The latest on Christian

Christian was in town for a few days with Claire, Jane, and Oliver. It was so good to see them. Mary and Jack were especially glad to play with their cousins.

Here is a news clip of an interview Christian did while he was here, and here is the entire uncut interview.

Inhale

Christian was in town for just about 24 hours to take care of some things. He looks good and seems to be in good spirits. He was especially happy to be without the back brace he has had to wear for the last four months!

Today I spent most of the day baking dinner rolls for my nephew's Eagle Scout project (providing Christmas dinner for 15 needy families.... and no, I wasn't the only one making rolls) and cinnamon rolls. My house smells so good! I really enjoy baking... wish I had more time to do it.

Tomorrow is the last day of school (1/2 day) before Christmas break. I'm looking forward to having some fun with my kids.

A Special Thank You!

Quick Update

Sorry I haven't been posting much lately. Things have been sort of crazy, i.e. hosting a small dinner party tomorrow, planning a program/dinner for 120 people on December 2nd (R.S. Enrichment Christmas Dinner... just got called to be the leader and it's less than 2 weeks away), putting together a musical performance in a couple of weeks (I have a small performing group for kids), Christmas shopping (yes, I like to be done before Thanksgiving), singing in church Sunday (a solo with the ward choir), various birthday/family parties, pulling off a successful garage sale last Saturday, and teaching music classes, besides my kids' stuff....carpools, homework, book reports, piano and cello lessons, gymnastics, Cub Scouts, dentist appointments..... you know.

It's bitter sweet to have Christian and Stephanie gone to Utah; we will miss having them close, but it's so wonderful that Steph has progressed enough to be moving on to the next phase, and that she can be close to her family for the kind of support that Christian has had.

And just in case you missed the latest news article about C & S, here it is.

No News is Good News

I know many of you are wondering about Stephanie's status. There won't be much to report for a while, and she needs her privacy. She is making steady progress, though she still has a very long road ahead of her. But she is doing miraculously well under the circumstances. Truly a miracle. Thanks for all your prayers!

Christian continues to get stronger. He was even wearing jeans today! He still wears a brace for his broken back, but hopefully he will be done with that soon.

Meanwhile, Jack is enjoying as much time as possible with Ollie, before the inevitable day when he goes to back to Utah.

Have you made your appointment?

I think I love a bunch of strangers!

Have I told you all lately how wonderful you are? Well you are! Thank you for all your kind words of love and encouragement and support. I can't tell you how much it means to me. It warms my heart to read nice comments. I don't even know most of you, but I can tell you are GOOD PEOPLE!

THANK YOU!

Need a new haircut?

If you live in the Mesa/Phoenix area, here is your chance to get a new "do" and benefit a good cause.

Cousins

My kids, especially Mary and Jack, were absolutely thrilled to have Claire, Jane, and Oliver here for a few days. They played together Sunday evening when we were all at my parents' house for dinner, and Jane and Ollie spent the day at our house on Monday, playing with Jack. But, of course, the best part was being with their dad.Mary hanging out with Claire and Jane as they got ready for the concert

For Family Home Evening on Monday night we celebrated Claire's birthday (which is today) a bit early when we brought her a gift. We had to finally drag the kids away from each other... it was a school night after all.

They left to go back to Utah last night, so we stopped by to see them in the evening. Oliver begged to go to our house again, and both he and Jack were disappointed when I told them no. They are such good buddies. But at the last minute it was decided that since Oliver isn't in school he could stay for a while longer. Hooray!

I can't tell you how delighted Jack was to hear the news. (Of course, no one is more excited than Christian.) They are together again, this moment, playing and laughing. Oliver cracks up at everything Jack says, laughing his contagious, high-pitched giggly laugh that I have missed so much. I could get used to this.

Jack and Ollie, reunited

Balance

The last 2 and half months have been sort of crazy for me and my family because of all that has happened with Christian and Stephanie. At times I have been completed consumed with concern for them, and focused completely on what I could do to help.

I am still extremely concerned for them, of course, but in situations such as this, at some point you must return to your normal life and keep moving forward. It would be wrong for me to focus only on my brother and his wife, and neglect the needs of my husband, children, and myself.

