13.1 DONE!!!

Well, WE DID IT!  Matt, the amazing Mendy, myself and all three boys made the 9.5 hour trip to New Braunfels on Friday to run in the first ever Chosen: Marathon for Adoption on Saturday morning.  I think there were about 17 people on our team all together….my sister, long time best friends, our adoption coordinator, and people who were complete strangers ran for us….that was SO amazing!!!  I must say, 13.1 miles a LONG stinking way!!  After about mile 9, I was thinking why the world am I doing this of her beautiful face and that’s what got me through.  That, and some terrible singing that I did!  Poor Mendy!  It must have sounded like someone dying!   (b/c I thought I might die, so I thought praising Jesus would be a good idea just in case!)

I must admit, a half marathon was not on my bucket list.  And I must also admit, I never have acquired a love for running, but it was an amazing experience to see almost 1,500 people gathered at the starting line for one purpose….help orphans!  Does it get much better than that?  I don’t think so.  I saw a quote by Rick Warren the other day that I thought was great!  He said “Taking care of orphans is not a cause.  It’s a biblical mandate.  To do nothing is sin.”  WOW!  The runners on Saturday were definitely doing something.  There was one lady there who was going to run 52 marathons in 52 weeks for 52 orphans in the Ukraine.  That woman deserves a crazy jeweled up crown in heaven! 

Being with my sister and Mendy in the insane hills on River Road in New Braunfels was super fun.  The only flat spots were a couple of bridges.  Painful after a while, but fun.  At the finish line, was our families with pictures of Baby K cheering for us, my best friends (who were done and not sweating anymore), my beautiful husband (also already done) at the finish line, and my Caleb Preston joined me as I passed by him and finished with us.  It was a great moment! 

I sure hope that Baby K  realizes someday the love that so many people have for her and what they were willing to do to help us get her here.  The Aaron Ivey song “Amos Story” comes to mind where he says “I’ll find a way to get you here, if it take my fleeting breath…”  Oh that statement is so true!

Mommy loves you, sweet girl!!!  ….I hope somehow she can feel it.