An award!!!

I have been tagged left, right and sideways lately and I will catch up, at least I will try to. I also received the Thinking Bloggers Award. *gah!* Who knew I could think much less that I made others think too? hehe... I was given this grand award by Ruth from her blog Reign From Above.

Here are the rules:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,
3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative silver version if gold doesn't fit your blog).

Thank you Ruth for that award. So now it's my turn to choose 5 worthy bloggers to hand this award over to. It's hard since even though I haven't been blogging all that long, I have come accross some really great blogs.

1. Jenny from Jenny's Thoughts. Jenny is very honest and open about her family of 8. Her youngest son, William, was born with congenital heart defects (CHD) and then he suffered a stroke. I "met" Jenny on a CHD support group. William is doing very well right now. Jenny homeschools all her children and shares their ups and downs as well as all the funnies inbetween. I appreciate her comments on the struggles and the joys of being married. One of her most recent posts that I loved was: One toe's worth of affection

2. Terri from Steel Magnolia. Terri's son, Matthew, also has a CHD and has really been through a lot in his short life. You can see and read about this cute little guy here: Matthew's Blog. Matthew receives his health insurance through his dad's workplace. They have a $2 million cap and Matthew has almost reached it before even turning 2 years old. Terri and her husband, Mike, were able to get the cap raised to $4 million but were still not satisfied because their state has no program available for them if Matthew, or other children like him, were to run out of insurance. Terri and Mike recently testified in front of their state's legislatures to support a bill to help the uninsured middle class. I am soooo proud of them!

3. Tim from The Special Zipper. No, this is not one of "those" sites... hehe.. Tim is in Australia and has a son, Connor, who has CHD. Tim has organized several auctions and trades to help raise money for children with CHD in Australia. I find that I have to really think when reading some of his posts since being "down under" his writing style is a bit different than most blogs I read. My hat's off to you Tim for the work you are doing to help other CHD families.

4. Julia from My Adventures and Antics. Julia is a mom of 4 and you guessed it, her son, Jacob, has CHD. I guess this is what happens when a mother of a CHD child (me) goes out into cyberspace... she finds lots of other loving, caring, mothers (and fathers) of CHD children. CHD seems to bring us together like a huge magnet gathering all the paper clips spread out on the desk. It's a difficult thing to bear some days but it's so comforting to find others who "know" what you are going through. Anyway, Jacob recently had what his mom called a "mini surgery" and came through it with flying colors! Go Jacob! Julia shares her thoughts and wit as she goes through life trying not to be a klutz (like me!). Here's her latest post about that subject: A bone to pick and a carpet to clean.

5. Emily Elizabeth for her blogs about her two children: Lovely and Amazing (Emma) and Gabriel's Heart. I don't recall how I found her blogs but I've been hooked since finding them. Emma was born with Down Syndrome. She is an amazing little girl and just a cute as can be. Here is my favorite post about Emma: Meet Miss Emma Jayne. Gabriel has CHD and is awaiting a second heart surgery - next month in fact. In this post: Panic Attack Emily describes what is going on with Gabriel's heart and what needs to be done next. She intricuitly describes the thoughts and feelings that I experienced every time Jessica was due for another heart surgery. I appreciate her candidness and hope I can help her through this journey.

If I could, I would award it to EVERY blog I read but alas, the rules say only 5. So feel free to look at the list of blogs I read and visit them all. They are all different - some are more lighthearted and funny, some are more spiritually based, most are of hope and encouragement, and all are written by amazing people!

In fact, that reminds me to update my list.