Merry Christmas From The Wisemans!

Hello! We hope this finds you doing well and enjoying the holiday season. I don’t know if I will ever stop being surprised at how quickly this time of year seems to come around!

2011 can be summed up in one word for us:  Travel. In March we drove to Winter Park, CO, for three days of skiing. We did have a good time, but decided skiing just isn’t our thing! In April, we celebrated our one-year anniversary in Hawaii on the island of Oahu! We spent a week on the island and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We had an absolutely wonderful time and do hope to go back soon. In May, we drove to Omaha, NE, for a quick visit with my side of the family and in August, I traveled to Phoenix, AZ, for a business trip. During that time I drove to Silver City, NM, to spend a very quick 18 hours with my Aunt Cheryl Ward. After countless years of sending her letters in the mail, it was so nice to see where they ended up! September found us in Kansas City for our first Chiefs football game together, and then in Chicago, IL, for a few days enjoying big city life. We were on the road again in November traveling to San Antonio, TX, where I ran my third marathon (26.2 miles). I’ll definitely continue running, but not quite the long distances for a while! After I walked the Turkey Trot 5K with my Dad on Thanksgiving morning, we headed up to Kansas City and enjoyed a nice holiday with Ross’ family.

We have been in our house for almost one and a half years now and in that time have painted every room in the house! Ross built a shed in our backyard this spring, and this fall turned our old laundry room, which is right off of the garage, into a mud room. He did an excellent job building and installing the shelves and broom closet!

Ross is still employed with Traveler’s Insurance as an auto appraiser and will begin his sixth year there in January. I am still working at the Assemblies of God National Office as the promotions and events coordinator for the U.S. Missions office. I have been there for almost seven and a half years. I also still teach a couple of aerobics classes each week.

We are so very thankful for God’s blessings this year and look forward to what he has in store for us next year! We pray His riches blessings on you this Christmas season and throughout the new year.  Happy Christmas and Happy 2012!

Happy Birthda Wanda!!

Happy 63rd Birthday to the other Wanda in my life! Hope you have a great day!

Numbers 9:15

At the beginning of the year, a friend gave me "The Intentional Bible." It's a "read the Bible in a year" Bible, sectioned out into a reading plan for reading the bible each day throughout the year. This plan is set up to where each day you read out of the Old Testament, the New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs.

{Side note: The book of Psalms has 150 chapters and we read the entire book twice. The book of Proverbs has 31 chapters and we read the entire book once. This is odd to me. It seems as though we should read Proverbs twice and Psalms once. Oh well!}

Anyway, I decided to give it a try and read the Bible in one year. I told Ross about this and he decided to read the Bible in one year, too. I'm proud to say that now with only a few weeks left in the year, we have both kept to our plan and are about to complete the Bible. Neither of us have read the Bible every single day, but rather have had to play catch up and read two or three days at one time. And I'd be lying if I said I didn't skim anything...some of that Old Testament reading is just so dry!

I actually started this blog back in March when we were in Numbers and found the following passage very interesting.

The Cloud Above the Tabernacle
On the day the tabernacle, the tent of the covenant law, was set up, the cloud covered it. From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire. That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire. Whenever the cloud lifted from above the tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. At the LORD’s command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the LORD’s order and did not set out. Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days; at the LORD’s command they would encamp, and then at his command they would set out. Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening till morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they set out. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out. Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out. At the LORD’s command they encamped, and at the LORD’s command they set out. They obeyed the LORD’s order, in accordance with his command through Moses.
Numbers 9:15-23

Oh if only I could have a cloud above me, telling me when to move out and when to stay put!

Date Night - Married Style

Ross and I had "date night" last Saturday night. We went to dinner and then saw "It's A Wonderful Life" at a theater downtown. We had a great time together on the date, but when we came home, we discovered the difference between a "dating date night" and a "married date night."

Dating date night consisted of Ross picking me up, going out to dinner, maybe doing some shopping, going to a movie, or renting a movie and watching it at home house, and then Ross would go home.

