Memphis Weekend

December 4th was Hannah's birthday and the Memphis 1/2 marathon, so we decided to combine the two events!

On Friday, Hannah took a few friends to Memphis with us. They all had parents or friends running in the race, and were excited to be spectators at the event. That night, we had pizza and ice cream for dinner... not your typical pre-race meal, but oh well! Afterward, we all went upstairs to watch a Christmas movie with Tootie. As the girls pulled out their various crafts and crochet, she could not believe how CRAFTY this group of girls was and marveled at their different creations. (I had previously informed the girls that my Tootie was the "Queen of Crochet," and described some of the things she had made.)

We all went to bed pretty early (for a slumber party), because we would have to leave the house before dawn the next morning!

Saturday morning was much warmer than expected! As I debated about what to wear, the girls packed and loaded all of their things. We headed downtown, and found the group of Spartans and Toppers.(Anna, Margaret, Kirsten, Olivia, Page, Hannah, Sarah, Claire, Julie, and Martha)

(Tuesdae, me, Olivia, and Julie before the race)

All morning, I was on the verge of tears. I can't explain it, but my heart was full of emotion. The race raises money for St. Jude Children's Hospital, and there were signs thanking participants everywhere. Seeing the signs for St. Jude, thinking about the children there (and the mothers of the children there), remembering when Sarah spent several days in a children's hospital, and being SO thankful to the Lord for the health of my children... it was a combination destined to get me choked up.

The girls stayed with Tuesdae's mom, Felesha, enjoyed a cup of Starbucks,and filled up my camera with random Memphis pictures!

Tuesdae was going to stay with us, but we never saw her after the first mile! She was feeling good and had a great race! Way to represent, Toppers! BAAAAHHHH!
That was my first time to run in a large half marathon... it was so much fun to have spectators all along the course! A drastic contrast to the Frostbite 1/2, where the only spectators are cows!

As we passed through the St. Jude campus, my eyes once again brimmed with tears. In this part of the course, parents of patients lined the streets with encouraging signs and signs expressing gratitude. The one that stuck with me most said, "SMILE... Jake always did."

About mile 9, Julie and I were very thankful for the dancing gorilla! We were pushing her pace a little, and I could tell she was getting fatigued. As we came out on Poplar, we passed the 10 mile mark, and we knew the end was near!

We finished strong, and came in right at Julie's goal!
After the race, the weather didn't seem quite as warm! We froze, wrapped up in those foil blankets, and waited on the infield of the Redbird Stadium for Roan, Olivia, Yonnea, Lynn, and several others. We stopped to pose with the Elvis impersonators who were milling around in the crowd!

After finding my girls and changing, we went to cheer for Jimmy and some others as they finished the full marathon... wow... they did a GREAT job!

For lunch, we all met at Huey's. After a 13 mile run, a giant burger and fries taste SO good!

We ordered Hannah a dessert, and we all sang "Happy Birthday" to her!

After lunch, which was really "Linner," the slumber party girls headed home with their parents. Hannah, Sarah, and I made a quick stop at the craft store for felt, and then went back home to my mom's house. Mom and dad were out of town, and we had a really nice weekend spending time with Tootie. We had cereal and leftovers on Saturday night, and just vegged out on together in the game room.

On Sunday, the girls and I went to early service and then brought back Chinese food and doughnuts (Tootie's favorites) for dessert. (These were from Sophie's do-nuts... not the VooDoo type!) We spent the afternoon and evening working on little felt creations and watching Christmas movies. It was a great weekend!