Our Nesting Place Blog

Cute Christmas Finds

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I’ve done so well to get all my Christmas shopping done early this year. This doesn’t always happen! (this doesn’t EVER happen) While I was browsing some of my favorite online stores and shopping for Christmas, I ran across the CUTEST Christmas things. I need to save all my money in 2020 so I can purchase all of these things for myself next Christmas!

RIFLE PAPER COMPANY

(Click the item name to follow the link)

  1. Christmas Tree Die-Cut Gift Tags
  2. Mistletoe Die-Cut Gift Tags
  3. Be Merry and Bright Gift Tags
  4. Nutcracker Wrapping Roll
  5. Holiday Lights Wrapping Sheets
  6. Festive Stripe Wrapping Roll
  7. Nutcracker Gift Stickers
  8. Nutcracker Holiday Paper Tape
  9. Letters to Santa Die-Cut Christmas Cards
  10. Christmas Tree Embroidered Pillow
  11. Holiday Bouquet Tea Towel
  12. Christmas Tree Advent Calendar

LINDSAY LETTERS

  1. Starry O Holy Night Sky
  2. Noel Forest
  3. Wild & Sweet
  4. O Little Town of Bethlehem

GRACELACED

  1. Noel Gift Wrap
  2. Winter Wonderland Gift Wrap
  3. Botanical Christmas Gift Wrap
  4. Praise His Holy Name Christmas Cards
  5. Rejoice Notecards
  6. Let Us Adore Him Christmas Cards

I could spend all the money I have at Rifle Paper Co. It’s one of my favorite stores!

Filed Under: Fun

New Year – New Goals

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This is one of my favorite times of year. I love Christmas and all it represents and I love how warm and cozy everything feels with the decorations and scented candles and fireplaces. I also love this time of year because it’s right before a new year. New beginnings after a long year. I always feel so excited and ready for a fresh start.

I’ve been planning for this time for quite a while. We moved to a new city / state this year and it feels like we’ve been trying to adjust ever since. This Christmas we will have been here a year, and I’m ready to start living. It’s probably a little early to already have my goals set, BUT – I wanted to have them established and start making small progress towards them in December so that when January 1 hits I’m not overwhelmed with trying to start a bunch of new habits at once.

I love sharing my goals, and I love hearing about YOUR goals. Here are mine below. Some are fun and silly, but others are probably more like work. Balance! If you feel like sharing yours as well, please do!!

LESS SCREEN TIME : It feels like we are becoming more and more dependent on our phones and iPads. I want to spend more time as a family and doing things far more important than scrolling Facebook and Instagram. I’m going to try to really limit my screen time when I’m with my family in the evenings. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a while but never fully pulled the trigger. No time like the present!

READ 12 BOOKS THIS YEAR : I wish I could be someone who read all the time. I know it sounds silly, but it makes my brain feel good to read. This year I’d like to try and read 1 new book per month. With less screen time, maybe I can do more reading. My kids have to read every evening for school, and I thought I could join them and read my book at the same time. If you have any good book recommendations, I’d love to hear them!

BE A BETTER PARENT : Our life feels hectic (and this is something I need to work on in 2020 as well) and I feel like our evenings are so frantic and stressful sometimes. I’m too focused on the things that need to be done (race home to cook dinner, clean up after dinner, pack lunches, bath time, clothes for school / work, homework, etc) that I never stop and look at my kids and just spend quality time with them. I don’t make them feel as loved as I’d like to. Everything feels like work and nothing feels like what I’d like home to feel like. I have some mini goals written down for this, but the main thing is I need to alter my focus.. I need to determine what’s more important.. I need to remember what matters in the long run.

TAKE BETTER CARE OF MYSELF : I am so tired, ALL THE TIME. I’ve gained so much weight. My body hurts and aches and I’m too young to feel the way I do. I feel like I’m wasting precious years being unhealthy. I need to focus on my health physically and mentally. This is at the top of my list for the new year.

BE FINANCIALLY FIT : College and moving and not having a job for a while took a toll on us financially. We were doing SO GOOD for so long, but right now we have some catch up work to do. This stuff gives me so much anxiety, and I’m hoping to hit it head on and not be scared about it.

