Beautiful Day Contest

[chocovrdmicears]

My son's special needs teacher . Every single morning she welcomes each child with a smile and hug. Her kindness, compassion and PATIENCE has helped develop my son, who was basically non-verbal one year ago, into a happy, hugging, chatty little boy.She has NEVER lowered the bar for these children with challenges, rather she helps lifts THEM up to achieve. And not only does she give of herself 100% every day during the school year, she gives up her summers to teach in the summer program for all our of special angels. She is a gift!!!

[savedbygrace]

My mother-in-law. Definitely. She had an extremely difficult childhood, enduring an abusive father, poverty, and constant ridicule from her family on her decision to become a Christian. She was eventually kicked out of the house as a teenager. Many years later, after marriage and 2 healthy baby boys, my MIL delivered a full-term stillborn baby. She has suffered through 2 heart attacks, one which nearly claimed her life. She has lived with diabetes for years. She has suffered numerous health problems and is currently confined to a wheelchair, living in constant pain nearly everyday.

Yet, despite all of the troubles she has faced throughout her life, my mother-in-law is the most selfless person I know. She never fails to put the needs of others before her own. Even when her family didn't have much, she recognized that there were others who had even less, and would go out and buy them groceries and other necessities. She is one person who many would say has a right to be angry with God for the things she has had to endure. Yet, she is one of the first to share the love of God with others. When I look at my mother-in-law, I look at true beauty.

[coastalgirl]

The person that comes to mind for me is my husband. This is a man that never wants for himself. He works hard to provide for his family. He never goes out with the guys. He comes straight home to make sure I don’t need help with the kids. If I have had a rough day, he scoops up the children and takes them out for pizza or ice cream so I can have a little down time for myself. Though he never wants any for himself. He married me when I already had one child and loves him like his own. He is his father. He beams when people tell him how much they look or act alike. He is a wonderful and caring husband and father. When we were expecting our second child I was put on bed rest. So we would not get behind or go into debt he worked a second job, even though he really did not have to. My children could never ask for a more patient dad and one who is always on their side. Even though he gets up early for work he is always willing to listen to me talk, because as he said I can only talk to children and teenagers for so long without losing my mind. Plus he tolerates all my Disney madness! With a smile on his face. (Even when getting up a 2 am and driving 12 hours, just so I feel like I have and extra day at Disney!) He does for others on a regular basis. After hurricane Katrina, he went to all our neighbors to help get trees off their houses and cut up, and never took any money from them.(All our neighbors are elderly people) He cooked all the food in our freezer one day and fed all the people on our street. Even after me and the kids went to Texas he proceeded to check on all or our neighbors. Making sure they had water, our one neighbor had ice for her insulin. He would go every day and pick up enough ice and water for those that could not go themselves. When he was able to go back to work he would bring home bread and meat and always check to make sure the neighbors got what they needed. He is a beautiful man and one that I feel blessed on a daily basis to spend my life with.



Lydia

[RayaniFoxmur]

One person in my life that is a beautiful example of true beauty on the inside is my fiance, Dave.

When I first met Dave I was 7 months pregnant with a man's child who had left me at 8 weeks pregnant. Through it all I had decided to give my baby up for adoption since I wasn't in a place in life to be able to steadily take care of her yet. Dave stood by me throughout the entire thing, from helping me choose adoptive parents to being there when the people I chose backed out a week before giving birth. He was there when I had the baby by c-section, holding my hand the entire time. He sat by me and held my hand when I went to court to relinguish my rights to her. He paced in a waiting room a month later when an emergency surgery forced me to have my gall bladder removed.

He stood by me through so much and he had only known me for a few months. He proposed several months later and I said yes! He had shown me what true love and true beauty really are through his generosity and love just in his actions!

He is the most beautiful person I've ever met on both the inside and the outside, and he is my example of true beauty on the inside.

[sunshinemckenzie]

When when someone says who is a beautiful person inside and out, I have to think of my dearest soul sister and friend, Connie.

Connie has been my pillar in life, though I have only known her for 10 short years. She has been there for every event in my life. When my beloved grandmother passed away, she become my family's second wife and mother, taking over all of my responsibilites at home. She stayed in our home, cooked, cleaned, did the car pooling for the children's activities, seen that everything ran smoothly. She even called my boss and filled in for me at work, doing the job better than I could have. She held my hand while I grieved, called me to brighten my day and if I sounded sad, depressed, whatever, she drove to my home and got me away for the day...even when I didn't think I needed it. Which she was right, I did and felt better afterwards.

Four short months later, she again stepped into my shoes at home and stood beside me when my grandfather passed away. Her gentle kindness gave me the strength to again face the task of his funeral arrangements, the funeral, and dealing with cleaning out my grandparent's home.

Again she displayed those same talents within that same year with the death of my 2 brother-in-laws, a cousin-who was like a sister to me, and two miscarriages. Without her, I don't know how I would have ever kept my sanity that year.

Whenever I am blue...she just happens to call. Whenever I am excited about something in my life, she is the first person I call. She has spoiled me with the truest meaning of friendship.

When my husband had a heart attack, she was there and literally kept me out of jail and calmed me down. (LOOOOONG STORY). She has never condemned me for my decisions in life, encouraged me to follow my dreams, stood beside me in bad times and laughed with me in good times.

Tho, she moved away 4 years ago, we still talk weekly, meet monthly for a shopping trip, and think of each other every day. And as our paths have moved to different areas within our lives, I know all it would take is a phone call and she would be here before I could hang up the phone, holding my hand with any challenge I have to face.

