Monday, June 17, 2013

MONEY - ultra marathon!

Wowzers! First of all, he did it!  Zack completed all fifty miles of the race!  He even did well, coming in 54th out of 159 runners.  Not bad!  His official time was 10 hours, 57 minutes, 14 seconds.  Despite a few hours afterwards of intense crampy leg pain, we got his electrolytes back up to par (Zack learned a lot about that, the aid stations are really something, they even had a podiatrist on site!) and he was feeling functional again.  An ice bath and ibuprofen later and he was feeling even better.  He's got this weird bruise lump thing (i don't think it's a clot, more like a strain maybe?) on his left calf that he's wrapping.  Other than that, he came out fairly unscathed!  Hooray, way to go Zack!  I, however, got a sunburn... I know you are all shedding a tear for me.  I can tell you, it's quite traumatic.  I'm trying my best to rest and heal.  Aloe vera, where would I be?  :)

36 miles in

We want to express our deep gratitude to those who prayed for Zack during his training and run.  Thank you so very much.  And to those who prayed for nice weather, the day could not have been more beautiful!  We couldn't have done it without you!
We also want to thank those who pledged support and sponsored his many miles financially.  It looks like this fundraising effort will get us through the home study fees!  Praise the Lord, God is providing through awesome people like you!
Payment options:
Paypal: through the donate button on the side of this blog, you can securely send money directly to us.  There is a tiny fee taken out which, NOTE: I thought wouldn't be evident to you, but looks like they do tack it on top of the total.
Checks or cash can be given to us, our sent to our home address.  Please email me at zrmillers@gmail.com if you would like the address.
If you have forgotten how much you pledged, just email me at zrmillers@gmail.com and I will look it up!
Just a reminder that if you donate in the above ways, the giving cannot be claimed as a deduction on your taxes, as we are not a nonprofit agency.
God bless you for giving!!!

the deed is done

Thanks again to everyone!  It was quite an experience!

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Ultramarathon update

  So, the Mohican 50 mile race is Saturday!  Zack's pretty pumped as you can imagine.  A few weekends ago he completed the longest training run in his schedule - 35 miles!  It took him about 7 hours.  He did it and did it well.  He said he was hardly even sore the next day.  The Ultramarathon running style is so different than the Marathon type.  It's more mind, eating, and endurance than times, pacing and speed.  Anyhow, I'm baking bread right now for his PB&J sandwiches (he'll eat about 4 throughout along with a laundry list of other foods - getting him the salt, fat, carbs and sugar he needs in the right balance).  He was going over the map with me and where I'm to be to give him his change of shoes (he changes clothes and shoes about halfway through), and additional food.
  If you think about it on Saturday, say a prayer for no falling and adequate nutrition and hydration and low humidity!  But also that our eyes would be opened once again and all the clearer to the bigger picture.  There is a bigger purpose to this race.  We wish to grow as people in our adoption journey, to gain all the more insight into how God loves and provides and strengthens us in journeys that can seem oh, so, long.
  Since this is also a fundraising effort, I want to say huge thanks to all who have pledged donations for this race!  Every cent per mile is huge to us!  (psst, Heather and Jason - your letter meant so much!)  I do want to plug in a quick reminder that it's not too late to sign up to pledge a donation!  Just e-mail us at zrmillers@gmail.com!  We will have information after the race is completed (watch this blog) with instructions on options for paying.  Thanks again!!!
  Also please remember my sister Carrie and team who will also be doing a dawn-dusk hike as a fundraiser for us on the same day!

Friday, June 7, 2013

PAPERWORK - getting it all done!

Sometimes I wonder, really wonder, if we are a little bit crazy.  It's becoming more and more apparent.  It's also becoming more apparent that God is blessing us richly with time and energy when it comes to the adoption process.  It still gets me nervously excited to rifle through novel-length applications and peer into the distance at the long road ahead.  How do we find the time when we are involved in so so so much else?  Hobbies, work, family, work, church, work.  Honestly, I haven't the foggiest.  How does anyone find any time for anything they enjoy?  They make it, or God gifts it to them.  We've had a little combo of both.  An evening here, a rare both-kids-are-napping opportunity there, a 20 minute do-this-tiny-task-while-you-are-both-playing-nicely over there, and a read-this-thing-while-breastfeeding here.  Somehow the time has been found.  Sometimes it feels like I'm squeezing blood from a stone.  Yes, there are the moments when I get an important phone call and as much as I am wringing my hands and hoping that it ends soon because Logan is crying in his crib and Kian needs to use the potty, then something happens like Dad shows up out of the blue cuz he was in the area and wanted to see the boys (true story)!  Those moments are thankfully not the majority.  Still, God provides, yo.  It's a fact.