I'm not really sure what to say. I couldn't even title this blog for the lack of words. Two wonderful blog friends have given me the greatest gift this week - Blog Awards. Okay, you may be saying, "That's your idea of a greatest gift? What about a plasma t.v.? Trip to Hawaii? A million dollars?"

Yeah, I'd take those, too, but bear with me and I'll explain why this meant so much. To begin, Becky left me a comment saying she had something for me on her blog. I popped over to see what it was and found this ...

I began reading the post directly below and was overwhelmed by the sweet things she was saying. I thought to myself, "I wanna meet this person." And then realized she was talking about me. Wow. I was totally amazed.

But Becky is like that. Sweet, kind, caring, funny, encouraging. She is always ready to laugh with you, find the best in you and encourage you when you need it. She has truly become a friend and I consider myself blessed to have met her. Thanks Becky for this award.

Now, it is my privilege to pass this award along to two other blogging buddies.

*Deb at The Daily "B" is a fun, loving woman of God who inspires me. She loves big, laughs loud and does it all for the Lord. She has a great sense of humor and has made me laugh to the point of tears.

*Sing4Joy has a wonderful blog where she shares about parenting, faith, love and life. Her posts can range from humorous, silly, poignant, artistic, inspiring, uplifting. She covers it all. She's also an amazing photographer and her pictures are absolutely beautiful. Seriously. She turned bathroom fixtures into a work of art.

And then, after being overwhelmed by the first award, I was given this by Deb.

Huh. Wow. I had to read this one twice for it to sink in. Thank you, Deb! My door is always open and when that vacation comes, I'll show you all the fun things you can do with the cold and snow. Like curl up with a nice hot coffee/chocolate and a good book. We can watch the huge snowflakes fall to the ground from the comfort of my living room couch. If we get adventurous, we can take a quick slide down the hill on a crazy carpet. And yes, you pretty much have to be crazy in my book to attempt such daring feats. But we could try.

And now, once again, my pleasure to pass this on to two deserving ladies.

*Katybug is a treasured friend I met through an author's chat forum we both belong to. She has great taste in books and is one of the most generous people I know. She's actually sending me some books to borrow. Putting them in the mail and sending them all the way to Canada. Her courage astounds me! I wanna be sweet like her someday.

*His Girl writes a fabulous blog about family, faith, friends and so much more. She's a creative genius sometimes, an inventive cleaner (wink, wink), and a great blogger. I'm a little in awe of all she does. Her posts are filled with humour and for some reason, there's a lightness, a gentleness to her writing.

So, there you have it. The awards, the recipients. And now here's the other part of this post.

Why did these awards seem like the greatest gifts ever? Because they came a few days after I had been at my most petty, not very kind or gracious. I had grumbled, I had moaned, I had basically been a pain in my own...butt.

I had begun having thoughts about how sucky it was always having to be the good girl. I had been fantasizing about what it would be like if the giant WWJD zipper was removed from my lips, and my thoughts and words could fly unchecked. I wouldn't have to turn the other cheek when the girl at the check-out counter gave me a condescending look down her very looooooong and snooty nose. Pun intended. I wouldn't have to wave patiently at the little white haired lady in the driver's seat of a boat-on-wheels while grinding my molars and trying desperately to keep all fingers firmly attached to the steering wheel while she sloooooowly pulled out in front of me.

Yup, I was at my most un-Christian. In thought at least.

Then, I turned on my computer and found these awards. I double checked to make sure they got the right person and it wasn't some big mistake. And I was overwhelmed by the sweet words of these two ladies. I felt completely undeserving. Someone actually thought these nice things about little old petty me?

I got all choked up, shed a tear or two, and felt some of the week's bitterness slip away. So, thank you!