Saturday, October 26, 2013

Stress Free Family Photo Planning!

As you have probably noticed a lot of my recent posts have been around finding contentment and reducing stress while living in rural America.  With the exception of about 4 months, I have lived my entire life in Rural America and I wouldn't change it for anything.  I lived in the panhandle of Texas until I was 10, in western Kansas from ages 10 to 19, and then I've been in Eastern Colorado for 12 years now.  Every where I've lived there's never been a Wal-Mart or clothing shop down the road and that is OK!

My husband and I both work outside the home so weekend trips to stock up on groceries, or go clothes shopping is just not a great use of our time and quite frankly we don't really enjoy it either.  If we leave town it's usually to go see family, go run a race or do something fun, or just enjoy some time together.  And all of the other times we would rather just enjoy some quiet family time at home!

Here's a list of reasons we do so much of our shopping online:
1.  Save on time
2.  Save on fuel expense
3.  Save on eating out while shopping
4.  Save on impulse buys
5.  Save on Sales Tax (we don't have a local sales tax where our house is located so IF we do have to pay sales tax, it's only state sales tax, which is 2.9% as compared to 7.4% in say Brighton)
6.  Convienience of having our purchases delivered to our door, plus the ability to shop a variety of stores all at once.
7.  More and more vendors are offering free shipping

And the list can go on...

I shared a facebook post sharing about how we buy a lot of our household and grocery items through www.walmart.com and www.amazon.com.  We have arranged an area in our storage room to store some products in bulk and it makes daily living so much easier!


This leads me to my newfound appreciation for Stitch Fix!  I shared last month about my first 'fix' and how it all works.  I was so happy the first time, that I signed up for another fix.  Having family pictures taken every fall is something that is so near and dear to my heart, which unfortunately results in stressful planning for outfits.  I remember last year I was in tears and stressing about what everyone was going to wear the very night before our pictures.  I remember having clothes for everyone thrown all over my bed, trying to mix and match everyone's clothes.  I did finally get something put together AND we have an incredibly talented photographer, Cherished Snapshots, that helped cover my defeat in planning!


I typically pic a couple colors to work with when planning photos (but am by no means an expert).  We've done red & black, teal & purple, teal & denim, etc.  This year I wanted to do brown and olive/army green.  I love picking out clothes for my kids and my husband, but have always gotten stressed over picking out my own clothes.  I went out on a huge limb this year and let Stitch Fix help me out this time. When scheduling my second fix, I let them know I was planning family photos and what colors we were doing.  I also knew that if it didn't go well with Stitch Fix, I wasn't going to have a whole lot of time to come up with Plan B.  After losing 30 pounds, I'm still rebuilding my closet over time, so I don't have a whole lot of green items that would work for pictures.

I could not have been more thrilled with what they selected for me.  They chose this olive green jacket (which also has a drawstring on the inside) on the top left in the picture below, which I plan on pairing with a brown/cream shirt, some skinny jeans and boots.  I didn't even give the Stitch Fix shopper a picture of what everyone else is wearing, and I think she nailed it!!!


They also gave me a couple other items as a back up in case I didn't like the jacket.  They included this adorable brown cardigan and infinity scarf, which I could have put together completely different outfits together as well (and yes, I kept these items as well).  Sorry for not including pictures of me trying them on, just didn't have the energy to set up the tripod and all that fun stuff!



I still need to add a couple accessories and finish planning the rest of the details for everyones outfits, but the major decisions are done and ready and I couldn't be more excited for family pictures in a couple weeks.

A huge sigh of relief for this mom!  Also, don't forget that Stitch Fix has a great referral program too. For every friend that uses your referral code and receives their first 'fix,' you receive a $25 credit towards your next fix.  A great way to share your experience with a friend and make your next fix a little easier on your budget!

Blessings,

Krystal




Monday, October 21, 2013

A Little Spot of Joy!

My family and I have been so busy the last several months, that I haven't even had a chance to get some of my fall decorations out.  This evening I needed just a little time to put together a little corner of joy in our dining room.  Our dining room is definitely one of my favorite rooms in our home.  My mom always made it a priority for us to sit down and have a meal together each and every evening and for that I am grateful.  We also make that a priority in our home and it's such a special time to reconnect from the day.  I will admit there are still evening meals where the kids are flopping in and out of their chairs and evenings where we might be terrified if we counted how many times we have to ask our kids to 'eat their supper,' but it's worth every minute!

