The boys have been working on a fort in the woods behind our house…
Category: Tom and Jodi
Snow Days…
We had our first snow of the winter! We took wintry walks with Petra, hung out with friends (here’s Xander with his good friend, Archer), had fun sledding, and even brought in a baby pool full of snow for the bunny to enjoy.
Celebrating Early…
We celebrated Christmas early with Dad and Sheri. It was so good to see everybody…to hug my Aunt Jean, to listen to Dylan’s stories about the Crucible recruit training for the marines, to share worship music with Daddy, to love on Sheri and enjoy her cooking, and to catch up on life with my sisters and brother-in-law and niece. Blessed by togetherness.
Rocket City Marathon…
I have been training for my second marathon since August 23, 2021.
That’s sixteen weeks of getting up early, running when I want to, running when I don’t want to, prioritizing running over everything, running when it’s hot out, running when it’s cold out, running before the sun comes up, running after the sun goes down, running by myself, listening to music, listening to audiobooks, hydrating, refueling, checking my pace, stretching, praying, counting mailboxes running up hills, flinging my arms wide running down hills, thinking, philosophizing, breathing, and enjoying being out in nature.
It was an interesting phenomenon this time around…I burned out mentally about halfway through my training. I don’t know what happened, but it was REALLY hard for me to stay motivated. Once I’m committed to something, though…I have to see it through. But man the struggle was real. The taper is always tough for me…those two weeks at the end where you cut your mileage way back to rest your legs and gear up for race day. It tends to send me into a bit of a mental tailspin. So, I ended up doing most of my mileage on our stationary bike at home those last few weeks and wondering if I would even be able to/care to run on race day.
I drove down to Huntsville, Alabama on December 10. I checked into the hotel, grabbed dinner at Taziki’s, headed back to the hotel to get all of my gear ready for the run, showered, and got into bed early. I woke up around 530 am the next morning, checked my email, and saw that the marathon was canceled due to the weather. It was the weekend of the tornados. It put a lot of things into perspective just knowing how many people had lost their homes and their lives due to the severe weather that morning. I packed everything up and drove home.
I decided to get up the next morning and run the 26.2 miles at Crockett Park, my favorite local park for long runs. The weather was perfect, and Tom and the boys came out to cheer me on for the last few miles. (Jonas even ran with me for the last mile…which I don’t think was too rough on him because he could walk and still keep up with me at that point because I was running so slow…haha.)
I’m so grateful to have crossed that finish line.
Thanksgiving…
We spent Thanksgiving in VA with Grandma and Grandpa Seyfried, Lindsey Seyfried (Tim, Mary, and Audrey were in Italy), the Longs, and the Paccassis. It was great to be with everybody again.
Ruston Kelly…
Oh man…I was SO excited to get to go see Ruston Kelly in concert at the Ryman Auditorium tonight!!! Something about the pandemic and seeing music shut down just made me want to go see all of my favorites when everything opened back up.
I haven’t listened to music like I’ve listened to his in a long time…pretty much non-stop, from the first album to the last, all the way through, over and over again.
This is the one that hooked me…”Brave“.
Happy 13th Birthday, Jonas!!!…
Let me start this by saying that I cannot believe that my firstborn son is 13 years old today!!!
He had a fun day…walked in the Veteran’s Day Parade, ate brunch at the Pfunky Griddle, and went to the Great Escape Room. He loved having his two best friends, Ethan and Pranav, celebrating with him.
Field Trip…
I was so excited to be able to go on a field trip with Roman today to the William P. Ridley 4-H Center!
Halloween…
We absolutely love Halloween in our neighborhood!!!
Here we are in our costumes: Tom as a snowboarder, me as a poke ball, Jonas as a black caped somebody with a scary mask, Xander as Pikachu, and Roman as Mario riding Yoshi.
Nolensville Moms…
I love still getting together with the girls from the Nolensville Moms group (that we were all apart of when our kids were little). It’s so fun to catch up, laugh, share life stories, and marvel at how fast our kids are growing/how old we’re getting.
Titans…
Tom and his good friend, Joel, were able to catch a Titans game today!
Shuckle’s…
We took the boys out to Shuckle’s today. It’s a really fun pumpkin farm with all sorts of things to do…picking/painting pumpkins, decorating cookies, petting animals, running through the corn maze, etc.
