Merry Christmas!

It's been a really fun Christmas with the Townsley clan this year. This is my favorite picture from the past 24hours... fun with the cousins. :) That's my sister's kids, Nathan and Shelby, being silly with Mackenzie and Anna. I hope everyone out there had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends!

And hey!... can you believe we actually had some snow flurries today? Wow!

What a nice Christmas gift! :)

Gross

So tonight hasn't really gone as I planned earlier in the week. I was supposed to be out on an anniversary date with my hubby having a nice dinner at Rosies.... BUT, I woke up with what I'm calling a "Christmas cold" -- you know, the headcold that attacks you when you've been doing too much, you're too stressed, and you finally just get taken over by the stuffy nose, sore thoat, hacking cough thing. :(

Anyways, so instead of being out on the town, I was calling Jack talking to him about what to pick up for dinner at Walmart on his way home. :) Oh, and by the way, while he was there I asked him to get some super duper, high powered Drano to pour down the girl's clogged bathroom sinks and tub upstairs. They'd been complaining about standing water.... well.... I had no idea what we were in for. Jack came home with this stuff called "Roto Rooter" and a neat little device called the Zip-It Drain Cleaning Tool.

Now, normally, I would just not incriminate myself by showing the extent to which things can get disgustingly dirty in my house, but I don't know, I just had to share this. You really have no idea what can be hiding in your drains! Jack used the Zip-It on Mackenzie's sink and the stuff that came out was pretty nasty... but it was nothing compared to what happened when he stuck that thing down the bathtub drain and started pulling stuff out. Oh my goodness....

As Jack said, it looks like we drug a dead, very long-haired, rat out of the drain! It's amazing to me that any water at all was draining through that. So there you go -- you can just call this 'confessions of a usually pretty clean person.' I'm embarassed to admit this was the state of the drains in my house, but at least it's all clean now!

So I'm sorry for grossing everyone out, but hey, this is a great product endorsement for the Zip-It -- seriously -- Jack got it for about $2.00 at Walmart and it works great! (We also used the Roto Rooter stuff, too - just for good measure!) So now, you too, can have clean drains for cheap! Just make sure you eat BEFORE you start cleaning out your drains - yuck!

Beautiful Ending

I’ve been thinking about this for a little while now, I guess ever since a couple of weeks ago when I was driving home from church after our last Wed. night class at church on Ezekiel. I got in the car and turned on the radio and this song by Barlow Girl came on:

Beautiful Ending

Oh, tragedy
Has taken so many
Love lost cause they all
Forgot who You were
And it scares me to think
That I would choose
My life over You
Oh, my selfish heart
Divides me from You
It tears us apart

So tell me
What is our ending?
Will it be beautiful
So beautiful?

Oh, why do I
Let myself let go
Of Hands that painted the stars
And hold tears that fall?
And the pride of my heart
Makes me forget
It's not me but You
Who makes the heart beat
I'm lost without You
And dying from me

So tell me
What is our ending?
Will it be beautiful
So beautiful?

Will my life
Find me by Your side?
Your love is beautiful
So beautiful

At the end of it all
I wanna be in Your arms
At the end of it all
I wanna be in Your arms
At the end of it all
I wanna be in Your arms
At the end of it all
I wanna be in Your arms

So tell me
What is our ending?
Will it be beautiful
So beautiful?
Will my life
Find me by Your side?
'Cause Your love is beautiful
So beautiful

The song resonated with me that night because I listened to if for the first time from the perspective of Ezekiel and Daniel. I’ve learned a lot studying both of these prophets over the past several weeks, looking at their lives and the times that they lived in. And the song starts out, “Oh tragedy, has taken so many… love lost cause they all forgot who You were.” I think both Ezekiel and Daniel could have penned those words of lament as they considered the people of their time and their circumstances. The Israelites were in exile under the Babylonians because of their utter unfaithfulness to God and the future held nothing but continuing conquests and further destruction. Ezekiel describes it this way:

"I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the punishment I inflict and the hand I lay upon them. From that day forward the house of Israel will know that I am the LORD their God. And the nations will know that the people of Israel went into exile for their sin, because they were unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their offenses, and I hid my face from them. (Ezk 39)

This sort-of gives new meaning for me to the verse “It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Heb. 10:31) Sorry, I really don’t mean to be all doom and gloom here, but it is sobering to consider the judgement of God – and it makes me all the more grateful for what I’m about to get to here.

As I’ve said before, I’ve also been involved in a 12-week Beth Moore study on the book of Daniel. This has been mind-blowing for me. If you’ve never done a study like this, I HIGHLY recommend taking whatever opportunity you might have to do it. For me, it was with a group of ladies that I’ve gotten to know from the middle school and it’s been such a good experience. :)

Anyways, back to Daniel. I wonder, if he had heard this song from Barlow Girl (ha) as he walked the streets of Babylon and considered the fate of the Jewish exiles there, if he would have wondered to himself, “What will our ending be? Will it be beautiful?” There was so much against Daniel, so much pressure to conform to the new culture of decadence all around him – lots of temptation to comfort, riches, power, pleasure. What helped him maintain his integrity and faith? I get a clue from this verse:

"Then he continued, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them." (Dan 10:12)

His mind was set on the things of God and he was humble and surrendered to God’s will. That stands in contrast to this verse in the song:

“And the pride of my heart makes me forget
It's not me but You who makes the heart beat
I'm lost without You and dying from me”

I think Daniel probably watched, over the years, as the Jews in exile around him succumbed to the pride of their own hearts – certainly he prophesied to the pagan kings he served under and told of their demise due to this very sin. He truly saw so much tragedy…
I think at the end of the day, at the end of his life, he longed for a ‘beautiful ending.’ Here are some words of encouragement that I see at the end of Daniel:

"I heard, but I did not understand. So I asked, "My lord, what will the outcome of all this be?" He replied, "Go your way, Daniel, because the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end. Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand…. "As for you, go your way till the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance." (Dan 12:8-13)

What a blessing for Daniel to hear those words at the close of his life. He knew what his ending was going to be – and it was going to be beautiful.

