It was a bit on the crazy side here this week. Since I’ve never released a book before, I had no idea what to expect, but I guessed it was going to be busy.
Well, that’s an understatement.
Truthfully, for a few days, I barely moved from a chair because I was so busy fielding emails, phone calls, and just overseeing all the details of the launch. I’m so thankful to my husband, my team, and our mother’s helper who helped shoulder so much of the load the past few weeks in order to pull this book launch off.
It was exhausting and exhilarating at the same time. But I’m glad to have it behind me because it’s time to get back to normal life again after a few whirlwind weeks! 🙂
You all were so kind to share in the excitement and to do crazy things like taking pictures of yourself at the bookstore or pictures with your receipts. All the pictures from you all in my inbox were so fun to receive and I was cracked up at how many of you apologized about how you looked. If you could have seen my pajama-clad, bedhead self at the time, I think you would have felt a lot better!
And THANK YOU for keeping my book in the top 100 bestsellers on Amazon for the past four days. Your support has been amazing, overwhelming, and humbling.
Thank you all so much for bearing with me as I’ve taken a break from much of the usual blogging the last few weeks in order to focus on the book launch. Thank you for bearing with all the posts about the book this week. While I do have a few more special offers in store, I promise that I’m not going to be mentioning the book every other post for the next two years. 😉
Now, enough about the book, we did do some other things this week, too…
We also attended a beautiful wedding of two young people whose families we’ve known for years.
And we had lots of fun with our new bunny, whom the girls have named Fawn Sweet Pea Beauty. 🙂
Jesse and I have decided that pets take a lot of time–Fawn got out of her cage twice the first week and we spent a total of 4.5 hours trying to catch her and coax her back into the cage. You should have seen us running around our basement trying to catch her. If we hadn’t have been so determined to catch her, we probably would have been laughing at how hysterical we looked.
Kathrynne has been doing most all of the care-taking for Fawn and it’s been so encouraging to see her stepping up and taking such responsibility.
Jesse and I also celebrated our ninth anniversary two days late by going on a dinner date to a restaurant we had a gift card to. Come to find out, we had forgotten to bring the gift card with us. Oh well, we still had a wonderful evening out together.
And I also was in a minor accident and didn’t have my license with me. (I blame all the absentmindedness on all my brain cells being sucked out by my book release! :)) It could have been much worse, and while it was no fun to wait three hours when I really needed to go to the bathroom, I’m so thankful no one was hurt and the van only suffered a few scratches and scrapes.
Did anything exciting or interesting happen at your house this week?
Ashley says
*gasp* SWEETPEA BEAUTY?!?! Bonus points for the VeggieTales reference! It’s my favorite of their videos. 🙂
Jessica @ The Abundant Wife says
We flew cross-country on Friday from California to Maryland en route to a conference in Florida. My parents (who live in Maryland) will watch the kids while my husband and I will go to the conference for a week-long “second honeymoon”! It’ll be our first time away from both of them in 2 1/2 years.
Tomorrow we’re going to a funeral, for my husband’s grandfather. Although we miss him very much, we are glad that we are able to be on the East coast with his family during this time of grieving.
Christal Beyer says
P.S. TEN people already have holds placed on your book!! Looks like you’re known to a few mommies up here in Chicago!
Crystal says
How fun! Yay!
Rachel Contreras says
I’m not sure if someone already said this or not, but if you are going to have bunnies invest in a good fishing net. This will catch them in no time at all and save you from chasing them around the basement. Happy Rabbit Raising – congrats on the book too.
Christal Beyer says
Congratulations, on your book, Crystal!
I work in a library, so I will have to ask them to order it!
I was pleased to see that already SIX other libraries already have it! Hurray!!!! Thanks for being such a blessing to us all. And the bunny is too cute. 🙂
kathleen says
I a good week. I got this really cool book this week and a couple if cool things with it. I was also able to helps some Mims in need. You may have heard of it, money saving mom’s budget. It’s already helping me. THANK YOU! Also we have a dog we hot when my daughter was 2 that she named teddy bear baby. I love kids naming animals to cute. Again thank you for the book it is great.
Crystal says
😉
Love your daughter’s name for your dog, too!
Natalie F says
My copy of the “Money Saving Mom’s Budget” just arrived in that mail! I can’t wait to dive in!
Danielle B says
My firstborn turned 6 yesterday!!! He was actually born on Friday the 13th, and it was very cold and windy that day too. My husband and I spent the day tearing up off and on, remembering the past six years. We weren’t married when we found out we were expecting, but we gave up everything, all of “our plans” to get married and actually have a family. We now have three precious children, and I am so blessed to have married my best friend.
