Monday, September 8, 2008

It's All About The Nie Nies



You may not have ever heard of Stephanie and Christian Nielson, or have read Stephanie's blog of 4 years, The Nie Nie Dialogues. Stephanie is a very active mother, wife and blogger, and is definitely a well-loved member of the community. Her love for her family (and their love for her) shines in each of her entries, as does her creativity, compassion, and smile.

Unfortunately, they need our help.

On August 16th, 2008, Stephanie and Christian, along with his flight instructor Doug Kinnear, were in a horrible plane crash near St. Johns, Arizona. Doug Kinnear passed away soon after arriving at a local hospital. Christian has sustained burns to over 30% of his body, and Stephanie was burned at over 80% of her body.

Their four children, ages 6 to 23 months, are currently being taken care of by family, who not only handle their own responsibilities and lives, but also the hardship of watching their loved ones struggling to heal, and live.

They shouldn't have to struggle financially as well.

Here's how you can help:

1 - Pray
Whether you pray to a higher power or not, positive thinking and wishing is proven to help heal the injured, emotionally, mentally and physically. Plus, you can never wish too hard, or too long (and it's free).


2 - Send a Card
How amazing it would be for Stephanie and Christian to each be able to see an outpour of love and support from friends, family, and those who haven't had the opportunity to meet. Let's cover the walls with them!

Cards can be sent to
Maricopa County Hospital
c/o Stephanie & Christian Nielson
2601 East Roosevelt St
Phoenix, AZ 85008


3 - Give Your Wallet a Work Out
You can donate money to one (or more, should you wish) of several accounts opened to help pay off Stephanie and Christian's hospital bills.

You can click on the 'Donate to NieNie' button on the right-side of my blog, or you can donate to the Stephanie Nielson Fund at any Wells Fargo Bank, or the Christian and Stephanie Rehab Fund at any Bank of America.


4 - Go Shopping!

There are not only several local benefits that are being held, such as Fall Blissfest 2008 and a Benefit Concert at Mesa High School, but there are also several very generous people who are creating wonderful products and donating part or all of the proceeds to the Nielsons. You can check them out, and get more information at Nie Recovery.

Design Mom recently held Nie Nie Day, a series of silent auctions over many blogs. Over 350 people held auctions with all proceeds going directly to Stephanie and Christian. Some prizes were small, like a collection of ribbons, and some were large, like a Maroon 5 autographed guitar, but all were given out of love and support.

So what did I do?

What I do best - I shopped!

E and I fell in love with this vintage-esque sign that was being auctioned off by It's No Biggie, and I put a bid on it. I was so happy to get an e-mail letting me know that I was the highest bid that I was on pins and needles waiting for it to arrive. It came very quickly, in a little over 48 hours, and is currently hanging on our kitchen door (I know, a little bit of an odd spot, but we like it!). Not only is it a perfect match to our 1919 home, but it's a great feeling, knowing we helped give a well-deserved family a little bit of comfort and support.














Please, help in any way you can!

To follow along with Stephanie and Christian's recoveries, check out


and
cjanerun

You can also read about the Nielsons in this article in the New York Times.

UPDATE: Nie's family was recently on the Today Show, and spoke to Matt Lauer about how she and Christian are doing, as well as their children. What an incredible family!

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