26.2

Today was the big day! After almost 6 months of training Jarod ran in his first marathon.
I originally planned to see Jarod start the race because I've never seen him start one. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see him start. It took us so long to get down to the AA Center, that he had to get out of the car and walk there. By the time I got parked, I couldn't find him. My parents and Allie came to pick me up so we could drive to our first spot to see him. My brother Scott and his family were set up to see him go by at the 7 mile marker. Some how, they did not see him (we think they were set up where the 1/2 marathon and the full marathon split). I had signed up to get text messages throughout the race of where he was so I didn't think it was a big deal that they didn't see him b/c I would get a message soon and then we would know where he was.

While we were waiting at mile 13 (1/2 way point) and I was starting to get very nervous. I had not received one text message so we had no idea where he was. Finally, we saw him and Allie was so excited. He came over and gave us both a kiss. After he saw us he saw Scott and his family (after missing him they drove where we were but saw him at the 14th mile). Then we headed back to the car and drove to mile 16. My brother Chad and his wife Jami were waiting there. That spot was perfect and again he was able to come say hi.
Then we drove back to the AAC so we could get a spot by the finish line. Scott and our friends EA and Ashley were set up at mile 22. By the time they saw him he had fallen behind in the pack that he was running in. I was starting to worry because his goal time was 3hrs. 30min. I just knew something had happened to him.

Finally, just after 4 hrs. we saw him come by us to finish the race. Words can't describe the emotions I was feeling at the time. I was just so proud of him and I wanted to run out there with him. He came over and told us hi and then finished the race. All 26.2 miles of it!

After I found him and gave him lots of hugs I found out a few things: one, he forgot to wear his timing chip which is why I never received text messages and two, at around mile 18 he started having leg and groin cramps. This explains why he fell a little behind the pack he was running with when I saw him. So for the last 8 miles he had to run off and on with cramps. He had never experienced running cramps until today. My heart broke for him b/c you could tell he was so frustrated with himself. I had to keep reminding him that he couldn't control what happened and all that mattered to any of us was that he just accomplished such a huge goal. After the race we all headed to Papasito's for some much deserved Mexican food!

Jarod,
Allie and I are so proud of you. You are such a good example to us both. Thank you for being such a loving husband and father. I'm truly amazed at the goal you set for yourself. I know that you didn't do as well as you wanted but you need to be proud of yourself. You will always be #1 in our book! We love you!

Waiting for daddy

Of course Allie wouldn't look in the picture or hold her sign.

Mile 13

Waving goodbye to his girls

Cheering section for mile 16

Mile 16

Almost there!

He can see the finish line!

To our family and friends:

Thank you for all of the support and love you have showed Jarod. It means so much to both of us. You were great cheerleaders for him today!

Stomach Bug

Allie came down (or should I say up?) with a stomach bug early this morning. It hit her and two others Carmen's pretty fast! I was eating breakfast this morning and I could hear her coughing. Needless to say, it caused some early drama this morning. For some reason I was in such a panic! Usually I am able to make plans at home and send them to my team mates, but they weren't going to be at school either. Allie was so patient with her overwhelmed mommy! I had to give her a bath b/c it was everywhere, then I had to finish getting ready and get to work so I could type lesson plans. Usually they don't take me very long but I had a hard time working on them with a 2 1/2 year old needing my undivided attention the entire time. Finally, my school nurse watched her while I finished my plans and as a parting gift Allie got sick on her. I of course felt awful.

Allie has such great timing with all of this as usual. The last time she was sick, I did not get to go to Memphis for a wedding. Right now, everything is so crazy b/c I am trying to get everything ready for Jarod's race on Sunday. He doesn't come in from town until tomorrow night and we are having dinner with my parents and his dad at my house. Originally I planned to make a lasagna, now I will be buying a frozen one! Plus, my good friend Miranda's baby shower is tomorrow and now it looks like I won't be able to be there (Miranda, if you are reading this, I'm so sorry!). Hopefully this will all pass within 24 hrs. Oh, did I mention I've also caught some form of this stomach bug? My heart just breaks for her when she is sick. She just lays around and she has slept so much today. Poor thing!

I hope with rest we will all be better soon. Thank goodness Jarod isn't here because the last thing he needed was to get sick before his big race on Sunday! I'm glad I could take one for the team.

I Was Tagged

I was tagged by my good friend Becky to post my 4th picture in my 4th album. Allie is one in this picture. I can't believe how much she has changed and grown. She has so much hair now!

I tag:

Miranda

Kristen

Meredith

Sarah

Thanksgiving Pics...Finally!

Sorry, I'm just now posting about Thanksgiving. We have been very busy around our house. Thanksgiving this year was great. We started it off at the Turkey Trot in Dallas. My mom and I walked the 3 mile and Jarod ran the 8 mile. My dad watched Allie and she saw animals at the petting zoo and jumped in a bounce house. There were so many people at the Trot. It was very hard to walk the 3 mile because there were so many people and their dogs were everywhere. Jarod finished the 8 mile before we could finish the 3! There was just so many people.

This year we stayed at my brother Scott's house. They just had a house built (it's very nice) and there is plenty of room for us all to stay. So we stayed a few nights there and then all went back to our own house on Saturday night. We had so many things to be thankful for and really enjoyed hanging out and eating lots of yummy food. The guys went golfing on Friday and the girls went to Canton on Saturday. I think I'm the only one who really bought anything. I was on a search for things for Allie's room.

During our week off, we decided to have potty boot camp at our house. No more pull-ups! After Allie regressed this summer I never put her back in panties and we decided that our next opportunity would be Thanksgiving break. She is doing really well and is finally starting to tell us when she needs to go. One problem we have encountered is she holds in her poop. This has caused some tummy issues, but today she finally went in the potty. Hopefully that will continue and we won't have to try anything else to get her to poop. We are really trying to push more fruit so she doesn't have to hold it. I'm so excited that potty training is going so well (even though I feel like we've been doing this forever).

This week is crazy for us as well. Jarod left for D.C. today and comes back Saturday night (the night before his marathon). I have lots of jobs myself this week and hopefully I will get everything done in time for the marathon. All of my family is going to cheer him on and I've made a sign for him. Afterwards we are going to eat to celebrate. Please keep him in your prayers that he does not get injured during the run. I will post about it next week!