There’s something special that catches in my heart when I look at my firstborn, especially on his birthdays- knowing how much we gave up for him, and seeing how he (and each additional child!) has been worth every bit of sacrifice and so much more.
God’s grace, mercy and love tend to shine best through the less-than-fairytale stories, and I am so thankful for it; even more so on every January 13th.
Lisa says
Congrats on your book, anniversary and new bunny! Our bunny lived for 12.5 years, we loved her dearly, they are wonderful little animals. But if you have carpet make sure little Fawn doesn’t start pulling up the threads in the corners of your rooms. Our bunny did that in our apartment, funny to watch, but not so funny to fix.
Jessie says
Crystal,
I got your book on Wednesday night right before church, started reading it that night, and finished it yesterday (Friday) morning! I wanted to tell you that your book was excellent! It was very well written and definitely had me hooked! I am working today on cleaning out my whole apartment, and can’t wait to apply all the other principles throughout the next couple of months! Thank you for writing such a great book! I learned so much and really enjoyed reading it!!
Crystal says
Oh thank you so much for your kind encouragement! I’m so grateful it was an inspiration!
Corie says
Yes, some wonderful things happened to me this week! My 6-year-old baby girl who’s been very sick since the 23rd (who ran a fever for about 15 days straight and had episodes severe pain on the left side of her chest) and who still had pneumonia after 10 days of two different antibiotics,went back to school Tuesday. AND your book came out and I got to order it on amazon.com yesterday. I watched your vlog post and you told me there is hope for my finances. I didn’t realize that I had really lost hope until I heard you say it wasn’t hopeless and I started sobbing! Don’t you dare apologize for talking about your book this week! We, many of us who (like me) read your blog every day, sometimes twice a day, are so proud of and happy for you!!! And the fact that you are giving the proceeds of your book to charity is an inspiration, especially to me, a person who struggles with the idea of tithing at least 10% of our income to God and the church we love. So congratulations on your book and on your nine years of marriage!
Britni @ Our Eventual Homestead says
We had one of the most amazing weeks of our lives here this week. At 1am on Monday I went into labor with our second child, our son Abrahm! He was born at 7:31 am on January 9 via C-section.
We are now all home, happy and healthy, feeling truly blessed!
You can read his birth story here:
http://oureventualhomestead.com/2012/01/abrahm-ellis-a-birth-story/
Shelley says
SO excited! I got your book today from Amazon.com in the mail. I used my giftcards I earned through Swagbucks to purchase it. I am on chapter 5 now and I know I will finish reading it today! Congrats on your book and thanks for your help!
Crystal says
Yay!!!
Gina says
Oh, and I forgot to mention that I finally sold an e-book! Who knew a $1 sale could make me so happy! lol 🙂
Karen says
Oh, that’s fabulous!! Congratulations!!!
Gina says
Yep, that’s a crazy, full week! So glad all worked out well. And that is one cute bunny. Your daughter looks very proud. 🙂 This week was crazy for us as well. We went from 2 rabbits to 12 bunnies/rabbits and a German Shepherd (keeping them separated of course, lol). We also said goodbye to our best friends, who moved across the country (7 of our rabbits were theirs). Thank the Lord for Skype and email. We have 12 kids between us and they are all very close, so keeping in touch often is so important, especially right now. It’s making the parting easier. 🙂
Jennifer says
We have had a bunny now for a year. Love it! I would recommend getting a litter box for her and putting in some bedding. Our bunny is litter box trained (we just provided the box, hope it is that easy for you!) and it is so nice. We rarely have to clean underneath her cage and she doesn’t go when she is out.
You should see the elaborate barricades we have set up in the basement to catch her. It is a process and usually takes 2 people. We have specific corners that we trap her in and after a year she is learning to go right to those corners. Except when she isn’t ready to get back in her cage LOL
Jen says
I was just going to post that. Get a wire covered litter box for the corner of her cage. She will use it like a toilet and te rest of the cage will stay clean! :). Our bunny was 3 when we got her and we used that method to train her. She never pees or poops on the floor when we get her out, and her feet aren’t all covered in dirty litter. Plus, you don’t have to use as much litter because you are only putting it in the litter box, not the while cage. Have fun with the bunny! 🙂
Meredith Phillips says
I love bunnies!! My husband and I have two. Enjoy all the fun bunny running, jumping, and snuggling 🙂 Oh, and I love the name, haha!
