10 = 6.2 = 51 mins 17 secs

It is 1:54 am and I am nearing the end of my cool down from my first 10k race. I was part of Nike's 10k Race for the Human Race. It was a great experience, although, I'm not happy with my time but if you were to subtract the time during which I had to make a pit stop with an upset stomach, it might look more like 46 mins. I may not be happy with the time but I am very satisfied with my effort. I'm looking forward continuing to train for more races and also my first triathlon some time next year. I remember how much fun it was waiting for my Dad to finish a race one Saturday morning in Waynesboro, VA long ago. I had no idea what place he came in or what his time was but I remember being so proud to be his son as he crossed the finish line. And now, as I look back I don't recall a time in the last 26.67 years where I haven't been proud to be his son.

Dad, as Gabriella gets older and we have more children, I can't wait to follow in your footsteps.

21 Weeks!!!

Gabriella is growing! Ergo Sara's belly is growing!

This has been exciting for me as I use my girls' growth as measuring tool for the timeline of Sara's pregnancy. It has not been as exciting for Sara as this continuing growth has been accompanied by pain and discomfort. Don't get me wrong, she's excited knowing that her baby is growing and kicking in there, but that doesn't dull the sharp kicks to the spleen and the feeling that your skin is being stretched over a watermelon.

That's right you read correctly, we can feel Gabriella moving and kicking! This started about a week ago and every night the movements get stronger and more numerous. This has been in direct correlation with the American hero Michael Phelps winning a record eight gold medals at the 2008 Olympic Games held in Beijing, China. Gabriella is going to be a swimmer just like her mommy.

<-----She is going to be soooo mad when she sees that I put this picture on our blog.

Anyway, we mentioned in a previous entry that we had some car trouble. We have solved that problem, we bought yet another Honda Accord. Gabriella will have a safe, dependable, four door, climate controlled vehicle to ride around in with her Mom. Also, we have begun the creation of Gabriella's wardrobe. It is more pink than any heterosexual male should ever have to endure, but what can I say. I just don't care. Because our daughter is going to be the most precious thing on this earth and she's going to wear pink, so I have to like it.

This summer is quickly coming to an end which bittersweet on a couple of levels. Sara and I have had a wonderful summer: Spending time at Mimi and Papa's new pool, visiting Nana and Granddad in Virginia and having them visit as well, seeing Kevin and Jamie (who gave Gabriella her first gift, I'll remind her to thank you), and we just hate to see all of that end. But fall is right around the corner and that means: School is starting back up, the leaves will be changing soon, the sun will shine a little different, football season is here, the WNBA is over, and the weather will provide a perfect crispness to each day, and Sara's third trimester begins soon.

I hope everyone had a great summer too! Here's to a great fall!

at 18 weeks...it's a GIRL!!!

I just wanted to share an excerpt from an email that I sent to people I work with detailing an experience that I had. I couldn't be too bold in how my faith was responsible for the extraordinary night when I shared with them. I've never felt so moved by the Holy Spirit and had such clarity of how precious our salvation through Jesus Christ is.


"My wife and I found out that we were going to be having a baby back in May. This past week, Thursday to be exact, we found out that our baby was more specifically a baby girl. Every man that grows up playing baseball dreams of teaching his little boy how to throw, but I know that a little girl's first love is her daddy. As Sara and I found out the news on Thursday I couldn't help but visualize how my daughter is going to think that her daddy hung the moon. However, being a thinker I quickly started becoming overwhelmed with the reality that a sweet, innocent baby girl is going to be relying on me for everything. Everything. It freaked me out.

Sara kept asking me what was wrong. Was I disappointed that baby is a girl and not a boy? Absolutely not. Todd at ET asked me on Saturday if I was okay because he could tell that I was much more quiet than normal. The people around me knew that something was heavy on my mind.

Tonight we returned home about 11:45 from sharing the news that our baby was going to be Gabriella Grace Deel instead of Micah Stephen Deel with family. At 12am, we laid down to sleep. At 12:15am I could tell that I was not falling asleep anytime soon. At 12:20am, I reached past my Supernovas and put on my Pegasus, my brand new Pegasus that I did not want to get dirty, and I went for a run. Something amazing happened.

During the first mile, I didn't notice any pain in my knee. My mind was free from dealing with the physical pain and instead focused on the beautiful miracle of the circle of life. During the second mile, I forgot that I had ever had any hip pain and instead envisioned the smell of my daughter's head when I kiss it right after her first bath. The way I'll feel the first time I make her smile. How I'll fall asleep holding her in a rocking chair in the middle of the night and wake up with her sleeping in my arms. Whether her nickname will be Gabbi, Ella, Brie, or if I'll always call her Gabriella. Whether she'll be spazzy and energetic like her dad or if she'll be focused and graceful like her mommy. Whether she'll have big cheek bones like her mom or if she'll have bushy eyebrows like her daddy.

At this point, I was hitting mile seven. The longest I'd ever run up to this point in my life was 4 miles. As I was running the last mile, I thought about what I want to be known as to my daughter. When she thinks of God fearing, strength, integrity, compassion, kindness, boldness, humbleness, dignity, sacrificing, and a passion for life; I want her to think of her dad.

During the eight miles I ran in the early hours of today I was able to marvel in the splendor of the baby girl my wife will give birth to in late December. The three days prior to that I was a nervous, anxious wreck. Now, after time in prayer, time with family, the hour in my Pegasus and the subsequent endorphins; that energy is being translated into passion for and about life."

thanks for reading