30 Days of Gratefulness - Day 2

Today I got to spend a little time with one of my dearest girlfriends in the Great Girlfriend Mecca - Target.  We wandered, we laughed, we drank coffee, and solved all the world problems before we hit the frozen food aisle.  ( I kid, obviously... We had them solved way before that ;) We perused the Christmas goodies and redecorated our homes a few dozen times with the cool stuff we found.  It was such a wonderful way to spend a few hours and, as I always do when we hang out, I left feeling energized.

I am so thankful for friends - real, honest to goodness friends.  The kind who have seen your ugly and your awesome - maybe in the span of a few minutes! - and love you just as much.  The girls who will set you straight, call you on your crap, offer to bring you soup when you're sick, go with you to try on on jeans AGAIN because the first 2,539 pairs were obviously cut all wrong ;), take up for you in any and every circumstance (maybe even when you're wrong-ish), and general love you like you share a physical blood line.

When we moved from Charleston, I mourned my friendships so much... I missed living and working with my dearest girlfriends and was sure that that was a void that would never be filled.  We had such a wonderful "posse".  We'd head out and run into friends at our favorite places and I often felt a little like I lived in an episode of Cheers.  I was simply SURE I would never have such a thing here in Nashville, there was no way that could ever be repeated.

And you know what... I don't and it hasn't.

And that is ok... Because what I HAVE found here is beautiful and life giving in its own right.  The friendships that I have been gifted in this place and this season are incredible and just what I need.   I have finally learned (and am continuing to learn!)  to be grateful for those and see them for alllllll their beauty.  Though maybe slightly smaller in number than what I left behind, they are have just as much weight in their value.  Comparing what I have now and what I had then robbed me of SO much time building and soaking in these current life changing relationships.  (Comparison is such a time and joy killer....but that's a subject for another day.)  I am so grateful for the friends in my life... all of them, the ones here and the ones there, the ones that are new and the ones that have been around awhile.... and each separate relationship for a million different reasons.

"Thank you Father for the gift of friendships... Thank you that you see fit for us to not walk this journey of life alone but, rather, you desire to give us people to adventure alongside.  Thank you for every nugget of wisdom and truth that each of these friends have spoken into my life and for the fact that, in my slightly hard headedness, they probably had to repeat themselves a time or two and loved me enough to do it =)  Thank you, Jesus, for allowing me to be involved in the ins and outs of their lives and to become a part of their families and that each of them have become part of mine.  I will forever be humbled by the amount of love I feel from each of my friends and how it is just a glimpse here on Earth of how much You love and care for us. I'm so grateful."

30 Days of Grateful - Day 1

I haven't blogged in forever and a day but I'm just jumping right in here with a personal challenge... I want to write for the next month about things I'm thankful for.  I know it's a tad cliche and we shouldn't work on thankfulness only in November.... I've thought that myself and probably even said such things out loud to Jonathan.  It's kind of like how I don't like getting treats and flowers just because it's Valentines Day, thankfulness and appreciating our world is something that should be happening constantly.  Buuuut unfortunately isn't the case, at least not with me.  I let attitudes of entitlement and frustration and impatience creep in and before I know it I am looking right past the gifts and right into that downward spiral of being unsatisfied, frustrated, and ungrateful.  I'm praying that sitting down to really look for, appreciate, and call out the things that I am blessed with will make a thankful heart even more of a habit in my life - and therefore in the lives of those who I am blessed to influence....

Ok...so to start with, let me also say that my list is in no particular order of importance.  I am not more grateful for the things I list first or less grateful for the last few things.  I know that might sound silly to point out but welcome to my brain, where one states the obvious and worries about the ridiculous =)

Now that allllll of that is out of the way.... whew....