I have tried to find a balance. (I only blog about a small portion of my life, so it probably doesn't look very balanced to you.) I wish I could attend the 5K fundraiser in Virginia this weekend, but instead I will be attending (and helping to run) my kids' school Fall Festival with my family (besides the airline fare is not in my budget). I would have loved to attend the Mindy Gledhill concert last Saturday (watch Claire and Jane sing here), but I had my 20 year high school reunion, so instead I will watch the concert on DVD.

I would love to be able to attend every garage sale, run, golf tournament, ski day, concert, and fundraiser of every kind, but it's simply not possible. Thanks to all of you who have been so thoughtful and generous without criticizing.

P.S. I said I would let you know, so here goes.... You can buy the "For the Love of Nie" T-shirt here.

Today's News

Here is today's news article.

And a message from Christian: He really appreciates all of your love and concern and support, but even though he is "home" he is still not ready for visitors outside of family. I will let you know when that changes.

Some stuff...

I attended my 20 year high school class reunion last night. Jay was a trouper for going with me. It was actually really fun and I'm glad I went.... even though I missed the benefit concert. (Watch a news report here.)

And here is an article that came out in the Arizona Republic today.

It was so fun to see Claire, Jane and Ollie.... they had a happy reunion with their dad. My kids are delighted to have them here for a few days.

Tonight I was telling Marcus (who was on his mission in Germany when our brother Stephen got married) about the skit Jay and I wrote for the wedding dinner. Wanna see Christian at his best? Watch it here.

What to do Saturday morning

The Highs and Lows

I visited Christian today. He was in very good spirits because he....

- had a very positive visit with Stephanie this week,

- is excited to see Claire, Jane, and Ollie who are coming for this,

- is getting much stronger and feeling better physically, AND

- (most likely) gets to go home* on Saturday!


On the other hand, I'm not in the best of spirits because....

- Jay is out of town this week for a work project at the ranch, with my dad and brothers, and I miss him, and I don't sleep well when he's not here, and I don't like being a single-mom, AND

- I just had 4 inches chopped off my hair, and I'm feeling some remorse.

Oh well, it will grow back.



* To stay at my parents' house for a while, and do out-patient therapy at the hospital where he can also visited his beloved Stephanie.

Busy Weekend - Part 2

On our way back from the hotel on Saturday, we stopped by my parents' house to collect our kids, and then headed over to downtown Mesa for the Blissfest and Nie Recovery Carnival Fundraiser.
I wish I had more pictures, but I was so overwhelmed at how amazing it was that I forgot to take more! What a great thing to see so many people who were volunteering to help, and all the people there making purchases for a good cause.

I met the amazing and talented Kristin of Domestic Bliss. What a great lady! She has a gorgeous store, but even more wonderful is her willingness to do so much to help someone she hardly knows. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! (Click here for some GOOD photos of the event.)The kids had fun too, even though it was unseasonable warm... OK, it was HOT!
Also, a huge thank you to the amazing Reachel Bagley who heads up NieRecovery. You are another one of those angels!

On Sunday we all attended church with my parents to hear my brother report on his mission. He did a fantastic job. We are all so proud of him. He was a great missionary.

It was also my mom's birthday, which we celebrated after our big family dinner together. My mom is the most amazing person I know... no offense to all you other amazing people out there, like Reachel and Kristin. She is my role model, my idol... and if she had a blog (well, actually she does, but she has never written anything on it), she would be just as popular as NieNie. :) My daughter, Mary, is so proud to be named after her.

Yesterday, two of my sisters and I took Mom to lunch. We had Indian food and had a great time talking. I am so lucky to have such great sisters too!

Happy Birthday Mom! You are the best!

Busy Weekend - Part 1

We had a great weekend. On Friday night, Jay and I stayed at the (brand-spanking-new) Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel for my birthday. Everything was very nice, and the staff was excellent too. It was so fun to have it be so new... I'm quite sure we were the first people to stay in that room.

