Co-op Christmas Party

Opening Secret Santa gifts 

Make your own pizza lunch:

Decorating gingerbread houses:

Decorated sugar cookies:

Goofy kids in Christmas outfits:

Abandon

This is my absolute favourite song right now. I play it on every run. 

Abandon 

by Newsboys

Chasing after this world makes me tired
Praisin' my own name leaves me dry

There's gotta be so much more to life than this
A higher calling that I missed
I want my life to count, every breath

I wanna live with abandon
Give You all that I am
Every part of my heart Jesus
I place in Your hands
I wanna live with abandon

I'll drop everything to follow You
It's only Your hands I hold onto

There's gotta be more to life than this
A higher calling that I missed
I want my life to count, every breath

I'm not looking back
I'm done with that
Wanna give You all I have

Routine

We are trying to get back into some sort of routine. Hoping to get a renewed love for homeschooling. Doesn't help though that our Mac almost died and lost all of the plans I made for the month of November. Ugh. 

Here's a few pics from today:

My boys always sit so strangely. Doesn't look comfortable at all. At least they are doing their math so I won't complain :)

Counting elephants and colouring by number :)

 This is a pic from last week. Doing his favourite thing...art!!

Our overgrown Nile river project. It started out like the pic below. We flooded it and boy did it ever grow (hooray for dollar store seeds)

Failing

Ugh. As I look around my house and see the toys strewn everywhere, the sticky mess on the table, the dishes piled up in the sink, the crumbs all over the floor, the gobs of toothpaste all over the bathroom counter, the urine spots on the floor from boys who constantly miss the toilet, the piles of laundry that never seem to get any smaller, the grass that hasn't been mowed in over a month, and so much more, I am just overwhelmed once again and feeling like a failure. Why is it so hard to keep up with everything?  I know people say that a dirty house isn't the end of the world but it sure feels like it to me. It's just another thing on my list of things I'm not doing well. I know I've blogged about this feeling before but it just seems to be constantly on my mind. I just want better. For myself, for my kids, for my husband. Even battles that I'm "winning" are plagued with failures. 

Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. So frustrated. 

I did it!!!!!

This past Sunday was the Detroit Free Press/Talmer Bank Marathon and I ran the half marathon!!!

When I signed up in January I had no idea what to expect.  In all honesty I thought it was something I would never be able to do but figured I'd try anyways.  I was jealous that Tim ran it last year and I didn't.  And then I heard about Team World Vision and the decision to run was a no brainer.  Team World Vision partners with runners to raise money for children around the world.  The team I joined was specifically raising money for clean water for children in the Congo.  Every $50 raised gives a child clean water for LIFE! Incredible.  When I was 12 I lived in Kenya, Africa and personally saw the hardships of women and children having to carry water (and dirty water at that) for miles and miles.  I felt like partnering with this organization would not only help me meet my fitness goals, but also help me make a difference the lives of children in Africa.

My first few months of training were really rocky.  I started out using the 5K101 podcast program on my iPhone.  My first run was February 24th, 2013 and I did an interval walk/run for 3.2 km.  I could barely run for 1 minute at a time (my average pace was 9:15 min/km).  It then took me several weeks to move through each week of the program.  My training was very inconsistent and painful and I seriously doubted my ability to run anything more than 5km.  Then during a heat wave in the summer I was leaving my runs until after dark when it was cooler.  I was doing a fartlek run and in the transition from the curb to the road in the dark, I landed on it in an odd way.  I tried running on it the next day and it was so painful.  I decided to do cross training instead for a few weeks to let it rehab.  It felt better within two weeks so I went back to training.  Once again my training (and my eating habits) were less than stellar.  My husband convinced me to sign up for a 5K race to get me into gear.  It was a good thing he did.  I was so nervous about it that I trained really hard.  The race was August 25th, 2013 and my time was 32:50 (7:16 min/km average pace).  I was happy with it since it was a couple minutes faster than any training runs I had done and I didn't come in last!! What a long way I had come since the first run in February :)

From that point on I was hooked on running.  I think mostly because I gained a little bit of confidence in my abilities.  I began to be much more consistent (but not perfect) with the training plan provided by World Vision.  I started to increase my kilometers really quickly. And then my ankle started to hurt again.  Ugh.  I managed to get up to 15 km two weeks before the race and was really nervous that on race day I would end up walking that last 6 km that I'd never done before. And then add the ankle injury on top and I was even more nervous!

Race weekend arrived and we drove down to Windsor to stay at my parent's house (almost forgetting our passports...yikes).  Tim decided that he would still run the race with me even though he hadn't trained. So we went over to Detroit to pick up our race packages.  We saw the start line being assembled and then drove the first part of the race course on our way back to Canada to get a feel for it.  It became more of a reality and I was finally starting to get really excited!

There is a sign to the left of the picture above that says "E".  That is the wave that we started in.  If you look at the picture below it is the opposite direction of the picture above and shows how far from the start line we were and the waves went all the way to L or M.  Crazy!!!!  So many people!!

