Forgiveness

I read a great article recently that I would love to quote, it's written on forgiveness and I have just been discussing this subject with one of the boys.  I find forgiveness, without holding a grudge, very hard to do sometimes, and so I find it hard to model this at times for my boys.  I know, deep down, that if I harbor bitterness for someone or something, it hurts me more than the person I need to forgive.  How can I model something that I struggle with myself?  I don't have a great answer, all I know is that I want to continue to encourage my kids to keep trying to forgive and move on and stay positive.

Here is what I read:
"When we let someone off of our hook, and place him or her on God's hook, we will be free.  It doesn't mean what the person did was not wrong.  It does mean that you are no longer going to let the memory of it hold you captive .  It means that you are no longer going to use the person's sin against him or her.  (Proverbs 31 Ministries)

Such great words of wisdom!!

Adidas Half-Marathon

I started running in February of 2010, it was after years and years of staying in bed when Jeff would go out in the mornings, telling myself that I can't run, that I don't like running, and that I could get in shape other ways.  So finally, after being inspired by my sister-in-law, I decided to give it a try, and guess what...I loved it!  Now, I'm not gonna lie, it has not been easy.  Within a few months of starting, I experienced major back pain like I've never had before, my feet started hurting to the point that I couldn't even walk up/down stairs without pain.  Thankfully the injuries didn't last super long, but it was super discouraging.  

So it was with great joy, and a bit of trepidation, that I signed up to run my first race last year which was a 5K (see the post from that race).  After that I knew I had to quickly sign up for something else because I needed a goal to keep me motivated--so I signed up for an 8K in December.  I enjoyed both races, but they were not easy.  Jeff was encouraging me to keep going and was trying to talk me into signing up for a half-marathon...so I recruited a couple of friends and we signed up.  Little did I know that with me training for a half-marathon and Jeff training for a full marathon, we had the craziest running schedule ever!!!  Jeff would wake up early and run, and then he would get back in time for me to go running...all before we had to leave to take the boys to school by 7am!  Seriously crazy.  Plus the fact that I wanted to run a half marathon before I turned 40...and I was going to turn 40 in August, so this was my chance.

Finally, after several months of training, on May 20th,  I ran my first half-marathon!!  I am not ashamed to say that it was one of the most physically challenging things I've ever done.  I was fairly good until I got to mile 10 and then I seriously thought I would die...as in I kept envisioning throwing  myself over the curb into the grass and never getting up. I ended up walking off an on for the last couple of miles, something I vowed I would not do...however, I've come to terms with it.  I'm so glad I did this...I've already said I will do it again this year, but now that it's this year, I'm not sure if I want to start amping up the miles quite yet. :)

Last day of school 2011-2012!!

The boys did such a great job this year at ICSL (International Christian School of Lima).  They had wonderful teachers and really excelled with their studies--it's hard to believe that we've already arrived at the last day of school!  I am so proud of my kids and the good study habits they are forming.  One of my top 10 favorite things of this school year was driving them to/from school--we had at least 1/2 hour in the car each way to just hang out, talk, laugh, and sing. It wasn't always easy maneuvering the Lima traffic, but if I could hold on to these moments with them forever, I would!  

Well done Krohn boys!

Our princess--age THREE!

More Sophia--age THREE!

In case you missed the last few pictures, here are a few more! :)

Sophia--age THREE!!

She's sassy and spunky, but most of all she's the sweetest little girl ever.  We can't get enough of her cute sayings, her awesome smile, and the joy she brings to our family!!

Crazy hair day

Lima's Magic Circuit Water Park

One of the fun things of summer nights is going to the Water Park near downtown Lima.  It's an amazingly large structure inside a city park, with a gazillion fountains of water, and a pretty cool laser light show against a backdrop of huge water fountains.  There are a couple fountains that you can run through, so the first time we remembered to bring a change of clothes...but forgot the towels. :(  The second time we managed to remember both and the kids loved it!

Love me some Pacific Ocean

I. Love. The. Ocean.  It is unbelievable to live on the ocean, and while we are across the city from the actual beaches, it's only about a half-hour drive (on a good traffic day) to get to the beautiful "Malecon" from our house.  I think they have made the ocean drive and the area up on the cliffs an absolutely beautiful place to spend time.  Sophia and I spend every Tuesday and Thursday mornings enjoying the play area overlooking the ocean...we watch the surfers down in the water, look for dolphins (we've actually seen some!), and just enjoy the vastness of the Pacific Ocean.  It's so amazing.

Parental visits are so awesome.  My parents came to visit in February, it was summer here so a great break for them from the North Dakota winter!  The boys went back to school on February 1st, so it was up to me to entertain the folks--a good balance between getting to know Lima and just hanging out relaxing with them.  Some of the things I enjoyed most was my new Kitchen Aid mixer, spending time drinking coffee, hanging out at the ocean, touring Lima via a red double-decker bus, and laughing.  Good times were had by all.

SLC

Each year all of the families who work in Peru with SIM get together for our annual SLC.  The kids love it because there is a program especially for them.  The parents love it because someone is taking care of the kids. :)  I love it because it's at the beach and I'm with friends.  We typically have a bungalow with bunk beds and plastic mattresses, we can sit outside on our little patio and watch the waves roll in.  Sometimes we can even see dolphins swimming in their little pods.  


One of the highlights for the kids is that they get to catch crabs at night with flashlights on the beach!  They love that!