Team Orphans Blog

Rebecca

January 7, 2018

WOW! What an exciting ride! Clara Cookies is now 20 months old, we’ve sold almost 30,000 cookies, and we’ve donated $3,000 in PROFITS to Team Orphans adoption grants!!! Here’s our beginning of 2018 COOKIE REVIEW- mostly pictures!

We’re so blessed to have ALL VOLUNTEER BAKERS! We have a crew of about 8 that come one a regular basis, but we’ve loved having others come to help out for a day- We especially love when students come and help! Our volunteer base is growing. Let us know if you’d like to be added to the volunteer baker email list. You can come as often as works for you. We usually bake on Monday mornings, but in the late spring and summer the schedule will vary.

Diane, I know you do’t like your picture taken, but you look so cute in your hair net!!!!

Barb loves the peanut butter- No snitching!!!! : )

Love that smile, Sue!!! We have so much fun baking together!

Mary is our dry ingredient Queen!!!

Hunter and Dylan were SO CUTE wanting to do our dishes!!!!!! It is a pretty cool dishwasher. We all wish we had one like it at home!

This is SO cool- Rosie (in yellow) is an adult with special needs who volunteered with us. She’s helping us raise money for adoption grants for kids with special needs too!

One of my favorite parts of the Clara Cookie business is going to speak to school groups and youth groups, telling them about Team Orphans and watching as they excitedly help with our sticker labels. Every cookie package has a front and back sticker- so almost 60,000 stickers have been put on by VOLUNTEERS! We’ve had over 500 students help us in 2017- school classes and clubs, youth groups, a girl scout group, a Robotics group, and next week a 4H group! We also have students and adults who work on labels at home in their own time. It’s an easy way to volunteer.

We started 2017 with a nice WZZM 13 interview!

We’ve had lots of Clara Cookie booths to sample and sell cookies this year- Grand Rapids Women’s Expo, Hudsonville Eagle 5K, Fifth Third Riverbank Run, Grand Rapids Triathlon, Rockford Farmer’s Market, Grandville Blueberry Festival, Grand Rapids Marathon Expo, Jenison Expo, Northview HS Craft Show, Rockford HS Craft Show, and the MSU Making in in Michigan Food Show in Lansing.

Volunteers like Jamie, come and help out for a 1- 2 hour shift.

Speaking of MSU, One of the highlights of the year was that Clara Cookies won the Director’s Award at the Lansing Food Show this year!!! Pretty exciting with hundreds of Michigan Food Companies there. They came and took video of us baking and we blessed them with free cookies!

Here’s the video they put together for us! Thank you, MSU!!!!

And to end the year, along with baking hundreds of Clara Cookies for Christmas orders, Wood TV 8 came out to do a story on us.

Another fun day with video!!! They did a great story on us- thank you, Wood TV 8, for the free marketing!! We got a lot of online orders that day from new customers. Because we donate all our profits, we don’t spend any money on marketing. We appreciate free marketing! Watch the story here:

Rockford business gives back to orphans with special needs

Clara Cookies make a great fundraiser for your school, club, or church group. We partnered with the Interact Club at Rockford High School selling cookies at lunch the last two weeks before Christmas break and raised $334 for their well digging project in Nigeria. (For fundraisers, we still make our profit for Team Orphans. They make the profit the stores usually make.)

Clara Cookies are being sold in about 30 locations in West Michigan and well sell cookies online that ship all over the country.

Baker Beanery (inside Baker Book House on 28th an East Paris) is still our top seller with Rockford Ace Hardware and Hastings Ace Hardware coming in second.

Our newest stores are Bill and Paul’s Sporthaus in Cascade and Country Dairy in New Era, Michigan. We’re looking for new stores. If you have any ideas, email me at rebecca@claracookies.com.

We are excited to launch into 2018 and see what’s in store. Our new cookie flavor will be…..drum roll….. orange cranberry. We’re praying for continued, steady growth in stores, cookie sales, and volunteers. If you haven’t already, check out our website at www.claracookies.com.

