PDA is annoying, but...

I'm not a fan of PDA. But displays of affection are allowed on anniversaries and on this day of love we Westerners fondly (or not so much) refer to as VALENTINES DAY.

Valentine, I think this is our 11th or 12th Valentines day together. Isn't it ridiculous that I've lost count. We getting OLD. Over the years we've learned how to drive each other absolutely insane with annoying quirks and poorly honed habits - yours being that you prefer to carry on a conversation with me whilst brushing your teeth. Mine being, well, nothing, because we both know I'm perfect and can do no wrong. ;)

Valentine, when we're ancient and gray I'm still going to want to hold your hand and occasionally make out with you. And I'm still going to opt for staying in to watch Pride and Prejudice (Keira Knightly version, duh) in our jammies instead of going out on the town in uncomfortable (though albeit, showstopper) high heels. And yes, I'm still going to want that Thai takeout because, no dishes.

Valentine, even though we are tired all the freaking time these days, I still want to spend all my free time with you. Sometimes I wish we could take off with just our backpacks and the voracious appetite to explore the world like we did back in the day before we had little people relying on us for, you know, food and shelter and undivided attention.

But when I look at you, Valentine, I see the guy who led me all around Europe on trains, planes, automobiles and Spanish-speaking sexiness.

I see the friend who drove with me across the entire United States in my old Honda while we chugged bottled Starbucks frappaccinos from the gas station and dreamed of our future together. We thought we were going to be musicians, remember that?? We wrote a lot of music back then, music that no one ever heard.

When I look at you, I see the man I followed to Boston to pursue his unlikely dream. That same man who, in turn, took me to New York to pursue my even more unlikely dream.

I see the partner who dove headfirst into parenthood with me, the one who moved once again with me back to where it all began in our shared hometown. Because when I became a mom I really needed my mom, and you got that.

You are the love I bought a house with, planted a garden with, killed a garden with, and built a life with. There is no one better in my life, than you.

Thank you for being my Valentine for the 11th or 12th year in a row.

PDA ALL DAY. HAPPY VALENTINES DAY.

Christmas Book Advent DIY.

I wanted to do something to make the Advent season special this year. It's obviously a special time every year, but this year I wanted to honor it in a way that my whole family could participate in. As much as I like eating a chocolate a day, that doesn't really resonate with me as far as taking a pause for gratitude. This year I decided to do something really kid-friendly (and honestly, fun for me, too!) to celebrate Advent by reading a Christmas book per day leading up to Christmas Day. That meant that I spent a lot of time rifling through our current book collection, adding a few to my Amazon order, picking up a few titles at TJMaxx, and grabbing a few at the local Goodwill, too. I wrapped all 24 books in a specific paper, and we have been unwrapping one each day since December 1. On December 25 we will pull out the bible and read the story of Jesus being born. If you're interested in compiling a Christmas Book advent, it's not too late for you to give it a try, too!

A few tips:

- Don't feel like you have to buy 24 new books. Ask around to see if people have 1-2 Christmas books that their children have outgrown or no longer use - you might be surprised how many people come out of the woodwork! It's also something you could post on Facebook to inquire about.

- Wrapping all the books in a specific paper will help keep track of the ones that your kids are "allowed" to open before Christmas. After breakfast each day, Everett carefully selects the book he wants to be able to open later on in the day. It's pretty cute how thoughtful he is about it.

- You don't have to wait until bedtime to open the book and read! Make it different every day or use it as a special privilege throughout the day as you parent. Anything to help incentivize our kiddos, right??

- If you have a mini Christmas tree somewhere else in your house, you could make this your "Advent Tree" and keep all the books around that one. I didn't do this, but now that I'm thinking about it, I think I will do this next year!!

Let me know if you decide to try this! Merry Advent season to you, friends! xx

P.S. - A fun Christmas announcement will be up on the blog on Wednesday, Dec. 6. Check back here! (Hint hint, it might just be something special for you to unwrap, too. Have I said too much??)

I Cook Turkey Now.

Thanksgiving 2017, I will never forget you, because you are the first year that I cooked the Thanksgiving turkey and IT WAS GOOD. I love WIlliams Sonoma for that meat thermometer. I love the internet for the zillions of recipes available. And I love my mom for letting me cook it this year (although she did ask me about 20 times how my cooking plan was coming along. WOMEN FOLK.) I stuffed that turkey full of butter and citrus fruit and the heavens parted in my mouth. Oh bless.

Thanksgiving 2017, I also won't forget you because you are the year that my son went down for a nap at 2pm AND NEVER WOKE UP FOR THE REST OF THE NIGHT. All that fresh air and playing with Daddy outside must have really gotten to him, because he napped the whole way through, only to wake up at 10pm to ask me to change him into his jammies. Then he crawled back into bed.

Thanksgiving 2017, I ate too much dessert.

Which is fine, because another round of Whole30 is coming in January. So I feel justified in my partying like a college freshmen until then.

Thanksgiving 2017, thank you for bringing my family together around my recently re-painted dining room table. Thank you for my Grandma's china, my mom's red table runner, my brother-in-law's mother's dining room furniture, and my own wine glasses. Which we ran out of. Because my family likes to drink all the wine and then have all the laughs. And then play all the board games.

Thanksgiving 2017, I love you to pieces and I am so grateful, so so so so SO grateful, to live in a place where I can live in all kinds of freedom and health. I can worship my Lord and Savior,  I can raise my children how I see fit, I can work and be home with my kids and listen to the new Taylor Swift album while I exercise and write my heart out on the Internet and call my sisters whenever I want AND SEE THEIR FACES (thanks FaceTime) and enjoy friendships and Starbucks and oh gosh I could go on and on and on. 