I’ve been listening to this song for a while now and there are so many good questions in it. For someone like me who has too many times chosen my selfish heart over God, dividing us and tearing us apart; has let go of the hands that painted the starts and held (my) tears that have fallen; has allowed the pride of my heart to make me forget that it’s God, not me, that makes my heart beat, that I’m lost without Him… well, what can I say? It’s almost hard to ask the last question: “So tell me, what is our ending… Will it be beautiful?” Thankfully, and only because of the love and grace of God, I know that it can be. Boy do I wish at times that I could have an angel, like Daniel did, come and tell me that in the end I will rest and receive my allotted inheritance. But I do have the assurance of God’s word that says, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus… For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 8)

“And at the end of it all, I want to be in your arms….” What a beautiful ending. :)

Unexpected!

Two things that I really didn't expect to happen today...

!! SNOW !!

And Alabama ran away with the SEC Championship against #1 Florida!! 32 - 13.

I thought we had a chance of beating them, but I just didn't expect it to go the way it did. But WHAT an exciting game!! I can't remember having that much fun watching a game since, probably, the New England Patriots won the Superbowl back in 2002 (I think that date is right!)

Anyways, it's been a fun day. Snow, the Christmas Parade downtown, football game with family and friends. Here was an 'intense' moment: :)

Now as I sit here watching Texas and Nebraska play, I'm wondering who our opponent will be for the National Championship game... any way it goes, I'm just excited Alabama gets to be in it!! Woohoo!! :)

Consistency

I struggle with this word... this virtue. I admire and have great respect for those who prepare, plan, work diligently, and achieve their goals. I aspire to that. I really WANT to be that person. Most of the time I'm not. I'm a little more like this cartoon than I'd like to admit! I do get things done, but more often by the seat of my pants.

So this month I stepped out on faith and decided to try something here that would challenge this part of my character - to post something that I'm thankful for every day this month. Honestly, I didn't think I'd succeed. But you know what? By the grace of God, I did. Not perfectly... I did forget one day to post something and I did have 2 days out of town where internet access wasn't available to me... (but I posted my thanks on facebook!!) But I realize that even in my 'imperfect' completion of this goal, it feels really, really good. :) Better than that, it was great to take the time to focus on something that I'm thankful for every day. To look for something in each day that was admirable. To make the time to communicate that. It's been challenging, but well worth the time and effort.

So today I am thankful for lessons learned while striving for consistency and for God's grace and strength that helped me succeed.

I may take a little break from my daily posts (we'll see) -- but I don't ever want to take a break from being grateful!! :)

A Warm November Afternoon...

I'm thankful to be writing this while sitting out on my back porch enjoying a quiet, somewhat overcast, 'warm' November afternoon. It's so peaceful here...

I've enjoyed this last week with family and friends... lots of activity, travel, and fun times. It's been a wonderful Thanksgiving week. :)

But it's also nice to wrap all of that up and be able to sit quietly and take in what will likely be the last time I'll want to sit outside on my porch for a while. I expect colder weather and winter to actually start to set in soon...

I've realized in some deeper ways this last week how very blessed I am. I think I've already mentioned quite a lot about family and friends -- today I am just thinking about how good God is and how faithful He has been to me. Allen read I Corinthians 1:8-9 this morning in his sermon and it really sank in with me today:

He will keep you strong to the end,
so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God,
who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord,
is faithful.

What a blessing to know that GOD will keep me strong to the end and will always be faithful. In times where I feel so weak and unfaithful in my own heart, I can rest in the promise that it is GOD's strength and faithfulness that will make me blameless on the day of Christ... and I love the thought of being 'called into fellowship' with Jesus. Maybe it's silly, but it put this picture in my mind of standing awkwardly alone in a crowd, not sure of where you fit in or who to talk to, when suddenly God, (the ultimate party host!), comes over to you, puts his arm around your shoulder, and says, "Hey, come on over here. I have someone I want you to meet... He's really looking forward to getting to know you. This is my Son, Jesus...." :)

What an awesome God we have!

Rivalries

So much excitement happens in the waning moments of great rivalry football games. I witnessed one of those yesterday watching Alabama narrowly defeat their arch-rival Auburn Tigers. I'm watching another one, even as I write, between LSU and Arkansas.

Everyone is gathered around the TV. There's lots of screaming and disbelief. And oh..... there it is. Arkansas just lost in overtime. What a heartbreaker! This is the night you DON'T want to be the field goal kicker for the Razorbacks. Poor guy...

But what joy to be the kicker for LSU!! :) It's all perspective, huh?

So what am I thankful for in all of this? Well, mostly just the fun and camraderie of cheering on your favorite team together. It makes for lots of fun memories. And OK, yes, I'm thankful that Alabama did win yesterday and the dream for the National Championship lives on another week. :)

The past several years we created a bit of a tradition of watching the Alabama/Auburn game with the Burgesses over at my parents' house. It's always been fun having such die hard fans for BOTH teams in one place watching the game. And it's always been very civil. ;-) Of course, I think this is the first year that the game has been SOOOOO close -- and maybe it was best that it didn't work out for us to watch it together this year. haha

Tonight with the LSU/Arkansas game I didn't care quite as much about the outcome, but I enjoyed watching Jami suffer through wanting the Hogs to win. (sorry, Jami!) Now I've switched over to the Georgia/Georgia Tech game and am waiting to see how that one is going to go and I know my brother-in-law Tom is anxiously hoping the Yellow Jackets will make a last minute comeback in this game.

So much drama!

But it's all fun -- hmmm.... what will I do for excitement when football season is over? :)

Family

I'm thankful tonight for family.

Thinking about my parents back at home who take such good care of me and my family. They are so generous and encouraging in so many ways. I'm saying a prayer tonight that my mom feels better and that they are able to have a great time with my Uncle's family tomorrow for Thanksgiving dinner.

