thinking blogger

I can't believe it, I've never been nominated for anything before :) (well I was nominated most improved in my class in 2nd grade but I suspect that is really code for "she was dumbest when she got here and now she can read" so that isn't so much an honor) But today not one but two bloggers, No Cool Story and Happy Mommy, nominated me for the thinking blogger award. I feel so honored.

The rules:
1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,
3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote

So, I found out this morning and have spent some time thinking about who to nominate. I have a few blogs that I always love to read. People that I call my 'imaginary friends', who are a lot like me. Some are even my RLF, and I love to read about their lives and how their kids are and how the decorated the gym for whatever activity they have just planned. I love them and love reading them but I decided that wasn't really a "thinking blog" for me. Blogs that make me think are ones whose lives are different than mine. Who make me pause and have a different perspective, kind of a window into a life I didn't chose, someone who is a little different. Keeping that in mind here is my list:

1. Briana at Heldt Family Blog. She is a young mom of two darling little girls and two handsome boys. Her boys were adopted from Ethiopia. She tries to do good and to make a difference in the world and it's fun for me to read about her efforts. adoption is something that DH and I have talked about but really not too seriously. We would both have liked brother to have had a brother to grow up with but decided it wasn't something we were going to pursue. Even though we are not going to add to our family through adoption I enjoy reading her blog about her family that grew this way, especially since I have two sisters who are adopted.

2. Miranda at Nurtured by Love. She's a home schooling, Suzuki mom. It's always fun to see what her family is up to.

3. Sharp Mama. She's a Canadian expat living in Thailand and raising a family there. I randomly found her one day while reading dot.moms and her little boy was so cute. We share the same first name, which is not a common one, and somehow that made me think what my life could have been like if I made really different choices. Every now and then I pop over and see what's new. She always makes me think.

4. Planet Nomad. An American family living in Mauritania, Africa. Talk about a world away!

5. MSV, reading her blog always makes me think "I wish we lived nearer to each other."