Stephanie & Christian Nielson

Stephanie Nielson Isn’t Done Inspiring Us

Just when we thought that Stephanie Nielson couldn’t be any more inspirational, she has posted on her NieNie Blog that she is pregnant! Yes, Stephanie Nielson and her wonderful husband Christian are pregnant with their fifth child.

In a story I thought couldn’t get any more emotional and moving, Stephanie and Christian — who three years came into our lives in a fiery plane crash in Arizona, that took the life of their good friend Doug, who was piloting the plane — are about to have their fifth child.

Through the pain, anguish and disfiguring recovery — Stephanie more so than Christian — the Nielsons have lifted a lamp of hope to humanity on not only recovering from tragedy but dealing with physical disfigurement in our flawless-obsessed American culture’s pursuit of beauty.

They remain a beacon on family and parenting issues, proving that families can survive tragedy, and that Stephanie — who suffered burns on more than 80 percent of her body — has a flourishingly positive and infuential life ahead of her.

Stephanie and Christian Nielson’s Marriage

It seems that the Nielsons have always had a great marriage. I’ve read Stephanie’s NieNie blog prior to the crash and found myself so inspired my her views on marriage, children and also love and sexuality with her husband.

Even though she appears to have been a wonderful mother, Stephanie Nielson was very ‘hot’ for her husband, after four kids. Their relationship was as important in her mind as her children, a view rejected by many younger women today who put children first and don’t nourish their marriages.

So wake up to this news has me weeping big tears, as I have done for three years with the Nielsons. Perhaps no couple — and no woman — has made me reflect more about human values, recovering from tragedy, finding personal courage and resources, and facing the woman in the mirror than Stephanie Nielson.

I am thrilled for her, Christian and their family over the news of their pregnancy. This is astounding news, one I am comfortable calling a miracle without abandoning my other core principle — many of them not shared by Stephanie Nielson, a devout Mormon woman who would not agree with me on many of my feminist principles.

My point has always been that our hearts do not know these barriers that politicians put between us. Most conservative ideologues would never admit that my heart and emotions care about Stepanie Nielson deeply. Like Oprah, I am the anti-Christ, the harlot woman trying to undermine God’s work.

Hopefully, one tiny sidebar story about Stephanie Nielson is the depths to which she has inspired so many women, regardless of our political and religious affiliations. For me Stephanie and Christian Nielson have transcended the issues that divide us, creating role models for living a quality life — severely threatened to its core with the plane crash — but one that has survived.

NieNie’s Beacon of Hope in Troubled Times

Stephanie and Christian Nielson, and their four children Claire, Jane, Oliver and Nicholas, give us tremendous hope and inspiration. They cause me to look at my own life, asking — not how I can be more like them — but how I can transmit the same character, commitment, and devotion to my own life priorities as they do theirs.

Hope is their gift to us all, and I couldn’t be happier for the Nielson’s today, as they celebrate their wonderful news with the world. God bless Stephanie Nielson, her husband Christian and their family. This is truly an amazing morning.

I share with readers a brief overview of my other four articles on Stephanie Nielson or links below. Anne

The Nielson childen: Claire, Jane Oliver and Nicholas