Blessings,

Rebecca- “the Iron Girl” “the cookie lady” and “the one that’s always smiling” (well, most of the time)

Fun Fact- When I’m not swimming, biking, running, eating, baking cookies, or delivering cookies, guess what I’m doing?

A. Sleeping 8 – 9 hours each night

B. Going to jobs with my therapy dog, Storm

C. Coloring

D. All of the above ; )

A Better Bike

Rebecca

August 28, 2017

Sheryll Poel has been a dear friend of mine for many years! Our friendship started in 1992 when I came up to Calvin College from my home in Alabama. My sister, Kathryn, and I attended Sheryll’s church, and she and several other ladies in the church took us under their wings as “college moms”- bringing flowers and treats during exam time, and having us over for Sunday dinners. Sheryll and I have stayed in touch over the years. She and her husband, Bob, have been faithful Team Orphans supporters every year of my Ironman races. Sheryll is a prayer warrior for me and sends me more encouraging emails and cards than anyone else in my life!!! She is also a cookie baker each summer for our Team Orphans Cookie 5K. More than 20 years later, and she’s still giving and giving!

Sheryll sent me this CUTE picture a few weeks ago about her new bike!!! She took her maiden voyage just a few hours after it was delivered. The fun part, is that although Sheryll lives in Cascade, her adventure all began in Rockford where I live and run and bike. While Sheryll was in Rockford, a stranger let her sit on her trike, and she realized how much safer she was that close to the ground. She had been having trouble with balance on her regular upright bike, and her boys were starting to get worried about her. Sheryll soon tried a trike for herself in the parking lot at West Michigan Bike and Fitness on E. Paris & 28th–a few easy lessons with the brakes & gears. The new trike found a new home. She stayed in her neighborhood for a few days, then ventured onto the nearby bike-paths. Her knees and feet have responded so well, she’s made it a daily habit: 20-30 minutes a day!!!! GO SHERYLL!!!! You are an inspiration!

A 22 Mile Run in Pictures

Rebecca

August 24, 2017

Lynne Lentz and I ran 22 miles yesterday, and thankfully she brought her camera!! We took a new route and found all kinds of interesting things along the way……

Not far into our journey, this guy decided he wanted to join us!

I think we were starting to get hungry…. this fungus reminded us of a big head of lettuce…

Now this was very inspiring!!! It’s made of yarn and attached to a tree right on the trail!

I think we’re really getting hungry now- this totally looks like a giant PIZZA CRUST!!!! A few miles later we stopped in a pizza place for bathrooms and water refills. Oh the smell……

Now why was this outside by the trail? It looks like a coffee table from someone’s cottage. Many coats of varnish….. Oh, it feels good to sit down…….

Yes, these are pigs with wings…..??????

We saw this a lot!!! If bikers are going to have trouble with these hills, I think we are too!

Is this hops???? Growing on the trail???

Now this is downright insulting!!! We’re already going SLOW!!!!

Putting wild flowers in my hair…..at least if you’re going to hurt this much, you should look CUTE!

“Awe!! You can do it!! Only a few miles left!!!!”

I’m not sure what was better at the end… this…

or this…..

I went back afterwards and got a pizza!!!!

Four Years Ago Today…….

Rebecca

August 11, 2017

As Lynne and I were running our 20 miler yesterday, she mentioned something amazing, “ It was exactly four years ago today that I went on my first run.” WOW!!!!! She has since completed numerous 5Ks and 10Ks, 3 half marathons, 3 Riverbank Runs, and is now training for her second marathon.

But she certainly didn’t start with marathons. On her first run four years ago, she ran 60 seconds, walked 90 seconds, and did this for 20 minutes. Oh my! Has she come a long way??? Lynne has learned what many of us try to teach our kids- persistence, dedication, and hard work really pays off!!! (We hope our kids are watching and learning.)

