Nie Nie and Recapturing Beauty

Two years ago when I first learned about Nie Nie, I instantly fell in love with her.

I went to her blog and read way, way back into her posts about her life as mother, wife, sister, daughter, friend, and woman.

She embodied all that is lovely and became a huge role model for me.

I loved reading about how she liked to get dressed up nice for her husband when he came home from work. I loved all the little feminine details she included in her dress and house and style.

I got a kick out of one post where her children were staring at her through the sliding glass door after she had humorously locked them all out of the house so she could try to get some things done.

I thought it was wonderful and hilarious how she documented her neighbors front porch goose statue that they dressed up for all the holidays.

She did wonder-mom awesome citizen things with her children such as writing nice, upbeat phrases such as "God Loves You" and posting them around town to brighten up random people's days.

She felt so relatable (even though I'd never have the guts to be so bold and forthcoming!) in her post about hiking up the Y Mountain and arguing multiple times with a man who called her LADY and told her that her dogs must be leashed. Then later she found out the man was one of her dad's friends. She ends her post with "Beware SS (the mans intials) , I’ll be back…don’t you worry dogs in tow!"

I loved her romantic love letters to her husband.

But even more than all of that which was enough alone to inspire me to live my life more fully and love the journey, she taught me and the world the true meaning of beauty as she shared and shares her incredible-in-every-sense-of-the-word journey as a burn survivor. Choosing to see beauty all around her as she lives to watch her children grow, and be with her husband, and laugh with her family and teach us all how to live a good and beautiful life.

I got to see her speak yesterday for the Recapturing Beauty campaign at BYU.

I've been lucky enough to see George Bush speak when he was the president, and both President Obama and Hillary Clinton speak at different rallies. I was actually taken back a bit about how excited and thrilling it was to see and hear all three of these people speak in front of me in real life.

But I was more excited to see Nie Nie speak than all of the excitement of those three combined and then some.

I seriously wanted and was close to giving her a standing ovation as soon as she walked out on the stage.

She did a wonderful job. She testified so powerfully that God lives.

She told beautiful stories like when Mr. Nielson got to go and see her for the first time after the accident. She was in a coma and when he reached for and held her hand her heart rate sped up so much so that the nurses ran into the room and told him that he better not touch her because it was making her too excited. "That was about as hot and heavy as it got during that time," she said as we all burst into laughter.

She cried, and we cried. I think everyone was crying. We all had our eyes and noses dripping!

Nie Nie has helped and continues to help countless women recognize and celebrate the beauty that each of us has in us. truly. She is the greatest role model I've had and have the privilege to look up to.

I, along with the hundreds? thousands? of women that got to hear her speak feel very blessed for that.