New Life, New Look

So many things have changed in our lives in the last year, but specifically in the last 3 months! 

So, I thought, why not change the look of the ole blog, while we're at it!  I love it and I highly recommend Jennisa at Once Upon A Blog.  She did my last design, as well!  She's super sweet and really easy to work with! 

If you're interested, click on the button in the bottom of the right sidebar! 

Yee haw!!

Gettin' Back in the Saddle

I've been in a blog funk.  I don't really know why...well, okay, I have my suspicions, but I've missed blogging and reading comments, and all of that good stuff.  I hate not posting, mainly because I'm afraid I'm going to lose some of you because I can't keep up my end of this blogging relationship. 

Life has been busy, and overwhelming, and exhausting, and wonderful and other mushy stuff, but I'll post later on those things. 

For now, let me just say, I'm NOT throwing in the towel, or letting my blog expire.  Not in the least.  I will have much more to post about in the coming days & weeks, but be patient with me, friends, if any of you are still even around!   

The Cowgirl SHALL ride again!  

GIVEAWAY WINNER!!!!

Happy Thursday, Blends!  

I have a winner for my giveaway and I'm SO excited!  Just so you know everything was legit and on the up-and-up, here is a screenshot of the random integer generator I used online.  I assigned every commenter a number (and more than one if you also blogged about the giveaway on YOUR blog) and then used this fancy schmancy number thingy and VOILA...

The lucky winner is NUMBER 3!!  That would be Heather at Amazing Grace!  Yay, Heather!  Way to go!  I will send you an email and get your address so I can get your book to you, ASAP!  

Thanks to everyone who participated in the giveaway! 

How May I Help YOU? Part 1

 *DISCLAIMER:  I'm already anticipating some of the comments I might receive on this post, so I want to say first and foremost that in no way do McH and I believe this program itself is what will achieve pregnancy for us.  If we do get pregnant after using this program, we will give ALL GLORY AND HONOR AND PRAISE right where it belongs, to the MIGHTY GOD we serve and to Jesus his son.  We give him praise in the valleys and on the mountains and truly try our very best to live a James 1 kind of life.  And, through this journey, we have also learned that medicine, infertility treatments, and other interventions are to be considered blessings, not evils.  After prayer, there have been times we have decided to not try certain interventions, and likewise have felt God's directions to pursue others.  That being said, please do not leave comments like, "If you had enough faith and/or believed more, you wouldn't have to use medicine and you would be pregnant."  We've heard THAT before (amazing, huh?), and it just isn't productive, or true.  Okay, so now that we're all clear, I will continue!

Any time I deal with customer service, I can tell immediately if I will be a returning customer.  I have to tell you about the BEST customer service experience I've EVER had and it is actually not even completed yet.

As you know, a large part of this blog is dedicated to talking about our journey through infertility.  A few weeks ago, I stumbled across a reference to a website called Circle + Bloom.

Here is how they describe themselves:

Taking 15 minutes for yourself each day, in the privacy of your own home, you can reduce the negative effects of stress and direct your body with your mind to increase your chances of getting pregnant. Our program demystifies the idea of implementing both stress reduction and mind + body techniques to improve fertility. We’ve done the research for you and created a powerful regimen using relaxation techniques and daily guided visualizations that track the changes happening in your body on a monthly basis.

As most of you know, we are gearing up for IVF this summer, and I know my body is completely stressed out.  So, not only was I thinking this could help my fertility, but I thought it could help my mind/body relaxation overall.

I downloaded the free introduction sample and was happily impressed.

Yesterday, after fighting knots in my shoulders for the last two weeks, I decided I would finally purchase the program, download it, and put it on my iPod to start listening to tonight.

Circle + Bloom is unique in that each day of the 28-day program focuses on a different day of your reproductive cycle.  So, if you are in day 23, for example, you would start listening to Track 23 as it focuses on what your body is doing at that particular time.

Okay, I know it sounds a little out-of-the-box, but trust me, once you get to 4 years of infertility you will pretty much try anything as long as it doesn't involve sacrilege or any major crime (and MOST minor ones...JUST KIDDING) and is healthy.

