Mother's Day Fun!

I feel blessed to say that my Mom is one of my best friends! And with each passing year, I appreciate her more and more...the love and sacrifice she made as she raised my brother and I {she is why I always aspired to be a stay-at-home-mommy} and the love and wisdom she offers today as I walk this journey of motherhood. She's everything to me.



Via

This year I wanted to do something a little different than I have in years past and take her out on a surprise Mother/Daughter date. My amazing Dad (thanks Dad!) offered to watch the kiddos so I could take my momma out on Friday. I didn't tell her anything other than to be ready at 9:45am.

Our first stop, of course, was manicures at our favorite nail salon {TLC Nails}. Next, was lunch and dessert at Memory Lane Tea Room. I was excited to take her there because I was pretty sure she had never been before. I was correct and she was thrilled to try it out. {The baked fudge is out.of.this.world! Seriously!!}

We enjoyed the best conversation and company together! It had been far too long since we had one on one time. Usually the kiddos are with us, which is fine and we enjoy that immensely, but sometimes just mother/daughter time is necessary!

Overall, I had a great time and I know she had a great time because she told me over and over how much she enjoyed it. Love you, Mom!!

Instagram/Twitter/Bloglovin'/Pinterest

Linking up for Tuesday Tea:

Sassy Wife/Classy Life/The Ledford Life/Frankly My Dear

 

 



Birthday Fun and a 30 by 30 bucket list

My 29th birthday was this past Sunday and I had a wonderful day! Actually, I was celebrating the next day, too! Thank you for all the birthday love y'all sent my way!! The emails, tweets, texts, IG comments were so appreciated!!

Sunday morning brought a fun trip to a local bakery, Queenies, with my sweet little family of 4. We enjoyed walking around Utica Square, followed by a delicious breakfast. After breakfast, we made our way to Woodward Park to take in the beautiful colors of Spring.

Later that evening, we celebrated with some of our best friends, Mia and Dustin. {Missed you Ang and Andrew!} I was so excited to go to Cheddars and enjoy a Cookie Monster! Have y'all had one before? You need to, they're amazing! I wasn't able to get a picture because the kids and I {though mostly the kids} inhaled it! Mmm, so good!

The next day, my mom made a delicious Cinco de Mayo dinner and we celebrated with my family. {Thanks, Mom!} I don't know what I was thinking because I completely forgot to take pictures. {I guess I was subconsciously going Hands Free :)}.

I was completely spoiled and received nearly everything on my wishlist and then some! These babies are mine and I am so grateful! I'm excited to put my Mamarazzi skills to use with my new lens! :)

So, the idea of turning 30 hasn't bothered me too much and I haven't really given a '30 by 30 bucket list' any thought. Until now... I think it might be fun to put together a list of big and little things I'd like to accomplish before I turn 30. However, I'm hoping y'all might have some fun suggestions. 30 things is a lot!

I've come up with a few ideas, but I'm wondering, what do you think I should add to my 30 by 30 list?!

Instagram/Twitter/Pinterest/Bloglovin'

Serving with Joy

I'm excited to join with Maegan @ The Modern Tulip for this month's "Monthly Focus". For about a week, I've been thinking over what I'd like to focus on for the month of April and it came to me sitting in our church service on Sunday.

Serving...with joy.

Source

In order to explain why I want to focus on this in April {and beyond}, I need to make a confession. For the past few weeks, I've had a really crappy attitude. And I didn't know why. I assumed it was hormones, or a lack of sleep, or the roller coaster "Spring" weather. But, really, it's been a selfish focus on myself that has caused my poor attitude.

My kids and husband are the ones who have faced the brunt of this attitude problem and they are the ones I want to be {and should be} loving and serving the most! Sure, the days can be long, but the years are so short and I don't want to miss a single moment of joy just because I have a self-centered attitude. So, it's time for a change. I'm ready to make that change.