SIMPLIFY : I want to simplify every aspect of my life. Finances, health, marriage, parenting, household, etc. I want to break things down to the foundation, to the things that really matter the most, and then focus on that moving forward. Excess creates stress, and I want to live as stress free as possible.

CELEBRATE EVERYDAY : I want to find something to celebrate as often as I can. Make life fun and fulfilled. Create a happy environment for my kids. Eat pie on National Pie Day.. haha. Just loosen up and not be so serious all the time. Life was meant to be enjoyed.

I’m so ready for a brand new year. I have said over and over that “2020 is going to be my year”.. I hope I’m not wrong!

Life Lately

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Hi Friends! It’s been so long since I’ve updated. I feel like so much has happened since we moved here! Lots of changes – and I’d say all for the better.

Looking back to one of my lasts posts, I was talking about my goals and one of them was to get a job. Well, since then I’ve had two jobs. The first one was with the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. I had interviewed there three times, and was beginning to think I wouldn’t get a job, but thankfully the Ag Department gave me a chance. I was their Admin Assistant, working for a small unit of 5 people. I started there towards the end of February. In April, I received a message back from the people I interviewed with in January – my very first interview in Arkansas. I followed up with them, and they offered me a position with the State of Arkansas in the Office of State Procurement. I wasn’t looking to leave UAEX, but when Procurement offered me the position, it was something I would have been stupid to turn down. I cannot tell you how happy I am to be where I am now. It’s a very rewarding job where I stretch my brain daily and learn so much. I feel like I’ve gained some invaluable knowledge in the short time I’ve been there, and I’m just so thankful they allowed me to join their team. I get to do some really neat things, and meet some really neat people. I get to be a part of things that are bigger than me, and I just love that feeling. I feel like I’m doing a job that’s important, and that matters. It’s been a great move for me.

Shelby has also had two jobs since we moved. He started out at Chenal Country club (the reason we moved to Arkansas) and a short time after he started there he was offered a job with Cobra Puma Golf as a Sales Representative for AR, MS, and LA. It’s kept him super busy, and I feel like he’s always on the phone with someone or emailing with someone trying to help them and meet their needs. He travels quite a bit, and I know that he will have seasons where he travels more than others. He works from home, and that has been an adjustment, but he’s getting there. I’m so thankful for the flexibility that it’s added to our family. Things have come up where he’s needed to step in when I couldn’t, and if he had the job at Chenal he wouldn’t have been able to do that.

I feel like God knows what we need, he knows what’s ahead, and he places us in positions to be successful. Neither of us predicted we’d be where we are now, but here we are and we are so thankful for what has transpired.

Harper was 6 months old when we moved, and now she’s a busy 13 month old. She’s walking and talking and eating us out of house and home. We call her “Happy Harper” or “Hoss Cat Harper”..haha. This girls L O V E S to eat, and I think that’s one of my favorite things about her. She makes life so fun. She’s so good. She listens so well, and doesn’t give us any problems. I feel like we can take her anywhere at any time and feel confident that she’s going to be behaved and not cause us any stress. I also realize that she’s going to get older and more independent and the days of her being sweet little obedient Harper may be numbered .. but for the meantime we are going to enjoy it! She’s got that light blonde hair that sticks up on top of her head when we put it in a ponytail, and people are drawn to her. She loves the attention, haha.

We are still living in our townhouse. The kids have some sweet little neighbors to play with, and there’s a new bakery going in right behind our house that we are so excited about. For a moment we were in the mindset of purchasing a house, but we’ve had some chances to reevaluate and look ahead and I think we are going to stay put for a little while longer. This gives us the chance for our dream home in our dream location to open up. I’m happy to be able to focus on the kids and on each other and on having a great rest of 2019, and not have to focus on trying to find a house and move.

