My First Race

I've been working toward a 5k for 2 months.  I've been running three times a week with friends and we all planned to run together.  Sadly, we were going to be out of town for the race so I signed up for one on my own.  I was so slow and there were several factors against me but I'm so glad I finished.  I don't think I'll ever run a race when it's 95 degrees outside and the sun is right at eye level again.  I also don't think I'll run a race where there's no water stations again.  I felt like I was going to pass out several times and it was just a 5k.  I usually run in the morning before the sun comes up and I ran my race at 5:00 pm on asphalt.  Next time I'll know to train at the time the race will be.  I was completely unprepared.  I hope to keep running races and working up to longer ones as I get better.  I'm so grateful for what I learned and that Audrey could be there to see me cross the finish line.  Hooray for making goals and sticking with them.     

Family

After the funeral a few of us stuck around.  I can't get over these babies.  I wish I could hold them whenever I wanted...but alas that is not an option.  When they are around I try to get my fill and a little facetime in between.  Next time I hope to get better pictures of them together, we had an incident of face grabbing which made Wesley sad and Tamara had to leave.  They both are such smiley babies which makes taking pictures so easy.  Kimberly was so kind to take the three older kids out that were left and make cardboard planes with them.  Audrey still goes on and on about how awesome Aunt Kim is and how she's wants to be an artist too.  I'm so grateful the has so many great examples to look up to.  

Goodbyes

I don't like goodbyes.  My Grandpa Hair was truly an amazing man.  He will forever be missed.  I have a few memories that are my favorites of him and I'll hold them dear to my heart till I get to see him again.  Saying goodbye was so unexpected.  It had me thinking that I shouldn't have taken the time I had for granted.  The greatest blessing for me is knowing that he truly cared and loved me.  The last time I saw him he shuffled to the door to welcome me in and gave me a hug.  We sat and talked about his concerns for his grandchildren in an ever increasing dark world.  I consider myself blessed to be one of them.  He was concerned for me which was evidence of his love.  He was such an amazing example to me of devotion to the Lord and to his wife.  He was with my Grandmother always, they seemed attached at the hip.  Since his funeral I've thought of my grandmother a lot and how she must feel to be without him.  When you have that kind of love it's hard to be separated...if only for a time.  

He played the piano so beautifully until the day he died.  The music he played still rings in my ears every time I think of him.  He had a gift for calming everyone's soul with music.  My favorite thing was to ask him to play a random piece of music.  It was as if his fingers had memory of every song he had ever played because he seemed to never need a book. 

He had a smile that could light up a room.  I don't think I ever saw him unhappy or heard him say and unkind word.  Oh how I miss him!  

I didn't think for a moment about missing his funeral.  I felt like I needed to be there, if only for my Mom.  I knew that losing her Dad would be hard.  I was so glad I got to be there and celebrate Grandpa with my family.  I was grateful I got to hear my Uncle Bob and Aunt Carol speak about their memories of him and grateful I got to hear a powerful testimony of the Savior given by Uncle Moroni.  The spirit in the room was so strong.  I wept as I listened to my cousin Jared play "Clair de Lune" just as Grandpa would have played it.  When I closed my eyes it was almost as if he was the one playing. 

I hope that years to come I can share my memories of grandpa with Audrey and she can still learn from his sweet example of devotion and love.  

Till we meet again Grandpa!  Sending our love to heaven!  

A Sister's Visit

I think I'm drowning in unedited photos!  I'm going to get to it all...I hope.  I couldn't neglect these beauties below.  I couldn't believe it when I got a phone call from my little niece Charlotte.  She asked if she could play with Audrey.  I thought she was cute for asking...."Yeah, we'll be there in a couple months to visit and you can play with Audrey then".  "No, Aunt Emily, I'm here!"  "Can I play with Audrey?"  I asked her not to kid me...I might cry.  Sure enough as she promised she was there at the door.  I usually like to prep the house for visitors and get the guest room ready.  Jenn insisted that's why she came unannounced.  We had dinner that night with the missionaries.  She showed up just in time to make homemade tortillas that would have put mine to shame.  The missionaries were as happy to have her as I was.  I was grateful that Derrick was on a business trip and willing to share his family.  

I didn't think I would ever see any of my sisters here to be honest.  It's a long trip and there's not much in this little town. 

I'm grateful Jennifer decided to make the long trip despite how hard it can be to drive on your own.  She came and my home has not been the same since.  Audrey has a made over room and she loves every minute of being in it.  She disappears a lot just to spend time in her room with her old new found toys.  My kitchen is so much easier to bake in with everything at my finger tips.  I guess I got in a rut of putting things in the same place every time I moved regardless of the inconvenience of it. I found myself running to the pantry anytime I needed something and now I'm never in the pantry.  She spent hours making food when I expected to take care of her. I found myself missing having my sisters around.  I don't realize how much I miss it until I find one of them in my home.  I've thought a lot about what it would be like to have her and my other sisters close since she left.  I envision us all on the same street creating together and lifting each other when we need it. But I guess Heavenly Father realizes what a force for good we can be apart and so that may be a pipe dream.

She introduced me to sugar free desserts which oddly enough I loved and blueberry lemon scones which I could eat a dozen of in one sitting.  The scones are truly the things dreams are made of.  

We didn't do a lot outside of the house while she was here but here are a few of my favorite things:

• Riding the Ferris wheel with her girls
• Watching movies Paul would never watch with me late into the evening
• Life talks and much needed lifting from a big sister
• Going to visit the temple
• Amazing food
• Hugs from the little ones
• Helping put my nieces to sleep
• Water balloons together
•  A walk around our lake
• Helping Ruby jump into the pool

Thanks for visiting Jenn!  I might have cried a little when you left...okay maybe a lot!  It was so good to have family here.  You're the best big sister ever!