First Day of School Pictures

Here are Tricia and Parker getting on the bus, yesterday. They are growing up so fast.

Here is Parker heading into school to start second grade.

Here is Tricia heading into school to start third grade. She has been counting down the days until school starts for the last month.

Tricia and Parker in the courtyard at school all ready to start the 2006-2007 school year. We look forward to many happy memories this year and lots of learning.

My Official Triathlon Results

Here are my official results from my triathlon on Sunday.

Melissa Black 14:00 5:53 1:03:26 2:04 55:49 2:21:11

My Swim was 14 minutes
Transition 1 was 5:53
Bike 1:03:26
Transition 2 was 2:04
Run 55:49

I was in the same town as my first tri, so the bike and the run were the same distances and the transition area was in the same place, so I am very pleased with the improvement in my transition times. Here are the results from my last tri. Don't compare the swims because this one was less, but it is cool to see my improvements in my transitions. My run is about the same and I was about 6 minutes longer in the bike. I was a little bummed about that, but I am very proud of the fact that I did it and that I finished. I will be doing the same two triathlons next year and I'm very excited about how I will do then.

Here is the results from my first triathlon.
1/2 mile swim0-21:27 minutes
Tranistion 1-7:30
bike 20K-57:47
Transition 2-4:33
Run-55:53

For those of you who might not know what a transition is, it's when I go from one leg of the race to the next. Transition 1 is when you are going from the swim to the bike and transition 2 is when you go from the bike to the run. At this race Transition 1 is not too close to the beach, so most people run it, but I have to slog to it (slow jog), so I'm not too fast, but was very proud of myself for shaving off a couple minutes. I have learned some little secrets to having smoother transitions. I am very excited now to keep training and be ready to do my Century ride (100 mile bike ride) on October 1st. I will not be biking the whole 100, but hope to do between 50-75 miles.

I'll be posting pictures from this triathlon soon. Tricia was my official photographer for this event.

Thanks again everyone for your ongoing support during my journey. I love you all.

Melissa

Next Triathlon is Tomorrow!!

My next Triathlon is tomorrow. It is back in Naperville, but this time will be Co-ed. It will be a shorter swim, but the bike and run are the same. I have not been training like I had hoped and have gained a few pounds since the last one, but I know that I will be able to finish it and be motivated to get back into the swing of things. Thanks for all your constant encouragement and motivation during my journey. I appreciate each and every one of you and whatever journey you may be undertaking remember YOU CAN DO IT!!

Here are the kids after I finished my first Triathlon. They were at each step of the way for me cheering me on. My transitions were a little longer than they should have been because I stopped for kisses from them each leg of the race. It's exactly what I needed to finish. Keith and the kids will be there for me tomorrow cheering me on. Keith was out of town during my first tri, so he is excited to see me participate in one. I will blog soon and let you know how it goes.

Remember, with Christ all things are possible. :-)

My First Triathlon Ever!!

On June 25th, 2006 I competed in my first triathlon ever. I was in the Subaru US Women's Triathlon Series in Naperville, Illinois. I swam 1/2 mile, biked just under 15 miles and ran a 5K. It was such a neat accomplishment and it was something that I never thought that I would ever be able to do. I love how healthy I am becoming in every area of my life.

Here I am on June 24th. I picked up my racing packet and got my numbers put on. I had butterflies in my stomach on and off all day. I had planned to do this Triathlon for about a year and I couldn't belive that the day had finally come. There were lots of vendors and speakers that day that really helped get me prepared for race day.

Here I am on June 25th, race day, after setting up my transition area with my bike. I found that everyone was very helpful and kind to us trinewbies and didn't mind answering questions. It was raining all morning and we were hoping it would stop by our wave start, but we had no such luck. It would be a cold and wet day for the race. I guess that is better than hot and humid.

Darlene is my friend of 20 years and we decided to begin our healthy lifestyle makeover together. It was her idea for us to do a triathlon, so here we are after setting up our transition area. We then had an hour to wait before our wave would start. It was really fun to watch the elite athletes. Also, because the triathlon was for Ovarian Cancer awareness the 2nd wave was cancer survivors. That was really moving to see.

