BedHead

Anna woke up with some serious bedhead the other day!

13.1

Last Saturday I ran the Spinx 1/2 marathon here in Greenville. Jay and I both trained for the 1/2, but then we decided I would run it and he would bring the kids to watch. (He mapped out and ran his own 1/2 early one morning a week or so beforehand.) This is my 3rd half marathon and I really do enjoy them. It's a challenging distance, but not so crazy far that I'm injuring myself or anything. The most difficult part is having the time for training. We've pretty much given up every Saturday morning for the past few months for us to take turns doing long runs and my kids are a little tired of going to the gym.

The most challenging part during the race is usually more mental than physical. I don't run with music or anything. It gives me time to think and pray. I thank God for my legs, for my lungs, that I physically can run. The morning of the race, I was very thankful for the beautiful weather since it had been raining up until 6am that day. I pray for Jay and our kids. If I start feeling really tired or discouraged, I tell myself that if one of my children was at the end of this race and needed me, I know I could run there. I tell myself that this lasts a lot less and hurts a lot less than labor. I repeat phrases to myself, like "just keep running." or "I am strong. i am healthy." This may all sound crazy....but my point is that you just have to get your head in the game. So I'm glad I ran this half. My goal is always 2 hours or less; this time I finished in 1 hr 59 mins! And it sure was great to see Jay and the kids at the very end!!

All Dressed Up

The dress up fun started for us about a week before Halloween. Chick-fil-A had a Pirates and Princess night for the kids to receive free kids meals. (You know I like a good deal.) So we took our two beautiful princesses and our handsome policeman (he didn't want to be a pirate) out for a fun night. Then Catherine has a dress up birthday party and Catherine and Will both had Halloween parties at school and wore their costumes there.

On Halloween, we joined some of our friends for our annual Halloween fun in their neighborhood. They all live in the same neighborhood and are kind enough to let us join them. We ate pizza before trick or treating and then headed down the street with a mob of about 16 kids. It was crazy fun!
Anna still likes to make her "smile."
We felt really safe having Will with us.
Quite the collection: a bride, a policeman, and a chicken! Maybe one year we'll coordinate these things.
Anna and her birthday buddy Harper were both chickens! Laura and I didn't even plan it.
People really like to decorate for Halloween.
I don't think we even lost anyone!
Anna really liked getting candy. And she liked the noise her pumpkin made with the candy in it when she put it on the street.
Beautiful (and cold) bride. Catherine told me after Halloween that her dress was so fluffy that at school she had to stand up at her desk!
We had a great time with the kids. I never liked Halloween when I was a kid, but I really enjoy having fun with our little ones.

he loves her

Will loves little Anna so much. He takes his job as big brother so seriously. With Catherine being at school every day, he really enjoys playing with Anna. I think he adores her. Just look at this sweet pic of them!

As soon as he hears her wake up in the morning or from a nap, he asks if he can go up to see her. Before I can get up there, he's in the crib with her, giving her toys. He likes to help her put her shoes on, brush her teeth, and pick out her clothes. And if we're in public somewhere and the sweet child is not staying close enough to me, Will just picks her up and totes her back over to me (while she's screaming). They're really sweet together. I'm so thankful Anna has a big brother.

Our new photographer

Will had a private photo session with Anna the other day. Too Cute!

A Quick Get Together

Last Sunday afternoon, my Furman roommates and I had a quick get together for lunch. It was great to have some time to chat and catch up and celebrate! Both Sara and Jill are expecting babies in late April/early May. I love these girls and am so thankful for their friendships.

Hatten Family Day 2011

Last Saturday we had our annual Hatten Family Day. We set aside one day (it varies which actual day from year to year) to do a fun, special family activity. This was the first year that the kids really got into the idea of it being a family day. Catherine and Will woke up that morning celebrating like they would for a birthday.

Lately Will has been on a big cowboy kick, so we decided that this year's family day activity would be horseback riding. We went to Black Horse Run, a farm out in Fountain Inn. It's run by a great Christian man named Jerry Cooper. We rented a horse for an hour and the kids took turns riding on the horse in the corral. First Jay and I rode with each of them to make sure they felt comfortable. Then towards the end Catherine and Will rode by themselves. They were so proud of themselves! Catherine said she felt really grown up. I think she would have ridden for another hour. Will walked around pretending to lasso horses all morning. Anna really liked riding too, but her favorite activity was petting the horses (and poking their noses and eyes).

After our horse riding time, we ate a picnic lunch and then took a short, but very muddy, walk on a trail. We came home for the afternoon for nap time. Anyone who knows our family knows that naps have to be included in Hatten family day :) That night we went to dinner at Moe's and to Tutti Frutti for a treat. It was a great day. Jay and I love our family so much and it is really special to set aside a day like this each year.