The Kids' First 5K ~ Race Recap

As I've mentioned before 5k's are not my favorite race distance these days, but doing it as a family and with friends makes it my absolute favorite distance!  We debated whether or not to do a local 5k race even up to a couple days before just simply due to the fact that our schedules have been so busy lately and it was a week before our half marathon race in the mountains. Once the kids got excited about it, we knew we needed to take the morning to encourage our kids and let it be their race :).  It was also the first race for a dear friend of ours, so we were excited to run with her and her dear sister as well.  We love this local race, it's a small and friendly run.  Last year this race was our very first family run.  Thanks Lifestyle Fitness, for another wonderful race!

The kids were so cute getting ready for their race first thing in the morning.  There's something so encouraging and fun about sharing our love for running and taking care of our bodies with our kids!  God has designed our bodies to move and it's so fun to share this message as a family!  We also enjoy sharing the message that lean beef is a great source of protein for active families!!!  I apologize for the picture overload of this race... it was just such a special morning!

We were so proud of these kiddos!

Our dear friend helped design these adorable tanks.  We just love how cute they are and the message of Hebrews 12:1-2 it shares!  Rachael and Sara are such sweet sisters and so incredibly encouraging, sweet, Godly women.  Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, for sharing this special day with us!!!

Oh, how I love this girl!  She has prayed, encouraged and reminded me of God's purpose on this journey from the very beginning!

Last year I ran with Kylee and Daddy ran with Jayce, so we decided to switch it up this year.  Two years ago, I never would have dreamed that I would see an image like this.  An incredible Daddy sharing such a special moment with his little girl!

I had no idea how much I would learn about my little dude through this race!  I have spent time working with Kylee on how to keep her pace, how to do run/walk intervals, but I hadn't worked with Jayce at all.  I was fully prepared for him to run a couple of blocks and then we would walk the remaining 5k, but oh boy did he surprise me.  This silly 5 year old took off at a sprint and ran for well over a mile without walking.  I had absolutely no idea he had it in him.  I also discovered how incredibly competitive he is.  It was a great reminder that there are other lessons to be learned running a race besides encouraging physical fitness.  I had to discuss with Jayce that the race is a great opportunity to encourage others and that it's important to finish the race!  This little guy touched my heart as anytime he passed or was passed by someone he reached out to give them a high five :)

Sweet Sara was definitely Jayce's budy!  She was so incredibly kind and gentle with him.

 When I asked Kylee what her favorite part of the race was, she didn't even hesitate to say that it was crossing the finish line with these ladies!  I don't think it matters how many races or how old you are, there's something amazing about each finish line!  

After a strong start, some tears and a piggy back ride on mommy, little dude finished strong!

This is one of my favorite pictures of the morning!  I love how Josh hurried to get to the finish line, so that he could capture these three lovely ladies coming across the finish line together.  

Kylee encouraging her little brother as he finished!

This was little dude's favorite part of the race... getting a snack when he finished!

Another one of my favorite pictures of the day.  These two ladies have such a special relationship!  And what a special way to deepen their friendship, running their first 5k together!  

Thanks Miss Rach, we love you so much!!!

Run the Race, Persevere & Focus on Christ!

Blessings,

Krystal

A New Journey

Oh my friends, I'm beyond thrilled to make an announcement here on my blog!  I've shared it with a few close friends (I'm sure those following me on Pinterest have started to figure it out as well), but I know the power of prayer, so I wanted to share my announcement and ask that you join me in prayer as we prepare for this next journey that God is leading us on!

I've prayed and visited with some of my closest friends about trying to figure out God's purpose for this journey over the last two years of getting healthy, growing closer to God and becoming the wife and mother God has called me to be (which is obviously still a work in progress).  I know God works all things for His glory, but it's difficult at times to see His plan and to be patient for His timing.

Friends, this world we live in can be a bit scary and quite frankly it scares me at times as a parent.  My hearts desire is to seek God's wisdom in raising these kids.  Over the last 8 months or so, I've absolutely loved working with kids.  Whether it's been through our AWANA program, substituting for Sunday school classes or helping in Kylee's class at school.  There's just something about working with these kids that brings true joy to my heart.  I was asked one day to do 'story time' during AWANA for the Sparks group and I shared a fun devotion about how running physically is quite similar to running spiritually.  I had so much fun sharing with these kids and they seem to enjoy the lesson too.

Well a few weeks ago, God laid it on my heart to develop a Christ centered girls running group!  It really is in its infant stages right now.  I'm still praying about it, working on the devotions/object lessons, naming the group, and working out all of the details.  It will probably take over a year to work out all of the details, but I'm SO incredibly excited to see God work through this!  The purpose of this group will be to teach girls (ages 8-12) over an 8 week period (meeting twice a week) about spiritual and physical health through devotions, team building games, health tips and coaching them to run a 5k.  I'm clearly not an expert, but I am on fire for Jesus in this adventure and pray I learn and grow right along with these girls!

One goal before kicking off this program is to coach my sweet girl through running her first 5k.  Needless to say Miss Ky will be my guinea pig.  I simply asked her this afternoon when she wanted to start running and she was so excited to say 'TODAY.'  Needless to say we grabbed our 'Kid's couch to 5k program' and headed to the treadmill (the weather is a bit ugly today to do anything outside).

When Kylee handed me her little clipboard, she had this sweet sticky note on it.  I just love it!

I remember having this exact feeling after completing day 1 of the couch to 5k program two years ago! If I needed some affirmation about this girls group, I think it's in this little girls face!!!

Baby girl, I'm so excited to go on this new journey with you.  Ky grabbed her iPhone to listen to some music while she ran (she's watched Mommy too much) and she was so excited about the song she had picked out to start her run with... 'God Girl' by Jamie Grace.  This song is very near to both Kylee and I.  She absolutely loves the song, I love the message and Kylee has touched my heart with this song when I hear her sing it at the top of her lungs while she's in the shower or playing in her room.  Sing it girl!!!

With that... we have officially picked out the name of our group 'God Girls Run'.

Just this morning at church we heard a message about bringing God glory in all we do.  It was a great reminder to stay humble and focused on Him in all we do!

May we bring glory to God as we share His love to girls in our community through this journey!!!  I can't thank the sweet girlfriends who have already prayed for and encouraged us on this journey.  You are all such a blessing!

Thank you all in advance for praying for 'God Girls Run' and for allowing me to share this journey with you!

Blessings,

Krystal