I love being a wife and a mother. I really do! But I've been letting myself get in the way of joyfully serving Robert, Collin & Emma. During our church service on Sunday, we studied John 13, when Jesus washed the disciples feet, and what exactly that meant in that time period.

This is such an incredible and beautiful picture of Jesus, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, humbling Himself and taking the form of servant for the disciples...and me and you! And Philippians 2:6-7 tells us that Jesus willingly became a servant.

I want to be like Jesus. I want to willingly serve my family. And serve them joyfully. And this is the month to focus on doing just that. I'm going to wake up every morning, ready and thankful for another chance to serve my hubby and kiddos! Let's do this thing!

Source

 

Source

What about you? Is there anything you'd like to focus on this month?

Also linking up with Sassy Wife/Classy Life, The Ledford Life & Frankly My Dear for Tuesday Tea.

One incredible man

Today is my dad's birthday! And he is an incredible man...one of the best that I know.

Father's Day 2013

He is one of the most thoughtful and caring people I know. If there is a need, he's the first one to step up and meet the need, no matter what that need is. He even has a way of anticipating needs and meeting them before they are even spoken.

He is one of the most loving people I know. He and my mom have been happily married for 32 years (and going strong!). That is quite an accomplishment! Sure, they have had ups and downs over the years, but they have always remained faithful and committed to one another. What a beautiful example they have set before Robert and I, and someday my brother, too.

He is the best Papa to my kids. He loves them like no other. Several years ago, my mom and I headed off for a Scentsy convention in Denver. Robert was out of vacation days, so my dad willingly, and excitedly, offered to watch Collin during the day for the 3 days we were gone. Keep in mind, Collin was still in diapers at this point. Sure, one of the diapers was put on backwards. But, they had the best time together!! And once Emma came along, he was really sunk! :) She has had him wrapped around her little finger since we found out we were having a girl. And it is the sweetest thing! They adore their Papa and I adore watching him with them.

He is the best dad I could imagine. Seriously, he is the most perfect dad for me. He has loved me unconditionally. Encouraged me always. Supported me in everything. Welcomed Robert like his own son. Prayed for me always. Just the best. 

He is a man after God's heart. He has always lead our family to Jesus. And I don't mean just going to church and/or going through the motions. I'm talking about actively living out a real relationship with Jesus and showing us how we can have the same. And he's doing the same with my kids now.

I am so grateful to have my dad in my life! I'm thankful for the years we've had and excited about the years to come.

Happy birthday, Dad!!! I love you more than words can say!

Wife After God: A book review

If you know me very well, you know I'm passionate about marriage and family.  My marriage and family are far from perfect, but it's not something I take lightly. My marriage to Robert is a beautiful gift God has given me and through our marriage, He has tremendously blessed us with our children. So, to think about something and/or something coming in and trying to damage my marriage and/or family makes me down right feisty. Hard to imagine, I know! Ha!!

So, when I was given the opportunity to review the book, Wife After God, I was thrilled!! This book is designed to draw women closer to their husbands by drawing them closer to God. You can learn more about it here. It has been wonderful!

I'm amazed by the writer's (Jennifer Smith) ability to speak directly into my heart about my marriage. She provides thought provoking, and sometimes convicting, daily devotions with daily challenges to put into practice immediately.

One of the biggest things God has been teaching me the past year or so is that my marriage isn't about making me happy, necessarily, but, rather, about bringing Him glory through my marriage. This devotional has been a great tool in helping me achieve that and keep my perspective in line.

I highly recommend this devotional. In fact, I'm planning to go through it again and would love for you to do it with me! We could have weekly chats, or even quick daily check ins, about how God is working in our marriages. Would you be interested in that?!

If you'd like to purchase the book, you can do so here. Thank you, Jennifer, for the opportunity to review your book! It has already been a tremendous blessing to me and many others to come, I'm sure!

