It"s time again for the Perfect Post Awards. Hosted by Kimberly and me, it"s a chance for bloggers to give some extra recognition to their favorite post of the preceding month. And this month, my award is just a little bit different.

Many of you have heard about "NieNie." She"s a mom blogger with four children who was in a plane accident with her husband last month. Both of them remain in the hospital and have months and months of recovery ahead of them (Stephanie is still under sedation) and in the meantime, an amazing fundraising effort has been taking place across the Internet to raise money for their bills, which are expected to climb into the millions of dollars.

You may wonder how one blogger could inspire so much love and effort from people she doesn"t even know. Read her blog and you"ll understand. I began reading in September and I"ve been hooked ever since.

Stephanie Nielsen isn"t the greatest writer out there. She doesn"t have a blogging gimmick. She doesn"t speak at blogging conferences or get quoted by the Wall Street Journal (but I have a feeling she will, some day). Stephanie Nielsen is simply an extraordinary wife and mother, a young woman who loves her husband and kids with everything in her, and it shows. She has style, creativity and talent and she clearly loves living. Her blog is uniquely her and as a result, it is absolutely inspiring. Read it and I guarantee you"ll wish Nie Nie was your best friend.

Reading Stephanie"s blog has inspired me to be a better wife and mother. To enjoy each day and to find beauty in even the smallest moments. To make life magical for my children, and to teach them to help and serve others in lovely, whimsical ways. I know, it doesn"t really sound like me. But Stephanie makes me wish it did.

I"m awarding this post, written shortly before the accident, because it was the first post I read and it absolutely intrigued and delighted me and made me cry (or more accurately, sob) over what happened shortly after this post was written. Stephanie"s sister is reposting a favorite post from Stephanie"s blog each day, but I"ve really enjoyed going through her archives and I think you will, too.


And now, here are our other Perfect Post Award winners from the month of September.

Now it"s time for a special Perfect Post Awards announcment.

Kimberly wrote this and I"m going to steal it, because she says it perfectly:

Back in 2006, Lindsay and I shared a wish. We wanted to create an awards program for bloggers, given by bloggers that had nothing to do with popularity or voting or prizes but more about the simple peer recognition of a post well written. After a few weeks of emailing back and forth, the Perfect Post Awards were born.

We were thrilled by the warm reaction the PPA"s received as well as the community spirit they created. As the calendar pages flipped by, our little monthly awards idea continued to gain momentum. Truly, we couldn"t have been more pleased.

But any thing good has to come to an end and that"s why I"m posting today. Lindsay and I have decided that the Perfect Post Awards will end with 2008.

In January of 2009, we will be asking you one last time to send us your Perfect Post. This time though, we want the best post you"ve ever read. Yes, that"s right. We want you to submit the most incredible, the most personally earth-shattering post that you"ve read in your whole blogger life. And that is how we plan to conclude our little mutual dream - with a bang and amazing content.

Don"t worry! You have a few more months to participate regularly. We"ll be holding the Perfect Post Awards as usual for October, November and December - but come January 2009, you need to be ready with your Most Perfect Post of All Time.

Exciting, isn"t it? I can"t wait to read your favorite posts of all time, and I hope a bunch of you will participate. Because I"ll take as much inspiration and/or hilarity as I can get.

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