WAY TO GO DAWGS!!

Just got finished watching the Egg Bowl and all I have to say is WAY TO GO BULLDOGS!!

It was a very exciting and awesome game that was a whole lot of fun to watch. I was hopeful at the start of the game but not too sure about the outcome. But during the 2nd half, I was totally jazzed!! Mississippi State Bulldogs -- 41 and Ole Miss Rebels 27.

Aprons for Grandma

This is the apron that Alec made for Grandma for Thanksgiving. I bought the kit from Oriental Trading and it was super easy to make.

This is the apron that Kirsten made for Grandma for Christmas. She had a great time making it.

This is a picture of Alec and Grandma together.

Kirsten and Grandma.

We had a great Thanksgiving this year. We went to Mitch's sister's house to eat with his family. We had tons of food and we ate a lot. We had a good time visiting with his family, but I forgot to get my camera out and take pictures.

We arrived home and had about an hour or two before we ate with my side of the family at my mother's house. There was lots of food there too and I ate way too much. But, isn't that part of Thanksgiving? Mom's cooking is what I really love and it doesn't feel like Thanksgiving until I eat her turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes and rolls. That is like a meal and dessert all rolled into one. Of course, she was not lacking in the dessert department either.

Friday morning, my sister and I got up early to drive to Wal-Mart for Black Friday shopping. I have never been before and she had only been once and I am not sure that I will go again, but it was not too bad. I do not like shopping in crowds and our Wal-Mart was crazy packed. We had no shopping cart (and if we had one, we could not have steered it through the store anyway), and it was difficult to get to an item to look at it anyway. I am tempted to stay home and shop online during the Christmas season anyway, and you can almost get everything online just like in the store.

We may put up our Christmas tree today and I will post picture of it if we do.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

I want to wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving from our family. Our plans include two dinners in one day, so we will be full tonight.

We are so thankful for our Lord who provides so well for us everyday (even though we forget to thank Him everyday). We are so thankful for our family and friends which He has graciously provided for us. We are so thankful for the great nation He has blessed us to live in (even though most in our country have forgotten Him). We are so thankful for the abundance of food and shelter that He has given us. We are so thankful for our health and abilities that He has given us. I could go on and on forever and not thank our Heavenly Father enough, but just know that we are eternally grateful for all of His mercies and love towards us.

Have a BLESSED DAY! Love, The McAfees

Well .... I Survived!

Yesterday started at 5:00 am for me. I left the house and started running at 5:30 and ran for two miles before meeting up with my running buddies. Our goal was to run for 12 miles and since I had to work, my plan was to get started earlier so that I would not be too late for work. We ran 8 minutes and walked 2 the whole way ( there were a few seconds that I had to walk a little extra - thanks to the many hills in Blue Mountain ). But...I survived and that is what counts. I arrived home at 8:30 and showered and got dressed and left at 8:55 and drove to work. We worked until 1:30 and then drove immediately to the wedding of one of our co-worker's daughters. It was a nice wedding and the food was really good. I then had to drive for 45 minutes to pick up Alec who had spent the night with his grandparents. We stopped to pick up supper (I think I earned the right to not cook last night) and arrived home at 5:00. Alec and I ate and then I went to my bed to watch football. My bed felt sooooooo good after my long day. I expected to get up and feel sore and moving slow this morning, but I am feeling a lot better than I expected. Every time I have run a half marathon, I feel really bad for almost two weeks. That sounds like progress to me. I am not sure what mileage we will be running the next two weeks, but it will be slow and short. The half marathon in December 5th and I am optimistically excited about running it.

Just an Update

This week has been very busy for me -- but not as busy as last week. Saturday finished up our cross-country season with a bang. We had an awesome race and a great picnic at some friends house. On Sunday, we went to church and then that afternoon, two friends and I ran 9 miles. We slowed our pace down and ran (consistently, I mean the whole time) 8 minutes and walked 2 minutes. For those of you out there who don't live near me THAT WAS A MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENT. I am a quitter when it comes to running and I have a million excuses as to why I have to stop NOW!

Also, on Sunday, I took the kids pictures and ordered my Christmas cards. They are now in my possession and I am almost done addressing all of them. I have never been this prepared this soon before. We have been trying to get school done this week so that we might take off a few days next week. I won't give us a whole week off even though it is tempting. I had to work yesterday and will work today and tomorrow.

