Blessed

Engaged!

I’m happy to announce that Jimmy and I are engaged!

It all started on Monday night, when my mom convinced me to go running with her and my sister on Tuesday morning at a local park. I honestly didn’t want to go, but my mom persuaded me by stressing that it was Hannah’s last free morning before she started school, and that us girls should spend the time together.

I laced up my shoes on Tuesday morning, and we headed to the park, which has a one-mile trail around the park’s lake.

I began my run, and spent about half a mile in a wooded area of the trail. When I ran out of the woods, I looked at the lake, and a guy who looked exactly like Jimmy was standing there. I seriously almost kept running. 1

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He was staring at me, so I slowed down and took off my sunglasses. Then I realized that it was Jimmy. I called out his name and he smiled. I walked towards him and a million thoughts went through my head.

I was surprised that he was at a park located over an hour away from his house, especially at 7:30AM. I was confused as to why he wasn’t at work. I was also kind of afraid. I thought something bad happened, or that he was working at the park because he often travels for certain jobs (he’s a welder).

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I honestly can’t remember what I said to him. Probably something like “What are you doing here?!”

I gave him a hug and he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.

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I said yes!

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I turned around and saw that our good friend from church, Brett, was taking pictures. He gave us both a hug and congratulated us. I was super excited that Jimmy asked Brett to take pictures of our special moment. Wow!

It was so nice of Brett to wake up crazy early, and use his amazing photography skills to capture our engagement.

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After looking through the pictures, I had to laugh because I realized that I wasn’t wearing a drop of makeup. My mom was “in” on Jimmy’s plan, and I teased her for not getting me to put on some makeup before I went running. She told me that I would have been suspicious and I would have ignored her anyways–haha!

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Gotta love the running watch in the picture. It makes me smile because it’s so “me.”

Honestly, the whole engagement was perfect. Beyond perfect. I loved the way that Jimmy surprised me. It was so special and I will remember it forever. I’m also overjoyed that we have pictures to remember the moment, too.

I feel extremely blessed to be engaged to such an amazing, Christian man. God is good.

We are so excited for our future together!

15

Just A Short Run

Hello and happy Resurrection Sunday! I hope everyone is having a great day today.

Yesterday I ran my fifth half marathon. Woo hoo!

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Just A Short Run is one of the Pittsburgh area’s largest races, with about 2,500 participants each year running distances including the 5k, an 8.1 mile, half marathon, and 30K.

It’s time for me to confess: I originally signed up for the 30K, but dropped down the the half marathon a few days before the race because I was under trained. For the past two weeks, I’ve cut my mileage in half, and haven’t done any long runs. I felt bad at first, but I realized that life is all about knowing your limits!

My mom, sister, and I all headed to a park about 20 minutes outside of Pittsburgh for the race in the chilly 30 degree weather. Guess who I got to meet up with!jasr

I finally got to meet Nikki from Life After Swimming. She’s so awesome and I totally wish she still lived in Pennsylvania!

Nikki even stayed after her 5k walk to cheer me on while I ran. jasr2

Thanks Nikki 😀

Race Results:

Time: 1:43:08 Pace: 7:52 Place: 2nd in 20-24 age group

I checked my watch, and it said I ran 13.5 miles, so that would be a 7:38 pace. Not too shabby! It’s not my fastest time (1:39:22) or my slowest time (1:46:16), so I’m pretty happy with how I did considering my fitness level (<— low.. haha), the weather, and the course. Honestly, I just feel happy any time I get a chance to run.

Hannah ran the 5k and rocked it! Her time was 25:26 (8:12 pace) and she was third in her age group.

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After the race, I spent pretty much the rest of the day on the couch. Hannah, Jimmy, and I made deviled eggs. I honestly never had deviled eggs until yesterday. For some reason, I was craving them so badly, yet I had never ate them before. Can you crave something that you’ve never had before?!

For dinner, my mom and I made a delicious slow cooker meal that I can’t wait to share with you all. It will have to wait until my next post because going to force myself to do homework and then I’m heading back to church. Have a great evening!

What did you do this weekend?