It’s one of those rare mornings when I don’t have anything planned.  Brian just took Analise to preschool, and I’ve got the whole morning free… well, free with Josiah.  I’ve got so many little things I want to do, I’m not sure where to start!  Maybe a shower? 🙂 

We had a quiet weekend around here, which was lovely.  Brian watched the sweeties for a few hours on both Saturday and Sunday, so I was able to get out and just be by myself.  I actually just sat at Panera with a lovely coffee drink and my laptop on Saturday.  On Sunday I went to a dance/costume consignment sale and found a few little dance things for Analise to play in. 

Yesterday, the kids and I met Analise’s friend Jacob and his mom at the zoo.  It was fun walking around leisurely and talking, splashing in the water area, having lunch together.  Then we had friends over for dinner, and I made this amazing Southern Living Chicken ‘n Spinach Pasta recipe.  (It’s one of my top 3 favorite recipes now.  I think I’ve made 4 pans of it in the last 6 weeks!) 

So today is quiet, and hopefully I can find a nice balance between getting things done, playing with Josiah, and doing something for myself.  All this after a shower and a little reading in my Beth Moore devotional, Jesus: 90 Days with the One and Only.  I’m off!

No, we didn’t fall off the face of the earth.  I’m so sorry I’ve been scarce.  I have been writing blogs in my head, though!  Too bad they never made it to the keyboard…  Where did we leave off?

Yes, Analise’s bike race was incredibly cute and fun.  She was very teary and nervous all afternoon before we left, including getting upset with Josiah for wearing her helmet in the house.  She was saying things like, "I’m never going to be able to pedal (Don’t worry – Daddy will help you!)… I’m going to fall off my bike (Daddy will be right there to catch you!)… I’m never going to win the race (You’re going to do great!)."  When we left our neighborhood, I realized that we’d forgotten her helmet.  She burst into tears, saying "They’re never going to let me race without my helmet!"  Of course, we turned around and got it.  When she got to the start line, though, she was all business.  Brian walked right behind her, but she pedaled herself the whole way, nearly 3/4 of a block.  Another little girl, the daughter of one of Brian’s teammates, rode her little pink trike right next to Analise, and they brought up the rear of the kids race.  They nearly crashed into each other at one point, but the dads got them back on track.  They did so great!  Analise is already asking when she gets to do her next race.

Brian raced later in the evening.  I left the kids at home with a babysitter, and it was so fun to be out cheering him on without having to worry about them.  We also had a HUGE cheering section of friends from church – 15 people!  They were all really surprised at how exciting a criterium race is.  Brian did really well.  He finished 10th over all, winning a "prime" or prize lap of $100.  His teammate placed 8th, and between the 2 of them, they won $375, which they split between all of their teammates in the race.  Brian’s races are more often include the categories Pro/1/2, but this race included 3’s as well, which 4 of his teammates are.  So he had the benefit of racing with them for once.  It was fun to race in front of a hometown crowd!

On Sunday, we headed to Atlanta for another bike race.  Brian was in a stacked field with a bunch of pros.  He raced REALLY well, staying in the top 5 or 10 for the whole race.  He got a little boxed in coming into the finish, and he ended up 15th, but still in the $$$.  He also *just missed* a prime, battling it out to the last inch with a top pro rider.  We wound out the trip with a lovely shopping trip at Trader Joe’s and dinner at a noodle place (didn’t compare at all to Noodles & Company).

Last week was a recovery week, laying low after a super-busy weekend.  This past weekend was lovely, quiet and restful.  We visited Birmingham’s farmer’s market for some fresh food treats.  I’ve been cooking up a storm lately, too.  I’m trying to plan our our meals more regularly so we avoid going out to eat.  I’ve got a blog in the making (or several) with more details about some of the changes we’re making in our eating and some of the *DELICIOUS* meals we’ve had. 

Right now, though, I’ve got to head to bed.  I’ve got a cold, and as usual, we need all the sleep we can get in this house.  Hope to catch up with y’all again sooner rather than later!  

Here are some random videos that we took on our camera.

(Click on video to watch baby flamingos hop around and chirp).