I purchased the program, put it on my iPod and last night went to bed excited about trying it.  The first 8-10 minutes of the 15-minute program were awesome.  I was starting to relax and really seeing the benefits.

But then...there was a reference made to "mother earth," which I thought was a little strange, and not really my kind of thing; I decided to keep listening to see if maybe it was just a one-time occurrence.

Nope.  The voice continued to refer to mother earth and even went as far as calling her, "the breath of the wind," and "the creator of all animals," among other things.  The voice instructed you to be grateful and thankful, but in the beginning didn't address anyone/anything specifically to be grateful/thankful to, so each time it would give that instruction, I would think, "Thank you, Jesus" or, "Thank you, Lord."  But when she started instructing me to thank mother nature, well... 

That's when I was through.  I ended up being just as tense when the session was over, as when I started it, and I was really disappointed.  I looked over at McH and said, "Well, that's going back tomorrow. "

He asked why and I explained the situation; just as I knew he would, he absolutely agreed.

As a Christian I just cannot meditate on the idea that mother nature is the all-powerful creator.  I can't relax when that is being piped into my ears, my heart, my mind.  That may sound a little overprotective to some of you, or some might be thinking I'm overreacting and making a bigger deal out of it than it is.  But satan uses every opportunity he can, to slip through the smallest chink in our spiritual armor.

One of the easiest places to do this, is in our hearts, as seen in scripture:


Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?"  


And...


Proverbs 4:23 says, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."

Doesn't it make sense that our hearts, being deceitful, should be guarded 'above all else'?

So, without even listening to any of the other tracks to see what they were like, I set my iPod on my side table and went to sleep, determined to return it the next morning (today).
 
You are probably wondering what any of this has to do with customer service.

Well...

CHECK BACK LATER FOR THE SECOND (AND BEST) PART OF THIS STORY. 

You Like Me, You Really Like Me

Okay, so maybe you didn't like me so much, as you probably felt really sorry for me and decided to follow because anyone who would stoop to actually ASKING for followers must be really desperate. 

BUT WHO CARES? 

Because you did it anyway and now, my dear Blends (I'll get that in a sec), I've hit my goal!  I have 100 followers, and I am just tickled pink, y'all! 

I hope all of you who are now "official" will stop by my little rodeo every once in a while and comment.  Comments are love, Blends. 

Back to the whole Blend thing.  I've noticed recently that several of the blogs I read have some term of endearment created especially to address their readers by.  I loved this idea, but didn't want to just STEAL someone else's idea. 

So, I thought and thought.  If I can be called a Sunday, a Siesta or a Bleep (three blogger a.k.a's I can think of off the top of my head), then I think I can get away with using something as random and possibly strange as Blend (Blog + Friends...get it?  I knew you would).

So, to all my BLENDS, I say, THANK YOU!!! 

p.s.  Giveaway coming soon!  I told you I would, so check back in a short while. 

p.p.s.  I hit Hobby Lobby's HUGE sale this weekend and will have a new mantle set up, soon.  My SIL, Dawn and my MIL helped me pick everything out.  So, next post:  The Cowgirl's new mantle!  Stay tuned!  

Welcome to the Family, 400!

**added later**  

**WHOA, MOMMAS!!!  When I shouted out for followers to DELURK, boy did you answer.  In just a few short hours, I've gained almost 10 followers, if I'm not mistaken!  I LOVE it!  That made my day!  Keep it up!  I think I've come up with a GREAT giveaway, so come back to read all about it!**

I didn't realize until I started writing with a different intention, that this is my FOUR-HUNDREDTH POST!  Peeps, I am SO EXCITED!

Never would I have guessed almost four years ago, when I began blogging just as an outlet and as something that was easier than building my own website (thanks, Amy), how far blogging would take me and how many avenues it would open up for me.

I've been able to present about blogging TWICE now at the state technology convention, TCEA, in Austin.  I've been able to incorporate blogging smoothly into my classroom because I was already using it on my own.  I've connected with people who I've grown to love as if I knew them in person.  I've found virtual shoulders to cry on, and have connected with people who know people I know.

Blogging is a part of my life and those who don't understand its appeal or use, might think I'm crazy.  But when you go through things in your life that leave you feeling like you're alone and you need answers, like infertility, blogging is the outreach I so craved and needed.

