Family, Christmas Cards, and Free Stuff

I don't know about you guys, but those are three of my favorite things! And guess what! I have the opportunity to roll all 3 of those things into one great package this year! (and so do you!)

One of my favorite sites to order cool cards, stationary, photobooks etc is shutterfly.com. I have ordered Christmas cards, Dylan's birth announcements, thank you notes, photo books, and more from this site over the years. They always seem to have new cool designs that fit my design aesthetic. (If I have one... Ha!)

This year they are giving away 50 free cards to bloggers just for talking about it on your blog. So why not?!?!

Every Christmas I LOVE to get Christmas cards! I love seeing the families of my friends, especially the ones I don't get to see on a consistent basis. And I'll admit, I always pick the "cutest" ones and display them in a prime spot on my fridge! (I'll never tell where that spot is in case you happen to be involved in Crazy Kennebeck Land in real life!)

This year I can't wait to do our Christmas cards, because we get to showcase our new addition, ok not new any more... but new since our last Christmas card! (The fact that he was a teeny tiny growing human being in the last pic doesn't count since nobody could see him!) I don't know what picture we're going to use yet, and if it will be a lucky shot I catch or if it will be a shot that a "real" photographer will take, but I do know where I'm going to get my cards!!

Now comes the hard part... Which one to pick???

OH MY GOODNESS!! I wonder what I'd have to do to get my kids to look up like this? This baby is precious but mine are GORGEOUS!! (Yes I'm biased!)

If I can't pick out just one pic, this would be a great one. And it says Merry Christmas! I refuse to get a card that doesn't say Merry Christmas! I just can't take Christ out of Christmas especially on my Christmas cards!

I love this one!! It's so cute and different!

How can you go wrong with a black and white card?



The message on this one says it all!

Man, now I don't know if I'm going to be able to sleep... I won't be able to stop looking or playing out all the options in my head! Check 'em out to see which one you like!

Shutterfly, how I love you, but even more so when you give me free stuff!!

Random is My Middle Name

I'm sure this will be the first of many posts to come with this title...

1. I am one of the most random people you will ever meet. Just ask my husband! I can jump from one subject to another without any warning just because of one small word that connects the subjects or even just made me think of another subject. Even after 8 yrs of marriage and 2 1/2 years of dating/engagement poor BK still can't follow me most of the time. I have a friend who can follow me most of the time, only because she's equally as random!

2. This morning, my morning started off so crappy that it was either cry or go get Spudnuts for breakfast! I chose Spudnuts! If you've never had spudnuts, and odds are unless you live in the immediate area you haven't, you're missing out! They are donuts made of potato flour and are AMAZING!! Trust me!

3. Even though my boss is a great guy (tell him that I'll hurt you...) I decided he wouldn't be upset if I left for 5 minutes if I brought him back 2 spudnuts. Yeah I was right... His exact words, "If it means I get spudnuts I wish you would have bad days more often!" Thanks boss... Ha! Mission Accomplished!

4. I used to make fun of my Mom for scrapbooking... And now I LOVE to scrapbook! Unfortunately from the moment I got pregnant with Dylan I didn't feel good enough to do it. Then we moved and I had no time. Then we had a newborn and I had no time. Then I had a 4 yr old and 6 mo old and still have no time. One day, I will return to you scrapbooking!

5. Oddly enough with as much as I love to scrapbook, I am not crafty! (My Mom disagrees, but she has to lie she is my Mom.) I hate being forced to be creative... it stresses me out!

6. I love mustard, I mean I think it should be a food group. I HATE mayo! BK, he loves mayo and HATES mustard! We literally will not kiss each other when one of us has had the oth I kid you not... a quick peck on the lips is even out of the question. The though of it makes us both want to vomit!

7. I could keep this going forever... but I'll save more randomness for later. Believe me I have plenty left over! As an example of my randomness, when I started this post I only had 1 thought in mind, #2. As you can see there was plenty to follow with no hesistation.

Is it just me or does this pic remind anybody else of people who get stuff tattooed on their knuckles to spell stuff out? Seems kind of odd on a 4 yr old... Ha!

She found my scrapbooking stamps and wanted her whole name, but its kinda hard to fit 9 letters on a 4 yr olds hands! So we went with her nickname.

