Nativity

First Baptist Church does a live nativity scene every year for a few nights leading up to Christmas. This is the first year for us to go as a family, and we really enjoyed it! Everyone is real except the baby Jesus. It lasts for 1 hour, and I have no idea how these people can stand so still for that long!! There was also an area off to the side where you could feed some goats (including some super-cute babies) and a donkey (Annalee's favorite...she loved petting its ears). We met some friends up there, and everyone had a great time.

Surprise, Annalee!

Lee and I surprised Annalee by taking her to the theater last night to see Cinderella, and I'm pretty sure it was the highlight of her life! Although it was the original Rodgers & Hammerstein version, and she didn't know any of the songs, she was very enthralled with the story and mesmerized by Cinderella. Every time she would go off-stage, Annalee would ask, "Is she coming back?"

During the intermission, the director announced that the cast would be in the lobby after the show, in case anyone wants to meet them. So I asked Annalee if she would like to meet Cinderella and get her picture taken with her. Her little face lit up and she nodded yes. So after the show, we wove our way through the crowd, and I pointed out Cinderella and said "There she is," and Annalee immediately RAN to her and held her arms up and was practically in her lap before I could give Cinderella a heads up. So I snapped a picture, and I'm surprised Annalee is looking at the camera because she couldn't stop looking at Cinderella. It was so sweet.

waiting in the lobby
Annalee with Cinderella

Your prayers worked REALLY WELL!!

So I don't think the wind chill made it out of the thirties on race-day Sunday! It was good running weather, but not great for the people who weren't running. (Praise God for Scottish Rite Hospital's heated hospitality tent we were allowed to congregate in!)

The weekend began when we arrived in Dallas around 11:15 on Friday night. We got up the next morning, went to the race expo (where you pick up your bib # and t-shirt), then we went to the Dallas World Aquarium with 2 other families...so cool! Kids loved it. Then we went to lunch, and then to the Scottish Rite Hospital for a tour...that was awesome! That is the most amazing place. After that, we went back to the hotel for naps, then to the pre-race party, where Katie joyfully announced this news: Their original fundraising goal was $13,914.16, based on Psalm 139:14-16; but Reagan (husband) told her that was too lofty, so they changed it to $5,139. As of Thursday, they had gotten to nearly $8,000, and then an anonymous donor called them on Saturday and told them they would match DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR what they had raised so far! So they exceeded their original goal!! GOD IS SO AMAZING! Katie was obviously so overwhelmed and excited at the same time. I couldn't help but cry. We also got to see the story that the White Rock film crew created about their family that aired during the live broadcast on race day; a real tear-jerker! After that we went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. Lee had gone early to put our name on the list, since we knew the wait would be long for our party of 20. So when the other 19 of us showed up, he said it would be about 15-20 more minutes. Great. So we're waiting, waiting,......an HOUR later, people start leaving because their kids were getting cranky. ANOTHER HALF HOUR goes by, and our party of 20 is down to 10. They finally seat us at 7:45, and it was great, but not great enough to wait over 2 hours.

Mary Kathryn spent the night in our hotel room that night so that Lee & I could just get up and leave on race day and not have to take the girls. About the race/weather...It ended up being about 40 and drizzling when Lee started at 8, and got progressively colder as the day went on. He said he felt great and could have kept going! (He did the first leg which was 6 miles.) Then I started at 9, and right before the gun went off, they announced that the elite marathon runners (who started at 8) were already at MILE 11!!!!!!!!!! So, the gun goes off, and I'm just standing there, packed in among 5,999 other sardines just waiting my turn to get to cross the starting line, acknowledging my first mistake: I didn't get to the starting area soon enough. I was about 200 yards back. So, I didn't actually get to cross the starting line until 2:30 or so after the gun went off. And even then, I was having to WALK (GRRRRR!) because it was still so packed!!! I was SO frustrated!!! So, I went ahead and started my watch, thinking it would start spreading out soon. Wrong! I didn't feel like I had my personal space back until after mile 4!!!!!! So, needless to say, I was forced to run well under my normal pace for the first few miles. I felt great through the first half, so I decided to pick up the pace to make up for lost time (second mistake). I began regretting that around mile 10, and from then on is just a blur. I was so tired and my legs were numb and I felt so dizzy but I had to keep going. I really wanted to stop, and I did, to stretch my left hamstring that has given me trouble for a few weeks, but I never walked....and I finished in an actual time of 2:01:03.

I'm really happy with how I did, and even though I didn't go under 2:00 like I'd hoped, I think I did great considering the weather, the fact that I have a cold & cough c/o Addie, and I got little sleep the previous 2 nights.

Despite being a whirlwind trip, I think overall it was a blast and a huge success. Thank you for all your support and prayers; it means so much!

we shopped 'til we dropped!

Over the weekend, I got to fly to Dallas for some serious shopping and girl time with a bunch of my female relatives on Lee's side. We also got to see Becky (a senior @ DBU) perform in her choir's Christmas concert...so fun!
We anticipated bringing back a large loot so we all brought extra luggage to haul it back to Midland...as you can see, it wasn't enough. So we had to leave some of it behind and we'll just get it next weekend when we return to Dallas for the White Rock.

Speaking of the race, those of you in the Dallas area can watch it live on WFAA Channel 8 on Sunday the 9th from 8-10:30 a.m. Look for royal blue t-shirts that say "Where there's a WILL, there's a way!" They are doing a special piece on the family who is the whole reason we are doing this race. That starts at the 139th minute of broadcasting, symbolizing Psalm 139, the passage that Katie & Reagan have always prayed over their son, Will. How special!