Here I am coming out of the swim. The swim for me is the toughest part. I have a problem with claustrophobia and have been known to have a couple of panic attacks here and there, so my goal was to get through the swim without panicing. I did great right up until the last 5 minutes. I started to panic a little bit and another swimmer noticed and swam with me telling me I could do it. I focused on the finish line and focused on my breathing and was able to pull myself out of it. I was very proud of myself. I was able to complete my swim in 21 minutes, which was the best time I had ever had in a swim. Go Me!!

Here I am sprinting across the finish line. I was so tired and I had walked most of my 5K to that point, but when I knew I was close I just sprinted my heart out. It was so hard, but I was really proud of myself when I had finished. It is a feeling that is hard to describe. It really proved to myself that I can do anything I put my mind to and that is a good feeling for me.

Here we are after we finished our first ever triathlon. Notice our cool finisher medals. Our next adventure together will be doing a century ride in October.

Here is a picture of Darlene and I a few years back. It is amazing to me that I ever let myself get to that point. We have come so far together and are very excited about our journey ahead. We are excited to see where God leads us and how He will use our journey to help, encourage and inspire others to better themselves. Darlene, thanks for being such a good friend through thick and thin. I could not make it through life without you. I have loved the first 20 years of our friendship. Here's to the next 20. You go girl!!

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength-Philippians 4:13

Parker gets his orange belt

As most of you know Parker has been taking Kung Fu since about April. He has been working towards getting his second belt and he has done so. This past Monday he got tested for his orange belt and did awesome. He had to do everything he had learned to that point. When I asked him how he felt during testing he replied, "A lot of stress Mom, a lot of stress."
Here are some pictures. Enjoy!!

Here Parker is doing an inside out block.

Here the boys are getting some instruction from Shihan.

After a lot of sweat and hard work Parker receives his Orange belt. It was over 100 degrees that day with the heat index and there is no air conditioning in the building, so when I say after a lot of sweat, I really mean it. Shihan was telling the boys that when he trained in Japan during the summer that it was a lot hotter than this. Us Moms wanted to tell him, "Shihan, this ain't Japan." But he did give the boys lots of breaks.

Presenting the newest Orange Belt at Ganghi's Martial Arts with his teacher Shihan Ganghi. We are so proud of Parker's hard work and dedication to his Martial Arts training. He wakes up almost everyday saying, " Only ___ days left till Kung Fu." Good Job little buddy!!

Parker turns 7, final installment

Parker huddling with his buddies after receiving a football as a gift.

Parker meeting Justin Roberts after the concert. Parker told me that Justin knew that it was his birthday. I said, "Parker, How do you think he knew it was your birthday?" He said, "Mom, he asked does anyone have a birthday today before singing IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY and I yelled MEEEEEEE. He remembered my voice, so when I went to meet him he remembered."
The birthday boy's sis hangin' with her friends Josh and Katie. They look sooooo cool!
Parker's cuz Helena shares the same birthday. We got her a cake, tiara and birthday wand. What a cutie!!
Here is Parker and Tricia hanging out with their cousins after the party.

Yesterday, on Parker's actual birthday we headed downtown and heard some friends sing in a 4th of July concert and then headed to Ed Debevic's restaraunt. A must if you ever visit Chicago. The wait staff is hiliarious. We had a waiter named Tofer and the kids at the next table called him Tofu, so pretty much the whole section was calling them that. The waiters and waitresses can be rude, but it's all in fun. He told me to throw the menus on the next table, so I did, literally. It was a great time. We went with Grandpa Jim and Grandma Anne.

Here is a poem I wrote for Parker.

My Little Man

My little man just turned seven

He was a gift to us sent from heaven

It seems like just yesterday that you were born

It's you that I love and you that I adorn

Keep growing up the way that you are

In my eyes you will always be a star

You are very polite and a lot of fun

I'm sure glad God picked you to be our son.

Parker, Mommy and Daddy love you so much. We want you to always know that and remember that as you grow up. We love you, Buddy. Happy Birthday!!

Parker turns 7 Part 2

Here Parker relaxes as his friend Nathan K. gives him a back rub. Ahhhhhhh!
Parker, Nathan K. and Paul belt out a few tunes!!

