another one of those mornings with my knight and princess.

the sun was rising.

breakfast was being eaten.

we discussed how God sees us as special.

as beautiful, of value.

as princes and princesses.

we are His children and He is a King. 

and how we are to treat others as God wants us to treat them

with love, respect, honor.

the action the little study wanted us to do was to draw a crown on the mirror 

- where it would look like it was on your head-

with washable markers of course.

first they had to get dressed.

the girl chose to wear a white with purple polka-dot dress.

as i was in the living-room she came walking toward me.

she had put a crown on her head.

her eyes were staring at me expectantly, hopeful.

i looked into her eyes and smiled.

"you are a princess."

she smiled so brightly and headed to her brother's room.

"nice."

he said.  

but that was still enough for her.

she walked into her room and faced her mirror.

i walked in and sat on her bed as she stared at herself.

wonder filled her face.

"mommy, i am a princess."

she continued to stare.

that's when i remembered the study.

we ran and chose markers, and went back to the mirror.

she drew her crown, full of jewels.

her brother drew, not a prince crown, but a knight's helmet.

then they moved to the bathroom mirrors to continue.

so excited to do it.

*i'm sure being allowed to draw on mirrors were the biggest excitement about it though*

then it was time to get ready to go.

he couldn't find his shoes.

they had been left outside all night by the trampoline.

he had to wear different shoes.

his frustration grew.

and the battle began.

finally he put on his other shoes.

he claimed that he was going to ride his sister's coaster bike until the bus came.

i reminded him it was her bike and he needed to ask her.

he had a scooter and his own bike.

she, of course, said no.

the tears and anger came out.

screaming, he ran to the couch.

i went to get him and told him he needed to come out. 

when i tried lifting him i received deadweight.  

i wasn't carrying him, so i let go.  

he dropped the slight height onto his bum.

i grabbed his backpack and walked out the door.

meeting his sister, on her bike.

i hung up their backpacks and proceeded to go get his black shoes.

he came out in quiet tears.

when he found out i wasn't making his sister get off the bike he was so mad.

he wasn't getting on the bus!

he wouldn't take his backpack.

i told him that a child who behaves like this; when he doesn't get his way, doesn't get to do the things he wants to do.  

i said if i heard from his teacher that he had sulked all day and been angry about everything than he wouldn't be going to swimming lessons that afternoon.

*this is actually a negative for him as he loves swimming lessons and he is only in them right now because he asked to take them*

the bus pulled up and i walked his sister to the doors.

and had to go back for him.

tossing his backpack on the top step i started him walking up the steps.

no hug.

no 'i love you.'

i forgot.

as the bus pulled away i saw his sister wave bye to me.

she gave him the window seat this morning.

i saw his eyes peak out and i blew him a kiss.

and away they went.

my knight and my princess.

amazing how fast things can change in just a moment.

i wasn't ready for that.

i tried to stay calm.

speak calm.

i need to go for a run.

   

Hoo Rah!

i hurt.

my muscles hurt.

my knees hurt.

my knees and elbows are scratched, red, sore.

my back hurts.

and i love it.

on sunday morning i woke.

way earlier than the alarm.

i couldn't sleep so i went downstairs and got ready.

Dan got out of bed shortly after me.

change of clothes, check.

lunch, check.

registration forms for us and the others, check.

water, check.

'will i be warm enough? will i be too cold?'

time to check the car's fluids for the drive.

oh crap. 

we had a fuel leak.

call and verify we can use Jon's car.

good to go.

picked up Ben and Nick.

nerves not too bad.

but the excitement was thick in the air.

met Jon and transferred vehicles.  

we were on our way!

alright, 

which obstacles were everyone afraid of?

Arctic Enema, Boa Constrictor, Electric Eel, Walk the Plank, um...all of them.

we had no idea what to expect, and were excited to go.

this had been anticipated since January.

we had trained..some...ok, not too much.

we were as ready as we were ever going to be.

thoughts swirled through my mind.

"are we crazy? will i have to go around any obstacles? am i tough enough? i don't want to be the slowest on the team. will i love it as much as i hope i will?  will i get hurt?  it isn't going to be as scary as i think...yes it will.. no it won't.  i don't want to walk the plank."

we arrived at the ski hill: Mt. St Louis Moonstone.

there were so many cars coming off the highway, i couldn't believe it.

and this was with the priority parking.  there would be many more arriving by shuttle.

wow.

we parked and i was so nervous, i was shaking.

it wasn't cold but i couldn't stop shivering.

on our way to park we passed Arctic Enema and the Mud Mile.  

they were real.  

we were really there.

walking over to registration the excitement bubbled over.

we were all talking non-stop.

none of us had done it before.

none of us knew anyone who had.

none of us knew what to expect.

we were a team.

