Just Rambles

I'm mostly writing

 because I want to win the giveaway today

 over at Skinnie Piggie's blog

for an Air Force sign!

 They are so cute.

 So no offense, but I'd rather none of you enter

 so I can win :)

 lol 

 as if there weren't a million people already entered.

 Oh well,

 maybe this will be my first giveaway win?

 Who knows!
She is running a giveaway every day this week as part of...

So go over and enter some giveaways

 (just not this one) ;)

 haha!

the Cream of the Crop

I am constantly reminded

 just how blessed I am

 to have met all the wonderful people out there

 through having this blog.

 No matter where in the world we are,

 there are people out there who know exactly what we are going through

 at any given time,

 and can help pull us up and encourage us.

 And that's exactly the experience I have had.

 Today I was so honored to see that I was the recipient of 

 MY FIRST EVER

 Bloggy award!

 A big thank you to Janessa over at

 Life's Journeys & Travels

 for thinking of me!

 So now I get to share some fun stuff!
 The rules are:
 1. Thank and link back to the person who gave the award to you
 2. Share 7 things about yourself
 3. Send it along to 15 other bloggers and let them know you have awarded them!

 Hmmm...
 7 things about me...
 1. I met my husband on a dating website
 2. The single best thing I did in college was adopt my dog from the pound
 (against my mother's wishes)
 3. I am obsessed with Taste of Home magazine
 4. We have been unsuccessfully trying for a baby for 6 months now
 5. We are big Red Sox fans (even though neither of us are from Boston)
 6. I am closer to my grandfather than any other member of my family
 7. I am really excited that we live in a neighborhood now and will actually have Trick-or-Treaters this year!!

 And now, I pass this award along to....
 1. the Adventures of a Bee & a Dragonfly
2. Fearlessly Infertile
3. Fort Living Room
4. Chambanachik
5. While I'm Waiting
6. Tiaras and ACU's
7. The Johnston's
8. Mrs. Alana's Miscellany
9. Our Crazy Life
10. The New "Normal"
11. Letters To You
12. I'm His Wife...The Army Is His Mistress
13. To Love A Soldier
14. Goodnight Moon
15. A Few of My Favorite Things

 Not all of these blogs are "new,"
 or even new to me -
 but they're some that I make sure I read,
 and ones that I love,
 whose writers I love :)
 Here's to you ladies!!

Totally New Tuesdays #7

Hello again everyone!!

 The hubs and I had a GREAT first official "date day" Saturday -

 we went over to Mobile, AL and visited the USS Alabama,

 which was super cool!

 I took lots of pictures

 so those will be coming soon :)

 We held hands,

 talked nonstop,

 and were obnoxiously, disgustingly in love the whole time.

 It was great.

 Now, on to the theme for today -

another new bloggy friend of mine for you all to go shower with affection

 and fan-dom!!

 She calls herself the Princess,

 and blogs about family life with her hubby and daughter "Diva".

 Her posts make me laugh and are always so 

 true life!

 Check her out HERE

 at her blog "Tiaras & ACU's".

 Here she is to tell you a little more:

 "Hello!  I am a sweet (sarcastic), angelic (little devilish) Army Princess; Hubby just got home from a 15 month deployment followed directly by ALC.  We have a little 7 year old (7.5 if you ask her) Diva that rules the roost... in her mind that is.  I am very active with military widows, work full time, and spend my weekends saving the world.  I started my blog to get through the deployment, oh we are a Reserve family so I don’t know anyone that has EVERY dealt with a deployment.  I love getting to know other bloggers, writing... and just enjoying our West Coast sun.  Now that Hubby is home the world revolves around the nasty ‘R’ word, Reintegration."

Go show her some lovin'

 fit for a Princess!!

 Also, don't forget,

 if you are a blogger who would like to spread the word

 about how AWESOME you are,

 send me an email at

 acreedandapsalm@gmail.com

 so that I can feature you!

p.s. You also get to display the super cool button I have in my right-hand column

once you've been featured.

 Now that's a perk if I've ever seen one.

How To "Date" Your Own Husband

So this past week has been pretty rough.

 But it's also been pretty darn great.

 This might be a long post,

 so grab your pumpkin spice latte

 (come on, we all know you've already caved this season)

 and curl up.

 I was not a Christian before I met my husband.

 I attended church,

 even taught Sunday School,

 but was not truly a Christian.

 My husband always has been.

 The night before he left for Officer Training School

 he got re-baptized with me

 just the two of us at our church.

