Help me run a half marathon

[I accidently deleted this post and had to post it again.  So, if you are receiving it for the second time, I apologize.]

I mentioned briefly a few posts ago that I’ve gotten up the gumption to start training for a half marathon. The subject was brought up between Jason and I during my pregnancy, but I thought it was really just one of those pie-in-the-sky type goals that pregnant women make when they look at their puffy faces in the mirror. So, I didn’t take myself all that seriously.

The truth is that I’ve always wanted to do a half, ever since my cross country days in high school, and I even trained for one a couple years ago, but at the end of training I didn’t complete it as I got sidetracked with an out-of-the-country work trip. I had so much fun training then that I knew I would love to try it again.

Well, I guess I should’ve taken myself a bit more seriously because now I’m actually doing it–I’ve registered for the Victoria B.C. race and I’m into week five of my training! I’m even riding my bike on my cross-training days and have enjoyed it so much that that could easily become another time-sucking hobby. We will see.

Details of training aside, there are several reasons why I’m running this half-marathon: to help me remember what it’s like to do something I really love and to do it, to enjoy the outdoors during this time of year, to get out of the house and have some moments of peace and quiet, etc.

But, there is one important reason why I’m doing this and I would love if you would participate with me in it. I am hoping to bring awareness, lift up prayers, and raise funds for former child soldiers in Uganda through Pilgrim, a Christian relief organization.

For those who don’t know about this issue, a man named Joseph Kony has organized the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in northern Uganda and claims that he is inspired by the Holy Spirit to rebel against the Ugandan government. He is clearly not a follower of Jesus, but that of Satan. Part of his plan involves abducting Ugandan children and forcing them to become solidiers, brainwashing them to kill and destroy.

I first learned about this during my time at World Vision. Thankfully, since then child abduction for these purposes is not much of a problem anymore, as the LRA has diminished in it’s power. But there are thousands of kids left behind who are displaced and traumatized, trying to recover from what has happened to them.

When I thought about a cause I could contribute to, this issue came to my mind particularly because I’m a mom and when I try to imagine kids just like my son enduring such things my heart breaks.

Please partner with me in helping former child soldiers. You can do so in a few ways.

1. Learn more about kids who are recovering from life as a child solider by watching this video.

2. Pray. Ask God to heal these children. Ask Him to give them the greatest gift of all, their salvation. Pray against the enemy, who would try to thwart this.

3. Give to Pilgrim’s Beacon College (featured in the video), a place where kids who were formerly child soldiers are receiving an education, tools to help them heal, and the gospel. There are currently about 500 kids there, but many more who would like to participate. Please pledge to donate a certain amount for every mile I run in training (about 150 miles) and maybe even double the amount for the race (13.1 miles)  I promise I’ll run my heart out!

If you decide to participate in any of these ways, please comment below. If you feel comfortable specifying how much you’ll pledge per mile and for how many miles, please say so. But whatever way you choose to partner with me, I will be very excited and want to know about it.

If you do give, go on to Pilgrim’s donation page and put in the total amount next to “E Haggard Race”. I will be reporting back on my training progress and the total amount of money I’ve raised so far.

Thanks in advance to everyone who will be supporting me!

8 months

The rumors are true–the man’s on the move. He only spent a couple of days rocking back and forth on his hands and knees before he took off like there’s no tomorrow.

As you can see, since learning to crawl a little less than a week ago, there have been some bumps and bruises along the way. Sometimes he gets upset but other times I hear a thud that sounds like it hurts and he just keeps cruisin’ along.

We escaped the heat wave last week at Kabyn & Alyssa’s and so he spent the first few days crawling around their very cool basement. Since we’ve returned home he has had so much fun exploring our house. The specifics of this include sticking his fingers in the box fan, getting stuck under furniture, grabbing electrical cords, and pushing the garbage can around. On to babyproofing.

We are also working on the appropriate etiquette for giving the cat lovies, which does not include excitedly grabbing and pinching (we have tried the latter approach and surprisingly it doesn’t seem to be working).

Ian also got his first two teeth a couple of weeks ago. I didn’t even notice until we were sitting waiting at the doctor’s office and I just happened to look into his mouth and saw them. He wasn’t fussy at all prior to them popping up, but he had chewed the corner off one of his board books earlier that day so I guess I should’ve seen it coming.

