A to Z: Healthy (Awww Monday) and Happy (Sparks!)

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both.  If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.) 

Awww Monday is hosted by Sandee, of Comedy Plus.

Join us every Monday for Awww...Mondays.  Post a picture that makes you say Awww... and that's it.

Make sure you get the code from Sandee's site, linked above, and leave a link to your post so we can visit you.  What better way to start the week than with a smile!

Two Saturdays ago, a young man from our church was seriously injured -- nearly crushed in an elevator accident.

His main injury, a torn trachea, was such that the doctors said they'd never seen anyone survive this.

Yesterday at church, we got this picture:

Breathing on his own, sitting up in bed, posing with mom and his doctor (dad snapped the photo).

This is both an Awww! and an answer to prayer.

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The wonderful Annie of McGuffy's Reader has started the blog hop called Sparks as a way to put more positive energy into the world.  Join her in combating the often negative influence of social media by adding your own Spark!

I believe we are meant to be lights in this world. If we allow our light to shine, we can see where we are going. It is then that we can begin to truly see each other clearly. Together, we can light up the entire world! ~ McGuffy Ann Morris

My "Spark" for the day:

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To enjoy more blogs participating in the A to Z Challenge, click here.

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Today is:

Appomattox Day -- US (marking the end of the US Civil War on this day in 1865)

Astronauts' Day -- web generated by someone who wants all these brave people honored

Baghdad Liberation Day -- Kurdistan, Iraq

Bataan Day/Day of Valor -- Philippines (Araw ng Kagitingan)

Dita e Kushtetutes -- Kosovo (Constitution Day)

Dry Milk Day -- the first patent for powdered milk was issued this day in 1972 to Samuel Percy

Feast of Jalal (Glory) -- Baha'i

Independence Restoration Day -- Georgia (formerly Day of National Unity)

Martyr's Day -- Tunisia

Name Yourself Day -- an internet holiday allowing you to change your name for a day, if you want to.

National Cherish An Antique Day -- hooray for old fashioned quality!

National Chinese Almond Cookie Day

National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day -- US

Observation of the Nazi Occupation -- Denmark (anniversary of the Nazi invasion)

Public Library Day -- US (anniversary of the opening of the first "publicly funded" library -- i.e. a tax based, free library -- in the US, in 1833 in Petersborough, New Hampshire)

Remembrance for Haakon Sigurdsson -- Asatru/Norse Pagan Calendar (Haakon the Great, one of the Jarls of Hladhir)

St. Casilda's Day (Patron against sterility)

St. Mary of Cleophas' Day (one of the Marys in the Bible who was present at the Crucifixion)

Verruca Day -- Fairy Calendar (Goblin Celebration again)

Vimy Ridge Day -- Canada

Winston Churchill Day -- commemmorates his becoming an honorary US citizen

World Konkani Day -- Goa (Official language of the Indian state of Goa; on the death anniversary of the pioneer of modern Konkani literature, Vaman Raghunath Varde Valaulikar)

Anniversaries Today:

Sophia Loren marries Carlo Ponti, 1966

Wayne Newton marries Kathleen McCrone, 1994

Charles, Prince of Wales, marries Camilla Parker-Bowles, 2005

Birthdays Today:

Elle Fanning, 1998

Kristen Stewart, 1990

Jesse McCartney, 1987

Leighton Meester, 1986

Taylor Kitsch, 1981

Keshia Knight Pulliam, 1979

Rachel Stevens, 1978

Gerard Way, 1977

Austin Peck, 1971

Jacques Villeneueve, 1971

Cynthia Nixon, 1966

Paulina Prizkova, 1965

Dennis Quaid, 1954

Michael Learned, 1939

Avery Schreiber, 1935

Jean-Paul Belmondo, 1933

Paul Krassner, 1932

Tom Lehrer, 1928

Hugh Hefner, 1926

John Presper Eckert, Jr., 1919

Ward Bond, 1903

Paul Robeson, 1898

Efrem Zimbalist, 1889

Frank King, 1883

Eadweard Muybridge, 1830

Charles Baudelaire, 1821

Tamerlane, 1336

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Ticket to Ride"(Beatles' single), 1965

"Diamond Lil"(Play), 1928

"Shadow of a Gunman"(Play), 1923

The World, the Flesh and the Devil(Film), 1914

Today in History:

The Mongol hordes defeat the Poles and Germans in the Battle of Liegnitz, 1241

Robert Cavalier de la Salle reaches the mouth of the Mississippi River and claims all the land drained by the river and its tributaries for France, 1682

The African Methodist Episcopal church in the US is formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1816

The oldest audible sound recording of a human voice is made, 1860

Robert E. Lee surrenders the Army of Northern Virginia to Ulysses Grant at Appomattox Court House, effectively ending the US Civil War, 1865

Passing by a single vote, the United States Senate ratifies a treaty with Russia for the purchase of Alaska, 1967

The Hudson Bay Company cedes its territory to Canada, 1869

Jumbo the Elephant arrives in the US, 1882

The Titanic leaves Queenstown, Ireland for NYC, 1912

The first full color film, "World, The Flesh, and The Devil", premiers in London, 1914

Mae West makes her NYC debut in "Diamond Lil," 1928

The first Japanese built aircraft to fly to Europe, the Kamikaze, arrives at Croydon Airport in London, 1937

The Suez Canal is officially opened for shipping, 1957

NASA announces the selection of the United States' first seven astronauts, whom the news media quickly dub the "Mercury Seven", 1959

In the first game in the Astrodome, Houston beats the Yankees 2-1 in an exhibition game, and Mickey Mantle hits the first indoor home run, 1967

The first British built Concorde makes its first flight, 1969

Georgia declares its indepedence from Russia, 1991

The funeral of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, at Westminster Abbey, 2002

Facebook purchases Instagram, a photo sharing application, for $1 billion, 2012