I'm Inspired...

by my best friend!

So maybe I should expand on that a little. There are three beautiful ladies that I consider to be my best friends. These ladies have stuck with me through the fun and exciting stuff, and the not so fun and exciting stuff. They know my family and care about them. And they were all three standing with me on the day I got married. Unfortunately none of them are close by. So which lovely lady am I speaking of right now.... Tara! (the one who lives the farthest away - 4 hours)

Tara has been my best friend since I was 5 years old. We lived next door to each other and for years you would have thought we were sisters, we were glued at the hip. Just this past week, Tara started a blog chronicling her (and her husband's) struggle with infertility and their journey to pregnancy. You can check out their blog here and its also linked in our friend's blog list to the left. (They could use some extra prayer!) I was excited to read her first post and flattered to realize she was inspired by me to start her blog.

One of her latest posts is called : Tara, run?!?! NO WAY!! In it she talks about how her doctors have told her it would be best if she started losing some weight, so that when she becomes pregnant she can have the best chance at a normal pregnancy. Where am I going with this? Well, Tara got right on the doctor's orders and started a program called C25K (couch to 5K). Its a 9 week program for people who aren't runners, or who want to get back into running.

I had been wanting to get back into running for some time now, but just wasn't giving myself the push I needed. That was until I read Tara's post. I got incredibly excited, as I had been praying for motivation to do this and my answer was right in front of me. I emailed Tara and asked if she wanted a partner on this 9 week journey. She was excited for me to join her, and so we both started this past weekend. Tara on Friday, me on Saturday. I was lucky enough that Nathan was at home Saturday so I could go out while Ava was napping. But I knew it wasn't going to be easy during the week, and the program calls for workouts about every other day. So yesterday, we went and got this:



Our new jogging stroller, it's a very early birthday present. The price was amazing, and even though it't not top of the line (I don't need something like that!) it has gotten great reviews. After putting it together last night Ava had to take a ride.

she is waving "hi" to the camera.

We'll be heading out here in about an hour to try it out on the road. It will definitely be a big change for me, I'm not used to having extra resistance. But I'm determined to do this with Tara and for myself. I hope we can keep each other motivated. We'll keep you updated on our progress.


***

Yesterday was a beautiful day here in dreary Pittsburgh, and I thought Ava would like to take a wagon ride. Most nights Nathan pulls her around the living room and kitchen, so this would be a great change. I called next door to see if Joshua would like to go... or to see if his parents needed a break. Joshua's baby brother Noah was born a week ago on Friday! So Joshua and his Dad Shayne came out for a walk with us.




Joshua wasn't nearly as happy with the wagon ride as Ava was, so he end up in the stroller while Ava rode in the wagon. Hopefully that will change over time, his Mom and I have already talked about a trip to the zoo.

Ava bundled up before heading out... she did have fun despite her facial expression.


*****UPDATE*****

Running with a jogging stroller isn't easy! Ava did very well and enjoyed the ride, although wanted her hat off towards the end. I don't blame her, it was sunny and decently warm. As for our workout, I guess practice will make perfect. Next workout, Wednesday or Thursday, depending on the weather.