Top of Utah Marathon

The race was awesome. We made a weekend trip out of it. We got a great room in Logan and had fun relaxing with the kids on Friday. We tried to go to a nice dinner, and well, I remembered why we don't take the kids out to eat! I went to bed around 8 and probably woke up every 30 minutes because I was so excited (and nervous that I would sleep through the 3 alarms that I set!!). I got up around 4 and got on the shuttle bus around 4:30. The shuttle picked up everyone from all of the hotels in Logan (how sweet is that?!) and took us to the bus loading area. The bus to the top took forever. It was pretty intimidating thinking about how long it was taking to drive the course and knowing that I was about to have to run all of that!

We got to the start line at about 6:30 and they had a really big tent set up that everyone sandwiched into... and then the rain started. It POURED. I had brought a bunch of my flashcards from a test that I was supposed to take a few days later (I think I am always doing more than one thing at once!), but I was too nervous and it was too dark to see them anyway, so I just sat and tried to breath and relax... and not think about the thunder and lightening outside.

The starting line was really exciting. The wheelchair athletes started about 10 minutes before everyone else, so I watched them get ready and line up. I got really emotional thinking about how they stop at nothing to reach their dreams. I just kept thinking about how I hope that I can teach my kids to have that kind of confidence and determination.

We started the race at about 7. It was a little chilly for the first few miles, but I still dumped my jacket about 2 miles in because it was wet and was getting heavy. The rain didn't bother me as much as I thought it would, it was actually even kind of nice after the sun came up and it stayed cool. It started to hail around mile 9. That's right, HAIL. It was awful. I said a prayer and about 5 seconds after I said 'amen', the hail stopped. It's really encouraging to know that God is in your corner :)

My pace was great; I stayed at around 9:00-9:15 for the first 18 miles. I slowed down a lot between 18 and 20, but then my awesome brothers, Dallin and Cory met me at mile 20 and it really lifted my spirits again. I was focusing every bit of energy I had to keep putting one foot in front of the other, so we didn't talk at all, but just having them there helped so much.

My goal was to finish under 4:15:00. I stayed ahead of the pace girl until mile 25. I tried SOOO hard to pick my pace back up but I had NO gas left in the tank. I finished in 4 hours, 17 minutes. My first marathon time was 4 hrs, 40 minutes, so I was still proud of my self for cutting off that much time.

The race recovery was 1000x better than when I did the Atlanta marathon. I think that I was much more prepared and in better shape this time around, and my boys didn't let me stop long enough to cramp up I guess.

The race was an amazing experience. I'm so grateful that Russ is so supportive to me. He is always telling me that I can do great things and helping me to be more confident in myself. When I was a child, I was not athletic at all, and I usually came in last or nearly last place when we would do the mile run at school or anything like that. I hated it. I was always too self-concious to sign up for the track team, so everytime I run a race, it renews my faith in myself. I'm really proud of my accomplishment. I worked hard. There were many mornings I would have to get up at 4:30 to get my run in. I had injuries, was dehydrated, sick, and just plain tired some days, but I prayed for stregnth and I worked through it. I know that with God, all things are possible (even marathons!)

I always like to compare marathons to life. Sometimes, you feel great and the scenery is beautiful and people are cheering you on and everything is perfect. Other times, there's not a soul in sight, everything hurts, it's raining... even hailing... and your socks and shoes are soaked and you still have 19 miles left to go. You don't give up though, because you know that your family is waiting at the finish line with open arms and smiling faces. You just say a prayer and keep putting one foot in front of the other... and eventually, you make it. In the words of President Hinckley, "God be my helper and I can do it".

So that race is done and I'm on to the next... school. It's hard. Darn hard. I get up between 4:00 and 4:30 every morning so I can try to get everything done before the kids wake up. I have had about 2 seconds of spare time in the last 5 weeks. It's like I'm already exhausted and it's only mile 2.5 :) But I keep on going because I know I can. Heavenly Father will help me and one day, I will get to that finish line. In the mean time I just keep running (... and try not to think about how much farther I have to go)!

