Baby G's Gender Reveal

Let me just say that this was one of the happiest moments of my life. Mainly because of my husband's face when we cut into the cake.

But let's back up so you can get the full story :) With the wonders of genetic testing we were able to find out the gender of our baby when I was 13 weeks along. So the hubs and I designed a cake that reflected our interests and found a local {and AMAZING} gluten-free bakery to make our gender reveal cake!

Our doctor's office put the gender results in an envelope that I dropped off at the bakery. {Side note, it killed me that people in the world knew whether my baby was a girl or boy and I still didn't know!!} The next week the hubs picked up the cake on his way home from work and my nerves began to grow! I was moments away from finding out some of the biggest news of my life and my husband literally held it in his hands.

I set up my laptop and began recording so we could always look back and relive that sweet moment. And I'm so thankful I did!

I always hoped I would have a boy first, but my husband was convinced it was a girl - as if there were no other option. I was so nervous I could hardly stand.

So is it a boy or girl? Click below to watch the gender reveal video I made :)

It's a little boy!!

The funny part about it all was how on the side of the cake that the hub's cut on had both pink and blue icing in the middle. 

So he initially saw pink, but when he heard my gasp, he decided to look towards the center of the cake, which led to the sweetest face I've ever seen :)

The sweet cake decorator gave us the envelope from the doctor's office in case we didn't believe her :) so the hubs double checked just in case :)

And now just over one month later, we're still in disbelief :) A little boy will bless our lives in October! How our lives are going to be different, I can't even imagine. But I'm so excited for such a beautiful honor that the Lord has entrusted my husband and me :)

OKC Half Marathon Recap with My New Running Buddy

I was so excited to run the Oklahoma City Memorial half marathon with my new little running buddy!

One of my favorite things about races is the energy at the race expo! My parents and the hubs came with me to pick up my race packet and participant shirt.

The expo was a little disappointing. It wasn't very well organized. But perhaps most frustrating was that no one could tell me about the elevation of the course. I searched on the official race site, on their Facebook page, on Google, asked on their Facebook wall and tweeted to them and couldn't find any information on the elevation whatsoever. The pacer also wasn't very helpful either because he didn't really know an answer either. So I was completely unprepared for the course that lied ahead.

Nevertheless, I was stoked to run a race with my baby and that my family was able to come and support me!

Downtown OKC was beautiful!

We walked around for a while the night before the race to find a good place to carb load. But it was prom night so all of the Italian restaurants had at least a 2 hour wait (another reason why this race was a little frustrating).

On race morning I woke up at 4:15 to eat my first bagel and get ready for the race. The families and I walked to the starting area. We walked through the OKC Memorial which was so serene and beautiful!

After a quick trip to the port-a-potties and a 168 second pause to remember those that were lost in the OKC bombing, I lined up in my corral!

The race started exactly at 6:30! My favorite part of the race was the tradition of local firefighters walking the course.

from the Official OKCM's Facebook page

My legs felt heavy about a mile into the race, right in time for the first major hill of the course. Cut to 8 miles later {and several thoughts of "I'm never running a half marathon again" and "Why do I think running is fun?!}, I had already walked a few times because my body felt so lousy. I just never felt in rhythm. There were a few times where I felt like I couldn't get enough oxygen and got lightheaded {which scared me considering I'm providing oxygen for my new running buddy!}, so I swallowed my pride and walked for a few seconds as needed.

I was so relieved to see my family around mile 9! 

I was so tempted to ask someone to either finish running with me or to walk with me the rest of the way, but I decided to tough it out and finish on my own, continuing to walk as needed.

I thought I was delusional when I finally saw the finish line! I was hoping it was my finish line {as if there would be another finish line in the area??? I told you I was delusional}. I decided to go for it was hard as I could and finish strong. 

I'm thankful that I did because I broke my PR by a few seconds! I'm not sure how I did it considering it was a tough race + walking, but I did it!

My takeaways from this race:

 - 6:30 is a really early starting time

 - an elevation chart would be really helpful

 - eating dinner at 9:00pm and waking up at 4:30am isn't the best idea 
 - running a half marathon while pregnant is much harder than running without a kid in your abdomen
 - walking during a race is OKAY! It doesn't make you any less of a runner!
 - no matter how many times you swear you'll never run a race again, you'll be looking for another race within a week

Overall I'm really thankful for this race because the weather was perfect {and in Oklahoma, there's only about 5 days of perfect weather a year} and it provided a nice weekend getaway with my family filled with lots of laughs and good conversations.

