My First Blogging Award

I'm still new to this blogging thing. But I found out something fun and exciting today! One way bloggers encourage each other is with blogger awards. And I've been awarded one today! Who knew?

So thank you to my friend, Laura, who has the informative, warm and reflective site Pruning Princesses, for sending me this award. As Laura has stated, her blog is a lot like mine, only her girls are younger. So if you have younger girls, you won't be disappointed if you check out her blog. Do it today! She also has gotten me interested in Five Minute Fridays, which I plan to check out soon.

The fun thing is that I get to introduce you to 7 of my favorite blogs I follow. But first, to play nice and follow the rules, I must first tell 7 random facts about myself. Then to the good stuff.

Here are the rules for the Versatile Blogger Award:

1. Add the award to your blog. 2. Thank the person who presented it to you. 3. List seven random facts about yourself. 4. List the rules. 5. Pass the award onto seven other bloggers. 6. Inform each blogger they have won by posting a comment on their blog.


So....let's see...7 random facts about me.

1. When I cook dinner I often forget and burn things. I just realized I'm doing that again, so I'm going to check dinner and will be right back for #2. (I used to love to cook long elaborate meals and spend all day doing so. After 20 years, I have days I can barely throw a hot dog on the table). (See how long I typed after remembering it's burning?)

2. (Back). I love all things fall. Cool weather, hot drinks, apple and pumpkin recipes, fall decorations. Everything. I have as much fall decor as Christmas (almost).

3. I have three girls and I don't really like to shop. This is a problem.

4. Though not all of my blog posts mention it, my relationship with Jesus is the driving force of everything in my life, and the reason I am who I am and do what I do. My goal is to help moms and girls alike through the complexities of growing up as, and raising girls in our culture. I enjoy being in company of those who may not believe the same as me, but are still females in this culture and in need of the support of each other. So I may share spiritual things at times, and at other times, simply life skills, relationship issues or things that apply to everyone, regardless of faith....because I see trends in girls lives overall that concern me. I want girls to have healthy lives. I hope to contribute towards the answer in some way.

5. I'm in an interracial marriage. I guess that's a big one, though I forget it is. He's tall dark and handsome, and I'm the lightest in my family. It has caused years of entertainment, as no one can guess the race of any of my girls upon meeting. We humor ourselves by letting people guess.

6. I love teenagers and college aged kids. Love to listen to their thoughts. I've been meeting with them for years, having fun, talking life and listening. I think they are actually pretty smart. They often just have to deal with some yuck that adults cause.

7. I love people who do daring things or who survive amazing things. Love to read true stories and be around world changers. The latest? I just cried through "Left to Tell" by Immaculée Ilibagiza.



NOW, onto some blogs I follow. This is hard because there are so many great women out there. And so many more blogs I pop in on sporadically for a crack up or quick inspiration.

1.  Sharita at Above the Fray- I have to start here because this is my friend that I talk to daily. She is one of my writing idols. We started blogging about the same time. I love how she uses words to say inspirational and entertaining, thought provoking, yet somehow still hilarious things. She's the bomb.com in real life and in blog world. And the best singer I've ever heard (for real).

2. Dr. Jennifer Shewmaker's Operation Transformation Dr. Shewmaker is an online friend I have found as I research girl issues and have found other organizations that fight for change also. The goal of Operation: Transformation is to explores the messages that media sends to kids and strategies for confronting them. She has some great things to say. Check her out! It's fun to have supportive friends out there who are working alongside the same issues and care about the future of our world too.

3.Lynn Cowell has a blog that comes to my inbox once a week that I always enjoy reading. From her website, "Lynn Cowell is a Proverbs 31 Ministries’ speaker and author whose passion is helping moms become wise women who raise wiser daughters." Good stuff here for raising girls, from a biblical perspective.

4.Kelly's Korner is a fun blog my friend shared with me. It is so unique. Weekly Kelly has a "Show Us Your" event, where people show everything from their own blog niche, to window treatments, to party ideas, to front porch decorations!

5.Beauty Redefined is a fabulous website and blog everyone would be interested in, whether you are raising girls or not. Lindsay and Lexie Kite, 26 year old twin sisters with PhDs in Communication, say this: We have a passion for helping girls and women recognize and reject harmful messages about their bodies and what “beauty” means and looks like. Beauty Redefined represents our work to take back beauty for girls and women everywhere through continuing the discussion about body image, women’s potential and media influence.

6.Mom Life Today is a great resource for Mom encouragement, as well as covering many life issues- faith, relationships, parenting, fostering and adopting, home and work. Tracey Eyster is the creator of this fabulous website that has many mom contributors. Check it out!

7.SISTER CHAT by my friend Sharon Braner. Sharon is one of those world changers I was speaking about above. I rarely see her because she's always on the go, jetting around from place to place, but she stirs things up wherever she goes. A main passion is traveling and speaking on the subject of human trafficking. She raises awareness and works with OATH (Oklahomans Against Human Trafficking). She is also a fun grandma to many cute grandkids who regularly attend her "Camp BeBe".