WINNER!

Did I almost forget to announce the massive end of July giveaway winner?! Never!

Samantha Emerick! Email me at jessi connolly at gmail so we can get some loot to you! 

Lots more to say and per usual, too little time. 

So I'll stay brief and save up all that this little heart and mind is pondering until next week. 

In the meantime, if ya'll check out the shop this week - I'm excited to be using a new professional printer for my prints that has really upped the quality to something I'm super thrilled with. AND I have a few new items in there, like a big old print bundle! 

Check it out. You know, if you have more than too little time. 

Have a sweet weekend friends. 

Hope it's overwhelmed with the 

grace of God & faces of friends. 

where the quiet went

one early mornin' pic of my papa puzi's front yard

Ya'll, this has been such a summer. 
The past few years I've been in the northwest while our family has been here in the south. We've done some summer-ish things, but this summer has been a full out family summer. I think I mentioned this before, but we've been on lots of little "vacations". Not really vacations, because I'm usually alone with my kids and whatever family we're with. But vacation in that I'm not vacuuming (my own) floor or in my own city. 


This past little trip was five nights, five days with my dad, his extended family, my sister and all her kids on a some sweet farmland in north carolina. There was a daytrip out with my man for our anniversary, but mostly it was just my sister, me, my dad, and our boatload of kids running around the small towns of western north carolina. 


And it was oddly quiet. Lots of loud kids, but quiet in that we had no internet connection and our iphones got super rare service. So we just played and swam and swam and swam and woke up at the crack of dawn and did lots of fun family stuff. And you know what, I should've taken a MILLION pictures. Of the pretty land my Papa lives on, or the cousins cuddling after dinner, or Elias doing a double back flip off his pop in the pool (ACK), but I didn't. My hands were too full and it was too sweet and peaceful and quiet to both with a camera. 


But now, it's 3pm on Wednesday. My kids are about to wake up from their naps. My email inbox and etsy shop orders are SCREAMING at me for some maintenance. Dinner needs to be made. House prepped for community group. Laundry done and bags unpacked. Next trip planned. Life. It's loud.  

But I did LOVE those two posts from Annalea & Rachael. Didn't you? 

Annalea's post made me stop in my tracks and praise God for sorrow. 

Let me say it again. Thank you JESUS for sorrow. 

It feels like such a blessing to know the joy that comes outside of, because of, after, before, and during sorrow. 

& Rachael's post. Love. Just so you know - the things I'm JUST DOING: 

ve-gan. it's a daily recommitment, ya'll. 

and I've re-banished Diet Coke from my daily life. Mostly, because Ellen is helping me. 

And PLEASE tell me you've entered the giveaway from Monday. Ends Thursday at 5pmEST. 
Love ya'll. Hope it's quiet or loud or awesome where you are today, amen?

1% change, from Rachael

Hey ya'll. My last little summer "vacation" is almost over, but one more guest post. 

Here's my sweet friend Rachael from Letters to Ames. 

I LOVE when people do guest 1% changes for me and take

 it to a place that is TRULY challenging to me. 

(looking at you, Kelli). Here's another one. 

Thanks for putting it plainly Rach. 

Love you guys & miss you! 

Entered the giveaway yet?!

...................

Side note... err... Top note. Before I even get started, I want to say something. Jessi sat in my living room about a year ago and told me her theory on the 1% change concept. I think it was new to her at that time, and she was still in the processing stages. 

Can I just say, Jessi, that I am so proud of you?! You stuck with this idea and fleshed it out here on your blog, allowing us to share it with you on a regular basis. You are an inspiration on how to make healthy living (be it physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual) less intimidating and more feasible in our families. Thank you!

Now, I will share about a little family victory in our home.

Our 1% change for healthy living has to do with groceries: GO FOR IT.

We made a commitment to buy organic, vegetarian-fed meat. So we do. It's not available everywhere, and it's ridiculously expensive. So we just buy a little less, or a little less often. But we stick to our commitment. 

