This morning my mom and I had the pleasure of attending a Women's Conference that my church puts on from time to time. Women's Conference is a time for women of different faiths to gather together and listen to some talks from great speakers.
This year Stephanie Nielson was the featured speaker. Stephanie and her husband were in a plane crash in 2008. The plane caught fire upon impact, and Stephanie and her husband were both severely burned. If you would like to see Stephanie and catch a glimpse into her life, check out this 8 minute video. It's extremely touching, so grab a Kleenex and watch! My New Life
Stephanie spoke for about an hour, and then there was a Q&A session after her talk where she answered questions from people in the audience. There was such a wonderful spirit in the room as Stephanie shared her story and experiences. The constant sound of sniffles were a testament that Stephanie touched many hearts, including mine .
I've been a fan of Stephanie for a long time and I feel like I know her since I've been following her blog for more than a year. (Stephanie's blog is called "NieNie Dialogues"and it's so much fun to read about her day to day life. Click here to check it out.)
I was hoping I would be able to meet Stephanie and share a brief word with her and I was not disappointed. She told my friend Elizabeth (who was partly in charge of the conference) that she specifically wanted to meet my mom and me, so we waited until the crowds cleared out and then we talked for about 20 minutes and shared some of our personal experiences with each other. I truly feel like Stephanie and I are kindred spirits who share a common bond because we've both experienced sudden, life-altering accidents that have changed our lives. Here are several pictures that Stephanie was gracious enough to allow:
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There were several beautiful flower arrangements that decorated the chapel and a lady asked me if I would like to take one of them home. She didn't have to ask me twice because I LOVE fresh flowers. Here's a few pictures:
Today was a wonderful day and I can't help but feel overwhelmed with joy. Thank you Stephanie for being such an inspiration and example to me. You're amazing!
11 comments:
Ooh! I'm so jealous!! I LOVE nienie! I bet her talk was wonderful! Great pictures. What a great day for you!
How wonderful for you. I would love to meet Stephanie.
I truly felt like I was on Holy Ground today. It was a wonderful experience
What a neat experience! I bet she feels just as blessed to have been able to meet you!! If Laura doesn't mind, I would be interested to hear her story one day as well.
You BOTH are AMAZING!! The two of you truly inspire me!
One more thing from me...as my husband and I were just looking at your blog, my husband commented that he recognized Hillarie. He said she lived across the street from him while they were at Ricks College back in 1999/2000. They were in the same ward and he said she had a really neat, fun personality. Small world.
Heather,
I bet Stephanie felt just as inspired by you. You are an amazing person, even from my far away corner, I can tell that.
Love,
Your Utah Friend
Tina
Wow...I just watched her video and was so incredibly moved! Thanks for sharing about her with us.
Wow, wow, wow!!!! I LOVE Nie Nie! I am so amazed you got to meet her. I knew about her talk because she has blogged about it. It's so funny because I follow her blog and yours, so the connection today when reading your post made me think this blog-o-sphere world sure is small!
That is so cool Heather! I followed Stephanie before her accident so I followed her journey. What a great experience for you and your family to be able to meet her! :)
Hi Heather,
Just caught up on your blog. So incredible. Thanks for meeting ME! I was the honored one...keep in touch
Kisses,
Stephanie
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