Week 30: Reflecting on This Past Week (+ what I read, watched, and listened to!)

We celebrated David’s birthday last week! Happy 6th birthday to the boy who turned our world upside down in the best ways. ❤️

The way he looks at me in this picture melts me. David often comes and kisses us now and it’s the sweetest thing ever!

David Mateo Paine… being your mother is one of the greatest privileges of my life. And again, my heart aches that you can’t be with your mom and family every day. 💔

This year, you learned to communicate by holding hands and leading us wherever you want to go. You have decided to love food more (praise Jesus!). He is obsessed with paper bags and begs for every one in sight! 🙃

You have graduated from the children’s program you have been in for the past three years and are starting Kindergarten in a few weeks.

She has strong opinions on what she wants to wear and eat. He loves toys that light up and make noise. He has the BIGGEST laugh and it is always heard in our house and brings us so much joy!

She loves playing with her siblings and is a big fan of her three older siblings – she often takes us to their cars to ask if you can go with them.

(Also: look closely at this photo — David went through a phase this year where he was obsessed with a pack of maxi pads and wanted to take them everywhere he went! 😂)

We love you, our sweet boy, and we can’t wait to see what this coming year has in store for you!

One morning this week, my friend came to drop off her baby girl for us to watch and our house was a MESS.

Like, piles of dirty dishes, things on the counters, stuffed toys, and a box of crayons dumped on the floor…

Greet me, sweating and dripping because I just came back from running. I welcomed him in!

10 years ago, I wouldn’t have let anyone see me or the house in that condition. But here’s what I learned…

In this age of life, if I wait until everything is in order and in good condition, I will never invite people.

I try to have good plans and keep things clean most of the time, but I have a big family with lots of people coming and going + lots of little kids, life is messy.

Bringing 4 kids home in 2 1/2 years while running a business and having three older kids taught me that I could either get stressed and frustrated with the house or I could choose to lower my standards and change my perspective.

Here’s the truth…

In 25 years, my kids probably won’t remember much of what the house looked like, though they will remember what it was like.

I want to focus on creating an atmosphere of peace and happiness – where people feel seen and appreciated and loved.

Dirty dishes in the sink. Toys on the floor. Lots of clothes. Fingerprints… these are all signs of a full life happening here.

And I look around and thank you for every minute of it.

Our house may be messy, but it’s also full of love and laughter and life. I wouldn’t trade it for the world!

So I open the door and let people in – even if it’s dirty. Because relationships with people are more important than a spotless and shiny house.

I didn’t get a chance to share this past week, but I’m so excited to have Hannah Capps in town for two days to shoot tons of photos and images for my new book (coming out September 15th!) and to shoot tons of photos and videos of other projects and things we’re working on!

We went to Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO this week. It always shocks people when I say our older kids choose it over Disney.

But here are some reasons why we love it:

• It’s less expensive than Disney (you can get a two-day ticket for $100 a person right now).
• The ride is huge and fun (if you like fun rides!)
• The live music is great and the Cinnamon Bread is amazing.
• The lines are very short (if you go on weekdays and early in the morning or later at night, you can go many times without waiting or waiting a little – which means you can ride many rides and most of them you can ride them many times in a row if you want!)
• It is not crowded and small so there is not much walking, waiting, or fatigue.

We went to Mystic River Falls (my other ride!) and my kids gave me that for taking off my poncho… but let me tell you, I was the only one dry after the ride! 🙂

Jesse and I got to ride a few rides on our own on Friday night – which was so much fun! As many of you know, Jesse and I grew up going to Silver Dollar City, so this place holds a lot of memories for us and we had fun reliving some of those memories from our youth while riding together!

Oh how I love this man! We are celebrating our 24th wedding anniversary in January… but we met when we were 9 and 10 and were best friends in our teenage years so it feels like almost a lifetime. And I’m so grateful for all the life we ​​live side-by-side. At times it has been a metaphorical roller coaster, but there is no one else I would rather have by my side on this amazing and wonderful journey of life!