We committed to eliminating high-fructose corn syrup in our house (with the exception of ketchup, because the organic stuff was JUST NOT CUTTING IT). Anyway, whenever we see something we'd like, we read the label. If there is corn syrup in it, it goes back on the shelf. We take a minute to mourn, because that item would have surely been enjoyed. But it's not coming across our doorstep. Because we committed to it.

Sure, healthy eating has affected our budget. But I refuse to accept "organic is just too expensive" as an excuse to buy yucky stuff. We simply find ways to make it work. We meal plan more efficiently, which means we grocery shop together, which means the right side items accompany the right entrees, which means we save money, which means we don't stress as much about food or finances, which means we enjoy sitting down to dinner as a family. So basically, committing to something and sticking to it makes for a healthier marriage and a healthier family! Right?

........

I say RIGHT. What do you need to just go with? Just do? 

Do it. 

And tell us about it. 

an interview with (or takeover by) annalea

hello there!  annalea here.  i am taking over naptime diaries today!
um, i pretty much LOVE jessi and her sweet blog.
it has been a blessing to get to know her and an honor to be a sponsor for naptime diaries.

jessi had some questions for me.  here are my answers. . .

1. Tell us about your family. How many of there are you and what are you guys like?

let me introduce you to the hart clan.  eleven years ago this week, jesse (yes, i'm married to a jesse!) and i were two young ones saying our vows and making a covenant before God.  we had no idea what was in store for us.  our life is so much more beautiful than we expected.  but the road has been difficult, folks.  incredibly beautiful, but incredibly difficult.  our love is in spite of weakness and hardship, not because of who we are and what we have done. we live a lovely little life with three sweet babes and they bless our lives immensely. firstborn luca is a creative and sensitive 6 yo boy who loves animals and legos. miss gia, 4 yo princess superhero extraordinaire, is our comedian and sweetheart who loves to dance. enzo, or the goo, is our fiesty 20mo who loves to play ball and make noise. we have known the grief of losing a child to miscarriage.  we educate at home and like to get our hands dirty in all kinds of diy projects (when we get the time).  i am a 13 year veteran in the world of chronic illness.  being diagnosed with fibromyalgia while in college has been my most life altering experience.

our family mission is to glorify God. simple as that. but a challenge that will last this lifetime. we are creating a legacy of faith

2. What are your favorite things to write about? 

i love to write the real stuff.  sometimes that is pretty and crafty, simple tutorials and fun upcycled projects.  but most of the time it is about choosing joy when life is hard or finding beauty in the everyday.  i simply tell our stories and share our life.

3. What activities reenergizes/recreates/refreshes you?

spending time in worship of my Father refreshes me like no other.  sometimes that looks like reading my Bible or praying, but it often will be me singing loudly and dancing around the house with my littles.  or using my hands to create and relishing the truth that i was made in the image of the Creator.  what humble satisfaction that brings!

4. What's something you're passionate beyond measure? Keeps you up in the night and makes your face feel hot when you talk about it.

this question is stumping me!  i think it is because i am feeling guilty that i can't think of a better answer.  for most of my life, i have been a crusader - a justice seeker - and i could easily come up with 1 (or 5 issues) to speak up for.  right now, it takes near everything i have to just get up in the morning and be accountable for my husband and littles.  i guess you could say i am passionate about being a wife and mama - about living my life well.   not perfectly, but with excellence.

right now, i am entrenched in the world of home education.  i am passionate about giving my children the tools of learning through a classical education.  our mission is to know God and to make Him known.  as director of our local homeschool community, i have the opportunity to equip and encourage other parents wanting the same.  it is exciting!

5. What has surprised you most in this life? 

i am most surprised by the relationship between sorrow and joy.

Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.  Ecclesiastes 7:3

it used to seem that trials were something to endure in order to get to the good place.  now i know that the Good is in the trials.  in fact, i can more easily find it there.  the suffering gives me a focus.

But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.  C.S. Lewis

sorrow is part of my story.  but it does not have to crowd out the goodness. it is less of a weed and more of a wildflower. my life is not less joyful.  in fact, i experience joy more fully knowing sorrow.  joy blooms alongside.

thank you jessi, for having me over today.
i should have warned you i wouldn't be using capital letters.
but i am pretty sure you are a-okay with that.

thank you naptime diaries readers for spending some time getting to know me.
have a lovely day!

massive end o' July giveaway!