Thinking about my sister and her family in South Carolina. Traditionally they spend time with her husband's family and I'm sure that's what they'll be up to tomorrow. I was thinking back a couple of years ago to when we went to SC for thanksgiving with them and my sister and I got up at 5:30am to shop the 'Black Friday' specials. We has SUCH a good time!! Fun memories... :)

Thinking about my brother and his *growing* family in Paris, France. (We're looking forward to the birth of a new little baby girl in March!) So they don't really celebrate Thanksgiving in France. ;-) BUT, I do believe my brother makes a valiant effort every year to do SOME kind of Thanksgiving meal. Turkeys are somewhat hard to come by - and you really can't make a pecan pie there (I know, HOW do people live there!! ha) But he does what he can -- I'm curious as to what he'll come up with this year. :)

Thinking about where we are right now -- in Birmingham with Jack's mom. We finished a yummy Thanksgiving dinner just a while ago with her and Jack's sister and all of their family. It was so good -- and there was a lot of laughter. For some reason, every time we get together lately, there's a 'contest' of sorts to see who has outgrown who. Strange that we get such a kick out of this, but maybe since we're all so short, it's a bigger deal. ;-) Anyway, the big news tonight is that the oldest nephew, Carter, has now outgrown Uncle Jack! A sad day indeed. haha

So my 'immediate' family is a bit scattered to the winds this Thanksgiving - that's how it usually seems to work out. But we all have the blessing of getting to share Thanksgiving with our 'married' families - and that's a great thing. It seems Christmas is more of a gathering time for all of us to come together... we're going to be missing my brother and his family this year because they won't be able to travel easily at that point... but that's OK. Looks like it may be another "Townsley Christmas in July --- or Halloween" before we all find ourselves in one place again. It's something to look forward to. :)

So I'm thankful tonight for ALL of my wonderful family, both far and near. Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving!!

A Break.... :)

Today began to feel like the holidays and it was really nice. I'm thankful today for time to make a new friend and catch up with an old one....
to cook some good food that I look forward to sharing with family in the next couple of days....
for clean clothes and time to pack....
and I'm looking forward to getting on the road tomorrow to spend time with family.

I'm not quite sure what my internet accessibility will be over the next few days, so if I don't get to say it in a couple of days ---
Happy Thanksgiving!! :)

"Extended" Family

We've been blessed over these past 2 summers to 'host' our summer teen ministry interns. Two summers ago, it was Courtney. This past summer, Jami. Well, this past Friday night, Jami came 'home' to stay with us for Thanksgiving. It's nice to have her here again. And an added blessing is that she invited her mom, who lives in New Hampshire, to come here for the week as well. So tonight we got to meet Sherri. We picked her up at the airport, amidst lots of other families welcoming folks home for the holidays... we came home and had dinner and sat around with the fire going and coffee and brownies, talking as if it was just a typical family get-together - kind-of like we'd known each other forever. It was a really nice time... I had to laugh tonight when Sherri was giving Jami a hard time about saying that she was 'going HOME' for Thanksgiving -- she was trying to figure out when Huntsville became 'home.' :)

So tomorrow I have another opportunity to spend some time with my other 'adopted' daughter, Courtney. We'll be having lunch together. I always look forward to times spent with her to hear about what has been happening in her life and where God is leading her. :) She'll always have a special place in our family...

It's funny how God works and how he brings people into our lives. I'm especially thankful tonight for how God has 'extended' our family to include Courtney and Jami and their families. What a blessing. :)

"I'm a treasure in the arms of Christ"

Something that I'm thankful for every day is forgiveness. SO thankful. So here is a song by Sanctus Real called Forgiveness that's been popping up on the radio lately, and it really caught my attention today. I'm not sure there's another song that I can think of that so accurately describes how I often feel. Maybe it hit me today because it was definitely one of those days... I'm thankful that there are amazing artists out there that can really capture things I wish I knew how to express... and even more thankful for the last thought and reminder in this song, that "I'm a treasure in the arms of Christ." A beautiful thought... :)




Well the past is playing with my head
And failure knocks me down again
I'm reminded of the wrong
That I have said and done
And that devil just wont let me forget

In this life
I know what I've been
But here in your arms
I know what I am

I'm forgiven
I'm forgiven
And I dont have to carry
The weight of who I've been
Cause I'm forgiven

My mistakes are running through my mind
And I'll relive my days, in the middle of the night
And I struggle with my pain, wrestle with my pride
Sometimes I feel alone, and I cry

When I don’t fit in and I don’t feel like I belong anywhere
When I don’t measure up to much in this life
Oh, I’m a treasure in the arms of Christ

My Amazing Children :)

Jack said it well tonight. It was a good day to be a proud parent. :) I'm always proud of my girls, for many things - but today was a day-long 'showcase' of talents that they invest much of their time and energy in. And in the end, I sit here truly thankful for the way that each of them has been blessed with abilities that they really enjoy and excel in. It was a joy today to watch each of them, 'in their element,' and having such a good time.

Tonight, we got to watch Mackenzie play in the UAH Honor Wind Ensemble. She was nominated by her band director and then chosen by the faculty at UAH to be a part of this band. It was made up of about 50 high school students from all over North Alabama and Tennessee. They spent the weekend rehersing and then played a concert tonight out at UAH. It was amazing to see how much they could learn and accomplish in just 2 days worth of practice... very impressive. Mackenzie was happy because she ended up getting to play the piccolo as she had hoped she would. I was using a borrowed camcorder tonight to capture all of this, and I believe it's going to take some time to figure out how to download the video... but maybe I'll be able to put an excerpt of the concert on here sometime soon... :)

Earlier, we spent most of the afternoon at Huntsville Gymnastics' Fall Invitational Meet down at the VBC. Anna did really well today - finishing in 3rd place in her age group on both the Floor exercise and on Bars. It was nice to see her so much more relaxed and really enjoying herself today. :) Mackenzie was able to capture her floor routine with a camera -- the video isn't all that great, but you can get the idea.

So it was a long day, but a good one... and I feel very blessed. :)

My Warm Bed

This will probably sound like a silly thing, but I realized as I crawled in bed last night on one of the colder nights we've had, that I'm so thankful for my heated mattress pad! :) It really is one of those things that just makes life a little more cozy and comfortable. It's a luxury that I really, really appreciate as the winter months approach. Every night, a little after dinner time, I make sure to go in my room and 'dial up' a nice warm temperature so that when I pull back the covers and get in bed, it's nice and warm. And this one's kinda neat -- it actually is warmer down towards the toes than up near your head. I like that. :) PLUS, it has a separate temperature for each side of the bed so that I can decide on the temperature for my side of the bed and Jack gets to choose his - this is a really good thing since I'm always cold and he's mostly always warm. ha.

