10K

Last Sunday Jonathan and I ran a 10K together!  Wow!  This is a pretty amazing feat for me.  I don't think I've ever run that much before in my life!  Jonathan ran it last year and the year before but this was my first time and he stayed with me the whole time.  What a guy. 

Back in the spring when Jonathan convinced me to sign up with him for this I started doing a program called Couch to 5K with these podcasts.  It's great!  It starts you off very slowly running and walking at short intervals and works you up to running for 30 minutes straight.  I got off track when the heat of the summer started and all of our visitors started arriving.  About 8 weeks ago my good friend Kim started doing the same program and is keeping a blog about it.  Seeing her get out with her two little ones inspired me to get back out there and keep going with the program so I picked it back up and I've been running with her (Ok, from afar, she doesn't live over here!) the past several weeks.  

We're on week 7 which has you running 25 minutes straight so I wasn't sure how far I'd be able to go considering this was a 10K and I was working toward half of that!  I did great (if I do say so myself)!  We ran more than 6 kilometers before I wanted to stop and walk a little but we were back to running before we hit the 7 kilometer marker and we ran the rest of the way.  The last K was the hardest but we were so close to the end that I couldn't stop! 

I have to say that it was a lot more fun than I thought it would be.  I think there were more than 10,000 participants - wow!!  We got shirts (rather ugly this year, I must say) and water and fruit at the end and a medal - yes, I now have a running medal!  Are you proud or what?  The run goes mainly along the coast but has some pretty big hills too.  It was quite a feat for me to accomplish this.  I might even be willing to do it again! 

Unfortunately we can't find our camera battery charger ANYWHERE so I can't upload the 1 picture we took of the two of us.  You really should see the color of these shirts - ugly.  The good news is that if we wear them at night we're sure to never get hit by a car - they're impossible not to see.  And 10,000 people in this color... wow. 

Putting Things in Perspective

I've been feeling kind of crabby and tired the last few days and just kind of grumpy.  I was driving home the other day feeling sorry for myself when I thought of little Elisabeth.

Elisabeth is the youngest daughter of another American family we know over here and she is only a few weeks older than Carly.  On Friday little Elisabeth was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor on her kidney.  She started chemotherapy yesterday. 

Then I thought of some friends who have been wanting to have a baby for a long time and after fianlly being able to concieve, recently suffered a miscarriage. 

And then I stopped feeling sorry for myself.  My baby doesn't have cancer.  I am so blessed to have two beautiful little girls and a wonderful husband - and so many other amazing things the Lord has chosen to give me. 

Potty training may be a big pain in the neck.  Nap times may not always go so well.  I may feel up to my eyeballs in laundry and dirty dishes most days. 

But let's put things in perspective. 

It doesn't make my frustrations go away but it sure does put things in perspective to remember that there are much bigger things going on out there. 

Pray for little Elisabeth and her family.

Happy Birthday, Uncle Tim!

Happy Birthday, Uncle Tim!!!  Can't wait to see you in a few months!!!

We took 2 takes because Carly cried mid-song the first time around and then the second time Katie was a little silly.... so, enjoy...  :-)  By the way, she's singing in both Portugue first so that's why you can't understand her at the begining!

(It's amazing how much she's grown since last year!)

Baby Steps

The little cutie can walk up to 10 steps already but this is all I've been able to catch on film so far. 

Enjoy!

Vote, Vote, Vote!!!

My good friend Christina is a semi-finalist in a contest to design a new gift card for Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf!!!  It features a picture of her adorable son Judson who passed away in November 2007 when he was just about the age that Katie is now. 

You can read her note and her story below and click here to vote for her card! 

Do it!  Right now!  It's easy!!!!!!!



Dear friends and family...


Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf had a contest to design a gift card that tells your own personal CBTL story and we are thrilled to announce that my design honoring Judson was chosen as a semi-finalist!!! But we need your help...the winning design (featured as a 2011 gift card) will be the one that gets the most votes from the public.

Would you take a moment to:

• Vote for Jud. Click here and then click "vote" under Judson's design.  It's really that simple!!!