Hey ya'll!
It's that time again!
Not only do I get to have some lovely sponsors, they love to bless you! 
Here's some of the sweet ladies I want to tell you about today and the sweet gifts they're giving! 


first up: Lauren from Seek First

Well, hello there.  My name is Lauren Battershell and I am completely honored to be on Jessi's blog.  Above all, I seek first the kingdom of Christ; while currently doing my day job as a cancer researcher.  I started my little shop as a way to fund going back to school debt free.  

I have lots of little lovelies at affordable prices! I hope you will stop by! 

Lauren is giving away this beautiful coral rosette headband and she's offering ALL naptime diaries readers 20% off her products using the coupon code: NAPTIME.

next up: 

Melody from Melodyjoy1983

i am a wife /mother/ daughter/ blogger/ free spirit  lover of: coffee, good music, photography, manatees, hula hooping, traveling, mismatched clothes, old VW bugs, meeting new people, having adventures and all things creative & handmade. i also have lots of embarrassing stories from my life. LOTS. {not exaggerating in the slightest} we have recently become raisers of chickens. i have alwaysbeen an enthusiastic eater of foods {specifically carbs. especially nutella.} my husband is in youth ministry and i am privileged to stay at home with our two young boys.

Sweet Melody is giving away a mama bird's nest ring or necklace (your choice) and a 30% discount to all readers who follow her blog using discount code: blogdiscount30. 

Katie from TopKnotz.

My name is Katie, and I’m a wife and stay at home Mom. I love Jesus, and love making bows! After making tons and tons of bows for my friends and family, I decided it would be a lot of fun to start Top Knotz Bows! I’ve been so blessed to have a creative outlet, and thank you all for supporting us stay at home Mommy’s!

Katie is giving away these sweet three bows and on her website, her prices are reduced just for ya'll! Go check it out!

Abbey from Kathryn Hart

My name is Abbey Robertson.  I stay at home with my baby and have another babe on the way.  My sweet hubby and I have been married for almost 3 years.  I wanted to bring in some extra income so I started Kathryn Hart designs after some really frustrating trips to the store to find a nursing cover; I could not find what I wanted in the price that I could afford.  I make my wraps, car seat tents and burp clothes all custom, not one is the same and can work within any budget. 

Abbey is giving away this beautiful nursing wrap! Great for mamas or future baby shower gifts!


Sweet Laura from Splendor: 

Hi there! My name is Laura! I have a blog and shop called Splendor where you will find bits of me and everything I love. From my faith and reliance in Christ, my love for my husband, home and children to my passion for writing, fashion, decorating and design. It is my heart to share a part of me through the words on my blog and the pieces in my shop. Stop by and say hello, I'd love to get to know you! 

Laura is giving away this beautiful lilac bloom necklace AND this fabric button earrings/ring set! Also all readers get a 15% discount using code: naptime15. Thanks Laura! 


Kristen over at Life at the Table: 

A place where everything comes back to the time spent around the heart of the home- the kitchen. With a husband as a chef, I've grown to love celebrating food from start to finish...the plant in the garden bed to the cute bowl and linen it's served upon and of course the conversation that happens along the way. You'll find handmade, reusable bags for your daily life...trips to the market, packed lunches, produce storage and also ink drawings for your kitchen walls.

Kristen is giving away a grocery tote & sandwich bag combo AND a 10% discount for all customers using code NAPTIME10. 


Tiffany from LalaLu!

After being taught to crochet from my grandmother in love who was taught by her mother in love, I started creating baby gifts for friends and loved ones! I love creating and found such an outlit in crocheting. It was been an amazing way to create things with so much care and love.

Tiffany is giving away this sweet monkey hat & a buy one, get one free deal for all readers on her headbands! Just enter which headband you'd like extra at checkout!


......and Naptime Diaries!

the winner can pick three 8x10 prints of their choice from my shop! And I'm giving ya'll a massive coupon code of 20% because I love you and want to bless you. Use it: GIVEAWAY. 


the rules for entering: 
- one entry per comment
- first entry: follow this blog
- second entry: like naptime diaries on facebook
- third entry: tweet/facebook/blog about it
giveaway ends thursday at 5pm EST. 
Love you guys! 

