Family - Our Alabama Life

Thanksgiving, Football, and Advent

Posted on November 28, 2015 in Faith, Family, 0 comments

Last night, we celebrated Thanksgiving, round #4. Justin’s family came to the house for turkey, dressing (that’s what us southerners call stuffing), and the works. In the past few days I have had pumpkin pie, chocolate chip poundcake, butterfinger pie, and oreo cheesecake. In other news, that whole “high protein, low carb” diet to deal with my hypoglycemia is going well.

As I write this post, we are gearing up for an Iron Bowl party this afternoon. That’s Alabama vs. Auburn, in case you aren’t from here. And it’s big. We take our rivalries real serious here in the south.

Our family is also gearing up for something else right now. Advent. I’m embarrassed to admit it, but until this past year, I wasn’t quite sure what Advent really was. Just in case I’m not the only clueless one, let me explain. Advent is the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas in which Christians prepare to celebrate Christmas. The Jesus way, not the Santa way.

It’s a season of purposefully and expectantly preparing for Christ. It’s a time of reminding ourselves we need a savior.

This year, I am following along with this devotional for Advent. (The books are all sold out, but you can still download the digital version. There is also an accompanying website here with videos and commentary.)

I am 50% finished with my Christmas shopping and am doing everything in my power to be 100% finished by Tuesday. Remember how I made a goal to be all finished by December 1? I want this Advent season to be all about family and faith, not stress over gifts I still need to buy.

Do you actively celebrate Advent? Have tips? Tell me, please!

Our Favorite Fall Tradition: Pumpkin Patch

Posted on November 4, 2015 in Family, Life, Unscripted, 0 comments

This weekend, we made our 5th annual trip to the pumpkin patch with the Johnson family. It is our favorite fall tradition of all. We started when Kyndall and Harrison were 4 and Libby and Ellis were 2. It is definitely something we look forward to every year as the weather starts to cool down, and this year was no exception.

We have visited quite the variety of pumpkin patches here in our area (north Alabama and even southern Tennessee!), but this year we went back to Tate Farms. (Last year, Conlei was only a few weeks old when we went. This year, she was just over a year old and Jase is almost nine months! It was quite a different adventure with two little ones!)

The kids really enjoyed the corn crib. They took turns burying each other completely under all the corn kernels.

Even Jase got in on the corn crib action. Please excuse his snotty nose–my photoshop skills are not good enough to remove the snot. (Conlei took a little nap during this time, so she missed out. On the bright side, I’m sure Carrie enjoyed not having to dig the corn kernels out of her diaper.)

New this year at Tate Farms were these bikes. I think Libby was the smartest one of the bunch–riding behind Kyndall for Round 1…..

….and being pushed by Ellis for Round 2!

And as always, they really enjoyed the hayride out to the pumpkin patch and actually picking a pumpkin!

Here we are in 2014.

And in 2013.

And in 2012.

Pre-blogging, here we are in 2010:

And our first pumpkin patch trip in 2009:

That’s our favorite fall tradition. What’s yours? Do you visit a pumpkin patch? An apple orchard? Something different? I’m always open to new ideas =)

Currently

Posted on September 15, 2015 in Family, 2 comments

Reading… Friction by Sandra Brown, Anything by Jennie Allen, and Wonder by RJ Palacio. This whole reading-multiple-books things is new to me, but I am really enjoying it. Wonder I read at school, because it is juvenile fiction and I’m considering sharing it with my fourth graders. Friction I read anytime, because it is relaxing, but also really suspenseful and has a strong plot. Anything is taking me a while. It is so good but it’s the kind you need to savor and underline and re-read. I mainly read it at night, and no more than one chapter at a time.

Playing… lots of board games for our family game nights. Our weeks have been so rushed with soccer and gymnastics and piano and church, we are intentionally making Friday our rest-up, spend time together night. We’ve played Zingo, Jenga, Clue, and Monopoly. (PS: Monopoly is the game that never ends. It is sooo not my favorite!)

Watching… Fixer Upper. I almost put ‘nothing’ as my answer. I have watched a total of three tv shows in the last two weeks and all three were Fixer Upper episodes that were recorded on the DVR.

Cooking… cinnamon tostadas. Oh my stars. They are simple and delicious. Take a tortilla, spread butter (yes butter!) on both sides, and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake at 315 degrees for 10 minutes.