So here are the pictures. I hate posting them because I look like I just ran through you-know-where in the pouring rain, but let's be honest... that's what I did!!

Dallas and the Murphy Reunion

At the beginning of September, the Murphys got together over Labor Day in Dallas. It was the first time in a couple of years that everyone has been together, so it was great to see everyone again.

Coleman was a trooper, as usual, on the plane...

Leave it to Cade to notice that the caution cones were out of place in the airport. Russ had to wait in the rental car line for about 30 minutes, so Cade arranged and rearranged the caution cones while we had to wait. It was probably one of his favorite parts of the trip!!
We took the boys to their first MLB game with Conrad, Dan and Dan's kids. I don't know what it is about baseball... but I love it. The kids had a great time too. I think we lasted through about three whole innings :)
Caught!!
Cade really liked it! He would clap when everyone started clapping, and he went crazy over the homerun fireworks.
Russ was pretty proud to take the boys to their first game.

Of course there was a football game involved. The equipment truck was parked in front of the stadium the night before. I don't know who was more excited, Cade or Russ.

Cade loved playing with his cousins. Kylie was a great sport and let Cade boss her around the entire time.
And then there was the game. I'm pretty sure that this screen is bigger than my house.
Another win for the Tigers to top off a great trip :)
The boys wanted to see the Cotton Bowl. I really don't know what the big deal about it is, but we had to have a picture.

On the way home, Coleman got sick and managed to poop through every diaper I had, plus all of the clothes that were on him. Aside from that, everything was really fun. Hopefully we don't let another two years go by before we do it again!

Brothers

Cade and Coleman have a love/hate relationship. Probably has something to do with how Cade loves to tackle Coleman whenever I turn my back. They sure love each other though (...on occasion...). Coleman wakes up from his nap and the first thing he says is "gade? gade?" Cade loves to give Coleman "big hugs" (it's really a sort of tackle that he doesn't get in trouble for), and he's always trying to look out for Coleman... he will say, "Mommy! Coleman sad! Mommy get Coleman!" or he will make sure that Coleman gets a treat too or things like that.

This happened a few months ago, but I forgot I had taken these pictures. Cade wanted to give Coleman a ride. Coleman knew just what to do! He held on and away they went... around and around the kitchen island.

Coleman at 1 Year

Height: 29.5 inches (30th percentile)

Weight: 21 lbs 14 oz (30th percentile)

Head Circumference: 47.9 cm (80th percentile)

Favorite Food: fruit loops

Favorite Object: blanket, binky

Favorite Person: mom

Favorite Activity: "talking" on the phone, singing anything

Teeth: incisors are all here, canines are working on it

Says: momma, dadda, Cade (gade), and uh-oh consistently. He is also starting to imitate words on occasion.

New Things: drives matchbox cars back and forth while making car noises, he can put toys into a container, imitating more and more, he is expressing emotion about likes/dislikes, and TOOK HIS FIRST STEPS -- yay!! (9/9/11; 12 1/2 months).

We sure love you little buddy. You have brought so much happiness to our home, and you have taught us so much already. We love watching you learn and grow, and we are blessed to be able to raise such a special little boy.

Coleman's First Birthday

Well I can't believe my baby is one. We have had so much happen in the past year that it seems like it was the longest year ever, but at the same time, it feels like Coleman has always been part of our family. One thing is for certain, he is growing too fast!! Coleman is such a sweet little baby, and we all love him to pieces.

We had an Atlanta Braves themed birthday party, and Russ was just as excited about all of the party details as I was :)

The invitations:

The birthday boy...

Cade pulled up to the party in style!

Proud dad...

Courtney the cake artisian... (whew, thanks for taking care of that part of it for me girl!)

Grandma and Grandpa were even able to come!

We had hotdogs, peanuts, cracker jacks, and popcorn!

I called the Braves' office and asked them if they would send me pocket schedules for the kids' favor bags...
Party people!

