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Saturday, September 28, 2013

The countdown continues



The launch day is getting closer and I am getting so excited!  
In order to celebrate the final countdown until my shop opens (three days!) I've decided to offer a giveaway!


The giveaway is going on here, on the blog, as well as through Instagram and Facebook.  In order to be entered, I'm asking that you share my countdown picture of the day.  You can share it on your blog, on Instagram or on Facebook.  Then, you just have to leave me a comment letting me know that you've done it.  If you've shared on your blog, you can leave a comment on this post, if you've shared through Instagram, you can come back to my IG (@jsconklin) and leave a comment on my picture or you can share through Facebook and come back to leave a comment on my picture on Facebook. 

If you share the countdown image each day over the next three days you will be entered three times.  


Can't wait to see who wins!

Monday, September 23, 2013

what are you aiming for?

Back in January I decided to document the boys individually each day.  I started taking a photograph of Crews and Tate separately and putting them on Instagram using a specific hashtag for them.  You may have seen others doing this as well.  I actually got the idea from one of my favorite photographers.  I didn't do so well with documenting their firsts.  Or keeping their baby books updated.  And a lot of the pictures I have of them from their first year are of them together. So, I wanted to switch things up for this year.  And, looking back, I am so thankful I chose to do it!  It is so sweet to glance back through their pictures and see a snapshot of our year.  I absolutely love it.  I'm not sure that it will continue next year, in fact it probably won't, but I'm grateful for this year that has been documented daily.




Well, do you know what number today is?  

265.  

That's right.  We have one hundred days until 2013 is complete.  As this number has been approaching, I've been mulling over what I want the last one hundred days of this year to look like.  I want my life to be intentional.  I want to live each day with meaning.  I don't want to look back and think that I wasted one second.  That doesn't mean that my life has to be busy.  It means that there are healthy margins, that there are lazy days, that there is plenty of time to read books and swing and go for walks on top of working hard.  I know that life always gets crazy with the holidays coming.  And now, with the new website launching, it's going to be even crazier.  

But, instead of succumbing to the chaos, I was to embrace it intentionally.



And, I always find it funny the way God reiterates His point to me.  Last week in BSF my lecture leader made the statement, "If you call yourself a woman of God you must be intentional about asking what you're doing with your days and why you're doing it".  That has come to mind over and over during the past two weeks.  What AM I doing with my days?  And WHY am I doing it?

And, then, God reiterated it again on Sunday.  During part of the sermon, our pastor asked us what makes for a successful life.  He asked the question, "if you don't know what you think a successful life is, how can you aim for it?".  He encouraged us to take the time to make our list of what would make a successful life.  Then, he proceeded to give his list.  And honestly, his list seems right on point.  I can't imagine a better list.  So, I thought I would share it with you.

1.  A personal relationship with Jesus that is real
2.  An enjoyable marriage
3.  A great relationship with my kids
4.  The work of my hards being blessed
5.  Enjoying all the God's created for us to enjoy



This was just a portion of his sermon in which he talked about "The Secret Place".  He referenced Matthew 6 and the three things Jesus tells us should be done privately (or without trying to be noticed).  Giving to the needy, praying and fasting (or sacrificing things to draw closer to Him).  Then, he continued to tell us that outward success is dictated by what goes on in our secret life.  My favorite point of the sermon was this:  "When we see someone's life is successful we can be assured that they are spending time in The Secret Place".  When they are successful, as well as their home and their marriage, the relationship they have with their kids and the work of their hands, it is all because they are spending time in The Secret Place.  



Okay, I've gotten a little off track.  Sorry.  Once I got started, I couldn't stop telling you about the sermon!

Back to what I'm aiming for.  If I want to have a life that is successful, I have to figure out what I'm aiming for and then I have to intentionally pursue that with my days.

And now, I have one hundred days.  To finish out this year.  And I don't know about you, but I want to finish strong.  

Step one, I'm ordering this book.  