Lynne and I met in a Ladies Bible Study about 5 years ago. I was training for an Ironman and talking about running. She thought I was a little crazy at the time, but has now joined the ranks of people who have learned to love running too. Maybe it’s not the actual exercise that we love, but the chance to go outside in all kinds of weather and enjoy God’s beautiful world in a way people indoors just can’t. Maybe it’s the chance to get away from our jobs, our kids, our pressures, and just “BE” for a little while. But Lynne and I are hooked, so we join up every week for our long runs. We both have races the same weekend in September and run about the same pace. She loves to plan our routes with killer hills, but thankfully sets out water bottles along the route so we can refill along the way. We’ve shared hundreds of miles of great bonding, interesting conversations, and sharing cold water and Gu gels together. She loves my constant chatter that distracts both of us from the pain. I especially love telling her funny stories, making her laugh as we run up a hill.

I’ve learned to love Lynne as I’ve seen her love and dedication for God, her family, her friends, her horse, and of course… running.

All Creatures Great and Small

Rebecca

June 21, 2017

I remember with great fondness lying in bed at night as a child while my mom read the stories of James Harriot, the famous English veterinarian. “All Creatures Great and Small” was the first of his many books that captured my heart and developed in me a great love for animals. My mom and I laughed together and cried together as we experienced the adventures of all God’s creatures.

A few years ago, I heard about a lady who, before walking outside every day, says, “OK, God, just bless me with something!” I’ve prayed this short prayer many times before runs and bikes in the great outdoors. I’ve seen deer, baby raccoons, herons, a mother duck with ducklings, and even a turkey that almost knocked me off my bike.

Today, Lynne and I headed out for an 11 mile run in the country close to Greenville. I forgot to ask God to bless me, but He did anyway!!! About 6 miles into our run, Lynne needed to stop and lean against a mail box to get some stones out of her shoe. We didn’t realize that we were very close to a wren’s next until she jumped down on a branch next to us and started squawking at the top of her lungs. Wow, can that little bird make a huge noise!!! She was fearlessly protecting her little ones and it delighted my soul!

(not the actual wren we saw today, but a great close up)

Only a few miles later, we spotted one of God’s GREAT creatures- a bald eagle! We first saw the nest high in the tree with two young ones, heads not white yet, standing on the edge. Then we saw the mom or dad in a nearby tree peering down into a little lake, hoping to find some yummy lunch. It was breathtaking to say the least! From the smallest of little birds, to the great eagle, both were doing what they were meant to do, taking care of their young.

( again, we didn’t have a great camera with us running, so this is close….)

All of my long runs with Lynne are fun. We’re both training for a marathon in September, so we’re on the same schedule of a long run ( that gets longer and longer) each week. But today, was especially delightful!!! 11 miles of lovely company, great conversation, and two creatures, great and small.

(this is the actual tree we saw!! Thanks, Lynne, for the pic!)

Amazing Team Orphans Women

Rebecca

June 18, 2017

Meet Mary Walinder! She currently lives in the suburbs of Chicago, and when she isn’t training she is working for HP’s user group for a digital printing technology called Dscoop! But every morning, she is at the gym for her daily workout, and now that the summer sunshine is here, she enjoys taking her dog for a walk a few times a day while working from home! And on occasion she will take a walk in the evening with her neighbors! When I asked her about what one of her biggest motivators is in her training, she replied, “I love my FitBit and the weekly challenges because it keeps me motivated to keep moving”. Mary is a truly motivated athlete, and someone who thinks of everyone in her training. In fact, the person who took this picture deserves much needed credit- Denny Gillen. Denny was a wonderful Team Orphans athlete that raised over $30,000 for the organization. However, just this last year he passed away… He lived a life that was fulfilling and wholesome and his contributions to the Team Orphans organization will never go unnoticed. Each Virtual Ironman competitor are tremendous athletes that deserve so many accolades. So keep working hard, and having fun, and like Mary proclaimed to me, “Let’s all hit our goal in this Virtual Ironman!”