If you don't like the feeling of those cold sheets on a cold winter night, I highly recommend that you look into getting a heated mattress pad - you won't be disappointed! :)

Things to Smile About

Anna's 'gifted' class has moved on from the 'Mind Olympics' to creative cooking. :) So the cake pictured above is the first product of their gifted imaginations. Now, I'm thankful for two things here... hmmm... maybe three. First, I'm happy that they settled on a cooking theme for these next few weeks instead of the 'create and produce your own board game from scratch' idea. That was something that Anna and I talked about for a couple of days when she thought they were going to have to do that, and there were no smiles over THAT project. It was really nothing but overwhelming. But cooking -- now that's fun! :)

Jack was kind-of wondering what in the world a 'gifted' class was doing with the whole cooking thing... good question. I really don't have an answer. And I thought about being worried about it -- like she might not be getting enough out of this 7th grade elective class! But then it occurred to me that as busy as most of her life is, I'm glad that she's getting to spend 45 minutes in her day just doing something she really enjoys! :)



Finally, we got to enjoy the fruits of her labor today and I'm thankful for that. :) She came home with what we are calling "The Gifted Cake" today - I suppose it could rightfully be called a Thanksgiving Cake considering that it is adorned with an adorable Oreo Cookie Turkey... but whatever the case, it was a yummy Red Velvet cake that she was immensly proud of. And I think the Oreo Turkeys are going to be an entertaining activity to share with the cousins in a few days when we spend Thanksgiving with them. :)

Anyways, all of this is to say that I'm thankful for little things like this that just bring a smile to everyone. We got home from school, my dad was here doing a little work in my house, then Mackenzie got home -- and we all stood around admiring and enjoying a taste of Anna's cake. It was a nice moment. :)

Daniel's Prayer

Here was part of my reading today in my 'homework' for this Daniel study that I am doing:

"We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. 19 O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name." 20 While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the LORD my God for his holy hill- 21 while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. 22 He instructed me and said to me, "Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. 23 As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed."

Daniel was so urgent in his prayer and I LOVE this visual of an angel of the Lord, Gabriel, flying in to Daniel's side even before he finished his prayer to give Daniel insight and understanding. Not only that, but he tells Daniel that even before he began his prayer, an answer had been given! That is SO reassuring. If we could only see the angels all around us delivering the answers to our prayers! :)

The interesting thing is that some of the 'answer' to Daniel's prayer was still a long way from happening. Beth Moore made the point that we often miss the fact that God is answering prayer, even when we don't see the 'action' of that answer right away. I'm thankful today for examples like Daniel and reminders like this that God is always at work answering our prayers and that in His eyes we are 'highly esteemed.'

Getting Caught Up

Short and sweet tonight. I've been buried in my office for the past couple of days catching up on backed up piles of mail and bills that needed to be sorted, thrown out, filed, filled out, paid, etc... and it's done!! :) That feels really, really good. Like a weight lifted off my shoulders... I really wanted to tackle that before Thanksgiving hits next week. We're headed out of town and I didn't want that waiting for me when I got back. So, I'm thankful tonight for a productive couple of days!! Yay!! :)

No One is Keeping Score but Me

This may sound like a strange thing to be thankful for, but here's the explanation. At some point in the middle of the night last night I woke up and suddenly realized that I hadn't posted anything yesterday on my blog. My 'goal' at the beginning of the month was to post something I'm thankful for every day and I've been able to keep up with that so far. Well, yesterday I forgot, plain and simple. I can't say I wasn't home to do it or anything like that. On the contrary, I spent the whole day on my computer! Working in my office, going thru piles of mail and junk, paying bills, answering emails.... until about 9:30 last night, literally. So much catching up to do - and I didn't even get to the Fruit Sale stuff that I get to spend today with. ;-)

So I woke up and can you believe THAT was what popped into my head? I forgot my thanksgiving post. And I was mad at myself. I've been doing so good!! I almost got up right then and went and did it - I thought it would make me feel better. :) But I didn't. You know I actually had a moment this morning where I wished I could find a way to change the time/date stamp on my post and make it LOOK like I had posted this yesterday!! ha. Silly, I know, but that IS the way my mind works. sigh.

Anyways, I'm finding a good lesson in all of this, though. And that's where my belated 'thanksgiving' is coming in. No one 'out there' is keeping score... the whole point of doing this was not to 'win' by posting something every day - it was to help me to be more thankful. :) So at just the moment where I was probably starting to feel a little bit of pride in being so consistent, I messed up and now I need some grace. And that's OK. Thankfully, God is always there ready to give grace for things SO much greater than this! Consider Isaiah 43:25...

"I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more."

If God isn't 'keeping score' when it comes to my sins, then I think I can let go of my 'missed day of posting' yesterday and get back on track today. :) And perhaps it's a step in the right direction of learning to forgive myself the way God has already forgiven and promised to remember my sins no more...

What Faith Can Do

Today I'm thankful for a new song by Kutless that I've been hearing for the past few days. It has really touched my heart and encouraged me. So I thought I'd share it here and hopefully it will speak to your heart as it has mine.

Chance Encounters

I ran in the Huntsville Heros 5K race in south Huntsville today. It was a beautiful day for a race! Jack was going to run the half-marathon that was also happening today, but after the week that he had, he really wasn't ready for that race today! But it turned out to be fortunate for me, because he ran the 5K with me and encouraged and paced me along to my best 5K race time ever... 29:36! My goal was to see if I could go under 30 minutes, so I was really happy with that. :)

While we were waiting for the race to start, I happened to see the woman who was my physical therapist earlier this year. She spent about 3 months with me, working on my hip, and with Anna, working on her ankles. I haven't seen her in quite a while, but she recognized me right away and even asked about Anna - that was nice. She was there watching her husband run his first half-marathon. So after we got done with the 5K, we stood with her and watched the half-marathon and waited on her husband to come in.

As she and I talked, I was telling her about Jack's triathlon training and experience with his first half-ironman... and also about him getting sick this last week and wanting him to get checked out here at home by our regular physician. Well, she works next door to a doctor who is a general practioner, but is also a nationally ranked triathlete and specializes in sports medicine! His practice is apparently closed to new patients, but she offered to make a referral for Jack to see him. And that was all without me even asking! Since he really wants to do more triathlons in the future, it would be a great blessing to have a doctor who knows all about the sport.