Eating… my weight in those cinnamon tostadas. I can’t stop!

Drinking…TONS of water. I’m still nursing, so the more water I drink, the more milk I make. Somedays I feel like my eyeballs are floating, but it really makes a huge difference.

Texting…Justin. Anna, Emily and Lisa. My sister.

Pinning…home ideas. We are so out of room in our current home, but we aren’t sure where we want go or what we want to do from here. I have four different Pinterest boards to correspond with our four different ‘housing’ options. It kind of consumes me right now.

Going… to see Taylor Swift in October. The girls are so very excited. We got them these concert tickets for Christmas, so they’ve only had to wait almost 10 months. That’s all.

Loving…this fall weather we are having. It’s is my absolute favorite. Give me a snuggly jacket and a cup of coffee and life is good.

Thinking… it is going to take me much longer to be conversational in Spanish that I had planned. I don’t know if you guys know this or not, but there are a lot of words. A lot.

Feeling… like I could sleep for a week Anyone else?

Listening (to)… The Happy Hour podcast with Jamie Ivey. Each episode, Jamie has a guest (like Jen Hatmaker, Emily Freeman, Latasha Morrison) on the show and they just chat. It reminds me of when my girlfriends and I get together, only its people who have written books or speak at women’s conferences and are generally much wiser than me.

Ordering…Christmas presents!! I know it’s only September, but I’m such a procrastinator. I’m trying to get a head start this year.

Considering… where I want this blog to go in the future. I’m thinking a redesign is in order. I also want to reach out to a few companies I love and create partnerships. I want to get more serious about the business side of things.

Enjoying… Bible journaling with Libby. She bought a journaling bible and cover with her own money. We both love sitting down and talking about a verse and then planning out how to illustrate it. Kyndall doesn’t have a journaling bible yet (or want one!) but she listens in and adds to our conversations, so I’ll take it.

What are you guys currently eating/reading/listening to? Catch me up in the comments!

Our American Flag

Posted on August 24, 2015 in Family, 0 comments

I am a very emotional person, but not many things make me cry. On the short list of things that do are my kids growing up, issues of injustice, and any act of patriotism. (Those soldier-coming-home-surprise videos get me every single time!). So you can imagine the mess I was on Friday when my big girl participated in putting up and taking down the flags at our school.

Mrs. Burt showed them the ropes…..literally. They were taught how to fold and unfold the US and Alabama flags, how to attach the flags to the ropes on the pole, how to raise and lower the flags, etc. They were spoken to about respecting the flag–that it is not to touch the ground, that it comes down if it’s raining, etc.

I was so proud to hear the respect and pride in Kyndall’s voice as she talked about this job. Pride in our country and respect for our flag is something that, unfortunately, has been lost. It is such a breath of fresh air to see patriotism being instilled in our kids again!

Simply Tuesday

Posted on August 18, 2015 in Family, 2 comments

And just like that, we’ve gone from loosey-goosey summer to the full on hustle of a school year. School day, soccer practice, piano lessons, gymnastics. Throw in church services and church/volunteer activities and my uber desire to do more and please everyone and my soul has been hijacked by the hustle. There is zero time.

Well, maybe there is 30 minutes of time. Or even an hour. You guys, I’m clinging to these pockets of free time with my people. I’m being intentional about making them count and not wasting it. Putting the phone down and basking in the energy of my kids. Breathing in stillness.

Car rides become conversation time. Dinner, whether at home or on the road, is sacred togetherness. Early morning quiet times help me survive.

Instead of letting myself get stressed with our schedule (which I tend to do–my soul was not made for this hustle), I’m clinging to and taking full advantage of the down-time we DO have. I’m talking myself down off the ledge of doing more, succeeding more, being more. I’m learning to say no to the things that I can.

And when I feel stress bubbling up inside of me, I’m going to take a deep breath, say a prayer, and let it go. Because this is a season and I want to enjoy every minute of it.

Simply Tuesday

Today is release day for Emily P. Freeman’s new book, Simply Tuesday: Small Moment Living in A Fast-Moving World. I was lucky enough to get my hands on this book a few weeks ago and it was so important in my “this season” mentality. I have underlined and highlighted on almost every single page.

You can order your copy for only $9 here. I promise it’s worth it!

The Story of Us

Posted on August 14, 2015 in Family, 4 comments

That handsome stud and I have been married for ELEVEN years, today. Crazy, right?