Thanksgiving 2017, I loved you for real, especially because now you've ushered in the official holiday season and my Christmas tree is staring at me, all glowy and starry-eyed. I'm ready to crush this season with my holly-jolly joy. And with unending movie marathons for all the most terrible Christmas romantic comedies out there. Thanks Thanksgiving, and thanks Netflix. ;)

Giving Back This Holiday Season!

Hi Friends! Happy Thanksgiving week to you! We got our Christmas tree over the weekend and Everett is begging us to set up the train that roars around it ;) We are hosting family in our home for the holiday (and I'm making the turkey, eeek!! First time!!), so we have lottttts to prepare. As I'm sure everyone does! But even with all the busy-ness, it's truly my favorite time of the year! Today I want to share something with you that is on my heart, and... I want to ask for your help.

I've been thinking a lot about how to give back this season. It's been a big year in our country, with so much relief needed due to so many unprecedented natural disasters. I have found myself overwhelmed at times, wondering how to really make a difference. I am thrilled that my church is partnering with City of Refuge this season, an Atlanta organization that comes alongside individuals and families in crisis by meeting their immediate needs while also providing avenues for long-term education and self-sufficiency. You can read more about that here.

City of Refuge has a need right now for toiletry kits for mothers coming out of traumatic circumstances, including sex trafficking and abuse. Here's where you can help me - I want to partner with them by donating 25 kits!

Since becoming a mother myself, I have such a heart for single moms who are doing their best to raise their babies. My own mother was a single mom before she met my dad, and I am constantly baffled by her tales of how she made ends meet during that season of her life. Friends, I know that being a mom can be hard, and my experience of motherhood has been one rife with an uber-supportive network and a loving husband. I can't possibly imagine what these women have endured to make ends meet and support their families. It would be my absolute honor if you partnered with me in donating 25 toiletry kits to these women.

Here's how we can do it! I've created a Target registry to make it easy to shop for the items needed in the kits. Once the items are delivered, I will compile them and deliver them to City of Refuge myself. Each kit contains 1 of each of the following: 2 in 1 shampoo + conditioner, deodorant, lotion, lip balm, tampons + pads, toothpaste and a toothbrush. The approximate cost of each kit is just under $25.

I know this upcoming week is a dizzying carousel of shopping, deals, and promotions galore. My hope is that in the midst of this busy-ness and holiday hoopla, we can band together and serve the Atlanta community in a way that showcases love first and foremost. Thank you so much for hearing my heart and for your considerate generosity, my friends! I can't wait to share about the outpouring of love that comes from this groups of readers! xx

P.S. - This is the first time I've ever asked my readers (you!!) to donate/contribute to something and it feels really, really exciting. I wanted to do this last year but I was so unbelievably pregnant I couldn't even walk without contracting. I am so excited about being ready and able to make a rippling effect of loving difference this year! Thanks again for joining in!

My 3 Favorite Autumn Diffuser Recipes.

This is an exciting week for me! I've launched my own Doterra business and I am so thrilled to share my ecstatic passion for essential oils with everyone! Once upon a time, I rolled my eyes at "those crazy oil people" who claimed that oils could fix anything and everything. It just goes to show that you should neverrrrr judge people, because you might become just like them! #currentlycrazyforoils

This journey has been such a wonderful one as I have come to experience the incredible healing properties of these essential oils in my own personal life. I will continue to share on this blog about the different ways that oils have been implemented into my family's routine, but today I want to share a few fun diffuser recipes that will make you want to bake 10 pies and body slam into a pile of leaves ;)

---

My diffuser is cranking every day. It's a sad day when I forget to do things like take my vitamins or get my diffuser going with something that will set the tone for my day. Sometimes I choose to diffuse something because it smells really good, and sometimes I have a specific reason why I am diffusing a certain blend. If someone in my family is under the weather, or if I'm feeling really tired that day, I will diffuse something specific for those reasons. But when it comes to diffusing a blend just for fun, autumn scents are just my favorite! Here are a few that I love and have had going in my house for the past several weeks.

Recipe 1 - Bake me a Pie.
- 3 drops Clove bud
- 3 drops Ginger
- 3 drops Wild Orange

Recipe 2 - No Sneezing Up in Here!
- 4 drops On Guard
- 4 drops Citrus Bliss

Recipe 3 - Living that Leaf Life.
- 2 drops Frankincense
- 2 drops Wild Orange
- 2 drops Cedarwood

I love trying out different blends and it is honestly one of the many ways I love being creative with my oils. Do you have a favorite seasonal blend? If so, I'd love to hear about it and try it out!

---

If you're If you're interested in learning more about Doterra's essential oils, I would love to introduce you to them! I am hosting a few in-person educational classes this month and next month, along with several Facebook classes. I would be honored if you joined in! Please email me - oykristen AT gmail DOT COM - and I will make sure to get you on the invite list!

For those of you who are interested in purchasing some essential oils, this month Doterra is offering 20% off several enrollment kits. And for anyone who chooses to become a Wholesale Member (it's basically a Costco membership for oils), I am giving an extra-fanciful welcome gift including: a 5ml bottle of Wild Orange, a luxe roller ball of my own custom calming blend, a premium sample pack from Doterra's personal care line and some of my favorite oil resources. If you would like to go ahead and learn more or make a purchase, click here and hit "JOIN AND SAVE".

---