Four Things

This post is random, but I enjoy that sort of thing! This will just let you know a little bit of information about myself, whether you care or not is up to you! ha!

4 Names that I am called on a regular basis
Kristin
Momma
Momma Bear
Missy


4 Jobs I've Had
Walmart
Farmers Bank
City of Greenwood
--I've only had 3 real jobs--

4 Places I've Lived
Arkansas-- the only place I've lived

4 Places I've Visited
Texas
Georgia
Alabama
Florida

4 Favorite Foods/Places to Eat
Panera Bread- Steak & Cheddar Panini or Caesar Salad
Chik-fil-a, anything from there really!
Cheeseburgers--I love Braums, its simple and delicious
Lasagna!

4 Things I'd Rather Not Eat/Drink
Chocolate- or sweets..don't like them, don't eat them
Broccoli- I will eat it in small quantities, but I don't enjoy it
Turkey Bacon- the real stuff is much better!
Milk- tastes like dirty creamy water to me, I will use it in my cereal, but I do NOT drink milk from a glass..yuck!

4 TV Shows I Watch
The Pioneer Woman
Cook's Country/America's Test Kitchen
Fixer Upper
Teen Mom (gotta throw a little drama in there)

4 Authors I'd Recommend
Sophie Hudson
Cecilia Ahern
Andrea Israel
Cookbooks- variety of authors, I LOVE to read cookbooks, for real!

4 Things I'm Looking forward to this year
Making new memories with David & Avery
My sister is having her 2nd baby
Making a stand for myself (this is a constant struggle that I am working on)
Doing a major overall on my house (decorate, purge, clean, etc.)

Roller Coaster

I often wonder how I got to this point in my life. It's like a roller coaster ride- I'm hollering at the top of my lungs, because I'm beyond ready to get off this ride. I'm not sure anymore what enticed me to jump in the seat. Have you ever felt that way? Some days, I feel like for whatever reason, I just stay in the seat and never get out, or the handle bars are stuck- just ride it over and over again, like a thrill junkie.

I continue to hold on, and just get down on my hands and knees and pray for guidance, protection, healing. I am in constant, non stop prayer I feel like--even though I may not say "amen" at the end, its just an open on-going conservation with God- I'm not sure when it will be finished, but God knows.

I just have to press on, trust and know that HE has got this, HE always does and always will. I am going to make it. No matter the outcome, the circumstances, the hurt that may follow- I will make it.

My Favorite 2 Year Old

My Two year old is very funny, clever, smart, mischievous, silly & many other adjectives!! I thought I would do a little post about her in this stage of her life. Being two sometimes is very difficult, but its also very fun.
1. Avery's favorite food is still spaghetti. She could most definitely eat it every single night over and over again. When I ask what she would like for dinner, its always "sketti"! Here's a pick from 2014 Christmas and she still loves it just as much now and she did then!

2. Avery's favorite drink is those Dole Pineapple/Orange Juices that come in a can--we recently just started buying those and of course she loves them, I think mostly because the cans are just her size- her and daddy fight over those b/c they both like them so much! She calls them "those can things".

3. Instead of saying "Chips"--she has always said "Pips". And "cupcakes" are "tuptakes". I can't even begin to type out how she says "twizzlers"...its in such a way that only her own momma could understand!

4. She loves to tell us that we are either the #1 or #2 Boss--it changes frequently, and most certainly depends on who's around. I think most of the time Momma is #1 Boss and Daddy is #2, but she loves to play that game with us! We have tried to stray away from her saying who she loves the most or who's the best parent, and so the #1 and #2 Boss thing I think is a safe "game" to play so to speak.

5.She is currently in a "Charlie Brown phase". She loves it! I will ask her, do you want to watch Charlie Brown? And her response every time is, "I call it Lucy, you call it Charlie Brown"-- and let me tell you Lucy is really "wooosey" lol. She watches it over and over! Her favorite is the "punkin one", she really means The Great Pumpkin Patch..ha! The only bad thing is she says "stupid beagle", just like Lucy-- gotta get her to quit that!

6. We all call each other Daddy Bear, Momma Bear, Baby Bear & even the dog has his own name... bossy bear! lol She loves that dog, even when he doesn't love her back. The other morning we were discussing how the dog had gotten sick and I said he may need to go to the vet--Avery was super concerned and needed to pet him at that very moment! She just kept repeating "I need to pet him", like she had never loved on him before. I told David, that's going to be a hard time when his dog years come to an end. He has been there before she was born and always been a great protector over her and most certainly has taken all her love even when he doesn't want to!

7. She loves to have Group Hugs--if David is hugging me and she's in the room, she will announce "group hug" and come running over. Its all very sweet until they get crazy and start licking my face..yuck!! Her daddy taught her that- argh!

8. And of course she loves a good selfie!

Mondays...