We went to the zoo right before the start of the Fall semester. One of the higlights of the trip was our first time ever to see baby flamingos being supervised on a "play date" where they got to hop around outside of their normal exhibit area.

(Click on video to watch Josiah run up and down Kid’s Gym).

Last Monday, Josiah and Analise got a chance to play at Kid’s Gym where Analise takes ballet. It was a great opportunity to video tape our bow-legged walker. Sorry the video is sideways and you really can only see his bow-leggedness at the very end of the video.

The pictures say it all … we’ll post more later!

You can tell from my most recent blogs that I’m a bit pensive, with a lot of deep thoughts on my heart.  So many things on my "to do" list lately, and most never seem to get crossed off.  I’ve got loads of things I want to post for sale on Ebay, tons of outgrown clothes in both Analise and Josiah’s dressers and closets, many of which I’d like to put for sale at the upcoming consignment sale, bookshelves to put in order, and my kitchen needs a deep clean.  

I’m really struggling with being "productive" lately, but on the other hand, I’m trying to remember how "productive" spending good time with my kids really is.  What’s really important?  The laundry will get folded eventually, but each day that passes, my little ones are one day older.  Ebay is always there, but Analise is not going to be asking me to read books forever, and before I know it, my giggly little boy will be too busy for pushing trains and cars down the hallway.  

Analise’s first day of preschool this week.

I’ve had a lot of other things I wanted to blog, lighter things and photos, but the busy moments of life around here keep me from getting the uninterrupted hour I need.  Every time I turn around there’s a mess to be cleaned up, a brewing brother-sister battle to intercede with, or a snack to get.  Here’s some of the highlights from this week…

My little messy man.

Yesterday I set up the wading pool on the backporch with the Little Tykes slide in it for some added fun.  I even set up the baby gate so they couldn’t leave the porch.  I set myself up right inside the door and stole some moments to myself, trying my hand a making bows for Analise’s hair (I made 4!  They’re cute!).  Analise and Josiah entertained themselves while I watched them out of the corner of my eye for nearly an hour.  Analise even noticed my tomato plants needed watering… and I didn’t notice her "helping" until she’d put the 5th or 6th bucket on them!  Josiah played in the dirt a little, but I don’t think he ate too much.  But the fun had to end when Analise poured a container of sunflower bird seed into the pool.  It looked like an oil spill.  They were most unhappy to have the fun ended so abruptly, but we’ll try it again tomorrow.  And I can look forward to sunflowers all around my porch next year.

Josiah’s learned to climb up on the step stool in my kitchen, and he wants whatever is on the counter or kitchen table.  As I was doing dishes Tuesday, I didn’t notice him climb up to the kitchen table and start splashing in my cup of cold coffee.  I found him covered in milky, sugary coffee, with a pool at his feet, and coffee splashed everywhere.  I gated him in the den and cleaned things up.  This was the first time I’ve used the baby gate, and I thought how nice it was to have him confined in a pretty-childproof  area.  He played happily, and I went back to my dishes.  Then I heard a noise that didn’t sound like it came from the den.  Sure enough, the door to the hallway was open, and Josiah was down the hall in Analise’s room.  Talk about a false sense of security!  We’ve now got to slide his heavy little chair over in front of the door to keep him from prying it open.  

We *HAVE* had 2 excellent nights of sleep in a row, though, and I’m hoping for another one tonight. We’re hosting Brian’s cycling team for dinner tomorrow evening, so I’ve got a lot of little things to do to get ready.  Notably, stop stressing out that my house isn’t going to be perfect, and trust that people don’t mind the "lived-in-with-kids" look.  It’s the atmosphere that counts, anyway, right?  Saturday is a big hometown cycling race here in Birmingham, and we’ve got a big crowd of friends that are coming to cheering with me.  I’m really looking forward to it, and Brian’s feeling good and hoping for a great result.  Sunday, we’re going to early church and then heading to Atlanta for an afternoon bike race.  Just another quiet weekend around here!

A few more glimpses of the busybodies…

Saturday, Analise and I made muffins (notice hers with sprinkles, below),
and while they were baking, I let her "bake" with a bowl of flour, sugar,
water, sprinkles and raisins.  She told me she made "pitcher of milk soup".  Yum! 
She had so much fun!  Our muffins were tasty, too, Golden Chocolate Chip Muffins from King Arthur Flour.

