It's My Heart Walk

We walked in a 5k downtown on Saturday morning. The walk was for an organization called It's My Heart to benefit people with congenital heart defects. The team we walked on was for 3 of our little friends with CHDs, Alanna, Jake and Kate. Our team was really big; I would guess there were about 50 of us.

We had perfect weather for a 5k. It was overcast and cool in the morning and then the sun came out and it warmed up, but thankfully not so much to be really uncomfortable. Clara was on cloud nine when she finally got to see Leah. We hadn't seen them since before Christmas, so she really needed her Leah fix. They were so sweet and didn't let go of each other's hands for about the first hour.

Here's a group shot of a handful of the older kiddos. Clara blends right in with all the 6 year olds. Alanna is on the far left. She had heart surgery a couple of years ago, right around the same time our friend Justin had his heart surgery. Jake, who is 4, wasn't able to be at the walk this year because he's laying low before undergoing his third heart surgery next week. Please say a prayer for him and for Ty and Amy and their peace of mind as they go through this surgery and recovery.

Clara was such a trooper. She walked the entire way without ever being carried or pushed in a stroller. Robert did great too. He slept for about half of the walk. It was a lot of fun and we enjoyed catching up with several friends we hadn't seen in a while. Clara wandered off twice. We found her quickly both times, but still, not cool. Those bouncy houses were just calling her name.

We discovered something about Clara that we were unaware of. She is deathly afraid of porta-potties. Can blame her, but it sure made things more difficult. It wasn't until the end of the walk that she needed to go, but when we walked in, she hesitated and then when I tried to coax her onto the toilet, she started screaming. I let her use the emergency potty in the van instead. Of course it's designed for about a 2-3 year old, so I was getting everything set up just right so she wouldn't miss and pee all over the car. She ended up peeing on my hand instead. Oy. Kids are so gross.