Liebster Award

Liebster is a German word and it means, sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing and welcome. The award is given to blogs with less than 200 followers.

My bloggy friend Laurie at Everyday Grace awarded the Liebster Award to me.  It was a nice surprise and a bright spot in a difficult week.

She asked me 11 questions which I will now answer.

1. What is your favorite Bible verse?
My "life verse" is "They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep." - {Psalm 107:23-24 KJV}
After I got back in church in late 1999, my pastor at the time, Jimmy McCullough, preached a sermon called "Doing Business in Great Waters" which talked about getting away from your comfort zone near the edge of a body of water and going out into the deep of doing God's Will.  It was a great sermon (I wish I had a copy of it!), and really motivated me to take my Christian living to the next level.

2. How long have you been married?
Robert and I have been married 4 years, 8 months, and 5 days.  Yes, this December 1st will mark 5 years of marriage!  {I'm hoping we'll get to do a little getaway to celebrate.}

3. What is one of your family's favorite meals?
Hmmm.....this is a little hard since there aren't many foods that all three of us like, my daughter being the pickiest eater.  I think I will have to pick spaghetti.  All three of us like to eat that. I have found some yummy frozen meatballs to put in it

4. What advice would you give a first time mom?
Sleep when the baby sleeps.  Don't worry about the house; it'll still be there in all of its dusty, cluttered glory.  Enjoy the baby, and if you can, try to do dishes, one load of laundry, and have something picked out for supper.

5. List 3 words that best describe your husband?
I would say that Robert is very straight-forward, intelligent, and strong in his convictions.
 
6. What is your favorite restaurant?
I can't name just one.  Eating out is one of my favorite things (good food that I don't have to cook or clean up after? Win-win!)  Fast food:  Chick-Fil-A and Zaxby's and Arby's. Sit-Down: Red Robin, Steak-and-Shake, anything seafood (except Red Lobster.  I love their food, but their tartar sauce has a weird wang to it.)  We also like a local restaurant called J. Alexander's.

7. Who is your favorite author?
For children's books, my favorite author has always been Laura Ingalls Wilder.  For Amish fiction, Beverly Lewis and Cindy Woodsmall.  For suspense/mystery, Dee Henderson and Robert Whitlow (I've just discovered Robert Whitlow who is like a Christian John Grisham.  His theology/religious style is quite different from mine, but I enjoy the stories.).

8. What are your hobbies?
Reading, Blogging, Pinterest, Photography, Travel (though I don't do it very much) and hanging out with family.

9. Where do you like to shop?
Just about anywhere, to be honest.  I am very much a go-and-do or at least go-and-look-at kind of person.  I do most of my shopping at Walmart.  I'm in there at least once a week and sometimes two or three times.  If I have a project idea in my head, I will sometimes have to visit many stores to find what I want or to get all of the supplies.  Fortunately, I live very close to many of the nationwide chains you can think of, so I don't waste TOO much gas.

10. Why do you blog?
I blog as a creative outlet, mostly.  Also to have backup copies of my recipes.  My Kinsey Family Blog mainly serves to share photos of Gracie with family and friends who are not on Facebook.  I don't even know if anybody ever views it since my sister went to Heaven last year, but I still post to it.

11. What is your favorite place to vacation?
I like going anyplace new or anyplace where there is something interesting to do or see.  As a family, we have been to Hawaii (honeymoon); Orlando, FL; Ashville, NC; Cade's Cove, Smokey Mountains, TN; Tuckaleechee Caverns in the Smokey Mountains (NEVER again!  I enjoyed it but it was scary, too, and there's no way I would ever take my children there.); and Lexington, KY.  We also visit family in South Mississippi; Springfield, IL; Moultrie, Ga; and Montgomery, AL.  Gracie and I visited my brother in Antelope Valley, CA, but Robert couldn't go with us.  We would love to go to Washington, DC and the Grand Canyon one day.  I would love to go to Amish Country, New York City, and New England.

The Liebster Award is a pass-it-along award. I am going to pick the following blogs:

Kristy of Making Sweet Memories
Kristy Jo and I know each other from a Christian Ladies Forum (Vessels Unto Honour).  She has four cute, funny, sweet kids and loves photography like I do.

Kristy of Thimble Thoughts
Kristy is a bloggy friend of mine.  Funny thing is I don't remember which of my other bloggy friends introduced me to her blog!  She is a fun homeschooling mom of three and is an adult sponsor for her church's youth group.  I forget the name of it (Sigma Theta?), but it sounds like a great, fun way to help teens grow in Christ.

Lori of Frog's Lilypad
Lori and I also know each other from Vessels Unto Honour.  She is a homeschooling mom of a teenage boy.  She enjoys reading like I do.

Pat of Living Life with the Loves
Pat is another lady I know from Vessels Unto Honour.  She has three children and four grandchildren and serves in the ladies ministry and teaching little ones in her church.

Robyn of The Lighthouse Letters
Robyn is my pastor's wife here in Memphis! She teaches in our church's Christian school, oversees the ladies ministry, and is a very talented singer.  My Gracie loves Mrs. Robyn (and Ryan and Jordan and Preacher, too!).

Valerie of Valerie Write Now
Valerie is my other "real-life" friend.  We got to know each other through Vessels Unto Honour and met in real life two years ago.  She is a homeschooling pastor's wife, mother of five fun younguns, and a talented writer.

Rules for the Liebster Award are as follows:

(1) Post 11 things about yourself, (2) Answer the questions that your nominating blogger has set for you and then create 11 questions for your nominees, (3) choose up to 11 blogs to nominate and link them in your post, (4) go to their respective blogs and let them know, and (5) no tag backs!

Before I forget, here is your homework assignment are your questions to answer on your blog:

1.  What is something special or unique about the place where you live?

2.  If you could meet anybody in history, who would you want to meet and why? (Jesus does not count because we know we will meet Him in Heaven one day.)

3.  Have you had your "15 minutes of Fame"?  Describe the experience or tell what you would love to have it for.

4.  When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?  Did you accomplish that?

5.  What is your favorite tip or advice for mothers of little ones?

6.  What is your best advice for keeping it all in balance? or at least from dropping all the juggling balls?

7.  What is your favorite joke? or What is something funny that has happened to you or you have seen happen?

8.  Who are you most like in your family?

9.  What is the best memory you have of any of your grandparents?

10.  Have you crossed any items off your Bucket List?

11.  Who is one of your Christian mentors and what is something they have taught you?