Wanna see me run in a full costume for 13.1 miles?

If you saw this post you know that I'm running another half. This time I'm using my commitment for good, for a bigger cause than justifying my ice cream habit.

As also mentioned before, my friend Erin and her fam are in the process of adopting from Uganda. It's oh-so-appropriate in a it-all-comes-full-circle kinda way that this is the avenue in which I'm offering her my help.

Erin taught me to run.

A gazillion years ago I was getting lazier and unhappy and Erin was the perfect friend in that season. She was an experienced runner and created a C25K for me before those existed. I couldn't even run for 3 straight minutes when Erin took me under her wing. My fav memory was her running next to me and I was CONVINCED I.was.dying and couldn't run the next ten seconds and she started SHOUTING AT ME in the park as loud as she could to KEEP RUNNING. People thought I was getting attacked. They called 911. (that part may be falsified.)

Now, 4 half marathons later, I have her to thank.

And now she needs my help. To bring home her son from Uganda.

Done and done.

Here's where you come in:

I'm running the half marathon here in St. Louis in April. I start training on Sunday. (12 week running sched, thankyouhalhigdon) Let me be clear: EVERY PENNY YOU DONATE GOES TO THEIR ADOPTION EXPENSES. I'm paying for the race out of pocket, etc.

You have three options:

1. Pledge $X.XX/mile of the RACE. (13.1 miles) i.e. $1/mile= $13.10, $10/mile would be $131.00 or anything in between or more or less.

2. Pledge a set amount.

3. Pledge nothing but run it yourself on my "team" and gather pledges from your peeps.


Here's where your entertainment comes in:
If I collectively raise:

$200: I'll wear silly socks
$500: I'll wear silly socks and a tutu.
$1000: I'll wear silly socks, a tutu, and something silly on my head
$2000: I'll wear a full costume of the donor's choice (there will be a vote) (appropriate choices only, duh.)


Contact me ASAP to join in the fun! katie l mohr @ g mail. Pledge commitments due by January 31. Pledge payments can come later.

Dream big! Er...somethin'...

I can safely say that the goals I made for 2012 weren't met. Not even close. However, progress was made and all in the home are happy and healthy so we're good.

With Russ settling in nicely to his new job, Dez getting more independent and Eliot rocking first grade I feel like 2013 has lots of potential.

I'm shooting big, peeps. Stealing/copying an idea from a friend (best copycat wins, remember?) I've set 12 goals for 2013. Some are on-going, some are one time shots. I'm hoping to be able to check one off a month. Realistically if I hit 6/12, I'm happy. Feel free to ask me how it's going throughout the year. Unless I look angry, then just tell me a funny joke and move on...

(Side note: posting this from my phone since my laptop is unwilling to help. Hope it looks okay...)

Another holiday tip (free of charge)(you're welcome)

Sometimes it takes a little more effort but try to be aware of the gifts you're giving and how they relate (or don't relate) to the gift receiver.

*
AKA: look for gifts that match the receivers race or ethnicity. It's easier now than it ever has been. Just takes a little extra thought and effort to grab one toy off the shelf vs. another.

*

*All actors were compensated** for their time.


**and by "compensated", I mean cups overflowing with goldfish crackers as previously agreed upon by this participant's actors guild.

Wanna get me a gift?

Many of you give extra this time of year and sometimes it's overwhelming to know where to give. I thought I'd add a couple options if you're still undecided.

Last year we received an adoption grant from Show Hope. They're a non-profit that awards grants to as many families as they have funds. Dez's adoption was paid off after the grant we received. Click here to donate.

If you'd rather donate to an actual adoption you can watch develop, I happen to know a few peeps going through the process. Weird, huh?

Erik and Jessa Anderson in CA adopting from Ethiopia! Click here to donate.

Bob and Erin Hansel in CO adopting from Uganda! Click here to donate.