Speaking of the room, we reserved a regular room but we were upgraded to a suite... sweet!
We were on the 30th floor... the highest but for the governor's suite on the 31st floor... so we had a spectacular view of the city.We had dinner at District (the hotel restaurant) which was just as good as last time. We both had the baked tomato soup... to die for! I had the fantastic salmon with shrimp and asparagus risotto. It was delicious.Jay had the chicken pot pie. (I know this picture looks like an entire chicken, but that's just the puff pastry on top.) Jay loved it. We were too full to order dessert, but the general manager knew we were celebrating my birthday and sent this out with his complements. Yum! So we stuffed ourselves some more.Afterward, we walked across the street to the Arizona Center, and we went to see this movie. It was quite funny! (I can recommend it only with reservations.... it was rated PG-13 for good reason!)When we returned to our room, we found this lovely note from the GM and a "little treat."
Since we don't drink, we had a good laugh. It was a very nice gesture. We didn't want him to think we didn't appreciate it, so we took it home as a souvenir, and it will probably sit on a shelf in our closet for many years. (I don't know anything about champagne... does it get better with age?)Here is where we did NOT eat breakfast the next day. Matt's Big Breakfast is a very popular breakfast spot.... there are usually twice as many people in line as the restaurant can accommodate. (Think Pizzeria Bianco.) Instead we went back to District for breakfast. I just went to the buffet, which was elegant and delicious... everything from eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits & gravy, to french toast, steel cut oats, all kinds of cereals, yogurt, pastries, and fabulous fresh fruit. Jay is a connoisseur of Eggs Benedict, and we heard theirs was special, so that is what he got.... and he wasn't disappointed.

After stuffing ourselves again, we walked over to the Public Market and browsed for a while, checking out the local produce, crafts, etc. I bought these delicious tortillas.... the best whole wheat tortillas I have ever tasted! It was a very fun little get-away... the perfect birthday gift. Thank you Jay! You are the best!!!

Media updates

Read the latest Tribune news story about C & S here.

And here is an article about the fundraiser yesterday.

Coming up NEXT weekend....

I'm really sad I won't be able to go to this benefit concert... I will be attending my 20 year high school class reunion instead. Seriously, 20 years. I can't believe it either. Yikes!

I hope you will be there though. Get tickets here.

Check out this video too.

Fall Break

My kids are out of school this week for Fall Break, so Jay took a couple of days off work and we took a little trip up north. It was nice and relaxing. I did some sewing (a bunch of new pillow covers, and duvet covers for my boys' beds), we walked around the lake, sat by the fire and drank hot cocoa, did lots of reading, and Mary and I made this paper house from this cool website. (Yes, I know it's in Japanese or something, but you can still figure it out.... I did!) It was really fun. (Don't forget to save and print both the cut-outs and the instructions... they are two separate files.) It's not perfect (a little crooked), but I thought it turned out cute.
Today I visited Christian. He has made improvement in just the few days since I last saw him, looking better and getting stronger. He has talked to the kids a few times, seen Stephanie a few more times (though not as often as he would like), and doing lots of physical therapy. We spent most of the time talking about current events and the election. Fortunately, we agree on all issues, so it was a pleasant conversation.

Tomorrow night Jay and I are going to celebrate my birthday (which was this week... bleh! I'm getting old!) by staying at "Jay's Hotel." (I've been looking forward to this for about 3 years! Staying at the hotel... not my birthday.) And then we will stop by the fundraiser on Saturday. And my brother and his wife will be in town from Seattle. And on Sunday Marcus will be reporting on his mission to Germany/Austria. And then we'll have dinner with the whole family. Busy weekend, but a good one!

Coming up this weekend.....

Nie Recovery Carnival Fundraiser
Saturday, October 18th, 8-5 pm

Fishbowl Raffle, Fair Food, Carnival Games, Face Painting, Silhouette Artist, Showings of "The Nie" Movie, Silent Auction (the bidding has already started online and will continue at the event)
100% of proceeds to Nie Recovery Fund**

Hosted By:
Domestic Bliss & Blissful Living Studio
166 West Main Street, Mesa, AZ 85201



**Nie Recovery is a charity benefiting Christian & Stephanie Nielson, survivors of the August 16th plane crash in St. Johns Arizona. Christian & Stephanie both received third degree burns covering their bodies and their medical bills are expected to reach into the millions.