I am thankful for my home... for the walls that keep us dry and warm and together.  I am thankful for the floor that is all too often covered in toys and shoes and littered with cheerio crumbs and for the space that I share with the people I love best in the world.  It's easy for me to find the flaws in this gift - it's too small, it's rented and not something we own, the days where it's messy trump the days when it's not...etc, etc, etc.  I can find the flaws so easily - and I don't like that.  I want to be grateful that, while it's a home we rent, that brings it's own perks and is not a sign of failure to be an adult.  When something breaks, we have a team of kind, hardworking, and efficient handymen that come and - poof! - the broken things is fixed. (Thank you Jesus for them because I am not known for my ability to fix things properly.)  We don't have to worry about cutting the grass or painting the trim... It's all beautifully maintained for us.  That's a blessing.  I am grateful that the slightly disheveled space is made so in part by a cheerful toddler and busy, hardworking husband and that, thought sometimes messy, it's safe and clean and somewhere I chose to live. Those are blessings.

So,  let me start my Days of Gratitude with this -

Thank you Jesus for my home, for a physical space in the world that is a solace from the hustle and bustle.  Thank you that it is safe, clean, and lovely.  Thank you Jesus that, in this space, there are treasures that remind me of great adventures with my husband, books and journals that take me back to places where I was stretched and grown as a person and believer, photos of people and places I love deeply, and, generally, thank you that this home houses physical reminders of your goodness in this life I've lived so far.  Thank you for the roof over my head, the carpet under my feet, and the walls that keep out the wind and rain tonight.

Thank you Father for the gift of our home... I am so grateful.

PS - I realize that I am publishing this technically on Nov. 2nd...I'll get caught up =)

I have a REALLY good reason I've been away... No. Really...

Um.
Well.

Way to keep up with the blog there Kristi.

Unlike every other time that I've checked out of the blog-o-spere, 

I DO have some a pretty good reason this time:

Oh yes!

A little person is invading our home in mid April and we could not possibly be more thrilled!

With every little wiggle and kick, I am more and more humbled that the Lord chooses to bring life into the world this way...  

I feel like He's letting us aid Him in the most amazing miracle =)

Don't get me wrong, I have learned that pregnancy is faaaaar from glamorous but console myself in those less than red carpet moments by remembering that I am GROWING A HUMAN.

I mean.

A REAL, LIVE, LITTLE PERSON!!!

It about knocks me speechless.... which is impressive in and of itself ;)

I think we are very close to a final name decision 

(Side note - Naming him and choosing a stroller have been the hardest part of this whole thing!  Choosing to bring life into the world was a BREEZE compared to the 6,327 stroller choices and the fact that everyone from our families to the grocery store check out lady has a name opinion!  Seriously people...  Rant over.)

and can't wait to share that with y'all!

Stay tuned... 

If life with just me and my rock star man wasn't crazy enough, 

adding a third little personality is gonna be BONKERS =)

The Great Moving Adventure of 2013

Hello.

Sorry about that little unintentional sabbatical but apparently the local internet company didn't see the urgency in me being connected to the World Wide Web at our new apartment.  I tried to explain that I have 10's of people who depend on my nonsense in their lives but apparently the lady I was talking to wasn't one of them.

Anywho.

We have officially moved into our new home here in Nashville and - to be brief... I LOVE IT.  Since I'm sure you've been chewing your nails to the quik waiting for my return I'll catch you up real fast like and use photos =) You. Are. Welcome.

I spent a ton of time being useful. And posing awkwardly in my papa's old hard hat. Which was totally not useful =)

I took a little break mid week to hit one of our faaaaavorite watering holes in the Lowcountry and see some faces that I miss oh so much =)

I can't even tell you how much I love glancing around and being surrounded by pretty Carolina flags and what not.... I even treated myself to a new hat to hide the crazy that was my hair commemorate the move =)

I came across some photos that would clearly fall into the category of "The Awkward Years"

and went through four peoples lifetime worth of stuff from the attic.

I said goodbye to the best backyard in history

and the most amazing wallpaper to ever grace a wall.

On a more serious note... 

As ready as we were to move on to a new phase of life here in Nashville, selling the home was difficult for sure.  

