One of our personal New Year's Resolutions came true on Valentine's Day. Chris got offered a job at Right Now. It's a ministry organization and you can check out their website at www.rightnow.org
We are beyond thrilled and are humbled by God's mercy and grace on our family. I am so proud of Chris for pursuing a new career path that will lead him towards Christ. We are truly blessed! If you think about it, congratulate Chris. He spend a lot of time in prayer and fellowship about this decision and I couldn't be more proud!
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
36 days of 2013
January came and went faster than the blink of an eye!! I finished Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred and am now on day 7 of Get Ripped in 30. I have really enjoyed getting my butt kicked every day! There were many days that it was hard to fit in my schedule, but I was determined to do it, so I did. It's true what they say, do something for 21 days and it becomes a habit. Now if I haven't worked out before lunch I feel lazy and actually miss it. On the days that I work I have to wait until after the kids go to bed to get my work out in, but Chris is extremely supportive and encourages me, so that makes it easier and I don't feel guilty neglecting him for 35 minutes. I wouldn't necessarily say I've lost any weight, it has just redistributed to muscle and my pants fit better, and most importantly, I FEEL better. Now if I could only get my love for chocolate under control!
Chris and I are still reading the Bible every day. It's been awesome. We are both learning so many things about some of the main people in the Bible (i.e. Moses and Abraham) and getting to know God's character better. There have been several times when I have gasped out loud at what has happened or thought to myself, what an awesome movie the story of the descendants of Israel (also named Jacob) would make. Getting to read the New Testament at the same time as the Old Testament is pretty cool. Jesus refers to the Pentateuch often so it's getting to the point where I know what he's talking about! Like I said before, it's become a habit and one I will NOT give up!!
School has been going great! Chris took his first Economics test and made a 100!! I was/am very proud of him. I knew he would succeed, and now he knows it too! I have also been doing really well and actually understand what I'm learning. It's interesting how much I care to do well... that was not the case in college!
Layla and Josiah are getting cooler each day! They play incredibly well together and absolutely adore each other! Josiah is really good at puzzles and loves to draw while Layla bolts for the door every time it opens because she loves the outdoors. Have I mentioned her obsession with necklaces and blankets? Because the girl won't go anywhere without either of those. I am beyond blessed with my children and family and am so thankful for them!
Layla and Josiah are getting cooler each day! They play incredibly well together and absolutely adore each other! Josiah is really good at puzzles and loves to draw while Layla bolts for the door every time it opens because she loves the outdoors. Have I mentioned her obsession with necklaces and blankets? Because the girl won't go anywhere without either of those. I am beyond blessed with my children and family and am so thankful for them!
Saturday, January 5, 2013
2013 Goals
Goals, resolutions, whatever you want to call them, here are some of ours for 2013 (we are keeping some private too):
Our friend, Jason, sent Chris this verse this morning:
- Follow Highland Park Presbyterian Church's Read Through the Bible in a Year
- Get all A's in our classes
- Kristine complete Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred in January and Get Ripped in 30 in February
- Kristine pick up sign language again
- Find somewhere to volunteer monthly as a family
- Spend more time outdoors/cut down on Josiah's television time
- Chris be able to spend more time writing music
Our friend, Jason, sent Chris this verse this morning:
Proverbs 30:8-9 (NIV)
8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.
9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’
Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my God.
give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.
9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’
Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my God.
This is a great verse for my family to rest in and pray on. I love when friends send verses of inspiration and reflection as to make us more holy and be in awe of God and all his blessings (seen and unseen)!
Thursday, January 3, 2013
A Season of Joy
This is a long one!
