Running Update

Since the marathon, life has been full with holiday things and daily life with the boys. It has been a welcomed break to take a big step away from training. I took two full weeks completely off from running. I’ve been following more running accounts and have noticed these girls seem to jump back to running immediately after running marathons. For me personally, I know a good, solid break is important for my body and mindset. I did find that after 2 weeks, I was going a little crazy and definitely missed the outlet that running is for me. It does keep me sane and it is an important of my daily life. It has been nice to get back into a running routine. I am running very short. I go out every other day and sometimes just go for 20-minutes. Since my daily life is so physical, I’m finding that a good 20-minute run is really all I need. I get 2-3 miles in, have a few minutes to myself, and get my heart rate up and even get a little sweaty.

December

In the middle of last December, I wrote about managing Christmas expectations as we were dealing with 7-week old Declan in the hospital with RSV. Last December was not the one I had planned for, but it helped me lean into simplicity and remind myself what this season is actually about: a baby born to save us!

This December has felt entirely different and each day that I wake up to 3 healthy kiddos, I am abundantly grateful. I keep remembering our reality last year, and the blessing of being healthy and able to do fun Christmas activities with the kids is something I do not take for granted!

A few things I want to jot down about this month so far:

• My energy has been feeling so limited. I’ve been trying to be intentional to what we are saying yes to and what we are choosing to skip. I’m learning it’s okay to not do all the things. This year, we did not attend all the Christmas events our church put on, but we consistently were there on Sundays and continuing to serve. I’ve also been able to commit to reading an advent devotional every morning. Loving this one my friend gave me last Christmas.
• I am working on not feeling guilty for keeping up with all the holiday traditions other families do, like Elf on the Shelf. I feel confident that something like this would absolutely steal my joy so I’m not doing it (also don’t fully align with the logic that an Elf is watching our kids’ behavior and reporting to Santa). I did feel a slight tinge of guilt when Hudson asked where our elf was, but then I just confidently told him that’s something our family doesn’t do, but we do lots of other fun things during this time! Next year, I might do Shepherd on the Search (a more Christ-centered version).
• Other things I am NOT doing this year: putting bows on presents, caring about the outcome of the gingerbread houses, over-buying presents, baking tons of cookies (we did Christmas banana bread and hopefully can make a few cookies for Santa, but besides that not doing much baking), volunteering for BOTH parties for my kids (choosing one), and the list goes on.
• Every year my intention is to slow down during this time of year. It can be hard to do, but one thing I did this year was set out a 500 piece Christmas puzzle December 1st. It’s been a fun thing to have out and work on together. It’s a reminder for me to sit down, put my phone away and focus on one piece at a time. My hope is to do this every year. It has turned out to be a super special thing for our whole family to rally around. Even Lance got into it and I would sometimes walk out after putting the baby down to sleep and see him working on it.

Godly Reminders from my 6-Year Old

Final thought! Hudson started a Winter soccer academy through a local soccer club (an awesome early Christmas present from my parents). The coaches have been super complimentary of Hudson’s soccer skills and have been heavily encouraging us to have him join their club team. For us, we know it is NOT the right time. For one, we think he is too young and we are not ready to fully commit to one sport. We also don’t want to give up our weekends and have the week packed with soccer practices. Hudson disagrees. He thinks it is the right time and wants to join the club NOW. There were tears and lots of questions when we firmly told him it’s a no for now, but definitely open to allowing him to join in the future (maybe even in a year). This whole exchange reminded me of how we sometimes probably act towards God. I can admit, I too, sometimes question why God is withholding and saying no to certain desires Lance and I have on our hearts. I was reminded just like we know what’s best for our son, our good Father, knows even more so for us. He knows what we can handle and his timing is always perfect. Gaining this perspective was incredibly helpful for me. It’s not always a no. Sometimes it’s a not yet.

Wishing each of you a very Merry Christmas and Happy 2025! Thanks again for another year of reading these words of mine!