Joyful in Hope, a guest post by Jac

Hey friends, Jessi here. 

Enjoy this sweet guest post from Jacqueline, one of our sponsors, and go give her some love over at her sweet blog. Hope ya'll are having a sweet Sunday! 

..............

Be joyful in hope

Patient in affliction

Faithful in prayer

                  Romans 12:12 NIV

This is the one verse that describes what my husband and I have been living and standing on for the last 12 months.

A year ago my husband and I started our journey to becoming parents and we couldn’t have been more excited. We were overjoyed with the possibilities for the future and how our lives would change;as adverse to change as we are we were looking forward to this one.

And then we started down the road of bedrest.

As someone who was raised to choose my attitude on a daily basis, I thank my dad every day for teaching me to choose hope and joy every morning when I woke up to spend my day in bed. To hope for my son’s life and the impact he would have on the world. And to be joyful in the fact that we made it another day and he has growing safely. I chose to be joyful in hope and not let the negative in, at least not too much. I’m not claiming to be perfect; I had moments when it all became overwhelming. I remember the first Friday morning of bedrest when Brian brought me up the ultrasound pictures and I broke down. It was hard to look at the pictures and not know what the future held and if babE Gray was going to be okay. We were only 22 weeks along. We needed at least another 2 weeks before the doctors would really be able to do anything, and another 18 weeks until we were full term. After a few minutes of pity partying I straightened my attitude and decided that I needed to be joyful in hope. I had hope, and even in the moments when I didn’t, God was my hope. He lifted my eyes and warmed my soul and told me it would be okay; I just had to focus on Him.

Patience has never been my strong point. I am not a patient person; at least I was not before bedrest.  Bedrest is one of the biggest tests of patience a person can be put through. I thought 3 minutes for a pregnancy test was too long, or even the 9 months of pregnancy, but the thought of enduring 18 weeks on bedrest seemed impossible. A lot of people wonder what bedrest is, or think it must be like a vacation getting to spend every day in bed. Well after 4 days in bed you get over the sparkle of no work, and relaxing and catching up on blogging or emails or even just reading. After that it becomes work. I was lucky in the fact that I could get out of bed to go to the washroom, or shower, or even come downstairs to have dinner with my husband, at least for the first 8 weeks; after that I was in bed on my back except for washroom breaks. I spent a lot of time just watching the clock. I look at it every minute waiting for Brian to come home from work, wondering if he was going to be late or not. Bedrest was my affliction. It was a case of suffering for me, I suffered the physical side effects of bedrest; my body ached all the time, I lost my flexibility, and I lost a lot of strength. But more than the physical suffering was the emotional and mental suffering. It was hard to know that the only way I could guarantee another day of growing Grayson was to stay in bed, and there was no guarantee. As if a pregnant woman isn’t emotional enough, I went from a normal pregnancy to a high risk pregnancy, to a round of preterm labour at 29 weeks. But unlike some ailments, I knew there was an end date. I had a due date, once we got there the bedrest would be over, and I would be praying to get back all the time I could spend in bed sleeping. I just had to be patient and focus on the end date. I also had to be patient when , at 29 weeks, I went into preterm labour and Grayson threatened to meet us 11 weeks before his due date. I had to be patient and let my body realign itself, and be patient and know that God was in control. The patience paid off, and we made it another 3 weeks before Grayson decided to arrive.

