Awards, Recognition, Kudos' and High-Fives

No matter how you put it, it's time to pay it forward!



I was so blessed to have been the recipient of two amazing awards this week. The first was from Denise at Shorty Bear's Place. Denise has been so amazing, she sends me E-cards everyday encouraging me during this storm of my own I am facing and can't tell you how much it means to wake up to that kind of encouragement in your email. I love you Denise!

So here's how it works:

What I would "Like" for you to do: (after all, it is now yours):

1. Write your own Storm Dancer story. I shared my story with you below:

2. Grab the award code above, and put it in your Storm Dance story post and/or sidebar. You've earned it!

3. Pass this award onto 7 people. If you receive the award but are the type of person that isn't into writing and sending out awards...don't worry, just wear it proudly or do as you wish. Here is my Storm Dancer story:

In November, I remember waking up with a nagging pain in my lower left ab area, normal at times for my monthly cycle. So it didn't phase me much until a week passed and so did my cycle but the pain remained. In fact in lasted so long it wasn't until past Thanksgiving that I believed it may be something serious.

I went to the ER and was told that I had gallstones that would require surgery as well as something causing severe inflammation around my lower colon. I was admitted. A internist determined that I did not require surgery for my gallbladder and left. I was scheduled the next day to meet with an OBGYN and Gastro Dr. Yet during the night the hospital refused to give me anything for the pain. I was asked to wait until the doctors were in before they would give me anything, so I checked myself out. Went home and took some pain meds. I told my hubby, I would seek both doctors on my own to check things out.

The Gastro Dr. I attempted to book an appointment with was out of town and I would have to wait for a month. The OBGYN doctor after a month, agreed to meet.

To make a long story short, two OBGYN's later misdiagnosised me and saw nothing wrong. They even refused to refill my pain meds thinking I was an addict.

The final OBGYN, determined through an ultrasound that something wasn't right and scheduled surgery to determine what was going on, because I had a mass of some kind. Just want any woman wants to hear right?

After surgery for a partial hysterectomy, I still have my right ovary to keep my hormones balanced, I was told, my uterus was 3 times the size it should be and was so wrapped up in endometriain tissue that it was immobile, not only that I had numerous fibroid tumors, cysts all over my left ovary and so much endometrian tissue that it literally had glued my ovary to the wall of my colon. The next day I went home and 7 weeks later, I am a whole new woman. This was completed on March 25th of this year. So from November to March, I lived a life of chronic and debilitating pain. I was basically bed bound until my diagnosis and surgery in March. I lived on strong pain killers but thankfully I am free from that as well.

Through it all, my faith soared. Those who know me know that I feared surgery more than living with pain my whole life, and faithful prayer warriors prayed that night before and during my surgery and low, here I am today. Stronger in my faith, knowing that ALL things are possible with God.

You just may have to endure it a whole lot longer than you want, but HE never left me. He walked through those long, endless valleys and we both stood, tall on the mountain top that day.

So now, my dearest readers, here is the 7 people whom I want to pass this award to as well to share their own "Storm Dancer" stories:

1. Andrea at Arise 2 Write.

2. Loren at The Magoo's News

3. Kurt at Some Things I Have Learned

4. Tabitha at I Choose Bliss

5. Steve at Gotta Have Faith

6. Rosel at Off The Beaten Trek

7. Christy at The Secret Life of An American Wife and Mom



Lastly my brother, Kurt, from Some Things I Have Learned passed along a beautiful award to me yesterday. If you have never met Kurt, you're missing out on a beautiful story of a brother in Christ and a true man of God. Love you Kurt.

Here are the rules:

The rules for me to accept this award state that "I must list 7 things you don't know about me.

1. I struggle in my faith daily, believe it or not. There are moments in my day that I just fall apart, but I am getting better with certain things.

2. I still have not spoken to my dad who is still living for over 13 years. I am hoping to fix this on Tuesday.

3. I love Joyce Meyer, secretly I think she is related to me, because I just love her gumption and honesty.

4. My parents divorced when I was 7 and I thought it was amazing and a true blessing in disguise.

5. I love chocolate! Dark Chocolate is my favorite and I have to have some in the house at all times. You just never know when spiritual battle will call for reinforcements of chocolate.

6. My favorite colors are black and purple. Love that color combination.

7. Butterflies are really called Flitterbys and I love when God sends them to visit me.

So here are 7 wonderful people I am passing this award on to:

1. Denise at Shorty Bear's Place

2. Sunshine at Such Life In The Tropics.

3. Thena at Patiently Waiting

4. Niecy at LiveLaughLove

5. Mimi at He & Me + 3

6. Mamarazzi at Dandelion Wishes

7. Angel at All The Mus

Congratulations to all those that no only are being blessed with these awards but praying that they will light up someone's day that they are passed on to!