OH MY!!

Well, I am officially stunned..I've been given an award. Eileen at Ummas World was so sweet to give ME this award..It looks kind of rough and has some holes...I think it signifies the rough times I've been through and the honest part..for being able to blog about it? I am so flattered though..I know the ladies that this originated from are just wonderfully gifted bloggers..full of wisdom, knowledge, kindness and godliness. Just Wonderful and Beautiful Women!!! Thank You so much Eileen for honoring me with this award!!

To accept this award I must first follow along with these rules.

1. Say thanks for the award and give a link to the presenter.

2. Share 10 honest things about myself.

3. Present this award to 7 other blogs that I find beautiful , motivating and inspirational to me.

4. Tell them of this award and the rules.

So with that said..

10 honest things about me...

1. I am a homebody..I just love being home..I don't mind going out once in a while..but my favorite place to be is definately HOME

2. I was molested as a child. This took a little bit of thought for me to decide wether to share this or not. I guess I feel that it really influenced me as the person that I am today. I definately have some trust issues. Especially when it comes to my children. It was a relative and I have forgave this person to their face..as they apologized to me in front of my parents and pastor several yrs. ago. Even though you forgive...you tend not to forget..and trust.

3. I'm pretty scared of lightning. My aunt got hit by lightning and so I sort of inherited a knowledgeable (fear) of it. She was bucketing up water out of breezeway. Lightning hit the big tree outside the door of the room she was in. It traveled in and knocked her across the room. She still has some marks on the back of her legs. When I was pregnant with my 3rd baby, we were looking at a new place to live. It was very hot and humid. I guess there must have been storms coming...but nothing anywhere near us. I never even heard thunder prior to it. I had got out of the car alone after my husband got back in to walk around and look. Our car was sitting under a HUGE tree. I got out and looked in the windows and around the porch. No sooner than I got back in the car and shut the door, lightning struck the tree!! It was very loud and it seemed the sky lit up red. My two oldest babies were in there car seats. I to this day can tell you I firmly believe my guardian angel escorted me into that car!! If it had hit me I wouldn't be here today.

4. I wanted to be a missionary when I was younger. This is really true. If you asked my parents, they could vouch. I had a heart full of compassion. I still do. There have been times when I feel that I have too much. I am just so sensitive. The smallest things just make me cry and cry. After complaining about it..I was told that God made me that way to make up for some people who don't have any...(Thanks Aunt Audrey) I started playing violin in 4th grade and my sophomore year I was accepted, by audition, to play with an orchestra in Carnegie Hall and to tour Europe. While in New York, I witnessed blocks and blocks of homeless people. I will never ever forget that. It was my first real dose of reality. I found myself to be extremely homesick in the month I was gone. I even played in Notre Dame, rode a gondola in Venice, toured the Vatican, played in lots of beautiful old cathedrals all through Europe. But I couldn't wait to get home. After that I think I lost the desire to be a missionary...hence my being a homebody :)

5. I don't like bullies. I got picked on a lot as a child. Kids can be so cruel. Some of the kids on my bus took to calling me Gonzo. One in particular...like the little character on the muppets. Years later after I was married this same bully ended up on a job site with my husband. Conversation led to the information that revealed to my husband that this was the same kid who had made fun of me. My husband told him how he had hurt me and how I had never forgot. The man actually apologized to my hubby. I'm sure he would have to me too, but I didn't want to face him. I was happy enough that he had acknowled his cruelty to my husband. This guy is really small and my hubby is huge (my daughters boyfriends are always scared of him!) I'm sure that attributed to the apology..but at least he apologized. I've never tolerated anyone picking on my kids either. I have always done my best to make sure they aren't being picked on.

6. I don't have a lot of friends that I go out with. I've always been a stay-at-home Mom. I worked a couple of times in the evenings when the kids were smaller. But hubby didn't like me being gone..so I came home. My Mom and hubby are really my best friends. I have a few that live (not so close) to me that I talk on the phone with. My friends have usually always been older than me. Not all of them...but most of them. We have more (couple ) friends than just girl friends. I am extremely outgoing and easy going. I am making an effort to get out more. The poor librarians at the library probably cringe when they see me coming. I like to talk... I am doing more as far as getting out...but it's usually with my kids. I definately appreciate the friends that I do have...they are precious!!!

7. I color my hair...(Sorry Marcy...I felt like I was copying off you :) I have for a long time though. Grey hair comes early in our family. I've been lots of different colors too! I used to keep it strawberry blonde. The last year or so I've been doing it darker. I'm almost questioning myself on that though.. I think there's so much grey at this point it would have been easier to keep it lighter colored. My husband likes it dark though, so I'm sticking with that.

8. My husband and I live a very modest, meek life. We are definately not wealthy. We have had a hard time this last year or so. He works in construction and there just hasn't been much work. I often feel that I don't fit in with other people because of this. I'm not jealous at all. I just feel embarassed sometimes....(that's terrible isn't it?) I really try hard to focus on what I do have to be grateful for. Our old house is ours...and so we don't drive a new pretty vehicle? I'd rather be the humble person that I am. I believe and pray that I'll wait and have a mansion in heaven that Jesus will have made just form me!! I've learned not to ever take anything for granted. Always be grateful for everything.

9. I am not a morning person...I never have been. It's gotten harder as I've gotten older. I just seem to be more alert and attentive in the afternoon and evenings. If I have to get up before 8 in the morning...then I won't be in the mood to talk for a while. It takes some coffee to loosen me up and bring me out of my morning shell :)

10. I'm pretty sure I have OCD. I used to wash my hands and brush my teeth a lot. (when I was younger.) Now I just vaccuum a lot and have to have things a certain way. I just can't seem to help myself. When my kids were smaller and sammy was a baby, we used to have a big blue rug in front of the tv. I always kept it just-so in front of the entertainment center. The kids would sneek in and move it sideways. Then they would hide and watch me come in and straighten it!! The little stinkers!! They confessed this to me when they got older. I can laugh now. They do get aggrivated with my little routines. It's just who I am though. I guess everyone has their own little quirks.

Well, now to pick 7 of my bloggy friends... 7 that haven't already recieved this!!

1. Lori at Morning Glories and Moonflowers

2. Fiona at ~There's More To This Life~

3. Rebecca at Renaissance

4. Beth at The Brew Crew Adventure

5. Ally Jo at AllyJo's Erudition

6. Wendy at Pink Slippers

7. Kelli at There is No Place Like Home

Please visit their lovely pages and I know you'll be just as blessed as I am every time I visit! Links to their pages are in my sidebar...Blogs I LOVE to visit!!

Thanks so very much Eileen...you REALLY are an angel!!