Natchez Trace State Park…
We went to Natchez Trace State Park over Fall Break! We stayed in a cabin, went hiking and kayaking, relaxed in the hammock on the back porch, read books, took naps (Tom and I), played video games (the boys), cooked hot dogs and s’mores over the fire, etc. It was really relaxing and refreshing…I want to do it again next year!
Maverick City Music…
I fell in love with Maverick City Music in 2020 when the worship leader at Holy Family sent the link out to one of their songs (“Refiner“) for the worship team to learn. Over the pandemic, I found myself watching so many of their songs on YouTube and listening to just as many on Amazon Music and worshiping right along with them. I have had many God moments over the past few years where I’ve just broken down crying and praying and praising God…in the middle of cleaning the kitchen, working in the garden, running my long runs, etc. It has literally been life changing for me.
So, I knew that when things opened up again, I wanted to go see Maverick City Music. They weren’t coming to Nashville, so I ended up buying a ticket to see them in Kentucky.
The car I was driving broke down in the middle of the highway about a mile from the church where they were playing. Cars were honking at me and passing me. Finally, a mom in a minivan stopped and asked me if I needed some help, and I said, “Yes!” So, she and her teenage children got out of their minivan and helped me get my car to the side of the highway. Then, she asked me where I was going. I said, “Well, I’m actually headed to a worship night…” And she and I both said, “Maverick City Music” at the same time. That’s where they were going!!! I totally started crying…just feeling God’s presence and care of me through her. I found out that she works with special needs adults (I work with special needs kids), they live in the town where my hotel is, and her daughter’s name (who would be going to the concert) is Faith. Right?!? I mean. Amazing.
It was a beautiful night of worship. I was so grateful. The sweet family who gave me a ride there gave me a ride back to my hotel. Tom ended up coming up to get me the next morning (he was able to find friends for all of the boys to spend the day with), and we had a little date day on the way back home from Kentucky. Win! Win!
Wilderness/Survival Adventure Course…
A few years ago, when Tom and I were watching “Alone” Season 6, we freaked out when we recognized one of the participants flying in to the wilderness via helicopter…Jordan Jonas! He’s the brother of Ben Jonas, Tom’s friend and old train hopping buddy. It was amazing watching Jordan on the show. I won’t spoil it for you, so if you haven’t seen it…watch it!
Anyway, Tom had the (what felt like a) once in a lifetime opportunity this summer to join Jordan and Ben and a group of 10 other adventurers for a weeklong wilderness/survival course in Idaho. Tom went with his good friend, Joel Miller, and they had the time of their lives. The boys and I missed having Tom at home, but I was so grateful that he got to feed his adventurous soul. He rode a donkey, swam in mountain lakes, camped out with the most beautiful views, swapped stories around campfires, and brushed up on survival skills (shelter building, friction fire making, fishing with homemade equipment, etc.).
Front Seat…
It was a big day today for mother AND son…look who’s riding in the front seat now!!!
Old Lady Glasses…
Well, I turned 45 today. To commemorate the occasion, Jonas made me a pair of “OLGs” (“Old Lady Glasses”)…
Tom surprised me with a Sunday brunch at my favorite restaurant in Nolensville with two of my favorite people. Here I am on the porch at Birdie’s with Laura and Sandi. So grateful.
Lake Trip…
We spent the week at Lake Anna, VA with Grandma and Grandpa Seyfried, the (Northern) Seyfrieds, the Longs, and the Paccassis.
For more pictures, click on the “Lake Anna 2021” picture page to the right.
To the Lake…
We’re heading to Lake Anna, VA this week to spend the week with Grandma and Grandpa Seyfried, the (Northern) Seyfrieds, the Longs, and the Paccassis. On the way, we stopped off at The Caverns at Natural Bridge. We’d never been to anything like that with the boys before, so it was super cool to explore together.
We spent the night at a hotel and stopped off at Virginia Military Institute where John Paccassi is a cadet in school. One of his good friends was there and gave us a tour, and we took him to lunch (the perfect thank you for a college student). Check out The Palms, if you’re ever in Lexington, VA…delicious!
Loved this beautiful mountain view…
Nash Family Creamery…
I took the boys out to the Nash Family Creamery today, a dairy farm in Chapel Hill. On the tour, we visited with the calves (one of them kept trying to nurse Jonas’ finger) and checked out the milking parlor. Afterwards, we stopped in to the creamery to buy some ice cream to enjoy with our lunches under the pavilion out in the fields.
