. Totally unidentifiable but here are our beauties. We can't wait to watch you grown in the Lord!

 Two weekends both alike in amount of hours but different in every other way.  So fun that each weekend gives us a little different experience. Next weekend is our final home game and we will be sad to see football season go but I'm hoping for a new start next fall.  I mean, it's not been so magical for us this year.

Welp, Kitchen Stadium is calling my name. Y'all have a good day and I'll catch you on the flip side.

Excitement, or lack thereof

I think you have every right to know that my life as a 28 year old is much more exciting than it was at 27. That is, if you believe excitement is a Friday night filled with watching "Whitney" (which I can't recommend, because of both its laugh track and hearing one of the most vulgar jokes I've heard on prime time TV in its content) on DVR followed by an 8:30 bed time.  I can't make this stuff up people.  It does, I suppose, make it a little better that I watched "Parenthood" on my computer til 9:30 instead of crashing straight to sleep.  Right? Right??

Well anyway, apparently I needed that sleep because I woke up at the ripe hour of 9:30 a.m. and felt refreshed but not like I had overslept. I have always been one who needs a lot of sleep so this was no surprise to me, the twelve hour weekend slumber. Hubs, on the other hand, is always shocked by how much I can sleep.  He woke up about 6:30 and started playing with the puppies.  Friends, I have a puppy story to tell but I am honestly not sure how many readers out there can handle it.  It's hilarious and disgusting all at the same time. If you are not into hilariously disgusting, I recommend you skip down, I'll give you some asterisks so you can see when the story ends.

*****(this is the beginning, not the ending, obvs)*****

Yesterday, I thought I saw Gabby carrying some underthings of mine in her mouth.  When I went to grab them from her, they were gone.  I had a strange suspicion that she didn't hide them under the bed.  Mostly because our bed doesn't have a frame so you pretty much can't get under it.  It is on the floor.  Anywho, I just felt maybe, just maybe, she had swallowed them.  But, of course, I couldn't prove it.  So, I mentioned it to the Hubs and left it at that.

Flash forward to 7am this morning while I am sleeping.  I get this tap on my shoulder from E, who explains to me the reason the water is running in the bathtub is because he has been washing his hands and feet, due to the gross scenario I am about to give you.  Mind you, I was so asleep I didn't hear the water run. I did hear him apologize, though.  Kind but unnecessary to the girl who can sleep through almost anything.

Anyway, apparently, while they were running laps in the yard, Gabs went into "the position" and hubs looked over to see not a regular deuce, as he had expected, but a pair of panties wrapped in a deuce.  Ew.  So, he goes to grab them from her but he was too late, she started to EAT THEM AGAIN!!  Seriously, people, my mind is not this gross.  I can't make this up.  So, he has to grab them out of her throat, where they are 2/3 of the way down, and pull them out of her mouth, covered in her own poop.  If the story stopped there, that would be funny right? Hubs would wash up and we'd all have had a good laugh.  But no.

She goes into "the position" again and lo and behold, a sock comes out with this mess.  He goes to grab it and girlfriend SWALLOWS it before he can get it away from her.  So now, we are waiting for a poop-covered men's dress sock to come out.  Again. The good news is she is completely fine and all the  socks and underpants seem to be passing through her just fine.  Plus, this gave me a reason to buy a new rubbermaid stacking container--to get more clean socks and underpants off the floor of our closet.

But I had no idea this was even a scenario to worry about when we got a bigger dog.  Guess I know now.  Whoops!

***You can read again***

So, after my sluggish 9:30 wake up, my maitre' d, also known as the husband (have I mentioned how awesome he is because if not, I should really be reprimanded), brought be French toast and coffee, in preparation for our seven miler.  I milled around and delayed as long as I could, but I eventually made my way to the door in my running clothes.

An hour and half later, we had run 7 miles, walked a half a mile, stretched, and were feeling awesome. We are training for the St. Jude Half Marathon, and I think we are putting the St. Louis full on our calendar, to run for As Our Own. I look forward to sharing more about this later, but this post is already long.

So after my first pumpkin latte of the season and a trip to purchase a Rubbermaid container as a direct result of "the incident" we are now at home, resting comfortably and getting ready for a nap.  Because, you know, 12 hours of sleep just isn't enough for a 24 hour period.

Have a great weekend!