~Day 9 of Challenge~

Day 09 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.

Of course it's God, but I'm fresh out of recent photos of Him. Then there's this guy:

I took this picture while sitting on my handcycle on an unfinished wooded path Saturday...looking up at him being funny. He's awesome, but I've blogged so much about him that you probably already know that!
We broke out the bikes for our first real ride of the season this past weekend. It was fabulous! The temps were in the low 80's with lots of sunshine. The wind was pretty harsh at times, but that just makes it all the more challenging and fulfilling when you're finished.

We had such a great time! We go riding usually at the marina by a hotel called the Grand Dunes. They've installed miles of gorgeous bike trails with a perfect mixture of sand, sun, trees, and water all along the way. Before we left I packed a lunch for us consisting of fresh D'Anjou pears, raw almonds (which I ADORE and could probably live on!) and a little bit of mozzarella cheese. We did about 5 miles and then saw a new road being carved through the woods, so we went "off-road" and found a sun-dappled spot to eat. Whenever we picnic outdoors, I get a kick out of knowing that if I leave a few nuts and my fruit core behind, it's a meal for some cute critter. I'm just a dork that way. haha! After we ate, we rode about 3 miles more. We would have done more, but the wind seemed to always be in front of us...except for once, which was an amazing stretch that felt like FLYING!
But for our first ride of Spring, 8 miles felt pretty good. I'm so thankful for my handcycle. It was a Christmas gift about 4 years ago from my Dad. He knew that I was trying to get healthy and bought it for me, and now he gets a kick out of how often I use it...and of course knowing that I'm 50 pounds smaller than I was when he bought it for me. He says it was one of his greatest investments to see the smile on my face! I ♥ my Dad...we have LOTS of history - with him having had to struggle through trying to raise me by himself, but it seems people really do mellow with time, because he now says "Love you" at the end of our phone calls, and I actually believe he means it. ♥
Here's a pic of me and my Dad from last Thanksgiving:


So, this post began with God - He's number 1. Then onto my husband, who has been my rock, my wings, my best friend... and of course I don't want to leave my son out of this, because he has been the reason I've kept on keeping on for so long.

Here are a couple of pictures of my son, Nathan (or NayNay as I have called him since he was little):