Little Gifts

One of my favorite things about our time in Virginia is all of the running, walking and hiking we do.  In fact, before we were here twenty-four hours, Grace was asking when we were going to go up a mountain.  We asked her if she meant the drive up to Woodstock tower and she said "yes",  but I think she may have been thinking of the four mile hike up another mountain that we did last summer with her cousins.

In any case, there is never a shortage of places to go or things to see here.  On Sunday morning, I did my first run around the block (a 3.7 mile loop that goes up and down hills and almost into downtown Woodstock).  As I rounded a corner to climb Cemetery Hill, a buck jumped out of the woods onto the road.  I only got to see him for a second because as soon as he saw me, he leapt away but it was an incredible treat to be so close to such a beautiful creature even for a moment.  

On Monday, when Mom and I took our first of hopefully many "dam" walks, we saw another deer as she walked from the woods down to the river for a drink.  I had my camera ready that time.

Then the other night, I walked out onto the front porch at sunset just in time to see a hot air balloon floating over the trees.  Again, I got only a glimpse before it sailed on but if I close my eyes, I can see it again, peacefully hanging between heaven and earth.

Like many people, I have travelled far away to meet new people and see impressive sights.  And that was fun and valuable.  Like Dorothy though, I have learned that if I want to find my heart's desire, I don't need to look any farther than where I am today because that is where God is showing me through little gifts that He is here and He loves me. 

There's not much I'd rather do than walk and talk with my mom.

I find her to be very wise.

On this walk, we walked so hard we put Sophie and Ella to sleep.

I Ate You Up

Today's Magic Moment is brought to you by Chris' lunch

Go Kiss a Llama--it's TARA DAY!

I'll never forget the day my Uncle Rick turned 30.  We called him and laughed while my brother David played taps on the sax.  I'm humming taps today because today, July 6, 2009 is my little sister Tara's 30th birthday.  The music is actually for me because if she's 30, I am...well, let's stay on topic.  

If you were to meet us for the first time, you might not guess that Tara and I are sisters.  First there's the height thing.  She's tall and I'm not.  Then there's the fact that she's a no nonsense math person and I'm more into literature and language.  And while I am immersed in pink and princesses, she lives surrounded by mostly boys.  We are indeed sisters though.  I have pictorial proof.

(I think Mom and Dad still have those Raggedy Ann pillowcases).  I also have this list:

 

Top Ten Reasons I Know Tara is my Sister

#1  We're both suckers for sappy country songs.  If I am reduced to tears upon hearing a song for the first time, it's a near certainty that it's already a favorite of Tara's.

#2  We're both "Runner Girls".  Tara can run as fast as Forrest Gump and I've been running just as long as he has.  Also--we can both reach down and "bring it" to an all out sprint to the mailbox at the end of a run.

Placers in the Liberty 5K 2006

#3 We both have issues with low riding jeans and occasionally reveal a little more than we'd like.

#4 We'd both rather run a marathon or workout three hours a day than diet.

#5  We both had the good fortune to fall in love with younger men.  Of course, we had to kiss a couple of frogs first.  In fact, come to think of it--one of Tara's exes looked a lot like a frog.

Another of Tara's exes

#6  If you want to get either of us mad fast, try convincing us that a woman's right to choose comes ahead of a baby's right to life.  (Or put an Obama bumper sticker on your car and drop your kids off at a Catholic school.)

#7  We're both swim moms who proudly cart our athletes and their gear around in our stylish Honda Odysseys.

#8  We both survived natural childbirth multiple times before opting for epidurals with our youngest babies, Ella and Sean.  We agree there's no going back.

#9  We both know how to have fun.  Tara is always a great sport about the things I think might be fun that require her to do scary or embarrassing things--cliff jumping and family karaoke come to mind.  She has a great sense of humor and I just love to be with her.

Another thing I thought would be fun

#10  Finally, we are sisters by birth....

....friends by choice.

I love you, T.  I'm so proud of you.

I hope your birthday is amazing!

And in case you thought that t-shirt was your only gift.....

here's a birthday message from someone you know.

"Tara, a bit of advice for your birthday...if you happen to fall down a well and come up through a sewer into Manhattan, don't panic.  I'll be along shortly.  Happy 30th!"

Family Traditions

First, I have to say a big "thank you" to Misty and Brad for yesterday's post.  It made my day to open the page and see your smiling girls decked out in red, white and blue wishing us a Happy Fourth of July from the land of hockey and bacon.  And it is true that the fourth of July is my favorite holiday.  Of course, there's the swimming, the cookout, the cold beer and the fireworks but the main reason I love July fourth is that I love the USA.  Even before Martin Luther King had his dream, our founding fathers saw their dreams fulfilled with the birth of our nation.  Americans are among the most generous, hard-working and ingenious people in the world.  And you wouldn't have to think hard to come up with a long list of the contributions we've made in our short history.  I am not only proud to be an American, I am incredibly grateful.  God Bless the USA!

July 4th Tradition #1:  Liberty 5K & Fun Run

Happy Running People

From that day on, if we were going somewhere, we-were-running!

