Last night, a bunch of moms and daughters met at the Coffee Addict in New Albany for coffee and dessert and fellowship and fun. It was a big gathering of people and we had an AWESOME time.

Julie, Kirsten, Danielle, and Martha

The girls brought their crocheting or knitting and stayed creatively busy while visiting.

The Johnsons gave Coach an awesome scrapbook full of pictures from this season.

This is the group of girls that came to party.

These were a gift to me from a dear friend of mine, Liesa. She is so thoughtful and I love her dearly. They look great on my tree.

Anna Beth and Martha

Martha and Julie

Olivia and Anna Beth

The St. Jude Half Marathon

This picture was taken in the lobby of the Marriott where Jimmy, Roan, Kelly and Lynn stayed and it is where we all met up to walk to the stadium. Most of us had new headbands. I went for the sarcastic saying, "Start off slow, then back off!" Yonea's said, "Running is cheaper than therapy!" Lynn, Emily, and Roan went for the cute-everything matches look.

This morning, we woke up at 5:30 to get ready to run the half-marathon. It was a brisk 24 degrees when we left the house (and I decided to wear my running skirt, with no leggings at all). I was beginning to regret my decision to go with fewer layers, until the race started and things started to warm up. I was ready to ditch my jacket and gloves at 1 1/2 miles, but decided to at least wait until we ran by the Mississippi River because sometimes the wind is really cold blowing off the water. I could not believe how fast I got to mile 1 and then mile 2 and then mile 3. I started to believe in myself that I might beat last year's time of 2:57. As the miles went by, my race strategy changed by the minute. Instead of running 8 minutes and walking 2 like I had done in training, I ran until I couldn't breathe and then walked a little and then started running some more. The only thing that I can figure out is that I was running a faster pace than I realized and couldn't run as long. At times, I was ready to walk a long way and then I would pass another mile marker and I would do the math calculations in my head and realize that I was at least 15 minutes under where I usually was by that point. But I realized that I was getting more tired and wondered if I could keep up my pace. I was having a mental war in my head between good and evil. My evil side kept telling me that I could walk more and my good side was telling me that I would regret it if I got close to my goal and did not make it. So my good side won out and I kept on trucking. I was at the 10 mile mark in 2 hours and 2 minutes YEAH! I decided that it was actually possible to get in the 2:40s like I had picked as my goal months ago, but had tossed out the window the last two months. I struggled the whole last mile but with 8 tenths to go I was at 2:38 and realized that I needed to just RUN and SHUT UP about it already. I crossed the finish line at 2:41:22 (on my watch, not official time - which has not yet been posted). That time is 16 minutes faster than last year and I am so excited and glad that I decided to run in spite of knee and hip issues. Our merciful Father allowed me to run all day with no pain in my legs at all. It was an emotional day as we ran through the St. Jude campus and saw the families who are staying there and even a few children. The spectators were out in full force and they cheered us on even more this year than last year. One of the posters said, "Blisters don't need chemo!" and I decided that nothing I could go through on this day was as painful as what these families live every day of their lives. Two women had shirts on in memory of a 3 year old child who died in October of this year and they were out running the race; what do I have to complain about? Knee pain? Hip pain? Breathing troubles? Just shut up and run. So I did and had a great race and so did most of the people that I know who were running today. Many friends from Memphis and Georgia as well as several Spartan parents ran today and we all had a great race or a great time, depending on expectations for the day. I am almost ready to sign up for next year's race right now, but I think I'll hobble upstairs and go to bed instead. LOL

Ready to Run

We are leaving in a little while to travel to Memphis to run the Half-Marathon in the morning. We have to leave today to get to the Expo to pick up our race packets and try to get a good night's rest. HA! HA! I never sleep more than 4 hours the night before a race like this. My brain will not shut down - I think of everything that could possibly happen during the race and how I might struggle during the later portions of the race. I will also be dreading the COLD in the morning. It is supposed to be 29-32 degrees at the start of the race and should warm up to the low 40s. The sun should be shining so that is a bonus. I am nervously excited about it and can't wait for it to be over. Always, on the starting line I wish that I could back out, but I know myself enough to realize that I would not like myself very much if I backed out at that point. Once the race gets going, it is just a matter of putting one foot in front of the other -- for almost 3 hours. WOO-HOO! It is always interesting to watch the other runners all around you and see that they are hurting (at least some of them are) as much as you are. Two weeks ago, I felt okay but since then I have had a few more aches and pains. I will try to post tomorrow evening about my run, but no promises. I plan to try to focus on who I am running for - the families and children who are suffering with cancer or other childhood diseases and are stuck living at St. Jude Children's Hospital right now. Sometimes, if it is not too cold, some of the children are able to come outside with their families and it brings tears to your eyes just imagining the struggles that they face. It makes your struggles to run seem so small.