Prayer has been a part of my life from before I can remember. My dad would always say bedtime prayers with us as children. I’m the youngest of 3, all of our names starting with J, so at bed time it was always “Thank you Lord for Jennifer, no, Jacob, no, thank you Lord for Jacqueline.”  I tease my dad to this day about that. He’s the one that decided against naming me Jessica, and knew that I was a Jacqueline. I know that my parents prayed over my life before I was born, and that’s part of the reason why we wanted to know if babE was going to be a boy or a girl, and to have a name picked out. We had so many people in our lives that we knew would be praying over Gray’s life before he was born, and we wanted to be able to pray specifics; to pray for him as a future husband and father, to pray for his future wife and her family. We never ceased praying for him. When the diagnosis came down, and the prescription was bedrest, we prayed harder. When we were headed for the hospital in preterm labour the first and second time, we prayed even harder. And when my son was born 8 week premature we spent hours at his bedside praying. Neither my husband nor I are doctors, but we do know the great physician, and we knew that as long as we focused on Him, that our son would be okay. During the hardest times, we prayed, and we tried not to focus on the situation we were in, but the situation we wanted; we wanted to be home with our son healthy, whole and thriving. The hardest night of our lives so far was the night Grayson was put on a ventilator. We held each other, and after we got our heads wrapped around what was happening to our son, we prayed. I spent the night by his bedside and sang him worship songs, and praying over him. I claimed healing for him. I had to be faithful in my prayer, and not just faithful to pray and continue to pray but to speak my faith through my prayers.

The last 12 months have been a true test of who I am, and where I stand. I am created for a purpose by the one who is above all others, and I stand strong in my faith and knowledge of Christ. As much as the last 12 months have been a test, they have been such a great lesson and reminder. I have been reminded to be joyful in the hope of tomorrow, to be patient through the suffering because joy comes in the morning, and to speak my faith through my prayers and pray often.

Grayson will be 6 months old next week. We left the NICU 33 days after he was born and he has been thriving ever since. He broke 12lbs on the scale this week, and we couldn’t be more excited to pack away the newborn clothes for good and break out the 3 month clothes.

Thank you Jessi for letting me share a bit of my story. You are a true blessing to me.

Blessings All!

Jac

Vie a la table!

Hey ya'll!
Jessi here. 
Meet Kristen. 
The lady behind life at the table & Vie a la table. 
I wanted ya'll to get to know her a bit better and 
here are some questions she answered to help do just that. 
..........................................

Kristen, tell us a little about your blog! 

Vie a la Table, is an extension of me and my husband's domestic adventures in Portland, OR. I began blogging when I was only 19 in 2005 (and embarrassingly enough, those archives are still there!), as a way to share my life happenings as a shy design college student in Tennessee, with all our family back on the West Coast. It grew to include my husband during our engagement & newlywed years as we kept in touch with our family. Over time (a few domain names and a cross country move later) it has evolved into a creative outlet for cooking, house projects, photography and a deep thought here and there. I love the concept of knowing our lives are documented for us, our future generations, and for you lovely folks. And we have not one, but two great danes, and they slip into a post here and there, because honestly, they're a little big to overlook!

Tell us more about your shop and your favorite item!
My shop, Life at the Table (translate it to French, and you get our blog name!), is way to bring a few passions together: making sustainable choices in our daily lifestyle, celebrating food at it's best, and sewing & drawing. In there you'll find handmade bags with the purpose of being used over and over...reusable sandwich bags, market totes for the grocery store and farmers markets (or anywhere!) and drawstring produce bags for storing foods like onions, apples, veggies, grains, you name it (even crafts, kid stuff, traveling). I also love to sketch and draw, so you'll find my take on vintage and botanical style drawings of antique serving ware, herbs, and vegetables. Perfect for spicing up your kitchen walls. Right now, I think my favorite item(s) are the sandwich bags...they are fun to make, so colorful, and I like to find really fun fabrics in small quantities, so once a fabric is out, it's on to the next fun print!

Tell us about the transition from working full-time to running your own shop. 

This has been an interesting year in my life... we had been doing our best 'planning our life' ourselves and little did we know that God maybe had a different idea! I had struggled not getting an design job in my field in a city with a terrible real estate and job market, so I took something just to pay the bills. But that didn't last as long as I had hoped when my happiness and peace were being sacrificed. I put in my notice quite a bit earlier than expected and had to jump in feet first to doing this full time, and I love it. We don't have kids yet, but I am thankful for the way God provides and has orchestrated things to prepare us & our marriage for the next step. My biggest challenges are pushing my introverted self out there (in person and online) as well as balancing my time between all the online/networking/marketing and actually sitting back and just producing and creating.