Darrell and Kristen Vanzant in TN adopting from Honduras! Click here to donate.

In case you missed it, international adoption is crazy expensive. Each of these three families entered this process not having the funds but trusting God would provide and are now working their hardest to raise funds. We could not have completed either of our adoptions (even the domestic one) without the generosity of others, many of them strangers. Friends of friends. There's people we still meet now that are so excited to meet Eliot, letting us know they contributed. It humbles me. These were the hands and feet of Jesus to us then and even now as we watch E grow up.

Christmas was always a harder season for me as we were growing our family than even Mother's Day. The vacancy of the stocking I so desperately wanted was always looming in front of me. Help ease the wait for these families by contributing to their funds.

I'm secretly hoping to get an email or text saying "A donation was made in your honor to___".

Latergram

My fav Instagrams over the last 9 weeks...feel free to follow me at katielmohr! I'll steal a few from Russ' feed next! If you're not on IG yet, I highly recommend it. We're obsessed about it over here!

Sometimes it's overwhelming...

how thankful I am that I get to be their mom.

FYI

Thanks to the amount of time I spend blocking "anonymous" comments (Spam) from the blog, I changed the settings on here to no longer allow anonymous. Sorry for the inconvenience...

--Management

And also, please look at this pic my friend Amy found on Pinterest.

Holy Desmond Look-alike! It's no wonder even is his shirt that reads "Ladies Man" he still gets mistaken for a girl.

Taking the creepy out of Elf on the Shelf.

If you don't have young kids you may have avoided this new trend.

We, however, are in the thick of it.

Elf on the Shelf.

A couple years ago they came out with a light brown-skinned elf and I bought it on impulse. (Moms of brown children are sometimes suckers for anything resembling their children since it's harder to find than you'd think...)I didn't think through the fact that the child we bought it for has minor anxiety.

We started reading the story to him and realized quickly that:
A. He was getting really freaked out.
B. This was turning into a behavior modification thing and I didn't love that.

Thankfully this was before he could read so I made up the rest of the story and took the book away. So, here's how we combat A and B and why.

A. Eliot's imagination creeps him out sometimes. He loves Toy Story but can't separate the reality from fiction and sometimes gets nervous having toys in his room any bigger than an action figure. Creating a story about an elf who is ALIVE and WATCHING HIS EVERY MOVE (but acting as a statue) just confirmed his irrational fears. So, we remind him almost daily that he's not real and it's just a game of hide and seek. Also, the elf is not allowed in Eliot's room. Ever.

B1. As a former teacher I tend to shy away from temporary quick fixes with behavior*. I don't love manipulating children to behave for the month of December because I don't want to have to come up with another thing to force them to behave in January.

B2: Also, we want Eliot to know that Christmas isn't about him. He can't earn or un-earn (it's a word, I promise) the celebration of Jesus' birth. It happened. We give gifts as an outpouring of our thankfulness. We want Eliot to know he gets presents and celebrates Christmas because he's loved. Plain and simple. He doesn't earn his gifts, he gets them because he's a part of our family. If his behavior during December warrants major action, there's other consequences in place to address those that have nothing to do with the date on the calendar.

We still add Okra (our Elf...full name Okra Homa) to our festivities because Eliot loves the excitement of finding him each morning. (sidenote: I set an alarm on my phone that rings at 9 each night to remind me to move him. Also, Pinterest has tons of creative ideas of places/ways to hide him. Use your resources, people.)

*I'm not above bribery in certain instances. You should have seen the promises made before and during our last photo shoot...

I'm not trying to knock Elf on the Shelf or it's originators or those of you to implement it as is. As it's presented, though, it just doesn't work for our family. We still love it, just an amended version of it.

The chopping block.

Before

11 inches to donate!

After! Went for the asymmetrical bob. As always, fantastic job by Ninfa, my hair lobster.

2012 version of Edward Scissorhands...

I'm fiddling on a roof with all this tradition...