Our Family ANGEL WALK 5K!

The Angel Walk 5K was amazing!  I felt like the luckiest Mom ever to be with there with my family.  I was privileged to say the Pledge of Allegiance and sing the National Anthem with everyone there, including my daughter- yes, she knows almost every word!  You can see the little angel we walked for in his Daddy's arms in the picture above.  The school principal spoke too about his enthusiasm for life and watching basketball!

This is Chad explaining to Michael about how not every kid can run and play like he can.  Clearly, it was an eye opener, but a good thing to understand too.

There was a great family making balloon art for the kids for free!

 

We got in line with the stroller brigade!

And we were off, along with many other families from all walks of life...

 

Below is the one stop sign on our main street through town- no stoplights in Homedale!

 

 This cracked me up!  The dogs were drinking from the canal!

The child in front of us got his balloon sword untwisted somehow and began to cry.  Chad learned how to make balloon animals and toys though while doing a service project on his LDS Mission to Holland, so he stepped in and saved the day!

A tired baby...  He's walking so much! :) No, really he was SO well behaved for the almost two-hours he was in that thing!  And so was Sam. :)

We made it!  Look how happy my kids are.  LOL  No, but really, except for a minor fiasco where Michael had to use the bathroom and we had to knock on a (kind) stranger's door for a potty break, they were great the whole 3+ miles!

 

Me with my angels...

They put hearts on our hands at the halfway mark, and here we are showing ours off!  I don't think there's anything my family could have done to show more love and support for me that Mother's Day Weekend.  Love you and THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!  -Eva  

 

Where Is The Money Going???

Some of you have asked about what is being done with the money collected for either of the 5K's I'm participating in these next couple weekends.  Here is what I've found out...

ANGEL WALK May 12, 2012 Benefit for Baylor VanDyke

Baylor is a second grader who attends Sophia's school, living with Cerebral Palsy.  I wish I could post a picture of this sweet little boy, it would truly touch your heart to see his efforts.  ALL of the proceeds will go to this child in need of medical treatment.  Checks can be made payable to Angel Walk and can be mailed to me (please message me individually for my address) or you can email angelwalk2011@gmail.com for another address.  If you do that though please just let them know you are donating through me so it goes to our total and we can find out how much we helped raise. 

Our whole family is part fo this walk, and I want the kids to know they are helping someone.  Our family will be pinching pennies so we can donate $40, all get T-shirts and walk together.  I want my kids to feel how lucky they are as they ride their scooters with their friends and family. 

I am grateful we can play tag and basketball, and would love to lighten the load of a family who can't.  This is truly a community event, with fundraiser packets being sent home with each student, the walk being announced in churches and being posted on business sign boards.  I would love to help recruit some longdistance support too for this family struggling with challenges I can only begin to imagine.  Additional questions?  Please call 208-941-4163. 

JDRF WALK TO CURE DIABETES May 5, 2012

My donation page for this walk can be found here.
Typically, more than 80 percent of JDRF's expenditures directly support diabetes research and research-related education.  Your donation will make a dramatic impact as JDRF moves life altering research out of the lab and into human clinical trials.

 Facts about JDRF 
JDRF is the leading global organization focused on type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. Driven by passionate, grassroots volunteers connected to children, adolescents, and adults with this disease, JDRF is the largest charitable supporter of T1D research.

Research Funding Facts
JDRF's research mission is to discover, develop and deliver advances that cure, better treat and prevent type 1 diabetes (T1D). As the global leader in the fight against T1D, JDRF's research programs are comprehensive -- addressing the hopes and dreams of every person with T1D for the best quality of life and a cure for this disease.

You can find more information about what JDRF does at http://www.jdrfapps.com/eReport/index.htm#?page=0 by reading their 2011 Annual Report. 

Again my donation page is  http://www2.jdrf.org/goto/evamelissabarnett I am trying to raise $100 and am currently 35% to my goal.  Nothing bad happens if I don't reach my goal except that I will be a little disappointed and maybe won't get a T-shirt. :)  But that's OK.  I will be happy to help as much or as little as I can.  My Daddy has diabetes and I've tutored kids with diabetes.  I've sat there and watched them test their insulin before they could move on with their math homework.  I'm honored to be part of trying to find a cure so someday that won't be the case anymore.

Thank you to the friend who has donated so far and to those of you who are considering doing so!  I love ya and hope you will!

Love, Eva

Running In The Dark With My Mental Trainer...

This was my happy beginning to Day 2's exercise.  People have asked me how I'm apporaching getting fit, and when it comes to exercise I'm doing as much as I can (as a fulltime mom) every day.  I was inspired to begin all of this because of watching the Biggest Loser on Netflix, so I wear my "uniform" each day, all day to squeeze in exercise time.  That's right.  I've been wearing work-out clothes and a sports bra all day, every day the past week and I've worked out more than ever.  I do jumping jacks while watching veggie tales with the kids.  Michael will sit on my feet while I do sit-ups.  I curl Samuel when I play with him all in hopes of making myself stronger and teaching my kids the importance of health.

 

 Like this night, I generally set a goal, then expect more of myself than that initial goal, then go a little farther than that to satisfy what Jillian would say. LOL Yes, I imagine her there next to me yelling at me to run harder and faster, even though this might be the face I'm really seeing.

My goal was 20 times to the end of the driveway and back, which I upped to 25 to make it harder, then upped to 28 since that's how old I am and to make it even more challenging.  Sophia and I started out together and then I saw this glorious, huge moon and had to get my camera.  The picture doesn't do it justice- it was huge!  Like, as big as my face!

So now I'm jogging with my camera around my neck, back and forth, enjoying this moon and realizing "Wow.  It's getting darker and the moon is climbing up this tree and I haven't even gone back and forth 8 times yet!"

 

So, I seriously ended up running in the dark with just that moon's light because I was having fun with my daughter, taking pictures and setting huge goals for myself.  LOL  It took me an entire hour to go back and forth that many times, and Jillian and Bob were running with me (in my imagination...) long after Sophia had gone to bed.

 
The moon was high up in the sky when I was done, but it was worth it!  I didn't think I could do it, but I did.   I also learned that I can run over 3.25 miles in my own front yard. :)

Day 1: A Food Failure but Reedeming Run...

I'm not going to write, because I talked enough! LOL SO glad I did though, since it helps me process and find solutions, and because that first run towards a healthier life meant so much to me. But I did want to post a pic of the yummy breakfast sandwich I made.

When I don't feel like exercising I will just think about this day! It's posted in 3 five or so minute clips...

Part 1 a.k.a. The Low...


Part 2 a.k.a. The High!


Part 3 a.k.a. Oh,Yeah, The Whole Point!