Nathan Lawrenson's Twitter

[HeckBound]

Good grief, what a bunch of drama. I do wish Tricia the best ,for as long as possible.

[tinylegs1]

I'm not sure if you're addressing me, but I've said over and over again I realize you aren't attacking Tricia. I'm not sure why that is still an issue. I've said I think it is important to be clear that she hasn't been away from her children for the duration of this time in Duke and she wasn't living in the hospital. It matters to me because I know that it would crush her to know people think she'd be capable of leaving her kids in that way.

I've repeatedly tried to be clear that I respect your experience and loss. I've asked only that you acknowledge there were misrepresentations on this thread about her situation specifically and easily cleared up facts about their foster situation and they primarily were in your posts most recently. You stated your assertions were based on his twitter. He hasn't had a girl foster child in years, so there is definitely an issue there. He has never said Tricia was hospitalized when she wasn't. He never said she was living in a hospital. He has definitely tweeted about the family spending time together regularly including trips to parks and such. He has tweeted about the coming and going. So, clearly some of the message was being distorted, correct?

[flyawaystray]

Most of us thought the foster child was a boy, I don't know where the girl thing came from.

[hapamama]

Nate's Twitter feed going private is a blessing. Now we don't have to deal with that arrogant, pompous windbag quite so much. I wish Tricia the best, but holy hannah, her husband is a twat.

[punkiepie]

tinylegs1- I just wanted to say that you're responses here are a great example of a how to come on FJ and defend yourself/family/beliefs in a classy, self-respecting way. I know it might seem a little intimidating, but I hope you'll stick around here (and not just in this topic or to talk about your sister or family).

[tinylegs1]

Most of us thought the foster child was a boy, I don't know where the girl thing came from.

Where did I come up with that and feel like it should be addressed?

Posted last week:

The little boy referenced by Nate occasionally is not the fosterchild. The fosterchild is a older elementary/pre-teen girl. It's publically visible on Tricia's FB page.

Yes but the pictures were current a year later and another picture references the girls as sisters also a year after they supposed did not have the foster anymore but current age of Gwen.

She might be tomboyish but there's a family picture on Tricia's public profile on FB and it's a pre-teen girl. A commentor states on the picture that's it's amazing how their foster daughter fits right into the family and looks like one of them

Nate should not act holier than thou. Maybe they would have fostered anyway, but the reality is very simple. The ONLY choice they had if they wanted a second child was to foster. It's not like they went with special needs or older children, nor do they take in LOTS of kids. They took a number, waited for a baby and held onto him in the hopes that time would negate that Tricia was dying.

Um. They've never had a baby. Ever. This is mind blowing. So, you are asserting they've never had an older child, but then talk about their current child who is a preteen girl, who isn't actually their foster child right now?? But they have a baby, although they've never actually had a baby. And the pictures with the hat I believe you are referring to are either a full face picture of MY son or the picture of just a hat on the head of another child who is neither a baby nor a preteen girl. When we all spent time together. As a family.

And how can they have a "baby" on this post but upthread they had a preteen girl? And, again, futher upthread it wasn't a boy or a baby?

While what goes in in the foster system is private, I will say you have no idea what you are talking about and are contradicting yourself on this thread within the course of a few days. Out of respect for privacy, no one has published public pictures of a foster child in the current system and they certainly never hand-picked a "specific" child. Also, Tricia was adopted out of foster care and has spoken very openly about the profound impact that had on her life and how she wanted to foster as a mother.

And that is the kind of speculation and rumor crap that makes me angry. Not the talking about his attitude or views or tweets.

[flyawaystray]

Well that stuff aren't things I've said. I came to the conclusion the foster child was a boy based on Nate's twitter. I have NO idea where the baby thing comes from. I thought their foster child was in elementary school.

I plan on fostering one day, so I'm pro-fostering and pro-adoption.

[tinylegs1]

Well that stuff aren't things I've said. I came to the conclusion the foster child was a boy based on Nate's twitter. I have NO idea where the baby thing comes from. I thought their foster child was in elementary school.

