So excited to announce...

I am officially signed up for my first half IronMan triathlon 70.3 event!  Branson 70.3 on September 23, 2012!  This is a major stepping stone on the way to pursuing my goal of competing in a full IM triathlon.

  
If you have been reading my blog for the past few years, you have followed my faltering injury-filled first few years of pursuing my triathlon goals.  The first year I had a stress fracture in my right hip which was misdiagnosed and then, once correctly identified, wouldn't heal and I ended up having to have surgery to have that hip pinned.  Then last year, I broke my ankle in two places trail running with Tom.  That healed up and later that summer I ended up getting another stress fracture in my other hip.   Predictably enough, that sf wouldn't heal either, even after 12 weeks on crutches totally non-weightbearing, so I had surgery to have it pinned as well.

In the midst of all of those bone injuries, I requested a bone density test and discovered that I have osteopenia!  Good grief!  I was beginning to feel pretty fragile and "old!"  (and I'm "only" 48!)

After a great deal of research on building bone density and some pretty intense seeking the Lord, I decided to continue pursuing triathlon.  I needed to participate in load-bearing activity to build bone density and, I just couldn't stay away from the challenge of swimming, biking and running.

Then, just when I thought that the "coast was clear" this past spring I developed a potentially serious heart arrhythmia.  You can read about that drama here, if you are so inclined.

Currently, my heart is "being good."  My cardiologist assures me that since my heart is very healthy, the chance of me going into cardiac arrest is very, very slim.  The biggest risk is that I would pass out.  And while that is certainly a concern, especially with swimming and biking, I have not yet had that happen when I have gone into VTach, so Tom and I have decided that I will stay the course for now.  If my heart problems become more frequent or certainly if it causes me to pass out I'll need to re-evaluate, but for now I'm moving forward and choosing not to live in fear of what "could happen."

The bottom line is this: God is good and I intend to live "full out," trusting Him and delighting in the journey with my sweet family.

On other fronts here... we are in the midst of the hottest, driest summer that I have ever seen here in the Midwest... day after day, after day above 100 degrees with no rain.  The grass is crunchy and brown and we have cracks in our back yard that a small child could get lost in.  Yikes!  I am not a huge fan of hot weather anyway, but this year I am eagerly anticipating autumn even more than usual.

Teddy, our Great Pyreneese puppy hangin' out on the air vent~ his favorite spot this summer!

Child-eating cracks in our back yard!

Last Friday we had a cloudy morning which kept the temperature lower for a few hours.  We decided to take advantage of the small break in the weather and pull some weeds (many of which seem happy as can be with the drought).  Unfortunately the boys ended up pulling some poison ivy plants out and by Sunday three of them almost couldn't open their eyes, their face was so swollen! Poor boys!  We couldn't very well ask them to wait another day to see the doctor, so we had to take all three of them in to the urgent care center and get them on steroids.  They were miserable!  So thankful that they are much better now.  I'm sure that they are happy that I didn't take any photos to show you!  : )

We are super-excited to be preparing for a family vacation to Colorado in a few weeks!  Tom has never seen the Rocky Mountains... I can hardly wait to introduce him to one of my very favorite places in the world.  We have *so* much to do in preparation for our trip... I have many meals to make and freeze plus I need to be sure that all of the children have shoes, jeans and jackets that fit and are fit to wear!  That is no small undertaking!

Boys carving zucchinis that grew too big...

In addition to all of the above, I am prepping for the start of a new school year.  Whew!  I guess that I *have* been busy.  I've missed our little "chats" here... hope to be able to pop in a bit more often!