Just look at this teammate bonding! Pictured below is Lynn Benson, with her triathlon partner, daughter Sarah, and her kids. Just last year Lynn and her teammate trained and did the Luddington sprint triathlon, AND Reeds like sprint triathlon together! The athleticism doesn’t stop with just her though… All three of her children did the Rockford kids triathlon- with her youngest, Abby, being only two years old! WOW, “Amazing” runs in the Benson household! So you wouldn’t be too surprised if I told you that Lynn was also a Physical Education teacher as well! Today, Lynn is currently training by completing another Double Ironman with the Team Orphans virtual event- We’re all rooting for you Lynn! In Lynn’s free time, when she isn’t sweating it out with her athletically amazing family, she is a volunteer cookie baker for Clara Cookies! I’d say Lynn Benson is the perfect training partner- Just look at those happy smiles!

Two Sisters- Separated by Miles, But Working Together

Rebecca

May 8, 2017

Rosalie and Rita are two of our new Virtual Ironman Members this year! Rosalie lives in Michigan while Rita lives in Florida. They decided to work together on the Team Orphans Virtual Ironman this year!

Sister 1 Rosalie Clark, in Ada, Michigan, and her husband, Keith have been married for 41 years. Rosalie home educated their 4 children and provided daycare for around 25 kids over 15 years. Currently, she enjoys spending time with their 12 grandchildren who live nearby. She calls it “Crazy fun” as the grandkids are 9 years to 2 years!

Her love for children makes Rosalie thrilled to support Team Orphans in her first Virtual Ironman. After reading her Bible, she pushes PLAY on her workout DVD’s at the start of most mornings. She is excited to do the Virtual Ironman with her sister, Rita, in Florida. The sisters talk almost every day – encouraging each other in their workouts, continuing in their house cleaning businesses, and persevering in their walks with Jesus Christ.

(Rosalie is also one of our volunteer Clara Cookie bakers!)

Sister 2 Rita Moeckel lives in Bradenton, Florida. “I was excited to learn about the Virtual Ironman opportunity, supporting Team Orphans. It was great that my dear sister, Rosalie, in Michigan, and I could participate even though 1200 miles separate us. We each use DVD workouts for our exercise, but this challenge will push us to the next level. Phone calls and texts connect us, so we can spur on each other, not only in our physical exercise but also in our minds and hearts. A verse states, “…physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things.” Rosalie and I memorize scripture to keep our aging minds sharp and our hearts listening to God.

I am a wife of 31 years, mother of four grown children, one granddaughter, 30 piano students and 10 homes which I clean and maintain. My life revolves around the calendar and clock, but I’m making time for this Virtual Ironman, knowing that it is supporting a greater good in helping orphans.”

Would you like to join our Virtual Ironman? More information and sign up here:

https://www.teamorphans.com/virtualiron/ Already on the Virtual Ironman team? Email me some info about yourself for our next blog! rebecca@teamorphans.com

A Healing Ride

Rebecca

April 30, 2017

an inspiring story by Jeff Osterink, a Team Orphans Virtual Ironman member

My dad died just over a year ago. April 1.
One of the tangible things that I was able to do to help out my mom, was to clean out the garage and my dad’s workshop. I paid for a large dumpster to be dropped off at the house. I was in a throwing away mood. I think we all were. In my dad’s shop, I found his old bike- a 1970’s Fuji 10 speed.

I picked it up and walked towards the dumpster. I was going to throw it away, but then I stopped and decided that I would restore it and keep it. I brought it home with me that day and put it in my living room. I took it completely apart and over the next couple of weeks brought it back to working order.

