It's even more about God touching your soul than your senses.

God is powerful, creative, and the supplier of peace...
sharing views like this with the ones you love allows you to exhale.

Even the fiercest of sibling rivalries call a truce when ocean waves & sandcastles are involved...and the resulting spontaneous little Crazy Crew train on your nightly beach walk can make you misty eyed.

Sand+ocean+boogie boards+pool+all kids being packed into one bedroom and allowed to turn on the TV whenever they're in the condo=pure bliss (and tons of memories).

Even if you hate sand and can't stand when everything gets covered in it...
you just can't help but dig in it.

WARNING: Late July-early August is peak jellyfish season around Hilton Head Island!

As evidenced by the marks that still remain on two of our children...

and later confirmed by Bobby's google search.

The Tooth Fairy may get lost and forget where you're staying on vacation, even if  the same poor kid who got the brunt of the jellyfish stings 

loses his front teeth ...but eventually she shows up...

Save your pennies, so you can get a room with an ocean view. Nothing soothes the soul like sitting on the balcony and watching/listening to the waves crash the shore.

Sit on that balcony every spare moment you get...morning, afternoon, and night. It's vacation...let the big kids watch a movie or go for round 2 at the beach with Daddy while the littles nap...and sit your booty on the balcony to read, sleep, veg out...
whatever...but enjoy that captivating view and those heavenly sounds.

Talking into the wee hours of the morning with one of your best friends in college was awesome...but it's even more amazing when you're married to him and sitting on your balcony within ear & eye shot of the ocean... 

...you will be more tired the next day as you chase your 5 children after being up until the wee hours than you were after those all-nighters in college...

but it's totally worth it.

And asking the 6 year old to hold the 18 lb baby while the 8 yr old takes a pic of Momma & Daddy before the drizzle turns back into a downpour can lead to some interesting "outakes" and lots of giggles.

You may not even realize you were holding your breath, until you... 

...watch your children race down the beach...

...with beach towel super hero capes...

...or dance in the surf...

...and ride the waves...

...and proclaim their love for the beach.

And suddenly...you can actually BREATH.

Mother, Mother Ocean...I have heard you call...

The Race of Our Lives...

My family was attacked on Monday. Not my immediate, biological family. I've never even met most of this part of my family, and it happened over 900 miles away. But still, they are my family. We are related by our common, insane passion for an ancient sport that clears the mind, melts pounds, sharpens character, and inflicts the most joyful pain imaginable.

I've been a runner for almost 27 years...and I don't use that term lightly. I started putting one foot in front of the other at the age of 11...and NEVER stopped (except for brief breaks to birth 5 babies)...and I WON'T stop, until God decides I've taken more than my fair share of steps. (Go ahead. Start the Forrest Gump comparisons :). I'm short, have bad running form, and my lack of coordination is the source of many family jokes. But God chose running as the avenue to bless the socks off this small town girl. It's how I met my husband. It's opened doors to travel across the country and to meet friends from all over the world. It paid for college, and it even added a few more dollars to the bank account afterward. It definitely channeled high energy and a strong will in the right direction and fostered self-confidence, a strong work ethic and the type of self-discipline that I want my own children to learn. I am a runner...and I am a running fan...just like those straining toward the finish line & those cheering on their loved ones Monday in Boston.

I've raced in everything from the small town fundraiser to the Chicago Marathon;  from High School Cross Country races in cow pastures to US Championship races; and from the endless circles of a 10,000 on the track to the Olympic Marathon Trials. On the roads, on the grass, on the track...runners are different from everyone else, yet SO much like each other. Races are a special kind of sports venue that you don't just explain with words. You FEEL them in every fiber of your being. Every sense is challenged: from the sight of pain stricken faces and blister-bloodied shoes to the sound of pounding feet on the pavement just after the bang of the starting gun; from the smell of stinky socks and icy hot to the taste of dripping sweat. And every runner who's had a time goal can relate to their physical feelings fluctuating between the complete euphoria of a runners' high and an unbelievable, excruciating head-to-toe pain. Whether you're a front-running elite athlete or a back of the pack plodder, swearing you won't walk...you have all these things in common, and you cheer FOR each other.  Are there many other sports where competitors pick each other up after they've fallen across the finish line? Stand nervously at the start wishing each other "good luck" and passing along a warning to stay to the right because there's a pot hole 50 yards ahead? Encourage other competitors as they pass and urge them to stay together to catch the next person ahead? Oh, yes...we want the prize...we want to beat others...but we REALLY want to beat the clock and ourselves. We want to overcome those fears of failure or desires to give up, so we can post a new personal best.

