Happy Halloween!

We had a great Halloween with the adorable kiddos on campus--and look at the fabulous pumpkins that the boys in our dorm carved! Go Blue Tornado!

GOBAMA!

Roll Tide! Last night Clay and I went to our first UT game and had a blast! Our friend and my department chair, Will (in red), was kind enough to invite us along with his cousin, John. Clay was lovin' life as the Crimson Tide dominated the game and won 29-9. I was just as impressed with the UT band--my gosh, they can spell anything they want to on that field! It was incredible. Check out these pics:

We enjoyed the drive to and from Knoxville, tailgate, and game even more because we were together. Man, we love coaching, but when we are both teaching and coaching at different schools, life gets a bit full. Luckily, our teams have been doing pretty well, so we are both enjoying our time with them. Clay's team won on Thursday night and is now one game away from coaching a 20-0 team over 2 years. Pretty exciting. He is done coaching on Monday night, and my CC team finishes on Saturday at the State Meet. Cross your fingers for us. It will surely be competitive but also exciting. We have one or two more hard workouts until we begin to rest up for Saturday--but hopefully none as un-fun as Friday's workout when our head coach drove us to a drop-off point and told us to run back to the weight room in the pouring rain. We felt pretty hard core after that run :-). On Saturday, Ashley and I had a great 10-miler on the half-marathon course we are running in 2 weeks; I can't wait to race after coaching other runners all season! I want to see what these old legs can do!

So life will look a little different for the Gahans in one week's time--hopefully more time together, more walks with Cam-dawg, more time to sleep and read and plan for thoughtful classes. As the leaves begin to turn gorgeous colors and the evening air gets a bit nippy, I am more ready than ever to curl up with the ones I love and appreciate the "little" things--which I am continually learning mean more to me than ever.

Livin' for the weekend!

The week that grades and comments are due usually isn't much fun. You buckle down, gear up, and basically accept the fact that you won't be doing much else besides grade, write, and teach for close to five days straight. But....the weekend AFTER grades and comments are due is always GLORIOUS. The "to-be graded" files are empty, the lesson plans are usually in place, and the bed never looked so good.

Unfortunately, Clay and I celebrated in two different places on Friday night. He travelled to Knoxville to cheer on the Varsity team (they won! they are going to the playoffs!) and I got together with a dear new friend, Kat--who just closed on her first house an hour before we met. We had some celebrating to do. After some yummy margaritas, sangria, and enchiladas at Taco Mamacitas, a new restaurant in town, we headed over to her new home on the South Side. I brought along a little champagne to toast her new house, but before we could enjoy it, we saw that every light on her house was on...and the door was wide open...and there was a house key sitting on the front counter in plain sight. Uh-oh. After freaking out and then gathering out wits, we headed into the adorable little yellow house only to find...the adorable inside of an adorable little yellow house. All was good. And by the time I got home, I hit the bed hard.

Ashley and I had another fantastic 70 minute run together Saturday morning--only 3 weeks until the half-marathon. We're excited. Then Clay and I finally got the chance to relax together, enjoying a little time in the gym, yummy smoothies, a few errands, and a nap. Again, glorious. We capped off the evening on Lookout Mountain at our friend's Nick's birthday party.

Sunday morning ushered in another good Sunday School class. We aren't getting the highest attendance count ever, but the people coming are solid and thoughtful and nice, so we are enjoying it. We hope they are, too. The story for this morning was Raymond Carver's sad "A Small Good Thing." Powerful story, but man, it's a tear-jerker. After church with Kat and Nate, we headed home and took Camden for a long, fun walk. He gets cuter and cuter every day. We might also be a little biased :-).

Tonight we made our favorite chicken noodle soup, watched the end of Sicko (makes you really want to know for sure the two candidates' stances on HealthCare--wow), and did some school work. It's been a treat of a weekend--and it feels so good to go into another week of teaching and coaching rested.

Happy weeks to you all!