Mondays are never the best day of the week--for most people. I always try and think in my mind, that if I would just get a few things ready on Sunday evening, I would be better prepared and be a lot less stressed when the morning rolls around. So this past Sunday evening, I got Avery's lunch and snacks all packed up & I even laid out her clothes for the next morning. Just doing those small things made my Monday morning just a little bit better.
And then you get to work, and its super busy and stressful-but guess what? I made it through, and now its Tuesday! Hip Hip Hooray!!

My church is putting on a Women's bible study & I have decided to join. I am excited and nervous, but I know I need to get out there and get involved and that will help me in more ways than one! We are doing the study "Anointed, Transformed & Redeemed" by Priscilla Shirer, Beth Moore & Kay Arthur. I have previously done the Esther study by Beth Moore and I really enjoyed it!

In "avery" news.. she is such a character, I tell you what.. She comes up with new stuff all the time. We are just past Christmas and she cannot understand where the Christmas lights have gone and why people took them down- she loves them! Also, my mom got her a babydoll playpen-which she loves to let her babies nap in, however one day I went in her room to check on her and didn't see her- what do you know, she had climbed in the playpen herself and was having a good ole time- she now does this daily. Silly kid.

Recipes are coming in my next post!! I am working on perfecting my lasagna recipe! It is gonna be great!!

Changes

Being an adult, a wife, a mother somehow gives you a different aspect of life. An aspect that makes you realize how harsh life can truly be, how people that you thought were truly connected in your life can somehow just "stop". We all have our own busy, stressful lives- it becomes more difficult as you have children, I know that to be true. Its just sad and it stinks. Social Media does NOT help. Many days I just want to delete it all, stay away from my phone- try to connect how we used to. But then again, how will my in-laws and long distance family keep up with how much Avery is doing these days--how will anyone know what I'm cooking for dinner (ha!)- I know I need to find a balance, so my head is not just spinning with all the drama. I just need to be thankful for those people closest to me- I need to focus on God, my husband, my child, my family, and my friends-- without allowing silly things to fog my view. Anyhow, I'm letting go of all the burdens of this situation and just letting the pieces fall where they may-b/c at the end of the day, I certainly tried, I will continue to pray for peace and patience. Being a grown up is tough work, but I know I can do it!

By the way, I'm making stuffed bell peppers for dinner!! :)

Praying for my Spouse

Every single day, I pray for my spouse. When I feel like there is NO ONE in my life that I can share my heart and share my struggles with, when it comes to my own personal issues- I know that I can pray about it, I know that I am not in control of my husbands life, but I do know who is.

Marriage can be rough, it can be wonderful, it can put you on edge, it can make you feel joyous...so many emotions all the time. I read blogs, see pictures on Instagram--and often feel jealousy, thinking and wishing that was my life, and how I wish my marriage was perfect or just better for that matter. But when I really truly think about it, a picture is just that, a picture. That couple/family could have been arguing just 5 minutes before, they could be going through a super rough patch in their relationship, a picture is just a picture. And honestly, I have to remind myself of that. Others could see my pictures and be imagining the same thing- how is her life so great? Yet, we really never know the details of each image we see, or why in the world a spouse is saying "I love you" so many times on facebook. Is it all a façade? or is it real?

I think what I'm getting at is that, I need to focus on my own relationship, instead of wondering and wishing to know about someone else's. I need to put that devotion into praying and supporting my spouse and asking him to do the same for me.

My First Job

My first job--Child labor job was working with my dad. He has his own tile business, and when we were old enough, we were just special enough to get the awesome job title of "gopher". At first, I honestly did not understand what that meant--remember, I was young. Then, I quickly learned it meant "go for this and go for that". However, the good thing about working with dad is that you got to spend a lot of time with him, I am a daddy's girl, so it really did mean a lot to me, and he DID pay us! Ceramic Tile work is HARD work.. bags of heavy grout, big boxes of tile, buckets of water filled to the brim-- man, it wasn't for sissies.

Now, my first real "legit" job, as in 16 years old, taxes are being deducted, fun adult stuff, was at Wal-Mart. Whoop whoop. Now granted, when you are young, you really just care about the money your making- and also when your friends don't have jobs, you think life is unfair, but I honestly wouldn't take it back. My co-workers began some of my great friends and my dad making us kids get a job as soon as we were of age was a great life skill to learn early in life. And let me tell you, I held the title of highest IPH (items per hour) ever! No kidding, I was the first 4 Star Cashier for the walmart that opened in our town and I was a great sacker too... (which still irks me when I go to walmart, and the cashier can't sack worth a flip, its NOT that hard-come on!) sorry, I have to vent about that.. and in all reality, I put my food/items on the belt as they should be packed together, and sometimes they STILL manage to mess it up. Good grief!

This picture is actually after I had worked there a while a was promoted to Customer Service Manager--so I got to switch from the blue vest to the red one, and then of course work a lot more... oh well, it was fun! I remember those days well, I could stay up til 2 in the morning, no problem.. Now, it literally makes me sick to stay up like that--to be young again! ha!