Capturing Joy with Kristen Duke
Capturing the Joy in Life
{If you have not read the previous chapters of my love story, start here} At the end of March 1999, It was just 30 days til I was to depart the U.S. soil and head on my world adventure to the Holy Land. Though I thought all along I wouldn’t actually go (I hoped Matthew would beg me to stay) it was looking more and more like a reality. It was a month filled with… Continue Reading
I felt so much love and support from my GLOW post last week, thank you!! I also had many people who commented/emailed saying they were going to invite a family over for dinner soon. I guess that post had multiple messages, but it made me so happy to hear this message came out of it, too! I got a fun idea, and I thought I’d officially encourage everyone out there reading to do the same… Continue Reading
I’m not afraid to lay myself out there and tell some silly stories in order to get a good laugh and in the name of authenticity. I was recently filling out a little survey about myself and one of the questions was, to share an embarrassing story. I thought and thought, but ultimately, I was stumped. I’m sure there were some, but nothing came to mind. I thought, who better to ask than my family… Continue Reading
If you have been reading my blog for a while, you might remember that a year ago last February, I flew out of state to attend my grandmother’s 90th birthday celebration. It’s a BIG deal to turn 90, and though she tried to convince her family that she didn’t want the attention, she really enjoyed seeing people come out to show her how much she was loved (lots and lots of people came). I drove… Continue Reading
My husband built this adorable play Vanity for our girls, and finished it JUST before midnight on Christmas Eve! He only started it a few days before at my request, and I love how it turned out! I originally pulled up plans for a play vanity from my friend Ana White (who by the way featured plans she made from my Sliding Barn Door TV cover on her site here), but then we modified the… Continue Reading
I’m so excited, I’m going to be a guest LIVE TONIGHT on this fun google hangout series! All you do to watch it live is to go to THIS LINK and PRESS PLAY at 8pm Eastern time tonight. (I went before and didn’t press play and wondered why it wasn’t starting). This hangout is for anyone wanting to more about blogging, maybe wanting to start a blog, or just curious as to what goes on… Continue Reading
Over Thanksgiving holiday, my parents, 3 brothers, and our families all met up at a beach house near Port Aransas, Texas. It’s so fun to all be together, and the weather was so lovely! Probably 70-80 degrees, so our kids got to play in the water and enjoy it, too. I’m the designated family picture taker, so I suggested the color scheme of red, yellow, and blue, and it turned out great! I brought my… Continue Reading
I mentioned a few days ago my Blogging Goals, and wow, it’s amazing that if you actually set a goal, that early determination is like wildfire! I feel like I’m constantly working on my mothering skills, to talk sweet to my children, to apologize when I’ve gotten upset, to practice patience when they don’t come when asked (twice), to engage with them, to look into their eyes when they are telling a story, to hug… Continue Reading
I consider myself a very religious person, and I love living in a diverse world and hearing about other faiths and what they believe, so today I share with you a little more of what I believe, because darn dittly my faith seems to get a lot of misunderstandings, and it can be frustrating. A year ago, I wrote a post called What I believe (part I), and it’s on my sidebar to easily access if… Continue Reading
After I ran the mud run with my sister in laws in September, I was on the hunt for something just as fun for my family. Though my husband and I have run many a 5k in our days, the theme races were never on our radar. I’d heard about the color runs before, but once I saw the Color Me Rad 5k was in Austin in December, I thought it would be a spectacular… Continue Reading
Ugh, I’m the worst at setting goals. I like to think that I’m constantly in a state of self improvement and don’t need January 1st to start the ball rolling for me. But it is a great time of year to be reflective on what I’d like to do differently in the new year. So I’m going to share a few of my thoughts on how I’d like to improve my blog today, then in… Continue Reading
Happy New Year’s Eve Eve, friends, It’s been a fabulous year! I got to travel from New York City to Alaska, and a few other places in between. I connected with other bloggers at a few conferences, and crossed some things off my bucket list. I got to delight in the joy of my children, and have some quality time with my husband. I started painting rooms in my house, lost 25 pounds, and continue… Continue Reading
I’ve mailed out MOST of our Christmas cards, and I always like to share with my blog readers after I’ve done so. This is the creation I made this year. I really enjoy the whole process: taking the pictures, designing a card, stuffing, and most importantly slipping the cards into the mail box to send to the people I love! My dear friend Heather from Heather Walker Photography came into our home in October and… Continue Reading
{It’s my anniversary!!! 13 years to be exact, and I’m so grateful every day with this amazing husband of mine. My goal was to have our love story finished by today, but yeah…not close my friends. How about another chapter?!? To see some of my favorite pictures from our wedding day, see this BLOG POST from last year. Chapter 13 It just so happens that Valentine’s Day and President’s Day were just 1 day apart… Continue Reading
The flags are at half mast, our hearts are broken, and a piece of our innocence shattered. My heart aches for the families of those affected by the tragedy in Connecticut, and I pray they will find peace…eventually. Years ago, I suffered a terrible sadness–on behalf of a friend struggling. I wanted to do more, but my hands were tied. It was Christmas time, and I should have felt happy, but I couldn’t shake my… Continue Reading
