Share links to your favorite online shops, preferably with a few photos of your favorite items in each shop.
My childhood friend Tammie has her own Etsy shop called LittleChurches. This is my favorite item from there. Hopefully, someday I will own one of her items.
Honestly, I do not do a lot of online shopping. And her shop is the only current one I know of that has items to sell. And with cute items that I have considered buying.
Describe a distinct moment when your life took a turn.
The most distinct turn that I can think of was when Adam and I got married. We were no longer dating so I did not have to leave and go back to the dorm at night.
Shortly after we got married, we had to make serious life altering decisions as to what jobs we would apply for and where they were located. We then moved 8 hours away from the life we had known for the last 5 years to a new apartment in a large city where we knew nobody, but were closer to Adam's family.
After a year of living here, we both found new jobs and moved into our first home where we started talking about having children. Two years after that, we had Kaylee. Two years after that, we had Elanor. Two years later, I find myself pregnant and getting ready for another move.
The turn in my life wasn't just about all the new things that I was embarking on, but it was about my life no longer being just about me. I went from being on my own to being on a team. A lifelong team that requires lots of work and lots of grace. This turn made me realize how selfish I really am as a person and gave me insight into how much I could grow and change for the better.
Take this short personality test and respond to your results. (at the end, find the detailed profile of your personality account - click "click to view" under "You" and "self awareness and personal growth." You can even google your type and find more info on it!)
You have moderate preference of Extraversion over Introversion (33%)
You have moderate preference of Sensing over Intuition (50%)
You have slight preference of Feeling over Thinking (12%)
You have moderate preference of Judging over Perceiving (56%)
Since I have taken this sort of test before I already knew that I was an ESFJ, but it is always so interesting to read the explanations. The quote I feel best describes me from all that was said is:
"The ESFJ takes their responsibilities very seriously, and is very dependable. They value security and stability, and have a strong focus on the details of life. They see before others do what needs to be done, and do whatever it takes to make sure that it gets done. They enjoy these types of tasks, and are extremely good at them."
I have noticed that I see what needs to be done before others. This is especially true when it comes to cleaning. I wouldn't neccesarily say that I enjoy those tasks, but I do consider myself pretty good at them. At least cleaning.
"ESFJs are people persons - they love people. They are warmly interested in others. They use their Sensing and Judging characteristics to gather specific, detailed information about others, and turn this information into supportive judgments. They want to like people, and have a special skill at bringing out the best in others. They are extremely good at reading others, and understanding their point of view. The ESFJ's strong desire to be liked and for everything to be pleasant makes them highly supportive of others. People like to be around ESFJs, because the ESFJ has a special gift of invariably making people feel good about themselves."
The part in this statement that I found interesting was the part about "understanding their point of view." To be honest I like thinking through what I would do if I were in that circumstance from either side of the equation. I would agree that I have a "strong desire to be liked and for everything to be pleasant" out of my hate for conflict.
In the bottom they tell you which fictional characters were ESFJ's and I found it funny that Monica from Friends was one. Adam has always told me that I am most like her on the show.
As usual it is strange to read statements that are generalized and to see how true they are of you. But it is also so very interesting to read about both your strengths and weaknesses.
This summer Adam and I attended the Faith Stories Class that our church offers on Sunday mornings. Basically people come and share their testimonies and then there is small group discussion questions for each table to talk about.
One particular Sunday stands out to me far more than others.
"He's already there."
The lovely woman sharing her testimony was talking about the struggles that she had faced and how it dawned on her that time is nothing to God. He is everywhere and knows all. Nothing shocks Him. He is with me now and He is already with me in the future.
This summer has been very trying for me and my walk with God. I have been groaning out to God about - well a little bit of everything. Things that I just did not understand. And my exhaustion of dealing with it all.
But that one phrase stuck with me.
Krista, He is already there.
