2014/30/Christmas/Christmasday/Elf on the Shelf/giving/New York/Teddy/Thanksgiving

Tuesday Ten: Chrismastime is Coming!

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1.  I am a firm “no Christmas until after Thanksgiving” kind of girl. As a matter of fact, one of my very favorite days is Chrismasday, the Sunday after Thanksgiving where we fill our home with the Christmas spirit. This year, it has seemed especially hard to wait. Maybe it’s Baby Gray’s excitement, maybe it’s just me. I’m holding out, though. I’m a rule follower that way. When do you put your decorations up?

2. I love New York–a lot. I haven’t been since Baby Gray was born. We considered going to the tree lighting (something I have always wanted to do) for my thirtieth birthday. We decided on California instead. I stand by our decision. Then… I found the tree lighting on my calendar last week as I was planning. Saturday morning, I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out if I should try to pull off a trip to New York still. Mr. Gray talked me out of it; I reasoned that he had already bought the tickets as a surprise and didn’t want to be double-booked.

Calendar

3. I have had a few people ask about my Elf on the Shelf thoughts. Here you go–click here and find out. (You can also click on the Elf on the Shelf tab in any post to get to more ideas.)

image(4)

4. We have bought a few gifts for some programs that help kids in need, and I always love how into it Baby Gray gets. He loves to give–it melts my heart! He put together some Operation Chrismas Child boxes with Annie, and he couldn’t stop talking about it!

Operation Christmas Child

5. Have you seen the new version of Baby, It’s Cold Outside? The cutest! That’s one of my very favorite Christmas songs, and this rendition did not disappoint!

6. We haven’t decided if we are going to try to cut down a Christmas tree this year or not–on one hand, I can’t imagine a second year without a fresh tree (remember how Mr. Gray was so ill last year?), but on the other hand, I can’t imagine fitting a tree in here with us! I think we might do a very small one. Do you cut down your Christmas tree?

7. Word on the street is that the Rockettes were in Houston. I couldn’t let myself go (or even look anything up about it) because that would put me back in the New York predicament mentioned above. I think my love for that city is unhealthy!

8. I need to get to wrapping our Christmas books for December! The boy loves unwrapping a book each day, and I love that we don’t get stuck on one book for the whole month!

Books
Looks like I did pajamas last year, too–what a cute idea I had!

9. Speaking of pajamas, a week or so ago, we were out getting some new winter clothes for Baby Gray because he had outgrown pretty much all of his. He found some Christmas pajamas he wanted so badly, but they were only in toddler sizes, so none fit him. He cried for a minute, then softly said, “Then can I get the Santa jammers for E?” Ummm… Absolutely! What a sweet, sweet heart that if he couldn’t have them he wanted them for his friend.

10. I hate that we sort of rush Thanksgiving out of the way to get ready for Christmas. We have so much to be thankful for, and even though we try to keep the focus on giving and what is really important around the Christmas season, it’s sometimes easy to get caught up in that trap. I’m so grateful for my Savior, my husband and son, a loving and supportive family, friends I can say anything to and be myself with, and so much more. There is so much to be thankful for!

2014/30/Baby Gray/birthday/celebration/Happy House/Heart Group/high school/Mr. Gray/party/Revolution

Celebrate Good Times!

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My sweet husband put together quite the shindig last night–complete with a toast full of tears and most of my favorite people.

Family

We have amazing friends who keep showing up–via FaceTime, text, photo collage, or what have you, they show up. They are there when it counts–big moments or little moments. God has truly surrounded us with incredible people.

Group
Girls

I feel so incredible humbled and grateful for everyone who had a hand in this whole thing. So many friends and so much life was represented last night–from birth (my own) to Happy House, elementary school, high school, college, Heart Group, Revolution, and beyond, friends from all ages and stages were represented. Not many people have that. I don’t go a day without thinking of how grateful I am to be immersed in my own support system from so many facets of life.

Probably the most excited party-goer of all was the smallest one.

Celebrate

If he told me happy birthday once, he told me a thousand times. He was so thrilled to be part of the party, in on the surprise, and be part of the celebration. That boy melts my heart.

2014/30/birthday/life

Today I Do Not Turn 30

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Today I do not turn 30, but we are celebrating my 30th birthday today. Since my birthday gets swallowed up by football and Thanksgiving next week, my husband arranged a little celebration today. We’ve been celebrating pretty much all month (thanks, honey!), but we are having a shindig of some sort this evening, I believe.