If you've never been to a big race, do your family a favor and GO! I'll never forget crossing the finish line of the State Cross Country Championship my Senior year of High School and seeing a crowd of my friends-many of whom had never been to a race of any kind- and most of them had tears rolling down their cheeks. They couldn't believe the excitement and energy in the atmosphere...they said they felt like they were running the race WITH us. How many other sports allow ALL the spectators to stand so close they can hear the athletes' labored breathing and see the sweat pouring down their focused or pain stricken faces? Basketball fans are often referred to as the "6th man," and any runner will tell you that the right words yelled along the race course at the right moment can make the difference between a personal best and a DNF (did not finish). Runners often wear shirts decorated with their names so people will cheer for them individually, and families make signs spurring on their loved ones. My parents traveled all over the country to support me, and the final time I saw my dad's huge, proud smile was after I crossed the finish line of a big race...an image forever burned in my mind's race "scrapbook." Some of my most vivid race memories are of my husband running to multiple points on a course to tell me my position or hearing my High School Coach's motivating words when I couldn't even see him...or even a complete stranger cheering me on during a lonely portion of a long race...each word of encouragement helping me dig down a little deeper so I could keep going and maintain or regain focus. Yes, the spectators are a vital member of the running family.

I think that's why this horrid, evil act of terrorism gutted me. Road races represent all things positive: a family event with a sense of community that promotes a healthy lifestyle, self-discipline, hard work, personal sacrifice, and an indescribable camaraderie. It's an atmosphere filled with celebration and mutual respect. Competitors share common goals that are only attainable by persistently logging the miles and maintaining a positive outlook...no shortcuts, no excuses. It is a mindset completely opposite of the evil people who seek to inflict harm or to rob us of our freedom. Evil has invaded and forever changed an open, safe, celebratory event for the running family and their spectators.

Notice I said changed, but NOT defeated, nor ruined. Not only are runners relentless in their efforts, but they're also RESILIENT. How else do you describe a person who crosses a finish line puking, dehydrated, and aching from head to toe...but immediately planning the next race? When runners get injured from the constant pounding of their training, they don't quit...they hop on a bike or take to the pool until healed, and then return to running and their carefully planned goals. Guess what, evil doers? Runners are tough, determined, and not easily swayed. It is no coincidence that the Bible repeatedly references running, and that many people use it as a metaphor for life. Our sport is one of courage and encouragement. We will train harder, band even closer together, and refuse to lose to you. EVER.

"But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. -Isaiah 40:31

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. -Hebrews 12:1

OUR STARTING FIVE

Our "#5" at about 11 weeks in the womb (meaning only around 9 weeks after conception)
"How Great...Is Our God...?"

So, I'm sitting here with only a couple more hours of a completely peaceful house. I can actually hear the interviews on SportsCenter (instead of giving up because of the noise and changing the channel to PBS Kids or an "On Demand Show"). Yet, the silence is deafening...the peacefulness seems empty, missing purpose. Ironically, this is what I often long for at least 5 times a day :). How did I score an empty, quiet house when we have 4 extremely "high spirited" children, ages 2, 3, 5, & 7? My incredible saint of a mother: retired, volunteer responsibilities galore, nearing 70 years old...and totally selfless, full of love for her grandkids, and an amazing energy & creativity for making almost everything simply fun. She could sense my despair...complete physical and emotional exhaustion as I neared the end of our 5th pregnancy after tackling a super busy Christmas season followed by a vicious stomach bug that wiped out our whole house...without the occasional breaks that I once got from working a part time job or from my "friend-family" in VA who always helped out when needed. She swooped in and rescued our children from their tired, hormonal momma and whisked them away to Mammaw & Pappaw Danny's farm for a change of pace and scenery over 2 days & 3 nights. 

I thought I would spend every moment of "freedom" tackling a mile-long to do list. Even now, I keep feeling twinges of guilt that I'm not putting away laundry or taking down the naked Christmas tree. Instead, I have enjoyed two adult restaurant dinners and an ice-cream date with my husband, an uninterrupted lengthy phone conversation with my best friend in VA, a 3 hr lunch catching up with a dear friend with whom I never spend time (she lives just 20 minutes away, but we'll soon have 11 children between the 2 of us, enough said), and running a day full of errands SOLO. This agenda is most likely what my mom actually intended for me to accomplish...not my never ending task list that will never be completely checked off and only added to with every waking moment anyway :).

