Our First 5K!!!

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Today the Rose family ran our first 5k! Okay...all the men in this family did! I was the one who signed us all up, was so excited to do it and then broke my ankle this month, causing me to be the family photographer, but who's really keeping score?!?!?

Smiles 4 Sammy is a foundation that was set up by close friends of ours who lost their baby girl Sammy to Trisomy 18 last year on Christmas morning. Sammy had beat all odds living for 10 months with the condition. She was expected to be stillborn, and then came home from the hospital with Hospice and less than a week to live. She was the heart and soul of our tight-knit small school and played baby Jesus in the Christmas pageant just two days before she went to actually meet Jesus. In her short 10 months here, she touched more lives than I could ever count with her larger than life personality and smile that lit up her face. Her two big sisters are in Luke and Matt's classes and the boys are very close with them. To be a part of a 5k honoring Sammy with all profits helping other families with children with diseases like Sammy was a gift to us. Sammy's Dad is a high school football coach and the support his entire school gives to the foundation is incredible to witness. The football team put on a football camp last night which my boys loved. At least 10 restaurants donated food for sale during a football scrimmage between next years teams with all profits going to Sammy's foundation. The cheerleaders were at the race today cheering on every runner. The baseball team ran with the kids in the 1k. The basketball team handed out water to everyone as they finished. Multiple clubs and other sports were there for set-up and take down. To see all of these people donating their first night and morning of summer vacation shows how loved Sammy was by all.

I am so proud of all of my guys! Luke stayed with me for the 5k, but ran the homestretch in with Matt! Brian ran the whole thing with his best buddy's Mom! Matt was right behind him with a close friend of mine and the 4 girls we spend most of our time with! Both of them finished in 37 and 38 minutes! I am so, so proud of them! Craig amazed me by running over half of the race. For a guy who couldn't walk a year and a half ago to complete a 5k is amazing in my eyes! It goes to show that with hard work and dedication you can overcome anything and I am so beyond proud of him! The kids 1k was immediately after the 5k. I thought the boys would be too tired to participate but they all lined up! Again...I am so proud of all of my little rockstars! Brian came in 2'd overall! Matt was in the top 20 and little man brought up the rear! Luke's little legs ran the entire two laps of the track with a smile the whole time! What a wonderful weekend for our family to be a part of in remembrance of our sweet angel Sammy.

Sammy's website can be found at:
http://www.smiles4sammy.org/samanthas-story/