One of Analise’s favorite pre-bedtime activities is playing with a new game of ours, Blokus. 
Brian and I have probably only played it the real way twice since we got it this summer,
but Analise loves to sit down with us and create pretty geometric designs.  

The other evening, she wanted to build a church for her "guys".  So we built one, and she set them all up to sing. 
Notice Leo the Little Einstein leading the group with his baton in the air.

Lastly, a couple weeks ago, we went to a bouncy-play place called Pump It Up with Analise’s best friend, Jacob. 
They bounced all over, but spent most of their time on the huge slide.

Josiah enjoyed bouncing, but he got all bounced-out really quick!

I completely missed the news earlier this week about Hurricane Felix making landfall as a Category 5 hurricane on the east coast of Nicaragua, in Puerto Cabezas. Yes, it’s a long way from where I spent more than 2 years living and working, but my heart will always be burdened for Nicaragua and Central America. We all remember what damage Hurricane Katrina left as a Category 5 storm 2 years ago here in the US, and I can’t imagine winds of 160 miles an hour battering the tiny wood and tin shacks that many people call home down there.

Here’s ABC News’ most recent update, and a few quotes that hit me…

San Pedro Sula, Honduras is also recovering from the torrential rains, and it has been a "home port" for Mercy Ships for a long time.  Please keep the people of Central America in your prayers as they recover from the storm.

As mundane/tiring/overwhelming/frustrating my life seems to be at times, this is holy ground. 

Laying with Analise as she lays down for her nap, sucking her thumb, rubbing my arm, drifting off to sleep.

Sweeping the kitchen floor for the 8th time in a day, cleaning off the high chair for the 4th time in a day, picking up puzzle pieces/legos/blocks/train tracks at the end of the day.

Watching Analise’s beginner ballet class with Josiah giggling, hanging on my leg.

Holding Josiah close at 4am when he’s woken for the 3rd time.

Struggling to wake up with early-bird kids at 6:15am after Josiah’s been awake over and over again.

Watching Analise and Josiah romp on the couch, praying they don’t fall off and land on their heads.

Folding laundry, putting towels away, sorting socks for my sweet family.

God is in this place, and I am frequently unaware of it.  It’s up to me to realize He’s here in each moment with me and to see these everyday experiences as holy.  When I do, it lifts my mind from being immersed in the boring of my life to looking up to His holiness. 

Well, lots has been happening in the racing scene since I last posted about my racing. It has been a long, long season and I only have 3 races left on my calendar, which I’ve included below:

