December

December has arrived! I love this time of year. James and I bought a live tree this year, and we had it decorated the day before Thanksgiving. We've gone Christmas shopping, wrapped the gifts and nestled them beneath the tree. We attended our church's annual "Hanging of the Green" service. I've been listening to Christmas stations on Pandora 40+ hours a week. We've been to a few Christmas parties. We've exchanged Christmas cards with friends and family. This weekend we're going to visit my family, and next weekend we're going to visit his. The month is flying by!

Here are a few December highlights:

-James finished his first semester of nursing school with an A, two B's, and a C! I am so proud of him. One semester down, five to go!

-I finished the most difficult course in the MBA program with a B! Whew...so glad to have that class behind me. I have only five classes left before I graduate next December.

-I finished my second half marathon with my friend Christina. We weren't going to run together originally, but we were both so glad we did. This race was particularly difficult for both of us because we sustained minor injuries. You may already know about mine from previous posts. My knee started hurting around mile 5, and by mile 8 I was in excruciating pain. Christina injured her ankles a week before the race, so she too had a difficult time. Even though our bodies felt pretty lousy, there's just something about completing those 13.1 miles that made it all worth the pain. At one point, we ran through the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital campus, and we saw several children and families associated with the hospital. Those babies have endured far more than we will ever know. Getting the chance to run for them was amazing.

Check out this sweet Christmas video created by St. Jude. The little girl in the red and green striped shirt is Lucy Krull. She was diagnosed with cancer in February. Please continue to pray for her. Here is the link to her mom's blog where you will find all of Lucy's updates: http://erikandkatekrull.blogspot.com/