This has been the best, most exciting Holiday Season the Munselles have had! To start off, Thanksgiving was so wonderful. Chris and I were unable to make it to Dallas for Thanksgiving the 3 years we lived Nashville, so it was such a blessing to be with all our family on Thanksgiving day. We hung out at my parents most of the day and Josiah and Layla loved all the food (if you know anything about Layla, it's that she will eat whatever is put in front of her, whenever she can!). Our only responsibility was to cook the sweet potato casserole, which Chris did without my help... what can I say, I'm terrible in the kitchen! The following day, my parents took Layla and Josiah to a farm in Waco with my brother and his wife, Naomi, and her whole family. Josiah LOVES his cousins more than me I think. When I ask him who he wants to pray for at night, he always says "Abby, Jakey, Robby". I love that he loves them, because it makes for fun family get togethers. While our children were in Waco, Chris and I moved into our OWN place!! We lived with Chris's parents through August, then we moved across the street from my work for 3 months house-sitting. It is so great having our own place with our own stuff. I forgot what all we had! Moving from a 2100 square foot house to a 1300 square foot apartment has been a slight adjustment. We had to get rid of several things, but de-cluttering/downsizing crap you don't need is one of my favorite things, so it came really easy for me. I must admit, not having so much excess is really nice. It makes me really appreciate just being with my husband/kids and not worrying about how much stuff we have. Besides, we have 2 wild children who destroy most things in their path, so what's the point of having stuff in their way?
12/12/12 was my 31st birthday (the best day ever created). My parents took the kids for the night and the hubs and I went out on a lovely date. He saw Breaking Dawn part 2 with me (what a loving hubby!) and then we got sushi to go and came home and watched an uber chick flick. It was a great celebration and I am just reminded constantly of how much I am loved by my husband and how undeserving I am of him. The week before Christmas was perfection. Chris's sister, Elyse, and her husband, Carter, were in town. Instead of buying gifts for each other, we went out to dinner. It was so fun just hanging out with the two of them and catching up and getting to know them better. Josiah is kind of obsessed with uncle Car Car. For instance, today Josiah told me that he wanted 2 mommies. Me and Uncle Car Car. I'm not sure how I feel about that... Josiah also is obsessed with Christmas lights, so one night we went to the Deerfield neighborhood in Plano and just walked around for a while. It was pretty incredible and a definite redo for next year.
Christmas eve my sister came in town from San Francisco. The last time she came in town was in February and I visited her in August, so it was so great being with her again. My brother, Matthew, and his family came in town that day too. So for the next 3 days it was controlled chaos and I loved every minute of it. We spoiled our children and loved doing it. One night all the siblings and their spouses went to Trinity Hall and had such a hilarious time. Man, I love my family. At one point I thought "in a few years there could be 8 of us". While the younger years with children are hard, the older years are all worth it!
Chris and I start school on January 22. He's going to get his bachelor's in business administration then go straight into getting his master's in healthcare administration. I am going back to get my pre-reqs so I can apply to nursing school. The last time I took a science class was well over a decade ago, so I might be horrible at it, but for over a year I have had a strong desire to become a labor and delivery nurse, so I am going to see if God gives me the ability to do it! We also start our new community group this month. We are so incredibly excited to begin/continue life with 2 dear couples that we love/adore/respect/cherish. I begin a woman's Bible study with some new friends on the 14th and it is such an answer to prayer. God continues to bless our life and we are very aware that we don't deserve any of it.
