Schultz Party of Four

My heart has been heavy lately. And this thing called the Internet is really showing it's strength. For those of you who don't hop from blog-to-blog and witness the amazing women across the web who share their creativity and love of kidlets - you may have never had the priveledge of meeting Nie. I stumbled upon Stephanie Nielson's blog (NieNie Dialogues) through DesignMom. This was before I ever dreamt of blogging myself, that is until I saw Nie's style. She didn't use a lot of words, but expressed her simple and beautiful life through photos and a few captions. It was the type of digital archive I wanted for my girls and led to my very first post on this humble Party of Four.

Jump forward 11 months - and I now realize that when we share in someone else's beauty, we also glimpse their despair. Stephanie and her husband, Christian, were in a plane crash last Satuday night. The flight instructor in the plane died instantly. Christian sustained burns over 30% of his body, while Stephanie was burned over 80% of her body. They remain in drug induced commas, with recovery expected to take months.

The remarkable part of the story is playing out every day now, on her sister's blog C Jane. With a 'God is all over this' attitude, her sister and extended family have embraced this tragedy with such faith that I am in awe. I want to be just like them when God throws me my curve ball. Her sister, a brand new mom herself, has taken in the three older Nielson children. The youngest who is J's age is clinging to Stephanie's other sister who looks/smells/talks just like his mama. Their family is amazing, and it is not only a priveledge but a huge inspiration to watch them walk through an incredibly dark valley together with God.

Across the internet thousands are coming together to support the Nielsons as well. Donations, silent auctions, and websites have been set up to financially provide for a family in unimaginable difficulty. DesignMom called for donations of etsy products and other beautiful creations to be auctioned off tomorrow to contribute to the Nielsons. The blogging community is showing its strength as a support center powerhouse for women worldwide.

God is in this, and it will be on my heart until this beautiful Mommy can be with her kidlets again.