My very first award!

So, I'm finally all caught up on my blog posting. I'm spending some time catching up on reading my regular blogs when I come across this little surprise over at Mom is in the Fishbowl. She gave me my very first blog award! I'm so incredibly excited! And feeling terribly underserving, too!

I am now the recipient of the Smile Award. How fun is that?

Here are the characteristics of the SMILE Award:
~You must display a cheerful attitude.

~You must show love to others.

~You must make mistakes.

~You must learn from others.

~You must be a positive contributor to blogging.

~You must love life.

~You must love kids.

Here are the rules for the Smile Award:
~You must link back to the award creator. (We still can’t figure out what the name is–the text is so small!)

~You must post the rules if you are a recipient.

~You must choose 5 people to pass the award to.

~You must fit the characteristics of the award.

~You must post the characteristics of the recipient of the award.

~You must create a post sharing your win with others.

~You must thank the giver of the award… (Thank you so much Mom is in the Fishbowl! I think you're pretty great, too!)

And now, the recipients I bestow this award on, in no particular order, are..........(drumroll, please).................................

The Journey - I found this wonderful blogger (actually, I think she found me) while I was in KY this summer. She is a wonderful inspiration. And she was always there offering support to us while we were going through a most difficult summer. Her comments always made me smile, even in the midst of tough times. She is one of those people whom I have never met, yet feel such a connection with through our blogging community! Thanks so much for being there!

According to Kelly - Kelly makes me laugh. I love her posts. I first found Kelly through Tip Junkie when she submitted the post on DIY wall art - of which I borrowed the idea and made some for my new entryway, which one day will be completed. Kelly is incredibly talented and pretty down to earth, too. And she shares my addiction to Coca-Cola - well, she's trying to kick her addiction. Thanks for making me smile!

Kelly in NC - Kelly, Kelly, Kelly. Kelly has been making me smile for YEARS! We have been friends since middle school and have made some wonderful memories together over the years. She has a great personality that makes you want to be around her - and she always has something funny to say! She's got a pretty cute little boy, too, who will definitely make you smile just looking at him! Kelly lives far away from me now, but is still very dear to me!

The Freitags - Sheri is one of my longest-running friends. She and I have been friends since grade school - and I'm thinking probably since Kindergarten - although that long ago is beginning to be a little cloudy in my memory bank. I also have lots of really good memories that involve Sheri from over the years. Maybe I'll dig out pictures and scan them one day. Or maybe not. That might embarrass us both! Sheri is a great friend and a great person. And even though she lives all the way across the country from me know, she still holds a special place in my heart. And she has 4 beautiful kids she blogs about that will make you smile, too.

Eightcrazy - I can't remember now how I found this Eight Crazy woman, but I'm glad I did. She is a true inspiration. She's a blog designer, too, and has some really great blogs under her "as seen on" section. I have no idea if she reads my blog, too, but her blog definitely makes me smile and it's in my list of blogs I follow. I love checking in on her to see what she's up to next.

So, there you have it. I have agonized over this decision for over a week now. I wanted to nominate every blog I read because they all make me smile, but I had to narrow the list down to 5. But the rest of my regulars definitely get an Honorable Mention from me. I love you all!