Interview with Elias

These little interview questions were floating around on facebook, so I thought I'd conduct my own interview with Elias. It was pretty funny and insightful...

1. What is something mom always says to you?
"I love you"

2. What makes mom happy?
Playing with me.

3. What makes mom sad?
Spankings.

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
Doing funny jokes.

5. What was your mom like as a child?
You looked like your little dog sammy.

6. How old is your mom?
Thirty three.

7. How tall is your mom?
twenty and three feet

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Um play with me. No I mean, clean up.

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
She tries to find me.

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
No I will be the famoust.

11. What is your mom really good at?
Drawing.

12. What is your mom not very good at?
Going up hills.

13. What does your mom do for a job?
Pay money.

14.What is your mom's favorite food?
Tires. No, chocolate. No, soup.

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
I don't know.

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Superman.

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Play cars and trucks.

18. How are you and your mom the same?
We're not. I have brown and you don't.

19. How are you and your mom different?
Our clothes. Because that's how God made us in the whole world!

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
Cause she loves me.

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
Hugging him.

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Taco Bell.

My commentary: Some of these answers really touched me, especially question #18. I was struck by how quickly he answered that we're different, not the same; that he's so cognisant of our different skin colors. I found it interesting and relieving though the way he answered it- that HE has brown and I don't, not the other way around. I DO need to work on playing more and cleaning up less. :-) And for the record, Taco Bell is NOT my favorite place to go.

Time w/ Daddy in the Workshop

Chase here. I haven't written on the blog for many moons now and I know many of you are frustrated with the lack of media coverage provided by my lovely wife and family news correspondent, so I thought I'd write a little something for the many fans out there in blog land. (By "many fans", I mean our parents and a few close friends who check this now and then.)

One of my favorite things to do in order to relax and spend time w/ Elias is spend time in the workshop. By workshop, I mean my approxiamate 1/3 of the garage that is mine and that I use as a work space to do whatever tinkering I feel necessary. We do everything from gunsmithing, auto repair, and an occasional HotWheels monster truck axel repair. No, I'm not kidding - I have fixed more than one HotWheels monster truck in my time. Any of you who know Elias well know exactly why.

This past Sunday was one those rare, wonderful days where we had no plans and nothing too pressing to do. So naturally, Elias and I spent some time... in the workshop. We also wondered outside a bit and practiced a little baseball, which Elias is getting into lately. I share this simply because it is one of my favorite things in the world and it is a little glimpse into our life. And I got a great pic of E that I had to post...

Making a Leg- The Series Returns

Well the "Making a Leg" series was very short-lived. There was about a five month delay on getting Elias' new prosthesis made. Daddy Prosthetist (DP) made several prototypes with different designs, but many of them didn't work for Elias.

A couple of these practice legs would fall off several times a day. Let me tell you that is not convenient when you're running across the Walmart parking lot with groceries and your 38 lb son in your arms and have to go back and pick up a leg in the parking lot.

Anyway, the final product is in and it's a huge hit! It was originally going to be Spiderman leg but Elias was captivated by some "flames" fabric at Hobby Lobby that took the look of his prosthetic leg in a whole new direction. I asked him why he chose the flames and he said he wanted it so he could "fire everybody". I told him to call Donald Trump.

So here is a picture of E on fire. Now I'll back up and finish the rest of how the prosthetic leg is made.

P.S. My apologies to all our fellow Aggies who notice the blatant display of disrespect in the first picture. Austin has had a bad influence on our son and we're trying desperately to gain some ground in this area. :-)

Nothing New

This blog is overdue for a fresh post, but quite frankly, we can't think of anything interesting to write about. I even commissioned Chase for his input, and we're both here staring at the computer with blank minds. That's the thing about blogs. You feel like every post has to be something interesting and exciting. Or at least include some good pictures. I don't have any of those components right now though.

Here are some random things...

* Elias has been learning to read. I try to catch him in teachable moments and we sit down and do a few minutes of Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. He is loving it and gets so excited to find the letters on everything around town.