I plan on fostering one day, so I'm pro-fostering and pro-adoption.

I know, it was primarily Chaotic Life. The misinformation burns me up.

Fostering and adopting are wonderful and worth it! Every foster child that has been part of our family, whether immediate or extended or in my childhood or adulthood, has been loved, accepted and became a big part of our family, some beyond their initial placement.

So there, perhaps a good message can emerge from the drama.

[lilwriter85]

I assumed that the foster child was little boy based on a picture that Nate posted of a child's hat. I apologize tinylegs.

[flyawaystray]

Honestly, I don't feel the need to have a bio child. If I can help some kid out there who needs a family, then my job is done :)

[tinylegs1]

I assumed that the foster child was little boy based on a picture that Nate posted of a child's hat. I apologize tinylegs.

You aren't incorrect, the posts about a baby and preteen girl are incorrect.

Although, the child in the picture most the pictures was my son. There was just a single hat with no face picture that was not my son, iirc.

[lilwriter85]

tinylegs1- I just wanted to say that you're responses here are a great example of a how to come on FJ and defend yourself/family/beliefs in a classy, self-respecting way. I know it might seem a little intimidating, but I hope you'll stick around here (and not just in this topic or to talk about your sister or family).

I agree with the bolded part.

[lilwriter85]

You aren't incorrect, the posts about a baby and preteen girl are incorrect.

Although, the child in the picture most the pictures was my son. There was just a single hat with no face picture that was not my son, iirc.

You are correct about that. I think some hair was visible in the pic.

[PurpleSheepleEater]

So he maintains (at least until today) a pretty public image online, posts incomplete information, photos that seem to indicate one thing, comments that seem to lead in one direction of thought and then when people are confused and trying to figure it out and making guesses they are in the wrong?

How about if you don't want people having conversation about your family you don't create such a stir that people are curious. Nate will take any money anyone wants to donate and put his story all over the world for that sake, he can't be surprised if people want to know more of the story and talk about it. Like it or not he's made himself a really obvious public figure in many circles.

If you (or Nate) don't want people talking and making guesses then why not just state the facts? If you can't do that then you have to ignore the chatter or it will make you crazy. But don't fault people for wanting to know more. Until the last few months Nate was allllllllll about promoting his and Trisha's story. Again and again and again.

[flyawaystray]

^ So much that he closed his blog in favor of a book deal.

[lilwriter85]

So he maintains (at least until today) a pretty public image online, posts incomplete information, photos that seem to indicate one thing, comments that seem to lead in one direction of thought and then when people are confused and trying to figure it out and making guesses they are in the wrong?

How about if you don't want people having conversation about your family you don't create such a stir that people are curious. Nate will take any money anyone wants to donate and put his story all over the world for that sake, he can't be surprised if people want to know more of the story and talk about it. Like it or not he's made himself a really obvious public figure in many circles.

If you (or Nate) don't want people talking and making guesses then why not just state the facts? If you can't do that then you have to ignore the chatter or it will make you crazy. But don't fault people for wanting to know more. Until the last few months Nate was allllllllll about promoting his and Trisha's story. Again and again and again.

I agree with a lot of your post. I agree with others that Nate posted here under the Libby name. The twitter going private the same day is most telling part and as well as the attack on CL. Like you said, he had been maintaining a very public image as a blogger. His blog has been heavily publicized in the North Carolina press and in CF communities for years. He seemed to like some of the attention. Of course, he did flip out twitter many times when people disagreed with them. My guess is that he recently found out about FJ and maybe he couldn't handle some of the things said here. He was known to block some of the people who disagreed with him on twitter, here he had no control over the amount of things people could say about him. My theory is that Nate posted here pretending to be someone else in hopes of trying to change people's views on him, but it backfired. If Nate is indeed Libby, he might have finally realized that more people dislike him than he previously thought.

[lilwriter85]

^ So much that he closed his blog in favor of a book deal.

