Happy Thanksgiving!

Have a blessed day!  Thankful for you!

Elf'd

I just couldn't help myself! Enjoy! :) Happy Thanksgiving Eve...

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

A Beautiful Story

This is why I'm compelled to run for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society!

Recovering...

...from a great weekend!  You can check here for the results.  

Needless to say, I was humbled by my competition, but then had to remind myself that these are my friends and my friends are stellar!  Never should I be ashamed for running 8-min miles!  Pish posh! :)  

GG and I had such a great weekend-- a fun (albeit quick) getaway.  Our time spent with Red and her family was, as always, so gratifying.  We arrived in time for Mass Saturday, returned to their lovely home for an excellent dinner, and talked into the later evening hours while sipping wine.  Raceday was an early one--up at 5:30, nurse the baby, off by 6, only to stand and freeze by the starting line!  There were 50,000 racers there amidst the sub 30F temperatures!  Red humored me by standing in line for the port-a-potties.  Why do they always underestimate the need for bathrooms????

I digress. :)  We had plenty of time before the start due to the number of people running the half and full marathons.  No sooner had we mosied our way up to the front of the pack than we found Juris Mater and had a pre-race chatter.  The gun went off (not really--it wouldn't work in the cold!) and we were off!  A few steps in and I knew I was doomed--my whole body had an eerie sluggish, unresponsiveness.  Yuck!  Red and I trudged through the early miles together, she encouraging me to stick with her and keep pace.  What a dear.  At around 2.5 miles, I insisted she go ahead and then managed to muscle out the final miles (at every opportunity I wanted to walk!)  As I rounded the corner to the finish line, I saw that I was close to breaking 40:00, so sprint I did, ending with a 39:50.  Oh Lord, I made it.  

Chalk it up to a great time with friends and a beautiful opportunity to see Philadelphia at 7 o'clock in the morning!  :)  How blessed we are to have legs to run and lungs to breathe...  Hugs on a Monday!  It's Turkey week, so get excited!!!

Team In Training: Week 1

I thought I'd use this chance to update you on my half marathon progress!  So far I am in week 2 of training, at around 10 miles for overall weekly mileage (we start slow which is good!)  I've currently raised $415 of my $1900, so things are moving along nicely there.  Thank you to those who have supported me thus far!!!!  I've recently stalled a bit, though, so (while I hate to beg) I'd absolutely love your help in reaching my goal.  The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is a really incredible organization, worthy of support--they are really top notch.  Because of them, my grandpa will be reimbursed for the miles and miles of driving he's had to make to and from treatments every day.  This amounts to hundreds of dollars in gas--money that is *really* tight for them.  What a blessing LLS is for folks battling blood cancers--my family is seeing it firsthand!! 

Our Team In Training "team" met for the first time two Saturdays ago.  You can see me in the pic above, dressed in all black with yellow.  Next time I'll have my training shirt so I'll look more like the rest of the gang. ;)  What hearts of gold there were...  I guess I should have expected this.  These people are running many miles and doing it to support cancer victims.  Probably not going to draw too many lowlifes! :)  lol.

We ran a little under 4 miles that day and it felt great to run with people and wonderful ones at that.  Looking forward to the rest of our weeks of training!!  

Shamrock Half, here I come!!  Thanks for your love and support! 

This week GG, J, and I are off to Philly for me to race an 8K with Red, Juris Mater, Mary Alice, and others from over at Building Cathedrals!  Can't wait... except for the anticipated 25F temps on Sunday morning!  Brrr.  God bless!

Fall Ball

Happy Autumn Thursday!

A Gasperini-Ville First

For the first time ever I'm Googling:

"How To Retrieve a Shoved Object from a Child's Nose".

