A Peachy Day in Georgia

We had a great time Friday meeting the newest member of The Royal Family, Wesley. He is absolutely adorable, but we look forward to future visits when he is able to spend more time with us as his schedule was just packed with sleeping and eating this time around!

I think we were able to provide some new-mommy relief though to Andrea with a nice lunch (compliments of Julie) and kid play time for her older son (which may be my specialty). I am looking forward to getting Lana and David more comfortable around each other, but they did very well for not having spent much time together before.

Of course, Elena helped with diplomacy. She's an excellent leader and it seems natural that she should be the firstborn of this group of kids. She's working on additional skills so she can take better care of the young ones. In the pictures below you can see some of her driving techniques, which for "super-fast" driving... she is excellent and controls the road.

Ethan was a big help as seen here.

Lana had a great time with everyone. She loved playing with David's toys and Charlie dog. We topped off the day with a trip to the local orchard for some homemade peach ice cream. There, the kids had a speed walking race and Lana persistently tried to play in the one garden that had a sign specifically barring children.

Thanks to our friends for such a fun day!

A New Challenge for Amanda

Only very few know that I’ve set a goal that is extraordinarily challenging for me: I’m going to run a 3k this fall.

Background: I’m not new to exercise, but I now exercise less than I ever have and I also have had some very bad joint pain since Lana was born. I have to do two things: 1) drink my daily water and 2) regular cardio exercise. I choose running because I can do it no matter where I am, no matter if I have Lana with me or not, and the challenge is serious enough to keep me from being bored.

A Runners Body: My body does not and has never looked like a runner's body. I have my strengths, but it's never been running. Is it how the body was built or how you use it? I’ll just follow a training schedule and see how much I can change.

Starting: Google. I found an article on training for a 3k. The article assumes that one can already run 1.5 miles so, I found another article on running for beginners. I then found some local 3k races and set my goal and schedule!

Progress: The second week included three days of a five minute walk/two minute run repeated three times. This was a stretch for me, but I was surprised that I could do it. I realized that if I stick to the flat paths I can run longer. I was able to succeed in week 2 and even pushed a little further.

Now how will I be able to double the run time to the walk 3/run 4 schedule in week 3?

Triumph!: I was so nervous about Week 3. The run time is twice as long as last week! Just follow the schedule. When I set out Sunday, I struggled a little. I made some mistakes but, with a couple of walking breaks to accomplish the runs, I still made great progress and I wasn’t discouraged because I knew I could do it if I made a couple of changes.

So, today I set out to run again. I made it! I did it! Thank you, God. I can run four consecutive minutes (a total of 16 minutes today)!

Next week: Walk two and run five.

Always something to see in the garden

There is always something to see in the garden... be it a little bug, a beautiful flower, or a strong tree or rock. I love to be in the garden. Lana seems to enjoy it too. We just want to share some pictures and thoughts of our adventures in the garden.

As this growing season began, we were on the hunt for lady bugs. Lady bugs and their larvae eat tons of pesky aphids. We found a lady bug hanging out on a peony a couple of days then she disappeared. So, we searched for her. We found many lady bugs and what we think are lady bug eggs in our big garden. They seem to like one weed in particular, I guess that's because the aphids like the same weed.

We also planted a veggie garden this year including garlic, tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelon, pumpkins, squash and many kinds of peppers. Lana has been a great help this year with the harvest and is getting good at identifying what veggies are ready to pick.

We enjoy picking flowers to fill our vase. We like to combine some wonderful smelling herbs with other perrenials. Lana has a great eye for picking pretty flowers. I feel that Lana already has a connection to the earth: rock and soil, water, wood and plant.

Independence Day Blast

We had a fantastic holiday! There is nothing like Chinese fire power to celebrate American Independence from the British! Our friends the Beckmans came over to spend the evening with us. Lana and Bobby had a great time playing in her sand and water table.

All I know is that I will enjoy pictures like these while the kids are young and innocent. It won't be long before Justin is explaining terms and conditions of dates to Lana's boyfriends and also describing the scary details of what may happen if the boy does not agree to the terms and conditions.

Rebecca made a beautiful patriotic treat which we took with us to watch fireworks in Logaville. Thanks to the Goodrows for allowing us to be squatters on their front lawn while they were downtown for a really fantastic fireworks display. The weather was perfect and the kids had a ton of fun. The Hauerts joined us for fireworks. All the kids had fun throwing the snap and pops in the street with Matt & Christy.

Water Bug

Lana loves playing with water, but hasn't been in a pool since last summer. We had tons of fun last Friday with our friends... too much fun that I didn't get many pictures. I spent most of the day in the kid pool with Elena, Bobby and Lana. I had the most fun and was genuinely laughing with the kids as they were playing so well together. I also enjoyed a little bit of time just holding one of the many new babies on the block, Ethan. He was very generous in giving me some smiles, so that made it so exciting. Lana didn't want to spend much time in the water that was too deep to stand in, but we'll wait until she is more comfortable just being in the kid pool before we push that. Thanks to Julie for the invite to swim!!!