Anyways, this is sort-of making a short story, long (which I'm really good at! ha) ... but I was just thinking what a 'coincidence' it was to run into her in a crowd of 1400 people today and that Jack just happened to go through the things he did this last week - and that she would offer to help him out when she barely knows us. Pretty neat. So today I am thankful for 'chance' encounters, out-of-the-ordinary kindness, and God's always perfect timing of things.

Update: So while I was sitting here writing, Jack called out from upstairs and asked if I had checked the race results from today... guess what? I came in 10th place in my age group (40 - 49) out of 44 other women! For someone who is usually in the 'bottom third' of the finishers, I'm just pretty fired up about that!! :)

Simple Pleasures

Today was one of those stressfull/melancholy kind-of days. You know, the sort of day where you wake up and you are already trying to figure out what to cancel because there's just too much to do. (today, unfortunately, it was my workout with Cindy) And in the midst of all the 'doing,' your mind is just off in other places... and what you really wish is that you could just sit down, take a deep breath, and have a few minutes to do nothing.

Well, the blessing in the day is that moment presented itself for about 45 minutes this afternoon. I was able to break away from school and the band lock-in for a short time and come home. It was so beautiful outside at that point in the day, that I decided to sit outside on the back porch for a little while. I even stole a tootsie-roll pop from Anna's halloween candy stash and just sat out there, enjoyed my lollipop, and 'decompressed.' I can't remember the last time I had a lollipop. :) I had time to think... to pray... even to write a little... and to collect myself. It was just very peaceful. It made me think that sometimes it's the 'simple pleasures' that can make all the difference in a day - and today I'm thankful for that.

"Calendaring"

I heard this term used today by Beth Moore today in the Daniel study that I am doing. She was actually making a bit of a joke about how they have a whole 'calendaring' department at the church she is a part of. :) But she was also teaching out of Daniel, Chap. 9 today, and making reference to how specific the dates and times are that we learn about in Daniel and her ideas on what they mean. I heard some things and learned some ideas about 'end times' prophecy, as well as messianic prophecy and fulfillment, that I have never heard before. It was truly fascinating to me! And I was amazed, again, at how much of what we see prophesied in the Old Testament through men like Daniel, has come true in such specific ways... and it continues to increase my faith that God is SO in control, that He knows exactly what He's doing, and that He will, in fact, accomplish all of His purposes.

You know, I think that I've heard most of my life, or at least this is how I think, that dates and times are maybe not all that important to God. He's more interested in our hearts and relationship with Him. NOW, I do believe our relationship with Him is more important than anything, really. But, between the Ezekiel class I'm in and this Daniel study, I'm being reminded that God doesn't waste words -- and if He's writing and making note of dates and times, I'm sure there's a reason. So I'm starting to pay more attention to that and it's really interesting. Besides, I know how much dates and times are important to me. Really, they're an important part of relationship. Special days, anniversaries, birthdays - all reminders of things, good times and sometimes hard times - that we carry with us. So why should I think that God isn't all that interested in times and dates? I don't know... those are just some of my rambling thoughts... :)

Anyways, I won't even pretend that I understand all of the stuff I heard today, but it does make me want to learn more. It's got me excited about studying and it's adding new depth and insight into all that I'm reading - not just Daniel. So I'm really thankful for that today - a fresh desire to dig into God's Word and the continued reassurance that as I do, it will only make me more in awe of how incredible God is! :)

Hospitals

I'm really thankful that we have hospitals when we need them. I'm also thankful that tonight my husband is NOT spening the night in one! He had to the last couple of nights, and finally got out today, much to his relief. I wish that getting out meant he got to come home... but he's in Orlando on business and that mean's he got out and went back to work. But to him, even that was better than any more time in the hospital.

He got really sick to his stomach on Monday, just after arriving in Orlando and having some lunch. I think he tried to ignore it and keep working, but it got pretty bad and he ended up blacking out. Well, that got him a trip to the ER. Once there, the doctors set about the task of trying to figure out why he fainted... so let's see... There was an EKG, a CAT scan, an EEG, a stress test, and finally, an MRI. Not to mention a myriad of blood tests... all normal, thankfully. My official diagnosis? Food poisoning. :) And even if it wasn't, I'll bet he doesn't eat at Quiznos for a very, very long time... ha. Regardless, the fainting thing is always a bit scary and I'm just glad there doesn't seem to be anything seriously wrong.

So today, I'm thankful that Jack was well taken care of by strangers far, far away AND by the warm thoughts and prayers of friends nearby who helped in the best way possible - getting the Great Physician involved! :)

Nature's Beauty

A colorful rainbow. A gorgeous canopy of fall leaves. A stunning sunset.

I was fortunate to see all of these in the span of about 20 minutes tonight. What could have been just a routine drive to gymnastics tonight, became such a glorious drive through God's creation! As I left my house, there was a beautiful rainbow stretched from one side of Hampton Cove to the other. I drove through the neighborhoods to pick up one of the girls and found myself surrounded by tree-lined streets with leaves of every color all around. And as I left my side of the valley and came over the top of the mountain, the sun was just setting below a line of clouds and the whole scene was absolutely indescribable. Oh how I wish I had a camera to have captured it all! So for now I will have to rely on some 'borrowed pictures' that almost capture what I saw.... almost. Regardless, it was such a nice treat and change of pace.

So in the midst of a drive that I most often do on 'autopilot', I was very thankful tonight for the beauty that unfolded before me - I couldn't help but think of God and how amazing He is. :)

"The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of His hands..." Ps. 19:1

Wal-mart and Warm Delights

The simple fact of the matter is that Wal-mart makes my life easier, and for that, I'm thankful. On days like today, when Anna comes home from school saying that she needs a binder for her report that's due tomorrow, Wal-mart is just 5 minutes from my house. I can handle 5 minutes... if I had to drive all the way over the mountain to Target, 15 minutes away, I would have been a bit more frustrated. But Wal-mart is right here, practically in my back yard. So when I find that I need a last minute school supply, or I'm cooking and forget that I don't have any butter, or eggs, or milk... I can just run down the street and be back in no time.

