We are marching!

If you read this blog or know us, you know that we have encountered several challenges as we've had each of our children. Sam's birth was obviously a heartbreaking experience, but we also had quite a scare with Clara's unexpected premature birth. Despite the three weeks in the hospital and the stress of her early arrival, we were overwhelmed with gratitude that she was as healthy as she was. The advances in the care of premature infants have been exponential in my lifetime, and I often reflect on how different our family could be had Clara been born in a different time.

Clara's birth is not the only time that I have been touched by the dangers of prematurity. My aunt and uncle bravely brought four premature children into the world, including their oldest daughter, Erin, who died not long after she was born--not too many months after I was born. I have thought often of Erin over the course of my life, and I visit her grave, which is very near Sam's, every time I'm in Provo.

Jeremy and I have decided to honor Clara's health as well as to continue championing the healthy births of all babies by walking in this year's March of Dimes March for Babies. We'll do a six-mile walk with our kids six weeks from now, and we're excited! We hope to raise a total of $200 for March of Dimes, but even if we only raise what we're able to contribute, it'll be worth it. Because, really, we just love to walk, and we feel like our commitment might be just the karma we need to get good weather to finally arrive! If you're interested, please email us at theplenary@gmail.com for easy-peasy donation instructions. And if you're in the area, we'd love to have you walk with us. We're always happy to add more teammates!