Other Best Blog Friends

I've got a touch of that nasty stomach bug, so I'm all dried up as far as creative, thoughtful, inspiring things to say. So, instead I'm going to provide a list of the blogs that I love to read!

1.) I've already mentioned Melody at http://slurpinglife.typepad.com/. Drop by there today. She has the MOST beautiful picture of two of her boys when they were babies. And her comment is pretty funny, too.

2.) I want to be real life friends with Stacy over at http://the-kraft-family.com/WordPress/ (aka The Land of K.A.). She writes like me, only MUCH, MUCH, MUCH better, with a little of this and a little of that. She's an awesome seamstress. She's got two of the cutest toddlers you'll ever see. And she's real. She doesn't fake it. When she's frustrated, you can tell (FYI: Don't send your kids knocking on her door to sell school fundraisers!). You get a little glimpse into her life every time you stop by.

3.) Moreena was the whole reason I got into blogs. She's at http://thewaitandwonder.clubmom.com/ . I can't remember how I came across her old blog, but she was hired by clubmom to write about raising a child with a chronic health condition. She is inspiring, funny, thoughtful. One day I might write like she does. Her girls are precious. I often laugh out loud at their antics. I also read several other blogs at clubmom since I've been a Moreena fan. You'll like her, too.

4.) I'm learning to be a better photographer from Tracey at http://picturethis.clubmom.com/. She's the neato lady who does My Best Shot each Monday. You should stop by one Monday and just see the amazing pictures other bloggers submit. It's a real inspiration.

5.) Since I've got several autistic students this year, I am so thankful that I discovered Kari and her son at http://karianna.clubmom.com/karianna_spectrum/. The Cat is a little younger than my kids, but Kari is an amazing person to bounce ideas around with when I'm struggling with one of my second graders. She also provides a new perspective on the home life of some of my students and what the parents are struggling (or celebrating) with.

6.) I adore Kyla and KayTar at http://khebert.blogspot.com/. KayTar is a slight bit older than M, so I love watching (er, um, reading about) all the new things KayTar is learning to do. Kyla is an awesome mom. BubTar (KayTar's older brother) is an absolute riot. You'll enjoy reading about his exploits as a preschooler.

7.) http://www.ninetynineballoons.com/ I'm not sure what to say about this blog other than it's one of the most inspiring you'll ever read. Matt (a law student) and Ginny (a jewelery designer) are the parents of a little boy named Eliot who was born with Trisomy 18. He lived exactly 99 days. They started the blog so their friends, and ultimately anyone in cyberspace, could read about his birth, life, and his impact on the world. I cry every time I read it. They are SO. REAL. about pain and love and regrouping after the loss of a child. Eliot's story touches so many lives every day. Ginny designed a necklace to raise money for an undecided cause. She and Matt are tossing around ideas. Whenever I wear his (Eliot's) necklace, I get to share a tiny bit of his story with others.

8.) I grew up in a town about 3 hours from where I live now. There was a woman, Karin who taught my youngest brother, who married a man, Mark. They attend my family's church in that town. They had a baby about two weeks after M was born. When Karin went back to work, Mark was diagnosed with Follicular Lymphoma, a non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma . His blog is: http://mbestvsnhl.blogspot.com/ Mark is over 100 days post stem-cell transplant and doing great.

The strangest thing is that there is a young college student, Lindsay, engaged to a young college student named Jacob, that attended church with us where we live now. Lindsey is diagnosed with the same exact Lymphoma. She's even having her stem cell transplant at the same hospital. You can read her journey at http://lwvshl.blogspot.com/index.html.

9.) Want to see M's boyfriend? This blog is for a real life friend, Noah, and his parents and soon to arrive little sister. Noah is exactly 7 weeks older than M. His mom and I had so much fun being pregnant at the same time last go around. I couldn't keep up with her this time, though. Noah and M love, love, love each other. They are so sweet together. Noah is ALL boy and M is a bossy girl. We'll see how the plays out over the next few years.
http://www.lovekampfamily.blogspot.com/

This is by no means a complete list of the blogs I read. Once I find one, I tend to hop around their comment section and read others. I get hooked for a while then move to something else. My blog list is rather extensive right now. I probably need to cut back and spend more time in the real world!! I hope you enjoy a few of these blogs.