Date		Race	Category		Results
25-Feb		GSMR Training Race	A		2nd
4-Mar		GSMR Training Race	A		4th
10-Mar		South Knoxville RR	Pro/1/2		9th
11-Mar		GSMR Training Race	A		7th
17-Mar		Lascassas Road Race	Pro/1/2		2nd
17-Mar		Lascassas Time Trial	Pro/1/2		15th
24-Mar		Tour de Tuscaloosa	Pro/1/2/3		7th
25-Mar		Tour de Tuscaloosa	Pro/1/2/3		3rd
15-Apr		Raccoon Mountain RR	Pro/1/2		22nd
20-Apr		Mississippi Gran Prix Stage Race (Crit)	Pro/1/2		7th
21-Apr		Mississippi Gran Prix Stage Race (RR)	Pro/1/2		6th
21-Apr		Mississippi Gran Prix Stage Race (TT)	Pro/1/2		30th
22-Apr		Mississippi Gran Prix Stage Race (CR)	Pro/1/2		5th
22-Apr		Mississippi Gran Prix Stage Race (GC)	Pro/1/2		6th
28-Apr		AThens Twilight Pro/1 Crit	Pro/1		raced
29-Apr		Roswell Pro/1 Crit	Pro/1		29th
5-May		Sunny King Pro/1 Crit	Pro/1		raced
6-May		Decatur Pro/1 Crit	Pro/1		45th
25-May		Edgar Soto Stage Race TT	Pro/1/2/3		53rd
26-May		Edgar Soto Stage Race Circuit	Pro/1/2/3		17th
27-May		Edgar Soto Stage Race Crit	Pro/1/2/3		18th
28-May		Edgar Soto Stage Race RR	Pro/1/2/3		17th
28-May		Edgar Soto Over All	Pro/1/2/3		17th
2-Jun		Union City TT	Pro/1/2		22nd
2-Jun		Union City Crit	Pro/1/2		14th
3-Jun		Union City Road Race	Pro/1/2		33rd
3-Jun		Union City Omnium	Pro/1/2		19th
23-Jun		Minnesota Iron and Metal Criterium	2/3		8th
24-Jun		Kurt Kinetic Criterium	2/3		6th
11-Jul		Masters 30+ National Championship RR	1/2/3		27th
27-Jul		Gwinnett Center Criterium	Pro/1/2		16th
28-Jul		Competitor Southeast Road Race	Pro/1/2		12th
4-Aug		Allanti Cycling Classic RR	Pro/1/2/3		5th
5-Aug		Allanti Cycling Classic TT	Pro/1/2/3		10th
5-Aug		Allanti Cycling Classic Omnium	Pro/1/2/3		7th
11-Aug		Tour of Elk Grove Pro/Am Crit	1/2		30th
12-Aug		Tour of Elk Grove Masters 30+ Crit	1/2/3		16th
25-Aug		River Gorge Mountain Challenge	Pro/1/2/3		11th
25-Aug		BMW TT	Pro/1/2/3		36th
26-Aug		Chattanooga Downtown Crit	Pro/1/2/3		7th
26-Aug		River Gorge Omnium	Pro/1/2/3		9th
8-Sep		Pepper Crit	Pro/1/2		TBD
October 13-14		Downtown Greenville Classic	Pro/1/2		TBD

My most recent races were this past weekend in Chattanooga. I have included my heart data for the road race and criterium below:

2007 River Gorge Road Race

A couple of important notes:

1. The arrow labelled "blow-up point" indicates the spot at which I could no longer sustain the pace I had been setting on the climb. Also, this is the spot where Matt Winstead’s teammate, Nate Brown, attacked with 1km to go before the KOM. Note the sharp decline in my heart rate as my legs screamed "no more!"
2. Compare my heart rate for the finishing climb where I decided ahead of time to ride at my own pace. Note that there is no sharp increase followed by a decrease indicative of a "blow-up". I was able to finish in 11th place after passing several people towards the end who had blown up.

Race statistics:

Data  Value  Unit 
Duration 2:44:55   
Sampling Rate 5 s 
      
Energy Expenditure 1851 kcal 
Number of Heart Beats 26400 beats 
Recovery -89 beats 
Minimum Heart Rate 95 bpm 
Average Heart Rate 160 bpm 
Maximum Heart Rate 188 bpm 
Standard Deviation 16.9 bpm 
      
Minimum Speed 9.3 mph 
Average Speed 23.2 mph 
Maximum Speed 35.6 mph 
Distance  7.5 miles 
Odometer 5581 miles 
      
Minimum Altitude  835 ft 
Average Altitude  1104 ft 
Maximum Altitude  1910 ft 
Ascent 4615 ft 
Descent 3710 ft 
Slopes 7   
Grade % 2.6 % 
VAM 1679 ft/h       

2007 River Gorge Criterium

This crit was a flat and super-FAST race. Still, I felt great for the race and finished well in 7th place.

Race statistics:

Data  Value  Unit 
Duration 1:01:30   
Sampling Rate 5 s 
      
Energy Expenditure 725 kcal 
Number of Heart Beats 10161 beats 
Recovery -94 beats 
Minimum Heart Rate 96 bpm 
Average Heart Rate 165 bpm 
Maximum Heart Rate 190 bpm 
Standard Deviation 8.8 bpm 
      
Minimum Speed 14.3 mph 
Average Speed 27.1 mph 
Maximum Speed 37.5 mph 
Distance  27.7 miles 
Odometer 5628 miles 
      
Minimum Altitude  905 ft 
Average Altitude  926 ft 
Maximum Altitude  945 ft 
Ascent 40 ft 
Descent 20 ft 
VAM 39 ft/h       

Here is one more race … probably one of the toughest I have done all year. This was the Allanti Classic Road Race where I ended up finishing 5th place after a disappointing sprint in the small breakaway I was in.

