More Than Thankful-So Undeserving

Tonight as I sit here after midnight in the quiet of our house I reflect on the wonderful day at church hearing the Talley Trio sing and hear my Father preach and I say in my heart "I am so blessed."

I have a wonderful husband who is fast asleep as he is tired from the long list of "honey-do's" all weekend. He has helped me decorate the office by hanging curtains, cutting rods, hanging pictures, making a huge 8 foot toybox for the gameroom and so many other things. He never complains that I stay up way after midnight to decorate or get some alone time or go for midnight outings to Wal-Mart. He always gives me more than what I ask for and never holds it over my head. He never compains about my passion for decorating and spending money to make things look just right. He is my ROCK and I know when I lay my head down every night next to him that I am safe and secure. Most of all I KNOW he love ME!!

I am thankful for my charming little, not so little anymore, boy that loves to read and play with my hair. He keeps me laughing all the time with his funny wise cracks. He is always so polite and well mannered. He always asks that I sing him Hush Little Baby when I tuck him into bed. He lets me play with his ears when they are cold! He is the best dose of sunshine to a horrible day. He is so appreciative and thankful when you give him something. He makes straight A's in school. He is very sensitive to other children or people who are less fortunate or who have suffered some loss. With the change of season he always asks to go to Hobbly Lobby to pick out flowers for Emma's grave. I am thankful he loves her even though he has never met her. He is seeking God for salvation in his life right now and I know it will not be long before he accepts the most important gift into his life. He wants to be a bull rider because he was named after Lane Frost!!

I thankful for my miracle baby that is happy and healthy and fast asleep because thousands of people prayed for her long before we ever met her. She is such a priss pot! She is exactly what I said I didn't want in terms of having a girl because she is so dramatic. Now I cannot imagine having a girl any other way! When I look at her I see myself. I love how she is so affectionate and friendly. I love that she will stare Scott down and give him a run for his money, even though she is just barely over 20 pounds soak and wet! I love to see the excitement on her face when she watches Yo Gabba Gabba. I love how as soon as she wakes up in the morning she wants to go bye bye. I have trained her well because we are some shopping gals! I like how every time we go to Target she asks for "Pawcorn"! I like that she has always been such a good sleeper post-reflux. I enjoy that she always says "It's a good day" because God has a purpose for her and every day for Bella is a Good Day!

Lastly, I am thankful for Emma. I cannot do this post without mentioning how blessed I am to be a mother of a child who is with the King! I am thankful because she will never cry, will never be exposed to death only life, will never know disappointment, and most importantly will never be exposed to sin on earth. I have always loved babies since I was a little girl, even cute lil' puppies, but would always tell my Mom that I wanted to have a baby but I didn't want it to grow up because I wanted it to stay little forever. Now when I get to heaven, I will rejoice in the fact that I will have Emma to hold and she will by my baby FOREVER! Little did I know all those years ago as a child God would give me what I always wished for. I am also thankful that as tiny as she was she changed my life and taught me more than anyone else has ever taught me. Part of the reason why I write this very post tonight is because of her. See I have been in the valley of the shadow of death and I know what that's like and I know what loss is and what it feels like for your heart to literally hurt because you are so saddened. It is because of this loss I am more thankful for my life and my family and what God has blessed me with because in a split second our lives were changed forever on April 27, 2007. Today I can say that it was forever changed for the good, but I can only say that through the grace of God and the strength that He gives me each and every day to live trusting only in Him.

Be thankful for what you have because there is always someone else who is a lot worse off than you are. Be thankful because God has given you breath of life and a free gift that cost him everything so that you could have eternal life. This Thanksgiving may you be most thankful for His life and his sacrifice for your sins. I know I am.

Mark Haas is an IronMan Too!

Mark Haas did the IronMan Florida along with Scott last weekend. He had a great finish and would have probably done even better had he not had an old injury flare up on the run. He Scott and great friends and his wife, Marga, is wonderful too! We were all able to hang out the night before the race and go eat some Italian food together.

Here is a picture of Mark after his first lap in the water.

Mark and Marga are after he cross the finish line.

Mark was too fast for us on the bike and I didn't get a photo. Marga and I were standing on the sidewalk, talking naturally, and Mark flew by us. Glad he saw us and yelled at Marga or we would have never seen him!