Then started riding it around……a lot

At some point I had an idea that I would like to do something sort of epic with the bike.
I wanted to go on a trip with it. I started adding bags and storage on the bike.
Then I reached out to a close friend and invited him to share this vision with me.
We decided to bike from a cabin in Kalkaska, MI up to pictured rocks in the Upper Peninsula.
He bought a super old bike and fixed it up.

We biked around 80 miles a day and made it to Taquamenon Falls and back in about a week. It was about a 400 mile trip.

We slept in the woods one night, cheap hotels the other nights. We carried all of our gear and food with us. So many stories and memories.

My only super bright shirt was my Team Orphans Virtual Ironman shirt.
Kind of gross, but I wore it every day of the trip. I washed it a couple of times in sinks along the way.
But that was the interesting part– lots of people asked me about my shirt and what it was all about. It was fun to talk about it. My most memorable experience was hiking the trail from the Lower Falls to the Upper Falls at Taquamenon. A younger couple crossed paths with us and asked a lot of questions about my shirt. They were looking into adoption, and talked to me about it.

Thank you, Jeff, for your story. We’d love to hear from other Virtual Ironman members about something in your life! There’s still plenty of time to join the 2017 Virtual Ironman Team. Sign up at https://www.teamorphans.com/virtualiron/

Clara Cookies Gets National Exposure

Rebecca

March 31, 2017

It’s been 10 months since Clara Cookies started. In that time, we’ve sold over 18,000 cookies and now have our cookies in over 30 locations in Michigan and one in Indiana. Cookie lovers all over the country have been buying cookies online at www.claracookies.com, but only when they happened to hear about us! We’ve been using Facebook and Instagram to help spread the word (#claraproteincookies). But I kept hoping for a BIG BREAK!

We have it! Starting April 1, a peanut butter chocolate chip protein Clara Cookie will be in every Runner Box going around the US and Canada. Runner Box https://www.therunnerbox.com/ is a bi-monthly subscription box of “athletic awesomeness” that is delivered to over 1,300 runners!!! That means that in April and May, over 1,300 runners all around the country will get to try a peanut butter Clara Cookie and read about 100% of our profits being donated to Team Orphans adoption grants! The top 10 states include California, Texas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, and Pennsylvania, but not Michigan. I hope this will increase our online orders as the word keeps spreading and people keep trying our awesome cookies for an awesome cause!

We’ve had some great exposure here in Grand Rapids- a free booth at the Women’s Expo where 1,000 ladies sampled our cookies for the first time!

We also had a WZZM Channel 13 interview!!!

Watch our interview here: http://www.claracookies.com/about.html

I spoke a the Hudsonville Eagle 5K last weekend in front of about 700 people, telling them about Team Orphans, Clara Cookies, and our local stores.

Things are getting EXCITING!!!!!! Stay tuned……….

Every day is better with a Clara Cookie!

Running Around a Rest Area…and Other Crazy Adventures

Rebecca

November 19, 2016

I’ve heard it said that life isn’t about what happens to you, but how you respond to it. I’ve thought about this a lot the last 36 hours. It all started yesterday morning…….

I was hoping to get in a long swim before my medical massage with Char, then go to She Active Boutique to help Priscilla pick out some cute clothes to order for next year. Never got to any of them! I woke up to our dog, Storm, sick. So I had to do a quick trip to the vet before my massage. Change of plans… that’s ok. I took Storm to the vet; he got some meds; I did a short run; but couldn’t take a shower at home because our friend, Caleb, was fixing the carpet in our bedroom. Change of plans. I headed to the Y to take a quick shower before going to my massage. Got the shower, had 5 minutes to get to my appointment, and the key wouldn’t turn in the van. I tried the wiggle trick, turning the steering wheel trick…. nope. So I started to call Tom and realized I left my cell phone at home. I went back into the Y to use their phone. Tom was thankfully close and said he’d be over in 10 minutes and call Char and Priscilla to tell them I’d be late. An hour and a half later, Tom’s tricks hadn’t worked, the really nice guy’s tricks from West Michigan Lock and Key didn’t work, and I was waiting on a tow truck and a ride to the rental car place. I got a rental van, went back to the Y to meet the tow truck, was pulling out of the parking spot and almost got smashed by a big truck FLYING through the parking lot! Guess he was running late to a yoga class. 🙂 I missed both appointments so I headed home in my rental van. I realized when I pulled in our driveway that I forgot to get my garage door opener out of my van before it was towed. So I parked in the driveway and came in through the garage side door. But I had forgotten to turn on the interior garage light before I left, and I fell off the landing in the dark trying to get to the inside door. Thankfully, I didn’t break anything, but my knee is BRUISED! I hobbled inside in time to let Storm out (he didn’t get sick inside, whew!). I made a few local cookie deliveries, but changed my delivery to Kentwood Community Church to today instead. ( Side note- they ordered 10 dozen Clara Cookies last week and 8 dozen this week- YES!). I went to bed last night knowing that today had to be better…. NOT!