Chillin' with some friends. L to R Josh, Luke in back, Parker, Jack D. Gage and Nathan S.

Parker, with his super rock star face on jammin' with his band and back up singer, Gage and Sara.

Some more rockin' and Rollin'

Parker Turns 7

I cannot believe that my baby is turning 7. His birthday is actually tomorrow on July 2nd, but we had his birthday party today. We had it at Ravinia, which is a place that holds concerts all summer. They have kids concerts during the day and other concerts at night. Today one of our favorite kids singers was there, so we knew it would be a perfect setting for our little singer's birthday party. One thing that is neat about Ravinia is that if you buy lawn seats you can basically bring in anything you want to picnic with, so we went all out. Parker has loved to sing from an early age, so he loves the show American Idol, so our theme was American Idol/Rock-n Roll. Here he is posing with his electric guitar cake. An awesome friend from church, named Anna Maria made it for him.

Here Parker and Jack U. are giving Justin Roberts thumbs up. They were all having a Rockin' time!!

Hangin' with some friends from school. Kasia and Parker met in Preschool and were in 1st grade together. Steven and Parker are buds.

Parker and I rockin' out to the song IT's YOUR BIRTHDAY by Justin Roberts. We had an incredible day. We had 25 kids and 13 adults, perfect weather, good music and great cake!! What else can you ask for? Well, for Parker it was the Cars Video game and Auntie Lynn filled that request.

I will post more pictures later.

I am a Triathlete!!

Well, folks, I did it. I can now say that I am a Triathlete. Below are my results. My goal was to to the Tri in under 3 hours. I did that. Another goal was to not be last in my age division. Did that too. :-) I will blog more about the actual event when I get home and can include some pictures. All I can say is it was AWESOME. I have just proven to myself that I can do anything I put my mind to. I just wanted to thank you all for your support and encouragment through all of this. I could not have done it without you.


overall place:
1583 out of 1603

division place:
276 out of 277

gender place:
1583 out of 1604

time:
2:27:07

swim:
21:27

trans 1:
7:30

bike:
57:47:00

trans 2:
4:33

run:
55:53:00

Tomorrow is the big day!!

Well, this is it. My big day has finally arrived. Tomorrow is my first ever Triathlon. I am so excited and nervous rolled into one. I took some pictures today at the packet pick up and will blog after the big event. Please pray for me as my neck has been hurting this week, so I am a little nervous about the swim, but I know that I will be able to do it. I'll let you know how it goes. Gotta get to bed. Thank you everyone for your support. Much love, Melissa

A lot has been going on

As most of you know I did BIKE THE DRIVE on May 28th, 2006. This is where Chicago closes famous Lake Shore Drive for about 5 hours and opens it to bikers. It was a lot of fun. I considered this to be training for my triathlon. I will have to bike about 15 miles and did 30 in about 2 1/2 hours. I think I will be fine for my Triathlon. :-)

The picture above is of me on the train around 4:45am heading downtown. It was a lot of fun because the CTA changes their bike rules for the day, so at this point I was on the train with about 4 other bikers. Usually they only allow 2 bikes per car, but not today.

On the advice of some friends I started my ride heading north, so I could get the hills out of the way. Keith and I started out our marriage at 3600 N. Lake Shore Dr. I have spent countless hours driving in a car on Lake Shore Drive, so it was fun to pass our old stomping grounds on a bike. This is a self portrait of me with the tower we lived in behind. The tower right behind my head is the one that we lived in on the 13th floor. Ahhh, memoriesI finished the ride North and headed to the South. This route was much more fun because that is where all the sights are and it is less hilly. Here I am with Field Museum in the background.

This is my self portrait of me in front of Soldier Field. This is also where my chain came off. I was on the side of the road yelling, "Anyone know how to fix a chain?" Finally my Good Samaratin came along and helped me and I was back on my way. Next stop, Museum of Science and Industry and then back to Grant Park. I was trying to post more pictures, but I am having some trouble, so I will post more at a later date.

A lot more has been going on in my life, which is why I haven't posted on here in awhile.