I don't know exactly how many times we've run the Liberty 5K and Fun Run as a family but it's more than a handful.  It's held in Winchester, VA, a forty-five minute drive from Woodstock.  The course is the hardest 5K course I've ever run with four big hills to conquer.  This year, David, Chris, Madeleine and I ran the 5K while Jes and Dad kindly acted as our support team, cheering and taking care of the kids.  Madeleine and I ran together most of the race.  It was Madeleine's first 5K and while she struggled through it, she persevered and proved that she has the stuff a true runner is made of.  

All of the other kids ran as well.  Rachel, Alex and Mia ran the kids' mile.  Rachel and Mia started out holding hands and finished together with Mia winning the prize for second place girl in her age group. Grace, Zack, Matthew and Sophie ran the 100 yard dash.  Grace was the first girl to cross the line and Sophie, who had insisted she would not run, became inspired and sped to the end as quickly as a little blond fairy can go.

Sophie and Matthew both won buckets, shovels and balls in the drawing after the race.  With so many kids entered, the Kreitzer cousins always walk away with something and those buckets will come in handy at the beach in a few weeks.

Before leaving town, we made our traditional stop at Sheetz for very healthy slurpees and a few other things and a couple of the kids slept on the way home.   

Rachel, #332, takes off in the kids' mile

Deja Vu--Alex, #331, runs just like his Daddy--fast and serious.

Paka and small groupies

Rachel and Mia ran a 9 minute mile.

We were so proud that they ran together and supported each other.

I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy

And I love the fourth of July

Uncle Dave checks out his competition in the 100 yard dash

A determined Grace runs beside cousin Zack.  Cousin Matthew is just behind her.

There she goes--that blur is Sophie

A whole row of Kreitzers from Grace in red on the left to Matthew with his back turned

Lucky Girl

Sophie's was the first name called

Sleeping Beauty

Grace's medal.

July 4th Tradition #2: the Swimming

Plyo off the diving board

"You can do this...if you want to."

We swim almost every day when we're in Woodstock but it's extra fun on the fourth of July when all the cousins are around for contests and games. (Jes took the following photos)

Matthew and Ella

Zack

Amelia

Alex and Madeleine have been playing "pig"off the board.  

Look at Alex's face as he realizes he has to follow Madeleine.

I'll do this...cause I want to

July 4th Tradition #3:  the Feast

We ate all day but saved the best for last with hamburgers and hot dogs grilled by Paka and all of Grandma's great sides.  We spread out from the dining room to the deck and the kids had a picnic out back.  

Tara and I didn't get any pictures together when she came to Houston--Lawrence pointed out that I did get a lot of pictures of Flat Alex though.  Anyway, I'm making up for lost time.

July 4th Tradition #4:  Fireworks

Despite its small town status, Woodstock, VA has the best fireworks display I've ever seen.  Unfortunately, they don't have it every year and this was one of the off years so instead, we piled into vans and headed to Stephen City.  We arrived about an hour and a half before show time and while the guys played soccer tag with the kids, I spent most of that time chasing Ella off the field and keeping her from getting clobbered.  The show was mediocre but Chris pointed out that we had checked the tradition box and that is important.  And we had some really great family time out and about together.

Watch out for Ella!

Madeleine's down

Chris' first casualty of the visit

More of Me and T

Bottom:  Lawrence, Chris, Dave

Middle:  Tara, Jes

Top:  Alice

Happy 4th of July eh!

Thank you Alice for the gift of being able to post on your favorite holiday of the year!

We are the proud parents of 2 children that enjoy dual citizenship; both American and Canadian. This year we will celebrate the 4th of July in Canada. What a blessing it has been to live in Texas for the last 6 years, during which both of our children have been born. We have had the pleasure of meeting so many truly wonderful and welcoming people that have enriched our lives in so many ways. It is a remarkable gift to live in a country that enjoys so many freedoms and filled with some many honorable people. "Let us all be grateful for a land so fair... God bless America. My home sweet home!"

Happy Birthday!

Love the Ceys

How Great Thou Art

Today's Magic Moment

For a very fun, safe and peaceful trip, family to welcome us home, good friends back in Texas, the gift of freedom and our great nation...we thank you, God.

Day One Down

We had a great day today.  We got up at 6:00 and on the road at 8:00.  The girls started the trip by unwrapping a couple of fun travel activities that our friends from the north gave us (thank you!) and they managed to stay busy the whole day without too many arguments over space.  I'm keeping a running tally of how many "how much minutes left?" we get, but if tomorrow goes as well as today did, we'll count ourselves incredibly blessed.  

We made our traditional stop at the Cracker Barrel in Beaumont and picked up the book Tuck Everlasting on CD.  It's technically a kids' book but the girls were all asleep twenty minutes into it so Chris and I had it all to ourselves.  It's an excellent story full of poetic language.  We highly recommend it.  So--we made it through the entire day without having to break out our insurance policy--the DVD player and twelve movies our friends insisted we borrow.  We're grateful to have it though--we may need it to finish out the 13 hours we have left tomorrow.

And would you believe Ella didn't sleep at all today?  She started dozing five minutes before one of our stops and apparently that's all she needed because she was wide eyed the rest of the trip.  Fortunately, she's a happy little traveller.

We finished Day One with fun at the pool and dinner here at the Naval Air Station in Meridian, Mississippi and mañana will come early.  Who needs sleep though?  We're almost--home!!