Liebster Award

Well, I'm just so surprised, humbled and happy!

There may have even been tears shed and noses blown!

Why, you ask?

Because Erin nominated me for a Liebster Award! I guess she thought my blog was inspirational and encouraging.

Let me talk Erin up here a bit.  I have no idea how I discovered Erin's blog, but I am just so glad I did.  I'm telling you, she is a fantastic writer, a thinker, a grammarian (which I REALLY love), plus she loves the Lord with all of her heart and she really wants to please Him above all else.  She simply adores her husband and is so proud of him and what's more, she isn't afraid to brag on him. She is a great Mama to two of the most adorable piggie-tailed gals you ever saw.  She's been an encourager to me and I appreciate it.  She is beautiful inside and out and her clothes are just too cute!

I tell ya, I'm totally shocked! My little ol' blog has never been nominated for anything.  I mean, hardly anyone reads my blog.

Anyway, I'm really honored and it's enough for me if just one Mama reads my blog.  I just hope I can encourage one gal out there.  I'm not perfect (not even close) and it's usually chaotic and loud and happy and fun around this house with 8 kids! I hope I'm honest and real though.

So, to start, I'll tell you 5 Totally Random facts about me, okay?

1) If I could, I would read all day long! I mean, to me, a good book is the greatest thing.  I have sometimes read 2 books in one day.  I'm a very fast reader.  I can't help it! If it's a great book, then I can't put it down, and if it's a series, I can't wait to start the next book after I finish the first one! I guess you could say I devour books! And I'm just not adverse to reading my favorites again and again.  To me, favorite books are like good friends, never to be forgotten!

2) I love poetic phrases and colorful metaphors.  In fact, I keep a notebook nearby when I'm reading anything, just in case something jumps out at me and implants itself into my heart. I like to write and I admire an author who writes beautifully and very well. This happens when I read Jan Karon and Lucy Maude Montgomery.

3) I love sunrises and sunsets in every season.  I wake up before the sun rises each day and so, I've seen quite a few sunrises.  I've been blessed to see sunrises on the beach, as well as sunsets.  I've seen sunrises and sunsets that have literally made me cry as God speaks to me in the poetry of nature.

4) I am DEFINITELY DRAMATIC! My husband told me to type those words in all capitals! I am also intense.  I talk with my hands and I love a good, deep conversation.  I don't usually do extended small talk or fluffy conversations.  I'm just a deep person and I have a lot of passionate tendencies to talk about, I guess!

5) I am NOT an animal lover.  I mean, I don't hate animals or rage against them, but I really don't like them.  I don't understand why people have the need to dress up their dogs or sleep with their dogs or take their dogs with them everywhere they go.  I don't understand doggie daycare and inside pets.  Please don't hate me! 

(Now, I asked my husband to think of 5 random facts about me, and the above 5 are what he came up with.  I thank him so much for at least being kind to me!! Lol)

So, now I'm going to answer some questions about myself.  I know, you're just waiting with bated breath to hear these things about me! Just settle down and be patient and your wishes will be satisfied!

Why did you start blogging?

I started blogging many years ago because I had actually read a couple of blogs and thought, hey, what a great idea! I love to write and have a lot to say and it's the perfect medium for me. I'm a bit of a grammarian and a language lover and it's a good outlet to exercise that.  I really would like to post more pictures and be a very consistent blogger.  I always  have so much more peace after I write a post!

What is your favorite item of clothing to wear?

My favorite item of clothing to wear is sweaters! I actually have a crazy weakness for sweaters.  I look at them in every store I go to.  I'm so glad I'm not rich because I would have to have a whole room devoted to my sweater collection, reminiscent of Celine Dion and her shoe room.  I'd really love to try cashmere sweaters, but alas, I just don't happen to have a couple hundred dollars laying around! Oh, and I have to add that I adore boots! Oops, is that two things?? Sorry!

Do you prefer the beach or the lake?

This one is very easy for me to answer.  I will always prefer the beach! I grew up in Southern California, three miles away from the beach, and I will always miss it and would love to visit a great beach again. The beach and the ocean are embedded into my soul.  The waves soothe me and the warm sand feels fantastic against my bare feet.  I can still smell the scent of the clean, salty breeze.  Someday I would like to take my family to the beach on which I grew up.  