We’ve also got some crib antics going on which is not making getting to sleep so easy. For some reason naps are not a problem, but at bedtime I lay him down, he starts crying, and immediately sits himself up in the corner of his crib. He remains there, crying, until he gets so exhausted that he lays the upper half of his body down. This half-laying/half-sitting position looks incredibly uncomfortable. He only sleeps for about 20 minutes before I think his legs fall asleep and it wakes him up, only to start the whole process over again. Oh, son.

Ian is also waving, though not always at the appropriate social moments, just whenever he gets the hankering to do so. He also loves doing his cheer squad move.

And here’s his most recent look–frustrated and annoyed.

He starts snorting when he gives this look, though unfortunately you can’t enjoy that pleasant experience through the photo.

Though he’s still the fun-loving, good natured guy we’ve come to know and love, he is having more “moments.” The ones where he does not want to sit still on the changing pad or he’s upset he can’t chew on a cord or the boob or bottle just isn’t coming to him fast enough. We will call these precious moments. I am sure looking back with my fuzzy memory I will nostalgically remember them that way.

Lastly, his favorite past time is jumping. The exersaucer is a bit passe at this point because he just can’t get the height he’s hoping for. Until we put him in Alaythia’s jumperoo. That did the trick.

Here’s to 8 months of fun!

Marriage talk

J: Elisabeth, I love that I can get you a card with a cat on it and every time I know you’ll go “ahhhhhh cute!” and love it.

E: Really?  You don’t think I’m a weird cat lady?

J: No, I think it’s endearing.  I love that about you.

E: Really?

J: Yes.

E: What else do you love about me?

J: That everything is always about you.

E: Really?

J: No, not really.

Seattle Meltdown 2009

Here are some facts you may not have known about our current weather crisis.

• everyone who has ever said “Swimming in Greenlake . . . eww gross!” has currently bombarded the lake’s beaches and submerged their pasty white bodies in its questionable waters
• the employees at the Ballard Fred Meyer currently answer the phone with “This is the Ballard Fred Meyer and yes we did just get a shipment of 1,000 box fans in.”
• somewhere someplace Al Gore is  listening to a report on CNN about our heat wave and saying “SEE global warming IS real!”
• our particularly water-conscious, environmentally-friendly residents are taking 3 cold showers a day with no shame and feeding themselves with plastic cutlery because heaven forbid they turn on the dishwasher
• all breastfeeding mothers (including myself) have retreated to dingy basements, sitting next to stinky cat litter boxes listening to the mesermizing sound of the washing machine, all in the attempt to keep body temperatures below 100 degrees

This too shall pass.

Less internet, or in other words, living life

It has been almost three weeks since I last posted. That is too long. I would say we are busy, which we are, but I’ve also just gotten out of the blogging groove. This is partly because being on the internet was starting to feel like it was sucking the life out of me. So I went out and lived life for a while.

During this life-living I also got semi-addicted to Facebook. I don’t know how this could’ve been possible sans copious amounts of internet time, but apparently it is.

But that’s not nearly as interesting as all these other things I am about to talk about.

First, as you can see our chickens have finally decided to pull their weight. Salad started laying a small egg about every other day since we came back from Minnesota and since then we’ve probably gotten about a dozen total.

The best part is that I discovered their secret egg-laying lair yesterday where I found FOUR eggs stockpiled! (I would’ve taken a picture, but I was so ecstatic when I found them I really couldn’t be bothered to go get the camera.)

I’m starting to think Soup has started also laying because I found the biggest egg I’ve ever seen in my life in their coop this morning, in a spot where Salad doesn’t usually lay.

You must, understand how very exciting this all is to me. So exciting that I don’t want to eat any of the eggs, I just want to put them in the carton and pull them out of the fridge every now and then and remind myself that my farm dream is really coming true (in a small way).

Just a few feet away, our garden is producing lots and lots and lots of lettuce. Our spinach and arugula went bitter a few weeks ago, but we still have butter and heirloom lettuce so we’re eating fresh salads every day, which is very nice. Our strawberry plants are big and green but the fruit is pitiful. I think our carrots and onions may be coming to the same end, too. I don’t know what we’ve done wrong. Oh well, there next year.

Outside of our backyard, we have had other happenings. Jason and I went to the Coldplay concert at the Gorge a few weeks ago and Ian stayed home with Grandma. It wasn’t a complete overnighter since we returned at 2am on Sunday morning, but he did just fine (and so did I). We had beautiful, hot weather that day, and it was very nice to get out with Jason and have some non-kid fun.