 It was the first for me.

 Since then, I have struggled.

 Struggled to maintain and even grow my faith,

 especially when I thought OTS was going to rip my marriage clean in two

 (and which it very nearly did)

 mostly because of my bad attitude. 

 When he left for the second time,

 it was better.

That time, I didn't blame him.

 Even when I dropped him off at the airport

 and on the way home my very faithful car died in the middle of the street.

 Or the next day when I thought I accidentally forgot the parking break on his mustang

 and was sure it had rolled back into our garage door,

 which was why it wasn't opening.

 And my keys were now locked inside

 because of course the garage door keypad had gone haywire.

 And I called a locksmith

 who took an hour to get into my house.

 And when I then tried to re-enter my garage code,

 and the door opened right up.

 Yep, not even then.

 And then we started trying for a baby,

 and that's been a less than perfect journey.

 But we decided to take some time out of his incredibly busy schedule

 and do a Bible study together

 for the first time.

 Our AMAZING friends/neighbors gave us Fireproof.

 We watched the movie and did week one's lesson.

 I didn't realize my husband was this smart.

 Let me elaborate

 (before you think I'm a total jerk).

 Being a new Christian,

 I suffer from interpreting the Bible EXTREMELY literally.

 And I often way way way get it wrong.

 We were instructed by the study to read a passage,

 the one that talks about how God knows every hair on your head and knew you when you were being formed in your mother's womb;

 how we were fearfully and wonderfully made.

 Well, I turned to BE in a fit of residual baby-anger

 and said,
"Well, see, women were meant to have babies. Otherwise Adam wouldn't have needed Eve.

 So if a woman can't have a baby,

 then obviously God messed up.

 If we are all made in His image,

 none of us should be messed up.

 So that doesn't even make sense."

 To which my wonderful husband replied,

 "No, no. You're missing the point.

 Women were made to be companions -

 the man was not supposed to be lonely,

 so God made him a helper, a friend, a companion.

 You're supposed to be my friend first."

 So I say,

 "Well then why did God give me this intense desire to be a mother,

 if I may never be? If that's not my plan?"

 BE very thoughtfully replies,

 "Well, just because you may never have biological children

 doesn't mean that those feelings are misplaced.

 Maybe your purpose for those feelings is to be a Sunday School teacher,

 and impact children that way,

 or maybe even adopt

 and change a child's life.

 God has a purpose for those feelings,

 even if we don't know them yet."

 Wow.

 Sometimes I think God gave me the husband he did to humble me.

 What an incredible teaching moment that was.

 And the first time that I had really seen my husband become the spiritual leader in our marriage like that.

 What a man I have.

 I never would have looked at those passages that way.

 I would have stayed stuck in my narrow-minded justifications of my anger and bitterness.

 I sat next to a blind man at the hospital today

 waiting on a prescription to be filled.

 We talked about church and God.

 How happy he was - and he was totally blind.

 Said he had hitch-hiked to get to his doctor's appointment,

 and it had taken him three rides.

 And to think I had never thanked God for the simplicity of my health.

 For my circumstances.

 For having a husband and a house and a car and the sight to drive it.

 This has truly been a humbling and teaching week for me.

 BE and I have decided to "date" again - 

 we're going to take Saturdays and do fun things.

 We have some plans for the next few weeks 

 and I'm pretty excited about that.

 A friend of mine who had struggled with conceiving

 told me to look at this situation as,

 "Who do you want to be when you get pregnant?"

 and that changed my perspective on everything.

 I want to be the best person/woman/wife/Christian/friend/daughter/sister that I can be.

 I need to work on myself first.

 And my marriage.

 And God will add in another when he knows I'm ready for it.

 This is my challenge,

 but I think I'm ready.

 

Totally New Tuesdays #6

UGHHH Blogger!

 I wrote up this whole post and apparently it never posted

 and didn't save.

 Awesome.

 Well, better late than never I guess.

 So here goes again!

 This week I have an amazing lady to introduce you to!

 Her name is Kirstin and she is a military wife

 in the midst of finding encouragement during deployment.

 Her blog, The Johnston's ,  is inspirational,

 and I have really stopped and reflected myself as I have read her posts.

 She is a true follower of Christ!