I also have to say a BIG "thank you" to Stuart Simmons as he drove Marga around I around on Saturday as we frantically looked for our husbands and cheered thlking em on. Here is is letting Scott know that for the rest of the bike it would be pretty flat from to the end. Mark and Stuart did the race last year and so Stuart knew the race route really well which helped out tremendously.

Looking forward to doing it again in 2010!!

I am married to an IRONMAN!!!

So Scott started his long journey for the Ironman by registering at the Ford Expo on Wednesday. While he was doing some tri-athlete shopping we were busy making signs to hold up to cheer him on.

Here is Bella making her sign for Daddy.

Connie and Mom made signs to hold up

while my sign was made to be turned in and put

out on the run course for Scott to see during his marathon.

The flip side of my sign.

Here we are at 5:00 a.m. on race day getting ready to go get set up.

Take a look at the buoys in the water they swam that twice.

Pre-race family photo.


Here is Scott waving at me after his first lap in the water.



After the swim he was off on his bike.


When Marga Haas and I saw Scott at mile 60.
He said he was dying and I proceeded to tell him to get his
butt back on his bike and start pedaling.
He needed a good kick in the butt at this point.


Here he is again around mile 90.
He would want me to tell you that he looks hefty
because he has all kinds of food and power bars
and power gels packed around his waist for energy.


Stewart and I drove and found him again to cheer him on.
He was messed up mentally because he forgot to set his
clock back on his bike and thought he was an hour off!
Needless to say he got a confidence boost when we
let him know he was fine and that his clock was wrong.



2/3's of the way there and only a marathon to go!
That's it just a little marathon after the 112 mile bike!




Keeping the pace.


Running down he chute with the finish line in sight and
hundreds cheering him on.



Here is his photo finish.

Scott Reaves you did it, Congratulations you are an IronMan!!

His name on the billboard as he crossed the finish line.



Post-race family photo with my head cut off, Thanks Mom! JK



Bella checking out Daddy's medal.


The Scott Reaves Support Team.
Sit, Wait and Cheer.



Post-race ice bath. Yikes, I felt so sorry for him.

Scott and I ended our night by heading to Hooters at midnight and eating wings.

Lane after he saw his IronDad when we picked him up from school.

I am so proud of Scott and this huge accomplishment in his life. This is definitely a marker his has made in life that he will always cherish and we will never forget. The hype was amazing and the thrill and excitement was unbelievable. No one knows how much time and effort he put into making this dream come true. I am constantly amazed by his athletic ability and his commitment to the goals he sets. Scott you are amazing and we are so proud of you.

You CAN Do It!

After a LONG drive (never doing that again) to Florida we arrived safely on Tuesday night at about 10 pm. We were all very tired when we arrived at the condo. After a good nights rest Tuesday night we woke up Wednesday morning with Scott not feeling well at all. He went to an Urgent Care Clinic here only to be diagnosed with strep throat and an ear infection. After a steroid shot and a z-pack later he is trying to get on the mend.

After his doctor's appointment we went to the triathlon expo where he registered and checked in and received his race number and race packet information. GO #601!!

Mom, Bella, Connie and I made some special signs to hold up during the race to cheer him on while he did some triathlete shopping! After that we all decided it was time for a nap especially Scott because he was so sick Tuesday night he did not get much rest at all. I should also mention that he drove the WHOLE way here! So yeah he was wiped out.

After our nap we headed out to go explore the local Wal-Mart. We bought lots of groceries with items for Scott to put in his special needs bags to eat along the way for his race. We then came home and ordered pizza for delivery and went to bed. Well, we went to bed after our lovely entertainer, Bella, was done making us laugh!

This morning Scott went and did a warm up run and then we headed to Seaside, Florida (thank you Amber for some directions in getting there) to do some shopping. We walked around for several hours going into various art galleries and while Scott and Bella walked trails, played with local dogs in the park and became friends with a playful squirrel! We then had lunch at some Famous Pickles place (I cannot recall the exact name). I had a wonderful Corn dog that took me back to the corn dog 7 at the local Wal-Mart from my childhood and for dessert I had a funnel cake and then a cupcake from across the street. I know, what a great lunch huh? We managed to keep Avery awake until we got back to the condo. Even though it meant letting her play with the GPS and her changing the language to Spanish and now we have a rather hard time finding our way around town in Spanish!

