River Rat 1/2 Marathon is done! I conquered the Chalkstone Hill at mile 9 which is known for it's mile long incline that is straight up (for lack of a better term). It wasn't a pretty sight...I was drooling, my nose was all snotty...seriously, I was hoping there wasn't any photographers at the top. At any rate, I really felt pretty good until the last couple of miles when my legs started telling me that hill was brutal. But a runners club friend of mine who is pictured in this photo, caught up with me and ran with me to the end. He actually paced me faster which i was so thankful for. 1:46:30 was my finishing time. I won my age group and put me on a post-race high for 2 days. That is the Missouri river in the background of this photo. so pretty huh?! Sometimes I think I'm surrounded by so much beauty and I don't even take the time to really "see" it. So after celebrating and thanking God for providing the break in the weather for the race and for giving me the strength to finish, it's on to the Deadwood race. Thank you thank you thank you...you guys get me through those moments when I think I won't make it.

We took Brody turkey hunting on Saturday...that's what he chose to do for his 13th birthday. No parties with friends but hunting with mom and dad. So we packed up the gear, had a sitter for the girls, and off to the wilderness we went.

We spent the whole day there...the weather was perfect. We couldn't find those gobblers in the morning so we decided to take a break, eat lunch and wait it out. Brody took this picture and I LOVED it! Isn't the view amazing? So no dead animal pictures on this post...we were close a couple of times, very close one time but no turkeys for us on this day. But really, would it matter when you are spending time outside in this kind of terrain? I think I was praying in this picture. It was so quiet, so serene, just so pretty. Those turkeys are pretty lucky I think to get to live in this all the time!

I've gotten some awesome recipes from Bobbi, Karen and Rani via blogs and I realized, I haven't shared any of mine. I'm not the best cook in the world but I do like to experiment. One of my favorite things to make is italian food. I love pasta! Must be those carbs I crave. This recipe I made last week and I don't have a picture but it is soooo gooood. And even better, soooo easy! If you like pasta dishes, this one is a winner. You can even substitute different ingredients to your taste but it's great just like it is too. I'm already craving it again. So I thought I would share it with YOU since you've shared so many recipes with me. ENJOY!! :)

Chicken Tetrazini

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup milk
7 oz. spaghetti noodles, cooked and drained
2 cups diced chicken (i just used chicken breasts, browned them up and chopped up..yummo)
Mushrooms (I threw in a handful of portabellos)
3/4 cup parmesan cheese

Melt butter in large saucepan over low heat. Blend in flour and seasonings. Cook over low heat, stirring until mixture is bubbling. Remove from heat. Stir in broth and milk. Heat through. Stir in spaghetti, chicken and mushrooms. Pour into a 2 qt. casserole dish. Sprinkle the cheese on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 min. or until bubbly. Serves 6.

Isn't this picture precious? It's like a little cocoon for this 1-week old baby girl. Just had to share...

This was the afternoon of Easter Sunday. We took our usual family bike ride to the park just to hang out. I even got this picture of ALL 3 KIDS SITTING TOGETHER SMILING...this rarely happens. But there was a reason I think. Easter was extra-special this year. If you remember, our church was deliberately set on fire one year ago. With over $2 million of damage, we didn't know when or if we would ever get back to our building. Over the course of the next year, we went to church on the campus of Mount Marty while our home church was being rebuilt. Finally, one year almost to the day, we celebrated not only the resurrection of Jesus, but the resurrection of our church. It has been expanded, added on to, refurbished and looks AMAZING! The kids were so excited when we walked in...all they could say was "wow!" Over 1000 people came to church that morning...it was pretty cool.

They say all things happen for a reason. This reason was clear. Our congregation is closer, we have a whole new bigger building and everyone..at least for that day...was so happy. Even my kids. And it showed.