On Saturday, we waited until later in the day to go since it was HOT and we knew there would be a lot of crowds earlier in the day. So we are happy to sleep in our house and get cold in the morning. When we got to the park, the crowds were starting to thin out and we found one of the areas (with lots of kiddie rides) had no wait at all. So we rode and rode together!

It started to rain while we were there, but we had our ponchos out since we were on the Great American Plunge ride line, so we didn’t get that wet. We ended up riding two rides in a row since we were soaking wet and it was raining! 🙂

We closed the park (at 10:00) for the night. Also loved the new fireworks and drone show they have at the end of the day!

We were devastated that Kaitlynn could not join us on the trip to Branson. She is graduating from cosmetology school in September and can’t miss any dates or finish on time.

He is currently preparing for boards so this week he had to bring his big bag and all his stuff for another board preparation class! (At the boards, they have to demonstrate a number of different skills to the judges using their products and tools.)

How I Make Travel Easier + More Affordable:

We have been doing a lot of traveling this summer. I love traveling and, because it’s something we do a lot, I have great plans prepared to make it easier.

Because the less time and energy you spend on travel preparation and packing, the more time you have to enjoy the trip!

Here are my top 4 hacks:

1. Stay on Airbnb/VRBO — traveling with 6+ people means it’s less expensive to stay in a house instead of a hotel. Usually, it saves us a few hundred dollars or more – we look for a discount house with good reviews. Three bonuses: yard, full kitchen, and washer and dryer!

2. When driving, buy drinks and snacks on sale in the weeks before the trip and keep a cooler full of drinks in your car. We freeze some drinks like Capri Sun and water bottles so we don’t contaminate the ice! When you get to your place, stick some bottles in the freezer to chill the next day!

3. Stop by the grocery store or pick up or deliver an order as soon as you get to your destination to make your own meals instead of eating out.

Some of our favorite quick and easy on-the-go meals/snacks are:

• Cereal and milk
• Pancake mix + scrambled eggs
• Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
• Yogurt and granola
• Turkey and cheese sandwiches
• Mac & cheese

Our kids can make all of these, they’re super quick to make, they’re crowd pleasers, and they cost less than eating out.

4. Get these perfect travel bags from Ekster – they’re our favorite way to pack a lot into a very small space + keep our suitcases organized! (And the clothes don’t wrinkle – I roll them before I put them in the bags!)

Psst… Right now, these are up to 50% off + use my code CRYSTAL20 for another 20% off!

What I’m learning…

If you are feeling tired, worn out, drained, or just in need of soul care I highly recommend Soul Care by Debra Fileta. The chapters are short, practical, and full of inspiration and practical ideas. I was so inspired to read it to see all the habits I already have to take care of my body and soul!

Other books I’m reading right now: Amazing Roots, Knowing (I’m almost done and it’s great!), and My Friends (note: this book has the best parts so far, but it also has a few raw and embarrassing things in it, including language.)

What I’m watching…

CrossFit Games! Jesse and I love CrossFit and loved watching the games this year, as always! It always inspires me to see people pushing themselves when it comes to fitness!

Kierstyn and I also watched the new version of Little House on the Prairie. Overall, we thought it was well done.

What I’m listening to…

Kierstyn loves listening to Jonathan Park, so we listened to that a lot on the drive to Branson and back!

In Case You Missed It – Links From Recent Weeks:

• The Best Apps to Make Money Reselling Your Stuff – Between the clothes your children outgrow by six months, the home decor you no longer use, the unplanned purchases, and the random things sitting in the closets, there is often hidden money in plain sight. This post highlights some of the best money making apps out there, as well as details on how to successfully sell on these sites.
• Easy Protein Recipes — Have you ever had one of those days when you feel like you are always are you hungry, or have you just eaten? If that sounds familiar, you may not need more food – you may need more protein. These budget-friendly and family-approved recipes will help you add more protein to your diet!
• 25 Ways to Save Money on Shopping — With 6 kids and the ever-increasing price of groceries, I’ve learned a lotyears ago about how to save money by shopping. In this post, you’ll find 25 of my best, most useful ideas – the ones I actually use every week, even as a busy mom and business owner.
• Easy Dinner Idea — I’m still working on food, taking down the food in our fridge. Check out this versatile and delicious recipe I made this week!