My friend Leah from Garden of Eagan awarded me the Liebster blog award. How fun! The goal of the award is to help you discover new great blogs.

liebster-blog-award

So here are Leah’s questions for me:

1. Of all your blog posts, what is your favorite, or stands out most in your mind?

I don’t think I can pick one! I write raw and honest, so many of my posts have a little of myself in there. But, if I had to pick just one thing for you to read, I would choose my series of posts that chronicle the time I was pregnant with Nichole, finding out there was a possibility of her being born with Down syndrome, and the struggle I had dealing with her diagnosis when she was born. I am actually working on a mini-memoir ebook.

So yes, stop by HERE and start reading! It’s a raw read at times, but I found beauty in brokenness.

2. Although it’s rare, what do you usually do when you have leisure time on your hands?

Read, nap, or take time to do my hair and makeup!

3. What do you usually do when you meet someone for the first time?

Say hi and ask questions about them.

4. How many books did you read last year?

Oh I don’t think I have an accurate count but at least 50.

5. Do your blog posts “come to you” at a certain time of the day?

I write blog posts in my head all day, but not all of them make it here. My best time to write is late at night because the kids are all sleeping. Now that my girls are in school, I do find myself writing during the day, and I can see this becoming my favorite time to write.

6. Have you ever won anything? If so, what was it?

Yes! I have won a few blog give-aways. A couple of books and accessories for my girls.

7. Do you have a favorite activity you like to do with your kids?

We love to dance together, for a while, I was teaching a Zumba class for families and that was fun. We also love our Fridays. It is Family movie night and finger-food-Friday day. We look forward to our Fridays.

8. What is your favorite memory?

Again, I have to choose just one? But here is one. We were decorating the house for Christmas, listening to Christmas music, dancing around, and it was one of those times you stop to look around and feel overwhelmed with thankfulness for God’s blessings. My husband and I looked at each other and we were both fighting back tears of  joy, then he says, “I’m the luckiest man in this world” and then I was really crying. There was tangible love in our living room, like a delicious sip of hot cocoa. I know it sounds crazy, but I do believe it was a holy moment.

9. What is your best quality?

My best quality is also my weakness, I am really honest and open; sometimes to the point of embarrassment, I am afraid. Just ask my husband.

10. What is your biggest success up to this point in your life?

Well, I have two. The first is my marriage. Broken marriages and unhappy marriages are – sadly – part of my family’s legacy. I didn’t get to see what a healthy marriage was until I met my in-laws. Back when my husband and I were dating I spent a week with them, one day, I was in the kitchen while Andy’s mom was folding laundry in the living room. Andy’s dad came in and didn’t see me there, so he ran into the living room, tackled Ronda, and started kissing her, she was giggling, asking him to stop. That little interaction shocked me, they loved each other, they actually liked each other. Marriage is hard work, add to that special needs parenting! I am so thankful that my husband had such a great example, and I am so thankful that God is at the center of our marriage.

Second, my kids! And there is so much I can say about this that it would make this a really, really long post. What a gift it has been to have an army of people behind us, and what a great big God who guides us as we do this thing called life.

And now I get to pass on this award to two other bloggers.

First is my friend Erin from Life with the Loraines. She is my real-life-friend. Actually, if adults can have BFFs, Erin is my BFF. Erin and I met almost four years ago. They adopted my daughter’s best friend from the orphanage. You want honesty about the hard parts of adoption and dealing with a child with mental health issues? Erin shares from her heart about the struggles and joys of international adoption and raising a child with mental health issues. Once you read a post, you will be coming back. She wrote a post for me here: Are special needs families isolated?

Second is my friend Ann Bremer, from Resisting the Chaos. Ann’s blog is brand new. Ann is an excellent writer, and I have been trying to get her to start a blog for a long time. Ann is also a real-life-friend and I get to go with her to a writer’s conference in two weeks. Ann is going to write fiction books, but she shares about resisting the chaos on her blog. I expect her to have a successful blog, and you can have the pleasure of being among the first readers!

So here are the ten questions for them:

  1. Describe your family in five words
  2. What is one dream you have for the future
  3. What is your favorite book and why
  4. Who has had the biggest influence in your life
  5. What is your favorite TV show
  6. What is your biggest success
  7. You have three wishes, what are they?
  8. You have a day all to yourself, what do you do?
  9. Something you are proud of
  10. Why do you blog?

Thanks for stopping by today, and visit these great blogs!

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