This was the house my mom grew up in, where I had just about every one of my childhood birthday parties, where my growth chart was still prominently placed on a door frame, and even the house where Jonathan proposed.  I got ready for my senior prom in that bathroom and 99.9 % of my family memories take place on 6 Paula Drive.  I don't think I had a friend in my lifetime that didn't spend time at Nana's and I can still remember my sweet Papa staying up around the clock to keep the generator running after Hurricane Hugo.... It was home and leaving it was hard. Needless to say, I did shed a tear when it was time for the final walk through and, honestly, can't think on it too long or I may find myself crying now BUT it was time.  I'm glad to know a new family will have years of memories within those walls and I'm grateful we could get it all warmed up for them =)

Ok...moving on....

After a week of packing and going through stuff and questioning why anyone let me buy these:

Seriously. Who is gonna fess up to letting those happen?

We took a few awesome "in front of the UHaul" pics and hit the road =)

SOMEONE is obviously going for husband of the year because we ended up making a little pitstop at Ikea. Yea. He loves me.

The damage there was minor really and we rolled into Nashville late that night... Bright and early on Friday, we drug our half dead selves out of bed and began the final phase of The Great Move of 2013 - Moving into the new apartment!

WOOO HOOOOOO!

We are still trying to unpack and get settled but I can feel the 'awesome' already settling in.  Once you can see the carpet and we buy a couch =) I'll share some photos!

The time I did the Carlton

It's a big day around these parts...

No only did I successfully pack FOUR WHOLE BOXES after my rant last night but this opened today in Nashville:

Glory. Hallelujah. Amen.

I don't know if I can put into words the level of happy dance I did when I heard the news but think this may sum it up:

I've been perusing the H & M website lately in preparation for my first visit -

(Because yes I do find taking the time to do prep work for a new store opening more important than packing to move.  I've got priorities like that.)

and really want to live in their look book...

These are also just a few of the pretties that I may need to invite to live in my closet...

Wish me luck.... I'm guessing it's a madhouse...

The post where I whine a little about moving...

Oh dear friends....

Why is moving so difficult?  I mean.... why isn't there a little fairy who just pops up in a cute tutu and magically whips all the stuff into boxes for me?

Because we don't live in a Disney movie mainly... That's why.  

Well, that and the fact that I convinced that the Lord is trying to build my character by making me deal with the slight hoarding tendency that follows me around.  I finally began packing some of our current Nashville home today and made it approximately 1/12 of the way through a box before I declared that we should really just leave our stuff for the next people and start again.

Once I got that one box sorta packed I decided I was in need of a break.  Cause, you know whining like a five year old while packing your wedding photos can wear a sister slap out!

Sooooooo. 

I played on Pinterest and got sucked into the void of pallet headboards and forty bazillion paint options.

And then my head began to hurt from the idiocy of what I was doing.. or not doing, which is not packing.

So, I am going to put on my big girl pants and attempt to pack at least three whole boxes tonight... wish me luck and maybe pray for J to have some extra patience =)

Miscellany Monday - Me and my ombre nails are movin' on up...

Buckle up. Change is in the air for the Robinson's so I'm even shocking myself with the amount of ADD I have right now...

*  I am completely obsessed with this nail polish collection... Addicted times 100.
I may have to rock ombre nails looooong after they stop being cool.

And did you catch that it's only $3.99? 

As my sweet friend Jenn says - "Awesome Sauce!" (Hi Jenn!)

*  We are about to do this...

And, while I am stoked for a new place, moving about sends me into a panic.  Have I mentioned before I don't love change? Well. I don't love change.   I also don't like getting rid of things and being forced to face my hoarder tendencies. We'll officially be selling our home in Charleston and become for real, uber legit Nashvillians.  Once all your crap makes it to a new city I think it's fair to say you are officially a resident, right?

*  Since we are about to move into a slightly larger apartment - with a fireplace!! - I've been stalking Pinterest like a crazy person for inspiration... I apparently need to also be stalking it for a money tree cause we all know that being crafty queen ain't free.
If you have a sec, pop over and check out my
Home Inspiration Board...
I'd love feedback/suggestions/friends to call me down when I break into hives choosing paint colors...