Tucked in Shirt

Today marks a milestone in my life... The first time I tucked in a shirt since having Dylan. For those of you out there who have had babies, you know what I'm talking about. For those of you that haven't... Just Wait. You will. Trust Me. Personally I prefer not to tuck my shirt in, #1 I am heavily endowed in the booty, hip, and thigh area, #2 I hate having to continually make sure my shirt is tucked in, #3 I had one post baby belly and now I have that post baby belly twice over. (Some things are never the same even if you are down to your pre-baby weight) So last night I was trying to decide what I was going to wear to work today and decided why not leave the vest off and tuck in the cute button up shirt with ruffles and buttons on the sleeves to hold up my rolled up sleeves? So I decided to brave it... I looked in the mirror before I left and was ok with what I saw. Then when I dropped Mackenzie off at pre-school on my way in to work one of the 4 year old teachers said "You are looking so good!". Talk about a good way to start off your morning! So that made my milestone even better... not only did I brave the tuck in but I actually pulled it off. Ha! To that precious teacher (with the cool name) "Thank you for making my morning!"

For all the rest of you out there (the 2 ppl who read this)... Welcome to my randomness!

Gut Check

The last year and a half of life in the Kennebeck house hasn't been the most fun thing in the world. I'll spare you the details because that's not what this post is about, but its just been one thing after the other that just keeps smacking us in the face.

DON'T get me wrong... We are blessed without a doubt! We welcomed our healthy baby boy Dylan. Mackenzie is healthy and entertains us every day. We finally sold our house and moved into another one. Brian and I are blessed to have a strong marriage. Both Brian and I have jobs. Those are just to name a few obvious ones. AND there are so many other people with problems so much larger than our own, parents who have children battling cancer, job loss, marital problems, etc.

We got back from vacation late Saturday and then Monday reality smacked us in the face again. Short version we got the bill for Brian's "naughty finger" surgery and his insurance only paid $500. Anyway, the rest of Monday was spent freaking out over what we were going to do, calling the insurance company and then walking around in a haze trying to formulate our next step. Then Tuesday morning before I even got out of the bed I had a gut check moment... I realized that ALL I had been doing since I found out about the situation was worry. I didn't even stop to turn it over to my Abba Father one time. To say I was ashamed would be an understatement... I was barely awake so deep thoughts were not really present yet but I took that moment to say simply "Holy God, I know you are in control. Please forgive me for not bringing this to you sooner." Like I said MAJOR GUT CHECK MOMENT!

I have been a Christian since I was seven years old, I was active in church my entire life, I was active in the BCM (formerly BSU) in college, am currently active in my church, and believe in what the Bible says with ALL of my heart! However, I'll also admit that I have struggled to have consistent daily time with God for the past few years due to the insanity that is life. When I mean consistent daily time I mean, taking time just me and God to get alone. I don't mean taking things to him in prayer daily, thanking him for my blessings, praying for guidance, etc. I mean QT between Me and God. How else are you supposed to grow and deepen your relationship with our Father if you don't spend time with him alone? I have been continually convicted about this for the past few years and I do good for a little bit and then "life" kicks in again. I am living proof of the statement that if the Devil can't have your soul he'll make you too busy. I could try to justify the reasons why, but guess what... There is no legitimate reason. Bottom Line.

Anyway back to my original reason for this post (excuse the randomness... that's my middle name.) Being an adult is not fun, and just when we think things might be calm for 5 or 10 minutes something else happens. With 2 small children and 2 jobs at Murphy USA, you never know what's going to go wrong next. :) Don't forget my earlier statement about how blessed we are! We believe with all our hearts that our God is in TOTAL control and that He will NEVER give us anything more than we can bear!! But some days I think "God, how much more can we bear?" Then at the same time I say "Ummm.. wait, that wasn't me asking you to teach me patience or anything... Ha! (Ask and you shall receive...)

God never promised us that life as a Christian would be easy or would make us happy all the time! However He did promise us Joy. Joy and happiness are not the same thing! Happiness is a feeling and it comes and goes. Joy comes from within your soul and from the One who loves you more than anything! You can be joyful in the midst of all circumstances because you know the One who is carrying you thru those circumstances. You can be joyful despite the craziness that is going on around you!