First of all, I am back in college. I am taking 3 summer school classes. I am in Intermediate Algebra, Old Testament Survey and Non-Western Civilization. They are all interesting, but it is a lot to keep up with. I'm not sure what I was thinking signing up for 3 classes. In the fall I will be Trinity University student studying Elementary Education. I will be graduating Spring of 2008. Eeeeeeeeeeee!! I'm so excited. They have a face paced track I will be on. I will be in classes every Monday night from 6-10pm. The classes are all condensed, so the working person or mom can fit it into their schedule. It is a nice fit for me.

I have quit my preschool job and am taking a job in the fall being an aid for a little boy. I will be assisting him in Kindergarten. We have visited the school twice and it is a good match for us. It is montessori school, which both of my kids went to for preschool, so I am familiar with the philosophy of teaching, which will make for an easier transition.

My triathlon is on June 25th. Darlene and I are doing it together, so today we did a practice Tri. It was good, but tiring. It was almost 90 degrees and very humid. Luckily the Tri on the 25th will start early in the morning, so it shouldn't be as hot.

Tricia won a sweepstakes. She will honorary bat kid at tomorrow's (June 16) Cubs game. We have to go early, so she can watch batting practice from the dugout. She gets a hat, jersey, baseball, her name on the scoreboard, her name announced over the PA system and she gets to meet players. We are not allowed to go into the dugout, but we still get to be there with her and get to go to the game. As a Sox fan this is nice for me because the Cubs are playing the Detroit Tigers. That is the team that the Sox are trying to knock out of first place, so I need the Tigers to lose, so I will be a Cubs fan tomorrow.

After the Cubs game we drive to the airport to leave for Arizona for a week. Keith's Mom and Grandma live there and we haven't been in a couple of years, so it is time. We are all looking forward to it. I will blog when I get home.

I think that is pretty much the update and the life and times of Melissa. Until Next Time Keep on Keepin' On.

" I only have good days and great days." -Lance Armstrong

Funny Picture of Luke

Here is a cute picture of Luke. He just wouldn't let go of that Binky. Luke has been with his new Mommy and Daddy for just over a month now and everything is going great. We all love him very much. Thanks for letting me share. Later, Melissa

WW (Weight Watchers) Report and some new gear

Hi everyone,

Well, it's been a week since I've written, but I have great news. My official weigh in for the week of April 27-May 3rd was a weightloss of 6 pounds. I am so excited. I knew I had a good week, but didn't know it was that good, so I lost the weight I had gained plus a couple of pounds. It's really got me back in the right mind set again and really motivated. One thing I did during my great week was go and buy some new gear. I headed off to the local running store. I asked about 5 runners at the gym where they shop for running gear and 4 out of 5 runners said, DICK PONDS of Barrington.



A great gentleman named Bryan helped me find the perfect shoes for my silly 'ol feet, but there was just one little problem. He didn't have them in my size. I bought some socks and some sunglasses and headed to another location. I hopped in my car, with my new shades on and headed about 25 minutes south to DICK PONDS of Schaumburg, where a super lady named Kay helped me get all fitted for my shoes.

Here I am checking out my new running/biking shades in my car at a red light on the way to the Schaumburg store. No more bugs in my eyes anymore.

Here is my beautiful shoe. I bought BROOKS Adrenaline GTS 6. I have no idea what all that means, but that's for all you runners out there that care. I couldn't wait to get to the gym the next day.

Here is a picture of all my new gear. I got some very cool socks. Check out the pair with the bikes on them. I've already worn them biking and spinning. Cool.

The next day I headed out the door to the gym, stretched, hopped on the treadmill, walked a couple of minutes and then uped the speed. For some reason my new shoes did not make it any easier to run. I thought once you got the shoes you could just do it. :-) After 30 minutes of running/walking/panting/gasping I called it quits. I have done that again and it was a little easier. This time I walked/ran/panted, but no gasping this time. I was supposed to go and do this torture again yesterday, but my back went out Thursday night, so I haven't been able to bike, SLOG (slow jog) or swim at all, but I am not going to let this get me down. I will be back next week and I will run/walk even longer and better. I will keep you posted on my running adventures.