Having said ALL of that, in honor of my 400th post and upcoming 4-year bloggiversary in April, I want to do two things:

FIRST...I'm setting a lofty goal.  By my FOURTH bloggiversary, I am challenging myself to have 100 Followers.  Now, don't get me wrong.  I know blogging isn't all about how many people read your writing.  However, I'm also going to try to keep it real and confess that I do get excited when I have a new follower.  I LOVE meeting new Followers.  Really.  I love clicking on their profile pics and visiting their blogs, reading about where they are reading about me from!  Did you get that? 

SO, if you are a lurker, and haven't chosen to FOLLOW ME, please do so!  If you follow me, I will return the favor!

I'm sitting at 74 followers right now.  That means, I only need 26 more to hit my mark of 100!  Can we do it, Bleeps (I LOVE that term, and will give ALL CREDIT to the most hilarious blogger I know, Busted Kate over at Busted Plumbing...it's a mashing of Blog and Peeps)...fun, huh?)?

SECOND: I'm going to host a giveaway soon, so keep checking back to find out what it is!  I'm going to wait until closer to my actual bloggiversary, so come back! 

Who knew...

a devotional could stir up such emotion? If you missed my last post, you really should go read it here and then click on the comments and read all of them. Some are long, some are short, but all are worth your attention.

As I mentioned in one of my comments in the last post, ministry is a huge part of why I blog. I love to share my testimony, my thoughts, my struggles and my joys with whomever wants to read. Because I have been the recipient, and continue to receive, so much encouragement from reading others' blogs, I know I have been given a gift to share, and so I try to do that.

Yesterday, I shared a devotional that spoke to my heart, personally. I won't repost, because you can see it below if you would like.

Anyway, today, as I was perusing my blog and reading updates on others', I clicked on the link for the Daily Verse I read. It comes from www.biblegateway.com. If you've never visited this site, I highly recommend it as it has MANY resources and it makes looking in different versions of the Bible a snap because they are all available for you in one spot.

Here is the verse for today. I thought it was SO very appropriate and affirmation of the conversation that took place in my comments yesterday.

Isaiah 48:17 (New International Version)

¹⁷ This is what the LORD says—
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
"I am the LORD your God,
who teaches you what is best for you,
who directs you in the way you should go.

While it is a good thing to get others' opinions and to voice my own, this verse reminds me of who really directs my path and is my Great Teacher.

Waiting on Him,

Worth the Read

I wanted to send you all to my mom's blog so you can read a true story she is working on writing. She's writing it in stages, and she's only on the second one, so it would be easy to catch up. So, head on over to Our Dayze, and check it out!

AWARDS!!!

I have recently received three awards and I am truly humbled by them! Thank you to Jerri Ann, Dawn, and Belinda for your thoughtfulness!

So, I'm going to return the favor and continue the chain by giving awards to some very deserving people, too!

This award was given to me by my sweet friend, Belinda. Now I get to pass along this award to five others that have touched my life and encouraged me in some way. I get to encourage them as they have encouraged me. I hope that you will visit them and leave them a comment to let them know you were there.

1. Malinda over at A Gift Worth the Wait has been such an inspiration to me. She and her husband waited a long time to have a child and sought God's will before they adopted their sweet Sara Madalin! She has a heart for God and for seeking His will in every situation. Her blog is full of humor, inspiration and tons of pictures of that precious baby girl of theirs, SM! Go check her out!

2. Kelly at Kelly's Korner

has one of the biggest hearts imaginable! She truly loves with the love of Jesus because she loves those she has never even met. She has a passion for both the singles and those going through infertility struggles, and has a blog dedicated solely to praying for these two groups of people. She didn't marry until she was 30 and then had a lot of trouble getting pregnant with her now almost 5 month old, Harper! She is an amazing woman after Jesus's own heart!

3. Sue at Praise and Coffee is one inspirational lady. I love reading her blog because she is full of great advice, wisdom and the love of the Lord. She infuses humor and grace into each of her posts and I always leave feeling like I've learned something.