* I haven't run even a single step since the race 3 weeks ago. My excuse was that I was waiting for my new fancy running shoes to come in. They did. Five days ago. So I'll start tomorrow.

* No news on the adoption front. Just waiting for a referral, but we don't feel like it's going to happen anytime soon. For a variety of reasons that require a post all by itself, we're pretty sure that our kid(s) won't be home with us this year. Maybe late this year, but we're not counting on it. That's a little disheartening but we remain peaceful and confident that God will bring us together at the right time and not a moment too soon or too late.

* We made a lot of valentine treats this last week. It's a family tradition to have huge heart cookies for each person on Valentines Day. I think we all ate ours for breakfast. I'll admit that it's not unusual for me to eat something horribly unhealthy like that first thing in the morning. But it was sure fun to share that guilty pleasure with my wide-eyed little boy. He was amazed that I said "yes".

My mind is blank again. So if you have any ideas for a post, write a comment and let us know!

What in the....

New phrase coined by Elias when Chase woke him up at 5:45 am the morning of the race.

"What in the wide world heck is going on here? What are you doing wakin' me up in the middle of the night!?!" (said with wild hair and puffy, sleepy face)

#2907 has crossed the finish line!

Thanks so much everyone for your encouragement and support of my Race for AHOPE! The race was inspiring, challenging, fun, painful, and an unforgettable experience. Assembling together in the early morning hours with several thousand other runners, all who had been training for this same 13 mile race was an amazing sight!

Two days before the race I started to get a huge pit in my stomach. I was so nervous and just couldn't shake it. I was driving Chase crazy! I kept telling myself that all I had to do was put one foot in front of the other and I'd be fine. Sounds easy, but I guess the anticipation of the race just made all my nerves go to my stomach.

The first few blocks were the hardest for some reason as all that adrenaline went to my legs, turning them into jello. I quickly turned my iPod on and got into the groove and didn't stop running until I crossed the finish line.

My unspoken goal was to run the race in 2 hours, 10 minutes. That's a pretty average run and something I felt I could accomplish. I was actually on par to finish under 2 hours, but some serious pain started in my hips and knees at mile 6, so I was thankful to just keep moving at that point. I finished in 2 hours, 7 minutes.

The highlight of the race was seeing Elias and Chase at mile 10. Elias was on the sidewalk so I jumped up there and ran towards him. He took off running towards me and threw his arms around my sweaty neck, screaming "Go Mommy!" It was such a sweet sight seeing his hop-skip-run and filled my eyes with tears at the thought of his perseverance in life.

And here's my favorite story of the race: For those who don't me in real life, this is a very "Meagan" story. It's common for me to not really think through things before I try them and I'm quite absent minded. I lose my keys several times a day. (Actually I prefer to say that I temporarily misplace them.)

So, I thought that I had read in my packet that there would be gatorade and gel packs for energy being passed out at a couple of the water stations. I had never tried those gel packs but thought I might try one around mile 10 for an extra energy boost. At the water station I slowed down to look for the gel packs. I didn't see the packs, but I did see someone dipping popsicle sticks into a container and then holding the stick out for the runners. I thought that was a pretty ingenious idea to just have to lick the gel off the stick instead of trying to open the gel pack.

So I grabbed my stick and immediately scraped the gel into my mouth as I raced off, anticipating a miraculous surge of energy. However I immediately knew something was wrong as my mouth filled with a tasteless goo.

Vaseline.

I ATE the vaseline!

I spit it out of course, but it was all in my teeth and mouth. Not quite the energy boost I was hoping for, but the laughter alone carried me at least another mile! I'm such a smooth athlete. Not! (The vaseline is supposed to be applied to your skin to prevent chafing).

My Race for AHOPE goal was $2000, and as of Sunday, the total amount raised was $1,656.00! I am thrilled, and so is the AHOPE staff!

