They get my every time

Those eyes. 

And maybe his kisses. 

And his hugs. 

And his giggles. 

And when he says, "Snuggle mumma please."

I don't

I saw this idea in a blog that I read and thought I would copy it. Often we ask people what they do, here, you get to find out what I don't do:)

I DON'T.....

-like flowers as gifts

-like people complaining about how busy they are

-understand why slavery still exists

-keep my bedroom clean

-wash my pants every time I wear them

-think tea is a substitute for coffee

-start my morning without coffee

-know why God wants me to partner with Him in ministry

-know what I would do without amazing neighbors

-know how to be what I want to be

-eat food and drink at the same meal if I am at home

- like kid's character's on clothes

-have a clean house and it drives me crazy

-understand all that God is doing, but desperately want to follow Him

-have great female relationships in my life

-listen to Christian music (very often)

-ascribe to a denomination

-think people should dress up as cultures for Halloween (see this article)

-understand or enjoy Christian culture

-mind wiping snot from my child's nose every 3 seconds

-want my life to be wasted

-want to suffer from depression or anxiety anymore

-want to forget what I am passionate about

-want to stop dating my husband

-want to be uncomfortable in my own skin

-follow through as quickly as I make goals

-forgive easily (the Lord is helping me on this one)

-give enough of my money and possessions away

-have ice in my freezer

-have a top sheet on my bed. We sleep with a bottom sheet and separate blankets. No blanket hogs here!

-burn things in the kitchen as much as I used to.

It's a random kind of day

Nothing was on the schedule today. Not that I didn't have to DO anything, but I did not have to rush out of the house for anything, very strange, and definitely strange on a Wednesday.

The day started by turning off my alarm clock on 5:30am. I took the time to sleep a little extra and woke up at 7:30a. Sweet extra sleep. So good. Isn't sleep just as good for the soul as it is for the body?

Caleb and I played, and played and played. We read, we giggled, we tickled. We had a great morning. It was so fun to concentrate on being his mommy.

He is down for a nap, I have some comfy clothes on, coffee in hand, and feel like writing a completely random blog post.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Some students on campus are participating in the One Dress Project. They are wearing one dress for at least a month, some until he new year in order to raise awareness and money about human traffiking. I am so proud of their initiative, of their desire to seek God's justice, of their boldness and hearts. It is definitely, an "I love my job" kind of day.

Speaking of which....I love my job. So many great things are happening on campus, and I get to be part of it! I get to be a part of training students in how to study the Bible inductively. I get to wrestle with students as they are dealing with tough heart issues and road blocks to faith. I get to pray and see answers to prayers. I get to see students gain a heart for the campus, that everyone would come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior. I get o read books as part of my job, because it is classified as training and discipleship. I get to study the Bible for my job. I can work out of my home.....or I don't have to. I have 30 tubs of cookie dough in my fridge because of my job. Just lots to be grateful for!

Next week, my brother in law, who is in InterVarsity student at  (cough, cough, insert rival school name, cough, cough)is coming to Albion to share with students how God has changed their InterVarsity chapter through prayer and evangelism. I am excited to hear what he is going to share. I am excited for Albion students to "get it," and to be mobilized in mission.
_______________________________________________________________________________
The photography business......growing like crazy. We met with a business consultant last night and let me say... O V E R   M Y   H E A D. There is a reason I am not in business. So much to do! But, we are growing and need to be legal, pay taxes, etc, so it is time to start this thing.

There is never NOT something to do with the photography business. Always seem like there is something to edit, a cd to be made, a client to get back to, props to make or buy, research on business planning, etc. Always somethin. I love and hate it. I love that it is growing and is giving me some extra income and allowing me to pursue a passion. Not so excited that I go to bed guilty knowing that I have 2 weddings, to 2 senior sessions to be edited. Not to mention the 5000 pictures of Caleb on my computer that I have never even looked at, let alone edit, because I have to do work pictures first.