How's your day been? ;)

Update 6pm: After a harried afternoon and quick trip to the ENT, our beloved T (#2) is aok.  The doc saw no signs of the DIME-SIZED SMILEY FACE STICKER he had shoved up there!  We tried all sorts of techniques to get it out in vain and then the little sucker just disappeared, which is when we called the ped. and she advised us to see a specialist.  The greatest likelihood is that it "escaped" down the hatch, but we have to keep a "nose out" for foul-smelling nasal discharge.  Yummy!  Now, go have a lovely dinner.  lol.   Thanks for tracking with our crazy adventures! :)

Around Town

Happy Monday to you!

It is a good Monday so far in Gasperini-Ville, I must say.  Since I got carried away with the Gasperini-Ville cheek posting, it's about time I updated on a few Friday/weekend events worth reporting...

The first was a rendezvous with sweet baby Sean (above with J) and his parents last Friday on their pass through Virginia.  We were thrilled to get to spend a little time together and the babies seemed to delight in seeing one another.  Too cute!  Sean is a few weeks more seasoned than J and now can boast a Notre Dame game amongst his baby to-do's.  They were on their way up to Baltimore to see ND v. Navy play at the Ravens' Stadium!!  And thanks to them, GG and Papa were also able to be a part of the game.  The uber fans left at 0600 and returned at 2030, wet, tired, and relieved at the win.  It was a fun day.

While the men were away "playing", M, J, and I attended M's first class birthday party at Chuck E Cheese's for a little girl in his class.  The cutest part of our morning was getting the chance to see M and his bff, Landon, play so adorably.  They were like peas and carrots, making sure to wait for one another before dashing off to the next game.  They sat next to one another at lunch and giggled together while singing "Happy Birthday".  Adorable!  It reminded me that I need to continue to pray for good friends for my boys.  So far, so good!!  Meanwhile, T and Mimi enjoyed a date to the library down the street (thanks Mimi!)  They read stories, played with some of the toys, and chose a few selections to bring back home.  What a special treat for T!

Sunday brought about more relaxation for all of us (thank goodness!)  The boys raked leaves and wrestled in the yard (bringing home more than enough grass stains, but who's complaining?)  We finished off the weekend with a trip to the Silver Diner, which opened a new restaurant close to us.  Talk about a packed house!  We're thinking that it will be the perfect breakfast joint (dinner?  Stick with shakes and breakfast!) :)

Smiles for a great day!

Got Cheeks?

Thanks for all the cute comments about J's cheeks on the last post. 

In terms of babies and cheeks, Gasperini babies pack it in!  Here's a walk down a cherubic memory lane...  Do our babies look alike or what?!

Our first cheeky babe

Numero Dos: El Cheeko

The third cheeky wonder

By my standards: the cheekier, the more adorable!  LOVE 'em!  

TGIF and hugs!!

Seratonin on a Rainy Day

No need to feel down... 

our camera arrived a day early!

And we can't begin to tell you how happy we are!

Beyond Cozy

With fire alit in the fireplace, we are uber-cozy here on this Thursday afternoon.

The kids and I got stuck out at the playground not long ago when the rain began...  We initially decided to wait it out underneath in a dry area, only to change our minds and run clamoring back home.  M ran the whole way, a huge smile lighting up his wet face.  He was having a blast!  T sat in the wagon, saturated and quiet, but seeming to enjoy the adventure.  And J, well, poor J was at the bouncing mercy of the Baby Bjorn.  We had him warm in a knit stocking cap and mittens--too cute!!  Thankfully, he also seemed to be having "fun" (in a baby sort of way) and never complained.

We arrived home happy, sodden, and ready to flicker on our fire.  

Nothing better on a fall morning...  :)  Warm hugs!

Good Morning!

Happy Wednesday to you all...

Gasperini-Ville is overcast and rainy this morning with a subtle sense of warmth and coziness.  M is off to school, the baby is down for his morning nap, leaving me and T to accomplish a few tasks around the house this morning.  First will be to collect the remainder of a pile of leaves in the yard and bag them.  This should be interesting considering the rain!  The second will be to ignite the pilot light on our fireplace and get it cookin'!  I am so excited for this...  To have fake fire at the flip of a switch will be oh so wonderful (definitely not as cozy as the real thing, but we'll take it!)  

