Yes, I know this is a vintage photo and you may not recognize me with the bowl on my head and much younger and thinner face, but this is a picture of me (center), Kasey (left) and Carolyn (right) back in the day at BYU. We were all dressed up for a night on the town which, if I remember correctly (and I don't most of the time) was either some play or performance at the Harris Fine Arts Center ... or Christmas Around the World. See - I told you my memory was bad ;) I digress ....This post is just a quick shout out to Carolyn to let her know I am cheering for her this weekend and SO proud of her! She is running the Disney World Marathon on Sunday with the Team in Training to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. This is amazing to me on so many levels. First, she is running 26.2 miles ... about how far it would be for me to get downtown from where I live. I was proud of myself the first time I ran 3 miles on the treadmill - which about killed me :) Second, she has been training for months sacrificing more time than I can imagine to be ready. All of this while being an amazing wife, mother of 3, managing a home, and working as a PA in an ER (among all of her other duties that are too numerous to list). Third, she has raised over $6,000 to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Amazing. Fourth, and perhaps the most inspiring, she is doing it all in honor of her sweet daughter Kate who was diagnosed with Pre-B ALL (a subtype of Leukemia) back in April. She keeps 2 faithful blogs - one dedicated especially to Kate and her journey to a cure. She and Kate have both been such an inspiration as I have watched them through the ups and downs of the past 9 months. Kate is the Team Hero for their running team and I know the thoughts of her and the others who are affected by this disease will push Carolyn and her team through to the finish line.
I wish I could be there to cheer her on from the sidelines (and enjoy a vacation at Disney World) but for now this post will have to do. We haven't seen each other in more than 10 years now but this blogging world that we live in has helped me to reconnect to Carolyn (and many others) and I am so grateful for that. So, Carolyn, good luck this weekend ... I know it will be an amazing experience for you and those you have and will inspire along the way!!!
11 comments:
Kari,
The crazy thing is that you really don't look much different at all! Totally not fair. What a cool posting this was. We have good friends whose 9 year old son has been fighting a form of lymphoma--it's JP's nephew. JP did a half marathon in San Francisco in November for exactly the same cause as your friend, Carolyn. Very inspiring. I am in total awe wondering how people watch their children suffer and are able to keep it together. What a blessing. By the way, love the new look. Very cute. Hope you have a great week! Love, Jen
This was so nice of you Kari !!
Carolyn is our girl and we love her so much... She was always on the ball in college and so fun to be around... and I am so proud of the woman she has become. She is really such an inspiration to us all and proof that if we have the right, healthy attitude, we can get through anything with the love and support of our family and friends. My thoughts are with her as she pounds the pavement. I too wish I could be there to see her cross the finish line with tears of exhaustion but more so of joy for what she has accomplished for herself and for gorgeous little Kate. That will be a long, tight and well deserved hug they give each other.
I wish we all lived closer together !
Love you !!
Deb
Look how sweet and innocent you look!! What happened?? LOL! So stinkin cute! Your friend sounds like such an amazing person. I am pretty sure I couldn't run around the block, much less a marathon.
Go Carolyn! First of all, you all look great and you still look amazing. . . Who can account for the taste of the times??!!??
2ndly, I am in whole hearted support for her and her daughter. Our neice's son Gabriel was diagnosed with leukemia at age 4 and was within minutes of death by the time it was uncovered. He is now 11 and doing quite well. He was the poster child for Phoenix Children's Hospital for a number of years so you would probably recognize him. Anyway, Alex, his mom, also ran for leukemia and we helped her raise almost $6000 for her race in Hawaii a few years back. She did finish and amazingly so as she has severe scoliosis and other factors. She hasn't been able to train since, but prayers work and miracles happen. My grandmother, sadly, died from leukemia as did a childhood friend who was diagnosed around 5 and was in remission most of our childhood, but I heard she died close to her 20th birthday. A cure is definitely needed. Thanks for posting and sharing another inspiring story!!!
Hey Kari,
I'm very impressed with the Shutterfly books you made for Christmas gifts. I'm about to embark on my own "big project" doing one of these and am wondering how easy it is to do. I've downloaded the template. Did you run across any issues/shortcuts you might share with me? Pretty please? (insert long-lashed doe-eyed blinking here, even though I have no lashes to speak of, LOL). TIA! And thanks for emailing your address. Amanda is feverishly making cards now.
Guess what? You've been TAGGED. Visit my blog for details!
Look at you! How cute. I think you haven't aged much at all. You are still fresh faced and pretty. :)
Ditto on your tribute to Carolyn! I've been thinking about her all weekend and how awesome she is!
I love your hair in this picture...it brought a smile to my face! What an amazing person your friend is and what a difference she is making! I can't imagine what emotions she is going through with her daughter, people that do something about their situations (instead of feel sorry for themselves like me) amaze me.
Kari, I love the older photo of you! And your friend is really amazing!
Carol :-)
Kari,
This is the sweetest shout out and the sweet thoughts. The entire experience was amazing and one that I won't easily forget.
I can't wait for our girls weekend in May to finally see you! Let's get to planning...
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