"May the God of hope fill you with great joy and peace as you trust in him." Romans 15:13

Saturday, January 14, 2017

Choosing Gratitude over "Grumpitude" Day 2

I road tripped today with Joshua and Sierra.  The goal was to watch Jamison race at an indoor meet.  As an added bonus,

 We took a detour to a pretty little shoppe, and found Sierra her first Prom dress!  Here is a sneak peak!  It was so fun to watch her try on dresses.  But the moment she put on this dress, her whole face changed.  It was "the one."  What a great mommy moment it was to witness her joy.
Look really closely here.

Joshua is on the track. (purple shirt)  Jamison is nearby (blue tshirt and shorts) on the inside of the track cheering him on.  Several of Jamison's teammates (also in blue) are clapping for Joshua, too.

As a bit of a back story, Joshua has been going to track and xc meets since he joined our family.  He hates them.  EVERYONE wants to know when he's going to start running.  EVERYONE!  Jamison's coaches have all asked Joshua when he will start running for their team.  He says, "NEVER!!!!"

It is TOTALLY, completely, absolutely, TOTALLY fine with us all if Joshua NEVER runs.  We never push it.  

At this indoor college meet, they had a kids' fun race.  They encourage all the kids 10 and under to get on the track and move.  It is SUCH a great idea.  There is no place for the kids to wiggle in this facility, and after sitting and watching races, they CRAVE movement!  When they called the kids down, I poked JG and suggested he try it.  He said, "NOPE!"  So I went back to chatting with Sierra.

The next thing I know, my mom pokes me and says, "Look!"

Joshua is lined up on the track ready to take a lap!  He is waving to Jamison (who is preparing to race in the next event) and grinning ear to ear!

Sierra and I were totally shocked!

Jamison waved back, and quickly told his team which little runner was his brother. 

The gun went off, and Joshua's long legs went wild.  He worked SO hard.  By the time he rounded the last curve near Jamison, he was spent!  I didn't know if he would be able to keep running.  But when he heard Jamison and his friends cheering his heart took over where his legs and lungs were failing.  He kept his head down and staggered across the finish line in about fourth place.

The crowd near us had figured out he belonged to us, so they cheered for him until he was back into his seat.  It was precious.

He was completely DONE.  He slumped over and breathed for quite a while.  After a bit he told me, "Mom! I almost puked!  Next time I race, I better not eat chips and drink pop first."

Jay raced soon after.  However, after he finished, he came loping up the bleachers to fist bump his little bro and congratulate him on his first race.

Watching big guys mentor and encourage little guys makes my heart melt and my eyes leak.

(Jay has a good race, too.  He looked strong and his stride looked smooth and healthy!)