My dear husband gave me such a hard time for purchasing a new house plant today as I haven't had the greatest history with keeping them alive, but I'm determined to prove him wrong!  So here goes...  Last weekend the kids and I went to Kansas to visit my Mom & Dad and while we were there, my Mom, Kylee and I went to Salina to surprise my sister in law on the opening day of her store CJ's Creative Marketplace.  While we were there, I found this cute 'FALL' banner.  It was such a joy to see the smile on her face on this special day!  If you're in the Salina, KS area, I highly encourage you to check out her store!!!


This table has some other very special pieces placed on it.  My mother gave me the bread basket in the picture below, the milk glass was my great grandmother's and this camera was my great grandfather's first camera.  My grandparents told me a couple years ago that they had this old camera.  They knew how much I loved pictures and cameras, so when we were there this summer we looked and looked in their basement to find it and the pure joy I had when we found it was absolutely priceless!


What may just seem like a table is a very special corner of joy for me, full of love, memories and the encouragement to create new memories!  Thanks for letting me share just a little corner of joy from my home.  May you also enjoy a little corner of joy in your home!

Blessings,

Krystal


Sunday, October 20, 2013

Another Half Marathon!

Back in June I ran the Slackers Half Marathon race, which was such an incredible experience.  I also learned so much from that race.  One of the difficult lessons I learned was that I must be careful when choosing a race to run.  I have to be cautious for both my spiritual and physical health.  As I've wrote about in the past, I got a migraine two days before my first half marathon race due to stressing over the race and allowing my fitness to become an idol.  What was a way to relieve stress became my stress.

Like many runners, I am much more committed and dedicated on a daily and weekly basis if I have a goal to works towards, which is one of the many reasons that races are so valuable.  A dear friend and fellow running pal came across US Road Running, which is a site dedicated to virtual races.  The way that it works, is you register for a race (which they have all sorts of different themed, monthly, team races, etc.) online.  The fee is really reasonable, simply to cover the administrative costs and costs of the medals.  With some of the races they mail you your medal right away and you can have it ready for race day and others you log back in after your race, record your time and then they mail you your medal with your name and time on the back of the medal.  You can then run your race at any location (indoors or outdoors) at any time (within the guidelines of the chosen race).

I absolutely loved this idea for so many reasons.  Living in rural America it can be a challenge to travel to the larger races, therefore a virtual race is less expensive, easier on my family and a lot less stressful for this runner and yet, still gave me a great goal to work towards.  A group of us then picked a date, picked our distances, set our goals and got registered!  I registered for the Movie Madness Half Marathon, which is a virtual half marathon that you can complete anytime during 2013.  I was so excited to receive my medal in the mail and then I sat it on the shelf to wait for 'race day', which I happen to receive the same day as a new pair of running shoes.  Oh happy day!!!



I didn't feel near the anxiety in the days leading up to the race that I did for my last half marathon.  I'm not sure if it was the fact that I had already proved to myself that I could actually run the distance, the fact that I was able to sleep in my own bed the night before or the fact that I had an amazing group to run with and support each other.  God truly has blessed me with an incredible group of supportive and encouraging people along this journey and the fact that we never get tired of talking about 'running' with each other is a bonus.

Race day finally arrived!  I usually run really early in the morning, so waiting to run at 8:00 am was a bit of a challenge, but it was just too cold for us to start any easier!  We went a little early so that the kids and I could create a finish line.


Then it was time for a quick picture before we got started!


We had such a sweet supporter who set up a water station for us and the greatest little guy rooting for us as we went by!  And just look at the fall colors we enjoyed on this run!


My very sweet husband traveled around the various locations taking pictures, while also being there to love and support me on this race.  He blessed me so much by making me feel like this race was just as important as a race that had 10,000 people running!  I just love him so much!

I made a 4 mile loop around our small town several times and then finished the last 1.1 miles on some side streets! At mile 8 my dear husband had a water bottle ready for me.  He also drove around to various spots so that him and the kids could encourage me and make sure I was doing okay.