And you know what makes her the most special??? She has lived a life filled with abuse, molestation, alcoholism and drug addiction(sober/clean for 12 years-YOU GO GIRL), living with crippling arthritis, two divorces and the death of a child yet she is the most perkiest, happiest, loving, upbeat person I know. Tho it would be easier to slide down the path of dispair, she lives each day to the fullest, thankful for each moment in life she has. That has taught me alot, watching her in her life.

Gotta go, I need to make a phone call to tell someone thanks for being my friend!

[disney_girl]

One person that comes to mind as being truly beautiful inside is my Mom. She retired 3 years ago and is even busier now than she was then! Her volunteer schedule is very busy! She reads books for the blind, distributes the weekly sermon to church members who are ill or unable to attend church, and works 2 days at the Salvation Army eye clinic. She manages to fit in a few things for herself and her family, but she is very busy with her volunteer efforts! I can only hope that the recipients of her services know how genuine her efforts are!

The other light of my life is my 3 year old son! His love and caring is so pure and sincere! Even on the worst day, all it takes is for him to say "I love you Mama" or "You are my sweetheart" and it melts me every time!

[mollyeilis]

My friend Shirley is who I would nominate.

When she was a child, she had problems with her liver. From the issues with that, her spleen stopped working, so it was taken out. She has grown up with very big scars from that, and she takes scads of pills to keep everything in check.

In the months leading up to my wedding, she got sicker and sicker. She ended up having a stent put into her bile duct, and in a one in a billion chance, the stent shifted, and punctured her intestine, causing a BAD situation. Her then-husband rushed her to the hospital, and she had immediate surgery, and was in big trouble. But once she woke up, and between her need for morphine, she stayed happy.

Even when they took the morphine drip-at-will away, she remained happy and upbeat. Another person, with the stent shifting like that, would have called their lawyer immediately. She just took it as a chance, an error that just happened to happen to her.

While recovering, after telling me that (of course) she could no longer stand in my wedding, she made necklaces and earrings for the other women in the bridal party. She refused to let me help! And she rode, reclined, in the car with her husband, 3 hours, to be there at my wedding.

That was 4 years ago (today), and she has since ended her marriage with that husband (though she tried harder than anyone else I know to rebuild the marriage) and has moved on to a new life. She has remained upbeat and happy, and giving of herself to others whenever they need it.

She has now found a super guy, but she doesn't let him get away with the things she let her ex husband get away with when they were dating. She remains happy, but takes care of herself more now, which has made her even more terrific!

When I have had troubles in my life, even those far less than the emotional and physical problems she had in the months before my wedding, she has NEVER told me to stop whining, she has been a constant to listen, to rage with me, to cry with me, and all of that got me through it. When my other friends got bored with me, told me to get over it, and the like, she kept me sane.

I will never be able to thank her for all of that, and she would be horribly embarrassed by this "essay", but I wanted to at least let some part of the universe know how special Shirley has been to me and my family.

[TIAMOMMA]

I would have to nominate my mom. She is the person who has taught me about so much through her actions. She is the person who taught me to work hard, and to never expect a hand-out. She taught me to be honest and to deal with the consequences of your actions or lack there-of. She taught me to turn the other cheek when you are mistreated and to not waste time or effort in looking for vengence. She taught me to never use a person, to always treat others the way you want to be treated.

My mom has had such a hard year this year - she is going through a divorce and her husband is still living in HER house!!! I would be a raving lunatic being in the same circumstances, but she is graceful. Even though she owned her home outright before she re-married 15 years ago she put her husband's name on the deed in concern for him in regards to taxes in case she passed first. Unfortunately, her concern for him at that time is biting her in the butt now - he wants half the value of the house HE did NOT buy or put one dime towards. Amazingly, she handles herself with dignity.

My mom also watches my kids while I'm at work because she wants to make sure they are well taken care of - I can't think of a person I'd rather want to watch them. I originally had a sitter years ago who was undependable then quit on me - my mom took on the full-time job of watching my kids from that point on.

For Christmas this year she gave my family a trip coming up in October at WDW, paying it from a small amount of money she inherited from her mom upon her death. She said she hoped we wouldn't mind that she came with us - she wanted to be there to see the kids have the time of their lives.

I can't say enough about my mom, and I'm getting all choked up writing about her now. She's never had an easy life - her dad left her family when she was 3 or 4, my dad turned out to be a drunk and abusive, my step-father turned out to be mean and selfish, but she never becomes bitter. She is the one who always sees the beauty in life and in the small things. She is a person who appreciates ANY small gesture of kindness and I've seen her in tears when a stranger does a kind favor for her - she is so humble. She is the most beautiful person INSIDE that I know, hands down.

[speechteachri]

The first person that comes to mind for me is my sister in law.

She is a pastor's wife and fulfills that role perfectly. She is the most genuine person I know, and the most generous with her time and talents. She works as a nurse, plays piano at church, helps out anyone who needs her help, and does public speaking for church related events as well. In addition to all this, through the years she has taken into her home her husband's grandparents when they could no longer care for themselves on their own, a developmentally disabled man, a struggling youngster, and most recently, my m-i-l and f-i-l, as my f-i-l was dying from Parkinson's. She is truly an amazing and beautiful person who always has a good and kind word to say about everyone. I admire her greatly!

[Kittykat]

Such great stories!

If I had to pick one person who is beautiful on the inside (and the outside!), I would pick my DH's Nanna. She has been like my very own grandmother to me for the past 18 years. I absolutely adore her and when we get to visit with her I try to spend as much time with her as possible. Her health has declined over the years and she can't do as much as she used to but she's still quite the spitfire! She is the warmest, most loving person I know. I am so glad that I've gotten to know her and that both of my boys know their "Nanna", too.