Ornament Swap

Today, we went to an ornament exchange at the Johnson's house. Most of the kids from cross country were there and we had a great time. All of the kids were so excited to see each other; it has been 2 1/2 weeks since they have seen each other.

This is the cute ornament that Kirsten brought to exchange. Most of the girls sew, knit, or crochet, so this ornament was perfect. She almost wanted to keep it for herself, and I did try to find another one like it.

This is the girls' ornament table. There was a room full of girls -- laughing, giggling, talking all at once.

Alec with one of his favorite buddies - John Parker.

The boys wait patiently for the exchange to begin.

They actually waited quite patiently and quietly.

The girls were a lot louder and excited.

This is the ornament that Alec received. It is very cool and he loves the color blue.

This is Kirsten's ornament - a gold princess slipper.

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

On Saturday, we traveled to Kossuth to a Christmas tree farm to select and cut our own tree. We have never done that before and thought it would be fun to do that. Of course, we had to walk through the entire lot and check every tree before we made our choice.

Mitch cuts down the tree.

Kirsten and Alec drag the tree to the wagon. They liked the idea at first, but decided that it was heavier than it looked.

We put the tree up on Saturday night and put the lights on it, but we did not put any ornaments on it until Sunday afternoon. We were afraid to decorate it until the cats got a little more used to it. We had purchased the new LED lights and used them, but we just did not like them (at all). The color was a cool clear bulb and we are used to the traditional look. So tonight, I completely undecorated the tree and put the old lights on it and then we re-decorated it. I am so happy that I put in the effort to redo the tree. Before, everytime I looked at it, the tree just felt cold and not warm and cozy that we are used to.

This is our Christmas tree. Now it feels like Christmas to me.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Tonight, we went to the Ripley Christmas Parade. It was very cold, but we had a great time.

The Northeast Tiger Marching Band performs every year.

They have 490 members.

This man drove this mini-fire truck last year and it is really cute.

Alec thought this Dodge Viper was super cool.

This is the winning float. It was "Hobo Hillibilles Coming to Town." We all laughed because the Beverly Hillbillies theme music was playing and they looked like they were driving the old car.

Even General Lee made an appearance.

This was a cute float.

The Ripley High School Marching Band did a great job also.

Even Santa showed up.

These cute ponies pulled this small wagon.

WAY TO GO DAWGS!!

Just got finished watching the Egg Bowl and all I have to say is WAY TO GO BULLDOGS!!

It was a very exciting and awesome game that was a whole lot of fun to watch. I was hopeful at the start of the game but not too sure about the outcome. But during the 2nd half, I was totally jazzed!! Mississippi State Bulldogs -- 41 and Ole Miss Rebels 27.

Aprons for Grandma

This is the apron that Alec made for Grandma for Thanksgiving. I bought the kit from Oriental Trading and it was super easy to make.

This is the apron that Kirsten made for Grandma for Christmas. She had a great time making it.

This is a picture of Alec and Grandma together.

Kirsten and Grandma.

We had a great Thanksgiving this year. We went to Mitch's sister's house to eat with his family. We had tons of food and we ate a lot. We had a good time visiting with his family, but I forgot to get my camera out and take pictures.

We arrived home and had about an hour or two before we ate with my side of the family at my mother's house. There was lots of food there too and I ate way too much. But, isn't that part of Thanksgiving? Mom's cooking is what I really love and it doesn't feel like Thanksgiving until I eat her turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes and rolls. That is like a meal and dessert all rolled into one. Of course, she was not lacking in the dessert department either.

Friday morning, my sister and I got up early to drive to Wal-Mart for Black Friday shopping. I have never been before and she had only been once and I am not sure that I will go again, but it was not too bad. I do not like shopping in crowds and our Wal-Mart was crazy packed. We had no shopping cart (and if we had one, we could not have steered it through the store anyway), and it was difficult to get to an item to look at it anyway. I am tempted to stay home and shop online during the Christmas season anyway, and you can almost get everything online just like in the store.

We may put up our Christmas tree today and I will post picture of it if we do.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

I want to wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving from our family. Our plans include two dinners in one day, so we will be full tonight.