Lining up for our race packages (shirt, bib, gear bag)

Race morning started at 4 AM after not getting any sleep.  We carpooled with some friends and headed over to Detroit.  There was awful traffic downtown and my friend and I missed the team picture at the Team World Vision tent.  After a line up for the port-a-johns we headed to the start line.  Tim and I stuck together and started in E wave.  It was so great having him there with me for my first half marathon.  And the energy at that start line was incredible.  I can't even describe it.  There were so many runners and spectators and volunteers yet it all went off like a well oiled machine.  The race organizers should be proud!

Waiting for the race to start

GO team world vision!!!

 Countdown clock

The race started and Tim ran with me for almost 3 kms then told me to go ahead.  (After the race he told me that he seriously considered turning around and just waiting for me at the finish line.)  You can watch feed from the start line here.  Tim and I pass by at around 40:45. 

Then the Ambassador Bridge was probably a highlight of the whole race.  I was feeling great, I didn't walk at all and the view was stunning!!!!

View of Detroit and Windsor as I was running up the Bridge

Running down the bridge into Canada.  There is a Canada flag there above the runners' heads.  It's blurry because I refused to stop to take pictures ;)

After the bridge I ran down Riverside drive in Windsor.  It was another highlight of my run because Windsor is my hometown and holds so many memories.  I was also so excited to see some of my friends there to cheer me on as well as my Mom and Dad, my kids and my niece!  What a treat.  My mom even had tears in her eyes when she hugged me.  I got a kiss from each of my kids which was so special and gave me energy.....until I reached the tunnel.  It was a neat experience to run an "underwater mile" but it was sooooo hot and humid.  And I HATE being hot!!!  I had also reviewed the course map before the race and knew that coming out of the tunnel was the steepest hill on the course.  I think I had psyched myself out of it before I even came to it.  I managed to run up the tunnel hill without stopping but then I was spent.  The rest of the race was a major struggle for me and I did a lot of run/walking.  Maybe I should have walked sooner and saved my energy.  I went from 6:15 min/km for the first 10 km to doing around 7:00 min/km for the second 10 km.  I still ended with an average pace of 6:33 min/km. The mapmyrun details can be found here.

Running through the tunnel

The Canada and US flags at the underwater border.  Blurry cuz I passed them before I realized I had and there was no way I was turning around and going back.

I managed to finish the race with a time of 2:25:20...not too bad for my first half marathon.  I was happy with the time, but disappointed at the same time.  Looking back over my inconsistent training, I feel that I could have and should have done it much better.  NEXT YEAR I am going to KILL IT!!!!

You can watch me cross the finish line here.  I come into view along the middle yellow line at around 21:25 minutes into the video.  I love the smile on my face after I saw my time :)

After finishing I went to the Team World Vision tent for the race after party.  There was pizza and snacks and HEAT!  I met up with the people we carpooled with, stuck around until a few other friends finished the race and then headed back to Canada for my birthday lunch with family.  It was an awesome experience, especially to be a part of Team World Vision and know that my race was more than just a personal challenge.  I raised $1385 for the kids in Africa and our team as a whole raised over $115,000!!!!  AMAZING!!! Now I definitely have the bug and want to do as many races as possible.  I am being challenged to lead a team as well.  Really scary thought but it is something I feel God is calling me to do.  We will see....

My finisher medal

My memorabilia from the race

Official race results (not sure why it didn't log my 10 mile split)

Finisherpix picture of me crossing the finish line. I'm on the right in pink, behind the guy with the white shirt.

Overall it was an awesome experience for my first half marathon.  I say first half marathon because I know it won't be my last!!! I am looking forward to doing many more and then full marathons as well so that I'm not only "half crazy" but fully crazy!!!!

Team world vision

I don't know how many people actually read my blog but I thought I'd take a long shot and post my story here in case someone comes across it:

As many of you already know, I have been training to run the Detroit Free Press Half Marathon that will be held on October 20th, 2013.  I just wanted to give you a brief history as to why I am doing this crazy thing and to ask for your help.  

Last year, my husband yTim ran the DFP half marathon.  It was not long after we had moved back to Ontario.  While we were in Yellowknife, I had begun a journey towards getting healthy and lost almost 40 pounds.  When we returned to Ontario I was no longer attending the fitness classes that I was in Yellowknife and I lost my motivation to keep going.  I put almost all the weight that I had lost back on and fell into a real slump.  When I witnessed Tim run the half marathon it was a wake up call for me.  If I had kept up with my weight loss/fitness journey I could have been running it with him.  But instead I was on the side lines.  It hit me really hard....for about a week.  Then I forgot about it again until January when a friend of mine posted on Facebook that she was going to be running the Detroit Free Press half marathon and partnering with Team World Vision.  I had never heard of Team World Vision before and after a quick google search, I was determined, more than ever, to get back on the wagon.  I was going to run the half marathon and not just for me, but for a worthy cause.  It became more than just a fitness goal, it became a mission.  I am running with Team World Vision and dedicating my race to helping provide clean water to communities in Africa. 

 

One billion people in the world lack access to clean water. One billion!

