You know how...

what you say sometimes comes back to bite you?

Last week I said "well, I need more exercise anyway, right?" Turns out RIGHT. Time to lay off the sweets & eat more veggies. :)

Little girl is growing great and weighing in at 2 lb 9 oz today. We got to see her little mouth opening & closing, and she was practicing her breathing already, too! She is moving and kicking so much and I am enjoying it!

We had a great time this weekend with Marc's parents & sister Shauna...I was horrible at taking pictures (once again) but did manage to grab a few here & there.

Z & Marc enjoying the splash playground at Powell Station Park. Nana & I are enjoying the shade under the pavilion!



Kind of a far away picture, but Marc, Z, & Papa sunning on a rock at the "Y" in Townsend, TN. Once again, Nana, Shauna, & I are enjoying the shade. :) We just love going to the Smoky Mountains and it was an awesome day. We followed the trip to the Y with a trip to the most awesome fudge shop in the entire world (seriously), Rocky Top Country Store in Wears Valley. Then the Apple Barn, Z's most favorite, where I ate too many apple cinnamon donuts. And finally, a trip to the Amish Specialty store, where I bought 6 lbs of awesome popcorn seeds for $5.99.

Z enjoying some corn on the cob--he ate 2 of these faster than I ever thought he could! Marc's mom spoiled me this weekend by cooking and it was wonderful!

So, clearly I didn't get any awesome pictures. None of any of the family who came to see us, which is really stupid. I have got to get better at this! But we have lots & lots of memories, which I guess in the end is all that matters.

My serious note for the evening: one day this weekend, I found myself alone in the living room watching this golf training show. Don't ask. Anyway, what struck me was the theme of the show: Finish well. The men on the show went on to show you how a great golf swing was all about how you end the swing & not how you start it. Basically everything in golf hangs on the end of the swing. (not really a golf fan, but after some repetition I started to get it).

So what was cool to me was comparing this to my Christian walk: Finish well. It's not about how you start, but about how you finish. It made me think of Paul's message to the Corinthians: "You've all been to the stadium and seen the atheletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You're after one that's gold eternally. I don't know about you, but I'm running hard for the finish line. I'm giving it everything I've got. No sloppy living for me! I'm staying alert and in top condition. I'm not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself." (1 Cor 9:24-27, The Message)

It's so easy to get lazy spiritually and then never snap out of it, thinking "well, I didn't do very well this far, there's no point in really trying to do better." What a great reminder to me that EVERY DAY COUNTS! Even the hard days of "training" and pain lead to a great finish.

Finish well, my friends!