Last night this phrase hit me when I was thinking about our house that we have a contract on. It is so much nicer than the house we originally wanted. Nothing needs to be done or fixed up. And it is a beautiful home. 5 years ago Adam and I tried to get a house that was one street over from where we live now. The lady that owned it had flipped it and it looked great, but she would not budge on price. Adam and I simply could not pay what she wanted so we had to walk away. A few days later I found the exact same house one street over, but the basement was finished. A repossession. One that we could fix ourselves the way that we wanted. For a much better price. If we had stretched ourselves thin and bought the one we wanted originally, we would not be making any money on that house now. We would actually be losing money. And so we would not be able to afford the house that we are currently buying.
He was already there.
It is a difficult phrase to swallow when you are walking through that rainstorm without an umbrella or raincoat. To simply trust Him and say, "God, I know you are already there." It is something I have had to remind myself over and over again.
Even now when the sun is trying to peak through the clouds.
He is already there.
This song is called Already There by Casting Crowns.
I heard it a few days after hearing her testimony.
It has been a very long time since I have posted a recipe so I thought I would share one of our favorites.
Adam's Aunt Judy made this pasta salad when we stayed with them once and we both LOVED it. Mainly because it has lots and lots of meat in it. And it is super tasty.
Aunt Judy's Pasta Salad Awesomeness
(I have halved the recipe because it makes 2 large bowls otherwise and we never finish it fast enough.)
Ingredients:
1/2 green bell pepper
1 cucumber
1 small bunch of green onions
1/2 a bag of crinkled cut carrots
1 bag of mini pepperonis
1/2 a pkg of diced ham
1/2 a pkg of grape tomatoes
1 bag of cubed colby jack cheese
8 oz garden rotini noodles
1/2 a bag of fresh broccoli
1/4 a bottle of salad supreme (dry seasoning by McCormick)
1/2 a bottle of zesty italian dressing
Directions:
Boil the noodles. Drain. Rinse with cold water. Chop the green bell pepper, cucumber, and green onions and mix together with all of the other ingredients. Mix noodles in as well. Refrigerate for a couple of hours before enjoying. It lasts for a few days, but we like eating it within 24 hours best.
One of my goals in being a better mother and wife is to cook healthier food (more veggies please).
I first tried this soup at a Women's Bible Study luncheon at my church and loved it! The wonderful lady that made it, handed out the recipe so I am sure she would not mind if I shared her fabulous recipe.
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ingredients:
1 of each - red, yellow, green, orange bell pepper (diced)
1 onion (diced)
1 whole rotisserie chicken (meat removed from bone)
1 can of black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can of corn (drained)
1 package of Uncle Ben's spanish rice
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 carton chicken broth
Directions:
Saute' onion and peppers. (I have skipped this and it still tastes the same.)
Throw everything into crockpot. Cook on High 2-4 hours. Low 6-8 hours.
Top with cheese, fritos, tomatoes, or even guacamole.
Fear has played a part in my life in tides. The tide comes and with it comes fear, but slowly it releases and falls back and is no longer present.
When my best friend's sister died, I became very aware of death and it's presence in my life. So for a good long while after that, I was paralyzed with fear every time Adam was late getting home or I could not get someone on the phone. Slowly, the fear faded, but every now and then it appears again. Especially once we had the girls.
When my Mom was diagnosed with cancer, fear came once more. Fear of losing my Mom. Fear of living daily without without her calls and her opinions. Fear that Mom's surgery would not go as planned. Or that they would find more cancer. With each reassuring MRI, the fear passes.
When we were in the process of losing baby #3, I was faced with a new fear that I never had with Kaylee and Ella. The days of waiting for me to actually lose the baby were brutal. And then struggling through the days of losing him or her and becoming aware of the gigantic hole in my heart. Fear that my baby will be forgotten. As if he or she never existed. As excited as I was about becoming pregnant with baby #4, losing baby #3 gave me so much fear for the new little life in my womb. Fear that the ultrasound technician would not find the heartbeat. Fear that I would not make it to the end and come home with a baby. Even now with 9 weeks left, this fear sometimes sneaks up on me.
