Nie Benefit Concert

Stephanie Nielson's blog is one that I read just to get a little shot in the arm that to help me cherish the day-to-day life of motherhood. Go back in the archives before August 2008 (when her accident happened) and check out a few of her posts. They are so great. I also love reading her sister, Courtney's . (Cjane) I love her writing style. It always makes me smile. They have thousands of readers and have made a huge impact on people all over the world.

Last monday, I went with two of my sisters and our girls to a benefit concert and silent auction for the Nielson family. You may recall that Stephanie and her husband, Christian were in a private plane crash last August and they survived, but sustained some very serious burns. Stephanie is recovering from burns over 80% of her body. She's finally home, but has tons of surgeries still left to endure. They have 4 young children who have been in the care of family members in Provo.

The concert was wonderful. Mindy Gledhill, my new favorite singer sang 6 or 7 songs. Her CD called "Feather in the Wind" is the BEST! And she sang a new one that I hope makes it to her next CD. It was kind of a Lenka-style happy song.

The two oldest Nielson children sang a beautiful lullaby with Mindy called "Golden Slumbers." Tears all around! It was very poignant, knowing that these children had to wait for three months while their mother was in a medically-induced "slumber." So precious.

Michelle, me and Jen. The sista's!

Sadie with her favorite cousin, Tess. They LOVED it!

The little girls, Corrinne, Brooklyn and Avery. Tired, but entertained.

We were also treated with a few numbers by Ryan Shupe, David Osmond (was just on American Idol) and the "Thrillionares" who do impromptu theater at the Covey Center for the Arts every Saturday night. They are so funny. I'm definately adding their shows to my list of things to do with the family. Sadie loved it! Here they are with Courtney (Cjane) who came up during the encore and sang and danced with them.

My sisters both scored some great things like cakes, aprons, purses and even a dress at the silent auction. I did not, however Jeremy donated a landscape consultation to the affair. I hear they raised over $10,000 just at the auction. Sounds like this will be their last fund raiser, so I'm glad we could take part. It was a memorable evening.

Some of these photos were taken by Haley Warner, a photographer who attended the event.