• Forward this email to friends and ask for their vote to help us spread the word.
See below to read the full story behind this design.

So grateful for your love and support,
Christina
P.S. They only allow one vote per computer over the two week voting period (ends Oct. 29th), but you can vote on every computer in your home & office and if you have a phone with internet access, you can vote on your phone too.

Judson's CBTL Story
 Some of my sweetest memories with my son, Judson, are of our frequent outings to Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. From the time he was born I took him in his infant seat to sit and sip with me. In no time he graduated to the in-store high chair—eating crackers, fruit leather and other snacks from my purse while I delighted in my Moroccan Mint Lattes. Jud and I regularly chatted, laughed, played, and learned together while seated at a Coffee Bean signature oak table.

 The big milestone of our CBTL adventures came when I ordered Judson his very own “coffee” for the first time. The barista served up the perfect kid’s hot chocolate; some of Jud’s drink dribbled down his shirt, some of it spilled onto the table, and much of it covered his face, but the excitement that radiated from my beloved boy between sips is etched in my memory forever.

 In fact, every subsequent special occasion when Judson received his own drink was met with all the enthusiasm seen in this picture that was taken July 9, 2007 on a visit to a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in Los Angeles. This was just prior to a doctor’s appointment for Jud that proved to shape the course of our lives.

Sadly, my sweet, dearly-loved boy was diagnosed with late-onset Krabbe disease—a rare, genetic, incurable leukodystrophy. Judson died just a few months later.

As you can imagine, this makes all my many memories with Judson at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf treasured gifts. And I believe this expressive photo, in particular, captures the beauty, personality, and joy of Judson that characterized his life and our time together at the Coffee Bean.

I am thankful to CBTL for providing such a great environment for me to make cherished memories with my precious son!

http://STORYofJUDSON.com

Judson Levasheff: Christmas Eve 2004-November 7,2007
 Christina Levasheff
STORYofJUDSON.com
JudsonsLegacy.com

10 months old!

Once again, I took this (almost) on time but it took me 2 weeks to post it!  She's already only 6 days away from 11 months!  Amazing!

Carly's big news is that she has been taking several steps together.  This little lady is ready to start walking!  It's so cute to see her so proud of herself when she reaches her destination.  What a sweet girl!

Road Trip!

At the end of the summer we were able to take a road trip to visit several friends in fun places!  Ahh, the benefits of living in Europe! 

Stop #1 was visiting this sweet family in Germany.  When we arrived Katie landed in Little Girl Toy Heaven!  We'd been on the road for a while and with 3 little girls and a basement there were so many new fun toys to explore.  We had a great time hanging out and letting the girls play together.  Us Moms and Dads got to play some games after the kiddos went to bed.  It was a great time!

 Stop #2 was in Switzerland to visit our good friend Robyn and her new hubby Brad.  They took us to the Nestle Chocolate Factory!  Wow!  It was so fun! 

You have to read this sign that was up in the tour:

 Chocolate is life.  :-)

 The tour ended in the tasting room - oh my!  Way more than I could eat - so rich, so good!

 After the chocolate factory we went to a cheese factory.  No exactly chocolate but still really fun and yummy!

Stop #3 was at a guest house in Austria where we had a few days on our own and then my sister and her hubby and our nephew came to join us.  It was beautiful! 

 Ice cream date with my sister!

Grammy and Grandpa Visit!!

We had a GREAT visit from my parents at the begining of Sep.  We pretty much took it easy and hung out at home.  It was great to spend time together and take it easy.  Thanks for a great visit!!!



A few cute shot of the girls!

So it's been a while...

Alright, Mom, I get the message, you want more pictures!  I'm trying, I'm trying. 

A month has gone by and I haven't posted a thing.  I guess life has just been busy - that and my computer died so I was computer and picture-less for a while...  I'll try to make up for it.  :-)

Then, of course, when I do try to get on and add some pictures I've been migrated to the new Blogger template and I'm having major trouble uploading pictures - Great!  So, I'm going to post this one picture that I was able to get uploaded and then I'll try for more.  I promise....

This was us a few weeks ago when we did a Family 3k walk in a town nearby.  It was fun!