4. Red Hot Momma cracks me up! She loves God and talks about her marriage and family like we were best friends! She always has good advice and is not afraid to speak her mind about touchy subjects like adultery and abuse and other things that touch people's daily lives and takes away from their walk with Jesus. She is an inspiration and definitely has a Golden Heart!

5. Trey at TreyMorgan.net. I have the honor and privilege of knowing Trey personally and I have to say he is just as loving, funny, open, and welcoming as he is on his blog. I happen to know for a fact he won a special blogging award for ministry while he was in Oklahoma at a conference and it didn't surprise me one bit! Trey is the kind of guy you just always want to be around. When he speaks you want to stop and listen because he radiates God's love in an awesome way. He is very open and honest, but also will admit when he's stumped or someone has taught him a lesson. He is so REAL and that is what I believe attracts people to his blog and to his church. C-town is SO blessed to have the Morgan family here.

If you receive this award and decide to accept, it's your turn now. You get to choose 5 blogging friends that you would like to pass the "Golden Heart Award" along to. Post this in a blog and make sure you add the heart photo in it. Then, notify those you have selected that you have nominated them. Ask your readers to check out their sites, leave a comment and if they like what they read become a follower!

The next award I received was The Passionate Blogger...thanks Jerri Ann! I am to list five things I'm passionate about.

1.) I am passionate about growing in my relationship with God and my Jesus. I think about it every day, most of the day long. I am always looking for ways to enrich my life through my relationship with Him. I am passionate about walking His path for my life and passionate about how I feel when I stray again and again. I'm passionate about others knowing how much God loves them. I want to shout it from the rooftops sometimes. My heart is so saddened when I know someone just doesn't understand the height and width of His love for them and that it is neverending, and all-consuming. I know I don't even begin to understand it's abundance, but what I do understand I want others to, as well.

2.) I am passionate about my husband and trying to start a family, which makes me very passionate about those who struggle with infertility. The old saying, "You don't know until you've walked a mile in their shoes," is so true when it comes to struggles with infertility. My heart aches right along with others when I know they are stuck where I was one year ago...in a joyless pit without hope. I still have no children of my own, but I have hope and that makes all of the difference.

3.) I am passionate about my family. They have helped make me such a large part of who I am today and I wouldn't have wanted to be loved and groomed by any other group of people, no matter how crazy they can be at times. They are my support system and I love them and appreciate them more than they will ever know.

4.) I am passionate about my dogs. Yes, I've already said that I'm the crazy dog lady, so that's no surprise. But, I can't help it. They are my children for now and I love them and worry about them and stress over them. In all honestly, those two sweet pups have comforted me the last 3 years more than many of my human companions have. When I'm having a hard day, they greet me at the door with nothing but love and adoration. They follow me everywhere and choose me over any one else. They were sometimes the only ones at home with me during the days following both of my miscarriages and they have slept in my bed with me countless times while McH has been out of town, or I've been sick.

5.) I'm passionate about music. All my life I have been able to communicate with written words. Music has been an outlet for me and something I've felt like I could be good at naturally. It is a source of expression and my most intimate form of worship. I love to sing, especially in the car with the music up loud. Playing our piano is cathartic after a long day. Music centers my mind and spirit before I begin my quiet time with God. If I had to choose between blindness or deafness I truly believe I would rather not see again than not to be able to hear absolutely perfect harmony.

Now for the business of awarding:

1. Put the logo on your blog.

2. Write 5 things you are passionate about apart from blogging, because we all know this thing can consume you.

3. Pass it on to 5 other people.

I want to pass this on to:

Jill at La Dolce Vita

Stephanie at Painted Shed

Kelli at Simplistic Treasures

Julia at Twice the Fun

Amanda at Silver Lining

Get after it, ladies!!

Here are the award rules:

1. List 7 things that make you Awe-Summm and then pass the award on to 7 bloggers you love (IF YOU WANT TO) =)

2. Make sure to tag the recipients and let them know they have won!

3. Also link back to the Queen that tagged you (I guess that is me???).

What makes me Awe-Summmm??? This is not easy to do.

1.) I LOVE my life. I really do.

2.) I tend to be cheerful in most situations. I try to see the positive in things.

3.) I'm a helper. If you need something done, I would love to try and help you do it.

