A Balloon Launch for the Nielson Family

Most who read this blog know of the tragic private plane crash that resulted in the death of one man and severe burn injuries to Stephanie and Christian Nielson. Stephanie is a sister to a very good friends of ours, Andrew and Megan Clark. Due to the extent of the burns both Stephanie and Christian have been in a burn center in Arizona since the accident on August 16th. Their 4 children are in Utah being cared for and loved by aunts and uncles and going to school with their cousins. Nie Nie, as Stephanie is known has a blog that has impacted women and mothers all over the world. She has a great attitude about her calling as a mother and has some fantastic ways to motivate her children and to create family unity. One of their family traditions has been to launch helium balloons with wishes or blessings on them. In honor of this tradition there have been several launches all over the world for the family. Here in Abu Dhabi we got together and launched balloons for the family and the support system that is making this recovery easier for them. The day was extremely hot and humid 110 degrees and 93% humidity. It didn't stop us. We wrote each family member's name on a balloon and spoke of the accident and how blessed we are each day to have good health and how quickly it can all change. Then we let the balloons fly. It was such a great experience to feel we did something in such a helpless situation.




Earlier that day, in spin class, I was thinking of Nie Nie and the upcoming launch that afternoon. I decided early in the class to ride for Nie Nie, simply because I can and I know she would love to ride a bike, hug her kids, laugh and love...It made me ride even harder than usual.