C2TM: Couch 2 Tough Mudder.

i was about to do Tough Mudder!

walking toward registration,  and seeing the START, i was definitely feeling as though i really did just get off the couch to come.

watching the first heat begin the ascent up the first ski hill..

crap, of course they start us off on a hill.

while waiting to begin i was looking around at the others waiting with me.

some appeared hard core: lots of muscle, face paint, scary.

others were scrawny, small, i felt i could blow them over.

there were many dressed up in costumes or themes, there to have fun.

some were looking as fearful as i was feeling, but trying to hide it.

after a speech, some cheers, O Canada, showing appreciation for our military, past and present, and a few more Hoo Rahs! 

we were off.

up hill.

i was doing it.

i ran for a bit, then walked, then ran again.

but i wasn't the only one.

that in itself was encouraging.

many walked, some ran, most did a little of both.

throughout the whole event.

Tough Mudder is not a race.

it is a challenge.

we were not racing the other people on the course.

although some others looked like they were determined to win.

and the event felt as though the five of us were just a small team within a larger team.  

a sweet feeling.

i was tougher than i thought.

the obstacles didn't appear as scary as i approached them.. or as i attempted them.

there was no shame in going around one you truly felt you couldn't do.

my personal goal was to attempt them all.

and i did.

i did hear some say they would never do it again.

but they appeared to be a minority.

i had so much fun i was already excited to plan for next year.

and i hadn't even completed it yet.

my fear hit me when we were running through the trees and i suddenly heard one of my teammates say "Michelle, Walk the Plank"

i remembering it not registering right away and as soon as it did i stopped in my tracks.  

i jogged slowly toward the rest of my team as they waited at the entrance to it.

there was a sign beside it pointing the direction to go if skipping the obstacle.

i did hesitate and look at that.

dan put his arm around me and spoke quietly.

he said i could skip it if i wanted but he knew i could do it.

he climbed right up behind me.

12' up i stared down into the water, and then at Jon, Ben & Nick who had already jumped by this time.

in the end i did it.

it wasn't that bad, but i'm glad dan was behind me.

many other obstacles, 

watching others do them or struggles with them.

none were so completely out of reach as a possibility.

i gained confidence as i went, and having a team was a huge part of that.

we assisted eachother.

when i didn't have the ability to scale a 9' wall i had teammates to hoist me up.

when i didn't know if i could make it up part of a ski hill i had a husband who piggy-backed me.

when we saw some gals struggling at the Berlin Wall, we were the ones who could help them.

running through the finish line, and receiving the Tough Mudder headband, was such a great feeling.

i hadn't died.

i hadn't even hurt myself.

i had done it.

i think back to the many times i questioned why i was doing it.

and i am so glad i committed to it.

the whole event was so much fun.

it was challenging.

it was, at times, painful.

but it was also encouraging.

the other participants, the volunteers, the staff.

it was a day of pushing ones self. 

of determination.

but you were never alone.

i loved my team.

each of us had strengths, fears, pain, encouragement for each other, jokes, sarcasm.

we chatted with others, helped others, were aided by others.

if we knew there was an event one of us was scared of then we got behind that person and encouraged.

thank you to my team.

(i was The Ancient One.  the eldest.)

Jon was our Beauty. haha.  and our constant sarcasm.  

but even when his knee hurt he kept pushing on.

Ben was Goliath...our giant.  our encouraging giant.

Nick the Young One.  full of energy and always had a smile.

Dan was.. dan.  he was our leader- although i know he would never say that.  it wasn't intentional.  

he just seemed to be the one everyone looked to at the events.

he was right up there with Nick with energy and smiles.  

he pushed us when we hesitated before the Electric Eel.

he pulled Goliath out of the Boa Constrictor as he struggled up the hill.

he did somersaults down part of one of the hills, just because.

he pushed me off Walk the Plank because i was scared 

(i asked him to push me)

C2TM.. you guys rocked! 

thank you for such a great day!

Thank you...

to the guy at the beginning, for pumping us up.

to the volunteers who encouraged & gave explanations of the best way to do an event.

to the volunteers who gave us water and bananas.

to the medics - i'm glad i didn't have to meet you.

to the guy who pulled me over the first hill in the mud mile.

to the lady who looked like she wanted to cry as we counted down to start - i wasn't alone.

to the guy who did the warrior carry with Nick, you were just cool.

to the Arctic Enema volunteers, your advice was great.

to the Walk the plank volunteer for not making me feel rushed.

to the 2 volunteers at Everest for the advice, i didn't smash my face.

to the girl i met at the mystery event, for applauding my attempt

to theresa for encouraging me to sign up in the first place... next year you're doing it with us! 

(but thanks for watching the kids and praying for us) 

The weather was beautiful.

the colors of the leaves were spectacular, and something to look at as you hiked up a ski hill.

Tough Mudder 2014!

More Mud!  

HOO RAH!

**Hey C2TM.. we completed the impossible!**

(this is from the website)

Play-by-play: The last 2 minutes of a Tough Mudder course

You just conquered 10-12 miles of Tough Mudder’s wrath – the only obstacle between you and the finish line is Electroshock Therapy®. You pause to gather your cojones, then try to run through the live wires without getting shocked (impossible). You get repeatedly zapped with 10,000 volts of electricity, and it does NOT tickle. After dropping your fair share of f-bombs, you cross the finish line.