Of course, there's a catch. You can almost never go into Wal-mart looking for that one thing that you need without suddenly being reminded of several other things that you forgot you just had to have right now! That, of course, happened to me earlier as I ran to Wal-mart for Anna's binder... and I ended up with chicken for dinner tomorrow night, and bread, and make-up, and eye creme, and bowls, and diet pespi.... you know, all the essentials. ;-) But then I passed the baking isle. Dangerous place. And the Warm Delights were calling to me. I don't know what made me do it... I haven't bought one of those in a long time... maybe it was the way the day clouded up today and began to look a little grey and wintery. I don't know. It just sounded so good, so I got one. :) I made it tonight and sat down on the sofa next to Anna to eat it. Just so you know, you really can't sit next to someone and eat a Warm Delight without expecting to share it, so I did. I'm sure it was for the best since I really didn't need to eat it all by myself. Anyways, when all was said and done, I was really thankful for my little bit of 'comfort food' tonight - I needed it. :)

Revelation Song

I got in the car this morning and turned on the radio as we were headed to church. A song came on WAYFM.... I recognized it, but hadn't heard it before on the radio. Then I realized it's one we had been learning with our singing group at church, but it had been a while since we had done anything with it. It's a beautiful song called, "Revelation Song." It's just a wonderful praise song to God - and it was neat to hear it on the radio.

So I got to church and afterwards, I saw our songleader, Stuart, and told him about hearing the song on the radio. He was surprised, like I was, to know that it had been out on the radio and we talked about working on it Wed. night during our singing time.

Well, I headed out to the car to go home, got in, and just as we turned on the radio again, guess what song was on? Yep. And it turns out that not only is it on the radio, it's #17 on the 'top requested songs' list of the week. So where have I been? I guess not listening to the radio much - ha! Just as the song ended, my phone beeped.... a message from Stuart. He had just heard the song and thought it was funny that we were just talking about it. Me too!! :)

I love it when God does things like that -- just goes out of his way to get your attention on something surely you need to hear. So I found the song on youtube and I'm including it here - it's very moving, both the video and the song.

I'm thankful today for God-ordained 'coincidences' and this beautiful "Revelation Song."

A Beautiful Morning

I'm thankful today for such a nice morning. You know, I often think that the best thing about Saturday morning is the opportunity to sleep in late. :) But today I decided to get up early and had some quite moments to myself to spend with God - and that was great. Then I drove the gym carpool... (meanwhile, Jack was out picking up Anna from a sleepover party at Emma's) ...so Jack and I actually met up at the gym. Then we went for a 5K run on the cross country course out around the golf course at the old airport. He was very kind and supportive to run slow with me! ;-) It was so pretty out this morning - a perfect day for a run. I'm happy to be out doing that again and thankful that I can. :) Then I headed home while Jack went and ran the course a couple more times (so he could get a 'real' workout in - ha). I went by Walmart and got some good stuff for lunch - came home and had time to pick up, eat my lunch, and watch a little football... it was just a nice, leisurely morning. I know it all sounds rather mundane, but coming off the stressful week that I've had, it really was something to be thankful for! :)

Football Season!

So far, it's a really good year to be an Alabama Football fan! :) Of course, I say this on the eve of the Alabama/LSU football game, so let's just hope I could be writing this same first line tomorrow night about this time!! ha

I'm thankful for football season. I always look forward to it every year... it's a sport I grew up watching with my family and I have lots of fond memories (and funny stories!) about that. And I'm fortunate now to be able to have that tradition back - watching the games with my mom and dad AND now with my own girls.

I've also really enjoyed the high school football season these past few years that Mackenzie has been in the marching band. Again, it's another childhood event that I'm getting to relive -- this time as the 'band parent' and not as the 'band member!' :) It's exciting when it gets started, and tonight, in a pretty painful loss to Gadsden in the first round of playoffs, it's bittersweet when it comes to an end. I say bittersweet because on nights like this -- where Jack and I raced down to Gadsden to get to the game, only to find we had really bad directions to the stadium and didn't know where we were going -- we 'toured' Gadsden for about 45 minutes, using both my phone with internet access and a GPS unit that we've borrowed and forgotten to return (oops) and finding neither of them as helpful as the girl at McDonalds who finally pointed us in the right direction! -- We made it to the game JUST in time for half-time (yay!) and then watched our poor football team get killed in the second half of the game. The clock ran out, the seniors cried, the alma-mater was played.... and another football season is over.

Now I'm home in my warm bed and quietly thankful that we won't be doing that again next week! :)

Beth Moore

I am entering into Week 8 of a Beth Moore bible study on the book of Daniel. This is the first time I've ever done this kind of study and I feel so blessed by it. I'm impressed by Beth's depth of knowledge, but more that that, I love her passion for what she teaches. She get's so excited about each new insight into how amazing God is - and she does a great job of communicating that to her audience. And I'm learning things I've never known from the book of Daniel, and that's always exciting. :)

I'm also thankful for the group of women that I'm doing this study with. I found out about the study back at the beginning of the school year while talking with one of my 'band mom' friends, Tara. She leads this bible study in her home. So I asked to join in, and I've really enjoyed getting to know a number of the ladies who live out here in my community. They're a great bunch. :)

So today I'm thankful for the encouragement that always comes with this couple of hours I spend on Thursday mornings in bible study and fellowship.

Encouraging Words

Short and sweet tonight. I'm very thankful for the people who take time to say 'thank you' or 'you're doing a good job' or 'we appreciate all your hard work.' I just spent the last 2 hours answering emails about band 'stuff' that is coming up. A lot of people are confused, have questions, think they have a better way to deal with things, think I'm NOT doing what I should be doing, etc. etc. And they let me know it. And it's been a little frustrating tonight. I try so hard just to let it roll off and answer kindly in spite of my feelings... but I finally had to 'vent' on my poor husband tonight. :( But in the midst of all that, there were a couple of very, very nice emails - some people write at times just to say 'thanks' for letting them know what's going on. That's nice to hear - and it was especially welcome tonight. :) And I will go to bed now with THAT being the last thought on my mind. :)

Good Health Insurance

Today I was reminded that there are many things I take for granted. One of them would be always having good health insurance. Anna hurt her foot at gymnastics a couple of weeks ago, and it hasn't seemed really bad, but it's been bothering her. It's also been keeping her from training like she wants to. So I've been thinking about taking her to have it checked out and today we finally decided to go on to the doctor.