What has surprised you most in this life? 

(ps - this is my new favorite question) 

I don't know if there is one specific instance, but just the fact that I never truly know what tomorrow holds. I can plan as much as I want and put myself on certain paths towards certain directions, but God always has his plan in mind, whether it's opening an unexpected door along the way or shutting the one I was determined to go through. Even just this week am I reminded that I am not in the drivers seat when unexpected opportunities fell into my lap from nowhere! And thankful for that too, since it'd be a mess if I was in control of my own life.
How do you get recreated/refreshed/renewed?

I think my biggest sources of refreshment come from time alone and time with my husband. If I just turn the computer off or set something aside every once in a while and pick up a book and be enveloped in a story, it helps to take my mind of reality a little bit. My husband (who graduated from culinary school) is a pretty darn great chef and cooking in the kitchen is something we love doing together. My first year of gardening this year has become a daily reminder of God's intricacies and beauty, and to take the few successes from that and work alongside my husband creating an interesting dish together always brings me peace and joy, and also encourages me to photograph and document it. If you saw our hard drive, you'd have a hard time finding pictures of people, but plenty of food shots!

she's baaaack! summer beauty by Kristin!

No need to tell me thank you girls, I'm here for you. And because I love you and I want good for you, I've got a post by Kristin. How to wear your summer hair? Makeup for an event? YES, PLEASE. I need to know both of those. 

Here's her simple and yet awesome answer!

Enjoy! 

..........

well hey there, friends! i'm back again and so stoked because i feel like i have some helpful hints to tackle some common how-to beauty questions.

i know a lot of us are attending weddings like crazy this summer. what better way to kick off the style segments than with a cute (and SUPER EASY) up-do followed by a simple eye technique?!

lets jump right in! 

HAIR
tools i use: hairspray, bobbie pins, a comb if necessary (having a little wave in your hair helps)
step 1. i'm a huge fan of day-old hair, at least, when rocking an up-do. i'm not saying dirty so be sure to grab some baby powder or a few sprays of dry shampoo if you think your hair is too oily or flat (we'll touch on shampooing later, don't you worry!)

2. section off the front portion of your hair in the way you feel the most comfortable. if you love a swooped bang do that! what if you want your bangs to blend with the rest of your hair?  try finger-combing them back and hair spraying them in place.
3. once the front section is established the rest is fun because you can't go wrong! grab about 20 bobbie pins in your hair color and, if possible, position yourself in front of the mirror so that you can see the back.

4. my favorite approach is a twist followed by a tuck. i'm not a fan of tight twists that end up looking like cornrows- i'm thinking one rotation of the hair then secure it with a bobbie pin underneath so it doesn't show. you may choose to center your twists in a bun style, but an off-center, nestled-behind-the-ear bundle of twists is always a hit.

5. spray your hair well! you won't regret the extra insurance when your dancing your heart out in the humidity!  ps. no one will be touching it and the shine in the spray typically makes it photograph well! shake your head back and forth like you mean it to make sure it holds up before you leave!
6. pop in a small flower from the garden or a fabulous pin from anthropologie if you want to kick it up a notch.
7. be proud of your cute hair! try not to bother with it or continually ask your girlfriends how it looks....if you're confident i promise they'll all want to copy your style!


ok! so now to the EYE!  tools i use: angle/eyebrow brush, a full and short brush for the lid, a long rounded brush for the crease, and a lash curler. make up i use: light pearl shadow, dark brown shadow (this could also be plumb, black or navy), an eyeliner in the same shade as the dark shadow, primer and mascara
step 1. when starting you'll want to make sure you've cleansed and moisturized your face and applied a complimentary foundation to create a clean slate. moisturizing is important even if you have oily skin (there are oodles of wonderful weightless lotions in all price ranges) to ensure your makeup goes on evenly.
2. comb your preferably tweezed/waxed eyebrows into place.  if necessary use an angled brush to apply a matte eyeshadow, in your hair's shade, to fill in any gaps. this sets the frame for your face and shouldn't be overlooked with even the blondest brows.
3. prime your eyelids. you may prefer a powder primer or a creme, but either way this will ensure your makeup doesn't settle in your creases an hour into the event.
4. cover your entire eyelid up to your brow with a light and shimmery color (i can suggest bobbi brown's champagne or aveda's illumination). the goal is to draw the eye upward and  highlight your brow bone. i promise this won't look absurd because its so light a color.
5. take the crease brush and, starting on the outside of your lid, work the darker shade toward the corner of your eye covering the lower lid. i love a soft blended look so i continue to go back and forth over the lid until its blended to my preference.