Married date night (at least last week) consisted of Ross picking me up on the side of our driveway as he's backing the car out of the garage (there's too much stuff in the garage for me to walk around to the passenger door and get in the car while the car is still in the garage), going to dinner, going to a movie, and then coming home to fix the broken washing machine. Sounds romantic, huh?

Well, let me tell you, there's nothing more romantic than working side by side with your husband fishing your clothes out of a washing machine full of water and then trying to wring them out as best as possible, knowing full well you won't do half as good of a job as the spin cycle on your washing machine. And, don't forget the part where you have to mop up the water that spilled out of the drain hose when it was unhooked to drain out all of the water from the machine to try and figure out what the problem is. All of this because the washing machine won't kick into the rinse/spin cycle.

This was how we ended our date night last weekend. It really wasn't that bad and we did laugh at it when we were both pulling out clothes out of the water saying to ourselves, "I guess this is what you do on date night when you're married!"

Ross was able to figure out what was wrong with the washing machine and ordered a $10 replacement part to fix it. We are so thankful that's all it amounted to. $10 and a little extra work at the end of a date night is much better than paying $$$ to call a repairman, or even buy a new washing machine.

It's A Wonderful Life

Saturday night, Ross and I saw "It's A Wonderful Life" at the Gillioz Theatre in downtown Springfield. The Gillioz is an old theatre that was restored a few years back, but still has the old time look and feel. I love seeing shows there!

Last Christmas we saw "Elf" at the Gilloiz, and this year I was hoping they'd show another Christmas movie. I was so excited to see they were showing "It's A Wonderful Life" and asked Ross if we could go. I was really surprised to learn that Ross had never seen the movie before and was excited to see it with him. I was a little concerned that he wouldn't like it because it's an old movie and done in black and white. And I do love the movie, but sometimes find myself getting bored with it towards the end and was afraid he would, too.

As we were walking out, I was happy to hear Ross tell me that he really enjoyed the movie. He thought it was really good and the black and white didn't bother him.

I've seen the movie lots of times over the years, but this time I thought a little more about it while watching it. I like one of the quotes from Clarence, the angel who is sent from Heaven to help George Bailey:

             "Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't
               around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?"

I thought about this quote in relation to my own life and all the people who have touched my life or helped me out along the way and how different I would be had it not been for those people. Some of the people came with good experiences and some came with bad experiences. I wouldn't trade them, even the worst of the worst, for anything because all of those have molded me into who I am today. And I like who I am today!

I also thought about all the people I have touched or helped and thought how different their lives would be had I not been there for them. I can name some situations where I know I've been a big help, and I bet there are others where I've helped, but have no clue I even did anything at all. Won't it be neat someday in Heaven to see all of the "behind the scenes" things that only God knows about?!

One thing I know for sure is that it TRULY IS a wonderful life!

Chicago!

I started this post almost two months ago now and am finally getting around to finishing it.....

Last week we took a mini-vacation to Chicago! We've talked about going to Chicago for about a year now and decided September was the time to go. We flew out of Kansas City and of course, I (well, actually Ross requested it...:) ) took the traditional "here we are on the plane getting ready to leave for vacation" photo!

The flight from Kansas City to Chicago is very short, right at one hour, so before we knew it we landed in Chicago! We took the train/subway into the city and then one bus ride and a few blocks walk later we were checked into our hotel. Our hotel was in a great location - one block east of the 600 north block of Michigan Avenue.

We decided to walk over to Navy Pier and on our way came across this and couldn't resist a picture!

We walked around Navy Pier for a bit and then took a boat tour through the city on the Chicago River and also out on Lake Michigan. I loved the tour through the city. We learned all about the buildings and history behind them. The tour on the lake wasn't quite my favorite. We were on a large speed boat and the lake was very choppy. That, along with the wind and water splashing up at us made for a very chilly boat ride!