Because of this being a virtual race, my precious girl was able to join me for part of my half marathon.  


Her original plan was to run the last mile with me, but after about 1/2 a mile her little tummy was hurting, so she headed back towards Daddy and celebrated coming across the finish line as well, while I finished out the final portion of my run!


I made it and my little dude had my medal at the finish line.  There's nothing sweeter than the loving support of my dear family at a finish line, even if it's a finish line that only a few have crossed and one we drew out with sidewalk chalk.  I'll take it!!!

 

I finished this half marathon in 2:20:21 (average pace of 10:42), which was about 7 minutes faster than my first half marathon race.  My goal was to keep my average pace under 11:00 minute miles, so I was excited!  

I love this little guy, he cheered for mommy and was the first one to say 'good job mommy' after crossing the finish line.  Those words my friends, make every single strike to the pavement worth it!


It brought me to tears when this sweet girl came running up to me to join me for part of my race.  She's definitely starting to enjoy this support.  Although I would love for her to enjoy running the same as I have come to do, my real hope is that she see's how running has changed her mommy's health, life and the way God has used it to draw me closer to Him!


God used this race to teach me once again!  A lesson in contentment!  I don't need a big racing event with a lot of people, a fancy venue, multiple water stations or an overnight stay somewhere to enjoy a great run (although those races are fun too).  All I need is God's strength, great friends, an incredible family and an open heart to enjoy the view of where I'm at right now!  Well... and a good pair of running shoes.  I can't wait to do another virtual race.  Now to put another race on the calendar!

Blessings,

Krystal







Sunday, October 6, 2013

Yet Another Project

About 8 years ago my husband and I rushed into the idea of having a home.  The struggle at the time was I was still finishing school, we didn't really know what we wanted and we were new to the entire concept of being a home owner.  As most home owners, if we could go back there's a lot of things we would do differently, but for now we're just taking one project at a time.  Over the past several years we've done a lot of planning, saving, dreaming and working on various projects.  This last year we've made a lot of progress and getting closer to having our 'big' projects done.  Our focus recently has been on completing our wrap around porch and finishing our mud room.  I think every house has an area where things just get dropped off, everything from coats, bags, sunglasses, hats, gloves, papers, etc.  We have definitely had that issue in our house (and these pictures are from a good day)!


My dear husband is so incredibly talented at so many things that it's extremely difficult for him/us to hire some of the work to be done.  After some discussion, Joshua agreed to have the cabinets in our mud room custom designed and installed.  First thing we needed to get done though, was repairing the walls from where we used to have the washer and dryer and the doggie door.  Then it was time to texture the walls and paint them!  I think we make a pretty good team :)



Our mud room is one of the smallest rooms in our home but to me it's one of the most important rooms. So much love and encouragement can come from this one little room.  This will be the main door that my precious family will leave from and return to.  It's the one room where the coats, hat, gloves and shoes that keep them warm and protect them will reside.  And soon one of the walls will contain a verse of encouragement for them to see each and every time they walk into our home.  And last, but certainly not least, it will be the room that will help save the insanity of this Mama :)

I'm not sure who was more excited about getting this space put together.  The kids...


Or there Mama?!?


The room isn't completely done just yet.  The company needs to come back and fix a few things, the trim needs to be put up, the crown molding on the ceiling needs to be added, but we can at least begin using it.  After Joshua got the hooks installed anyway.


This makes a Mama's heart happy!  Being able to be organized in my home makes my heart happy and helps me serve my family on a daily basis.  I have definitely learned that organization can ease daily stress and frustration for everyone in our home.  Truly blessed!  We're excited to work on the finishing touches of this room and have another project completed!  We also had a broom closet added to the opposite wall, which I'll share after we completely finish the room :)


And now some of other other space can be better utilized, for example the kiddos have their homework table back!  It's the little things that make us smile!  Growth chart by Heritage Designs.


I truly feel that maintaining my home and finding ways to serve my family is crucial for me to be the wife and mom that God has called me to be!


'By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; 
through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.'
Proverbs 24:3-4

Stay tuned as we add the finishing touches~

Blessings,

Krystal



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