The plumber's house always has the leaky faucet, right? :)
________________________________________________________________________________
Currently reading:
Still finishing the Bible------almost through the Old Testament
God on Campus
Longing for More
Women in the Church
Romans

* I could probably write a whole blog post on what I am learning through each of these books*
_______________________________________________________________________________
I love fall.
I love the coolness, the leaves, the clothes, the colors, the flavors. LOVE IT.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Tonight the Strike Team from the International House of Prayer in Kansas City is coming to Albion. Cannot wait. Caleb will be with me, so I imagine that it will be an early night, but still. Cannot wait.

I had a summer goal to make it to the International House of Prayer in Elkhart, IN, but for reasons beyond my control, could not make it there this summer. Who wants to go with me this year? On a Tuesday night I believe.....
________________________________________________________________________________
I really like coupon shopping.  
________________________________________________________________________________
Caleb is huge.

_______________________________________________________________________________
Hello, my name is Kristin, and I am addicted to Pinterest.
_______________________________________________________________________________
The randomness, must come to an end.

The blog post in which, I am grateful for McDonald's smoothies

There was something special about that smoothie. Something about seeing his face light up as he drank the Cherry Berry Smoothie from McDonalds. Suddenly all is right with his small world. My baby has been and crank a potamus, for a few days. We have had no sleep in our house for 2 days. I am T I R E D. Beyond tired. I am been feeling like a mommy failure. We are so tired, he has been crying all the time, and is obviously not feeling well. He is old enough to communicate that he is hurting, in pain and crabby, but not quite old enough to tell me what hurts. Off to the doctor, sure enough, positive stress test. Poor kid. But, for a small second in Caleb's day, I was his hero. I made his world better. And I loved it. I think we started an "After the doctor tradition." I want to have something special with my lil man that is just between me and him. As he drank that smoothie, I felt like we were making a silent agreement. From now on, doctor's appointments = McDonalds Smoothies.

Do you remember the 90 Day Challenge?  Well the 90 Days ended last week. And I did not finish it.

Nope.

Every part of me wants to crawl into a hole labeled "loser" and yet....Never before have I read so much of the Bible so quickly. I am days way from being done with the Old Testament. I am proud of that. I am proud that I learned how to challenge myself to get up early, to spend time in God's word, and to read larger portions of scripture than I have ever read at one time.


When I started this blog post.....there was a lot more in my head about what I was going to write......the tiredness must have gotten to me, because I can't remember.

On that note.....

Bed time:)

Pinterest Challenege Week #1 Recap

Did you take the challenge? Did you DO something from your pinterest boards?

On Monday, Grace made these. They were as delicious as they were cute.

I tried a new cleaning schedule. It was hard. It is hard enough to do all the normal stuff running a house hold, let alone adding this list. But I love the template. Even if I cannot get it all completed on any given day, I still like to follow the general plan. I think it would be better if I could use the template and make my own.

What are ya'll doing this week?

I just want to save some money

For about a year I have been trying to figure out how we can save our family money. Who doesn't want to save money?  True, we are not rolling in the dough, but God has provided the needs for our family, but could we be a better steward with the money God has given us? Would be able to give more if we saved and cut in other areas?

Yes.

Most definitely yes.

Enter in to the problem of my heart.

We have been called to live in "Itty Bitty Town."  Four years ago, I had never even heard of the town name and now I love it. I want to see it thrive. I want to see God work in  crazy ways. I want to be used. I love this town.

Because we love this town and want to see it thrive, we consciously spend our money here. We buy gas here, we use the local hardware store, the paint store,  go to the local restaurants,  I even go to the coffee shop that isn't that great. Most importantly,  we do our grocery shopping in town. Grocery shopping is where we spend most of our money, so it would seem like we would go to the local grocery store.

We want our town to thrive. We want businesses to grow and be supported. We don't want the only grocery store within 15 miles to leave our town. We want to be able to have a small part in providing jobs for our neighbors.

And yet..... shopping at the local store costs more than the big box stores in The Big City.

Where do I find the balance of saving money, and still support my grocery store?

Tonight, I attended a silent auction. My win?!?! A coupon binder:) Filled with lessons, ways to organize and coupons itself.

Problem: Most of the good coupons are for stores in The Big City.

Seriously? What's a girl to do?

What would you do?