Very Inspiring Blogger Award

Thank you very much to Di from It’s Dilovely for the nomination for this award:

The rules to the Very Inspiring Blogger Award are as follows:

1. Display the Nomination logo on your blog
2. Link back to the person who nominated you
3. State 7 things about yourself
4. Nominate 15 others and link to them
5. Notify those bloggers of the nominations & award requirement

See above for #1 & #2.  So here goes #3:

1. I have 1 million freckles.  I was not always so happy to have them.  When I was young, my mom always told me that they were kisses from the sun.  Now I am ok with the freckles and I am explaining to the twins about their sun kisses (which I still do not know how the sun gets through all the sun block to kiss them!).
2. I am left-handed.
3. I got an N (non-satisfactory) in handwriting in 2nd grade.  We wrote in pencil in 2nd grade and I did not figure out how to pick up my arm and not smear the page till the 3rd grade.
4. In 3rd grade I thought I knew everything.  I clearly remember walking home from school one day thinking to myself, “I know how to divide and multiply.  I can write the alphabet in cursive.  What else could I possibly learn in school?”  Turns out there was a lot left to learn and I did not even need to bother learning cursive…
5. I worked at an ice cream store in high school.  My friend Susan worked there too.  Susan and I are both tall with brown hair and brown eyes.  I have freckles (see #1) and she doesn’t but people would often confuse us for each other.  The owners of the ice cream store called us both Susan the entire time I worked there.
6. Evan proposed at an ice cream store and had an ice cream flavor created for me.
7. My grandfather is turning 100 next week!

Okay – finished with #3.  Here goes #4, nominations:

1. Mama Bird Diaries – Kelcey is super funny, clever and witty.  She always makes me laugh and reminds me to look for the funny in life.  I am pretty sure that Kelcey’s blog is the first one I ever read.
2. Four Plus An Angel – Jessica is the mother of 5.  She has a teenage daughter with autism, 2 surviving triplets and a rainbow baby in her arms.  Hadley is always in her heart.  She writes beautifully and has the uncanny ability to write exactly how I am feeling.
3. Cora’s Story – Kristine writes in memory of her daughter Cora.  Along with writing about her blog, Kristine also wrote the free e-book When a Friend’s Baby Dies.
4. A Greener Biener – Daphne writes about her and her families’ adventures in treating the planet more gently and eating better.  She has not only given me recipes for kale chips but inspired me to compost.
5. The Spohrs Are Multiplying – Heather and Mike both blog on this site.  Their first daughter Maddie died suddenly in April of 2009.  The blog includes adventures of their daughter, Annie as well as photography tips, hair do ideas, recipes and life without Maddie.
6. The Good Cook – Linda shares fantastic recipes and her journey since TBHITW (the best husband in the world) died.
7. Rock Star Ronan – Ronan died in 2010 from neuroblastoma cancer.  His mother, Maya made a promise that she would continue to fight for Ronan until cancer survival rates start to improve and eventually a cure is found.
8. Faces of Loss – Kristen Cook created this group blog when her daughter Stevie Joy was born still.  Kristen felt alone in her grief until she started to search the internet.  She created a place for women to share their stories and faces.  Faces of Loss, Faces of Hope brings awareness to the issue of pregnancy/infant loss.
9. Simon’s Beat – The Sudman’s created Simon’s Fund and the blog in memory of their baby boy, Simon.  The mission of Simon’s Fund is “To save a child’s life . . . and then another, by raising awareness of conditions that lead to sudden cardiac arrest and death.”
10. Jana’s Thinking Place,  Mommy wants Vodka and Band Back Together –  Becky (from Mommy Wants Vodka) and Jana are the creators/editors of the group site Band Back Together.  It is a place where people connect about the good, the bad and the ugly parts of life.
11. Missing Maxie – Abby writes about her son Max, who died at the age 9 1/2 months and her newborn Mo.
12. Glow in the Woods – This is a group blog for “For parents of lost babies and potential of all kinds.” The creator an editor, Angie also writes the blog Still Life With Circles and created the project right where I am.
13. Dr. Joanne – Joanne Cacciatore started the MISS Foundation as a way for families to cope with the tragedy of a child’s death.
14. The Crazy Life of a Writing Mom – EC Stilson wears many hats.  She is an author, a musician and a mom and writes about all of her adventures.
15. It’s Dilovely – Di blogs from the perspective as a mother (one child with her, one who died and one on the way).  She also writes from the perspective of a person (BANG, by a normal girl).

One of my hopes for my writing is that someone will read this blog and find something that will make their life some how easier.  Thank you again, Di, for the honor.