Melissia Dillmuth says
We have a rabbit too!! Surprisingly 2 weeks after she was given to us in November, out came 7 little baby bunnies!! Boy was my 4 year old shocked when she saw that! Unfortunately 4 have died which was hard on our kids, but 3 are thriving and healthy. It has been quite a learning journey for us and our 3 children! But alot of fun! Your book is coming in the mail today which I can’t wait to read and I can’t wait to get the Dave Ramsey kit I won!! Still can’t believe it!
Cate says
I love that you got a bunny! I have always wanted one, but we have three cats…and a dog. So, a bunny is kind of “out” for us right now. Maybe one day…
Kimberly says
My son turned 4 on Monday….sniff….and we are having his party today. His present was a new bike and I’m hoping he will learn to ride it with ease. And I got to share in joy with my 2 friends who are both pregnant after struggling with infertility for several years. They both heard baby heartbeats this week!
Your week sounded very adventurous, exciting, and super busy! But it does sound like it was enjoyable!
Ron Marco says
Thanks for sharing this great post! Sounds like a lot happened this week for you guys!
Emma K says
Can’t wait to eventually order your book and read it. We (the army) just moved us to Korea. We found a place to live this week and had some of our household goods delivered.
I’m looking forward to knowing that so much of your blog I can still read over here and some of the online deals I can catch too. Hurray for amazon and stores that ship to APO addresses.
pattie says
I had a pet bunny and loved how easy it was to take care of. We litterbox trained ours so he roamed our house with no issue. We were able to train him to not chew through cords or dig in the carpet. We built him a bunny condo and he would have so much fun in it. Rabbits are a great joy to keep as pets and can be very affectionate if handled properly early on in life. I hope you enjoy yours as I have enjoyed mine.
A. S. says
Thanks for these updates! I love peeking into the lives of my favorite bloggers, and this is no exception! I have noticed an increase on these types of posts on here recently, and they are appreciated.
Heather says
How exciting in your world! Other then sending some new author (wink, wink) my pajama-clad, bed head, sick with a cold, glasses crooked, leftover old make up still on, trying to hold a receipt, a book and take a decent picture in the mirror to win a special giveaway (which I did—thank you very much!)….I have read half the book thus far and feeling inspired I took a mini break and called our utilites companies to ask them if they can give me a budget amount each month to charge me to ensure that I know how much is going out each month (which they did!) and then I mapped out a rough draft of a budget…to be finalized during a meeting with the hubby over the weekend! Plus, we met with our accountant tonight for our taxes and lets just say we are very pleased with the outcome. 🙂 Cannot wait to get the Dave Ramsey package and complete your book…its awesome by the way! I have a coffee date with a friend planned next week and I know she can use it, so I am going to give her the second copy I bought to “pay it forward”!
Teresa says
Congratulations on the success of your book! Even more, I love what you are doing with the proceeds.
This week we learned that in 5 short months my husband, myself, 2 kids and a dog will be moving to Seoul, South Korea for 2 years (we are military). Lots of lists and planning going on inside my head!
Emma K says
We arrived in Seoul about 2 weeks ago. We were there for about a week before moving to our duty station 50 miles away. I wasn’t too adventurous when we were there but we are planning to go to Yongsan to have our baby and go back to sight see. From what I’ve been reading there is a ton to do there with kids.
We have found people to be extremely helpful (in our short time). I’ll be happy to answer any questions you have.
Teresa says
Hi Emma!
I am so happy to “meet” you 🙂 If you want to email me I am at [email protected] it would be easier to correspond on email. I look forward to hearing from you!
Angie D says
You crack me up!!!! I can’t believe you got a bunny THIS week! I love it! Whew! What a week. I am laughing here just thinking about it! I spent this week up to my ears in payroll tax forms and completely lost my voice for 4 days. You should have seen me summoning the kids with a musical recorder. 🙂
Steph says
Earlier this month I was struggling with whether or not to purchase a new couch using some of our emergency fund or just keep re-fluffing our “craigslist special”. Well, today my daughter puked all over the couch and the first thought that came to my mind was “I am soooo thankful I did not buy that new couch!” Thank you for inspiring me to really think about how and when I spend my money.
Angi @ schneiderpeeps says
Aren’t you so glad you could just care for your daughter and not get stressed about the couch? For years we had a couch that I bought for $40 at a garage sale 14 years ago. I made a slipcover for it, it was comfy but pretty ugly. We got new couches this past fall and my 15 year old son was sad that we were getting rid of the old couch. It was quite shocking. All that to say, your children will remember your care for them and not your stress over them ruining the couch.
Amy Herndon Ashley says
I agree w/ @Ahhh Mom, love hearing family stories!!! Love the realness of you and your blog. You are such an inspiration to me! I talk to my friends and husband about a lot of the things you do and accomplish! I’m learning sooo much from you! Thank you!!!! Thank you!!! Thank you!! May God’s richest blessings be w/ you and your family this year!
