Mymama's Birthday Weekend

We celebrated Mymama's 74th birthday this past weekend. (Mymama is my Dad's mother.) We had most of her family together on Saturday night at my Uncle David's house. We had steak, fried shrimp, scallops, and plenty of other sides for supper. We had a crowd! I spent Saturday night with Mymama and went to church with her. We ate at the Mexican restaurant for lunch on Sunday, and she loved her fried ice cream! Mymama is very special to me, and it is always fun to spend time with her!

Good Times...

We spent last weekend in Statesboro & Claxton with family. Jane drove up from St. Augustine, and we all went to the Georgia Southern football game on Saturday.

Beckham enjoyed the game!

My Dad is the official clock operator for the Georgia Southern home football games, so we were able to get a picture with him at half time.



Georgie is still trying to figure Beckham out. He gets pretty jealous when Scott holds him!

Aunt & Uncle Again!

Congratulations to my sister Julianna & Chris! They are expecting their first child in May. Scott & I will have another niece or nephew! We are very excited for them and praying for a safe pregnancy and healthy baby. This is the first ultrasound picture.

Marathon Training Update

The blog has been pretty quiet lately, but I promise we'll try to update a little more frequently. I thought this would be as good a time as any to post a little update on my marathon #2 training. I mentioned before that I'm using a different training program this time around. Last year I used Hal Higdon's Novice plan. This year I'm using a hybrid of his two Intermediate plans. There's a good bit more mileage in this plan, it schedules five runs per week versus four, and the distance of the long runs ramps up much quicker. Here's a little comparison of my training to date this year versus last year (through October 16):

2008 Total Miles Run: 102
2009 Total Miles Run: 120

2008 Longest Run to Date: 10 miles
2009 Longest Run to Date: 14 miles

2008 Most Miles in a Week to Date: 19 miles
2009 Most Miles in a Week to Date: 32 miles

2008 Average Run Length: 5.2 miles
2009 Average Run Length: 5.8 miles

I'll try to update the comparisons every few weeks. As an overall comparison, in my training last year I ran a total of 444 miles before the marathon. This year I should hit 444 miles in week 14 and should hit about 575 miles overall. Most marathon training plans work with the philosophy that improved performance comes primarily in increased training volume. My planned volume isn't even close to serious marathoners, but we'll see if it helps me finish faster than last year!

Happy Birthday to Georgie...

Georgie turned 2 years old last Friday. He is growing up fast! He got a haircut on his birthday, so he is really cute.


Georgie loves to look out the windows at our house. I was having a hard time getting him to look at the camera.

This is nuts...

You've probably heard about the gas shortage in Atlanta over the last week or so. I've got a marginal understanding of why this has happened, and I believe that part of the cause of these long lines at the gas pumps is the "anti-gouging" rules in effect. When prices go up, people don't feel obligated to top off their tank when its 3/4 full, so there's more gas available. Supply and Demand. It is a basic economic principle. Regardless...the two times I've had to fill up in the last week-and-a-half, I've gone early in the morning, pulled right up to a pump and filled up. I haven't experienced anything like this (it is video of a line at a gas station in Alpharetta)...

Hopefully this is coming to an end this week!

Mmmm...sweet potato casserole

For the first time in the 3-1/2 years that we've been married, Joy cooked me my all time favorite food in the whole world...sweet potato casserole.

Now, I don't just like any old sweet potato casserole. I like other sweet potato casserole's, but to be my favorite it has to be my mom's recipe that I think she got from an old friend. No marshmallows. No pecans. Just a nice, crispy brown sugar topping. Mmmmmmmmm...

And I have to say, Joy did an incredible job. This casserole was waiting on me when I got home from work on Friday afternoon, and it was gone by Sunday afternoon. She might have gotten a couple of bites, I don't know. What I do know is that it was delicious.

I love my wife!

Happy Birthday, Mrs. Sandy!

We celebrated Mrs. Sandy's birthday last night with the family, but today is her birthday. We hope that she has a great day!

Mrs. Sandy- Thank you for all you do for us! We love you!