 I will let her introduce herself a little better:

My name Kirstin Johnston. I am 19 years young & loving the life God gave me. I love to sing, shop, anything crafty, and to read. I am a girls girl, i love to get my nails done, i love clothes, shoes, and jewlery.I have always loved to write, journal, scrapbook, any sort of memory keeping activities. I don't think I have a lot of interesting things to say but you never know who is reading and who can relate to you. I married the man of my dreams on July 10, 2010. We met when I was 13 years old at church, his father is our pastor. We were best friends and began dating when I was 15. Since that day, we have been inseparable. We got married when I was 18 and he was 2 days away from being 20. We were told we were crazy and didn't know what we were getting into. But when you know you found the person God made for you, why wait? My husband is in the Army national guard and is currently deployed to Iraq. While deployment is one of the hardest things I've been through, I can honestly say I am thankful. I see the way God is using him as a witness to soldiers and it has only made me a stronger person. Deployment makes you appreciate your spouse so much more along with the little things, like being able to eat dinner together every night. I hope my blog is an encouragement to you, and maybe something I say puts a smile on your face ! 

 Her posts have certainly encouraged me,

 I hope you will go and show her the love,

 and give her some hope as she makes it through this deployment!!

 

And I'm The Only One

Yesterday was very surreal.

 I had a little group of girls

 Girls who were all trying for babies like me,

 girls who understood the sting of each month passing,

 girls who I could call and cry to.

 But now I'm the only one.

 All in a matter of two days.

 I woke up the other day

 and saw one of their announcements on Facebook.

 Then heard from a friend who is two weeks late

 and hasn't been feeling well.

 We all know what that means.

 Then I talked to a friend from college.

 They're prego too.

 So then through my tears,

 I sent a text to one of my best friends

 who has been trying as long as we have

 and said that now we were all that was left,

 but I bet she would be next since all of my other friends

 apparently were drinking some water I couldn't find.

 Sure enough,

 the reply came back.

 She had missed her period,

 but hadn't told me 

 because she knew how bad it would hurt.

 And just like that,

 I was alone.

 I know I can still talk to my friends,

 but I don't want to ruin their happiness

 by complaining about my problems.

 Here where we live

 I'm already that taboo 

 "girl who can't get pregnant,"

 you know, 

 the one that everyone talks about their babies and pregnancies around,

 and then suddenly remember is there

 and freak out like,

 oh crap, we just talked about that in front of her...

 then come the awkward questions about how trying is going.

Just because they don't know what else to say.

 And I don't blame them for that,

 because there really is nothing to say.

 Nothing that wouldn't be awkward anyway.

 And I don't want to be the pity-poor friend.

 It seems like it's either one end of the spectrum or the other.

 I've had people almost afraid to talk to me,

 avoiding the subject completely,

 and then there are the others

 who just call me a "whiner" and tell me that since I haven't been trying

 for X number of years like they have,

 or since I haven't been labeled unable to ever have children yet,

 then I need to just be quiet.

 Sorry,

 but I must have missed the memo on when wanting a child

 and being unsuccessful

 turned into a one-up contest.

 I've talked to people who have only been trying for two or three months

 and I still feel for them.

 It doesn't mean you can't talk about your struggles

 just because you're not the person who has been struggling the longest.

 That's not what it's about.

 It's about encouraging each other

 and building each other up,

 and listening.

 I don't care how long you've been trying -

 I'll still talk to you about it,

 I'll still cry with you about it,

 and I'll still try to get through it beside you.

 So I've "only" been trying 6 months.

 It's still six months of a kind of heartache 

 that nothing else in the world can create inside you;

 it's still a terror that it may never happen.

 The best thing I have taken from this whole thing,

 is that my husband and I have grown so much closer.

 We are doing a new bible study together in the evenings,

 we are going out on dates,

 we are holding hands in the car,

 we are connecting emotionally.

 I sent him a message today thanking him for holding me while I cried yesterday

 as I absorbed what had happened.

 I told him that I was so thankful for his hugs and how he tries to understand.

 I told him that I guess if I'm not meant to have babies,

 at least I have a wonderful husband

 and that's more than a lot of women have.

 I also have some amazing women who have stepped up

 and really been my greatest encouragers.

So for now, 

 I'm focusing on what I do have.

 Enjoying my husband.

 Gearing up for my job.

 Going on adventures.

 and still praying.

 Good things come to those who wait - 

 whatever those good things may be.

 :)

Trooppaws Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations to...

CHAMBANACHIK!!

She is the winner of my Trooppaws giveaway!

 I am so glad she won because she was a very faithful Tweeter!! 

 I am also very excited 

 because the husband and I are going to the Air Force ball tonight

 and it's always fun to get all gussied up

 and go out with friends,

 you know? :)

 Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!!