(Seriously Jenn....Why do you live so far away...)

*  I need this to live in my closet.
In case you can't read it clearly it says
"Love God, Sweet Tea, and The SEC"..

From southernlystated.com

Say it with me:
yes and amen.

Over and out friends =)

Kristi

Link up with me:

Saturday calls for some southern humor...

Because it's Saturday.... 

and Saturday calls for a little southern truth humor...

Oh the wisdom of sweet Julia Sugarbaker...

Bless her heart...

Loving big...

The world is often a place so full of sad stories and broken people... When we are constantly bombarded by stories of violence and hurt and destruction, it can be easy to forget that not everyone is is hardened to the people around them.  There are still people who love big and who act on that love for others in extravagant ways.

This is one of the most beautiful cases of that sort of love that I've seen in quite a while...

The short version is this:

A 5 year old girl loses her police officer father a couple days before she is to graduate from Kindergarten.  The level of that sort of tragedy is completely unimaginable and, while his fellow officers could do nothing to turn back the clock, they did what they could.

They came to her graduation.

Hundreds of police officers - nearly 300 to be exact -  came to this precious child's kindergarten graduation in the stead of her Father.

They wrapped around the building to wait for her arrival and gave her and her classmates 

standing ovations when they received their diplomas.

They couldn't bring back her father but they could take something awful and do something good... They could love big.

Check out the article if you haven't already...You'll be blessed =)

Our Girl Kate & Her Growing Bump

It's almost June which means that the Royal Baby debut will be here before we know it!

(I really need to get on booking my tickets... I mean... I'm sure she'll want me there for the big balcony reveal...Right Kate?)

Yes, I'm aware I need help.

It's totally normal that I often forget birthday's of family members and close friends but that July 13th is marked on my calendar, right?

Anywho, as I await my invitation to the baby shower, I rounded up some of my fav fashion choices by my fav preggo princess =)

Here is our gorgeous Kate in her very first maternity dress!  

I have to say that I think it was a beautiful choice and the next time we chat I'll let her know =)  

I realize that the bump close up photo is just a smidge creepy but I couldn't resist because 

BABY BUMP!

So. This shot on the right about made me squeal out loud - I mean LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THAT BUMP! Yay for babies and baby-sized tiaras =)

Side note - What do you think the rules are about touching the Royal bump? I mean, should I send one of these?

Maybe I should go with this...

I am crushing pretty hard on this polka dot number and adore that someone got a shot of a curtsey =) I'm guessing I should work on that greeting as my normal approach of bear hugging people I adore might not be a fit for a Princess.

So.... what do you think we're going to have? A prince or princess?

Miscellany Monday - Dear Soldier...

I think I've mentioned before but I do some blogging for the boutique that I work for...

In honor of Memorial Day, I wanted to take a little respite from my normal Monday craziness and repost it here...

Hope you all have a wonderful day remembering the men and women who make our daily freedoms 'free'...

Dear Soldier,

  How do you begin a letter of gratitude to a person you’ve never met but whose decisions have provided the very way of life you know?

  For people who are usually not short on words, we are at a loss for how to do justice to the sacrifice you have made and continue to make daily.

  So we begin with a simple…

Thank you.

  Those two little words seems too weak a phrase to fully contain the gratitude for your days of service and sacrifice…  Thank you for every holiday you missed away from your family table and for every birthday you celebrated in a hot desert, cold foxhole, or muggy rice field.  Thank you that, though you’ve never seen my face or spent days admiring the sweet baby cheeks of the little ones I call mine, you live your life to allow us the freedom to choose our schools, worship our God, and play safely in backyard tree houses.  Thank you that we can tuck sleepy babies into bed at night knowing that their tomorrow is bright and open to countless opportunities thanks to your tireless days and nights spent thousands of of miles away from your own little ones…. Above all, thank you for doing all of these things because you wanted to and because your passion for this country and our freedoms outweigh all else.

