Swimming, Potty, Running And Dear Scoot (not in that order)

Most of you know my brother, Scott, does a lot of traveling for his job, we'll he's at it again! So my blog posts are back to being personal messages to our dear Ghanaian brother/uncle! :)
Dear Scoot - come visit us (bring Shelby) and take us to do something fun! Love you!

Z&A are taking swim lessons. Let me start by saying that this is Z's year to learn to swim! He's doing great, he's following directions, trying hard and just generally giving it his all. Now let me tell you about my strong-minded, princess A! Day 1 her favorite thing to say was, "I don't want to." I tried diligently to let her know that wasn't acceptable but waited until later to have a little sit down with her about how big girls don't tell their teachers that and that if it happened again she wouldn't be staying (or playing in the pool) while Z had lessons. Day 2 my little goof decided that she'd just NOT get into the pool. Thankfully her teacher, Ms. Jill, wouldn't have any of that and forced the issue a few times. We took the opportunity to play at the pool afterward and I think that was a huge turning point. Day 3 K went with us and stayed on the steps with A&Z. A was a little dream, volunteering and trying hard. Finally Day 4, A was on her own (no K to sit with her) and she did GREAT! She volunteered, put her face in the water and followed her big brother's example - yea Z&A!!!

Potty Training - Child #4 - my most stubborn child! Well with some encouragement from my friend, Rae Ann, we've "discovered" that all the pull-ups are gone. The only thing left in the house is big girl underwear (well there are some big boy underwear too but you know what I mean!). So my girl is in bed right now with big girl underwear and she is relegated to the kitchen on the floor until she figures it out. This is what we did for Z - only he did the naked thing. When Jason told her tonight that she'd have to stay in the kitchen and couldn't sit on the chairs she looked at him with her big bright beautiful eyes and said, "why?" Ha! So hopefully in two or three days we'll have an update letting you know that she is officially potty trained AND I will
stop getting pop-up FB adds about potty training!

Finally I have decided that I want (okay that is a little strong), would like (nope that doesn't do it), feel compelled to "try" to run a 1/2 marathon. I work well when I'm working towards a goal. So my goal is The Rock N Roll 1/2 Marathon in November (San Antonio). I'm excited and nervous. Tonight I ran 3 miles (that is 12 laps) on the track without stopping. This was big for me even though I've run a couple of 5K's because it feels like a beginning. As I got to my last lap I reminded myself of the Bible verse that gets me through this physical activities that I've been subjecting myself to lately -

"I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me"

Philippians 4:13

The great thing is that just as I thought this scripture in my head I looked up in the clouds and saw a very small rainbow in the clouds. A promise! So I have a LONG way to go but I'm going to do this! Prayers always appreciated!