2010 January — We are THAT Family

12:01 am Bykristen

How to Handle Little People: A Non Tutorial (This is me and maybe, that’s why I cried when I read it)

The Unofficial Events at Blissdom (are you going? let me know in the comments!)

Free Rice-a fun trivia game-every answer you get right, puts free rice in a bowl for Haitians (this is free and fun!)

It was Like Coming Home- a brilliant (and hilarious) hair care post by the one and only, BooMama.

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And Now, I’d Like You to Meet: My New Home Office

8:20 pm Bykristen

Our house is definitely not big, but it’s right for us. We use every spare inch of it, except for one room: our formal dining room. We just aren’t formal kind of people, but even rarely used, it holds an old table and thrift store chairs. And dust.

I’ve been itching for a home office for months. We can’t justify moving and I simply don’t want the expense or headache of one.

[I couldn't find a lot of inspiration for such a transformation. I googled and asked friend's opinions, I made my hubby move furniture in and out and was actually unsure of this idea.]

But I finally got up the courage! So. I talked my hubby into letting me change our formal dining room into a home office. (He was very agreeable, he just didn’t think it would look that great).

Before:

(Yes, that’s the table that got hung in the doorway at midnight. It was hilarious, but only to me. My hubby did not laugh one bit).

After:

This is now the busiest room in the house! My hubby included (yes, he loves it!)

What I did:

I kept the paint, curtains, rug the same and two of my dining room chairs. I just didn’t want to spend more money than needed. I also kept my dining room hutch.

Nearly everything else came from Ikea! You can really stretch a dollar in that store. We bought the gorgeous chair, shelves, desk (which is really a $69 dining room table!), and storage boxes. I got the desk lamp and skirt around the desk (which is actually one curtain panel I cut and velcro’d) at Target.

This room inspires me.

Who knows, I might even write a book in it!

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He Said/She Said (3): Confessions

7:00 am Bykristen

Thank you so much for the love and support you offered on last week’s post to my husband and I. Your reception of our hard-to-tell-story was beautiful. Sometimes doing the right thing is hard, but you helped us handle it with grace.

Please understand, this is our story and we aren’t making assumptions about your marriage or your spouse or proclaiming that every marriage has or will face something like this. We are simply telling it to help others. Maybe even you.

She Said:

I will never forget the night my husband confessed his sin to me. We were on our way home from Disney World of all places. We had just spent a magical week on our first real vacation after nearly 11 years of marriage. I was still on a Disney high as we drove our van deep into the night, our two children asleep in the back.

Up until this point in our lives, we’d had a really great marriage. We’d been out of full time ministry for two years and were finally getting back on our feet. For the first time, we had a 401k, we owned a nice home (the one we still live in) and my husband had a promising new sales career. Everything seemed perfect.

So, in the dark, as my hubby and I talked, our conversation began to take an uncomfortable turn. And then he just said it: “I have a sin problem. I’m addicted to lust and pornography.”

My world stopped. I knew from that moment, I would never be the same again.

I’m not going to candy-coat this: I freaked out.

I was so disturbed and disgusted that while we sped down the freeway, I climbed into the backseat to separate myself from him for awhile. I wept, held onto my babies and wondered if this is what if felt like for your marriage to breakup.

I asked a lot of questions. I hated all the answers. I couldn’t understand, couldn’t wrap my head around this different person, my mind screamed. “Who are you?” This was before counseling, before I gobbled up every book I could find on the subject. This is the night I lost some of my innocence.

But even on this first night, as I cried bitter tears, I couldn’t stop loving this broken man. My broken, hurting man. I didn’t understand this new ugly place. I didn’t know how we were going to make it, but I knew that I wanted to help him find freedom.

(And he found freedom like he’s never tasted, and we both found intimacy on a level we didn’t know existed….)

Next week, we will talk about some warning signs and then practical tools that would help fight this battle.

But before that, I just wanted to share some reassurances that helped me during this time (from For Women Only by Shaunti Feldhahn)

Reassurance #1: His temptation is often not primarily sexual (physical, yes, but not always sexual).

Reassurance #2: Every man is different (some can experience an involuntary sexual image and dismiss it without being tempted, while another can see the same image and struggle deeply).

Reassurance #3: It’s not because of you (this was the main point hammered over and over to me by the counselor…”your hubby had this problem before he even met you.”

Reassurance #4: This doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you (it was hard for me to understand how he could love me and still struggle with lusting after others…but this was a struggle with sin and even though it affected our relationship, these were separate in his heart).

Next week, I’ll share how you can help your hubby….

Before you watch my hubby’s testimony, please know that it is long (14 min), but very powerful. If you know or think your husband struggles in this area, I think it would be excellent for him to watch.

He Said:

Click here to watch.

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WFMW: My Only Beauty Tip

7:00 am Bykristen

Please mark your calendars for the March 3 & 10 temporary move of WFMW. While I’m in Kenya with the Compassion Bloggers, Shannon of Rocks in My Dryer will be welcoming you all back to her place as she hosts WFMW for two weeks! There will NOT be a special theme for March 3, link any tip you’d like!

I’m not an authority on beauty or fashion. I shop at Target for both.

(I still use Covergirl makeup and Seabreeze cleanser) See? I told you.

But I did recently discover something that has taken my 25 minute morning routine down to 19 1/2 minutes.

I used to blow dry my naturally wavy hair dry and then hot iron the soup out of it. I knew all that heat wasn’t great for my hair, but I was trying to achieve a certain look.

The gal who cuts my hair, styled it the other day and didn’t use the hot iron. Instead, she used one of these:

It probably has a name, but I like to call it THE FATTEST, ROUNDEST HAIR BRUSH KNOWN TO MANKIND.

Now, I blow dry with this big daddy (use brush to roll hair out straight while drying) and skip the hot iron step entirely!

My hair is a bit puffier than it used to be. But y’all: I’m saving 6 minutes and my hair follicles!

Don’t forget, the THEMED Works for Me Wednesday planned for next week, Feb. 3: share a blogging tip! (this is a suggestion, you’re always free to link up any tips)

Thank you for joining me for WFMW! {You can read the guidelines here.}

Have a Works-For-Me Wednesday tip you’d like to share? I’d love for you to join us! Please note that the links will close on Thursday, in order to keep away the spammers!

Was your link deleted? Click here.

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{Madison Rose Vintage} Giveaway

7:00 am Bykristen

*Updated with Winner* Congrats to Nesting in Pleasant View!

I love vintage things! If the paint is peeling or it has a musty smell, it appeals to me. Once my Mom said, “When y’all have a bit more money, do you think you’ll buy new stuff?”

Nope.

I’m so happy to introduce y’all to a great Etsy store: Madison Rose Vintage!

This store is right up my vintage alley. Here are some of my favorite pieces:

The sweet owner and one of my readers, is offering a $50 gift certificate to a lucky reader today! Please leave a comment with one of your favorites from her store.

She is also offering a 20% discount! Just add the code WEARETHATFAMILY in the Etsy convo box.

This giveaway ends on Thursday.

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