View from Lake Michigan

Navy Pier

After Navy Pier we took a bus over to the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower). We went up to the Skydeck and looked out over the city. It was about 7:30pm so it was dark out, but was still very pretty with all the city lights. When we headed back downstairs we were pretty tired, so grabbed some dinner and went back to our hotel room.

Monday morning we had breakfast and headed out for a day of museuming. We did so much stuff on Monday! We went to the Field Museum, the Planetarium, the Aquarium, and walked to Buckingham Fountain and Millennium Park to see "the bean." We ended the day with dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe - one of my absolute favorite restaurants ever!

This is the view from our hotel room. If you look to the left of the building in the middle you can see a rainbow. We woke up to that Monday morning!

4-D movie at the aquarium.

At "the bean."

Ross SO loves taking pictures with me!

Tuesday we spent most of the day at the Museum of Science and Industry. This is a very neat museum with lots of interactive exhibits. Tuesday night we had "Chicago style pizza" and then hung out in our hotel room and watched The Biggest Loser - we sure do know how to vacation!

Wednesday morning we took the train/subway back to the airport and flew back to Kansas City. Many thanks to Larry and Wanda for taking us to and picking us up from the airport!

Simulating the vortex of a tornado.

Three Years And Counting

Today is the three-year anniversary of when Ross and I started dating! I remember that night so well and often like to repeat our "define the relationship" conversation to Ross. Read more about it here!

Thanksgiving Recap

We had a nice Thanksgiving holiday. I took Wednesday off from work and did a little Christmas shopping. On Thanksgiving morning I walked the Turkey Trot 5K (3.1 miles) with my dad. This is the fourth year we have walked it together and hope to continue doing it in the future.

Later that morning, Ross and I drove up to Kansas City for Thanksgiving dinner with his family. A couple that Larry and Wanda have been friends with for quite some time always join them for Thanksgiving dinner, along with their kids. After dinner we enjoyed dessert and playing "Win, Lose, or Draw." It was a very nice time!

Friday we did a little shopping - not early Black Friday shopping, more like 11am Black Friday shopping - and then hung out with one of Ross' high school friends for a while before heading back to Springfield. 

Saturday we had my parents, my sister and her family, my aunt and uncle from Omaha, and my cousins from Texas over for lunch and an afternoon of visiting. It was a great time just hanging out together.

Sunburn in November!

I expected to be sore from running after the marathon, but I certainly didn't expect to be sore from this:

I got a sunburn during the run and it sure did hurt! The thought of getting sunburned didn't even cross my mind! Towards the end of the race I could really feel the sun beating down on me and thought I might get a little burned, but definitely didn't think it'd turn out as it did!

When we were driving to Dallas after the run I could feel that my back and shoulders were a little sore and was really surprised to finally see my back when we got to the hotel room. I don't think the pictures does it justice! My face and chest were pretty red, too.

It hurt quite a bit for the first couple of days and I lathered on the lotion like crazy. It was such a relief on the third day when I realized it didn't hurt anymore and was fading into a tan. 

<<.....So Ross might say I was just a little overdramatic about the whole sunburn thing, but I think I earned the right to be :).....>>

Marathon #3!!!

I completed my third marathon this past Sunday! The marathon (26.2 miles) was in San Antonio, Texas, and was a "Rock 'n Roll" sponsored marathon which meant there were bands playing at almost every mile marker along the course. The journey to the finish line was certainly a long one that actually started in the summer. My official training program began during the second week of July, and I have spent the past 16 Saturday mornings doing my long runs. All in all, I logged 325 training miles! I did all of my running on the streets and sidewalks of Springfield and started between 5:30-6:30am on Saturday mornings. The picture below is the training schedule I've had posted on our refrigerator since the summer.

The marathon was in San Antonio, Texas, so Ross and I made a mini vacation out of it and arrived a day early to check out San Antonio. We went to the Alamo and the Riverwalk, but that was about it. We did do the boat tour on the river which was fun. San Anotino is a neat town, but we're just not the best of tourists so we actually ended up going to a movie Saturday afternoon to kill time!