What is the best meal you have ever eaten, with whom and where?

Oooh, this one is tough for me, just because I'm such a Foodie, and I have eaten so much great food! I think that one of the best meals I've eaten was at a restaurant called Judy's.  It was Valentine's Day last year and one of Dave's co-workers had given him a gift certificate that she wasn't going to use, so we decided to have a rare date.  I had a fantastic green salad, artichoke spinach dip (which I ate with a spoon), steamed broccoli sprinkled with fresh parmesan cheese, and the piece de resistance, a steak cooked medium, topped with a creamy sauce of fresh Dungeness crab and parmesan cheese.  Oh my stars and garters! It was just delicious.  

What has been your biggest inspiration lately?

Well, I have to say, and this is going to sound like favoritism, but Pennie has really been an inspiration to me.  I am continually so grateful that God allowed her to survive.  She really is a very unique, very essential blessing to our family, and basically, I can't live without seeing her tiny smiling face every day.  I miss her when I'm gone from her for too long.  She has to snuggle with me periodically.  She has to touch my skin and caress my arm repeatedly during the day, as she is doing even as I write this.  I could write a whole small book about her! God was merciful and compassionate to give her to me! I was going to say my children are my inspiration, but I wanted to be a bit different.....

Last book read?

The last book I read, which I finished two days ago, is called "Gentian Hill" by Elizabeth Goudge, published in New York by Coward-McCann, Inc, in the year 1949.  It is literally one of the most fantastically written and poignant books I have ever read.  And yes, I did write a passage or two in my  journal.  It is worth a read.

Years married?

Dave and I have been married for 19 years.  Next September marks our 20th anniversary, and it's all I can think about, because I marvel still that someone like him was and can still be interested in me.  I'm amazed and deeply and truly thankful that we have made it this far with each other, because I am not the easiest person to live with sometimes.

Best thing about your husband?

Wait, I can only name one?? Wow, this is going to be HARD! Okay, my husband is dedicated, determined and singleminded in everything that he does.  He is as steady as the year is long and you can count on him to come through when he gives his word. Plus, his kisses still make my knees weak and my tummy catapult to my toes.  Oh yeah, I've got a serious crush on him!

Best childhood Halloween costume?

I just can't remember that far back! So I have NO idea!

What's on your Pandora?

I don't really know exactly what a Pandora is. It goes without saying after that statement that I don't have one! We have iPods and we listen to iTunes.  We have a really eclectic taste in music, and some of the stuff we listen to includes Chicago, Lionel Richie, Fleetwood  Mac, Charlie Zahm, Mandisa, Celine Dion, Hans Zimmer, John Williams, Ennio Morricone, The Carpenters, John Denver....just to name a few!!

What has changed your life for the better?

Something that has changed my life for the better is moving back to our town from a different town that was, quite frankly, Hell on earth.  I am so thankful that my husband took us out of that situation.  He truly is my rescuer and my protector.

Who should read your blog?

I guess you ought to read my blog if you want reality.  Read my blog if you're bored.  Read my blog if you want to hear about a lot of really cute kids.  Read it if you appreciate a gal who has a massive crush on her husband.  It's more on the serious side and you out to read it if you like that sort of thing.  I like to talk in poetry a lot, so if you like that my blog is for you.  I don't talk about TV shows, the latest fashion fads or trashy magazines on my blog.  You won't find celebrity gossip or lots of sarcasm either.  So if you don't want to read about that stuff, then read my blog.  We're a homeschool family and I stay at home with my best friends all day.  Sometimes I might unintentionally step on your toes with my philosophies, but I don't mean to.

So now I'm supposed to nominate some blogs that I read, only that's pretty hard because I want the blogs I nominate to know by reading my blog that I nominated them and well, not very many gals read my blog!! I think I'll opt out of this portion.  Actually, most of the blogs I read are pretty good, so it would be hard to choose anyway.

Again I want to thank Erin for nominating me for this award!!