Wrapping up 2017 and Planning for 2018

Year End Wrap Up

What did I do in 2017?

Races
Parkinson’s ½ (Cottage Grove)

Rock n Roll Nashville ½
RAGNAR Chicago
HER Madison ½
Rock n Roll Chicago ½
Dubuque Labor Day ½
Quad Cities Marathon ½ 
Hungry 4 Some Supper Myself 10K

Plus a few virtual runs including the Fellow Flowers Joy Run and Spartan Challenge

Mileage check in -  Finished with 2102 intentional walking and running miles.

My life was altered in a huge way this year.  June 12 is the day my dad passed away.  
My dad was truly one of a kind---not just a one of a kind dad but ONE of a KIND everything.  
He loved hard and lived with passion.  Life changed when my dad got sick on May 5.   
I knew he hadn’t been doing well as early on as April 7 but I don’t think I had any idea that it
was going to be the way that it was.  
 I have to say that through all of this I have realized that my mom is much stronger than I’d known.  
The life changes and events of May and June definitely impact my goals and ambitions for 2018.
 I will continue to celebrate my dad by eating peanut butter cup everythings
and drinking my soda pop with no ice.  
I will sometimes feel sad but more often I will celebrate that I got to be his daughter.

On Christmas Eve we attended church with my sister at the Cathedral of the Rockies.  
It was familiar because it was a candlelight Christmas Eve service like I’ve attended at
united methodist churches for about 40 years---I’m figuring I’ve missed at least at least
one during my life, right?

(Listen to the sermon HERE:  https://livestream.com/boisefumc/events/7953370/videos/167645423   
starts at about 40 minutes in ---You can also see my sweet and amazing niece singing in the children's
choir and playing bells with the bell choir.)

Anyway---one of the things that the pastor hit on that really struck home with me was the idea of JOY.  
I love JOY.   I loved the Fellow Flowers Joy virtual run a couple of months ago.  I love the feeling of Joy.
 The pastor tied it in with the hymn “Joy to the World” but then he also talked about how it is bigger than
happiness.  Joy is so much MORE!

There was a connection to the inventor of calculus.  When I was in high school or even early college,
I would say that calculus and all things math brought me joy but the story was about the FIRE and JOY
that Blaise Pascal had.    One of my favorite Blaise Pascal quotes that the pastor didn’t touch on but that
I think is important is this, "If our condition were truly happy, we would not seek diversion from it in order
to make ourselves happy."  Working on that idea of being truly happy this year is a huge goal for me.  
I am going to spread JOY!

Next the pastor told the story of Zacchaeus.  
The story of his daughter being given new tires on her way home just before Christmas came next.  
JOY ---JOY changes us like it changed Zacchaeus.  
Joy -- joy to the world.  I
t’s a movement and a way to live and I am hoping that 2018 is a year that I can show JOY in all that I do.  

Joy will carry us through the sadness in life.  WHOLENESS and HEALTH and LIFE!  
It’s bigger than happiness!  Joy can turn our sadness into dancing.  Choose JOY!  
It will carry you through all of life---the ups and the downs.    

With that being said I have a few “resolutions”.  These are pieces of my way to bring JOY to 2018.

---Run the 6 halves I have registered for and work toward sub 2 finishes and maybe even a PR
(previous PR is from August 2013 at 1:50 ---The last half I've run sub 2 was Prairie in May of 2015)

        1. Parkinson's Half

        2. Naperville Women's Half

        3. Rock n Roll Nashville Half (as a St. Jude Hero)

        4. HER Madison Half (register and use coupon code MARGARET for a discount)

        5. Indy Women's Half

        6. Quad Cities Half

--Meet my fundraising goal for St Jude for the Rock n Roll Nashville Half

--Be JOYFUL!

--Clean up my nutrition and drink water daily

Bring on the NEW!

'Tis the Season

We've been caroling, crafting, and creating all week and there is surely more to come next week.  Check out our newsletter HERE.  It includes upcoming events and the spelling words for the first week in January.

Word work with our spelling words

This week all of our spelling words are COMPOUND words.  Today it was time to use those words in a creative story.  Here's one example from our fabulous 4th grade author, Madelyn:

Crazy Day 

    Somebody put their toothbrush nearby. The fireplace was on fire so I had to put it out.

I was going to school.   Since I missed my mom and dad I got homesick.

I had a vision and passed out. I dreamed I was in a make – believe fairy tale.                                                  

   Anything was bad. I finally woke up it was already time to go home.  My mom asked how my day was.  And I said it was all right. I said good bye and my forehead hurts because I passed out.  The reason I passed out is because my classmate hit me.our power went out because of the storm. So I had to get a flashlight .when the storm was done I had to go get my haircut. The barber was twenty-two. But my hair looked horrible .we came back home and parked our car in the driveway. My alarm clack went off for no reason .so I had to turn it off. Since my mom had to go to work I had to baby-sit my baby brother .my mom worked at the airport the mailbox broke because I was going to cheek it. I never want a day like this in forever.

It's the most WONDERFUL time of the year!!!

There are so many exciting things happening.  Check out what you need to know from our newsletter HERE!

Wrapping up the week and preparing for a new week ahead

It seemed unbelievable to change the calendar to December on Friday!~   The time continues to speed up.  Check out the newsletter HERE!  We have some fun things ahead.

**FOW Movie Night is tomorrow (Monday, December 4)