Another very cool thing I just signed up for today is called BIKE THE DRIVE 2006. For those of you familiar with Downtown Chicago there is a road called Lake Shore Drive that stretches out along our lakefront. On May 28th they will be closing it in both directions from 5am-10am and opening it to bikers. You can choose to do the 15 mile loop or the 30 mile loop. I will be doing the 30 mile loop. I will definetly be taking pictures and will blog about it. I was only going to the the 15 mile loop because that is how long my Triathlon bike will be, but I decided that I want to challenge myself to the 30 mile loop because I know that I can do it. I am very excited and cannot wait.

Until next time, Melissa

Weight Watchers Report

I cannot believe that another week has gone by. I am disappointed that I didn't get to the gym like I needed to and am bummed that I haven't been feeling well. Anywho, I really don't want to post this, but I will. . .My Official weigh in for the week of April 19-April 26th is a gain of 1.4. I will be back with a great report next week. You can count on it!! Later, Melissa

My first time clipping into my pedals HILARIOUS

Well, today was the day. I took my bike off my trainer and reintroduced it to the great outdoors. (For those of you who don't know a trainer is something you can hook your bike into so you can ride your bike indoors during the winter months. You know like a stationary bike, but it is actually your real bike.)

I have mentioned in previous post about my AWESOME biking shoes that I got this winter and have been using to clip into the pedals on the spinning bikes at the YMCA. (Again, if you need a refresher, these are shoes that actually attach to the pedals, so you are one with your bike. This way not only can you push down the pedals you can pull up as well causing the ride to be sooo smooth and you get more bang for you buck. If any of you biker people out there would like to give a more technical explanation please do so in the comment section, but alas, I digress. ) I decided today was the big day. I would be clipping into my bike for the first time outside. I have clipped in a few times on the trainer, but it is not quite the same. On the trainer you are held up, outside you are not.

So I'm all ready and get on my bike, grab onto my mirror on my mini van, balence and get my right foot all clipped in. I mean, this foot is not about to go anywhere, so I start biking and head into the local subdivision, so I can work on clipping in my left foot before hitting the open trails. Here I am riding around in circles, with a bunch of kids, trying my best to get my left foot in when I finally give up. I decide I will bike with one foot clipped in and keep working on it the whole ride, so I head off to the trail in the distance. I'm still working on the left foot when it goes in a little. I'm excited, so I start pulling up on the pedals and D'oh, my left foot comes out, so I try again, give up, stand up to get going fast and VIOLA, my left foot clips in. I'm so excited I almost fall over. I finally make it to the trail and have my sites set on a Dad and his kid in the distance. I think to myself, I WILL PASS THEM. I'm closing the gap and am all excited that I'm about to beat an 8 year old kid and his old man, when out of nowhere a bug flies into my right eye. I was so going to catch up and pass this kid and his Dad, but the bug incident slowed me down and then they take a left and I needed to go right, so I decide that it is time for me to stop and take a little rest and make sure my eye is ok. I realize my feet are still clipped into the pedals. Before falling over I manage to get my right foot out, but my left foot is stuck now.

I see a fellow biker riding really slow, I think he was making sure I was ok and I notice that he is clipped into his pedals wearing the same cool shoes I have. I asked him if he had a sec and he did so I asked him about clipping in and that my left foot felt stuck and he showed me how I could loosen the clip on the bike when I get home and we talked for a minute and then he wished me good luck and we were off. The exciting part is that when I got back on I was able to clip the right one in right away and the left one only took about 2 minutes this time, just in time for a big hill, well, not really that big, but I hadn't been riding in awhile, so it felt big. :-) I make my way home all proud of myself and make it to my driveway, almost fall over, and finally get my right foot out. I then realize that my left foot is REALLY stuck in the clip. I mean I was almost spraining my ankle just trying to get out of this pedal, so I wheel up by the front door and start yelling at the door, KEITH, KEITH, KEITH. No answer. So I start again, KEITH, KEITH, when I hear my son, Parker, yelling through the door, MOM, YOU OK OUT THERE? He doesn't bother to open the door, so I tell him to open the door and he does and I tell him to get Daddy, so Keith comes to the door and I say, Honey, I'm stuck in my bike and he gives me this priceless look, so I have him hold my bike and I'm almost breaking my ankle at this point (ok, that's a little exaggerated), so finally I have him undo the Velcro on my shoe and I take my foot out and really have to tug to get my shoe off my pedal. It was pretty funny and then when I walk in Parker says, MOM, good thing I was going potty, we never would have heard you." I was glad too. I really don't know how I would have gotten out because I had just raised my seat and I don't think I could have reached the velcro.