I woke up with my knee sore, but it was a beautiful, sunny day- up to 70 degrees! This was the perfect day to run on the trail in shorts one last time before next summer. I texted my friend, Char to see if I could run her dog, Parker, on the way home from cookie deliveries. YES!!!! I put all my running clothes in my bag, hopped in my rental van, delivered cookies to KCC, then headed out to Zeeland to pick up cookie package labels that were ready. I had just gotten on 196 heading back toward Grand Rapids when I saw smoke behind my rental van and smelled something burning. I quickly pulled off into the rest area right there ( thank you, Lord) as smoke started pouring out from under the hood and coming through the air vents. Thankfully, I had my phone today, so I once again called Tom! Dear hubby of mine trying to get some work done! He said to call the rental car place. They told me to call the roadside assistance place. I finally got a call back that a tow truck (yes, ANOTHER) would be there in 90 MINUTES who would take me to another rental place to get another car on their way to take the van to the shop. But this was my run in the sun in shorts day!!!

Yep, I knew what to do! In 90 minutes and conveniently being at a rest area, I had time to change into my running clothes, run 6 1/2 miles, stretch, change back, and eat, all before the tow truck got there!!!!!! Yes, I ran 6.5 miles of circles around the rest area getting lots of funny looks, a couple honks from truckers, and a few waves from people who couldn’t quite figure out why a lady was running round and round. : ) Well, the 90 minutes was actually 2 hours because in the string of communication, Ryan (nickname-Rudog)- the really nice tow truck driver from Tim’s Towing in Holland- hadn’t gotten the message that I was at the rest area. So he had been driving back and forth on 196 looking for a white Dodge van. We both laughed when he said, “Yep, I saw you running as I drove by.”

For you runners out there, rest areas aren’t so bad!!! It only took 2 1/2 laps to equal a mile, much better than a 1/4 mile track!!!! You just have to ignore the sound of trucks whizzing by or bring your headphones, which I had forgotten.

Rudog was GREAT! He gave me my first ride in a tow truck and got some good laughs over my adventures.

I got another rental car and arrived home just in time to hear that my van was fixed and ready to pick up! At this point, it was almost 6, and I was tired, hungry, and hadn’t showered after my run. Tom, hubby of the year, took my rental car back and brought my van home.

So here we are a few days before Thanksgiving.

1. I’m thankful that both times I was stuck, I was in a safe place near a bathroom! 2. I’m thankful that I wasn’t stranded on the side of the interstate today for almost 3 hours. 3. I’m thankful that I didn’t forget my phone today. 4. I’m thankful that I didn’t break anything when I fell in my garage. 5. I’m thankful that Storm is better and I didn’t have to clean any carpets. 6. I’m thankful that I picked up the Clara Cookie labels before the van stopped. We need them Monday morning for baking! 7. I’m thankful that I had my running clothes with me today, and I got to enjoy the warm sunshine before the snow comes tomorrow!!!!!!

“Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances” I Thessalonians 5:16

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