My productive, unproductive time

I've read Oliver Twist and am halfway through The Man Who Was Thursday. I've knitted 1 1/2 pairs of mittens. I haven't cooked a meal all week, nor have I done any dishes or laundry or taken care of my children much. I've hardly showered and rarely made it out of my pajamas and robe. I sleep a lot and stay in bed a lot more.

I'm either selfishly slothful, clinically depressed or....I have pneumonia. Yep. It's the latter. I can be glib about it now because in the present moment I have a small trickle of energy, even though a pulled muscle in my rib cage sends my pain meter through the roof whenever I cough (which is often).

Can I just say how grateful I am? God has blessed us with friends who would do anything for us, and have. Cared for and fed my children (Abby). Folded my laundry (Nate). Shuttled my kids around (April and Susan). Brought us dinner (Leigh and April). Shopped for our groceries (this vacancy is still open--any takers? hee hee!). Brought me tea and cookies and took my kids to the science museum (my dear mother). Been the most tirelessly sacrificial, uncomplaining, and faithful to his wedding vows husband ever (Matt). Prayed for me and called/emailed with kind words (too many to name, but I can bring each of you into my mind).

So, it's not all bad to get pneumonia if God turns it into joy when others love me and I want to love them more in return.

Plus, Oliver Twist is a really good book. You should totally read it, or anything by Dickens. There's my plug. Good night.

There I went!

Just a quick post to let you all know the outcome of my race. It was fantastic! The weather was perfect, I had great energy, I met my target time goal, and I was with my great running girlfriends. I am really grateful for the strength and the community God has given me so that I can run. Sorry I don't have any pictures to post (guess I'm just too fast to capture on film...). Thanks for your well wishes and prayers :) They helped!

Here I go!

By the grace of God, I will run farther than I ever have today: 13.1 miles. The Richmond Half Marathon. A little nervous. A little excited. Just wanted to let you all know so I will remember to post afterwards. After all, it's not just my kids who have milestones, or mile markers in my case...

Country road, take me home...

Yes, we were singing that John Denver tune all the way around the winding roads of West Virginia last weekend. My parents (plus Abby the 15-year-old schnauzer) joined our family in a mini-vacation to the Dancing Bear Cabin and nearby Franklin, WV. Matt and I had spent a long weekend there last year for our anniversary, and we thought it would be a fun family getaway. Here are some of the highlights, in pictures:

Hiking up the Seneca Rocks

Apparently, our family owns a line of trucks--can you see the "Hartman Trucking" sign on the truck? (something to fall back on if this chemistry professor gig falls through...)

Gorgeous fall color

Thatcher is a train aficionado, so we paid a visit to the Cass Scenic Railroad. But we didn't ride it--2 hour train ride + 3 year old boy = whine-o-rama. Watching the train from the outside was much better!

Callan loves rockets and space as much as Thatcher loves trains, so there just happened to be a huge radio telescope very nearby the Cass Railroad, including a neat space museum. I italicized the word "happened" because I feel God really blessed our boys on this trip by giving them things to do (in the middle of nowhere) that specifically related to their interests.

Thatcher will take any opportunity to snuggle that he can get--even under a rock!

A family pic, high atop Spruce Knob, West Virginia's highest peak.

A shot of the Dancing Bear Cabin, so named because the owners snapped a shot of two bears up on hind legs "dancing." We never saw any bears during our time there, dancing or otherwise.

Callan signed the guest book.

On our way home from WV, we stopped at our favorite out-of-the-way apple orchard, Dickie Brothers in Roseland, VA. The pictures sum it up: Thatcher ate and Callan picked!

So, there you have it. Great views, perfect weather, peak foliage, and fun family bonding time. It turns out West Virginia is for lovers, too!

Welcome to Kindergarten!

Yes, it's me again, this time 8 months later--yikes! Well, at least I keep trying...

So the impetus for this long-overdue post is that my firstborn started kindergarten this week! (Yes, it's earlier than most schools: it's a year-round, brand new public charter school. Check it out here.)

Here are some pictures...

On our front porch before taking him to school:

And this one in front of the school, looking slightly more nervous.

As of day 2, he seems to like his teacher, won't tell me the names of any of the kids in his class yet, but has used the bathroom once and it went okay (no loud flushes or hand-dryers...that's key). All in all, a very positive experience so far, and the teachers and staff are so enthusiastic. After all, it's the first charter elementary school in Virginia. More importantly, it's the first time we've ever had a kindergartner.