Until next time,
Kristal

Follow me on Twitter here

Follow me on Facebook here

Follow me on Instagram here

Follow me on Pinterest here

Follow me on Bloglovin here

 

 

 

 

 



Pensacola fun

On the Saturday between the week with my parents and the week with Robert's family, we spontaneously decided to head over to Pensacola for the day and see what we could see. We had to be out of the condo by 10:00, but couldn't check in to the beach house until 4:00. Our family coming in had asked if we could check in early, but there was only a slight chance we could get in by 2:00 or 2:30. So, we left the condo around 9:15 in search of coffee and Mucinex D for me (I developed a short lived (thankfully!) cold almost overnight our last night with my parents and really wanted to breath :)) and just decided drive along the coast to Pensacola.

We found a cute, local coffee shop along the way called Mojo Coffee where we picked up some delicious coffee for us and juice boxes for the kiddos. We continued on our way, following signs for the Naval Air Museum. We decided to stop by and see how much it cost to get in and all the info on the air museum. We quickly found it after our coffee stop and discovered that the air museum was free!! (Apparently this is pretty common knowledge, but it was very exciting news to us!) So, that sealed our plans for the day and we were thrilled!

Along the road to the museum, we stopped by a lighthouse to take some pictures. We didn't go inside, but it was fun seeing it from the outside. :)

Gift shop fun. I have no idea what this hat is all about.

 

 

After the lighthouse, we moved on to the main attraction...the Naval Air Museum! We had a good time roaming through the museum looking at the airplanes and reading the history. I'm kind of a history nerd, not that I know a whole lot of history, but rather, really enjoy learning about it. I would have enjoyed it more if I had been feeling better, but I still had a good time. We spent a few hours at the museum...even ate lunch at the little cafe on site. It was an enjoyable visit and one we'd like to go again.

 

Seriously, how handsome are they?!

 

 

 

On our drive home, we ran into some nasty storms...the severe weather alerts were all over the place. But, we agreed it was one of our favorite days. Just being together, doing something fun (and free!).

 

Until next time,

Kristal





Beach fun-part 2

Here are a few more of my favorite highlight pics from our first week at the beach. Hope you enjoy them!

 

 

 

Until next time,

Kristal

Beach fun

The last two weeks we've been at the beach. We had a wonderful time! Seriously, I can't say enough good things about Gulf Shores. This was our 6th year to vacation there and every year we're there, it feels more and more like home. It's just comfortable. Beautiful beaches, lovely people, small town feel...just wonderful!

We spent the first week with my parents. We stayed at a condo right in the heart of Gulf Shores. It's fun being close to the action of the city...close to good restaurants, shopping, other happy vacationers. :) Our weather was surprisingly rainy/stormy this year. We only had a couple days of really nice weather. One day was a complete wash out....I'm talking heavy, heavy rain all day! But, most days were a mix of sun and storms. And really, it was ok because we were at the beach!

Our last day with my family was beautiful!! The nicest day by far. We decided to go on a jet ski dolphin tour. It's a 2 hour jet ski tour with a guide who takes you all around the bay, showing you parts of Gulf Shores you can only get to by water, fun places to play on the jet skis and the best places to see dolphins. Robert, Collin and I went last year and had a great time!! This year, my parents and Emma went too. Let me tell you, I was nervous taking Emma along. But, we sandwiched her between Robert and I and she did great. I was so sore after the tour, though, from squeezing my thighs together and maintaining a death grip on Robert's life vest to keep her secured. But, it was fun!

Gulf Shores is only about 45min to an hour away from Pensacola. That being said, until this year we had never seen the Blue Angels fly by. But we got a real treat one day on the beach. They came by, on their way to Ft. Morgan, which is about 20 miles from where we stayed in Gulf Shores. They were doing all kinds of maneuvers and showing off. It was so, so cool!! I'm bummed, though, because I was wasn't able to get a single picture of them.

Well, that quickly tells about different highlights of our vacation. We're always thankful for time away with our family to slow down, reconnect and relax. Here are just a few pics from our first week at the beach. I hope you enjoy them!

This post became surprisingly long, so I might do a part 2 just more pics of our week. :)

Until next time,
Kristal