happy where I am

You ever feel like "well, if I only lived with place like this near by, it would make things more interestiing."  No?  Just me? I have imagined this "middle America" where there are farmer's markets on every corner, firefiles that illuminate the hot summer nights, small neighborhood coffee shops where coffee is only served with mugs and they have the orange couches just like our old friends, and hole in the wall ice cream shops that are a neighborhood staple.  

But instead, what I need to be inspried to dig deeper into my own backyard, and find the hidden treasures that lie within.    

Enter my friend Jackie.  On Tuesday, she gathered a group of mommies for a playdate at this special place.  

It was exactly what I was wanting.  And it is so close, we're going to make it a habit.

(Why yes, that is my kid, and only my kid, crying over the fake chicken show.)

Jenny and Jimmy and baby Mannley.

Look at the produce, people!  

Next time, we are picking roma tomatoes and whatever else is in season.  

And the truth is, I need to be grateful for where I am, because this is in my backyard as well.

And, for now, I wouldn't have it any other way.

God has you right where you are, this weekend, find joy in it.  Find joy in Him.

happy friday love,

Kristin 

Happy Brithday Jackie, I love you.

A good, good life.

I went to visit my friend, Christina, and her new peanut, Titus.

While we were there, I snapped a few pictures.

Look at that hair!  Like Momma, like son.  I can never really tell if newborns look like mommy or daddy.  But this I know, homeboy's got his momma's hair!  

Marc and Christina with her parents.

They're smitten.

Especially Grandma.

The Chief and his grandson.

I love this picture.  

Even though, little Titus is crying, look how Christina is still glowing.  She's beautiful.

We are so happy for this new little family.

On another note...

Tonight we played water whiffle ball at Ascent.

What's water whiffle ball, you ask? Instead of bases, you have kiddie pools.

And home plate is a slip n' slide.

The Hacker may have let his competitive nature come out a bit.

5th and 6th graders are the perfect age.  

They don't care about being cool yet.

And they still think their coaches are cool.

It was a good day.

Hope yours was too.

love, 

Kristin

a shower for baby Titus

our dearest friends Christina and Marc are having a baby boy.  Little Titus is coming soon, and I was honored to cohost with our friend Jackie. 

Christina wanted brown and blue, and didn't want a particular theme.  

It came together quite nicely.

Please forgive our chocolate fountain.  The chocolate was oh-so yummy, however it was too thick.  The one bummer in a beautiful day. So what do you do when there is an obvious blunder?  Keep on hostin'.

 Momma's favorite drink? Chocolate Milk. 

It took Susan, Jackie, the Hacker and I two weeks of downing Starbuck's frappicinos to get those little bottles ready.

Say Cheese Jenna and Jen.

A chalkboard wall can come in handy as wall art during a shower.

I made the vertical garland by hole punching construction paper, and hot glueing it to fishing line.  It gave a nice backdrop to the food and drink tables.

Hand dipped marshmallows, stawberries, and pretzles are ready to be dipped into the fountain.

The tags on the cupcakes, mason jars, and the chocolate milk bottles were all made by the talented Amy Shultz.  To see more of her designs, check out her etsy shop And She Loved Flowers.

I made a bingo card game for guests to play as Christina opened her gifts.  When she opened a gift that was on the card, they guests were to put a button on it.  I saved the buttons from random the collections I've had in my classroom.

It was so fun seeing our patio full of women, laughing and having a good time.  I like seeing our home full of people.  I pray it always can be a home full of people.

 

Jenn designed the Titus bunting, which became the perfect area to place the "Hopes for Titus" cards.

Those were made by yours truly.

Baby Candace waiting for her friend Titus to play.

So is little Jimmy.

I love this picture of my friend Kristin holding her baby girl.  It's so soft.  

My stylish husband had the terrific idea of bringing out my old rocking chair.  It gave a nice touch to dead space.

Momma-to-be and ever so lovely Grandma-to-be.

Good friends.

Momma and her two hosts.

It was a good day.

A productive night.

I was going to be "productive" last night. I was going to "get stuff done!"

All weekend I wanted to fold these clean clothes that have been piling on our new sofette. However, it was a busy weekend full of important, but time consuming things.

Last night was supposed to be the night that the ugly pile that was lurking in my bedroom would finally be defeated.

But it wasn't. I had temporarily forgotten something that I really did know. Good thing my wise husband helped me remember. Fellowship is better than laundry. Fellowship is better than the pursuit of perfection.

So, instead, we had dinner with our friends. Suddenly, it didn't matter that my house isn't perfect. It didn't matter that I had another load in the dryer to pile on top of what already exists. What mattered? My friends who made us a delicious meal. Our friends who laughed with us, spoke truth to us, and loved us.

Thank you wise hacker.

Thank you lovely friends.

It turned out to be a very productive night.

love,

Kristin