Well Read

I love to read. I always have. Hey, it's a big reason why I teach and love my job. Amy and I have always been avid readers. For fun, that is. College textbooks?  Not so much.  But then life happens. Jobs happen. Kids happen. Dogs happen.  The free time in which to enjoy a good book seems to vanish into thin air. 

But I've decided recently to start reading again. Well, not that I stopped. But to make a more concerted effort to do so. To relax and unwind. Kind of like Amy and I are doing with running. Something for ourselves that we enjoy. 

Where to begin?  What to read?  I'm currently in the middle of several books. But I wanted to start fresh. Something new. So I decided to check out a book from the library. On my iPad. There's an app, Overdrive, that allows you to access libraries and their ebook database. You can then use your library card to check out. It's pretty awesome and I highly recommend it if you haven't done so already. All the fun of checking out a book without having to change out of your jammies and head to the library. 

Now, don't get me wrong. I still love an actual book. A real one you can hold and turn the pages. But I also embrace technology and the convenience of an ebook.  I think they can happily coexist. 

So the book I checked out is an Agatha Christie book, Hallowe'en Party. I love Agatha Christie and it's been ages since I read a book of hers. A good, old fashioned mystery. Ahhhhh. Sadly though my time with the book expires tomorrow and I cannot recheck it out since there is a hold on it. Thanks a lot random Houstonian for placing a hold on my book. Oh well. I plan on binge reading tonight. Who knows?  Maybe I'll finish?  

So. That's what's new here. What about you?  Reader?  Hard copy or ebook?  What are you reading right now?  Any good recommendations?

All is well, curled up with a good book, in Drosche Land.  

Fitness

Yeah. So I am still surprised to find that I am writing about running and fitness. Much less the fact that I am actually running.  Craziness.

You might remember back in July when I posted about the fact that Amy and I had taken up running. Amy started the trend actually and encouraged me to try it. The 14 pounds I gained during the "waiting for the call" period of our adoption journey were also speaking to me. Granted their words were more along the lines of, "Have another donut!"  Regardless I decided to start. I mean, we are not getting any younger since we are 30ish. Plus, what good is all the healthy eating doing if we don't back it up with other healthy habits. 

I started slowly. Literally and figuratively. Not only did I move slowly, but I began with short distances. It wasn't long before I was moving more quickly and covering more ground. This motivated me to keep at it. That and the fact that Amy had also signed us up for our first 5K. 

The last time I blogged, I used the term rulking. You know, not fully walking but definitely not running. Well, I've moved past that now. I am actually running for the entire duration of my exercises. I know!  I'm just as shocked as you. Still. I started to enjoy it. I hadn't experienced the "runner's high" people spoke of, but I wasn't dying. 

Then came the 5K. Sadly Amy and I couldn't run it together. By then we had the placement of T & L and they could not be left alone with anyone but Amy and I. So I went with my sisterinlaw Amanda. It was a GlowFoam 5K. It was in the middle of August and it was hot. But it was fun. 

Prior to the race there was a concert. You were sprayed with colored foam. Multiple times.  You were drenched in foam residue. With several thousand of your closest fellow Houstonians. Then it got dark and the time for the run finally came. Black lights and more foam stations were set up along the    course so you could get further foamed and see yourself glow. It was pretty awesome. I'll admit too that it was fun. I enjoyed it. It definitely will not be the last 5K. Amy and I are already looking into some ones in the future that we can do together. Now, don't go jumping to conclusions. I'm not doing any half marathons or marathons. That's just crazy. But a 5K?  I can handle that.

So, there you have it. I run. Several times a week. Amy and I alternate days and times to fit our scheduled and we have gotten to the point where we make time for it. Not only has it helped health-wise (I've said goodbye to those 14 pesky pounds) but it is therapeutic. Calming in a way. It gives us some time to unwind and relax. Again. I never thought I would be referring to running as "relaxing" or "therapeutic". But it is and we are enjoying it. I still don't know if I have experienced any runner's high. I do feel good after a run, provided the heat isn't so oppressive that I feel as though I'm melting. Maybe that is a runner's high?  Who knows. Regardless, we run. I guess it is possible to teach a lazy dog healthy tricks and habits. Go figure.