2007 Allanti Classic Road Race

This race was extremely hot (in the 90’s) and very humid! Cramping was a factor as only a small percentage of the people who started the race actually finished. I was riding very strong, although I missed the winning solo breakaway by Michael Olheiser (Memphis Motorwerks). I was in a small break with Matt Winstead (Juris) and Dirk Pohlmann (Krystal) and a few other riders. I could only manage 4th in our sprint for second place, giving me 5th place for the race. The actual race was closer to 91 miles even though my speedometer only reports 88.1. Also, we had a time trial later in the day and when you throw in warm-up and cool-down, this was my longest day of riding for the year (about 120 miles).

Here are the race statistics:

Data  Value  Unit 
Duration 3:46:50   
Sampling Rate 5 s 
      
Energy Expenditure 2366 kcal 
Number of Heart Beats 34945 beats 
Recovery -72 beats 
Minimum Heart Rate 102 bpm 
Average Heart Rate 154 bpm 
Maximum Heart Rate 185 bpm 
Standard Deviation 11.9 bpm 
      
Minimum Speed 6.2 mph 
Average Speed 23.3 mph 
Maximum Speed 50.4 mph 
Distance  88.1 miles 
Odometer 4896 miles 
      
Minimum Altitude  805 ft 
Average Altitude  958 ft 
Maximum Altitude  1160 ft 
Ascent 3650 ft 
Descent 3695 ft 
Slopes 10   
VAM 965 ft/h       

Finally, I have included some summary statistics for the past six months of racing. See the images below with detailed captions.

Weekly summary of riding for the past six months. Times are shown in hh:mm format. Heart rate zones are indicated below:
Zone 5 (Red): 171-190+ bpm
Zone 4 (Orange): 152-170 bpm
Zone 3 (Green): 133-151 bpm
Zone 2 (Blue): 115-132 bpm
Zone 1 (Gray): 0-114 bpm

 
Weekly amount of climbing (in feet) for the past six months.
Notice how many times I’ve scaled Mt. Everest on the bike with 289,928 total feet of climbing for the year!

Detailed view of my training for the past five weeks. Note the right-hand summary column
displays the amount of calories burned per week as well as the total number of miles ridden per week.

I’ve been so busy catching up, I’ve not said anything about what my 2 little busy-bodies have been doing lately.  It’s been a busy summer, and they’ve been a lot of fun. 

Josiah… Today was a little traumatic, as we had a minor surgical procedure to clip the skin under his tongue, because he’s been "tongue-tied" since birth.  This means that the under part of his tongue (his frenulum, actually) is connected too far forward.  His pediatrician has said all along that it’s obviously not causing problems with eating so he didn’t think it needed to be done.  But two speech therapist friends of mine said that it was pretty noticeable, and since it’s such a simple procedure, it would be better to do it before he developed speech problems.  So today was the day.  It was really quick… he was gone from us for less than 15 minutes, and the doctor came in less than 5 minutes after they took him back.  He’ was a little tipsy from the anesthesia earlier, but he ate well and didn’t complain at all today, so I think he’s healing quickly.

He’s been full of chatter lately, with one word "da" for dog, duck, down and Dad, and "do" for Dora and door.  I know we said his first word was "waffle" a few weeks ago – and both Brian and I still swear he said it! – but we haven’t heard it again.  Yesterday, though, Brian and I both thought he said "amen" after we prayed for our meal.  We’ll see if he starts making more letter sounds with his new, longer tongue. 

He’s definitely turning into a little busy boy, and he’s into all kinds of trouble.  He’s climbing on stools and using them to climb on the couch.  He wants everything on bookshelves and counters over his head, and he’ll reach his little fingers up there and try to get them around anything that might be up there.  He’d rather pull things off bookshelves, empty our DVD cabinet, un-organize my tupperware shelf and bang on pots and pans than play with any of the toys around here… unless Analise is deeply engaged in something, and then he wants to be in the middle of that, which of course, she’s not happy with.  I’m doing a lot of referring and trying to distract him from her little block/people adventures and puzzles. 