The thing about fear though is that I can let it eat at me constantly or I can make good use of it. What I mean is, instead of letting it be a burden, I let it be used for good. For instance, the fears I have mentioned above all have to do with my love for those in my life. If I find myself bombarded by one of these fears, I find time for those people. So, if I am frantic about Adam being late, then I spend extra time with him when he walks in the door. if I need to see my Mom, then I go see my Mom. If I am struggling with a fear about the baby, I talk to the baby and celebrate the moments that I have right now. Simply - I make those people a priority. It's not always easy. But thanks to technology I can facetime my family even when I am too pregnant to travel to see them or if money is tight at the time.
These are times I have been very afraid. And I simply choose to use my experiences for good rather than letting them get the best of me.
Pass on some useful advice or information you learned and always remembered.
My natural tendency is to avoid conflict. I hate it. So, if I think I may offend you with my opinion, I simply will keep it to myself. If I choose to share my opinion on difficult topics with you, then I 1)really trust you, 2)love you very much, and 3)most likely am super scared to tell you what I think but feel like I really should. It is rare for me to take conflict head on.
In marriage you face lots of conflict. And honestly you cannot avoid it even if you have tried. Maybe you could, but it would not be healthy for your relationship. So, the best advice that I received when I got married was to never go to bed angry.
Did I mention I also tend to harbor anger and resentment and if I don't handle it right away it eats at me for days?
So, this advice is super challenging for me. Especially with having kids. How can you find time to work through an issue when your 2 and 4 year old kids are underfoot?
But it is a piece of advice that saves me from days upon days of grouchiness and anger. Adam and I are able to talk things out and at least come to some sort of compromise or at least resolve the part of the argument that is making us irritated with each other even if the conflict itself is still unresolved.
I am sure that there are lots of other wonderful advice I have learned, but this was the first to come to mind.
If you could take three months off from your current life and do anything in the world, what would you do?
Three months off sounds like an extravagant amount of time. My first thought was that since I am "off" I would be alone. But that sounds boring. Yes, I need alone time, but that is far more than this extrovert would ever want.
So. If three months off included my family, I would probably want to travel. I would want to see the Statue of Liberty and Niagra Falls. Take my family to Disney World. Go see my extended family that I haven't seen in forever. See the Grand Canyon. Take the girls to all the places that I grew up. Go to the east and west coasts. Visit friends.
If we didn't run out of time in the states, maybe go to Germany or New Zealand.
My family moved. A lot. Like I am only a few years older than how many places I have lived in my life. My parents made life fun. They were always doing puppet shows for the neighborhood or letting us have lots of friends over. Their love for Jesus poured out of them and into every aspect of our lives. So, even though moving was difficult and terrible, they kept Michael and I happy and gave us things to look forward to in each move. With each move, new people entered our lives. It hurt to say goodbye, but the new people helped it not hurt as bad. I wouldn't know half as many people as I do if we had not moved. Moving made our family close. Sometimes we only had each other. And while there are times that I wish we could have been like my husband and only live in a few places, I am grateful for the bond that my family has from moving as often as we did.
The biggest impact that moving had on me was probably in relationships. Relationships are fragile and distance breaks them. So as I got older I began to build walls around myself to keep myself from truly allowing myself to open up to others. It wasn't until college that I feel like I let some of those walls come down. As we currently prepare to move, we are considering and weighing all the options that are available to us. I don't want to jump the gun and uproot our family if it is not necessary. But I also want to hopefully stay where we land for the next 25 years. When did I become the adult making these decisions? They are not easy that is for sure.
Meggan posted a link for blogging in September and I am going to try to do it. Crazy I know. Especially with pre-school co-op starting, awana starting, finding a house, and moving. But I miss blogging. I have been so extremely stressed out, exhausted, and overwhelmed that I haven't written anything because I do not want to bore you with all of the details of those things. But now I have some inspiration. YAY!
Want to join me? You should! Check it out below. :)