 

Will you make a donation on my behalf to help change that fact? You can make a tax-deductible donation by visiting my webpage to donate online:

http://team.worldvision.org/goto/janetwhitson (in the US) 

or

http://worldvisioncan.akaraisin.com/DetroitFreePress/janetwhitson (in Canada).  

 

The problem of poverty can be overwhelming. But I believe there is something we can do.

 

When a community gains access to clean water:

·       Infant mortality rates drop by half

·       Children can attend school instead of gathering water

·       Women can care for their families instead of walking to the well

·       Crops and livestock thrive

 

We are now less than two weeks away and I am busy preparing for what would seem like an impossible feat for a 34 year old, homeschooling mom of three.  Please consider this seriously and help me make a difference!!! It will impact lives in Africa and encourage me to make it to the finish line!

Thanks so much,

Janet 

 

PS: You can learn a lot more about Team World Vision at www.teamworldvision.org.

Keeping on keeping on

One thing that I really struggle with is keeping up with things that I start. I tend to have grand ideas about how I want to be, things I want to do, things I don't want to do. I resolve to do them but after a few weeks (or a few days) I fall off the wagon. A lot of the time I feel like I end up doing a lot of things, but doing none of them well.  I hate having great intentions but little to no follow through. And even if I do continue to do something, I feel like it is plagued with failure. A big example right now is my training for the Detroit free press half marathon. I signed up back in January with plenty of time to get ready and lose weight and train hard and fundraise for Team World Vision. But I was so inconsistent in the winter and spring and even over the summer. I have come a long way from when I first started training but it still feels like a failure because I feel like I should and could be much more prepared for the race in two weeks.  I didn't eat properly, I skipped tons of runs and strength training days. And to top it all off, until a week or so ago, I hadn't raised any money for the kids in Africa...one of the main reasons that I am actually doing this. Ugh. So frustrated. It is causing me to feel not only mad at myself but stressed when I add it to the list of things that I have to be better at. 

This morning I read a verse that my kids have been memorizing and saying to me almost daily. I've been so focused on them learning it and applying it that I've neglected to look at the verse for myself. 

Colossians 3:23 "Whatever you do work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men." 

I've been trying to do the work heartily but my focus has been all wrong. It has been on myself. I am included in the phrase "for men".  My work should be for Lord and with His strength. It is something that I need to remind myself daily. There are so many verses in the bible that talk about remembering and renewing what we've already learned. I think it's because God knows the human heart and how easily we are sidetracked. 

So my prayer for today is that of David's in Psalm 51:10 "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." ...Clean. Renewed. Steadfast. For The Lord. Not for me. 

Lego minifigure writing assignment

I got this really cool printable from http://www.homegrownlearners.com/home/2013/10/2/writing-lego-stories-free-writing-paper-download.html and decided to try it with the boys. I asked them to each bring me their favourite minifigure and tell me all about him. Caleb was really into it and was so creative! He sounded out most of the words in his story. He is doing really well with learning and applying his phonics. 

Nate's story was pretty much a retelling of a cut scene from Halo. I don't know how to get him to use his imagination. He  is very particular about details of existing stories but struggles with original thoughts. Something we need to work on I guess. On a positive note, his handwriting is slowly improving (but he is still too lazy and sloppy for my liking). 

Also...the death and dying obsession is really getting to me....ugh!!!!

We are off to the park this afternoon to meet some new homeschool families!!! Yippee!!

The past few weeks

Well our first month of school is done and we've had both successes and failures. Day by day Caleb is becoming more compliant. I think it is partly due to him getting used to the routine and what is expected of him, but mostly due to me figuring out what works best for his learning style. He LOVES arts and crafts and colouring so I have been incorporating that into his work (while Nate has written assignments). Caitlin is still eager to do "work" as well which has been a big blessing this year. Last year my biggest struggle was keeping her out of trouble. This year she is content to sit with us and do worksheets or colour or paint or play with busy bags. We still have lots to improve on and change up but I think overall it is going well. The kids are loving the history curriculum and occasionally I catch them incorporating what they've learned into their playtime. 

We've been doing a weekly co-op with two other families and it has been going great!!! We originally had hoped to have a space to meet (like a church) but after insurance complications we have just rotating between homes. It's been working way better than I thought it would. Our main goal is French and Art. I've been teaching the French lessons and the other two moms have been alternating doing the art lessons and keeping the two younger girls occupied. 

Here are some pics from the past few weeks at co-op:

Painting self portraits

 

Painting is more fun with a tutu on :)

We went for a nature walk this past week through a conservation area. The kids saw a snake, snails, caterpillars, butterflies, deer poop, birds, a stream, a meadow and lots more!! Then we learned many of those words in French. We also collected pine cones for a future art project. The fall colours were beautiful. Caitlin did not appreciate the length if the walk and I ended up carrying her for half the trip. 

We took a field trip to the zoo this month as well. The kids were super excited about the new pandas. We did a small unit study on them before we went to the zoo so they were excited to see all of the info they had learned be reaffirmed at the exhibit. 

Homeschooling is so challenging but oh so rewarding! I am truly blessed!!!