"Kelly, this is just a season in your life." I seem to be telling myself this a lot lately. The stress of having a 3 1/2 year old and a 15 month old is hard enough. Molars are coming in, Livia is getting taller or maybe the counters are getting shorter, the terrible 2's are already starting, bills are piling up, cars need fixed, the dryer broke yesterday, dr's appointments are more frequent, and temper tantrums are happening everywhere I go. Add to that the underlying worry of Livia's situation. I can't just make it go away. I worry about Jake and his job. He has so much stress during the year. I hate to hear him cry and hear how sad he is about Livia. It breaks my heart. Times like this I crave my family. This is so hard to go through being so far away. Everyone has stress and I feel guilty even writing about this. At times, it feels impossible. How do people survive these times? I pray about it and I do keep my faith. However, worldly factors sometimes...

When we got Liv's diagnosis a year ago in July, that month was spent crying, celebrating the new baby, and learning everything possible about Sanfilippo. I spent most of the month in the house, wanting to hide. We were home to Central Il the beginning of the month, but the majority of the time was spent in devastation. I can remember one of the first ventures out of the house. It was a trip to Target with just Livia and myself. It was in the beginning to middle part of August when all of the back to school "stuff" was out. I remember watching all of the parents with their children shopping for all of their new school supplies with lists in hand. A particular mother and daughter caught my eye. The little girl was so excited looking at all the backpacks. I can remember watching her with tears in my eyes thinking I'm never going to experience this with Livia, and maybe not Finley. (At that time we didn't know the results of Finley's test). I wanted so badly to have this experience with Livia. I wanted...

Being "in the zone" is a place I've really come to appreciate. All my fellow runners will appreciate what I'm saying. Come to think of it, I think a lot of people are "in the zone" right now. Before 7/8/09, I was living in my comfort zone. Life was comfortable. I really didn't have many worries. I should say, my worries weren't in my face like now. I'd say I'm in the uN-cOmFoRt ZoNe now. Thinking about this theory isn't all a bad thing. In a runners world being in the comfort zone takes some stepping out of being comfortable and becoming uncomfortable to reach a level of achievement. Putting my body through strenuous routines isn't always the most fun thing to do, but the end results and the sense of accomplishment is such a good feeling. Being comfortable is easy. I never use to like stepping outside my zone. In a way, I really didn't need too. I feel like being in the uN-cOmFoRt ZoNe has forced me to grow up and become a person I never thought I'd be. I've learned more about...