Alli says
Growing up, my best friend had rabbits! Started out w/ 2 & before we knew it there were more than they could possibly take care of!! Be careful, they multiply like no other. (Stick with having all the same sex) Your little girl looks so happy!
Jennifer says
I love this new feature! I’m one of those nosy people who just likes to know what’s going on in other people’s worlds. 🙂
Crystal says
😉
Cassie From The Thrifty Couple says
Oh – and she named her bunny “Peace” which is so cute!
Cassie From The Thrifty Couple says
How funny that you all have a new bunny. We just got a bunny for the first time a few weeks ago too. It was for our daughter’s 7th birthday. It is our first family pet, partially because we didn’t want to have to deal with all of the work too and then later on the reason became because our 7 year old has very severe allergies to cats and dogs and we just resorted to the fact that we would never have a furry pet. She was tested again in December and discovered that she has no bunny allergies (although the others are still just as severe) and she really wanted one. So it was really a blessing to find this out as the poor girl also has deadly peanut and treenut allergies. So it was very special that she was finally able to enjoy a pet. When our 3 year old lets her out, she is hard to catch! But still fun 😉
Challice says
The most exciting this happened to me this week. I received a personal note from one of my new favorite authors, Crystal Paine, thanking me for reviewing her book! It came with a cute lil autographed thing for my book and a tea bag. It really made my day! I’m very pregnant and still have 100 days to go and its been one of those days where everyone gives you the eye and says, “How much longer?” So that really really really made my day, no week, no make that year.
🙂 Thank you!
Crystal says
You are so sweet! I’m glad a simple thing like that could make your day!
Anne says
I took your 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life to heart. My very first promise to myself was to enjoy my children more. My oldest is heading to college in the fall. Thank you for helping me smell the roses!
Smiths says
Got your book from library today. So happy and great to know that I am going to be first reader of the book. Even the library lady said she reserved it after me…….. That’s super great I guess.
Exciting part—- we ordered new furniture which is costing more than we thought for. I don’t know what I was thinking. Went to do window shopping and ended up buying. Feeling horrible after coming back. Come to find out we can’t cancel the order …. Not even on same day. All sales are final. I am hitting myself on he head once every few hours. Guess I have to live with it…….- again feeling sorrow 🙁
Beth says
Throw a sheet over the bunny when you can get close. It will freeze and you can scoop it up! I’m sure it scares the poor thing but my thought process is it’s less harmful than chewing through a cord and getting a shock.
Crystal says
Brilliant! And I doubt we would have ever come up with that!
Tracy Sheridan says
I can relate to your bunny story…we just let our girls pick out a bunny as well. No name yet, a little holland lop-they are fast, but a little less to care for than a dog-especially in an apt 🙂
Mei-Lyn says
Wow, you really did have a crazy week!
Michelle says
I love the name of your rabbit 🙂 My kids have been begging for a pet of ANY kind for a while now! Our week was chaos too, but because I ended up in the hosptial overnight for minor surgery (nothing horrible, thankfully). But, back home and back to almost normal now! Congrats on your book release, can’t wait to read mine!!!
Angi @ schneiderpeeps says
What a great week! I love the bunny. We had bunnies for a while several years they ran around our back yard with our elderly dog. My children want another one but now we have a young dog and I don’t think he would do well with bunnies.
We had an exciting event this week, my second son passed his Eagle Scout Board of Review. So, he joins my husband and older son as Eagle Scouts. We’re very proud of him.
Lea Stormhammer says
Hi Angi,
Congrats on a third Eagle Scout in the family! My son just got his Bobcat badge and is working hard on his Tiger Cub badges (is waiting to get two right now – he passed those on Thursday). He met his first Eagle Scout, other than his Troup Leader, and he was SO in awe! Even better that the Eagle Scout took the time to talk to him personally about all the really cool stuff he got to do on the way there and very patiently answered my son’s questions (for over an hour!). Now all my son can talk about is how when he’s “all grown up” he’s going to get his Eagle Scout and help “little boys like me” get theirs too! It’s fun having a 6-year-old!
🙂 Cheers,
Lea
April says
I had a baby boy! His name is Gideon Joseph. :•)
Charity says
Oh, wow! Congratulations! I love his name. I hope you are able to get lots and rest and enjoy newborn baby snuggles!
Crystal says
Congratulations!
Jessica Cote says
I just wanted to say how awesome Amazon is because I ordered your book yesterday and received it today! Can’t wait to read it tomorrow!
Crystal says
Woohoo!
