The Versatile Blogger Award

Thanks to Theresa Thomas and Patti McGuire Armstrong over at Stories for the Homeschool Heart blog for awarding me "The Versatile Blogger Award". They are the editors of the book I contributed to by the same name, and have given me the opportunity to be included with some of my favorite Mom bloggers.

To accept the Versatile Blogger Award the rules are:

• Thank and link back to who gave you the award.
• Share 7 things about yourself.
• Pass it along to 5 blogs you’ve recently discovered and enjoy
• Leave your recipients a note, telling them about the award

Seven facts about me:
1. I speak fluent Spanish and very halting French.
2. I love to garden but since I became a writer, well, the weeds won!
3. I am a diabetic, but thanks to "The Light Weigh" a wonderful Catholic weight loss program, I am replacing overeating with prayer. My goal is to throw out the diabetes and blood pressure medication, and keep up with my active girls. And look good for my upcoming television show. . .more on that later!
4. I stopped riding my bike for twenty years, but this summer, I began riding again.No accidents yet.
5. I love to cook old family favorite recipes handwritten by my Irish Gran and my Italian Nana.
6. I love to pray the rosary with the lights off and the candles burning on the family altar.
7. Something about mountains calls to my heart; last Sunday my family climbed Mount Greylock for the first time, the highest mountain in Massachusetts with Kristin's family (see nomination below).

I nominate the following bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award
Jean of Catholic Fire
Esther of A Catholic Mom in Hawaii
Kristin of 11 on my Own
Monica at Monkey Musings
Kimberlee at Pondered in My Heart

Friendly Blogger Award

My friend Elizabeth at The Divine Gift of Motherhood gave me the Friendly Blogger Award. She gave me credit for helping her get started in blogging. If so, I can take a bow for helping to raise the quality of writing in the blogosphere. She is a dear friend, outstanding mother and superb writer.

Thanks, from Tigger (my sixth grade nickname for my boisterously happy personality) Too bad you can't see me sing "The Wonderful Thing about Tiggers"!

Among Women nominated for Catholic New Media Awards

My friend Pat Gohn's podcast Among Women was nominated for several categories at the Catholic New Media Awards(formerly Catholic Blog Awards). See my review here, then go vote for her!

My friend Therese is up for a Cannonball Award

She is an inspiring blogger and wonderful Catholic mom of special needs children. Her blog Aussie Coffee Shop is underappreciated and you can vote for her blog every day right here.

I've received the Premio Dardos Award!

Heidi Hess Saxton from Mommy Monsters has given me the Premio Dardos Award.

Premio Dardos means ‘prize darts’ in Italian and it is given for recognition of cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values transmitted in the form of creative and original writing.
The rules are:
1) Accept the award by posting it on your blog along with the name of the person who has granted the award and a link to his/her blog.
2) Pass the award to another 7 blogs that are worthy of this acknowledgement, remembering to contact each of them to let them know.

I hereby pass this distinguished award to the following outstanding Catholic bloggers for their literary flair while sharing the treasure of our Catholic faith and culture.

1. Elizabeth at The Divine Gift of Motherhood

2. Jean at Catholic Fire

3. Esther at A Catholic Mom in Hawaii

4. MaryEllen from Tales from the Bonnie Blue House

5. Melanie at The Wine Dark Sea.

6. +JMJ+ at Tutus Tuus Family Homeschool

7. Erin's mom at My Little Saint

Blogger's Choice Awards

Thanks to Jean at Catholic Fire who nominated me for the '>Blogger's Choice Awards. If you want to vote for me, click on the sidebar buttons for each category in which you wish to vote.
Blogging doesn't pay much but you meet such wonderful people. Check out her fantastic saint stories and election coverage.

I love your blog award

Esther and Heidi, two of my favorite bloggers have given me this award.
As a recipient of this award, there are rules to follow. I have to answer the following questions with one word answers and one word only! Then I must pass it on to seven others!

The questions are as follows:
1. Where is your cell phone? kitchen
2. Where is dh? bed
3. Your hair color? Brown
4. Your mother? home
5. Your father? home
6. Your favorite thing? Heaven
7. Your dream last night? nervous
8. Your dream/goal? Rome
9. The room you're in? dining room
10. Your hobby? gardening
11. Your fear? hell
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? TV
13. Where were you last night? home
14. What you're not? patient
15. One of your wish-list items? camera
16. Where you grew up? NY
17. The last thing you did? work
18. What are you wearing? PJs
19. Your TV? off
20. Your pet? cats
21. Your computer? fast
22. Your mood? content
23. Missing someone? yes
24. Your car? van
25. Something you're not wearing? hat
26. Favorite store? LandsEnd
27. Your summer? busy
28. Love someone? yes!
29. Your favorite color? Blue
30. When is the last time you laughed? today
31. Last time you cried? today

I nominate the following bloggers:
1. Elizabeth
2. Jean

Now, for you recipients of this award, here's the deal:
* Display your award.
* Link back to the person who gave you the award.
* Nominate at least 2 other blogs.
* Put links to those blogs on yours.
* Leave a message on the blogs of the people you've nominated.
* Enjoy your award!

Voting at Catholic Blog Awards

Voting is now open and will continue until March 17 at the Catholic Blog Awards. I have four blogs nominated in different categories, and would appreciate your vote if one of them is your favorite.

1. Cause of Our Joy is nominated for Best Individual Blog, Best Overall Blog, Best Written Blog, and Most Spiritual Blog.