We are so thankful for our Lord who provides so well for us everyday (even though we forget to thank Him everyday). We are so thankful for our family and friends which He has graciously provided for us. We are so thankful for the great nation He has blessed us to live in (even though most in our country have forgotten Him). We are so thankful for the abundance of food and shelter that He has given us. We are so thankful for our health and abilities that He has given us. I could go on and on forever and not thank our Heavenly Father enough, but just know that we are eternally grateful for all of His mercies and love towards us.

Have a BLESSED DAY! Love, The McAfees

Well .... I Survived!

Yesterday started at 5:00 am for me. I left the house and started running at 5:30 and ran for two miles before meeting up with my running buddies. Our goal was to run for 12 miles and since I had to work, my plan was to get started earlier so that I would not be too late for work. We ran 8 minutes and walked 2 the whole way ( there were a few seconds that I had to walk a little extra - thanks to the many hills in Blue Mountain ). But...I survived and that is what counts. I arrived home at 8:30 and showered and got dressed and left at 8:55 and drove to work. We worked until 1:30 and then drove immediately to the wedding of one of our co-worker's daughters. It was a nice wedding and the food was really good. I then had to drive for 45 minutes to pick up Alec who had spent the night with his grandparents. We stopped to pick up supper (I think I earned the right to not cook last night) and arrived home at 5:00. Alec and I ate and then I went to my bed to watch football. My bed felt sooooooo good after my long day. I expected to get up and feel sore and moving slow this morning, but I am feeling a lot better than I expected. Every time I have run a half marathon, I feel really bad for almost two weeks. That sounds like progress to me. I am not sure what mileage we will be running the next two weeks, but it will be slow and short. The half marathon in December 5th and I am optimistically excited about running it.

Just an Update

This week has been very busy for me -- but not as busy as last week. Saturday finished up our cross-country season with a bang. We had an awesome race and a great picnic at some friends house. On Sunday, we went to church and then that afternoon, two friends and I ran 9 miles. We slowed our pace down and ran (consistently, I mean the whole time) 8 minutes and walked 2 minutes. For those of you out there who don't live near me THAT WAS A MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENT. I am a quitter when it comes to running and I have a million excuses as to why I have to stop NOW!

Also, on Sunday, I took the kids pictures and ordered my Christmas cards. They are now in my possession and I am almost done addressing all of them. I have never been this prepared this soon before. We have been trying to get school done this week so that we might take off a few days next week. I won't give us a whole week off even though it is tempting. I had to work yesterday and will work today and tomorrow.

Now about tomorrow...

Saturday for me will start around 5:30. We are planning on running for 12 miles to get our last long run in before the half-marathon. Right after we finish running, I have to come home to get ready for work. Right after work, I have to attend a wedding. I am not looking forward to a long day especially with tired legs. But I will put my big-girl-panties on and just do it anyway. I will just think that I am almost done with the run-training that I have to do. Then I can take some time off and recover. I am really excited this year to run the half marathon. I think that I am better prepared this year thanks to running with Rachel and I thank her for pushing (dragging) me to keep it up. I hopefully will not be sore for two weeks post run like I have been the last two years.

Save-a-Life 5K -- Way to go TEAM SPARTAN!

We had an absolutely gorgeous day for the final Spartan race of the season. It was cool at first and then warmed up a little which made it perfect for running.

Alec runs in the middle of the pack at the beginning of the race, but he was there with some fast company.

Zack had a very swift race and finished 2nd overall. He has had an amazing season and we are proud to have him on our team.

Forrest was the 4th overall finisher and had a great race also.

Our two female powerhouses - Danielle and Julie - finished 1st and 2nd female, but more importantly, they both achieved their goal of finishing under 20:00. Danielle finished one second ahead of Julie with a time of 19:53. These girls are such great friends and competitors. It has been a true joy to watch them run.

Alec did not finish his fastest race of the season, but he still was flying. He finished with a time of 25:35. We are proud of his accomplishments this year.

Kirsten also finished with a near season best of 27:22. She enjoys running more and more and we hope that she lights a fire under herself next year and runs with the potential that we know she has.

The Homeschool Channel sent a crew from Tupelo to interview our team and cover the race. We are not sure when it will air, how it will air, or who will be broadcast, but the kids had fun talking to the camera anyway. Alec decided to be interviewed (I have no clue what he was asked or what he said, because I could not hear them talking).

Some of the girls wanted to be interviewed together.

The Spartans led a cheer for the camera. We are team Spartan, we are team Spartan, WE ARE TEAM SPARTAN!!!

Fall Picture Time