A Good Read

Read this article for the real information about the current financial crisis. One candidate saw it coming and tried to do something about it. The other stuffed his pockets with contributions.

UPDATE: More good reading here.

Our New Nephew

Beckham Gregg Jarrard was born this past Sunday morning, September 14th at 4:04 AM. He weighed 7 lbs 9oz, and he was 20 inches long. Scott & I were able to drive down early Saturday morning, and we were able to be there for his birth. He is precious, and we are so thankful for a healthy baby and safe delivery for Jenny. Jenny & Blair are doing well, and my sister Jenny is officially my new hero. I am so proud of her! She did great through it all. I was able to spend the first night with her, so we really had an experience!


Congratulations, Jenny & Blair!



I just wanted to mention that this picture was taken at 4:30 in the morning right after Beckham was born, and I had officially been up over 24 hours at this point!

It's on...

I don't know if I'm crazy, stupid, ambitious or all of the above, but I'm going to do it again. The Walt Disney World Marathon. January 11, 2009. Steve and Jamey are are in it again as well as about half a dozen other people I know.

Training reports may not be as exciting as they were this time last year since I've now been there and done that, BUT...since I've been such a slacker over the summer I feel like I'm starting all over. Five miles was an easy run for me back in January, but my five miles on the treadmill this morning kicked my butt.

I'm stepping up to the Hal Higdon Intermediate Training Schedule. Hopefully, my endurance will pick back up pretty quickly because this time around the long runs get longer quicker, and there are more long runs during the week.

My #1 goal is to finish again. My #2 goal is to beat my time of 3:53:03 from last year. My stretch goal is to get in under 3:45:00. Can I take over eight minutes off my time from last year? Only time will tell. One thing I do know is that I now know what an exhilarating feeling crossing the finish line in a marathon is, and so I'll keep this photo in site as my inspiration...

Searching for my inner-Kenyan...

100,000 Miles

Got home from work this afternoon, and this is what the odometer on my Envoy looked like...

First time I've ever turned 100,000 miles on a car I've owned! Wonder if she'll survive to see another 100,000 miles...

Yardwork

A few weeks ago while I was gone for the day, Scott worked really hard in the yard. He did a great job, and I am very proud of his work. Here is a before and after picture of what he worked on. Of course, Georgie watched him the entire time.

Sweet Beulah Land

Grandma went home to be with the Lord today. While we are immensely saddened by her loss, we celebrate the life that she lived and the love that she showed us. We know that today she is in a better place, seated at the throne of God along with my Grandaddy. We will really miss her. She was a great Grandma, but she was also a great friend. She was a woman of prayer, and she has prayed me through everything. I will really miss phone calls to her and visits with her

One of her favorite things was to hear my sisters and I sing the old hymn "Sweet Beulah Land." In fact, she was listening to a CD we had made of this song this afternoon when she took her last breath. God is good.

Sweet Beulah Land

I'm kind of homesick for a country
To which I've never been before.
No sad goodbyes will there be spoken,
And time won't matter anymore.

Beulah Land, I'm longing for you,
And someday on thee I'll stand.
There my home shall be eternal,
Beulah Land...sweet Beulah Land.

I'm looking now across that river
To where my faith is gonna end in sight.
There's just a few more days to labor,
Then I'll take my heavenly flight.

Beulah Land, I'm longing for you,
And someday on thee I'll stand.
There my home shall be eternal,
Beulah Land...sweet Beulah Land.

I love you grandma!

Jenny's Baby Shower

Several weeks ago we had a baby shower for Jenny in Statesboro. She is due very soon! We had a good crowd of family and friends who were able to be there and celebrate with us. We had sandwiches and several good salads for lunch. Oreo ice cream was the dessert, and Alissa had cute monogrammed cupcakes for everyone.

Grandma & Georgie have always been buddies!

Grandma & Jenny

Scott & Hudson (Alissa's cute little boy)- I just included this picture because I thought it was so cute.

The cousins...
Jenny got a lot of cute things including some outfits, a pack and play, booster seat, piggy bank, bathtub, and lots of other fun stuff. I think she is about set, and we are definitely ready for Beckham's arrival.

Jenny & Mymama