Analise is doing really, really well.  I feel like in the last couple weeks, we’ve entered what I call, the Age of Reason.  She’s very compliant, and much more understanding of our no’s and compromises.  We’ve decreased the crying fits from 3 or more a day to less than 1.  The change is amazing, and I don’t have to hold my breath waiting for her to unravel when she doesn’t get her way.  If she asks for something, and I say no or give another time or option, she’s ok with it.  Her patience has improved tremendously, even with Josiah trying to play with her more.  The two of them have sweet little times of playing at the small table and kitchen area, Josiah sitting on a chair, and Analise serving him play food for dinner.  He LOVES it when she plays with him.  Some of my favorite phrases of Analise right now are: "That would be a PERFECT idea!" when I suggest something she likes, for example playing a game after I put Josiah down for a nap; "That would not be a perfect idea," when she’s not in full agreement of something.  It’s amazing how she sounds like a little adult so often. 

They’ve started romping around more, bouncing on my bed and testing out the couch as a jumping/bouncing apparatus.  We’re curbing that, but it is fun to see them playing together on the bed, rolling around laughing and giggling.  I’m definitely getting less done around the house because Josiah’s into more trouble!  And between the two of them, they can make a huge mess.  Analise, though, is really great about helping get things cleaned up. She’s amazingly good at puzzles, so we’ll spend lots of time on the floor putting together complicated puzzles, up to 48 pieces.  She also really likes to help me do things around the house, like putting the silverware away, putting things on the table for dinner, taking her clean clothes to her room and sorting socks.  It’s nice to have a little helper! 

Analise’s preschool orientation was today.  She’ll start school again next Tuesday, 2 days a week.  She’s still taking ballet, and she loves it.  She’s getting quite good at her ballet moves, too.  The other evening, Brian came in to find Analise putting on a dance show, with his parents watching from the couch.  Josiah was walking around the "stage" clapping for Analise.  Her personal cheering section:)  The other evening as I was cleaning up the kitchen, I came into the living room to find Brian playing the piano, Analise singing loudly, and Josiah standing on a chair clapping for everyone.  The Little Looney Toones in concert. 

Ok, I’d better call it a night.  We’re reading Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell in our church Life Group, and I’ve got a little catching up to do before tomorrow night.  Good read!  I highly recommend it!  I hope to share more eventually, when I get my thoughts all sorted out about it. 

Today’s message at church was so very simple, yet it struck a chord deep within me. In a nutshell: Apart from Christ, we can do nothing of value for the Kingdom of God.

I’ll be honest. I’m not doing a very good job of "remaining" in Him. I’ve got the "pray without ceasing" part down, but mostly it’s frantic prayers for grace and patience in the midst of day-to-day struggles. Maybe if I was "remaining" a little better, there wouldn’t be the need for the desperate prayers.

Before kids, I was a bit better about taking some time in my day to soak up some of God’s word and spend some quiet time in prayer. But lately, my life is go-go-go, and I’m lucky to get 36 seconds on my own to go to the bathroom! Brian and I have both realized recently how much we need to bring the Word back to a place of priority in our lives. He’s setting a great example for us by starting his day out with the Bible during breakfast. I’m trying to do the same, but I’m not doing as well as he is. On the days that I do make God’s word a part of my early day, it definitely makes a difference in my spirit.

Here’s another excellent translation of these verses:

At this point in my life, my children are my biggest mission field. This is all the more reason that I need to be "making my home in Him", so that He’s living in me, through me, so my children see Him everyday. Apart from Christ, I can do nothing of value for the kingdom of God. I can be a good parent. And there are days that I feel like I’m doing ok. Doing ok on my own doesn’t make an eternal impact, though. But when I’m remaining in Christ, abiding in Him, making my home in Him, the promise is endless, and I can know that every moment of mothering and loving I do is making a difference for God’s kingdom in my children.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. This parenting thing is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. But God’s grace is enough, and with Christ, my harvest is sure to be amazing.

Lord, today, I just want to pray for all my parent-friends. May they find themselves in You today. Draw them to a place of abiding so that their home can be filled with You. Amen.