My number!

                               Foamed up and ready to run!

All is well, step by step, in Drosche Land. 

Kickin' It

It's been a while since the boys played sports. We took last year off since there were so many changes with new jobs and new schools. That was ok. We needed the extra time to adapt to the changes and get into new routines. 

However, as the new school year approached, both Braeden and Jackson every so subtly reminded us that they wanted to play sports. Again. As luck would have it St. Mark offers soccer through a neighborhood league for the kids who are not old enough for the school's team. This seemed very convenient and right up our alley so we signed them up. Sadly, Braeden's team didn't have enough 3rd Graders interested to make a team. Bummer. So we put that on hold for a bit. Jackson though joined the majority of the boys in his class on the 1st/2nd Grade team. This is great because they practice once weekly at St. Mark and have games on Saturdays, often at St. Mark. It's also less competitive than a separate league which is good for Jackson as he just wants to play. Win!

As it turns out we were able to get Braeden joined on a league near our house. His cousin, who is in 4th Grade, is also playing and we just found out they are on the same team. Another win!  They practice once weekly, the same night as Jackson. Even though it's way out by our house, the fact that it's on the same night makes it a win. Their games are on Sunday so our weekends have been taken up by soccer for the next few months but it's all good. Braeden's team is also more competitive, good for him as he is more serious about sports than Jack. 

So, everything ended out working for the best. Both boys get to play and Amy and I get the benefit of convenient scheduling. That's definitely something to rejoice about since it will likely not always be the case. But they are excited and so are we. This weekend marks our first games so stay tuned for details and pictures about that. I'm exciting about taking my camera out and using it more often. It's spent quite a while away since things have been so busy lately.  Another win. All in all I think we are ready for a fun and successful fall sports season here. 

All is well, having a (soccer) ball again, in Drosche Land. 

Update

So I've been absent for a while. Life here in Drosche Land got pretty busy after the placement of T and L. Crazy busy.  So, blogging paused for a bit. As much as I wanted to post, there just wasn't the time or energy to follow through. 

I'll just jump right into the update and let you know that T and L are no longer with us. We received notification last Thursday that they would be moving to a new foster home on Friday.  Friday came and I took Braeden, Jackson, and Stella to school while Amy stayed at home with T and L. A few hours later the CPS worker picked them up and it was over.  As I've mentioned before this wasn't a surprise to us as we always knew it was the likelihood. 

These past 5 1/2 weeks have been quite the journey. Filled with ups and downs. We experienced a lot and learned a lot. We learned about each other, our children, the system, and of course T & L.  We continue to keep them in our thoughts and prayers, that He would keep them safe. Hopefully in the short time we had them with us we were able to instill things that may help to shape their future. 

You're probably wondering what now?  What are our plans?  For fostering. For adoption. Well, this was something that Amy and I obviously prayed about and discussed in length over the past 5 1/2 weeks. We've come to the conclusion that we are not going to pursue anything further. No more fostering. No more adoption. We have 3 blessings that we love very much. We need to focus on the five of us now.  Adoption continues to be something that we hold dear and find important, we will just support and advocate in a different way than we'd planned. 

So we move on. Move forward. This weekend we have spent time relaxing and recovering. Stella is moved back into her bedroom and it has been rearranged for just her.  Amy and I have also spent a lot of time moving furniture and getting the house back in order.  It has been nice to sit. To enjoy each other. To relax. 

So that's it for us now. That's our update. Thank you to everyone for the thoughts and prayers during this past year as we traveled the road through the adoption and foster care process. It was felt and greatly appreciated.  Thank you. 

All is well, updated, in Drosche Land.