We had a roller coaster weekend. Friday we had back-to-back plans for birthday fun (Nate's), but he came home from work with a fever and chills, stripped right down to his skivs and crawled into bed. We canceled all plans, made a warm drink and hunkered in for the night. My sister came over and we watched
Nie's 20/20 segment. I didn't love the way they reported certain aspects of the story. Some parts seemed sensationalized to the point of being insensitive. And they seemed to skip over the most miraculous and beautiful parts. Did you tune in? What did you think?
It was a long,
ugly night for Nate. Thankfully, the bug didn't linger very long. By Saturday afternoon we were at the park with the kids - Nate was moving a little slower than usual, but feeling much better.
Sunday we invited friends and family for a b-day celebration. It was just right - everyone helped with food, the kids played like champs, the conversation flowed easily and so did the laughs. I had seen an idea (in a
Martha magazine, of course!) that I wanted to duplicate, so I made a photo collage on the wall in the front room.
*note: Anne made me that darling Birthday banner and i cannot tell you what a fun gift it's been. It's part of our family birthday tradition now - we get it out for everyone's special day. I think it would be cute to give for a wedding or bridal shower gift - a family tradition in a box. What is better than that? It was so nostalgic to get out our big box of family photos and find all the most memorable ones of Nate - shots from his childhood, our engagement and wedding pictures, the births of our children. The ones that really got me were pictures of big, strong, handsome Nate being so tender with our tiny babies. If there's anything sexier than that...?? We have several pictures of Nate and Henry napping together when Henry was very small and, so help me, I cannot keep my eyes dry when I look at those! So anyway, the project was really fun and meaningful to put together and it was
such a fun conversation piece at the party. Nate and his mom stood in front of it for a good while reminiscing on memories from his childhood. We laughed about the picture of little boy Nate in a polka dotted dress. Lots of fondness and smiles. A great way to start a party. And a snap to pull off.
It is easy to celebrate Nate; his goodness is as big as the sky.
Happy Monday,
Em
Amen to that! I love Nate. I'm his cousin so I can say that ;)
ReplyDeleteHappy 32nd Natan. Your fam in Phoenix was thinking about you on your special day.
So sorry for the sickness! I did watch Nie on 20/20. I was hoping they would be kind, and for a major news network, they probably were. I can't imagine what they would have done with the more tender "religious" parts of the story. I have not been impressed with ABC when it comes to that (World News did a piece on a website I belong to, used my name and age, footage of myself, friends and my home, and made us look RIDICULOUS). Anyway, I am glad to have been following Nie for a while. The AZ Republic piece was great if you've never seen it. Lots of details about how hard it's been for Stephanie returning to motherhood, and lots of faith filled details. I like knowing the bigger picture. I'm thinking that a lot of viewers were left with questions or with an incomplete picture of what happened.
ReplyDeleteHope your week goes well and all the sickness is gone!
Sorry Nate was sick, I really love that guy too..I'm not his cousin, but our names do start with the same first three letters...does that count for anything? You can just see his goodness in that picture you posted. :)
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree, the NieNie thing was ok, but SO may important details were left out. I do think it will send lots of people to her blog where they'll get the real story, and hopefully a few other good things too (wink).
Love the pictures on the wall, we may need to do that for Matt's bday. It's always so hard to find things for those boys of ours. Cute idea.