I also think the book deal might have part of the reason he made his twitter private in addition to him possibly reading here and possibly posting. I've said it before in this thread, but he drove away some of his potential book buyers because of his twitter. A week or two ago, he posted something on twitter about how he didn't want to pursue fame because he had been seeing how Rick Warren had been dealing with criticism after his son's suicide. But yet, Nate was still pursuing some fame, but on a smaller scale. If Nate's book gets published and released, I don't see it being a huge bestseller on a wide scale. At best, it will sell well with the conservative Christian crowd.

[TheJewAmongUs]

Do they still have the foster child? Maybe there was an issue with having a public blog and active Twitter account related to their status as foster parents.

Although from what little I know of CFHusband, it does seem like money or a book deal would be a more likely motive. Sometimes it might not matter how or why someone flounces, just that they've done it.

[chaotic life]

The information about the fosterchild HAS been wild speculation, because that appears to be oen thing that even Nate has been quiet about consistently. When you post all of your life so publically and stir up interest, people are GOING to speculate. Yes, I made a comment about a pre-teen girl based upon pictures that WERE public, I also said the baby boy belong to Tricia's sister. My comments about they weren't something special for fostering was in DIRECT response to a very santimounious public comment by NATE about how very special people foster and everyone else should learn to be that terrific.

And uh....you aren't going to earn brownie points from *me* of all people by stroking your own ego for a choice to seek foster and foster-adoption, whether you are Nate, or anyone else in the world. (And aside from the knowledge NATE has made public that Tricia cannot have another pregnancy, he has ALSO made public that the only way they can have any child beyond Gwen is to adopt, and I DO know enough about adoption to know it's nearly IMPOSSIBLE for someone with Cystic Fibrosis to pass a homestudy except in a very expensive private adoption or foster-adoption and that knowledge about what it takes to pass a homestudy is NOT speculation.) Fostering and adopting should NEVER be something ANYONE toots their own horn over, it makes it about your act and not the child and it makes it about charity. If you are taking in kids for charity, then you don't get my praise but scorn. Children are NOT charity. So yes, I DID respond to Nate's self-promotion for fostering. (FTR, I have never ever seen such self-promotion from Tricia and if you read back in these threads you will see comments by MANY people about how it is clear that Tricia loves her children dearly and doesn't self-promote that she fosters).

As for she's not in a hospital, yes also speculation. However, again based upon NATE's words. Tricia IS at her medical center and not at home. It's not WILD speculation to be concerned that she's experiening long seperations from her children when you combine 1. she is checking in with her transplant team daily, 2. Nate posts about the kids coming "to visit", 3. Nate posts comments that the children are staying with family members. It's speculation that she's seperated from her kids for long periods, but it's not WILD speculation and it's ENTIRELY based upon Nate's words, yet again.

I can understand why you are hurt by what you see here. I think most of what you have focused on is side conversations to why this was started in the first place. I also think if you don't want poeple speculation so much about your sister's life, then your BIL needs to quit making it so public and so deliberately public. When you choose to make your life public, you become a public figure and people will talk, express opionions, and yes even speculate about you. Most of the speculation has been in response to what your BIL has made public about his and Tricia's life for years now. As flyawaystray pointed out, the thread here started when he closed the blog because he was seeking pulication for the story, thus people started watching his Twitter for information on Tricia and lo and behold saw a side of Nate most never imagined existed.

With that, I am really done here. I hear your frustration with myself and this thread. You haven't choosen to make your life public, and deserve the same privacy I deserve. You are also not in any way responsible for the manner in which your BIL chooses to carry himself, and you should be asked to defend nor explain him. I'm no more going to continue to defend myself than I'm going to ask you to defend him. You aren't him, and your respect even when upset clearly demonstrates that.

[tinylegs1]

^ So much that he closed his blog in favor of a book deal.

FWIW, that isn't true. That is speculation.

There is no "signed book deal".

There were other reasons the blog was closed.

Believe it. Or not.

That is my measly .02. I never wrote a blog about my sister. I rarely tweet about her. I don't really understand the fascination that the internet seems to develop with regular-people, it isn't my thing, but I've said my piece.