We met in Iuka, Mississippi, at the go-cart track, the summer after I graduated high school. When we were both in high school, we dated siblings. We never actually met, because Justin is six years older than me. So, he dated the girl sibling way before I dated the boy sibling. Anyways, we had all remained super close friends and our exes had a hand in introducing us. Well, their mom did most of the work. (Are you confused yet?)

So one night, the summer after I had graduated high school, my ex-boyfriend (but still friend)’s mom called and invited me to Iuka to watch him and a few other of my good friends race go-carts. When we got to Iuka (an hour and a half away from where we live), she turned to me, with a gleam in her eye, and said, “By the way, there is someone here I want you to meet.”

After the go-cart races, the whole group stopped by Waffle House for a 1am breakfast. Over the next few days, Justin called a few times and we would talk more and more each time. A few weekends later, the same family invited us all to the lake (me, my parents, Justin and his parents) for the July 4th weekend. After 48 hours together, nonstop, I was head over heels. On the last day, as I was telling my mom something about Justin, she looked at me and said “I have never seen you like this before.” It was the closest to love-at-first-sight I have ever heard of. 🙂

Our dating relationship was a whirlwind. One warm weekend in March, at Smith Lake, Justin proposed. A quick 5 months later and we became Mr. and Mrs. Our wedding was absolutely beautiful. Shout-out to my mom, who spent hours and hours making sure everything was perfect. There was standing room only in the church. We honeymooned in Jamaica.

These past eleven years have been hard. I don’t want to give the illusion that marriage is easy–we are two, flawed humans trying to make a go at this family thing. We argue and scream and I’ve been so mad I didn’t even want to look at him, but we’re committed. We are in it for the long haul. We’ve been through three babies, one miscarriage, one cancer-scare, and three houses. I couldn’t imagine doing life with anyone else!

So here’s to many more years together. I love you with my whole heart, Justin West!

Kyndall, On Turning Nine

Posted on August 2, 2015 in Family, 0 comments

You can find her birth story here.

Where does the time go? It seems like only yesterday this bright-eyed girl was making me a Mommy and today, she turns nine. We are almost in the double digits, for the love!

This girl follows the first-born flowchart in every way. She is a natural born leader (i.e. bossy!). She is super athletic and I fully expect to see her playing some sport, some where important. She carries the weight of the world on her shoulders–taking care of everyone and worrying about everything. She is so very smart and quick-witted and funny and I am so very lucky that she calls me Mommy!

An interview with Kyndall, on her ninth birthday:

What is your name? Kyndall Malynn West

What is your favorite color? Green

What is your favorite song? Style by T. Swift

What do you want to be when you grow up? A marine biologist.

What makes you happy? When I score a goal in soccer.

What makes you feel most loved? When I get lots of presents on my birthday.

What are you afraid of? Sharks.

If you had one wish, what would you wish for? To have a pet dolphin.

What makes you mad? When Libby fights me.

What is something that is really hard for you to do? Do the splits.

What is something that is really easy for you to do? Do a cartwheel.

What is ONE thing you want us to know about you? I love animals.

We are celebrating her animal-loving self at Disney’s Animal Kingdom today. This girl is destined to be a zoologist or marine biologist or some other ‘ologist’ that works with animals! ?

An Interview with Libby: Age 7

Posted on July 30, 2015 in Family, 2 comments

The story of her birth can be found here.

Today, my baby girl turns seven. SEVEN. I can’t even. We celebrated her birthday royally at Disney World with lunch in the Beast’s castle and dinner in Cinderella’s castle.

This sweet, big-hearted, volume always on full, middle child is such a joy to our lives. She is a lipstick & make-up loving diva. She is blonde all the way to her roots and it shows up often. She only ever speaks at FULL volume. She constantly looks out for those around her. She has the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever known. She loves with everything she has and I’m so proud to be her Mommy!

An interview with Libby, on her seventh birthday:

What is your name? Libby Brooke West

What is your favorite color? Turquoise.

What is your favorite song? Uncharted Waters VBS song.

What do you want to be when you grow up? A singer.

What makes you happy? Being with my mom and dad.

What makes you feel most loved? God.

What are you afraid of? Tarantulas.

If you had one wish, what would you wish for? To see God.

What makes you mad? Being bullied.

What is something that is really hard for you to do? Trust in Jesus when you can’t see Him. And to be quiet.

