The Angels Did It!

Although we are missing our wings and halos (and Brenda!) in this photo, we are still Annie's Angels and together we raised $12,255 to fight against breast cancer!  We are still accepting donations, so it's not too late to help out.

It was a tough 3 days with not enough sleep, too many porta-potties, lots of blisters and very sore muscles, but it was worth it!  We joined 3,600 walkers in San Diego and we raised a total of $9.2 million to defeat breast cancer.

I stuck with my plan to walk about 10 miles a day for a total of 30 miles.  At times it was hard to leave my team and take a shuttle to lunch, but I know it was the right thing to do.  My back hurt during the walk and I had Braxton-Hicks contractions (the first of my pregnancy) so I know I needed the rest during lunch.  I usually waited about 2 hours for my team, but it gave me a chance to meet so many great people and hear some wonderful stories.  Telling people that I was 6 months pregnant was a great ice-breaker.  There weren't too many pregnant moms on the walk!

One of the sweetest stories I heard was from a woman from Colorado.  She was walking in honor of a friend with breast cancer.  She had been training for 7 months and was so excited.  On the first day she fell off a huge curb (some of them were over a foot high!) and sprained her ankle.  She kept walking and ended up injuring her other leg in an effort to compensate.  That evening the medical staff told her she shouldn't walk any more.  She was crushed to have to give up her dream.  Her husband went out and rented a wheelchair so he could push her the rest of the way.  She started crying as she told me about it and I was really touched.

I met many other women who lost their mothers to breast cancer and walked in their memory.

Crowds of people cheered for us along the way.  They played music for us, sang, danced, offered gifts, candy, water and kleenex.  Some cute Girl Scouts even gave me a sleeve of thin mints which we enjoyed for our FHE snack tonight.  On Saturday John, Marianne, Evan, my Dad and Carolyn came to cheer us on.  They walked with us for a mile or so and it really lifted my spirits to see them.

The crew at camp was fantastic.  They fed us and took good care of us.  They even found the money and credit card I dropped!  However, I do not regret our decision to stay in a hotel.  It was worth every penny sleep in a real bed and have a real bathroom after a long day on our feet.

I am grateful for my experience on the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure Walk. Hugs to my fabulous teammates and thanks to everyone who donated!  Most of all, I send my love to the three women I walked to honor:  my mom who was a 15 year breast cancer survivor, my grandma who at nearly 90 is still going strong after defeating breast cancer, and my daughter Marianne who I pray will someday live in a world without cancer!

Our Annie's Angels theme:
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.               2 Timothy 1:7