While I was away...

Just before school began, I was away from the blogosphere for a while. A little time camping. A few days of working extra hours. And when I got back to this corner, I was surprised and honored to find that three different bloggers had passed along blog awards to me.

Talk about a shock! When I started blogging I really didn't expect anyone to read it. And I certainly never expected anyone to check in on a regular basis. But many of you do and it is more fun than I ever imagined. And to get a pat on the back along the way is just very cool.

Jenster, who has a wonderful blog, tapped me with the Blogger Reflection Award. The award gets passed along to bloggers who have been an encouragement, a source of love, impacted you in some way, and have been a Godly example to you. Bloggers who, when you reflect on them you get a sense of pride and joy… of knowing them and being blessed by them.

Wow, quite an honor to have Jenster think so highly of some of the things I've written. Thank you!

Now the rules of the award...

1. Copy this set of rules.
2. Reflect on five bloggers and write a least a paragraph about each one.
3. Make sure you link this post so others can read it and the rules.
4. Go leave your chosen bloggers a comment and let them know they’ve been given the award.
5. Put the award icon on your site.

I'll proudly display the icon. And I read more than five blogs that really touch me with their writing. But I'll narrow it down to five for the moment and here they are...

Nancy at Just Thinking... certainly qualifies as a reflective blogger. She writes about her life and family, but she also speaks courageously about her concerns for the world, the environment, and the people that live on the planet.

Wizened Wizard is definitely someone I feel proud to know - at least as much as you can know someone through their blog. She continues to amaze me with her thoughtful writing and her love and respect for nature (and her amazing photos) keep me coming back to her blog day after day.

Radioactive Girl is an inspiration. She has shared openly and bravely about her battles with cancer and the health concerns of her children. Of course that isn't all her blog is about. All of her writing is great to read.

Many people would claim that a seventeen year old kid isn't very reflective. In most cases, I might agree. But there is one seventeen year old who has great insight and writes about it so well, she clearly sets the bar higher for all of us. Theory of Thought definitely earns this blogging award with her writing.

Lastly, one of my newest blogging friends is Darren over at Clare's Dad. For the past year or so, he has been a stay-at-home dad with his pre-school daughter and has written a lot about the joys of sharing that time together. Now, she is off to school and he is off to find a job outside the home. I can't wait to see what happens next.

In addition to the Reflective Blogger Award, two people passed along the Nice Matters Award. This award gets passed to people who are just plain nice. And frankly, that's about a high a compliment as you can get!

The two folks who passed it along to me are pretty darn nice, too! Which explains why they got the award. Tulip Mom is a stay-at-home mom raising her son with Asperger's Syndrome. But she doesn't stop there. She writes about parenting plus a whole bunch of other stuff at her blog. And then there is Dorky Dad. When it comes to writing entertaining blogs, DD is the guru, the Peyton Manning of blogging. If you don't know who Peyton Manning is, he is a pretty decent football player - which is hard to admit for a real New England fan. But it isn't hard to admit that Dorky Dad is a totally rocking blogger. And I would have nominated both of these if they hadn't already been honored.

Fortunately, so that you can stop reading soon, this award has no rules that require me to write individual little paragraphs about my nominees. So let me just say that all five of these folks are super nice. They've all left comments and/or sent e-mail that encouraged me along the way with my blogging. And they all write blogs that I love to visit. So my nominees for the Nice Matters Award are...

Jocelyn at O Mighty Crisis - a great entertainer with her writing
CS at another tangential thinker - great writing with terrific photos
Big Brother - he IS watching...and writing about it.
Whim at The Babblings of Whimsicalnbrainpan - she has been through a lot (you can read all about it) and she is an amazing person
Charlotta (who looks just like Wonder Woman!) and is very supportive to other bloggers.

These are all terrific bloggers and totally deserve recognition for being super nice.

It is an honor to get these awards...but an even bigger honor to shine a little light on some of my favorite bloggers!