Inspiration

"Racing teaches us to challenge ourselves. It teaches us to push beyond where we thought we could go. It helps us to find out what we are made of. This is what we do. This is what it's all about."
--PattiSue Plumer, U.S. Olympian

"I always loved running...it was something you could do by yourself, and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast or slow as you wanted, fighting the wind if you felt like it, seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs." --Jesse Owens

"Ask yourself: 'Can I give more?'. The answer is usually: 'Yes'."
--Paul Tergat, Kenyan professional marathoner

"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift."
--Steve Prefontaine

“When you’re hurting in the middle of a workout or race, it’s easy to hold back or let yourself off the hook from running faster. But regret is the worst feeling in the world to me. You want to challenge yourself. The more you get out of yourself, you more you start wondering, Maybe I could get even more. It’s fun to see what your body can do.”
--Kara Goucher

“To motivate yourself every day, the most important thing is to set a goal. If you have a goal, you know what you must do because you have a plan. And if you don’t reach the goal, try again and again.”
--Haile Gebrselassie (of Ethopia. Ran 2:04:26 in the 2007 Berlin Marathon to notch his 24th World Record)

Today was our last big meet of the CC season. We came in second out of 19 teams. We should be pumped, right? Well, I was excited because all of the members of the team did better than I ever could in a 5K race, so I was proud of them. but there was a bit of a somber mood after the race. We came in second. Again. To the same team who always beats us. AND they ran two 8th grade runners today, so their program doesn't look like it is going to open the door wide any time soon.

I think we all went home wondering what else we could each do to improve our team and individual performances. I went to the gym to burn off some of my thoughts and feel healthy after a week of grading papers and writing comments and teaching classes, and I picked up several back issues of Runner's World. Flipping through them on the eliptical, I couldn't get enough of the inspirational stories in this magazine. And isn't that what running is all about? Creating memories of that beautiful trail run or the breakthrough race or the training run when you got great ideas for a lesson plan...Running is so inspirational to me. It's painful, it's dirty, it's often unglamorous, it's exhausting. But it's also freeing and rewarding and life-enhancing and revealing. So I culled (my favorite word of the week) some of my favorite quotes to send to our players--one a day for the next two weeks as we prepare mentally and physically for State on Nov. 1. The ones above are my favorites so far. If you know of any others and are willing to pass them along, I would LOVE to hear them!

Perhaps what I love most about them (and the sport itself) is the fact that running is a perfect metaphor for life. This week has been incredibly long and exhausting, but as is so often is the case with teaching (and many other professions), it's when we don't think we can get it all done and actually still be able to teach every day that we prove to ourselves just what we are made of. It's the same way with writing--sometimes we must push through the painful, tiring parts to actually come out on the other side with rewards we wouldn't have received otherwise.

For example, comments were due today, but an English Dept. Gathering had been rescheduled for last night. Sure, I was tempted to back out and spend the evening finishing and revising my comments, but I felt I had committed to attending and that I should go. And I am so glad I did. I learned more in one hour or engaged discussion with my colleagues and other English teachers in Chattanooga than I could have found in a book in the same period of time. After an evening of talking about poetry, I came home inspired and refreshed. Sure, I still had a class of comments to write, but I was okay with that...

Sure, I think there are some times in life when you shouldn't give any more or yourself or else you will explode. But there are some pretty neat moments hiding behind many doors we are either too tired or distracted to open. Inspiration is contagious--and often happens when we aren't looking for it.

Have a great weekend, friends.

Fun Times In Louisville!

What a great weekend we had with Sara's family in Louisville! It was such a treat to see Mom, Dad, Brittany and Jason, Gege, Lynne, Marguerite, and Nonna (and Max and Maggie) all in 48 hours. As always, we wish we had more time with them all, but we are grateful for the good times we did have :-). Here are our top ten highlights:
1.) Yummy tomato and mozzarella salad and grilled kebobs on Friday night with Mom and Dad.
2.) Going for our traditional walk up and down the street with Gege, Lynne, and all the dogs
3.) Watching Camden try to eat all of Max and Maggie's food AND take over their doggie beds. He wasn't the greatest of guests, but boy is he getting cuter and cuter...
4.) Seeing Brittany try on her bridesmaid's dress for Blair and Jurgen's wedding! We can't wait for Jan. 3!
5.) Going for a long run around my old neighborhood.
6.) Getting to see Marguerite
7.) Driving a large, white cargo van with no windows to and from Kentucky with our puppy wedged in between the two front seats. We felt so sketchy!
8.) Going out to Varanese with Mom and Dad on Saturday night. It was so yummy and the conversation was even better!
9.) Seeing The Duchess (Clay: B, Sara: A-)
10.) Going out to Panera with Nonna on Sunday and hearing about her first years of marriage to Poppops. Ahhh, I love hearing her tell stories...

Thanks for a great weekend, Hume family!!!! We love you!!!

