Girls on the Run

Hannah joined a group called Girls on the Run which met after school from the start of school till November 18th.  Twice a week she would meet with her group and learn about being joyful, healthy, and confident while practicing running a 5K.  These are the core values that they strive to accomplish:

• Recognize our power and responsibility to be intentional in our decision making
• Embrace our differences and find strength in our connectedness
• Express joy, optimism and gratitude through our words, thoughts and actions
• Nurture our physical, emotional and spiritual health
• Lead with an open heart and assume positive intent
• Stand up for ourselves and others

I think it was a really great thing for Hannah.  Here she is at the end of the season getting the award for True Goodness for her heart of gold and ability to see the positive in all.  Loved that.

Their group met at another one of the local elementary schools.  Bryant Elementary doesn't have a team (maybe one day).  So, I took Hannah over to Hill Farm each time after school.  They try to do a community service project at the end of the season.  They decided to collect dog and cat food for the local Animal Shelter.  Hill Farm had their own drive, but since Hannah didn't go to school there, she decided to write a letter to her principal, Mr. Scarlett, and ask if Bryant could do a dog/cat food drive as well.  We could not have been more proud of her for that.  She wrote it herself and took it to him.  She made it happen.  He sent out school emails about it, and she made a poster for the donation box.  She got several bags of food donated.  We took it over to her sponsor's house after the 5K, but were not able to go with all the girls to deliver the food because we were out of town for the holidays.  It really was a great experience for her.  I hope that it showed her that she can make a difference in something if she puts out the effort.

Race day!!

This was Hannah's first ever 5K.  I had originally planned to run with her and even train with her some ahead of time.  I was hoping it could have been something that we did together.  However, plans changed when I found out I was pregnant.  I could have run it, but I hadn't trained at all--mostly because I had been so icky and drained those first few weeks of my pregnancy.  So, Uncle Jeff volunteered to run with her and that was pretty awesome.

Her team!

All the girls from around our area.

I really wasn't sure how she would do.  We were so surprised to see them coming in when we did though.  They were probably in the top 10-15 to finish.  She pushed herself and did a fabulous job.

And I think she had a lot of fun!

Hannah, I hope you know how proud we were of you for all your hard work and perserverance!!  We love you!!