Tristan and Kate just started a new school year. They’re so excited and happy to be back with their friends. They are happy that they’re not the “new kids” at their school this year, and they get to be there the entire year. It’s such a great school. We moved to the city we live in for the schools, and it’s turned out to be a great decision. The hardest part for us is establishing those routines, so that’s what we are in the trial and error phase of now. I’m hoping we can nail down a solid routine, I feel like we’ve struggled so much in the past.

For myself, and moving forward, I’ve got a list of things I’d like to start working on. I’ve just been hanging on the last several months, and I think it’s time I start doing some things for myself. We are hoping that this new school year can sort of be a new beginning on other things as well. We are starting to feel settled, and now we need to focus on making life the best it can be. For me, that starts with trying to get myself in a good place.

I’m so happy to be back to my blog. I’ve missed being able to share in this space. I’m so thankful for my friends to read and encourage me.

Happiness

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I had the best day today.

It started out not so great. Kate woke up sick and was throwing up. I immediately felt stressed because (1) whenever my kids are sick throwing up I spend my entire day running around the house trying to make sure all the throw up is contained somehow while walking around in a fog of lysol, and (2) I was going to have to call in to work, which I feel so bad to do.

I set up the usual “puke station” beside Kate’s bed, got her settled, and then prepared myself to be at battle with it most of the day. About an hour after the initial “sick episode” Kate walks downstairs because she’s hungry. I make her wait it out a bit, she goes a while without throwing up, so I give her some animal crakers. Long story short, Kate didn’t get sick anymore throughout the day. It was the best sick day in the history of sick days.

You’re probably wondering how this turned out to be such a great day. Well, it was a great day because I got to spend it at HOME doing things I wanted to do.

I truly enjoy housekeeping. I was able to wash our sheets, deep clean the downstairs bathrooms, rearrange my closet, clean out my makeup drawer and organize that a little better, catch up on some laundry, give a good clean to the entire downstairs (including dusting and vacuuming), make dinner at a reasonable time, get the kitchen completely cleaned again at a reasonable time, take the kids out for “ice cream monday”, give Harper a bath, get everyone ready for school tomorrow, and sit down with my feet propped up by 7:45 pm. It felt SO GOOD to be productive at my own pace and to do things I chose to do. I had the best little helper in Harper. She and I exchanged about 1,000 kisses today. It was just a good day for Miranda.

I have been struggling a little bit lately. I don’t feel fulfilled some days. I don’t feel happy most days. I am just struggling to find my purpose and maybe my identity a little bit. The things I WANT to do, I don’t have adequate time or energy for. It was so good for my morale to take care of some things at home that I wanted to do. I usually don’t have the energy or desire to do anything at the end of the day these days. I didn’t feel upset or sad the entire day. I didn’t feel unmotivated or uninterested. I felt drive and purpose and HAPPINESS.

I want so badly to stay at home with Harper. I want to spend my days with her, teaching her and loving her. Keep my house clean the way I want to. Have dinner on the table when everyone comes home. Devote time to myself working out. My list goes on and on. I cannot think of a time where I felt this strongly about wanting to be a SAHM. I never felt like this in Mississippi, even after Harper was born. The thought of making my own schedule and working on things that are important to me and being able to love on Harper during the day and have the energy to love on the kids and Shelby in the evening makes me so very happy. When I think about why I’m struggling so much to feel happy lately, I think that’s the reason why.

This dream is going to be at the top of my “wish list” and prayer list for the time being. In the meantime, I continue to live for the weekends where I can focus on what matters most to me. (MY FAMILY). I’m working hard everyday to be positive and not feel so down. I just feel so stuck sometimes.

I AM SO THANKFUL FOR THIS WONDERFUL DAY – a breath of fresh air. A day where I felt productive and successful. A day where I was able to do what makes me happy, and spend it with those I love. A day full of happiness.

Being Someone Else

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The older I get, the more I wish I could have done something else with my life, or have pushed to have a different personality.  I am shy by nature, and when I was younger I was considered “painfully shy”.  It was torture, and I so wish that I could have had the mindset then that I do now about myself.  I would have realized that I wasn’t the center of attention and I wasn’t weird.  I was normal, and nobody paid attention to me.  (I mean that in a good way..)  Instead, I let my shyness take over and it caused me to do things that probably DID draw attention to myself.  It’s funny how that works. 

