It’s been a busy week at work, but my thoughts aren’t far from the Nielson family, whom I met last week. Stephanie and Christian Nielson, parents of four young children in Mesa, were in a private plane crash in August. They are both undergoing extensive treatment for turns at the Arizona Burn Center at Maricopa Medical Center. My goal is to check Stephanie’s sister’s Web site every few days. Here is her latest posting. It includes a tag at the end indicating Stephanie Nielson of Mesa will have skin graft surgery on Tuesday. Last week’s fundraiser at Mesa High School drew hundreds of people, according to the Tribune’s videographer. Tony d’Astoli got some wonderful video of the concert (click on “Hope Concert”). He said the line was out the door.
 Archive for September, 2008Nielson family updateSeptember 15th, 2008, 9:46 am by Michelle ReeseWhen work hits homeSeptember 9th, 2008, 5:04 pm by Michelle ReeseOn Monday, I had the chance to meet the elder Nielson family of Mesa. In case you missed the story (see evtrib.com), the Nielsons’ son, Christian, 29, and his wife, Stephanie, 27, were in a serious plane crash in August and both are at the Arizona Burn Center in Phoenix. Through the efforts of the families and readers of Stephanie’s blog, many people who have never met Stephanie or Christian are reaching out to help. The young couple, parents to four little kids, are in for a lifetime of medical care. Christian’s brother, Peter, told me how the doctors at Maricopa Medical Center describe burns as a “disease.” Unlike a broken bone that heals, this disease can cause problems for years and years. Most of all, I thought of Stephanie as a mom and her four little ones - now in the care of her sisters in Utah. And I too, found myself drawn to Stephanie’s insights into motherhood (she planned an entire meal to celebrate her daughters’ return to school this year!) My sister-in-law picked my kids up from school last night because my husband also had to work late. When I got to her house to collect them, they both screamed “Mommy!” I held them tightly. I took them home, tucked them into bed, crawled in next to them and counted my blessings. Another success in the kitchen - sort ofSeptember 8th, 2008, 5:58 pm by Michelle ReeseI wrote last week that I planned to get the kids more involved in the kitchen. My hope is to not only have a fun, together activity, but to try and broaden their food choices (my son is on a strict, self-induced chicken nuggets, French fries, eggs and hot dog diet, with the sometimes piece of pizza and baked chicken). So while at the store this weekend, I picked up a mound of pizza dough, ready to be rolled out and topped with cheese and other favorites. I was so excited Saturday night as we got the pizzas ready. There was flour everywhere, but I didn’t care. My daughter, 3, had it on her knees, her dress, her face. My son poured pizza sauce on the pies, and the kitchen island. Then they put cheese and pepperoni on their pizza and cheese, tomatoes and basil on mine. Patiently, well, not really, they waited. And then I put the pieces on their plates in front of them. And they promptly picked the pieces apart and ate sauce on baked pizza crust. Well, part of my evening plan worked! Quiet moments can sometimes be the bestSeptember 8th, 2008, 12:03 pm by Michelle ReeseSometimes, the quiet times are the best “mommy” moments. I had one this weekend with my kids. I’m a huge fan of our nighttime routine – mainly because it means my daughter, 3, and son, 6, are cuddled next to me to read books and, lately, looking out the window at “the city” (the grocery store behind our house) and any stars we can find. But Sunday midmorning I was really dragging. I didn’t want them on the computer, or watching movies, and quite honestly, I was exhausted. So I crawled into my daughter’s twin (she has the coolest room in the house). Shortly after, they sought me out. Before I knew it, the three of us were on the bed playing. My son’s toy dinosaur was attacking the Red Power Ranger while Tigger supplied the magic potion to cure any boo-boos. After dinosaur had suffered enough, the books came out and we read. No one actually fell asleep, but we were there for about an hour and a half just having a fun, relaxing time. In the rush and go of most of weeks (and sometimes weekends), this was the perfect mommy moment captured in my memory. |
