(Not So) Wordless Wednesday (And An Award!)

"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole." ~Roger Caras

What's wrong with this picture? Can you figure it out?



Even though we put all of the pillows down on the couch to block her (to keep her from hurting herself even more), and even though she has a torn ACL and a very weak heart, she still insists on sneaking her way up onto "her spot" on the couch.



If I leave the room for even one moment, I come back in the room only to find all of this cuteness going on.



She is a sneaky sneak, my Allie Girl.

What am I going to do with her?........

"Happiness is a warm puppy." ~Charles M. Schulz



Good Grief.

And now, I would like to tell you all about an award that I received.

My sweet friend, Tracey, from the "Grace Comes By Hearing" blog, has honored me with this beautiful award.



Here are Tracey's kind words that she wrote for me on her blog:
"*Amy has to be my first nomination. She's always first every morning to comment on my newest post. My day wouldn't be complete without a comment from Amy. She's inspirational as a wife and mother. I hope I can be half the mommy that she is. Through everything she has her eyes on God."

With all of the nonsense that goes on in my life on a daily basis, I am so touched that any one would be able to say those kind things about me. It is only by the grace of God, I can assure you, that any one could be able to see good in me. And for that, I am very thankful. Just ask Shannon and the rest of my family (and Kenny). They have to put up with me in "real" life. ;)

I'm just saying.

"A friend accepts us as we are, yet helps us to be what we should." ~Author Unknown

Thank you so much, Tracey, for your kind words and for thinking of me. You have been so sweet and thoughtful to me throughout all of the nonsense that I have been through this year, and I am so thankful to have met you. You are a true treasure, my friend. My cup runneth over.

Here is a little bit about the award: The "uber" (synonym for super) is a blog award given to sites who:
- inspire you
- make you smile and laugh
- or maybe give you amazing information
- a great read
- has an amazing design
- and any other reason you can think of that makes them uber amazing!

The rules of the award are:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.

2. Nominate at least five blogs (can be more) that for you are uber amazing.

3. Let them know that they have received this uber amazing award by commenting on their blog.

4. Share the love by linking to this post and the person you received the award from.

5. Here are my nominations:

*Dianne at the "Deez Dayz" blog.

*Shelly at the "Smiling Shelly's Shell" blog.

*Mia at the "Mama Mia" blog.

*Michele at the "My Blessings From Above" blog.

*Tina at the "Golden Goodness" blog.

*Paula at the "His Ways...are not our ways" blog.

*Valerie at the "Valerie" blog.

*Gina at the "Beandip Blog."

*Laura at the "The Wellblog."

All of these women that I have listed here have really touched my life in so many different ways. This has been a tough year for my family and me, and each of these ladies have reached out to me in so many special ways. I am so thankful and blessed to have had the opportunity to meet each and every one of them here in Blogland, and that is why I am passing this award along to them. To me, all of these lovely ladies are Uber Amazing!

"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive." ~Anäis Nin

(Not So ) Wordless Wednesday

Remember, the greatest gift is not found in a store nor under a tree, but in the hearts of true friends.
~ Cindy Lou

You have all probably noticed that the look of my blog has changed again.
Well, this time it is going to stay this way for a while.

The very unique, beautiful, and completely one of a kind background that you see now was created especially for me by sweet bloggy friend, Dianne, from the Deez Dayz blog.

Everybody say, "Hi, Dianne!"



Dianne is one of the loveliest ladies that I have ever had the pleasure to meet.

For my birthday this year, she made this blog header of my name written in the sand on a beach in Sicily.



Sigh.

She recently took her adorable daughter, Phillipa, to their local zoo in South Africa, and she took a picture of these beautiful daisies.


(She knows I love daisies and the color blue, so she snapped this photo for me.)

Then she fashioned this blog header for me using one of the pictures that she took.



Isn't it beautiful?

Sigh.

I loved my previous blog headers all so much, that it was hard to let go of them, so I made a digital scrapbook page of all of them which you can see on my sidebar, but here is the picture (up close) so that you can see a little more of the details.



Another blogging buddy of mine named, Becky, told me about this amazing website called Scrapblog, and that is what I used to make the scrapbook style picture, as well as my new blog header. It is a fabulously free and fantastically fun website. You should rush over there immediately and make a new header for yourself.

I'm just saying.

Dianne designed this new blog layout to match the header that I created, and if you look closely at the blue daisies on each side of my blog....you will see that they are the same daisy that is in the picture she took for me at the zoo.

Sigh.

Isn't she clever?