4.) I'm a problem-solver. If someone has an issue, I like to work to find the solution. Most of the time this is good, but sometimes it can be a heavy burden for either me or the person I'm trying to "fix."

5.) I love to love you. I love to know people know I care about them.

6.) I try to be fair in all situations. Not necessarily equal, but definitely fair. And if I feel like someone has been slighted or a situation ISN'T fair, I am liable to let someone know about it.

7.) I want, more than anything, more than even being a mommy, to love Jesus with all that I have. I want to know Him more.

I pass this on to:

Kyley at An East Texas Slice of Life

Donna at The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Laura (my mom) at Our Dayze

Janera at My Garden Hat

Amy at Pirates and Princesses

Suzanne at Steece's Pieces

Amy at Will and Amy

If You're As Blog Happy As I Am...

...then you are going to LOVE this new website I found. Actually, I noticed the name of it on the background of my friend, Jessica's blog. My interest was piqued to say the least, as I've been using this site for the last few years because it was so easy.

Well, friends, I have a new great source for backgrounds and I'm so excited!

If you love customizing your own blog or changing your backgrounds every so often, or helping others do these things, then go here.

And for goodness sakes, HAVE FUN!!!

Special Blog

A fellow blogger, whom I greatly admire, has started a blog that is very special to many people, including myself. Please go here and participate if you are moved to do so. My name is on this list somewhere and I cannot begin to explain how comforting it is to know this!

You're Gonna Love This!

You can't help but notice the little white flurries falling so peacefully on my blog. Well, I got those from my friend Janera who sent me to this website and I just HAD to share this place with you! And the snowflakes are just the very tip top of the iceberg, my friends! If you are into making your blog "fancy", and putting lots of nifty gadgets on it, or if you just want everyone to think you are the coolest, smartest blogger in the land, visit this website!

This lady has SO many cool ideas and the directions are very simple to follow! So, mosey on over to Blogger Buster and check it out!

Happy Blogging!!!

No Mere Coincidence

As Christians, I don't think many of us believe in coincidences. I know I don't. This idea has never been more applicable to me than at this point in my life. I'm pretty sure it isn't because God all of a sudden started putting these events into my life. I know it is because I have drawn closer to him and I can see them better. I want to tell you about one of these God-things that just happened. I am doing a bible study online with 3 strangers and my sister-in-law through the LPM blog. Living Proof Ministries is Beth Moore's ministry and a group of women (any woman in the U.S. who participates in the blog at all), affectionately termed "Siestas" is having a summer bible study. We are studying "No Other Gods" by Kelly Minter. Anyway, I created a blog for the study and am SO excited to "get to know" the other four women in our group, and to get to study with my beloved SIL, Dawn. So, I get on the LPM blog to leave a comment about how our "meeting" went last night, the first day of the study, and to tell Beth about our group and our new blog. I leave my comment, start scrolling down through the other comments and reading and looking at the pictures next to them, and all of a sudden, I see a familiar face and I SERIOUSLY GASPED OUT LOUD! I know Sarah in a few ways...first, she was from San Antonio, and I was from a little town West of there, and she dated one of my best friends in high school. Second, she was roommates with my cousin at A&M and we all lived in the same dorm...yes, we were Underwood Hotties! Lastly, when she was in Uvalde for my cousin's wedding, she and Greg stayed with my parents for the weekend (that was over seven years ago)!

So, I went to her blog and got to see her brand new baby boy, Grayson and see what she has been up to and where she is!

Oh, if I could convince all of the world to blog, it would be a dream fulfilled! It has been such a blessing to me in so many ways and a ministry to both myself and others.

Some of you reading this blog know Sarah, so go check out her blog and leave her a word of encouragement! And even if you don't know her, I know her blog would be an encouragement to you...check it out!

Blogger Virgin

Yes, I was sucked in to the user friendliness of online blogging. Plus, who doesn't like to talk about themselves, right? I tried my hand at a web page, but that didn't work too well, plus it is WAY too techie for me. This blog thing is super easy...thank you, Amy! I want to add some pictures of the progress on our remodeling, so I will do that maybe later in the week. I left my laptop at school and it has all my pictures on it.