God promised us:

"And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus". Phil 4:19

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose. Rom 8:28

My favorite verse - "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11.

In light of these verses I wonder how I can feel the way I do... When God promises me that He will meet ALL our needs! That He is working all things together for MY GOOD! That And that His plans are to give me HOPE and a FUTURE! Why? Because I'm human... and I'm not taking the time I should to cultivate my love relationship with him.

I need to begin to claim this verse, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of man kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance." James 1:2-3

God is trying to teach us something (apparently numerous things. Ha!) in the Kennebeck house and we (Brian and I both) need to do a better job about stopping to LISTEN to what He's trying to teach us. And also resting in the joy that He has promised us. I believe all of these things with ALL OF MY HEART! It's just been a struggle lately to match up my human emotions with my heart knowledge.

So thank you for going thru my blogging therapy session with me, and maybe just maybe, by my being this raw and open will help somebody else. Thats my prayer.

I want to leave you with the lyrics from one of my new favorite songs by Josh Wilson. (I love KLove!)

Before the Morning 

Do you wonder why you have to,

feel the things that hurt you,

if there's a God who loves you,
where is He now?

Maybe, there are things you can't see

and all those things are happening

to bring a better ending

some day, some how, you'll see, you'll see

Chorus:

Would dare you, would you dare, to believe,

that you still have a reason to sing,

'cause the pain you've been feeling,

can't compare to the joy that's coming

so hold on, you got to wait for the light

press on, just fight the good fight

because the pain you've been feeling,

it's just the dark before the morning

My friend, you know how this all ends

and you know where you're going,

you just don't know how you get there

so just say a prayer.

and hold on, cause there's good who love God,

life is not a snapshot, it might take a little time,

but you'll see the bigger picture

Would dare you, would you dare, to believe,

that you still have a reason to sing,

'cause the pain you've been feeling,

can't compare to the joy that's coming

so hold on, you got to wait for the light

press on, just fight the good fight

because the pain you've been feeling,

it's just the dark before the morning

yeah, yeah,

before the morning,

yeah, yeah

Once you feel the way of glory,

all your pain will fade to memory

once you feel the way of glory,

all your pain will fade to memory

memory, memory, yeah

Would dare you, would you dare, to believe,

that you still have a reason to sing,

'cause the pain you've been feeling,

can't compare to the joy that's coming

Would dare you, would you dare, to believe,

that you still have a reason to sing,

'cause the pain you've been feeling,

can't compare to the joy that's coming

com'n, you got to wait for the light

press on, just fight the good fight

because the pain you've been feeling,

it's just the hurt before the healing

the pain you've been feeling,

just the dark before the morning

before the morning, yeah, yeah

before the morning

Where have I been?

Here's a quick recap...

Weekend #1 - BK broke his finger and as a result had surgery

Week #1 - Patient (totally incapacitated in one hand) + 2 kids + insane job

Weekend #2 - DK had a throat infection and subsequently screamed all weekend

Week #2 - Semi-Annual DM Mtg in our office... Insane week does begin to describe it. (Still have 2 kids - one sick & a patient.)

Weekend #3 - MK gets sick and coughs her head off all weekend. (Still have the patient and another kid)

Week #3 (this week) - Boss on vacation. A week full of Mondays. (Haven't been this overwhelmed at work in a while...) Still trying to get MK well and trying to prevent DK from getting sick again. Patient slowly recovering use of right hand. Oh yeah, and now I'm getting sick.

Not complaining... just the facts. :)

And as you can tell I haven't even had time to replace my blog background from where it was deleted a week and a half ago...

And you wonder why I call it Crazy Kennebeck Land???

Let me break it down for you like this...

• Clean both bathrooms (including tubs).
• Feed both kids and the patient (more on that later).
• Put out the trash for trash day.
• Put up 3 baskets of laundry. (Have I mentioned lately how much I HATE laundry?)
• Put a load of towels in the dryer and another load of towels in the washer.
• Unload and load the dishwasher.
• Bathe both children.
• Put Blondie to bed.
• Feed and put Big Boy to bed.

And this was all between the hours of 6:00 pm and 8:30 pm. Are you tired from just reading it?? And THAT IS why I call it Crazy Kennebeck Land!