Dianne, thank you so much for all the hard work that you put into making this beautiful new blog design for me, but even more than that, I want to thank you for your friendship. You are a very special lady to me and my family, and we are blessed to call you friend.

And in true Zsa Zsa form, please just let me say.......



"You are simply vonderful, dahlink! MWAH!" ;)

Ag shame.

"A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he (or she) knows that you are slightly cracked."
~ Bernard Meltzer

Birthday Blessings And Bloggy Buddies!

I told you all about my special day with Yvette and Tina. (If you missed that post, you can click here to read about it.)

In that post, I told you all that I would show you the birthday gifts that they brought for me, as well as tell you about my Tina's Vera Bradley purse in "Frankly Scarlet" that I want very badly.

Sigh.

So without further ado, here are the pictures of my special gifts.
I love, love, love pretty gift bags, so, of course, I took a picture of these.



Aren't they pretty?

Yvette, knowing how much I dislike them, loves to tease me with frogs. So, she gave me this stuffed frog that belonged to her grandmother who recently passed away. (I thought that was so sweet.)



I will have to add this frog to my collection around the house that reminds me to "Fully Rely on God."



Yvette also gave me the romantic movie P.S. I Love You along with the tissues that I will need for the uncontrollable sobbing that she said I would most likely do.



Sigh.

These wonderful gifts were also accompanied by a card that throws me a big loud birthday kiss! I loved it! ;)

Shannon and I were supposed to go see P.S. I Love You at the movies around Christmas, but life got in the way, and we never made it to the theater, so I was thrilled that she bought this movie for me. I love me some romance!;)

Tina's gifts were also absolutely perfect. Well, I mean if you don't mention the cotton balls.



(Shiver.)



I'm kidding; I loved that she thought of doing that to tease me. She knows about my "issues" with cotton balls, so it was hysterical to see a bag of them along with the other gifts.

(Shiver.)

Tina is obviously (like Yvette) a girl after my own heart. She brought me the Mamma Mia soundtrack, along with a Starbucks gift card.



Sigh.

I had just been tempted to buy that soundtrack at Target on the very same day, so imagine my surprise when I opened her present.

Sigh.

Last but not least, here is a picture of my Tina's Very Bradley purse in "Frankly Scarlet."



Sigh.

Since she seemed to know exactly what I would want for my birthday (not counting the cotton balls of course), I just felt certain when I saw Tina walk up with my that purse, that she brought that especially for me. But we got so carried away with talking and giggling all night, that I think she accidentally took it home with her instead of leaving it with me.

So Tina, don't feel bad about taking off with my Vera Bradley purse in "Frankly Scarlet." Now that you know my address, you can just pop it in the mail to me.

I'm just saying is all.;)

Even though I loved all of the gifts that Yvette and Tina brought me for my birthday, the greatest gift that they gave me was the gift of their friendship. I was so touched that they both took time away from their families and drove all the way out to Crazyville just to make my evening special. There is no better gift than that, my bloggy buddies.

~ Remember, the greatest gift is not found in a store nor under a tree, but in the hearts of true friends. ~



Tina and Yvette, thank you both for making me feel so special. You are two of the loveliest ladies that I have ever had the privilege to meet. You are both such a blessing to me.

God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you?" ~William A. Ward

One last thing before I go, yesterday, my son brought in the mail, and I had a postcard from my sweet blogging buddy, Valerie. She recently went to the "Siesta Fiesta" in San Antonio, Texas, with her daughter Kristen. And while she was there, she bought this card to send me.



And this is what she said.



Sigh.

Isn't she the sweetest thing? Valerie, thank you for thinking of me and for your prayers. You are a doll, and I'm just crazy about you. Thank you so much for your kindness to me.

Sigh.

James 1:17
"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."

I've Got Mail And A Health Update

It's funny how some things in life never change.
I am 38 almost 29, and I still get excited when I receive a package in the mail.
Thursday, Matthew brought the mail in (since I am unable to even walk to the mailbox like a normal person right now), and he was carrying a BOX!



And that BOX had my name on it!

I was very thrilled inside!

I saw on the box that it was from Yvette.

Yvette is one of my blogging buddies. Her posts always make me laugh out loud. She has an incredible sense of humor. If you have not met Yvette, then you must do so immediately. As a matter of fact, click here to read about a recent family meal at her home; you will love it.

So, back to my BOX.....Once I ripped it open, I saw that there was a note inside.
Take a look.