Anna says
My book arrives January 23. I bought it with Swag Bucks as a Xmas gift to myself. I plan on making good use of it. Cute pictures and cute bunny.
AnneJisca says
We finished off our mission orientation this week! One step closer to serving God in Africa! 😀
Crystal says
Yay–and how exciting!
Annie says
I love the name the kids gave the bunny. When we picked up our (unbeknownst to us pregnant) solid white cat, my kids named her “Moonflower MeowMeow Kittycat Ruff.” Our dog was named Katie Ruff, hence the same “last” name. When the kittens came, they were appropriately named Salt and Pepper. Now – the 2 we have are just “Mamacat” and “Kitten.” Go figure.
Crystal says
Love the cat’s name! Children are too funny!
lyss says
Growing up, we had lots of cats. My family was not very creative with names. We had Mama Kitty, Boy Kitty, Girl Kitty, Calico, and Snowball( yes, it was white.)
Currently, our fish is just “Fish”, and all my 3 yr. old’s dolls are just “Baby”. Maybe one day she’ll name them!
Emily says
Well enough people must have inquired about it…..I just discovered my library has ordered your book. I had been checking often and they hadn’t yet. Yay!! I just put my reserve in, and I’m 17 on the list (hopefully they ordered more than one copy!). Can’t wait to read it.
Crystal says
Yay! I love it that so many libraries have picked it up in the last two weeks!
Jerri says
I’m lucky to be #3 on my library’s waiting list and there are quite a few people behind me. I can’t wait!
Crystal says
Woot!
Courtney says
Love the name Fawn Sweet Pea Beauty! We got our dog when my daughter was 4 and she named her Princess Tigerlily Buttercup 🙂
Dawn@OneFaithfulMom says
Just lots of nasty winter colds around here. Not so fun. My 10 yr old son has TMJ, so he is sore. We did have a good week of school though…that’s one great thing about homeschooling…even with a bad cold, the work can go on!! We also had gorgeous weather this week in SC, so even the sick kids were able to go outside.
Kacie says
You had quite the week, ma’am! And it’s great that you documented it all. It’ll be fun to reread all of this during your 19th anniversary.
And HEY! Looks like you’d better go out to eat soon and use your gift card. Win!
Crystal says
Yes, that was the good thing about forgetting the gift card–it means we still have a gift card to use! 🙂
Jessica says
Aww it’s so fun to hear how your week went! I can’t say anything exciting happened for me this week, in fact my kids and I haven’t left the house since last Sunday! I’m definitely ready to get out of the house this weekend, even if it is just to grocery shop.:)
deborah says
So excited for you about your book and how great it has done!
carrie says
Oh my, yes! Erik and I returned from an interview trip to Montreal and he received 3 job offers plus did one last interview today. We’re now seriously considering moving across the country!!
Crystal says
Wow! Talk about craziness! I’ll be thinking of you and hoping you have clear direction in what’s the best decision for your family.
Samantha says
Cute bunny and great name! 🙂
Kathrynne is really growing up!
Wendy says
My son has always wanted a bunny but we’ve not gone that route yet. Dogs, cats, hermit crabs & fish, but no bunny yet.
Charity says
My husband said he’d be too tempted to make rabbit stew if we had to chase the pet bunny around for 4.5 hours. Guess that’s why he’s never consented to the pet idea 😉
Catherine says
What made you all go from no animals to a bunny, of all pets?
Crystal says
A lot of reasons, but the biggest reason was that they are small enough that all of the children can enjoy them and no one here is allergic to bunnies.
Rachel says
Congratulations Crystal! Your book arrived on my door step today and I’ve already started reading. I’m so motivated to write down my goals and declutter. It’s perfect timing too because we’re upgrading from a one-bedroom apartment to our first home. We have our first child on the way in June! We got an incredible deal on a foreclosure that will allow us to pay our mortgage and keep saving aggressively to pay off student loans. Reading your book is going to keep us from giving in to the temptation to do a lot of costly projects to make the house look nicer or buy new furniture.
Fawn says
Ha ha! My name is Fawn, lol! My namesake is adorable :p Congrats on your book too!
The Bargain Shopper Lady says
I can’t wait to read your book! Glad your car accident turned out okay. I had a local paper interview my on my way out the door today, which was fun. I had an appt so I had to call them back, use speaker phone and do it in the car. Thank goodness for prayer or I would have been a mess!
Lori
Crystal says
How exciting!
Christina says
Love the little bunny!!! and the snippets of your life. Hope to see more picture of Fawn in the future too 🙂
Martha Artyomenko says
I hope it keeps selling steadily for you!
Ahhh Mom says
Love hearing about your family life!