I don’t even know where to begin.

The last time I blogged, I blogged about my period.  That was a long, long time ago.  I wish there was a way for me to show you what I’ve been up to since then, like in a comic book or something, I mean, could I really have been too busy for blogging? 

Oh my word, yes. 

Saturday was the 5K Run and Family Fun Walk that my two amazing friends and myself put on for our local Friends of Heroes Light The Night team, which meant that after Wednesday was crunch time as far as preparation goes.  I can only be so grateful that Lynette, Misti and I are very, very organized individuals so there was no last minute craziness going on that we created due to disorganization.  Before I go on, the children also started school on Thursday and Friday and I had a migraine on Thursday, which did not stop me from doing anything, it just almost killed me.  Thank God for Imotrex. 

But something did happen that we could not have planned.

Like rain.

And more rain.

And rain some more.

It rained more this month, than any other month.  Ever.  Not more rain than any month this year, not a record breaking August.  Just more rain ever.  Record Wettest Month is what the Weather Channel is calling it.  That’s all.  So on Friday afternoon when Misti called me to tell me the 5K location (the location name is Coffee Creek, please note the word creek, if you will.) called her to inform her that the trails were "knee deep" in water and getting to the pavilion would be impossible, the pavilion where registration and activity time with Gymboree were to be held, well, it shook me up.  We were off to the location to re-route the course.  Luck of all Luck, Lynette is the trail Wizard.   Wizard I tell you!  Because it only took about EIGHT hours to create and measure a new route and make sure it was right.  Had it been Misti or myself we would probably would have asked them to run back and forth in front of the pavilion for 3.1 miles.  We would have asked nicely.

While we were at the event location on Friday, the sun came out and it was beautiful and gave me hope for a beautiful and dry event.  Y’all, in the end, if it were to rain at the event, I thought I was going to die.   It didn’t rain all night long and when I woke up on Saturday at 4:35 am, it still hadn’t rained.   The race was scheduled for 8 am, certainly it would stay dry until then.

Then I looked at the radar.  And it was green, so very green.

And this is what it looked like at 8:01, one minute after we announced our rain delay to the runners.

We had volunteers on the course who yell out times at mile markers and also a volunteer to direct traffic, not to mention volunteers on the course who distribute water to the runners.
They did not have umbrellas in this downpour, so Lynette was running to give them some umbrellas.   

Nice girl that she is.  And I took pictures of her while under the pavilion, cause pictures are very important, don’t you know?

We began the race shortly after this picture because it let up and everyone there had a "we better go now" type of attitude.  So they did.  And it was awesome.

See.  Runners.  Go.

This was a glorious sight to me.  Yes, in the rain, runners still came out and family fun walkers still came out.  The DJ was still there, we still had great (free!) food and great (free!) drinks, Gymboree still came out and organized activity time with the children and we still raised money.  And when I think about all of the volunteers that came out at SIX IN THE MORNING on a Saturday, well, my heart can hardly take it.

I love this event, even with the rain.  (but I’m not going to lie to you, I am too often thinking about about many people WOULD have attended had it, you know, NOT RAINED.)

I totally can’t wait until next year.
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By the way, although you weren’t able to attend, you can still support this cause and enter to win a chance to win one of these custom bags, just go here for details.  The contest ends on Thursday!

Since 2004 I have been volunteering for a national team called Friends of Heroes (FOH).  FOH raises money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Light The Night Walks, which are held during the fall.  FOH is a national friends and family team, we have team captains and teams all across the country.  Since 2004,  we have raised over $844,000.  In 2007, our goal is to reach 1 Million Dollars.  In addition to our one million dollar goal, by raising $100,000 this year, we will have the opportunity to name a research grant geared towards pediatric cancers.  This would be our fourth year of reaching our goal of naming a research grant in our honor.

You can help me with these goals, right here, right now!

For every dollar you donate to my fundraising site, you will be
entered in to win a custom bag by Kimberlee Faith (a $40 value).  In addition to your tax deductible donation, if you post on your blog about this fundraiser, directing readers to this post, you will receive an additional entry just for spreading the word!  So go now, donate to this awesome cause that I love so much and help to spread the word.  Help me to put a face on childhood cancers.

There is a $3 minimum donation requirement, but if you choose to donate more, feel free, if you donate $20, that’s 20 entries in this contest.  And add one more entry just for telling people about this fundraiser on your blog!

My personal fundraising goal is $1500, by making your donation and entering this awesome raffle, you will be helping me to reach my goal.  Thank you!

Ever wanted to make a difference?  Join me by becoming a team captain in your area!  Click here for more information.

The drawing for the bag will be held on Thursday, August 30th at 9:00 CST.  If you post on your blog regarding this fundraiser, please send me an e-mail to me foldinglaundry@gmail.com and I will add your extra entry to the raffle!

Good luck and thank you for your support!

To learn more about Light The Night, watch this video, be sure to have a tissue nearby.  Also, you will see my dear friend, Jenn, she speaks after Cynthia Nixon, she is my national co-captain with me and I just love her!

Kimberlee Faith is offering a $40 credit toward any of her bags, the picture shown above is a personal bag of mine made by Kimberlee!  I love it!