Thanks for Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We started the day by running the local Turkey Trot. I was very pessimistic about it and told D that I did not want to run hard since I have not been running a lot lately and since I wanted to enjoy the race and not be dying toward the end. Well anyway everyone was running very fast from the start and I just went with it. I felt really good and strong and kept pushing myself. The last mile was literally uphill (for Ohio standards) and I finished the race in 39:16. Which is really good for me and is actually a little less than 8 minute miles. I can't remember the last time I ran a 5 miler under 40 minutes. I know for sure the last time was in college when I was running cross country and I ran the local memorial day race in 38 minutes. So for not really training I was pretty pleased with my time. D also ran really fast he ran about 5 minutes faster. I kept telling him and while I was running it I kept thinking that the course was short but he did not think so. So I think I had a really good race. I was sore the next day but it always feels good to be sore after a hard workout. It was nice to be at a race with D. We always used run races together (not really run together but go together and eat breakfast after) in Tennessee. It was like our date night, except it was early in the morning and we were running races. But it was our bonding activity that we both enjoyed.

After the race we cooked and around noon we ate our Thanksgiving meal with D's mom and step dad. Our food was good. The turkey was not as delicious and juicy as it was that one time in Tennessee but the gravy helped it. It was a great day. We played games with the kids and in the evening we went to my dad's house to hang out with my siblings. I played Wii for the first time. I bowled and actually got a 230. That score consisted of like 8 strikes and some spares. It was fun but next time I will have to increase my skill level since I have never actually bowled that number in my life.

I really should have taken a picture before I peeled the skin back. It would have looked better.

Our other food. Not a great picture since everything was covered up. But those are the only pictures I took which is surprising for me since I take pictures of everything. I just forgot and was so hungry I just wanted to eat.

Well Nathan has had a bad diaper rash the past few days (mostly because we have been too busy to change his diapers) and so we have been leaving his diaper off to air him out. I must stay that tonight he peed four times in the bathroom and I think a few times yesterday. He came to me two separate times and said "pee" and we ran to the bathroom and sure enough he got right on and went to the bathroom. I have been so amazed since he really gets on the potty and pushes it out. He really gets it. Like I said in an earlier post the girls never got it this early. Mallory was fully potty trained by 2.5 and Julianne was potty trained a week before she turned 3 (we basically made her by saying we did not have any diapers). So I am just amazed that he is not 2 yet and he is a boy but he really does get it. So I will defiantly take more time to let him run free and see what happens. I don't know if he just gets it earlier because it is just him or because we are using cloth diapers on him and he knows when he gets wet. We will never know but it will be interesting to see in the next few months what happens. I am not pushing it but I may try more often to see if he is more interested.

Another Nathan fact. His eczema is back!!! Yikes. So all my previous theories are out the door. We are back to square one. It is not as bad as it was but it sure is getting red and I can he has been itching it more and more.

Things my family was grateful/thankful for:
-Mallory was thankful for her heart and her family
-D's mom was thankful for her son and her grand kids, her health and her husband (she was very cute and teary eyed while stating all this).
-D was thankful for his family and for finishing his degree (he said more that than but that is my summary)
-Julianne wrote two letter:
Dear Dad. You are a good dad. You play good sports with me. You can be a coach when I play soccer. You buy good clothes.
Dear Mom. I love you so much. You are a good mom. I want you to volunteer again (in her classroom).
-I am thankful for having my mother-in-law and step father-in-law over for our first Thanksgiving in our new house. I am also thankful for all the support and love they give and have for our children. I am thankful for Mallory and her beautiful smile, her love for her siblings, and her creative nature. I am thankful for Julianne and her hard work at school, her love for writing and how she is a great friend. I am thankful for Nathan and his strong will and determination. I am thankful for D and all his love and support for everything I do and for who I am. He is very understanding and caring and I know he loves us.