Christmas Without Cancer

Job 37:10 "From the breath of God ice is made, And the expanse of the waters is frozen."

I thought this was a great verse to describe the weather this morning for our 5k. It was COLD!!! The girls and I signed up to walk a 5k a few weeks ago. The organization Christmas Without Cancer (CWC), was started by a nurse at Christ Hospital named Jerry. Jerry was Wayne's nurse during his six weeks of radiation. She is one of the kindest people we've met during our journey with cancer. When I saw that her organization was having a 5k, I decided that we needed to support her and CWC. It was the first 5k that they have held and I think they did a marvelous job. 

As I mentioned, the girls and I set out to walk the 5k. We've been taking family walks while Wayne was feeling good to prepare (3 miles, 4 miles, and even a 6.7 mile walk last weekend). I asked them the other day if they would be willing to run the first mile, since Joella and Micaela's run began at 10. We would be cutting it close walking the 5k and make it back in time for their race. Abigail really wanted to run the entire 5k and kept asking if we could run it. This morning I asked the other girls if we could run/walk the entire 5k. I am excited to say that they did. I had to deal with whining encourage a few of my kids to keep going, but they all pushed through and did great! One of the biggest surprises to me was Sophia. That girl was always ahead of me and she ran almost the entire way. She told one little boy that she wasn't doing this for a medal, but for her dad. That kept her little feet moving all 3.1 miles!! We ended up with a decent finish time. Naomi, Grace, Sophia, and I ran/walk the 5k in 37 minutes. Abigail came in at 33 minutes and actually won 1st place for her age group. She is super elated!

After our races...I think they will all sleep good tonight!

Micaela and Joella just finished their race.

Micaela running

Joella running. She had a hard time with some tears. She got knocked over when the race started and then slipped on the grass. Thankfully the medal at the end brightened her up.

Getting ready to run...brrr!!

Abigail after she told me she came in 1st place! I wish I would've seen her closed eyes when I took the picture.

Waiting to start the race!

Our family with Jerry. Look how bundled up I had the little ones. I'm telling you, it was cold (about 53 and drizzling). If you are from California, you know that this weather is called winter. In Chicago, this weather is called autumn. If you want to learn more about Christmas Without Cancer and how you can help, visit their website: http://christmaswithoutcancer.org

I am so thankful that we got to support this wonderful organization and exercise as a family. Keep praying for Wayne. The chemo is starting to wear him down. We still have three more days of pills to take. Pray that this cycle is the easiest one for him. We appreciate all of you and all of your prayers!