Liebster Award

I've been blessed twice by my blogging friends.  Colleen at Inadequate Disciple and Stephanie from Mostly Blue with a Touch of Pink Blog both awarded me the Liebster Award.   I "met" Colleen about 8-9 months ago through Community of Catholic Bloggers and then on to her blog, Inadequate Disciple.  She is a mother of 4 children who spends her free time blogging to honor God and teaching the faith to 1st and 2nd graders.  She has many interesting posts that challenge one to delve deeper into the reading to learn what the Good News is and how it's as important in our current time as it was 2,000 years ago.

I "met" Stephanie through the blogosphere probably about 3-4 months ago and have felt blessed by her friendship.  She is a homeschooling mom of 4 young children who strives to live the faith daily.  Her blog has captured many funny and precious moments of her children that she so willingly shares with her followers.  If you don't know her, you should.  She's a strong woman of faith who has been blessed with a loving husband and beautiful children!

Thank you Colleen and Stephanie!  

"Liebster is a German word, meaning dearest or beloved, but it can also mean favorite.  The idea behind the Liebster Blog Award is that it is given to bloggers who have less than 200 followers in order to create new connections and bring attention to those wonderful blogs!"  

Now it's my turn to pass it on with these simple rules:

* Add the award to your blog.

* Thank the giver with a link back to them.

* List your top 5 picks and let them know they've been given an award by leaving a comment on their blog.

* Hope that your followers will spread the love to the blogs you've spotlighted.

Even though some of them may have already received this award, my picks are:

Monica at Equipping Catholic Families ~ who is a gifted artist, catechist and woman of faith.  She is a mother of 5 (I think) who is raising her children to love Jesus and the church.  She started the Catholic Bloggers Network just recently to bring Catholic bloggers together.  Her blog and business are filled with colorful activities for faith formation of children and adults alike!

Jennifer at Crafolic~ is a gifted artist, catechist and sister in Christ.  She is a mother of 9 children who strives to teach her children the faith through the bible, catechism and the lives of the saints.  She so generously shares her crafts with her followers!

Sarah at The Clay Rosary Girl ~ a gifted jewelry artist whose amazing talent at making her own clay beads is just stunning.  She is a mother of 3 children and walks daily in her faith with her children.  She is a daughter of a deacon and has been catechized well herself!

Xhonane at Familia Catolica~ is a gifted artist as well.  She is a mother of 4 (I think) children who uses bright colorful crafts to instill the faith in them.  She has been instrumental in bringing Catholics together whether they speak Spanish, Portuguese or English to share the faith.  I've learned well, how to use translate.google link to keep up with her comments.  She is always busy creating links of the liturgical year and invites others to participate.

Michelle at Liturgical Time~ she is a gifted artist who designs and creates mantillas, veils and other head coverings that can be worn at church or during prayer time.  In fact, she has a giveaway going on right now!  She blogs about her faith, her love for Jesus and her daughter.  I believe it is her beautiful daughter who is the model in her pictures!

Blessings,

Noreen

I Blog Jesus Award

The amazingly creative Monica from Equipping Catholic Families, Arma Dei and the creator of the I Blog Jesus Award; and one of the sweetest, kindest bloggers, Sue from Sue Elvis Writes both nominated me for the I Blog Jesus Award!

Monica, who designed this new award, has probably created the most important type of award that I could receive... to honor Jesus in my blog!  All of the other ones are fun and make me smile, yet this one makes me feel humble.  I do my best to blog about topics that glorify The Holy Trinity and Our Lady.

In a little over a month, I will have been blogging as Rosary Mom, for one year.  The blessings that have flowed from the connections I have made from other fabulous Catholic bloggers is astounding.  My faith has deepened and the knowledge gained has inspired me to learn more.

God can be glorified through the internet!

"For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord, "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."  Jeremiah 29:11

Now it's my turn to nominate several other blogs who are worthy to receive the I Blog Jesus Award. I know of many more than several but after prayer, these bloggers come to mind:

Victor from Time for Reflections ~ his sense of humor is so unique and refreshing as he gives us his Fr. Ignatius stories.  He is also a great supporter and encourager of everyone he knows!

Michael from Reach Paradise ~ he is an author from the Community of Catholic Bloggers who writes concise thought provoking posts.  He challenges you to go beyond the expectation of daily living and live with Jesus at the foremost of you mind.