Yesterday was a phenomenal day here...  We celebrated Veteran's Day with a lunchtime trip downtown to meet up with GG and spend some time at the Virginia War Memorial.  What a beautiful place!  The family ate lunch on a hillside blanket overlooking the city and river.  Then the boys took to the hills and had a ball rolling down through the grass.  

We eventually walked through the memorial and were so touched.  I cried as a mother of three boys, imagining all the mothers of the fallen sons, whose names were etched in the glass and stone.  Our country has sacrificed so much.  Each of those names represents a person who lived, loved, and was loved by others.  Each one fell in service of our nation.  Not profound, just powerful.  I was so glad we made the trip.

I wish I had some photos to document such a lovely day, but alas, the camera is still acting up.  You should see the pics I did capture--they are like overexposed negatives, even worse than the shot I posted the other day.  Solution: I just ordered our new camera--a Canon Powershot Elph, which arrives Friday!  Can't wait!! 

In the meantime, enjoy some of GG's old OIF1 shots...  What a stud soldier, huh? :)

 I remember crying after seeing this one...  So sweet.

God bless you today!  Hugs from Gasperini-Ville today and all days!

WOW

I write tonight from an immaculate Gasperini-Ville... all thanks to my beloved GG (he's secretly vying for "husband of the year"!)  

Tonight we dashed off to enjoy a pizza feast at Mimi and Papa's, leaving Daddy behind to take a breather and have some manly "cave time".  Rather than kick back and enjoy his two-hour bliss, though, our amazing guy served his family by cleaning the whole house while we were away!!  He knew that less clutter would help get my week off to a less stressful, more satisfying start.  What a gem, huh?

I am blessed to have married the most incredible guy on earth... :)

Hugs and warmth,

All I Have To Say

Is that J went 11 hours last night!

I mean, could anything be better than extended sleep? :) 

**************

On another front, our camera is totally on the fritz as of Halloween.  It takes fine pics, but the color is all off, with a greenish hue and reflective quality.  Has anyone ever dealt with this?  Are we cornered into buying a new camera?  What horrible timing--I would much rather shower our family with Christmas gifts rather than spend the $$ on a new one!

Here's an example of one of the pics:  It is cheeky J with our friend Lt. Pete, who came to visit on Monday with his awesome wife, Carrie!  It was so fantastic to see them and praise God together for his safe return from a second tour in Iraq with the Marines (you may remember seeing him on my prayer request list).  I was so sad not to have many shots of our visit with them due to the crazy camera...  Ho hum.  Any experience or camera insight would be awesome if you have it!

It's Thursday!  Praise God, we're making it...  

Blessings,

Candy Crazy

When M's teacher commented last week that a particular pupil of hers (ahem!) was FULL of energy, I knew we were in trouble.  Halloween.  Candy.  Excessive sugar.  Excessive energy!  My poor children have inherited their mother's sweet tooth and indulge, we have!!  Not so surprisingly, the stash of candy we had following the "holiday" has diminished significantly, which is good and bad.  Good because I won't be rifling through it several times/day.  Bad because I won't be rifling through it several times/day.  :)  I LOVE sweets.

So this got me thinking as to my favorite candies of all time.  Here goes...  For candy bars, in no particular order: Kit Kat, Twix, Watchmacallit, and Reeses PB Cups.  For candy: gummy anything, Sour Patch, Starburst.  Anybody with me?

And in other news, Happy 3mos to our Sweet Baby J!  

He is ringing in the new month with sweetness and smiles and a growth spurt--woohoo!  Perfect timing to take care of all these extra candy calories.  wink! ;)  

God bless you as we head into the end of the work week! 

I Voted!

Have you?!  

It's madness here in Virginia! ;)

Oh and don't forget to indulge in your free Starbucks today.  

You know I won't be missing out on that deal... :)