Finding Joy In Unexpected Places

So this week I lost my cell phone. Now, I am not a big cell phone person--I have the bare bones model and the lowest rate package possible--but losing your cell phone does get tricky...especially when you don't have anyone's numbers written down. For the past five days, I have been searching high and low for this tiny object, finally resigning myself last night to the fact that it was gone and that I would have to buy another one and try to replace all the numbers. I do confess that I did entertain the idea of not replacing it at all...living simply has been a personal challenge to myself lately...

And then I walk into my classroom this morning at 7:15 a.m. and lo and behold! There it is! Right on my desk! WHAT??! I LOVE it when things like this happen!! I did a little dance in front of the student who I was meeting with and knew immediately that it was going to be a good day.

And a good day--and week--its been! Monday night Clay's team won a close game against the Red Raiders 3-0 (last minute field goal) and once again Clay's defense held their opponent to a shut-out. Clay was pumped when it was over--and exhausted. Camden was also exhausted--he sure is popular with the kiddos at football games! They all love holding him and running around with him.

Cross Country practices continue to be a highlight of my day. With the exception of Friday's tough conversation, our afternoon workouts make me smile and sweat. Tuesdays are our speed days at Greenway Farms, and today we transitioned into phase three of our Vo2 workouts: 12 minute warm-up, 4 accelerations, 3:00 sprint for distance, 10:00 cool down, and then five 3:18 runs where we have to cover the same distance as we did during the 3:00 sprint. As always, Tuesdays push me hard, but I love it. I have never been a fast runner, so I have tried to compensate by focusing on distance, but CC challenges to me run harder and often for longer. As a coach, I must be focused on the well-being and success of the girls, so the workouts often fly by without me really even realizing it (well, kinda). But the mental game for me is now gone--I have no choice whether or not I can do the workouts. I MUST do the workouts if I am to coach and ask them to do them, so I don't even second guess or doubt myself anymore. I am still not fast, but I think I am fastER, and I am loving the sport more than ever. With all this in mind, I signed up for the Chickamauga Half-Marathon on Nov. 8--one week after the State CC championships. When considering whether to do it or not, I finally realized that I too have been training for a race but have yet to run it, so why not test myself right after the close of the season? I am a little worried about the distance since the most we run on a daily basis is 8 miles, but Ashley and I are set to clock some long runs together over the next few weekends, so hopefully we will cross the line in under 2:00 in just over a month.

We are so excited to head to Louisville this weekend to see some of my family, including Brittany and Jason who will be in town for a wedding--hurray! Clay and I have rented a cargo van so we can bring back Marguerite's dining room set (thank you, Marguerite!), so imagine Clay, me, and our little dog trekking 5 hours each way this weekend in a huge van. Kind of makes me laugh just to think about it. This weekend is our long weekend, so we are grateful for a break and a chance to see dear family. When we get back, only 2.5 weeks left of each of our seasons and then we are off for the winter season. Man, life will change. I have to admit I am looking forward to the chance to breathe and get some more sleep (hopefully), but I will miss miss miss this team and these workouts.

Happy Week to All!

WAHOO!!!!!!!!!

The brilliant people at the Blogger Help Desk helped me figured out why my gadgets were appearing at the bottom of our blog...and now they are back on the right side! Oh boy, now the possibilities are endless...

Love you all!

For the Love of the Game

What a week! Can it really already be Saturday night? This week has been full of excitement and powerful moments, many of which revolve around coaching. One reason I love reading our friends' Jamie and Mary's blog is because they are so thoughtful about the joys and challenges associated with coaching water polo. Clay and I can really relate to a lot of what they say. Coaching young people to love and do well in a particular sport can be a source of endless pleasure and frustration because at some point we have to let go, step back, and hope they can translate the hours of practice and dedication to actual performance. Mix in some tricky team dynamics, illnesses, mental blocks, and just plain bad luck, and you have a recipe for obsession.

Case in point: On Friday's practice, I was asked to take three girls on a 35 minute run before our race today. One of the girls immediately dropped back--frustrating for sure, she never feels she can keep up with the pack no matter how fast or slow we are going. Thus, I was running with two girls, and 25 minutes in, one of the girls heads home--too early. I signaled to her to keep going with us before finally turning back to see if she was okay. When I reached her, it was clear she was close to tears: "I can never go as fast as you all. You always push me too hard. You want this for me more than I want it."