Judy from Ben Makes Ten ~  her love for Christ, her family and others is evident in her blogging.  She has a depth of knowledge of our faith that leaves me inspired to live according to God's word.

Trish from Lily-Rose Cottage ~ is a lovely lady who gathers bloggers once a week to share posts that are:  Whatever is... Lovely, Admirable, Cheerful and Encouraging.  She has a gift for writing that is encouraging and gentle.  I imagine her to be a real lady!

Lena from Joyfilled Family ~ she is one of the most organized and detailed bloggers of the Catholic Faith.  She is on top of blogging about the feast days of the liturgical calendar and her ministry, Little Flowers.  She uses beautiful pictures in her posts of Our Lord and all his angels and saints, Our Lady and her own lovely family.

Tricia from Saint Bound Sinner ~  she has a very relatable style of writing that draws the reader in while teaching about the apostles, church fathers and saints.  I believe she is a new blogger as well and she is doing a wonderful job of glorifying Jesus!

Blessings,
Noreen

Blog Award

What a nice surprise I received from my friend Sue of Sue Elvis Writes.  It's funny though because I am in the middle of asking another blogging friend Lynda of A Heart's Desire Blog to help me improve the look of my blog!  I've been unable to figure out how to center my blog name and another thing or two.  Sue is so kind to like it as it is!!  Thank you Sue!

Part of accepting this award is that I must reveal 7 things about myself that you may not already know about me.  That's a tough one but here it goes:

1.  I'm a casual gal who doesn't enjoy wearing dresses.
2.  I am a procrastinator and I find that is something the Holy Spirit is nudging me out of this habit.
3.  When I was in college and then the workforce, I thought I would never want to be a stay at home mom.
4.  I'm in a partial remission of Rheumatoid Arthritis which means no more heavy medicine!
5.  I'm a strong behind the scenes kind of girl.  Not much for the spotlight.
6.  I used to work as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor for mentally ill deaf adults in the inner city.
7.  I went back to college at the age of 25 and stayed to complete my master's degree.

Now it's my turn to nominate 5 bloggers whose blogs are stylishly delightful!  There are so many that qualify in this category so I will nominate the ones that immediately come to mind:

1.  Gardenia from  Love My Little Flower.  Most of you probably know Gardenia for her beautiful photos of her daughter and family.  The beauty of Gardenia's heart flows through her writing whether it be her own blog post or comments on other blogs.

2.  Helen from Catholic Seeking devotes her blog to her love for Christ and His Church.  By reading her blog I stay updated on what is happening in the news related to Catholicism.   She has a pretty new fall template on her blog too!

3.  Monica from Equipping Catholic Families is a gifted artist who uses her talent to teach others about the faith.  Her art work is filled with vibrant color and design that one can't help get excited about faith formation!

4.  Xhonane from Familia Catolica is a new blog to me which has blessed me with many ideas of teaching faith and morals to children.  Xhonane has a heart centered on Jesus and Our Lady that is evident by reading her blog.  I do have to have it translated though!

5.  Mary from Hope Echoes is my prayer blogging partner and I'm truly grateful for her prayers.  She has a similar background of not praying the rosary as a child and being led to it as an adult.   Plus she is a talented quilter.  She is currently working on a baby quilt that is quite lovely!

6.  Anne from Our Gifts of Grace has gorgeous children who take gorgeous photos!  Anne is a great mom who is funny and real in her posting.  You get the feeling that you actually know her through her blog.

I know I went one over but I couldn't help it.  I'm a big fan of the above mentioned blogs and honestly, I could make my list much longer.  I've been blessed by so many bloggers through my 10 months of blogging.

I hope each one of the above bloggers enjoy receiving this award and will happily nominate others as their favorites!  Thank you Sue for thinking of me!!

Blessings,
Noreen

A Shining Blog Award

I woke up yesterday to this wonderful news that I've been featured on Lynda's Blog, My Heart's Desire.  I'm incredibly humbled that she thought mine was blog-worthy to be featured on hers! 

You should really check out Lynda's blog for inspirational posts about her faith, family and life of a homeschooling mom!  I've been an admirer of her blog since I learned of the blogging world a few months ago!