The year I turned 25, I had major apprehension about it–a quarter-life crisis, if you will. It was so weird. I don’t understand it at all as I look back on it.

As I look forward to this 30th birthday, I am excited. I’ve made it this far, but I have so much life left to live! I remember telling my brothers how old they were when they turned 30, but I don’t feel old at all (now I tell them how old they are for being in their 40s).

I really am excited about 30, though; a new decade is unfolding as we get ready to start life in our new home back in our hometown. So many things to look forward to! Of course, I learned a few things in my 20s that I’m taking with me to this next decade: 

+ Don’t take yourself so seriously. Laugh. Enjoy. Love. Play. Clean it up later. Make jokes. Take silly selfies. Let your kid color outside the lines.

Take Silly Selfies

+ Be friendly. To everyone. I laugh and joke that I’m like Drake, No New Friends, but the truth is it’s completely possible to have your inner circle and still be friendly to others. It took me a while to get there; I can come across as stuck up and snooty (still; present tense). Being kind does not correlate to giving access to your heart. It’s not the same thing.
Speaking of… 
+ Guard the access to your heart. Only certain people should be in your inner circle and have the authority to speak into your life. Close friends, the ones who have your best interest at heart and whose values align with yours, are the only ones who get that kind of access. Take everyone else with a grain of salt.  
+ Drive without your GPS once in a while. Take a drive and see where you end up, explore where you are. You never know what surprises you might find.
+ Tell people how you feel. If you’re grateful for someone, tell them. If your feelings are hurt, share and work through it. Don’t assume they know how you’re feeling.
+ Prioritize date nights. Make your marriage a priority so you can enjoy it for many years to come! 
+ Live life completely. Be present. Enjoy spontaneous moments. Lean into the Word. Strive to be a better [friend, mom, wife, daughter, etc] than you were yesterday.

Adoption/family/gifts

Time for YES

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Adoption is near and dear to my heart. If you’ve been around a while, you probably already know that our family plans to expand through adoption in the future.

I heard pieces of this story via Instagram before I found the blog with the back story. When I went back to read the full thing this morning, my heart nearly beat out of my chest. You see, we got a similar phone call not too long ago. A phone call we were completely unprepared for. A call we didn’t think would come this soon. I remember trying to formulate words, wanting to drop everything to get to my husband and pray through what we should do.

Ultimately, for us, it wasn’t the one. It was the hardest no we’ve ever said, but it was in good faith, and our decision was affirmed in many ways after.

BUT… for Carina and their family, this is their YES. This is such an incredible story, and I pray you will head over to her Instagram account to shop or to her blog to find out how to donate.

Carina Family

Shop: here
Read or donate: here

 

fireworks/football/interview/Mr. Gray/mustache/spaghetti and meatballs

More From Him

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After Mr. Gray’s last interview, it was requested that we do them more often.

I try to honor requests, so here you go:

1. What’s your favorite movie?
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

2. If you could eat dinner with four people, living or dead, who would they be?
John Wayne, Chuck Norris, Most Def, Ty Cobb

3. What’s your favorite song?
Bringing Sexy Back

4. What would you eat for your last meal?
Oysters on the half shell and vegan chocolate pie that Elizabeth Barnard makes

5. Where is somewhere you have always wanted to go?
India

6. What is one thing you hope to pass on to your son?
Empathy for others

7. If you could replay one game from high school, which one would it be?
The football playoff game against Wharton in 2003

High School Football

8. What’s one meal you wish your wife would make more often?
Spaghetti and meatballs

9. What’s your favorite Christmas tradition?
Fireworks

10. Why are you so awesome?
Because of my mustache that I will one day have. It will be glorious. Goin’ for the Burt Reynolds ‘stache.

#fridayintroductions/#write31days/Aggies/boy mama/Facebook/football/Friday Five/Instagram

Friday Five: Hashtag Edition

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1. I think the #write31days challenge helped me loosen up a little on my need to be in this space every weekday. I don’t have to be here every weekday. I can be here when my heart is in it, which is most of the time, without feeling like it’s a have-to. I love that. (See my #write31days posts here.)

2.  I love #fridayintroductions on Instagram. So fun. Plus, I love this photo from the wedding we went to this weekend, and it was a great reason to post it.