Oh. No.

That last sentence is a coach's worst nightmare. There is simply nothing we can do when a player/athletic doesn't care about doing his best. You can coach talent and ability, but I've learned that it is very, very tough, perhaps impossible to coach heart. And when you have pushed a kid too hard, its similarly tough to pull them back in. Sure, we as coaches want to win badly, but I would venture to guess that the best coaches, at least at this level, want even more for their players to do their best. We want to see our athletes reach THEIR goals and exceed their own expectations, reaching some level of success along the way. We also want to have fun, get and stay fit, and enjoy a team dynamic that provides friendship, support, and encouragement. We as coaches don't get to play--but I have found in my 5 years of coaching that some of my favorite lifetime victories have been when I am on the sidelines, not on the field/court/race course. But when one of your athletes looks you with tears in her eyes in the middle of a workout and confesses she doesn't love it nearly as much as you love it or want it for her, you can't help but feel utterly defeated. You don't have to play to win or lose in the game of sports.

I still can't stop thinking about that girl, but it was refreshing to come home from that practice only to head back out to cheer on McC in our annual football rivalry against the Red Raiders. We joined thousands of fans dressed in blue (yay!) or red (boo!) at Finley Stadium last night. It was so exciting to see McC take control and keep it the entire game as they went on to win 24-3. The streak now stands at 11 games in a row. Clay knows all of the players, and so we knew how much time and effort--and heart--these boys had put into preparing for this game, so we couldn't have been more pumped for them that it paid off. Gotta love days when the two extremes of coacing--joys and frustrations, victory and defeat--are both displayed so prominently. It's just one of the many reasons we love teaching and coaching: we never stop learning.

Blogging about the Blog

You know you have become a little obsessed with writing reflection time when perfecting the layout of your blog becomes a nightly activity. I get on the blog, I intend to write, and then suddenly I am lost in inside-blog world trying to figure out how to get my "gadgets" on the right hand side of the page (still can't get them there--any suggestions? They used to be there and then suddenly decided to attach themselves at the end instead. Hmm.) Before I know it, I have spent an hour playing around with the options instead of actually writing...and usually, I still haven't "perfected" or even fixed what I intended to revise in the first place. Ah, good intentions :-).

That said, I do have hopes for this blog. I have to confess it is a little scary to publish my reflections in cyberspace where potentially anyone could read them, but I have been encouraged by the many blogs I read on a weekly basis that lead me to think about dear friends and important issues in the world today. Now if only I could get that darn "favorite blogs" gadget on the right hand side of the page :-).

Here are my hopes for this blog:
1.) That will help connect Clay and me with our family and friends around the country whom we love and want to stay connected with always...
2.) That it will serve as a scrapbook of sorts of our life together, full of pictures and memories and our own voices.
3.) That it will enable me to slow down and express in words what I am learning every day. I am tired of letting inspirations, helpful insights, and special stories escape me before I can even register and appreciate them.

Speaking of our own stories, Clay and I read "Dwarves in the Stable" by Frederick Buechner for our Sunday School class this past weekend, and I couldn't help but connect with something Buechner states in his memoir:

"Maybe nothing is more important than that we keep track, you and I, of these stories of who we are and where we have come from and the people we have met along the way because it is precisely through these stories in all their particularity, as I have long believed and often said, that God makes himself known to each of us most powerfully and personally. If this is true, it means that to lose track of our stories is to be profoundly impoverished not only humanly but also spiritually."

I'll be sure to keep this in mind as I continue to explore the endless possibilities that blogger.com offers its bloggers in terms of layout and design. Often it's not how something looks but what it means that is fundamentally important.

Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Camden...

...Man, am I spoiled! I am so grateful for all of the birthday wishes and thoughtful gifts that I received this weekend as I turned 28 on the 28th (golden birthday-yeah!). THANK YOU to all of you for remembering my birthday and making me feel so loved. I was surrounded by many of my "favorite things": books on Shakespeare and writing (thank you, Pat and Kay!!), The Office and a book on running (thanks, lil sis!!), People magazine (my secret, totally unintellectual indulgence--thanks Mom, Dad, and Gege!), perfume, jewelry, and FLOWERS!!! Mary and Jamie sent flowers to GPS on Thursday--boy, was I the envy of many girls that day! They are beautiful, M&J--and as always, you all are so thoughtful and generous.

