Table Rock Family Hike

From Oct2011

Terry's birthday is tomorrow, and he wanted to celebrate by going on a family hike.
We decided to try out Table Rock in North Carolina - about an hour and a half from our house.

It was a beautiful drive, but the curves made a few of the kids a bit carsick. We arrived and had a little picnic at the base.

From Oct2011

It was only a mile (but all uphill) to the summit. The view up there was great - probably the best I have seen in this part of the mountains.

From Oct2011

From Oct2011

From Oct2011

From Oct2011

From Oct2011

From Oct2011

From Oct2011

Legacy Quest

From Legacy Quest

This past Friday the whole family was involved in the inaugural Legacy Quest 5K - a race sponsored by TEACH, our homechool group, and the Tipton Haynes Historic Site.

The boys and I were all runners, Rebecca was a photographer (making pictures for the TEACH yearbook - called "The Legacy"), and Terry got to wear an orange vest and help block traffic.

The race was started by re-enactors with rifles:

From Legacy Quest

Noah meant to run the One Mile Fun Run instead of the 5K. Right after Rebecca snapped this photo, he handed her his jacket. She neglected to tell him that he was at the end of the one-mile run, so he just kept going.

From Legacy Quest

Caleb had his best time ever at 22:38. This won him 1st in his age group and 6th place overall.

From Legacy Quest

From Legacy Quest

Nathan was running his first 5K, and he did it in 24:43, which was first place in his age group as well.

From Legacy Quest

I haven't really been running lately, so this was actually my worst time ever. I sorta hate it that the clock has to be in the picture:

From Legacy Quest

But I did manage to beat Noah who was managing to smile even though he took that wrong turn:

From Legacy Quest

Michelle Dorr, the race director, did such a great job organizing the event! The trophies were cannons - very unique! We got three first place trophies - Caleb for age 0-15, Nathan for age 15-19, and me for age 45-49, an age group I will only be in for one more month. Sigh. All three of us benefited from lack of competition - most teens in the area that run were involved in a huge cross-country meet that day, and most of the runners in my age group must have been at another race as well.

But speaking of age, I met this very inspiring woman at the race. Her name is Eleanor. She is 75 years old, and she actually ran a half-marathon two weeks ago. She told me that she has MS and was in a wheelchair four years ago. The doctors told her she would never walk again. She said "I don't accept that" and started working out. I told her she was my hero.

From Legacy Quest

Fall Break

Rebecca had a four-day fall break from Milligan College, and we enjoyed having her home. Seemed like she spent most of the time making treats like Apple Cider Caramel Cookies (so good!) and Cracker Candy.

We had a fun shopping trip during one of her days home. Rebecca hates to spend money and almost has to have someone come along to give her the nerve (I, on the other hand, sometimes feel guilty spending money when I'm with somebody, so it's sometimes easier alone).

Rebecca didn't buy this hat but had fun trying it on. Baby hats are so "in" that I guess they decided to make them for big people. Somehow, I don't think the effect is quite the same.

From Oct2011

Seeing Red

I spent a week in Arkansas visiting Mom and helping out a little as she was being diagnosed with Stage IV cancer. This cancer originated in her breast but is now in her liver - so this is "breast cancer awareness month" for me in a big way! I'm so proud of my Mom's attitude - she has the faith of Job and doesn't complain. But please pray for her as she is in the battle of her life as she starts chemo and tries to put on some weight at the same time. And Mom, if you read this, please clean your plate! That's something you were never able to make me do as a kid, but I'm pretty good at it now.

I realize I didn't take any photos of Mom while I was there, but she probably likes it that way. Rebecca has the nicest camera at college with her, and the better of our remaining two Panasonic cameras is not currently working. But I have this little Panasonic that I keep with me all the time, and I did manage to take a few photos at my nephew's soccer game. I know I'm home in Arkansas when I see the red everywhere and little Razorbacks on all the clothing. And when I see my sweet sisters:

From Oct2011

The red is even more prominant than the orange in Tennessee, if you can believe that. I love the Vols (hey, I married one!), but red looks better on anybody, in my opinion! Here's my Dad in his red - my sisters and I love how his hair flips up in the wind. We still remember the crew cut he wore for about thirty years - and how he was always taking photos of us

From Oct2011

I really had fun getting to call the Hogs with him as they creamed Auburn in Razorback Stadium. I hadn't gone to a game with him since I was in high school.

Let it Snow?

Last year, Terry took Nathan on an overnight backpacking trip. This past weekend, it was Caleb's turn, and they had an unexpected surprise for Oct. 1st- SNOW!

From Backpacking

From Backpacking

They hiked up on the Appalachian Trail near Unicoi. They stayed in the Cherry Gap Shelter (the haze in this picture is from their fire):

From Backpacking

They got pretty cold, but they must have had a good time because Caleb came back totally enthused about backpacking - planning his next trip and hoping to get a new backpack for his birthday (so far they've mostly been borrowing equipment). As you can see from the photos, the leaves haven't really even turned yet - that's why the snow was so unusual.

From Backpacking

From Backpacking

From Backpacking

From Backpacking

From Backpacking

From Backpacking

Stained Glass Hearts

The subtitle of the book "Stained Glass Hearts" by Patsy Clairmont is Seeing Life from a Broken Perspective. I expected a book about what it is like to be broken, which has been a subject of discussion in our house since Terry was laid off a few years ago.

Instead, the "broken" subtitle of this book was more about the idea of a mosaic. With chapters like "Stained Glass Prayer","Stained Glass Books", and "Stained Glass Nature," Patsy explains how all these aspects in her life contribute to the themes of light and redemption.

I enjoyed the book, but like a mosaic, it did seem to be sort of random and rambly. She used the "stained glass theme" to tie together a lot of otherwise unconnected thoughts. It didn't really bother me, though, because she shared a lot of wisdom. Conversations are often quite random like this and can still be very inspirational.

I liked the way that she included recommendations at the end of each chapter for books to read, art to look at, and music to listen to. I'm going to add several of her literature recommendations to my book list.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”