Heather over at OMSH is having a giveaway for some amazing art by Allison Strine Designs over at Etsy. What she is asking people to do is spread some bloggy love for people out in the blogosphere. Here is what she said:

By midnight (CST) on February 8th, you must spread some love yourself. I want you to write a loving, uplifting, encouraging, generous, complimentary post about one, two, three, four, or however many you like, of your favorite bloggers.

Put some thought in it – not just a blogroll, m’kay? Let your adoration ring! Pssst…No extra points for it being me – this is a drawing, not a contest.

 

Right before my Blogoversary (last week) I actually posted a bunch of thank you blurbs to people out there that have encouraged me to blog (OMSH was actually one of those people). It was sort of similar to what she is asking here, but still I will challenge myself to expand on what I previously wrote.

In that entry I casually mentioned Renee. Renee is one of the May07 Mommy bloggers that I met online while pregnant last year with JSL. Renee has a blog called Life With My Special K’s. I do not believe that Renee knows how much she assisted me back in early December of 2006. Two days before my 30th birthday my OB called me after work. I knew something was not right when I saw the number on the caller ID. He was telling me the results of a blood test that I had taken. The test came back that I had a higher risk of my baby being born with Downs Syndrome. I was beyond depressed. This news ruined my birthday and left me feeling ill. I did not know what to do. I turned to my mommy group where Renee saved the day.

How did she do this? Well, Renee had actually had the opposite result with the same pathetic test. Her result came back within normal range and her third beautiful child Kennedy was born three years ago with Downs Syndrome. Renee coached me to look at all different medical websites about the so called test and how useless it is, sent me to Downs Syndrome groups, and spent hours online chatting with me. She also helped me to realize that I had to know what was going on with my baby. I did not want to wait until the baby was born. I opted to have an amnio so that I could prepare for whatever my baby may or may not have. We were blessed with a happy and healthy little boy, but thanks to Renee I knew that Downs Syndrome was not a curse.

Renee is such a strong woman who continues to amaze me day after day. While we were pregnant last year Renee’s daughter Kennedy was diagnosed with leukemia. Soon after that (I think I am getting the sequence correct) she was told that she had gestational diabetes. Renee worked through this while keeping her family going. She changed her diet, stayed with Kennedy during all of the pre-chemotherapy tests/hospital stays, and got ready for her forth child. Then when her son was born in May she arranged to have him stay with her at the hospital while Kennedy was treated.

Renee has such strength and courage. In addition to being the mother of four beautiful children (Her Special K’s), Renee is a loving wife to one of our military heroes. Her husband was just deployed for another tour of duty in Afghanistan. He will be gone for 18 months (except when he joins the family for a Make A Wish trip to Disney this spring) and I know that Renee will keep her family going. She is a brave, strong woman who is a real role model.

Please stop by and say hello to Renee. This is a summary that she wrote on her blog:

Welcome to my blog where I take on day to day life with my four amazing children: Kassidy, Kameron, Kennedy and Keeghan, and a husband in the military. Join us as we face issues with Down syndrome, Leukemia, Deployments, and every day life with 4 young kids! You’ll be in for the ride of your life!

Thank you again Renee for all that you do :)