The Jacob & Shayla Bentley Family: A Gajillion Pictures

Sunday, June 7^th, 2013

My dearest brother,

I hope that you are well and that the work is moving forward swiftly and successfully. I think about you often and love you very much.

Things are alright here. I have a massive test in Kinesiology on Thursday that I am pretty panicked about. There is even more to memorize this time around than on our last test and this test is known as the worst of the semester in this class. Our instructor told us, point blank, that not many people do well on this test. I am trying as hard as I can to memorize and prepare but I am lacking significantly in confidence. I am going to need a lot of extra prayers this week, alright?

Running is also not going as well as I would have hoped. After my 10 mile run I went running this week with Zac and Kayden on Tuesday. Zac and I started out and went 2.5 miles around the neighborhood before picking up Kayden and finishing out 5 miles total. We powered up various hills through the neighborhood and Zac made sure that my heart rate was close to maxed out. When we were finished with the 5 miles I slowed to a walk to cool down but Zac was antsy to finish out the run. He turned to Kayden and said, “You wanna race home?” Kayden was reluctant because he is still not very confident with running but when Zac started trotting home Kayden couldn’t resist and started after him. It soon turned into a full out sprint back to the house. I continued to be sensible and walked. When I got back to the house Kayden was laying sprawled out on the lawn. I turned to Zac, smiled, and said, “Did he puke?” Zac just laughed and said, “Yup!”

You are probably wondering at this point why I said that running is not going as well as I would have hoped. Well… I am still having problems with my soleus muscle (the muscle behind the gastrocnemius which is the main muscle we consider the calf). It is causing me considerable pain to the point that even walking hurts. I am not sure what to do. I didn’t run on Thursday or Friday and tried to get out again for a long run on Saturday with my friends but after about 2.75 miles I knew that I wasn’t going to make it. My half marathon is in just 12 days…. You remember me saying that I am going to need a lot of extra prayers this week? Yeah… please remember me in your prayers!

Other than that things have gone considerably well this week. We had a good time on the 4^th of July. We slept in, had a huge breakfast, saw The Croods at the dollar movies, and finished the evening with a fabulous party and fireworks at Matt & Alyssa’s house.

The next day brought birthday celebrations for Nathan. Can you believe that he is 2 years old?!? I can hardly believe it myself. We had a great weekend celebrating with him. He ate nothing but blueberries for breakfast, we met up with Jake and went to Rodizio Grill for lunch, we took him to Toys R’ Us and bought him a Little Tykes Cozy Coupe (a car that he can sit in and “drive” with his feet), we went for a “walk” around the neighborhood pushing him in his car, we did poppers, ate fruit, and had an overall blast. On Saturday we even took them to Jungle Jim’s Playland for a few hours. Nathan seemed a bit overwhelmed but had a good time. Abrielle thought she had died and gone to heaven. LOL!

I have a million pictures that I took over the last few days but I will only send you my very favorites.

I’m not going to lie Jer… I am scared and worried right now. I know that the Lord will bless me as I put in the work and trust in Him. I just have to stay strong and be faithful. Even if I don’t do well on this test or end up unable to run the half marathon it isn’t the end of the world. All I can do is my very best and trust in the Lord to guide me in the proper paths.

I love you, dear brother. Know that I am sending you a big hug from thousands of miles away. How I wish I could give you a hug in person! But spiritual hugs will have to do for now until we are reunited once again. Stay strong, work hard, and remember, always, how much you are loved!

Love always,

Shayla