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!

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!