Speaking of great weather, it has pretty much been that way all summer here in Seattle, which is very convenient for superstar athletes like myself and my husband. That is right, we are superstars because we are in training. Jason is getting ready for the Coeur d’Alene Triathlon. Some of you may remember that he intended to do this competition last summer, but sprained his ankle three weeks before. But he’s going to BRING IT this year, I know it.

I am training for a half-marathon, and I’m having a lot of fun doing it. Pushing a baby jogger with one baby in it is hard enough, I figure I should finally complete a half now before I have two kids in a stroller (NO, I am not pregnant, just thinking ahead). I have more interesting details about this endeavor, and even a way you can help me if you like, but that is for later . . .

And then there is the other superstar, Ian Bo Bee-an. He had a great time in Minnesota with Grandpa and now that he’s back he’s decided it’s time to get on with big boy skills like sitting up and crawling. He’s mastered the sitting and we are not far off from being on the move. He is also in swim lessons and is learning how to kick, float, hold on to the side of the pool, and dunk underwater.

Lastly, I got bangs. Yes, that’s right–me who has had the same hairstyle since I was a sophomore in college finally decided to switch things up. I was inspired by my friend, Tara, who has mastered cute bangs. Now that all is said and done it is basically the same haircut, just with bangs, but I’m patting myself on the back for such an adventurous move. No picture, you’ll just have to see me to believe it

“Attacked” by an alligator

I’ve been taking an annual 4th of July trip to Minneapolis for about four or five years now, but it’s gotten quite exciting ever since the Haggards have been introduced into the family. 

When I say exciting I mean this: last year Jason almost burned Linda’s house down.  And this year we were attacked by an alligator.

When I mean attacked I mean that it was lazily floating along the shoreline in Linda’s pond and the police apprehended it with one of those dog-catcher thingies and duct taped its mouth shut.  It’s just that the Twin Cities Channel 5 news made it sound a bit more onorous than that when they featured it as the top story on the 10 o’clock news. 

Not only did the Channel 5 news station cover it, but Channel 4 the following day, too.  And the Star Tribune and the Eagan Examiner and Minnesota Public Radio and the Bemidji Pioneer and the Pioneer Press.

Geesh people.  An alligator in Minnesota is a bit unusual, but I certainly didn’t feel like my life was in jeopardy.  But, who knows about next year . . .

Haggard homesteading

Although I haven’t spoken much about it in a while, the homesteading continues on here at the Haggard Ranch.

As you can see from the video back in May we were about to plant a full garden complete with corn, strawberries, and all kinds of leafy greens from seed as well as tomato, red onion, and strawberry starters. This is a big feat for me, since I am a novice gardener. But, with my very common sense husband by my side (who can usually figure out how to do just about anything) we set to work creating the raised bed and put our seeds and plants in the ground.

While we waited for life to spring up, we enjoyed our own little piece of farmland oasis in the midst of all the big city livin’.

Like last year, I also did potted herbs and some annuals on our deck, but this year I expanded my horizons by adding dill, oregano, thyme, and sage.

Now that we’re halfway through the summer, take a look at how it’s going

Although we realized later that the location of the raised bed isn’t the sunniest spot in our yard and despite the fact that we don’t really know what we’re doing, I think we are making out quite well. The plants aren’t growing up as big and hearty as those of our neighbors, but we’ve got plenty of leafy greens and maybe (cross your fingers) a few tomatoes and strawberries will be had soon.

View the rest of the photos here.

I think Borgie knows what she is talking about

Last weekend we flew to California, where we met Bill & Becky and Tiffany & Kate at Jason’s grandma’s house (just outside of Fresno). While there we went to the Sequoia National Park, had a small family reunion, hung out with the babies, and just enjoyed each other’s company.

My favorite part of the trip was meeting Borgie, Jason’s grandma. She’s 93 years old and although her body isn’t getting around as quickly as it once did, her mind is sharp and I really liked talking with her. She told me about her kids and her grandkids, about how she lost her husband to a heart attack and then lost her daughter to breast cancer. She told me about how her neighbor, who still lives down the road, told her what it meant to be born again. And she said, with just as much excitement as she probably had the day it happened, how she was saved at the age of 50.

I told Borgie a little bit about my story and how I can’t ever imagine losing my husband or my child like she did. “It is hard,” she said. “But God would give you the strength.” I tell myself that would be true, if it ever did happen. But it’s something else entirely when someone who has gone through it says that God is faithful.

