Wow, what a month January has been! I sent out my first batch of query letters for my novel, joined the Insecure Writer’s Group, celebrated my first 100 blog followers with an agent contest (who requested 2 fulls & partials from the rest of the 19 participants!), added 83 more followers since then, and now . . . received the Kreativ Blogger Award. Thanks, Jenny Kaczorowski *cyber hug!
Apparently I celebrate this honor by telling you 10 random things about me . . . no problem since I’m pretty random in real life.
1. I almost drowned in a septic tank on our farm in Michigan when I was 5.
2. I went on my first missions trip when I was 18 to Jamaica, where I stayed at a children’s orphanage. It’s there I formed my plan to become a teacher & write in my ‘spare time.’
3. I literally heard a voice in my head the first day of high school when I saw Dan sitting in my word processing class that said, “You’re gonna marry that boy some day.”
4. When I was 18, I did marry Dan & we’ll celebrate our 14th wedding anniversary in August:)
5. A year after we were married, we took a missions trip to Ireland with our campus ministry group, XA, and traveled to 5 different cities over the span of 2 weeks doing street dramas based on the parables Jesus told (talk about getting outta your comfort zone)!
6. My second grade teacher, Mrs. Davis, was the most influential teacher I had. I came her halfway through the year but in those 4 months, she taught me how to read (I was going to repeat 2nd grade before that) and more importantly, taught me that some adults do care what happens to me in a time when I felt abandoned. Her picture still hangs in my classroom today and always will:)
7. I was a troubled teen and tried to commit suicide twice, but couldn’t go through with it because . . .
8. When I was 11 yrs old I prayed to God to show me a sign that He loved me (I was severely depressed) . . . and when I woke up the next morning, an angel was in my room, on his knees, with his hands folded in prayer, smiling & looking up at me. We stared at each other for a moment, then I closed my eyes & said, “Thank you, Jesus, and please don’t ever show me that again” b/c ok, it was kinda scary? And then he was gone, but I KNEW there was a purpose for my life:)
9.For a while, every time I visited with my cousin, Kristeen, from Michigan, one of us would end up pregnant! First her, then me, then her, then her again, then me, then her again! Yeah, she wouldn’t see me again until she got her tubes tied.
10. My ‘spare time’ never came, but I decided to start writing a novel in the summer of 2009 when my hubby started snoring and thus, keeping me up at night. I’ve been writing ever since & just started my third YA.
Now, as the rules state, it’s my pleasure to pass this award to 6 other bloggers:
1. Gabriela Lessa–as a literary agent assistant, she give loads of savvy advice http://gabrielalessa.com
2. Sharon Bayliss–for her fantastic updates on FREE contests http://sharonbayliss.blogspot.com/
3. Callie Kingston–for taking on the world of self publishing & for her wonderful social media tips http://calliekingston.blogspot.com/
4. Chanelle Gray–her site, Beyond Words, has some great book reviews & she’s also a writer http://chanellegray.blogspot.com/
5. Alexia Chamberlynn–some great info for writers as she makes her own journey to publication for MG http://alexiachamberlynn.blogspot.com/
6. Laura B Writer–I LOVE her weekly blog critiques http://laurabwriter.blogspot.com/
~Cheers, girls *holding up my red Solo Cup!
So what’d everybody read in the new year so far? I read Going Bovine by Libba Bray, Cabin Fever by Jeff Kinney, The Future of Us by Jay Asher and The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. All YA/MG, all grreeeaaat! Just thought I’d throw that out there since the last Wed. of each month was supposed to be my book reviews, but the award was way cooler:)
Jamie Ayres 
OMG! Just realized I’m at 198 followers! I didn’t check it again before I posted! Ok . . . off to think how I’m gonna celebrate 200 soon:):):)
Congratulations Jamie! 🙂
Wow, a big congrats to you, Jamie 🙂 Thanks for sharing such random…and pretty profound events in your life! It’s funny, I believe in spirits/ghosts but never wanna see one…ever. lol! After the 6th sign, I thanked my lucky stars not to have such a gift 😛
I would have totally given this to you if I hadn’t received it the same time you did!
I love your angel story. Funny how people on the scriptures aren’t universally impressed with them, either! 😉
Congrats Jamie! I feel like I really know you after this post. All the best to you, including some positive query results!
Debbie
Thanks, Debbie! I love that I feel like I know so many people out here that I’ve never met & probably never will. Being fake doesn’t work for me, so I just throw all my junk out there:)
Congrats on the award:)
Thanks so much for the award! I’m very honored you passed it along to me. Congrats on your very exciting January!
What an awesome month you’ve had! And you’ve been so good to your blog buddies:)
The things you shared with us Jamie, they gave me cold chills! You are such a blessed person and you deserve all of them:)
Thank you so much for the award!! And it was cool learning those random facts about you. I felt like I was going to marry my husband as soon as I saw him too, but I first saw him in my eharmony matches, so I don’t know if that’s quite as romantic. 🙂
Congratulations! It’s always nice when people think of you.
Congrats Jamie and thanks for sharing that information about yourself. Was very honest and inspiring.
Y didn’t u give me the award!!! 😦 these people probally already have enough and I have none! And what’s more creative than an eleven year old speaking out about the worlds problems, giving advice, and fun games? Hey everyone check me out at peaceloveandponcho@wordpress.com
JK mom ❤ u!!! Congrats on award u sooo deserved it!
Kaylee, you crack me up! I should’ve nominated you, sorry sweetie!
And thanks for all the encouragement, ladies. I was worried people might find me a freak since . . . ok, another random fact? I was voted “Most Likely to Warn the World Aliens Are Coming” in h.s. LOL
Thanks Jamie! I can’t wait to share this award with other great bloggers.
Thank you so much for the award! I’m so honored, Jamie!! And congrats on your 200 🙂
Wow, you had a lot going on back then. SO glad God gave you a sign. He does that. Prayer works. I have two beautiful children to prove it. 🙂
I knew I was gonna marry my hubby too… way before we even started dating and he was involved with someone else. how do you explain that feeling? It’s just such a quiet knowing. This year we celebrate our ten years.
Congrats on your award!! Thanks for sharing so much with us!
I just found your blog through Insecure Writer’s group. Fun to hear about your adventures! New follower 🙂
It IS exciting to receive your first blog award! Thanks for your visit and comment on my blog 🙂
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