Welcome to my weekly post where we take a break from money-related posts and I share about what I’m loving right now and give you a little peek into our life from the past week.
What I’ve Been Reflecting On
3 years ago, we moved to Tennessee. The move didn’t make sense — to us or to others.
We had a comfortable life in Kansas, both families lived close by, we loved our house, we had an amazing full-time nanny whom our kids adored and who was such a gift to us, Jesse’s law firm was going strong, the blog/business was going strong, we were starting to invest in rental houses in Kansas. The future felt secure and safe.
But both of us felt a stirring in our hearts that comfortable, secure, and safe was not what God was calling us to. So, with much prayer and thought, we moved from the state we’d lived in all our lives to a state we’d only visited a few times, to live in a rental house we’d only seen pictures and video of.
It was a big leap. We wondered if we were crazy. And I won’t pretend it was easy.
It’s hard to show up at events and church functions and feel like you’re the only person who doesn’t know one single other person. It’s difficult to know how to comfort your kids when they miss their grandparents and the only life they ever knew in Kansas.
There were days when we wondered if we’d made a big mistake. Our kids struggled to make friends. I struggled to adjust to so much unfamiliarity. Jesse struggled to find his new identity outside of the work he’d always done.
But I look back three years later in awe at what God has done through this move. Our kids are different kids because if it. They are so much more outgoing and compassionate and grateful for the beautiful friendships they have.
Jesse and I are different people because of it. Our marriage is stronger. Our faith is stronger. Our compassion is stronger. Our adventurous side is so much stronger.
We are different people for the struggles we’ve encountered, the people we’ve built relationships with, the victories we’ve celebrated, and the big lessons we’ve learned on this journey.
We still miss our friends and family in Kansas — and a big piece of our hearts will always be there. But for now, we know this is where God has called us to be. And because of that, it truly feels like home.
What I’m Reading
Right now, I’m reading: Thou Givest, They Gather (an old Christian reprint), A Gospel Primer (a spiritually encouraging book), and 10% Happier (a story-driven book).
This week, I finished reading The Big Leap. I’m not sure what to think about this book. In all honesty, I considered quitting it multiple times because I disagreed with the author’s worldview so much. However, the book made me ponder and think about a lot of things in my life, so I kept reading it and I’m glad I did. Because — even though I disagreed with the author so much — he made me think a lot and I feel like that made the
{See my Reading Goals for 2017. Also, see the 37 books I’ve read so far in 2017 here.}
What I’m Listening To
This week, I listened to episodes of podcasts from Sorta Awesome and HeyLove. I’d highly recommend listening to Love the One You’re With from HeyLove if you’re looking for a good podcast listen this week.
What We’re Celebrating
Silas turned 8 this past week. We had so much fun celebrating with him… taking him on a special date to buy things for his class birthday party, taking him to downtown Franklin to walk around and look at shops (what he really wanted to do with me!), having a special dinner as a family, getting to celebrate with his class at school, and then getting to celebrate his birthday with my extended family in South Carolina (see below).
We are so grateful for this boy and for the life and fun and joy and laughter he brings into our home. We’re also so proud of him for how much he learned this year — including learning how to read, how to tie his shoes, how to write (he’s been getting 100% on his spelling tests every week!), and how to ride his bike!
His extroverted side — that we didn’t really know he had — has also really blossomed this year and that’s been so fun to see and watch from the sidelines as he is growing up!
We left for Charleston, SC on Friday afternoon and have spent the last few days hanging out with all of my side of the family enjoying the beach together. The beach is my happy place, so it’s been so amazing to be here!
My dad gifted us this family trip as our Christmas present and it’s our first time to get to go to Charleston and we are just loving it here. We’re staying at a house at the Isle of Palms and it’s SO beautiful and peaceful and the weather has been perfect! We’re sad that we have to leave to go back home tomorrow. 🙁
I told you a few weeks ago that I was trying getting up really early for two weeks. The results of my experiment were NOT what I expected.
Here’s what I learned from my 2-week get up really, really early (4:30 am) experiment:
1) It’s hard for me to consistently get to bed before 10 to 10:30 pm in the season of life I’m in. I can do it, but it kind of makes the whole evening feel stressful instead of calm.
2) When I wake up really early and jump straight into my to-do list for the day, I feel like I want to make the most of every minute. Which means that I can’t give myself permission to relax much at all and end up feeling like I’m rushing through the day trying to cram as much into each hour as I can.
3) By not giving myself permission to rest and refuel, I end up running on fumes very quickly. Which means that I am less productive, much more on edge, and generally a not-so-nice person to be around (my husband can attest to this from the last week or so!)
4) Ultimately, while this experiment definitely kick-started my productivity and got me back onto the wagon of focused intentionality in my daily life, I was surprised to discover that I am a lot less calmer, a lot more anxious, and a lot more prone to fall prey to “the hustle” when I get up really, really early.
So, I’m back to a saner schedule this week (shooting for a 10 to 10:30 bedtime and a 6 to 6:30 wake up time) and I already feel a huge difference. My heart feels calmer and less frazzled. My head feels much more clarity and like there is breathing room. And I’m just generally a whole lot nicer to be around.
