Sunday Run? Not Me.

I have debated on whether or not to even write about this topic, but I am getting tired of explaining myself over and over again. I love my faith, but I hate debating it with people. Especially my family. So let me preface this by saying, I am not going to debate this with anyone. I am, however, willing to answer questions. Please do not ask me questions out of hate or spite. I am happy with my choices. So here it goes.

Firstly, for those who don't know, I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am a Mormon. I am the only one on "my side" of my family. My husband and most of his family are members.

Secondly, I do not run on Sunday.

It is a religious choice. I say "choice" because even though God gave us the commandment in Exodus 20:8, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,", He also gave us agency. Agency allows us to choose. I choose to follow the commandments of God. With agency comes accountability. Which basically means that I am free to make my own choices, whether good or bad, but I am NOT free to choose the consequences.

It. Is. Difficult.

Especially when almost every single race or marathon I want to run in is held on a Sunday. It is hard to find big races that are held on a Saturday. At least, ones that are close to where I live. All the big marathons that I want to participate in (Chicago Marathon, IMT Des Monies Marathon, the Quad Cities Marathon, Disneyland, etc.) are held on a Sunday.

Even though I am proud of my friends who sign up for those events, it is so hard for me to not be jealous. I want to run with them. I want those memories, too.

I struggle with it.

But when I decided back in 2007 to commit my life to living the gospel as best as I can, I never thought that keeping the Sabbath day holy would be such a challenge. (I was baptized in August of 2005, but fell away shortly after.) Since becoming a runner again, it has become a challenge.

Our church has a small booklet called "For the Strength of Youth". I love it! It's not only for the youth in the church, it is for all members of the church. In the section about Sabbath Day Observance, it says, "Sunday is not a day for shopping, recreation, or athletic events."

There it is. I want to tell you that it sucks... but I get why we need our days of FULL rest. Not just physical rest, but rest from all the other day-to-day worries. Buying groceries, buying gas, trying to fit a workout or run in, etc. It is nice to just spend a day with my family, focusing on the Lord.

I am not saying that it is easy. But I KNOW that it will be worth it. When I look at my life, there are many earthly things I want to accomplish, but there are also so many spiritual things I want to accomplish. I have found a balance between both things.

I am training to run the Dam to Dam in June. I am following a half marathon running guide from Hal Higdon. The thing I like about his running guides is that I can change up the days I run, as long as I make sure to get all of my miles in each week. I think that all of his guides have runners running a long run each Sunday. I knew from the start that that wouldn't be possible for me. I just changed the days on the schedule around and my long runs are now on Saturday's.

And with a little detective work, I have found many races held on Saturday's here in my state! I have signed up for a few 5K's, a 20K, and a marathon so far! I am going to be signing up for a half marathon in the next few weeks! It will be ran the week after the Dam to Dam!

I don't think it sounds silly for me to say that I have been blessed for not running on Sunday's. I have lost count of the many blessings that God has blessed me with in my life. I always feel wonderful on Monday knowing that I rested on Sunday. I feel refreshed and ready to take on the week ahead of me.

I also want to say that I do not look down on people who work out, run, shop, and what-not on Sunday. We all have choices. I know not everyone is a Mormon. I know that everyone is different. We all have different beliefs. I love all of my family and friends, each and every single person, just the way they are! I'm not asking anyone to stop running on Sunday, I am just explaining why I do not.

Running is a gift! And I thank God for my ability to run! It is a privilege  I thank Him for my body and that everything works as it should! I am thankful that I haven't been seriously injured. I am thankful each and every time I go out on and return home from a run.

I hope to set a righteous example for my children so that they know the importance of keeping the Lord's commandments.

My Virtual Run for Boston

Ever since high school, I have had this dream to run the Boston marathon. I'm not sure who gave me the idea, but I remember wanting to run THE Boston Marathon. I don't even think that I knew exactly how many miles were in a marathon! All I knew is that I wanted to run it.

Yesterday, a friend asked me if I was sure that I wanted to run it after the awful events that took place. My answer was simple.

YES!

When I woke up this morning, my Facebook feed was full of posts from running blogs about wearing a race shirt in honor of the victims in Boston. I put on my Color Run t-shirt. There was also an event for a virtual run called Runners United to Remember. I joined the event and knew that I would be running my scheduled four miles for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings.

I ran the four miles today in silence.

