Nie Nie Day

Attached is a letter from one of my friends from San Antonio.

"Hey friends and family,

I'm sending out this email to let everyone know that today is officially Nie Nie day. (What is that?, you ask.)

My brother and his wife (Christian and Stephanie) were flying home from my dad's ranch in NM about two weeks ago when their plane crashed. The pilot died and they were both burned. My brother, on 30 % of his body, and Stephanie, on 80% of hers. They are both in critical condition at the Maricopa Burn Center in Phoenix. They have four children, Claire (6), Jane (5), Oliver (3), and Nicolas (18 months).

Stephanie is an avid blogger. Check out her blog if you have time. http://www.nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/ Her blog is so popular that she has made friends all over the world (literally) who love reading about her daily life of being a wife and mother.

Anyway, to make a long story short, her blogger friends from all over are putting together a silent auction to benefit the Nie Nie recovery fund for Christian and Stephanie. They have health insurance but that will not pay for any cosmetic surgery that Stephanie will most likely need and additional medical expenses that will acrue over time.

The list of items up for auction can be found on this website www.designmom.com

She has a list with links to the individual sites where you can view the items and bid in the comments section. There are some seriously cute items up for grabs. (very Anthropologie/vintage type stuff; in honor of Steph). For those of you in Utah and Arizona, there are some sweet local things for sale, including tickets to Maroon Five (they know somebody in the band). So just check it out and see if you take a fancy to anything. And spread the word if you know of anyone who would be interested in purchasing cute stuff for a good cause.

Thanks,
Heidi

1st Day of School

We are officially back to school. Lauren started 4th grade, Natalie, 3rd grade. Hannah started her 1st day of kindergarden today. She was excited, hesitant, but extremely sweet about it. The older girls were off school today for testing, so we all took Hannah to her school. I think she liked the production. As you can see, her teacher welcomed her with open arms and made Hannah feel right at home. I think she will have a great year. I also am very happy with Lauren and Natalie's teachers. We are trying to get back to our routine. It is hard after a long fun summer.

Pensacola Beach, Florida July 2008

The kids had fun on the beach with their cousins. The gulf was beautiful, but we all had the chance to be stung by the jelly fish.

Mark Forester- Serving our Country

My brothter-in-law, Mark Forester is serving in the US Air Force in the Special Forces. As I was looking at his pictures, I wanted to share. He is serving our country and I just want him to know I am proud of what he is doing. We love you and pray for you. Thanks Mark!!

Lauren's stitches

I have to blog about Lauren getting stitches this summer at her Meemer and Pop's house. Lauren and her cousin Nick were playing a fun game of passing the pool balls across the pool table. And as you can guess, one of the pool ball's bounced up and hit Lauren in the eye. She was such a good sport and has made sure that all who see her know about it too. I think she's proud of her war wound. We sure enjoy her little "fun" personality. She and Nick are such buddies and enjoyed each other this summer.

cousins, cousins and more cousins

We have gotten to see all of the cousins on my side of the family this trip!! It is the first time in a while. We enjoyed seeing all of them.

Blake's 4th Birthday Party

Blake enjoyed a wonderful 4th Birthday with family and friends in Clinton, MS!! He loves airplanes and thinks he is going to be a pilot for the Air Force oneday. When we asked him what kind of cake he wanted, he said he wanted an airplane on a runway. His sweet Aunt Leann made it for him. I think he has all of us wrapped around his little finger. He was so... excited and had a great day!!