At last, the cake...

A little something to remember such a wonderful day!

My trip to Italy, Holland, and back again

There’s a well known poem in the world of families with special needs called “Welcome to Holland” by Emily Kingsly. It’s a poem about how being pregnant is like planning a wonderful vacation to Italy. You plan for months and months and can’t wait to get there. When your plane finally lands, you find out that you are not in Italy, you’re in Holland, and you can‘t leave. Everything is different that what you imagined and planned for. You are disappointed that your dream Italian vacation will never really be yours, but you come to realize that Holland is beautiful too. It’s very different from Italy, but it is beautiful.

The story of our family could be compared to this, except that we did land in Italy at first. A beautiful, healthy baby was born. I held him and it was everything I dreamed it would be. It was like I was finally sitting in that gondola taking in the amazing scenery and experience that I had been waiting for. Things quickly changed.

Suddenly the bottom of our gondala fell out right from underneath us! We had a diagnosis; conductive bilateral moderate hearing loss. The shock overcame me. I started sinking. I realized that if I didn’t start swimming, I would drown. I did what I could to swim to the shore, but I was exhausted, weak, and a very poor swimmer. Prayer, faith, friends and family pulled me to safety when I couldn’t do any more on my own.

Once I was at shore, I realized that I wasn’t in Italy anymore. I was in Holland. Everyone spoke a different language, and I didn’t know where to go or how to get there. It was a very lonely and overwhelming feeling. Some incredible people were placed in my family’s lives: special education teachers from Jordan School District and Utah School for the Deaf and Blind. I would say that they were our tour guides. We met some wonderful families who also unexpectedly found themselves in Holland, and we learned many life lessons from their experiences. Just as Emily Kingsly describes in her poem, we realized the beauty of Holland. Tulips. Windmills. Rembrants. We grew accustomed to the new territory, and we embraced it.

Although we did love Holland, everyone we knew was coming and going from Italy. They were all constantly talking about how incredible it was and showing us pictures. I couldn’t help but think from time to time about how I was supposed to be in Italy.

One day, we were told that our time in Holland might come to an end. Coleman passed his hearing test at the beginning of August. Over the next two weeks, he passed two more tests. Without any medical explanation, his hearing is now completely in the normal range for his right ear, and he only has a mild loss for high pitches on his left. He stopped wearing his hearing aids (hooray!!) and seems to be doing just fine without them. We packed our bags and took the next flight back to Italy with tears in our eyes and smiles on our faces!

Now we’re back in Italy, and Italy is amazing. Coleman is consistently saying a few words now, which puts a smile on my face every day. I can read to him and sing to him and know that he heard me. I can leave the room for a second without worrying that $2500 worth of hearing aids are being slobbered to death or dropped down the heat registers. So many things that I worried about are suddenly gone, and I love it. I’m taking in all of the incredible sights and sounds of this wonderful place.

I do miss Holland. I will be starting school next week so that I can one day work with kids with special needs. Maybe I can even be a tour guide there one day. This vacation has opened my eyes to a whole new world. I will be forever grateful that, by the Grace of God, I was able to experience both Holland and Italy. Holland is a place I will always love and never forget.

Idaho

Me and the boys made a quick trip to Idaho last week. The 24 hours that we were there were jam-packed with tire swing rides, lawn mower rides, enormous side walk chalk exhibits, water fights, fishing, waterskiing, and hangin' out with the fam. We had a great time.

One of the most memorable moments of the trip had to be this... Cory's first attempt at barefoot skiing. This picture was taken moments before the best face-plant I have ever seen. Awesome effort Cory!!!

Water Fight!

We had to leave our Jordanelle camping trip a little early because it was starting to rain. Russ decided to prove to us that a little rain can't spoil our party, so he broke out the super soakers and a 5 gallon bucket. He taught Cade how to properly shoot a water gun at his little brother... Coleman was on the inside of the glass door, so he enjoyed getting shot at as much as the shooters enjoyed deploying their weapons.