But what was most apparent to me yesterday was how my favorite "things" are ultimately people. I was lucky enough to spend my birthday with Clay and Camden, going for a hike on Signal Mountain and then cooking dinner together. Sometimes its the simple, "little" things that remind me just how full my life is. I was also very aware of how much I missed celebrating with my family (years 1-18) and my friends from college and Saint James (years 19-26). There is nothing like actually BEING with the people you love, you know?

More later (gotta run to practice), but know that I am GRATEFUL GRATEFUL GRATEFUL for YOU!

Do What You Can Where You Are With What You Have

Leonard Pitts, of the Miami Herald, came to speak earlier this week, which turned out to be one of several meaningful reminders of how I should live my life. He repeatedly urged the girls to "plant a tree," invoking the ancient proverb that says something like "The best communities are filled with people who plant trees knowing that they will never be able to enjoy the shade." Investing in the future--huh. We sure have been hearing a lot about investing these days. I feel like every time I drive to work and hear the news at the top of the hour on NPR, I am hearing more about the Wall St. bailout and Henry Paulson and foreclosures and collapsing companies. Investments gone wrong seems to be the talk of the town these days. And while I am trying hard to read and listen to everything I can get my hands on in relation to the economic "crisis" going on in my sister's backyard (and in fact in homes around the country), I have also been thinking a lot about other forms of investing.

Perhaps it is because we have a new puppy that I have been so aware lately of the need to invest time in other people. I'm a teacher--I'm never going to have gobs of money to invest in stocks and bonds...but I do have the ability to invest in young women and my colleagues. And I don't feel I am doing that to the best of my ability. I find myself sacrificing conversations with colleagues so I can get 5 more papers graded during lunch, sacrificing supporting three of my advisees in the High School Musical production THEY have invested so much time in because I can't find a totally free night to attend. I feel guilty all day long that Clay is taking the brunt of the responsibility for caring for Camden because I am not on campus--and as much as I want to play with him at night, I then feel guilty because I know I have so much work yet to do. It's an endless cycle. And I end up shortchanging everyone. Including me.

This hit me this afternoon when I went to the Driver's License Center to take a Commerical Driver's Test so I can drive buses for the CC team. I passed the school bus test, but then a surprise "general knowledge" test popped up and suddenly I felt completely clueless. Shifting tractor-trailer gears going up a mountain in snow? What? I muddled my way through the test only to get my results. Yup: failed. I could miss ten and still pass; I missed eleven. I got in my car, totally frustrated that I would have the make the trek back there next week to try again (time I don't have, right?). And then I forced myself to get a grip, look at the calendar, and find a time I would take this test again and pass it. Fifteen minutes later, I was home and enjoying a renewed perspective on things. Car rides are amazingly therapeutic.

And then I walked into our apartment and saw two things: a book on simple living that Clay agreed to read for a book club and sweet Camden. And it hit me--I have a choice about how I live this life and if I am not careful, I am going to let it drive me crazy and leave me empty. I want to invest more in other people; I also need to invest a little more in taking care of myself, physically, emotionally, and intellectually.

I am not sure what this is going to look like or how this will play out, but I am determined to have my life reflect more of my priorities. Simple living, quality time with the people I care most about, thoughtful reflection and interaction with others, doing the best I can with what I have where I am--and understanding that might mean not doing some other things at all. We constantly tell our students that they can't do everything and expect to do it all well--they will be miserable and unsuccessful. They must make choices. It's time I start practicing what I preach.

Happy Birthday Mama!

We made you a cake! Yup, it's a yummy sour cream coffee cake that we made in honor of YOU, sweet Mom...but darn these five hours that separate us and prevent you from enjoying it! We promise to make you another birthday cake in a couple of weeks when you and Dad (and Max and Maggie!) come down to see our new place. And I just found out about a fun pumpkin patch and apple orchard on Signal Mountain that we can check out when you're here! I can't wait to see you and celebrate you in person!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! YOU ARE SPECIAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


We, especially Camden, are also super grateful to you for the AWESOME care package that you sent our new little buddy. Of course Mom would send someone else a gift on the week of HER birthday...Mom has always been so thoughtful and generous. Check out his immediate excitement over his new, fun gifts! He loves them (and YOU!!)