After naps Scott went to a race welcome banquet and race meeting at 7:30 pm, while us girlies headed to Target for some shopping. Well, I should say it started out as we were just going to Target but then the more we drove around the more we saw and then we saw that Bath and Body Works was having a buy 3 get 3 free sale, so obviously we stopped there too. When we got back in the car we smelled like a bunch of _______ (you can figure it out) and so we had to roll down the windows so we could breathe. We then ate at Buffalo Wild Wings and came home and well then we ate some more, but that's what you do when your on vacation, right????

My main purpose for posting tonight is really to focus on extra needed prayer for Scott....well and us too because his two mothers and wife are worried SICK because he is SICK! God says to pray in specifics so I am going to ask specifically for you to pray for these things for Scott on Saturday:

1. Mind over matter -- that even though his body is tired his mind will keep telling him he can do it and he will keep going;

2. Endurance --- Scott will have the endurance to finish the race without jeopardizing his health;

3. Motivation-- He will constantly hear encouragement in his head from loved ones who have supported him and prayed for him and that he has the motivation to carry on;

4. Running--this is probably his weakest link as far as the sum total of the race for many reasons: this is the last section because he has already done the swim and the bike and then he will have to run a marathon so he will be very tired, he will have just finished cycling 112 miles on the bike and when you cycle for that long and you get off the bike and try to run your legs feel like spaghetti, and lastly it is just a long distance for anyone to have to run period, much less after morning has turned to night and he is still trying to finish the race;

5. Strength -- God will give him the strength overall in his body to perform to the best of his ability in a way that even He will be amazed that God has blessed him with the athleticism to run such a race and have such a huge accomplishment.

Lastly, at this point we are just concerned with the meds he is on and the overall factor of him being sick that the race will obviously be a bit more difficult. (not that it isn't hard enough already) I would just ask that on Saturday you keep him in your thoughts and prayers as he will begin his race before you arrive at work and he will finish the race as you are getting ready for bed on Saturday night. I know that he can do it and I know that He can help him do it if we will only pray for God to guide and direct him and give him good health.

He is running this race for himself but he is also running for Avery and Emma and his passion to find a cure for Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome. Most athletes run for a cause and are driven for a purpose and this is Scott's. He will have the best Guardian Angel a Father could ask for as he crosses the finish line with both of his girls physically and in spirit there for him.

I love him very much and if you are lead to please pray for him and send him an email at scott@reavesinsurance.com on Friday afternoon to let him know you are cheering for him!!

Getting ready for the Ford IronMan Florida

Well on Tuesday we leave for Panama City Beach, Florida for Scott to compete in his first Ironman. We (Scott, Bella, MiMi, GiGi and I) will be leaving Tuesday morning to head out for Scott's race on Saturday. He is very excited and anxious all at the same time. He will have to first do a 2.4 mile swim, then a 112 mile bike and a 26.2 mile run! Please wish him good luck and pray for God to protect him physically as well as mentally to be able to cross the finish line without any injuries.

This weekend Scott and I put new stickers on his rims for his bike.

Bella entertained us wearing Daddy's visor and sunglasses.

Trick or Treat!

For Halloween our neighbors headed out with us to one last Fall Festival (Hallelujah!). We started the evening around 5pm getting dressed up and went to our church, West Conroe, for our final festival. The kids had a great time.

Hayley, Lane and Bella decorating cookies.

Lane playing tick tac toe.

Hayley and Lane made witness bracelets.

This is our Music Minister's wife, Laura Burris and she

and Avery just 'love' each other!

By the way, Laura eats her up because she has a house full of ALL boys

so she has to get her girl fix from Bella.

Lane getting a cross painted on his face.



MiMi and Paw working the golf game.
They were rescuing Bella with water from a popcorn choking attack!



Lanerbugs got a hole in one!

Bella trying to be like big brother!

Kyle, William (aka Smurf) and Lane.

Lane, MJ and Bella!

We asked Lane if he wanted his picture taken

with Michael Jackson and he said, "Mom I thought he was dead!"

After the festival we went back to our house to do some trick or treating in the neighborhood.

This was Lane's first time and he and our neighbor Tyler had a blast.

These neighbors went all out!

This little old lady was so sweet to the kiddos.

We had a great night last night and after buckets of candy I can say it was fun but I am glad it's over!