times running out

Today is the last day to send me your letter for Stephanie. If you are still interested please email your letter and I can print it from here. Email me at jo_dillard@yahoo.com

A quick plea

Hello faithful blog readers,

I am putting together a book for Stephanie full of letters to her from us. If you are interested in telling Stephanie how she has influenced our life write it down and get it to me before Thursday of next week. If you are planning to contribute please let me know in the comment section of this post. Let's let Stephanie know how much we have grown over the last few months!

A message sent by Joanne Gomez

Because of Stephanie I decorated cupcakes, baked a cake and bought a cake stand.

Because of Stephanie I made bird shaped pancakes and had a pirate baby shower.

Because of Stephanie I prepared a bear picnic and let the kids build a fort on the bunk bed with quilts.

Question of the day

Its a new year and time to resolve to be better. What has the Nielson's tragedy done for your desires to better yourself? What will you change this year? What lessons have you learned from their tragedy? If you believe that all things happen for a reason, then what will you take away from this experience?

Thoughts by Natalie Jeffers

Dear Stephanie:

I too just stumbled upon your blog one day. I recognized your husband from BYU and wanted to know more about your family. I find your words comforting and uplifting, I find them “real”, when everything else seems to be a little sugar coated. You have inspired me to try a little harder, to stand a little taller, to be a little better, and to be happier in what I have and not in what I don’t.

But you have also inspired me in a truly different way. On October 22nd my dear sweet father suffered a massive stroke. Shortly after all of my family gathered together to say our good-byes my dad passed away. It has been truly devastating. I would never wish this pain on anyone. The following morning after his death my mom received a phone call from a tissue bank. They were asking if we could donate skin, tissue, bones, etc to be given to others who were in need. My mother and I instantly thought of you. Not that we in anyway were expecting his skin to go to you, but we thought of your situation, and how this donation could help others in circumstances like yours. We thought of all the others that were often times desperate for donations like these. We thought of you and your family and how you have been blessed by the gifts of others. We just hoped that something good might come from the tragic situation we were in.This small act just seemed a last and final act we could do for my dad. And I am so grateful to you for that.

Thank you for inspiring us to think beyond our grief and sadness, and to think of others.

My prayers, as well as all of my family’s prayers, are with you at this time. Thank you and may God be there to comfort you through these next few months.

Love
Natalie Jeffers

thoughts taken from Laura Jean's blog

It is quite apparent that the blogging-world has fallen in love w/Stephanie Nielson. In fact, I feel it is safe to say that Nie, a woman whom I have never met or even spoken to, has changed my life. Through her entries, Nie has reminded me of what stirs my soul simply by sharing her day-to-day. But it's not just the simple act of sharing - it's how she chooses to share via a focus on daily love and joy... she chooses to share via a true, positive spirit.I believe for the most part, we all have the ability to choose what comes out of our mouths and, in turn, a choice then in how we affect people in our own day-to-day. It's a hard choice. Even the best of us tend to fall victim to "giving in" to the mediocre. To the mundane. Sometimes it just appears easier to retaliate w/negative when it seems that's all that surrounds you. In fact, living here in NYC is a solid example of this choice - commuters are tested daily simply by stepping on the subway and into another's "bubble". Just the other day I watched a 30-something year old man curse a 60-something year old woman for trying to take "his seat" on the train. She got off @ the next stop, in tears.Everyone has bad days. You can't have yin w/o the yang. And it's not that Nie too doesn't have her bad days - it's how chooses to share them. She is tangible. Perhaps I identify so much w/this remarkable woman of only 27 years, a mother of 4, due to her similar composition of brown hair, green eyes and freckles - it's like looking in a mirror @ the motherly-side of myself that has yet to be. I delight in reading her blog everyday - a reminder to myself to keep priorities in perspective. She gives me strength. When I think of Nie, I see a rainbow.
(photo credit to those lovely Nielsons)For those that don't know, Stephanie Nielson has been stationed in Maricopa County Hospital's burn unit since a horrible plane crash w/her husband Christian, August 16 of this year, w/third degree burns over 80% of her body. It has been 2 months since the accident. Christian has sustained burns over 30% of his body and is working hard on his road to recovery. Nie is just now coming out of her medically-induced coma and awaking to a whole new world in which she will need to rely on that strength of her's that I admire so much to perservere. For a woman I have never met - who has given me so much in her own, small way - I feel helpless. How do you repay someone for such a gift?The answer is simple: love.I pay tribute to her spirit in my daily actions. In my choices. I am conscious to choose kindness over anger. I make every effort to listen instead of speak. I offer everyone my smile, my ear and my heart. And I cherish. I cherish everything.Those that have been following my blog since it's inception know that I have switched my design-layout a few times looking for the right "feel" to evoke ME on here. I had especially taken to task finding the right header to evoke the song Superhero, after which this blog is named - a song that I have identified w/and that has been dear to me since I first heard it on the radio back in 1997.Nie's 2 girls, Claire & Jane, are the 2 "Superheros" featured above on my header. In reading Stephanie's archives, I happened upon this blog entry that just about brought me to simultaneous smiles and tears. In fact, if you listen to the song while perusing the photos of Nie's "Supergirls" via that link, you will see exactly what I mean.There was a benefit concert this past weekend in Mesa, AZ. to aid in Stephanie & Christian's recovery. It was during this concert that those 2 Supergirls got up to sing a lullabye to their Mother As stated by their Mother in her blog entry, these 2 girls are "darling girl-heroes".And their Mother is one of mine.Be good to people.

A message from Nichole Fernandez

Lessons I've Learned from Nie.

~Your sisters really are your best friends~

~You can pack heat and still be graceful~

~Sometimes you should write love letters to your spouse. And your kids. And anyone you love~

~Manners are not dead~

~Neither are red lipstick or aprons~

~A woman CAN be truly and blissfully happy being a mother~

~It's OK to like your hubby's birthday suit. And to say so on your blog~

~"Housewife" doesn't need a "just a" qualifier. And it doesn't have to be a boring "job"~

~Just because you're a mommy and a daddy doesn't mean you can't also be madly in love~

~Life is colorful! And color comes in many forms: shoes, skirts, bowls, snapshots. . . ~

~Strong, centered women come in all sorts of packages~

~Enjoy LIFE every day~