We’ve had a busy weekend!
We started it off by spending Friday evening with our friend Lucy and her three boys. I cooked a delicious dinner of Fish Tacos with Cilantro-Lime Crema for us. I paired it with black beans and nachos for sides. I’m definitely keeping this recipe!
On Saturday morning, Michael woke up before dawn to do the first day (75 miles!!!) of the BP MS 150, a two-day, 120-mile road bike ride from Houston to Austin. Michael didn’t really train for the entire race, so he decided this week to just ride the first day.
Gabriel and I spent a nice morning together before heading to Planned Parenthood to stand and pray outside the clinic with my friends John, Sarah and Christina. Saturday marked the end of the Forty Days for Life campaign here in Houston, and I decided to take Gabriel over there to pray for a little while before heading to pick Michael up in La Grange. It was a neat experience.
I had never been to pray outside an abortion facility before. Praying outside abortion facilities isn’t for everyone, and that’s completely understandable! I have never felt “called” to it myself–it was definitely the Holy Spirit that prompted my heart yesterday! John and Sarah have been out a few times already during the campaign, and they always invite us.
So I went. And it wasn’t weird, or disturbing. There were no “crazies” out, just normal-looking people praying rosaries and standing together talking. Some had signs, but nothing abrasive or ugly in the least. Gabriel was an angel, and played adorably with his toys while we prayed a rosary. There weren’t many other young children out there while we were there, so everyone loved him. Apparently a school group or two and a neat Jewish rabbi with a trumpet (blowing down the walls of Jericho, anyone?) had been there that morning. I would have liked to meet the rabbi. 🙂 I stayed for about 20 minutes before we left.
After lunch with John and Christina and the always-delicious Papa’s Barb-b-que (sp? who knows?), I drove two hours to La Grange, Texas, the midway stop of the MS 150. Gabriel slept the entire way, and I listened to a great parenting CD by Dr. Gregory and Lisa Popcak (and then some country music, which I’m getting into again for some wild reason. I think it’s a pregnancy thing…I cry now almost every time I hear songs like, “Don’t Take the Girl,” and “She Don’t Know She’s Beautiful.”)
Picking Michael up was an adventure! We weren’t exactly sure where to go, so I just followed signs, trusted my gut, and ending up parking about a mile from where the finish line was in little bitty La Grange. I packed food, sunscreen, extra clothes for everyone, tennis shoes, water, and everything else I could think of we might need. There were thousands and thousands of people out there, and I’m glad I brought everything I did! There were 13,000 riders alone!
Gabriel and I got there early so we could watch Michael ride in, which was a big treat for all of us. It meant so, so much to Michael to have us there when rode in–I could tell. And I was so proud of him for doing even just the first leg of this tough ride! I can’t imagine how exhausted and pain-filled he was when he rolled in! He left at 8am and arrived at 3:45pm (with stops at all the rest stops). The lower half of my body winces just thinking about that kind of time on a bike!
Gabe was SUCH a trooper, as always! It was inspiring to watch all of these thousands of riders come in, exhausted but triumphant, from the day’s ride. I felt entirely out of shape though, and guiltily thought about the entire 2-serving bag of peanut M&M’s (the only candy I like these days) I had eaten while sitting on my butt doing nothing but driving for two hours…I was huffing and puffing just hauling Gabriel and my big stroller and gear around, when these riders were coming in–many of them just looking devastated with fatigue. Some of them had left from a starting point that took them 100 miles that day–a “century ride”!
We got home around 7:30 last night and crashed. I gave Gabriel a 5-minute bath, fed him half a piece of pizza, and put him directly to bed. The only sound he made was a few grunts as he assumed his favorite sleep position snuggled up on his horse Pillow Pal. 🙂
Your probably wondering where the pictures are right about now. I don’t have any actually 🙁 Michael and I used to haul our SLR around everywhere with us, but have gotten sadly out of the habit. After realizing we have no visual record of our adventures yesterday, we made a pact to start making each other take it out every time we go somewhere.
Help keep me accountable Faithful Readers!
Have a blessed and holy Palm Sunday today 🙂
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