Liebster

I've been nominated for the Liebster Blog Award by my wonderful friend and M-I-L, Cathy Baker, over at Rhyme and ReaSON.  Check her out.   

The Liebster Blog Award is given to bloggers by bloggers. It’s a way to acknowledge each other and say “you’re doing a great job”. It is for blogs with 200 or less followers, so it’s also a nice way to spread the word about smaller blogs and get them more readers and followers! 

When you receive the award, you post 11 random facts about yourself and answer 11 questions from the person(s) who nominated you. You pass the Award onto 11 other blogs (make sure you tell them you nominated them!) and ask them 11 questions. You’re not allowed to nominate the blog(s) who nominated you! (To get the button, right click the picture on my page and save the picture to your computer. You can then upload to your blog.)

Here it goes.

11 Random Facts about Myself:

1. I may not be a wizard but Harry Potter and I have one thing in common:  I lived in a closet as a child.  It was a big closet, it was at the top of the stairs rather than underneath, and I chose to live there so that I didn't have to share a room (as in there was no malice from my family in putting there).
2. Many of you know that our dog goes by Ike, which is short for General Dwight D. Eisenhower, but did you know that in middle school I had a fish named General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard?  I guess that was during my "civil war fascination" phase.
3. I know ALL the words to more songs from the 80s than I care to admit.
4. I still have a baby tooth.  
5. I have the most vivid and random dreams, and since I was a child, completely terrifying nightmares.  Zach will be the first to testify to that one because he is the one that I wake up in the middle of the night to put my mind at ease.  The other night I dreamt that I was swimming with several members of the U.S. Olympic swim team, and it was wonderful.
6. I once hiked to the top of an active volcano.  It was the Volcano Pacaya, near Antiqua, Guatemala.  Within a couple years of our visit, the volcano actually erupted so you can no longer reach the top and actually look down into the lava.  We did.
7. I met the love of my life when I was 14 at a church lock-in.  It wasn't until the second time we met (when I was 15) that I began to suspect he was.
8. I was born in Houston, Texas, but that is as far West as I have ever been.
9. More on the swim dream.  Zach always jokes that I turn into a 2-year when I'm in a swimming pool.  I enjoy diving for things in the deep end, doing hand-stands, and playing games like "sharks and minnows".  When I said that I dreamt I was swimming with Olympians, we definitely were not swimming laps.
10. I often sweat when I know that I have to make a phone call, especially one that could be lengthy.  I am a horrible phone communicator.
11. I pray daily that the Lord would use my husband and I, along with our family, for His glory--wherever that may be.  I'm not satisfied if at the end of my days I can simply say I was a "nice" person who attended church regularly and did the right thing.

Cathy's Questions for Me:

1. Would you rather see a movie at the theater or at home on DVD? Why?

Sometimes going to a movie theater feels like more of an escape than just cuddling up on a couch.  When I'm in a darkened theater with a tub of popcorn and I can reach over and grab Zach's hand, I'm more easily able to put out of my mind the to-do lists from home and thoughts on what I did or did not get done that day.  But popcorn is a must, with cherry coke.

2. If someone wrote a book about your life, what would they title it?

"The Soundtrack to Our Lives".  I can attach a musician, band, or musical genre to just about every experience I've had so far.  There is always music playing in the background of my memories, so it would be necessary in the telling of my story.

3. Who's your favorite singer or band?

It's hard to say, considering my answer to the previous question, but the singer/songwriter that I always come back to is Andrew Peterson.  The guy obviously loves the Lord, and his lyrics are so permeated with the truths that we can hold on to in light of God's love for us.

4. If you had to choose a favorite book of the Bible, what would it be and why?

I have always been comforted, encouraged, and carried between spiritual valleys and mountains through reading and meditating on Ephesians.  

5. Fiction or non-fiction? Why?

Fiction.  It's an escape.  I can't wait to show Piper the endless possibilities of stories, so that no matter what, each time she sees a lamp post she thinks of Narnia or some other far away land that exists only in dreams.

6. How would you spend a million dollars? 

I would give and I would travel.  

7. Walmart or Target?

Target.  Definitely.

8. Do you parallel park or drive around the block?

I drive around the block, unless it's the parallel parking spot on the end where you can cheat and just cruise in.

9. What's your favorite cookie?

Double doozies- two chocolate chip cookies with a creamy, frosting center.  These have been a staple item of mine and Zach's relationship, so they are often gifted on anniversaries and birthdays.

10. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Everywhere.  Specifically, I wouldn't mind seeing Ireland or Australia.  An African safari would also be on my to-see list.

11. What recent blessing from the Lord would you like to share?  

I am really blessed and encouraged to read about the adoption process in an honest and God-glorifying way via my brother- and sister-in-law over at This Beautiful Truth.  They have waited on the Lord's timing faithfully, and can truly say on the day that they get to bring their little boy home "for this child, we have prayed."  We are all praying for this dear boy, and I am desperately excited to meet my first nephew very soon.

So that's me.  Now for my nominees, of which I only have 7.  Drumroll please... 

1. Afternoons & Coffeespoons
2. Just a Vapor 
3. Behind These Eyes
4. Williams Way
5. One Joyful Housewife
6. Discipleship Means Joy
7. High Heels to Sneakers

Let's hear it folks, spill your secrets and answer these 11 questions for me.

1. What did you dream of being when you were a child?
2. If you could change one thing about your high school experience, what would it be and why?
3. What wardrobe item did you desperately cling to at some point in your life, but are horrified by in retrospect?
4. If you could train for and medal in any Olympic sport, which would it be?
5. If you died today, who would give the eulogy at your funeral and what hilarious story would they share about you?  Is that one too morbid?
6. Knowing what you know now, what is one piece of advice that you would have given yourself 5 or even 10 years ago?
7. Describe your dream vacation.
8. Name a few elements that are must-haves in your dream home.
9. Are you/ were you rooting for Peeta or Gale to end up with Katniss?  (Disregard this question if you have no earthly idea what I'm referring to)
10. What super power would you choose to have?
11. Describe yourself as a paint color.  Give me a name (a simple green won't do) and tell me why it fits you.

Thanks for joining us today, and if you're one of my picks, please be sure to send me a link when you're done!  I want to hear some juicy answers!  Happy Thursday!