Run Teddy, Run!

This was our big weekend to go down to Nashville so Ted could run the Music City Marathon. He's been training for quite a while, watching what he eats, and working hard to garner support for the orphanage we worked with in Cochabamba. Ted approaches everything he does with dedication and heart, and I've loved seeing it shine through in his training. He did GREAT; didn't walk a step and was making great time, too. Unfortunately, there was a huge storm at the very end of the marathon and police started diverting runners to the finish line early, so Ted ended up running about 22 miles instead of 26. He was pretty bummed about it, but what can you do? Running a whole marathon is on his "bucket list" and he's signing up for another one to say he's run a complete 26 mile race. I'm so proud of him and happy to say he raised over $3000 for IOU! Here's a picture of my stud at mile 7.

After the race (and hot showers--that rain was chilly!), we grilled out all day and caught up with family. My sister Lauren came in from Arkansas and I finally got to meet my newest nephew Jace! My grandparents were in from Florida and my uncle came by, and it was a packed house to say the least:) We let the kids destroy the house and ate lots of food, and it was one of those completely chaotic but wonderful weekends that I needed:)




And with a certain amount of hesitation, I'll share the great news that we found a house! The hesitation stems from a house we bought that fell through last year, and the realization that things are never really certain until they've come to pass. With that disclaimer, we are so excited that we found a great house and can't wait to get settled in a place of our own again. We've been bouncing around for the last 14 months and although a lot of it was exciting, I'm ready for a place to "hang my hat" again. Ted and I love the neighborhood and its close to our church, our friends, our favorite coffee spot and some great places to eat! Lord willing, we close May 7 and move in the next day. It's got all the things we were hoping to find in a house and it'll be the perfect place to grow our family for years to come. We looked at so many houses that just didn't feel like "us," and this one just felt like home right away. HOME. Ahhh. It makes me smile just typing that word:) (and almost cry too, but I'm thinking that's pregnancy hormones) Pictures coming soon!