6. apply the eyeliner from the outside of your eye to the corner in a thin line along your top lash line. if your eyes are set close together try focusing the liner more heavily on the outside corners of your eye ending in the center. if you they are small don't be scared to fully line them on bottom and top to make them appear larger. note different techniques on each eye in the picture.

7. use the lash curler carefully to create a little extra drama and then apply two coats of mascara.
8. brush off any shadow that may have fallen on your cheek with a tissue so it doesn't look like dark circles!

9. enjoy being fabulous!

thanks for letting me give a couple quick hints! these have worked for me and hopefully will help you as well!
until next time!
love, kristin
..............
Seriously, ya'll. Is she amazing or what? 
I'm SO thankful for this, I might even put on mascara this weekend! 
Hurrah! Get excited, Kristin has looooootttts more goodness in store for us.
And feel free to keep adding questions for her!  
Love ya'll! 

6th through the tough things

Saturday is Nick and I's sixth anniversary. 
If I don't say it explicitly enough, he is my absolute best friend. 
I think he's the best man in the whole world. 
I think God absolutely gave me an incredible gift in Him. 


BUT since I like this blog to be more real and less trophy case, there is no point in denying that this has been an incredibly hard year for us. Really an incredibly hard set of years, but this one - she's been a doozy. So I thought I'd share with ya'll and with you, nc, six snapshots of how he'd loved me through the hard in the most Christlike way imaginable. 


Nick, 

#1. This first one came early in the sixth year when we were at Edisto on that mini vacation. I think it was the first glimpse either of us had that the Lord might be postponing Boston. Things had been catapulting forward in Seattle and when we arrived on the East Coast, everything moved to a standstill. And we were discouraged. And one morning, you got up early with the kids and swooped one of them up and went out to the porch and just sat. And I knew you were crying out to Him and resigning yourself to His will. And because you did, I could too. 


#2. It makes me laugh to think about it now, how ornery we both were on Christmas day for a million different reasons. Just bickering and not loving each other well. And in the midst of it all, you just said, "stop! this isn't who we are and it isn't what we're going to do." And we didn't. And I think our little family received a lot of joy from that Christmas because of that. 


#3. I'll never forget the day of my half marathon when I called you so upset because I couldn't find you guys cheering for me. And I was being irrational and emotional and you chose to use the sweetest voice ever with me and I could hear the kids screaming in the background and I'm sure it was so hard for you, but spoke so sweetly to me instead of letting me hear the sacrifice you'd made for me to run that thing in your voice. And if you read that incredibly long sentence, that should really be reason #3. 


#4. On the day we found Glory seizing, I've never felt so thankful for you. Thankful that you were screaming and crying to the Lord louder than I was - but in the midst of begging Him for her life, you packed the car, got the boys up and dressed, and arranged childcare. All I could do was hold her and cry, but you could cry out to Him and run the world at once. I think that's the definition of "my better half". 


#5. On the night a few days after we found out we lost Arrow and you found me crying by myself while I watched that stupid movie, you smiled at me so big. And you told me you were proud of me for loving him so hard and missing him so hard. And you said it made you love me more. You were like Christ to me, seeing my absolute weakness and calling it a strength. That meant more to me than I'll ever be able to express. 


#6. This week when I stood at the sink washing dishes (duh, always) and asked you over the phone what you thought about us praying for more victory in Christ, for more freedom, for NOT a hard year. When I expressed that I was so glad He'd met us in all of the hard and that we'd known Him more, but what if we had asked Him for the faith to ask for blessing instead of just healing from more hurt. And you said yes, you wanted to lead us in that kind of faith. And I knew, if our seventh year is the hardest yet - it doesn't matter. 
Because you'll be there and He'll be there. 
And there will be victory. 