I was most blessed when, at the end of our time at her house, Borgie pulled me aside and said “I can tell when people don’t really love each other, but I can see that you and Jason really do. I think that’s wonderful.”

I tried to tell her we certainly have our fair share of arguments and struggles but she said “Well, we all have our days. I am just happy Jason married you.”

Lately it’s been hard for me to believe that God can use me. I don’t mean to sound defeatist, I just mean that the sanctification is happening bit by bit every day and sometimes my faith is lacking when it comes to seeing the forest for the trees. But then someone like Borgie gets a peek into my life when I’m not looking and sees that God is moving there. I am glad she said something to me. It was very encouraging.

We are so happy Borgie could meet Ian, too.

Thanks, Borgie, for letting us invade your house and for sharing your story with me.

Here’s the rest of our photos and videos from the trip.

Ian’s baby dedication

It has been over a week ago now, but I have wanted to share what Jason and I read at Ian’s baby dedication on June 6th.

We chose to have the dedication at home. We decided to do this instead of going up on stage at church because it was very important to us that we be surrounded by our community. These are the people who will help us show Ian who Jesus is.

Jason read Psalm 93. He has been reading through the Psalms for quite some time, seeking to find God there. He picked this psalm because it was simple and just talked about who God is.

I read a passage from the The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis. For those of you who have not read it, it is about an orphaned boy named Shasta who finds himself leaving home and being swept up in an adventure he never could’ve dreamed up on his own. It is on this journey that he truly starts to understand who he is. I really desire that Ian will have many encounters with Jesus the way Shasta does with Aslan. I desire that for myself and for Jason, too.

From Chapter 11, “The Unwelcome Fellow Traveler”:

“The Thing (unless it was a Person) went on beside him so very quietly that Shasta began to hope he had only imagined it. But just as he was becoming quite sure of it, there suddenly came a deep, rich sigh out of the darkness beside him. That couldn’t be imagination! Anyway, he had felt the hot breath of that sigh on his chilly left hand.

If the horse had been any good–or if he had known how to get any good out of the horse–he would have risked everything on a breakaway and a wild gallop. But he knew he couldn’t make that horse gallop. So he went on at a walking pace and the unseen companion walked and breathed beside him. At last he could bear it no longer.

“Who are you?” he said, scarcely above a whisper.

“One who has waited long for you to speak,” said the Thing. Its voice was not loud, but very large and deep.

“Are you–are you a giant?” asked Shasta.

“You might call me a giant,” said the Large Voice. “But I am not like the creatures you call giants.”

“I can’t see you at all,” said Shasta, after staring very hard. Then (for an even more terrible idea had come into his head) he said, in almost a scream, “You’re not–not something dead, are you? Oh please–please do go away. What harm have I ever done you? Oh, I am the unluckiest person in the whole world!”

Once more he felt the warm breath of the Thing on his hand and face. “There,” it said, “that is not the breath of a ghost. Tell me your sorrows.”

Shasta was a little reassured by the breath: so he told how he had never known his real father or mother and had been brought up sternly by the fisherman. And then he told the story of his escape and how they were chased by the lions and forced to swim for their lives; and of all their dangers in Tashbaan and about his night among the tombs and how the beasts howled at him out of the desert. And he told about the heat and thirst of their desert journey and how they were almost at their goal when another lion chased them and wounded Aravis. And also, how very long it was since he had had anything to eat.

“I do not call you unfortunate,” said the Large Voice.

“Don’t you think it was bad luck to meet so many lions?” said Shasta.

“There was only one lion,” said the Voice.

“What on earth do you mean? I’ve just told you there were at least two the first night and–”

“There was only one: but he was swift of foot.”

“How do you know?”

“I was the lion.” And as Shasta gaped with open mouth and said nothing, the Voice continued. “I was the lion who forced you to join with Aravis. I was the cat who comforted you among the houses of the dead. I was the lion who drove the jackals from you while you slept. I was the lion who gave the Horses the new strength of fear for the last mile so that you should reach King Lune in time. And I was the lion you do not remember who pushed the boat in which you lay, a child near death, so that it came to shore where a man sat, wakeful at midnight, to receive you.”

“Then it was you who wounded Aravis?”

“It was I.”

“But what for?”

“Child,” said the Voice, “I am telling you your story, not hers. I tell no one any story but his own.”