I've had several people say they wanted to donate a little bit but forgot to do it last week. So if you were planning to donate but didn't get around to it, you can still follow the directions here. AHOPE can continue to receive donations indefinitely. As long as you write "Race for AHOPE/Meagan Brown" in the designation line it will count towards the goal amount for my race.

I am requesting that the Race for AHOPE money to go towards a portion of the sponsorship of a boy I'll call N. He's been at AHOPE for 3.5 years and is 8 years old. He wants to be a pilot when he grows up and likes to study Math. His favorite food is hamburgers. The good news is that he's in excellent health right now and has not had to begin an anti-retroviral therapy. I so wish I could post his cute picture here for you all, but the Ethiopian privacy rules prevent me from doing so.

The rest of the money will go towards AHOPE's Child Development Center/Community Outreach program. This is a phenomenal program that AHOPE has recently implemented that equips and trains extended family to raise HIV+ children. This allows the kids to receive the quality care they need but to stay with their loving families.

And if you're new to AHOPE and inspired by the amazing work that they do, you might be interested in sponsoring one of the children in their care. We have found such joy in having the opportunity to sponsor kids there. We love to get updates on our sponsor children's lives throughout the year and new pictures to put on our fridge. You can learn more on their website http://www.ahopeforchildren.org/.

RACE FOR AHOPE

I've neglected to post at all about what I (and Elias) have been spending a lot of our time doing lately. Running! At least, I run and Elias hangs out in a comfy jogging stroller.

Next Sunday, January 25, I'm running in the Austin 3M half-marathon. Running 13.1 miles isn't something I thought I would ever do. The longest I had ever before last fall run was four miles, and that was over ten years ago!

But last summer I decided that my non-exercising days were over and I had to do something to get into shape. I started out with walking around my neighborhood while pushing Elias in a stroller. At least it was something, but I needed more of a challenge- a goal to work towards that seemed significant.

My idea for "RACE FOR AHOPE" was born.

AHOPE Ethiopia provides two children’s homes exclusively for the care of children infected with HIV. In 2005, the first pediatric program to provide the life saving antiretroviral medications in all Ethiopia was established at AHOPE Ethiopia. The focus of care and outreach changed dramatically with the arrival of the ARVs; what was once considered a hospice program which anticipated death is now a program of education and hope for a real adult future for every child.

Chase and I visited AHOPE while we were in Ethiopia in 2006 and were deeply moved by what we experienced. We spent a whole day with these fabulous children who had such zeal for life. We have sponsored children there ever since our visit, and already three of them have been adopted into loving homes here in America.

As you can imagine, the needs at AHOPE are great. Conditions this past year in Ethiopia have been increasingly difficult and it's becoming more and more expensive to provide loving, quality care to the AHOPE children. RACE FOR AHOPE is my way to raise a small amount of money to help these precious children.

I've trained for seven months, through the heat of the summer, the cold of the winter, and through sheer exhaustion of running. But to be honest, I've loved thinking about the AHOPE kids and praying for their needs as my feet pound the pavement. As much as I'm ready for the race to be over, a small part of me will miss the intentionality and focus on Ethiopia's children that my running time has given me.

My fundraising goal is $2000. And I have just six days to raise it!

Here is an idea of what your money can do at AHOPE Ethiopia:

* $25 provides the fees needed for one child's education for 3 months, including tuition, uniforms, books, supplies, and gym clothes
* $35 provides individual sponsorship of one child for a month
* $50 pays a cook's salary for one month
* $75 pays a certified nurse's salary for one month
* $100 pays for the food of five children for one month, purchases a crib and bedding, or provides one teacher's salary

Here's how you can can support me in my RACE FOR AHOPE:

1. Visit the AHOPE website.
2. Click on the Network for Good button in the top right-hand corner.
3. Click Donate Now on the Network for Good/AHOPE Children page
4. Enter in the amount you want to contribute and follow the rest of the prompts to process your donation. All donations are tax deductible.
5. Please be sure to type "RACE FOR AHOPE, Meagan Brown" in the designation box.

Thanks everyone! Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions. I'll post the race and fundraising results on our blog after the race.