leave it to me to turn my fundraising letters into a full-blown craft project. but after starting, i knew i wanted them to be just as cute, classy, and heartwarming as my momma was. isn't she beautiful? look at the top photo of her at the sweet young age of 23...me at just 7 weeks old. unlike me, my mom wasn't really a "baby person" so much...but her babies? oh she loved us with all her heart. my dad always said she was "born to be a momma" to my brother and i. and a momma she was.

so i sent of 50 of these little passion-filled packets of letters telling my mom's story and what i'm trying to do in her honor. and as my mailbox fills up with generous donations that are streaming in, my eyes fill up with tears - of joy.

and as i anxiously awaited the little red envelopes to come flowing in, what i didn't expect was all the heartfelt notes of love and support for what i'm doing. this was unexpected - and much appreciated. people amaze me. if you watch the news all you see is violence, unrest, and hatred....but if you just open your eyes each day to those surrounding you, you often find that there is so much joy. even amidst the heartache of losing mom, i am seeing the good, finding joy, learning...growing. there are times i feel like i could've done without this lesson in my life. but guess what, it's not up to me. and i'm grateful for that.

"for I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

jeremiah 29:11

welcome to our fundraising page where team fitbook is dedicated to #run4momma. as the (fearless) team leader, i am dedicated to putting blood, sweat, (and probably a few) tears into making a difference. so we can make a (not-so-small) impact.

here are a few #'s for you:

18: the # of days we had from the date of mom's diagnosis to her going to be with Jesus.

6: the # of seconds it took me to realize that i wanted to do more. for her. she deserves it.

10.20.13: date of the nike women's half-marathon in san francisco. holy hills, pray for us.

2: # of people i've recruited thus far to represent team fitbook. me + my girl lani, whose mom we lost to breast cancer the same year (2008) we started fitlosophy. together, we run for our mommas.

$50,000: the amount we need to raise in order to dictate WHERE the funds would are directed and give the money in my momma's memory.

100%: amount of money that i want to go directly to dr. cathy smith at UCSF who has dedicated her LLS grant-funded research to finding a cure for FLT3. how? raise $50,000.

learn more about my momma's story + life-changing #s behind this passion-driven pursuit.

how can you help?

DONATE to our cause and help us reach our goal of $50,000. $1 or $1000 or anywhere in between, anything is a blessing, but give $56+ and i'll send you a free fitbook TNT. my treat.

BUY our commemorative fitbook TNT with pretty purple binding and 20% of the proceeds go to LLS.

RUN with team fitbook. the more runners, the more people we have behind reaching our $50,000 goal. you can run any race from anywhere in the country - just sign up with team in training and join the corporate team "fitbook" at sign-up!

FOLLOW US as we #run4momma.

go team fitbook!

angela