Thank you so much Lynda for your support!  Due to my technology-challenged brain in the world of blogging... it took me a day to figure out how to grab the button and post about it!

Lynda also made this beautiful Rosary Mom button for me too!  I'm still trying to figure out how to grab this button instead of just copying it but I have hopes to learn about this one today.  I've been asked before if I have my own button and I've been absolutely clueless on how to make one so, the Holy Spirit must have been nudging Lynda to make one for me!  Thank you Lynda!!!!!


My First Blog Award!

When I opened my email this morning I learned that I won my first blogging award!  I can't even tell you how shocked, thrilled and honored I was.  I am VERY grateful to Just Another Hat for this award!

There are some rules that go along with this.
1.  Thank the person who awarded you & link them back in your post (Done)
2.  Tell everyone 7 random facts about yourself
3.  Pass the award on to 15 new found bloggers
4.  Contact each blogger and let them know you've passed the award on to them, and let the "giver" know you accept the award.

OK, here are some random facts about me:

1.  I'm a cradle Catholic who is on the journey of deepening her faith.
2.  I am on my son's PTO school board as VP of Hospitality... which I really enjoy.
3.  Chinese food from Chang Jiang Buffet is my favorite cuisine... and The Cheesecake Factory comes in a close second.
4.  Went to Medjugorje in Bosnia-Hercovigna for a pilgrimage.
5.  When I'm older, I would love to adopt senior dogs to give them a chance for happy golden years.
6.  I enjoy baking but I'm not good at "making pretty baked items."  I have two bake sales coming up so I'll be doing alot of baking this week and next.
7.  Love to read.

Since I'm still new to blogging, they're all new to me but here is my 15 top favorites:

1.  My Little Flower  (I think everyone knows Gardenia but she's my number 1 for being so supportive of me and her blog is a blessing to us all!)
2.  A Slice of Smith Life  (Tracy is the one who has taken the time to teach me how to make my blog better... her blog is a testimony to how important her faith is to her.)
3.  A Catholic Harvest (Paula is the Thrifty Thursday girl who has an eye for beauty and a deep love for her family and faith.)
4.  My Apologies  (Patty has a unique style of "in your face... reality check" blogging.  She says what needs to be said.")
5.  Sue Elvis Writes  (Sue is a beautiful writer who openly shares her experiences with her readers.  I so admire her courage in revealing herself.)
6.  The Clay Rosary Girl  (Sarah is probably known by most of you for either her devotion of her family and faith OR for her gorgeous jewelry... and I'm going to place an order soon!)
7.  Ropcorn  (I am new to Alexandra's blog and have been drawn in by her beautiful pictures and her fascinating stories in her travels.)
8.  The White Whimisies  (Marci has probably won this award numerous times but I so enjoy her coupon savvy and love for her family and faith.)
9.  Our Gifts of Grace  (Anne's blog is an open book of her life with the joys and challenges of being a mom, what I admire most is her obedience to follow God's plan of her.)
10.  Forever, For Always, No Matter What  (Jen has the most beautiful giving heart.  Her blog is an open portrayal of her journey adopting 6 children.  When I was a little girl, my dream was to grow up and do what she's doing.)
11.  Jamericanspice (Colette's blog is one of the newest ones I've come across and she has a new Island Hang Out Forum that has many great discussions.  I of course, enjoy her spiritual needs section and that she includes scripture on her blog.  She also has a beautiful profile picture of her with her baby!
12.  The Arrowood Zoo (Kayla's blog is another very new one for me and I find it very informative with great pictures.  She's a professional!)
13.  Ramblings of a Sinner Following Jesus (I'm very new to Kez's blog and the title popped right out at me and I had to check it out.)
14.  Our Side of the Mountain (Jessy's  blog has a fantastic picture on her template and wonderful pictures of "her side of the mountain."
15.  Break for Mom (Sharon has taken a hiatus from blogging but this is the first one that I followed and enjoyed.  I hope she comes back to blogging soon!)
16.  Joy Filled Family (Lena is a complete pro... gorgeous, goregous pictures and explanation of our faith.  I first saw hers, and was completely intimidated!)
17.  Cherished Hearts at Home (Gae's blog is filled with information and gorgeous!)

I know I went one over but I couldn't end my list at 15.  Enjoy!