Archive for the ‘foster’ Category

• Running to Help…

  Date: 2010.08.04 | Category: foster | Response: 4

  A few days ago I was contacted by a gentleman named Ali Islami. He posed an idea to me that he is working on and I am so touched that he would like my involvement.

  From that conversation things have moved quickly. I was contacted by Jennifer Gustavson, a writer for the Salt Lake Tribune, who was doing an article on Ali and what he is trying to accomplish.

  Today, I found the article…
  Vegas ragnar runner will benefit kids in foster care
  (slight correction in the article, the marathon is on Aug 21st not Aug 22nd)

  What an awesome thing to do Ali! I contacted my fellow Wasatch Back Ragnar team runners and after hearing Ali’s story, several of them were ready to go.

  In a matter of a week things have change quite a bit. Ali and I were in contact with each other. There was an article written up in the Salt Lake Tribune and he and I have organized a team together to run in the Vegas Ragnar Relay Race in October to raise money for the Utah Foster Care Foundation.

• Help build my playlist…

  Date: 2010.08.03 | Category: foster, Saturdays, training | Response: 14

  The verdict is in.

  After trying some long runs with and without music, I have decided to have my iPod at the ready for the marathon, just in case I need a bit more motivation to get me through the miles. I have tried a variety of different musical categories and specific artist playlists, ranging from Metallica to Classical music. They all have their pros and they all have their cons, so what I am looking for now are suggestions from you.

  Help build my marathon playlist. Post a comment here on my blog with the song title and artist of a song or song(s) you think should be included in my marathon playlist. It can have a theme. It can be funny. It can be in a foreign language. It can be something you listen to while you exercise. It can basically be anything you like or would recommend, that can help motivate me to the finish line.

  I will round up the songs and create a playlist of all the suggested items to be used on marathon day. From the list of entries I will randomly select one lucky winner to receive a run2100.com prize. Entry deadline is Friday, August 13th, 2010.

  Thanks for your help and suggestions – have fun! Please don’t forget to donate to the Utah Foster Care Foundation.

• A Boy Scout is always prepared…

  Date: 2010.06.23 | Category: foster | Response: 1

  I am proud to say I diligently worked my way up through the scouting world as a young boy.  Yes, all the way to the Bear badge.   I find that the Bear is way more powerful than the Eagle, and what exactly is a Webelos anyway?  At least that is what I tell myself and use as a punchline from time to time.  So actually, for me, the saying should go: “A Cub Scout is always prepared…”

  Either way I was prepared.  I was prepared to give a speech at the Chalk Art Festival – Utah Foster Father of the Year Award ceremony on Saturday.  Just in case there was a request for a speech I was ready.  Well the award ceremony came and went, without one request for a speech.  Sadden?  Not really, just prepared if need be.

  But lets face it, having just come down off the mountain running Ragnar for 24 hours, being sleep deprived and dealing with all the emotion wrapped into the honor of being Foster Father of the Year for the Salt Lake Valley Region, I am pretty sure I wouldn’t have been able to get through the speech without stumbling a bit.

  So I share it here for you to read. Enjoy!

  It is a pleasure to stand before you and accept this honor today.  I got here not on my own, but by the examples of others and the foundation that supports me along this journey.  For my many friends and family members out there, I thank you.  Thanks to my beautiful, patient and strong wife Shelly, and our newly adopted little man Ian, I love you.

  I would also like to say Happy Father’s Day to all the men in my life that continue to show me both the pros and cons to fatherhood, and to my fellow foster Father’s who join me on the stand today.

  Two years ago, when we set out on this journey into foster parenting or what my wife likes to call an “emotional roller-coaster”, I never imagined that I would become Foster Father of the year. Surely, there are other fathers out there that are more qualified then myself.  In fact, I didn’t even know that the title existed.

  I am not in it for the title.  I am in it for the kids, even if it is just for a brief moment in time.  But now that I have the title, thank you all so much for the recognition.  Being a foster parent is both difficult and rewarding at the same time.  I am grateful that I have the opportunity to take this journey and enjoy all of the ups and downs along the way.

  It is hard to describe my feelings of being a foster parent exactly, but my sister-in-law found a short story, by Loren Eiseley, that describes it beautifully.

  “One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean. Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?”

  The boy replied, “I am throwing starfish back into the ocean. The tide is going out and if I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.”

  “Son”, the man said, “There are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish. You can’t possibly make a difference.”

  After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said…”I made a difference for that one.”

