Hobbies - part 2

I had to convince myself that reading random blogs could be considered a hobby but I checked the definition of hobby in the dictionary - "an activity done regularly in one's leisure time for pleasure." My family says that I am blogstalking - maybe so but I enjoy reading what's going in with some people I know and some that I don't know personally. I started reading a blog or two when Ashley pointed me to one of her friend's blog to read an interesting story. Then I read another blog linked from that one and so on until I regularly read a number of blogs and am disappointed when there are no new posts.

Alyssa started blogging to share their pictures of the launch of STS-123. One of their friends, Bob, was on board and carried a small flag bearing the names and thumbprints of all of the students in her kindergarten classroom. Now we can all keep up with her pregnancy on the blog which helps this mother who is far away from her pregnant daughter!

Here's a short run down on the other blogs listed under Friends and Family. Abby always has fun pictures and stories of her adorable children, E and B. Janna teaches at the same school Alyssa taught when she was here and has two precious children who are going to grow up to be Aggies I'm sure - right, Dominic? I also regularly read blogs of some of Ashley's high school friends. Sarah Sue was like another daughter for several years - I'm sure that she and Ashley were attached at the hip! Others from the RHS class of 2001 are Mandy, Ashley I and Ashley B. When Jennifer (who is the daughter of a very good friend and I "helped" raise) had Sawyer I helped her set up a blog to keep her family up to date with pictures and stories. Luke and Cassie were also "kids" I came to know through church and cross country. Other friends from church that I follow include Michelle (who has a daughter named Alyssa!) and Jordan (who has wonderful stories of her children - Phoebe is absolutely adorable!). One of MY friends with a blog is Diane. Diane and Jay just returned last night from China with their newly adopted daughter, Lilly. It has been so much fun keeping up with them the past two weeks. Of course, they are fun to read about all the time because they are a family of Aggies - whoop!

Somehow along the way, I ran into other blogs that really captured my attention and I have linked to them also.

I don't know that I would have written about my blog reading hobby but one of my favorite blogs is having a contest and who doesn't want to enter a contest! MckMama writes on her blog about her four children under age 4. Yes, that's correct she has four children and the oldest is not quite 4. She and her husband, Prince Charming, recently celebrated their 5th wedding anniversary. MckMama is a very entertaining writer and a fabulous photographer. She frequently posts photos of her absolutely beautiful (and charming) children - Big Mac, MckNugget, Small Fry and the newest addition, MckMuffin. Of course, these aren't their real life names but that's the names MckMama uses for them on the blog.

I became addicted to MckMama's blog this summer. She was pregnant with MckMuffin (whose real name is Stellan) and was told at 24 weeks that Stellan would not survive. He was diagnosed in the womb with heart failure - supraventricular tachycardia, hydrops, and intermittent advanced secondary heart block. Prince Charming and MckMama gave their unborn son to God and the prayers started to save this baby's life. The number of blog readers and others who prayed for Stellan was amazing. Stellan was born HEALTHY with no heart problems on October 29 and continues to be their little miracle. It is a truly amazing story of faith in God!

Nate and Trish have an amazing story as well! Trish has cystic fibrosis and had to have a lung transplant last year. Just before she started therapy to prepare for a transplant, they found out she was pregnant. Against lots of odds, they continued the pregnancy and Gwynth was born at 24.5 weeks gestation. Again a plethora of prayers was lifted to God and Gwynth grew and survived and is a blessing to everyone. Trish got a new pair of lungs in April and has been able to be a really great mom to Gwynth. Recently she suffered a setback with some cancer in her lungs and had to have chemo but things seem to be looking up for this family. Again their faith in God has pulled them through the tough times. Nate is an energetic guy who does a great job at writing such interesting posts. He is also an amateur photographer and posts wonderful pictures of Trish and Gwynth.

One of the recent additions to my daily blog read is Gitz. Wow, she is absolutely amazing and a real inspiration for me. She suffers from ankylosing spondylitis and is confined to her home due to complications from this crippling disease. Her faith in God keeps her REALLY living every day to the fullest of her abilities although she is in constant pain. Also she has a Maltese named Riley. Well I think my family members are Maltese addicted. My sister started out with Darby who died at an early age and then got Darcy who she bred to produce my Doogie. She kept another pup named Dexter. Alyssa got a tiny Maltese named Daisy who died a few years ago but was adorable. Then my mother needed a pet and we found Deeogee in College Station. (Notice all the "D" names?) My friend, Ramona, wanted a dog and got a Maltese she named Riley. Now Gitz's Riley looks and acts just like Mother's Deeogee.

Another amazing story of faith is Angie who carried a child who they knew would not survive. Hmmm - it's becoming apparent now that I love reading stories about babies - which probably stems from my excitement at becoming a grandmother!! Suzanne has quads and what fun it is to read about them. An added bonus is that her hubby is an Aggie and they love dressing the babies in Aggie clothes. One + One = Four is the story of twins who were born in August. Kelly and Amanda are both expecting babies about the same time as Alyssa.

I think one of the reasons I really love this hobby is that I know I couldn't keep up with it