What is something that is really easy for you to do? To not bully people.

What is ONE thing you want us to know about you? That I’m a fashionista.

See her interview from last year here.

Three Cheers for the Publix Baby Club

Posted on July 15, 2015 in Family, 0 comments

Disclaimer: This post is brought to you by the Publix Baby Club. All opinions are my own.

Going grocery shopping with three kids is always an adventure. Trying to keep all the kids together and make sure they aren’t sticking random items in the cart is tough. Making it through the store without having to make three trips to the bathroom is a challenge. Trying to do all that plus not spend a ton of money is nearly impossible. (Just last week I was telling you about Libby trying to buy ALL THE THINGS from Publix, remember?) Thank goodness for the Publix Baby Club.

The Publix Baby Club is for families who are expecting a child or those with children up to two years of age. Being a member of the Publix Baby Club gives you access to tons of coupons, both for name-brand products (like Gerber and Pampers) and their own Publix brand items. I am usually one of those name-brand snobs, but I have been very impressed with the Publix brand items I’ve purchased. They are cheaper and the quality is top-notch, which is a win-win.

After signing up for the Publix Baby Club, you’ll also receive a free subscription to the Publix Baby Club newsletter. The newsletter is sent out every few months and is full of practical tips and advice on baby care. It even includes quick, easy recipes for busy moms. They are really great for those of us who are cooking-challenged! (FYI: The newsletter is available in English or Spanish.)

When joining the Publix Baby Club as a first time parent, you will receive a free copy of the American Academy of Pediatrics Complete and Authoritative Guide: Caring For Your Baby and Young Child., 6th edition. (This book is listed for $16 on Amazon, so free is a great deal.) We have pulled out this book repeatedly for advice with all three of our children!

A few of my favorite things about the Publix Baby Club:

The coupons aren’t only for baby items, but include other useful items as well.
Many coupons are for name-brand items. My girls, at 7 and 9, still love snacking on the Gerber Puffs. These can be rather pricey, especially when you consider that they eat an entire container each at one sitting! My most recent Publix Baby Club email contained a digital coupon for $1 off three Gerber snack items.
I can ‘clip’ digital coupons through the Publix website and not have to worry about sorting through paper coupons in the store. I simply enter my phone number into the kiosk and it credits my coupons to my total. So much easier than trying to organize and pull out coupons while also juggling an infant and supervising two overly-helpful little girls. 🙂
The free book! I can’t tell you how many times we have turned to it, especially with Kyndall (our oldest).

If you haven’t already, go now and sign up for the Publix Baby Club. It helps make this parenting gig just a little easier. PS: Enrollments are available only to residents of FL, GA, NC, SC, AL and TN.

Jase at 6 Months

Posted on July 13, 2015 in Family, 0 comments

You guys, I can’t believe it, but today my baby boy is 6 months old! One half of a year! This little boy has brought so much joy into our lives. He laughs all the time. He especially loves when the girls talk to him and the louder they get, the louder he laughs!

I have been watching for weeks for signs of a tooth, because he is chewing things like crazy. He’ll grab the teething ring and growl as he gnaws on it, slobbering everywhere. No teeth are poking through yet, though.

Jase, 6 months @OurAlabamaLife.com Usually, he wakes up twice between 8:30 pm and 7:30 am. He nurses quickly and goes right back to sleep though. (This is so much better than the girls did–they are great kids but have never been great sleepers.)

Today at his doctors visit, he weighed 16.3 pounds and is 25 inches long. This puts him in the 25th percentile for weight and the 10th for height. He is between sizes in clothing–most 6 month sizes still fit, but he’ll be moving up any day now.

Jase, 6 months @OurAlabamaLife.com At 6 months:

has tried prunes, sweet potatoes, ice cream, and banana pudding. Not really a fan of any, he just prefers mama’s milk.
will not take a paci.
almost sitting up on his own.
babbling.
hates taking a bottle. (Spoiled, breastfed baby! 🙂 )
rolls everywhere. (If he ever gets to lay down, that is!)
pays attention to the TV and to picture books being read.

Libby told someone at church yesterday that we constantly fight over who gets to hold Jase, and that’s so true. Between Mommy and Daddy and two overprotective sisters, the poor baby rarely gets to lay down or play on his own.

I can never express how much I love this little man and how much he has completed our family. So thankful for him and his awesome big sisters!