What are you aiming for?
And what steps are you taking to make it happen?

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Exciting news!

Y'all!  I am SO excited to be here this morning!  I have been absent from this place for quite a while now.  Only writing a post occasionally.  And, let's be honest, for a long time it's because I was in survival mode and the blog did not make the cut when my list consisted of:  keeping twin babies alive, sleeping, running to maintain my sanity, going on an occasional date night and blogging.  Yeah...blogging was at the bottom of the list.  

But, once I finally got through the chaos that was the first year of the twin's life, I started filling my time with things in addition to my survival list.  But, again, the blog was low on the priority list.  Hence the sporadic posts.  And now, for the last two months, I've been working my hiney off on something super exciting.  Something that's been coming for years now but I've finally bit the bullet and made it happen!


  

I have a new website coming!  On October 1st!  My blog will be migrated to jennyconklin.com!  And not only will my blog be there, I will also have a Moxie Made shop and my Jenny Conklin Photography galleries!  Is it a little crazy and out of the ordinary for me to have all of this on one site?  Yes, probably.  But it makes the most sense for me right now.  

I am so excited I can hardly stand it!  And, I can't wait for you to see it.

Now, excuse me while I go lock myself away for the next 10 days getting everything finished up for you to see!

Happy Saturday, y'all!  I hope your weekend is fabulous!

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

my normal these days.

I love having twins.  Honestly, I wouldn't trade it for the world!  It's an adventure of a lifetime.  I know I am so, so blessed.  And, I know that so many people would kill to be in my shoes.  It has stretched me in more ways than I ever imagined.  It has unified Jordan and I so much.  We had to learn to work together in everything.  How to support each other, work through being frustrated with each other and raise tiny humans together!

But, y'all.  It.is.hard.

I thought we had survived the extremely difficult phase.  We made it through breast feeding and pumping (my pump - i.e. my third child...) every three hours, getting them to gain weight, figuring out sleeping and schedules, how to travel with two babies and how to conquer Costco and Hobby Lobby.  

Things honestly started getting easier.  The breast feeding moved into kids meals from Chickfila, we figured out the best way to go places, duties started being divvied up without having to discuss who was going to do what, and we learned what to expect.

Except, now?  It's getting hard again.  I'm not discrediting the difficulties in the beginning because they were seriously hard.  And this isn't harder...but it feels like I'm entering Round 2.  

I read this article yesterday and it is so accurate of what it looks like to have twins.  It describes my life. Seriously.  It's funny.  But so true!

And, if you don't believe me, how about a story from yesterday?

It started with a tough morning - nothing huge, just overall it was difficult.  Which resulted in my father-in-law taking me to pick up my car (the oil was getting changed) while I cried the whole way there.  Poor guy.  He handled it really well.  As I sat beside him silently, trying to pull it together.  But really, let's not get into all that, just needed to set the scene for you...to let you know where my nerves were.  SHOT.  At 10 a.m.

After getting my car, the boys and I ran to the post office to send some Moxie Made packages (I've got something exciting in the works!  Eeeekkk!).  I get both of them out, hold their hands through the parking lot - with my packages under one arm and my clutch under the other arm.  We get inside and they proceed to run around in circles in the small area - trying to pull every box and envelope off the display racks.  Thankfully, our post office is not super busy and all the mail workers are incredibly sweet.  We finally get the packages shipped and head out to the car.  

I was putting Tate in the car first, so I looked down at Crews and asked him to stand in the pocket between my legs and the car door, thinking he couldn't get around me.  Just as I sat Tate in his car seat, Crews bolted around my legs and out behind my car where other cars were pulling in and out.  It sent me into a panic.  So, I turned to grab Crews.  As I grabbed him, I heard Tate cry out.  I turned around to see Tate falling head first out of the side of my tahoe (only important because it's up off the ground quite a bit!).  Thankfully I caught him just before his head hit the asphalt.

So yeah...

We drove straight to McDonalds for a sweet tea.