San Antonio Riverwalk

It was really bright out!

The Alamo...not much to it!

The marathon was on Sunday, November 13, and started at 7:30am. We stayed at a hotel downtown, about a mile away from the starting area. We left the hotel at 7am and walked to the starting area to find this:

There were literally thousands of runners lined up for the race. A little over 30,000 runners participated in the race which consisted of a half marathon (13.1 miles) and a full marathon (26.2 miles). The majority of the runners ran the half marathon. As you can see in the picture, the day started off with cloudy skies, and the temperature at the beginning of the race was about 61 and slightly humid.

The race officially started at 7:30am, but I didn't actually cross the starting line until 8am! Each runner was assigned a corral to start in, and then each corral was released to the starting line at about one minute intervals. I was in corral 19 so that's why it took me so long to get to the starting line. I hated waiting that long to start, but this was actually a very well organized way of getting 30,000+ runners to start! 

Waiting to move up to the starting line.

I finally made it to the starting line!

Mile 3 near the Alamo. It was so much fun to see Ross along the course!

Ross was able to meet me at mile three and mile nine. It was sure nice to see him in the crowds! The first 2/3s of the race had spectators lined up along the streets cheering the runners on. The last 1/3 did have spectators but they were few and far between, until the final half mile. It is really encouraging to see everyone cheering us on!

There were water and Cytomax (like Gatorade) stations along the course, about every other mile at the beginning and then almost every mile towards the last 1/3 of the course. I took advantage of almost every water station! This wasn't my plan, but as the miles went on the clouds disappeared and the temperature warmed up. It was actually 85 degrees when I finished running! It was very sunny with no shade along the course and hot, so the water and Cytomax was definitely needed.

My goal was to finish anywhere between 4 hours and 45 minutes to 5 hours and 10 minutes. Anytime before 5:11 would be a personal record for me, and based on my training I was really on track to get that. Unfortunately, the weather was not on my side during this marathon. The sun and heat really slowed me down to where I ended up walking a lot of the last 5 miles. I'd try to run but would just feel like I was overheated and kind of see black spots in my eyes. I realized, too, that I had stopped sweating and know that that's not good, so decided to make my goal to just finish. I don't really feel like I hit "a wall" and I never really thought about quitting, I just wanted to get it done and get my medal! I finished the marathon in 6 hours 13 minutes. Definitely not the time I wanted, but I am very proud of all the training I did and that I did finish the race. I know I could have had a better time had it been cooler weather, but oh well, I finished!


I'm glad I did this marathon and all the training for it. I am a very driven person and love challenges. This was a challenge to myself, mainly because I did it alone. I did most all of my Saturday long runs alone. There were so many times I wanted to just turn off my alarm and sleep in, but I got up and did it, and for that I'm proud of myself!

I'll continue running because I do enjoy it. It keeps me in shape and just helps me feel good about myself. I don't think another marathon is in my foreseeable future. Not because of the outcome of this marathon, but because I don't feel like committing to another 18 weeks of training for at least another couple of years! I'm excited to not worry about going to bed early on Friday nights to have enough rest for my run and I'm excited to sleep in on Saturday mornings! Maybe someday later down the road I'll do another marathon. I ran a marathon for my 30th birthday so who knows, maybe I'll run another one for my 40th birthday! I definitely plan on doing more half marathons, though. Right now thinking about all of the long runs I did training for the full marathon, the half marathon training will be a piece of cake!

The finish line is in sight!!!!!

Almost there....

I finally crossed the finish line!

Very proud of my medal!

And very thankful for my husband who helped me put out water on Friday nights along my course to have for my run, who listened to all of my talking about my training runs and the marathon, who supported and encouraged me, who drove me to San Antonio for the marathon, and who waited on me during the marathon. Thank you Ross!