This weekend

We spent this weekend in Pella, and it was great to see a lot of our closest friends from our three years there. The highlight of the weekend was spending a couple hours with the Turnbulls, a family we got to know just a few months before we moved away. They also have a daughter with SMA, but she has Type I, a much more severe form of SMA than Grace's Type II. Michelle and I are amazed at how strong the parents are and how much they've done for their little girl. Their little girl is a very pretty little fighter, and she is so lucky to have the parents she does. If you have any prayers to spare this week, we'd love it if you'd say a little one for all families dealing with SMA, and put in a special word for the Pella Turnbulls.

RAGBRAI

If you've been on the website recently, you've seen that Beth (my sister) has started plans for the week of RAGBRAI. The plan is that the money we raise this year will all go directly to the Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy, which is the main national organization for promoting the search for a cure for SMA. We're hoping to get as many people as possible to ride for a day, and if you can't ride, we hope you'll consider sponsoring one of the riders or contributing in some other way. I'm planning on riding one day, and I'm still working on getting Michelle to ride. We haven't decided yet if we're going to do Day 1, which is on a Sunday and goes from Missouri Valley to Harlan, or the day that goes from Ames to Tama in central Iowa. If you're thinking about riding for a day, let us know. If you're reading this and have never experienced RAGBRAI, I'd really encourage you to think about doing it. It's a blast, and if you're part of the RACE 4 GRACE team we think you'll be part of a great cause.