While I did struggle during this race, I'm sad this will probably be my only half marathon {at least officially} during this pregnancy. I might be crazy, but I'm still looking for a fun and entertaining race that I can do before I get too big!

My #GoalsToGlorify

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I'm not much of a new years resolutioner, but I am VERY goal-oriented. Resolutions are quickly broken, but goals seem more like a promise to yourself. I believe goals are statements of faith that expand your character by challenging you in areas you want to improve. I thought for a few weeks on what my goals would be for the new year, and of course the typical

1. I want to read my bible more often
2. I want to lose weight
3. I want to get healthier

all came to my mind. Those are great goals, but I wanted to dig deeper into my soul to find the areas that really need life-long improvement. I want 2015 to be dedicated to enjoying life like never before, growing closer to Christ, and dedicating my body to His plan for me.

Chelsy on instagram started a #GoalsToGlorify campaign, where we can think about goals that glorify God, so that we may grow mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically… not just physically, which is the foundation of many new years resolutions.

So I thought and prayed that the Lord would reveal to me the areas in which I need the most improvement, so here goes:

These three #GoalsToGlorify will challenge me all year, no doubt. But I'm so excited to see how much I'll grow because of the challenge! Writing them down makes them so real! It's scary and intimidating to set such high goals for myself, especially because I've fallen in these areas so many times before (and I have already slipped up this year). But I want to start focusing and making goals in areas other than fitness. I'm hopeful that the Lord will teach me great things in the upcoming year! I have many other goals that I hope to accomplish this year, but the above are the three are the ones that I want to wholly focus on. And if you're on instagram, it would be awesome to have you join the #GoalsToGlorify campaign!

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• What do you hope to accomplish in 2015?

I Lived.

Click here to read day 1 and click here to read day 2 of my adventures in NYC!

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Wow. Where do I even begin? I’m so blessed to have the opportunity to run the New York City Marathon!

The morning of November 2, 2014, I woke up to Frank Sinatra’s New York, New York to help set the excitement of the day. My first thought was "Today I become a marathoner. Not only a marathoner, but a New York City marathoner." Something that, as of that day, just over 1 million people could say they had accomplished. Even fewer could say it was their first marathon and even fewer have a disability. But that was me. My much-anticipated dream was about to come true.

Since the race starts on Staten Island, with the first two miles crossing over the Verrazano Bridge, only runners are allowed at the starting line. So I bundled up and hopped on the official bus transportation to take me to the starting line.

Arriving at Fort Wadsworth seemed effortless. I followed the crowd through security where we had to show our race bibs to ensure it was runners only. I wasn’t set to start running until 10:40 (and I arrived at Staten Island around 8:15) so I had plenty of time to wait. My corral’s waiting area was a little confusing to find. There weren’t any signs directing the 50,000+ participants where to go. I later found out that the New York Road Runners planned to put out more signage, but the signs either blew away or weren’t placed to ensure runner safety. So it was definitely windy. But being from Lubbock, I’m used to the wind. So I decided I wasn’t going to think about the wind so it wouldn’t be a mental factor for me.

It was exciting when my wave (the final wave) was finally called to line up in my starting corral. Walking up to the starting line was the most surreal feeling. Seeing the Verrazano Bridge from Staten Island made everything seem so real! I was about to run the New York City marathon!

 The gun went off and runners began to cheer. Frank Sinatra's New York, New York played over the speakers and we began to run.

About a quarter of a mile into the race I had an "OHMYGOSH! I'm running the New York Marathon!" feeling. 

Then I looked up and saw this...

The first mile of the race is uphill, while the second is downhill. But really, there's so much adrenaline that the first hill is hardly noticed. The Verrazano Bridge has an upper level and a lower level. Thankfully I was on the top layer so I was able to see the beautiful scenery!

At the end of the bridge we turned and ran into Brooklyn, where spectators were electric. I swear I smiled for the first 5 miles. One of my favorite moments was when we ran past a group of soldiers who cheered for us... the runners. People who fight for our freedom and safety were cheering for me, just because I was running. I felt humbled and unworthy. So I joined the runners around me in cheering and clapping for them. Then I cried.

The crowd support really lived up to the hype. People lined the streets throughout almost the entire course (except when we were on the bridges) and had spirited, encouraging and hilarious signs. Bands played throughout the course, neighbors joined together and had breakfast on their porches while watching us run, spectators high-fived runners, and of course the New York City police department and fire department blocked off streets and stood sporadically and strategically throughout the course to ensure runner safety. I felt safe the entire time.

