My Gift

All right dear friends, I have had this little beauty in my back pocket for quite some time now, just waiting for the perfect time to unveil it. During that time, I mulled over how it would all work. So here we have the birth of the Valued Blogger Award.



This award is not like all of the other blog awards because we all want to not only know about you, but your opinion of your fellow bloggers. So, without further ado, I present you with the rules.

1. Tell your readers how your journey into blogging began. Be as verbose or shy as you like.
2. Pick 3-5 fellow bloggers whom you adore and write what exactly it is you value about that person or their blog. The more you write about them the better. This is a chance to really appreciate your blog friends who have been there with and for you through thick and thin.
3. Let the blessed winners know they have been awarded.

That's it. Those are the rules. Now, before you think you can give the old line, "I don't want to pick anyone to pass this award onto because I don't want my readers to feel hurt if I don't pick them, so consider yourselves all tagged" I want you to realize that excuse tells all of your blog friends that you are wimping out, amongst other things. ;) Don't feel bad that you can't award everyone, the award will make its rounds and eventually everyone will get it. If you feel bad enough, you can always award more than 5 bloggers.

I decided to start this award in December because it is the season of giving and bringing cheer to others. What better way to do that than to let the people in our lives know that we cherish them.

So here goes my reason for blogging (for those of you who don't already know). I began my blogging journey the way most of us in this blogosphere do; it was my attempt to sort through my feelings and emotions brought on by infertility. I also saw it as a means to share my experiences in an attempt to help others who were fighting the same battle as me by either educating them or holding them up when they needed it. Little did I know how very much blogging would change my life. So many of you have come into my world and left a lasting impression on my heart. I am so thankful for all of you and hope that I am doing for you what you are doing for me.

I now bestow this award upon:

1. Leah, from Life According to Leah - I remember when Leah first came into my life disguised as Kat. She emailed me one day to ask about endometriosis. From that email stemmed a great friendship. I have been here for her since she underwent her first and second attempts at IVF and then as she bravely embarked on the adoption adventure. I even painted her a vase to raffle off on her blog to help her raise money for her adoption effort. She has shown time and again how very strong and loving she is. I have been proud to call her a friend since the first time she stopped by my blog. I wish Leah and Taher all the best in their quest for adoption.
2. Ifer, from The Mind of Ifer - When Ifer first came into my world, I thought her name related to infertility. For the longest time I had her name all wrong. Her name is actually Jennifer, but was shortened to Ifer by some of her good friends. I felt kind of stupid when I found out her screen name had nothing to do with infertility. Our friendship blossomed over some wonderful photographs she took with a newly acquired camera. We found out we had quite a bit in common from music to the state we live in. Her blog has been so much fun to read as she talks about the concerts she attends and the thoughts that go through her mind. I have thoroughly enjoyed my friendship with her.
3. Marla, from Marla'z Austin Journey - Ahhh Marla. This gal is a hoot! I liked her right off the bat simply because she is also a non-native Texan who moved to Austin and has a great personality to boot. I have enjoyed her explorations of crazy, zany Austin, as well as supporting her on her quest to motherhood through the exploration of Eastern medicine. Let us not forget project OCD in which Marla tries to turn the tables on a crazy coworker, provinding barrels of laughs for all of her readers. She also gave out some great recipes for Thanksgiving that I can't wait to try.
4. Heather, at Heather's Daily Life - Heather is as sweet and loving as her name. Her blog is so wonderful in that it chronicles her day-to-day life, right down to what she cooked for dinner. Often times the latter makes me salivate. If ever there was a giving individual, she is it. She sends post cards to people all over the world that she has never met, and is friends with all of her favorite bloggers on Faceb.book, myself included. I have personally received a lovely letter in the post from her. It made mine and Baby Bean's day. I enjoy following along on her daily journies to gym class, on hot air balloon rides, to dance class, and trips to the Big City. I also love reading about her niece, nephew, and adorable dog. Never a dull moment with her.
5. Cherish This Baby - This darling girl is one of my newest followers, but I feel like our blog friendship is cemented. We are both on the war path to TTC#2. She is a bit ahead of me, as she is actually currently in the saddle. Her entrance into my life was warm and friendly, not to mention welcomed with open arms. She is always sweet and leaves the warmest comments on my blog. She even took my advice on which types of OPKs she ought to try and I am happy to say, they have worked for her! I loved celebrating her latest positive OPK with her and look forward to celebrating her BFP in the near future.

There you have it friends, my five awardees. Please do not feel bad if I didn't tag you. I want to tag everyone, and perhaps I will over the next week just so that you all know that I find you valuable in the blogosphere. I just can't award everyone tonight because it is late, I'm on heavy cold meds, and it would take a looooong time to get to all of you. Know that every one of you is appreciated by me and I hold you all very dear.

*BIG hugs!*