{Stylish Blogger Award}

My sweet friend Jen named me on her list of "Stylish Boggers." I am definitely not worthy of such an award, but I am so honored she thought of me.

With Caroline in the mix, my blog has become much more of a documentation of her life, rather than the tales of updating our house(s) and other things that interest me. And that's okay with me. I love being a mom, and I think it will be so great to look back upon this time in my life and see how I adapted and changed.

The rules of the Stylish Blogger Award are as follows:
1. Link back to the person who gave you the award.
2. Tell 7 things about yourself.
3. Award 10 other worthy bloggers.
4. Notify the bloggers that they were given a Stylish Blogger Award.

I was reflecting back on what 7 things I might say, and something struck me. In college, I was not the same person I was in high school. Once married, I was not the same person as I was in college. And now, as a new mother and having some more world/life experience, I am definitely not the same person I was back in 2006 when we got married. Crazy how God has changed me.

So, here are 7 things about me:

(1) I am in love with the Lord now more than I ever have been in my life. He has brought Zach and I through so many trials and tribulations. I never fully understood what an amazing relationship I could have with him until more recently.

(2) I am a happy-go-lucky person, but I am a fighter. I passionately fight for what I believe is right. And I whole-heartedly embrace the notion that every cloud has a silver lining.

(3) I have an independent spirit. And I truly long for people in my life to love me for that. I am so blessed that God gave me that quality, and I try to honor it in a positive way as much as I possibly can. I believe it can be such a redeeming quality when used for good. I can tell already that Caroline has a bit of it herself, and I am thrilled. (even though I know it will make for some tough times through her teenage years, she will be such a beautiful person for it.)

(4) My grandmother (on my mom's side) is one of my heroes. I named Caroline after her (Caroline Margaret, whom she calls "little Maggi"). She loves the notion of family, loves to have fun, loves to be loved, loves the Lord with all of her heart, has an independent spirit herself, and will be 91 years old in 4 days. She is amazing.

(5) Even though I usually approach things with gusto, I find myself more cautious as an adult. I am so intimidated by my decision to become a photographer. It is a scary world, where it is so easy to end up in a downward spiral of self-loathing. I love, love, love to take pictures. I am SO excited to be taking a few classes in the technical area of photography. And, I just taught myself how to shoot in manual, and although I still need a ton of practice, I love that my pictures are getting better and better. It will be so fun to look back 5 years from now and see how much I have improved over time. I hope people will have faith in me as a photographer.

(6) Music feeds my soul. As cheesy as that sounds, it's true. I love watching Caroline bob her head when any music plays. Warms my heart. I can only hope she loves music as much as her Mama and Daddy.

(7) I grew up in mostly suburban areas of very large cities... Los Angeles and Dallas for the most part (Midland being the exception). When I went off to college in College Station, I fell absolutely in love with the idea of a "small city," where life seems to be much more simplistic. I really enjoy that about Beaumont, and I hope to always be able to live in a smaller city.

More than you ever wanted to know about me!

As far as stylish bloggers, wow. Everyone I follow is a stylish blogger! I enjoy all of the blogs I read for many different reasons. (Seeing as though I wrote this post 4 days ago, I haven't had the time to write out and award stylish bloggers.)

So, here is what I am going to do. If you will look to the right and go show some blog love to all of the blogs I follow.... They are all fantastic. I enjoy reading all of them. Whether it's a fellow mama documenting her sweet kiddos' lives, a fashionista who loves to share design ideas, or even just a friend who brings me to tears with each post she writes, there's something special about each and every one! So, if I follow you, I award you with a stylish blogger award!

Hope you learned something new about me and I hope to learn more about any of my readers too!
xo,
kate