“Who are you?” asked Shasta.

“Myself,” said the Voice, very deep and low so that the earth shook: and again “Myself,” loud and clear and gay: and then the third time “Myself,” whispered so softly you could hardly hear it, and yet it seemed to come from all around you as if the leaves rustled with it.

Shasta was no longer afraid that the Voice belonged to something that would eat him, nor that it was the voice of a ghost. But a new and different sort of trembling came over him. Yet he felt glad too.

The mist was turning from black to gray and from gray to white. This must have begun to happen some time ago, but while he had been talking to the Thing he had not been noticing anything else. Now, the whiteness around him became a shining whiteness; his eyes began to blink. Somewhere ahead he could hear birds singing. He knew the night was over at last. He could see the mane and ears and head of the horse quite easily now. A golden light fell on them from the left. He thought it was the sun.

He turned and saw, pacing beside him, taller than the horse, a Lion. The horse did not seem to be afraid of it or else could not see it. It was from the Lion that the light came. No one ever saw anything more terrible or beautiful.

Luckily Shasta had lived all his life too far south in Calormen to have heard the tales that were whispered in Tashbaan about a dreadful Narnian demon that appeared in the form of a lion. And of course he knew none of the true stories about Aslan, the great Lion, the son of the Emperor-over-the-sea, the King above all High Kings in Narnia. But after one glance at the Lion’s face he slipped out of the saddle and fell at its feet. He couldn’t say anything but then he didn’t want to say anything, and he knew he needn’t say anything.

The High King above all kings stooped toward him. Its mane, and some strange solemn perfume that hung about the mane, was all around him. It touched his forehead with its tongue. He lifted his face and their eyes met. Then instantly the pale brightness of the mist and the fiery brightness of the Lion rolled themselves together into a swirling glory and gathered themselves up and disappeared. He was along with the horse on a grassy hillside under a blue sky. And there were birds singing.”

(p173-178)

I know that God was very pleased with Ian’s dedication and I know Jason and I felt very loved by our community. We were sad that a lot of family couldn’t be there, but hope this sharing gives a good idea of where our hearts and minds were at on this day and what we hope for Ian.

We didn’t take many pictures, but we did get a good one of the babes.

6 months

Ian passed the 6 month mark last week. For some reason, this seems like a big deal to me. He’s not a little bitty baby anymore but he’s certainly getting more fun every day. This month has been packed with activities and milestones.

First, Ian has become a wiggling maniac. I can barely get a diaper on him because he moves fast and he’s strong. The other day I had the changing pad on the bathroom floor and ran into his room to get a diaper, only to come back and find him completely off of the pad, a foot away, wiggling on his stomach.

Second, he’s grabbing onto everything–plastic rings, cups, and toys. I’m starting to have to pay attention when we’re sitting at the dinner table as he reaches for my plate. Whenever he sees a bottle, he starts reaching for it and can get it in his mouth with a bit of help.

Third, he’s eating solids. We started with ground turkey about two weeks ago and since then he’s had avocado, peaches, banana and rice cereal. Although he was a bit perplexed with the texture in his mouth at the beggining, he has taken to eating big people food very well.

Speaking of food, we have had some troubles in milk department. At his 6-month check-up we discovered that he is still dropping on the growth chart in weight and has started to also drop in height. Our doctor recommended that I start feeding him more often and also did some blood work on me. A few days later we discovered that my thyroid is acting up and this has probably caused my milk supply to slowly decrease.

With some supplementation I noticed quite quickly that Ian is gaining weight (thank you, lower back, for informing me) and he’s doing great now. He’s no longer picky about taking a bottle, as he’s discovered it’s a much quicker easier way to get food (sigh). We are still breastfeeding and hope to continue, but I feel as though God is helping me to hold this with an open hand.

Here’s a few other things Ian’s been up to

• he went on his first hike
• he’s graduated from his car seat to the big boy seat of the stroller
• he survived his first bout of hot summer weather by cooling off in his new kiddie pool
• he had his first cold, which I quickly got from him. He didn’t fuss much and even obliged his momma by watching the complete second DVD of Anne of Green Gables with her as she regained her health
• had a very special baby dedication gathering (which I will talk more about later)

Every month really does get better. June will include some long distance travels to see family, including grandparents and a great grandma. We can’t wait for them to see how much he’s grown and how much of a delight he is.

View May’s photos here (most recent are at the bottom) and here.