Speaking of Instagram, did you know you can edit captions now? Did you hear me? YOU CAN EDIT CAPTIONS NOW! Rejoice!

3. The three of us are actually making a football game as a family this weekend. It’s only the second game of the season that we will all attend together. We have been way more scarce at Kyle Field than I would like this year. #BTHOmizzou

4. I talked about it on Facebook this morning, but I loved the episode of Jamie Ivey‘s Happy Hour podcast with Jamie Wright, or as you probably know her, Jamie the Very Worst Missionary. It was perfect for my drive yesterday evening. Consider that my #followfriday.

5. My child is in Lego love. So much love for the little, tiny, poky toys. How long does this stage last? #boymama

Christmas/gifts/giving/kids/preschool/shopping

Perfect Preschool Presents

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Perfect Preschool Presents

Christmas is just around the corner, and it’s time to start getting people crossed off your list. Looking for the perfect present for the little guys in your life? Look no further!

1. Stuff to do: museums, inflatable play places, zoo admissions, the list goes on! It allows us to make memories and enjoy family time. Some of the best gifts we’ve gotten have been things to do rather than things to have.

McKenna

2. Clothes: I know, I know, they’re not as fun for them to open and sometimes they just throw them aside. In reality, though, it’s a great time to stock up on things. With a September birthday in our house, Christmas always finds us right in between sizes. He is still wearing a lot of his current size but able to jump up to the next soon. It works well for us! (Want to make it more fun? Stuff some goodies in the pockets for the kiddos to find.)

3. Craft supplies: crayons, markers, stamps, Play-Doh, again, stuff to do. Consumables. There are never enough!

Masterpiece

4. Monthly subscriptions: Citrus Lane (our favorite–use this link to get a discount off your first order; we get a little kick back, too), Bluum Box (use this link to get a discount on your first order; we get a little kick back, too), Kiwi Crate (we’ve been wanting to try this one), Highlights Magazine (he loves the games and stories; comes in several age ranges), whatever tickles your fancy (there are tons more; shoot me a note if you need other ideas). Baby Gray loves mail; he asks to check it every day. It makes it even more fun when things are for him.

5. Classes: think gymnastics, dance, piano, pitching lessons, batting coaches, and the like. They’ll think of you each time they go!  

6. Gift cards or cash: it’s not the most personal gift in the world, but sometimes it’s the most practical. It’s perfect for mailing and letting Mom pick something out when the time is right (change in development leads to change in toys; clothes, carseats, shoes get outgrown).

2014/birthday/Mr. Gray/Tuesday 10/Tuesday ten

Tuesday Ten: Mr. Gray Edition

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It’s Mr. Gray’s birthday, so this Tuesday Ten is for him! He’s the big 2-9 today. Yeah, I robbed the cradle. Old news.

Wright Wedding

I love:

1. his half-smile.
2. the way he still gives me butterflies.
3. the sweet little things he does that I pretend don’t matter.
4. how he has let me completely hijack OUR birthday month.
5. the way he loves our son.
6. his level head. (It’s a good balance for my sometimes non-level head.)
7. his professor answers–he might be his father’s son.
8. when he dances with me.
9. the fun we have just doing nothing.
10. how just when I think he’s done being awesome, he tops himself.

Happy, happy birthday–I can’t believe it’s the 14th birthday we’ve spent together! I want to spend the rest of them with you!

friends/move

Or we could BE

Posted on by Mrs Gray / 1 Comment
I’ve learned quite a bit about myself since we’ve moved. Some good. Some not so good. 
I was convicted when I read this little piece this morning, though. 
I haven’t been preaching truth to myself. I haven’t been putting on the armor of God each morning and knowing who I am in Him. (I shared more about that Friday.) 

I have never been an insecure person, but somehow I’ve let myself slide into some insecurities through this move. While I haven’t been preaching truth to myself, I certainly haven’t been being the kind of friend that I generally am. 

I am an initiator, a shoot-you-a-text-just-becauser, a happy mail sender, an inviter, a be there for you in the big times as well as the everyday times kind of friend. I always have been. Somehow, I’ve lost that in some insecurities since we moved in April. I’m taking it back. I’m getting it back. I’m being that friend again. I’m being the friend that I need people to be for me–not because I need it, but because it’s who I am. It’s who He designed me to be.