I called The Orthopedic Center and was pretty amazed to be told to come in right away. Of course, they did warn me that I might have a 2 hour wait! But we got in relatively fast, got an x-ray, saw the doctor, found out she's ok as far as the x-rays show, and were on our way. All for a co-pay of $20. :)

With all that is going on in our country right now about health care, I had to drive away and realize that if I didn't have good health insurance, I wouldn't have even been able to consider taking her to the doctor. It also makes me think about Jack's trip to the ER a few weeks ago after the triathlon. We're just now getting the hospital and doctor bills from all of that. Total cost to the insurance company? $1800.00 !!!! Total Cost to us? $45.00

I can't ever remember a time when I have had to worry about health insurance, and today I am pausing to just be thankful for that. Thankful that when one of us is sick, or hurt, or needs medicine, we have the means and ability to pay for it without going bankrupt. I don't know how to figure it out for everyone else, but a I pray for a time where that will be true for all people!

When the Lost is Found

So probably about 6 weeks ago, I checked out some books at the library, and then renewed them on-line a couple of times and finally reached my 'renewal limit' today, which means that I had to get myself to the library today! ;) So yesterday, I started gathering my books to return and couldn't find one. Uh-oh. So I started thinking.... and searching.... rifling through nighstands, looking under the bed (only dustbunnies under there!), looking through stacks of magazines in various places, in my office, on the bookshelves, in the bathroom.... It was nowhere to be found. And it was just a little book, so it was even harder to find. I remembered seeing it last on Jack's nightstand because he had taken an interest in it, so I asked him, which later put him on a search through the closet and through some suitcases (seriously!) to find it. No luck. He thought he remembered taking it somewhere with him on a trip.... sigh. At this point I decided that it was probably only going to cost me a couple of dollars when I told the library I had lost it, but I just hated having to do that. But the search was called off for the night.

Well, this morning a sudden lightbulb went off in my head. If Jack thought that he had taken it on a trip somewhere, and the search through the suitcases had proven fruitless, maybe it was in his laptop case! And what do you know? That's where I found it. :) yay! It's silly, but I was so happy about that and thankful that I didn't have to tell the library that I had lost a book.

I'm very sentimental and I don't like it when I've lost something and can't find it. Case in point: I had a beautiful silver bracelet that is identical to one that my sister wears that we've both had for years. It was something I gave her a long time ago... and I wore mine pretty much every day. It reminds me of her. :) Well, Jack and I were out of town recently and somewhere along the way, the bracelet must have fallen off and I couldn't find it anywhere. :( It really bothered me and I tried everything to find it, but it was gone. This past week, my family gave me a very pretty new necklace that I've been wanting and then surprised me with a matching bracelet! So now I have a new bracelet to wear -- and I do love it. But you know the funny thing about things that you lose? They really can't be replaced... new things move in and take their place, but never to really take the place of the old. Even now, as I put on my new bracelet each day, there's a little reminder of my sister and the bracelet that I lost -- but the whole point of the bracelet was to remember her anyway, so there's good to be found in it all. :)

This is so much longer than I intended, which is usually what happens with me. ha One last thought -- as I pondered my gratitude over finding the lost book today, it made me think of this verse: "...but this is a wonderful time, and we had to celebrate. This brother of yours was dead, and he's alive. He was lost, and now he's found!" Luke 15:32 I tend to think of the lost being found, in the spiritual realm, as sort of a one time kind of event. And I suppose if you are talking about salvation, it is... but I was thinking about all the times I've been 'lost' and God has 'found' me. So many times.... and I'm very thankful that He always keeps looking - under the bed, in the bathroom, in the closets -- even the suitcases. He never gives up on me. Now THAT is something to be thankful for!

A Month of Thanksgiving

I'm taking a little step out on faith here and trying something that I know I am not capable of doing on my own. But I really want to do it. :) And that is to post something that I'm thankful for every day this month. This is hard for me, not because I don't have a lot of things to be thankful for, but because I'm just not very good at doing things consistently. But this is an area of life that I am working on (and probably will be for the rest of my life!) so I think this is a good thing for me to try. :)

Before I share what I'm thankful for, I think this is kind-of neat. I was (and I have to be honest here, given what I just wrote above!) catching up this morning on a past study in my Daniel homework that I'm a little behind on. I was up a little early because silly me forgot to set my clock back and I woke up an hour early and couldn't go back to sleep! But I think the Lord had a plan, because I had this idea about doing the Thanksgiving posts this month and then I came across this verse in my study this morning...

Isaiah 63:7

"I will tell of the kindnesses of the Lord

the deeds for which He is to be praised,

according to all the Lord has done for us -

yes, the many good things that He has done

for the house of Israel,

according to His compassion and many kindnesses."

When I saw that, I just thought it was kind-of the 'nudge' I needed to get me here, writing down what I'm thankful for this month. So here goes: :)

Today I am really thankful for the love and generosity of parents. My mom and dad and Jack's mom show their love for us in so many ways. In just the last month I've had to call on my parents to step in and take care of my kids overnight when Jack and I didn't get back from a weekend away when we thought we would. Many would consider this an inconvenience - especially since they had to get them up early and off to school! - but my mom and dad saw it as a blessing to them. Jack's mom just came up for the weekend so that she could come to a football game with us and see Mackenzie march with the band. So she endured a ridiculously long football game and windy, cold weather just to encourage her granddaughter. Then she got to be a part of a rather impromptu 'Teen Scary Movie Night' at our house and she just rolled with the punches! ;-)

Jack's mom, Louise, doing one of her favorite things with her grandkids - putting together a puzzle.

Both sets of parents are unbelievably generous with us - from my parents buying us beautiful dining room furniture and offering to put hardwood flooring in my family room as a birthday gift to me -- to Jack's mom paying for vacations and passing down a wonderful car to Mackenzie... and many other things too numerous to mention. They've given so much over the course of all of our lives that we could never repay -- and for that I am so very thankful.

My mom and dad with my brother and sister this past summer doing what my parents' love most - having the whole family together at one time.

Makes me think of someone else I will never be able to 'repay' for all of His love and generosity to me. Jesus. :) As Ps 116:12 says, "How can I repay the Lord for all of His goodness to me?" Well, I can't. Plain and simple. So with humility and a sense that it really isn't enough, I say thank-you... to my Lord, to my parents, and my mother-in-law. God is so good. :)

Happy Birthday to Me!

