First Confessions are like...

being pelted with cottonballs! As Father said at mass the other day. 
I laughed out loud because Harper had just completed her First Reconciliation the Saturday before Thanksgiving.  We prepared for weeks by memorizing the Act of Contrition and role playing how the confession would go.  When I was playing priest and she was playing sinner...I asked her to come up with some pretend sins...she came up with "taking my brothers toys, taking money from my mom's purse and stealing a sucker from the store."  Wow!  Good Imagination!  Progressively more intense...but still like cottonballs! :)
As we headed to church Saturday afternoon, I could tell Harper was going over the steps of confession in her mind...she was really quiet.  We got there and father welcomed all of the little kids (about 8) and they took turns going in.  Harper was fourth!  All of the other kids went in and knelt behind the divider (glass separates the confessional and the chapel)...not Harper, she walked right around and sat in the chair next to Father.  I was very proud of her as she seemed to be very at ease with the process.  She came out, did her penance and we headed out the door.  And of course, we went out to eat to celebrate!

Three Races in Three Weeks

November is prime running season, while Richard and I couldn't participate in any long run/races this season, we did have enough time for a 12K and two 5Ks.  Best part was....Harper got to participate in all 3 with us!  And Grandma, Boppy and Owen came along for the last two.  Such a fun family activity for all of us!
We started out on a Saturday at the Race for Hope.  We have really been talking to Harper about why we run the races...to raise money for great causes.  She definitely knows about the OKC Memorial Marathon and that cause...but we have been working to support smaller races.  All the proceeds from this race went to fund Brain Tumor research.  This race was at Lake Overholser and it was windy!  Richard and I did the 12K and Harper ran with the 5K with her friend Gracen and Katy.  The girls finished in 33:03!  Harper got 4th in her Age Division.  Their last 5K was 35 minutes and they did so good! 

The next Saturday, we ran at the park close to home in the Chill Your Cheeks 5K.  This was to raise funds to support our local park and the massive Christmas Light display the have every year.  This was an afternoon run and the lights started right after the race was over.  Richard and I ran this with Harper and her friends, Gracen and Avery.  The girls did great...all took a turn crying at one point...but they were much better when I started singing Jingle Bells...loudly.  They really did have a blast and finished in record time...30:43.  Harper got 5th in her Age Division.  Boppy, Grandma and Owen (he rode in the stroller) walked this 5K...at a speedy pace...they finished before some of the runners.  It was great to have everyone participating!

The following Thursday, Thanksgiving Day in the morning, we headed downtown to participate in the Turkey Tracks 5K to benefit Toys for Tots.  We brought along a few toys to donate as well.  Again, Richard, Harper and I...along with our friends...ran the 5K.  We finished this race in 31:50 and Harper got 1st in her Age Division!!!  So proud of her!  Boppy and Grandma graciously pushed Owen through the race. And he even ran through the finish line.

It is great to get to share something I love with my family!  Fun times!

Turkey Day

We had a great Thanksgiving!!!  Very relaxing with lots and lots of yummy food...shopping...family...and fun!
We started off Thanksgiving morning with the Turkey Tracks 5K downtown (more to come on that later) and then headed back home to prepare for the big feast.  Harper went to Grandma and Boppy's to help them and Owen came with Richard and I.  He spent a great deal of the morning watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade...which I must say I was watching too.  We made some Thanksgiving yummies and rested in the afternoon.  About 4 we headed over to Boppy & Grandma's house to eat Thanksgiving Dinner.  Richard...in grand tradition...fried a super tasty turkey for the feast.  We ate and ate until our bellies could hold no more.  While we were there, the kids and I rode the 4 wheeler and played golf in the backyard (one of our fav things to do at their house...and Owen was quite the Tiger Woods).  After our food settled, Grandma, Aunt Melanie and I headed out for our annual shopping extravaganza.  It was a wonderful weekend!

 {Super Cute Turkey Shirts that Grandma made for Harper, Hazen and Owen}

{Grandma Marks and her Great-Grandkids}

Headed to the Pros...

Well...maybe not quite yet, but Owen did do an excellent job at t-ball this year!  He got so into it...he looked forward to his game every week.  Saturday was his last game, which I don't think he knows yet...he will be sad.  Owen's favorite thing to do was run the bases.  He like hitting the ball, but really enjoyed running fast to the bases and dancing around on them while he waited. 
He also liked to field the ball, but didn't like to wear his glove.  He had a great inaugural season of playing baseball with all of his friends!