I prayed the entire time for the victims and their familes, for the FBI and police officers investigating the bombings, and for all the runners who were affected by this.

My heart is still saddened by all of this, but I know one thing for sure:

It won't stop me from reaching my goal of running the Boston Marathon someday.

I will get there.

After my run, I noticed that my "elbow pits" were especially sweaty today... so I had my husband take a quick picture! I always sweat from my elbow pits when I run! I guess I never realized how bad!

Happy 4th Birthday Caitlin

I did the same thing I did last year. I put out some photos of all the things my girls love. Dora, the Little Mermaid, Tinkerbell, Belle, etc. I told Caitlin to pick what she wanted to use for her party theme. She picked Tinkerbell!

I started party planning and I made her birthday invite!

I used the entire week before her party to prepare for the party! I've got a lot on my plate with the girls, marathon training, working out, cleaning, etc, so I wanted to make sure to spread things out over a few days so that I wouldn't feel rushed on the day of her party.

I decorated the house using the $0.97 table cloths from Walmart, cut into four strips. I hung them on the ceiling with balloons! Caitlin said it looked like a spider!

I made EIGHT POUNDS of ham balls the night before her party. I was up until midnight! It took me a few hours, but I was able to catch up on my Hulu queue!

The morning of her party, I went on a 5 mile run at 7 a.m. with my friend Desiree, got home as fast as I could, showered, got ready, and started working on Caitlin's cake! I posted a few ideas for the cake on my Pinterest and showed them to Caity. I told her to pick the one she wanted. She picked this one and I decided to make it using this Wilton mold for the leaves! This is how it turned out!

It took me about an hour and a half! I will be making a tutorial for this cake on my craft blog with all the details on it! Everyone loved the cake, too! I got a lot of wonderful comments and compliments for it! But most importantly, Caitlin LOVED it! I wanted to take a picture of her with it, but she refused to give me a decent smile!

We had a wonderful turnout for her party! Cailtin got a ton of gifts and our house was crammed full of people who love our girl! She is one blessed *not so* little girl! Here are some more photos from her big day!

Tinkerbell cake, cupcakes with purple fondant flowers (from the Wilton mold), and all of the Disney Fairies in jars!

Fairies in jar idea here.

Iridessa, Fawn, and Silvermist in jars!

Rosetta, Periwinkle, and Tinkerbell in jars!

Cupcake tower!

We served ham balls, a fruit platter (fresh strawberries, green grapes, purple grapes, and bananas), a vegetable platter (carrots and celery with sour cream ranch dip), party punch, and birthday cake!

Silk flower basket I bought at a fundraiser! Silvermist and Rosetta had a special birthday sign ready for Caitlin! She thought that they wrote it!

Singing "Happy Birthday" to my four year old!

Making money!

Ariel Pool!

This picture cracks me up! HUGE Dora pen!

Tinkerbell and Periwinkle poster! Caity was BEYOND excited for this!

I'm not sure what face this is, but this is the plate, bowl, cup, and silverware set Charles and I got for Caity! She screamed at the top of her lungs when opening it!

There were some friends who came after everyone had left. My Mom stayed and gave the girls their late Christmas presents! Of all the gifts Caitlin got, she was most excited for the two Barbies she got!

I still cannot imagine my baby being FOUR whole years old! Where has the time gone? It seriously seems like yesterday that I was sitting in the NICU watching her tiny stomach move up and down with each breath she was struggling to take... now she is a vibrant little lady with so much energy and zest for life! She takes my breath away!

8 months pregnant with Caitlin

Caitlin Nadine born at 35 weeks, 6 days

Happy First Birthday, Caitlin!

Happy Second Birthday, Caitlin!

Happy Third Birthday, Caitlin!

Happy Fourth Birthday, Caitlin!

As we go into Caitlin's fourth year here on this earth, I am excited for it! The journey so far has been a wild one! She will be starting school this year and learning new things each day! I am glad that I kept her home for a year before putting her into preschool. I wanted that extra time with her. I know that preschool isn't very long, but I didn't want to sacrifice those precious hours with her! She amazes me each and every single day. Sometimes, every hour! She is smart like her Daddy! I cannot wait to see what the Lord has planned for us in Caitlin's fourth year! I have so much love for this girl! I thank God for blessing me with her! I am thankful for each and every minute! 

I love my Caity Bell!