  Thank you for being braver and more selfless than we can even imagine.

  Because you do your job so well, it can seem to fly under the radar.  We go about our days confident that our freedoms are safe and that our tomorrow is secure.  You do your job so well that we sometimes forget to send out the massive thank you that it deserves but know that it is never taken for granted.  Our boys stand up a little straighter when they see a soldier – a hero with skin on – pass by on the street and our girls look in awe at the brave women who serve our country in ways not possible 15 years ago.  We tell them about what an honorable decision it is to do what you do and we pray for you to rest in your own beds again soon. We ask God to protect you in every possible way and to love extra on your families back home.

~*~*~*~*~

Dear wives, children, parents, aunts, uncles, friends, and every family member of a solder….

  Thank you for YOUR sacrifice… Thank you for allowing and supporting their decision to join the military and serve their country.

  Thank you for pulling extra shifts as a ‘single parent’ while they are away and for being joyful for a Skype date on your anniversary instead of a romantic dinner.  Thank you for celebrating holidays late and for moving ten times in twenty-five years of military service.  Thank you for letting a country borrow your husband, wife, son, daughter, friend and for being so willing to accept every way that effects your entire family. Please make sure that your children know that we speak for the thousands of Americans everywhere when we say that their mom or dad is a hero and braver than we can even fathom.

~*~*~*~*~

To our veterans, 

  Every bit of this letter is to you as well.  The wars and conflicts you so bravely contended in decades ago make up the history that has shaped our world.  You are part of a generation who we look on with honor and admiration…

~*~*~*~*~

Finally, to every solider, active, retired, reservist….

  Thank you that you take this verse to heart and live it out in a way most of us can’t begin to dream.  Thank you, friend, for  every moment of your service and we thank our Father for putting breath in your lungs… Happy Memorial Day.

Greater love has no man than this, that one lays down his life for his friends… John 15:13

Miscellany Monday - Love Does

Well friends I hope you all had such a fabulous weekend!!!
Today is Monday which means its the day I can write like I think - in bullet points of randomness =)

*  I spent most of the weekend trying not to die of the plague that I managed to pick up somewhere.  Lucky for Jonathan I am not at ALL dramatic and I'm super tough and non-whiny when ill - said no one ever.  I may or may not have told him at least once that I thought I saw the light...
pray for my sweet man.

*  Y'all.  RUN - do not walk - Run like Forrest Gump style your nearest book store and get yourself a copy of this here book:

I don't even know what to say (I know... shocker!) to adequately sum of the awesome factor of this little gem!!  I have devoured it in the last couple days that I was deathly ill and may or may not have seen the light home with a bug and oh how it has fed my soul!  This man LOVES PEOPLE. I mean LOOOOVES people in such an extravegant yet authentiuc way that it make you want to do the same.
Bob (we're like on a first name basis now...OH!! Maybe I'll add him to my list of Pretend BFF's!!) has a simple but beautiful motto for life:

Love God. Love people. Do Stuff.

This is one of those books that I could underline or highlight the whole. thing. but since it is a borrowed book =) I'm taking notes and photos of pages that really get me...
(I seriously am concerned about the level of lazy that I have reached due to the fact that I find it easier to photograph then crop the pages with nuggets I want to keep instead of finding my journal and a pen - the tragedy!)
Here are a few...
(I hope they are legible... maybe if you click on them and make them bigger?  Sorry about that!)

*

Tell me -
Have you read Love Does? Heard Bob speak? I really just want to follow him around and soak up his stories =)

Happy week my friends!

Newest Website Addiction!!

I like to pride myself on being pretty up on things but I am not sure what rock I have been living under to just now discover Brit & Co!  This website is AH-MAZING... SO well laid out and just down right pretty!

SERIOUSLY.  Click over immediately.  You'll thank you me =)

But just in case you need a little more convincing,

these are a few of my favorite finds so far....