Running around all 5 boroughs and seeing NYC for the first time from the middle of the street was amazing. Most of the time I was so caught up in the moment that I couldn't tell you what mile I was on, how much time had passed or what borough I was in. 

I knew that my family was going to be waiting for me at miles 4, 17 and 24, so I anxiously awaited those miles. It's an incredible feeling being surrounded by supporters who don't even know you, but it's the best feeling finally getting to see your family. 

Because there are so many spectators, my family took a small Texas A&M flag (like one you see attached to cars when people drive to football games) to wave, so I would be able to find them easily. It totally worked. 

I cried again as I made the turn into Central Park. I was so overwhelmed with emotion thinking that my first time in Central Park was at the New York City Marathon. Plus, around mile 2 I stepped wrong on a manhole cover and hurt my foot. The moment it happened I knew it was going to hurt later in the race. Sure enough, at mile 18 it hurt so badly that it dominated my thoughts. All I could think was, “Don’t stop, just run to a medic,” mixed in with, "At mile 24 you can tell everyone to pray for your foot, so keep running until you get there!"

I was so encouraged when I finally saw my family at mile 24. I had such mixed feelings - joy that my family was there, but sadness that I had about 2 miles left of the experience, combined with horrible foot pain. When I saw them I kept repeating "pray for my foot, pray for my foot, pray for my foot," as I ran past. I was so determined to have a strong finish that I was going to run even if my foot was broken.

Believe it or not, the finish line came too soon. The nicest people congratulated me as they handed me my finisher's medal. I choked up at the thought of my accomplishment. 

It felt like the longest walk to the medic station though. Actually a nice man drove me to the medic station in his golf cart, but it took forever to walk to him. Yes, the finish line was as crowded as the starting line.

After the medics confirmed my foot wasn't shattered or about to fall off, I slowly limped to a nearby restaurant to meet up with my husband. Thankfully he gave me his coat! I was freezing!!

Then together we walked (I limped) to a nearby Starbucks to meet the rest of the family. And my sister gave me her scarf :)

It was so great getting to actually hug them rather than run by and quickly acknowledge them!

As we were going back to the hotel they reminded me that I wanted to do a post-race dance party. We headed towards Rockefeller Plaza, by way of Radio City Music Hall where I had to stop for a medal photo op.

Then we arrived at Rockefeller Plaza.

So out in front of several ice skaters, shoppers and other spectators, and in front of the famous Rockefeller building and skating rink, my family joined me in dancing to "I Lived" by OneRepublic, just like I dreamed!

(note the Texas A&M flag my mother-in-law is waving... this is the flag they used so I could spot them while running!)

Even marathoners with a hurt foot need to jump and dance in celebration!

Then we walked (I limped) back to our hotel to get an AHHHMAZING deep tissue massage. Then got dressed to go out to eat at Lombardi's, where the NY pizza was originated.

Who said carb loading had to end after the marathon?

Of course the race medal had to come too.

After dinner, I was still on top of the world. So why not go to the top of NYC?

The Empire State Building + my NYCM race medal. Incredible.

This was the one picture I took outside at the top of the Empire State Building. It was FREEZING outside! I took the rest of my pictures from inside as close to a heater as I could get :)

Did you notice the NYCM race medal photobomb in that picture?

Panoramic

Madison Square Garden is the circular building with blue lights on top towards the bottom left hand corner.

As we drove back to the hotel, I looked out the window at the beautiful buildings passing too quickly and I reflected on the outstanding day it had been. It will always be one of the highlights of my life and I'm so blessed that my family made the sacrifices to join me along the course. 

If you were to ask me what my favorite part of the race was, it's not the starting line or the finish line, it was seeing my family along the course. It's hard to be a part of such a monumental event but not be with your family the whole time. I really missed them. Their enthusiasm and encouragement pushed me those 26 miles. Especially the last 8 miles when my foot was trying to fall off. 

Through the pain, I focused on praying for those who couldn't run... those that I represented as part of the Race to Stop MS team, all the people that I haven't met but have heard stories about, all the people that have been impacted and disabled by this disease. 

I ran for them. 

I prayed for them. 

And my foot took a beating for them. My foot was a badge of honor, as if I shared in their disabling pain.

God truly blessed me with this opportunity. And by the grace and goodness of God I hope to do it again someday.

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