I love you Nick. 
Jess

1% change, FINANCE

This is Kelli. She is precious. 

She has a wonderful blog on great money 

saving tips and I am so thankful for her!

1% Change- finances

Hi everyone! Don’t you just love Jessi, and this great community she has created here? I know I do, and I love how she challenges each of us to better ourselves, a little at a time. 


My name is Kelli and I am very excited about sharing a 1% change you can make involving finances, which in turn, can help us accomplish a goal with eternal benefits. Read on to find out what that goal is!  


I think so many times we get stressed out about bills, keeping up with the Joneses, pursuing the American dream, or whatever it is we want to do that our focus becomes severely egocentric. Anyone still with me? I would venture to guess we can all give up something, or change one habit, that will enable us to change by 1%- or even more! So. What are a few ways we can effectively cut our budgets? Here are just a few.  


1} How many of you LOVE to drive through Starbucks, McDonald's, whatever, and grab iced coffee? I know I'm raising my hand! But this can add up so quickly. I don't think you have to give up the restaurant coffee all the time, but set yourself a budget. Give yourself $10 a month in cash, and when it's gone, it's gone. Then, learn to make iced coffee (or whatever kind you like) at home. Then sit down and enjoy it instead of slurping it down in the car. :)  


2} Downgrade {or even cancel} your cable. Ouch. I know this can hurt. But do you really have time to watch 250 channels? Or need to? And if you have kids, do they need access to what is out there? Can I let you in on a little secret? My husband and I have been married almost 10 years and have never had cable. And I really don't want it! {except for Food Network- that would be nice!} And it is a treat when we get to go to a hotel and have cable! It makes watching the Food Network special for me. In the last year or two, we have also subscribed to Netflix. For only ten bucks and some change, you can have lots of movies and shows at the ready, for much less than a cable plan costs.  


3} Shop at "dollar stores." I have a blog dedicated to this very thing that can help you see what items you can purchase at these stores that are a good deal, and those that aren't. But just for a sampling, did you know you can get children's acetaminophen {generic Tylenol} for $1 at Dollar Tree? Or a great pair of sunglasses for $4 at Dollar General? Or even pregnancy tests? There are so many items we can get on the cheap if we just take a little time to research. Dear sisters, can I be lovingly honest here? 


If we are not being wise stewards over what God has given us, we are not only being selfish, we are being disobedient to his word. I think it is easy to slip into the mindset of this is "my money," and "my needs," but God reigns over all of it! And, he will bless us when we are faithful to obey him.  


So, now that we have discussed ways to help out our budget, and you've saved a little cash, what is this eternal goal that I speak of? It is to help others! There are soooo many ways to help out that I can't even begin to touch them all. Here are three that can get you going, though:  
◊ One way is to support a child through a great organization such as World Vision or Compassion. For just about $40 a month {hello there, 8 coffees, or 4 movies, or one pair of shoes}, you can help give a child clean water, food, education, and best of all, access to the Gospel. 
◊ I know that not everyone will be able to spare an extra forty dollars. It just isn’t there. But there are still ways to help! Jessi has a great idea about helping others here. Just taking a meal to someone can be HUGE.  
◊ Know any single moms? Take their kids out and buy them a pair of shoes. Give them a giftcard to Wal-Mart for groceries. If you can't do something financially, let her kids come over for an evening so she can get some stuff done. {and for you precious single moms reading this, you are in my prayers. You do SO much and I admire you. } 


If none of these ideas spark your heart, do some research. Look online, ask a minister at your church, or simply look around your neighborhood. Most likely, someone close to you could use some kind of help. In conclusion: Do I have this all down pat? Absolutely not. Are there days when I would much rather get a mocha Frappuccino (with whipped topping, of course) than to make my own? Absolutely yes. But I think the important lesson is to GIVE more than we are giving now. A little at a time. 


I would love to hear of other creative ways you have to save money, as well as to help others!
.................
thank you so much, Kelli.
I'm on board and super challenged.
Save the money so you can steward it, so you can give it. Amen & Amen.