I seriously had to cut myself off or this would have been the longest. post. ever.

How to Make a Triangular Wall Storage System

Homemade Pop Tarts

9 Ways to Hack Your Hoop Earrings

40 Brilliant DIY Organization Hacks

Don't even get me started on the techy section which is FUUUULL of products that I never knew I needed...Such as:

A vest that hugs you when you get a like on Facebook!

(Would anyone else be tempted to just LIKE, LIKE, LIKE everything on a friends page if you knew they had this on? )

A bracelet that lets you know when you've gotten enough sun

(Can we say adios sun spots??)

And a collection of some of the most chic water bottles I have EVER seen!

Are there any other fabulous websites I am missing out on? Are you a fan of Brit & Co?

Miscellany Monday - The Other Mothers...

Sooooooo....

In case you slept through yesterday,it was Mother's Day =)  I am apparently going for daughter of the year and didn't get our mother's gifts in the mail in time which made me AWFUL (And slightly more confident that I do, in fact, need an assistant.) Anywho, as I did some blogging this week for the fabulous shop where I work, I knew I wanted to write about Mother's Day but felt really led to address two 'other' groups of women who would celebrate Sunday...

the other mothers.

I wanted to share it here as well and pray that it touches you and also that it makes sense as we all know that my brain can flit around like an ADD housefly =)

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mother’s Day is such a precious holiday…

The day when the country pauses to celebrate and thank women everywhere for filling the vital roll of “mom”.  The value of thanking the woman who birthed you, raised you, and , God willing, continues to speak love and life into you is endless and I know we would all agree that there aren’t enough “Thank you’s” in the world to truly repay the sacrifices she’s made so willingly and endlessly over the years!  As we all wake up on Sunday and celebrate our mama’s, there are two other very special groups of “mom’s” that my heart is drawn to think about and pray for this week and weekend…

The first is the “stand in mom’s”… The women who, though they didn’t actually grow you or bring you into the world, have willingly and eagerly stepped into a place of “Mama Bear” in your life.  Maybe your mom is miles and miles away, maybe the Lord called her home, or maybe it’s not a relationship that is healthy enough to be in your day to day life but, no matter the reason, the Lord has been faithful to bring a woman – or women – of faith, love, and wisdom to walk the road of life with you and not leave those “mom” needs unmet.  If that is you today and you have volunteered to be ‘mama’, we thank you and say to you that the role you have chosen to fill is vital, important, and is making a difference.  It is always impactful when we choose to extravagantly love another person… If you are desiring a woman to come alongside you in that way , know I am praying for you and asking that our Father – who is ALWAYS faithful – guides the most perfect woman into your life to meet every “Mom” need you have!

The second group of sweet mama hearts I feel so drawn to this week, are those who are waiting patiently for the Lord to make their dreams of becoming a mother a reality.  Maybe you have seen numerous Mother’s Day’s come and go since you began the journey to motherhood and the idea of another one passing you by sends the deepest of aches into your already hurting heart…. Or maybe you are just beginning the journey to being a mama and are haunted by the fears of “what ifs”.  In both cases,  I just want to say to you that He sees you and He hears you.  It is easy to doubt His love when we feel like He is ignoring our cries but – please hear me sweet friend – He never ignores us.  I a, praying that His presence wrap especially tightly around your tender heart this Sunday and that, for every ache of loss or emptiness, He meets that void with a surge of hope in the plan He has for you.

To ALL the Mama’s out there, the ones rocking babies or whose babies are heads of their own households, the ones who willingly fill the needs of love and advice to ‘adopted children’ whose mothers aren’t present, and the ones who are waiting for their babies to come home ….

Thank you for what you do, for praying faithfully and loving endlessly.

No one else can fill the role you do.

PS .... I'm linking up a couple places today... The first is the ol' trusty Miscellany Monday...

And the next is here:

 I know I'm not the only blogger mourning the upcoming demise of Google Reader and I'm trying to fall in love with Bloglovin' =)