This has been the best, most exciting Holiday Season the Munselles have had! To start off, Thanksgiving was so wonderful. Chris and I were unable to make it to Dallas for Thanksgiving the 3 years we lived Nashville, so it was such a blessing to be with all our family on Thanksgiving day. We hung out at my parents most of the day and Josiah and Layla loved all the food (if you know anything about Layla, it's that she will eat whatever is put in front of her, whenever she can!). Our only responsibility was to cook the sweet potato casserole, which Chris did without my help... what can I say, I'm terrible in the kitchen! The following day, my parents took Layla and Josiah to a farm in Waco with my brother and his wife, Naomi, and her whole family. Josiah LOVES his cousins more than me I think. When I ask him who he wants to pray for at night, he always says "Abby, Jakey, Robby". I love that he loves them, because it makes for fun family get togethers. While our children were in Waco, Chris and I moved into our OWN place!! We lived with Chris's parents through August, then we moved across the street from my work for 3 months house-sitting. It is so great having our own place with our own stuff. I forgot what all we had! Moving from a 2100 square foot house to a 1300 square foot apartment has been a slight adjustment. We had to get rid of several things, but de-cluttering/downsizing crap you don't need is one of my favorite things, so it came really easy for me. I must admit, not having so much excess is really nice. It makes me really appreciate just being with my husband/kids and not worrying about how much stuff we have. Besides, we have 2 wild children who destroy most things in their path, so what's the point of having stuff in their way?
12/12/12 was my 31st birthday (the best day ever created). My parents took the kids for the night and the hubs and I went out on a lovely date. He saw Breaking Dawn part 2 with me (what a loving hubby!) and then we got sushi to go and came home and watched an uber chick flick. It was a great celebration and I am just reminded constantly of how much I am loved by my husband and how undeserving I am of him. The week before Christmas was perfection. Chris's sister, Elyse, and her husband, Carter, were in town. Instead of buying gifts for each other, we went out to dinner. It was so fun just hanging out with the two of them and catching up and getting to know them better. Josiah is kind of obsessed with uncle Car Car. For instance, today Josiah told me that he wanted 2 mommies. Me and Uncle Car Car. I'm not sure how I feel about that... Josiah also is obsessed with Christmas lights, so one night we went to the Deerfield neighborhood in Plano and just walked around for a while. It was pretty incredible and a definite redo for next year.
Christmas eve my sister came in town from San Francisco. The last time she came in town was in February and I visited her in August, so it was so great being with her again. My brother, Matthew, and his family came in town that day too. So for the next 3 days it was controlled chaos and I loved every minute of it. We spoiled our children and loved doing it. One night all the siblings and their spouses went to Trinity Hall and had such a hilarious time. Man, I love my family. At one point I thought "in a few years there could be 8 of us". While the younger years with children are hard, the older years are all worth it!
Chris and I start school on January 22. He's going to get his bachelor's in business administration then go straight into getting his master's in healthcare administration. I am going back to get my pre-reqs so I can apply to nursing school. The last time I took a science class was well over a decade ago, so I might be horrible at it, but for over a year I have had a strong desire to become a labor and delivery nurse, so I am going to see if God gives me the ability to do it! We also start our new community group this month. We are so incredibly excited to begin/continue life with 2 dear couples that we love/adore/respect/cherish. I begin a woman's Bible study with some new friends on the 14th and it is such an answer to prayer. God continues to bless our life and we are very aware that we don't deserve any of it.
Sunday, December 23, 2012
The best analogy I've heard about God since becoming a parent was recently... and it goes something like this. If God gave us everything we asked for the world would be much worse than it is now. Think of your relationship with God as your relationship with your child. If you gave your child everything he asked for, his teeth would probably have fallen out of his mouth long ago and he would have so many things we wanted, but not much of what he needs. God sees the bigger picture, we can't. Just like, as parents, we see the bigger picture. If we gave our children candy every night their teeth would be rotten and they would be extremely unhealthy. So we force them to eat fruits and vegetables because we know it's good for them. So when God says no to a prayer request, I need to remind myself that He sees the bigger picture and is doing everything for His glory, not my selfish desires.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Happy Birthday Layla!!
I cannot believe our little girl is ONE! It's so crazy to me that one whole year has gone by in what seems like an instant. Time needs to seriously SLOW down!! Here's a breakdown of what Layla has been up to recently:
She takes about 7-8 steps... still not full on walking, but she's working on it
She LOVES to mimmick sounds me, Chris and Josiah make. It's pretty awesome
She eats ALL THE TIME! And she lets you know when she's not done eating by the high pitch shriek that comes out of her mouth until the food is on her plate!
