The Givens Family: 4th of July and ALS ride/walk

We've had lots of fun this week!
For the 4th, we started the day with a kiddie K run for B, a 5k race for me, and a parade right after!

B posing for the picture

He got to meet the Chick-fil-a Cow

About to start the kiddie K, Joel is on the far left with B

Right before it starts

And after, showing off his medal! He didn't stop the whole time, he just kept running!!!

During my 5k run with the kiddos! It feels so good to be running again!

And after the race!

Watching the local parade in town! She's such a cutie!

B's favorite part of the parade: the race cars

Pnuts favorite part: the "princesses" (city's beauty queens)

Dodger game that night with Joel's family... she is such a ham!

The house gets very noisy with these two... totally worth it because they are having so much fun!

2 times this week at our local amusement park! It's about a 5 minute drive to get there, we just got season passes, I have a parking pass for the whole year, the kiddie land is never crowded in the evening... perfect way to have fun with the kiddos!!!

Joel and I were able to go away for the weekend!!! It's been over a year since just the 2 of us have been away. With the circumstances that we have been given this past year, we just haven't been able to get some time away. There was a Central Coast ALS Century ride and 3 mile walk that Joel had signed us up for. We were able to spend Fri-Sun in the beautiful beach area! My mom was able to watch the kiddos for us at our house. I was a little nervous leaving because it's the first time B has been out of my sight longer than a couple hours since his first surgery in October. But, I have learned many things in the past months, one being that God is in control and I need to "let go." So, I did... I let go of my fears and worries and just trusted that B would be okay!

We arrived Friday afternoon and we were able to hang out in town that night. The 100 mile bike ride started at 7:00am on Sat. Our hotel was only 1 street away so I was able to be with Joel when he took off for his ride! My 3 mile walk didn't start until 1:00pm so I had the whole morning to myself! I got coffee (which is a rare thing for me), read a book by the beach, walked around and looked through some adorable beach stores, read some more on our hotel balcony... it was bliss!

The ALS walk was such an emotional experience. There were a few ALS patients in wheelchairs with their loved ones participating in the walk. There were some women and men with pictures of their loved ones on their shirts. I didn't know any one there and was prepared to walk by myself but ended up next to a wonderful woman named Martha. Someone had asked her if she knew anyone with ALS and I heard her say her dad had passed away 2 years ago from the disease. I walked over to her and told her about my father in law and we held each other and just started crying. God really had our meeting planned!!! She is a believer in Christ and we talked the whole walk... crying and laughing together. She was such an encouragement!

Joel wasn't doing the ride to race for time or speed. He was doing the ride to raise money for the ALS cause and raise awareness of the disease. He finished in around 7 hours. I am so proud of him for completing the ride, especially because I know it was so important for him to do.

We stayed in town one more night and left this afternoon and came home tonight! I really missed our kiddos! It's great to be home as a family of 4 again! I did learn how important little getaway trips are though and can't wait for the next one!