We have had a great weekend here in Chattaboogie. Friday night was full of high school football as McC's 9th grade and Varsity teams beat Father Ryan at home. Everyone was out for the first Friday night game, so we had a lot of fun catching up with friends and students. It was also parent's weekend here for both of us, so we got a chance to meet a lot of our students' parents, which albeit sometimes tiring, always provides yet another lens through which to understand a child. Anything we can do to better know where a student is coming from and what we can do to help him/her, the better.

Saturday we were up early, Clay to meet with 20 parents (crazy!) for parent-teacher conferences and Sara to Greenway Farms for a CC meet. Once again, I was really proud of our girls--they showed a lot of heart AND muscle as all but one managed to set a season PR at the meet. Unfortunately, the competition was the best we have seen by far, so we didn't win any awards, but the girls were pleased with their runs and feel focused on what they need to do over the course of the next six weeks to get ready for State on Nov. 1 in Nashville.

As soon as I got home, I met Ashley (my favorite running buddy) for a 70 minute run on East Ridge. I was tired and had already run a little with the girls that morning, so I had to gear myself up for this run, but as soon as we started, I remembered why I love running--and why I love running with Ashley. Believe it or not, our run along the beautiful ridge overlooking Chattanooga enabled me to relax and talk about things with a dear, dear friend. 70 minutes went by in a heartbeat as we both talked about how triathlon training (her) and cross country running (me) have reinvigorated our fitness lives and given us a renewed sense of focus and purpose during our workouts. We are both setting our sights on the Chickamaunga Half Marathon on Nov. 8--and beat the 2 hour time we set when we ran the Chattanooga Half during our marathon training. Since I am training with the team, I may not be ready for the race distance-wise, but I am hoping that all of the speed workouts will serve me well if I decide to be there on the starting line with Ashley that day.

Clay and I both crashed for an afternoon nap after that--glorious. We then headed to Erin's house for a fun cookout with Ashley and her husband, Nick. We played bocce, ate yummy salads and burgers, and watching as Camden played with two dogs MUCH bigger than him--and held his own!

This morning brought our second Sunday School Class--we discussed Flannery O'Connor's "Revelation" with 11 young adults. We had some new faces in the class this morning, so we hope the group only continues to grow, both in terms of numbers and relationship with each other. Clay and I are trying hard to lead the group in a thoughtful, productive fashion, but it's harder than we thought--people coming to church, especially young adults, are coming from all backgrounds and with different expectations and needs. We don't fool ourselves into thinking we can meet those needs, but we do want this class to be a space they feel is worthwhile and thought-provoking. We continue to think about how to approach it--we just hope they keep coming!

This week proves to be another busy one--Clay has a game tomorrow, I have a meet on Tuesday, Clay's on duty Wednesday, Advisee time at our house on Thursday, and then I'm off to Nashville on Friday afternoon-Saturday for a big CC meet. It will certainly keep us busy--but we've had a great weekend to relax with each other, so we're feeling good.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!!

Time

So its exactly midnight here in Chattavegas, and Clay is on duty in the dorm. Darling Camden is asleep right next to me; I can hear his steady breathing. I am tired, but I have had one of those days in which some things become so clear to me, one of those days when life is put in perspective. Lately, I feel like I haven't had time to breathe, that I have literally been running from one class to the next to practice to Camden to work to emails...and in the process, I have been so self-absorbed. I have become almost obsessive about crossing off things on my to-do list and playing games with myself to see how much I can get done in one day...so I am grateful for moments when I am struck to stop and look around me. Here are some of the things I saw just today:

1. An email from my mom. So faithful. So loving.

2. 3 students, whom I grew very close with last year, leaving me a little note on my desk with a cinnamon crunch bagel while I was at English Dept. meeting. I don't even teach them anymore. It's not about me--it's about how thoughtful and caring they are. Seeing them makes me smile every day.

3. Cy, Gilly, Nathan, and Chloe (4 little children in our dorm) playing with Camden and squealing with delight. Camden LOVED them, too. Beautiful, young creatures, playing and laughing. So refreshing.

4. A freshman runner on the CC team crying for her teammate who just found out that she has a stress fracture and will be out for the rest of the season. I love our team.

5. Visiting a friend's blog page only to be reminded that it is her daughter's 1st birthday today. My, how time flies.

I was also reminded of the hardships that many people face, often quietly and gracefully, that I need to be more mindful of and generous towards...in short, in the midst of my running running running, I am thankful for the beautiful moments that force themselves upon me as if to say "hey! this is important, too! don't miss it." And while it may sound cheesy, having Camden is a daily reminder that these moments exist and should be cherished instead of overlooked. Our nightly walks provide me with the perfect time to think, to reflect, and to be aware of what is going on around me, both near and far. And as much as I love running, I am glad there are moments in life that cause us to stop still and smile.

