It's official. Gabriella will be a spaz like her dad. She's growing very fast but what has us talking is how energetic she is, just like her dad. In fact, I have some bruises on my stomach because when she gets excited those legs start kicking. I have come to the conclusion that she will not only be a runner, but she will be a swimmer and a cycler. Hello to my little triathlete! She has reached a couple of growth milestones too. She is becoming a pro at holding her little head up, especially when she's bored and fighting sleep (another trait from her dad), even though she is still a little wobbly. Also her alertness is growing exponentially, we get surprised by it more and more as each day goes on. Nothing melts a daddy's heart like when he walks into the room and his little girl locks eyes with him and starts waving those chubby, dimpled hands and kicking those chunky, froggy legs because she's excited. By the way, we have begun marking time by the outfits that she is growing out of (single tear).
I was very excited to be able to share these things with Ella's Nana and Granddad in person earlier in Feb. It had been too long since they were here back in December but we enjoyed the dinner at Mimi's the night they were in town. We're scheduled to go to Charlottesville in April for a marathon or something but Nana and Granddad may not be able to wait that long. (That's a really big hint, Mom and Dad)
Speaking of a marathon in Charlottesville...I am continuing to run and train so I will be able to complete the Charlottesville marathon on April 18th. It has been difficult knowing that while I'm out for sometimes 2-3 hrs at a time that Sara and Ella are waiting patiently at home for me. The time I've been out on the road has been useful as I use that time to meditate and sort through the attic that is my mind and remove all of the useless junk that gets stored up there during the course of a day or two. As a warmup to the twenty six point two, I will be running the Knoxville Half-Marathon on March 29th. It will be a challenge because the day before, I will be helping my good friends Ronnie Dove and Sam Bowen run a booth at the Marathon Expo for Sport Seasons for roughly, hmm, 14 or 15 hours. It has been great helping coordinate the event and I have been learning a lot from Sam that will be useful in many aspects of business.
A lot of good things have been happening with my work recently. Don't get me wrong, our business is driven by sales and when the economic forcast gets worse everyday the people who are doing okay financially get tighter and tighter with their dollar. But since December I've been working at our store in West Knoxville and the Lord's favor has been an evident answer to prayer. Numerous times I've been recognized for hardwork, leadership, and wonderful customer service. I even had a customer bring me a thank you gift at the store. I'm not sharing this with you to brag, (I like doing that in person) I just wanted to share an example of answered prayer. Sara and I have been praying about a change with my job for sometime now and just when I'm thankful to be employed at all, I've been blessed with a promotion. The details are still being hammered out but I will share them with you all in the next post. God is good!
Stephen