  Thank you to the many foster families in Utah who are striving every day to improve the lives of its children.  It is my hope that the awesome work that we foster parents do each day, to support, love and teach these children, both young and old, brings them a brighter tomorrow.  Because they certainly brighten up mine.

  Thank you.

• Ragnar Father…

  Date: 2010.06.21 | Category: foster, Saturdays | Response: 1

  What better way to spend Father’s Day weekend then running for 188.2 miles? Yep, basically a 24 hour period of 12 people gathered together to Run. Drive. Sleep? Repeat. And it is an enjoyable experience full of sweat, laughter and running.

  The way it works is the team of 12 is split into 2 teams of 6. We each crowded into 2 vans or any other modes of transportation we could find. The first team of 6 met in Logan to start at 6:40am, but keep in mind they needed to be there at least an hour earlier for check-in and safety training. Then they were off and running. When all six runners completed their runs they handed off to van 2 and we started the process all over again. Repeat until the finish line.

  I ran leg 7 of the race, which ended up being a total of 12 miles. My first leg was a 4 mile run in the heat of the day between 12:30 and 1:30pm. I thought to myself 4.0 miles (easy), wrong! Something about the heat made it difficult. Which was the consensus from all the rest of the runners in my van as well when they finished running.

  We ran/drove through some very lovely country around Pineview Reservoir and the Snow Basin Ski Resort. I definitely will need to go back there again and enjoy it for a longer period of time. Snow Basin was the exchange point between Van 2 and Van 1 again. We switched and then enjoyed some lunch and shade for a couple of hours before heading off to my next run.

  East Canyon State Park and the climb to Hoback Summit. Time to try out my new head lamp and safety vest. I started running around 9:30 PM and finished 3.8 miles later up a hill to Hoback Summit. I ran from dusk to dark and this was a very interesting experience. My first real hill climb run and it was in the dark. All you could see was a line of people in front of you running in the same direction with blinking lights – very strange feeling. If the runners in front of me turned side ways for a brief moment I was not able to see them.

  The rest of my team spent the night running by Echo Reservoir and Rock Port Reservoir and at this point in the race I think sleep deprivation was catching up with us. Let’s just say my chest was burning from laughing too hard while the youngest member of our team was running through the darkness.

  At some point in the night I tried to get some sleep on the sidewalk next to a small store in Coalville, just so I could stretch out the legs from the cramped quarters of the van. I had it in my mind that I wanted to try to stay awake until we got to the next exchange place to switch over to van 1 runners so I could get more continuous sleep. This did not work out so well. By the time we got to the exchange place I couldn’t really get to sleep and once I did it was not continual and then it was time to get up and go meet the other van so I could start running again. Yahoo!

  This time my run was 4.2 miles through Heber up to the Deer Creek Reservoir. This was my last and final run of the race and it was nice and easy, except for the fact that I was trying to run on about 2 hours of broken sleep. When I finished I said goodbye to the rest of the team and headed off to the second big event of the day for me. So I was not able to officially cross the finish line with my team, but I was there in spirit and sweat.

  I rushed to get ready and down off the mountain to get to the Gateway Mall in time to receive my award of Utah Foster Father of the Year for the Salt Lake Valley region. This is quite an honor and I am very appreciative of this award. I stood on the stage with 4 other awesome men who were receiving the same award for their region. We were each introduced and a brief bio of our nomination was read to the audience as they presented the award.

  I was taken by surprise as they read my bio, because this was something that I had not heard yet and it was not part of the Foster Roster announcement. They read the nomination that was sent in by my little man’s birth mother. I was so moved and caught by surprise that I must admit I did get a little teary eyed.

  After the award ceremony we had pictures taken and I was interviewed by the news. There was a luncheon for all the winners and their families. This turned out to be another great surprise that my wife had put together. Just before we sat down to start eating, guess who showed up? Yep our first foster placement who we successfully reunited back with his mother. They both came to congratulate and show support for me. It was so great to seem them both and good to see Baby H again. He looked the same, just bigger.

  Video Courtesy of KSL.com

  After such a wonderful experience of running through the night, 12 miles in total, being awarded the Foster Father of the Year award and getting emotionally drained by all the surprises, it was time for some sleep and time to start preparing mentally for my next challenge. 26.2 miles straight through, bring it on.

• Some interesting news…

  Date: 2010.06.02 | Category: foster | Response: 1

  A few weeks ago, I was surprised with some interesting news. Unbeknownst to me, my wife and several others nominated me for an award. And I won!

  You can read all about it in this month’s “Foster Roster” published by the Utah Foster Care Foundation. (Particularly pages 5 and 6.)

  Enjoy! I know I did.