OK, so maybe it's a little self-indulgent to wish yourself a Happy Birthday. But since I'm the one in my family who gets the most excited about Birthdays, I figured I better go ahead and send myself a birthday wish. :-)

I have a quiz for you today. Here goes:

Joaquin Phoenix, Julia Roberts, Charlie Daniels, Bill Gates.... so what do they all have in common? OK, I've probably made it too easy... they were all born on Oct. 28th. Just like me. :) I had no idea. Until tonight. I got this idea to go looking for famous people that were born and things that happened on my birthday. Here are some other fun facts:

Harvard College was founded on Oct. 28th in 1636.

The Statue of Liberty was dedicated in New York Harbor by President Grover Cleveland in 1886.

The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, MO was completed in 1965.

I don't know -- after looking at all of that, I felt just a little more excited about my day tomorrow. ha

But let me add to interesting things about my birthday that happened right in my own family. Most of you may know this story already, but for those who don't, we have some pretty interesting 'coincidences' that have happened on this day in my family. Starting with my Aunt Carolyn who was born on Oct. 28th (a few years before I appeared on the scene). She is my dad's sister and his only girl sibling. Then, on Oct. 28th, 1959, my cousin Sydney was born. She is the oldest daughter of my dad's brother, Jim. Next, I was born, on Oct. 29th, 1963 - the oldest daughter in my family. For years we thought that was a pretty neat trio of birthdays. Then, Sydney's brother Stephen, my cousin, had HIS first daughter. She was due around the 28th, so of course we were hoping.... Well, she couldn't quite wait that long and was born a couple of hours before midnight on... Oct. 27th!! And finally, a few years ago we got the news that my brother's wife was pregnant with their first child, and it was a girl. She was due on, yes, Oct. 28th. Apparently Lena was really, really ready to see the world, though, and came on Oct. 20th.

So there you have it -- the Townsley family birthday trivia and fun facts. :) I think it makes a pretty interesting story. At least it's all written down somewhere for posterity now.

Totally changing gears for a second, I came across a verse that was shared in this Beth Moore Daniel study that I'm doing. I believe that I will adopt it as a verse to really take to heart and build on as I start another year of life... (she encouraged us to 'personalize' this verse, so I've put my name in there):

O [Kay], put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is unfailing love and with him is full redemption. Ps 130:7

Well, if I don't go to bed soon, it really will be my birthday... Thank you, Father, for another year of life and please help me to continue to put my hope in your unfailing love and full redemption in the year to come. :)

Yay Mackenzie!

Just wanted to brag on my oldest daughter for a moment. :) We received word last week that Mackenzie has been invited to be a part of this years UAH Honor Band Wind Ensemble! She was nominated by her band director at Huntsville High and then chosen by the UAH Music Department to be a part of this band that will be made up of 50 of the best high school musicians from around the city. I'm really proud of her! :) I guess we're not quite sure whether she'll be playing her flute or piccolo just yet, but she's hoping to get to play piccolo - that's really become her favorite of the two.

She will get to be a part of a weekend workshop that will be guest conducted by Col. Thomas Palmatier, Commander and Conductor of the US Army Field Band of Washington DC. That should be an amazing opportunity! I hope it will be a great experience for her and I'm looking forward to the concert at the end of the workshop. :)

Augusta Ironman 70.3

A couple of weekends ago, Jack and I took a trip to Augusta Georgia for the inaugural Augusta Ironman 70.3. If you are unfamiliar with triathlon terminology, an "Ironman" is a race where you swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and then run a marathon! (26.2 miles) So, you may be asking what an "Ironman 70.3" is.... well, it's a half-ironman. 1.2 (mile swim) + 56 (mile bike) + 13.1 (mile run) = 70.3! And that's what Jack did last weekend while me, my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew chased around Augusta to get glimpses of him along the way.... :)

Getting the bike numbered and ready for the race.

This was a view of the 'transition area' - there were 3,400 people registered for this race -- this picture doesn't really do justice to the sea of bikes that were racked up and ready for their riders.

This was the view on the morning of the race down by the river as athletes were coming in and getting into their wetsuits and lining up for the swim at the start of the race. It was beautiful, but a little bit chilly, on the banks of the Savannah River.

Our support crew. :)

Swimmers in Jack's age group lined up on the dock and ready to start... that's Jack with the arrow pointing to him.

We were caught a little off guard when Jack came out of the swim to bike transition. He had told us that it would take about 45 minutes to do the swim, but he came whizzing by on his bike at around 33 minutes into the race! So, I totally didn't have my camera ready to catch that... so the first time I have any pictures of him in the race is after he got back into town from 56 miles on the bike and stared the run. We waited for him here, at mile marker 3...

Looking good and way ahead of pace at 3 miles!

...and at 6 miles....

Getting a little tired around 10 miles -- I think some cramps were starting to kick in... but still going strong!

Just one mile to go!! Definitely hurting at this point, over 5 1/2 hours into the race... but the finish is just around the corner. Unfortunately, the crowds were so crazy at the finish, I couldn't get to a place where I got a picture of him crossing the finish line. But he did!! :) His finish time was 5 hours and 43 minutes -- 17 minues faster than his goal of doing it in 6 hours. Yay! So he was very pleased with that and it was a great '1st try' at this kind of race.

EPILOGUE:

After making our way through the crowds, we found Jack and he was definitely tired... and a little woozy. So he sat for a minute and seemed OK. We had to walk back to our cars - Tom and Lisa's was closest so we got there, and as Jack was getting into the car, his leg cramped up really, really bad. Well, in the midst of trying to work the cramp out, I think the pain of that and the dehydration got to him and he passed out. (yikes) Fortunately, we realized that was about to happen and Tom and I caught him and hauled him back into the car. SO, we called over an ambulance and they decided to take him into the ER for some fluids and to get his blood pressure stabilized. So, not only did Jack do his first triathlon, but he got to have his first ride in an ambulance! ;-) After a couple of hours at the ER and a liter of fluids, he was much better. We ended up staying an extra night in Augusta (thanks to mom and dad for keeping our girls on a Sunday night and getting them to school the next morning!!) and coming home the next day. And after all that, he's already looking ahead to doing another one! :)