Even at 35, I’m still shy.  I’m able to talk to strangers and I’m able to put on a good front, but on the inside I’m struggling.  I’m worried about the things I say, or how I look, or how I come across.  After a conversation or interaction is over, I replay it over and over in my head looking for anything that I could have done to cause the other person to think I’m weird.  The same goes for email or texting.  If I feel like I’m more enthusiastic about the conversation than the other person, I start to worry that maybe I’ve annoyed them or they really don’t like talking to me. 

Isn’t that crazy? I know I’m not alone, though. 

Last week I reached out to a former coworker (and current friend) just saying “HELLO” and wishing her well since I hadn’t seen her or talked to her much since we had moved.  For the entire day we talked back and forth, and this is almost more than we ever talked to each other previously.  She is someone who I wished I could be like.  She stopped us in the parking lot one day to tell my husband congratulations on graduating, and after wards I told him “I wish I could be like that, I would never have had the courage to just straight up talk to people like that out of nowhere”.  I saw her as outgoing and thoughtful and friendly – and I wanted to be more like that! (I still do)  Through our marathon email conversations I discovered that my friend is more like me than I had ever imagined.  She struggles with anxiety and being shy, she told me that every time she seemed “outgoing” like that, she was actually dying on the inside.  I sat back shocked at what I was reading.  How can this be?! She puts on such a strong front – I NEVER in a million years would have known that her brain acted the same way mine did when dealing with other people. 

I have to admit, I felt a sign of relief.  And then thankfulness.

Maybe that doesn’t make sense for me to feel that way, but in MY mind it was so refreshing to see someone JUST LIKE ME be something I WANT to be.  She may not realize it, but she’s my motivation moving forward to be a better person to other people.  I still want to be like her in the way she’s able to interact with others, even when she’s cringing on the inside.  I’m hoping that moving forward I’m able to make this a more natural thing for me, and I’m able to feel more comfortable in social situations with people I don’t know super well.  

And, as I’m here talking about how I want to be like someone else, I’m also feeling like I need to just be ME.  My friend is just being HER, and it’s perfect and it inspires people like me.  In my own little Miranda way, I’m going to try to add a little bit of her in my every day.  I’m going to work on being the best ME I can be. 

She and I have challenged each other to reach outside our comfort zones each week.  Last week I reached out to another person who’s new at UA and I’m going to try and be a good friend to her here.  I’m excited for the journey ahead!

February Goals

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I’m so thankful for this blog. I’ve had it for many years, and through the blogging community, I’ve met some of my best friends. I miss blogging regularly, and I’m hoping to get back in to that as this year goes by.

I’m so happy for a new month. January was hard for me. Lately, I feel like I’m getting back to my “old self” a little bit. I’m excited to have some goals for this month to get myself even more back on track.

GET A JOB – I’m so close. I had my heart set on something very specific. I was afraid of going backwards in my career path because I was thinking I’d never get back up again. I’m trying to trust that God has a plan, and I think I’m starting to see that plan before me. Whatever job I get, I’m going to give it 110% and be the best person to do that job. Doors will open for me. I had a very encouraging meeting yesterday and was surprised to hear that I already have somewhat of a reputation (a good reputation) at a place I’ve really been wanting to work. I felt like a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders. I’m so thankful for the work God was doing behind the scenes.

PLAN MORE FUN TIME – I used to do so many fun things with my kids. We decorated for the holidays, had family fun nights, did crafts. I want to do that again. I have great memories, and I know my kids do too. This month I’m going to plan on a little family Valentine’s Day party. I know the kids will love it.

ROUTINE – I know I mention routine a LOT, but it’s important to me. I don’t function at my fullest without a routine. I’d like to continue to get that nailed down. I feel like we’ve really struggled with that lately.

Most of all, I want to live in the present and really focus on what is in front of me. I want to stop worrying about things that are beyond my control. I want to live life to the fullest starting at home. I want to create a great home life for my family. I want to do things that make me happy.

It’s going to be a great month!