John's Visit!

We love John Gahan! If you know John, you understand our excitement: he is simply a great, great guy. He is funny, friendly, flexible, and fun. We love him...which is why we are so darn pumped that he is here this weekend. It is also the reason why we are so sad about the fact that we may not see him for two more years. He is heading to Azerbijan in less than 2 weeks to serve in the Peace Corps; we know he is going to do a FANTASTIC, admirable job, and we couldn't be more thrilled for him, but we have to confess we are sad when we think about not seeing him for that long. We will miss miss miss him.

We did have a great day with him today, though...last night we ate dinner with John and his best bud (from Louisville!) Alex Harcourt, at La Altena, a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant we recently discovered and love. Fajitas=yummy. Today we were up and moving fairly early--I had to get a 65 min. run in and Clay had to meet his team to warm up for their 10 a.m. game against CCD. Talk about a nail-biter, people--this one went down to the wire. Somehow (don't ask me how), McC recovered a CCD fumble in the endzone to earn a touchdown with only 2 min. left to go. As Clay said, "We got reallllly lucky today." Same thing happened with the varsity game--we were down until the middle of the 4th quarter when McC recovered a fumble and put some crucial points up on the board. Pretty exciting stuff.

We then went over to Carol and Tony's house for some yummy snacks and time with McC folks before running back and jumping in the McC Lake. We took Camden and he wasn't quite sure what to make of the water, but he sure was adorable. In fact, he was fun and cute all day--and tons of people stopped at the two games to pet and love on him, telling us that "beagles are the best." We sure do agree :-).

Tonight we found ourselves at one of the nicest restaurants in Chattanooga--Hennen's--with Kat and Nate, two friends we have made through our young adults group at St. Paul's. Nate is a chef at Hennen's, so we were excited to dine with a chef at his own restaurant, but we had no idea what treat we were in store for when we sat down and the waiter immediately removed the menus from the table. Over the next three hours, we were treated like royalty: five courses, all of which were not on the menu; repeated visits from the head chef at Hennen's; and glasses of good wine. It was incredible. The plates just kept on coming--and we kept getting more and more full. Glorious evening!

More cute pics of Camden:

We like going big...AND going home

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This week has been crazy. Can it really already be Friday? Geez, where has the time gone? Well...let's see :-)

On Monday night, Clay and his awesome JV and 9th grade football teams went down to Rhea County to win big; as defensive coordinator, Clay is pretty pumped that they have yet to be scored on this season. Keep your fingers crossed that their streak continues! They play again tomorrow.

The CC Team travelled to Cleveland, TN last night for a meet that included 23 teams and 160 girls. I was proud of the team for getting second (always to Baylor--always! They are machines!), but I have to admit it was pretty cool to see most of them disappointed in their times and eager to do better. The top girl finished in under 20 minutes. Wow. I think I can drive that fast--does that count? These girls can crank it--and I love watching them do it. Pretty inspiring. Next meet is a week from Saturday at Greenway Farms, the terrain where we do our speed workouts. Perhaps what I like the best is the prep for a meet--I get to try our different energy bar recipes that are both healthy and yummy!

Camden continues to be a joy--he is just too cute. The 3 a.m. potty patrol is not so joyful, but hey, even then his face just makes us melt. He played around with Nick and Ashley's full-grown chocolate lab the other night and they were SO funny. At first, Camden was scared out of his mind, but after awhile, he warmed up to Tucker and even started biting his tail and then running under my legs for cover. Hilarious. We had fun just watching them play for close to an hour.

The big news is that John Gahan is coming to visit this weekend--Hooray! Back from his summer in Brazil and getting ready to head to Azerbaijan for two years with the Peace Corps, he was nice enough to carve out some time to spend with us--what a rockstar. We are excited for him to see our new place, meet Camden, cheer on the football teams, and perhaps join us for our first young adult Sunday School class on Sunday (Clay's teaching--I have never seen him teach! I am excited!). We can't wait to see him...and we confess, we can't wait to have a couple days off from teaching and coaching. We love love love our life, but when we "go big" all week long, we get pretty pumped to "go home" on the weekends.

Sending you all lots of love!