A reason to smile

I was nominated by Lala, at Ladybugs and Dragonflies, for this award. Isn't she a sweetheart? Thank you for thinking of me and including me in such a great list of women. I'm very touched! I love your blog and am always blessed by the pictures of your sweet, smiling girl. That kid is seriously cute!

Characteristics for the Smile Award:

1. Must display a cheerful attitude.

2. Must love one another.

3. Must make mistakes. (I think we've just stumbled onto the reason I was nominated)

4. Must learn from others.

5. Must be a positive contributor to blog world.

6. Must love life.

7. Must love kids.

Rules for The Smile Award:
1. The recipient must link back the the award's creator
2. You must post these rules if you receive the award.
3. You must chose 5 people to receive the award after receiving it yourself.
4. You must fit the characteristics of the recipient of the award, as posted by Mere.
5. You must post the characteristics of a recipient.
6. You must create a post sharing your win with others.
7. You must thank your giver.

The creator of the award is Mere

Okay, so I'm supposed to nominate 5 people, which will be hard. I can think of about 10 right off the top of my head, but I'll follow the rules and keep it to five. These are in no particular order, and are just a few of the women who bless me every day.

1. Rebecca. She won't even see this right away because she's off enjoying a much needed vacation with her family. Rebecca has such a big, beautiful heart. She loves God and her family, and is such an awesome advocate for foster care and adoption.
2. S. is devoted to her three little ones and a master at cleaning up Nutella (I would have linked to the post explaining this, but couldn't remember when it happened). She's also an advocate for those with mental challenges, particularly Down's.
3. Miles' Mama Such a genuine Sweet pea. She's the kind of girl you root for. You just want good things for her. Her sunny, optimistic thoughts always bless my heart. And her kid is so darn cute I just wish I could scoop him up and pinch him.
4. Christina, AKA Mrs. Broccoli Guy. My twin. We are similarly minded in many ways, it seems. She's constantly putting my thoughts into words, but she talks so much gooder than me. This is one busy little girlie. She is dedicated to her big family and to being a voice for ethical adoption (she is one of the contributors at VVAI). She is a woman of faith and I wish I knew her IRL. I love this chick.
5. Angel. Another advocate and another woman of awesome faith. Angel cares deeply about reaching out to those less fortunate. She strikes me as the kind of person who should not drink coffee. She's very passionate and excited about the things she believes in- no caffeine required to get this girl going. You can almost hear the passion in her posts about everything she loves... her God, her hub, her 3 gorgeous daughters, her causes.

I didn't check first to see if any of these women have already received the award. If you have, just add me to your list of fans. Thank you, ladies, for blessing me.

Other stuff: One quick, totally unrelated story before I go...

This afternoon, I heard the doorbell ring. I was busy at the other end of the house and waited to hear someone yell, "Maawwwwm?" No one did. Pretty soon, Bri came bouncing into the room so I asked her who was at the door. She said...

"U.P.Nis."

I had just enough time to formulate the thought, "What did you just call me?"

Then she said, "He just left a package."

Oh...

U.P.Nis is U.P.S.