Doodle Acres » Family

The Story of a DIVA, Otherwise Known as my First Half-Marathon

Heather — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 02:08:19 +0000

Well today I ran my first half marathon. Believe it or not, it was the Run Like A Diva Half-Marathon. For those of you who know me in real life, you know that I am not really the Diva type. However, I will admit to enjoying watching the ladies running in their tutus and fancy clothes. It helped to pass the time after my iPod died. But back to the beginning…

5:30 am: I got up, got dressed and attempted to slowly raise the dead, otherwise known as my family. Ate some oatmeal and toast with PB. Then I fed the grumbling dead with the bagels I had picked up the day before. Aren’t I a good mother and wife?

6:15 am: Hit the road. All went smoothly until we got within 1/4 mile of Eisenhower Park. Can you say “traffic jam”? Parking was a challenge, but my hubby was up to said challenge.

7:15 am: We walked and walked and walked to the starting line in the cold morning air with some of my under-dressed children complaining about their level of coldness. Said children had been warned to dress warmly. Can you say “I told you so”? Just kidding.

8:00 am: Race begins as over 3600 people (mostly women) start out on their adventure.

Mile 3: iPod dies… This was when the race became spiritual for me. I told the Blessed Mother that I was now completely relying on her to see me through. Toby Keith, Josh Turner, RelientK, and the rest of my iTune buddies had let me down. It was all up to her now.

Mile 5: Legs start to get sore.

Mile 7: Legs start to get a bit numb, which is perhaps better than sore, right?

Mile 7.5: Start praying the rosary using my earphones to block out all the race chatter and noise. It was good that it was Sunday. The glorious mysteries are good for running outdoors. After all, the Resurrection, the Ascension, the descent of the Holy Spirit, the Assumption, and the Coronation of Mary all invoke visions of the outdoors and particularly of the sky. So running outdoors under the big beautiful (if a bit cloudy) sky was perfect.

Mile 10: Tell myself that I only have 3.1 miles left, which is the equivalent of a 5K. Then I remind myself that this battle is all in my mind (Thanks Teresa Hansen). My body knows what to do. My body can run a 5K in its sleep. So the mind decides to stay strong and persevere.

Mile 12: Reach the “Boa and Tiara Station” which I had planned on skipping, but as they were handing them out on the run, I decided to take them for my daughter Lily. First I tried on the tiara. Well we Millers/Giambalvos have big heads due to our large brains (so a doctor told me), and this ‘made for a 6 year old’ tiara was not going to fit snugly on my crown while running. So I carried it. At first I wrapped the pink feather boa around my throat as I saw the other participants doing. Well that didn’t last very long. Can you say “uncomfortable”? So I tied it around my waist. In the pictures my husband took, it looks like a pink tail!!!

Mile 12.75: Decided not to sprint (which is my custom) for the finish line due to the lack of feeling in my legs.

Finish Line: Thank the Blessed Mother for her strength… had a drink of champagne provided by the race… received my finisher’s medal and red rose (as well as assorted snacks)… skipped the long line to have my picture taken in full Diva garb… staggered over to my family and believe me “staggered” isn’t much of an exaggeration… made the long trek back to the car… and thanked God for a wonderful family to support me and for a comfy seat to ride home on.

All in all it was a satisfying experience. Will I do it again? Right now, less than 12 hours after finishing the race, I can’t answer that. Perhaps it will depend how my legs feel tomorrow. But it is certainly an accomplishment that I will treasure forever. At 43 years old, I never thought that this was something that was within my reach. Two and a half years ago when I weighed about 100 lbs. more than I do now, I never even dreamed of this. But God is indeed good. Nothing is impossible with His help!!!

Repost: In Honor of Valentine’s Day: Now That’s Romantic

Len — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 15:02:25 +0000

(Originally posted Feb. 2007)

After reading Mary Ellen’s post on romance and after receiving an encouraging email from Margaret, I have decided to chime in on the topic of romance. It has taken me many years to shed my teenage ideas about romance developed largely by movies I can’t believe my parents ever let me watch. We actually experienced a few years of marital difficulties in those first few years of marriage due in large part to my inability to let go of those unrealistic romantic notions. If my life is a movie then it certainly isn’t a romantic comedy but praise God it’s not a tragedy either.

Mary Ellen mentioned in her post about when she knew that she had married the right man. My “aha” moment came shortly after the death of our daughter Mary in 2003. She was delivered stillborn at 36 1/2 weeks gestation. As you can imagine, this was a very difficult time for my husband and I (not to mention our three children). In the weeks and months that followed I spent many days in tears for the baby that I would never know here on earth. On one particularly difficult morning as I was crying in the shower, my husband entered our bathroom. As I got out of the shower, I commented to my husband that I wished I was coping better. He turned to me and said, “You got out of bed this morning and you took a shower. Everything else is just icing on the cake.” I knew at that moment that I had married the man of my dreams – romantic and otherwise. This was a man who understood that I was giving my best effort and loved me unconditionally. Now that’s romantic!!!

This is the same man who waited to hold our sweet baby Peter (born 15 months later) so that I could be the first to hold him after the c-section. Now that’s romantic!!!

