As we in the United States approach the Thanksgiving holiday we are mindful of opportunities to express our gratitude for those blessings in our lives big or small. Some among us give thanks for the one thing we all have in common which is both basic and all-encompassing: We are alive.

BlogHer Stephanie Nielson who blogs at NieNie Dialogues is one who is giving thanks today and every day to be alive. Alive so she can spend more time with her family and with her thousands of readers whom she inspires with her stories of joy from motherhood and survival.

Stephanie and her husband, Christian, survived a plane crash last year in which the pilot, Doug Kinneard, suffered fatal injuries. Stephanie's sister, Courtney, stepped in and began posting on Stephanie's blog in order to keep friends updated on their recovery. As word spread throughout blog communities, tens of thousands of people learned of Stephanie's story and love and support poured out.

Interviewed Tuesday morning in New York on The Today Show by Matt Lauer, Stephanie and Christian shared their story. Both were in medically induced comas - he for 6 weeks, she for 3 months. Stephanie was burned over 80% of her body and was not expected to survive her injuries. Her children were frightened by her disfigured body and afraid to touch her at first.

Those are difficulties we might, if we thought about it rationally, believe we could not handle. But with support from her family, friends and all those blog readers Stephanie survived and is blogging again. She says that her blog has shifted from being an outlet for her to share her joy of being a mother and wife to a space for therapy and healing.

While Stephanie gains strength from her readers, we learn lessons from her. Lessons of love, faith, gratitude, joy, optimism, grace, kindness and belief. Take for instance her recent post about clearing out her craft room:

I left my house at 8:30 am on Saturday, August 16, 2008
and never returned.

I can't seem to move past that realization.
As I cleaned out boxes (sans bra) I saw old receipts from the grocery store in AZ.
I saw my yoga notes for my next class, and my menu for the next week along with a to do list.

But it was therapy for me.

And I thought a lot.

I can take the good with the bad, the new with the old and still know
I belong here--and that "here" isn't in AZ or in UT, it is
and will always be wherever my family is.

Going through our boxes of stuff and clearing out the clutter - literal or metaphoric - is a task that can teach us profound lessons. Going through a move has shown me this. But Stephanie's perspective offers a way to grok it even without going through the process ourselves.

Surely Stephanie's ability to not only survive the unimaginable but to do it with her spirit not just intact but shining as brightly as ever gives us perspective and a new framework for viewing our troubles and obstacles and to see a way through them. Most of all, Stephanie teaches that truly "any challenge can be overcome."

Related Reading:

momlogic: 'NieNie Dialogues' Blogger on 'Today'

Pammycakes: NieNie Dialogues

This morning I watched a clip that was truly inspiring. Stephanie Nielson and her husband were involved in a plane crash over a year ago! She is a wonderful mother and an inspiration to all! They are survivors!

Beautiful Things at Fancy Soda Pop: Nie Nie Today

It's interesting to see her "live" after reading for so long. Why is it that every time I hear her story, I am brought to tears?

Mcbride's at Jon and Abbie: I really need kids to blog about, not a dog. Happy Thanksgiving folks.

This is one of those blogs you want to read so you can have a good perspective on life and give you an "attitude of gratitude." She was in a coma for months. She wasn't expected to live with over 80% of her body burned. Everyone should read this blog! Do it!

Oprah.com: Mommy Blogger and Mother Warrior

Stephanie says she had a vision while she was unconscious, and she was given a choice. "[I was] with somebody who told me that I could choose to live and have a hard life, you know, embarrassing at times and painful. Or, I could just stay there, and there's lots of work I could do there too," she says. "But I thought of my children and my husband, and it was easy. An easy choice."

Elisa Camahort: BlogHer of the Week: NieNie Dialogues

BlogHer CE Maria Niles can also be found blogging at PopConsumer