Today was September 11th. Today was a historical day. Today is a day to start living.
I did not turn on the TV. I did not check the internet news stations. I know what today is.
My thoughts are with Stephanie and Christian Nielson. They were in a plane crash August 16th 2008. For some reason, and somehow I found her sister's blog. I don't search blogs EVER, but somehow I found hers.
I knew immediately from reading the blog, that I was sent there for a purpose. Not sure exactly how it happened, but I knew immediately.
It's weird how certain things happen in your life. How you are drawn to things in your life that you don't understand fully.
I immediately emailed Courtney, Stephanie's sister. Asked how I could help. I did not know the extensive community that surrounded this family. I did not know how much I would admire the support, love and brave hearts that this family possess. I did not know the media attention, I did not know anything but the brief story at the top of the blog. I did not know how this would change my life, but KNEW it would.
The past few days, I can not stop thinking about what LIFE meant to Stephanie! How she lived her life daily. How she dearly loved her family. How she took time to notice the small things: Cheerios in the sink, mosquito bites, writing LOVE notes to her husband updating him on the daily things that happened while he was away on a trip, LIFE!
Nothing fancy, nothing expensive, giving herself to LIFE and her family.
LIVING LIFE. LOVING LIFE. LOVING FAMILY.
So Stephanie laying in a hospital room bed burned over 80% of her body FIGHTING for LIFE! Her husband burned in the hospital intubated, burned on face and arms, and has pneumonia.
Somehow, through their LOVE story on her blog, her LOVE lives on. I can feel the love between the two of them, the love for her towards her children, the love for her family. SHE LOVED with everything she had.
I read on her blog that she was honoring her father this past Father's Day. She submitted a writing about him, saying how she looked like him when she was born. She also said she learned lots from him.
"If I have learned anything from Dad, it is to go all out -the gravy on the potatoes, the frosting on the cake, the cherry on top. "
Stephanie has enriched my life. She taught ME what LIVING life is all about. She taught ME to take the gravy on the potatoes, frosting on the cake, and cherry on top.
It's so amazing to me how someone I have never met can have such an impact on my life. As I sit here crying for her and her family, I am so THANKFUL for HER. I am going to sign up for a 5K, I am going to bake MY kids a cake and throw them a special "just because" party. I am going to write my husband a letter, I am going to START LIVING!
So "GO ALL OUT- THE GRAVY ON THE POTATOES, THE FROSTING ON THE CAKE, THE CHERRY ON TOP." -Stephanie Nielson
START LIVING!
Thinking of you daily Stephanie and Christian
I did not turn on the TV. I did not check the internet news stations. I know what today is.
My thoughts are with Stephanie and Christian Nielson. They were in a plane crash August 16th 2008. For some reason, and somehow I found her sister's blog. I don't search blogs EVER, but somehow I found hers.
I knew immediately from reading the blog, that I was sent there for a purpose. Not sure exactly how it happened, but I knew immediately.
It's weird how certain things happen in your life. How you are drawn to things in your life that you don't understand fully.
I immediately emailed Courtney, Stephanie's sister. Asked how I could help. I did not know the extensive community that surrounded this family. I did not know how much I would admire the support, love and brave hearts that this family possess. I did not know the media attention, I did not know anything but the brief story at the top of the blog. I did not know how this would change my life, but KNEW it would.
The past few days, I can not stop thinking about what LIFE meant to Stephanie! How she lived her life daily. How she dearly loved her family. How she took time to notice the small things: Cheerios in the sink, mosquito bites, writing LOVE notes to her husband updating him on the daily things that happened while he was away on a trip, LIFE!
Nothing fancy, nothing expensive, giving herself to LIFE and her family.
LIVING LIFE. LOVING LIFE. LOVING FAMILY.
So Stephanie laying in a hospital room bed burned over 80% of her body FIGHTING for LIFE! Her husband burned in the hospital intubated, burned on face and arms, and has pneumonia.
Somehow, through their LOVE story on her blog, her LOVE lives on. I can feel the love between the two of them, the love for her towards her children, the love for her family. SHE LOVED with everything she had.
I read on her blog that she was honoring her father this past Father's Day. She submitted a writing about him, saying how she looked like him when she was born. She also said she learned lots from him.
"If I have learned anything from Dad, it is to go all out -the gravy on the potatoes, the frosting on the cake, the cherry on top. "
Stephanie has enriched my life. She taught ME what LIVING life is all about. She taught ME to take the gravy on the potatoes, frosting on the cake, and cherry on top.
It's so amazing to me how someone I have never met can have such an impact on my life. As I sit here crying for her and her family, I am so THANKFUL for HER. I am going to sign up for a 5K, I am going to bake MY kids a cake and throw them a special "just because" party. I am going to write my husband a letter, I am going to START LIVING!
So "GO ALL OUT- THE GRAVY ON THE POTATOES, THE FROSTING ON THE CAKE, THE CHERRY ON TOP." -Stephanie Nielson
START LIVING!
Thinking of you daily Stephanie and Christian
*****************************************************
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
The family says,
***Pray for them!
***Donate to the “Stephanie Nielson Fund” at any Wells Fargo.
***You can also donate at any Bank of America under the “Christian and Stephanie Nielson Rehab Fund.”
***Send cards to decorate our patient’s room!(2 separate rooms)
c/o Stephanie and Christian Nielson
***Pray for them!
***Donate to the “Stephanie Nielson Fund” at any Wells Fargo.
***You can also donate at any Bank of America under the “Christian and Stephanie Nielson Rehab Fund.”
***Send cards to decorate our patient’s room!(2 separate rooms)
c/o Stephanie and Christian Nielson
Maricopa County Hospital
2601 East Roosevelt Street
Phoenix, AZ 85008(No flowers please!)(Though Nie would love them . . .)
It is expected that their medical bills will run into the millions of dollars as they both have multiple surgeries and extended rehabilitation.
Right now, the children are with Stephanie’s sisters in Provo, Utah. They will start school without their mom and dad, but they will have their cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents. They are well-cared for.
Right now, the children are with Stephanie’s sisters in Provo, Utah. They will start school without their mom and dad, but they will have their cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents. They are well-cared for.
One of Stephanie’s blog entries that particularly stayed with me was her writing about her husband coming home:
"Mr. Nielson recently got home from a business trip to San Fransisco.When the car pulled in the garage 4 happy little children ran out to greet the families breadwinner. Daddy was home. I was in the kitchen, preparing dinner. Perfect timing.Mr. Nielson bounded through the door with the children practically stuck to his body.In his hands were a dozen deep red roses wrapped in newspaper.It was a sweet welcome home gift.We pondered over the weekend what pulls our time. Work, yoga, airplanes,travel, blogging, and school. It was another vivid reminder that what matters most is what is non of the above, but rather what abides with us in our humble home.Our Marriage + Our Children = Treasure.Claire, Jane Bronwyn, Oliver and of course our little critter the gigs Nicholas.Our marriage matters most, and our church activity.With the right perspective, life is actually very wonderful. Really it is.I saw a funny bumper sticker yesterday on a beat-up jalopy. It read:“Don’t be fooled by my car, my treasure is really in heaven.”Is my treasure in heaven? I believe it is, and I believe my home is heaven on earth."
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