Dear...

Dear MaMa,

Please send that baby away! I don't understand why you brought her here in the first place. I need you to be ready at all times to hold me. Furthermore, your lap needs to be ready at all times for me to plop down to flip through a book. I don't think she is as cute as you think she is. Who wears dresses anyway? Remember I am your baby and everything I do you think is adorable. How can you think what she does is adorable? I do love her toys but that is not enough to sway me.

Your frustrated baby,

John-John

Dear Mom,

Wow! What a great addition! I think baby Adaeina is a rockstar. She is so much fun to talk to and make faces at. I really think she likes me. Don't you think we should have some more sisters, brothers, and big boys? I was a bit concerned at first that Ms. Kristin left her here but Adelina is great.

In love,

Elijah

Learning to Swim

An integral part of any triathlon is the swim. To me it is the most daunting part. I chose the tri I am doing partly because the swim is supposed to be short, 500 yards. It later dawned on me that that is the same as 5 football fields. Not so short.

So in the past three weeks I have been learning to swim. My first time in the water was exhausting. My coach (Chris) explained that I should not kick my legs like I am doing the 50 meter dash but rather kick them like I am doing a 500 yard swim. To but it mildly I looked like a flailing fish, which is better than a beached whale, but not too helpful for a girl who has to swim in her triathlon. My second time in the water went better; I could actually breath and my flippers weren't working so much overtime. And so on I have progressed.

It dawned on me the other day that learning to swim is much like our relationship with God. We often dive in, not knowing what we are supposed to be doing, so we flail about in the water and then get frustrated and sink. We try it again, this time listening to our "coach" and learn a thing or two. As we continue going for it we get better and better at being authentic with God, at having a humble spirit, at spreading His saving grace to those around us.

I could certainly use more swim training, how about you?

2/3alete

Today I finished 2 parts of a triathlon. Chris graciously did the swim for me (I'm still working on that part). So I completed 18.1 continuous miles of motion, in one sitting. Overall, I would say it went well. Probably the best part of the whole day was at the end when my dearly beloved husband congratulated me and then said, "You didn't think you could do it, but I knew you could."

Heading out on the run, only 3 miles to go.

I did take a little spill on the bike. I will say the first aid man was definitely not a parent. He didn't even warn me before dumping a bunch of peroxide on my wounds! Ouch!

In-Love's

Family is messy. My family is particularly messy. Sometimes it gets exhausting explaining my relationship to people.

Memorial Day weekend was one such time. The Anderson clan packed up the Pontiac and trekked down to the far reaches of Iowa to celebrate Grandpa Tim's retirement. But just who is this person we call Grandpa Tim? Well, he is my sister's husband's father. Like I said it is messy.

Luckily Grandma Barb got it all cleaned-up. While at the party she introduced me as her daughter-in-love. It was the most meaningful introduction I have ever received. Why? Because we are connected by bonds of love; bonds that will not quickly be broken. God ordained us as family the moment that Andy married Sara and his delightful parents decided they liked Sara's little sister too (even if she was a bit of a drama queen when they first met me).

In talking with a friend about how messy it is to explain my relationships with "family" I told her about the in-love introduction and right away she thought of the in-loves in her family. I think we can all think of some in-loves. I know that I for one am so grateful to be loved by my mother and father in-love. I can't think of a greater blessing!