We could really use some prayer regarding the weather for next Sunday. And no, strangely, I'm not asking for warmer weather...I'm asking for cooler weather! As of today, the forecast for next Sunday is a high of 78 and a low of only 64, and partly cloudy. This is ENTIRELY to hot for running a half- or full marathon! (The temperature during the Chicago marathon when it was called off a few months ago due to numerous cases of heat stroke was 80 degrees.) Please pray that it will cool off, and for there to be no rain!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I can't believe 3 weeks have past since the last blog! Time flies when you're having fun, or when your whole family gets infected with the plague (or at least that's what the stomach bug seems like as it slowly and silently accosts your spouse & children one by one). I won't go into detail, but let's just say I hope that never happens to us again.

We've been a little busy, too...Lee got to go fishing in Arkansas with a few friends, and I was able to take the girls to see my parents (Nana & Papaw). Also, a couple of weeks ago, we took the girls to the drive-in to see the Bee Movie (not so great, but the kids loved it). We met a few other fams there who also have small children, and I'm pretty sure the highlight for the kids was getting to sit in the back of the suburban and eat popcorn & candy for 2 hours.

We've also reached the last few weeks of our training for the White Rock...although getting the plague set me back a bit, I think I'll still be able to reach my goal of going sub-2:00 for the 1/2-marathon.

Addie has picked up a new skill....eating with a fork! She is amazingly coordinated for a 13-month-old.

And that catches us up to today, Thanksgiving, and it's SNOWING!! Hard to believe, since it has only gotten down into the 50s a couple of times, and that it was 80 DEGREES just a couple of days ago!! Mom & Daddy, I'm glad we decided to stay here since we wouldn't have been able to come in this weather! We had fun eating 2 Thanksgiving dinners this year. We had the first one last night @ Tim & Terri's, with the whole family minus David who is in Zambia, Africa. (We got to talk to him this morning, though, and it was great to hear all about his daily life over there...couldn't be more different than ours!) We got to have our second Thanksgiving dinner at Cameron & Christin's this afternoon, and they had several other couples over who were spending the holiday here in Midland.

So, the following are some pictures and videos from this month.

Jackson, Addie, Jayce, Lane, & Annalee @ the drive-in
Addie "reading"
Addie eating with a fork (short video)

me & Addie @ Cameron & Christin's
me, Megan, & Lindsy
happy girl
Lane & Annalee eating snow

Lane, Annalee, Carter, & Mason
Addie playing with snow for the first time!!
Annalee saying cheese

Happy Birthday, man of many hats...

...Not literally. Lee has a few material hats, but he wears so many metaphorical ones. He wears a husband hat, a daddy hat, a son hat, a friend hat, an in-law hat, a nephew hat, a brother hat, an uncle hat, a provider hat, a protector hat, a leader hat, a worker hat, a teacher hat, and many others. I am the luckiest girl in the world to have a husband who wears so many hats so well. Thank you, Lee, for everything you are and everything you do!!! We had so much fun celebrating your birthday last night...the girls especially loved making the home-made wrapping paper. (See above photo)

Annalee got to dress up as a flower for the costume party at mothers-day-out yesterday. Although we Dunns are not celebrators of Halloween, it was fun to get to see her in her costume.

quote of the month and some quick updates

The other night, Lee was playing with the girls by crawling around and chasing them. At one point, Annalee turned around and said to him, "Get up and walk! You're not a baby!" Fun times!
Things here are great; Addie had her 1-year well check and checked out fine. Her height percentile has jumped, which would explain why she's already wearing mostly 18-24 month clothing. She's 23 lbs (75th%) and 30.5 in (90th%). Huge, basically. :) She is also adding new words almost daily; she now says bye-bye, mama, dada, ball, and several animal sounds.
Annalee is doing great in her Mothers Day Out, and also at the Bible study class she attends on Tuesday mornings. She has officially memorized her first Bible verse! John 17:17, which says: "Your word is truth." Good foundational passage, don't ya think?? Her hair is also now long and thick enough (barely) to put it up in pigtails, so getting ready in the mornings has been a little more fun for me now that I can play hairdresser.
Lee and I are continuing our training for the White Rock in December. I'm up to 8 miles on my long run, and will continue to add 1 mile a week until the week of the race, where I'll do 13.1. Lee will be running a 6-mile leg on his 5-person relay. You may remember in one of my previous posts that we're doing this in honor of our friends who have a son who is a patient at the Scottish Rite Children's Hospital. We've got quite a large group participating from Midland. Also, I'm in charge of "Team Will" t-shirt orders, and as of today, we've got well over 100! I can't wait to see all of his supporters at the race wearing their royal blue shirts!

Lindsy & Josiah

Many of you know that my brother- and sister-in-law have been temporarily relocated from Midland to Farmington, NM for about a month now. Our church is having our annual women's retreat in Lubbock this weekend, and Lindsy got to come and also brought Josiah with her. We loaded up the girls last night to go pick them up at the airport, and brought them back to our house for dinner and a community bath (kids only). It is so great to have them back for this visit, and I'm so excited to get to spend the whole weekend with them in Lubbock!!
I know the video is kinda long, but the end is the best part...Addie gives out kisses.

fun videos

Here's what Annalee & Addie have been up to recently.....

Annalee sleeping
hiding out under the table, looking for scraps
skillz.....


Jesus Loves Me

Addie's birthday party!

Addie's birthday isn't technically until next Wednesday, but we celebrated today so my family could come be a part of her special day. She had SUCH a blast getting all her presents. So here are some pictures, and also a video clip of her eating a chocolate cupcake. We were all surprised that she didn't reach out & shove the whole thing in her mouth; I ended up videoing for about 10 minutes waiting for it. Don't worry; I edited it down to just a couple of minutes.