Thanksgiving Day & Drew's First 5k

(a post by my husband, Todd)

First off let me explain that I am guest blogging this entry. There are just certain things in life that hold special meaning for each of us. Today a dream came true for me.

On my birthday two years ago I ran a 10K and Kelly did a 5K walk. The local news interviewed Drew as he cheered for me and his mom. He told the reporter he was there, "Because I want to be like my dad." You see I started exercising so that I could be active in their lives as they grew. Last year he started doing kids triathlons. I have always believed that he could go farther if he wanted but he had always just wanted to do them for fun. A few weeks ago he and I went for a jog to see how far he could go. We planned on going a mile and then walking a bit. Since he had no trouble going a mile I didn't say anything and we just kept running. When we turned around we had gone more than a mile and a half. He pushed himself and ended up running almost 4 miles. I think he did it because I wanted him to.

Today he and I did the Turkey Run at the YMCA. He wanted to sign up for it and we planned on running it together. I don't think I have looked forward to a race as much as this one. We got dressed together this morning and headed out of the house. Once there we mingled with the other racers and found our position at the start. I could tell that he was a little nervous. The energy from the crowd caused us to go a little faster than we had planned. With the cool air and excitement he was breathing a little hard for the first few blocks. We soon settled into a nice even pace and just enjoyed the day. The day was perfect. We talked throughout the race and I truly was just enjoying being with Drew. Once we made the last turn I knew that he was going to run the entire race. I was so proud of him. I knew he could do it and he did as well, but sometimes it is hard not to give in and walk. He finished strong with a sprint at the end. He ended up with a time of 32:00. As he crossed the finish line they were handing out fliers for another run. He asked me if I had a pen. He wanted to sign-up on the spot. Drew has grown so much in these past nine years. I am so proud of him and love it when I see him do something so incredible. When we got home we watched his interview from two years ago. We still have it on our DVR. For some reason we just cannot delete that little moment when as a little boy he looked up with those eyes and said, "Because I want to be like my dad." Knowing that as he grows he still wants to be like me is simply the best feeling on Earth. I was having such a great day that I even wore my "World's Greatest Dad" shirt today.

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I hope you enjoyed my husband's post. He really wanted to be the one to write about Drew's 5k race today. I was so proud of Drew and I could tell it was very meaningful for Todd. Noah had a bit of excitement too. The local news interviewed him and I both about what we are thankful for. He was so excited to see us on the 6:00 news tonight.

Before we met up with my family for brunch, we headed over to my mom and dad's almost finished new house for a big family picture. I won't show it since it's going to be in my parent's xmas cards, but I do have to share this one of the 6 grandkids. Getting all 6 of them to sit still together for any length of time is picture worthy in itself!

I just love this picture of my adorable Dad and my even more adorable niece Ellie.

My nephew and godson Ty made me this beautiful turkey card with his hands and feet. I absolutely love it.
What was written inside completely melted my heart. I love you too Tyler!

Tonight we met up with Todd's side of the family for dinner and the kids had fun with all of their cousins there. On the way home, it was quiet in the van and Aiden says "Mom, what you thankful for?" It was so sweet how he said it. I said "I'm thankful for you, I'm thankful for Drew, I'm thankful for Noah, and I'm thankful for daddy. What are you thankful for??" I'm expecting something sweet and heartfelt and he pipes up. "for the robot that Blake has." I didn't even know Blake had a robot!

This was a perfectly wonderful Thanksgiving from start to finish. THAT is something to be thankful for.