I was pleasantly surprised to received the “One Lovely Blog Award” from Maria at Personalized Sketches and Sentiments. Thank you Maria, I appreciate your thinking of me! If you have not checked out Maria’s blog, take a minute and stop by! She has some awesome sketches posted – a very talented lady!

Rules: Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

I have met most of these ladies and their blogs just in the past few weeks through Friday Follow. Each of them have blogs worth stopping by and checking out! So, without further adieu, here are my new found blogging buddies:

1. Jen @ Great Blog Giveaways
2. Kristi @ Peatswea
3. Annie @ Santiago Twin Girls
4. Nicole @ My Real Review
5. Dana @ Roscommon Acres
6. Mel @ Real Heart Prints
7. Kelly @ Summer Time
8. Pamela @ Busy Woman’s Guide to Surviving Motherhood
9. Freely Living Life
10. Plowlady @ Be the Heart of your Home
11. Stephanie @ Adventures in Mommyville
12. Rachel@ Second Time Around
13. Wendy @ Faith’s Firm Foundation
14. Jennifer @ Review Retreat
15. Life Without Pink

What a nice surprise – I won The Bogart Award from Heather at I’d Rather Be Changing Diapers! If you have not visited her site, please stop by. It is encouraging and filled with great reviews and giveaways.

“This award means you’re really going places, Baby. You’ll still be blogging about your great adventures 10 years from now, and I’ll still be reading them.”

Here are the rules for this award:

- link back to the blogger who sent me this award
- post where I would like to be in 10 years
- pass it on to 10 awesome bloggers

Where would I like to be in 10 years? I hope to be blogging from our house overlooking the vineyard, about our great adventures as we successfully grow grapes! I would also like to see my children growing and thriving, some married with children of their own and living close by.

Now to pass this on… As usual, I have a difficult time deciding which blogs to choose because there are so many wonderful ones! Each of these ladies have spent much time writing and building blogs that show their efforts. They are well worth the time to visit!

1. Holly @ 504 Main
2. Stefany @ To Be Thode
3. Michelle @ Flying Giggles and Lollipops
4. Janeen @ Christian Frugal Mama
5. Stefani @ Mommy Enterprises
6. Emilie @ Baby Loving Mama
7. Cinde @ The Freebie Fairy
8. Lynn @ Midday Escapades
9. Nicole @ Mom Saves Money

The rules for me accepting this award are:

1. Copy and paste the award on your blog.
2. List who gave the award to you and use a link to her blog (or hyperlink).
3. List 10 things that make you happy.
4. Pass the award on to other bloggers and visit their blog to let them know!

First of all, 10 things that make me happy:

1. Knowing I have forgiveness from my sins through Jesus Christ.
2. My husband
3. My children – all 10 of them!
4. My grandchildren
5. Visits from family
6. Our lifestyle change
7. Sunflowers
8. Starting our basement
9. Shopping  - when I have money to spend!
10. Getting good deals

Now, for the other bloggers – this is tough because I have recently found so many great ones!

1. Candace @ Deal-ectible Mom
2. Stacie @ Super Mommy to the Rescue
3. Chelle @ A Muddy Paw
4. Julie @ Engine 3
5. Maria @ Personalized Sketches
6. Amy @ I Wonder Wye
7. Samantha @ Mama Notes
8. Becca @ Becca’s Backyard

I had a wonderful surprise yesterday! Suzi @ Confessions of a Fitness Instructor awarded me with the fabulous “Beautiful Blogger” award.  I was really excited because since I am still such a new blogger I did not expect to receive an award and this makes two in just a few  days! Thank you  so much Suzi and if you haven’t checked her site out please do!

Now to the award.  Here are the rules:

• Thank & link to the person that gave you the award. Thank you Suzi!
• Pass this award onto 15 bloggers you’ve recently discovered & think are fantastic.
• Contact said Blogs & let them know they’ve won (wouldn’t it be awful if you didn’t do this? Gosh!)
• State 7 things about yourself

There are so many wonderful blogs with bloggers who spend quite a bit of time making them that way – it is so hard to choose. So, I decided to pick from some that are on my weekly Love2Link weekly linky list as well as a few others:

Here are the 15 Blogs:

1. J Leigh Designz
2. I’d Rather Be Changing Diapers
3. Nickels-n-Dimes
4. Smart Cents Mom
5. TAOPN
6. Luscious Deals
7. Mommy Kat and Kids
8. Life As Mom
9. 5 Vinez Monkeys
10. The Mommy Files
11. The Frugal Kennedy’s
12. Catch the Drift
13. Something Snappy
14. Keeper of the Cheerios
15. Happily Blended

So congratulations to the winners, and please go check out their blogs they are great!

And to finish off my duties, here are seven random things about me:

1. I have 10 children, all my own, with only one husband and we are still married and love each other after almost 26 years!

2. Yes, I know what causes #1.

3. My favorite TV show was The A-Team. I still watch it when I am biking on my trainer! The music inspires me to bike harder!

4. My favorite movie this week is “Julia and Julie” or maybe “The Proposal” both of these are “mommy/daddy” movies meaning they have adult content that our children are not allowed to watch!

5. I am trying to learn banjo and yes, we did come from Alabama but the banjo was in the moving truck not on my knee!

6. I was  an RN before having children, still am actually, but do not know why I ever became one – being mommy is so much more fun!

7. I like to garden especially here in west Texas because the produce pours from the ground. If it were up to my expertise – we would starve!

Thanks again and now off to let the others know of their award!

Thanks to Lynn from Midday Escapades, I am the proud recipient of this lovely Sunshine Award. This is my very first blog award and I am really excited! Lynn has a wonderful blog full of great giveaways. She has been a very good friend and patient with all my questions – and I have had a bunch of them!

As I understand the rules of accepting this award, I should pass it on as follows:

- Put the logo on your blog or within your post.
- Pass the award onto 12 bloggers.
- Link the nominees within your post.
- Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
- Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.

It’s so hard to narrow down to just 12 so I am going to list some of my newer friends  in no particular order:

1. Andrea at Pumpkintart

2. Emmy at EmmyMom

3. Katie at Frugalfemina

4. Blueviolet at A Nut in a Nutshell

5. Larry at Cakeblast

6. Angie at My Four Monkeys

7. Stacie at Suppermommytotherescue

8. Anitra at If Mama Ain’t

9. Lisa at Chaos Appreciation

10. Jennifer at Eighty MPH Mom

11. Heather at ThePenny-PinchingMama

12. Shelley at Lemon Tree Cards