I can tell you this is not at all what I expected from this experiment. In fact, I wanted to just fall in love with early rising again and be able to profess that it was the best thing ever for me. But the results don’t lie. So I’m going to go with what I know is best for me and my family right now — even if it flies in the face of what I thought would be the case.
The winner of the book giveaway from two weeks ago is: Ashlie. Ashlie, you should have received an email from me with instructions on claiming your prize.
Stephanie in SC says
Wow! I live about 20 minutes from Charleston. We like Folly Beach the best but IOP is beautiful as well. I have never met a beach I didn’t like.
Cheryl Peters says
My weeks have been stressful. I work a full time job, do all the household duties and have a side business. I bake cupcakes for art shows and weddings and it keeps me really busy. I make about 20 different flavors or designs and it takes me 3 hours just to set up my show table of about 400 cupcakes for a show. I have to have each cake labels by law and that takes a lot of home time. This also takes time away from my husband and ME time. I try to find better ways to do things to save time and I do, sometimes. One day I will get things perfected.
Uma @ Centsible Indian says
Such a great reminder. Thanks!
Ann says
Oh, my family LOVES Isle of Palms! We have gone on vacation there six years in a row and can’t wait to go back again! We love that area so much that our oldest daughter has decided to attend college in Charleston, even though she’ll be 13 hours away from home! Thanks for sharing your beautiful pictures!
Crystal Paine says
It was our first time here and we LOVED it! We especially loved the organic froyo shop and also an adorable coffee shop we found… in addition to the ocean, of course! 🙂
Katie says
I’ve been reading your blog for years but not commented much for some reason until now! We made a huge move as well last year and I can totally relate to what you were saying. We went from California to Virginia. Big differences but really good ones! Something we’ve noticed is how incredibly into each others’ lives people are here, and it’s actually really exhausting for us. In CA people mind their own lives and hardly know their neighbors, but not here! We’ve had people just “pop in” this past week, and that is waaaaaay out of our comfort zone. We have 6 kids and my husband and I feel that usually that’s enough social activity for us! Lol We had a super tiring week with all the people we came in contact with and had conversations with, and this week we are making a very careful effort to stay home and be calm. I even turned my phone off. I know some people can just go go go and see a hundred people a week and love it, but not us. We’re learning about finding our balance and embracing our margin!! 🙂
Crystal Paine says
Finding your balance and embracing your margin is so important!
Claire says
When you announced that you were going to start getting up at 4:30, I was kind of surprised, because you had had a recent post about how you were sleeping later in this season of life. I guess every season takes some trial and error to find that “sweet spot”. That’s how it has been for me. I find it helpful to get up at 5 am on the days I do a workout, but I have realized that there is no need to get up that early on the other days. Getting up at 6 a few times/week still gives me time to catch my breath before the rest of the house wakes up, but the extra hour of sleep comes in handy too! It’s always a balancing act…
Crystal Paine says
Yes! I wanted to try it as an experiment… and I’m so glad that I did! Even though the results totally surprised me!
BethB says
We had a big life change n January when both my husband and I started new jobs. For a few weeks I was getting up at 4:30 and that did not work at all! I simply can’t get to bed before 9:00 which wasn’t getting me enough sleep. I switched my wake up time to 5:00 or 5:15 and things are so much better. Especially now that the sun is coming up earlier and I can exercise outside.
This past week we realized that driving our kids to school gains us another half hour in the morning. They get more sleep and both my husband and I can exercise. When I was a W/SAHM the bus made more sense. But this is working out great.
Although the 10.5 y/o prefers the bus so he gets up earlier, makes his own breakfast, and gets himself to the bus stop. It’s great for him and his younger brother catches a ride with me. Kids!
Crystal Paine says
It’s so great when we can figure out things that make our homes run more smoothly!
Quinn says
Love me some sorta awesome!! It’s awesome!
Crystal Paine says
Yes!!
Sarah@OrthodoxMotherhood says
Happy 8th birthday to Silas! My oldest son also turned 8 last week, and we had a great time celebrating. He took a few friends to the trampoline park in town and out for frozen yogurt afterward. Then we had a family cookout and just relaxed, playing catch in the back yard. I can’t believe he’s 8!
Crystal Paine says
Happy birthday to your son!
Amy says
Glad you’ve been having a good time in SC. Love the pics! I’ve lived in Columbia, SC, the past 11 years and as a Midwesterner, I love being so (relatively) close to so many beautiful beaches! IOP is a good one. 🙂
Crystal Paine says
We stopped in Columbia, SC — I’d never been there before!
Deanna says
We had a good busy! A few extra activities made it busy but fun. I go to a once a month Bible study with a friend at her church. I always look forward to it – a great way to recharge. Then I went with my daughter to Cherish the Ladies that our local concert association (that I’m on the board of) brought to our small town. So.much.fun! The crowd loved them. Saturday we went to a little museum in our town that was celebrating their 10 year anniversary. Always fun to play tourist in your own town – something it’s easy to forget to do.
So glad you were able to enjoy a trip with your family! Coming from a family with 8 siblings I know times with everyone together don’t happen near enough.
Crystal Paine says
It sounds like you had a GREAT and fun week!