This is the same man who devotedly goes to a stressful job day after day to support his family and to enable his wife to home teach their children. Now that’s romantic!!!

This is the same man who took his wife on a romantic NYC getaway for her 40th birthday. Now that’s romantic!!!

And finally, this is the same man who loves his wife enough to find special moments together even if it’s only a trip to the supermarket together, a movie, or holding hands at Home Depot. Now that’s romantic!!!

True romance comes through a life of service and devotion to one’s spouse. Now that’s romantic!!!

We Have a Special Visitor…

Heather — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:47:05 +0000

We are so blessed to belong to a wonderful Catholic home-school group. And our fearless leader, Alice Gunther, manages by the grace of God (and I’m sure much prayer) to keep us (over 100 families) together. Alice has been kind enough to share her beautiful statue of the Blessed Mother. Our Lady is traveling from family to family on her journey all over Long Island and NYC. And this was OUR week to be blessed by her presence. Thanks Alice!!!

Fluffy White Cuteness

Heather — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:08:48 +0000

The smallest members of our doggy tribe received a much overdue grooming yesterday…

Game Recommendation: Dinner Games

Heather — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 13:31:13 +0000

We had gotten in the terrible habit around here of NOT eating together at the table for most meals. It happened slowly with differing schedules, etc. Even when we were sitting together for dinner, it was brief and not very social. Well on a lark, I got “Dinner Games” for Lily for Christmas. It was one of those add-on gifts to make the piles look even (Hey, I know you’ve done that too!!!). Well it has turned out to be a great addition to our family life. Dinnertime is a lot more engaging and this newly rediscovered connectedness has led to more family discussions and sharing. It would make a great Valentine’s Day or Easter gift for your family. They even have a version for younger children (ages 3-6) appropriately called “Beginner Dinner Games”. Enjoy!!!

Book Recommendation: I Love to Draw Horses by Jennifer Lipsey

Heather — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:51:28 +0000

I picked this book up for Lily (9) at the library. She has derived many hours of pleasure from this book and is reluctantly returning it to library after multiple renewals. We are anxiously awaiting the arrival (via interlibrary loan) of other drawing books in this series. I highly recommend this book for your budding artist. Enjoy!!!

Gratituesday: A Patient Husband

Heather — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 12:25:11 +0000

When I think about all the things I am thankful for in my life, my wonderfully patient husband usually comes to mind first. I am not a naturally good housekeeper, cook, wife, or helpmeet. Left to my nature, I am not sweet, energetic, or cheerful. I have worked hard at improving in these areas over my twenty years of marriage, BUT none of this comes naturally or easily for me. HOWEVER I have been blessed with a sweet husband, who has bore with my slow progress, loved me in spite of my shortcomings, and been faithful through the inevitable ups and downs of two decades of marriage. He is my treasure and I am one blessed wife. Thanks honey!!!You can check out other Gratituesday posts at HeavenlyHomemakers.com

Our Morning Basket

Heather — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 21:01:41 +0000

Well it has taken us a while to get back into our routine after the holidays. It’s been a particularly slow go due to illness. But inspired by Mary Ellen’s posts (here and here) that I had saved in Bloglines, we are back into our “morning basket routine”. This routine includes reading aloud to the three younger children while they draw, hand sew, etc. I’ve added a sidebar with our current reading selections which include poetry, religion (basic cathecism), saints, and literature. It is a great way to start our homeschooling day after breakfast, chores, and daily mass. If you have any book suggestions, I’d love to hear them.

A Weekend Adventure

Heather — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 14:23:48 +0000

Last weekend we spent a WONDERFUL weekend with our “Pondered in My Heart” friends in PA. Kimberlee did a great job of chronicling our adventures (in film-making, eating, singing around the piano, and more eating…). I’ll just add a few pictures…

Kateri joins in on the musical fun…

Beware of Lenny…

Mary Rose, Lily, Hope, and Lenny…

Eliza, enjoying the bird call book we brought…

And finally, Kimberlee and I, the happy mothers of these wonderfully crazy children…

Jumping into Advent… a bit late

Heather — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 01:18:30 +0000

I’ll admit it. I tend to have an “all or nothing” personality. So when Advent started on Sunday and I hadn’t gotten my rear in gear, I figured, “Ah well, there’s always next year!!!” Well a well-timed email from a blessed friend and mentor encouraged me to jump into Advent. She, of course, didn’t know about my delay, but her words roused me to start.

Another friend instigated me to “do” Advent for the sake of the little ones (Lily, 9 and Peter, almost 5). Because as she pointed out, the older ones have all these wonderful memories of Advents past (when I was enthusiastic), but really the little ones don’t. She told me of an Advent tradition in her home where she wraps up all their Advent/Christmas books. One child per day (starting with the youngest) gets to unwrap a book and it is read to all. This creates excitement and suspense AND pushes to make sure at least one book gets read aloud per day, which is challenging during this busy season. So our newly wrapped books in a basket are my first Advent activity and the littles did enjoy our first book together this evening. I hope that this will be the first of many memorable Advent activities…

So I say, jump into Advent. And no matter how little or much you do, enjoy the season!!!