I'm sitting here with my laptop as my daughter sleeps, trying to put into words what The Red Shoe Shuffle meant to me.
You see, for us, it wasn't just a 5K to raise money for a great charity. Being there, standing outside of the House that we lived in for so long, walking on streets that I could drive through with my eyes closed, listening to over 1,000 people cheering for the RMH kids that were too sick to come outside the house, watching my brave young friend Brooke sound the starting gun, holding my daughter's hand to help her walk over the finish line...this is so much more than a 5K.
It isn't about feeling sorry for sick kids who are away from their homes. It wasn't gloom and doom and sad faces. It was a celebration of life!
This is hope.
This is faith.
This is love.
My heart was bursting at the thought of so many people wanting to show love to The House That Love Built. The signs along the course reminded us of the reason we were doing this. RMH families got "We Are Family" stickers to wear so that people could put faces with the cause. Volunteers, police officers, fireman, high school teams, and mascots cheered us on along the way.
If you had told me in late October of 2010 that our entire family would be participating in a 5K to benefit the Ronald McDonald House, I would have tearfully told you that you were crazy. If you had told me that she would walk across the finish line holding my hand, I probably would have had you committed! But we did, and she did!
Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you who donated. Our total (with a few more checks that still need to be processed) is $3,289! With your help, The Joy Runners were the #2 fundraising team!
Thank you to those of you who walked with us. It meant so much to us to have your support. We had 37 team members, making us the #2 largest team!
Look for many, many pictures to be posting soon! If you were on our team and have some pictures to share, please email them to me! I'd love to have them!
You see, for us, it wasn't just a 5K to raise money for a great charity. Being there, standing outside of the House that we lived in for so long, walking on streets that I could drive through with my eyes closed, listening to over 1,000 people cheering for the RMH kids that were too sick to come outside the house, watching my brave young friend Brooke sound the starting gun, holding my daughter's hand to help her walk over the finish line...this is so much more than a 5K.
It isn't about feeling sorry for sick kids who are away from their homes. It wasn't gloom and doom and sad faces. It was a celebration of life!
This is hope.
This is faith.
This is love.
My heart was bursting at the thought of so many people wanting to show love to The House That Love Built. The signs along the course reminded us of the reason we were doing this. RMH families got "We Are Family" stickers to wear so that people could put faces with the cause. Volunteers, police officers, fireman, high school teams, and mascots cheered us on along the way.
If you had told me in late October of 2010 that our entire family would be participating in a 5K to benefit the Ronald McDonald House, I would have tearfully told you that you were crazy. If you had told me that she would walk across the finish line holding my hand, I probably would have had you committed! But we did, and she did!
Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you who donated. Our total (with a few more checks that still need to be processed) is $3,289! With your help, The Joy Runners were the #2 fundraising team!
Thank you to those of you who walked with us. It meant so much to us to have your support. We had 37 team members, making us the #2 largest team!
Look for many, many pictures to be posting soon! If you were on our team and have some pictures to share, please email them to me! I'd love to have them!
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