She is a really great napper/sleeper. She naps about 4 hours a day and then sleeps 13 hours... now only if Josiah slept that great, Chris and I would be well rested too
She poses for the camera. She knows she's gorgeous and lets me know it by posing!
Her eyes are to die for! Ten times a day strangers stop me to tell me how beautiful she is and that her eyes are the bluest and most beautiful eyes they've ever seen... no joke
Wherever her big brother is, that's where she wants to be. She adores him, and for the most part, he adores her.
She is a mama's girl. About a month ago she started crying when I left her. Unless she is familiar with the person, she will cry the whole time I'm gone... which is why I no longer can work out at the gym. I get called out every time because she's upset. As soon as I pick her up, she's fine. A little annoying, but mostly special
She has exactly 4 1/2 teeth. One on top, 3 on bottom. However, she thinks she has a mouth full by the kinds of food she chomps on
She absolutely hates the car. She screams and cries no matter how short of a distance we go. It's not fun whatsoever
She LOVES music! It's awesome! Whenever she hears a beat, not matter what kind, she's dancing to it
Here are some pics that we took of her at her family birthday party we had :)
She takes about 7-8 steps... still not full on walking, but she's working on it
She LOVES to mimmick sounds me, Chris and Josiah make. It's pretty awesome
She eats ALL THE TIME! And she lets you know when she's not done eating by the high pitch shriek that comes out of her mouth until the food is on her plate!
She is a really great napper/sleeper. She naps about 4 hours a day and then sleeps 13 hours... now only if Josiah slept that great, Chris and I would be well rested too
She poses for the camera. She knows she's gorgeous and lets me know it by posing!
Her eyes are to die for! Ten times a day strangers stop me to tell me how beautiful she is and that her eyes are the bluest and most beautiful eyes they've ever seen... no joke
Wherever her big brother is, that's where she wants to be. She adores him, and for the most part, he adores her.
She is a mama's girl. About a month ago she started crying when I left her. Unless she is familiar with the person, she will cry the whole time I'm gone... which is why I no longer can work out at the gym. I get called out every time because she's upset. As soon as I pick her up, she's fine. A little annoying, but mostly special
She has exactly 4 1/2 teeth. One on top, 3 on bottom. However, she thinks she has a mouth full by the kinds of food she chomps on
She absolutely hates the car. She screams and cries no matter how short of a distance we go. It's not fun whatsoever
She LOVES music! It's awesome! Whenever she hears a beat, not matter what kind, she's dancing to it
Here are some pics that we took of her at her family birthday party we had :)
Monday, September 10, 2012
Busy busy summer
How we spent our summer:
Met cousin Helen at a weekend getaway to Lost Pines Resort in Bastrop. It has the most amazing lazy river that connected to an awesome pool with a sand volleyball court. We also rode bikes, ate really yummy food and sipped on some super girly drinks!
Kissed some random dog... j/k. that's Livey, Uncle Carter and Aunt Elyse's dog that I (Josiah) talk about every single day. No exaggeration.
Had good quality nap time with daddy.
Pet some donkeys
Loved on Livey some more
Chased squirrels
Went to San Fran to see Aunt Mindy with my mommy, Bebe and Aunt Judi... it was an awesome girls trip that will hopefully become a yearly thing
Played in the kiddie pool inside as to avoid West Nile virus
Swam outside in my super cute bathing suit and enjoyed chewing on keys
Hugged each other a lot
Ate people food and started to grow my hair out
Wrapped myself in a blanket, one of my favorite things to do!
Documented every restaurant we went to in San Fran (this says Naked Sushi on the chopsticks)
Read books
Worked on my jump shot!
That was our summer in a nut shell! I will blog again next week after Layla turns ONE!!! I can't believe it!
That was our summer in a nut shell! I will blog again next week after Layla turns ONE!!! I can't believe it!
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