Our Dear Old Treadmill is Dead

I know this is strange. Who blogs about a piece of electronics that breaks? Really, I would not have thought this event would be blog worthy. But I am actually overcome with sadness. Truly, I was looking forward to the death of the treadmill for 2 reasons. One, since our move 4 years ago, the incline function has ceased to work. Of course this occurred as the treadmill was actively inclining, so I have spent the past 4 years running on a slight incline. Two, because I REALLY want an elliptical. Why the sadness??? Well, this was the first large purchase Matt and I made as a married couple. And this is the treadmill that has seen me through the last nine years. It has trained me through one marathon, a number of 10 milers, and a half marathon. It has trained me in pregnancy and gotten me back in shape after delivery. It has lived in all three of the houses Matt and I have owned. Strangely, it feels like such a part of me.

Happy Birthday Lynn!

Look at those beautiful ladies.  Jen and Amanda pose with birthday girl Lynn.

The guys (Mike, Jamie, and Matt) feeling happy after a meal of bbq, beans, hushpuppies, and fried okra.  Thank you Lynn for introducing us to fried okra. . .it was delicious.  

Sweet girlies--Stacy, Courtney, and Christy.

Jamie cuddles baby Zach, and Matt holds sleeping Kate-Kate, while Stacy and I chat and the Flynn's hit the dance floor (with the Chandler's, Joyner's, and Windley's).

Me and my girl.  I can't get enough of her!!!

This is not a hug. . .it is a burly, man hold. :)  Jackson and Ryan are such good friends.  They love spending time together.  After the adults finished dancing the boys ran circles around each other on the dance floor, squealing as they ran.  I pray one day, as they get older, they will spur each on to godliness.

Daddy and His Mohawk Boy

Daddy and Ry pose for some sweet pics together. The boy LOVES his daddy. Ry sits next to Daddy at dinner and is constantly hugging him or kissing his arm or placing his head on Daddy's arm. On workday mornings, after waking up, Ryan rushes down to the basement to say good morning to Daddy before having breakfast.

Ryan's vocabulary is exploding. He will often talk for three minutes straight without taking a breath. It makes Matt and me laugh, as it is hilarious to hear his thought process. Anyway, he is saying something very funny that I must record. Ryan pronounces the word "movies" as "boobies". Often, he says, "I need boobies" or "I want boobies". I'm laughing now just writing it.

Madeline is doing GREAT with homeschooling. We are learning word families right now and one of the first word families we learn is the "it" family. In this family, we have learned the words it, sit, and hit. Last week while Matt was painting us a chalkboard in the classroom and Madeline and I were doing school, Madeline started to come up with her own "it" words. Can you guess what "it" word she came up with that caused Matt and I to burst out laughing. We both tried to hold the laughter in, as she had no idea that she had just used an inappropriate word. As soon as Matt let out the tiniest snicker, I lost it and started laughing uncontrollably and so did Matt. Madeline asked me why I was laughing and I told her that Daddy's little snicker made Mommy laugh. It is such a joy to be a parent and walk through such innocence with your children.