Sooo...the dog and I sit here listening to this very unfamiliar quiet, and I am reflecting on our awesome growing family. Only about one month to go (maybe even less) of being a family of 6 before we meet our 7th Crazy Crew team member...the completion of our "Starting 5" (or our "Scoring 5," depending on your sports preference being Basketball or Cross Country :). Some of you "get to know" our Crew through my facebook posts, but very few folks have had an inside peek to our total quirkiness: Anna's insanely competitive, strong, persistent will...balanced by a ridiculously quick wit and cutting humor; Joey's contagious giggle, over the top tender heart, and complete mastery of scatter-brainedness; Evie's Jekyl & Hyde-like sweet & firey sides with a skill for charming the pants off anyone who spends 5 minutes with her; and Mollie's sassy, yet somehow sweet, demanding nature that leaves you wondering HOW she just won another battle that the other 3 never could have mastered. Bobby and I try desperately to maintain control, but we're pretty thankful that ultimately, they're all in God's hands. And I just pray that despite our human flaws and daily mistakes, that we somehow help lead them to a deep, personal relationship with our Father that will guide every step of their future when we, as parents, have even less control.

And now, I feel this new baby roll, kick, push and stretch around in my belly, and tears fill my eyes as a smile overtakes my whole face and heart. Yes, I am odd...that's no surprise to anyone who knows me well. I LOVE being pregnant...yes, it's been much more challenging, painful, exhausting, and nauseating the 5th time around at age 37 than it was the 1st time at 29/30...but I could never take the amazing feelings of my body being the home for one of God's greatest miracles for over 9 months for granted! I've spent 194+ weeks pregnant since June 2004 (will be 200 if I go full-term). The sickness, fatigue, discomfort in moving & breathing, varicose veins, crazy body transformations and pains, etc. still pale in comparison to the joy of growing a precious living being. It's a phase of life that I thought I'd left behind for the last time after our 4th child was born. We "knew" we were done having babies. Four is a nice, even number, right? New home in a new city, moving on to a new phase of life and finally lots of room and growing freedom for our family of six, right? Crazy as it sounds, while my head always said "ENOUGH," my heart always said "REALLY? Is it?" I would count my kids before leaving a playground or crowded area, and although I'd see 4, I'd still feel like someone was missing. Mollie hit 15 months and I realized she was our only child to ever make it that far in life without a younger sibling on the way...and it made me really sad. However, it made NO sense for us to have another child. So I jumped back into harder training and returned to racing for the first time in six years, researched Nursing school and thought about applying for a program when Mollie was a couple years older. We had already given away EVERY piece of maternity and baby clothing and baby equipment when we moved back to KY. And I resolved to move on to the next phase of life with excitement and peace, waiting to see what doors God would open and close and praying for Him to speak to Bobby and me about the same vision for our future as we attempted our best to raise our 4 amazing children under His guidance.

Oh, He spoke to both of us, alright...LOUDLY! In the form of a positive little test...that I took 3 times to be sure I was seeing correctly, waited 2 days to relay the results to my husband, and held off until nearly the end of a pretty miserable 1st trimester before we had the nerve to share the info with family and friends!  Obviously, after the shock wore off, we embraced His precious blessing! I praise God daily for this opportunity to feel life leap inside me again...thank Him constantly for the joy on our children's faces as they talk about the new baby...and wait in excited anticipation for His guidance on just how we're gonna do all this. He knows when we get content and begin to lean on our own understanding and provision. He knows exactly what our families need to push us just past the line of self-fulfilling peace, so that we MUST seek His perfect peace that surpasses all human understanding. 

As I snap back to Momma reality and head out to pick up the wild ones and begin the mad dash of dentist appointments, basketball practices, dinner, laundry, never-ending LOUD chaos, schoolwork, church activities, and half-done personal tasks and home projects, I know I will feel challenged, overwhelmed, and inadequate. However, I have an even bigger smile on my face and in my heart after being given these rare, sweet (ok, sappy) moments of reflection on our Crazy Crew. And I am forever grateful that God made me this completely incomplete person...so that I HAVE to rely on Him and the incredible husband, family, and friends that He's placed in my life. And hopefully that humbling, important lesson is one our Starting Five will learn from us early in life :).