8 Years Ago

8 years ago yesterday I married my best friend. And as cheesy as it sounds, I love him more today than I did
the day I married him. Even before I actually started dating I was praying for the man that God would one day bless me with as my husband. And as usual God blessed me beyond what I could ever ask for or imagine!!

We were 20 & 22 when we got married and had no idea of what life would hit us with in the next few years but we knew that God had given us each other and that was all that mattered. If we had God and we had each other we knew we could make it thru anything. The first year was a tough one, I was still in school and Brian was selling insurance on commission only and money was extremely hard to come by. Every time things get tight I remember back to that first year and how God provided us with an unexpected check in the mail when we had $11 in our bank account, we needed groceries, I was sick and needed medicine, and a couple of other necessities, and to top it all off Brian didn't get paid for another week. The check wasn't much but it was exactly what we needed to make it thru. One of MANY times God provided in just the right moment.

There are so many more moments of pain (Brian's Dad passing away, 3 of my grandparents having cancer, etc), trials (Financial, Job Loss, Miscarriage, etc), and relying on God (for EVERYTHING) that I could list here for you guys to read, but you get the point... Our God is good and is the only reason we have each other in the first place.

I could never have imagined the husband that God would provide for me, and even if I could change a thing I wouldn't! He is such an amazing husband and father and I can't imagine sharing my life with anyone else! He is as laid back as I am NOT laid back. (Go ahead and laugh... its the truth!) He doesn't take crap from me and doesn't let me get away with much. (One of the first reasons my Mom liked him.) We are exact opposites in every way you can imagine, honestly if I like one thing he hates it! The only exception is our faith and our morals. And guess what? That's all that matters! If we agree on the things that matter the rest of it can be dealt with... Even if he is a freak who likes mayo! YUCK!!

Brian is such an amazing and loving and Godly man and I love him more every day of our lives together! I thank God every day that He has blessed me with such a wonderful husband! I can't imagine what my life would be without him and am so thankful that we get to spend the rest of our lives together. Brian I love you with all of my heart! Thanks for asking me to be your wife! It was the second best decision I ever made!

If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em!

Can I get an Amen??? Every Mom out there, has been in this spot!! Sometimes it just helps...

My Daily Reads

Ok so I'll admit since returning back to my blogging world... I've become obsessed, no wait that sounds wierd. I've become enamored, no wait that sounds like I'm a stalker. I've become addicted, no wait that sounds just plain creepy... Good grief, how's this? I've now found 3 blogs that are my fave's and are now my daily reads.

The Pioneer Woman

This blog is ALWAYS good to read, and she is HILARIOUS on top of all of it! She lives on a cattle ranch and is always sharing hilarious stores of the ranch and her kiddos. She also has awesome recipes, homeschools her kids (no wonder she's cool... Ha!) What got me involved at first is that she's a photographer and has awesome photography resources in every day language. It's helping me so much to learn how to understand my new camera and if I get 5 minutes maybe I can take pictures too! Ha!

Momtog Blog

I love this blog because she's a Mom who is also a professional photographer... hence the name Momtog! Ha! She is always giving tips on how to take better pictures, but even more importantly she has a precious little boy who she is always sharing stories about. This one is another great resource for those of us learning to use a "real" camera.

The McMommy Chronicles

I love this hilarious blog because she's random just like I am! You never know what to expect from day to day, but its always great and hilarious stories!

So if you have any free time (yeah right) or you just decide to forfeit a little sleep check these ladies out! Watch out or you'll find yourself going thru their archives and lose an hour you should have been doing laundry, cleaning, or worse sleeping!

One day when I grow up...

... I want to learn how to survive with two crazy kiddos, an even more insane job, an even more (like straight jacket kind of) insane hubby's job, a laid back husband, a non-filthy house (notice I didn't even ask for clean), and all the other things associated with being a Mommy/Wife... without feeling like I could fall into a pile on the floor. I mean the shoulder slumping, rib sucking in, so tired you physically hurt kind of tired! Is that too much to ask for??? :) Maybe it is a little much to ask for... when all I really should be doing is focusing on the blessings that God has provided in this Crazy Kennebeck Life!

Our God is GOOD!

My name is Lindsey and this has been my random thought for the day...