So, there is the story of my first time clipping in to my pedals. I wish I had a great falling over at 0 miles per hour story, but this one was fun and now it won't be so bad next time. If anyone has any advice, great stories or better technical explanations than I gave feel free to comment. Also I have written a couple Hiakus (Haikus are short poems that have 5 syllables in the first line, 7 in the second line and then 5 in the third line. They are a lot of fun to write.) dedicated to the whole experience. If you would like to write a Haiku for me I would love to hear it too.

Shoes click into bike
I have fun getting them out
At least I fall not

Yelling at my door
I'm stuck in my bike no more
After Keith saves me

I like to bike ride
I like the wind in my hair
Don't like bug in eye

Have a great night.
Melissa

PS. Oh yeah, about the whole weight gain last week. I'm over and so remotivated after my bike ride tonight. It's great to be out in the fresh air again.

Weight Watcher Report

I had a rougher week than I realized. I knew that I had gained, but how much was a surprise. My official weigh-in for the week of April 12-19th was a gain of 2.6. I was very proud of myself because I didn't want to go and weigh-in, but I remembered that I blogged that I would be blogging my progress, so I didn't want to skip and have to blog about skipping the meeting, so I guess putting this on here really does hold me accountable. I know exactly what I haven't been doing and am so remotivated tonight in my journey. Gotta go get my prune boy out of the tub and in bed. Thanks for listening or should I say reading?

More Pictures of Luke

Here is little Luke. He is such a happy baby, well at least for 10 minutes. After he eats he is soooo happy and his Daddy calls it his 10 minutes of happiness.

Here I am with Little Luke. For those of you who don't know all my nephews and nieces call me Aunt Meepa. That is because when my 23 year old little brother was learning to talk he couldn't say Melissa, so it came out Meepa and it has stuck.

Here we are, proud Daddy and Proud Auntie. Ahhhh, he sleeps like a baby, wait a minute he is a baby!! If you would like to see more pictures please check out the proud Papa's blog at www.pastorkarl.com.

This is my 100th post and it's exciting!!

We have exciting news in our family. My brother, Karl, and his wife Sara are Parents. They have been praying for 10 years to have a baby and Easter Sunday their prayers have been answered. They are adopting a beautiful little boy named Luke Given. It is an exciting time for our whole family. Here is a great picture of Dad and Son. Enjoy! There will be more pictures to follow of my new little nephew. Have a blessed day!!

Pictures of the kiddos

Here is a picture of Parker right after he received his White Belt in Kung Fu. He received his uniform after this picture was taken. He now has 2 stripes. You need 10 stripes on your belt to move up to the next color.
Here is Parker with Shihan. Shihan is the title above the more commonly known Sensei. He is a great teacher and a great match with Parker. He is tough on him, but very kind as well. When Parker prays at night he always tells God how grateful he is for Shihan. This is right after he received his belt.

Here is Tricia on her first day of Skateboarding getting some advice from her teacher Anthony. She really likes him and he is very helpful and thinks it's cool that she's into boarding.

This next picture is of Anthony helping Tricia get ready to DROP IN. Lookin' good kid. Anthony got her feet already and was reassuring her that if she trusted him and leaned forward everything would be ok.

So she trusted him and DROPPED IN, literally. Hey, it's just the first week of class. She did Awesome and has been back to the Skate Park twice since class. She can't wait for me to take her to Kohl's where they have a line of Tony Hawk clothes. She also can't wait to get to the Skateboard store to check out the shoes. Who knows maybe we have a future X-gamer on our hands, afterall, she already has a snowboard on her Christmas list.

Weight Watchers

On wednesday nights I attend Weight Watcher meetings to help with my weight loss journey. I decided on Wednesday nights I will be posting if I gained, lost or maintained. I know that I need accountability in this area, so this will help me.

Official Weight Watchers Report For the week of April 6th-12th: Lost .2 pounds. The Weight Watchers scales are very accurate. :-) I will let you know next week how I did. Keep on keepin' on.

Later Gators,
Melissa