I guess the takeaway, for those who care, is that there are bigger pictures in all our lives. We don't see all that is going on. So you can assume that even in the lives of my family, for everything that Nate has chosen to put out there, there is more going on. Even with Tricia.

I will stand for truth. I hate reading rumors about my sister. Truly, Nate puts himself out there, so speculate away but my sister doesn't. She regularly updates FB friends and keeps up with her CF circle privately, but she doesn't encourage raging debate or discussion. I reread some of this thread and realized I missed something that I will address. The notion in one specific post that my sister is mentally incapable of making decisions on her own. That is utterly ridiculous. She is sick, she is dealing with pain and has ups and downs, but she is fully, mentally present. She has thoughts and feelings about what she wants and doesn't want. She meets with her doctors regularly to make decisions, advocate for her wishes and gather information. She works daily with her PT team and nurses to work towards transplant. She has faced transplant before and knows the risks vs benefits. She gets up out of bed everyday, keeps up with family, makes decisions about her children and family. And if/when the time comes that she isn't able to do that, her wishes have been legally decided, documented and made known to everyone in our family.

Beyond that, nothing is gained by me or you by having me here. I do wish, out of respect for the majority of our family and my sister, you'd examine the rumors and speculation you post about my sister. I realize there is something somewhat addictive about keeping a conversation going. But perhaps just realize that what happens to my sister primarily affects the people that are closest to her and if you routinely post here, it is likely you aren't part of that circle, so there isn't much gained by constantly speculating and perpetuating rumors about her. The internet is freakish enough that I'm sure if major things happen, you'll hear. Beyond that, really, there isn't much to talk about.

[treemom]

It doesn't matter if Tricia does, she is married to Nate.

Seriously I have heard this before and it is a little boggling, I can't control the fact my husband is a famewhore, be nice to me?

And while she hasn't made her life public other than her not really updated blog, her twitter, her open Facebook, she is married to a man who developed his Internet following on her back. So yeah, speculation is going to happen.

Plus she is married to an asshat, and if she likes him I judge her for that.

[treemom]

Oh, and keep in mind, what Nate advocates for would have impacted me and my family and our choices. Since he speculates about people like me, I am totally cool speculating about his wife based on information he shares.

[lilwriter85]

Do they still have the foster child? Maybe there was an issue with having a public blog and active Twitter account related to their status as foster parents.

Although from what little I know of CFHusband, it does seem like money or a book deal would be a more likely motive. Sometimes it might not matter how or why someone flounces, just that they've done it.

Yes, they have the foster child. I don't think the twitter account was made by private because of their fostering. Like others, I think Nate posted here pretending to be someone else yesterday day and his twitter was made private the same day.

[lilwriter85]

It doesn't matter if Tricia does, she is married to Nate.

Seriously I have heard this before and it is a little boggling, I can't control the fact my husband is a famewhore, be nice to me?

And while she hasn't made her life public other than her not really updated blog, her twitter, her open Facebook, she is married to a man who developed his Internet following on her back. So yeah, speculation is going to happen.

Plus she is married to an asshat, and if she likes him I judge her for that.

I agree with a lot of what you said. Nate has been the one who has putting stuff out there online and people are going to speculate about Tricia because he had blog about her and he tweeted about her on twitter often. Sometimes crazy rumors do result from that. Overall, many people probably couldn't keep themselves from speculating what was going with her and Nate. Like CL said in her most recent post, there wasn't wild speculation on some things about Nate and Tricia. People were going to wonder about Nate constantly saying things about Gwyneth coming to visit, skyping, Tricia talking to doctors, or going in for appointments and also him mentioning things going on around Durham. I think maybe it was wrong of us to speculate on the foster child situation, but again curiosity crept into people. Some people were going to wonder how a couple who is dealing with serious medical situation were also fostering. I think people should try to be respectful of Tricia and maybe not assume certain things about her. But she isn't immune from speculation especially since her husband gained Internet fame because of her.

[flyawaystray]

Well we know Nate is writing a book, there's a FB page about it and a link on his site that goes into detail. It's coincidence that after he started writing a book, Nate took almost everything offline?