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Hey folks!

You all remember our friends Will and Kendra, who live in North Carolina (by way of NY) with their two boys?  Will and Derek have been very close friends for a number of years, and I met them through him.  I always look forward to opportunities to get together and fellowship with Will and Kendra because I know it's going to be a positive, good time.  I appreciate the Mondens because they're similar to us in many ways, but especially in terms of our values, principles, and the way we raise our boys.  Their two boys, Justin and Josh, are sweet, well-behaved, overall nice kids who, most importantly, get along great with Chase!  I remember I took Justin to Chuck E. Cheese once – he was four at the time, I think.  He was so funny and bright, and also very respectful and mannerly.  (See, that's important to me. I hate that children just aren't respectful anymore – calling grown-ups by their first name and things. *smh* Thats my pet-peeve).  Well, I enjoy being around their boys very much and, in fact, when Chase gets old enough to be left alone I'd trust him going over to the Monden's home for "sleep-overs" anytime, because I love this family very much and know they wouldn't have Chase involved in anything Derek and I wouldn't condone.  And you sure can't say that about every parent/child/family!

I also enjoy Derek's and my relationship with Will and Kendra because they're one of our few "couple friends."  I love to hang out with other fun couples who are in the same place as us.  A pastoral counselor once said, regarding marriage: "It's not your single friends who are going to keep you married.  It's your couple friends." Mark it – Amen!  We have so few friendships with other couples and this saddens me.  But then, finding decent couple friends is more challenging than it seems. You have to like both of them, and they have to like both of you.  The chances of connecting on all cylinders are slim – but we have this with the Mondens and it's very cool.

from l to r: Justin, Chase, Will, Josh – Easter 2008

But the purpose of this post isn't to simply gush about why I adore this family so much (lol). It's to tell you guys that Will has decided to run the ING New York City Marathon in support of the Lance Armstrong Foundation!  He is running in honor of the millions who deal with cancer everyday but, even more personally, he is running in honor of his father's courage and strength. His dad was diagnosed with a lymphoma in 2000.  He battled courageously for 12 months, through numerous rounds of chemo and 34 radiation treatments.  After the initial progress, he suffered a setback with the resurgence of his cancer in 2007.  Even with the setback he maintained a positive attitude and vowed to fight! His strength is what inspired Will to sign up to run this marathon. The prospect of greeting his dad at the finish line has been constant inspiration to keep running when his legs just want to stop.  His fight is a reminder that life is about struggles and, more importantly, how you confront them.

For as long as I've known him, Will has always been a really active guy who jogs regularly and does his best to stay in shape and lead a healthy life for himself and his family.  He has successfully run half marathons in the past, but this will be his very first time running a full, 26.2 mile marathon!  So… it's a big deal! *smile* He's been training for a really long time and feels ready.  We're so proud of him!

I'm excited to have an opportunity to support him in this endeavor.  I lost my grandmother to ovarian cancer and  have friends who have battled this disease as well.  I'm sure we can all think about someone we know (or know ""of") with cancer.  I admire Will so much for taking on this challenge.  If I'm being completely honest with myself (which I try to be most of the time) I know that I'm way too unmotivated (read: lazy) to follow through on such an ambitious goal – so I respect and admire those who do undertake this challenge!  Awesome!  I'm always glad to support folks running for such a great cause.  In running this marathon, Will is showing his boys not only the importance of living healthy but also of giving back.

I personally think there's no better way to utilize social media than for charitable causes.  So when Will asked me to mention this marathon to my readers I was more than glad to do so.  Folks, please lend your support, either by leaving a comment wishing Will good luck or by making a pledge HERE (you can give as little as $5 – every bit counts!)  Will's goal is to raise $3500 and he is currently at $1000.  Every dollar donated goes toward funding research and kicking cancer in its butt!

Folks, if you use Facebook or Twitter today be sure to include the hash tag #beatcancer in your posts to raise money for cancer related charities.  Each Tweet or Facebook post raises $.01, the goal being that the more it is spread through people's networks, the more people re-tweet and re-post, the potential for money raised rises exponentially.

Will, you are already a winner in our eyes!  We will be cheering for you on November 1! Godspeed to anyone battling this dreaded disease!