2. Causa Nostrae Laetitiae is nominated for Best Political Social Commentary, and Best Written Blog.

These are group blogs I contribute to:

3. Mount Carmel Catholic Bloggers is nominated for Best Group Blog

4. Catholic Media Review is nominated for Best Insider News, Most Informative/Insightful, and Best Group Blog.

This is a total of ten nominations, thank you for doing me the honor!

You make this world a better place award

Tonight we will watch the Academy Awards, but I think I have a more important award here. It's the "You Make the World a Better Place Award", given to me by Ruth over at Wheelie Catholic.
That is what some special mom bloggers do by telling us how much joy their children with Down syndrome bring them. They are trying to lower that awful statistic that 90% of these beautiful children are aborted before birth by their blogging, their mothering, and the joy on their faces. They are doing a fabulous job. The award goes to . .
Raising Joey for a great mixture of eduation and personality, this blog shows that Joey is one lucky little boy.
Gabi's world For creating a wonderful family around her lovely daughter, which extends to many of us in the blogosphere.
Pondered in my Heart for providing such wonderful photo essays of life in her home, we feel like we live there.

Since I AM a film critic, and we just watched the Oscars . . .
I have to make a film reference. It was films like these which help prepare me for special motherhood. Two of them, My Left Foot and Rain Man won Best Picture Oscars.
"Rain Man" Selish yuppie Charlie finds out he has an autistic brother Raymond who has been institutionalized, and they bond in a cross-country trip.
"Forrest Gump" Retarded and physically handicapped young man, shows how love and determination help him overcome the odds to become a great man.
"Places in the Heart" A blind boarder and a homeless black man help a struggling widow beat the odds and save her family in the midst of the Great Depression.
"The Miracle Worker"
Helen Keller lost her sight and hearing to scarlet fever, and is out of control, until special teacher Annie Sullivan takes her in hand.
"Radio"
Black young man with mental retardation becomes a special assitant to the town's high school football team, despite local opposition.
"I am Sam"
A mentally challenged man raises a dead friend's daughter and fights to retain custody of her as she grows up.
"My Left Foot" Christy Brown a victim of cerbral palsy writes of his childhood and youth in Ireland with his rough and tumble, loving family who help him discover his calling in life.
"The Ringer" Loser hard up for cash bets he can pretend he has a mental disablity and win the Special Olympics, till his fellow athletes teach him a lesson or two.

I now appreciate the fact that these films helped prepare me for the unexpected joys and challenges of special motherhood.
God bless great special needs mothers who share their joy in their blogs, and great filmakers who can express this joy of loving someone with special needs in film.

Catholic Blog Awards

A big thank you to my readers who nominate all three of my blogs for the Catholic Blog Awards. Cause of Our Joy, Causa Nostrae Laetitiae, and my latest blog, Catholic Media Review. I appreciate this recognition of my attempts to share my faith, and my love my family.

E for excellence award

Five of my fellow bloggers have awarded me the E for Excellence Award: Alexandra at Happy Hearts at Home, Adele at Journey to Therese , Dominisumus at We Belong to the Lord, Jean at Catholic Fire, and Heidi Hess Saxton at Mommy Monsters awarded me the E for excellence award. I am so honored by this. Adele's favorite post was "The Holiest Holy Hour". It's one of my favorites too, Adele, as it's a true slice of my spiritual struggles mothering my darling with Down syndrome. I nominate the following excellent blogs:
1. Credo; Catholic Journal is run by a group of youthful Irishmen faithful to their wonderful Irish Catholic tradition, which, by the way, I inherited from my Grams.
2. Pinwheels Jennifer Grafonberg is always professional, always tender when discussing mothering her son with Down syndrome. She has a new book out, "Roadmap to Holland" check it out.
3. The World IMHO Christine and I blog together on Catholic Media Review, which she named. I identify with her strong pro-life perspective, and I love the way she interjects her comments into the text of a fraudulent point of view. She loves the truth and proclaims it well.
4. Et Tu Jen is an outstanding writer, who seamlessly blends her perspective into her posts without being self-abosorbed. Not an easy task for a bl0gger. I love her scorpion sightings!
5. Castle of the Immaculate - Mary Vitamin, aka Helen has a blog that has a calming effect on me like an afternoon of recollection. She has a beautiful new baby to ooh and ahh over too!
6. Cajun Cottage Under the Oaks -I'm fascinated by the delightful Cajun Catholic Culture, and Cay brings it to life with her wondeful recipes and family anecdotes.
7. By Sun and Candlelight- any time I'm looking for great nature studies, this is where I go, Dawn and her family are so in touch with the natural world, and her bookshelf is wonderful.
8. The Divine Gift of Motherhood- Elizabeth is so graceful and professional in her writing; she reminds me of the privelege of being both a mother and a writer.
9. Behold Your Mother-Jasna Gorak has some wonderful insights into how to actively participate in the Latin Mass.
10. Fatima Now- Pascendi discusses how to incorporate Catholic social teaching into our daily lives, always a thought-provoking read.
11. Christina Dunigan, who teaches English as a Second Language in Korea, has four different blogs, and always leaves insightful comments on my pro-life posts which change the way the issues are framed. She goes by the handle "Granny Grump", yet she's no Granny!
DEAR HONOREES
BY accepting this Excellent Blog Award, you have to award it to 10 or more people whose blogs you find Excellend Award worthy. You can give it to as many people as you want-even those that have received it already, but please award at least 10 people.