Now about tomorrow...

Saturday for me will start around 5:30. We are planning on running for 12 miles to get our last long run in before the half-marathon. Right after we finish running, I have to come home to get ready for work. Right after work, I have to attend a wedding. I am not looking forward to a long day especially with tired legs. But I will put my big-girl-panties on and just do it anyway. I will just think that I am almost done with the run-training that I have to do. Then I can take some time off and recover. I am really excited this year to run the half marathon. I think that I am better prepared this year thanks to running with Rachel and I thank her for pushing (dragging) me to keep it up. I hopefully will not be sore for two weeks post run like I have been the last two years.

Save-a-Life 5K -- Way to go TEAM SPARTAN!

We had an absolutely gorgeous day for the final Spartan race of the season. It was cool at first and then warmed up a little which made it perfect for running.

Alec runs in the middle of the pack at the beginning of the race, but he was there with some fast company.

Zack had a very swift race and finished 2nd overall. He has had an amazing season and we are proud to have him on our team.

Forrest was the 4th overall finisher and had a great race also.

Our two female powerhouses - Danielle and Julie - finished 1st and 2nd female, but more importantly, they both achieved their goal of finishing under 20:00. Danielle finished one second ahead of Julie with a time of 19:53. These girls are such great friends and competitors. It has been a true joy to watch them run.

Alec did not finish his fastest race of the season, but he still was flying. He finished with a time of 25:35. We are proud of his accomplishments this year.

Kirsten also finished with a near season best of 27:22. She enjoys running more and more and we hope that she lights a fire under herself next year and runs with the potential that we know she has.

The Homeschool Channel sent a crew from Tupelo to interview our team and cover the race. We are not sure when it will air, how it will air, or who will be broadcast, but the kids had fun talking to the camera anyway. Alec decided to be interviewed (I have no clue what he was asked or what he said, because I could not hear them talking).

Some of the girls wanted to be interviewed together.

The Spartans led a cheer for the camera. We are team Spartan, we are team Spartan, WE ARE TEAM SPARTAN!!!

Fall Picture Time

Father/Son Campout

On Friday night, Mitch and Alec drove up to our church camp property for a father/son campout with several other families. It was very rainy on Friday and it continued that night. But my troopers made a good night of it anyway. Our camp has a big pavillion and that is where they played while it was raining. Alec had a whole lot of fun.

Alec looks happy in spite of the rain.

Playing games with each other.

Alec blows up a balloon for a game.

Playing flag football is a new enjoyment for Alec. He hasn't learned all about it yet, but we are working on it. Fortunately for Alec, his mama had an older brother who taught her how to play football. I can still throw a spiral and still kick pretty good. My favorite thing to do in younger days was to punt bare-footed. My kids did not know that about me until two weeks ago. I must say that I showed out just a little ( amazingly they were pretty impressed ).

This was some log rolling, knot tying, running game. Mitch did not explain all the rules.

While the boys were doing male bonding type stuff, Kirsten and I spent Friday night going out to eat at Country Inn, Too (in Ripley) and then Claire spent the night. The next morning Kirsten and I got up early, drove to Tupelo, then back to New Albany to meet up with our Coach and some other girls to run. Unfortunately, I did not call and confirm that we were coming and they started running at 9:30 instead of 10:00. Kirsten did not mind at all, because she got to meet at the coffee shop for a coffee and conversation with the girls and didn't even have to run a step.

After leaving New Albany, we headed to the church camp for a family get-together with several families from our church and a church in Memphis. We had a good time eating and visiting. The kids played some games and the dads tried to prove that they could still play basketball like they did when they were younger. We left around 3:00 and headed to my in-laws to visit for a few minutes. It has been awhile since we had seen them and we had a good visit. Next, we headed to Falkner for a cookout at our friends' house. There were a lot of people there and we had a great time until we tried to leave. It was very wet and we got stuck and had to be pushed out of the mud. I felt sorry for the men who came to help push me out, because I have a full size conversion van instead of a little car. They graciously pushed me out anyway and in so doing got a great workout. We were not the only ones that got stuck and they got the chance to serve many others while pushing every one's cars out of the mud. It was a very full day, but also one filled with a lot of fun and fellowship.