Hey y’all! Happy Tuesday! I wanted to spend today’s blog post highlighting the AMAZING Braving Infertility Together organization and tell you about how amazing the 3rd Annual Brave at Heart 5K/10K was on Saturday!

Apologies if I ramble along in this post. Just such a fun event that I loved being a part of.

I have always said that I would love to do a marathon, but due to my sketchy knees I would settle for a half-marathon. The camaraderie of the runners, the people cheering you on, the having to get into shape . . . it all just sounded so appealing to me.

Well, let me now say that this 5K was my marathon. I never need to do it again. Ever. I had people cheering me on and I got a medal. All of that was great. But, MAN I am sore.

So, let me just say that I would like to acknowledge how amazing runners are. You guys are out of this world. Those of you that do this on a regular basis, I am super impressed. And, I am jealous of your knees. And endurance level.

Moving on . . . Saturday morning was SUCH a special event, and I am so thankful to Braving Infertility Together for including me.

I showed up bright & early to help set up, and was amazed at all of the wonderful men and women that are involved in having a voice for infertility.

And, you guys . . . my name was on the race shirt! SO, SO exciting! And, such an honor to be named right along these other amazing partners!

Just behind the DJ booth (he was amazing, by the way!) was Honor Hill. If you were following my Instagram stories that morning I was chatting a little about this special place. Hope Mommies and Team Mercy offered different colored pinwheels to put on the hill in honor of a child you lost through miscarriage, infant loss, or stillborn.

I watched couples holding hands and placing their pinwheel together. I saw a young child putting one in the ground as his mother took a picture. I saw people grieving and I saw people laughing. Just so many emotions on Honor Hill that morning. And, I felt blessed to witness all of it!

Here is my contribution to Honor Hill. The pink is for Sophie and the twins. The blue is for the little guy we lost after Sophie. And, the purple is for the rest of the football team we have in Heaven that we never knew if they were a boy or a girl. While these pinwheels represent loss, to me they also represent love, healing, and hope.

You also saw so many runners wearing these bracelets. I rocked a green, purple, pink and yellow!

And . . . then we ran! My only goal was to finish without stopping to walk. I didn’t care where I finished in the pack, I just wanted to keep going. There were several high school students volunteering for community service hours, and they had made signs and were stationed along the race cheering everyone on. My personal favorite sign: “Don’t Walk, People Are Watching”!

And, I have to share this . . . the race was on a beautiful nature trail out in McKinney. Along the way, I only saw one park bench. Just one. I was feeling like I wanted to stop SO BADLY as I was approaching the bench, and happened to see that it had a dedication plaque prominently displayed. Do you know who the bench was dedicated to? A woman named Sophie. Y’all. Sophie! Let me tell you that I had no problem running after that. Such a God thing. And, such a reminder that I was running for Sophie, for all of my other losses, for my miracle boys with me here, and for all of the men and women that share my story. This was definitely a favorite moment of the day for me!

This picture cracks me up because I was POURING with sweat and downing water all while taking this picture for my crew. The boys were really interested to see if I had won the race. No, I didn’t, but I did get a really sweet medal. And, to my kiddos, that was something! I was a “cool mom” for a bit after that!

The event ended with raffling off amazing items from local fertility doctors, and was such a sight to see a couple blessed with $1000 credit to use for IVF! That was HUGE!

Such a fun morning, and thanks for letting me take you along for the ride. A year and a half ago, I started Lunchbox Babies as a way to heal during such a rough season of grief and loss. On Saturday, I partnered with Braving Infertility Together, and was able to be a voice for those walking the road of infertility and loss. Such an honor, and that blessing is not lost on me.

Click here to learn more about Braving Infertility Together!

Have a great week! XO