Good News and Bad

There is a good bit of good news so I'll give you the bad news first and instead of beating around the bush I'll come right out with it - I didn't finish my marathon. I went to the doctor on the Monday before because of some pretty bad pain in my ankle, and because I was getting sick and throwing up on all of my long runs over 10 miles regardless of what I ate. He said my ankle problem was an inflamed ligament and gave me a Cortizone shot and my sickness problem was a sinus infection that was draining into my stomach and causing me to trow up. He gave me some medicine that was supposed to take care of all of that. Needless to say, it didn't. I was 5 and a hlf minutes under a 3 hour pace at mile12, and that's where everything started to fall apart. I got sick and my ankle really started to hurt bad. At 13.1 I was at 1:28:00, still under pace, but barely. By mile 17, I was not going to make 3 hours and I was in a lot of pain. My dad was at mile 17 and with his advice I made the decision to drop out. I have already done 3 marathons so my goal was not to finish, it was to get under 3 hours. When that was not possible I figured I would save my ankle from severe injury, figure out what was wrong with it, and run another marathon. There is always another race, I can't grow another ankle. I have my sights set on a marathon in Nashville on April 24.

The good news is that the next day, Sunday night, I was ordained into the ministry. It was an exciting night and my parents and most ofmy family was able to be there.

The other good news is that Jackson is in perfect health. We had our two month check-up yesterday and it went great. He weighs 13 13, almost twice what he did when we came home from the hospital. The doctor did say that for his height his weight is exactly where it should be. Thank God for good health. Jackson is getting cuter by the day, too.

I promised pictures of him laughing and smiling because he was starting to do it more and more. It seems that if he is not eating or sleeping he is smiling. He does it nonstop and its so easy to make him smile. He is so much fun to be around. We enjoy him so much.

This one cracks me up. It's like he's holding his stomach from laughing so hard

He always has huge yawns

Loungin'

He's been trying to suck his thumb for a while now and he finally got it figured out

He Is Really Getting Cute

His smile really is starting to light up the room. He smiles so much now because he is actually figuring out how to do it. He is a great baby and we have so much fun with him. I've been calling him "cue ball" lately because that is exactly what he looks like with all that hair gone. I've been tempted to carve an "8" on the back of his head where he does have a little bit of hair. Imagine how stylish that would be.

My parents and most of my brothers and sisters are coming sown this week to see my brother Erick and I run the Richmond Marathon on Saturday - we want to get under 3 hours, which is a 6:52 pace for 26.2 miles. They are going to stay through Sunday night because I am being ordained into the ministry on Sunday evening.

He's got that great crooked smile!

It's getting easier and easier to get him to smile

Caught him awake one night just after I put him to bed. He was wide eyed because it was kinda dark in the room.

He is really a good baby. He doesn't cry a whole lot - except when he's hungry - which I guess is a whole lot.

Ask Becka!

That's the distressed look because life really is so hard at his age.
You just don't understand.