Yvette has the best sense of humor. She knows I hate how I feel about frogs, so when I saw this "hoppy" note, I knew that she was up to something funny.

Before I left for my trip, she did a "Goodbye" post to me. Click here to see it. Then when I returned, she did a "Welcome Back" post for me. Click here to see it.

If you looked at both of these posts I just told you about, then you would have definitely noticed a THEME.....

A FROG THEME!

So back to my BOX!

I removed all of the newspaper from the BOX to find out what she had sent me.

Imagine my surprise and laughter as I saw this.....



I loved it!

Of course these frogs are safe I think. I am not afraid of them hardly at all. I don't have to worry very much about accidentally peeing using the bathroom on them; they can't jump across the room and scare me to death, I hope. They can just sit there and look disgusting cute, and hold my candy and my drinks.

Yvette, thank you, friend. You absolutely made my day.
You are a treasure; you made me feel so special with your thoughtfulness.

"Every gift from a friend is a wish for your happiness..."
~ Richard Bach

And to those of you reading this post today, HOP on over to Yvette's blogs and show her some love....It will make her very HOPPY! ;)

Boyd's Babblings
Movies With Mom
The Boyd Family

"Laughter is the shortest distance between two people." ~Victor Borge


Last but not least, I wanted to thank all of you for your prayers for me.
I found out yesterday that I have degenerative arthritis of the spine, and the disc between L4 and L5 has popped out. The doctor has given me more medicine to help with the swelling and muscle cramps, and he is sending me to a physiotherapist (I think that is how you spell it) next week. They will fit me with some kind of Lumbar Traction device to wear at home for about a month. Then I go back to see the doctor in three weeks. His hope is that this treatment will work....if not, he said he would have to send me to a neurosurgeon.
I'm obviously going to pray for the treatment to work.
Anyway, thanks again for all of your prayers; I appreciate each of you so much.
God Bless,
Amy:)

"Pray for one another" James 5:16

Here's How It Happened, Part One....

In a previous post, I told you about Melissa. Melissa is my hairdresser, but most importantly she is my friend.

Over the last few years we have gotten to know each other very well. We have a lot in common, the most important thing being our relationships with the Lord.

Melissa has had a very tough year. She has struggled in some areas in her life, and I have to say, she has conducted herself in a manner that I know is so pleasing to God.
I have been blessed to see her lean on God and trust Him through circumstances that I know have been truly difficult for her.

So, when I found out she was being taken on an amazing trip, I was so thrilled for her! She was going on the trip of a lifetime. Her aunt and uncle were treating her and her cousin to a dream vacation by any standard.

And not just any dream vacation, but my dream vacation. She was going on a trip that Shannon and I have both dreamed of going on one day.

But as I tell you she was going on my dream trip, I was absolutely so pleased that God had given the trip to her. I could not think of anybody that I thought deserved the trip more.

One evening, not long after finding out about her trip, Melissa called me to see how I was doing.....I was not doing well. (Let me just say that I am the mother of a twelve year old, and I'll leave it at that.) I had had a rough day. So when she asked how I was doing, I said, "I don't want to talk about me; tell me about your trip." I told her to tell me about all the places she would be seeing.

Melissa told me that she would be going to Washington, D.C. for three days, and then she would fly to New York. From New York she would fly to Madrid, Spain, then fly from Madrid to Rome, Italy. In Italy she would then get on a cruise ship for a twelve day cruise all over the Mediterranean Sea. The ship would stop in ports all over Italy, Croatia, France, and Spain. After getting off of the ship, they were going to stay in Rome, Italy for two days, and then take a train to Milan, Italy for two more days, then come home. In all she would be gone from home for twenty-four days.

I was so overwhelmed just hearing about it. I told her what a blessing God had given her with this opportunity to see some of the most beautiful places in the world. I was thrilled for her. I was also thrilled for me, because I thought about how cool it was that she would go before me; so that when Shannon and I could finally go, she could tell us all the things we would need to know before traveling.

I told her that I wanted her to do a few things for me while she was away. The number one thing was that I wanted her to write my name in the sand along the Mediterranean and take a picture of it for me. I loved the idea of my name being there; it would be like I was in that sand for a moment in time.:)

For days after hearing about this trip, I told everyone I knew about it. I was just so excited for her and this opportunity she had been blessed with. I was also so amazed at just how awesome our God is. He knew the tough year that she had gone through, and it was amazing to see Him honor her faithfulness. Such a blessing to witness!

About a week or so after Melissa told me about this adventure she was going to be embarking on, she called me.

She asked if I was sitting down...........